Another College Road Trip

My Andrew is graduating high school next month. He has decided to go to college in Georgia. He has also received an academic scholarship to go to school in Connecticut, far closer to home. No manner of coaxing or bribing would sway his decision but I thought it would be a good idea to at least SEE the school.

We left on the Sunday after his spring break, problem #1. We left on a Sunday, problem #2. We left 3 days after he spent several days in Georgia looking at the school of his choice, problem #3. It was raining, problem #4. It was the Sunday before finals so there wasn't a soul ANYWHERE on campus, problem #5.

After Andrew decided that he would rather see the rest of the school from the car window, I went into my favorite building of any college campus - the library. There they were, all the good children, cramming for finals. But my Andrew didn't get to see any of these scholarly while hip hipsters. We left after only 40 minutes! It took nearly 4 hours to get up there and 40 minutes for the child to decide. Actually, he was decided before we even loaded up the car the night before.

My pal Phyllis, who is a repository of great advice, suggested that we stop at the Mark Twain House after Andrew got bored (how did she know?)




In a constant drizzle we walked along the grounds of this lovely restored home. I got to see wisteria in full bloom

Why is this important? I nursed a wisteria vine for 8 years with visions of Monet's gardens at Giverny in my mind. 8 years! Not a bud, nada! So, whenever I see a vine in full bloom, I stand in awe.

Inside were various exhibits of Twain memorabilia and lots of facts about his life and work. Displayed were the many poignant quotes and irreverent views he published on just about everything.

Andrew is a huge baseball fan and he was excited to see an old time exhibit on display.

But there was this...

This note was posted on a screen you had to go around to see the full exhibit. Inside were sad pictorial depictions of how nasty white america perceived blacks -



















Well, it is looking backward after all and as long as we remember the history and are mindful of the odious signs, we can continue to move forward toward a better understanding

Moving forward while others prefer backwards...

Coming in From the Cold

I've been missing in action, burying my face in CSPAN programming watching everything and anything associated with the new White House trying to convince myself that while the economic sky is falling it is way better than listening to those clowns from the former administration f%$#up the country. Now, with that said, and to keep from indulging in a full on pity party, this is some of what I've been up to.

went to visit son #1 in North Carolina to hear him sing with the North Carolina Symphony


This is a partial sound recording of the Carmina Burana. Not my favorite choral piece, sort of reminds me of a scary movie but it was my chile singing so...




Got caught in the historic nor' easter snow storm. Tried to get out of town before it hit and the lady at the airline checkin said, "honey, if anybody in North Carolina thinks it's gonna snow, we close down the city! Better find you a hotel and sleep in." Well, after I checked out of my very nice hotel with a great wine list and midnight cheese and fruit platter room service -


I found myself thankful for any room at the airport hotel. Even the crows were confused.

Made this gorgeous Radiating Star Blanket as a baby gift (pattern found on Ravelry).

Tried to follow the Harlot's advice with the stash...

FAILED

Why did I keep these??

There were months that brought me little or no joy - except for this occasional backyard visitor.

My pal Phyllis tried hard to lift the gloom, we explored yarn stores and old fashioned soda fountains. I had my first vanilla ice cream soda in many years!




She even baked me a cake and brought me some noro sock yarn and those cool square needles!

I pulled myself together long enough to host one of those local Obama house meetings.

There were a few of them around my town. My friend Arlene, a professional chef, did one with desserts and champagne!

Went to hear a Cornel West lecture with my boys. That was a really good day.

Attended my town's library's author luncheon. Guess who?

I auctioned off several baskets with baby hats. And, the poster below from the Democratic Convention's Women's Caucus that Michelle Obama presided over.

So, hope still remains and is perhaps all that is left when we succumb to our darkest worries and can't seem to see the light. Thanks to all of you who have written to encourage me to write again and to report on my whereabouts. I'm sorry I've been gone so long.

P.S. if you would like one of these historic posters, I have another that I would like to share so, just comment here with your name and I'll do one of those random selection thingies and send one to you, sorry, it is not signed and I won't be able to frame it.

Time...

Next month I turn 50. I've been thinking about time a whole lot. What have I achieved in these adult years and have I healed from those childhood fears?

I tend to look at everything with a sociological lens, so obviously much has changed but I wonder about those pitfalls, you know the ones that keep us divided, away from our common selves, our human selves? I've grown a lot since those post Jim Crow years.

That's me on the right with my bestest friend, Toni. It's my 8th grade graduation from P.S. 11 - an all white school black children were bussed to. Wasn't fun.

Can I imagine a post racial world? I've been reading Randal Robinson's, The Debt. Trying to understand the ways in which I may have been damaged because of America's ugly past. How have I been affected by the exclusion of Africa's contributions to world history? Has this affected my sense of self?

I saw this sign while visiting the New York Botanical Gardens. Finally, the story of my culture, my history are unfolding in the places I so adore

Will time help me to figure out how I can embody the hope that President Obama is challenging us all to realize? How is it we teach our children the best ideals that we, ourselves, have difficulty believing?

