A Lion's Share Knitting Circle!

Yarn, What's Not to Love?

On October 23rd I held my first Lion's Share gathering...and we started with knitting!

My Mother taught me how to knit when I was 12, or so, and I didn't stick with it very long.  I have always been an art and crafty gal, but knitting required a level of calmness and patience I just didn't have then.  Although, I have always had more patience while creating art of any sort.  It was always a source of amazement to my parents given my short fuse :) And to me, actually! I still have the first project I ever started (an unfinished gray scarf). Maybe one day...

A few years ago I decided to pick up the needles again, and asked my Mom to re-teach me how to knit.  I never looked back.

Knitting has been the source of so much more than sweaters and scarves to keep me warm.  I've gained friends (we had a knitting group at work for a while and it really bonded us), serenity, a sense of accomplishment, a creative outlet and confidence. I recently realized that it started to give me a "yes I can do that" sort of outlook.  I used to read a pattern and say, "I can't do that..." and then I would tackle it and learn and come out with a beautiful piece of clothing.  So pretty soon I started hearing "I can't" in my head and quickly replied, "What makes you think that? Of course you can...you've proven that over and over again...so get on with it!"

And I've gone on to apply that mentality to other things in my life. They just get bigger and bigger (but not always as warm i. e. "Taking the Plunge" in Scotland).  It's very liberating.  So start small but aim big, right?  :)


Now, back to the party...

On the eve of the circle...my good friend, Sara, came over to help prepare...We tried out a burger place called "Flipside." They stuff the burgers with cheese!!!

Hard at work...

And she brought along a guest...Johnnie Walker Black...who we then introduced to another friend, Glenfiddich...

More work...

And I finally introduced her to my boyfriend, (David Tennant's) Dr. Who...

A very welcome dinner guest ;)

Then I got to work in the kitchen making the dough for parmesan shortbread. (I got the recipe from "Sue  Lawrence's SCOTTISH Kitchen.")

Parmesan Shortbread

All the while I left Sara in front of the television with Dr. Who cutting up vegetables and seeding pomegranates.

 Out! Damn Spot!!!

 Pomegranate Seeds!

Barley with butternut squash, pesto, walnuts, onions and mushrooms

Carrots and yams with caramelized onions, herbs de provence and balsamic vinegar

Mixed greens with apples, walnuts and cheddar cheese

A delicious Fall lunch!

Sassafras Leaves

I also served a wonderful Sassafras and Mullein tea infusion, pumpkin dip with organic graham crackers and ginger snaps along with hot, spiced apple cider...which we married with a little bit of whisky ;)

And yes, there was actual knitting...here are some projects I've (finally) finished!

 A stripey (Summer) Hat

 Felted Slippers

 The beginnings of a cabled cardi

It was a wonderful afternoon full of yarn, food, laughter and food!  If anyone is interested in participating or hosting a circle, please get in touch!

Maybe I'll see you next time!

XO

P.S. Thank you to all who attended and a HUGE thank you to Sara for all that chopping!

New Friends and Old Haunts...

Last night I had a lovely dinner with one of my "new" friends. Alison, from Edinburgh!  She brought me the above jar of preserves (which I enjoyed this morning with porridge and "Famous Edinburgh" tea). Couldn't have a better start to a morning...unless I was actually in Edinburgh, of course!

We actually met via the internet pretty much a year ago to the day, now that I think of it.  She co-runs Edinburgh Spotlight and had found my blog while I was last in Edinburgh gushing, I mean blogging, about all my experiences.  Since then we have stayed in touch via e-mail, Twitter and Facebook...and I even wrote an article for her website! It's amazing how small the internet can make the world.

We met up at one of my all time favorite places, La Lanterna, in Greenwich Village. I hadn't been there in a while and thought, what better place!?

It was possibly the first café I visited in New York City way back when I was around 10 years old. My parents and I had come in to visit my Sister while she was attending The Fashion Institute of Technology and she took us there (on Halloween!) I followed and graduated from FIT with a degree in Advertising Design 11 years later. I have introduced many a happy customer to La Lanterna since.  The panini and pumpkin cognac cheesecake make my day every time. I did not get my "usual" dessert wine with biscotti...opting for spiced hot apple cider instead. It totally hit the spot though.

I've been revisiting a lot of my old haunts lately, under new circumstances and not intentionally. It's sort of weird and interesting to view these places from where I am now. I have been surprised to find out that I don't really have an attachment to them.  It's almost as if I'm seeing them through new eyes...like I'm a different person.  I suppose I am.

