arkuat

I was squinting so much while knitting that I finally thought to wonder if my glasses prescription might be out of date. Ten days later I have new lenses and I can see both knitting and books I'm reading without squinting. I need new computer glasses, too, but I'll need frames to go with them so I'm going to try getting them via Zenni or some such. Anyway, I have my new hobby to thank for catching the problem. I'd been squinting for a long time, I think.

Speaking of knitting I've finally learned how to recover from slipped stitches and yarn overs, so that's a big part of what's been holding me back. I swear I've only knit about two inches in six weeks, sigh. But then, this isn't the simplest possible sweater to learn on and the instructions are too cryptic for an absolute beginner. I've been going to my local yarn shop a couple of times a week to get help because once I fuck up I can't keep knitting and so I get nothing done for the day until the shop opens again. It's very, very frustrating. But maybe I can rescue myself more often. Also, everyone says the pattern instructions are kinda bullshit. My instructor says she didn't look at it too closely when she decided it would be a good one for her beginner class. Thanks for nothing, Harry!

Oh well, I'd be struggling just as hard were I learning to knit a sock, so I'd rather struggle and end up with a sweater than a sock. But I've taken all my notes and clarifications and written out my own version of the instructions. All part of the learning curve, I guess.

The weather was beautiful yesterday so I went into the city and walked around the San Francisco Botanical Garden for a couple of hours. The succulents were particularly beautiful and I enjoyed sitting in the redwood grove. Afterwards I had coffee with a friend on Haight Street. Haight has changed so much since the pandemic; probably it had even before then, but I noticed it less because I wasn't going up there much. Now it's completely free of homeless or unhoused people taking up sidewalk space. The storefronts have almost all changed from when I lived on Haight (admittedly years ago). I mean, the street itself was nearly traffic-free and that never used to happen. The horrible old McDonald's is now a big, boring condo building. There wasn't much life on the street anywhere and although I'm sure it's bustling like crazy on the weekend I was honestly kind of shocked by the cumulative changes. I swear, you move away for a few decades and nothing's the same. Ha.

Anyway, have some pretty spring photos!

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