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Happy Valentine’s Day
I Sure Know How To Pick ‘Em
Any Valentine’s-Day-themed post needs at least a mention of my…um…suspect taste in men. When I was young(er), I would always fall for boys who were “cultured,” boys who liked French cuisine and Ayn Rand books and shopping, boys who were actors and modern dancers. To illustrate:
My first two boyfriends, right there.
Of course, I got older and decided I should only really fall for the ones who were unavailable, or crazy, or both. That was fun.
But there is something to be said for feeling things that intensely–even when they were intensely bad. I miss the feeling of having a crush on someone. I miss feeling: in the last few years, I’ve realized that anyone I want to start a relationship with will be (given my track record) either suspect, a crazy, or unavailable, emotionally or otherwise, so I don’t let myself get very excited about it.
But I have to remember this quote*:
“A lively understandable spirit once entertained you.
It will come again.
Be still.
Wait.”
*Theodore Roethke, “The Lost Son.” Not about romantic relationships at all. But still very good to quote. (That’s the nice thing about literature.)
Crushes, or I Sure Know How To Pick ‘Em
Any Valentine’s-Day-themed post needs at least a mention of my…um…suspect taste in men. When I was young(er), I would always fall for boys who were “cultured,” boys who liked French cuisine and Ayn Rand books and shopping, boys who were actors and modern dancers. To illustrate:
My first two boyfriends, right there.
Of course, I got older and decided I should only really fall for the ones who were unavailable, or crazy, or both. That was fun.
But there is something to be said for feeling things that intensely–even when they were intensely bad. I miss the feeling of having a crush on someone. I miss feeling: in the last few years, I’ve realized that anyone I want to start a relationship with will be (given my track record) either suspect, a crazy, or unavailable, emotionally or otherwise, so I don’t let myself get very excited about it.
But I’m sure I’ll be full of feeling again, misguided and fabulous and exhausting. I have to remember this quote*:
“A lively understandable spirit once entertained you.
It will come again.
Be still.
Wait.”
*Theodore Roethke, “The Lost Son.” Not about romantic relationships at all. But still very good to quote. (That’s the nice thing about literature.)
Minus Three And Counting
(In celebration of Valentine’s Day, this week will have a loose theme on love and relationships. And candy. And, if I can pull it off, I’ll illustrate them all with CAT PICTURES. Oh yes.)
With the relationships I’ve had so far, I’ve always had a hard time reconciling what I wanted with what I actually got. I don’t know how much I can blame old movies and the J. Peterman catalog for this (I suspect it’s a lot), but I spend most of the time deciding that I want something unrealistic and then thinking I should hold out until I get it. (Dammit.) That’s the main reason why I prefer imaginary boyfriends.
Coyote Wee
(Subtitled, “I Hate Blogger So Much Because It Won’t Let Me Publish The Photo That Is The Whole Point Of This Post So Click HERE First And Then Come Back And Read The Post And Did I Mention I Really Hate Blogger?”)
Ahem. Seen the picture? Good. Now, you may be asking, “Why?” So may reasons, really:
1. Because my brother bought himself a four-wheeler a few weeks ago and will only call it “the wheeler.” This is hilarious to me.
2. Because this same brother’s cat Eddy rides with the brother in the car and on the John Deere riding lawn mower.
3. Because Eddy is being trained to ride on the wheeler. (“He can be the siren!”)
4. Because Eddy likes sitting on the wheeler and, I’m told, sniffing for coyote smells. Namely, “coyote wee.”
5. Because I told my brother that if he got a picture of Eddy on the wheeler I would put it on the blog and title the post “Coyote Wee.”
6. Because Wednesday was John Deere’s birthday.
Hey, I Remember That
In an effort to “get a hobby away from my hobby” I put on some classical music last night. (Okay, I listened to it while I knitted. But not the whole time.) I have a recording of the violin concerto by Jean Sibelius that my least-favorite violin teacher gave to me years ago. Because it reminded me of the violin teacher, I think avoided listening to it. But the violinist is Jascha Heifetz and now I realize I my mistake.
BABY PANDAS!
Because The Yarn Needs A New Home, Too
Sometime last week, I decided the current yarn storage situation needed to change:
(What this picture doesn’t show is the bag of yarn in the closet.)
So I bought a lined basket about twice the size of the current basket. But I wasn’t satisfied with the existing lining, oh no. I wanted a drawstring top, and a fancy print fabric, and a pocket inside. After much swearing, starting over, and re-engineering, I got what I wanted:
A pocket and a fancy print lining: