One Thousand

With my head perched on the sill of my bedroom window, I hear birds in neighboring trees through my wire-grid screen.  When I focus closely, every part of the world fits into neat little boxes.  Everything lines up with the coarse wire lines keeping the bugs out.  But when I fix my eyes far away, the lines become blurred; faint outlines of the little pixels that make up the picture of the larger world.

Lightning strikes. I count the seconds until I hear the thunder. One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand.  I count to eleven. The storm is not far off.  This weather is oppressive and, even without my chest cold, I find breathing wearisome.  Won't the storm come? Won't the clouds release their torrents and rid me of this weight on my chest, this weight on my mind.

One one thousand, two one thousand. Three. Four...  Seven.  It is getting closer.

Today is six months.  Six months ago today a little girl was born and named after my husband and me.

...

[there's more snow on the way this weekend!]

Change

This time of year in Boston is a lovely transition from summer to fall.  It gets warm enough during the day that I don't need a heavy coat and it's enough to have just a light sweater.  But at night it gets chilly--so that I want to snuggle up under a blanket with a hot cup of tea and read a good book while the seasonal winds blow outside.

Fall is coming; and with fall comes all the wonderful goodness of harvest, grand feasts, family holidays, parties, hearty soups, stews, and roasts--warming the house with Love in a Pot from the kitchen.

It is a lovely time of year.

See, the radiators in our building aren't turned on this early. So this is the time of year where we really feel the chill in the air at night.  Granted, we thoroughly enjoy the chill, and the last few nights we've slept with our windows wide open--and an extra down comforter on our bed.  I suppose it makes it that much harder to get out of bed in the morning, when the cold air is fresh in the lungs but the rest of my body is so warm and pleasant.   So, when the radiators do come on, I definitely appreciate them :) but for now, I'm going to make some tea, and wrap a blanket around me while I process photos from my trip to Texas.

Happy Fall to you :)

Weekend

What are you doing this weekend?

Me? I'm going to CA to spend some time with my Daddy at the religious education congress in Anaheim.  The congress should be pretty cool... but even if it's not, I should get plenty of vitamin D :)

Hope you enjoy yourselves, too :)

My Story

About a week and a half before Momma died, I went to the CCD congress in Anaheim, CA with her and Daddy, and we met up with Viv for dinner and a few classes.  It was a great weekend. Momma was so weak by then, and jaundiced from liver failure, that she was in a wheelchair.  My job, in coming to congress, was to push her around for the weekend.

She was a trooper. She was cheerful and loving and really seemed to be enjoying herself, despite her exhaustion.  I wheeled her around to each of her classes, and she listened attentively and we discussed them together. I pushed her through the "den of booths" where she bought several gifts for people, including a congress t-shirt for Daddy (he gets one every year) and a long-sleeve shirt for me (it's one of my favorites now, actually).

I brought along The Fellowship of the Ring so that I could start reading it aloud to her and Daddy.  I thought they would enjoy it and it was such an important story to me that I really wanted to share it with them.  I intended to record the rest of the story for them and email them the files so at least Momma could listen to them while she was resting at home (she had stopped teaching in January due to a bad case of pneumonia).  Together that weekend, we made it through the Old Forest and right up to the threshold of Tom Bombadil's house "and a golden light was all about them."  Fitting.

I remember massaging her feet and calves, because they would go to sleep in the wheelchair. They were always cold, too, so she wore down-filled "tent booties" all the time.  I wanted to touch her as much as possible--y'know how great it feels when someone rubs your shoulders or your hands? all those endorphins? I wanted to send those little feel-good healers all through her body.  But I knew it wouldn't work.  She had told me a few months before that she didn't get those "shivers" of endorphins anymore. Maybe her nervous system had been affected too greatly by the cancer, but she said she just didn't get those feel-good ripples anymore.  That was perhaps the saddest thing for me that weekend.  We are such physical beings that it hurt me, physically (made me want to cry) to know that my touch didn't "work" on her body anymore.  I knew that she was thankful and appreciative that I was rubbing her and hugging her, that emotionally it was supportive, but it was hard to accept that the lack of connection between the physical and spiritual was the beginning of the end...

