New York Holidays

Back when my mother-in-law was still alive, I drove the kids uptown to her every day starting at 6:30 a.m. At this time of year it is still dark so the lighted displays along 6th Avenue really stood out. Last year we dispensed with this tradition due to the transit strike but this year I decided to bring it back. It took 3 mornings to do it all.

The first day, we forgot the camera, it was all about the Rockefeller Center Tree (see yesterday's post).

The second day we drove uptown (this year at 7:30 a.m. so it was a bit lighter out) with the windows open and Fiddler on the Roof blaring from the cd player. (The third day was timed to catch the big Menorah with 7 lights. Since we were in motion, all we got was the center of the Menorah and no lights. We did see them though!And finally, a few more pictures from yesterday.The Saks' windows did not photograph well so I only put one up -- the one featuring the NYC skyline of course!

Tomorrow, errands and maybe Indian food for lunch -- and, perhaps the Macy's windows.

Squid On Christmas

What do Squid do on Christmas? (Be warned ... picture heavy.)

We start the day by giving (or attempting to give) blood. One successful, one not so. Got to hit those chocolate covered raisins harder in the days before an attempt -- hey, it worked last time!

Then, having achieved parking luck once, they attempt it again and, after taking a chance, park and walk down Fifth Avenue.

Rockefeller Center Tree

Saks Fifth Avenue
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Atlas
Cartier
Fendi
Brooks Brothers
Unwound French Horns.An Alphabet Mr. Goodbar. (yea, we thought it was intestines)

Hustling back to the car (no ticket, phew!) they move downtown and, this time leaving a Squid in the car, view some more windows.

Some of the scenes at Lord and Taylor.

One last chance at a parking space is passed up in favor of home and hot chocolate.

A nice long rest and then off we will go to Christmas dinner with friends who need more children around for a proper Christmas.

Tomorrow the Saks windows and some drive by photos of the sights on 6th Avenue

Teens Knitting

As I desperately try to catch up on my blog reading I discovered that both Ann and Susan were promoting my Teen Knitting project and spreading my appeal to those who may not know of Squid Knits. To bring you up to date, "let me explain ...

... no, there is too much. Let me sum up."* I run a knitting club in a NYC public high school.

Several years ago I accidentally started a knitting club. At the time it was just a matter of teaching the one or two who saw me knitting and wanted to learn. I brought in some stash yarn and needles swiped from my mother-in-law and taught them. (I was trying to convert mom to circulars so I figured she'd never miss them from the shared needle stash. Yeah, that plan failed. I had to replace them when she wanted to knit a sweater.) These few kids showed their friends and off it went.

At the time I made an appeal on the Socknitters list and the knitters there, led by Elizabeth sent in so much yarn and so many needles that I thought I would drown in the stuff. Nope, didn't drown. The girls (mostly) grabbed the stuff and turned it in to blanket blocks (back then, very small ones) and later baby hats and booties for a teen mom program. They also turned the yarn in to scarfs, hats, vest and the like for themselves. The club rule -- you can use our stuff for yourself as long as you make at least one charity item for each item you make for yourself. Yes, the rule is not always followed but most of them do it.

For a few years I did not have time to run the club properly and it languished with only a few girls learning. This year, however, I made a conscious effort to promote it through signs around the school and weekly announcements on the public address system. The first week there were half a dozen girls. The following week they each brought a friend. It continued this way until last week (we've only been up and running since mid-November). The yarn that had languished in boxes for two years was out and about. Needles were poking out of and through back packs and, a boy learned how to knit! (Some girls taught him.)

After break I hope to get a proper accounting of all of the members by asking them to come by, register, and sign the card to go with our latest charity project, a blanket to be donated to some one who needs it. We will actually bring it a local organization where they know the neighborhood folks in need. The first blanket is almost done and I will post pictures of the finished object next week.

What our program needs, however, is knitting needles! I have already purchased over a dozen pair this year and have jury-rigged lots of long dpns that were in the school stash (nothing goes to waste with us). Since most of our donated yarns are worsted weight (good for blanket blocks and scarves and quick gratification) we mostly need needles in sizes 5 and up. The yarn boxes are also showing signs of the latest deluge but are less wanting then the needle cans. If you are so moved to donate supplies, you can send them to my attention (Devorah Zamansky, not Mama Squid please) at the school. (scroll to the bottom of the page for the school address) All donations are tax deductible.

