While The Cat's Away...

Curt took this almost-three-week trip to Yellowknife, capital of the Northwest Territories, way up in northern Canada, eh? In fact, he's blogging about his trip at this very moment. So while he's telling you of his exciting adventures, I'll describe my not-so-adventuresome, but nonetheless enjoyable, time holding down the fort. 

Bye, Curt! He's off to the San Antonio airport, to fly from there to Spokane, where his friend Tom will pick him up and they'll begin driving North. WAY North.

For the first 3 days Curt was gone, my friend Shirley from Boerne, Texas, came to stay with me. We had a wonderful time, catching up on news, laughing, eating, listening to music, and getting each other into trouble with our credit cards. 

We tried our hands fishing in the canal. No luck.

We visited the local quilt shop (a place we both dearly LOVE to spend time... and, I'm afraid, money). Came back home and set up the sewing machine to begin piecing a table runner with lovely seaside themed batiks:

(Check out my matching toenails!)

Each morning we either walked or bicycled along the side of the bay to watch the sunrise.

One day we hit every thrift store and resale shop we could find in Rockport. That's Shirley's specialty! We found loads of treasures... although I only have a photo of one of them. You may ask why I bought a wedding dress, since Curt and I will celebrate our 40th anniversary next month. Well, I was in my brainstorming / free thinking frame of mind, imagining all kinds of things I could create with different fabrics. And when I came across this lacy, beaded wonder for the rock-bottom price of a single bill that I just happened to have in my wallet, I couldn't resist. I felt guilty... it's in such beautiful shape, and I'm considering cutting it up. If it makes you feel better, I haven't taken the scissors to it yet. I want to be sure I'm going to finish the project before I start cutting. But I had to try it on, just for fun.

That's the only photo I have of me in a wedding dress. Curt and I got married in the courthouse in Las Vegas, both of us wearing blue jeans. To be honest, we eloped. They all said it wouldn't last, but now, after 40 years, 4 children and 12 grandchildren, they're beginning to think that it might. I sent Curt this photo in Yellowknife, just so he'd wonder what in the world I was up to.

I must say, the wedding dress felt wonderful, Silky, smooth, heavy with beads and lace, and, well... rich! Now I see why brides save their dresses with such fondness. Made me want to wear it for real. Maybe we should renew our vows??? Trouble is, that dress is a bit small for me, and I don't want to go on another weight loss program. So I'll go ahead and use it for some beautiful sewing projects. Sigh.

After Shirley left to go back home and resume caring for Stephen, her poor neglected and long-suffering husband, I was suddenly alone in the house. Two whole weeks. I don't think I've ever lived alone for two weeks before. It was kind of exciting! I could do anything I wanted.

Now you may or may not know that Curt is the neat one in our family. He likes everything in its place, pretty much all the time. Often even while it's still in use. I'll be preparing a meal and will set the spatula down on the counter for a moment while I stir something else with a spoon. When I reach for the spatula, it's GONE. Washed. Dried. Put away. So I smile at Curt, tell him how glad I am that he loves to wash dishes, because he's going to get to wash that one again, reach for the spatula and dirty it up again. When I've been away on a trip to visit children in Idaho, or go to a music event, or a convention, or whatever, I walk in the door and the house looks like a model home. Like nobody lives here. Like we just finished a photo shoot with Better Homes & Gardens.

I, on the other hand, like to have everything out where I can see it. Which is exactly how the house looked pretty much the whole time Curt was away, starting about 15 minutes after Shirley left.

Sewing in the dining room:

(Note the salad bowl and fork on the table. I often ate my meals right there among all the fabric and fun stuff!)

Weaving in the living room:

Stamping, cardmaking, and gift-making in the stamp room (be glad I don't have a photo of that! I didn't want any evidence of my ability to clutter a room up to the extreme!). Art, knitting, and Zentangle in the guest room.

Most days I either rode my bike around Key Allegro, the little island where we live, or I drove down to the Rockport beach at sunset and walked on the beach or along the harbor.

Most nights I stayed up late playing with one project or another, and most mornings I slept in till at least 8 a.m. Ah, the life of a hedonist!

But I sure missed Curt and really looked forward to the times we could connect via the Internet. Phone calls between Canada and the U.S. are prohibitively expensive, so there were very few of those.

And when he arrived back home, he couldn't tell how the house had looked just 24 hours before. Not QUITE like a Better Homes & Gardens photo shoot, but as close as we'll get with ME in the house! And the crowning touch was a welcome home dinner of Alaskan King crab legs. We made short work of those!!

Back together again, enjoying Rockport, and our continued adventures On the Loose!