Fabulous Fourteen!

Happy Birthday, Little Squid! May all your math classes be sensible!

Sweet Sixteen

Need I say more?

Eighteen pairs of socks: pair number 4 ... and a shawl

Dee commented (via facebook) that I had not blogged in a while. She was / is quite right and I have been selfish. You see ... pair number 4 of the eighteen pairs of socks was actually finished back in April while I was out of town. (Visiting is great for getting knitting done.)

So here you go ...

Eyelet Rib in Knitpicks Stroll Peapod. Sized for Youngest Sib's feet ... which mean they are sized for my feet. Yo Sis, you better come in and get them because I found them so cozy while doing the photo shoot that I'm tempted to keep them!

Also finished in April, the Pinkerton Shawl from the Spring 2011 Interweave Knits.

Modeled by Squidette but made for moi. It used about 600 yards of handspun two ply which came in between sock and sport weight.

On the wheel, a bump of Still River Mills wool meant for an interesting shawl that my Aunt found on Ravelry.

On the needles, another of the eighteen pair of socks intended for a friend and the Prairie Rain scarf from the Spring Interweave Knits out of my handspun Guanaco. This yarn has been aging in the stash for a few years.

Next on the needles, sock pair number 6 and either Annis (knitty via Cookie) or the shawl that my Aunt found (the name eludes me right now and I'm too lazy to pull up the PDF).

It's been a busy year both at work and at home and things will only get more hectic as we head into the last 7 weeks of school. Next week: presentations for a program Squidette is finishing, and concerts for both kids and Mitzvah Sunday. The following week: Squidette takes her first Advanced Placement exam. And, in the not too distant future: Little Squid's school concert (this week is Boro-wide), Little Squid's Arista Induction, an awards ceremony for Little Squid (we assume) and the same child's eighth grade graduation. Also, my school prom, Squidette's birthday (sweet sixteen -- no party), and possibly Mike's school prom. And who knows what else.

I'll try to post more often ... but really, I'm trying to live a bit more

in the moment, hence the drop off in posting.

Happy mother's day to my Mom and everyone else's mom!

Mom (holding Youngest Nephew) and Lil' Sis (holding Louis the Cat)

Home spun and home grown

At this year's New York State Sheep and Wool Festival I encouraged the kids to choose fiber for new sweaters. Squidette chose a really pretty blue-purplish fluff from Blackberry Mills. After it was spun up, we calculated, roughly, how many yards there were and went pattern searching.

The winner? Flame from Runway Knits. Modified. A lot. Shorter ribbing all around, by Squidette's request and other mods made necessary by the limited amount of yarn.

As I knit the sweater, I quickly realized that the cables were using a lot more yardage than I expected (I think the original yarn is a bit thicker than my homespun even though I was able to get gauge).

So I pondered . . . and modified the twists by adding 2 rows between each one. This stretched the yarn a bit and I was actually happier with the hand of the fabric.

The I started the sleeves. And quickly realized that, as written, even with my already imposed modifications (shorter ribbing and the extended cables) I was going to run short of yarn. So I reknit the first sleeve 5 times, narrowing it each time (making sure it would still fit after each modification). And then I knit the second sleeve -- even narrower. And reknit the first sleeve one last time.

I sewed the shoulders together with regular sewing thread and then knit the neck (again, much shorter than the pattern called for, by request) and then finished sewing up the seams, again, with regular sewing thread ... because I had far too little yarn left. Yarn left over -- about 2 yards. Phew!

And there you have it. Flame, knit from my own triple ply homespun on my own home grown Squidette. Aren't they lovely!

Twenty Years

Twenty years ago I said,

I do.

But my heart was given

long before.

As fireworks rose,

long years ago,

Two became one,

never to part.

Pilates Day 3

Yes, we seem to have gained a day in the space-time continuum ...

Squidette joined me for the third morning in a row as we went in search of stronger abs and such. We were, briefly, watched by Little Squid who, deciding that this was not as amusing as he'd been led to believe, retreated into his lair for the duration.