Please note that I cannot and will not post pictures of the students to the blog. This is a personal blog and I usually try to keep work out of it. When the school website is updated I will try to get the MCSM Knitters page back up and running. That may or may not have pictures of the kids depending on who signs off on the waivers.

For those that need some incentive ... I will enter the names of every one who sends a box (one box = 1 entry) into a random drawing to happen ... say during Spring Break ... and there will be prizes. At the very least, some chocolate. Thank you for your generosity!

(*The Princess Bride)

Last Night of Chanuckah

The last two days of work were rough. High spirits combined with short fuses make for an interesting combination in a high school. As always, my desire to look professional warred with my need to patrol a very large building. The cute black flats? Not so good for extended walking. My poor legs were aching all night. This did not, however, diminish the wonderful time we had celebrating the last night of Chanuckah.


My folks and youngest sibling came over and we ate latkes, lit candles, watched a magic show, analyzed the contents of Squidette's closet and ate chinese food. (Hey, its not just for Christmas any more!)

The Squidlings now own tennis rackets thanks to their grandparents so we just came back from the playground where they hit at each other and at a wall for a good bit. We all went for a "short" bike ride earlier to break in Squidette's new bike computer and do some more fine tuning of my new bike. The ride uptown was fast and easy but we hit the wind coming back and it was a tough return. Tomorrow should be even warmer and we will probably hit the road again. For now I leave you with pictures of a happy family.

Yes, I'm appealing ...

to you all for your unwanted needles -- particularly in sizes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 -- and yes, even yarn. I took a good look at the boxes yesterday and they are actually low! In my office I have 10 clear, large, Rubbermaid boxes containing the yarn arranged roughly by color. There were also a couple of bags on the floor. Yesterday I consolidated the bags in to the boxes and filled one of the bags with blanket squares to be assembled. Last night I assembled panel number 3.

The last two days have been overrun with kids. As more and more learn, they show their friends and then their friends want to learn. "Miss, can my friend have sticks and string?" Yesterday I provided yarn and jury-rigged needles to several more girls and had to turn away a few who wanted lessons because I had to do building patrol after school. We are at the point where far more kids are learning from their friend then from me! Woo Hoo! The first male has now taken needles and yarn to hand saying that he concentrates better with his hands moving. This has led me to warn them that most people do not understand the knitting and understanding thing so they should ask permission before knitting in class. I do not need my staff mad at me!

Mailing information can be found here at the school website. (This way you know I am legit and am not just taking your yarn for myself.)

Thank you in advance!

Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel ...

On Saturday I engaged in a futile search for Chanuckah gelt on my sister-in-law's behalf. Gelt, for the uninitiated, means money but in this context refers to foil covered chocolate coins. It is a traditional Chanuckah treat and is often given inside of hollow plastic dreidels. Saturday's search involved 3 major chain drug stores and the local supermarket. Guys, my apartment complex was built by the Garment Workers Union. In other words -- Jews! Most of the older folk here are, indeed, Jewish or of Jewish upbringing. (Apparently there are a significant number of Communists in the complex as we found out when someone came looking for signatures to get their guy on the Democratic ballot.) So ... why no gelt?

Having given up on the gelt and having passed up the only package of Dreidels that I noticed, we celebrated without.

Sunday night I hear, from my room, crying. Little Squid had just realized that a classmate would not be returning after the break and he wanted to give his friend a gift. He thought that a dreidel would be the perfect gift since his friend did not know what it was. "O.k.," say I, "why don't you stop off at CVS on the way home and pick one up for him." (That was where I saw the lone package on Saturday.) Fine. Off to dreamland he goes and that is the end of the story ... until the next night.

On Monday, Little Squid, Squidette, and Little Squid's chaperone go in to CVS and do not find ready-made dreidels. What they do find is a kit for making dreidels -- yes, out of clay. Home they come, read the directions and stuff quick-dry clay into the mold. Fast forward to 9 p.m. when Little Squid is supposed to be fast asleep. From the depths of my bedroom where I am snuggled deep in bed I hear sobs. Heartbreaking sobs. The kind of sobs that make a mother abandon her husband and run to help.

"I don't know if the dreidel will be ready in time. How can it dry in the mold?" Quick thinking, and without my glasses, I grope around on the floor for the instructions and, turning on the light, attempt to read them. Um ... "Little Squid, you read them."

