I went to Ann Arbor on Friday with several hundred other knitters (and a few non-knitters) to hear Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (Yarn Harlot) speak. It was a promotional event for her new book, “Things I learned from Knitting …whether I wanted to or not.” I am very happy I went.

Every time Stephanie appears, a gathering happens where knitters convene and celebrate what they have in common. As she points out, many of us would not hang out or even get along if it were not for our yarn and needles, and the love of creating knitted items.

Some of us knit sweaters, some socks, some both. Our politics and religions are varied, our backgrounds, income level, anything you might want to use to define us, can not be defined.

I remember the days when she was “Stephanie Pearl (not Purl)” on the Knitlist. We occasionally wrote private emails to one another. I started my blog in November 2002… since I archive all personal email (yes, I’m obsessed but sometimes it is quite handy to go back in archives) I see a note Stephanie wrote to me on April 3, 2003. When I look at the Yarn Harlot blog page, the earliest archive is January 2004.

So it was early blogosphere time, and email discussion lists were how knitters met/found one another. She would write funny posts to the email list, rather than on her blog or in a book. Her posts were always a highlight of the list for me.

These days if we write, it tends to be a quick comment on the other person’s blog. She’s so busy with sometimes 300+ comments a day, that I’m sure correspondence takes up a huge amount of her time these days.

Now she’s promoting her 5th book. She is doing what outsiders think is impossible… making a living writing humorous books about being a knitter. She’s very funny to insiders, and confusing to those who have chosen to remain outside the knitting realm.

Whether you knit or not, whether her comments make sense to you or not (they do if you knit), she is authentic Stephanie. She’s real, she laughs at her human foibles.

Humans passionate over any activity (knitting, fishing, cooking, running…) will exhibit behaviors that are a bit confusing to those not similarly passionate. And these unique things can bring a chuckle without the need to feel “less than.” It’s just the product of intense immersion in an activity that brings much pleasure. In this culture sometimes we insult ourselves in order to present ourselves as humble. Stephanie avoids the insult and the postured humbleness.

Sometimes I contemplate how this very human and very approachable person has become sort of a superstar, at least in the knitting world. Let’s face it most authors can’t turn out the 750 or so listeners she had at her book launch for the last book, in New York City. She turns out hundreds of knitters at every one of her talks/book-signing events.

Superstars are sometimes worshiped rather than admired. But I think Stephanie’s real appeal is her humanness.

She admits when she’s not happy with her kids. She admits when she needs to focus on a writing deadline and all she wants to do is cast on for a new pair of socks. She admits she knit long past the point where she knew it was not working out, and admits when she has to rip out the work she did while knowing full well she would need to rip.

So many people in the public eye cover up their weaknesses. Stephanie writes books about hers, without losing her dignity in the least.

We had such a good time! I met some folks from City Knitting in Grand Rapids, (I’ve already met a few others from this reaaally great store in East Town). I am embarrassed I am going blank on their names right now, I should have taken a notepad. One of them said she had knit my Fast Florida Footies pattern, which of course made me feel good.

I met a few young women waiting in line, one from Canton and one from Dexter (I think I got that right) who were in the (second) photo above I tried to take without being noticed… see them laughing in the photo? I am not good at hiding, not at all.

Almost everyone was knitting while waiting in line. The 5th grader in that photo said she was not a knitter (and those around her were teaching her to say “not yet”). I told her I learned to knit in 5th grade.

The first photo here in the post is a crowd of folks from the Lansing area with Stephanie. This way photo-taking took less time, she could get on with signing another several hundred books for those willing to wait in line.

The last photo is the rainbow that followed us for about 30 minutes on the commute to Ann Arbor. Rae was driving (yippee) so I had time to take dozens of shots trying to capture the colors. We could see it from bottom right to bottom left, the whole arc, much of the time (and every color down to violet was easily visible to the eye, though not obvious in the photo). Gorgeous.

Stephanie, thanks for the great party! “The Knitters” had a great time, thanks to you.

This spring thing comes and goes, but we have not had snow for several weeks. As I type this, the temperature is just barely above freezing. A few days ago, we had an incredible summery few hours followed by wind and rain.

My days are incredibly full this week and next, I may give you more photos than text during that time. Off to teach Guitar-Trim Socks at Rae’s! If I’m lucky I’ll have time to go to Threadbear after work, to see Jillian Moreno and Amy Singer (Knitty) launch their 2nd Big Girl Knits book. I hope.

On Ravelry, one of my Friends has posted that she finished a BottleZig, no photos yet. She did write me a nice note saying how pleased she was with my instructions. As someone who loves teaching in person, it pleases me that I can put the words together on paper to teach from afar. That note made me very happy!

Then Mary took my Maxi ZigBagZ class on Thursday this week at Rae’s. She started a bag in colors that are really her style, more muted than my typical colors. She has a heathery brown and a heathery teal as her solid colors, with a sort of beige/light brown/cream and a light greens set of multicolors. Incredible choices, and I will be very interested to see the fabric as it is created. The photo here is the knitting she was able to finish in the first class session. I got a note from her the next day and it sounds like she is zipping right along on it. Watching colors develop in the fabric, especially when one color is constantly changing, surely keeps me interested in a project!

I also see that MyMerinoMantra has started a bag, too. She had some Noro Kureyon color-changing yarn, and came in to Lansing to buy the Maxi ZigBagZ collection pattern plus two colors of Cascade 220 as her main/solid colors to go with them. This will be a lovely combination. I am eager to see how that develops as well!

As for me, I’m tired of knitting ZigBagZ but not colors next to one another. Right now I’m knitting a hat in one solid (purple) yarn and a self-striping green/turquoise/blue. Gorgeous. It’s a new technique for me, but anything that allows me to play with color contrast makes me very happy. I’ve taken a few photos and will post those as I get a chance in the next few days.

Brian and I think we may drive to Chicago for an overnight tomorrow. I am really eager to eat Indian food on Devon Street (Avenue?). I love the clothes there, too, but usually it takes me so long to find something I really want that I won’t make Brian go through the agony. I may buy some bangle bracelets as a prop for the upcoming Habibi Dancers show. I’m doing a dance that basically requires bangle bracelets for the costume. These are easy to find (they come in tubes) in that section of town.

And Patel Brothers grocery? That is a heavenly place, as well!!!

This post is for the knitters within driving distance of Lansing, Michigan. Sorry to my out-of-area readers… I do appreciate you but you probably should skip this post and come back soon for the next one.

