She SCORES!

Yesterday I was at Barnes & Noble with my friend for our weekly "knit" (she actually crochets, but I think that's just fine, so there). As a result I finished the sage baby wrap pictured here - see also a shawl finished the day before AND the current "Toque Francaise". It'll be sent with the baby wrap to Colorado when it's done. Notice too, if you please, a copy of Crazy Aunt Purl's "Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair"!!

There we were, happily stitching and...well, at that moment there was no actual bitching going on. And my cell phone rang. It still takes me a minute to recognize the sound and remember that I have to dig it out and answer it. Lo and behold, it was the Lovely Daughter, saying she'd just read Crazy Aunt Purl's blog, and it said that her book was OUT (early!), and that it was ON THE SHELF at Barnes & Noble. I thanked her, said I'd get back to her - and tore down to the Knitting section. There are a LOT of books there - but I thought maybe it wasn't actually on the shelves yet, so I went to the Information kiosk. (I should say here that I was fully prepared to insist that they allow me into the back room to dig through unopened boxes of books until I found it.)

HOWEVER! As I was led back to the section by the Helpful Clerk-type Lady, I SAW it! Five copies, right there, face out, recognizable, looking just like the picture on her blog....I grabbed two instantly. Yes, yes, I know I have a copy coming from Amazon (I just looked and it says it hasn't shipped yet). One copy, of course, is for the Lovely Daughter and the other copy....well, when my Amazon copy comes, I'll give IT to my friend Ginny. I know she'll love it, and I want to give her a clean copy without my eyeball prints all over it.


Now then - today Mr Dearling took off for a few days' camping, hiking and nature enjoyment. He does this periodically. During this time, he's sleeping under the stars, stomping about in nature, enjoying his solitude and eating things sandwiches with potato chips IN them (I'm not making that up). And *I* am sleeping under a pile of books, cats and knitting, as likely on the couch as in bed. I'm eating things like shrimp, Amy's Cheese Enchiladas, or other things that are either a) something Mr Dearling's not overfond of; or b) something too expensive for two but reasonable for one person.

He had originally hoped to go to the Adirondacks, his favorite-of-all destinations; but he really didn't have enough time, so he's gone to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where he can find beautiful woodlands and the Porcupine Mountains. They're not the Rockies, but they are wonderful, and it may be that the autumn colors are underway there. I can't imagine anything as wondrous as being in a forest at the height of autumnal color.

Now, for a long time there Mr Dearling was travelling to New York every month to care for his elderly parents. I was still working then, and every time he left, he'd send me flowers at work. EVERY time. My colleagues would say "Oh, where's he gone this time?" or "How do you rate?" or "If you die can I have him?" Since his parents' passing, he goes off less often, but to my surprise, as I put the car in the garage this afternoon (home from a long chinwag over delicious crepes with a friend), a delivery guy from our favorite florist followed me up the drive with these beautiful flowers!


So I can enjoy beautiful flowers while reading, knitting, snorgling cats and noshing. This is the life - and now I'm going to read. Note: in Colorado I got some DPNs that look like tortoiseshell. I started a pair of mitts on them yesterday, and in spite of their feeling pretty slippery, I find that they're EXCELLENT, and somehow they're really not so much less slick than the bamboo needles! Details later....