I remember so much from that weekend, the food we ate, the restaurants we visited, people we met. I remember how the wheelchair would vibrate if I pushed it too quickly along the sidewalks.  I remember sitting in the sunshine with my sister and parents, eating a brought-from-home lunch together.  My skin was hot in the sunlight. I took a picture of a little girl pushing her dolly in a play-stroller.  I asked Momma and Daddy to pose for a picture. The last one I have of them together. You have seen it before--I use it often. I am always struck by how Momma's jaundice was lessened in the sunlight, and how Daddy looks a little more pink than "normal" next to Momma.

Sunday that weekend we packed up our things at the hotel and loaded it all up in the car.  We were in my grandmother's Blue Van. She had been in a wheelchair for the last several years of her life and she picked that  van because it had a big space in the back for the chair, without having to collapse it.  Strange that Momma, who inherited the van, now found its original functionality so useful.

We stayed at Vivian's apartment that night.  She was on the second floor of a building with no elevator, so Momma had to climb the stairs.  Daddy asked her "how are you going to get up to Viv's apartment?" and she said, frankly, "I'm going to go up once and come down once and that's all."  It was hard for her--it took all three of us supporting her as she labored up each step, clutching the railing of the stairs. I think I slept on the couch that night and Viv slept in her roommate's bed.

In the morning, Momma and Daddy had to pick up Uncle Greg (Momma's brother) at the airport.  Momma climbed down the stairs again, two of us in front of her to lean on and one behind her for support, and walked the 15 or so feet to the van.  She was so weak, so tired. I hugged her goodbye, without bursting into tears, and Viv and I helped her up into the front seat of the van.  She blessed us and told us she loved us.  That was the last time I saw her alive.

I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Viv, visiting some of her "haunts" in the area :)  I flew back to Boston on the red-eye and had a busy busy week and weekend, with family visiting and house guests and work schedules and crochet class and an under-the-weather husband.

----

After Christmas, I had told Momma and Daddy I could take time off work to be in CA and help out (thank Heaven for employee benefits).  On Wednesday the week after I returned from Congress (after our last house guest had left), I got a call from Daddy in the afternoon.  In a very calm, but very sober voice, he asked me to come and stay for an indefinite period of time because Momma had taken a turn for the worse.  I could hear the emotion and tears catch in his throat as he continued, "She doesn't have much time."  I told him I'd come soon and Taylor and I booked tickets for Saturday, intending to finish the week at work and settle things with them about my leave. I went to my crochet class that evening, still thinking I had time...

Later in the evening, my sister Bethany called me, also choked up. She told me, "I don't know if Mom's gonna make it till Saturday. You've got to get here sooner."  Panic set in. But at that point in the evening, the next available flight to CA was early the next morning.  We had to wait.

So we packed our bags and I wrote a letter to my employers letting them know I was taking a month of family-related medical leave--I didn't care what they said. I'd sort it out later. I was going to CA.  We went to bed at 11, thinking we should at least be rested for the next day, since there was nothing else to do but pray.

Sometime around 1am my phone rang. It was my brother; he was crying.  It's always hard to bear when men cry, I don't know why that is. He said, "Mom died a little while ago." and he told me that he got to see her, just in time. She was conscious and lucid and recognized him when he came in the room.  Then Summer got on the phone and told me Daddy was still in the room with her, stroking her arm. She was crying, and she said she had to go take Giulia in to say goodbye to Grandmama.  They told me they loved me. I told them I loved them too and said something like "I'll see you tomorrow."

