Thu Jul 29, 2004

Man, it’s hot

Seriously, it is very, very hot here in Seattle. I have been sweating for weeks. The kind of sweat that runs off your face. Staying home with the kids like I do, air conditioning isn’t a regular part of my life. Man, it’s hot.

Moving on. I know this has circulated on a few blogs. I’m not sure how widespread it was, since I have just recently seen it, and I’ve seen it a couple times now. I was on another Laura’s blog yesterday morning, and she linked this page, which is a free pattern for a cute little bunny. I was excited to see it because it seems like an excellent little knitting project for my girls. Something that will go quickly and be very satisfying for them. Wouldn’t it be cute if the girls could knit their own gifts for friends’ birthday parties? I sure think so. My daughters can knit the 6 inch square, and we could do the finishing together. (As in, I do the finishing while they hover and ask me 500 times if they can do it). Cute, cute. This is a good blog find. Thanks Laura!

WARNING- quite a bit of non-knitting content follows. My apologies to the faint of heart.

My day yesterday was traumatic, and I mean that in the most literal sense of the word. Before I explain, I need to step back a little and tell you a bit about myself. (I’ll try not to go on too long). I am a live-and-let-live kind of gal. Specifically, in this case, as it relates to spiders. As long as they are not on my physical person, or scurrying across the floor in close proximity, I will see them, perhaps squint to get a closer look at their fascinating and somehow beautiful strangeness, and then forget they’re there. I have been known to stop everything to watch one spin a web on my front porch. When a spider gets a little too close for comfort, we catch and release. I have been this way for as long as I can remember.

For the last few weeks, I have been noticing an unusually high number of spiders in my garage. I spend a lot of time in my garage. My weights are out there. Most of our food is out there. I have made it a very nice, comfortable space. These innumerable spiders, I had noticed, were all the same type, in varying sizes. Those sizes ranged from small, to quite large. Going in my garage had begun to be less pleasant, and yesterday morning, for various reasons, I had had enough. I got my mother-of-all shop vacs ready and stood there, staring at the very large spiders chillin’ in the corners of the stairway feeling like I wanted to throw up. I couldn’t do it. So I called the husband for a little moral support, which he offered, but I didn’t feel any better. Then I called my good friend Gayle. (I will spare you the gory details, but last year, after hearing Gayle’s reason for hating spiders to the point of appearing completely insane to strangers, I spent a couple weeks questioning my own view of them. Yes, it is that bad.) The point is, I knew she could kick my butt over the phone and get me going. The sweetheart didn’t point out how ridiculous I was behaving, (like I expected, because I was), she said just the right things. She’s awesome. So I spent two hours vacuuming up spiders. Yes, that’s right, TWO HOURS. I was seriously emotionally disturbed by the time it was all said and done. Disturbed to the point that the husband, during a phone conversation after the death had ceased, expressed serious concern for my well being. Disturbed to the point that I didn’t feel a bit like knitting. This never happens to me. I knew that if I sat and knit, all I would have running through my head would be on eight little (or not so little) legs, sorry Gayle, and I couldn’t handle it.

So instead, I made pasta. Like, mixing up dough, spreading flour all over the table, and rolling said dough through a pasta machine. The girls had a fabulous time playing with pasta dough and flour. I devoted many hours to making a completely divine whole wheat fetuccine in a fresh roma tomato sauce with browned eggplant. It was my first time doing anything with eggplant. Mmmmm. It was amazing. Miraculously, I am emotionally healed from the horrific reality of senseless spider slaughter. (And yes, for those of you who are concerned, the Shop Vac is outside until I can dispose of the bag. No spiders will be crawling back into my garage).

Sad excuse for knitting content continues

Sooooooo, I guess I don’t have much to show you today, I apologize. Hopefully, I can move on, and Monday will be a nice, juicy post full of WIP progress. Oh, and Lori is also knitting the cardigan of my desire. I’m telling you, it’s killing me!

Reminder- Health Group is tomorrow!

4 Responses to “Man, it’s hot”

  1. another laura Says:

    Can’t wait to see the girls’ bunnies. I really and truly sympathize on the spider bit. In my college apartment, I had a utility/hot water heater closet that was home to scads of brown spiders. I got to freaking out so much that they were laying eggs in there that one day I went in with the vacuum and hose attachment and sucked up every webby or crawly thing I could find. It really is traumatic.

  2. sUsAn Says:

    Oh my! Spider trauma indeed. Glad you made it through and found some relief in the pasta making. That fetuccine dish sounds wonderful! Love all the dolls you’ve made recently! They are perfect b-day presents. I just ordered that issus of IK due to your inspiration. Thx!

  3. Jenny Says:

    I can certainly sympathize with the spider situation….we have hornets in our upstairs bathroom….I was stung last week while taking a shower, for crying out loud!! I can’t pick up a towel without carefully looking for a hornet before drying. I inspect the shampoo bottle before I’ll pick it up, etc etc. Taking a shower has become an ordeal! We keep spraying where we think they are coming from, but they keep coming back.

  4. FYRKRKR Says:

    La,
    For once I simply don’t know what to say. (Should I feel safer that more spiders are gone or worried about how many more are lurking?) I will say that as much as I despise spiders and want nothing to do with them, I have turned over the new leaf and no longer desire to KILL everyone I see, but only because they too have life and who am I to take that away? Moving on…
    The bunnies are adorable and I think you are too.
    Glad I could help. Fell free to call anytime!!!
    Gayle

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