I never seem to finalize a class schedule. I tend to think I need to wait until it’s all final until I can announce. However, this is not going to happen this month, I’m afraid.

Some of you already know some of what I’m going to announce here, because you may be on the e-newsletter lists for the shops where I teach. I am adding classes all the time, but I’m going to tell you about the ones coming up in the next few weeks.

Tuesday, April 1 (tomorrow) 6pm-8pm	Threadbear Fiberarts	Darn that Sock - The long-term socknitters out there know that tossing out a beloved handknit sock is heartbreaking. LynnH will present two different ways of repairing a worn sock, depending on how worn the fabric is. Bring handknit socks in need of repair, and a small Chibi or other blunt needle with large eye. LynnH will bring a few spares in case you have none at this time.
Thursdays, April 3 & 24, May 8 6pm-8pm	Rae’s Yarn Boutique	ZigBagZ: Maxi Collection - Lynn’s new hit pattern using lots of color but not lots of fussing. Make a strong felted project bag. The BiggieZig is a large purse-substitute bag, and the BurlyZig is a project bag which can handle a sweater or a good portion of an afghan in progress. Lynn will guide you through color choices, combining Noro Kureyon self-striping yarns with solid-colored contrast yarns. These bags stand up to real use and will look great for a long time.
Saturday, April 12 Noon-4pm	Yarn Garden of Charlotte, MI	Perfect Hug Shawl - If you need a shawl that does not fall off your shoulders, this design in three variations stays put because it is shaped like a rainbow. There is even a Goddess-sized version for up to size 5X. A great gift, this is fast and easy, and does not take much yarn. Try your lumpy-bumpy first handspun! Good if you want to break away from scarves, or you want a quick knit with just a little bit of variety to keep boredom at bay.

This schedule is a bit light, for one because a few classes with many sessions are already started. In addition, I’m preparing for the Habibi Dancers’ annual concert which will be Saturday, April 19 at the Hannah Center Auditorium in East Lansing. We have a lot of extra rehearsals in the weeks before the show, and that is cutting in to my teaching (and singing) schedule(s) for a while.

At least it looks like Brian and I will get a day or two as a “spring vacation” in between classes and rehearsals. At one point we had planned 5 days out of state. At this point it looks like maybe we will go to Ann Arbor for one day (it’s about an hour away) and maybe Chicago for an overnight (not quite 4 hours away), with a dance rehearsal day in the middle.

After being sick for most of February, I have had to schedule/reschedule classes, plus there is now an unexpected Saturday rehearsal.. We are making lemonade and will call it two vacations, even if short and local.

I hope some of you will join me for these classes! We always have a great time.

I don’t take enough pictures during my CityKidz Knit! program. I’m so busy answering questions for two full hours, there is no time to think of photographs. It is sort of amazing, they are so busy learning new things every single week.

Last week we had some extra special knitting. This first photo is a 4th grade boy who wanted to make something on circular needles. He determined to make a hat for his younger brother (a toddler if I get it right). It was so stretchy that he was able to wear it himself for this photograph.

First he started on circular needles, knitting back and forth as if he had 2 needles, to make a non-rolling garter fabric edge. Then we joined into a tube and he knit a while for the body of the hat. And then we started to decrease for the top.

The decreases required double-pointed needles given the resources of the room. This boy was alternately very impressed with himself (working with 6 needles on one hat, actually knitting with only 2 but it looked impressive), and afraid of this new thing that looked like it might be hard enough he could mess up. Or so it appeared that was the issue, from my vantage point.

He said his heart was pounding during that last inch or so. I told him “you rock” and did admit it looked hard but reminded him that he was doing well even if it looked scary.

He worked on this hat for many weeks, a difficult thing for a child to do. I had promised him that he would finish the hat that week, in the 2 hours we had together. Unfortunately he had to wait for me a few times because of the other big deal in the room (more later) which also took my time. So at the end I told him I’d finish the last 2 rounds for him and get it all put together.

I did 2 rounds of decreases and then finished the hat. He does know how to work ends in, but I had promised a finished item and I really needed to make good on that. He is capable of doing another hat without me doing a stitch. It’s a LOT of stitches for a kid of that age, though, and I am not sure he wants to do something that “big” for a while.

The reason he had competition for my time, was that three of my girls were learning how to follow a pattern. Actually, another of my boys (an older child than most of my kids) asked if he could learn to follow a pattern, last week.

After showing them the wonderful knitted heart that Priscilla gifted me with at Rae’s grand reopening open house (see photo), we determined that making one of the MochiMochiLand.com hearts, would be perfect. (Free pattern here.) It takes me (experienced knitter) 45 minutes to make a heart, start to finish. They figured it would be a great gift for a Grandma.

So this week the boy who had requested this project in the first place, did not make it. But three girls decided to dive in without him. Some knew how to purl, some did not. Some knew how to decrease, some did not. All of them were at least working on the first heart lobe’s decreases when they left. One girl finished one side of the heart and had started a second.

My plan is, if the kids bring me a finished heart or they finish one in class, I will take photos and send them to Anna H., who is the designer of the heart pattern we are using. Anna and I have corresponded about this pattern already, and she loves to hear from folks who like her work. Of course!

The last photo here is one I took a few weeks ago. I tell you, sometimes I have over a dozen kids knitting at one time. Sometimes that is delightful fun and sometimes it pushes me. I think in this case, being pushed is good for me. At least, I feel that way after I’ve gone home and thought about it!

This was Thursday night after dark:

This was Saturday around noon:

Thursday I found daffodil shoots several inches high with yellow buds showing. Friday morning, the little snow in photo #1 was all the snow in our yard (and the pile it represents used to be almost as tall as my car). Friday during our performance at Foods For Living (2-4pm) it went from no snow to an inch or more. By Saturday morning, it really looked like 5 inches (~11cm) on the front windshield of the bug. Ho, Ho, Ho!

I have over 200 photos I took last week and before, in case I had time to show you. If I even try to slog through much of that, I am going to drown in past information.

For now, I have to say that I am delighted to really feel well again. Finally. We sang at Foods for Living on Friday for 2 hours. Then we spent a while filling up a cart with groceries. We came home and stuffed them into our rather small food storage area. I made significantly wonderful Swiss Chard with onion and tomato as the highlight of dinner that night.