My middle son, Andrew, watching the inauguration. My oldest son was there somewhere in the crowd!

So, I wonder about time. Nina Simone's, Who Knows Where the Time Goes, echoes in my mind more frequently now. I recently found this picture of me taken when I was 21 and my first trip to the Caribbean. I've always remembered the water, it's clarity and the warmth but now, looking at me standing there, I wonder why I can't clearly remember what it was to be so young...


Well, one thing has improved, if nothing else. I couldn't knit then!

My favorite felted bag

My curious case of benjamin buttons hat, knitted while sitting spellbound watching that movie!

Well maybe there is still more to learn. I can't seem to be able to knit a tam that isn't too small or too damn large!

Knitting Through It

Knitting Through It, is a lovely book by Lela Nargi. She has gathered together sweet and inspiring stories from knitters here and there who find comfort in this therapeutic art. My friend, Barbara, shared this book experience with me and it has been a comfort indeed.

Marathon Knitting

Last week was my Library's annual author lunch. It is our biggest fund raiser for the year. We host anywhere from 500 - 700 guests!

This year we featured Lisa See and her book Peony in Love. I must say she is a delightful speaker and was one of our best.


Each board member has to drum up gift baskets to auction so that means a bunch of marathon knitting for me. Why I don't spread this out throughout the year, I'll never know. Marce, over on Brown Berry Chronicles, has started a KAL to do just that but I've not compiled my list as yet because of the auction and some Easter knitting I'm doing for my lovely nieces.

I made several little girl baby hats. Our basket maker, Sharon, did a lovely job bundling up all of the goodies.









I also contributed a Yarnaholic's Yarn Tour. A day of touring local yarn stores and learning about different brand names and artisan yarns. I made a small clutch too and included the fantastic book by Clara Parks, The Knitter's Book of Yarn.

Pattern: The Clutch You'll Never Give Up, from the One Skein book

My terrific LYS, Close Knit Yarns, donated a basket too -

I also got a couple of my neighbors to donate baskets. Tim Harper is a local author who recently published, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Constitution (there is one aspiring politician I sure would like to give this to!). Tim donated some books on beer he authored and I included some exotic brews to go along with it.


My garden club did a basket featuring an event we are doing with the extraordinary Simone Pickering, the florist to Prince Charles, Elton John and many others. She is visiting our club from England on Thursday, May 15 from 7-9pm. If you are interested in attending, drop me an email at deedeenet@aol.com.

A neighborhood dad donated a signed football.

Jeff Feagles, kicker, New York Giants, Superbowl champs!

There were tons more baskets and we all had the best time. Now to get ready for my lovely niece's new baby. Marce I need help!

Uneasy EZ mittens

I'm not one for fads. I am very impressionable though when it comes to knitting - is that the same thing? Last week I got together with fellow blogger Beate and her friend Erin. We sat in Beate's lovely kitchen and drank delicious pressed coffee and ate homemade cookies while we knitted and chatted about knitting projects as if we were planning dinner (projects that were marinating) or what to do about misbehaving children (projects given a time out).



I realized that the 3 of us were knitting a bunch of internet popular knits: Dashing fingerless mitts; Grumperina's Jaywalker socks; Knitty's Colorimetry headband and Jared's Elizabeth Zimmerman's Mitered Mittens from EZ's Knitter's Almanac.

Beate's friend was knitting up a pair of Dashing using a shockingly scrumptious Bernat yarn (65% acrylic, 30% nylon and a mere 5% cashmere but what the hey?). It really did feel like true cashmere so the next day I bought 2 skeins.




This is my version of Dashing, demented isn't it? I don't know how I did those crooked cables but I tried to divert attention away from them with the cutesy bow.


That's Beate modeling one of her lovely shawls and the mitts that got my attention. For the next two basketball games I tried making my own version but instead of using Silk Garden as Beate did, I decided on Kureyon. I've got a bunch of skeins to burn since I've decided not to knit that other internet fad - the Lizard Ridge afghan.

Ok, so when I got home, I dug out my Knitter's Almanac and browsed through Jared's blog to see if he translated oracle Zimmerman's pattern into something spazzes such as myself could follow. Nope. His is equally vague. So I say to myself, "self, you are a self respecting knitter, figure it out!"


My thumbs fit fine but they look oh, so wonky! Onto the superfriends site, Ravelry. There's bound to be some instructions that are not pitifully "pithy". I found that Grace, had some ideas and she even emailed me to help but I'm sorry to say that my results looked nothing like her lovely ones.

I decided to plunge forward and do my thumbs the EZ way. I almost wanted to close my eyes before I snipped -

EZ says to cut into the finished mitten just where you want the thumb to be. Yites!

Then pick up the loose stitches...

So far so good...

Not bad, right?

EASY afterall!