I’m Knitting As Fast As I Can

Several years ago I lost about 25 pounds.  It took a long time and regular exercise has helped me keep most of it off.  When inclement weather or early darkness prevent me from running outdoors, I use the treadmill at a very inexpensive yet perfectly adequate gym in my neighborhood.  By anyone’s calculation, the monthly fee is less than I was paying in gas to drive to and from my old workout spot.

But that’s not the point of this story.

A few months ago, a thrift store opened up in the strip mall where the gym is located.  After a recent workout, I decided to pop in and see if I could find a humorous gift to bring to a Yankee Swap party.  The search was a bust, but as I was leaving I took note of the very clean and organized book section.  I’m a sucker for books and, until my recent foray  into the de-accumulation phase of life, I had a house full of them.

So I paused to check out the selection in the craft section and what to my wondering eyes did appear:

Yup, a hardcover copy of  EZ‘s Knitting Workshop.  Well, I already own a copy but I decided to buy it anyway and pass it along to a deserving friend.  While I waited in line to check out, I opened the cover and nearly fainted:

Signed and dated by The Master herself.

I hurriedly paid and dashed home to investigate further.

In the back of the book, I found a receipt from the Wooly West (when it was a bricks and mortar LYS) and a purple flier announcing that EZ would be in Salt Lake City “on October 8th and 9th to conduct 2 workshops.”  The receipt is dated October 8, 1985 and shows that a customer named Carlotta purchased the workshop and a copy of the book for $10.00.  Provenance!

I should be content, right?  Wrong.  I became obsessed with the possibility that more knitting gems were finding their way to the shelves of the thrift store.  So I did what any knitter in my position would do.  I went to the gym — a lot.  And I found other lovely pretties, but nothing else by EZ.

When I confessed my antics to the owner of my LYS, her son, and my favorite student, they confirmed what I knew in my heart.  Lightening doesn’t strike twice.  I was wasting my time, even if I was getting plenty of exercise. I believe the words “setting yourself up for disappointment” were uttered by someone.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, guess what paperback I found yesterday:

Lightening does strike twice.

See you at the gym tomorrow!!

She arrived under the cover of darkness wearing only a light vest and a cotton infinity scarf.

She left with a City Creek Cowl and a Tuft Love Beanie.

Oh, and the orchid, of course.

Adieu.  Good luck with finals!

I’ll spare the details of windy nights and cancelled flights(s)(s)(s), but the upshot is that I was stranded in New York City a few weeks ago by Hurricane Sandy.  Luckily, we didn’t have to evacuate our cousin’s brownstone in Brooklyn and we never lost power.  In fact, there was very little rain from the storm, just strong wind gusts.  Risk-taker that I am (not!), we wandered around the neighborhood during the height of the storm. We high tailed it back to the house when awnings starting flying off buildings. Yikes.

Because we arrived a few days before the storm hit, we were able to take advantage of the subway system before they closed it down on Sunday evening. The first day we swung by Purl SoHo before taking a tour of the Tenement Museum.

I picked up a few goodies that aren’t available in Utah:

Then it was lunch at Cocoron (my favorite soba place!) and dessert at Rice To Riches, a place that serves nothing but rice pudding.  No kidding.  I love the way they actively encourage the consumption of fat:

The next day we took the subway from Brooklyn to 123rd Street and had local beer with a side of chicken and waffles at Amy’s Ruth’s.  Yummmmm!

After that, we walked from Central Park North all the way to Central Park South plus a few more blocks for good measure.  I think we calculated the entire walk totaled about 100 blocks.

Walking the length of Central Park is something I’ve always wanted to do and it was the perfect day: not too hot and not too cool.  The wooded areas at the north end of the Park were spectacular and filled with birds.

We finished the day with dinner and a show.

But not before I managed to dash into Kinokuniya and pick up a little light reading for the plane ride home.

Of course, in the following days all hell broke loose.

On the up side, though, being stranded in Brooklyn for 3 extra days gave me more time to haunt my favorite coffee shop!

And I was able to knit a cowl which still needs to be grafted together.