Blue Law Bargains & BYOB for Stornoway's Sunday Golfers

Stornoway Golf Club lies on the grounds of a Victorian castle in the town of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. The 18 hole golf course has trim, sloping fairways lined with mature woodland, and panoramic views of Stornoway Harbour.

Stornoway is reputed to be a friendly and sociable club where visitors are made to feel welcome. The course is host a number of amateur events including the recent Western Isles Open, part of the Hebridean Festival of Golf, where local golfers get a chance to channel their inner John Daly... at least that's what it looks like they're doing in the photo below.















So here's the thing: this friendly, fun-loving club has a rather strict landlord, namely the Stornoway Trust, which forbids the employment of staff on Sundays. ~ And it seems there are quite a number of ultra-dedicated golfers who aren't letting the absence of said staff deter them.

This is understandably irksome for the club as they're not only missing out on Sunday greens fees but also on... the day's beer cart revenues.

So the club dutifully submitted an application for a Sunday drinks licence... and that's where the Presbyterian church groups came in. They argued that such an exception to the blue laws could "damage morality" and "weaken the integrity of the community".

In the end, the local council took the side of the non-golfing religious fanatics church groups... and Stornoway Golf Club's request was denied, making a Sunday round at the captivating Scottish course an inadvertent bargain.

San Fran digs

This has been a year for change in many ways. I finished two book projects long in the works, moved to Northampton, MA from Boston, and am now starting a family. But the latest big news is that we'll be traveling to San Francisco for 9 months so that Bruno (my fella) can do an internship for his graduate program. So in addition to getting ready for the baby and the launch of Disappearing Desmond in a few short weeks, we are madly apartment hunting!

We've been scouring Craigslist for a one bedroom in the city that will take cats and let us have a 9 month lease. If anyone has and leads or suggestions for finding a place from a distance any advice is most welcome!

Pick a PGA Championship Look for Álvaro Quirós ...

... and see if you can make him look really good.

Not much of a challenge there I'm afraid. The swarthy, 6'3" Spaniard would probably look good in a potato sack... or just about anything else you threw on him.

So it'll be a breeze to choose a stellar PGA Championship look for sexy Señor Quirós from Callaway's awesome new Spring 2011 apparel line.

You can vote for your favorite at the Callaway Golf fan page on Facebook. The winning looks will be on display... on Álvaro... at Whistling Straits G.C. August 12-15 during the season's last major.

Reading nostalgia

I am on a much-needed vacation right now (two weeks!), and am at my parents' home in Southern California. My parents moved into this house when I was in college, so although it's in the same city where I lived for five years before leaving for school (eight grade through high school), I never actually lived in this house, except for a few summers. But I still have "my" room, and I still have my stuff. The books on my shelves are an odd mixture of books--I'm not sure how they all ended up here, but every time I'm home I do enjoy perusing the shelves and remembering the books I read as a kid and teen and young adult. The lower shelves are mostly the books I read for school in college, but the upper shelves are the books from when I was younger. Here's a sampling of one shelf. I love the absolute randomness, from fantasy to science fiction, to romance, to classics, more movie and TV tie-in books than I realized I read, and to the Cheerleaders series, the books Grace and I shared because of the Asian-American character featured.

 And, of course Stephen King. I think I read every Stephen King book published starting in 8th grade.

You may have noticed a few Hardy Boys books on the shelf. When we were in 6th grade, I think, Grace and I were at the bookstore with another friend, Abby. We were perusing the shelves and came across the newly repackaged Hardy Boys books, and read the back copy of one:

We were unbelievably tickled by the phrase, "blown to bits before their eyes" in relation to a girl being killed in a terrorist bomb. Who writes this stuff, anyway? (Well, now I know.) We laughed and laughed over that line, and on my next birthday, the book was one of my gifts. And I ended up actually reading and enjoying the book and bought and read a few others in the series. I had a crush on Joe Hardy.

What I was really looking for on the shelves this time was the book Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink (the author is better-known as writing Caddie Woodlawn, another book I loved as a child). A few weekends ago, while at the beach with Libby, I put my fingers in the sand and remembered the scene where one of the girls pondered if sand could perhaps be used as a substitute for baby powder. (Don't worry, she didn't actually try it.) This is the cover of the book I owned:

Have any of you read this? I loved this book. Wish I knew where my copy went...it's not on the shelves in my bedroom. I'll continue to hunt through my parents' house while I'm here.

One thing I really miss in my life is re-reading books I love. I reread books all the time as a kid. I'm sure I've read Baby Island at least three times. Perhaps I should allow myself to reread at least one book each year without feeling guilty that I'm not reading something new and not reading submissions. I think it would be good for my soul. If only I could find Baby Island while on vacation! I'd read that.

For Bernhard Langer, Global Golf is Second Nature

Winning two majors... back-to-back... is an extraordinary feat in and of itself, but throw an ocean, a continent, and an eight hour time difference between them and it becomes a once-in-history achievement.

