Retribution

Ok…… so, in retrospect, throwing back two large cosmopolitans before we even reached the restaurant may not have been a good idea.


Following them up with two bottles of red wine was probably not very clever either.

Rounding the evening off with a shot of something clear (possibly Meths?) and a liqueur coffee was, admittedly, pushing my luck.
The evening started off well enough. Dashing around the house grabbing clean clothes, towels, playing traditional ‘getting ready’ music (“I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebooooooody…wo-hoooooa I wanna dance with somebody…..) and dipping into baths that, having only been allotted 23 seconds to run, just about touch the back of ones thighs! What with the dogs to look after, lack of funds and a generally lethargic interest in socializing Nathan and I don’t get out much. All the pre-evening excitement was a nostalgic reminder of my early teenage years which, looking back now, seem to have been one long party. How I managed to hold down a job, start a relationship with Nathan and work my way through college & university is beyond me.

Once ready (Nathan assures me that I look ‘fabulous’ so I waste a few seconds scrutinizing his face. Is he mocking me? Perhaps not……for a change……..) and we’re out the door, in the car, up the road and parked! I’d been insisting all afternoon that a Cosmopolitan was a deep necessity owing to my limited social airings in recent months and so we started the evening off at the ‘Ha Ha’ bar. Who knew that drinks could be so expensive? A Cosmopolitan, a Long Island Ice Tea and a Lynchburg Lemonade was roughly equivalent to a yard and a half of Amy Butler fabric! Second round? Fine….I’ll just kiss goodbye to that skein of hand-painted sock yarn….. Nonetheless, I was determined that I would make the most of this night. This night where the air crackled with electricity and the early evening aroma was a heady combination of the last rain of winter and the first fresh grass of spring. This night where my armchair and knitting had been swapped for dim lights and clinking glasses. This night, populated by faceless crowds of laughing girls in glittering tops and too much makeup. This night…..my night.

Alas, there, right there….is pretty much where my night ended. It didn’t of course – we walked to the restaurant and joined our friends/family and tucked into a mass of Greek food. Unfortunately, however, the additional alcohol that I consumed in those hours served to somewhat tarnish the magical, expectant atmosphere and replace it with what felt to me the following morning to be a much more seedy, over-indulgent ‘why-on-earth-did-i-do-that’ one. The evening was fab, the food was fab and Nathan had a wonderful time. Yet, for one who so rarely gets out, who was so determined to make an impression on the world for those few hours, the whole event seems, thanks to those alcohol units, rather vague to me now!

Nonetheless, through the thick fog of yesterday’s hangover, I did manage to place my hands upon some fabric and started making a super-cute lunch-bag from a back issue of Sew-Hip. The bag is inspired by the rolled down brown paper bags that have become synonymous with ‘American Grocery Shopping’. It’s not finished yet but I’m pleased with how it looks so far. I chose a bold, graphic print from Amy Butler’s ‘Midwest Modern’ in blues/greens/yellow and twinned it with recycled chocolate brown faux suede for the lining. I’m hoping to finish the bag tonight, so I’ll post pictures soon. (I always say that don’t I?! Honestly, this time I will!)

Next time – temptations and confessions….