Last weekend I walked the same route I used to take to visit my Sister in Murray Hill ( I was new to the city as a college freshman). It seemed like a different city.  I once lived on that side of town as well and it was as if I'd never been there. This time I was on my way to meet friends for our trip to Sleepy Hollow...and they are friends I didn't have way back when.

Last night, was La Lanterna.  I went through a stretch in college when I went almost every weekend...and then at least every month or so with friends.  I am no longer in touch with any of those people. The café has changed a lot over the years and I barely looked around while I was there last night. I was more interested in the dinner conversation and luxuriating in my friend's accent.  I miss that sound! On the way to the subway I pointed out "Bleeker Bob's Records"...a place I went when new to the city, as well as the shady looking store next door called "The Best Back Rub...for women and men."  Hilarious.

Next thing I know I'll be directed to FIT, Gramercy Park or Hell's Kitchen.  All places I used to spend my time.  Not sure what it all means...but it's interesting.

XO

*The minute I posted this...I got an e-mail from FIT.  Weird!

Sleepy Holloween!!!

Last year I spent Samhuinn in Edinburgh...and this year I spent it in Sleepy Hollow!  Pretty cool, right?

Even though I live in New York and am a sucker for all things historic, I had never been to Tarrytown...aka Sleepy Hollow before yesterday's journey.  We stopped in on the way to The Great Jack-O-Lantern Blaze in Croton-on-Hudson, NY (which I highly recommend to anyone looking to do something different and definitely awe inspiring for Halloween).

First, a photo stop in Dobbs Ferry:

Next we stopped in at the cemetery where Washington Irving is buried...but we didn't have time to walk it (it's huge!) so we missed out on the headless horseman covered bridge.  Next time, for sure! The cemetery alone could take a whole day.

We popped into The Old Dutch church on the way out.  I was completely charmed by the simplicity and drama of its interior.  The little spiral staircase up to the pulpit....I wonder what words were preached up there back in the day?

Then we took a tour of Philipsburg Manor...and I bought some freshly ground cornmeal and wheat flour!  They were even demonstrating herbal medicine making in the activities center (kismet!) I'd love to go back when I have a little more time.

After dinner at The Headless Horseman Restaurant :) We were off to The Blaze! I had dressed totally inappropriately...so a cup of (over priced) hot apple cider was much appreciated! The Blaze was well worth the very reasonable $16 entrance fee.

Thousands of decoratively carved pumpkins surround you as you walk around the Van Cortlandt Manor grounds...flickering spookily and dazzling the eyes. A truly beautiful spectacle. It was definitely enough to bring out the trick or treating kid in all of us.

Fill in the Blanks...

creative dream assignment: fill in the blanks

if my dream was an animal, it would be a ____Lion____ and it would need ____a mountain____.

if my dream was a colour, it would be ____Green____ and its favourite colour would be ___Purple___.

if my dream was a {real or made-up} holiday, it would be ____Samhain____ and we would celebrate by ____going camping and having a bonfire____.

if my dream was a car it would be a ____mini convertible or a jeep____ and i would drive it to ___the ocean____.

and in honour of my new business partner tree, if my dream was a tree, it would be a ___hawthorn___ and if i could plan it anywhere, i would plant it ____in Scotland___.

bonus question: what insights, ideas and inspiration did you glean about your dream from this assignment?

I was surprised my color's favorite color was purple!  I thought it would have been orange :)

I am inspired, as ever, by the way my responses are based in nature and the Earth.  I want to keep moving in that direction...reconnecting with the Earth.

XO

Newfangled Diaries, These Blogs...

I am a huge lover of all things historic.  Old buildings, ruins and reading about people's lives back in the day...how they did things...dressed...you name it.

I also love researching my family and finding out personal details about the people who came before me (my great grandfather was listed as a tennis racket stringer and then later owned his own barbershop!)

It's a shame, though, that I don't have any personal diaries from these folks. I've kept diaries since I was young...though most of them are poetry journals.

The other day I was reading the blog of a woman who recently passed away and I realized that blogs are a record of our lives that are accessible immediately.  Weird that I hadn't thought about it until then. It was so poignant...reading this woman's words.  So full of life and ideas and humor...it was like I could see her typing up each entry. She was alive in every word.

Facebook and Twitter add into this too. Good lord...some people record every little moment in status updates! I realize that all this online exposure can be a mixed blessing at times. I mean, we do need to filter what we put out there to a degree. I still write out the deeply personal stuff with pen and notebook but am very glad I have this blog to document my life and that people can see it now rather than later.

I had been thinking about how over saturated the blogging world is. Maybe I was wrong?  Maybe it's sort of like an ongoing time capsule that we don't have to wait to dig up in 20 years?

I've certainly shifted my perspective.

XO