Saturday we played at Rendezvous by the Grand in Old Town Lansing (MI) and that was more fun (of a totally different sort). The building was once an early-1900s bank with mezzanine and huge tall windows, rounded at the top. Gorgeous.

At one point I was singing “Till There Was You” (written by Meredith Willson , from the show Music Man/1957… many people know it from the Beatles), and the room was rather quiet and actually paying attention to our music. (This being a “night spot” I would not expect this level of attention.) I really enjoyed hearing the acoustics of the building at the moment, which totally make a good moment better.

My voice is really doing great after all that illness for all that time. I have not felt this in control of my “instrument” in a while. And there we were, singing to friends and new fans… and the room was still, and my voice was resonating in a two-story turn of the century building, and we were playing our hearts out. Well, this is one reason I sing. It was magic.

And the people who came out… thank every one of you. Doug and Cynthia came first, then Libby and Chris and Darby, folks from the Dagwood’s Tuesday open mic clan, a crowd of employees from Elderly Instruments (where Brian works, just around the corner and down one block).

Surely at this point I have waited too long to post and I’m forgetting someone, but it’s not at all intentional. Libby came around to give me the nicest of all compliments and I will not forget that. It was just a lovely time. Just wonderful.

And with that I’ll sign off and make other things fit into a different post.

Photos: None of us, it’s sort of hard to take pictures of ourselves while singing.

Stage (with Scratch & Sniff performing) showing vast tall windows. The Well-Fed Kids, not standing very still in their enthusiasm (you should HEAR these guys and their vocal harmonies, they are wonderful). Scratch & Sniff (Phil Wintermute and Paul Bennett) up close and personal and with odd-colored stage lighting. Cynthia with crowd behind her… Cynthia is such a friend (she’s a knitter as well as a music person) and she usually looks more bubbly than this (but here she was paying attention to the music).

Cynthia and I dress somewhat alike and wear our hair in braids often, and are about the same size. People often confuse us. In fact, once I saw a video of contra dance where someone thought C. was me, and I was confused myself. I finally figured out it couldn’t be me (given that I could not see the dancer’s face) because she was wearing clothes I did not recognize. Too Funny! I love having this energy-creating person in my life, she is a joy to me.

That is news enough for me today. Spring is officially here, even if it is supposed to snow tonight.

We are preparing to go sing right now, and then we sing again tomorrow. My voice is doing very well after so much illness, I am delighted. There is nothing like singing when the whole body supports the sound!

I have lots and lots of photos taken but none processed for web yet. One is an 8-year-old boy wearing a hat he knit… in the round, on circular needles and then Double-Pointed Needles. Very Cool! I also have photos from Carla for the create-spring-into-existence project.
Photos soon, I hope. Until then, maybe I will see a few of you at our concerts.

Thursday it was so warm and sunny that I left my coat behind and did not miss it. I was wearing my beret/hat, a sweater and legwarmers, but no coat, scarf/shawl, or gloves/wristwarmers. No problem. It was lovely.

The snow in our yard is down to a very small pile, not a whole yard wide and not all of two inches deep. At its  largest (in February), it was several feet high from so much shoveling all in a short while.

Friday they are predicting snow. In a 24-hour period we may get enough to shovel. That’s March in Michigan for you.

I still like it better than the February we had. (Ugh.) Thaws alternating with snow is my cup of tea right now!

I can not tell you how glad I am that February is over and we are on the way to better days. The weather service says we will still have some cold days, but not as much cold and snow as we had in February anyway. This would be normal for March. In fact, we usually get a few flurries in April, too. In the meantime, the few melting days give me hope.

And the performance schedule for The Fabulous Heftones has also warmed up a bit this week! I’m happy to have a musical week lined up.

We will be playing two vastly different venues this Friday and Saturday, Foods for Living health food store in East Lansing (from 2-4 in the afternoon), and then Rendezvous on the Grand, a very fine social/drinking establishment in Old Town (three bands, show 9:30pm-1am, I do not know when we will be on during that time). How different can it get? And all fun, of course.

So here is the postcard I’m mailing out this week to friends without email access (click to get a larger image):

If you want an Adobe Acrobat PDF document to print, Click Here. It will print 4 postcards for you, that’s how the document is set up, but it is quite readable.

This postcard presents three new venus, places where we have never performed before. May I exclaim out loud about how excited I am that we will be playing JazzFest in Lansing this year? Our music is indeed very early jazz. My favorite singer of the 1920’s is Annette Hanshaw, who was one of the first Jazz singers (though sadly forgotten through the years, she was brilliant). I do a good number of songs she performed.

And let’s face it, an act in their home town is often passed by for someone outside the city limit. I am very happy to have a chance to smile at Lansing from an Old Town stage on the 2nd day of August. This is looking up to be a good year!

The MMKG (Lansing, Michigan greater area knitting guild) is in transit. Tonight is the monthly large meeting (3rd Tuesday, 7pm-9pm). However, we are moving toward a new location. We have been in University Lutheran Church (East Lansing) for many years. However, this month we have a temporary location and then we will move to a long-term new home.

Tonight we meet at the Okemos branch of the CADL library, also called Hope Borbas Library. When I was a little girl (around 1962) we lived in downtown Okemos. (This was before the mall and Meijer… there were horses in the barn which now is Pilgrim House furniture store.) Mom would walk us to the library where Hope Borbas herself read me stories. She was a kind person, and when her life ended too soon they honored her by naming the branch after her. I love that.

I also moved back to Okemos for one year as an adult, I think it was around 1990. At that time, the library was still “downtown” Okemos (which has a mall now a mile or two away, overpowering any sense of a real downtown). For a reference point, locals, it was about a block from Traveler’s Club Restaurant and Tuba Museum.

I just Googled for the Hope Borbas Library, though, and it is shown as on Okemos Road south of Mount Hope (not as far as the railroad tracks). It looks like it’s near the light at Science Parkway. I sure am glad I spent the time to look it up. For those who would like to check out a map to the new location, here is the page presented by the Capital Area District Library/CADL website:

http://www.cadl.org/news/locations/okemos

I hope local folks will join us. You do not need to be super skilled, you just have to love yarn and knitting and/or crochet. It’s a friendly group, sort of large, so do tell folks you are sitting with that you are new. They might think they should remember meeting you before, with 30-50 people at a meeting. You need not be invited to show up and be welcome (and the snacks are always artful and tasty, if I can lure you that way).