I hung up the phone and woke Taylor up. We cried together, hard and loud. Even then, in that moment, as we held each other in bed, I could feel Momma there with us.  I knew she was there. Right before my brother called, I was dreaming.  I dreamed about Momma's last moments. She was lying in bed with all her children around her and giving last bits of advice (or prophecy).

We sent emails to our closest friends and family, letting them know Momma had died, and we went back to bed.  A few hours later we woke to our alarms and piled our bags into the taxi, went to the airport, spent 6 dry (both in humidity and in tears) hours on the plane, picked up our rental car, got In-n-Out (well, Momma would have wanted us to, and we were hungry!), and drove the three hours up to Inyokern.

Hospice had removed Momma's body by the time we got there, in the afternoon.  We were the last to arrive. Daddy took Taylor and me and sat down between us on Momma's inherited (from her mother) antique couch and told us about the Valentine's day poems they had written each other, about her last moments.  We cried some more.

Madeleine Peyroux, one of my favorite vocalists, sings a song called Prayer.
This is what I imagine Momma's last thoughts were like...
Lord, I must be strong now
I don't belong now
In this world anymore

I'll say a final prayer for
Those I care for
Who've kept my company

My destiny is clear
I'm dying to have you near
To me

Lord
I don't belong now 
If you are waiting
I am not afraid to die

I'm prepared to go
Divide my body and soul
Won't you

Lord
I won't be long now
If you are waiting
I am not afraid to die

Have mercy, Lord
I'm told it's paradise
To have and to hold

Lord
I must be strong now
I don't belong now
In this world anymore

Lord
I won't be long now
If you are waiting
I am not afraid to die

We had arrived. We were there in the house without Momma, but she was still there.  We were face to face with her death, which we had been anticipating for months, but never expecting.  A year ago today, as I sat on that couch with Daddy between Taylor and me, quiet grief set in. The rush to make it home was gone. The busy-ness in Boston had been left behind. Hurry vanished. There was only "after" left. And all there is to do with after is let it linger a while, keeping company amidst the tears.  

Today, it seems to me, the after has departed, as gently as it came: like a mist in the trees that settles in the night and is burned away by the bright morning Sun.  There are still tears of course, dripping from the dew-laden boughs of memory.  Mist still lingers in damp depressions under trees. But the Sun is definitely shining. It's a brand new day.

Hey Saturday!!

Actually, it would be better to say "Hey Weekend!!" because it was an awesome weekend all around. Saturday morning we slept in and had a leisurely breakfast of tasty spelt pancakes, eggs (not for me), fruit, and bacon! After heming and hawing a bit about what to do that day, we decided to go see Alice in Wonderland.  We headed out into the remarkably fresh (and almost warm) afternoon toward the theater.  It was a glorious day, in so many ways!

And I will be honest with you, I really liked the movie.  Admittedly, I did not go in with high hopes for a life-changing cinematic experience, nor did I expect the soft fluffy cartoon version Disney did years ago.  I knew it would be a little spooky (what Tim Burton movie isn't, really?), and relatively dark.  But I also had hopes for a fun, enjoyable movie.  And that's what I got.  There were some parts that were a little silly, but the story is a little silly anyway.  I like the actors and the variation the writers came up with, and I would definitely see it again.  

In fact, we all liked it so much, we walked by a bookstore in search of Carroll's original stories.  Happily, we found them! both stories in one volume (annotated, actually.  The layout is such that one doesn't have to pay attention to the side notes, but they are there if one wants them).  When Viv and I have finished Lord of the Rings, she and T and I will read through all of Alice's adventures.  It should be enlightening :)

See, I haven't read the books before, and that could be one reason why I didn't find the movie offensive at all.  On that same theme, though, I love (love love) Tolkien's Lord of the Rings--could be my favorite story ever.  And I also really like the movies.  But they're not the same. I don't consider the three Lord of the Rings movies to be "just movie versions of the book."  That's ridiculous (and it would be a horrible mash-up of the written story, too).  Instead, I find it's easiest for me to appreciate the movies apart from the book.  The characters happen to have the same names, and the plots are somewhat similar, but really, they're different stories :)

After visiting with Alice, we walked home in the crisp clean afternoon air, and made some soup, ate it with bread, and generally had a quiet evening together (quite welcome after a long week).

