Springtime in January

We took advantage of the unseasonable weather and went for the first ride of the year.Mounting our trusty steeds we rode down, around and back up the tip of Manhattan exiting the waterside paths at 10th street to obtain some baked goods. (Read: cookies!) Having heard about a bakery which gives 50% off all purchases to those who arrive on bike, I figured if four of us arrived then they should be paying us to take their goods. My opinion, however, was disregarded as we stocked up on cookies, muffins and oh so yummy pastry. (We really did not get all that much.)Walking for a bit, as the kids refueled, we showed them our old High School which was a bit confusing since it had the same name as the school where Papa Squid earns his salary.O.k., it is the same school, just a different building.

Stuyvesant High School is an august institution in New York City and as such earned itself a new building in 1992. The building pictured above once housed Stuyvesant and is where Papa and Mama Squid met many, many years ago. It is not, alas, where they fell in love. That happened on the Brooklyn Bridge, a few years later. But you've seen pictures of the Bridge of Love so I do not have to show it again right now.
Continuing west, still on foot, we passed the Friends Meeting House, circa 1860. I have always admired this building and had it permanently ingrained on my brain during my years in high school. It speaks plainly and simply and gives a feeling of solidness and stability. It is still used by the Friends (Quakers) as a meeting house.

We finished our ride with a quick stop at the Union Square Greenmarket for locally grown apples and then headed back home. Total milage: 11.1 -- see the new list in the side bar.




Yes, I have switched to the new Blogger and am working on tweaking my new template. In the process I lost some stuff including a button or two but I will try to get those back soon. I also lost last years ride stats. Oh well. I guess I can mostly reconstruct them from the archives but it is probably not worth the effort.

The Plural of Asparagus

Did you know that the word asparagus has no plural? (Watch my dad go running for his dictionary ... wait ... there he goes!) And, that squirrels need to chew to keep their teeth clean and sharp? And that one boy knitting can result in 5 more girls knitting within 24 short hours? And that my kids are singing "we are out of rice krispies" (from Pagliaci) in a very nice harmony? And, did you know that Timex does not make a dress watch that costs more then $60?

The asparagus question came up as the squidlings played with quick-dry modeling clay making ... asparagus. The answer to why the squirrel needed to chew on my window came from Susan. The knitting boy is the newest member of our club. The rice krispies verse comes from the Simpsons, an episode which also features the famous line "Farfalle! Farfalle vendetta!" A phrase which evoked tears from Little Squid when the rest of us insisted on saying "Vendetta farfalle!" No messing around with this kid.

The watch is a by product of the red shorts episode on Wednesday. When I ordered the shorts I also ordered a new watch for Squidette ... the lovely Tinkerbell watch that I brought from Disney World has a charm on it that tinkles whenever she does her Hermione imitation in school ... something she does frequently as she is a smart Squid and knows not to hide it. While searching for a watch for my darling daughter (I'm not mad anymore) I looked for an inexpensive watch for myself and found a nice gold-tone one with the price cut way down. I am still looking for a really nice dress watch for myself but this will do in the interim.

The shorts and watches arrived today, not even 48 hours after they were ordered. Squidette is thrilled with her watch and shorts and I am so happy with my own watch that I went to the Timex site to see if they made an even nicer watch. Nope. It is tempting to just buy a whole bunch of nice Timex watches and call it done but I will probably continue my search for a dainty dress watch with a gold band through the summer.

And there you are, all caught up. Tomorrow it is supposed to be very warm and I am thinking very seriously about the first bike ride of 2007.

Squirrel Snack?

Tell me why, with the incredibly mild winter we are having, did a squirrel have to come right up to my office window and start gnawing on the frame? (While I was sitting there able to witness this audacious act.)

Isn't there enough food in the park for him?

Isn't there enough food just lying around the perimeter of the school for him?

Is he getting one last taste in before they finish replacing the windows?

Does he realize that the third floor windows are now framed in ungnawable metal?

Does he just want to drive me nuts?!

