Real Birthday Post

Mom didn't think she needed a birthday post, but I insisted, so here it is.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

And no, you are not old and/or decrepit.
You can be a bit crazy at times, but we still love you. Happy Birthday!

Love, Squidette and Little Squid

Happy Thanksgiving and a Pre-B'day Post

There is oh so much to be thankful for this year but as always, it comes down to the most important things in my life, my family and friends. So to all of you I give a heartfelt "THANKS" and Happy Thanksgiving.

(And my husband would like you all to know that our turkey fryer is autographed by the makers -- Max and Fill.)

And now on to a Pre-Birthday Post (to apparently be followed by a B'day post from Squidette).

For as long as I can remember (and for a few years prior to that) my older sister's birthday has been the day after mine. Given the dates, it is inevitable that most Thanksgiving celebrations include birthday cake (or birthday pie). While we are not together this year, I'd like to share my wishes for my sister with all of my readers.

Marni, you've always been there for me. Through the rough and the easy, through the happy and the sad.

May your day be one of smiles and laughs and happiness!

All of our love!

Happy Birthday!!!

Double Knit

Roughly 10 days ago I got bit by the double knitting bug. I just HAD to do it. I also needed a hat. My new job has me outside with the kids a few times a week and since I've been riding my bike to work, I am not dressed appropriately for standing in the cold. So, I am now keeping a second set of outer wear at work. But, I needed a second hat.

So ... after one aborted attempt that was about 4 inches long before I realized that it was also 4 inches too wide ...
we have a double knit hat. The bicycle is from Lucy Neatby's bicycle socks (sadly still uncompleted) with the execution entirely my own.
Yarn: Cascade 220 superwash left over from Squidette's blanket. (Expect to see lots of yellow hats and mittens this winter ...) Size 5 circular Addi Turbo needles using "magic loop."

Magic!

Mike purchased the Instructables book last weekend and the kids immediately got busy making magic wands.

Paper, hot glue and paint (spray and acrylic).

Magic!

Danish Tie-Shawl

Finished: 11/13/08 Started: Somewhere around 11/1/08 for the knitting. Handspun, Blue faced Leicester from Blue Moon Fibers.

Yarn is roughly sport weight, Navajo plied. Pattern is from the Spring 2008 Spin Off. I liked it and might make it again if it lives up to its promise of being easy to wear. I really like shawls, they make for easy on / off in a school where heat is an all or none proposition -- mostly all -- and temps are regulated by how open one's window is and how briskly the wind is blowing.

It needs to be blocked but I am saving that for Saturday night, after I return from a work "retreat."

Still Alive and Kicking

I compose brilliant blog posts. Full of details about New York, my kids and my school fill these posts. The posts themselves, however, are composed while I bike to or from school and never make it into the computer. By the time I arrive home, most evenings, I have barely enough time to change out of my biking gear before dinner is served. Then talking to the kids and Mike and general unwinding take priority. And before you know it, it's bed time.

I used to post in the mornings, before going to work. These days, however, I am leaving the house around 6:30 a.m. and am only awake for a mere hour before climbing on my trusty bike and pedaling into the sunrise.

All that is a long winded way of saying I'm sorry and I'll try to post more often.

Today I give you a catch-up post in pictures.

A couple of weeks ago there was apple picking with this lovely specimen. We put pants on it to emphasize the resemblance to a part of our anatomy.

Then there was a rather important bit of elephant surgery. We called it a hat-ectomy. Dumbo's original hat was in tatters so Little Squid crafted a new one and I added snaps to Dumbo's head so we could change hats if we so desire.

There has been some weaving. This one is making me really happy! it is my first real excursion into color and pattern play. It is not coming out as I envisioned it from the draft but this is a good thing as it is coming out even better!

Then there is my shawl. It is the Danish Tie-Shawl from Spin-off Spring 2008. The yarn is home, spindle-spun from Blue Moon roving purchased at Rhienbeck two or three years ago. The yarn has been aging in the stash until just the right pattern came along.
The edging will take a little bit of time to finish ...

