I don’t desire you carnally

The view from today

The crazies are back in Dupont Circle. And I have to admit I have kind of missed them.

I work in Dupont Circle so I often eat lunch in the park. Today was my first visit this season and boy, what a welcoming.

On my walk from the bagel place to the circle I encountered the homosexual. That’s his name, don’t be offended.

As I was walking up P Street, I heard and then saw a man ranting about something at the top of his lungs. As he approached I noticed the crayola orange and yellow hair and the Hollywood Video shirt. Before I knew it, he as on bended knee in front of me yelling

It’s not my fault I am a homosexual. I don’t desire you carnally.

at the top of his lungs

My first thought, wouldn’t this message be better served on a male? I KNOW you don’t desire me carnally.

It was funny, not threatening in any way. It’s interesting how you get a vibe off of people. Some aren’t threatening, others leave your heart pounding in your chest.

And then there is the guy (??) who see around a lot. S/he was once on my bus, harrassing this woman and her child. The bus driver kicked him off, into the welcoming arms of the secret service cop-on-a-bike who happened to be riding by (my bus rides by the VPs house). This person scares me. Even when s/he wearing blue fuzzy bunny ears like today, I avoid him/her. I am not sure of the sex of this individual. Rather androgenous.

Only in America

Knitting

I am participating in a secret pal exchange organized through the Knitters Review web site. I got my package this week! It as a very nice interruption at work which is nutty right now.

Thanks KRSP!

I had fun putting together my package for my SP. She lives in South Dakota and does not blog so I have to go on her likes and dislikes from the questionnaire. It’s fun shopping because I don’t feel guilty buying stuff for someone else like I do for myself.

I am still plugging away on the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I picked up the 70s jacket last weekend because I needed some mindless knitting while watching a movie. Sunrise has a pattern that has to be followed line by line so it’s hard to do both.

Other Entertainment

I rented “Assisted Living” which was so disappointing. I didn’t even finish watching it.

I also saw “Tsotsi” which was great (it won the Academy Award for foreign film).

Spring in D.C.

Here are some pictures from my Cherry Blossom trip to the Mall (that’s the National Mall) w/new-guy-G on Sunday. We had a marathon 8-hour first-date that started with lunch in Georgetown, walking all the way to the Capitol, and then back to Georgetown (via cab) for dinner.

It was such a beautiful day! If you have never seen the Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C., put it on the list of things to do in this lifetime. Pictures and words can not capture them at all. The light they produce, the color, the number of trees, it’s like a pink cloud. It is one of the highlights of living here, and I go every year.

Don't Snip the Tip

One of the more humorous things we encountered on the "marathon" was the protesters on the lawn of the Capitol. Yes, you read that correctly. They were protesting cirumcision.

The bus driver who was waiting for his young charges to return after snapping their pictures at the Capitol couldn't believe it. "With the war going on, the healthcare crisis, phones being tapped, these people are protesting circumcision. My goodness."

Only in America.

Bad art in Bethesda

What is with the schlock hanging in so many of the art galleries in Bethesda?

On Sunday, Corey and I recreated the Friday night gallery walk in Bethesda, thanks to a handy postcard we came across in a kiosk. I was itching to get out on Sunday and he was game so off we went.

The day was fun, but the art was so disappointing. I shutter to even call it art. None of what we saw was original, in any way.

In one gallery there was an artist whose work consisted of recreations of great works (The Last Supper, for example), substituting martini decorations, like olives and lemon twists, for Jesus and John the Baptist. OMG.

It was embarrassing. And people buy this shit which makes me even more scared.

What is with oil paintings that are numbered like prints? Now I understand the ‘10/250’ means this is print number ten out of 250 created. But bad oil paintings are being churned out, too, a la Thomas Kincaide, was all I could figure.

There were a few galleries that weren’t open, like the Washington School of Photography that we will go back and see. And another one that was closed on Sunday and had a By Appointment Only sign in the window meaning, if you aren’t a serious collector, stay away. Hint taken.

During the trek through Bethesda we stopped for hot chocolate and got to sit-in on what looked like a second date. Its not like we were eavesdropping because it was all we could do not to hear them. After checking them both out, we gave it the thumbs-down. They just didn’t look like they went together.

Sunrise Circle Jacket progress

I have been working on the Sunrise Circle Jacket exclusively in order to get it done before July. I have posted on the KAL here.