Sunday was another easy day. Mass in the morning. Lunch at home with a few friends. Lazy, lounging afternoon.  The one "productive" thing we did (relaxing is productive, no matter what other people say!) was getting my inherited silk embroidered print to the framing shop.  It will be composed to go well with this one, which my Grammy gave me in middle school:

The second print is a bit more golden, and there's more brown in it.  Viv came to the shop with me (oh sweet, tolerant seester!) and was a good sounding board for all the (manymany) options the helpful framing-guy showed me.  I'm excited to see what they look like together when it's done.  Maybe I can finally get rid of the college-esque posters on our entry wall :S

After we left the shop, print delivered safely, Viv thought it was time for a treat :) we we crossed the street to Athan's and picked out a few sweets and chocolates.  I know it's Lent, but it was a Sunday, after all :)

Dear Elliott,

Come back! We miss you!

It was so much fun when you got here, coming home to a house full of my family :) (ok, maybe it was a tiny bit cramped with four people in a one-bedroom apartment?)  I know Viv had a lot of fun with you on Thursday "out on the town" (and into the wee hours of the morning)!

And what a beautiful day it was at Nahant (check out the pictures!), with you and T acting just like little boys again, scrambling all over the rocks and being as cute as two peas in a pod :)  Despite the clouds and wet and cold, and almost being washed away by a rogue wave, we had so much fun!

So hurry up and come back! We'll hold our breath :)

A Cat in a Hat

"The sun did not shine.
It was too wet to play.
So we sat in the house
All that cold, cold, wet day.

I sat there with Sally.
We sat there, we two.
And I said, "How I wish
We had something to do!"

Too wet to go out
And too cold to play ball.
So we sat in the house.
We did nothing at all.

So all we could do was to
Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!
And we did not like it.
Not one little bit."

I could use a cat in a hat today to make the time pass more quickly.  It's not that I'm bored when it rains.  In fact, I really like being inside on cold, cold, wet days.  But sometimes I just can't wait to be done with work and go home.  I have lots I can do there :)

I could work on another mitten for a friend...

I could start two more of these:

one with these fabrics:

one with these:

I could make a case for all my knitting needles.  I could even make a "mini" case, for the two or so sets I need for any given project.

tick tick tick... hurry up and wait :P

Come Saturday Morning

Although sleeping in until you wake up is a beautiful thing, it's also sometimes nice to wake up (just a little) early and brave the cold (and it was CUH-hold) to have breakfast at your favorite sunshiney cafe, and chat about exciting things with your own favorite husband.

Who could ask for anything more? 

Cold Today

It's.... COLD in Boston today.  I'm not complaining (having been raised in a desert, it's strangely exciting to live in a place where it regularly gets below 0.. don't ask me why), but it is pretty cold today.  I know Boston doesn't rival temperatures in ND, but it's cold enough to want to wear several layers and gloves and earmuffs and a big coat and warm socks and big clunky shoes and a thick scarf.. or to just stay inside :)

So today, even though I had to venture out into the cold (in my coat, which has kept me nice and warm. Only my face was cold walking to the office this morning), I was able to spend some time browsing around Smitten Kitchen, a food blog my friend shared with me last night (after an oh-so-tasty dinner at her house!). I have found a perfect cold-outside-cozy-inside activity for three grown-ups sharing one-bedroom apartment:

Making Popcorn!

I love popcorn to begin with (ask anyone who's ever watched a movie with me). Sometimes, I'll even settle for the popcorn at the movies, even though it's not nearly as tasty as home-made stuff, just because I want that salty crunch as I watch the screen flicker with the movie of choice.