There has been more. I finally did my back to school shopping and, thanks to mom, netted four, yup FOUR, long sleeve white shirts. Please don't faint. I had ... wait for it ... zero long sleeve white shirts. One short sleeve, one three-quarter sleeve but no long sleeve white shirts. Now I have four. Until I spill something on them.

Upcoming events include a work "retreat" this weekend. I might be able to finish Little Squid's latest pair of socks since someone else is driving. Squidette still has school interviews and auditions in two weeks but seems to be less stressed then she was before the SHSAT. Little Squid is practicing 3 instruments right now, two in preparation for a camp audition several weeks away.

And there you go, all caught up.

Squid on Wheels: Contest Winner!

And the October 31 mileage was ...

745 miles. Exactly the same as last year!

So, the winner is ... Ikkinlala!

Congratulations! If you send me your snail mail address and favorite color I will put together a prize package.

***

Now that that's taken care of ... we actually did some riding yesterday. It was a balmy 51 degrees in the morning and I managed to convince the kids to ride up to band practice instead of my driving them up. The ride is an easy one -- at least for me. The boro-wide band practices in my school building, so it is a ride I've been doing 3-5 times per week lately.

While there, they played and I continued cleaning up a bookroom so I can clear the textbooks out of my office. Then we all rode to the west side to check out a newly opened piece of park and Mike rode up to join us there.

The ride home was glorious! We rode from 130th Street to 26th without stopping once! No traffic lights, no crowds of pedestrians. It was great!

14.5 miles

And the kids? They both got first seat in their instruments and Little Squid was told that he could do the Pops program this year in flute and then next year in oboe once he has a year of it under his belt. Squidette was invited to do the Pops program again even though it is supposed to be a single year thing. Way cool!

Halloween

Once again it is time to reveal the annual Halloween Costumes.

May I submit for your approval, Hermione and The Swedish Chef.

And ... Elwood Blues.

Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Twas the night before Halloween ...

... and it took three, count em, three tries to get my nails orange. The first attempt included black stripes that I decided looked stupid. The second attempt was destroyed by my desire to get my comforter into it's new cover before my nails were totally dry. The third attempt looks o.k. and that is all that matters since they will be a wreck after 2 hours of searching backpacks tomorrow morning.

While maintaining a stance as a "rhymes with witch" at school regarding Halloween frivolity, I do have some fun with it. Orange nails. Orange silk shirt, black slacks and my rat race scarf. Pumpkin earrings and matching hair sticks.

I try.

Now to master tying a bow tie by trick-or-treating time. This year was a unique, no-sew Halloween. The only two items to be made utilized hot glue and an iron. Yes, I promise pictures.

Happy Halloween!!!

Marathon Closures

Consider this a PSA for Central Park users:

The New York City Road Runners organization has closed a section of the Central Park Drive to pretty much all serious users except, of course, runners. They can use the foot path. Those of us who ride or skate, however, are out of luck. As of this evening one could not ride in the roadway between 72nd Street and 59th Street. It will be interesting to see if I can even get into the park at 59th Street tomorrow morning.

Please note that I noticed this today. It may have started yesterday but I would not know because it rained and I drove to work.

This closure is so they can put up all of the gimmickry that they use in the marathon. They started building the grandstands late last week -- those block part of the pedestrian path, so everyone is being put out, not just those of us on wheels.

If, in the next few days, I am hit by a car on a section of street that is bypassing the closed section of the park, I will hold the Road Runners responsible. I'm that angry.

Forget that NYC, and particularly Manhattan, will be impossible to navigate on Sunday. They are already making life difficult for the rest of the park-using public.

How dare they!

Biking events in NYC shut down streets for a limited (as in maybe a few hours) period of time. But to shut down a significant part of Manhattan for days???

This is why Mike will not run in the marathon. Consider it a personal boycott.

