Cruisin'

The pic is blurry.  So were we...

At the time of this writing, The Husband and I are currently on a 4 day cruise to Cozumel.  By the time you see this post, we'll be back on land since I am way too cheap to pay the outrageous amount the cruise line wants for a few hours of internet access on board.  I won't mention any names, but it rhymes with Harnival.  This is our second cruise with them and will likely be our last.  The first was five years ago out of a different port, but on the same ship.  I don't think they've done much in the way of maintenance in those five years, as the ship looks old and tired and ready to be retired (kind of like me).  The level of pandering of over-priced drinks and shore excursions has reached new heights of annoying.  The absolute worst offense of all since our last cruise however, is the addition of a $20 "surcharge" at dinner if you happen to want steak or seafood other than tilapia.  Per entree.  Each night.  This is a travesty.  We have three days left.

Thank God (seriously) I brought knitting.  

When packing my fiber, The Husband looked at me with an incredulous look and said, "You're taking your knitting??"  Um...YEAH.  Have we met?  Besides, it has now become obvious that it's the only onboard activity I can afford. Other bloggers have written much on how difficult it is to choose which projects to bring with them while traveling and I got a taste of how true that is.  I had an awful time deciding what to include.  Besides the yarn and needles for a shawl I've had my eye on (see below), I brought along socks (of course).  I did't want to bring a large project like the sweater I've been working on or anything for the grand (what if I drop something overboard by accident? - yes, I'm a goofball and I think about those things), so I dropped a couple of balls of sport-weight yarn in my bag thinking maybe I'd tackle some fingerless mitts or a hat.  Trouble is, I didn't make sure I downloaded a variety of patterns for either from my queue before I left home.  This is a problem (see the first paragraph regarding internet access).  So the shawl and socks it is.  I think I'll make it.

My apologies for the random feet in the pic

This morning as we soaked up gorgeous sunshine on deck, I managed to cast on all 391 stitches for the above-referenced shawl I'm making, Gothica by Susanna IC.  I'm using Knit Picks Chroma and I like it so far but I haven't gotten beyond the cast on which actually went so quickly, by the time I'd counted, I found I'd cast on 50+ more stitches than I needed.  I'll have to work through the lace chart in the evenings in our cabin or when we're lounging inside since I can't see the pattern on my iPad outside in the sun.  I suppose there had to be at least one drawback to using all digital patterns.  

Tonight we are to dress up for supper.  I am sad to say that I had NO hand-knit shawl to wrap around my shoulders for this occasion and actually had to buy a wrap.  This makes me ashamed.  Must. Do. Better.

The Husband and I haven't had a real vacation since the last cruise in 2010.  I'm hoping our time in Cozumel makes up for the disappointment onboard this time around.  I keep threatening to write a book about our history of disastrous vacations.  As vacations go, this one hasn't been that bad.  But like I said, we have three days left...

Lisa