Above you will see a photo from the November issue of Ode magazine, which I took in the bookstore, while it was on the shelf with people looking at me weird. You can read the review online right here. Thank you Ode! Thanks also to my friend Jeff for taking this photo of me on his front porch one afternoon in Durham!


Today is one of those days when it’s lovely and perfect to sit outside drinking tea with your feet up and no shoes on, even if your neighbor insists on listening to The Marshall Tucker Band* really loud and leaves keep falling on your keyboard and in your tea. I secretly wish it was like this outside everyday.

In knitting news, I found the most amazing article about how knitting can change lives today! It’s the story of my new favorite knitter, Tonks (aka Jessi Rose), and how knitting both saved and changed her life.

After battling mental health issues for years, Tonks saw a way out as she planned to commit suicide one night after the mandatory group therapy class at the halfway house where she was living. What she didn’t plan, however, was to learn how to knit during the class. As she watched the slow and steady progress of the instructor’s work and picked up the needles herself, she began to see how she could slowly rebuild her life bit by bit, just as the scarf progressed row by row. That was 7 years ago.

She is now preparing for her full knitted wedding vow renewal ceremony in 2010. You can follow her progress on this project on her blog! Go Tonks! Her story is one of hope and persistence and love and creativity that makes my heart smile.


*“In My Own Way” seems to his favorite, generally closely followed by his second favorite, Can’t You See.