Now, you may think "popcorn isn't very cozy on a freezing afternoon."  But this popcorn, I assure you, will be :)

I'll let you know how it goes!

We Took A Walk

While T and I were in Seattle for New Years, the whole family (remarkable, isn't it? The WHOLE family was home) went for a walk in the park near a lake. It was drizzly, a little windy, and rather chilly--a perfect Seattle winter day :)

Lydia and the three younger boys brought their scooters. Caellainne brought her pink umbrella.  As you can see from the pictures, we had a lot of fun!

A Walk in the Park

Tut-Tut, It Looks Like Rain

Yep.. lots and lots of rain. It was barely misting when I walked across campus to work today.  But I wore my heavy-duty snow boots 'cuz I knew the ground would be slushy and awkward, as the rain mixed with the icy snow on the ground.

And I'm very glad I did.  By the time I got off work, it was raining. Really raining.  And it was windy. Which means my pants got quite damp from the thighs (where my rain coat covers) down to the cuffs (which were soaked). And because of the wind and the wet and the why-did-i-go-to-work-today, it was rather cold, too.

Definitely a stay-inside day...

the kind of day when cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate would just about hit the spot.

So I better get to that :)

Introducing...

an investment.

You may remember that our teapot broke last year. So we got a new one.

Then that one broke last fall.  And we got another new one.

So when I came home on Monday to find that teapot broken on a hot burner, we decided to make a change.

We did some research and found the perfect solution.

First, we didn't want a metal teakettle because of the way it reacts with the water.  That meant we needed glass or ceramic, and we clearly can't handle the ceramic right now :)  We found this glass one, but we figured we would probably have the same problem with it as the ceramic one.  And shattered glass is much more dangerous than broken ceramic.

Second, we needed some auto-shut off mechanism to counter our forgetful tendencies... so an electric kettle seemed to be the way to go.  But many electric kettles are plastic and heat the water way too fast and then we'd have to wait for the water to cool down (we're picky about water temperature) :)

And then, we found this beautiful little kettle.

Glass, with minimal stainless steel in the pot

Temperature gauge for different beverages

And.... auto shut-off when temperature is reached :)

Problem: solved!

So... welcome to our little family, Kettle. It's good to have you with us :)

Early

T and I had our own little Christmas this Saturday. I know it's early, but our suitcases are already stuffed with presents we're bringing for other people, so we had to open the ones we had here now.  And if this mini-Christmas is any indication of big-Christmas, this year will be grand.

We had breakfast with the Vollebregts--two of our great friends from undergrad, and it was great to catch up with them! Their flights got in one at night and one in the morning, so Jake crashed at our place and we picked Jess up the next morning. A delightful visit with great friends!

After cleaning up the breakfast dishes, T drove me down to our favorite spot in Brookline Village so I could get some yarn (for the giving tree at St. Clement's) and he could get some oh-so-tasty coffee from KooKoo.  As we were walking into the stores, though, we noticed a "POTTERY SALE" sign on one of the shops. So we stopped in and I found this cute little jewelry holder, which T got me as an early Christmas present. I love it :) It's just perfect for my "pretties." And the purpley glaze in the well at the bottom adds a lovely touch!

When we got home, I made a quick lunch and sat down to knit a scarf. I hope it keeps someone nice and warm (via the giving tree and the Little Brothers of St. Francis). I used a bulky green wool and just knit knit knit the whole skein.

In the afternoon, T went to meet with some of his fellow law students, to commiserate? defy? discuss? anticipate? the impending last final of their first 1L semester (which is today--GOOD LUCK TAYLOR!!).  While he was doing that, I was making the house ready for our Christmas Date.

I cleaned up the living room, set the table, lit some candles, and arranged the presents we had on a table.  I tidied the bedroom, and made the bed.  I warmed up some leftovers for dinner (there's nothing better than a free date night where you also don't have to cook) and put the special Kris Kringle present (for the 6th Sunday of Advent) out with the other presents.

