Among the gifts I got for Christmas was a basket filled with packages of gourmet dried beans. So far I've cooked the Cuban black beans and the flagelottes. Today I'm cooking falcon beans. I've never heard of these beans before. They're really tiny, like minature beans. I have no idea what they're used for, probably they're supposed to be in soup or something like that. They should be ready in time for me to try them before I go to Skein for the afternoon.

We were fairly busy yesterday. Carole brought me a big stack of old knitting magazines and pubs. I've only glanced through most of them. Can't believe how skinny the models were back in the '60s. Or how they could hold up those humongous hairdos. And everything was so close fitting. Even the men's patterns are tight. Some of the books are more recent, like late '80s. How can things get dated so soon? I'll have to check back in about 10 years to see how today's stuff is holding up.

Anyway, as I was saying, we were pretty busy at Skein. Just a steady stream instead of the mad crush we sometimes get. Several people came in to show off their finished projects or to get a little help with finishing them. The knitting teacher from one of the nearby yarn shops came in to see if we had a particular yarn that she needed for her class. We don't carry that brand. I think she was a little overwhelmed with what we do carry. It's all pretty upscale. And a new customer, a handbag designer, gave me some information on where to buy finishing supplies, like handles and fastenings. That will be helpful. Ann Mary wants to make some knitted handbags as samples for the shop.

I cast on and worked about 18 rows of the front of my merino sweater. Will work on that some more today. Wonder if we'll see many people who are avoiding the Super Bowl.