Best Quote I Heard All Day
I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train. --Oscar Wilde

These days, Oscar would be holed up at JFK airport, writing on his laptop, and waiting for JetBlue to get their shit together.

I am avoiding the airport and hitting the road at 9:30 tomorrow morning in the trusty Elantra. Hopefully making it to Herndon ahead of the crap weather that's supposed to hit NJ tomorrow night. Supposedly 4-7 inches of snow.

What Every Knitter Must Take On The Road
Or, at least, what I need to take. Besides the suitcase crammed with enough clothes for five days.

A trait that I have passed along to my children is the fear of leaving for a trip and forgetting the one stupid item that suddenly you discover you can't live without. As a child, Corinne would pack all 22 of her Barbies, or it seemed that way.

In my backpack, I shoved my needle kit, my tubes of double-pointed needles, four balls of sock yarn, the three balls of Julia that Kristen gave me, the BBF Red Light merino lace shawl, my tool kit, the new Rowan magazine, sets of directions for two sock designs and a Fair Isle pillbox hat that I did in between writing for work this week, and my calculator.

Am I ready? You'd think I was going to knitting camp rather than going on a business trip. I appreciate readers' suggestions on yarn shopping possibilities but I won't be able to go anywhere other than Reston, where the company's headquarters is located.

A prisoner of corporate America. Feh.

However, I will be posting next week, most likely. The pictures will come from my cellphone camera but hey, WTF do you want?

Rowan Magazine Spring Issue
I went down to Montclair today to see Mumsy and we went over to Modern Yarn so I could pick up the Rowan mag. Whoa. Even better than what I saw online. Sharon Miller's shawl is lovely, Kaffe's stuff looks much nicer up close and personal, although I'd never make an intarsia afghan. A number of things done in Kidsilk Haze, which I love.

Even if you don't actually like the garment, Rowan photographs everything so lushly that you're riveted to the picture. That, and the colors, which were vibrant and enticing. I mean, am I ever going to knit deck chair seats or buntings? Nope, but the photos were so great, I was intrigued, even though the concepts are totally ridiculous.

American magazines, take note.

I imagined my fat can lowered into a knitted cotton deck chair seat. Given the stretch factor combined with the weight factor, ya gotta laugh. Basic physics, people.

The ass hits the ground unceremoniously.

Widderhood
I was gratified to see some of my sistah widders commenting on the last entry. They know I feel their pain and that I'm always here for support.

Time, time, time. That's the mantra. It takes time to reconnect your life. I've had more than five years to do so. Jimmy and I always knew that one would go before the other and that it would most likely be him. We discused it on several occasions. He urged me to find someone else because he did not want me to be alone. He understood, as do I, that everyone has room in their hearts for others. My finding a new love does not diminish what Jim and I had together or make it any less than it was. Nor is this Jimmy redux. This guy is his own man and that's the way it should be. And the way I want it.

I believe I honor Jim's memory by doing what I'm doing. In fact, I think he'd be pretty amazed at how far I've come. Sometimes, I'm amazed. Like driving to Virginia on my own. Never would have done that when Jim was alive. I'm not such a chicken-shit these days.

So, kids, I'll be checking in later in the week. And if you're on the road this week too, don't forget to take at least half of your stash with you.

You never know when a rare and handy opportunity to knit will rear its head.