Today is our fifth wedding anniversary. We picked the date of 10/10 because he’s a Brit and we wanted to have a date that read the same way no matter where you were from. At the time we married, we didn’t have much money. He was a recent transplant and as such, was ineligible for work. Oh, and we had a lot of debt. A lot.
While there was no money for an engagement ring, I didn’t really care. I’m not a diamond girl and certainly not much of a traditionalist about those things. If anything, I stare in wonder at some of the big-ass bling I see on the fingers of younger brides, thinking of the stupid hock they’ve entered into to impress who? Her friends? Her mom? Please.
But I digress.
We did want wedding rings, his and hers. I don’t like gold at all, so we went to a local shop in our old neighborhood and picked out a couple of plain, thin, white gold bands. I think we paid $300 for the two of them, including the engraving. Tiffany’s this was not.
We married at the Municipal Building in downtown Manhattan. Lots of friends showed up, mitigating the serious DMV vibe. We were married by a woman who I’d taken for the janitor. It took all of 60 seconds to do the deed. Afterwards, we trooped over to Joe’s Shanghai on Pell Street, where we’d reserved a huge table and shared soup dumplings, Tsingtao, and lots of laughs. My dad was there, not long after one of his surgeries. He declared it the best wedding he’d ever been to.
But back to the rings. There have been a few times, I’ll admit, where I’d thought about how nice it would be to upgrade the wedding band. Some shop in Soho had some beauts in platinum, a metal I love. We’ve worked hard to get ourselves out of debt and are at the point where we can relax a bit about watching every bloody dime.
So I was looking at my ring the other day. It’s pretty battered, with all sorts of scratches and dings in it now. The shine has dulled a bit and it’s not as smooth as it once was. And it doesn’t help that my penchant for wearing lots of huge rings makes the thin band look even thinner, playing oddly with its proportions.
But I looked at the ring and realized what it really means to me. We were not youngsters when we got married and we’re certainly not youngsters now. The rings have aged right along with us. And when I look at what we’d sacrificed to afford even these two small rings and how far we’ve come since then, I see the rings as a reminder. They represent a promise to each other, a hope for the future, and the struggles all couples face when establishing a life together. The rings have weathered it all right along with us. Their scars are like the hard-won wrinkles and laughlines on our faces. I could no more shine up my ring than shoot botox into my face. I’ve earned my scars and am proud of them.
We live in a society that values youth – shiny, bright, captivating youth. But there is beauty in our scars and in our imperfections. I like to think that Charlie and I have learned a bit from our marriage – to be kinder, more tolerant, more trusting, more loving as the years progress. Our wedding bands are a constant reminder of not only what we’ve sacrificed, but what we’ve gained over the years.
Happy Anniversary, Charlie.
I love you.
More.
We're back from ACL -- I mean, of course, Austin City Limits Music Festival. Which was awesome, by the way. Mighty awesome.
We saw old faves like M. Ward, Jenny Lewis, Connor Oberst, Gillian Welch, Abigail Washburn, David Byrne, Iron & Wine, and Neko Case, and new faves like Spiritualized, and The Octopus Project.
The Austin Craft Mafia was there and I am happy to report a healthy appreciation for all things crafty in Austin.
And I hooked.
Oh yeah, right out there in the open, for all the world to see, bold as you please. I would have been a bit happier if I'd seen anyone else crafting, but alas, I saw no one. That said, I did get a few people asking what I was making. One nice woman was a knitter who mentioned how she'd like to crochet. Another was a man who's mom crochets, so he recognized it right away.
Oh, did I mention I shopped for yarn at the amazing Hill Country Weavers in SoCo. It's like a rabbit's warren of little rooms filled with yarny delights!
I finished CopperScaleDragon's Skluvs, yes I did. Okay, maybe not the end-weaving part, but they are indeed lovely!
Saw some mighty cool things in that hot little town:
I think I may have had a margarita or two at Guero's Taco Bar:
All in all, a great time!
I need to do a couple of quick shout-outs:
First of all, the current issue of Interweave Crochet is one of the bestest in ages - I don't know where to start.
Also, my copy of Blueprint Crochet arrived today and I am awestruck! Robyn, it's fabulous!
Ohmigod, I'm gushing, aren't I? Sorry! But I'm seriously jazzed by these new sweets that showed up in my mailbox - Smiley's Yarn Sale and the Sheep and Wool Festival can't come fast enough!
Woo Hoo!
So I got back from the Netherlands last night, and hubsy and I are heading to Austin Texas for the Austin City Limits Music Festival way too early tomorrow morning. So how was Amsterdam, you may well ask?
Way too brief, I might answer.
