Thursday, October 18, 2007

Waiting is the hardest part...

My Anners needs a good laugh, and a couple of other friends are waiting for the rest of the story, so why not let the world laugh with me?

Herein lies the reason we *ALWAYS* should carry some knitting with us.

Y'all know the Knight and I work together. He has a work truck, and I drive my personal vehicle, since I only leave the office to pick up lunch or run to the bank. Well, for reasons still unclear to me, the Knight announced around 10:20 that he was going to take my vehicle to meet a product rep on a job site where there was a rather interesting problem. (Picture this: 6,000 square foot luxury retirement home. Every time the water pump cuts on, the lights flash and the phone goes wonky.) I turned down Uncle Bobby's offer for lunch, because I just knew the Knight would bring me a barbecue from one of our favorite spots. By 2pm, I had eaten enough pretzels to choke a horse. By 3:45, Mugsy was restless, and my vehicle still wasn't back. Eventually, I left in the Knight's work truck.

That was a sight. I hadn't driven a manual transmission in about ten years, much less a heavy-duty work truck with all kinds of pipe hanging everywhere. (Sorry there's no photo, but keep reading.) With the moral support from the employees hanging around to see if I'd hurk and jerk my way out of the lot, Mugsy and I headed home without incident. (I drove fire engines. It REALLY was no big deal.) One of those employees had wisely suggested that I confirm that there was a house key in the truck. I did. Oddly enough, it was on the left side of the steering column, behind two other single keys, on a key ring holding a massive glob of keys.

Oh, but you're getting the idea, aren't you? Yep. The key I thought was mine was my brother inlaw's key to who knows what. (PLEASE tell me why the Knight thought it made sense to hang his brothers assorted keys there for over a year?) And when the Knight confirmed that, he was still on the job site, across the county. No big deal, right? Mugsy and I walked to get the mail. That killed a few minutes. We played fetch until I realized I didn't have any water for my furbaby. That killed a few more minutes. We opened the mail, which took WAY too long by Mugsy's standards, because there were two wonderful packages to help me pass the time.


The first, I ripped open. It's not quite so bright, but we'll try for a more accurate shot tomorrow in sunlight, *IF* we have any of that. It's more NH Knitting Mama's yarn! This time, it was a custom order for a special gift. (And that's all you're getting out of me right now. The holidays are coming you know!) It's the greatest, softest, laceweight alpaca yarn you've ever rubbed all over your face. I can't wait to cast on! Seriously y'all, rush over and snatch up the last few hanks of any of her yarns on her Etsy site. You won't regret it, and you'll save me from buying that coffee and cream... for the Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap, of course.

So, picture me sitting on my back steps, stroking my yarn, throwing the still yellow tennis ball for Mugsy, while I rip into the second package, from Wendy the wonderful! (I wish I COULD have taken pictures, but my camera was inside, and I was saving my cell phone battery for more calls to the Knight.) One of the reasons to host a swap of your own is you get to meet more people than just your swap partners, and Wendy is an excellent example of that. I mentioned that I wanted to try the new Cranberry Blood Orange tea by The Republic of Tea, and she offered to send me a sample of hers. Sweet, right?! Hold the phone, because she sent that, some Bonkers Orangesicle, and an authentic South African Rooibos! All three are new to me, and I had planned on having a cup tonight. You know, as soon as the Knight got home and unlocked the door.

Back to our story. I found one of those nylon canvas chairs that rolls up to fit in a yoga mat bag type case outside, after I'd tried to stretch out on the cardboard that had contained the new hot tub cover, to no avail. One hour ticked by, and Mugsy and I were still chillin' and doing a bit of the fetch thing here and there. I even lucked out and found a clean, sealed water bottle in the Knight's stash he uses for training fires. Mugsy can now drink from a bottle, thank you very much. Just a wee, steady stream and almost none will be wasted.

