Just a lovely day

Really that just sums up the day. Mostly very slow and easy here at Greg and Janet's. Today has been their "leftovers and film noir" party. Around 1:30 Janet and I started rearranging furniture, I took over the kitchen making the various leftovers look even more tasty.

People have been drifting in and out with lovely conversations, yummy food. So far we have watched "Pick Up on South Street" which is an interesting tale involving the Cold War as a back drop - Thelma Ritter is amazing as usual and "Double Indemnity," which I hadn't seen in years. Written by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler, it's easy to see who wrote the dialogue and who wrote the Fred's inner voice monologues.

We on an a talking jag now and still up for watching is "The Third Man" and "The Maltese Falcon". We shall see if we watch another tonight. I would certainly watch the Falcon again.

Lovely party, lovely day. Hope y'all are having a wonderful after the Festival of Stuffing Yourself Beyond Belief.

Back to Brooklyn

Just in time to miss the massive destruction of the upstairs bathroom in Croton, I headed to Brooklyn to visit with Greg before he leaves for Norway where he will be doing three 11-day cruises as the resident artist and photographer.

I told him I would make him a balaclava before his next trip to Antarctica (he had an artist in residence for a trip there in December/January 2007). In typical fashion I put off getting the yarn for a balaclava which even though he had picked out what he liked during an earlier visit to Brooklyn when I dragged him into Knit-A-Way, in part to check it out, and also to have him help me figure out what yarn he would like. While with BC I tried to get the yarn at the local yarn shop there but they didn't carry that particular yarn. Finally on Friday during my blue mood, I made myself leave the house to go to Flying Fingers because I knew they carried Berroco Cuzco and time was slipping away.

Today is Monday and I still have a ways to go but the yarn knits up like a dream, I can easily see it's appeal. Greg has seen it and is excited, likes the feel of it. Since he picked the pattern and the yarn it should be a nice for him. I may change the pattern slightly by making the hood part in stockinette rather than garter stitch. On Ravelry I have titled this project Norway Nights, since the yarn is black (one of his color choices, though I was hoping to find it in charcoal grey). On the Metro North train I knit until the first skein was just about gone, wound a skein and kept knitting until I got off the subway in Brooklyn.

After arriving Greg and I went for a long walk which included a stop to Sahadi's. If you are ever visiting this area of Brooklyn, you must go there. Seriously. In the end we walked about 3.5 miles, which also puts my on target for my weekly goal - I love having friends who support one's good habits as well as the bad ones! Dinner included chickpea salad, vegetable samosas and baklava, which were purchased during our walk. Along side of that was basmati rice as well as mustard greens with tempeh and some red wine. Just lovely, only now I'd like to sleep but the yarn beckons with a loud ticking clock.

Catching up a bit

Due to sloth and distraction I never wrote about my travels to Greg and Janet's home at the end of March. Shameful I know. Arriving on a Friday night I was happy to see a scene I had not experienced in a long time - Greg sketching a model for a painting. Janet was bopping around her studio and greeted me with a big hug, leading me to the kitchen to help myself to dinner leftovers.

Saturday we prepped for the Open Studio scheduled for that afternoon which mean that Greg and I walked up the farmer's market up at Grand Army Plaza. Talking about life while taking in vistas of Brooklyn that I had not seen for quite some time; sunlight was lighting up the limestone, sparkling the sidewalks and glinting off the sculptures of the arch. The market was bustling, filled with people, children and dogs.

After coming back to their home I took over the food prep, which was largely making the plates of prepared food look pretty and chopping vegetables. It also offed me an escape during the open studio -something to do when I felt restless, too quiet for chatter, or like my heart was suffering from the sporadic pangs which manifested as a body ache that wanted me to propel into their bedroom in a fetal position with the cat.


Slowly those moments of awkward emotions lifted, or perhaps I was able stow them away in order to be present in the moment. Wonderful flows in and out conversations, slowly the open studio time faded to a more intimate setting to celebrate Greg's birthday and gave us time to talk in slower manner. It was a lovely a day in the end when I reviewed it all before bed.

