Eggs and Mozart

Random content, catching up, etc.

This Morning

"I am going to fabricate eggs."

"Are you going to lay them yourself?"

"No. I was thinking omelet. But first, I need Wolfgang's Requiem."

Don't ask me why grating cheese and whisking eggs needed to be accompanied by the "Dies Irae" this morning. They just did, that's all. I have stopped trying to explain the Eloise or Olivia-like commands I get from my brain at times, finding it is easier to just obey them and get on with it. Toshie seemed to enjoy my rendition of the alto part, which I still remember from high school. At least I think that's what that adoring look meant. It couldn't have been the cheese I was grating, oh no. Not our dog.

Perhaps we should blame Franklin for my sudden desire for choral funeral music with breakfast. I have been reading his archives and giggling and wishing he lived in Washington instead of Chicago. Franklin, if you ever read this, we have a fantastic yarn store in Bethesda that would treat you right, dearest. Just say the word and we will prepare the guest room. Or perhaps we should just blame Marie, who pointed me to Franklin's blog in the first place.

Yesterday

Yoga class (teaching), Whole Foods (dairy products and coffee that has never been near the artificial hazelnut gack that inevitably gets into the grinders at the grocery store), and then home for a shower and off on a mammoth errand-run. The Rockville Pike is enough to turn Buddha himself into a serial killer, but the genius shoe repair guy and The Container Store are both located on this overcrowded strip of asphalt, so there was no avoiding it if I wanted my favorite black pumps repaired and a guaranteed source of decent travel bottles. Knowing this, I tried a different tack from my usual strategy which generally consists of, "throw my body into the teeming mass of humanity and end up a tense, frustrated, cursing ball of nerves." Instead, I took a deep breath, and sternly told myself that it was going to be a zoo, that I wasn't on a deadline, so just chill. Surprisingly, it worked. It also helped that the genius shoe repair guy and the clerk at The Container Store (Query: why do I always seem to go there when they're doing their semi-annual closet organizer sale? WHY?) were both intelligent and funny back at me when I was busy breathing and being determinedly (and probably goofily) cheerful about my squazillion errands.

After the errands came dessert. I went to the aforementioned yarn store and finally met the owner, Lyn. I have been in the store bunches of times, but had never met this doyenne of Washington knitting (who, it turns out is also a recovering attorney. Wicked. Another person to add to my list of role models). I have succumbed to the lure of the clapotis, and wanted some yarn for that, and also some soft yarn to make a scarf and hat for Our Hero, John Smith, International Terrorist, etc. A pleasant half-hour or so later, I came out with yarn made of bamboo (!) for the clapotis (yes, I am a knitting trend victim), some insanely soft yarn for Himself, and a set of circulars that don't unscrew themselves mid-garment:

Yes, I really knit almost that entire skein of grey/brown yesterday evening. That yarn is so soft and springy and luscious that I want to bathe in it. We're actually going back for more today, so I can make my darling a hat as well. I may also buy some yarn to make something for me (shocking. I almost never make stuff for me).

I have also been making little "windy city" scarves for friends from yarn that was left over from the project I termed "Baby Blanket From Hell" and knitting ribbon. Here is the latest, for my friend Alicia, because the pinks remind me of the saturated colors of her saris:

If you're curious, here's TBBFH itself:

The bear, the blankie, and the bobble hat

The hat was also made from leftover yarn (I didn't make the blanket quite as large as the pattern called for. Instead, to quote my friend Loretta, I "bound off and declared victory.") You can, of course, see why the bear needed a drink. That many colors will send anyone to seek solace in the bottom of a glass.

Today

It's raining. More yarn, please.

Posted: Sunday - January 29, 2006 at 10:06 AM | |