OKC - Obligitory Knit Content. Yeah, I know. But, gotta get you yarnies’ attention some how. The OCK is that no one has yet decided to purchase the rare gem - Alice Starmore’s Charts for Color Knitting. I know you are out there. I know it’s a high price tag, but one day soon you, me and the book will transact. If you want it really bad - as of 8:25 am MDT, there are about 4.5 hours left on the auction. For now Alice and I stay together.

The big new here is that it looked like Boulder was on fire - but scarier still was the reverse 911 call we rec’d stating that evacuations of our area were suggested but not mandatory. Reverse 911 is something you hear about on the news, or in stories, but not on your own phone. Honestly, all it managed to do was scare the crap out of Jack and the other 10ish year olds on the street. We spent about an hour discussing first which Pokemon stuffed toy was most worth saving, and then which was really more important, the Pokemon, baby pictures or the cat. Guess which won - it wasn’t the cat.

Bill seemed to think it was a good idea to occupy Jack by suggesting he pack a bag in case we really needed to leave. In five minutes I hear “Mom, I need another bag.” Just use your imagination to think about what a ten year old boy is going to put into two overnight bags to “save.” There was clean underwear - makes a mother proud.

The photo above from the Boulder Daily Camera is of the “rocks” at Settler’s Park. I very similar view can been seen from the street in front of my house. We live just east of Fourth Street - aka “the Lycra highway,” and the western most street running along the edge of central Boulder. Some places in town have little bits of streets 1-3, but they are dispersed here and there randomly.

The best part of the reverse 911 experience was every single neighbor walking out of of their front doors simultaneously with dazed looks on their faces and the telephones still in their hands. So, we spent a lovely warm and sunny Sunday afternoon watching slurry bombers and news helicopters swarm overhead. It was nice to talk to folks - and a little south of here on the University of Colorado campus another cloud of smoke was hovering overhead - 4/20 - the annual pot-smoke-in. Reportedly 10,000 folks all exhaled together at 4:20. That classic “only in Boulder” story can also be read at the Boulder Daily Camera online at http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/apr/20/cus-420-pot-smoke-out-draws-10000/

The story below is an excerpt of the fire report from the Camera at http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/apr/20/fire-burning-settlers-park/

Crews contain Settlers’ Park fire, monitor it overnight
Blaze scorched 1 to 2 acres of land west of Pearl Street

By Vanessa Miller (Contact), Heath Urie (Contact)
Sunday, April 20, 2008

“Some of the more than 100 firefighters who battled a high-profile blaze Sunday, which came within yards of Pearl Street and threatened several houses, stayed on scene through the night to make sure the fully-contained grass fire stayed that way.

Authorities declared the smoky wildland burn was 100 percent contained about 5 p.m., but most crews were still at Settler’s Park past dark to continue to “clean up” and douse any chance of its rekindling.

“There’s going to be a crew of 10 to 15 people stay there overnight to sleep on the fire and make sure it stays the way they left it,” said Boulder police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley.

Additional firefighters, she said, will return this morning to continue “mop up” operations.

The fire, which started smelling like an afternoon barbecue about 2:30 p.m. and soon blanketed the Pearl Street Mall with smoke, was first spotted by hikers atop the park’s Lookout Trail. It initially was reported as a burning log, Huntley said.

In total, more than 100 people called 911 in reference to the blaze, she said.

As about 120 firefighters from seven area agencies — including the Colorado State Forest Service — arrived on scene, Boulder police sent out a reverse-911 call to 1,382 homes.

The wildland fire warning went to houses west of Fourth Street, between Canyon Boulevard and Linden Avenue — within a half-mile of the 1- to 2-acre blaze. There were no mandatory evacuations, but some homeowners said they were worried there would be.

“I was hanging out downtown and saw the flames and was concerned about my house burning,” said Fred Noelke, who’s lived in a house just west of Settler’s Park for eight years. “Now we’re just kind of watching it.”

About 6:30 p.m., officials sent a second reverse-911 call to let residents who’d left their homes know it was safe to return.

“But I’ve never seen a fire get this close to town,” said Bill Baker, who’s lived in the area for 15 years. “It’s a little scary.”

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said investigators suspect the fire was caused by human activity because there were no weather events that could have sparked the blaze.”