"Take molded dreidel out of mold and trim excess off with scissors." O.k., seems simple enough. We grab the mold and start unmolding. Nope. No doing. That clay is stuck very nicely in the mold. I dig it out, ball it up and resmush it in the mold. Try once again to extract it. The dreidel is not having it.

O.k., time for some quick thinking again ... "let's leave it in the mold overnight and maybe it will harden enough to remove in the morning." He buys it. Time for bed. Again.

Tuesday morning we successfully extract one side from the mold and leave the other side, which does not want to give up its grip, in the mold to harden while we are gone for the day.

Tuesday evening the dreidel is successfully extracted and left to dry. "But I still have to paint it and one side has to dry before I can paint the other side. If I start it after my homework there will not be enough time to do both sides." The kid should be a lawyer except that he wasn't manipulating us, he was genuinely concerned, knowing the homework always comes first. We grant an exemption and promise that he can paint the first two sides before doing his homework and then finish it up after.

Meanwhile, Mama Squid is terrified that this will not work. She is convinced that the dreidel will not spin and will be far too wonky to please the somewhat picky youngest squid. In a rush of sad-child fueled guilt, she rushes in to two different drug stores on the Upper East Side on Tuesday evening and finds not one shred of Chanuckah stuff. On Wednesday morning she hits a CVS near Little Squid's school then Eli's (Eli Zabar for heavens sake is not stocking enough dreidels to get through Chanuckah?! They do have gelt but at $6 for 24 or so I'm not buying). Frantically she rushes in to a CVS and a Kings Pharmacy which are on her way to work -- still on the Upper East Side -- which is home to many, many Jews.

Finally, in a fit of desperation, Mama Squid parks near the Duane Reade in East Harlem. The logic here is that if all of the stores receive the same stuff to sell then if any store will have dreidels it will be the one in East Harlem -- a very non-Jewish area. Any guesses as to what she found? You got it! Nothing!!! But hey, they barely had Christmas stuff either.

Mama Squid slunk off to work and started sharing her tale of woe with fellow Jews. "Do you have a spare dreidel?" she begged. One promised to raid his son's stash and bring it in tomorrow. "Not the Mickey Mouse one," he said "my son won't part with that one." "And not the ..." "Never mind," came the response. I'll keep looking." Finally, Mama Squid's friend and mentor came through with a jelly bean filled dreidel. She was giving them to her student-aides for the holiday. Phew!

End of story ... the clay dreidel is painted and spins though it is still rather soft. Little Squid will give it to his friend on the last day of school.
(As for why this family has no dreidels to gift ... well it seems that we disposed of all but the glass ones during the great possession purge of the summer of '06.)

First Panel

Here you go -- the first panel of the 7 needed to make a blanket. I will bring home another panel's worth of blocks tomorrow and try to get them together. Ditto Thursday and on Friday I will bring home all of the remaining blocks and try to get a blanket done before the end of the winter break. Piece of cake. (Just don't count on me doing much else.)

Too many knitters to count today -- at least 10 newbies. Two are now knitting in the round and a few are working of scarves for themselves after having contributed multiple blanket blocks.

Anyone have straight needles in the middle sizes that they don't need? I gave mine to the cause several years ago.

(I took a batch of donated dpns and put rubber bands on the ends today -- made about 6 pair this way -- and ran out.)

Holiday, Biking and a newish cousin

The weekend essentially revolved around the winter holdidays. Friday was the first night of chanuckah and we tried a new tactic with our menorah -- the traditional window sill placement. Previously there has been too much in the way of flammable material near our window so the candles were lit on the dining roomtable. This, of course, wrecks havoc with our reading material and since chanuckah candles are notoriously wobbly and cannot be moved once lit, we decided to try our currently-clear sill. What do you think?Yesterday found us upstate with Papa Squid's side of the family. Cousins played together and the adults conversed pleasantly. Here is the newest Cousin Squid cozying up to Squidette.This morning found the kids charging and assembling their gifts from the aunts and uncles. Thank you notes were then written using the stationary provided by another aunt. Yup, looks like what I imagine Christmas morning to look like.

Today was a non-stop day from the time we did the rough fit of my bike to the trial ride through Central Park with Papa Squid (the squidlings were in hebrew school) to returning home to do laundry to a trip to Barnes and Noble for last minute gifts and finally to a trip to the post office to mail out said gifts. Got to love living near the main post office! Open 24/7 it is. Candles, dinner and then some time in the lobby so that Little Squid could get the most out of the remote control hummer with which he was gifted. This thing is almost as big as his bike! No, it did not come from us, we favor smaller gifts.

