Yarn Wall

Hi Mom,

Making a scarf in New York City is more expensive than buying one. I went to a store that sells more colors, textures and genres of yarn than I had ever imagined possible. It was like a Disney World for yarn.

In the back, a table full of people were learning how to make sleeves, necklines and hems. At the register, women and men held bags full of yarns, ringing up hundreds of dollars in potential mittens, sweaters and baby booties.

A corkboard at the front of the store listed events for learning special stitches, classes at hundreds of dollars apiece. There were groups for men, movie knit nights; a whole community full of knitters.

Me, I think I'll stick to buying the stuff they sell on tables out on the streets. I don't have the attention span for this particular hobby, anyhow. But it sure looks impressive.

Love,
Karen

Mom Monet

Hi Mom,

Guess whose famous Water Lilies picture I saw today?

That's right, your favorite impressionist, Claude Monet. A whole room full of Monet is currently at the MoMA.

I thought of you and your easel.

Love,
Karen

Frosted inspiration

Hi Mom,

Look. I was given an inspirational cake. Very motivational. And it tastes good, too.

Bonus: I hear its pareve. How is that even possible? Tasty chocolate cake that goes with everything...

Love,
Karen

Carnegie Hall

Hi Mom,

Thought of you tonight. I went to Carnegie Hall and saw an amazing performance by Murray Perahia, one of Soojung's favorite piano players. She heard him in Korea at some point and jumped on the tickets as soon as they went up for sale. It's a good thing, too, because the place sold out.

I was waiting to pick up my ticket at Will Call. "I'm here for the piano player," I told the guy at the window. He handed me my ticket with a smile. "He's not just a piano player," sniped a woman in the lobby. "He's Murray Perahia, and he's famous." How nice of her to clarify.

She must be from New York.

Love,
Karen

Always looking for tiny cups

Hi Mom,

They're having a sale at Fish's Eddy on these small cups. I walked in, saw them and thought, they're the perfect size for honey.

Guess I've been well-trained. To be fair, they're actually a little bigger than you might want for something like that, but if you think they look like the size you'd like, let me know. I think the sale runs through Friday.

Love,
Karen

Banana

Hi Mom,

I had stopped to buy a banana from my friendly neighborhood street fruit vendor when I realized I had no cash on me. "Hello," he said. "How are you?" I mumbled something about being an idiot and forgetting to carry change (a whopping 35 cents, I mean shouldn't I have that just rolling around the bottom of my purse?).

He smiled at me and pointed at the cart. "No problem, no problem," he said. "You can pay me tomorrow."

That was nice.

Love,

Karen

Museum of Higher Art

Hi Mom,

A group of little kids sketched with great diligence. They looked up at the large, abstract picture on the MoMA wall and scrunched their up their tiny faces, intensely concentrated on making most perfect, pad-sized replicas. "Teacher, teacher, does mine look the same?" The woman with the volunteer sticker on smiled at the little girl, who happened to be adorably missing a front tooth.

I thought to myself, this is a job I could do. But then I found out, it's not. I asked.

The volunteer explained that most people who work with the kids have PhDs in art. Or at least, a Master's. Barring that, it would be unlikely that you would get to interact with the kids, she explained. I know who Dali is, and I'm not sticking a pencil up my nose like the little boy in the back of the group, I thought to myself. I FEEL qualified. But then again, I guess people do send their little kids to art class to actually learn from people who know about it, and probably want reassurance it won't just be well, someone like me. Back to the drawing board. Literally and figuratively.

Love,

Karen