Oh, for the record, the 3rd Tuesday meetings starting in April 2008 will be at the Haslett Public Schools Administration Building at 5593 Franklin Street in Haslett, very near the Middle School.

(Click image for a Letter-Sized PDF poster.)

On Tuesday I made brownies, three bread pans/18 smallish squares… and piled them on a disposable plate. And took them to the corner Meineke Muffler shop. I went in maybe an hour before they were to close. Apparently I caught them at a slow time, because three guys were standing at the front desk, apparently chatting.

I asked “So you guys like brownies, right?” They answered in the affirmative. So I told them I made them brownies as a thank you for giving me a good week. And I drove away, no doubt as they were diving in to the goodies.

That made me feel good.

My friend Temesgen is a musician who specializes in one specific style of ancient Ethiopian music. He is the house musician for Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine (see photo at right). He plays there the first Saturday of most months (sometimes messed up by holidays, for example he will not play in July).

Temesgen has a website, Temesgen.com, and he has several CDs available there as well as a new video he just released. There is also a Youtube version of it, for those who like to subscribe to Youtube contributors. I just watched it and enjoyed it very much. It is not like any sort of music I grew up with, but it’s soothing and rhythmic in a way that is more like the earth and less like a march or a polka.

I knew Temesgen’s wife Carol back when I was still teaching computer classes. I taught her how to code HTML web pages (when there were no truly functional programs that created web pages for you). But I digress. Just suffice it to say that in Lansing it seems that everyone knows everyone these days!

Do consider taking a look at a video by a man who is keeping alive a musical tradition that is dying out. And if you find this interesting, consider reading some related detail on Wikipedia (much of which was contributed to the wiki by Temesgen himself):

• Temesgen
• Begena (instrument shown in photo above)
• Krar (smaller instrument)
• Music of Ethiopia (A bigger picture)

I had a sound in the back wheel of my car. It sounded like something plastic dragging, then a clunk, then a drag and another clunk. I got on the ground several times after hearing it, and looked for something but there was nothing. It seemed louder when I would brake to a full stop. I was worried.

I went to the corner Meineke Muffler shop, where they are “just folks” and talk straight talk to me. I’m pretty sure this is a franchise, but at least the folks on the corner (where I can walk from our house) have always felt right to me. It’s not fancy, but that makes me clear they aren’t marking up my repairs to pay for the decor, you know?

I’ve been going there maybe 15+ years (starting when I did not live in the neighborhood), whenever they can do the work. (I have a VW New Beetle, sometimes the dealer is the only place… sometimes another shop with the right sort of Bug Computer does my work.) For mufflers, brakes, shocks, things like that, I always go to this corner shop.

When I had my ‘85 VW Golf with 250,000 miles on it, they did not act like I was wrong to love/keep that old car. A dealer doesn’t look twice at a 14-year-old vehicle, they just think you need a new one. And since it’s their business to love new cars, of course that’s what they think. But at Meineke they like old cars, they understand.

One guy who has been working there 11 years, told me he expects my car to go maybe over 300,000 miles. (I had just told him that it had 131,000 already on it.) I tell you what, that is the guy I want working on my car!

Meineke has twice in the last year sent me away with a little tweak and an explanation… but they didn’t need to bill me and they chose not to. Hey, if they did not need to order a part and have a mechanic on it more than the initial look, they can do it that way. Of course, most shops can bill a little for that and I’d pay it, it’s business. No real big deal.

Today? The coolest news. When I got 2 new tires earlier this year and the tire place moved the front ones to the back, one of the bolts did not get screwed on well. It unscrewed itself. Since I have a sort of hubcap that seals on the wheel tightly, the bolt was in there clunking around. The cap is made of plastic, so that explains the way I described it. I could hear it better when I was going slowly, which makes sense. Nothing wrong with the brakes or the shocks. Woohoo!!!

Can you feel my relief? My elation? He showed me the problem. He screwed the bolt back in securely. He sent me away without a bill. My Joy Bug and I are having a very good day.

Yup, that shop will get my business again. These folks are the real thing.

On February 29 we were still chilly here, and the piles of snow were so big sometimes they could block the view of most of a small car. Somehow we lucked out and got a serious thaw just in time for March.

It was 52F/11C when I woke up yesterday. I turned off the furnace and opened the back and front doors, and let the fresh air revive our house. I thrive during months where I can keep windows open, and I never quite feel fully alive when cooped up. It was a delight to have those doors open for about an hour. I wrapped up in a blanket, wore a hat and wristwarmers, and my heart felt toasty warm!

They had predicted a large drop in temperature yesterday and a small accumulation (1/2″, about 1cm). Neither happened. And I woke up today and the sun is shining just as much as it can. There are clouds but room between them for the sun to make its way and brighten up my house in a way that I have not seen in far too long.

Apparently we are just north of where the predicted weather actually hit. I talked to Diana yesterday and they were sitting around freezing, while we were balmy. They are only just over an hour away, southeast (near Ann Arbor, we are in Lansing, Michigan).

Today they say it will be below freezing and they are predicting 2 inches/5cm. That seems so minor, like no snow at all, after the feet and feet of snow that has come down during February. One can drive in 2 inches of snow without a plow. We are in business now!!!

I am counting down, not literally but emotionally… my violets typically bloom in March. Come on, Violets! Here is a photo of them from a previous spring:

Well, here I am late afternoon updating the post. The sky is now typical Lansing-winter white, and the National Weather Service is predicting snow both day and night for now through Saturday. At least 30% chance of snow every day/night till Friday night, where it becomes merely a “chance” of snow.

Just the same, it’s getting close to the end of this weather and I am feeling better just thinking that thought.

It snowed again last night. Depending on where you look it may be 1-3″ of snow. It’s not very cold out, and if I had energy and leisure I’d make another snowman. I’m really excited to be working, though, so I’m OK with all that.

The birds seem unaware that it looks like winter. They are singing like it is spring. I hope they are right. It is the last day of February, on a long-February month, and I know that my violets in the yard usually bloom in March. So maybe the birds remember things like that.

I am taking photos for my patterns today and my camera ran out of batteries. Luckily I live pretty close to a place where I can get them, but I’m still working with wobbly knees so I drove. I noticed that it seems half the neighborhood is out shoveling, even though it’s midday on a work day. It would be the perfect day to meet neighbors… but I’m working and can’t go out and socialize.

I saw a funny sight on the way to the store. This guy of retiree age was pushing his very fancy snowblower. First I noticed how he had to turn his head to not get snow in his face (that would really bug me). Then I looked at the machine he was pushing.