Lessons learned thus far:

1. My legs really needed a shave

2. As did other body parts

3. Rolling back and forth on ones spine can cause "rug" burn.

4. My daughter and I are equally inflexible. And neither of us can touch our toes.

5. It is much more fun to exercise with a partner.

That is all.

We are on a pilates hiatus until next Saturday or Sunday due to a completely mad schedule this week for Squidette and only a little less so for me.

Knitting? You came here for knitting? Ha!

Actually, there has been quite a bit of knitting, ripping, reknitting, reripping, rereknitting on Squidettes new sweater ... you'll see it if it is ever actually finished.

There has also been some weaving and spinning. Maybe I'll put the weaving up later if I get a chance to wash it and press it.

*** And for Dee ... NO pilates pictures! ;-)

Exercise. Blah!

I hate to exercise.

What! you say? The woman who crabs when she can't ride her bike to work -- she hates to exercise?

You bet. It's boring.

That said, I do it because, as with many things that I do, it's the right thing to do.

Yesterday, however, the fates were out to have fun with me.

After downing my morning tea, I donned bike gear and got ready to put in some time on the trainer.

But I couldn't find my bike shoes.

This is a Big Deal as the trainer (and my bike) is equipped with special pedals which require special shoes.

I search, half-heartedly, knowing that I'll have to find them eventually if only to ride to work next week (something that already seems destined not to happen).

I think about throwing in the towel (figuratively, I hadn't taken it out yet) when suddenly yoga seems like a good idea.

This leads to the tossing of the DVD / games cabinet. And the discovery that the DVD I want is missing from its case.

Stuck down on the floor, I continue tossing the cabinet in search of something, anything. Game pieces fly, Trivial Pursuit card sets get ejected and the children cringe in fright. (O.k., they were actually laughing at me.)

Aha! I proclaim, holding aloft a DVD. Pilates! Want to join me?

Squidette is game but Little Squid decides that a haircut will be more fun and hustles out of the apartment.

The games are scooped back into the cabinet, accompanied by mild cussing as I realized that the huge set of Mozart CDs still has to go back.

Everything back in its place (with the exception of those Trivial Pursuit cards ... I have plans for them) I start moving the coffee table off to the side to make room.

Uggh! Our coffee table rests too low to the rug to vacuum under -- use your imagination.

Out comes the vacuum and then, finally, down go the yoga mats.

Half an hour or so of hilarity ensues as Squidette and I try to get our bodies to perform as those on the screen.

We finish up and vow to do it again. Then I go in search of my bike shoes. (I found them)

Today, we did it again. We might even get good at this if we keep it up.

*No Squid were seriously harmed in the writing of this post though a couple of us have some aching muscles.

Clean Sweep!

The New York City high school application process is fraught with stress.

First there are months of test preparation for those who want to try for the prestigious specialized high schools. (Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech and their newer, smaller, somewhat lesser brethren.)

Then you have to take the test.

Weeks of tours and open houses follow. You wait on long lines in the cold and sit in hot, overcrowded classrooms rooms, trying to catch the flavor of the schools. Interviews, in-house tests and auditions stretch over months and, finally, the students and their parents spend hours putting the contenders into just the right order on the application.

Finally, just as one has almost forgotten the pain of the process, comes the count down to The Day.

The Day is differs, depending on whether one applied to a specialized school or not. For those who took the test and, or auditioned for LaGuardia High School of the Arts (Performing Arts of Fame! fame), The Day is today. For everyone else ... it's another month or so away.

And so, it is with a mother's deepest pride that I must present for your admiration, Little Squid.

Class of 2015 -- either LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts (accepted in both vocal and instrumental studios), Stuyvesant High School (alma mater of Mama Squid, Papa Squid and all sorts of Squid aunts and uncles and, current home school of Squidette) or Eleanor Roosevelt High School.

Way to go kid!

Work in progress

Mike's new sweater.  The back and sleeves have been done for quite a while and I am plugging away on the front.  I'm not hiding the ends as I go because I know I will need to be very careful about it.  Besides, I actually don't mind hiding ends.

This will not be done for Rhinebeck but that's just fine 'cause Mike isn't joining us.

