November 2013 – mimimustknit

I’ve been back now from my “travelling” for 20 days. It feels good to sit still for a bit. It feels like it’s been chaos (in a good way) for me since the summer. So for now, I’m glad to not be jetting off anywhere… for a few weeks at least. Then again, when I sit still too long, I get restless. So, we’ll see.

I’ve been busy with baby orders and Christmas orders but I haven’t managed to take any photos. Go figure. Stay tuned.

We’re going into Christmas soon. I’m not a huge fan of the holidays. It’s not the same anymore. Christmas was so awesome when I was a kid. Everything changes. We have to adapt and make the best of what’s there.

So, NYC alone. It kind of sucked. I thought it would be a piece of cake because I’ve been there so many times. But there’s something about being there alone that’s…. well, lonely. And I NEVER get lonely. I really wanted to go to nice restaurants and enjoy some good food and a glass of wine, or hit a pub and try some new beers, go to a Broadway show, etc. But doing that alone is not that much fun.

I did, however, meet a nice girl from Brazil! Tatiana. We hung out for two days and really hit it off. We spent time at MoMa and walking around Central Park (she still hadn’t seen the Bathesda Fountain and The Mall). But when I put her in the cab to the airport, I was alone again and it sucked. It’s very strange because I’m a very outgoing person. Not sure what happened. Oh well. I can at least say that I made a friend and that I will likely end up in Brazil to see her in the next couple of years. Yay!

I also got to see the beautiful fall foliage in Central Park. It’s been on my to-do list forever.

On a very sad note, we lost a friend in a car accident on Sunday, November 17th. Mike Robillard – affectionately known to us as Smitty, was a police officer in Cornwall a few years back. It hit all of us pretty hard. 32 years old and so much life. It’s difficult to accept that things like this happen. People who work in our field deal with death every day but it’s so difficult when it’s someone you know and love. So many people were touched by him in one way or another. We’re all sending him love.

Something funny happened last night; I was looking for pictures on my external hard drive and the first picture that came up in the first folder I opened was a picture of Smitty cooking hotdogs for the local kids at the Cops and Kids fishing event back in 2005. It made me smile and it made me sad at the same time. It’s not fair that he won’t be here anymore, especially for his wife and little boy. I can’t imagine what life will be like for them now.

Love and appreciate the people in your life. Tell them often that they matter and that you love them. You never know when they’ll be taken from you.

Being in New York City alone is an altogether different experience than being here with someone else. In a way, it’s great because I get to do what I want when I want. For example: I read blogs and drank coffee for a good two hours yesterday morning before getting my butt up and out the door. I walked as little or as much as I wanted. I went to see Carrie alone. I had never been to the movies by myself. It was fun/interesting.

Eating alone in a super-crowded restaurant however was not so fun. But I had to have The Velvety Cream of Tomato Soup at Sarabeth’s. I gave my name and waited 25 minutes for them to call my name. That’s how busy they were at 2:00 pm yesterday.

Getting lost alone also wasn’t that much fun. My sense of direction has always been pretty crappy. Thank goodness for Starbucks and free WiFi. And I only had one chai latté all day. If they were cheaper, I would drink more.

The best part of yesterday was FINALLY seeing the leaves in Central Park.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been here but in all the times I’ve come, I have NEVER seen the leaves in the fall. So BEAUTIFUL! I got caught in the rain (big fat rain), had wet, dirty and slippery toes in my flip-flops but I still couldn’t stop smiling.

I came. I saw. Now I’m happy. 😉

I also hit up Purl Soho yesterday to get Lucie some yarn. It was packed in there. Come to think of it, every time I go there, it’s packed. They’re probably the most famous of yarn shops in the Big City. I just don’t know how people leave there with bags full of yarn because it’s quite costly.

Today is the NYC marathon. It’s probably best to stay away from the Park.

I was a bit POed yesterday. I went to Radio Shack and bought a point-and-shoot camera. My phone doesn’t take great pictures and I wanted some decent quality shots of Central Park. So I spent just over $200 on a camera (that has WiFi), a memory card and a case. The battery comes charged. But they don’t tell you it’s only charged long enough to take about a dozen pictures. I think I got some ok ones with my phone but I’m definitely going back in the next couple of days (after the billion people here for the marathon are gone) in the hopes of getting better photos. If the weather’s good, maybe I’ll spend a whole day in the Park.

I’m going to go get ready, hit up this little diner I read about and then head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim.

Month: November 2013

Sitting Still

Alone in the Big Apple