Discussion: Knitting Cruises

If you would've told me 10 years ago that I would be navigating furiously around a Knitting Cruise Website I would've said, "My that's a fancy bit of crazy you're wearing!"

Then again who knew I would love knitting and pattern reading, and blog hunting as much as I do now eh?

Life it's kooky like that.

Kooky like a knitting cruise. Let's discuss. Or rather, let me ramble on.

LOVE the idea of going from one interesting location to another where local yarns await me.

LOVE the idea of technique instruction in between destinations. LOVE the idea that I can shuffle around project tote bags chock-ful of Works In Progress in between destinations and sit on my buttocks in various nooks and gawk at people and drop stitches because ... well that's what the other people around me are doing too!

LOVE that I would most likely go somewhere international. *Sigh. It's been a long time.

Not so hot that I'm trapped on a boat for long stretches of time. I don't consider myself a motion sickness/sea sickness type of person, but then it's been years since I've been on a proper boat and there's that whole life thing. Who knows?!? Lu came back from a cruise with sea sickness stories that still make me shudder.

Things that make the sadface. ALL the featured cruises are a minimum it seems of 8 days. Whoa, that's a lot. Still got to travel to and from Port home, which is an issue if the cruise is on the other side of this continent or on a completely different one. Also that's a lot of vacation to use without being with the boys.

See, I still like them a lot and like to do things with them. Too soon, they will tire of me, at least the smaller one.

I guess it's something to hold on to for my older lady years, when the nest is empty or the Man Friend has a midlife crisis and runs away with some Berkeley Yoga Instructor that comes into the restaurant every Tues & Thurs for her large chai soy latte with less soy more foam ...

Well, I am SURE I could come up with my OWN version of a Knitting Focused vacation. Just you wait ...

What would you do?

• Cruise
  
• Stick to the Conferences/Summits/Conventions
  
• Do my own thang - not big on "others" and social experiments
  
• Bah I like knitting on my couch in my pony tail and sweats
  
• And since I'm from the Bay Area I will always include the obligatory OTHER option
  

The Fartinator 2000

The Manfriend celebrated his birthday last weekend. I asked him what he wanted, because he said, he didn't really want anything all summer, and we got him a Color Nook for Father's Day, I was running dry on ideas.

Well guess what he wanted? "Really, nothing. I'm really happy and I don't need more stuff."

Well he is rather fantastic and better than most of us...

Still I rolled my eyes -- like WAY up there.

"You know what I'd really like? I'd really like a card from The Kid."

So I prep and plot.

The Kid and I discuss making him a present on top of the card. Laying in bed at tuck-in we come up with this idea for something that can take away the smell of farts. Everyone knows that Dads, well, they fart a lot. Sometimes they fart in your room, even when they are being nice, like tucking you in, giving you fresh water or returning a toy from the living room.

The Kid noted I could benefit from it as well since I had to share a room and bed with Dad. He said, "Well you need to be able to move it around so he can take it with him."

Our prototype was a kleenex box with some kind of ace bandage that he could strap to his butt.

After some thinking and chocolate we decided this wouldn't work because he would crush it and ... look pretty lame.

So we thought of a kind of room deodorizer that he could keep close that would have "absorbing powers".

We re-purposed a cylinder bank that was actually three pieces banded together. Each bank represented a different bank. Savings, Share, Spend ... well as you can see that never caught on. So we decided that two of the banks would contain deodorizers and the other would have a back up absorber in case you ran out. We used laundry fabric softener sheets and lots of tissue paper and glitter glue. The back up deodorizer is kept in the third chamber in a ziplock snack bag for "freshness".

The Kid tested it out by hovering over it and letting one go. (How do boys do that? Fart on queue? It is one more amazing, disgusting thing in my life)

I think he got some glitter glue on his butt. The stuff takes a while to dry.

Well Man Friend loved it, and tried it out. The Kid borrows it from time to time. it hasn't made the bedroom rounds, but it is an ottoman center piece.

Things that are great: Man friend got what he wanted. The Kid "invented" something. I unleashed a little craftiness in my little tyrant.

Things that are not so great: I didn't give him a card myself. He asked for hair trimmers the night before his birthday.

