Happy New Year December 31, 2004 ~ 1:21 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , trackback
“But I burn, Mr. A!” “So do I, Mr. J!” - Independence Hall, Philadelphia City
Points for anyone who can guess the source of the quote (and location name) above.
Jordana and I were both off work yesterday, which is so rare that it’s like a miracle (not that I was off work, that we both had the same day off), so of course we had to get together. J called me in the morning and we decided to go to the Whitney Art Museum to see the Romare Bearden exhibit. Bearden is known for his collages, which are amazing and depict everything from life in Harlem to the Odyssey. Some of my favorites were of the “Conjur Woman,” who was kind of like a witch doctor/healer in Southern black communities. Every time I looked at her in the various paintings, collages, prints, etc., I could see an aspect of a Wiccan priestess and even the Goddess pagans like me worship, which was wonderful. But I think my favorite part of the whole experience was when we were waiting in line to get in, and two people coming out handed us their admission stickers. We slapped them on our chests and voila! didn’t have to pay the admission fee. The museums up here charge a fair amount to get in, so this was an awesome gift from the Gods. 
After the Whitney, we hiked across Central Park to the West Side to go to The Yarn Co., which is NYC’s flagship knitting store. It was wonderful - a relatively small store (about 20′x20′) stuffed with every kind of yarn imaginable, needles, buttons, etc. I felt like I was in a candy store, seriously. We walked all around touching the various kinds of yarns, and when I told the salesperson I was a new knitter, she said “Okay, well, what do you want to make? Pick out a yarn that you like, and I’ll tell you what size needles you need and how much yarn you need.” I got some nice worsted for a scarf for Rick (he’s been bugging me to make him something ever since I started learning), some new 10 1/2 needles for the yarn we have at his apartment (left over from the Youngest’s summer craft projects), and The Yarn Girls’ Guide to Simple Knits, written by the owners of the store, whose names are (get this) Julie and Jordana! We met them both, and they seemed really nice. I was told if I have any problems with what I’m knitting to stop in and they’ll help me figure it out, and now my friend Jordana wants to learn to knit as well. I’m going to have a knitting buddy!
After that, a huge pasta dinner at Westside Brewing Co. (seriously, we didn’t know the bowls would be that big) with some lovely Pear Cider, and then down to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get some crap to organize my front closet. We ended up the evening at the movies with Rick, seeing The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons. A good film, and it really picked up why Shylock is the way he is, and let you feel sympathy for him at the end of the courtroom scene. But I realized that the film/play has two endings: the courtroom scene and then the interplay between the couples about the rings. I hadn’t read this play since high school, and had forgotten about that. It’s almost as if Shakespeare wrote a tragedy and then changed his mind, giving it a comedic ending instead. Normally his subplots aren’t at such opposition to each other, but this one really stood out to me. I’m going to have to read the play again now…
I think that’s it for today. Rick and I haven’t decided whether we’re going to a party tonight or just staying home together, but either way, I’ll probably be away from the computer till late tomorrow. Happy New Year, all. May it be more peaceful than the last, and joyous for all of you.
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