It's April Already?

Where have I been? Time had just flown and I have neglected my poor blog. Obviously I don't have a big following because no one has complained. Maybe that will change.

The big events in the house are that Ben will be attending college in the fall. We are very proud that he got into every college and into 4 honors programs. But like everything else going on in the world today, the economy was the deciding factor of his choice. The scholarship money he received just wasn't enough to make some of these universities affordable. We live in a state where the state university system is incredible. He got accepted to the two top colleges and finally decided on the smaller one. I think wherever he went he would do fine. He's that type of person: friendly, flexible, loves to learn. However, he has been doing some naughty things so if he doesn't change that behavior, the local community college may be the start of his college career.

But let's not talk about things that totally stress me out. Let's talk about KNITTING! I had a knitting mojo issue last month. I just lost the desire to pick up the needles and knit. I don't know why but I was so happy when it finally passed (like a kidney stone?). I just started to knit small things like baby hats and booties for the man who cuts my hair. He just had twin grandchildren (boy and girl). It was a big effort for me to get those little items done. Then I started to knit jewelry. The results were great. I "test-drove" the pieces and the comments were very positive. Now I'm knitting socks for Neal. I have all this sock yarn that I bought from WEBS. It's time to start using up that stash. I also have the Catkin shawl started but I had to put it down. I just wasn't concentrating enough to get through the pattern. I will pick it up when I feel it's the right time. (I know you knitters understand this!)

My knitting group is still going strong. What an great bunch of people! We really enjoy each other's company and are very supportive of each other for knitting and nonknitting issues. Love my bitches!

So keep on knitting!

Hello Everyone

Happy Belated New Year! I still haven't sent out our holiday picture greeting cards that wish everyone Peace and Happiness in the new year. This hipknitta has been very busy. I have said it before and I will say it again: My job gets in the way of my life. Work has been taking up the majority of my time. You can tell by the way my house looks. Did you know that tornadoes come up to Yorktown Heights? Did you know they only come into my house? Some weather phenomenom, huh?

Then my knitting has fallen by the wayside. Again I have to blame it on work. Those damn lesson plans! I want my students to really understand the material. I have be come a power point addict. I need to add pictures to explain the concepts. remember when we were in school and the only pictures of ameba or paramecium were illustrations. Well, now you can get the real thing on line! I guess I'm trying to impress myself! BTW, I just got observed by the interim acting principal on last day of classes. Thank you to my 3rd period class for doing a great job! However, I still haven't had my post-observation conference with him. I guess if I did poorly, he would have wanted to see me right away, right?

Back to the knitting: that's the reason why I started this blog, right? Tonight I finished a gorgeous baby blanket that will be on etsy by tomorrow. It's in a gorgeous aqua color with a baby cable. I had the hardest time getting that last skein of yarn. I wasted a month going back and forth to AC Moore only to hear,"Come back next week." I did and was disappointed each time. Evidently they have an automated restocking program that doesn't pay attention to what the customer wants. So I found it through a mail order company and received it a week later. Yeah!

Our Northern Westchester Stitch 'N Bitch is still going strong. Our gatherings have been a bit smaller than usual but you know what? I love when we are a small group. We can hear the conversation and talk to each other on the same topic. We really are a great bunch of knitters with such diverse backgrounds. I decided that we all have our quirks but they work well together. What an amazing group of knitters.

2012 has a lot going on: Presidential Election, 2 graduations in our family, Shadow's 4th birthday...you know, those really important things. I'll try to keep posting.

A Haiku for Me!

I work with an interesting bunch of people. I guess we can all say that, right? Sometimes the word interesting could be interpreted different ways. I work with an English teacher named Phil. Phil's very smart. He went to amazing schools. He's a lawyer but he's teaching English. He also is an insane Red Sox fan so of course he is subjected to lots of verbal sparring with the Yankee fans in the building. (The school is in the Bronx, need I say more?)Phil also writes a Red Sox haiku each day. He has amassed over 1000 of them. I told him to get them made into one of those Haiku-a-day calendar for Red Sox fans. You know how us knitters have those type of calendars? Phil has joked around with me and has asked me to make him an Irish Fisherman's sweater for years. Unfortunately, I can't. One reason is that it takes too much time and the second is that I can't find a pattern that will fit him. Phil is a large man who is finally going to take care of his health. He has been absent for a long time due to an infection in his leg and is now on bed rest. We say hi to each other via Facebook. I wrote to say how I'm getting very discouraged with my students and the state of education in my school. Phil came back with this great haiku just for me:

Robin knits away,
Problems fade into nothing:
But where's my sweater?

I love it!

Get bettter real soon, Phil! I'm sorry but this hipknitta is a Yankees fan.

And You and I...A Thank You To My First Boyfriend

This month my dear, funny, loving husband and I will be married 20 years. My longest relationship evah! But lately, I've been thinking of the person who started me off on a long and sometimes rocky road of romance. My first boyfriend. The reason why I was brought back to my 16 year old self (and he was 17) is because my 17 year old son is now dating. He is dating a sweet girl from the city. He is realizing the monetary cost of this first love when he goes into the city to visit her. Parking at the train station, the train ticket, going out for something to eat or some coffee. It adds up and he doesn't have a job. (Yes, we are supplementing the romance!) I told him that it is perfectly acceptable for his girlfriend to pay half since she is in the same financial situation. As I said this, I had a flashback to my first boyfriend.

