Lions and Monkeys and Love
I have a friend that I’ve had since 1996 or 1997. I met her in my last year of college. I had been warned against dealing with her by some men we worked with. Initially we only had to work in the same place for about a week and a half, and I was on the second shift while she was on the first, so it was easy to avoid contact with her. Years later we were discussing those two weeks and she said she thought: Why is her skirt so short? And I thought: Why is she playing with her hair like that? Funny…nothing negative, just thoughts that crossed our minds at first sight.
About six months after that initial meeting I was transferred into her site permanently, but didn’t interact with her then because I was on the weekend/second shift and she was on the third….so I was always rushing out the door when she arrived. Then she started popping up on Saturday afternoons with the site administrator, and while he worked she chatted with me. Very light and shallow initially because I still had that “warning” guiding me, and was so caught up in my budding love affair with a Coastie and school that I couldn’t be bothered. Eventually, we became friends. She never judged me, never let me down, and she was there when I needed someone most and that gilded it for me.
She is the only friend I left in NY who has come out to visit. I’ve had others come for business and call me, but she’s the only one who has come out specifically for the pleasure of spending time with me. It took me a long time; way to long to begin to call her my best friend, but it’s what she is. She is the one constant thing in my life. No matter what I bring with me to the table she still loves me. She’s understanding and supportive in a way that I haven’t experienced before and she’s very worried about my impending surgical procedure. She insisted that she would be here for it, but she finally went back to college and I don’t want her to miss school for this so she sent me some love thru the mail. Please meet Magnitudes Guthrie:
I have a rather large collection of lions. So many that when I moved here and unpacked I made calls to the people who give them to me most and told them: No more lions. I can’t....people who visit are going to think I’m the crazy lion lady of Glassell Park! So, I have only gotten a few lions since I’ve been here, two of them from her. One functional: a bowl painted at a place similar to Color Me Mine (which I broke while washing one day...tears were shed!) And now Magnitudes. I rub him when I walk by and think of it. And no, I didn’t name him. Gund names all of their stuffed animals...I had another lion from Gund, a key chain—you’ve seen him, all ratty looking and bald, well, his name is Clarence.
I’ve started working on my grandma’s shawl again this weekend. I’m in a better place emotionally so I feel okay touching it, but in the interim I worked on socks mostly. I finished up the ugly brown Trekking socks and started this one:
I’ve obviously finished one of these. I started it when I woke up from the drugged sleep of the upper endoscopy....nothing like not being able to figure out a two stitch rib pattern and calling your own personal sock maven to ask her to explain it to you and figuring out while speaking to her what you’re doing wrong....she was very kind to me...thanks Dix!....the second one is on the needles, although this would have been an ideal situation to get the second sock syndrome. It’s a stunning sock, I’m just sick of working on it. My cousin is right, I’m project driven. I do enjoy the process, but I like having completed projects even more...even if they’re nothing but stockinette socks! So, I will finish my Monkey socks. I may even try them in a different yarn with the m1fb increase instead of the yarnovers cause I'm not a fan of the holes.
My favorite feature is the way the pattern points to the heel:
Anyway, the socks are lovely. The yarn was a gift from Daniella. It’s Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Aslan*. On the computer and even when it’s in the hank the colorway looks like a combo of taupe, cream and light peach, but it’s got more depth than that. It’s got lavender, a green and some sections that look a lot more pink than peach. All of the colors are muted and sort of delicate...hard to explain.
I tried to capture the colors here in the heel, but all I got was a clear understanding of the limits of my camera....you’ll have to imagine it or wait to see them in person to get the full effect.
That’s all the knitting news I have, and no surgery news at all. Well, I guess I have news but I’ve had no movement. The surgeon is on medical leave so I’ve switched to a different surgeon, but he’s on vacation for two weeks so I wait....
*You do know the Aslan reference, right? It's the lion's name in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. When Daniella saw the yarn she kept saying, but lions don't have lavendar! Funny....it's still pretty yarn. And a dream to knit with!