Finally, a spot of charka spinning to ground me. There are still a few presents that need ends hidden and wrapping wrapped but I am mostly done. Mike will put together his holiday cookie boxes in the morning and I will bring my work presents in tomorrow and hang them where mice cannot get them for the next day or two.

Phew! The next week will be a busy one with publishing parties (Little Squid), "office" parties (me X 2) and students who really want to be else where. Have a wonderful week!

A Holiday Meme

In yesterdays meme, my cousin Elana also tagged her brother. So ... yenta that I am, I had to go check out his blog. Said cousin is a doctor and writes a medical blog (see #3 from yesterday) but I can get over that. In the comments on his answers to the meme was a reference to today's meme which I then took from this blog. So, consider it stolen from the medical blog world and let loose in the knit blog world.

1. Latkes or Sufganiyot?

Latkes! Love that savory goodness.


2. Multi-colored candles or blue-and-white?

What ever is in the box, though I do favor a single color per night with a contrast shamos.

3. Do you place the Hanukiah by the window or away from the window?

Usually away -- we are 11 stories up. We also do not have much space near the window. This year we are trying the window for the first time. I'll let you know how it works out.

4. Favorite Holiday Dish?

Latkes!

5. Favorite Holiday Memory?

Running around with my cousins at the big family chanuckah party.

6. One Hanukiah or more than one?

One. I was brought up with one per person but have been converted to the one-per-family method. Unfortunately we now get one box of chanuckah candles per-kid from religious school so we have a plethora of candles and I am debating going to more than one.

7. Do you remember your favorite gift?

Nope.

8. Favorite Holiday Dessert?

I really do not have one. I know that sufganiot are traditional (jelly donuts) but I am not really a fan of them. Frankly, after pigging out on latkes, I am usually too full for dessert.

9. Favorite Holiday Song?

Ma-o-tuzr. (Rock of Ages) Squidette learned this on the clarinet and violin last year.

I am not tagging anyone but if you want to grab it ... go right ahead. Happy Chanuckah!

5 Things Meme

I've been tagged by my cousin, Elana, to share "Five Things you might not know about me." This is a tough one since I tend to be fairly open in this blog but I will give it a shot.

1. In college I flirted with becoming far more religiously observant then I am now. I saw Judaism as an anchor in a storm and spent my first two years in college taking refuge in the Hillel House at George Washington University. During the end of my sophomore year I deepened a friendship that had existed on a very superficial level with the man who is now known as Papa Squid. When I transfered colleges a few months later, I did not find the same community at the Cornell Hillel house as I had at G.W. and my path towards a very observant life ended. My anchor then took the very real and very solid form of the Love of My Life, Papa Squid.

2. For years I thought that I did not have the right personality to become a teacher despite the fact that it was what I always wanted to be. This stemmed from a misinterpretation of a comment from someone I love and respect. Years later when I was looking at leaving graduate school and going into teaching I mentioned this to the person in question who replied that she meant the lower grades, not the upper ones that I wanted to teach. She thought I'd be great with older kids. I concurred and here I am.

3. I am inexplicably afraid of doctors. I even get nervous calling to make an appointment for an annual check-up for any one of us. My mother-in-law used to enable me in this fear by occasionally calling the pediatrician when one of the kids was sick. Just the fact that she was willing to do this gave me the courage to make the call and deal with it. This is not a disabling fear -- I did go for a well-Mama appointment just yesterday and the kids get taken at least once a year for check-ups as well as the, fortunately, rare sick-kid visits. I used to try to palm off all kid-related doctor appointments on Papa Squid but have almost stopped doing it. Basically I have acknowledged that I have a problem and am handling it in a mature manner.

4. I once swore that I would never get married and never have kids. You see how well I stuck to that one. Good thing I know a stupid decision when I see one.

5. I never intended on becoming an Assistant Principal. When Mike was pushed to start the A.P. program so that he could take over from his soon-to-retire boss, I joined him to get the credits (for salary purposes) and keep him company. Before Mike could step into his bosses job, his boss passed away. Since Mike was not yet certified, the job went to someone else. At the same time my friend and mentor started asking me when I would have my certification because she would not retire until I was ready to step into her job. And there you go.

