So we survived the cruise. And for the most part it was really fun. We’ve decided that as much as we fight being the stereotypical middle class fat-assed Amuricans we are that, yes, we also enjoy being on cruise ships. There were some unexpected lessons learned in the experience though.

1. Despite everything I’d heard all this time the cabins weren’t all that small. Paying a bit extra for one with a window was worth it.

2. We expected IHOP food at its finest. It was better than that. Not the best I’ve ever eaten in my entire life but pretty good. I didn’t spend the whole cruise eating like I’d heard would happen because I had classes and social knitting groups and things to go to.

3. I have become the dreaded ex-smoker that is louder and more obnoxious than any never-did-smoker.

Thanks to the seeming massive number of smokers in a fairly enclosed space and some kind of weird mold on the ship I contracted the worst sinus infection ever which raised my temperature such that I began to actually projectile vomit phlegm (sorry but there it is) on my last night and morning on the boat.

I’m pretty sure the other cruisers thought I was seasick (nope) or seriously hungover from the cocktail party thrown for the seasock cruise participants on the last night (only because it was at the top of the ship where cigarette smoke from all other floors was being funneled up the elevator shaft right to where we were) So during my last hour on the boat I had the privilege of being treated by a cruise doctor from the Ukraine, whose hands reeked of (what else?) cigarette smoke while he tried to gag me with a wooden stick. Sadly I didn’t see much of Vancouver except the view from my hotel room, which was lovely. So the Mama-E yarn I received, called Seasick, was sadly prophetic.

There were good parts though. Cody and I got to enjoy a nice trip together for the first time since our honeymoon in New Orleans in 99. I got to meet Mama-E who is even way more fun in person, and her cowboy who is mr. adorable. I also got to learn some great new techniques from Eunny and Amie and even got to meet Michelle who delivered some worsted weight Seasilk in the Glacier Color. I couldn’t resist that opportunity. I met a lot of new friends I’d never even run across on the web before and made some great business contacts as well. I even brought a gym bag of yarn from the shop and sold most of it.

We got to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge at dawn. Where he took that weird double exposure photo of me. I didn’t know you could do double exposure with digital cameras?

And I showed Cody the sea lions since we docked right by Fisherman’s Wharf. Cody and I also enjoyed a fun day on the town with Jocelyn. She was a great sport about going to ArtFibers again (where I bought another misc bunch of yarn for a new sea-themed gypsy shawl) and taking a long cab ride out to a Comic Book Store. And of course a trip to Ichiban-kan! The Japanese dollar store! Poor woman. A yarn store, a comics store, and Japantown again.

Walking around Butchart Gardens was amazing. It really reminded me of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney and I thought about Mom a lot while I walked around. I took a bagillion photos of the flowers for my mother and later published a book using QOOP from flickr for mother’s day. I saw it later while I was in Birmingham and it’s a really nice print and binding, definitely worth the money.

I made only one purchase at Beehive wool shop in Victoria, BC: camelspin by handmaiden. It was a store full, almost dripping, with yarn from handmaiden and fleece artist. But I bought only one, albeit one fairly expensive, skein. I was very good.

And the train ride from Vancouver to Seattle was a really great highlight too. The scenery was beautiful and it was a pretty relaxing ride.

All in all it was a good trip. But it’s taken a lot of time to get over. Throwing up for two days threw off my meds which took about two weeks to set right. And it turned out my mother had the worst seizure yet and was in the hospital while we were gone. I went to Birmingham during most of June to visit my parents and she’s better but her memory’s still a little off.

It all shook me up a bit. Sorry if I’ve worried anyone but that’s pretty much what’s been going on.

In good news I’ve been hanging out with my friend, Christie, and her little girl a lot the last few months. Cody has become great nerdy comic book gaming friends with her husband too so we’re disgustingly cute couple friends. We’ve been dyeing yarn and crafting experimental. I bought Cari’s sewing machine before she left for Japan via PA and Christie bought a new one so we’ve got sewing experiments planned for the summer.

I finally finished a few actual knitted objects while visiting my parents. Including finally blocking that glitter alpaca shawl I made for my sister’s birthday in….MARCH, that pair of lorna’s laces stripe socks and a secret scarf thing I can’t talk about yet except to say that I knit a good portion of that one continental for the hell of it.

And I found a new LYS in Birmingham which I visited on the only rainy afternoon they had the whole time I was there. I bought some Wick yarn which I had read about in that article about knitting socks for diabetic feet in the new knitty, some HiyaHiya needles (these are being sold by the wonderful Jackie I met on the cruise) to do the magic loop method, and a really cool small notions bag (since I couldn’t afford a big one yet) from Lexie Barnes.

So the cruise was good. And I’m mostly good. I turn 35 on Monday and I’m totally fine with it.