New York Minute

Hi Knitters,
It seemed like a minute anyway. The trio above was the highlight of my short time in New York. I got to see my beloved editor, Trent Duffy, at Artisan Books for the first time in person. I know I have said this before but it is strange to work with someone for almost 2 years and never meet them in person or even know what they look like for that matter. Well, it was a fun meeting. I met with Trent first and he is so warm, friendly and welcoming. We chatted in his office for a bit then he took me around the office and introduced me to the Artisan staff, a few I had met before. Everyone asked me if I was done with my new book yet and I had to keep saying not quite. Oh well.

The office is really nice, they recently moved to this current building. It was great meeting Trent face to face. Trent is the kind of editor any author dreams of working with. He treats me in an incredibly kind way. He's very respectful and sweet and the best thing is he respects my knitting. I love that so much. Every day he jumps from historical topics and authors, to dealing with the top chefs, artists and photographers in the world, celebrities and news people of all sorts, all the way to me and my toy and baby knitting. I feel like he sincerely includes me and my chubby bunny-like projects right in the same category as his other authors and that is truly wonderful. It actually makes me tear up a bit to think about my good fortune in Trent. I feel pretty lucky about the whole thing. He likes things to be done right and well and it shows in the books Artisan publishes. Plus he's a nice looking man in person to boot!

That's Danielle Costa in the middle. Do you remember me talking about her awhile ago. She was my publicist for Itty-Bitty Hats. She set up my first book tour and led me by the hand while I experienced being an author for the first time. What a job she did, the girl was 25 years old at the time and she literally filled me with her confidence. I loved working with Danielle and I actually cried after I hung up the phone when she told me she was switching jobs at Artisan. She is in the sales department now and is doing a fantastic job. I really feel like I owe Danielle a ton of gratitude. She has been so supportive and caring. I can't tell you enough about the type of support she offered along the way and in every situation. I even called her one night before my first tour stop in Minneapolis where I had several tv appearances scheduled. I asked her the silliest question about what I should wear. I called her on her cell phone so I asked where she was at the moment. I could have died, here she was at the publisher, Ann Bramson's apartment for an after-work gathering and there I am calling about which skirt to wear. She couldn't have been any kinder. I miss Danielle but I still get to see her every once in awhile which is good. We will always be friends, I hope.

Lastly, you all know the wonder-publicist Jaime on the right. She is my current book publicist at Artisan and the brains and organizer behind the current Itty-Bitty Nursery trunk show tour. Well, she continues to be a bright light in my life. Jaime has a lot going on right now and I hope and pray that I get to continue to work with her. Jaime's in love and her love just happened to get in Harvard Law School. Guess who's moving to Boston? I would do the same thing. I am hoping it works out that she gets to do the publicity for my next book in a freelance type of way, that is my dream. It could really work out that way. Maybe we'll even get to go to TNNA together again. Jaime is a knitter and we just have a good time together. I am sure all of her author's say that but it is true. I love Jaime. She has done a wonderful job and she has a lot left to do in the world. I can't wait to see what happens next with her. The world is Jaime's oyster.

These three took me to lunch just across the way from their office at a place called The Blue Ribbon. It was a wonderful leisurely lunch. I loved chatting with them, they are a funny, entertaining group. I had the most delicious salad too, one of the best ever in fact. I had looked forward to this lunch for a long time and it was better than I had ever imagined. I smile when I think about it. Gorgeous, all of them.
Here I am outside the door of Artisan with my daughter. I was surprised by her height or my lack of, rather. I wish I was tall like that. My family walked me to the door and then when I went in to push the elevator button I looked back and they were all in the doorway waving at me. It was a pretty funny sight. They got to meet Jaime, Danielle and Trent after lunch. That was a good moment. My life is so different than their lives it is fun to see the two worlds collide.
I Spy: my head and my daughter's pony tail.
My sons love The Office. Here is a wall of Dwight bobble-heads on display at the NBC studio store. We came home with a Michael and a Dwight bobble-head. I like that show, too, but it makes me so uncomfortable sometimes that I can't watch.
We spent a ton of time at FAO Schwartz. That was fun. What can I say about the tootsie pop photo? Teenage boys are just funny characters.
All of the kids tried the massive piano keys from the movie Big. You can get one for your house for only $250,000.
We went to Central Park and climbed humongous rocks. We went up and down a lot. There are climbing rocks everywhere you turn.
We called Jaime from the park for a dinner recommendation and we ended up here:
The Carnegie Deli. Here is my matzoh ball soup with noodles. Have you ever?
Here is my son's sandwich called, "Bacon Whoopee." I only cringed a little when he ordered it, pretty funny. They ate half at dinner, took the other half in a doggy bag and polished it off while watching the Olympics later that night.
We went to Battery Park to view the Statue of Liberty.
She looked beautiful as ever.
best, susie
p.s. We stayed at the best hotel in Secaucus, NJ. It is an Embassy Suites, the room rates were very reasonable and it was a 15 minute bus ride to Times Square. The bus stop was right out of our door, $3 a piece for a ride. The best part was each morning they had a huge complimentary made-to-order breakfast spread. For a family of 6 this was ideal and saved us a lot of time and money. The hotel was clean with a friendly, helpful staff. I highly recommend this spot if you are headed out that way.