Well, chalk it up to Spring Cleaning, but I have made the difficult decision to put one of the most sought after books in all of the knitting world and the Yarniverse up for sale on Ebay - Alice Starmore Charts for Colour Knitting.

First edition, rare, out of print and signed.

It is a fabulous collection of charts from all around the world - for intarsia, purl relief, xstitch, anything! Alice collected these charts as part of her graduate school research and essentially self published them in this limited edition.

I purchased the book directly from Alice years ago. The book is in good shape - the dust cover a little worn, and my name stamped on the lower right hand corner of the jacket. The interior is perfect. This SIGNED COPY reads “For Tara, with best wishes, Alice Starmore.”

Visit the ebay listing by clicking this text. I hope this treasure finds a happy new home.

Extraordinary Poetic Power - yeah,  that sums it up.

So, if you’ve been in a room with me for more than 15 minutes or read this blog in the past, then you know that my primary spirtual focus is Shambhala Buddishm, and my auxiliary spiritual practice is Bob. Bill finds it very amusing and confusing that Bob’s lyrics make complete sense to me. Profoundly so. The most magical thing - and perhaps, dare I say - dharmic thing - about Bob is that his lyrics can make completely different kinds of sense to different people - not unlike a philosophy in and of itself.

Well, the people who select the Pulitzer winners evidently get it too. The phrase above sums it up beautifully - “lyrical compositions of extraordinary power.” In Bob I trust - perhaps even more so since the man himself claims not to really understand half of what he has written. The first Pulitzer awarded to a “rock musician.” (Okay, technically it is a “Special Citation” - Potato- Po-tah-to) To me he’s more of a bop prosity troubadour who gets straight to the point - another way of re-stating the above perhaps. Glee Glee. I hope Mr. Zimmerman is as happy about it as I am. I find inspiration for knitting designs in Bob. I find a tagline for my day in Bob. I find a pithy instruction in Bob. I find an ordinary guy from Minnesota who is just expressing what he can’t help but express. Congratulations, Sir.

And, if you haven’t yet - this would be a great time to watch the recent Scorsese release “No Direction Home”

- and don’t miss the awesome footage with Robbie Robertson (Tele magic) and members of what would later become The Band on disc two.

Enjoy one of the masterpieces: Visions of Johanna:

Margaret Klein Wilson has just finished her contemplative journaling/knitting workshop - and as ever there are tears and laughter. Can the weekend really be concluding?

What a great retreat - what an amazing group of people. I am always completely in awe of the people who come to rural Vermont to join me in the exploration of the intersection of mindfulness, contemplation and the love of yarn! And yoga, and amazing desserts, and everlasting friendships.

I had thought about presenting you with daily dispatches, but I’m entirely too engaged in what is going on here - which is just the point. Upon my arrival on Thursday I immediately headed to the massage table - ahhhh! At the start of our introductory dinner, the volume level went completely off the scale, and I thought - hmm, this is going to be good. I think there will be a few tears in the morning as everyone heads back to their little corners of the world - which this year include Toronto, Austin, San Fran, Boston, Arizona, New York, and Colorado too.

Photos will go up online soon. A few follow to for your enjoyment, and a special pic of the woods for Jamie, who is missed (EVERYONE says HI Jamie - Anne, Erin, Pat, Willie, Kristin, Margaret . . . )

Now, off to our closing dinner, where we are celebrating two birthdays, and countless new friendships.

A long day of travel finds me in Albany this morning - staying with Uncle Chuck and Aunt Barb - and their delightful hospitality.  This morning Tracy and I are heading out to The Highland Lodge for all the thrill and excitement of the Mindful Knitting Retreat.  And the food!  Around here, though, there is only one thing everyone is talking about - Spitzer.  I’d rather be knitting - says the person who does not live in New York State.

AND - drumroll please - Spring Knitty is LIVE - and the Spring Mindful Knitting Collumn is available for your perusal.  Enjoy - please drop a comment here or on Ravelry in the Mindful Knitting Forum if you are one of the lucky ones already on the site.  I’ll let you know when we get there - planning on stopping at Karme Choling on the way - a retreat center in the Shambhala Buddhist Mandala - and Trungpa Rinpoche’s first US center.  Looks like good weather may hold for our drive.  Enjoy the collumn!

(and PS - I have NO intension of letting Amy sneak out - we will shower her hubby with way rocking birthday love.  Knowing the weather up there, we may not get them back!)

