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!
