Mersydotes

Several weeks ago, my boss traveled to Lake Tahoe with her family, and she brought me back two skeins of the softest, most glorious baby alpaca yarn in cream and charcoal.   Every since, I've ben enjoying slowly knitting up a little project while I commute in the train each morning and evening.  The yarn is so soft, as is the knitted fabric.  If I'm ever reincarnated, I think I must just insist on being a baby alpaca. I wanted to do justice to the quality and texture of the yarn, so I chose a special project from the Purl Bee.  It's their Hat and Hand Warmers for Beginners pattern which caught my eye because of it's minimalistic vibe.  I've ben very intrigued recently by the beauty of minimalist knits.  The only variation I made is to add a pompom at the end- how could I resist? They are lovely and gloriously soft, and my boss was thrilled to see what I'd made.  She took me up on my offer to make her a pair out of the charcoal skein, so I get to enjo

We had an adventure yesterday in Hell's Kitchen (a neighborhood on the West side of Manhattan):  I'd heard the creative director of the New York Shakespeare Exchange interviewed on a podcast, and she was so happy about her troupe that her enthusiasm was contagious.  She said that Shakespeare wasn't meant to be read, but rather heard and experienced, and that's why the Shakespeare Exchange brought the Bard to the masses. So we went on our very first pub crawl yesterday afternoon, making four stops with a group of about 50 other Shakespeare fans.  At each stop there was time to kick back and relax and then suddenly a bell would chime and actors would hop up on the bar and bring to life a bit of a play.  They had chosen stand-alone comedic scenes from Much Ado About Nothing, Henry IV, As You Like It, and the Merry Wives of Windsor.  Here are the Merry Wives perched atop a bar, making us laugh. It was perfect and joyful, and every scene ended in a resounding &

It's hard to believe that the best peeps in the world, our friends M & Z, are finally out here on the East Coast with us.  It makes it feel more permanent, less like we're just biding our time in exile until we can go back to Illinois.  It helps me feel more settled, and more content with the fact that life is moving forward, growing and morphing into something real and right. M & Z will be ensconced in a wonderful seaside bit of Connecticut where the breezes blow the dune grass sideways and houses still have ancient brick fireplaces.  We spent a beautiful afternoon at Silver Sands State Park wading in the water, watching the crabs and the gulls, hiking out to the protected heron nesting areas.  My shoulders were sunburned, my feet were muddy, my hair was wild, and I was so very happy. And just before Labor Day weekend was upon us, we got a phone call from one of my favorite people in the world- Mr. Mersy's Aunt M.  She invited us up to Ma