Inquiring minds want to know.

Moving Right Along ...

and trying not to kill my kids. O.k., that may be a bit of an exaggeration. Actually I managed to mostly control my temper while tearing Squidette's room apart in search of the p.e. uniform. This is where Mama learns that no matter how many times you tell a kid to do something, they have to learn it the hard way. She will go in pink shorts tomorrow, take the penalty and not claim that they faded in the wash. (Yes, I thought of that and then thought better.) New red shorts are on order. Do you know how hard it is to find shorts on-line at this time of year? Campmor to the rescue!

Little Squid is driving us a bit nuts with his inconsistency in test prep and, taking the advice of a good friend, we have shelved it in an effort to not make him any crazier then he already is. Don't want to give the poor kid a complex. I will be very happy when the NCLB required test is over at the end of next week. One of these days I will prepare a nice long rant on standardized testing -- whether I will post it or not is another question. On a nicer front, Little Squid adopted an onion, named it George, and is tracking its growth through photos and a written long. Guess what you have to look forward to in a few weeks!

Squid Knits has been successfully migrated to the new Blogger and I will play with it over the next few days and see what this new platform can do.

Supplies!

All I can say is WOW! All this and the post office was not even open today. Yes, the answer is actually pretty obvious -- the mail was delivered during the break. That does not always happen so it was a really cool surprise. The first two packages were in my office when I came in and then I found three more in the main office and almost started crying. There were packages from Elizabeth, Ann, Paul, Anne and Susan and I brought in a bag of supplies (not pictured) from Mary.

14 young ladies came by over the course of the day and signed the card we are sending with the blanket and grabbed supplies. Anne sent cute bags that the girls plopped their projects in to and Paul sent munchies so they were well fueled with sugar while knitting this afternoon. 7 more blocks were collected and many more were pledged. The girls loved how it all came together and they were really proud of themselves.

We are leaving the blanket on display until after lunch on Friday when another staff member and I will walk it and some coats that came in after the coat drive ended over to a local organization. They will make sure that it goes to someone who needs it.

Thank you all for your help and support in this project. We really could not do it without you!

Last FOs of 2006

Yup, I actually finished two more projects yesterday.

A baby blanket for a colleague.

Socks for Little Squid.
Then I started Monkey for Squidette and am almost done with the first repeat. The first sock was cast on by the light of my computer while I waited for midnight. I find it useless to try to go to sleep on New Year's eve because the sounds of the revelers uptown inevitably wakes me up and startles me into several hours of wakefulness. If I stay up I can then be in bed by 12:03 and actually asleep a few minutes later. This year, Little Squid and Squidette joined me for the last 15 minutes of 2006 and the first 2 minutes of 2007. We watched the ball drop, heard the cheers drifting downtown from Times Square and went back to sleep. Yea, we are real party animals! (Papa Squid woke up as I came back to bed, rolled over and went back to sleep.)

Happy New Year to You and Your Family!

Finished!

Possibly the only project I will finish this break --the first Manhattan Center Blanket!!! A collaboration of staff and students over the course of a month. (Some of the small patches date back to a project started several years ago and never finished. They worked well with some of the off sized blocks to make up a double-size panel.)

I understand that the school website has been down most of this week and I appologize to those trying to get our address. The school address is: Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics High School (MCSM for short), 280 Pleasant Avenue, New York, NY 10029. Thank you so much for your support! (Please enclose a note with your email address so that I can get a quick acknowledgement off as soon as your package arrives. Tax receipts and proper thank you notes will be sent by USPS at a slightly slower pace.)

Weird Things Meme

I was tagged by Helen for this one so here goes ...

1. I used to be a major Star Trek geek. Yup, constant convention attendance, pretending to be crew, 6 of the 9 yards. (Never did dress in costume or try to learn Klingon.)

2. I shave my legs and pits dry. Out of the shower, in a separate bathroom. Never shall H2O and razor meet. (In my defense, I seriously cut myself -- like 6 inch long scrape -- twice in college while shaving my legs.)