A lot has been going on around here. Consider it my own interesting version of the “Holiday Newsletter,” Only the holiday is Shambhala Day and the tidings are of the Buddha Families. Settle in with a couple of cookies and have a read . . .

Macadamia White Chocolate Chip - Yum

You know how sometimes you just get kind of off the ground – just a little whizzy. It could be that things are just really busy, or that your mind is a little wound up? Perhaps you have just lost your footing and you just need to touch back to the ground and enjoy its solidness.

Often, for me this is related to my creative processes. Things swirl and float around in a space just above my head – and at a certain point, I need to feel them taking shape. To manifest. This sounds a little esoteric, but it isn’t. It’s about manifesting comfort and a safe landing pad, it’s about working out neurotic energy and transforming it into abundance and warmth. It’s about cookies.

In Tantric Buddhism, aspects of mind and action are described as correlating to a quality and a color. They are called the five Buddha Families – Vajra, Ratna, Padma, Karma and Buddha. Each is said to have a “wisdom quality” and an “emotional quality” and an individual’s personality and actions can sometimes be described in terms of the Buddha family to which their vibe is most in tune. Something like – “I am feeling SO Karma.”

The description of the Buddha families is probably best left up to the guru – my root guru, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche – from the Shambhala International Website in an article entitled “The Five Buddha Families”:

“The Buddha family, or families, associated with a person describes his or her fundamental style, that person’s intrinsic perspective or stance in perceiving the world and working with it. Each family is associated with both a neurotic and an enlightened style. The neurotic expression of any Buddha family can be transmuted into its wisdom or enlightened aspect.”

For my book Compassionate Knitting I designed a majestic robe called “Padma” – the family with which I very strongly identify.

If you know me and agree or disagree with my Padmaness, let me know. (The red hair kind of helps.) But that’s not about the cookies. The cookies are about Ratna. When I need to flip my Ratna over – or get my Ratna off, I bake. I like to bake, and damn, no humility here – I’m good at it. Ratna is described as “feeling very rich and plentiful.” Its neurotic counterpart is about too much, about over-abundance, too many cookies.

So this week, I got my Ratna off with a nice fat batch of chocolate chip and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Yumm. They didn’t last long, and I do love creating and sharing abundance – especially the chocolate kind. Don’t forget the milk.

Shambhala Week in Review - Cheerful Year of the Earth Mouse!

In the midst of all the everythings going on right now, this past week was full of Shambhala Day celebrations. This year was a little extra exciting. On the morning of Shambhala Day, the Shambhala sangha gathers at centers around the world and listens to a live address via phone hook up. This is really fun – each center around the world chiming in when their name is announced. It always makes me feel so full and almost tearful. Some years, there’s even an operator who can almost pronounce all the places – between them being either in Tibetan, Sanskrit or German.

The annual address was given by The Sakyong, Mipham Rinpoche. When I was a little kid, it was given by Trungpa, Rinpoche. I had no idea what he was really talking about, but it was very cool to know that the address was being broadcast from the room where I was sitting, and the role call was a thrill even back then.

This year, Shambhala Day was on a Thursday – so the crowd was not quite to capacity. Zane and I were there- Zane played trucks on the Zabutons as I tried to listen – and then my cell phone vibrated just as the address was concluding – and it was school. I am not in the habit of answering a cell phone in a restaurant let alone a shrine room – but it was school, and it was the nurse, and of course, it was a call that my kid had just thrown up. So, we rushed out of the Shambhala Center and off to school.

Jack was likely anxious about the big Inquiry Fair at school later that night – or maybe he just didn’t want to miss out on the fun party that afternoon. Nothing like a throwing up kid. But the day continued beautifully, and the world is a little wiser about the construction of and modern application of catapult technology.

Boulder Lhasang 2008 Procession at Naropa University on a very cold February morning.

Then there was the Lhasang – a wonderful purification ceremony. This is a key part of the new year for me – allowing juniper smoke to clarify my body and mind (and some symbolic yarn, of course), bringing together heaven and earth, and chanting joyously at the top of my lungs.

The freezing cold kids BEFORE getting back in the car.

This year, it was FREEZING – Bill was home in bed with a 104 degree fever and the kids waited in the car. I had a wonderful time as always – as the ringing of bells and drums became more of a rhythmic invitation for everyone to dance along to keep warm as much as anything else. As ever, dear Lady Konchok,
mother of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche presided over the ceremony – and later smiled gleefully while encouraging the children – now out of the car and warm inside, to eat as much of the blessed candies as they wanted. That is good Ratna!

