Too early for Christmas decor

I worked over at the Crofton branch on Friday, where I got to meet fellow knitters Kathy and Catherine (Hi Kathy, who reads my blog!). I don't get over to that branch very often, basically just for emergencies when nobody from their area pool of subs is available... but knowing that there are knitters there, I definitely hope I get to work there more.
(Plus, interesting things seem to happen over there. The first time I worked at that branch, there was a fire drill. This time, the police were searching for someone on the run in the area, complete with helicopter surveillance. Seriously.)

Today, I went over to AC Moore to take advantage of their 20% off all yarn sale. They're such wonderful enablers. I got some TLC Cotton Plus for the stash, and some "Vanilla" TLC Amore that I'm going to use for a blanket for my grandmother for Christmas. I wanted something that would be machine washable for her and not too heavy, and Amore's a pretty nice, fairly light acrylic. I also got some beads to use on my Simple Knitted Bodice, along with some beading needles with huge eyes so that I can actually get the beads on to the yarn. (Pictures on the way tomorrow.)

I also decided to finally go check out David's Natural Market in Gambrills. I've driven by it a bunch of times, but I've never gone in. I ended up just wandering around, humming along with the in-store radio playing Vaughan Williams' 5th Symphony (and it isn't exactly a hummable piece, so I was probably getting some odd looks). Since I still owe my SP a final package, I picked up a couple of things to send to her. It's a neat place, and I have to go back... it's closer to me than Trader Joe's, and it's bigger and has more stuff. Like every kind of flour know to man, which is exciting when you're into bread baking. Plus, they have Dirty Chips! A few years ago, I was on a roadtrip, and picked up a snack bag at some little independent convenience store... and I haven't been able to find them since.

I got home, and I had to go spend some time outside because it was absolutely gorgeous out. I went over to the BWI Trail, which is a paved biking/walking path that goes around BWI Airport. I have to say, it's a bit surreal to be walking along surrounded by trees and suddenly have a plane pass overhead only a couple hundred feet up (the one parking area is, quite literally, across the street from one of the landing strips). I don't know who came up with the idea to put a trail around BWI, but it was a stroke of genius. I walked about 2.5 miles, and snapped a picture of this nifty plant:

Yes, it really was that pink. The full path around the airport is about 12.5 miles, so I'll have to take a few hours one Saturday or Sunday and walk around the whole thing.

As I was on my way back home, I decided that I wanted to get a pedometer, so I went to Target. And I made the mistake of venturing into the Halloween section.

You can see the pedometer sitting there in the front, dwarfed by Halloween purchases. I got a couple of bags of candy, a 4-pack of Jones Soda "Monster Mojito", and a LIGHT-UP sparkly skull. For $3, I couldn't NOT get it. When illuminated, it's simply resplendent.

And yes, Target has Christmas stuff available now.