Oh, and it really messes with our plans to circumnavigate the borough on Sunday. Or, frankly, do any sizable ride that does not involve New Jersey.

Rant over. Back to your regularly scheduled, happy go lucky blog.

Warm Hands!

This morning I tricked my bike out with these babies. Moose Mitts!




The temperature outside was 41 degrees (Farenheit, if you care) but the wind chill brought it to about 25. On my legs I wore regular biking tights and wind pants (with handknit wool socks, of course). On top, a long sleeve base layer, a sweat shirt and a midweight bike jacket. On my head, a fleece balaclava (and helmet!) and on my hands, a pair of full-fingered bike gloves that are really the liners for a heavier glove.

As I pedaled up town, I immediately felt the difference. The wind was fairly strong but my hands were not feeling it at all. By the time I left Central Park, I had to remove the gloves and ride bare handed in the mitts.

I'm in love! I want to get them for all the bikes now so we can all ride in comfort.

The worst part of cold weather riding for me is the cold hands and cold ears. The balaclava solves the ears -- though I have a new set of ear muffs to try -- and now the Moose Mitts really solve the hands.

I can see needing a bit more coverage once the temps drop lower but the glove liners should do me to the low 30s or even lower.

Yup. I'm really in love here. Welcome to my wonderful world!

Prettiful Blanket

Need I say more?

(Yarn: Cascade 220, In progress for roughly 6 months.)

The Next Generation ...

"I have five pencils and two erasers. Is that enough?"

"Add a couple of pens."

"We're not allowed to use pens."

"Add a couple of pens."

"We're not allowed to use pens."

"Add a couple of pens."

Yup. She's nervous. If you are feeling generous, send lots of warm thoughts to all of the young people who will be standing outside in the cold and damp waiting to take the SHSAT today. Over the next few weekends, close to 40,000 8th graders will test for roughly 4,000 spots. Gulp!

That's what Squidette is up to today, accompanied by Papa Squid.

Little Squid and I are heading up to my school where he will audition for the borough-wide band (really just for his placement, he's guaranteed a spot) and I will clean a book room and my office.

Off to start the day!

Tour de ???

(On the left, Yankee Stadium. On the right, Yankee Stadium.)
(Left - Old, Right - New)

We were supposed to ride the Tour de Bronx today. We even started it. After waiting for 2 hours in the cold. Then, after a slow start, the Tour paused again. For at least 15 minutes.

(Waiting in the cold)

We looked at each other, shivering and shaking, and started to back track to the porta-potties we'd spied a quarter mile back . Shortly before reaching what turned out to be really disgusting porta potties (don't ask!) we discovered friends sitting, injured, on the ground. One was o.k., the other had been rear-ended and had chipped a tooth and injured her wrist. They arranged for transport, we waited on line for the above mentioned facilities and then did not use them (yeah, immagine the worst you can and then add excrement). Then we consulted a map and our GPS and made our way home after only 2.5 miles of the tour. It wasn't fun and it was not worth being unhappy.

We had a lovely ride home over the Third Avenue Bridge and across town on 125th Street and the kids agreed that they could indeed do a long ride in these temperatures provided that standing around for 2 hours and stop and go riding was not in the mix.

(Riding bundled up. It really was a glorious day to ride.)

After examining the situation -- when we were riding, Little Squid was leading our pack and quickly making his way to the front of the ride -- we have decided to forgo future rides like this, save perhaps the Tour de Brooklyn.

Our family pace is a bit faster then this kind of ride is geared for but still too slow for the longer ride that went with it (and started at the same time and hence subject to the same delays). There was nothing wrong with this ride, per se, except for the long delay in the start which leaving us shivering in the cold (The ride started almost an hour after scheduled). It just was not what we wanted today.

