The Old and the New

On a grey day in December half my life ago, then 16-year-old me (she of the cropped hair, plaid jacket and vintage pheasant feather cloche) bundled herself onto a bus and headed downtown. The purpose of this journey was simple -- to acquire a copy of Pulp's His 'n' Hers, their then-latest release.

I set my CD player on repeat and holed myself up in my room accompanied by a particularly trashy unauthorized bio of Mick Jagger ("All of [his] lives...in and out of bed, every which way,") and a deck of Tarot cards. I was psychically devastated in that typical teenage way. And thus, 1994 turned into 1995.

I have carried memories of this particular episode with me for the past 16 years. Whenever late December rolls around those scenes and that record float to the forefront of my memory and the only thing for it is to give His 'n' Hers one good listen -- all the way through -- for old time's sake. It's still as stylish, sexy and dramatic as it was back then.

Nowadays in my quiet(er) moments one is most likely to find me listening to The Real Tuesday Weld or various episodes of Melodica. My companions have changed as well, and they generally consist of yarn, tea, and my favourite piece of sodalite.

And of course, there's usually a new mitten or sock hanging about the place. Look, here's one now:
This is Juanita, the Official Mitten of NaKniMitMo 2011, which starts at the beginning of January. You can, however, get in the spirit by picking up a copy of Juanita right now, especially since she's on sale for $4 USD from now until 31 January 2011. Just head on over to Ravelry, click that wee button beneath her picture or swing by the ol' Etsy shop.

It's just that simple. Dispensing with 16-year-old memories, now, that's something else.