Monday morning, as they were getting ready to leave the hotel, Lisa calmly said, “we should leave most of our cash in the room because if we’re going to get mugged, it’s going to be today.” So, they dumped half their cash and left on an adventure.

They started the day in Chinatown where Lisa purchased a messenger bag. Katie purchased a smaller messsenger bag for her knitting and an origami seahorse. It is a miracle the seahorse got back to Texas in one piece, but survive it did.

The girls then went to the 9-11 Memorial. It was very moving. Make your reservations and go if you ever have a chance. You’ll not regret it.

After that, they were hungry, so they visited O’Hara’s Pub. It has been around since 1980ish. The food was great! Lisa had shephard’s pie and Katie had stew AND a grilled cheese sandwich. The waitress was understanding about this photo. She mentioned that the booties were really cute and people evidently bring traveling gnomes in sometimes.


They headed to Purl Soho, which was quite a bit smaller and had less selection than expected. The smallest yarn shop in Austin is about twice the size of Purl, so we suppose everything really is bigger in Texas.

Off to the NBC store where they shopped for the TH’s. Katie bought TH a Star Trek magnet that said, “Phasers…Because sometimes diplomacy fails. ”

They got dinner at Etrusca which was very good. Considering their attire, they were pleased not to be condescended to. Lisa’s pronunciation was quite a bit better than Katie’s but the waiter did not seem that worried about it.

They packed and watched the Betty White special on tv. Katie managed to get her purchases back into her bags which was no small miracle. Lisa was better prepared as usual and did not have as difficult a time.


Tuesday morning, they walked to Central Park so Katie could visit the Ghostbuster building. Sadly, it was under construction and was mostly covered in scaffolding, but she saw it in person and could tell that is what it was, so she’s checking it off her life list just the same.


They also saw the Trump tower and had some yummy French food for breakfast at Maison. Katie said a quick thank you prayer in her head that they were not taking an Italian cruise ship home and they headed to the airport.

There is no place like home.
There is no place lke home.
There is no place like home.

We rolled out of bed bright and early Sunday morning to accompany Katie to her Debbie Bliss class, Shaping with Cables. It was a huge disappointment. Other than learning that the way to subtley decrease a cable is not to do it on the edge, not much else was learned in the three hour class. This was probably a result of Ms. Bliss only speaking for 15 minutes. Thankfully, she met some nice people, got two skeins of tan Rialto Aran yarn and Debbie was nice enough to take a photo with us, so the class was not a complete bust.


Next Katie and Lisa headed out for lunch at an Italian place Katie wanted to try (Pazza Notte). They were serving breakfast. So, no Italian per se, but the Belgian waffles were good and Lisa caught a picture of Katie with us and the Love sculpture on the way back.


That afternoon, both ladies took a class with Candace Eisner Strick. It was fantastic. They agreed they’d take a class on how to knit a garbage bag if she were teaching. They learned how to read Austrian charts, about the history of Austrian knitting, that is absolutely has to be done in the round, that these patterns show up best with lighter colored yarn, and that Candace was a tad crazy in the most wonderful way! They were able to see a lot of Austrian knitting and it was gorgeous. Candace also graciously agreed to be photographed with us.

The class was not without drama. One of the thirty students wanted to insist that she be allowed to knit the patterns flat. Candace tried nicely to let her know that that was not an option. The class was about Austrian knitting and it is knit in the round (always facing the rightside). She suggested the student try to get her money back or go to another class. The lady left and then returned to again attempt to knit flat. She wanted Candace to help her learn the stitches flat. Candace allowed as how that was not fair to the 29 other students that were all trying to learn the traditional way….in the round. The frustrated lady finally stomped out muttering, “all the great knitters knit flat!”….but several other ladies had to interrupt, “um, you forgot your coat.” The rest of the class passed without incident.

The girls changed and left for the Charity Dinner. It was a little disconcerting to get on a bus and have no idea where you were going and get off the bus and be milling around in what seemed like a warehouse with a hundred plus other knitters for awhile, but wine and champagne were being served, so they decided to press their luck. They did hang towards the back / exit when it seemed the knitters were being herded towards a specific direction, but they were able to get through the evening without being massacred, so that’s a win. We were in Katie’s purse just in case.

The food was DELICIOUS and the wait staff was easy on the eyes; they had a great time.
Ps. It is worth noting that Katie ran into a purse very similar to her’s at the MOMA gift shop for about $150. Her parents gave it to her for her birthday; way to go, Mom & Dad! You are far more hip than you knew!

I’m interrupting my slow NYC retelling to bring you a public service announcement:

In case you forgot that Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday, I’ll remind you. And…..just in case you haven’t purchased anything, here is a cool idea.

Paloma Pottery.
I’ve ordered from them before and they have really pretty stuff.

Exhibit A:
They have a new white glaze that looks gorgeous. It takes a little time, but if you show your S.O. a picture of the gift, I’m sure it is worth the wait…..or buy it for yourself. You’ve been a good kid this year, right?

Exhibit B: There is an option to order a ring packaged with some chocolate truffles!


Exhibit C: My personal favorite, this charming red necklace.


They also have ring holders and trivets and super cool recycled glass tables and gifts under $20. Take a look!

Ps. If you are Paloma Pottery and you’d like for me to take these images down, pls just let me know.