That Bernhard Langer is the one who did it, demonstrates not only the stellar level of his current game, but also perhaps the fact that the German hall-of-famer has developed a particular skill set that allows him to handle a truly international career ... and remain at his best even while traveling the globe.

When flying transatlantic in either direction it's easy to get terribly out-of-sync sleep-wise... and once that happens it can take days to fix. Just imagine trying to play in a top competitive golf tournament when you can't sleep at night and can't stay awake during the day. ~ Keeping balanced is trickier than it sounds too, because when it comes to jet-lag there's really no one formula that works for everyone. It's one of those things where you just have to know yourself and proceed accordingly. ~ I know from my own experience that it's something you get better at the more you do it... and Bernhard Langer does it a lot. Not only does he play on the ultra-global European Tour, he also designs golf courses all over the world, with projects in the Far East, Africa and Europe. His latest venture is the spectacular Navarino Dunes golf course in the southwestern Peloponnese region of Greece. It opened in early summer and Langer reportedly made numerous visits to Greece during its construction.

Those visits paid off in a stunning course. They may have also helped the globetrotting golfer better prepare himself for his back-to-back wins.

Stretch your knitting - Episode 112 - The Knitmore Girls

Listen here:


This week's episode has been sponsored by:

Abstract Fiber is counting down to our new website. We’re expecting to be live at the beginning of August. A bright, new look, a new logo, a newsletter, and monthly specials. These specials will be very limited, so keep an eye out at the beginning of each month for knotty skeins, limited production fibers and yarns, and whatever other goodies we can find. We’ll have some new products too. Stay tuned to AbstractFiber.com


Amy Singer of Knitty.com is coming to Purlescence the first week of November! Join our mailing list to get details on her visit, her Easy Non-Wool Socks class, and new products including a new release of our in-house hand-painted sock yarn: Purl Up & Dye.



STITCHES ETC is Monday and Tuesday August 23-24, 2010 immediately following STITCHES Midwest, join Alexis, Benjamin, Elise, Myra, Kimberly, or Rick for an in-depth workshop. This special 2-day experience gives you a unique chance to focus and develop your knitting or professional skills. Remember, STITCHES Midwest is August 20-22, 2010.

On the Needles: (00:35)

Gigi dug her Katarina cardigan out of the UFO bin. She is knitting it out of Tipperary Tweed. Jasmin is knitting a Garter Yoke Cardigan out of her Tour de Fleece "Blue Streak" yarn, and is using Celestial's project modifications (on her blog page). Gigi has finished her Frost Flowers shawl! Gigi has grafted the toes on her Tiger socks. Gigi has cast on a pair of Cozy Cables Socks, from Sock Club.

Contest: (15:24)

The Head to Toe design contest has been launched. Details can be found in the contest thread. The contest ends 8/31/2010. Prizes include:

• 1 Year Subscription to Knitter’s Magazine
• Think Outside the Sox
• A skein of Knitmore Sock yarn
• Little Box of Socks, with signed bookplate from Charlene Schurch.
• Toe Up! by Chrissy Gardener, with signed bookplate.

Events: (18:29)
- 9/6: Monterey Wool Auction (Here's the link to the Director's Cut episode about selecting fleeces.)
- 9/24-26: Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

Mother Knows Best: (22:46)

We talk about stretching your knitting time. Jasmin mentions cubicle yoga.

When Knitting Attacks: (28:24)

Gigi runs out of beads on her Aeolian. Jasmin is not her best at 11:30PM.

Review: (34:56)

This week we review The Knitgrrl Guide To Professional Knitwear Design by Shannon Okey. This book is a textbook on how to get started with a Knitwear Design business, and it's a great place to start.

Straw into Gold (50:36)

Jasmin is spinning the baby cormo fleece that she split with Meghan (and we briefly mention the faux pas).

Celebrate Your Ace With Filet Mignon for Four

As if an ace wasn't awesome enough all by itself.

Throughout the month of August, Omaha Steaks will add extra sizzle to the accomplishment with their “Hole in One” promotion.

The fifth-generation, family-owned company would like to reward all golfers who hit a hole-in-one this month, with a 4-pack of their awesome Omaha Steaks Filet Mignon.

Anyone in the US that achieves an ace (on a hole of at least 150-yards) is invited to submit their hole-in-one certificate to Omaha Steak via Facebook, email, or by mail to receive the steaks.

Additionally, Omaha Steaks will be giving away weekly prizes on Facebook and Twitter for their Hole in One Trivia Contest, which will run every Friday throughout the month of August. Also, if you check in on foursquare at a local golf course, tweet your check-in to @OmahaSteaks, and mention that you are golfing for Omaha Steaks, you will be entered into a weekly drawing for a chance to win other delicious Omaha Steaks prizes.

I definitely intend to hit my first ace this month and now I've got some additional inspiration. After all, I got hungry just looking at their website.