So Taylor came home and we had cabbage soup with bread for an appetizer. Then we had re-heated chicken pieces with baby bok choy and cous cous with tomatoes.  For dessert, we had leftover chocolate cake (but we didn't eat it, we were too full).

After eating we sat down to open presents. Taylor got me two FABULOUS pairs of new flats. I love them! There's a black/darn brown/deep purpley pair (y'know--the color that goes with pretty much everything), and he also got me a very fun pair of reddish-maroony shoes with a big bow on the toe.  They make me happy :)

We opened the Kris Kringle presents that T's Mum (so generously) sent us for each week. She gave Taylor a new Tolkien collection he didn't have yet (Tales from the Perilous Realm), which is a very nice edition of some of our favorite stories and poems! Great illustrations, too. For me, I got a collapsible salad spinner I've had my eye on for a while. Space is precious in a one-bedroom condo in Boston, and I loves me my salads--so this little contraption should be well-loved :)

My brother's family sent us our gifts here in Boston, so we also opened those.  In addition to some fun scrapbooking materials :) they sent us a book on Tolkien and Lewis, and a wall-quotation (that you can stick to your wall so that it looks painted on):

May the hair on your toes never fall off. 

How appropriate :)

We read Tales from the Perilous Realm to each other, and spent a very cozy evening together.  As we headed to bed, the snow started to fall...  All night the wind blew and more snow fell (through the screens on our windows, actually--we had a couple inches in one window sill! (between the inside window and the stomr window)), and in the morning, when we opened the curtains, we has frosted window panes.  Very beautiful, actually :)

And on my walk to the office today, it would seem the remaining students had a lot of fun with the fresh snow.  Or.. it could have been the Jesuits?! This hill is right outside the back door of their residence :)

 Happy Snow, Boston.  Thanks for snowing before we left--a White mini-Christmas--and stopping in time for us to leave!

Can't wait to go to CA. Just a few more hours!

A Night Before Christmas

We had some friends over for dinner last night, a night before Christmas, and one more chance to spend some quality time with awesome people.  I made fig and olive roast chicken, apple sausage stuffing, and a spinach salad.  For dessert, I made a quick "dump and stir" chocolate cake, which was a big hit with the ice cream Kendra brought!  

We did, of course, have plenty of fine and tasty beverages, which we shared and sampled throughout the night.  

I have to admit, I've been very happy with the new arrangement of our living room--it lends itself much better to mingling and socializing without cutting off groups of people.  And because we have the table out of the kitchen now (a smaller butcher block prep cart in its place), there's even room for the inevitable friends who always seem to congregate in the kitchen :) Obviously, they think that's "where it's at." 

Finally, after much catching-up, conversation, and general good cheer, we settled down to play paper charades.  Anyone interested in the rules?  My sides hurt again from laughing so hard! What a great game for a fun group of friends :) 

Enjoy the pictures, folks!

A Night Before Christmas

You Think You're So Funny, Don't You?

ha, ha, HA, Boston.

I want you to know I don't think you're very funny.

Planning a snowy-white Christmas while I'm in the dry-bones dessert of CA, hmm?

It seems that every place gets a white Christmas.

Except the place where I am.

So here's to my 27th non-white Christmas...

maybe next year?

Lazy, but Not Un-Productive

For some strange reason, I have always felt that sitting down and knitting is "lazy."  I'm not sure why (especially when so many of the items I'm making are gifts for other people), but whenever I sit down to knit I feel like I ought to be doing something more "productive."

But really, knitting is no less productive than, say, sewing.  So in the interest of banishing un-reasoned prejudices against knitting, I'm going to discuss my productivity on this lovely, relaxing day.

I finished a hat today.

And I finally figured out a piece of a mittens pattern I was stuck on.

I knitted a few rows of my lace knit cowl.
(Which is taking forever. I'm not sure how I feel about lace knitting yet..)