The blower was really big… most are about the width of a shovel but his was more like a lawnmower, with a blade over knee-high. And this guy was cleaning snow… off his street. His street. Wow. Maybe he likes snow, or maybe he likes his snowblower as much as my father did. Or maybe his car just doesn’t go when the snow is this deep. The guy’s driveway was only one lot away from a more-traveled street.

As for me, indoors is where I want to be when it is snowing outside. Unless it’s really warm snow and I can make a snowman. But not today.

Photo: Snowman Brian and I made on January 1 of this year. That was fun!

Nature is bigger than me. We’ve had one squirrel (or so it seemed) in the attic off and on for a few months. Yesterday the noise level increased, it seemed there was more runnng around. Then I heard chirruping sounds. That was new. I think we have a mating couple talking to one another. Great!

I am not in charge. Thursday is a busy day but on Friday we will go into the attic and make sure we get any boxes that are stored in there, out of there. We know where they are coming in, but with piles of snow on the roof we can not close it up until it’s warm. We need to know they have gone out for the warm afternoon to gather food, and then we can close the hole. That is, if there isn’t a nest of babies.

Guess we need to actually go into the attic every so often to make it feel less safe for them. Or something. Slamming doors and growling like an animal just makes them sit still for a while but they are not moving out. Eucalyptus oil did not deter them for even a few days.

OK, focus on the good stuff… Tonight is the Schuler Book event. And I’m assembling photos for you of the evolution of my ZigBagZ pattern. That story may take a few days.

I am looking forward to a Friday with no appointments. Have a great day today, and stay warm if you have snow… as I do.

I had a student last fall, at Rae’s yarn shop, who works for Schuler Books (a very fine Michigan-owned bookstore with a handful of shops in a few cities). She told me they needed a knitting person for a book promotion, and connected me with the proper person at the East Wood Towne Center store.

There has been good promotion out in the press, thanks to Schuler’s. However, I have been so distracted not feeling well and working on this pattern, that I didn’t do a lot of it myself this time.

The book is called 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders. It is full of mostly-small projects, all which take one skein of yarn (some skeins hold more yardage than others, so the projects do vary a bit in size and complexity).

I am quite pleased with a number of the projects in the book, and its predecessor (One-Skein Wonders). As would be expected, other folks like some of the ones I like and some different. Imagine that!

In fact, I almost never want to knit scarves after knitting *only* scarves in the first 20 years I knew the knit stitch. I get so cold that I prefer a stole or shawl. However, this book has a scarf I want to knit. Go figure.

I hope that those who normally go to knit-in at Rae’s will join us at Schuler’s Books tomorrow night. Here is the publicity blurb Schuler’s sent out:

One Skein Wonders Knitting Lesson
Schuler Books & Music
2820 Towne Center Blvd.
Thursday Feb 28 at 7:30
Join local knitting instructors Lynn Hershberger and Rae Blackledge
for a knitting lesson from the book Designer One Skein Wonders.
You bring the knitting needles (size 7 or 8 ), we’ll provide the yarn,
and the first 10 guests will receive a gift bag from Storey publishing!

The project is a relatively simple knit which will not be able to be completed in one session for most folks, but we will get participants on their way. If you have a friend who wants to learn to knit, this might be a fun event to go to, together. You can knit along with us or you can knit your own thing and be there just as part of the larger Lansing knitting community.

Schuler’s is providing free yarn and the publisher, Storey Publishing, is providing gifts for the first 10 attendees. Bring size 7 or 8 needles with you, only the first 10 people will get needles. I understand Rae will bring some supplies for folks to buy if they come without needles, but if you have the right thing that will make sure you are all set.

Please join us, if you are a knitter in Lansing. We can show Schulers how many of us there are in this fine city! Represent!

The sun shone beautifully today. It was cold but not dead-frigid as it has been lately.

I swear I turned into a cat for an afternoon. I remember my cat Muffett was the ultimate pleasure-seeking being. He looked for comfort, and only moved when something else seemed more pleasurable than what he was currently doing. He loved sunshine and would move with the sunbeams all day to stay warm and happy.

I moved my laptop around the house and followed the sun today. I sat in my office in the chair until the sun was mostly hidden behind a tree. Then I moved to the living room floor (on a pillow to be nicer to my joints when I had to get up). Then the sun would move and I’d move the pillow. I wanted happy sun in my face, and vitamin D in my skin. It was a winning combination.

I’ve made a choice to put something in the ZigBagZ patterns which I had originally planned not to include. (Text description for the Zig Chart, for those who do not like working from charts.) I’ve included both charts and text in previous patterns and I”m thinking folks may expect it. This is a lot of detail work late in the game but I think it is worthwhle. This means pulling out some other explanatory text later in the pattern (to keep it to 8 pages, gasp) and I think this is a better balance overall.

I tell you what, when I’m done with this I will be craving a garter-stitch scarf, the most simple knitting ever. Something that takes no brain for a while. The brain cells are screaming for a vacation!

Luckily for me, my friend Cynthia is going to look over this latest inclusion as a proofreader. I’m too close tot he project at this point to trust myself with entirely new text.

And with that I’m back to converting a knitting chart to text…

Photo of my only pet ever, Muffett, 1979-1996. He was so friendly and special that my friends cried when he died.

I got word this week from Kerrie at MagKnits, somehow I didn’t get the original notice that the February issue has been delayed until March. It was an oversight, she sent out notice to thousands of people and somehow I was not on the list. Either that, or my spam filter ate her note.

For those of you asking about my upcoming MagKnits pattern (detail above), it is still coming but just not for another week or so. Thank you for asking, it makes me understand that you are reading this and that you are excited with me about the publication.

Second, I’m plugging away on the two ZigBagZ collections. There will be one pattern (Maxi Collection) of the two large carry-all patterns, the Biggie and the Burly.

There will be a different pattern (Mini Collection) with three smaller bags… one tube for a half-liter water bottle, one larger tube for a caribiner-style water bottle or a small Aladdin Stanley Thermos, and a small pocketbook so to speak, a little cute rectangular bag which can easily hold a cell phone, a wallet, sunglasses, the basics when you want to travel light.

In the above photo, you see “before” and “after.” I’m holding open the pre-felted Burly Bag that Diana knit as a sample for Rae’s shop (the checkerboard section is actually the base of the bag). Sitting next to me on the floor is the Burly Bag that cousin Karen knit and felted and shrunk and shrunk. It’s really wonderful fabric, really dense and durable.