So far this is fun to knit, the pattern looks long and complicated but it really isn't. Actually, having a pattern makes is go faster I think.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Ahh, the weekend is here. This is one of those Fridays where I sit on the couch and let go of a crazy week. It’s a feeling of relief that I don’t have to do anything tomorrow but what I want to do. What a great feeling!

Knitting
Tonight I am working on the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I think I am going to work on this project exclusively so I get it done in a reasonable time. Translation: maybe I can wear it before it gets to warm.

And I am part of Secret Pal 8, put together through the Knitter’s Review list serv. This is going to be fun. I see so many of these posted on blogs I read, so now it’s my turn.


Dating
Last weekend I was going on and on about how great things with Chris were going.

(sound of brakes squealing)

This weekend, not so much.

I just don’t understand. I am dumbfounded, hurt, confused, angry, embarrassed, and pissed off. Last Friday we met for dinner. It went fine, had a nice time, showed him my place. Things were peachy.

Saturday we were supposed meet down on the Mall after my shift volunteering at the Smithsonian and go the American Indian Museum.

He never showed up. I called him when he was 20 minutes late, wondering what was going on, and his phone went right to voice mail. What the… I was stunned. I tried him a few more times over the weekend and every time his phone went right to voice mail.

Every scenario I could come up with was running through my head. I was convinced he got mugged after he left my place that Friday night. I have even been reading the obituaries this week! My friends convinced me to stop calling him after Sunday. They are totally right, but it has been hard. Not one word from him. He could have bowed out in an email or text message even. But I haven’t gotten on single word.

I just don’t get it.

But I guess I am better off knowing now what a toad he is rather than months from now.

On a completely hysterical note, Charles is back. In D.C. no less. He moved to St. Louis a few months ago, finally, after finishing the house he was fixing up. We had spoken a few times since his move. But Wed. he calls to tell me he could not find a job that paid enough in St. Louis so he is back at his old firm, working here.

My life is a sit-com. I envision these crazy scenarios unfolding on TV screens across the country. It’s not on my TV screen, though, because I am living it.

Wool? It's 70 degrees!

Here's the progress so far.

I am using Sierra Aran in Mulberry that I found on sale at elann.com for $3.00 a ball. The color is a little darker than I wanted but it is growing on me. And now that it is 70 degrees is D.C. I am also rethinking the wool.

Per usual, I am a little off in my rows already, but no worries. It all ends up working in the end. So far the pattern is easy to follow.

There are some great pictures on the blog st up for this piece, click on the button up top.

U-turn ahead

Dear readers, I have been holding out on you. The dating life has taken a major turn this week. Major.

Remember Chris, met back in December, went out a couple of times, had fun, then he disappeared? He then resurfaced in January, acting a bit aloof, which was getting annoying. All I wanted to know was ‘What do you want? Are we just going to talk on the phone occasionally for 5 to 10 minutes? Will we ever see each other?’ It was going nowhere.

I took my friend Sophie’s advice, don’t call him. Ever. Even in a moment of weakness. So I didn’t. (Except for last Thursday.)

Brrring-brrring on Tuesday afternoon. It’s Chris, how are you, do you want to meet at Starbucks after work today, call me on my cell.

Brrring-brrring. Hi Chris, what’s up.

We have perfectly enjoyable conversation. Banter, wit are passed back and forth. And then I went for it. “So, do you want to meet for coffee in a few?” He wasn’t asking so I thought I would.

We met at Starbucks in Dupont Circle. You know, the triangular one. It was crowded so we sat outside because it was pretty nice. More enjoyable conversation, banter, wit. We talked about the black/white thing again, are we seeing anyone, do we have any prospects. Then moved to Books a Million because it was getting chilly.

The place was empty, perfect for the conversation getting more serious. Then Chris starts pouring his heart out to me. How much he likes me, how afraid of his feelings for me he was, how he was hoping I was dating someone when he got back in touch in Jan. so he could just not deal with his feelings and move on, how when you reach our ages (36 & 37) you know what you want in a mate, how he thought he had it together on his walk to Starbucks but when he saw me standing there reading the paper he lost it again. Yadda yadda yadda. Forgive the yaddas, but I can’t even remember half of what he said. Does that happen to you in intense situations?

Phew, I was overwhelmed. But in a good way. In a great way! All of this has been sinking in and we have talked a lot since and it is all really good.

a thorough blast

My weekend in N.H. w/my college friends was a thorough blast. It was so much fun surprising them! Deb and I planned this trip back in February and she kept the secret, bless her. The great thing about this group of friends is that we pick up right where we leave off, regardless of how much time has passed since our last get together.