Monday I finally roused myself to do something on my own, thinking I would go to the yarn store a mere three blocks from their home. As I turned left out of the door I realized that for some odd reasons most yarn stores in the United States are closed on Mondays. It was possible that this being within the confines of New York City would have better sense than that but I was doubtful. As it turned out it was shuttered by the typical irons gates that pull down over many storefronts here. Being out was a good thing so I simply decided to walk and stroll through the neighborhood that on and off many years ago had been my home turf. It was amazing to see so many storefronts the same in the past 10 or even 20 something years and not surprising at all to see so many things that had sprouted new life. One of the few stores I went into has been there since at least the mid-80's; an odd, narrow crowded store with mostly shoes but also a rack of fairly eclectic clothing, some of which seemed like it had been there since my first visit over 20 years ago. I walked up Seventh Avenue until I hit 3rd Street where I turned west towards the corner of 3rd and Fifth Avenue, where I lived in the early eighties. The corner of my former block is now chic and the block has been rehabbed for a long time. A far cry from when I lived there where half the buildings were abandoned, including half the units in my abode. It is the first since I left New York in 1990 that I thought, "I could live here". My large nostalgic circling took over an hour and I felt enlivened, happy, and even a bit peaceful.


(A wall of Janet's studio)
It was a lovely visit and as I write this I am back that their place visiting yet again. This is my other home base for the moment which allows me quiet, companionship, and waves of creativity as their art hangs on the walls, colors hits various types of canvases with oil paints, water colors, and food-based dyes.




(A piece of Greg's work on his studio wall)

Wow it's been a long time!

So many days I thought of things to write, hoped to write but was busy, exhausted or otherwise unable to write. Sad, I know. No real excuse.

To catch things up I offer you tidbits.

I totally put off writing about Passover! Shame on me. We were invited to a neighbor's sedar - so cool. It was my first one since I left the east coast, far too long. The best brisket I have had in 20 years. Okay, granted I hardly eat the stuff but let me assure you it was supreme. It was fun, easy going. I wanted to write a whole piece about the difficulty I have going somewhere besides my family for this holiday but the time is long gone now. Oh well. Thanks Loni for a lovely evening.

My best friend Greg and his amazing wife Janet are leading an artist's tour in Morocco come fall. If only I drew and had the money I would SOOOOO go. I have an unreasonable draw to that country. These two have traveled extensively and are some of the most enthusiastic, positive, and creative people I know. They have the ability to find joy in the most mundane of locations or events in a way that lifts your spirits. If you are in New York, Greg is having a small show of some of his work at Tabla Rasa Gallery - go!

Yesterday was my last day at cubicle hell. My co-temp worker made it so much better as we had the best conversations. However unless we win the lottery I will probably head back there after I return from my California job. Speaking of that job, the learning curve with their new database, modeled after DNE's database which only launched last summer, has been steep. It's good beta testing for online registrations for DNE as that event is much bigger than NCDC's. Between cubicle hell, NCDC and very early DNE business life has been full.

I have lots of new yarns (well lots by my meager standards) and some updates on projects to show you but that requires taking photos and well between rainy days, being tired, and no batteries, that simply hasn't happened. But I have been knitting, never fear. In fact I began a local "Craft Night" at Night and Day Cafe. I posted information on Ravelry - you may have heard me mention that community once or ten times, as well on a neighborhood list. It has been a lovely blend of two communities that I love a lot. So if you craft anything vaguely portable, come on down - Sundays starting at 7:30pm.

Spring has been absolutely gorgeous and I took some photos about two or three weeks ago, but well they are still sitting on the camera so Have no idea if they are post worthy.

TGF has been struggling with her job. A lot. She is moving towards looking for something better and soon. Send good job juju her way, 'kay?

Oh a bit ago I wrote about beginning my doula business again and I met with my first potential client Thursday evening. Just getting that far is a bit thrilling you know?

