It's been a long time

I haven't posted in quite a while. Things have been very busy both at home and at work. At work I have a new boss, the secretary who was in the office with me quit and was not replaced, the 2 Assistant Principals changed their duties so there is more work and things to learn for the secretaries. I love the new boss, he is a wonderful person and very easy to get along with.

I am still knitting and crocheting. I knitted a shawl which was entered in the staff art show at District Office. I am still involved with Support Connection and have my knit/crochet group there. During my breaks during the day, I am teaching one of the teachers how to crochet.

This is a shawl I finished 2 weeks ago. It is a variation on one my mother had that was older than me. I can't imagine how long she had it, I always remember it being there. When I took it out of the bag in which I stored the winter clothes, it fell apart. I studied the part that was left and made a variant of the pattern. It is very easy to do and I thought I would publish the pattern below:

Worsted weight yarn & I hook

Chain 5, slip into first chain to form a ring.

Row 1: Chain 3, 11 dc in ring. Turn

Row 2: Chain 4 (equals 1 dc & 1 chain), dc in first dc, ch 1, *dc, ch 1, [dc, ch 1]
twice in next stitch* repeat to last stitch

Row 3: Chain 4 (equals 1 dc & 1 chain), dc in first chain 1 space, ch 1, *dc, ch 1
in next two chain 1 spaces; [dc, ch 1] twice in next chain 1 space* repeat
to end.

Row 4 and remainder of the rows to the end:
Chain 4 (equals 1 dc & 1 chain), dc in first chain 1 space, ch 1, *dc, ch 1
each chain space and crochet [dc, ch 1] twice in each 2 dc “V”* repeat to
the end of the row

Continue until the shawl is the desired length, approximately 26”.

I am working on another variation right now where I begin the same way with a chain 4, dc in the first chain and then I am doing a dc in every stitch after the 12th row except in the "V" stitches where I am doing an increase of dc, ch1, dc. I'll see how that turns out.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving, I think it is my favorite holiday. I ordered a turkey from a nearby farm and I hope it is as good as last year's turkey.

Last weekend Richie & I went to a Buddhist Monastery which is in Kent, NY. I had heard that it was beautiful. It has the largest Buddha in the western hemisphere and the grounds are lovely. I would like to go back in the spring and spend more time there.

The Buddha took 2 years to sculpt and then the building was built around it. Behind Buddha are 10,000 tiny Buddhas that were sculpted by the same man who did the large one. If you would like to see more pictures, they are at:

http://www.baus.org

Suzie & I have been to the Metropolitan Opera a few times. My aunt, Mimi, would be so happy that I have converted someone else into an opera fan. Mimi was the one who introduced me to opera when I was young. I will certainly miss the Zeffirelli sets. I realize that they are getting old and the repeated taking down & putting up can't be good for them. I also understand that they take a large stage crew but- they certainly added a lot of magic to the opera. We saw one opera last year that the major part of the set was a rock. I found the huge rock so distracting especially when Jenufa was supposed to be in her house with a baby in the next room and the set consisted of a rock.

In the past two years, we did get to see John Releye twice, Thomas Hampson once and Samuel Ramey twice so all is well. I will always love baritones & basses the best of all. I could listen to them all day long. I have long been a fan of Samuel Ramey so I get so excited when I know I will see him. If you would like to get a sample of his magnificent voice, you can hear it at http://www.samuelramey.com/