Happy New Year, again! Today is Chinese New Year's Day. I asked KC what year it is and got a mini-lecture on the different ways of counting the years. So many years of the current emperor's reign, so many years since the beginning of the People's Republic, so many years since the first republic (about 900 BC) and of course, the regular old western way of counting the years. But I think it's about year 4634. That's just a guess, but I know it's a big number.

This is a very important day because it sets the course for the coming year. More or less. Prosperity and good fortune are high on the list of things that are forshadowed by the events of this day. We should have a good year. Skein was busy all day. I don't think anyone came in who didn't buy something and usually a bunch of something. We gave out chocolate candy (some of it wrapped in gold foil like Spanish doubloons but actually advertising for Jo Sharp yarns). We didn't see many of our Chinese customers. Guess they were all off visiting their most senior relatives. When the non-Chinese customers heard it was New Year's Day they were surprised that Ann Mary would be working. "Well, this is America!" was her reply.

Only a couple of continuing students today. I made a little progress on the Eskimo buttonhole scarf. The fun part is done. The rest is just stockinette. We're getting ready to move some of the winter yarns off the floor to make room for the soon to arrive spring/summer stuff. Ann Mary almost never marks anything down for clearance so we end up with one or two skeins of miscellaneous stuff. It's fun to find a home for these lonely hanks. Managed to place a couple of them today and yesterday. Anyone looking for some heavy weight "Charm"?