No Knitting Progress

I obsess all day about having some time to knit. I try and whip some stitches out on my shawl while taking the MUNI up / or down market st. to/from The Kid's school commute. I always shove it back into the depths of my bag with pangs of unrequited knitting love. However when I get home I've been spending a lot of quality time with Mistborn.

Every evening, it somehow defaults to reading for fun. People are clean and fed. The apartment ... well ... meh. People are clean and fed. Laundry is warm and folded so I just end up couching it.

I have a project under my chair in the living room. TWO projects by the side of my bed in the bedroom and I think possibly a slight film of dust growing on the gallon sized ziplock bags from lack of work.

It's okay, I'm coming to terms with it. There is so much I want to do and knit. But that's always life right? I want to be a better mother, wife, friend, person -- knitter. Anyways when I am knitting I'm enjoying myself. I wonder if I will ever make anything that fits or hangs right ha! I suppose that's another part of the adventure.

Time for what? To do stuff.

I have a little time on my hands right now as I wait for normalcy to completely return.

I admit to reading the news and I find it disturbing.

This one is in our hometown. I'm going to follow this case, because I'm a weirdo.

I'm taking the Man Friend here for his birthday. Grown ups only:

He has asked for the tasting menu which the entire table must participate in. That's fine with me. I think it's cute when he gets all girlie and demanding. Usually that's my role.

Though I told him I'm thinking that since I've been such a good girl I might get either some boots or join a Verb for Keeping Warm's yarn club.

He said go for the boots which is practical (and he's probably thinking less house cluttering) and maybe he'll save the yarn club for special occasion. Can he do that though? I mean there might be a window I have to join in. He also said he can pick it up from the store since the restaurant is just down the street. He likes the people and family that work/own it. Nicest ever he says. In fact as non knitter he knew about this place before me. Love that.

Mayor Harrigan has responded to our inquiries for where he'd like to go for his birthday and he's finally chosen a place AGDT (About GD time) and now the wheels are being set in motion. The place he selected, BlueStem looks like a good time. We might go here for ManFriend's children included birthday dinner.

I hope there is some time to knit this weekend after The Kid and I make his amazing invention for his father's birthday.

Coffee, Books, Movies and a lot of my ETC

• Coffee time at work is a little more mundane while Mayor Harrigan is on holiday and totally more inconsistent. I also substituted coffee ice cream from Bombay for a latte the other day (see previous post)
  
• I am suffering from Game of Thrones withdrawal. I also find myself taking George R. R. Martin's name in vain ... a lot. Anyone know when the first season is coming out on DVD?
  
• I think I'm going to have to see The Debt -- with Helen Mirren and lots of other fabulous people. This Jessica Chaitan girl is everywhere as is Sam Worthington, who has a potential to not be as annoying as usual.
  
• Also, Ralph Fiennes is making his directorial debut with Coriolanus. Shakespeare set in modern (warfare) times. Hello a Redgrave is in it and Gerard Butler being all Alpha. My concern? I saw the trailer, and I will still see it even though I felt like he was delivering his Shakespeare very ... Voldemort.
  
• I finished Neverwhere by Gaiman. Yeah, I liked it.
  
• I have just begun Mistborn ... We'll see... it's growing on me.
  
• I am itching to read "We need to talk about Kevin". Tilda Swinton is in the movie coming out in December ...
  
• I wished for bread instead of crackers today after buying a spicy pork terrine at Fatted Calf. Even though the products don't always wow me -- I cannot go into that store without a)salivating b)dropping $20.
  
• I was exhausted yesterday after pretending to be young with my old friend/roommate visiting from Spain. We danced and we talked about how other people were obnoxious when we were REALLY obnoxious. strike that, just me.
  
• Man Friend finished reading The Hunger Games Trilogy and says, "it's chockful of love." I don't think so. But he calls it tweener romance. He makes it sound like Twilight. Embarrassing.
  
• I got a new knitting injury. It's holding me back. My right index finger hurts. I wonder if it's from adjusting stitches.
  
• My nephew Woody Jr. aka Baby pork bun likes to paint one index finger. Last time I saw him it had gold glitter I asked him if his boogers sparkle when he picks his nose now. HA!
  
• I wish there was more time to spend with my yarn. Maybe when this injury improves. heh. Bananas! is already tearing through her Aidez sweater. I can't even finish one. boo!!!!
  