I started a little bitty bit of one hat.

I made good progress on a cable-knit scarf.

All the while sipping hot tea and deliciously aromatic coffee, listening to T type away at homework.

Miso soup for lunch; leftovers for dinner ( = minimal kitchen duty).

So, even though I didn't get any laundry done, or make the bed, or even exercise, I'm still going to call this a productive day.  It won't be forever that I can sit and knit knit knit all day, right?

Besides, it was ridiculously windy today and who wants to go outside in that sort of weather anyway? even if it's sunny.

Happy stitching! :)

CHECKing In!

Look what I've done this week :)

1. 4 of these:  CHECK (yes, I started with this one on purpose)
2. 5 of these:  ALSO CHECK! (ok, I only had to "make" this one once)
3. 5 of these:  CHECK! 
4. 5 of these: Check-a-partial-one. Given the above three CHECKs, these don't seem so bad anymore :) 
5. 3 of these:  Check a-partial-One!  Two and Three: pending successful completion of one. 
6. 1 set of these:  Check part One and Two. Third part--in progress! 
7. 1 of these:  No check. Coming up next, though! :)
8. mail this: CHECK! 
9. Order these: CHECK!
10. 2 of these: nope, haven't started these either. 

In other news, it's been sunny here of late. Sunny. And Windy. And (therefore) chilly.

Why does everyone think Sun automatically makes it a "nice day"?  Having been raised in a desert, where it's sunny all the time, I'm here to tell you that premise if flawed.  Don't get me wrong--sunshine is great (really!) but what's wrong with clouds?

Anyway :)  Enjoy the sunshine, wherever you are!

Start Spreadin' the News

"I'm leavin' today! I want to be a *part* of it: 

New York, New York!" 

That's right!  T and I headed down to NY (for the first time ever) yesterday to visit his grandparents who are in town for another event.  We woke bright and early (well, this time of year it wasn't exactly bright) and took the train down--sleeping most of the way.

From Penn Station, we walked to the hotel to check in and meet up with Grama--since Grampa was still in a meeting.  After a nice lunch at il Menestrello (ooh, tasty tomato and prosciutto pasta!) we went for a leisurely walk though Central Park.  The weather was cool and rather damp, but it made the whole atmosphere very cozy, in a way, and delightfully secluded, muffling the sounds of the city streets.. even the clip-clop clip-clop of the horse-drawn carts through the park was less clamorous.

Grampa took us all to dinner at the Bull and Bear in the Waldorf-Astoria and I had duck for the first time!  A lot like chicken, but (naturally) more game-y. Quite tasty :)  And the best part of our day? Yes, we were in bed, asleep, by 8:30 p.m.

Today: 9am Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, brunch with Grampa, Grama, and (her sister) Aunt Mary, visit to the Frick Museum (a very impressive private collection--we saw the original St. Thomas More painting!), stroll to the train station, knitting all the way home.  Anti-climactic?  Not at all.  

As far as out-of-town weekends go, this was certainly a very relaxing one.  And it was wonderful to see family--we miss you so!  Thank you, Grampa and Grama for inviting us down!

New York

Orange Cables

I learned how to knit cables last night.  I know I'm a big geek at how exciting I thought it was, but every time I came up to the row where I needed to cable, I got excited--and as the project emerged, I would run my fingers over it again and again, admiring how nicely it turned out.

And it was so easy! I was totally surprised because it looks like it would be much more challenging, with the way the cables wind and twist back and forth across the plane of stitches.

The yarn (which is just what I had on hand) worked great for the pattern, and it had such nice feel to it--it was comforting as it slid through my fingers with each knit, knit, knit, purl, purl stitch.

I'm making this hat.  The cables around the ears should add extra warmth, and the style is simple, but still interesting.  And I love orange.  I think it's going to be a FO very soon--even though I don't need it until Christmas! :)