Just shy of the two hour mark, my back had enough. I couldn't walk, I couldn't sit in the chair, I couldn't sit on the steps without pain. So, I called the Knight. He was finally headed home. Poor guy. I never really had been angry, but even the very frustrated part had faded away with the extreme wait. When at the two hour and five minute mark, the Knight pulled into the drive, Mugsy even stopped fetching to greet the man. We had just enough time to shovel in a quick dinner and get to our meeting.

The moral of this story? I'm switching over to that brown bag that has room to be a purse and a project bag for daily use. Even had I had a project bag with me, it would have been in my vehicle with the house keys. And we're getting a hide-a-key too, but I can't tell you where I'll put it.

And I think the Knight will be getting me an even better anniversary present now.

Go ahead and laugh. The Knight's not in trouble, Mugsy didn't get overheated, and all's well that ends well. But I *STILL* wonder why he wanted to take my vehicle!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH dear. Of course mugsy can drink from a bottle; he's smart that way. Did you ask Mark why he needed YOUR car? I'm SO sorry lol.. I swear the idea that your in laws or someone doesn't have a key to your house stuns me :o but yes, knitting is good to have! I've started carrying one of the knit picks bags just to be sure I have it if I get stuck :D

NH Knitting Mama said...

Why do guys do random stuff like that? We've had too many of these kinds of incidents. Now we have a keypad to open our garage door with keys hidden in said garage to get into the house. Too many "I'm going to take your car" incidents.

I hope the yarn was exactly the color you were looking for! I sure had fun dyeing it - it is nice to work with from the dyeing perspective!

Surviving said...

This is just one reason why my cars keys and house keys are separate.

sophanne said...

It sounds to me like he was at a car dealership negotiating your anniversary present-

Sue J. said...

I thought for sure the Knight was coming home with a new car for you. So sorry for your ordeal. The key pad on the side of the garage is an excellent idea. We have always had those. We also carry a survival kit in each car which contains warm clothing, blankets and bottled water. And the project bag is a great idea. Double it as your purse, and you are all set.

Virtuous said...

Dang at least you had two great packages to keep make the experience not so long! Haha!

I love me some Wendy she is the greatest!! So very thoughtful!

And I am still bad about not keeping some type of knitting with me. Sigh....at least a knit book!! You know?

Hope you don't get locked out again and that the anniversary gift is fabulous!!

Lapdog Creations said...

I think what you need is a spare house key tucked in your purse, separate from the one on your vehicle's keyring. I have that... its attached to my honey's car keys... so far, so good. =} lol

Holly said...

That sounds totally like a Holly. I never have keys. Just the garage door opener and what happens when the battery goes dead. Just out of luck. I am so sorry for the wait. I am really surprise that you and Mugsy didn't head to a yarn store even after the wonderful stuff in the mail. When you find out what the knight was doing in your car, you let me know.

Terrie D. (StarSpry) said...

How unfortunate that you had to wait so long :( I'm glad you found water for Mugsy (very cool that he can drink from a bottle!) Yay for fun stuff in the mail, at least :) I look forward to the special gift you make with the NH Knitting Mama yarn!

vegasangelbrat said...

Yeah for smart doggie! Sorry about the wait you had, wow, at least you ahd gifts to help soften being stranded some. We have kkeyless entry on garage so I don't have to sweat that anymore..its usally carkeys are the problem..lol
Hummmmmmm wonder is the Knight is planning new vechicle for his sweet princess :)

vegasangelbrat said...
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Wendy said...

I'm so glad that your tea sampler made it safely to your hands. And from the looks of it, it sounds like at an appropriate time when tea would be much needed to relax from frustration. I hope they helped. I can't wait to hear about your tasting adventures.

Michelle said...

Oh my gosh... how awful... gotta get that hide a key, or even better yet, store an extra at the office :-)

Scrabblequeen said...

You have tons more patience than I possess, and Mugsy has far more than either of my dogs. We would all have been howling up a storm if we were locked out of the house that long. It might even take me two cups of tea, and two biscuits per doggie to recover from such an "ordeal".