I’ve been testing out this bag and the straps are strong enough to carry the weight in there even when it includes two knitting books, a camera, cell phone, palm pilot, wallet, bottle of water and the other zillion knitting supplies I always carry with me. I am very pleased with the useability of the bag.

I tend to under-felt things. My bag that I had knit for myself as a prototype (at right) is much more springy and soft-sided (and taller) than the one Karen made. Both are very useable and wonderful to wear and tote things in. I have determined to shrink mine just a little more after using Karen’s for a while.

Anyway I am now taking pre-orders for both collections on my website shop. Local folks, do hang tight because the local shops who carry my patterns will be carrying these. Please support your local shops when you can.

Out of town folks, I’m delighted to take orders or you can wait. Or even better, tell your local shop that I am accepting new shop orders out of my area. My goal is to ship to everyone (shops included) by Wednesday, February 27.

Thank you for your continued interest in my work. I have been so sick I have not been able to focus much on detailed text, really since the 4th of February. I’m much better but still fighting off a cough and tiredness.

Actually, this flu thing is going around so fast that the three main employees at Rae’s shop (including Rae), are all sick at the same time. I’m going to do my best to open/run the shop for Rae tomorrow while everyone else is working on their own healing. If you come by, please be nice to me while I do my best.

I’m not the most experienced shop employee. I am a teacher, primarily. I do pretty well with the computer part, anyway. And hey, I know what it’s like to be self-employed and have nobody to rescue you.

It’s my honor to help. People have been so good to me while I’ve been slowly coming back to almost-normal. It’s my turn to put out a little effort in thanks.

Now, back to that pattern…

It is 13F outdoors (-10.5C) and we are having a lunar eclipse as I type this. It started at 8:45 and was supposed to be most beautiful around 11. At about 10:30 I decided to brave the cold and go out to get a photo.

My night-landscape setting did allow me to get the photo. The moon is flanked by one planet and one star (I did not do my homework on what they are) which look here like little white scribbles. I had to prop the camera on the top of Brian’s car and try really hard not to wiggle or breathe for many, many seconds while the camera tried to drink in as much light as it possibly could.

So my moon and my planet and my star are all a little fuzzy here, but you can see how the left side was starting to become a sort of dark orange where the shadow of the earth was edging in sideways. So cool.

I think it is good to see how tiny we are. An eclipse *is* a big deal, a mini-miracle, and with the magic of modern science we know when it is coming and when to look. I think that is just wonderful.

May you have a wondrous and magical (but not too cold) day, night, week…

Don’t worry about me… there is a lot of sleep going on between the little work I’m doing out of the house. We sang Friday and Saturday, and then went home and crashed.

I am working as much as I can on the ZigBagZ patterns. I have put up pages on my shopping cart under accessory patterns, where folks can pre-order. I am doing whatever I can to get a well-thought pattern printed for you.

Right now I am separating the two large bags from the three smaller ones, I will be calling them the Maxi and Mini collections, sort of like skirts in 1970 if you remember. (I was a huge fan of the maxi, especially for winter coats.)

It was just too long and hard to follow with all the information I was trying to cram in there. Fifteen pages with five bag designs just cannot work in one $6 pattern. It needed to be split or turned into a brochure/booklet, and I am not prepared to have two pattern formats at this time.

I’m fine, thank you for caring about me so much. I work 2 hours Sunday and no classes Monday. Pattern should develop quickly without any interruption… or so is my plan. It sure is nice to have my good brain engaged again after all that foggy time.

Well, I guess I’m mostly of the living again. I worked for 2 hours Thursday night. Yes, I went home and promptly passed out on the couch but it was SO good to be out again. Work is like “Cheers.” I go places where I work and I know my place, I just belong. It is wonderful.

I was lucky… with all that illness I was fighting, it never messed with my voice. My singing voice is just as clear and strong as ever, and I am grateful. My legs are a bit wobbly still, so playing bass standing up may need to alternate with sitting on a stool from time to time, but that’s OK.

I have not known for sure if I would be well enough for this weekend’s events but now it seems clear that it will work out fine. Therefore I am announcing two Fabulous Heftones concerts, late but with full enthusiasm:

Friday night, 6-8pm, Rae’s Yarn Boutique Grand Re-Opening Gala.

She moved her shop, actually opened the doors at this location on January 2 but it takes a while to get settled in. Tonight is the night. Normally she closes at 6 on Friday, and this week she stays open an extra 2 hours. Those on her email list got a little coupon for the celebration in their email boxes this morning. We’re playing as The Fabulous Heftones from 6-8. It should be a fun time. The new location is 2004 East Michigan Avenue, a few doors down from Emil’s Italian Restaurant and across the street from the Green Door Lounge. This is between the Michigan Avenue Exit of 496, and the Capitol building, about 5 blocks west of the highway/Frandor.

Saturday night, 6:30-8:30pm, Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine, Valentine’s Weekend Event.

This is our home venue and it will be our 6th Valentine’s Weekend show for Altu. She insists that we are the only right act for the event. I have to say that we truly are “The Most Romantic Act in Lansing.” I’m not sure there is anyone else vying for the title so it’s an easy one to win, but we love that little niche of ours. And why not? Is there nothing more realistic than falling in love? It doesn’t always work out as we planned, but who does not understand that feeling? It is as normal and realistic as rain in April, in the USA. There is no cover, but on Valentines weekend sometimes you have to wait for a table which is unusual at Altu’s as a rule. Bring a friend, your kid, come alone with a book. We would love to sing some schmaltzy romance your way, and a few funny tunes as well.

I slept till 3pm Sunday. What a surprise. It didn’t start out a restful night, but when I finally opened my eyes I thought I might be Lynn again. I’m still weak, but the emotional me is beyond pleased.

Ice Queen Weather

The view from our living room Sunday was surreal. There was so much light coming in from everywhere! The sun shone, and it bounced around to the point where it seemed light came beaming in from every window at the same time, all three sides of the room. The sky was so clear and the air so cold that even when snow got into the air, the snowflakes turned into pulverized particles of ice, like fairy dust.

Saturday night at 6pm it was just barely under the freezing mark, and then it plummeted south quickly. Right now (writing this draft after 9pm Sunday) it is -5F, with a predicted -6F low tonight (-21C for my international readers). It was another good day for staying in. I am very, very happy for our Mail Carriers on foot, that it was a non-mail-delivery day.

