Holiday Season

Well I'm back from New York and if I didn't admit that I was a little melancholy, I'd be a liar. I love everything about New York, even the homeless guy having some sort of seizure on the floor of Port Authority didn't phase my enthusiasm. Spending a week as a tourist in your own hometown is a unique experience and I recommend it wholeheartedly. I toured the entire city from the West Village all the way to the park. I saw friends, family, visited every old haunt of my youth and had 7-layer cake at Magnolia Bakery and high tea complete with scones and clotted cream!

And it was cold, really cold, good cold, great cold! I could have stayed outside the entire trip but Bergdorf Goodman's called me (the most amazing department store on the face of the earth -- Harrods, Smarrods) and I saw Equus starring Mr. Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe. The show itself has its flaws but his performance was impressive.

There's something about New York. It's a quality that you can't escape. Even in the peril of bankruptcy, the stores pulled out all the stops. Saks, in addition to its beautiful windows (as always) had some amazing musical, snowflake performance affixed to the facade of the building that was really cool. Take a look.



I even found a few new hot spots. Bryant Park, just behind the public library has an adorable skating ring and shops plus this really cool restaurant/bar that's completely made of glass. Combined with this old standard on Sixth Avenue and this trip was sublime.


Granted, I ran out of time and had to cut the planned yarn crawl but that's just another reason to visit again ... soon!

Allow me to introduce you to my new Lover

We're going to be very busy for a while...kanoodling and such! Ain't he sexy and he's not even charged up yet.


Some Christmas knitting is definitely becoming New Year's Yarn Gifts. Can I sell that? Please tell me I can sell that?

Happy Birthday T!

Christmas Good Will...

Do something meaningful for Christmas and it'll only set you back 42¢! It's simple, when you're sending out your Christmas cards, consider sending one or a few to a recovering solider(s) as follows:

A Recovering American Solider
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20307

And if it must be said, this is not a political post about the war. It's about the human condition and isn't Christmas supposed to be about giving, good will toward man, etc, etc. And if this was a political post, there'd be a YouTube link to that reporter hurling his shoes at President Bush somewhere in this vicinity, but I digress!

Instead, it's a simple gesture, an act of kindness. Who knows, you might even feel better!

Thanks and Happy Holidays!

So Happy!

So there I was with my screwed up scarf - again! What's a boy to do? Go on Ravelry and waste time of course. There I discovered that a new yarn store had just opened on the other side of town.

The following day, I excused myself at lunch to run 'an errand'. I followed the directions precisely and ended up in an industrial park. Huh? There I could have my car painted or undented but I wasn't feeling the yarn-call anywhere in the vicinity.

Then, just as I was about to perfect another monologue about Florida and my general disgust, I saw a small window and the word yarn. Garbriella's Yarn to be precise.

I walked in and instantly knew I liked it. It's the tiniest store in the weirdest location but Gabriella was as nice as can be. And surprise, she can knit! She fixed my scarf, I bought yarn for felted clogs, everyone was happy. The store is really small but the yarn selection is smart. She's got a lot planned -- classes, seminars, knit-nights and the best part was she didn't look at me with that "why is this man in my store? Do you think he's going to rob us" look! I hate that and unfortunately I get that a lot here.

So I'm happy and best of all, fearless! Look out, we're in high gear and higher spirits! WooHoo!

Oh, and everyone (I feel I can say everyone now that THREE people are following the blog) welcome Krystal. She hails from Tennessee and is Riohnna's friend (I think). This woman can crochet with the best of them but is comparatively new to knitting. She totally relates to my frustration in not being able to fix things when they've gone loopy so we're gonna get along just fine. Welcome Krystal!

So Frustrated!

Ugh, it's so frustrating to be knitting along and really seeing the pattern design come to life and you discover you made a simple mistake. Survey says, frog it, rip it back, no problem. Well it is a problem when you can't read your knitting. I know this is an important skill but I was spoiled by my LYS owner in Los Angeles who could take one look at anything and fix it in a heartbeat. In an attempt to learn, I started to tink, didn't work, lost a stitch on a k2tog and that my friends was the beginning of the end. 3 hours of knitting and all that ribbing down the drain because even when I got to the ribbing I couldn't manage to get that damn needle in every stitch. It makes me want to knit simple things because the support I apparently need, is simply not available here! Rant over!

No photo taken before the incident, sorry. It was so pretty too.

Yes, I've already cast on and on a very positive note, I'm being followed by two fellow bloggers/rav-ers. Andrea has joined us and she's an amazing resource to me in my quest to own a CSM (Circular Sock Machine). I can't tell you how much information she's sent my way and I'm thrilled to have her join us! Angela and Andrea, is there an Andrew out there? She knows a lot about guns so don't piss her off, ya'hear?