He was from Queens and I lived in the Bronx. He drove a van and crossed that bridge twice every time he came to see me. Gas was much cheaper way back then but for a high school student who didn't have a part-time job, it cost money. I never thought of paying him for gas. I can't even remember if I picked up my half of the cost of our dates. This bothered me so much, so many years later, that I need to say, "Thank you, Bob!" You were a great first love. Our relationship probably helped make me the person I am now: in a loving, successful marriage. Thank you for going the distance, literally, to see me. I can only hope that you have good memories of me.

As for the song, "And You and I" by Yes, I heard it this evening. It brought tears to my eyes because it is so beautiful and sent me back to my high school years. We use to listen to Yes. It was the '70's. They were great. Neal sat in listened with me and was moved by the music as well. Life was great then. It's great now.

Ten Years After

It's been 10 years since our nation was attacked. Everyone asks, "Do you remember where you were when you heard the news?" I do. I was at work in room 225. I wasn't teaching. I was working on paperwork in the office. One of the women, Marie, just got off the phone from her son who was near the World Trade Center. She said he saw a plane hit the building. I looked at her and said, "No way! He's playing an April Fool's joke on you!" I don't know why I said that. I had to look at the calendar to make sure what day it was because that news was so unbelievable. Up in the library, the librarians set up a TV in one of the back rooms. I made it up there after teaching a resource room class. I couldn't believe what I saw. It was so unreal. Staff members were sitting around the screen crying. I had to leave to go back to teach. At this point, the principal made an announcement about what was going on. I entered my classroom and right away one of my girls told me that her mother worked in Manhattan. I asked where and she said she didn't know. (This wasn't unusual that the kids didn't know where the parents worked especially if it was a new job). I allowed her to call a relative. The next thing I heard was the principal start to announce names of children to come down to the office. I later found out that parents starting to swarm into the building to pick up their children. When I had a free period, I went down to the lobby and saw mostly mothers begging for their children to be released from class. I can still see these women crying and yelling at the security guards.

My friend Ellen called me to tell me that she was picking up Alexandra and my Elijah from daycare. Our older ones, Ben and Matthew were being dismissed early from their schools. I wasn't allowed to leave until my day was over which was around 2:15.

When I left the school, the first thing I noticed was the silence. There weren't any planes in the sky except from the military and that was weird. It jolted me to the realization that this was event was really bad. Manhattan was closed off so as I traveled north on my parkways, I noticed that the only traffic going south were military vehicles. There weren't any civilian cars. I remember my heart racing seeing this. I knew our lives were changing forever.

We all made it home safe and sound. Ben understood the magnitude of what had happened. Elijah knew that some buildings fell down and that a lot of people were hurt and killed. Neal and I understood that as long as we are together, we are safe. How can we explain to our children that there are people in the world who hate what our country represents?

The next day I went to work and out of the window of my 4th floor classroom, there were the thick, black plumes of smoke from the World Trade Center. Only one student showed up for the class and we looked out the window and talked about what had happened. My asshole of a principal walked by and yelled at me to get away from that window. I just looked at him and refused. (My school is in the North Bronx and we were far away from the tip of Manhattan). I'll never forget that moment because of how angry this so-called educator made me feel.

Ten years later...I still work in the same building. Elijah totally understands what has happened. Ben has become more worldly and has a hard time realizing that people can hate you for what you represent, not for who you are. We just watched the memorial service of the names being read and I shed quite a few tears which surprised me. I thought I was over it. I now realize that I'll never be over it and it's okay to grieve for the lives lost that day. I hope the families know that we share their loss and even though we are strangers, we are united as humans.

Peace.

I'm Not Going To Whine

Labor Day weekend isn't my favorite weekend. I'm been off all summer and it is the signal that I have to go back to work. I'm not whining! I'm grateful that I have a job that allows me this time off to recharge my batteries but it's a downer. But I'm not going to whine.

I knitted my ass off this summer making up for lost time. My job sucked the knitting out of me. I plan on making knitting dates with myself (and exercise dates, no really! I swear!)I have to work my butt off again but I'm not whining!

I seem to be having difficulties with some relationships in my life. I'm becoming more bitchy? I guess that filter in my brain has broken. I need to work on that or become a loner, alone with my knitting. I don't think it's only me. If I have treaded on toes or seemed abrupt, then I apologize. Don't make me 100% responsible for your misery. I'm not whining! I'm yelling!

There's always room for improvement, right? I'm so not going to whine about it. I'm going to have wine!

A New Knitter Was Born Today

The telephone rings. It's my son's friend's mother.
"Can I ask you a favor?" she asked.
"Sure!" I said. I figured it was about my son taking care of her son's pets because they're going away or a school-related question because they're on the same team at school.
"Cathy is trying to teach herself to knit and is having a problem. Can she see you?"
"Of course! Tell her to come on down!" (We live down the hill from them. Cathy is the older sister)

Cathy walks in. She found a book of dog patterns and had these knitting needles with little dogs at the ends of them. It was a set.

She showed me how she cast on a lot of stitches using a method she found on the internet. Kudos to her for doing that but they were so bunched up. She thought that the knitting would only be as long as the needles. I ripped out those stitches and showed her the long tail cast on. I made her cast on 20 stitches just to practice and she got it right away. She then proceeded to knit and like a beginner she was a bit tight but she got it! She was so proud of herself! A new knitter was born in my kitchen!