I really miss that living in D.C. I have a few friends here but nothing like my college buds. Maybe it’s the circumstance that we all met. Scared college freshman, no one knowing anyone else. We all had one thing in common: we were freshmen in college. It gets harder and harder as I get older to make and keep friends. Everyone is in their own world, myself included.

So it is so refreshing and energizing when I see the Simmons crowd. We hung around talking, drinking wine, eating a lot of cheese, a little shopping, made earrings. Great fun. Our next reunion is the annual trip to York Beach, Maine in early June. Everyone brings their kids and husbands so it is great fun.

They loved their scarves, wore them all weekend, which was very gratifying and they really appreciated that I made them. I was frantically knitting, trying to get them all done at the end of last week. I was weaving in ends an hour before I left for BWI! And I found out on Wed. night that another friend was driving up from Conn. on I cheated and gave her the spiral scarf I made for myself a few months ago. No worries, I will whip out another one.

I started the Sunrise Circle Jacket. As often happens with my knitting, I miss count rows, miss increases, yadda yadda so I think I am already a little off. But I will keep plowing through. The knit along is very helpful already with advice from people who have started the jacket and have worked out some kinks so the rest of us won’t struggle. Check it out. I haven't posted anything yet but will very soon.

Maybe I am not up to gift-knitting

Yikes. I am now in panic mode to finish the scarves for my friends before I leave on Friday morning.

This is similar to how I felt doing gift-knitting at Christmastime. I hit the wall last night when finishing up #3. I had some family drama to deal with last night so I was behind in the knitting I had planned. So I sped up the knit and purl rows, listening to the droan of the TV, waiting for the end of the row.



From top to bottom:
Antique
Barrington
Sierra
Lion Brand "Homespun"



I got a few rows of #4 done at the office today. But I had to go to Mass to get my ashes for Ash Wednesday. (Luckily boss is out today so I could sneak out.) That cut into precious knitting time, too. (Was that comment a sin?)



I found out about Sunrise Circle Jacket Knit Along so I joined. It’s not a true knitalong because every one is at a different point, but close enough. There is some good advice from people who have finished, an excellent benefit to group-knit. Now there’s much better chance of me completing it so I can wear it before summer. I will get started next week for sure.

Oh the mystery

Still chugging away at the spiral scarves for the girls. I leave for N.H. on Friday so I need to get them all done by Thursday night, but I am more than half-way there. I bring them wherever I go these days to get a few stitches in here and there.

I considered sitting in the kitchen and knitting during lunch at work today. I usually do it at my desk. I probably would have freaked out the co-workers. I have worked at my job for 6 years now and I love that my colleagues know so little about me. Anything I do that is a little different is cause for alarm. Oh the mystery.

I am not particularly fond of some of my colleagues. I have never bought into the fake family atmosphere that lingers. It gives me the creeps, actually. For example, we have parties if people are leaving, having a baby, getting married – I guess that covers the special occasions – that includes a collection for a gift, snacks, cake, the fiancé or fiancée, some sort of presentation from the boss, you know the drill. They can be so painful because it seems so forced.

I finally put my foot down last month when I boycotted the getting-married party for a guy that I can’t stand. And I am feeling pretty good about it. I tend to have very strong principals.

I digress. This really is knitting content! Read on.

Corey and I went to Fast Eddie’s in Alexandria to get some dinner and play pool on Saturday night. I was wearing the bell-sleeve shrug that day (and I got 2 compliments earlier in the day!) and it was working for me. I didn’t know how comfortable it would be and if would I feel like something was missing, but it was fine, I am happy with it.

So I am innocently standing there, sucking at pool but having fun because Corey keeps hitting the 8-ball into the pocket, handing the win to me, when this very buzzed girl who was playing two tables down from us (we will call her Whale Tail) comes over and starts trying to unroll the back of the shrug to lay flat. Whale Tail mutters something like it has been driving her crazy all night, does her thing, and goes back to her table. It all happened in a matter of moments and was surreal. Even now, thinking about it, it was like a flash.

I guess I could have returned the favor and gone over the pulled up her jeans that flashed her thong everytime she bent over.

The final word

Knitters, we have arrived. This is from today’s Miss Manners column:

Dear Miss Manners:
I am a knitter. I took up the hobby a few years ago as a remembrance of a relative who was an avid knitter, and I found that it satisfied me in unexpected ways. It reminds me of my relative, relaxes me and provides a creative outlet.

