What I’m Loving…

Last night the San Francisco Giants got their second win of the season (woooo-whoooo) thanks largely to a pair of home runs by catcher Bengie Molina. (As a kid, my heroes were the outfielders; as an adult I’m all about the catchers.) I was lucky enough to be at the game, thanks to my BFF Ellen’s partner Georgine, who bought the tickets—which were third row lower boxes just past third base, by the way, and absolutely primo!

The Giants have been playing on the road for the past week and just had their first home game Monday. They go all gala at the start of the season and have a whole opening week full of festivities, so last night was “Opening Night,” (as opposed to Monday, which was “Opening Day“) with fireworks after the game.

(I’m getting to some knitting here—I promise. Just stick with me.)

Now in most MLB venues except the SF Bay Area (and perhaps Seattle), night games conjure up images of cold beer and a sinking sun, with the day’s heat simmering down to a more tolerable warmth. But here in San Francisco/Oakland, night games are the reason fans can never pack away their winter woolies. Even in mid-August, only the most foolhardy souls go to a night game without winter coast, scarf, hat, mittens, and an extra blanket. The fog rolls in, the wind kicks up and a simple sporting event becomes a textbook example of survival of the fittest. I was buttoning my coat as I stepped out of the car, had mittens on by the bottom of the first, hat and blanket by the third, and scarf in the fifth—which leans me to…

… the Plaited Cable Cowl. (Go look—I’ll wait.) It comes from the needles of Joanna Jongsma and is just what every Bay Area ball fan needs. Before my next night game I have sworn to knit these up not just for me but for all my ball-loving friends. Ellen wants her in orange. I’m thinking I’ll be understated and go with grey. What a brilliant little knit! And what a great excuse to buy baseball more tickets!