Oh - and I did make that phone call. The store was busy so we couldn't chat, but now we both have each other's number, so I imagine I'll get a call back at some point.

When in doubt, Google:

Blacks during the Holocaust
... camp system. Lionel Romney, a sailor in the US Merchant Marine, was
imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp. Jean Marcel ...
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005479

OSS
... Lionel Romney, Negro fireman, US Merchant Marine, 'SS Makis' sunk off Pantelleria 17 June 1940, captured by Italians and interned eventually in Mauthausen. ...
http://www.udt-seal.org/oss.html

I dragged the bike out for he first time this year. Cleaned off the cobwebs (literally), cleaned the chain, etc. and rode around for 2 hours. I just didn't feel like running yesterday. I guess the midnight screening of Spiderman 2 was too much for me in my old age. Either that or the fact that there was a cherry moon. I noticed it at 2:40 am, and had to go out every 10 minutes thereafter too see what color it'd darkened to ... all of the way to its setting. It was worth it I guess.

Well, anyway. I rode around for a while, then decided to swing by the local homebrew shop to see if they'd gotten the bottle washers in yet. They had. I like my local shop (the only one in the city, in fact) because the sales staff is hot. It's located near my HS and the people who work there are the same types I used to be attracted to in HS. It reminds me of my youth. So ... long story short, I was chatting with the cashier about biking, and brewing, and beer ... and I got the digits! I didn't even ask. I'm s'posed to call if I want to do an upstate bike trip. I can't get excited about it because I believe there's a significant other in the wings. But I've always thought this particular salesperson was hot. But I would never have the guts to make the first move. (Not that any move was made - but I never would have thought to suggest that we go biking together. I just brought up the idea that it would make a good outing; the bike trails are close to the brewery.) So that was kinda cool. As I was leaving I kept wondering "Did I think what just happened happen?"

Needless to say, I haven't called yet. Aren't you supposed to give it a certain number of days? And anyway, all I'm going to say is that I don't have a free weekend until the 24th; if that's cool, then pencil it in. It would seem over eager to call immediately just to say that. I'll call tomorrow. (It's on my calendar.)

After all that excitement, I had a funeral last night. It was REALLY long, but I liked the guy, so I couldn't mind. It's shitty that you don't learn the cool things about people until they're gone. I learned earlier this year that one of the family friends was a weaver. I never knew he wove. Never knew he used to own a lumber company either. The guy whose funeral was last night was my neighbor. He was 91. He always used to try to race me in the winter mornings when it snowed. Who ever got out first would shovel for both houses. You know damn well I made it my business to get up first. Anyway, I didn't know he liked languages. I knew he spoke Dutch, but I didn't know about Spanish, Papiamento, Italian, & German. And the latter two he learned in a concentration camp in Austria (Mauthausen). The weird thing is, he was black - a St. Maarten native. He was in the Dutch Merchant Marines and his ship was mined, that's how he got captured. He was imprisoned for 4 years. Why do you never hear about black people in the concentration camps? In all my life I've never heard of such a thing, and I've watched German documentaries, movies, American films, Hungarian films on the subject. He said there were a lot of North Africans there too. They showed a small film of him discussing the experience at the funeral. He would imitate the German guards and laugh. (Funny, with his accent, I understood his German and Italian better than his English.) They would refer to him as the Moor, not realizing he understood most of what they were saying. Every morning they would come in and shout Wer verstorben? (Who's dead?) to ascertain who'd died during the night. And every day they'd call out someone's number and that person never came back. The elderly were killed right away, but the younger folks worked in a factory. The tape was the first time he'd ever discussed his experiences - 40 years after.

You never know who the person is next to you.

Yeah, yeah, I forgot to do the kufi pattern again.

I've been working on socks. It's so hot & humid I'm afraid they're going to felt as I'm knitting them, but what are you going to do? They're the Aran Sandal Socks from Socks, Socks, Socks, which means (by definition), the pattern has errors. I've made them before, so I've corrected most of the errors on my working copy, but there is a minor one I'd missed. Mostly because it doesn't really matter. After you finish decreasing the gusset you're supposed to have 58 stitches left, but the diagram illustrating how many stitches are supposed to be on each needle only totals 56. I can't decide if I want to work the rest of the foot on 58 or 56 stitches. Like I said - it doesn't really matter; I think I'm just bored.

Hmm - I just looked it up and it's such a minor thing that it hasn't made anyone's errata page. Okay - executive decision time: I'm going to go with (drumroll) 58!

I'm wearing my fingerless gloves made from the same yarn (WFB Nyala) as it's FREEZING in my office. She's really soft; hardly any prickle.

Lemme see if I can go refresh my memory on how I usually make Right foot & Left foot socks.

I keep forgetting to write down that kufi pattern so I can post it here. It's rather cute, if I do say so myself.

It's spring. I have a crush on someone unavailable. What else is new? Crushes are cool. The object is irrelevant. At least you get to feel for a little while.

Spring Cleaning

I finally broke down and threw out all of the fleeces I know I won't ever use. Most of these were stored improperly anyway (read: left lying around). I don't have the energy to go through my cedar chest of 20 year old yarn. sigh. So now I just have 3 fleeces to bring home from the office, and 3 more at the processor ... and 2 in the garage ... plus the ones stored properly. sigh. This is why I can't even look at yarn catalogues any more. The only thing that interests me is Euroflax Linen. I love my linen sweater to death, and I need more of them. (And I have no intention of spinning linen.)

So right now I'm trying to find a kufi pattern. I have a partial ball of organic cotton tape yarn, from which I made a shell. I figure, if I make a kufi, it'll keep my bangs out of my face when I'm playing volleyball, and perhaps suck up some sweat. (I have a terry headband, but my dorkiness does have limits.) I considered knitting wrist bands, but I wasn't sure if it would affect my passing. Which, believe me, doesn't need any sort of impairment. (Not that I have to pass so much; I seem to be stuck as setter this season. Now if I could just get them to run a 5-1 so I won't have to receive at all .... )I used to just wear long sleeves, but we have *uniforms* now ....

I found a couple - there aren't really many out there and none of them are really what I was thinking. Don't tell me I have to design something. feh.

I found a weaving book on sale at the library today. It's Handweaving by Iona Plath. It's old enough not to have an ISBN; the copyright date is 1964. It's mostly 4 harness patterns for upholstery. The neatest thing is it still has the original receipt in it. It was purchased from National Book Company (MU2-3908), 6/30/65, for the whopping sum of $6.72 (+ 20¢ postage and insurance). National Book Company notes "Regret we cannot supply 'Swedish Handweaving'". LCM* of Lounsbury Road in Croton-on-Hudson was the purchaser.

Well, it's a good buy in that it's already provided me with more than $1's worth of entertainment.


*Name and address witheld for obvious reasons. BTW, LCM are my initials too! (And my father's, etc.)