I am still reading way more than I have in years (except for school reading, which well we won't discuss graduate school right now, alrighty?). Haven't touched The Woman's Book of Creativity for awhile (perhaps that's part of my blogging problem).
Spinning Straw into Gold has redeemed itself a bit, particularly the section on The Seal Wife. Perhaps this section has appealed to me because it's about, in part, life after child bearing and reclaiming identities that were put on hold during those years.
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Knitting Rules was quite good, as in enough to buy some day. Last week I borrowed Talk to the Hand - I am laughing out loud! I loved her first book, Eats, Shoots and Leaves. I am totally enjoying Lynne Truss's writing style, her values, and damn she is just so funny! Last week I began The Omnivore's Dilemma - wow is about all I can say at the moment. I am blown away by the takeover of corn.

I will make a commitment to try to be better at staying contact, I promise you my loyal three readers! There is still so much more to report.

Oh! I have to tell everyone this bit of news. My bbff (best blogging friend forever!), Jbeeky received the news that she can go receive her baby from Taiwan this summer! They should be home in August. So I have another child sweater in the planning stages. I swear I started crying when I read the post on the red eggs. Made TGF look at the photos Jbeeky's new daughter and she said "OMG I'm in love!". I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO want to meet them at the airport when they land back in California. Seriously folks. I know I've never met her, never even spoken to her on the phone, but I feel like I need to there.

Okay, now I am really going. Need to do laundry, walk the dog, and get ready for SEX at a closing LYS.

An attempt to catch my lovelies up - Part 2

Again I had thought it would be simple plan to catch the Metro North from the station by my parents house. Once again, I was mistaken. Lindsay, Sunny's husband, wanted to swing down to White Plains to check out the location of an upcoming test for LEED to be followed by a visit to the Cheesecake Factory. During my last visit I was there to witness his initiation in the cult of Cheesecake - it was glorious. Lindsay adores dessert, lives for new combinations. This place is his idea of heaven. Sunny loves their hamburgers sans bun (she is on a no gluten diet).

He and I plotted out the time and trains schedules down to the minute and blew it anyway so I wound up taking the local rather than the express train into Grand Central. Oh well the best plans and all that. I worked on my socks that I had cast on the other night as we chugged down into the city. It was odd but kind of fun to walk subway paths I had done thousands of times before. The passage way between the 7 train and the D (the Bryant Park stop which now is a recognized name thanks in part to Project Runway) has been redone with beautiful tile work showing layers of the earth, hills and water. Simply beautiful.


It was hard to contain my excitement as the train made it's way underground to the Pacific St-Atlantic Avenue Station. The weather was much warmer the entire trip than I had expected so I took off my jacket as I walked. Practically giddy with my plan to surprise Greg, I still managed to take note of what had changed in this neighborhood that I have been in and out for 30 years. Getting to his building and knowing their buzzer system had a camera, I keep my sunglasses on and made sure my hair was down and in my face. He asked "who's there". My reply? "A surprise".
To say he was surprised is just a bit of an understatement. He actually was speechless a number of times, just fell quiet. This is quite thing to accomplish with Mr. Frux. I was quite proud of myself.

The party was great fun and many people, myself included, were in costume. The theme was famous scientists, explorers, and adventurers - real or fictional. We had Mary Leakey, Stephen Jay Gould, Ada Lovelace, Marco Polo, Sinbad, Dame Freya Stark, and Fanny Hackabout-Jones, among others. Before the party Greg and I went to find adventure movies to play in the background to add to the collection. We got Sinbad (great fun) as well as Bill and Ted's Bogus Adventure (not so much fun). We stayed up quite late but it was wonderful to see many folks I hadn't seen in a long time.

The next day we went for a long walk in the neighborhood and I reminisced. A lot. Walking by 3rd Street I glanced down the block where I used to look. Many moons ago it had been gentrified but it still blows me away how much it's changed. My building, an old brownstone had 5 units, two of which were abandoned and filled with trash, the building next to me was vacant, like a lot of the houses on the block. I used to answer the phone in that apartment, "Slummy Side of the Slope! How can I help you". The park across the street was run down and drug store. The building on 9th street that once housed the restaurant Our Daily Bread is long gone, the dance group that I did a performance piece way back when no longer uses the amazing loft space above it. Solar Yoga has either moved or shut down, a place of solace and challenge for me, and for Sunny.