I tag Ann, Cookie, Dave, Susan and Debbie!

Yea!!!

A Bike Friday (Pocket Crusoe) in its natural habitat ... a NYC apartment.

Oh My!

19 young ladies today. I am and was floored both figuratively and literally. Literally, because there is barely enough room in my office for 3 other people, let alone 19 so we took it to the hallway and sat ... on the floor. I moved from group to group and at least one other staff member pitched in, teaching some of the girls how to cast on using the backward loop method (I tend to teach long-tail.) Most of the kids were new to our sport and took to it like fish to water. Some of the "older" kids taught groups of newbies and everyone had successfully cast on and was actually knitting by the time I kicked them out. A few more have learned to purl and bind off so they are slowly enlarging their skill set. There are now well over 30 blocks on the wall and I have hopes that by next weekend we will have enough for me to put the first blanket together.

A huge Thank You to Debbie whose donation of needles was the only thing that stood between my teaching and my turning kids away today. I had picked up another 5 pair on Friday but with 19 knitters ... at least 10 of them new ... I immediately ran out of medium sized needles. I will have to give a shout out to the kids for a return of materials from those who have given up so that others can learn.(The blocks have been rearranged and are now overlapping in order to fit them all on the board.)

In other news ... on Friday, I received this:
Today, I received this:My New Bike!!! It will be assembled by the ever capable Papa Squid sometime before Sunday.

The Cage ...

We are not cruel and unusual parents. O.k., maybe unusual but not cruel! I'm not sure how the cage wound up being a running joke but it there it is. I passed on Elizabeth's suggestion of a hook from the ceiling but Papa Squid pointed out that our ceilings are too low. So, the cage it is. (Yes, Cookie, he is a nice young man but he is also a monster! A cute monster, kind of like Cookie Monster. Matter of fact he is a lot like Cookie Monster. But not blue and not furry (yet).)

Today I was thrilled to receive a huge package from Debbie! Included were lots yarn and needles for my kids at school and presents for me and the squidlings. The presents have been set aside for the start of Chanuckah in a few days. Thank you, Debbie! I promise pictures when we open them.

The O'neill Building deserves a proper photo on the blog but it will wait until the scaffolding is all gone. It is a beautiful structure and they are putting back two golden domes that were removed a long, long time ago. The first dome is up and glows wonderfully in the sun. Papa Squid and I will do our best to photograph it over the winter break. The developers have done a wonderful job of renovating the Ladies Mile buildings. These were the grand old department stores back when our neighborhood was Uptown.

I am feeling mostly better today and hope this lasts. Its been a long time since a cold has taken over my body for this long. Blah!

And at last, a picture for today -- proof that my odder creations get worn.

Where to Put the Cage?

Here I am, minding my own business, when all of a sudden I am asked, quiet seriously -- "if you move your spinning wheel ... (I look up) and I move some books, we could put the cage there for Little Squid." Given that we have been redecorating again today -- two shelves put up so far -- I figured that the question would be serious. Squidette immediately yells for Little Squid and whines that we are discussing putting a cage in the corner for him. I counter with "no, I want to put it on the terrace."

He'd prefer it in the corner.

That's all I have for you. My cold is still wiping me out and after 4 hours in the synagogue learning about Bat Mitzvah preparations I was not good for anything. For the curious, the event is still 21 months away. And yes, the 4 hour were actually worthwhile and I did not feel like my time had been wasted. I also now have a new appreciation for our Rabbi.

Squidette wound up somewhat saddened as a friend we had not seen in a long time asked after Grandma. She didn't know that Grandma was no longer with us. While it has been over a year, we still feel it pretty keenly when someone brings it up. I could use a parental hug right now. (My folks have been calling to check up on my cold every day which makes me feel loved but sometimes you just need a hug.)

The session also brought up some interesting issues regarding honors and such and all sorts of ways that we could insult (both intentionally and inadvertently) lots and lots of people. Oh Joy.

I think I will go snuffle my way through the bagel cutting now and head off to bed a bit early. No, the mittens are not finished but the new baby blanket is started and I am almost ready to start the heel flap on Little Squid's new sock.

And last, a kind of random image. Please tell me that you interpret the url on this sign the same way I do ...

