winter good times with red

Happily, the threat of snow yesterday didn't materialize until this morning and I was able to drive down to Santa Fe to a party where a set of extraordinary birthday cakes was served. A light and airy almond-y sponge. On top were sliced pears that had been poached in red wine. Accompanying the cakes (for those who were insulin-sensitive or wanted it all (me) were plates of poached pear halves resting in shallow pondlets of red wine. This dessert followed a very special buffet prepared by the chef from Santa Fe's La Boca Restaurant (a European style tapas/wine bar with an award-winning ever-changing menu). Besides the food there was an amazing array of friends and acquaintances that I got to visit with again. Authors, artists, filmmakers, photographers - all gathered to celebrate our mutual friend's birthday. She was beaming the whole time and when I left she was being handed another slice from the second identical cake.

I find myself still caught up in that Color Red theme that I started musing on a few days ago. I read an op-ed piece by Ann Hood that appeared in yesterday's New York Times. You may recall that she is the author of the novel The Knitting Club which most knitters I know have read. I found the book somewhat sentimental, but the writing was fine and kept me interested. It was like watching an entertaining movie - you may not remember it very well after some time has gone by, but you remember that you enjoyed it while you were watching it. Hood's latest book is The Red Thread. It's not about knitting, although knitters appear in it (Hood is a knitter so how can they not). It is a novel about families who wish to adopt babies from China and it's gotten good reviews. Hood writes: "In China there is a belief that people who are destined to be together are connected by an invisible red thread." -- and I suddenly remembered the gift my Chinese-American friend (a knitter) gave me several years ago and which I attached to my yarn basket.

A beautiful hand carved bone bead with a red silk thread running through it. I detached it from the basket and it is now on my desk.

Who is at the end of your red thread?
                                        Ann Hood