Me? A Blogger?

Dateline: Emerald Hills, 1/22/08

I never thought I would be writing a blog. Several of my knitting friends have blogs, but I always thought I didn't have enough to say. Does the world really need another blog about knitting? But then Vivian, after hearing that I was in Hawaii for a bead retreat, suggested that I start a blog about my knitting and beading travels.

Vivian's suggestion really started me thinking. For over 20 years I've been traveling in pursuit of my yarn obsession. I was at the very first Stitches, the one in Cherry Hill, New Jersey where the market was in a racetrack and the banquet was in a tent. I went on two Rowan tours in the late 80's/early 90's, one to Scotland with Erika Knight, and the other to Ireland with Alice Starmore. Since I stopped working full time a year and a half ago, my travel has increased. During that time, I've traveled to Shelburne, VT, Baltimore, MD, Tacoma, WA, Taos, NM, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, all for knitting events. And recently I've started to add beading trips to my knitting itinerary. So maybe I do have a unique perspective. And I've always enjoyed writing. So here I am, starting a blog.

I gave a lot of thought to the title. Since I will be reporting from various locales, I wanted to pay tribute to my favorite newspaper. Still a New Yorker at heart, even though it's been 35 years since I lived there, I've been reading the New York Times all of my life. Even when I travel, I buy the Times every day if I can find it.

The Times part of the title has an additional meaning. Now that I'm retired, I'm devoting full time to the things I love to do, and I'm really having the Times of my Life. So I will write here not just about my travels, knitting, and beading, but about retirement, life with Jim and the cats, and other things that might enter my mind from time to time.