of darkness & chocolate

I'm still ruminating over my trip to San Francisco and beyond last month. Especially remembering today the windy day spent in North Beach. Chinatown. City Lights Books. The cafes and shops. I love that neighborhood and over many visits have gotten to know it somewhat. It's as if that piece of the city belongs to me. I wish I could have seen it when it was an Italian neighborhood. The red, white, green stripes of the Italian flag still decorate the telephone poles (left over from Columbus Day?). And there is an Italian bakery where people line up on weekends to buy the best baked goods ever. I read somewhere that when the great earthquake hit and north beach was on fire, the Italians put them out with barrels of red wine! Is it true? Who knows. But it's a nice story. And once when I went into Caffe Trieste, Papa Gianni (founder) was there and insisted we take a picture together. He was in his 80s at the time and a charming flirt who hugged me tight. Legend has it that Francis Ford Coppolla wrote the screenplay for The Godfather at Caffe Trieste. That's another thing I like about San Francisco. Stories lurk in every neighborhood.

darkness visible
A couple of faraway friends are writing about the shortening of days and the inevitable darkness, Ron is popping St. John's Wort, an older friend is writing death poems, and we're expecting snow tonight. I don't usually mind this time of year (the light will return), but it's a challenge to rise above the general gloominess of spirit. So what do I do? Thought you'd never ask.

yarn! wool! 
Received a new skein today. Lorna's Laces November Limited Edition, "Breaking Dawn". Based on the final (I hope) volume of that series of vampire novels (and movies) - which I would just as soon forget. I started reading the books on a friend's recommendation. By the second volume I'd had it but was curious about the outcome which former friend refused to reveal. What a trial that last volume was! Not even close to the sophisticated creepiness of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire years before. But I love the yarn and can't wait to make something with it as soon as production stuff is on its way.

speaking of chocolate and cherries
knocked off another pair of sock ufo's - merino, hand dyed, slubs of color. Nice. The yarn came from a local shop, hand dyed by a couple of guys in Ohio. And that's all she wrote because the label's gone.