Above, a shot of my hotel room near Central Station. I arrived on Sunday morning in the wee wee hours after 7 1/2 hours of a guy next to me for whom bathing was optional and deodorant, some new-fangled technology with which he dare not engage. Did I mention the 4 year old behind me kicking the back of my seat all night? And that the mother kept her up? Yeah, sweet.
Bitch, bitch, bitch. I know, I hear the chorus now. We'll see what tomorrow brings when I'm flying my nemesis, Continental, whom faithful readers know I loathe with every fiber of my being. A report will be forthcoming...
But what of Amsterdam, you are probably asking? Did any crochet or yarnish endeavors take place? Well, let's review:
I have been working on CopperScaleDragon's Skluvs. Here's righty!
Okay, ease up - the pics were taken with my phone, for crap's sake. But they are coming out well, if I do say so. While on the subway the other day, a lady interrupted my precious podcast-listening time to chat about them (Jane, she thought they were awesome!). I'm using some un-labeled yarn purchased at last Fall's Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. I'll post on these and other mitt-related topics upon our triumphant return to beautiful Brooklyn, NY. Till then, if any of you know of some cool yarny shops in Austin that the Hooker MUST NOT MISS, let me know, okay???
There are days, like today, where I get completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of projects I'd like to do. This includes not only crochet (other people's patterns, trying to design my own), but cooking (banana bread, savory bread pudding, eggplant and tomato gratin), jewelry-making (the focus of my fine art degree), reading (oh, about a million books on the list), trying to re-do my storage room into the work room that it was intended to be...the list goes on. Days like this make me feel scattered and unproductive, because no matter what I did get accomplished, it's the stuff left undone that looms large to me.
On the "accomplished" list, I can include the following:
A Giovanna's Cardi from Lion Brand for my stepdaughter, Margot.
The Betty Shrug ambles on....
And the Chanson en Crochet, mentioned a long time ago in this here blog, is complete. Honestly, I'm not thrilled with it, but it has to do with color choice, or lack thereof...
I have a lot of travel coming up, so I'm hoping to get in some good crocheting time while in flight. Might also try to use the time to do some knitting, as well. I've dropped the ball on that and I really want to get my brain around it. I'll show what I've done so far, for your amusement, in a future post.
Till then....
Okay, so the names not quite what Save the Children intended, but what the hell. The program is called Knit One, Save One, but what really matters is that this great organization is asking all us hookers and stickers to make some wee caps for littl'uns around the world. Their current drive runs through December 31st and I, for one, am partaking. And while I know a lot of you are already giving to some wonderful organizations, I'd like to encourage those of you who currently don't to consider participating in this drive.
Now, I'm not a joiner at all, but this seems like a fabulous way to burn some stash and help some little baby have a better chance of survival. What amazes me is that something so simple, so basic, can actually help save a life. And talk about a perfect subway hooker project! I can crank one of these out before I hit the Manhattan Bridge!
Save the Children has put together a cool kit that even has patterns to follow, some of which are easy enough for this non-knitter to follow! They have some pretty basic crochet patterns, too, so there's something for everyone. I'll keep you posted on my progress. I'm finishing up a little cardigan for Margot, my adorable French stepdaughter -- what can I say -- her birthday's coming up and the package of goodies is sailing this weekend, but those caps will be flying from these fingers!
Yeah, I'm crocheting, see? I made these wristlets from Drops Garnstudio. They were easy-peasy and simple-pimple. And they speak to a growing obsession of mine: gloves, mitts, wristlets, armwarmers... Any kind will do.
Although these are hibernating, t'were I to use Ravelry parlance, these lovely Manchettes are part of the obsession. I picked up StitchDiva's new pattern, as well as a couple from CopperScaleDrago from Ravelry to work on. But a bigger post on the topic is coming soon - I'm just gathering all the pieces together right now....
In the meanwhile, I spent some time today at Astroland in my beloved Coney Island, as it was its official last day of operations. As you know, I am enamored with this gritty, beautiful part of Brooklyn, and it kills me to see it devoured by scumbag developers with no sense of history or community.
On a final quick note, remember how last week I talked about all the wineries I went to? Some good and some less so? Well, color me shocked if a couple of the wineries mentioned didn't reach out to me! Duckhorn, bless their hearts, appreciated the nice words I had to say about them. They were well-deserved, let me tell ya!
And to their credit, Artesa, whom I completely dissed, also wrote to me asking for a more constructive version of the criticism I leveled at them. Fair enough, and I respect that they contacted me after what I said. While I've not heard back from them after sending them a more thoughtful version of my experience, I am shocked that the wineries even bother reading SubwayHooker, let alone sending me emails about what I've written! Go figure.
