Flotsam: October 2009 Archives

Well that was knitterly of me.

I met a couple of girlfriends for a couple of hours with the avowed purpose of stashing ourselves somewhere (yes, I am aware of the pun) and knitting together. The trouble was, all the good places to knit had gone. As in shut down, out of business, vamoosed.

It struck a frightening note, working our way through the list and realizing that they were all extinct.

We ended up in a cafe where I often sit with my laptop, working. The people are very nice, and the coffee and tea are excellent, but it's not at all cozy, and one of our number commented, quietly, that she wasn't too impressed with the place.

It's been hard to have a conversation with any stranger that doesn't end in one or the other of you mentioning the economy, and mostly I'm with Bike Snob, who's taken to poking fun at everyone by creating an acronym for it ("ITTET," short for "in these trying economic times"), but there was something chilling about that list.

Anyway. We did knit. I, as the elder statesknitter of the group, got asked for a little advice, which was nice. I usually don't feel all that skilled, knittingwise. Don't worry, I don't need reassurance, and I'm not being modest. This is an honest assessment, and it's not that I couldn't learn to do more - I'm just not that into fancy stitches and stuff.

I knit recreationally. I make things that I or someone I know needs or wants to wear. I have an unusually good eye for color, and I like designing shapes. That's about it, and I'm fine with that. Someday Shan will come visit, and show me how to make a cable, or a sock, or both, and I'll have a big epiphany about it, and you'll have to listen to me jabber at length about how I can't believe I knitted all this time without knowing how to do those things.

It's all good. I like knitting, I really do. It's just not my main passion.

To be exact, I have more than one primary passion, as I was explaining at a party the other night.

It was a pleasant party; there were several people with similarly diverse interests, and I think we were all kinda glad to get to talk about it. In a low-key, non-intense, we're not soulmates, we're just chatting sort of way.

I met a guy I rather liked, but he lives too far away to even consider going on a date with. It was fine. My friend who was throwing the party got cutely drunk, and I gave myself a slight hangover on three glasses of wine, followed by water and food. (I'm a total lightweight; I rarely drink.)

I don't know why I'm telling you this, except that I've been in a very bad state for the last week or two, and I didn't expect this weekend to make any difference, and suddenly it did. I got off my bike today and met my friends and was suddenly bouncy again. Tigger's a wonderful thing, you know, especially when you haven't been him for a while.

Forgive me for again disappearing into the woodwork. I've been having a rough time of it. Things are ultraweird on several levels, and I'm exhausted, and I need to finish that sweater tout de suite because it is cold out.

I've been plying the new pocketcam with mixed results. Still learning its capabilities, which are sometimes pretty good and sometimes strangely bad. I seem to end up with unfocused shots more than I would expect to. Though perhaps the light hasn't been very good.

As usual, I have trouble stopping on the bridges to take those pics that I always want to show you. It's just so difficult, once I'm pedaling, to want to ever get off the bike.

I ended up riding around the park again tonight, and then taking a detour on my way home, after having already ridden 30 miles today, simply because I couldn't resist the lure of the cool fall night and perpetual motion. It's good, and it's a good thing, too, because when things are like they are now, it's about all I can stand to do. Booga booga.

Anyway, I really don't know what to tell you. I haven't got much fun stuff to report.

I met a guy I thought was interesting, and cute, but he was introduced to me as someone on whom a friend of mine has a crush, so there's not much I can do about following up on the possible interest. I mean, maybe eventually, but I have to sit back and watch things play out with the friend first.

He's not the same guy I mentioned in the last post. He's more suitable, at least in age, and possibly in other ways, though it's awfully difficult to tell in a first meeting like that. At least he is not from the Internet. We have sworn off that as a source of boy material. Yuck. It never works.

Things have been weird with the boy formerly known as boy number two. Sometimes it seems like we'll be friends again and sometimes I'm not so sure. It's part of the whole weirdness casserole I've got going on right now, but by no means the main ingredient.

Like a lot of people, I have been wanting to knit again, which is good, because my sweaters are getting very threadbare.

I'm starting to feel ever so slightly sorry for myself that I won't be at Rhinebeck this year. Though I've just remembered that a lot of people can't go to Rhinebeck because they live in Portland or some such place, so maybe I can pretend I live far away.

We apologize for the recent lack of posts. To make it up to you, the management offers this picture of surly chihuahuas. Enjoy.

This blog will resume regularly scheduled posting when and if the blogger thinks of anything to say that doesn't make her want to hurl herself out a window. It's not that she actually wishes to do such a foolish thing; it's just that she doesn't feel like talking about It. Whatever It might be. Laters!