Riding on a Tuesday

I finally did it. I finally managed ride in the time between getting out of work and picking the kids up from Hebrew School.

After showing off my "Come to the Dark Side, we have cookies" tee shirt to colleagues, I drove down to the synagogue, parked at a failed meter (was that a sign or what) and did two loops of Central Park -- including the Great Hill. The entire ride took a little more than an hour (along with riding to the park) but only because I paused before getting on the loop to take a call from Squidette. Each loop took less then 25 minutes -- slower then Papa Squid does it but then I am unlikely to ever catch up to him at full speed.

I feel virtuous.

Too bad I can't do it again today.

Squid on Wheels -- Separte but Equal (almost)

It is a damp, slightly chilly day, today, but ride we did. Yesterday, in contrast, was warm and perfect (despite overcast skies) for riding but recitals and operas got in the way. That's the way things go sometimes.

Today, however, we could not easily ride as a family if we wanted to be sure of avoiding the rain that is predicted. So, we did the next best thing, we kind of rode together.

Little Squid and I saddled up and peddled uptown for Hebrew School, stowing his bike in the cloak room. Papa and Squidette drove uptown, unfolded their bikes and, with me in tow, did a loop and then some of Central Park. Breakfast at the dinner for the three older Squid and then Papa and Squidette drove home while Little Squid and I did another partial loop of Central Park (we did a small bit on the way uptown) and rode home. Total credited family mileage: 12.4. Squidette did about 9 but did a smaller, uncredited ride, with me a week or so ago, so she is caught up for family mileage purposes.

(Photos were taken today in Central Park. Unfortunately, the over cast conditions does not show the lovely flowers at their best. My favorite, the forsythia, are almost finished blooming for the year.)

Concert Report

Should have brought the kids. The concert was wonderful! Though McFerrin did not perform Elliot Moose. But he did do the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

The dynamic between McFerrin and Ma and McFerrin and the Orchestra of St. Lukes was just amazing.

Amazing!

Sometimes You Just Have to be an Adult

Yesterday was one of those times. You know, when you have the be the one in control, the one holding it all together when secretly you just want to go off and cry because the event is really just too much.

Yea, that kind of time. It was also one of those times when you know that it is o.k., to feel crummy afterwards. When all the emotions catch up with you.

I'm over it now. Mostly. Got a little weepy while writing thank you notes to everyone who helped out.

Tonight? Yo Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin at Carnegie Hall. Adults only.

It is a lovely evening and the walk, should I be able to persuade Mike to walk more slowly then is his wont, should be very nice. As should the time with my husband.

Good music, a good man and a sock to knit during intermission. What more could I ask for?

Trying to Do Good

I try to do good. It goes with my philosophy of not lying and the whole teaching thing. Basically, I want to help make the world a little better.

Until now I have resisted the urge to blog about our efforts to go "green" because they tend to fall somewhat flat in light of my driving a minivan through Manhattan every day. However, inspired by Norma, I am sharing these:

Introducing Baggy, Bag-eel and Bag-Gob, soon to be joined by Baggle-Waggle.

They are small, fit easily in a purse or attach to a belt loop and open up to the size of an average plastic grocery bag. They also hold more, since they are stronger, and the handles are a tad more comfortable to hold. And, since the clips hook easily onto the chain retainer on the front door, we seem to be remembering to take them on shopping trips. I even grabbed Bag-Gob yesterday because I knew I was hitting the drug store on my way home. No huge Duane Reade bag for me!

As I said, we try.

***

(Baggy, Bag-Eel and Bag-Gob were purchased for about $5 at the 125th Street Fairway. I do not know if the 75th Street Fairway stocks them.)

Elliot Moose and The Addams Family

Ever realize that the Elliot Moose theme and the Addams Family theme are very similar? Just saying ...

Yes, today I bounced around school alternating between the two. I even did the snaps for the Addams Family song.

I'm easily amused these days. Wonder what song tomorrow will bring.

Meanwhile, half my family is on their way home from San Antonio and the Final Four. Since American Airlines grounded all MD 80s shortly before some sibs were due to take off, this is taking some doing. My parents are home, though, and that is good.

Good for Distraction

I have found the solution to all of our problems ... when you are feeling out of sorts, just start singing the Elliot Moose song . It is absolutely impossible to be down with this silly song running though your head! Yes, I wandered the halls of school today alternately humming and singing it softly as I bounced along. Hey, whatever works.