I'll be there on Sunday so that I can both work and attend the Manhattan high school fair on Saturday.  It was a tough choice as to which to do on which day as they are both more crowded on Saturday and both have slimmer pickings on Sunday.  I decided to do the fair first mainly to get it off my back since I really don't want to go, either as a mom or as a rep of a "Court Order," school.  But the mom part won out. :-)

Location : 549-551 Lenox Ave, New York, NY 10030,

Ten on Tuesday

I do not usually do this but today's Ten on Tuesday fits perfectly!

Ten Things to Bring on Vacation:

1. Bike Shorts -- standard black with good padding. (Pearl Izumi for the gals and Mike, Performance for Little Squid.)

2. Bike Jerseys -- Velowear in yellow and red with our Squid on Wheels logo ironed on. (Velowear is not our favorite but is the only brand easily and inexpensively obtainable in four different sizes at once.)

3. Knitting -- socks for this trip -- enough yarn for 3 pair. Yes, I am overly fearful of having too much knitting time.

4. Geocaching swag (mini socks for us)

5. Maps, guide books and more maps

6. Nuun! (and the water bottles to go with it)

7. Ebooks! Lots of books in a very compact package. No fear of running out of reading material on this trip.

8. Easily schelped games for summer evenings -- Quiddler and Set.

9. Folding Bicycles. Can't have a bike trip without the bikes.

10. The rest of the family. 'Cause it just wouldn't be as much fun without them!

Daughter Mine

It's been a big year for Squidette. She will complete her first year of high school in just a few days (poor kid has a final today). All indications are that it was a good one. She came out of it as she went in, a sweet, caring young lady, one who can always find the joy in life.

I could list all that she has done, but that would be bragging and I try to model how I wish my children to be -- modest about their accomplishments without downplaying them too much. Basically, shes done good. (Bad grammar intentional.)

She's a Hebrew School dropout who spent what should have been 3 Sundays a month of service with her peers, serving in her own way, in a long-term project that was more meaningful then the random ones chosen for the group.

She's a High School celebrity, handling the constant inquiries of "are you Mr. Z's daughter?" with grace and charm. Just wait until next year when many of her counterparts actually have Mike as a teacher!

She's a loving and devoted daughter, always willing to lend a hand.

She's a caring sister, willing to put up with the occasional absurdities of Little Squid.

She's a devoted friend -- who will allow her self-made study guides to be wrenched from her hands just before today's final.

She's my daughter and I am very proud to be her mother.

Happy Birthday, Squidette!!!

Child Mine

(From left to right: Lil' Sis, Older-younger Bro, Younger-younger Bro, Mom, Daddy, Big Sis and me)

This afternoon was spent with my parents and youngest sibling. While Squidette and Little Squid played in the pool, the adults chatted about a wide variety of topics, from the necessity of Lil' Sis wearing pantyhose while teaching her sample lesson (Yes kiddo, suck it up and just wear them! 2 hours in hose in the heat will NOT kill you!) to my father's difficulty printing same sisters story. (A tale for another day.)

Somewhere over the course of those 4 hours my dad called Squidette "Puss." Now Puss is an endearment that my father has used on both of my sisters and myself over the years and I found it charming that he now uses it on his granddaughter.

Just a short while ago I found myself using another fatherly endearment on the same child. "Child mine," I said, "put this away (handing her some laundry)."

Which started me thinking ... the expression "child mine" is one I have heard probably thousands of times over the years as my father used in on anyone of his five children. It seems only fitting that I make a public acknowledgment of the origin of this phrase on Father's Day.

Somethings just get better as they get passed though the generations.

So from my family to yours, and to my Daddy ... Happy Father's Day.

And as for that child of mine ... she turns 15 in just a few hours. Watch out world!

Squid on Wheels: Circling Manhattan ... Counter clockwise

In the past, when we have chosen to circumnavigate Manhattan, we've done so in a clockwise direction, starting on the west side and riding north.