After this long excursion we all come back to their house and napped. A leisurely dinner followed. The next morning Greg and I walked towards the train station and part ways. I stole (with permission a book off their book shelf) and read as the train chugged me back in reverse towards Westchester county.

An attempt to catch my lovelies up - Part 1

So I was keeping a secret on the blog so that I could keep a secret from a reader, my dear friend Greg. He was having a party to celebrate a major milestone birthday. This meant a trip to New York. Sunny and I colluded in order that I could visit with her as well. A plan was hatched, plane reservations made and I needed to hold my tongue whenever my Greg and I spoke. Next I needed to find a way to the airport in Columbus and once again my neighborhood rocks! I sent out an email asking if anyone happened to be traveling to or from Columbus on the days I was traveling. Maureen, who was our first "face" of South Park, happened to be switching her work days around which meant she was leaving at the perfect, albeit ungodly (6:15am!), hour for my flight.

Let me tell it was an absolute treat to get to speak with her at length. Our conversation rambled all about and we learned we had some studies in common (African-American women poets), though hers was far more extensive whereas I merely dabbled. The hour and a half ride quickly passed while we chatted. I simply must set up more time with her soon!

Skybus had no lines, it was easy breezy to check in and the security line was, well, non-existent. What a delight to have such a short flight and to see Sunny's smiling face just on the other side of the gate. Originally I had thought we would have Thursday and Friday to loll about before I headed to Brooklyn on Saturday with only a trip to see my friend Denise who works at a local yarn shop.

But oh no Sunny had plans, lots and lots of plans. Oh my. We drove from the airport to the house for a very quick drop off of bags and such. Seriously that's all we had time to do before we were off to meet their friend Amy at the ever delicious Wobble Cafe. After a nice, if slowly delivered lunch, my folks dropped me off at Denise's store which was a tumble of activity. She swore it had been totally quiet for weeks, until just before I walked in. No matter, I fondled yarn, helped customers match yarn and review stitches in between which we gabbed in shorthand.

From there I hopped on the Metro North to find Sunny lying in wait. We traveled down to meet up with her friend Yanna for whom she brought two shopping bags of books that I hauled from the station to her house. We grabbed a quick dinner at a lovely, tiny hole in the wall Spanish restaurant around the corner from her home. Then we grabbed a cab to land in the lower east side to hit the Yippie Cafe & Museum. I cannot remember the last time I was on the Bowery but it has to be at least 15 years, potentially more. Let me time it has changed. It was quite sad for me to learn that CBGBs is no more, having spent many hours there when my friends' played. It is quite likely I saw lots of about to be famous bands that I no longer remember because it was so loud, the acoustics so miserable and I really only went when the Turncoats were playing I hardly noticed anything else.

It was a bit surreal at the "museum" and just about everyone there was there because they were performing for some event title "Water Not Weapons". The Raging Grannies (Manhattan branch) were performing, hence our need to go since Sunny is full out committed (she designed the website linked above). I found a quiet spot on a lumpy couch and decided to see if I could remember how to do a two circular cast on for my socks. Shortly after the Grannies performed we slid out of there to the Bleeker Street subway station. Again, I cannot recall how long it's been since I was in that station but I have fond memories and it made me happy to the insignia on the wall in it's beautiful blue design.

By the time we arrived back at the house it was after 11pm and it had been a very long day. I was grateful that there was nothing scheduled for Friday because I don't think I could have done a damn thing more!

Friday the only adventure was a lovely dinner with their neighbor Barbara and her delightful daughter Emma who is coming out of her shell. I had never heard Emma talk to much! She even remembered my name, laughed at jokes and made her own joke. It was great, as always, to see Barbara. I feel so blessed to know that my mother has such a good friend literally across the road.

More later my dears!

Apparently I am Mohair

I received my Knitter's Review in my inbox this morning and Clara's publishers created a little quiz to help tell what kind of fiber the readers are. Well I haven't published (or even taken) a quiz in forever so I decided this would be a fun one.