My Incredible Support Team

Sunday the phone kept ringing. Friends who knew I had been ill spent time leaving me to heal but figured they should make sure I was on the mend by now.

Altu, April, a music friend, all made brief calls to hear my voice. That is where I really count my blessings. All week I had offers from local blogging friends, dance friends, other friends… did I need anything they could bring over? What could they do? Since Brian is so good to me I needed nothing, but it was lovely to have offers.

I have created the nicest possible community of friends I could have possibly asked for. No, it’s not just me creating it, but the space must be clear and warm for people to feel comfy joining in. Of course, nobody can join my circle if they have never met me, if I have never reached out or gone socializing in any way. That bit was on my own shoulders long before this week.

Knowing the Difference

I remember when my father died, my mom really did not have confidantes or buddies. She had co-workers. She knew people at church. We knew a group of neighborhood families. Mom had not totally isolated herself, but she also had so much to juggle in her life that she did not really have strong friendships that supported her well. With a career and an unwell husband, it left no time for nurturing personal friendships. She had our family, and when Daddy died the three of us did our best. We still feel like a powerful and loving team.

For the record, Mom is a social butterfly now, with so many friends and activities that she will never be alone. She will never want for someone who cares. Mom has done a bang-up job of becoming herself and I wish to emulate her strengths myself. At this point, Mom is one of my support folks from afar.

I, too, had a time in my life where I was quite isolated and had little time for building personal support friendships. When I lived half an hour from work and depended on my then partner to drive me to and from work, lunch hours were the only time for socializing. I could go to lunch with others who also worked downtown, mostly co-workers.

At least I had the phone, and I did use it… and I found respite in the independently-owned Fabric Gallery store, a tiny but super-high-quality sewing heaven which thankfully was walking distance from my house. I spent time there every Saturday, and it was rejuvenating. You do what you can with what you have. I discovered wool jersey fabric during those years… even when I sewed as my creative outlet, it was knit wool that made me happiest.

Counting Every Blessing

In my current life, I have the music community, dance, knitting, the East Side (Foster Center was important to me before I taught kids to knit there). All the yarn shops where I teach are full of friends, particularly the shop owners. Then there is Altu and the community centered around her restaurant and the music I coordinate for her there. Many of my students I now count also as friends. I have the blogging community which is local as well as international in scope. And now I have Ravelry on top of that.

After a week where it was just difficult to breathe, I am so happy to see what blessings (if I may call them that without sounding church-y) I have in my life. I am so happy to take a moment to make this gratitude list, not only of the things and people I am happy to have in my life, but where I stand in my life’s journey, as well. It seems appropriate to take in “the landscape” this early in the calendar year, as we proceed forward.

For the record, Brian is first on the list. I was happy single, but my life is magnified in all good ways since we joined forces. He was so helpful to me when I was so very sick the first 4 days. Unfortunately, he came down with an awful cold Friday and so now we are sort of parallel-sick trying not to pass our germs across the room. This, too, shall pass.

Permission to Knit for No Good Reason

In more frivolous pursuits, I have been afraid to try to knit anything Sunday, though it has been the first time my hands had the inclination to pick up needles in nearly a week. I do not want to make any mistakes and it seems I feel guilty doing a sock with no reason attached to it when I have pattern deadlines looming heavily at my schedule’s door.

I think I’ll shed that guilt and let myself knit a sock for the pure joy of one knit stitch after another. The value of that is in the repetitive joy of the knitting and its relaxation. Joy and relaxation might equal healing, right?

Tomorrow I will see if the knitting-editor brain has returned along with the more normal temp. It would be good if I could do some work, at least get started in a gentle way. I won’t be teaching tomorrow but perhaps I can do something useful on the computer.

Now where did I put that sock?

My town is amazing for the arts, I say that here often. For those who have read my blog for a while, a year ago Brian and I did a workshop for the local Mid-Winter Singing Festival which just happened again this year the first weekend in February. Lansing has it made in this area, all music is well-represented and there are community sings every month even when there is not a full-blown festival.

So today in the New York Times arts section there is an article about community singing, and most of the content comes from my own community. I know almost everyone who was interviewed, it’s home and I am proud.

Sally Potter is the woman whose energy started this local movement and keeps it moving forward. However, the numbers are so large at this point she has created an energy far larger than one… and she has always been one to give credit to others doing work by her side.

I highly recommend reading the article if you just want to feel better about humanity. Whether you like the music they sing or not, the fact that folks can come together when life is not going all that well, and then they can sing and make it matter less, well… it makes my heart glad.

On the top left sidebar of the article, there is a video if you click. The video is really well done, just beautifully assembled and produced. They actually show the church where Brian and I were married, if you are that kind of curious… Folk music concerts are held in that church and that series of concerts is where I first heard Brian sing, where I first discovered “that ukulele guy.” I didn’t know his name for years but it started with the Ten Pound Fiddle Coffeehouse, which is now presented in that church. It is a center for music, for the community as well as those who worship on Sunday mornings.

If you must live in the frigid cold of Lansing, in February, there is nothing like an article and video of this caliber to make you glad you are where you are.

Oh… a late add to the post… here is a Youtube video showing clips of many of the daytime workshops from the 2007 festival. Also well worth the view and enough to make you smile. My town is all right!

I feel luxurious today. I’m one who adores open windows, open doors. I even roll down the windows in my car, at least a little, most of the year.

So winter is really hard for me. I can’t hear the sounds of the outdoors, can’t feel the fresh air. Instead we have the hiss of a furnace, which for some reason is very distracting to me. (Am I the only one who counts one of the disadvantages of winter, as having a furnace blowing much of the time? The sound, not the warmth…)

Well, today it’s just around freezing, and there is no wind at all. In the areas of the house where heat rises through the roof, the snow is melting and there is a steady drip of water I can see through the window. There is the tiniest bit of snow coming down, and it is peaceful and beautiful.

The house just felt full of germs and stale air. So I turned down the thermostat, wrapped up in my Ethiopian blanket and opened the front door. Aaaahhh.

If it has to be winter, this is pretty good. OK, I can’t do it very long but I feel some relief.

It snowed and snowed today. Dance rehearsal was cancelled, something that almost never happens. It just stayed white all day.

I am sick (flu, ugh) but if I must be ill, might as well do it on a day when getting around would have been a hassle. I spent the day on the couch watching snow come down.