Naturally, one of the most enjoyable aspects is giving the items I produce to friends and relatives and seeing them in use. Last year I made a little sweater in my niece's favorite color and sent it to her "just because." She liked it and wore it, and I saw pictures of her in it, which was all very gratifying. Recently I saw that my sister had listed it for sale on eBay as part of a large batch of used clothes for sale. It sold for a pittance. I feel kind of hurt and upset over this.

I haven't confronted her because I'm not sure what I really expected her to do with it when it no longer fit. This just makes me very uncomfortable and concerned about the disposition of future gifts. They take a lot of time and money to create. Each one is made with a specific person in mind, and to me that makes it priceless, in a way. Still, I understand that a gift is a gift and it would be improper to request it back. What do you think?

That you had hoped that the sweater would be kept as an heirloom to be passed to your niece's children and grandchildren. You have, Miss Manners observes, a charmingly sentimental nature, as evidenced by your continued association of your hobby with your relative.
But you cannot require this of others. A present is a present to be used as the recipient chooses. True, the giver should be spared pain, but the chances of your finding this on eBay -- please tell Miss Manners you weren't looking for it -- are so small as to be considered an accident.

knitting trance

Have you ever found yourself in a knitting trance? Must. get. this. done. If my condo was on fire I wouldn’t have budged from my spot on the couch last night. These spiral scarves I am making for my friends I am going to see in March might be the death of me.

I breezed through the first two which really surprised me. But they weren’t that twisty and looked a little skinny. I held them up with other one I made months ago and noticed that it weighed a lot more. So I finally admitted to myself that something was wrong.

I read the pattern, all 10 lines, a couple of more times and the light bulb turned on. Every stitch is a YO in the increase row. I misunderstood, thinking I was YOing, then knitting, then YOing, then knitting. But no, the YO is a stitch in and of itself, not part of a knit stitch.

Back to the beginning Sarah.

The bright side is I bought Homespun in a color (Sierra) that I would not have bought for myself and I really like it. There I go thinking outside of the box again.

This project is what is inducing yarn-trance. But it’s hard to watch triple-axels and Chad and Shani snipe at each other (come on ladies!) and knit at the same time. Kind of like watching a sub-titled foreign film. Impossible.

But for now I am back to the scarves…



However, when I am done, lookey what I bought, on SALE, for the Sunrise Circle Jacket.

Peruvian “Sierra Aran” in Mulberry, on sale at elann.com for $2.98 a ball. This is a deep purple with a slight heather so it's not totally flat. They have some really nice colors. I really like the orange in the picture, but it's really not my color.

Shopping and Sushi

Knitting

Here is the progress of the spiral scarves that I am knitting for my friends I will see in March in NH. I am rolling through them really quickly. Maybe I will finish over this long weekend.

AC Moore is having a Midnight Madness sale tomorrow, Feb. 19. Save 25%! Here's the link.



Dating
Chris is still lingering. I called him to do my part to keep whatever this is limping along. (Why is he calling? He hasn't asked me to do anything so what's the point??) He shocked me this week.

So he lays it all on the line, telling me that he "digs" me, that I am hard to read (agreed), that he wants to get together when he gets back from vacation and lay it all out on the table. He even used a Clark Kent/Lois Lane analogy.

Cool. But the cynic in me is saying, Yeah, sure, heard this all before. I am hopeful, but guarded per usual.

I met an old flame for a drink after work last night. We figured out that we hadn't seen each other in a year. Sheesh. It was bittersweet, I really liked Henry but it didn't work out. I don't think he liked me as much as I liked him. And his job is his life which was problematic for me. I was really down when we parted ways which surprised me.

So I went shopping! And then got sushi.

I was instantly feeling better.

Hooked on the Olympics

Knitting

How perfect is this jacket?

Even more perfect because Interweave Knits is giving the pattern away for free on their website.

I was flipping through the magazine that arrived yesterday while watching the Olympics. (Every time they roll around I think, “Nah, not that interested,” but then get hooked.**) There are a few cute patterns - in the magazine - which surprised me because I usually don’t really like their offerings. Check that. I like the patterns, very hip and funky. They don’t fit my personal style.

The detail on this is so beautiful:

I am a sucker for interesting sleeves:

I have taken a detour on my New Years resolution to finish lingering projects to make a few spiral scarves for my college friends who I will be seeing in March. I am actually going to surprise them!

They live near each other in N.H./Maine and have started getting together for dinner once a month, leaving me so jealous. I miss them so much. So Deb and I are planning my role as special guest star at their March dinner. And we aren’t going to tell Beck, Sue, or Heather. So much fun!