Today, however, three out of four squid refused to ride clockwise, citing the hill at the G.W. Bridge (aka the Little Red Lighthouse hill) as the main point of contention. Let me just state now, and for the record, that there are other hills, almost as bad, elsewhere on the ride and you find them regardless of the direction of the ride. What goes up must come down and visa versa ...

Oh, and we also decided to leave lower Manhattan, with its throngs of tourists, out of the ride, a move that cut about 8 miles and well over an hour, off the total.

First stop, the U.N. where we got a good view of the statute of St. George slaying the missile-dragon and where a kind passerby agreed to take a family photo. (First, however, a not-so-kind passerby refused to take our photo. Well, this is New York.)

Four Squid, Four Bike Fridays

Next stop, Hells Gate. The Hells Gate bridge is the arch-shaped one in the background. The really long one is the Tri-boro. (Or the RFK Bridge if you have a newer map or GPS ... but it will always be the Tri-boro to us real New Yorkers.)
Then a nice view of the Highbridge water tower ...
and on into Inwood Park.

Following Inwood Park, we headed back south, stopping to pick up a new rearview mirror for my glasses and continuing down to Fairway where we saw these people.
And then saw them in the river.

They were headed on a 2-3 mile swim uptown. The finish line (cove) was just south of the Little Red lighthouse.

After they headed uptown, we headed downtown to cool drinks and showers.

Back on the Road

After yesterday's glorious weather we woke up raring to go on a family breakfast ride.

O.k., not all of us woke raring to go. A certain teen actually had to be woken up ...
The first part of our ride was fairly quick and uneventful, ending at the Brooklyn Fairway where we chowed down on apple fritters, muffins, hot chocolate, coffee and tea on the patio. We were a bit chilly because we had all managed to underdress just a wee bit.Properly fed, we then pedaled the short distance to Ikea -- to discover that they did not open for another 45 minutes. That led us to look for and find 2 geocaches. Yea!

Returning to Ikea, Mike went in and restocked our supply of lingonberry juice concentrate. And chocolate.
Now that we had secured life's necessities, Mike was eager to play with the geocaching mode on his new phone and was quite amiable to more caching. All told, we attempted 7 caches and found 4 today, bringing our total to 150. Not-So-Little Squid and I have declared a goal of at least 200 caches by the end of the summer. This means that we may actually have to cache outside of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
While approaching the site of our third cache of the day, we skidded to a halt when we spotted this:

These folks are building bamboo frame bikes. Cool!Over all, a good day. 23 miles over 4 hours with lots of stops for caching.

Squid On Wheels: First Ride of 2010

Notice, if you will, that we are all now riding Bike Friday folding bicycles. Little Squid was upgraded and brought into the fold yesterday, so today we had to do a quick shakedown ride.

Go Squid!

First Efforts

A 3 yard sampler of twills and tabby-twills.


I threaded the loom with straight twill draw on 4 shafts (let's pretend that I have the language down) and played with different tie-ups and patterns. We did about 3 inches or so of each pattern or until we got bored of it.


We? Yeah, the kids took turns too. Especially Little Squid. He's taken to weaving like a Squid to water. He's enjoying it so much that the next warp is a scarf for him. We will thread the loom in a point twill and he will either pick a single pattern or we will weave it as a scarf-sampler.

(For all those weaving mavens out there, please excuse our wonky weaving. It was our first effort and still needs to be washed, cut apart and hemmed into usable, if interesting, dish towels. Hey, I believe in everything being used, even one's first efforts if possible. The sett was probably too loose for the yarn that I used and there are other issues but hey, we had fun!)

Love Letters

I had absolutely no intention of writing a Valentine's Day post but then I started clearing out space for my loom. In the space where the loom will temporarily reside was a box of mementos taken from my mother-in-law's apartment after her passing several years ago. There are pieces of my father-in-law's stamp collection and a bulging envelope of cards and letters.

Poking through it, I grabbed a small handful of the correspondence and took them into the living room to peruse. On top was a letter from my father-in-law to my mother-in-law the summer before he began full time employment in 1956.

As I finished reading the first one aloud, Squidette commented "I've never seen a real love letter before, just read about them in books."