Tomorrow is my friend Rae’s 25th birthday. I wish I felt better, I’d get over to her shop and be part of celebrating. It’s convenient that her day is on the night when the shop is open late. I tell you, though, I won’t be leaving this couch.

Happy birthday, Rae!

I guess I had the right sick day. It was so cold here, only 3 school districts within the radio station’s reach were open. Not a snow day, a cold day, which just almost never happens here in mid-Michigan.

I didn’t leave the house all day, and now today it’s warmer. Still too cold but better. My car will want a long warm up today.

OK, I don’t have as much time for a long blog, so you get a list today. I have been sleeping off the cold which takes a lot of time! Now I’m up late and I will have to work for 3 hours teaching at Rae’s tonight, and believe me there are things to do before leaving home (even though I am moving slower than usual).

I’m much, much better than I was, although I still need a pack of trusty Kleenex everywhere I go. I will sit to teach tonight instead of stand, I bet, but I will teach.

Here are some bits of information you might like to know:

• I teach Sock Darning tonight (Thurs.) at Rae’s Yarn Boutique, 6-8pm. Merely $15 for one session. Bring your own wounded socks or I’ll have some you can practice with.
• I will have a design in the MagKnits issue which comes available tomorrow. Woohoo! (See photo tease above.)
• I put up six used knitting books on my shopping cart for sale, good pricing and $1 shipping.
• I am dancing at New Aladdin’s Restaurant on Friday night, half-hour shows 6:30 and 8:00 (Outer Frandor in Lansing, near video store and Sparty’s) No cover, tips welcome.
• Brian and I sing next Friday 2/8 at Foods for Living, 4-6pm, no cover
• Paz of “The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz” also has a photo blog, pics of New York City, called “Paz’s New York Minute“

When you have to slow down, the natural world becomes apparent. Even sitting on an artificial chrome couch with Naugahyde cover, in a wood box built to protect me from the elements, I can see a lot of the outdoors. One of the advantages of a small house is that this living room has windows on three sides, it is a lot like the proverbial goldfish bowl.

The Natural World on My Block

Yesterday it rained. This is January in Michigan, and rain is not unheard of (my friend Mike Ross wrote a song called January Rain, about a particularly bad day he had).

However, this is usually the season of snow and cold. Lansing tends toward piling up snow for several weeks, than a short melt, then more snow. This last few weeks has had more melt and less snow than feels normal.

I worked on the computer (thank goodness for wireless internet and laptops) sitting on the couch. I kept being distracted by movement outside the window. It was that dratted squirrel again. He’s so cute to watch and I do like him much better when he is outside of my house.

Clearly that one nook in the front tree is his favorite spot, because I’ve showed you two photos of him there and again yesterday he’d go there, then run up and down the diagonal tree branch, then sit for a moment longer. He didn’t stay up the branch long enough to do anything. I assume he was out looking for food while it was warm enough to do so.

Of course, I also saw him in the rain gutter, his avenue to the hole he chewed under the shingles to get into our attic. Ick. That’s where he ceases to be cute.

A Short Breath of Fresh Air and a Dose of Reality

At 7:30pm I realized it was 45F degrees outside and rainy. Since I’m fighting a bug, I’m even more aware of air quality issues and the lack of open windows in the winter. So I turned down the thermostat, wrapped up in some blankets, and opened the door for a few hours. I am a huge fan of open windows and doors, and it felt so good to not be locked up so tight.

It rained peacefullly and there was no wind at all, so it took a long time for the house to feel colder inside. The humidity was a nice change, too.

But something threw a switch and it got mean out there. It sounded like Dorothy from Kansas was going to land her house in the street at any moment. The National Weather Service says it was 45 degrees F (7.2C) at 10pm, and 19 degrees F (-7.2C) at midnight. Whew!

More Small Potatoes

I remind myself that I’m human on earth and that means I’m not in charge, and that many things don’t fit in easy boxes. Getting this nasty cold is reminding me of this idea more intensely these few days. Sitting still and watching the weather (and the squirrel) go by, reminds me how little I am in charge of my life.

But I’m doing better at remembering my Gramma Illa’s theory that many things are small potatoes. Really, everyone gets a cold sometimes and they do go away. They slow us down, they make us uncomfortable, we don’t enjoy it. In the big scheme of things, though… it’s small potatoes and it will be over soon enough.

I observe little Isabel, the 3-1/2 yr old toddler in my life, and I see how she really still believes that the world revolves around her, which is normal for her age. When things go wrong we have to explain to her that it isn’t her fault, because as the center of the universe she would believe it was. Really, we all are the center of our own universe… which explains a lot of confusing behaviors in others at times. Yet, as adults we know our power is not all-encompassing.

I Don’t Think We are in Kansas Anymore, Toto

The wind is so strong outside that it is blowing through the cracks between windows in this old house. It is not extreme most of the time, and I’m not asking for advice since a little fresh air is excellent.

A little airflow does not upset me at all, and the house is small enough (and the furnace efficient enough) that it is just fine the way it is. Our windows are varnished hardwood, very beautiful, and I value them as an artform… just the way they are.

We have 8 small windows and a door in the small L-shaped area that is our living room and my office. I did take some of that thick not-too-sticky plastic weather tape a year or two ago, and taped the larger crack that is between the upper and lower moving window parts.

Yesterday, when we would get a huge gust of wind, we would both jump from a very loud noise. A whoopie cushion, but louder!

It was one of the windows in my office. I’d opened it for Brian when we were dealing with telephone-line issues near that window. The tape is still sealed on one side but it broke its bond on the other.

Then the wind blew so hard that it pushed quickly through the crack, and the loose side vibrated. Instant whoopie cushion! Quite amusing when you are fully awake.

So, How is Your World?

Nothing new in this corner of the world, really. The world turns, the sun sets, we sleep, we wake up, we have a cup of tea, we work for a while. How about you?

(The photo? Beats me. I downloaded a bunch of photos and this one was in the middle for no apparent reason. I thought it was beautiful so I didn’t delete it. I call it “Wild Abandon.” It is so sunny I hought it appropriate to a winter day.)

I have put up a Flickr photo set which you can view as a slideshow… of the Stage 1210 concert last Friday.

For those who were there (or wish they had been), this does not take a very long time to view and will give a very nice feel for the event.

Hanno M. took many of the photos and he’s a very artful photo-reporter. Thanks again, Hanno!