Mohair – A smooth, polished surface
“Mohair is warmer than wool, with larger, flatter scales that contribute to an overall silky-smooth appearance. The fiber absorbs dye readily and, thanks to that smooth surface, reflects it back brilliantly.” –The Knitter’s Book of Yarn

Mohairs are positive and confident. You always strive to make a good first impression because you are a proud person, and you care a good deal about what people think of you. You are careful with your words and are always tactful. You enjoy having a broad base of support and respect from those whom you come in contact. You attract this with your warm, sunny, and inquisitive personality.

I was quite intrigued by the description of camel yarn
(“Camel has very little elasticity, and it doesn’t felt easily. The fiber also doesn’t bleach easily, so you’ll normally find it used in yarns whose color either masks or enhances the natural tan shade of the camel fiber.” ) since my dear friend Greg is hoping to lead an artist adventure in Morocco in April and well there are camels there. Here is a link to the rough draft of the information - if you are interested contact me so I can get a cut of his fee. Kidding! Clearly I need to win the lottery or something because I so SO desperately want to go to Morocco and this place has bunch of excellent sounding tours.

So maybe I need to knit with more mohair. We will see. I don't have much in the queue for mohair. Finishing my self designed fingerless mitt for TGF, finishing her sweater, starting a secret project, starting socks for me(!), designing a scarf pattern, a project for Lindsay, a project for Sunny. Nope, no mohair in that list. The rest of the queue (including something for Mr. Greg Frux and Janet Morgan, his lovely wife, a sweater for our "god son", something for T'Mane), still no mohair that I can think of. Of well, maybe it's an excuse to buy some more yarn.

Leaving home for nearby vistas

Saturday was a positively gorgeous day here, warm and sunny, gentle breezes blowing. Spirit, our friend from the northeast (yes that's his given name), had come back that morning from Harbin Springs. We tried to tempt him our way but he went off to San Francisco. It was pretty late by the time we got in gear and as we live in an area where there is so much to do, so many places to go it can become paralyzing to make a decision. Like a scenic tarot we consulted the deck of Bay Area Backroads cards to find an adventure that wasn't too far away.

Off to Mount Diablo State Park we went. A few times, as we drove towards the visitor center, we pulled off into the turn outs to let cars pass, though I cannot see any reason for rushing up or down these roads. First the road is very narrow and the total absence of guardrails demands a respect of the road and speed limits. Second, and the point of the travel, the vistas are beautiful. We parked in the lower parking lot and took the tiny trail up to the very top, both of use noting how out of shape we felt. I continue to marvel at the flora that is beyond my identification skills out here. There was a small layer of haze on the horizon making it hard to make out any of the bay area bridges (there are about seven in the area). I will only bore you with a few photos:


No idea what this cutaway is, why it's there. Anyone?


The observation tower is really cool, love the stone construction. Plus the gift store sells ice cream pops and ice cream sandwiches, which given the easily over 80 degree temperatures was a nice unexpected bonus.

The drive back down was so much faster, it surprised us. We decided to drive into Walnut Creek, where we happened on a sidewalk art show. This happened to me once before, I must have some odd psychic connection to this thing. I guess I'm a bit of a snob or something but none of the paintings did a thing for me. There were two photographers who's work we both really like but unfortunately I only remember the name of one of the artists - Keith Liang. Very evocative stuff. The painters however all paled in comparison to Greg and Janet's work. Okay, true they are my dear, dear friends but objectively (well as objective as one can be about art) they are amazing artists, as well as human beings anyone would be honoured to know.

It was really lovely to get out of the house and it not be about walking Wyatt. Adventures have been far and few between in part because, well have seen the gas prices around here? OMG! Seriously it's crazy. I realize here in the US we have some of the cheapest gas and many argue that it should be higher to deter driving for environmental reasons and such. I really agree except there are not enough infrastructures in many places, including here, for adequate public transportation to accommodate the shift from independent drivers to mass transit. Wait, was I talking about oil? No, I remember, leaving the house more often. It was really a good thing for us, the couple, to do something different, not ordinary and everyday. We are going to try to do some more things like this. Hopefully between the joint efforts of human residents of Casa de Cedar, there will soon be more cash with which to fund more trips.