Kiss My Knits!

So last night Ellyn and my dad came over and experienced the glory of Wii and flat-screen TV while my husband and I went out. The showing of Juno didn’t quite work out timewise, but frankly, that was just as well. We’d rather do something that allowed us to talk to each other anyway.

Stop one: the liquor store! This was new territory for me. I had no idea there were so many ways to get hammered. It took a lot of searching, but we finally found the peppermint schnapps that I’d been wanting ever since having that divine Christmas cocoa concoction at a friend’s. You know you’ve had too many when you can no longer say “Christmas cocoa concoction.”

Stop two: Manifest Disc. We had it in our heads that they were open until 10. They were open until 9, so we looked around long enough to see that they didn’t have anything in their used DVD section that we couldn’t live without, and we left. Too bad, too – my dad had given us a nice wad of cash to facilitate our evening. We’ll hang onto some of it and look for another DVD we can enjoy together.

Stop three: The new Lynx station! Steve rides the light rail in to work most days, but I hadn’t ridden it yet. My husband was looking for a cheap date thought it might be fun for me to experience and so we took the train uptown. We got to the transit station beside the stadium where the Charlotte Bobcats were playing. We wandered a bit, but all the food places closed at 10. They really roll up the sidewalks in this town on a weeknight. There was, however, an enormous TV mounted on the side of the stadium, so we got to see the final seconds of the game, where the Bobcats squeaked past their opponents by three points. I don’t follow men’s basketball, but… yay!

Stop four: The Lynx station again! But this time, much, much more crowded as the game fans poured out of the arena. Not only was it more crowded, but it also smelled much beerier on the return trip. Not enough so to affect my knitting, though, so I pulled out a Jayne hat and nearly finished it off on the trip. I got some stares. It’s hypnotic when you’re not drunk, I can only imagine what it’s like when you’re good and tanked up.

Stop five: Kentucky Fried Chicken! Ah, the glamour. There wasn’t a lot left open, though, so that was fine. After a 15-minute wait at the drive-through (I’m not exaggerating) we got our food.

Stop six: Home! We arrived with chicken and schnapps! My dad and Ellyn had apparently gotten a good workout from Wii sports. It’s very fun, and I predict that their arms will be sore today. I’m glad they had a good time. I see a Wii in their future. Ellyn’s always doing well on game shows (, she’s another Jeopardy player) so no doubt one good showing on Match Game or something oughta do it.

We said our goodbyes, and I ate my chicken, which turned out to be a mistake. When we asked for a snack and the drive-through lady said she’d have to check and see what they had left, that should have been a warning signal. My other warning signal about eating fried chicken at 10:30 at night should have been the fact that I’m thirty-freaking-eight years old and can’t do that kind of thing anymore. Anyway, it was a rough night, but I went back to bed after Emily went to school and am feeling fine now, so all’s well that ends well.

We really had a great time bumming around the city. It was nice just to be out and about, especially at night like grownups. Now it’s time to finish off another Jayne hat and get some lunch. No chicken or schnapps, thanks.