The spiral scarf knits pretty quickly and I have cut the size about a quarter, casting on 85 stitches verses the 110 the pattern calls for. But it still will be plenty long enough to wrap around the neck a few times.

** Back to the Olympics

I found myself enraptured by the snowboarding half-pipe on Sunday and Monday night. Whoda thunk? I don’t ski, don’t snowboard, but these slacker Millennials had me hooked.

I love the speedskating, too. It is so beautiful to watch, the strides so graceful and powerful. And those thighs. Yikes. But that guy Chad from Texas creeps me out a little.

What has been ticking me off though, is hearing little bits and pieces of news and results during the day on the radio. How about a little warning NPR? You’re ruining it for me.

Happy Valentine’s Day. And that’s all I will say on that topic.

Snow day

Knitting

I didn’t get as much knitting done as I had hoped. Do I ever? I found so many other things to do with my snow day. I felt like it was “free time” because I was stuck in the house and couldn’t do anything else. So I had to do all this stuff that I could have done any other time.

Plunking around on the Internet, I found this yarn on sale. I love the colors, especially this one












and this one

















OK, I like them all!

I spent a fair amount of time yesterday searching my stockpile and the Internet for the right pattern but I am stumped. This yarn is bulky, a weight I don’t love. But the colors keep me coming back. I have considered a hat and scarf, or a cardigan like the Cutaway. A pullover sweater would be too much for me in bulky yarn. I don’t like that feeling of being lost in my clothes. I didn’t do well when the fashion was wearing stuff that was too big.

Do you buy for a pattern or buy for the yarn?

I suppose I could buy enough to make a cardigan and wait for the perfect pattern to find me. But I don’t feel right buying yarn I don’t have a use for yet. It’s like when I go clothes shopping, If I find a skirt I have to find something to go with it at the same time or I don’t buy it. How many lonely skirts or pants are hanging in your closet, waiting for a match?

All flights cancelled because of rain

Knitting

Here’s the progress on the 70s jacket. This is the bottom half of the body of the sweater. That little tail thing is actually the tie in the front. Here’s a mediocre picture of the actual sweater.

I was hoping for some quality knitting-on-a-plane time but that’s not happening anymore. Because of the terrible weather (eyeroll). I was supposed to fly out to LA today, on a business trip. I arrived at National to find all flights on American Airlines were cancelled, until tomorrow at 5:00 PM. Egads, it was freaking raining out when I got to the airport! I was so annoyed. So I think I am going to cancel the trip altogether. It’s not worth flying all that way for one day. I was supposed to meet up with my friend Sophie and she was going to show me sights. And it was going to be warm and sunny. Ugh. I will stop bitching and moaning now. Winter is finally here. Better late than never!

I am snow-bound now so I will get some knitting in. That’s a bright note to this annoying day.

Dating
We all (single people) have a back burner. That place that you keep people you aren’t really dating but want to keep around in case of emergency. And I know I am on a couple of back burners.

Like Henry for example. He has a brand new 6-burner cook top and I have permanent residence on the back back-burner.

We met a couple of years ago on match, dated for a while, but it didn’t work out. His life revolves around his job and that drove me crazy. He would consistently cancel our plans the day of, reschedule, cancel the day of, lather rinse repeat. I still scratch my head as his track record. It wasn’t like it was every once in a while. It was every time we had plans. But the silver lining was I finally recognized that people don’t change. So I really have to thank him for that.

He resurfaced in December after nearly to a year, around our mutual birthday. I am always so shocked when I see him in my inbox as I leave all communication up to him. So we have tentative plans to meet for drinks next week. I won’t really believe we are meeting until I am leaving the office on the way to the bar.

For the record, he has a girlfriend now. It’s too bad because he is very attractive - a big, tall, black man. Wears glasses, nice hands, good sense of humor. Dee lish.

Chris is lingering. Not sure what to do with him. He calls every few days, we talk for less than 10 minutes, and we hang up. Am I on yet another back burner?

Other Amusements

Corey and I went to see “Something New” last night. Seeing that I date mostly black men, I found it particularly appealing. Plus I am a sucker for a good romantic comedy. The movie was pretty good, although during the first 45 minutes or so I wouldn’t have been so kind. A little slow to ramp up.

It hit the high points about interracial dating, particularly the issues that arise with your close friends and family. My friends and family know I date outside of my race and they don’t seem to take issue. But it would be a little different I think if I ever married someone who isn’t white. I think it would take some people a little time to get used to the idea. But that is their problem, not mine.

in case you were wondering

I saw this on Knitting Angel so I thought I would play along.


