August 07, 2008
Cruisin'!
This:
Has turned into this:
Metaphor for life? Discuss.
(In answer to the three unspoken questions: The color in the first photo is more accurate; Fleece Artist Trail Socks; and a supremely generic pattern out of my head.)
Cat tale o’ the day (my apologies for the frequency of these, but since I don’t have contact with my beloved Frankie anymore, I make do with what I’ve got, and what I’ve got is catz).
My sister sent me a remarkable gift the other day: a blue felt heart with a little metal adornment on it that simply says “Courage.” Needless to say, I bawled, right there, outside, in front of my mailbox. The word, the concept of “courage” was not one I had thought of, and yet it was perfect and inspiring, and slipstreams perfectly into what I’m having to do right now. When I was done bawling, I immediately hung the heart high up on the wall in my bedroom so it would be the first thing I would see every morning and last thing I would see every night.
By the time I came home from work the next day, the heart was gone, having succumbed to the fate of the hair trap. I hunted the heart down and rehung it, but later that night it was gone again. Rehung. Gone by this morning. Rehung. Gone by the time I got out of the bathroom. Rehung. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “having your heart toyed with.”
Oh, and last night I spent ten minutes wandering around the yard in nothing but a t-shirt, looking for a black cat at night. Finally retrieved my little escape artist (Joon) and then went back and shut the window that I had cracked open because it was hellaciously hot and I was sure the window was too heavy for them to open further. Wrong. (I will now go set up an altar to the man who invented the flashlight and the god who made sure Joon had at least some white on her.)
So, I did it: I reserved a spot on the cruise. Only what was at first a relatively inexpensive cruise to Mexico in October has now become a horrendously expensive trip to the Caribbean in November, because my primary goal is to be nowhere near the city of Seattle, or even, apparently, the West coast of either North or South America, during Thanksgiving. I think Fort Lauderdale, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Netherland Antilles and the Bahamas should just about do it. Besides, me and 1800 other women, on a cruise ship, in the Caribbean? Sunning, snorkeling, swimming, dancing, eating, soaking in hot tubs, taking spa treatments, and that all-important activity—doing nothing but knitting? Worth it, even if I have to eat mac and cheese for the next two years. On the even more positive side, I got a two-fer which means I either get the stateroom to myself, or get to take someone with me for quarter price. Hmmmm…
(Notice that for my clipart I found a picture of a ship which, curiously, seems to have a ball of yarn in it. I’m sure the artist thinks it’s an abstract rendering of waves, symbolic of adventures on the high seas, but you and I know better.)
Oh boy, a cruise! You'll love it. If they offer it, definitely go swim with the stingrays. Merino soft on their white bits, they are.
Posted by: Carrie on August 7, 2008 10:36 AMSounds like a fabulous trip!
Posted by: Kat on August 7, 2008 12:27 PMGood for you!! Now that's courage. I definitely think it will be worth the expense. I'm currently pricing tickets to Moscow again, so it must be escape time...
Now, Joon, stop that silliness and tell your mother she needs screens on those windows so you can pick at them during the night when there are moths outside and drive her insane. But at least you can't escape.
Posted by: Kristen on August 7, 2008 01:10 PMWowza. My kitty has been doing laps lately (thumpa, thumpa thumpa splat) all over the condo lately. Unsurprisingly, this makes it hard to sleep as she waits until we're in bed to start.
The cruise sounds like it will be a lot of fun. I keep telling myself that I will do that someday, but someday never comes (because I am too lazy to save up for a vacation).
Posted by: Seanna Lea on August 7, 2008 02:22 PMOooooooo cruise. Awesome. The gift sounds lovely as well. *gently scolds the Escape Artiste!* Don't be worryin' your mom now, m'kay?
Posted by: moiraeknittoo on August 7, 2008 04:15 PMAh, the cruise sounds heavenly. And you know, mac n cheese is pretty darn good; you can spice it up with ham, or with some frozen peas thrown in... ;)
Courage. Me likes. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: loribird on August 7, 2008 05:36 PMSounds like you need to find the patterns for felted mice online. Here is one, not the one I was thinking of. This is more complicated but really cute! dailyskein.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/wool-mice-and-things/
I wanted to try this one: www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring03/PATTdimsum.html
Posted by: Laurie on August 7, 2008 06:49 PMOK, you feline freaks, just wait one second here. Your Mom is going to try hanging that heart right above the bed, from the ceiling. Now that will probably make you guys take a flying swing at it in the middle of the night, when she is sound asleep!! But stoppppppppppppit!!!! She needs her sleep, she loves the heart and she loves you guys, so cut her some slack..! AND stay inside!!!!
Posted by: Susanne on August 8, 2008 06:48 AMA metaphor for life? hmmmm...how about: all messes have the potential to warm the tootsies?
The cruise sounds great! Perfect. You can also add tuna and mushrooms to mac and cheese (I put peas in mine, too...
So there - you have 3 meals to prepare to help you pay off the trip!
Love the Heart of Courage!
(((hugs)))
Ah yes - what the Da of the house wryly refers to as "The Joys of pet ownership". Here's a few other lessons that has taught me today: 1) I cannot heft 50# of used litter anymore; 2) the garbage bags bought for this house (NOT BY ME) are not strong enough to hold 50# of used cat litter; 3) you'd be amazed how long it takes to sweep 50# of used cat litter off the kitchen floor. "The Joys of pet ownership". As for the cruise, MAZEL TOV! For my part, I want to hear about the food. Those cruises always seem to include mighty fine food.....
Posted by: dale-harriet in WI on August 11, 2008 08:21 AMnodcwqu-0mucxlp-tw6q1f37-0 http://online-poker-mo.lookera.net#1
texas holdem
[url=http://urlser.com/?aBCA5#3]homeowners insurance[/url]
[url]http://urlser.com/?m6c0v#4[/url]
[http://urlser.com/?DYEVZ#5 insurance quotes]
"homeowners insurance":http://urlser.com/?aBCA5#6
[LINK http://free-poker-mo.lookera.net#7]free poker[/LINK]
[img]http://victor.freewebhostingpro.com/1.php[/img]