  
  

Junkfood & Exercise Part II

The Kid is now officially a "wanna-be". We have him in Tennis Camp at a swanky private club. (I chose easy commute and paid the money for something close instead of taking time off of work to get him there and back. I can't say what I'll do next year.)

Tennis camp has a "cafe" where they sell smoothies, and drinks and chips.

Tennis camp also provides lunch, but my son refuses to eat it. They are I quote, "Too Healthy". They had a ham wrap day 1. I packed him a mini ham and smoked fontina sandwich. I told him it was essentially the same thing. He made a face and insisted on packed lunches for the rest of the week ... and extra money for a gatorade tomorrow.

I told myself to get the hell out of the office at lunch today. I said to myself, "You need to walk and get some circulation going. You need to take a few deep breaths of non ventilated air and sneeze a little (my allergies are a hairy dog of a non specific gender right now). You already ate your lunch for breakfast..."

I decided to go to Sports Authority to get the kid a new pair of shorts (With Pockets Mom!) The Kid is not much of a shorts wearer, he is very concerned about protecting his knees which I think is not only a by-product of his cautious personality but also a way to keep him from scratching the excema on them.

I could probably find a new dri-fit shirt for class as well. You know I am absolutely obsessed with dri-fit. The fact that I don't have to have a heavy sweaty shirt clinging to my fat bits is FANTASTIC. It's one less reminder of heft and girth ahem I mean swagger.

I found some good stuff on sale for both The Kid and myself ... and then I picked up some Kona Coffee ice cream on the way back to the office. What? I've got my athletic clothes to wear for something, hmm, that exercise thing, and I didn't take a coffee break so it's all "Even Steven" in my eyes.

Bad Timing

Your parents fly into town a few days after you've been out of town and out of commission yourself.

Your sister has a birthday party she's throwing and a wedding she's attending the one weekend they are visiting.

Your good friend from your twenties living in Europe is in town for 2 weeks for another one of her friend's baby happenings. The 2 weeks she is here is covered, 1)by your family vacation 2) your family visiting.

Per usual the house is a perpetual mess, but in any spare time, the family would prefer to read or knit.

Very tense, but no time to exercise. (We should be cleaning, but we are reading or knitting, but this week we are entertaining)

You're not feeling very well while this is all happening.

You have PMS.

This is why there is coffee and crunchy snacks and online shopping. I think we need a mini electric hair remover ...

Road Trip Rebound

I thought coming back two days early from the road would provide us with ample time to relax at home, catch up on laundry and possibly, just possibly some house hold chores.

Well, I think everything but chores was done. And we decided we could ALWAYS relax more. We are a lazy beast family.

I think we were all just happy to be home as much fun as we had.

What kind of fun you ask? Well I'm working on brevity ... so it's back to bullet list!

• I drove on Highway 5 between SF and Mt. Shasta both ways!
  
• We saw Harry Potter 7 Part II and it was great and I was totally checking out all the knitting inspiration mentioned in different knitting blogs! Fair Isle and Shawls stuck out to me most.
  
• The boys really enjoyed the movies especially on such a hot day!
  
• We learned our son loves breakfast buffets, though he will bottleneck the line at the bacon station and requires some egging on.
  
• The Kid got yet another new nickname: GB - Goof Ball. Sigh.
  
• We enjoyed the nature and the falls and the stinky bubbling mud and sulphur water of Lassen Volcanic National Park and Trinity State Park and MacArthur Burney Falls more than Yosemite.
  
• I went on one of the best hikes of my life on Bumpass Hell Trail with the boys. 50% covered in snow, in mesh trail shoes and a hiking skirt. So cool.
  
• I am not eating pizza for possibly 2 months.
  
• I'm glad I didn't know about the turtles in Lake Britton until after we left.
  
• The water at lake Siskyou is still just as crystal clear and inviting as when I remember it from my teenage years.
  
• Got one of the best deep tissue massages at the Mt. Shasta Resort our last night on the road. I was really embarrassed about my feet, but the masseuse had just returned from camping with 4 boys herself and had "camping feet" too. (And yes of course I showered first! Though I was tense that I would have enough time ... )
  
• I actually plotted my next Zumba class while I was on the road. so pathetic. The Kid calls me a Zumba Zombie ha!
  
• I will ALWAYS be a campfire knitter. Yarn over marshmallows anyday ...
  

And then there was more fun too, but I think you get it