I can’t listen to the Joshua Tree without thinking of you, not before, not now, not ever.
I didn’t ever really cry for you – but I carried your sadness with me for a long while.
I have never heard a sound on earth like the grief-moan let out by your wife.
I am stupefied at the depths of resilience inside the little self of darling Che.
I always enjoyed blowing your mind – and you always asked me to.
I’ll never forget that pain in the ass stupid car you had in high school that never worked, but looked really really cool – and you with your Ray-Bans all Mister Dude-man.
I will always be inspired by the purity of your love.
I still laugh at shit you said ten years ago.
I remember the time you saw me naked in the hot tub and how red your face got.
I think I knew the last time I saw you would be the last time I saw you.
I was not surprised when I got the call from Lisa, but I was surprised that I got the call.
I had an amazingly fucked-up weekend when you killed yourself – but I had to be there for you.
I can’t believe it’s been a year on earth without you, and I can’t believe what a profound year it has been.
If I look at you grinning and start singing “ . . . but I still haven’t found what I’m looking for . . .” I know you are laughing about it.
I miss you.

Love, Tara

Michael Cayce Lindner, 1986-2007 (scroll down to mid page)

The Joshua Tree “Exit” by U2 (www.U2.com)
You know he got the cure
But then he went astray
He used to stay awake
To drive the dreams he had away.
He wanted to believe
In the hands of love.

His head it felt heavy
As he came across the land
A dog started cryin’
Like a broken-hearted man
At the howling wind
At the howling wind.

He went deeper into black
Deeper into white.
He could see the stars shine
Like nails in the night.

He felt the healing
Healing, healing, healing hands of love
Like the stars shiny, shiny from above.

A hand in the pocket
Fingering the steel
The pistol weighed heavy
And his heart he could feel was beating
Beating, beating, beating,
Oh my love, oh my love
Oh my love, oh my love.

So hands that build
Can also pull down
The hands of love.

What, you may ask, do these things have in common? ME!

These three things encapsulate my holiday season. Let’s start at the beginning. And, there will be pictures – Amy says I need to show you everything!

So the Cashmere comes first. I flipped out a little bit and really just needed to make it all about me for a while. First, I made an iPod playlist called “it’s all about me” – making sure I had the right soundtrack for the endeavor. Songs include: Woman King (iron and wine), Wise Up (Amee Mann), Undone (the sweater song) (aahhh-doesn’t it just say it all?) (Weezer), That Girl (Esthero), Singular Girl (Rhett Miller), She Belongs to Me (Bob), Raised on Robbery (Joni - with a little help from Robbie Robertson), Little Miss Lover (Hendrix/Experience) – get the idea?

Then I fibergasmed really hard over the BEAUTIFUL Alchemy Yarns Monarch Cashmere in San Francisco Sky.

Wow. And I knit myself a pair of “Wisp of Mist” wrist warmers from Compassionate Knitting.

I really don’t knit much for myself. I usually make most of the sample garments for my books in my size – but that’s just not the same. The original Wisp of Mist (above) were lost (sniff) at Rhinebeck ‘06 – in the bathroom between the fried dough and the fried artichoke hearts. I hold it in my heart that they were found by a caring knitter (was it you?) and they are being loved as they should be. Once it got cold, I actually couldn’t live without them – they are REALLY warming. However, the new ones are “somewhere” right now – I’ll find them as soon as we take down the Yule tree. They are so delicious.

Next, comes Mr. Fender. If you haven’t heard – I got a ruby red Stratocaster for Christmas. Now, some of you have been a little surprised – “I didn’t know you did that” – but are you really surprised? You know, it’s difficult for me to be involved with more than one art form at a time – my (neglected) paintings can tell you all about that. So the yarn is a little jealous of the guitar. And, yes, I’ve played on and off since I was ten – and I got really good a couple of times over the past 25 years. So, I plan to do it again. Dude, yarn and a Fender – life is good.