The ride home, in the glorious sunshine with no stops from 125th Street to 27th Street, was lovely and we were dressed quite appropriately for riding in temperatures in the high 40s. We all had balaclavas (nicknamed Baclavas) and the kids wore jackets purchased for me (over their fleeces). (Squidette wore my brand new riding jacket, Little Squid wore a rain jacket that turned out to be too short in sleeve for me but was never returned, I wore an old biking jacket of Mike's and Mike wore his own stuff.) We were all layered and everyone was shedding a layer or gloves or something before we reached home. Except for me. I'm always cold.

We are planning a ride for two weeks from today. Just us and some friends. If we can figure out a way to avoid the Marathon ...

Next weekend? The Specialized High School Admissions Test, Borough-wide band auditions and ... Apple Picking!

Tipping the Balance

When Mike was about to celebrate his twenty-first birthday, he stated, unequivocally that the probability of him remaining "under 20" was far greater then the probability of him being older then 21.

Well the birthday came and went and, indeed, he was older then 20. He continued to maintain his stance on this, well ... until right now.

Here we are, a scant 20 years later and the balance is about to tip the other way. Having just asked him about this, I can honestly say that he is no longer in denial.

I have to tell you, this insistence on taking a stance and sticking to it is one of the traits that (now) endears him to me.

Long time readers know just how much I love my husband. Just thinking about him brings a tear to my eye and a smile to my face. Even when I'm irked with him.

On his birthday we will "celebrate" by riding the Tour de Bronx.

So, if you happen to come across a large group of bikers tomorrow (in the Bronx, of course) shout out a Happy Birthday to Papa Squid. And say hi to the rest of us!

Shameless Begging

As you know, I recently started at a new (to me) school. This is a school with a whole lot of potential and ... no knitting club.

A few of the girls are knitting -- one of the nearby after school programs is teaching it -- which has set the stage. More want to learn. One of our teachers approached me about starting up a knitting club and I'm all ready to jump right in. Except ...

When I left my old school, I donated all of the supplies to the middle school in the same building. I had no place to store them over the summer and it was the only solution at the time. And it was a good one since I had no way to know where I would wind up and, if I would be able to start another club. The school that receive the supplies had an active knitting club and will use the materials well.

Well, here I am in a new place and the need for this kind of club is acute. The kids want a creative outlet and we can provide it -- it a little bit of help.

I plan on doing some shopping this weekend -- inexpensive needles and the cheapest yarn I can find. The teacher who approached me is doing some corporate level begging while I am doing it the "old fashioned" way. Reaching out to you, my readers.

If you have yarn that is looking for a new home or needles that you have set aside in favor of flashier ones ... we can provide a good place for them.

If you can help, please contact me via the email address in the sidebar and I will provide mailing information.

For all of your help in the past, and for anything that comes in now, I thank you!

***

As a general rule, I try to keep work out of the blog. Since this is not an anonymous endeavor, I have to be careful. My identity is out there -- as is the identity of my new school and the old one. There will be no stories of the kids -- I can't go there -- except to share things that make the news anyway (and only in a positive way).

You Know They are Growing ...

... when you actually have to think about if the jeans you just took from the dryer are hers ... or yours.

Makes sorting the laundry a tad more difficult. But not too much.

We have had a nice, quiet, 3 day weekend here in NYC. The first two days were sunny and warm and we did ... nothing. Barely even got out except to run some errands.

Except for Squidette. She had a mock test in preparation for the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT if you care). The test is in less then two weeks. Gulp! Lot of pressure when both of your parents and 5 of your 6 aunts and uncles and one grandparent went to specialized high schools (two schools between the 7 of us).

She also had an annoying project that required hourly recording over an entire day. We helped. I have no problem helping if I feel the project is unreasonable in its expectations and this one expected a 13 year old to be out doors for 8 hours recording the position of the sun using a homemade sundial. In New York City. Where you can't just leave the sundial and return every hour.

We fudged it -- used a windowsill on the east side of the apartment and the balcony on the west side. The teacher did say they could use a window if they absolutely had to.

This leads us to today where I declared "we are going for a ride!"

And we did.

It was so quiet on the paths and, even on the streets, that you almost forgot you were in New York.
Almost.