Slow Saturday

I really want to knit myself a purple scarf to go with my new grey wool coat. The lovely young lady who shepards Little Squid home from school, however, has expressed that she needs mittens. This means that the mitts that I knit for her are now mine. Normally I could easily knock out a plain pair of mittens in 3 days. This has not happened. I got the first one finished except for the thumb, had Squidette try it on and determined that it was too small for the giftee. I then cast on 3 more times before I settled on going up just one size in Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns. By the way, thanks Dave for pointing out that the purpose of the elastic in this book is to keep one's place. I was kind of stupid that way and kept having to leaf through the book to find my page. (The original mitten has been set aside, not frogged, and will eventually get a mate -- probably a spare pair for Little Squid.)

Anyhow, I am once again working on the mittens and swear that I will not start anything for myself until they are done. There is also the matter of a pair of mittens promised to a certain sister. When these are done I will weigh them and determine if darling sister's mittens require a purchase of yarn. (I have half a ball in the right color.) If so ... then she will wait a smidge longer until I get back to Knitty City to get another ball. If not ... then I will cast on and maybe she will get them before she goes back to school for the next semester. Since her birthday is not until March, I figure I have a fair amount of leeway.

We spent much of today at Ikea and actually managed to obtain everything we set out to get. Little Squid now has a new rug for his room, Papa Squid got the small piece of furniture on which to pile things near our bathroom and shelves to go over his desk.

Recently Papa Squid began to work on this place to make it look a little more finished. Given that we never finished painting this summer, it is taking some work. Pictures were hung, shelves were purchased and Herman was placed.Some of my tea pots. The four on the right-hand shelf were given to me by my mother-in-law. From left to right they were obtained during her travels in: China, Italy, Turkey and the Christmas Tree shop. The tea pots on the left shelf (left to right): craft fair here in NYC, Quebec City, my sister-in-law and London. Yes, almost all of my tea pots have a story behind them. There are more of them but they are not yet on obvious display.Herman and friends.

Wow!

As I finally ventured forth to get the yarn for the long-promised baby blanket, I decided to check my mail box first. After all, who knew?

Who knew is right! Look what I found!Chanuckah towels that apparently jumped out at Susan found their way to New York and jumped out of my mailbox. I love them and promise to use them once the holiday starts in a week. Thank you, Susan!

Then, after I thought all possibility of bigger packages was done for the day, the doorbell rings and it is USPS with my Sock-ret pal Angel package!Debbie, you out did yourself.

Included in the package is KnitPicks yarn in a self-striping colorway, purple Cascade 220 (I think I have a vest in mind for this), sockie needle point protectors, an adorable notebook, stationary, a calendar, pens and sparkly pencils, a paw print tape measure, magnets and some other swag that my poor cold-adeled brain can't recall right not. Thank you so much Debbie! The pack of tissues is already in my jacket pocket ready for my non-stop runny nose. *grin*

Two packages in one day. I feel so special!

It's here!!!

Good bye old sofa -- you served us well.Hello New!

By the way, all of our memories are the pits. Squidette remembered it as being blue, I remembered it as being more burgandy and it is ... beige. Which makes perfect sense since we are awful when it comes to committing to color. It does have burgandy, gold and green in the swirls so those will be what I look for when I go shopping for the yarn for a new sofa blanket.

Now to take that nap I was talking about!

Saga of the Squirrel: Act 3

(I figure I can be productive while I am waiting for the couch so ... here you go.)

Saga of the Squirrel: Act 3

As our story begins, I am once again spending time wandering the building, checking on the temperature in classrooms, touching base with staff and basically doing my job. I had left my office with the windows closed because it was still early in the day and my office was not yet over heated -- that and I was being very wary of the squirrels.

When I returned I found my office under siege. Apparently a squirrel had entered the office to my east and the occupants had chased it into my office and cornered it there.
Now remember -- my windows were CLOSED so there was no way out for this guy.

Maintenance is called and a guy comes in, armed with a window pole, and opens the top window. For some reason he thought the squirrel would climb up to it. Given what had happened the day before, I seriously doubted this and said so. So, he goes in again, armed with the window pole, and discovers that the angle does not work for using the pole
on to open the lower sash. Stymied, we stood there for a while.

Finally I offered to go in (we had not seen the squirrel for quite a while) and just open the window. The maintenance guy gets the hint (I really was going in) and did it himself. While he was in there I took advantage of the open door and grabbed my squirrel trap so I could bait it. We stand vigil for a while, watching the window to see if it leaves. I bait the trap and slide it into the office. A service monitor is placed at the door to watch for the squirrel and I go and try to do work elsewhere.

