Oblivious

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Rico fell off the bed at 2:00 a.m.  I heard the thump.   It woke me up.  It was unusually dark in the house.  Still sleepy,  I remember curiously thinking, It's very dark in here.
I couldn't see where Rico was.  I felt around the bed for him hoping that he was in his usual spot, which is right between Ross and me.   When I couldn't feel him, I reached over to turn on my nightstand lamp. Nothing happened.  That's when I realized the electricity was off.
I stumbled out of bed and groped my way over to my dresser, which is where I keep a flashlight.   I turned on the flashlight and found Rico sitting on the hope chest at the foot of the bed.  He must have rolled over onto it. He was whining a little.  As I picked him up, the electricity came back on.
The house jolted as it came alive with sounds and lights. The microwave chirped and the refrigerator burped. The treadmill display started to flash, and the lamp came on.
The red, blue and green LED lights on each of the many and varied electronic devices we have plugged in popped on and the bedroom lit up like a Christmas tree.
And I thought, No wonder I only get 4 hours of sleep a night.  
After Rico and I settled back down, I noticed the display on the Treadmill was still blinking.  I waited a few minutes, hoping it would stop.  It didn't.
I got up out of bed, hopped up on the treadmill and started pushing buttons.  The darn thing wouldn't turn off.   Finally, I remembered the safety key,  pulled it out and the blinking stopped.
When I tried to get back into bed,  Rico had commandeered my spot, with his head on my pillow.  I pushed and prodded him until he moved.  He growled the whole time.   We both eventually fell back to sleep.

When I woke at 7:30, Ross was just waking up.  He mumbled,  "Why were you on the Treadmill last night?"

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow, Please!

Okay, it's been raining and blowing for two days straight.  If it were 30 degrees colder, well you know, we would be socked in with many feet of snow.

I've been recovering from a little bout of gastritis.  Details are not necessary.  Really, you don't want to know.   So, I've been taking it easy.  And after two days of no exercise, no walking and rain, rain, rain, I'm officially stir crazy.

From where I'm sitting I have a direct view of our entry door sidelights and transom windows.  I can see out to the front yard trees.  They are thick with still dark green leaves.  The branches are waving back and forth and bouncing up and down.  With each gust of the wind the leaves turn their backs desperately trying to hold on.
At times, the wind calms a little,  the foliage stills and I catch a glimpse of unrelenting sheeting rain.

The grayness makes me sad.  I pensively ponder what might have been as I desperately try to hold on. 

I have settled myself in front of the fireplace. No fire.  I have a few necessities around me. 
Rico to keep me company. He picks his head up every once in a while to whine because he's not on my lap.
My cell phone, to take photos, play Candy Crush and browse Facebook.  I rarely get phone calls on my cell.  Oh, and when I'm not doing any of those things, I listen to my latest downloaded Audible.com book - "The Girl in The Spider's Web".  I just started it.  So far I like it.
My cordless home phone, in case Ross calls from the grocery store to ask, "Are you sure there is nothing else you want beside Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean (no fat, no sugar added) ice cream." (He called I told him, "No that's all I want, thanks.")
My laptop for obvious reasons, yes blogging.
My knitting, for when I get bored with electronics. I've been steadily working on my shawl and it's growing quite nicely.
Oh and there, in the corner of my ottoman, see it, it's the Franciscan Pottery, Desert Rose pattern, sandwich dish with crumbs from my no salt saltine crackers.

Ross has settled himself in front of the TV.  He's waiting for the Navy/Airforce football game to start.   He has his necessities around him.   His cell phone, to do whatever it is he does on his cell phone.   A nine-inch stack of magazines to read during commercial breaks and time outs,  and a snack of honey roasted nuts, crackers and hummus.

It's just that kind of day.

Knitting The Cane Bay Shawl By The Light Of the Red Moon

I was lucky enough to capture the Red Moon on Sunday, Sept. 27.  I took the photo at 10:17 p.m. EST.

We went up to Connecticut last weekend for my nephew's wedding.  Which was lovely, by the way.  Coincidentally, my favorite yarn store, WEBS, was a short 30 minutes from where we were staying.
There are lots of ways I can describe the feeling I get when I walk into that store.  "kid in a candy store" comes to mind.
Needless to say, I left the store with bags full of goodies,  adding a considerable amount of yarn to my already bulging stash.  One thing I know for sure is this addiction to yarn is universal among knitters/crocheters.
For example, a few weeks ago we were browsing around a local flea market when I spotted a fellow knitter.  She was one of the vendors. She was sitting under her tent with a lap full of delicate, cobwebby, glittery yarn.   I approached her, a little hesitantly, me being the shy one and all and tentatively asked her what she was making.  She said it was going to be a scarf and the stitch she was knitting is called Entrelac.
          Entrelac is a knitting technique used to create a textured diamond pattern. While the result resembles basket-woven strips of knitted fabric, the actual material comprises interconnected squares on two different orientations.

The stitch looks like this:

We chatted for a while.  She told me about a few websites she uses to find free patterns.  I admired the yarn she was using. She thanked me and talked about the number of bins in her closet which are filled with yarn  That's when she admitted her addiction.  I understood.

Anyway back to  WEBS.  They have a nice sitting area, right in the front of the store,  with comfy club chairs for the person who is not shopping, usually the men.  

Whenever we go to WEBS Ross brings his Kindle and settles himself in one of the chairs.   He invariably winds up commiserating with a fellow non-knitter (usually another guy).

Like many other yarn stores, WEBS displays many finished works.  One of the items on display was a shawl.  Actually, Ross pointed it out to me and suggested that it would look great with the dress I'm going to be wearing to the next wedding we are going to in October (my niece).

The name of the pattern is Cane Bay Wrap designed by Sarah Smuland.   

I chose worsted weight yarn from "The Fibre Company" called "Canopy", the color is crocus.  The content is 50% Baby Alpaca, 30% Merino & 20% Viscose Bamboo. 

I started knitting this on Sunday by the light of the Red Moon. 

The wedding is only ten days away so I’m getting’ busy.   I am one-third of the way done.