Pictured below is the original letter. Transcribed below are the contents for your enjoyment.

Dearest!

I received your wonderful letter today & am, of course, happy you miss me as I miss you.

Today I ordered a new pair of frames: charcoal gray shell for the upper half & silver rim for the lower half of the frame. Thus do you bend me to your will.

I visited H & R tonight for a hot dog supper & received an unsolicited opinion of you (I never solicit opinions about you). Quoth H: "Renee is a lovely girl." Quoth I: "I know it."

So you see my days have been uneventful, being composed of errands or visits. But I am glad for tasks to do to fill my time so that I have less time to think alone & long for you. I enjoy whenever the conversation turns to you & me because that is a topic I am very interested in. Yet I don't want to make a pest of myself & act like a lovesick youth who bores everyone with talk of his love. Personally I like to think about you, about things we've done & about our future. I am so very happy that our relatives get along well together & we with them, because altho this is not a matter of paramount importance, harmonious relationships will make life less aggravating than it might be.

My eye doctor yesterday reminded me of how he had, 2 years ago, predictied how a trip away from home (at Columbia) would make a big change in my life and when I retrospect concerning this last semester & of the things accomplished in so short a time I feel amazed. I am thankful & happy & joyous & overwhelmed & satisfied & everything else that we're together & each other's. I can recall how I used to be afraid, at one time, that you would have another date & turn me down. Yet years ago I foresaw that when I would fall in love that everything would go smoothly, & it has.

I miss you, yet I don't mind missing you because whenever I feel sad I know that in a few days I'll be in N.Y. & seeing you.

I feel a bit nervous & uncertain about working. I suppose this is due to the novelty of the situation, just as I was nervous & uncertain when I was about to begin at Harvard & Columbia. I know that there are millions of persons who would love to change places with me because of my potential career & wonderful fiancee. I wish I could tell you how much I love you but words are not counters of feeling but only express thought.

Love,
XXXXX,
Marvin

(If you look at the pictures at the bottom of the last page of the letter, the first one is a frowny face and the caption reads "me without Renee" and the second one is a smiley face and the caption reads "me with Renee")

First Left to Brooklyn

I have noticed that my commute is somewhat quicker if I manage to stay out of Brooklyn ...

(I'll wait while you all come to the realization that I have a 5 mile intra-boro commute that involves no bridges or tunnels or even, most days, highways.)

And on to our tale ...

This morning I dragged myself out of bed a bit earlier than usual so that I would have extra time to clean the snow and ice off of the car and still arrive at work on time. No, biking was not in the plan.

I did the usual ... shower, dress, dry hair ... and skipped the make-up figuring I'd steal some time and do it at work. After dressing in flannel lined jeans -- mom-style jeans -- and my uber warm Sorel boots (work slacks and shoes in my tote), I carefully made my way out to the car. Carefully, I say, because as nicely as the walks around our Co-op are cleared, the parking lot is a mess of ice and snow.

Picking my way across the lot I was suddenly jerked from my snow induced stupor as I realized that my car was not covered in 5 inches of snow/ice/ick but was mostly cleaned off ... and my husband was putting the finishing touches on it.

(You can all go "awww" now.)

So I did what any self-respecting wife would do (and could legally do, in public, in a parking lot, in freezing weather), I offered him a lift to work (he was going to take the subway). Hey, he saved me 20 minutes of freezing labor.

I carefully navigated my way out of the parking lot, taking only 5 minutes to actually get moving after spinning the wheels a bit in the slush (thank you oh tub of 12 year old kitty litter that lives in my car for just such an emergency). Cautiously, because the streets, while not horrible, were still rather slushy and I had not yet had sufficient caffeine, I made my way to the hallowed edifice that is Stuyvesant High School and dropped off my fabulous spouse and, making a U turn, headed off to work.

On the rare occasions that I drop Mike at work, I then head south, down West Street and through the tunnel that loops around the bottom of Manhattan and leaves one heading North, up the FDR Drive. This was my intent this morning.