To answer Anita's question from yesterday: we are reading Asterix in English. No one on my side of the family ever mastered French. So yes, we may be losing something in the translation but I was laughing my sides off as I read Asterix the Legionary while knitting last night, so it probably isn't too far off.

The blanket is coming along. I fell behind a bit last week but managed to catch up and get ahead yesterday. Three of the five petals are done and number four is a day or two from its finish.

Of Gauls and Games

Two weeks ago, my kids introduced me to Traivian. It is a slow moving interactive game which involves thought, strategy and a certain attitude. One builds up ones resources, (grain, wood, iron and clay), ones population and ones defenses. If you are of the warrior bent, you will attack others for their resources, or, just for the heck of it.

Players have a choice of Romans, Gauls or Teutons for their villagers. Due to my extensive training in all things Gaulish, via Asterix the Gaul, I, of course, chose to go that route. In the two weeks that I've been on line, I've created a larger village then either Squidling.

The game takes very little time out of each day, since building ones resources happens slowly. It is, however, addictive.

Should you choose to join us, we are on server 1 and I go by ... what else ... Mama Squid. Yeah, a wimpy name for a war game but then I am trying to be a peaceful Gaul as in the manner of Asterix.

I highly recommend these as training guides. :-)

***

My father fell into Asterix when I was about the age of Little Squid. Little Squid now has most of my Dad's collection here as he reads his way through them. A few moments ago he asked me if I was ready for him to choose another for me to read. Boy I love hooking my kids on my childhood loves!

Squid on Wheels: First Ride of Spring

It is my pleasure to present the PTSD (Pre-Teen Speed Demon). Zipping along at speeds upwards of 18 mph she is still careful and courteous to the others on the greenway. Crowds and rough road, however, frustrate the heck out of her.

After sprinting down the west side of Manhattan, we then carefully wended our way through the spring-weather induced crowds at the southern tip of the island and the masses near the South Street Seaport until we were able to actually ride again.

As we made our way across town, we passed the Russian and Turkish Baths. Back before the era of metrosexuals, The Baths were a strictly male bastion. There are still hours when men can let it all hang out (and others for the ladies) but most of the time, the baths are co-ed. Look at the Russian Bath -- it still had that old-time look that comes with being, well, old. Everything else looks pretty modern. Mike and I are thinking about going over one day and having a nice schvitz together.

Continuing west, we passed St. Vincent's Hospital -- a place that, so far, we have only once had to visit for medical reasons.

This building now houses offices and labs and such but prior to it's incarnation as a medical mecca, it served as union headquarters for the National Maritime Union. There are three buildings in Manhattan that used to belong to the NMU, and they all have a nautical feel to them. This one is due to be demolished and replaced with a modern hospital funded with the proceeds of the sale of all of the other building that make up the St. Vincent's complex.

And there you have it, the first real ride of the season and your first 2008 tour of New York City via Squid on Wheels.

Total milage: roughly 11 easy miles.

Duckies and Flowers

I did manage to get my walk in today and strolled along the East River. Did you know that there are ducks in our river? (Actually a tidal estuary.)


And I was charmed by these tiny flowers growing among the paving stones.


They were just all over!

Then I grabbed two crossaints and went back to work. Now to get a few hours sleep and start it all over again ...

Of Socks and Conferences

Socks. I love socks. I love to knit them, I love to wear them and I get a strange satisfaction from throwing them away when they are worn out. Don't know why, I just do. This week, so far, Little Squid has worn a too small pair of hand knit socks (guess I know what my summer knitting will be) and just now threw away a standard cotton boys sock due to heel hole. Now if I only knew how many whole pairs he still has ...

Tonight and tomorrow are Parent-Teacher conferences in the NYC High Schools. My problem with conferences is the small bit of time between the end of the day and the start of conferences. It is really not enough time to leave the neighborhood for a nice meal and, is really far to early for the same. Back when the kids were small, and my mother-in-law was taking care of them, I'd hie downtown for a quick meal with my kids. Mom, a former high school teacher herself, always had dinner on the table as soon as I walked in the door. I'd spend an easy hour or so with her and the kids and then run back uptown. Its the running that drove and drives me crazy. That said, I think that tonight I will take a walk instead of aiming for a sit down dinner. Maybe I'll grab a sandwich at a local taquira and then find a quiet corner to knit in.

Lesson for the Ages

Don't wear your brand new (very cute) shoes for an entire day of work and then walk 2 miles in them. Your feet will take a long time to forgive you.