After an hour or so I return to reports of no sighting of the furry. So, I figure the coast is clear and go back into my office and spend the rest of the day working at my desk. At the time I am convinced (I think) that he is gone. The day is spent a little on edge while I wait for the squirrel to poke it's nose out of a box of yarn.

The trap stays, baited, under my desk. Just in case.

The Best Laid Plans

Plan for tomorrow:

1. Get up before the crack of dawn.

2. Wake kids up shortly after before the crack of dawn.

3. Drag sleepy kids uptown to friends house for drop off by 7:00 a.m.

4. Rush back home for couch delivery.

5. Wait for couch.

6. Wait for couch.

7. Wait for couch. (Couch is due between 8 and 10 a.m.)

8. Accept delivery of couch and bribe nice gentlemen to take old couch to garbage room.

9. Put living room back in order.

10. Collapse on new couch and sleep, sleep, sleep.

11. Wake up, eat lunch, go back to sleep.

12. Pick up kids from school.

What do you think? Other then the morning rush and the strain of waiting (and the strain of having totally forgotten what this thing is supposed to look like) there is nothing else and I refuse to put anything else there. If some knitting or spinning gets done, wonderful. If a closet gets straightened -- then I've lost my mind.

I need to sleep. This cold has been dragging me down for 4 days now and I need this day.

Some Answers

For those of you in the know, my first Sock-ret pal was a bit on the slow side. I am sure she meant well but the end of the first sending period came and went and nothing was sent. The powers-that-be (Rachel) intervened and I was gifted with both an Angel and a second sock-ret pal (known known as Socky the Second). Socky the Second asked some questions earlier so I figure I will answer them before I go to work.

First, do you really want solids? I too am drawn to the siren song of variegated yarn and I too feel I should invest in more solids. So do you REALLY want solids or would you rather stay on the dangerous path that is lovely variegated yarn? It's alright, you can be honest, it won't go beyond me, you, and everyone who reads the comments on your blog.

Actually, no. I really want variegated. I love seeing how the colors swirl and change.

Second, Elizabeth Peters (love her, LOVE HER), do you have a particular series you prefer? Just curious.

I just finished listening to the Amelia Peabody series and have only spot tasted her other stuff but I have liked it all. The Amelia books are so much my faves that I have been known to read and listen to them and then relisten when I could not decide on a new audio book.

Third- er- third...um, seems wrong not to have a third, doesn't it? But, really, your site, fantastically informative. So I guess, for now, it's the two.

Why thank you. I try to be amusing and informative.

Do you mind to post answers here? Or in posts, you know, I'm not sockticular.

Actually, I mind very much. *grin*

Best inky wishes,
Socky the Second
(Squids are inky, right? Not just octupus? Or was that a really sad example of my high school biology learnin'?)

Yes, Squid are inky. You can even buy canned squid in their own ink. No kidding. We, however, in the Squid-Knit family are not inky unless our pens are leaking ... or unless we adorn ourselves with Bobs. But that's another story. Time to go to work.

Teens Knitting: An Even Dozen

The knitting club has finally reached critical mass. There are now young ladies stopping by my office at all hours looking for yarn and instruction. It has been a long time since things have been this way and I must say that I missed it. If I am going to fully understand why I do what I do then I have to be surrounded by my "clients," the kids in our school. The knitting club had taken a back seat to other responsibilities, both work related and personal, and I lost touch with the average kid. Today I realized that I have finally gained back the critical mass of kids that makes this such a wonderful endeavor.

Last week we moved the group in to a near by, larger, office. My friend was out of the building and I figured that she would not mind. (She didn't.) Yesterday, when my office started overflowing, we were invited next door where a dozen young ladies sat knitting and learning to knit while the my friend sat and worked at her desk.

Periodically, one or another would get up and go in to my office to get a different yarn but for the most part they sat quietly chatting in while helping each other out. One young lady is trying to knit mitts for herself, another is making a bright, striped, scarf and most of the rest are working on the blanket blocks shown above. As of this morning we had 22 blocks. Warm Up America calls for 49 blocks per blanket so we are well on our way. My goal is to get this done with fewer than half being made by me. Since only one, so far, is mine, it looks like we will do it! Meanwhile, I am knitting two small blocks together to make a double sized block and have to even out another with an interesting shape. I also have to buy more pins to put the blocks up on the wall.