I quickly got into the left lane and looked carefully for the signs indicating the tunnel. And when I didn't see them, but did see altered traffic patterns due to the construction at Ground Zero, I took the first ramp to my left. I figured that I was already past the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel entrance.

I figured wrong.

Yes, I wound up in Brooklyn.

Oops.

But I still got to work early.

And I still have a wonderful spouse.

*** And my loom is still delayed in a FedEx warehouse in Middletown, PA due to the weather.

Happy Birthday, Mike!

I have now known Mike for more than half of my life (and his).

That's a pretty long time to know someone.

To care for someone.

To Love someone.

***

To a wonderful father ...


... husband ...
and friend ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

The Tallis and the Tickets

After my last post, Cookie responded with a good suggestion as to where I could keep the tickets in the future to avoid losing them again.
Her idea is a good one but I suspect I will go back to our old storage spot -- updated for our current family situation.

And here goes another "Mom and the High Holy Days" story ...

Back in the days when Mom and Mike and I would go to services together, we'd walk over to the synagogue with our tickets in our hands. When we got inside and were seated, we all handed our tickets to Mike, who tucked them in his tallis (tallit) bag. The reasoning was simple -- Mom and I usually did not have pockets in which to tuck the tickets. When we could, we let Mike carry the apartment keys in his suit pockets and the keys and tickets were all that we carried. It harkens back to the rules restricting what one can carry on the Sabbath or High Holy days. It also harkens back to the fact that even back then they briefly searched bags and purses and not having one just made entry faster.

Back to the tickets ...

One year we forgot to remove the tickets after Yom Kippor and the following year we discovered them in the tallis bag. And quickly realized that they were exactly the same color as the previous year. Woo Hoo! Extra tickets! This started the tradition of storing the tickets from year to year in Mike's tallis bag. We never used the "extras" but it was always nice to know that we could bring in an extra family member if they wanted to come.

The color of the tickets held steady for several years and then we switched our service preference and started going to the early service instead of the late one. [Our synagogue has so many families that two seatings are required for the High Holy days. The clergy are very careful to make sure that the services are as identical as possible.] The early service tickets were a different color which made the old, hoarded tickets useless to us. We continued, however, hoarding the new tickets until two things happened. One, Mike stopped going to services and two, they started changing up the color of the tickets from year to year. I guess we weren't the only ones who realized what was going on.

This brings us to 2009 ...

As we were toting around Squidette's tallis today, I mentioned that she really needed a bag for it. Carrying around an unprotected tallis is just asking for trouble. Particularly when one does not have a purse to tuck it into and one is going to lunch right after services.

You see, I am still, when possible, carrying on the tradition of traveling lightly on the Holy days. Now, however, I make sure to wear a suit with pockets deep enough to handle my apartment or car keys (one or the other, never both), my drivers license, some cash / credit and a small handful of tissues. Yes, my pockets bulge and look a bit unattractive but I do not have a purse that has to be tucked somewhere out of sight while ushering. I made Little Squid (as the male with pockets) take his (turned off) cell phone so I wouldn't have to carry mine and so we could easily hook up with our friends for lunch after services. Yes, I am already using my son the way Mom used Mike. Squidette did not have any pockets and my shallow suit jacket pockets were already bulging.

***

Tomorrow I intend to take a walk over to the quilting store and see about getting a set of fat quarters in blues and whites. I'm thinking a simple Jewish Star on top of a nice background fabric with a button closure. It has to be a fairly large bag since the tallis is a big one.

Mike offered his tallis bag to the cause but there are two problems with his. One: it's actually a t'fillin bag and hence 1/2 the size of a normal tallis bag and two: we can't find it. We didn't even try to find his tallis for Squidette's bat mitzvah (though we probably knew where it was back then) since his tallis is too small for him. It was bought to fit a thirteen-year-old boy and not a grown man. Instead, Mike wore my dad's tallis and my dad wore my Zedda's tallis. We have a vague idea of where Mike's tallis is but when I looked for it before, to take a photo for this post, I could not easily find it.

So there you have it. The Tallis and the Tickets. Not an especially gripping tale, but one of fond memories and lots of side-references.