Grannie would have liked the theme from Field of Dreams: Build it and they will come. She never worried too much about whether or not what she did was appropriate. So for moment I was knitting socks...and now suddenly I'm walking into a new field!

She also said: This too will pass.

Mind you my choice of structure has just reminded me of the fact that I might just be building a hornets' nest!

This is a picture of red flower and a spider...the closest picture to knitting that I can find.

On the topic of selling socks:

For the past six years I have been editing.

For the past six years I have been selling socks.

Was that a difficult concept to wrap my head around?

Only when I tried to explain that the difference betwe en editing and selling socks was fit. That people did not come in size 10 or size 9 1/2. That sometimes I had to knit a size for each edit and each foot. Now the left foot is a size 8 and the right foot is a size 10 3/4.

After 40 years I have lost my edge...not on the fitting of socks so much as on the evaluating of the legs to which said feet are attached. This only became an issue when there was a complaint...from a person with definite leg issues.

My socks no longer fit.

I had a hint of this when the company brought in a senior knitter to supervise and make sure that I got off on the right foot. After six years of doing my own thing, being supervised was out of the question! They haven't even run into the leggy person. For all they knew, my socks were selling quite well...save for the occasional amputation.

Now I have run afoul of the legs. I have made a misjudgment and the company is no longer interested in my socks. They want me to knit their socks.

But those who are demanding this of me have never knit a sock.

And so i have put down my knitting needles for a moment and quite frankly I am weeping with joy. I had no idea how hard I had been working on fitting those socks.

I am exhausted and free and somewhat discombobulated. I have suggested to my friends that we knit an afghan!

Some protest. They have never knitted...but I can show them. I have had practice.

I don't "believe" in horoscopes in the sense that I plan my life according to them, but there is something to be said about Aries or Capricorns. I like the writing in The Mirror and I like to read them to make me think about the present...

"According to my reading of the astrological omens, it'll be a hair-on-fire kind of week for you - and yet also a heart-in-repose kind of week. In other words, you have the potential to be fierce and relaxed, vigorously ambitious and sublimely poised. In fact, this might be one of those rare times when you can be both a justice-dispensing warrior and an enlightenment-seeking magician. Want to turn water into wine when the pressure's on? Find the pearl of great price in the heart of the battle? Feats like these are quite possible."

How empowering is that?

This one from The Globe and Mail comes even closer to home.

" A partnership or relationship may not be working out as well as you had hoped but it's not over yet. Can something be salvaged form recent arguments and upheavals? Yes it can, but the effort - and the positive outlook - must come from you."

I just hope that the effort does not mean that I must reach out...I just must take a deep breath and...I hope!

Welcome to Howto

Emerald Beginnings

When I was four, I learned that emeralds grew on trees

I was very happy

Now I live, day after day, in my luxury tree house, smiling.

I look out the windows of my home and see the emeralds hanging off the tree branches.

The sun glares onto them, making a play of green light against my windows.

I never picked one.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I turned back the clock yesterday and was born a moment earlier.

Postscript: I didn't mention to the young man that his dogs were more socialized than he realized! I also am always so grateful when those I walk with allow me to pause and pat!

One of my favourite words is juxtaposition. I could not resist the juxtaposition. Yesterday I went with friends to find the owl tree on the Westmount summit. We found the tree. We did not find the owls...they had moved. However we met these huskies and their delightful owner. How different an experience to the little yellow African birds. There were three dogs...these two were busy eating snow...or so we thought. In fact their owner admitted that they were looking for mice. I am relieved that they did not find one when I was there...but I was amused. I don't think the poodles on the mountain hunt mice.

He also admitted to the fact that his dogs were racist. They had no interest whatsoever in other breeds...however if another huskie appears, they are immediately fascinated. In a park downtown they actually have huskie day. Huskie owners flock to meet and swap stories.

Sorting and sorting and sorting...that is one of the conditions of retirement...one is forced to sort...to tidy...to throw out and to discover. When one is working, there is an excuse. "I don't have time...I'm working..." I have just stopped working for the second if not third time and I am faced once more with sorting.

This time I have resorted to create a data base titled: Where What Is! That way I can find that which I sort...and for the moment avoid throwing out that which I know I should throw out.

I used to motivate myself with the question: What if you had to move...tomorrow...The problem is that with a lap top, that is not a valid question. One has all one's files compacted. So...to avoid the real question of: When did you last use this? I am going through my picture files. I should delete this one, but I can't...I just can't. It reminds me of coming out of the dining room in an African compound, crossing a little bridge over a pond and realizing that the tree beside me was filled with little yellow sleeping birds. There must have been hundreds of them. Were they avoiding the lions and getting a nap? No...they could fly away. Did they feel comfortable with the chattering tourists? No...I suspect they were there before the tourists. It was a magical moment even if it is a somewhat bad picture.

I will never regret having gone to Africa. It has fed my spirit and my imagination for a life time...and no, I will not delete the little bird.

It is time to talk about Erdem. He is a former student. He studied fashion at Ryerson and was accepted to The Royal School of Design in London with a ten thousand pound scholarship. He described the interview. He planned ahead. He ordered the cab a day before. He had his portfolio. The taxi arrived. He went out to say he was coming. He locked his portfolio in the apartment...he did get to the interview. He dramatically displayed his designs on the table. There was a gasp and then someone said, "Oh he comes from Canada. I suppose it is cold in Canada!" He had featured fur in his designs. The use of fur is politically incorrect in England...
He wrote to me once: I have fallen in love with Italy. I believe we are expected to be married soon...in spring? In Spring? In the hills of Tuscany? He was speaking metaphorically. Instead he set up his own studio in London and was cited in the Gazette this weekend. He has had his first show...his designs are beautiful. His web site is www.erdem.co.uk . It's neat to have been a teacher. One can live vicariously! This photo reminded me of his aesthetic.

She-itis: Collapsed after the effort of having two people for breakfast yesterday and did not rise until 9:30 this morning. She is at the moment gathering her wits having quickly put on her tights to pick up her newspaper and discovering as she sat doing the crossword that some creature was trapped in said tights and was trying to chew its way out - on her leg. She entertained her cat by screaming and hopping around as she attempted to catch the critter...her revenge came when she flushed it down the toilet. Normally she just puts critters in the hall way!

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. I never can keep them...but I'm going to try and so consider this the posting for January 1, 2010! I wonder what has happened to the white squirrel in the park. I wonder if I will have to wait until Spring to see him again...
My friend gave me the most whimsical calendar with the illustrations of Charley Harper...if you want to smile, google him...he is quite wonderful.