Lastly, Lighting McQueen
– well the Zay-B (aka Zane) turned four on Sunday (1/6). This may come as a shock to many of you who have met him – it certainly comes as a shock to me. This kid grew up so fast (okay, he’s not in kindergarten yet, so maybe he’s not actually “grown up” but you know what I mean.) So, he is a FREAK for anything with wheels. He wanted a “Cars” (as in the Pixar movie) party. I am a cake maven (yes, I do secretly dig Martha). Chocolate cake is something that also goes well with exotic fibers and an electric guitar. I have five cars in my bed right now – parked in a totally straight line and loosely organized by color (Capricorns!).

The holiday season is particularly busy for us – we have Children’s Day (Winter Solstice) – which we were very fortunate to celebrate with The Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and The Sakyong Wangmo Khandro Tseyang – the King and Queen of Shambhala.

Tara, Zane, The Sakyong and Khandro Tseyang at Children’s Day in Boulder

Then my brothers in law and sister in law with the wonder twins Emi and Hanne in tow arrived to celebrate the holidays with us. The twins are 10 days younger than Zane (happy bday girlies) and it was really fun to have some girl-power going on. We all painted our nails, and compared our fave Hello Kitty pink stuff. After Christmas, Bill and I celebrate our anniversary just before new years, then there’s New Years (I’ve never actually been to a New Year’s Eve party) and then 6 days after that the ZayB celebrations. Whew. Caught your breath yet? I’m almost breathing normally, this week being almost the end of the season – Jack goes back to school tomorrow – then maybe – well then it’s time to start preparations for the March Mindful Knitting Retreat in Greensboro, VT . (We’re full up – but we have a wait list if you want to contact the Highland Lodge).

The Highland Lodge in Winter

So, if I haven’t answered calls or emails, here’s a little look at why not. I think it may stay a little bit all about me for the rest of the week – then deadlines, kids, obligations and all that stuff will waft back this way. For now, I’m going to plug in this ruby baby and be so happy that amps can really make you sound a lot better than you actually are. Cheerful 2008 - and go get yourself some cashmere, you’ll thank me.

Celebrating two days migraine free, Sunday was like a real day! I miss just hangin’ with my boyz (they’re so cute). Here’s what we did this weekend, probably not too unlike weekends had everywhere. Out to breakfast (yummm, pumpkin waffles), took our annual holiday photo (if you are on our holiday card list, act surprised when you open the envelope), The clouds were just lifting, and the Flatirons covered with powered sugar snow (see them back there on the left?) (nice sweaters, don’t you think? From L to R - Jack wearing Jack’s Aran (child) from Men in Knits, Tara wearing the O’Brien Sweater (unpublished, thus far) from my Graduate Thesis Collection, and Bill wearing Double Crossing Diamonds from Men in Knits. Zane is not able to stay still - we’re just glad he’s in the photo).

We got our Buddhist-Pagan-Solstice-Children’s Day Tree, and then I went and test drove a few Fenders (yea, Baby!).

My sweetie digs the lipstick red Tele - something about it matching a Santa Hat.

Perhaps today some cookies to bake? I don’t dig cleaning - so anything to avoid that even though the big crew is coming for the Yule celebrations.

And did you do any knitting this weekend? One row - that’s all I got. Damn I mean Bless the ravelry, Okay, I really can’t pawn this one off, I’ll own it! Meanwhile, it got cold and snowy - (see said holiday picture - there were well over a hundred sledders in the park yesterday- CUTE). And, have you visited winter knitty.com? Maybe you are reading this because you already have. Mindful Knitting Column - It’s not bad, check it out.

Are you just going crazy with the knitting and the fibering right now? It got cold. It got holiday. Tis the season of very busy fingers. Well, here I am to let you know that the Winter Knitty is now live (Rock on and props to Amy Singer!), and my Winter Mindful Knitting Article is ready for your reading pleasure.

Take a little break from your knitting - leave the Ravelry alone for just a few minutes (really, I totally understand), and check out Winter’s Mindful Knitting Column.

I really like this one - and having just read it again on-line, I realize it is still very very warm and fresh for me. Yowsah. What am I talking about? Read it - let me know if you have recently been there - maybe you are there now.

Keep breathing - that’s what Bill reminds me (several times a day). I’m sure you have at least three events you’ve been invited to this weekend too. Enjoy the time to reconnect with loved ones - even the ones who make you a little crazy - remember that everything can be an invitation to apply mindfulness (read the article), and treasure what you have. Groove on - I’ve got to go knit some doll socks, some hats, a scarf and something else, I don’t remember what . . .