Happy New Year, gentle readers!

I’m less than two hours away from the end of 2007’s first day. And, although I’m trying not to make hard and fast resolutions (since they often get broken and are based in a sense of lack or unsatisfaction), I made some symbolic gestures towards starting anew today. Before I go into that, I want to explain the last month of posts.

I hadn’t been a regular poster here, but I thought I’d give it a whirl. I had heard of the Holidailies thanks to my friend Lola. I considered doing it in an unofficial capacity in previous years and blogs, but that good intention didn’t amount to much more than a couple of days. As you may have noticed, I managed 30 posts last month. Not bad, eh? It’s the equivalent of fiber for bloggers.

It wasn’t alway the most compelling content, but my goal was just to prove to myself that I could do it. Put you mind to something and there you go! Not that I needed to learn that lesson again, but ain’t it fun to prove that anything’s possible?

So what might this year hold for me?

• Rachael‘s call to arms/feet of running 100 miles before April Fool’s Day,
• a moleskine scribbled into daily in the spirit of Embodiment,
• a bunch of socks, sweaters and hats knit—my own designs, some classics (the year I get to know EZ), vintage and whatever else comes along,
• and, perhaps once a month, a new restaurant, a new recipe, a new book, a new adventure here or elsewhere.

May today mark the beginning of the best year of your life.

We just got home, 10 minutes after the New Year swept over the Central time zone. It’s about an hour and a half away from us here in SF and I’m going to head to bed.

I toyed with writing some wise words reflecting on this past year, but I’ve come up with nothing. I had also taken a video of frogging the sock, but it’s just going to remain an experiement for future posts. Thanks for reading thus far… there’s more to come next year.

Darnell’s funeral was on Friday. I sought out a passage from Kahlil Gibran‘s The Prophet. This was shared with me 10 years ago when a young friend named Sachi Pace passed away. I leave you with this, and my well wishes for a safe and creation-filled 2007:

You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?

The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.

Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the sheered not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink form the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Attention sissyboys (or sister boys) and the ladies (and men) who like them! Rent or TiVo or stalk your local listings for Tea and Sympathy (1956).

Yes, there’s a knitting scene (on the beach where young Tommy Lee sews), but there’s also a pretty darn progressive deconstruction of societal expectations of gender and a sympathetic portral of a boy who doesn’t fit in. There are also some killer costumes (swimsuits and gowns), melodramatic acting and a strong pre-feminist heroine. It’s campy, touching and a classic. Could I be any gayer?

As Deborah Kerr’s Laura Reynolds says, “Manliness is not all swagger and mountain climbing. It’s also tenderness.”

Wel, today’s projected productivity didn’t translate into a pithy post. While I did start the day taking photos of my freshly wound ball of Scout’s yarn, you’ll have to wait until I upload it to see its glory. I did cast on a sock and I’m about 2 inches into it. I’m knitting on 2.25mm needles, somewhere between a 1 and a 0. I like the resulting fabric. It makes the self-striping (what, it was on sale!) Regia socks seem chunky even though they were knit on a 3 and a 2 (for tighter sole, heel and toe).

In other news, I continued on my holiday dish-washing binge (a rare occasion that I’ll be at the sink). I cut music for my free solo (thank you, Pet Shop Boys “It’s a Sin”). My coach and I listened to Bush .mp3’s for samples to include in our team routine. We’ll looking for lies and mis-statements, so if you know of any send them my way! Tonight was a difficult swim practice, 1: because I’m “detrained,” and 2: because I swam extra hard, inspired by videos on YouTube (go search “synchronized” “swimming” “synchronisee” “montreal” “solo”). I’ll be feeling it tomorrow.

Sadly, we heard to day that a close friend of C’s passed away on Christmas Eve. He had hid his pancreatic cancer from everyone, including his mother with whom he lived! When you read this, take time to tell people who are important in your life that you love them. Live hard and safely.

Again, let me apologize for these late night “I-have-no-energy-to-write” posts. It’s time to peel off the the socks I finished yesterday and crawl into bed. It was a lazy day off and between dog walks, rain and naps, I didn’t get much done to compose some interesting prose.

Tomorrow, I’ll post a photo of these latest guys, ball up the wonderful “hizKNITS” Scout’s Swag yarn and perhaps cast on a Jaywalker‘s. And, I’ll weave in the ends of the Knucks for my swim coach that I finished embroidering today.

Santa was very kind to me yesterday, but even kinder was A, our next door neighbor who put on a fabulous dinner. I wish I had taken pictures of that. I couldn’t begin to describe the delicious cheeses, wines, homemade blue cheese salad vinegrette, spinach gratin, parchement baked fish, and chocolate overload (her cake, my pudding and my swim coach’s truffles) that posed as dessert. To make up for all last night’s gourmet action, we had her over for take-out deep-dish pizza (spinach and mushroom from Patxi’s because Little Star was closed.

If you celebrate it, Merry Christmas!

I baked a hunk of bread in my new blue cast iron cocotte for our morning meal of cheeses and butter. Having no sweettooth, I can’t imagine anything better than fat and carbs. Add a mug or two of coffee, some half-and-half and a handsome man (his work, not his portrait) and I’m good to go.

Also in the kitchen, I cooked up some of the incredible Walzwerk chocolate pudding. We’ll be taking that next door to dinner with our neighbor and her two Frenchies.

Ms. Janie Sparkles patiently endured the unwrapping of gifts, as it interfered with her regularly scheduled napping and belly rubs. She wishes everyone a warm and wonderful holiday full of love, good food and lots of walks.

Been too busy to write… I’ll have time tomorrow. Happiest and warmest thoughts to you and yours.

At 10:50 tonight, while watching the aforementioned Vegas friend Betsy’s episode of Knitty Gritty, me and the man felt the room shake once. We are on the 2nd floor of an entirely concrete building. I worried that a car had crashed into us as I watched the cable lights undulate, vibrating after the movement had stopped. Janie barked during it.

Just a little 3.7 holiday surprise centered 2 miles east of Berkeley.

Tomorrow, I’ll write-up my little 28 hours in the city of sin. I still have to upload the pictures (sadly, only three and two are the same, just with and without flash!) and compose my thoughts. Suffice to say, it was all I hoped for, short of swimming in the show myself.

Just got home after a 6am flight. Need to shove a bowl of cereal in my mouth, shower and shave. I’d love to get to work before 10.

More later. Suffice to say, it was fabulous.

Wow. What an overwhelming display of encouragement! And, my-my, how devious some of you are.

Luckily, my work is such that I can honestly share with them what I’ll be doing. I told my new supervisor that I’m playing hooky to go see “O” and he just smiled.

I’m not going for the entire three nights, nor will I be seeing “Le Reve.” It’s going to be a quickie flight out tonight, hotel with B and C, crash at the lead clown’s place on Wednesday and catch a 6am flight home in time for work on Thursday.

What I’ll be seeing is their first dress rehearsal since they returned from vacation. B just spoke with Bill May, her childhood friend, and we’re planning on catching drinks with him afterwards.

I’m so excited, I don’t know what I’ll bring to knit! Thank you, all, for your prodding and support.