The Enforcer!

That's me! I am the gal who enforces the rules as set forth by the Powers that Be. Today I enforced the regulation regarding Holiday displays. Notice that Holiday is capitalized as per my newly adopted faith, that of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I had already adopted the "Pirates vs. Global Warming" hypothesis (it makes a good point of how statistics can be bent to ones own purposes) so it was only a short hop to full fledged Pastafarianism. As of tomorrow I am going to display an empty box of Ronzoni in my office in celebration of the Holiday. I'm pretty sure that no one can object unless it attracts mice.

Since Pastafarianism is a laid back, accept all, kind of thing, I also feel free to commemorate a military victory and it's associated miracle which occurred over 2000 years ago. Remind me to show you a picture of my way cool menorah sometime during this celebration two weeks from now.

Meanwhile I will refrain on commenting on the Sock-ret pal issues (scroll down to see Rachel's posts) except to point out that there is a reason I have not thanked anyone for a package in the last 2 months. Thank you to Rachel and Dani for working out the problems. I swear here and publicaly that I will NEVER stand up a swap partner!!! Thank you to the people who have stepped up to the plate as angels and second pals!!!

It's Not Christmas Yet

Earlier, but not early enough, KnittyOtter asked me to take my camera with me on my walk to midtown when I went to resupply myself with cosmetics. Oops! I had meant to take the camera to give you all a taste of NYC during the holiday season -- the store windows and such -- but I was in such a rush to beat the crowds and claim my makeup bonus that I forgot the camera. Besides, without snow it is not quite as nice.

So, in an effort to make it up to my favorite Otter, I present some of the unusual bits of my neighborhood and NYC in general as captured during a later trip out with Squidette to get some boxes for holiday cookies.

In Manhattan there are no large lots to set up for Christmas tree sales so we get these sidewalk stands that tend to pop up the day after Thanksgiving.

Yes, this one has been there for a week already. They eat up half the sidewalk but I kind of like them because they add such a lovely smell to the overly polluted air. When it snows, they are positively lovely.

We just stumbled across this firehouse. I know I have passed it before but I do not think I've ever noticed it during the holiday season.

There were actually two of these trees and the picture does not do it justice. The tree is covered in silk flowers like the bundle pictured at the bottom. We chose this one to pose the hand coverings on.







KnittyOtter kind of guilted me in to hiding some ends before I went out. I say some ends because I did the ends on each of one of the 3 pairs of hand coverings available. (Actually the single glove ends were already hidden but those on its mate are not). Yes, the mates are still waiting for their ends to be hidden and a snake scarf is waiting for it's eyes and tongue.

Lazy Weekend

For those waiting for the outcome to the latest Act in the Saga of the Squirrel ... it is rather lame ... he appears to have found his way out of the building. At least that is what we think. The exterminator did come back and set up a Hav-a-Heart trap early on Friday but it was still empty by the time I left for the day. If it is empty tomorrow we will call this tale closed.

Meanwhile I have been so wiped out this week that I have not even started editing Act 3 of the Saga so you will have to wait a bit for it. Hey, good things come to those who wait. Right?

I have been very productive on the knitting front but since ends are not yet hidden and it is still totally dark here, there are no photos for now. Maybe tomorrow.

All of the planned holiday gifts are done. 2 teacher scarves, 1 pair of mitts (my own design) for the third teacher (I got bored of scarves), 1 pair of Fetching for our Little Squid transit person (babysitter just sounds wrong), the Violin teacher gauntlets and socks for my boss. Maybe I will make one or two more gifts but none are planned for now. Instead I am back to trying to finish some of you UFOs and I will finally buy the yarn for and start the last baby blanket that I owe. I also owe the kid sister mittens and a hat but hey, her birthday isn't until March so I have time.

We did get a new fan / light for Little Squid. Lowes had some really cool ones and this new one would look better in a living room or such but it is what he wanted and the price was in our range. We will hook it this afternoon. Yes, I will take pictures -- exciting, no?

I also have more Knitting Club tales but since I didn't post it last week I will give double -- and pictures of the blanket in progress (15 blocks so far) this week.

Otherwise my big plans for the day involve laundry and the purchase of make-up which will involve a trip into Midtown and a department store during the holiday season. Yes, I am nuts but I will also not make it through the month with what I have and hey, they have a Bonus!