people going through the gates

Gates at a Crossroad

Waterfall - no gates - just beautiful central park

Gates in background

Jamie's Bag

Veiw from a statue

Play Time

You know how i feel about playing - can never have enough of it. Great playtime leads to creativity - not always great art, unfortunately, but that's more of a function of my trial/error methodology than anything else.

I got the camera. I am now taking pictures of anything that sits still long enough and some things that run away as soon as they see me whip out my tiny, teeny digital Nikon. (thanks, Kay, for the Best Buys suggestion. It was the best price, too.)

Yesterday I did a Play Date with myself in Central Park. Since the Gates are coming down on Monday, I decided to take a trolley tour of the Park. After this weekend, the trolley is only traversing the periphery of the park, so this was my last opportunity to go through the park and way the hell uptown without walking it. I paid my $20.00, got my coffee and muffin and waited on line. Unfortunatly, the trolleys were run by the Grey Line - second only to Daffy Duck in organizational acumen. They're a jaundiced and lackluster group to say the least. Here's an example of why I dislkike them as much as I hate their nasty double-decker buses: I had a lovely, itty bitty little lady who must have been in her 80's sitting next to me. She came down from West Point to see this thing - all by herself. She asked the guide, a misanthrope who appeared to be quite hostile about having not been discovered as a stand-up comic by now, to "slow down" his none too witty patter so she could understand him. Boredom seemed to be propelling him at the speed of light. That, combined with his NY accent, made him pretty darn indistinguishable - and undistinguished. He hit her with enough sarcasm to slow her down for only a minute, but he did himself in with me. Nonetheless, she let it roll off her back, and I hated him for the both of us, so it worked out alright.

I elected to disembark on the west side at 72nd St., so that I could make my way over to the Historical Society. They're currently having an exhibit of Audubon paintings by the great man. They've done quite a nice job of integrating bird sounds (via a stereo system) with the actual exhibit. It was fun. My favorite is the Pelican - he's weird & wonderful and about 4 feet high - the best. While there, I decided to visit the permanent collection on the 4th floor. It's my idea of the best attic in the world. A little musty, and a whole lot of stuff. The needlework collection is very modest and not worth the trip unless you're going anyway. I love the "everyday" objects. These are the things people used regularly that showed the routine of their days and the pattern of their behavior.
I like to imagine what conclusions would be gleaned if someone came across my attic office and/or belongings in another 100 years. Fabulous fiber fiend? Interesting person? Messy Mom? It's a fun question and since I spend a lot of time on my own, I'm always asking myself questions - usually outloud.

After that, I went to Wild Lily Tea Room. Look here: (http://www.wildlilytearoom.com/tea_room/index.html It's one of my all time favorite places in Chelsea. Check it out, go often, stay long, knit. I do all this and did it again with my pal Bruce who I taught to knit abut 18 months ago, and who has eclipsed me in number of projects completed and given away by 3 fold.
Tomorrow night - I am conquering the riddle of the picture posting, so check back again soon. In the meantime, many thanks to Liz who was kind enough to post a picture of one of my latest little projects on her website. The bag is cute, but it can't hold a candle (not that it was ever intended for that purpose) to its new owner: Jamie.
As we can all see, I am still helplessly lost in terms of posting pictures. I am not an art director, but I darn well know these picture should be properly staggered. Unlike my blogging pals, I do not have this blogging stuff down pat. I have the wrong host and a complete lack of patience. However, my heart is in the right place - though i have no picture of it to prove it so. Any suggestions are welcome.

The Gates

I know, I know, still no pictures. I swear to the god and goddess of fiber that this week i will post pictures of Barbie clothes, the gates and my 7 month old nephew who is almost as cute (ok, he's AS cute) as my kids were at his age.
We must blame my husband, Richard, who has a great digital camera that i can connect to my computer but who has lost the how-to book that I need to consult so i can figure out how to connect it. (i know, I could go on the internet and figure it out, but at the end of the day, i am a tat techno-phobic. ) How about this? tonight when i can't sleep, I'll get up in the middle of the night and figure it out instead of ordering more yarn on line)

I am currently working on my first project that incorporates beads. It's a little fichu and it is from the book, Scarf Style by Pam Allen (look here: amazon.com/gp/reader/1931499543/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-2856417-9832035#reader-link
it's an amazing book, filled with great patterns and ideas and most of them allow you to use wool from a well formed stash so it's one of those win/win situations where you feel virtuous for being thrify and clever and have something to show for it at the end of a few hours of knitting.

The gates are a study in tranquil harmony. My in-laws went up to 106th street yesterday and traversed the rugged terrain around the Harlem Meer which, they said,was beautiful. Today we started out right behind Met and walked over to the west side and went by Belvedere Castle and the Obelisk (along the way). The sound generated by the wind against the saffron curtains was akin to the sound of the surf on a calm day at the beach. When they waved in unison it was as if a lovely line of Monks were bowing to the universe and reminding us of the beauty in harmony. It was matched by the joy on the faces of the people and the excitement in the antics of the dogs - many of whom were outfitted in knitted little suits or parkas. I love this city so much and I am so honored that Christo, et al, chose the Park for this display of good will and appropriate art.

I fully intend to take a tour of Central Park - i understand that that paid tour is well worth it, and like most New Yorkers, I don't know nearly enough about the Park. I wonder if they do it during the winter. I'll let you know.

It's supposed to snow here tonight. If so, I will go back and look at the gates in that state. I can't imagine how beautiful it will be covered with 3 or 4 inches of snow.

Knitting for Love

I have just returned from 3 lovely days in florida. Never thought I'd work up any enthusiasm about the state, but lo and behold, this was a real treat! A pal of ours just bought a wonderful little house on the water - about l5 minutes from St. Petersburg and he needed a little housewarming - so off we went.

It was wonderful. I had two just the right-age men all to myself and we sat on the beach, took long walks, drank wine, ate good food and took bike rides. Wonder of wonders, both of the guys like to go sifting through old antique stores - in moderation of course - and only as a precursor to the super bowl party we attended.

While there, I started a bunch of mini projects - and this is the point of my online discourse. I can't believe I actually did this - I went off the deep end and I don't mean the pier. I crossed the divide from necessity knitting to ridiculous knitting and it only took a hank of yarn and a pair of size 1 needles.

I made Barbie Clothes! A grown woman, with a decent sense of herself and fleeting time, actually sat on the beach in broad daylight and knitted an itty bitty bathing suit, pants, sweater and a evening gown. My only excuse is that I did it all for love - the love of my 5 year old niece. Now, under the best of circumstances, Barbie was never my cup of tea. She's way too "built", way too over-accessorized and she's been 'round the block way too many times, if you ask me. They can dress this dolly up all they want, stick a briefcase in her little hand and call her a lawyer, she'll always be Ms. Las Vegas to me and a unnatural role model at that! (Whew! I get a little worked up on this subject!)

As I sat there knitting, I pondered the great eternal question that all philosophy prone knitters tend to ponder: Why do I do this thing? Sometimes I do it for the sheer beauty of it, sometimes I do it because I love the way handknitted items feel and look, sometimes I do it for the relaxation it provides, most of the time I do it for all of these reasons. ALL the time I do it because I love the recipient - and that includes myself. While I'll never love Barbie, I do love the look of delight I see on my god-daughter's little face when she opens her gift - and at the end of the day, that's the best reason of all.

For my few stalwart readers: I SWEAR pictures are coming. I know how important they are and now that I have outfitted Barbie, I must do contrition by posting pictures of my finished products on line. Be patient and come back soon ( just not today).