4 jobs you have had in your life
1. Cashier
2. Babysitter
3. Periodicals assistant
4. Museum assistant

4 Movies you could watch over and over
1. Summertime
2. Swingers
3. Singles
4. sex, lies, and videotape
(what’s w/the esses?)

4 places you have lived
1. Rhode Island
2. Boston
3. Austria
4. Washington, DC

4 TV shows you love to watch
1. Lost
2. Las Vegas
3. Girlfriends
4. Seinfeld

4 places you have been on vacation
1. San Francisco
2. Belize
3. Paris
4. Cape Cod

4 websites you visit daily
1. DC Blogs
2. MSNBC
3. Yahoo
4. Match.com

4 of your favorite foods
(you mean today?)
1. ice cream
2. cheez-its
3. tofu
4. vegetables

4 places you would rather be right now
1. a warm-weather beach
2. out with a nice boy
3. in a yoga class
4. I guess I am pretty content

4 bloggers you are tagging
If you can read this, you’ve been tagged

She just shrugged and walked away

Knitting

Bell sleeve shrug, from Beatknit Patterns, is done. I seamed it up between Superbowl commercials last night.

Sidebar: My favorite commercial was for careerbuilder.com, with the monkeys partying in the conference room to celebrate sales being up. The human colleague comes in and adjusts the chart to show that sales are really down. The monkeys flip the chart, though, and continue the party. Nothing is funnier than chimps acting like humans.

The shrug is a new style in my wardrobe so I think it is going to take a little getting used to. It just feels weird, like something’s missing. I liked the way the edge of the sleeves curled a bit so I started the seam about an inch from the edge.

I love how the colors in the Katia Nepal yarn came together. Very bohemian.

I also restarted the 70s Suede Jacket, in TLC Cara Mia. I frogged the entire bottom half of the piece when I discovered about a year ago that I was knitting wrong, twisting every stitch. I debated long and hard about pulling it out or leaving it.

Other Amusements
Corey and I went to see the Chinese New Year parade in downtown DC yesterday. I have been wanting to go for the 10 years I have lived here but being on travel, not knowing when it was, and bad weather has kept me away. But not this year! I started the Year of the Dog right.

It was hard to take pictures with my digital camera because of the delay. Very annoying! But I did get one good shot of a dragon. It was a fun day. We went to Good Guys for burgers and fries after.

Dating
I think things with Gabriel have fizzled. His emails were so eloquent and lovely to read. But our phone conversation fell kind of flat. In the end, we don’t really have all that much in common. He spends a lot of time at the gym and playing tennis and I, well, don’t.

Chris is lingering. Not sure why he got back in touch. But I will wait this one out.

Virtual Poetry Reading

Grace's Poppy's called for poetry today so I am delivering. I wish I spent more time reading poetry because I remember liking it in school. This is such a meloncholy poem, I have always loved it.


The Road Not Taken


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.


I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.


Robert Frost (1874–1963).

Pattern help

Knitting

I am looking for a pattern for a sweater that looks like this:

but has sleeves. Anyone?

I am ripping out Sorbet. It’s a beautiful, sexy sweater but so impractical. So now I have 8+ balls of Rowan Cashsoft in Loganberry

I am not advanced enough, nor all that interested, in figuring out how to add sleeves to this pattern. But I am sure there is something out there.

Help!

Dating
I have said it before and here I am saying it again.

They all come back, eventually.

I can feel the nods and snickers gentle readers. You know it’s true!

Chris sent me a text message the other day, wondering where I went, hoping he hadn’t offended me.

Huh?

You didn’t return my calls, remember?

(The very brief history: I met him in Craigslist in December. We went out a couple of times, had a good time. But then he disappeared. Not wanting to look over eager, or like a stalker, I have a two-call rule with a new guy. If he doesn’t return my call after I make two attempts I stop trying. Which I did.)

I replied to his text with an email because I just don’t get the whole text-messaging thang. I think I am too old. I was short but sweet, as not to scare him off even though I was a little perplexed (read: annoyed).

He called me at the office today but I let it go to voicemail. That is not a conversation for work for crying-out-loud. Then he didn’t leave a message leaving me to wonder, is he going to rely on caller ID to let me know he called?

Don’t you hate when you have evil thoughts about a person, and then they turn around and do the complete opposite of what you expected from them? Yup, that’s what happened. He sent a very nice message that he will try me later tonight.