Old Reliable

There are some things that you can always count on -- in my case, yarn and books -- and their constancy can often keep the nasty, disappointing world at bay. I'm thinking about that comfort at the moment because I'm swatching up some yarn I bought at Stitches, and my fingers are dancing with joy knitting this yarn. It's Malabrigo, in worsted weight, and all the praise it's received still didn't prepare me for how obsessed I'd become. The color -- pollen -- is one of those soft, unwimpy yellows and because it's kettle-dyed new color variations appear as you knit. And it feels like b*u*t*t*a*h. Seriously. I don't know if I can wait to finish the swatch, I'm so eager to cast on the Petrol vest I've settled on.

Falling under the spell of a great yarn is just like falling under the spell of a good book. Or browsing in a great bookstore for a good book. That experience feels more and more precious to me, as drastic changes have struck so many of my favorite Bay Area independent bookstores. Cody's, which has had just a wretched year, is about to undergo another sea change -- giving up its perfect Fourth Street store because of a soaring rent increase. It's relocating to Shattuck St. at Addison, where an Eddie Bauer used to be. Less space, more parking hassles -- it feels like another body blow to a reeling fighter. I can't even get excited about possible sales to reduce stock for the new store because it will be such a big change.

I'm an old-fashioned girl in this respect -- no need to change what ain't broken. Which is a fine sentiment, until the real world intrudes. That's why my current computer woes are so discouraging. Once upon a time, I had a Mac semi-guru, but I'm so completely off his radar screen that I'm facing this system emergency on my own. And the news is that great business strategy of planned obsolescence. I've got so much going on inside my ancient Mac that I get an ominous instruction "your startup disk is almost full" every time I sync my iPod. So downloading photos onto my blog is out of the question, as well as any number of other projects I was figuring on.

A new Mac is not in the forecast, so I just keep plugging along, holding my breath as I type.

Alright, bore me later. I'm going to retreat into the Malabrigo and Jane Austen solution on this stormy night. And tomorrow night I'm attending the annual Oscar part on Ada St., where an added bit of entertainment is waiting for our elegantly sneaky canine friend Lucy to snag Paolina's cheeseburger. Old reliables -- you can bank on them!