Autumn In The City

One of the nice things about being an unemployed bum (if I may be permitted to Pollyanna the situation) is that I have the time to really look at the world around me.  
It is physically impossible for me to stay in the apartment all day. After the job listings have been checked, resumes sent, homework completed and whatever other tasks I can thinks of have run out, I am driven out the door.  
So, I walk.  A lot.  Walks are free and good for me. At least twice a week, you'll find me trudging through High Park. My lungs fill with good air and my leg muscles engage as I navigate hills.  I smile and nod at passers by and remind myself that I am still part of this world.  I watch the seasons change.
I particularly enjoy going to Dog Hill to see the dogs play together. They seem to instinctively group by size but once in a while, a little guy will take on a dog four times his size, jumping and running with such joy that one can't help but laugh. The elderly and timid stick closer to their humans but participate by barking and tail wagging.  Sometimes one of the dogs will frolic over to say hi to me, but mostly they stick with their own species. And who can blame them?
It was unusually quiet when I visited mid-afternoon Friday.  The professional dog walkers had just left and the after work crowd had not yet arrived.  The few dogs there were peaceful.  I got this photo of two of them enjoying a drink together - was just snapping when the poodle looked up at me.  Lovely.

Sockety Socks

Lisa, Nadia and I had a lovely Sunday venturing to the east end of the city. We shopped the Painted Fleece studio sale and then went for a large, somewhat greasy yet delicious, brunch.  
Look at the beautiful sock yarns I acquired.  From left to right we have One More, Doris's Sofa and Sangria or as I call them, apricot, blue/gray and purple/mauve.  I actually need sock stash enhancement in a big way.  Several pairs of socks from my early knitting days have simultaneously fallen apart in the last month.  I guess nothing truly does last forever, even beloved socks.  I need to get knitting, knitting!
The Daughter has already claimed the mauve and wants it to become Kaiso.  The blue/gray told me from the shelf at the sale that it is my future Waving Lace.


I did manage to finish a pair last week.  Alas, they are The Daughter's not mine.  By her request, it's another pair of Broadripple from Knitty (what a sensible, attractive pattern!) in a shade of pink I can only describe as bubblegum.

r

The Winner Is...

Crochet!!  And I didn't suck at it either.  It's not perfect.  I've come to the conclusion that I'll never be a perfect knitter and am OK with that.  It is, however, very much improved and as a result, is highly wearable.
Pretty beads.  Very pretty yarn.  Pretty day.

Ripping Back

My Annis is finished...sort of.  It's cast off and blocked.  The Misti Alpaca lace weight yarn is stunning and the beaded edge came out better than I could have hoped for.  The cast off edge however, rolls and rolls like a sausage.  I'll never be able to wear the darn thing like this.
So.  Do I try a row  or two of single crochet (at which I suck) to stabilize it?  Or perhaps I should rip back and work the last four or five rows in seed stitch or a loose rib?  Ideas?

Nupp Solution

Just say no to nupps.  Place beads instead.

Nupps

May I just say that nupps are stupid? Stupid, stupid nupps.

Thursday Yellow

How glad I am that the last day of this year's Ribbon Project was such a gloriously sunny one.  The walk to the grocery store was stunning with so many beautiful stops along the way.  And of course, I have to plug my mayoral choice with a ribbon.  Yellow flowers and ribbons for a green Mayor.  Go Joey Pants!

Wednesday Green

I decided to go to knit night at Lettuce yesterday evening.  It was already growing quite dark as I walked through Kensington Market so all my photos blurred.  The days are so short now.

Purple Tuesday

I had an interview today downtown in one of the souless high rises of the Financial District.  The TTC imploded and I arrived about 10 minutes late.  Bad start.  The woman had me fill out a form then sat me down at a table and told me, while fingering my resume as if it was dirty, all the reasons I am unsuitable.  Five minutes, in and out.  For this I pressed my pants and wore the pinchy shoes?
Anyway, I left the area a different way than I arrived and inadvertantly stumbled into this courtyard with some unusual fountains.  I've passed the front of this building hundreds of times but had no idea what lay behind.
Thus, my gratitude for this day is that I discovered some new loveliness in this hard, hard city.

Orange Monday

So, have you ever been sitting working at your favourite coffee shop, with the ear buds in and THE BEST SONG EVER comes on?  Don't you just want to get up and dance around the cafe?  Why don't we ever do that?

Sunday Red

It was laundry day.  My furthest trip this Sunday was down the fire escape, through the yard and into the basement laundry room.

Saturday Blue

The only ribbon I tied on Saturday.  Dusk.  Photographed both with and without flash.

I worked all day Saturday.  It's very difficult for me to work there these days because of the hurtful upheaval that happened at that place last year. I try to be the bigger person and get over it but I'm still uncomfortable every minute I'm there.  However, it's the only part time job I have left at the moment so I keep it out of necessity. I can't wait for the day when I can quit. 

So, as you can imagine, my gratitude for the beautiful views I pass on my ride home is tenfold.  How lucky I am to have restful places where I can stop and regroup, becoming myself again after a long day.

Friday Pink

My neighbourhood is being ripped up.  It's been going on for well over a year.  People complain and yes, it is inconvenient, especially the long walk to get to any form of public transportation right now.  However, I like to watch the process.  The metamorphosis wrought by the dozens of hard hats and heavy machinery has been fascinating.

That Time Again

Can you believe it's October already?  And with the first of October comes The Ribbon Project.  The artist, Hannah Godfrey who started it all, has sent out the email announcing another round.  Naturally, I said yes. This morning I trotted off to the dollar store to buy the colours of ribbon I needed and then I started tying and photographing.

I haven't decided yet on a context for this year's participation.  Perhaps to match the general directionlessness of the rest of my life, there will be no context.  We'll just see what transpires.

I hope to post the first two days tomorrow evening.