Yay! I swear to God, I don’t know what my problem was in making a banner. I understand how to do so, I understand quite a bit of Photoshop, I get the pixel widths and what’s necessary to make a banner fit and for the LIFE of me, I’ve never been able to do it. I just get too frustrated and give up. But with Max’s patient help, I did it. And now it’s centered. (That was the hardest bit, actually. But Max kept encouraging me. Seriously, I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep at night if it remained off center.)
Wasn’t I the luckiest girl to catch this shot? It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen: I’d already been to (and held a PACE flag in) a peace march in the Lido (this was just days after Shrub declared the war in March), and that evening, as dusk was damply falling, I leaned over the side of the vaporetto to see THIS. Venetians, out for the purpose of peace. You don’t march in Venice, you row. I couldn’t scramble off the boat fast enough to stand and drink it in. I wore my PACE pin wherever I went.
And for the occasion of my new banner, a new Venice Lady! This is the woman who runs the only yarn shop I’ve ever stumbled into in Italy. She knew a kindred spirit when she saw one, and we spent a happy half-hour talking about yarn. Well, that’s pushing it, perhaps. I spoke my crappy barely intelligible wrong-tensed Italian, and she pretended to know what I meant. In yarn, though, you only really need one word: Seta. Silk. Oh, yes. After that, every time I tramped past her door, I grinned and did a little skip and she waved back wildly. At night, I sat in my rented flat (a lovely two weeks in Venice….) and knitted, watching Italian game shows and drinking hardy local red.
I wish I knew her name. I forgot to ask.
Had a lovely big breakfast with a friend this morning that has prepared me for the rest of my day: Ant killing. I’ve decided not to bomb the place. I hate poison. Makes me feel itchy and mean and like I’m a step away from growing a third ear. I’m just going to throw out all my dry goods (the ants are in everything), clean with 409, and start over. Everything in Tupperware this time. The only thing I’m dreading is that moment that the ants clamber up my arms. You know the moment. Moving the peanut butter jar, only touching it with two fingers, you still manage to get eighty-seven ants up to your elbow. I’ve already got the tricks lined up: cucumber rinds, orange oil, cinnamon…. My house’ll smell like a fancy organic restaurant.
Urgh. And then a nap, and then a ten hour midnight overtime shift tonight.
(And for those keeping track, Mom’s got a thyroid scan this afternoon (she’s taken that radioactive pill and no one can hug her for a day – SO much worse than Raid) and hopefully she’ll be on real meds soon. She’s feeling a wee bit better today, thanks in NO small part to our angel Mariko, who asked another angel doctor friend for advice. Mom’s just reassured to know that YES, she IS in the middle of a medical emergency, no WONDER she feels so horrid. Mariko can never know the depth of our gratitude. She gave us the key phrases, the words to use, the things to ask for, what to insist upon. I tear up a leetle just thinking about it. And the rest of you? Those prayers are good stuff, the real thing. We love and thank you.)
If I get rid of all the ants, can I knit a while? Please? And I will write, too. Okay, I think it’s now officially a Busy Day.
Ew. EWWWWWWWWWWW. ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew eewwwwwww.
For the record, ants do not bother me. I much prefer them outside, but you know, things happen. However, the image I have of 87 ants crawling up your arm as they angrily flee from the 409…EW! I. Do. Not. Like. Things. Crawling. On. Me.
And now I’m going to go over to Mariko’s and give her a big hug. Sorta. You know what I mean.
Your description of taking the photo, and the photo itself, remind me of an experience I had in Venice. I was going to school in Switzerland at the time and went on a school trip to Venice. We took a water taxi to get our pensione. When the water taxi docked, I looked out the window and saw bright silver cobblestones, bright gold fall leaves on the cobblestones, and a bright pink sunset light bathing the gold leaves. Amazing! I’ve never seen anything quite like it in any other country I’ve lived in or visited.
I hate ants, I hate ants, I hate ants. I cannot stress how much I hate ants. So much so that it’s a joke in our family. They like to send me little plastic ants in their letters. So for today, along with little Mama prayers, I send you ant-free prayers. And remember, talc works, too. The little f*****s won’t climb over it.
Don’t know if you’d checked the homophobe site again lately, but we’re gaining. The no votes are down to 55%! I keep going back and and voting again. Anything to mess with their minds!
I love the Banner, the story, everything!
I am so glad you figured it out. Heck, if you can knit cables and read Proust before going to bed, you can do anyting!
Try dousing the ants with vinegar before you touch anything!
I love the new banner and the ‘new’ Venice lady – the eyeshadow is just awesome!
Good luck with the ant slaughter. I would wear long sleeves and rubber gloves with your sleeves tucked in the gloves. Hopefully this will decrease the chance of 87 of the little bastards climbing up your arm.
I am so happy to hear that your mom is on the right path. How kind of Mariko to give you the right catch phrases to use. Shame it has to be that way. My mom did the radioactive iodine before I was born–actually due to medical/mental inadequacy she had it done twice. Me, I am full-blown hypothyroid, diagnosed at 18. Once your mom gets on the meds, she should definately feel better.
Good luck with the ants. I absolutely hate them! They are so small and innocent looking but they come in such large numbers. My almost 6 year old is aces at killing ’em. And flushing their dead bodies–cause I worry they may come back out of the garbage (Night of the Living Dead Ants). I am thinking I remember my dad saying Boric acid mixed with sugar around your perimeters. Or under the radiators, etc.
The banner is wonderful. I second the ewww to the ants. We had them overrun the kitchen once. I was seriously freaked. My husband put out that poison on little cardboard squares. I never did see many dead ants, but they got the heck outta dodge. (apparently if you kill a couple the word spreads and they find a new home.) I understand your reluctance to poison anything though.
How nice of Mariko to give you some advice and key words. Having dealt with medical issues much more than I would like, I can attest to knowledge being power. Most doctors are great, but nothing pokes holes in the god-complex touting ones better than someone who knows the right questions to ask. Continued prayers surrounding little mama.
The banner looks lovely, as does the the new Venice lady. People in Italy are just so …classy. I visited Tuscany one summer and everyone was so gorgeous and friendly and sensual and eating all the time. I loved it!
I echo the continued prayers for little mama…I hope she gets to feeling better soon.
The new banner rocks, and I always look forward to a new “Venice Lady”!
Good luck with the ants, pesky little buggers! I once had them invade (of all the strange places) the water reservoir in my steam iron. I took it as a sign from the heavens that my clothes were just not meant to be ironed, and then I tossed the whole thing away, ants and all.
Echoing the thoughts of many, I send continued thoughts of healing for your Little Mama!
I love your banner! That is an amazing shot. I’ve been to my share of pride marches, but I’ve never seen a water parade. Excellent!
Fantastic banner, and I’m soooo glad to hear your mama is getting the attention she needs and deserves.
Anyone but me hearing “The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah..” on continuous playback in their minds after this post? (All of you now, I bet! Mwahhahhaahh)
Yay Mom!
Yay Mariko!
Yay Max!
Yay Banner!
Yay Italian lady!
Yay Tupperware!
Yay Pink Panther Handheld Toy!
Yay Rachael!
(Run ants run)
Yay ants!
How funny! The name of the woman in the yarn shop is Beatrice, and I was in there a couple of weeks ago (I live in Seattle, though – just visiting). Ended up getting a lot of novelty yarn for scarves, which I NEVER knit! I did find a killer yarn store in a town called Vicenza (a couple of hours away from Florence) where we were staying … So cheap!