I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something. (Jackie Mason)

I think I have found the perfect day out. Yesterday my daughter, mom and I went to downtown Fort Pierce. Our first stop was the Farmer's Market, on the Indian River Lagoon. I was surprised to see how many booths there were, since the last time I was there was several years ago when it was first getting started. The market has really grown, and includes an arts & crafts market sponsored by the Fort Pierce Jazz Society.

We had blast wandering through the market. Mom found some beautiful bird feeders that she wants for her yard, made from old tree stubs. I wish I had gotten a picture of them. There were some really neat lawn chairs that we liked, carved like alligators and butterflies. (Typing that, it sounds weird. I should have taken a picture of them.) And of course there was a lot of hand-crafted jewelry, and some wonderful hand-sewn skirts and bags and aprons. (The aprons were actually picked out for purchase, before my daughter reminded us that we didn't actually ever wear aprons.)

And of course there was food. Cakes, and cobblers, and scones and brownies... so many delicious treats. The breads were the real temptation, though. One booth had coconut bread, which I managed to resist. I did give in before the day was out, and came home with a loaf of blue cheese walnut bread and a loaf of chocolate bread. (I'm not sharing, either.) We also treated ourselves to lunch, which was eaten riverside.

The Farmers Market would have been enough to make the trip worthwhile. But the real reason for driving to Ft Pierce was to check out a recently opened yarn store. (Come on, you know me. You should have expected this.)

Yarn It is located on 2nd street, so it's an easy walk from the Farmers Market. Next store is a bead shop, which I know will appeal to some of my fiber friends. (I resisted the temptation to peek inside, because I really didn't want to be tempted to spend any of my fiber money on beads.)

Yarn It has only been opened a week, and Celeste is still working on getting stock. But what she does have in is a good range of types and price. Celeste is very easy to talk with, and I'm looking forward to visiting with her frequently.

One of the things that mom and I both liked was the sit-down-and-visit attitude. As I fondled fiber throughout my visit, I moaned that I wished I had my wheel so I could play. Celeste offered me use of one of her wheels (there were several in the store), and even offered to let mom and my daughter try their hands at spinning. She has plenty of room for people to sit and knit, or weave, or sew, or just enjoy the day socializing amongst the fiber.

Did I mention that Yarn It carries knitting, spinning, weaving, and sewing supplies? Naturally, my big draw was the fiber. I usually buy my fiber for spinning on the internet. In Florida there are only a handful of stores that carry fiber for spinning, the nearest ones being north of Tampa and in Gainesville. To have a fiber source within easy driving distance... it's wonderful.

It's even more wonderful to be presented with a basket of alpaca and told to feel free to fondle.

Oh, boy did I fondle! The alpaca is (mostly) local, and Celeste preps and cards it herself. It's natural, not dyed, and absolutely beautiful. I settled on buying four ounces of a light fawn shade (almost an apricot) because I picked it up and couldn't manage to set it back down. I also bought four ounces of a slightly darker fawn shade. There was some gray that my daughter liked, so I have an excuse to go back soon.

Plus I have dibs on this loom.