Aaron knits…and spins, and weaves.

Good morning and Merry Christmas!

December has been a busy month for us, as it is for pretty much everyone. Because of commitments to dog shows and singing with the Albany Gay Men’s Chorus, I had to skip playing Santa for our Pet Pictures With Santa fundraiser for Italian Greyhound Rescue this year. This is the first time I’ve completely misssed this event since I started doing it about 17 years ago. Maybe more. I don’t remember if we were still living in Rensselaer when I started or if we were in the house that we are still living in today. There have been a couple of years that Santa duties were split with someone else, but I still had at least one full weekend of donning the suit. I’m bummed that I misssed it entirely this year, and I hope I will be ble to do at least one weekend next year. Continue reading “December to remember”

Good morning and happy Saturday! Did you go to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival? I only went on Saturday and primarily for the Men’s Knitting Retreat meetup. In the past I’d have news and updates about the spring and fall retreats at Easton Mountain and that was one of the original reasons for having these meetups. They’ve become less about retreat info and more about the socializing and reconnecting with guys who we may not see at every retreat. Continue reading “Rhinebeck recap, new spinning project, and fun with a pharaoh puppy”

Good evening, and happy Sunday!

This past weekend’s Men’s Knitting Retreat was the best yet. At least I think it was, and during our feedback session at the end of the retreat, I heard similar sentiments from some of the retreat regulars. It was a perfect combination of great weather, a great venue, but most of all, great guys.

On Thursday afternoon, the very first day of the retreat, and before it had even officially started, most of the guys had already arrived and had gathered in the main room of the lodge. We had a great mix of retreat veterans including some who were new to this retreat, as well as a few who had never been to any men’s knitting retreat before.
Continue reading “Life after the retreat”

Good evening and happy Autumn! Summer is officially over and I am ready to say goodbye to it. The pool has been closed for a couple of weeks now. It got used a lot this season. We spent a lot of time in the back yard, most of it watching our newest addition, Jade, grow from the cute, floppy, bitey, puppy we brought home in June to the absolutely gorgeous young girl she is today. Continue reading “Wrapping it all up”

Good morning and happy Saturday! In less than seven weeks, a total of thirty six guys will converge at Easton Mountain for the second North East Men’s Fall Knitting Retreat. We filled all the remaining spots, the agendas and personal information for all of the attendees is being finalized, roster, name tags, and bag buttons printed, and the Saturday field trip to the Adirondack Wool and Arts Festival is set.

It may seem like too far off to even think about packing. For most of the guys attending the retreat, that would be true. For myself and Joe Wilcox, who put together this and the spring retreat, the packing started long ago, or maybe it never ends. I’m not sure which. Continue reading “Preparing for the fall retreat”

Good morning and happy Saturday! It has been the perfect summer for having a pool. It has also been the perfect summer for doing very little knitting, and I know it has been at least a couple of months since I have done any serious spinning. Yes, Jade is the reason for that and not entirely because her crate is in my craft room. I have been through shenanigans with mischievous pharaoh hounds and Italian greyhounds before so I do my best to protect my stuff. Even when I think I’m keeping the dogs well supervised too, a split second is all it takes to undo a lot of hard work.

Continue reading “Paying it forward/enabling”

Good morning and happy Saturday! Is it hot enough for you? If it isn’t right now, it will be. I have nothing important on my plate today Because of the temperatures and humidity we are expecting. If we go anywhere, it will be to the farmer’s market with the girls. Not that we necessarily need anything as I’m not entirely sure I’m even cooking outside today, but Jade definitely needs some more leash experience and socialization.

Since it is going to be a mostly inside day, I want to focus on getting this dog sweater finished. Up until now, all the changes I have made to the pattern based on updated measurements for its recipient have been working out. Continue reading “Slow progress is still progress, right?”

Good morning and Happy Saturday!

First, let me introduce you to our new family member. Her full name is XO Osiris The Spy Who Loved Me. Yes, that’s a mouthful. We call her Bond, Jade Bond.

Continue reading “Big Changes!”

Good morning and happy Saturday! Last week I wrote a bit about the Men’s Spring Knitting Retreat and I referred to the guys with whom I had the great pleasure of attending this retreat with as my brothers. That term applies to every guy at every retreat, not just the most recent one, and not just the guys who come back year after year. This week, I promised to write more about my experience with the Albany Gay Men’s Chorus and many of the same words I used to describe my knitting retreat experiences apply to the chorus as well.

A year and a half ago I took a big step outside of my comfort zone when I joined the Albany Gay Men’s Chorus, and wrote about my experience right before the first spring concert I performed in with the chorus. Here we are now a year later and I not only survived that spring concert, I survived the winter concert as well. Now my second spring concert with the chorus is next weekend. Continue reading “I was singing with my brothers, I was singing with my friends”

Good morning and happy Saturday! It has been two weeks since the Men’s Spring Knitting Retreat and it is now two weeks until the Albany Gay Men’s Chorus spring concert. The title of this post is a play on a line from the song “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” which is one of the songs we will be performing. I thought the altered words appropriate. I am amazed by the knowledge and talent so willingly shared by the men in both groups and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of both. Next week’s post will be more about the chorus, and this week there will be mostly pictures from the knitting retreat. Continue reading “I was knitting with my brothers, I was knitting with my friends”