3. I have a (legitimate) graduate degree from a school I did not attend until well after the degree was awarded. (The branch of the City University I was attending did not give Masters Degrees and I refused to leave without one. A deal was cut with a different branch of the University, a paper was written and a degree was granted for work done off-site. The school in question now grants en-route Masters as a matter of course.) I later attended the second school for my educational supervisory/administrative credentials and have to ask for 2 transcripts from them any time I need one -- I also have to get the transcript from the original school to prove the coursework.)

4. I have 2 degrees in Biology and spend most of my work day as an administrator and have almost nothing to do with the subject at work.

5. It is almost impossible for me to eat a meal without some sort of text in front of me. If I eat at my desk, I read email. At home the table matter is usually the newspaper or magazines.

6. I would rather pay full price then go from store to store looking for a bargain. (This may only be weird to my mom and sisters.)

I'm going to be weird and not tag anyone with this right now ... maybe later.

A Walk Around the West Village

After walking downtown to find a geocache in the West Village, we continued east to Washington Square Park where we introduced the kids to the Hanging Tree (the tree doesn't hang, people used to hang from it) and the Washington Square Arch (pictured below).
Gesturing around us, we told them that New York University owns pretty much everything on three sides of the park and then we continued on to the Asch Building, home of the former Triangle Shirtwaist company. For those of you who care, the Triangle Shirtwaist factory was the site of a horrific fire that changed both the state of unionization in New York City and the fire codes. The union that was responsible for building the complex we live in was born partly as a result of the Triangle fire.The Triangle building is now owned by NYU.

Heading east, we encountered the Alamo at Astor Place and took it for a spin ...Yes, it really spins and yes, they were able to do it.

And then pointed out Cooper Union, one of our premier institutions of higher education (and free!).
And then, keeping our eyes open, headed to Union Square for some Greenmarket apples stopping first for some chocolate! Squidette and Papa Squid spotted this place while we were riding the NYC Century and they have been there, with Little Squid but without me. A ultra chocolate cake was purchased. Forgive me while I stop writing to indulge in a very chocolate memory ...

As we headed uptown we spotted this manhole cover ...and pointed out Tammany Hall. (Tammany Hall is synonymous with political corruption in NYC.)Tammany Hall

The rest of our morning was anticlimactic after all that history and chocolately goodness as we returned home to a late lunch and some quiet activities. I actually did some spinning and listened to a Lisa Scottoline book and now will bake some cranberry muffins. Yes, I said bake. Pick yourself up off the floor now and stop laughing!

More NYC during December

Yesterday we had to run some errands in the morning, we were also trying to get out of the way of our cleaning lady, so we took off on foot for the Main Post Office at 32nd Street. It just so happens that this exalted edifice (now covered in scaffolding so not photoworthy) is our post office -- you know, the one where packages go if you are not home. I realize that most of my blog readers live in locales where having one post office in walking distance is unusual -- we have at least 3.

After dropping off two packages and purchasing stamps we headed to the most local of famous department stores -- Macy's (nope, don't expect me to figure out how to substitute a star for an apostrophe). To avoid photo overload, most of the pictures are here and here (along with all of the car pictures and the rest from Christmas Day). The most exciting of the Macy's pretties? The Holiday Squid!
Fast -- identify the movie that this quote is from!After Macy's we wandered uptown, attempting to remember where the instrument store was. After a bit of arguing back and forth we managed to settle on the correct one and secured some reeds and cork grease for Squidette. Woo Hoo!

During our wanderings we found this:and along our path home we found this:and this:

Discriminating Squid that we are, we made no purchases from these locales but did indulge in some Chocolate Haven purchased Hot Chocolate when we came home.

Oh, and for those of you looking for knitting content ... umm there is none. The school blankie is being crocheted together -- three out of 6 panels are now one -- and there are lots of other projects in progress but none really photo worthy. I have been doing some spinning, though.

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)