We rode up to the Intrepid and then down and around the tip of the island, cutting across (from East to West) via the Greenmarket where we scored some leeks for tonight's dinner.

Pastries were also made but I misplaced my camera after documenting them. Oh well, blog fodder for tomorrow.

Projects, Projects, Projects

I've been a busy girl this week.

I finally procured the yarn that I need to finish the work on Squidette's blanket ... and am actually working on it.

I added a few inches to the fabric on the loom ...


And I did some dying.I was trying to go for a gradient from violet to burgundy with some black dyed for contrast but did not really succeed. Now I'm thinking that the burgundy and the black will make for a nice log cabin weave pattern ... after I finish all the merino pieces I have planed for the loom.

And there you have it. I do still knit and weave ... and duplicate stitch.

Synagogue Shuffle

Last night I persuaded my kids to join me for the Kol Nidre service (the service that starts Yom Kippor). It has been a few years since I last attended the evening service and I thought the kids might appreciate it now -- if not from a religious stand point then from a musical one.

This particular service is one of the most moving and most beautiful of the year and the melody to the Kol Nidre prayer is simply breathtaking when done well.

Fast forward to the end of the service, yes they appreciated it, particularly the parts played by the cellist. Yes, part of Kol Nidre was perfomed on the cello. Obviously we are not orthodox.

Between the start of the service and the Kol Nidre prayer, we were approached by the head usher who asked if Squidette or I could help out in the balcony* for 20 minutes or so -- they were short ushers. As we had Little Squid with us, Squidette agreed to go while I stayed in the sanctuary with Little Squid.

Squidette did not return. At some point I was informed that my daughter had opted to continue with her ushering duties upstairs so I sat back and let myself get into the rest of the service.

When the service ended, Little Squid and I waited for Squidette to come downstairs and, after waiting quite a while, we finally went upstairs to help her clean up and reshelve the prayer books.

As we finally made to leave I offered our services for the following morning (Squidette and I had ushered for Rosh Hashanah services both this year and last year) and our offer was enthusiastically accepted as they were not quite sure of the reliability of some of the volunteers. When we arrived this morning, the head usher decided that the three of us (Little Squid was along for the ride) would have the balcony all to ourselves. And so we did. With hundreds of congregants.

At one point this morning, Little Squid commented "It's like a real life Diner Dash," refering to how quickly we were finding seats for people (it was 45 minutes into the service and people kept coming) and handing out the prayer books.

What I discovered today is that my son is just like me. He thrives on this kind of thing. Even without breakfast.

Once again my kids made me proud. Squidette seated people on her own (it involved asking others to make way and asking if seats were occupied by people in the bathroom) and she held her own even though those she was working with out aged her by at least 20 years on average. One congregant came right up to me and praised her. Little Squid held his own when people tried to push past him when they should have stayed in the back (during certain parts of the service we do not seat people). Me? Well I showed how graceful I am when I missed two steps at the bottom of the balcony and took a magnificent spill, catching myself against the metal railing. I will have some nice bruises on my arm and side tomorrow and my foot is a bit stiff from the turn. But I'm o.k., really!

It was a good day and my caffine / no food headache is just about gone. That said, I will not fall asleep tonight because of the naps and late consumption of caffine.

* Our synogue used to be a movie theater and the seats in the balcony are still movie theater seats on steps (hence my ability to miss the two narrow ones at the bottom). For large services like on the high holy days congregants sit in the main sanctuary, the balcony and the auditorium adjacent to the sanctuary where the portable wall opens up so that people can see and hear. There are also services for newer members in the basement and the clergy moves between the services. Then there is the fact that we run early and late services that are identical. There are that many congregants and they are all "high holy day" Jews.

Battle to the Death

We recently restocked the apartment with the important things in life. Meat, milk, pasta, apples and M&Ms.

As I was happily scarfing down a handful, my ever knowledgeable husband steered me to this article.

Which led my children to do this ...


No, we're not weird ... really!