I Must Have My New Friends Over

I’ve been so busy. We had a really high level visit last week and we were working flat out. I was so busy that when Charmaine called to tell me we were having an impromptu knitting session on October 24, I couldn’t go. I’m so bummed. I’ve looked at her website and they look like they had a lot of fun.

I want to invite all the ladies over to knit at my place since I have so much space; I just need to get my schedule sorted out.

Oh yes, I forgot, my household effects still have not arrived, so what kind of hostess will I make with no glasses or dishes? We’re friends so I guess they won’t mind, but perhaps I’ll mind that I’m not a good hostess. By the way, my container is apparently here as is my beloved car, but the port of Jebel Ali is congested so my stuff is stuck somewhere in the mess that needs clearing.

I’ll see if the girls want to come over in the next couple of weeks. I’m sure we can make it work; at least I have furniture.

Knitting Group Names

Jill & Paul sent me some name suggestions for our group:

U-knitted Nations (or You-knitted Nations)
Purls of Wisdom
Ripping Yarns
Yarning for U-knitty
Knit 2gether
All Stitched Up
Patterns U-knitted
Inter-knitional Yarns

My brother’s suggestions were:

Yay Knitting!

Today our little knitting group met for the second time. We have a new member; welcome Hala. It’s funny, I got there first and was buying a cup of coffee when this smiling woman came up to me and asked me if I was a knitter. At first I couldn’t figure out how she knew, then I realized I was carrying my bright yellow bag that says “I Knit” on it. DUH!

Actually, I’ve been really bad with my knitting since I got here, partly because I’ve been so busy and partly because I didn’t really bring much yarn with me. I’ve been working on Honeymoon from Knitty since I managed to pick up some GGH Mystik from Loop in London on my way to Abu Dhabi. I’m not happy with it though. My tension isn’t right. I think for this yarn, because it’s so slippery, I may need smaller needles. I’m currently doing it on 4mm circulars but I might have to frog it and go down to 3.5 mm.

Things I Miss About Los Angeles

On some days, I really miss LA.  Today was definitely one of them.  So I started thinking about what it is I miss exactly.

My friends. I miss going to the movies, dinner, just hanging, yapping about everything and nothing. I miss my godbabies, their crazy parents, everyone.

Larchmont Farmers’ Market. Aah, Sunday mornings, walking over to Larchmont, buying cheese from the cheese guy, bread from the French Boulangerie, fresh veggies, fresh pita and my favorite, the soy candles from the candle guy, and finally a stroll down to Peet’s Coffee.

Peet’s Coffee. Abu Dhabi has great coffee shops, but I do miss the warm welcome I always got at Peet’s in Larchmont.

Service people who actually keep appointments. In Abu Dhabi when someone says they will deliver something at 1:00 pm, don’t assume that they mean 1 pm; if you are lucky the delivery will take place at that time at all. In fact, you’re lucky if it happens within 3 hours of when you expect it to. Sometimes it might not even happen on the confirmed day. As the Showtime installation man angrily explained to me, “when I confirm a 1 pm appointment, I mean maybe a few hours after 1 pm… if I have time.” The problem is there is no competition for anything here so if you need cable or internet you are at the service person’s mercy because he knows you can’t go anywhere else.

The Grove . Talk about a mall that would fit right into Abu Dhabi if we could enclose for half the year so that people don’t die of heat exhaustion.

The Original Farmers’ Market … the one on 3^rd and Fairfax.  Actually all farmer’s markets.  What I’d give to spend a morning at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market.

Pinkberry a.k.a. “crackberry”. I miss Lynn saying “wanna get a Pinkberry?” I remember the day the one on Larchmont opened… oh happy day!

KCRW. Yes, that’s my local NPR station based out of Santa Monica, CA. Actually, I’ve just discovered that I can stream KCRW on my iTunes. Sadly, the internet service here is not very good so it is not a steady stream.

Vonage. I miss having the same number that I’ve had no matter where I live. VOIP is not allowed here. It is really limiting my ability to speak to my friends and family. Etisalat phone service is very expensive. This might become a quality of life issue.

Uninterrupted Broadband. I swear, from day to day, I don’t know if I will have the internet at home. I’ve never paid so much for internet yet I have the most sporadic service ever.

Parking regulations. I know, who would have thought that I would yearn for some law and order?

Cool yarn stores: A Mano Yarn Center, The Little Knittery, and Suss Design,just to name a few.  I love that LA has so many good yarn stores.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love Abu Dhabi, I just wish there was a way I could bring over some of the good things from LA.