Fieldtrip!

Friday, we headed down towards UNM to visit their Museum of Anthropology. The campus is rather lovely, and reminds me more of Santa Cruz than standard New Mexico. Chalk graffiti all over the place telling people to vote, bicycles everywhere, and people of every description, a few with the obligatory guitar slung on their back or in their lap.
We wandered for a good while and finally found the Anthropology building, enjoying ourselves immensely. The museum itself had some very interesting pieces, focusing mainly on local digs and the history of the Southwest. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves, particularly the designs on the pottery and the interactive maps.
There was a downside though. Two men, neither of whom seemed to know the proper protocol for having a conversation in a museum. They were far too loud for the surroundings. Hubby and I were irritated at their lack of manners. Due to their volume level, their conversation was easy to follow, (apparently the entire population of the museum needed to hear what they were discussing), I began to find myself even more annoyed as to the content of their conversation. One was in lecture mode. This would have been fine, at proper volume and if he had had a solid base in what he was spouting. Instead, I found myself clenching my jaw, forcing myself to look at the displays and not turning around to correct his faulty information. The Teacher in me had a very difficult time, especially as the topics they were discussing were things I have studied at rather great depth for the last decade, but it is bad manners to comment on a conversation not yours, let alone turn around and lecture them. I kept my mouth shut, and tried to distract myself with examples of gut skin parkas from Alaska.
Once we were done with the museum, we wandered a bit more. We found the campus duck pond, which tickled the kids but made them lament our lack of bread to feed them. As there was at least one rather large duck with what looked to be a double chin, us not feeding the ducks would be no loss to the ducks. All in all a very worthwhile trip.

As a bonus for me, we stopped into a used/vintage clothing shop across from the University. Loved it! I do have to say, if you're in town and like that sort of thing, Pink Rhino 50/50 is a place to visit. The owner and staff are nice, the selection is good and the prices are reasonable, which is why I felt no guilt feeding my velvet and wool obsession.

Knitting has ceased being a black hole, consuming my time and not producing anything. The Bat Shawl is done and waiting to be blocked. A pair of slippers have been finished, but need a touch of felting to make them perfect. Progress is being made on the first of at least six sweaters I have to complete. My new cat's eye, rhinestone tipped glasses enabling me to read the patterns without giving me a headache. Must. Knit. More. Now.