The Lovely and Talented Mr. Bee

Here is the "Violence By The River' shawl being good-naturedly modeled by the lovely and talented Mr. Bee. God love him....he puts up with so much. He draws the line at knitted lingerie though. He has to retain some dignity.




And here is a close-up of the Chernobyl-esque flower pattern. Of course it's not blocked yet. That would mean actually finishing something and well...I just don't do that.

The only thing I don't like about it is it has that silk smell. You know the one? It's organic but still disturbing. I think it smells like worm butts. Maybe a little lavender soap in the blocking process whenever that may be.
It's weighs like 2 oz but is a warm little bugger!

Speaking of rivers...and we were weren't we? Bow to me! The Queen of the Fine Line Segues! I went geocaching with my boss at lunch today...in the rain...through the weeds. Might as well have jumped in the mighty Mississip fully clothed. My pants stuck to my legs, my shoes squished. What I won't do for that 1% raise, eh? Actually it's my fault. I found out that there was a brand new geocache close to work. I know he loves to be the 'First to Find'. Who doesn't? There is usually one 'big' prize in the bounty for the first one to get there. One time Mr. Bee and I got a $15 gas card...back when that would actually by more than a thimble full of gas. But I digress....

I sent him the information and asked him if he had his GPS at work. He didn't. Neither did I. We commented that that was too bad and that was that. Two minutes later he prairie dogs up over my cubicle wall suggesting that I go home and get mine and we'll go together and get the cache at lunchtime. I agree 'cause...he's the boss right? (At least that's what I let him think.) So I go home and get the GPS and by the time I get back to work it has started to rain.

Me: It's raining.
Boss: Not too hard though.
(Rain immediately gets heavier. We look at each other.)
Boss: It'll pass.
(It rains so hard that you can't see the parking lot)
Me: Yup. Looks like it's letting up already.

He sits back down and finally I go to his desk:
Me: Well, Sir, I'm guessing this mission is aborted, but you can take my GPS and do it on the way home. It's supposed to clear up.
(He motions towards his computer screen where he has pulled up a full-motion Doppler scan of the area.)
Boss: It's passing through. It'll clear up soon.
(At least that's what I think he says, the rain is now hitting the roof so hard that I am now lip reading since all I can hear is the roaring torrent).
Me: Alright, maybe if we take a late lunch...
Boss: I was thinking an early lunch...
Me: OK. I have raincoats in the car.

Off we went, following the dubious satellite signal (satellites aren't really readable through heavy cloud cover), until we finally find the 'path' to the treasure. The path is an old railroad bed. We are very fortunate in Madison. This is a progressive city that really believes in bicycling for health and for emission control. They have removed the rails and ties and turned a lot of old beds into wide, paved, public pathways for biking and hiking. This was not one of them. The rails were still there, the ties were still there....and about 10 years worth of thicket had taken over between and around them. And it was wet from the aforementioned rain. And the treasure was half a mile down through the puckerbrush. One way.

What I thought in my head-"OK. Well. We came. We saw. It's too wet.' We'll just go back to work and come back a drier day."
What I said out loud-"Right behind you, Sir!" as he plog-hogged into the bushes.

An hour later we had indeed been the 'first to find'. There had been another cacher there when we arrived. [I know! I couldn't believe it either! This 'First To Find' problem really needs a Twelve-Step Program or a Betty Ford-type center or something!] She was nearby but couldn't find it and was beating around in the deep woods when we snagged the 'first to find' right out from under her! A blood-thirsty sport it is! Yes...the highly-coveted 'First to Find' prize of a brand new DVD copy of the movie "Stand By Me" (circa 1980-something) was indeed ours. And we only had to risk brush-cuts, burdocks, stinging nettle, mosquito bites, poison ivy, lyme Ticks and the first-ever case of downing while walking in the middle of a railroad track to get it!

Then we squish back to work and sit in the air conditioning. Add frost bite to the list above.
Inv-v-v-v-vigorating. You know I can see the value in starting your own business and being your own boss*.


*Disclaimer...This entry is for entertainment purposes only. My boss is a really nice guy. Really! Especially when he signs my paycheck!