Combine the aching feet with an aching head -- the weather doesn't feel like spring but the trees are still pollinating -- and you have one tired Mama Squid.

I managed to knit the requisite 4 rows on the blanket so I am currently ahead by one day for this week. That is good since I have parent-teacher conferences tomorrow night (teacher side) and a late meeting on Friday. So, tomorrow's rows are done and I'll make up Friday's rows either on Friday (if I'm not too burned out) or Saturday.

Now, however, I'm going to bed!

Snapshots from a Weekend

It is still cold here in NYC so biking is still on hold. Instead, we really have just been doing our own thing at home.

Included in that, this weekend:


a birthday lunch ...
a few rows on a blanket ...and explorations into the unfamiliar realm of curly hair. (Thanks, Nina!)

Now for another week of work, which includes, special for this week, Parent-Teacher conferences with both adults sitting on the teacher side of the desk.

Many of my side of the family will also be congregating in San Antonio for the Final Four. I'm only jealous because it's warm there.

70!

5 kids, 4 grandkids and oh, so much love!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!!

Count Down

No, not what some of you think, but rather counting down the rows on the blanket flower.

There are 134 more rows.

At 4 rows per night it will take 34 nights.

That's 5 weeks, folks.

Tuesday evenings are a write off and there will be three of them between now and Spring Break.

The first two nights of Passover are also gone from the knitting calendar.

So, assume 10 lost nights (figure other stuff will get in the way), that makes it 45 nights to finish the flower. Then 136 rows of yellow and 32 rows of orange seed stitch. That's another 42 nights assuming I continue with 4 rows per night. Maybe up it to 6 for the yellow and then back down to 4 for the seed stitch and make it 31 nights. Now forget about the lost nights for now and we are projecting 65 nights to finish the knitting and one more to hide the ends (optimistic, aren't I). That brings us to: June 2. 19 days before Squidette's birthday.

Any bets?

(That said, I'm actually doing far more then 4 rows a night right now, but I don't want to count on being able to keep up that momentum.)

(And, for those of you who understood the first sentence, the number is 60.)

Blanket Progress -- So there!

So There! to those who thought my speed would not increase with the fewer skeins of yarn. Keeping to my goal of 4 rows per day, I now have an 18 row surplus and could, if I wished, go 4.5 days without working on the blanket if I wished. That said, there will be rows where I will need 7 or more balls of yarn at once so I think I need to build up that surplus now.

Tonight I should hit the point where the first two petals join with petals 3 and 4, roughly 1/3 of the way through the flower. No, I have not calculated on what date I should be finishing the flower and recommencing plain yellow knitting. I figure the blanket is good to last me through the entire spring and into the summer.

We'll see ...

Seen on the Street

Every so often traffic is slow enough that not only do I have time to admire the backs of the trucks in front of me, but I also have time (while stopped at traffic lights) to take pictures of them.

Here are two that I often see on my way into work. Look closely (maybe click to make bigger) to get why they make me smile.

Blanket Progress

I made some major progress on Squidette's blanket this week, fulfilling my goal of a minimum of 4 rows per night. Yesterday I finally hit the point where the first two petals meet and am now only working with three skeins of yarn instead of 5. Things should go a little faster now and I may set my sights at 5 rows per night for the next few weeks. (270 stitches per row still takes a lot of time, I'm only gaining maybe a minute per row with two fewer skein changes.)

There was also some spinning this week, but in my zeal to have more yarn leave the stash then enter it, I am not skeining the new stuff up quite yet. Yes, I know it is a cheat but allow me my delusions.

From Mini-Me to Oh My!

Yesterday


This Morning



Now


Oh, and did I mention that she is playing with the New York Pops, at Carnegie Hall, at the end of April?

Thursday Roundup and a Sweater from the Past

Work, meeting, tea with my folks. That's it.

What? You want more?

Mind if I skip the first two?

How about this? The gifting of the Daddy.




Doesn't look like much, does it? Lil' Sis and I stood in for all 5 siblings and presented Daddy with his birthday present, 10 days early. He kept saying that he didn't want a fuss, so we kept it low key. A birthday card/photo collage/ poem constructed by the eldest sib and a pair of tickets to Young Frankenstein. Lil' Sis and I stepped away after the last picture to let Dad regain his composure.

Since I can never leave my folks empty handed, I came home with this:


Knit by my Bubby for my Zedda. Now, unfortunately, full of moth holes and stains and, in my opinion, unsalvageable. But, now documented for posterity. Look at that detail. She even put in ribbon to stabilize the buttons.