About six months after that initial meeting I was transferred into her site permanently, but didn’t interact with her then because I was on the weekend/second shift and she was on the third….so I was always rushing out the door when she arrived. Then she started popping up on Saturday afternoons with the site administrator, and while he worked she chatted with me. Very light and shallow initially because I still had that “warning” guiding me, and was so caught up in my budding love affair with a Coastie and school that I couldn’t be bothered. Eventually, we became friends. She never judged me, never let me down, and she was there when I needed someone most and that gilded it for me.
She is the only friend I left in NY who has come out to visit. I’ve had others come for business and call me, but she’s the only one who has come out specifically for the pleasure of spending time with me. It took me a long time; way to long to begin to call her my best friend, but it’s what she is. She is the one constant thing in my life. No matter what I bring with me to the table she still loves me. She’s understanding and supportive in a way that I haven’t experienced before and she’s very worried about my impending surgical procedure. She insisted that she would be here for it, but she finally went back to college and I don’t want her to miss school for this so she sent me some love thru the mail. Please meet Magnitudes Guthrie:
I have a rather large collection of lions. So many that when I moved here and unpacked I made calls to the people who give them to me most and told them: No more lions. I can’t....people who visit are going to think I’m the crazy lion lady of Glassell Park! So, I have only gotten a few lions since I’ve been here, two of them from her. One functional: a bowl painted at a place similar to Color Me Mine (which I broke while washing one day...tears were shed!) And now Magnitudes. I rub him when I walk by and think of it. And no, I didn’t name him. Gund names all of their stuffed animals...I had another lion from Gund, a key chain—you’ve seen him, all ratty looking and bald, well, his name is Clarence.
I’ve started working on my grandma’s shawl again this weekend. I’m in a better place emotionally so I feel okay touching it, but in the interim I worked on socks mostly. I finished up the ugly brown Trekking socks and started this one:
I’ve obviously finished one of these. I started it when I woke up from the drugged sleep of the upper endoscopy....nothing like not being able to figure out a two stitch rib pattern and calling your own personal sock maven to ask her to explain it to you and figuring out while speaking to her what you’re doing wrong....she was very kind to me...thanks Dix!....the second one is on the needles, although this would have been an ideal situation to get the second sock syndrome. It’s a stunning sock, I’m just sick of working on it. My cousin is right, I’m project driven. I do enjoy the process, but I like having completed projects even more...even if they’re nothing but stockinette socks! So, I will finish my Monkey socks. I may even try them in a different yarn with the m1fb increase instead of the yarnovers cause I'm not a fan of the holes.
My favorite feature is the way the pattern points to the heel:
Anyway, the socks are lovely. The yarn was a gift from Daniella. It’s Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Aslan*. On the computer and even when it’s in the hank the colorway looks like a combo of taupe, cream and light peach, but it’s got more depth than that. It’s got lavender, a green and some sections that look a lot more pink than peach. All of the colors are muted and sort of delicate...hard to explain.
I tried to capture the colors here in the heel, but all I got was a clear understanding of the limits of my camera....you’ll have to imagine it or wait to see them in person to get the full effect.
That’s all the knitting news I have, and no surgery news at all. Well, I guess I have news but I’ve had no movement. The surgeon is on medical leave so I’ve switched to a different surgeon, but he’s on vacation for two weeks so I wait....
*You do know the Aslan reference, right? It's the lion's name in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. When Daniella saw the yarn she kept saying, but lions don't have lavendar! Funny....it's still pretty yarn. And a dream to knit with!
posted by tb at 3:17 PM
1 Comments:
To have a 'best friend' friend for a decade is a gift.
GOOD LUCK ON YOUR FINAL!!
finally please accept the 'holes'in your 'hated' lace socks . Your monkey sock is soo pretty, I don't think a KF&B could have subbed for the yo, Just admit it- lace socks are sometimes really pretty ;)
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