I remarked to my Practically Perfect Husband John one evening just before Valentine's Day that I hadn't ordered one yet, and he told me not to, that because of the shipping cost it would be cheaper to pick one up at the sporting goods store. Then I said I better remember to drop by the sporting goods store, and he told me not to. Finally, to keep me from buying a second case, he showed me the case, and admitted he'd already done the deed. He was wanting some Valentines' brownie points, and I gushed all over him, of course. He gets credit for finding something I actually will use instead of some generic heart-themed thingie.
I put the case on the kitchen island, where everything seems to land until we get our act together. We clean this island off every few months, and in the interim, it develops a big pile of weird objects. Some of the objects are pretty darn weird, too; right now, there's a broken electronic projector, a yarn winder, a flashlight, a pile of junk mail, some knitted samples, a few tools, scraps of paper with cryptic notes, a cardboard box, a cell phone that nobody wants, a tangle of wires and cords, and oh yes, the plastic pistol case.
Stevie came home from college on the weekend, saw the pistol case and got excited, thinking that maybe Daddy had bought Mom a target pistol for Valentines and we'd go shooting. Steven likes to shoot, but Mom's a bit cheap. Not that shooting isn't kind of fun, but I'd rather buy yarn than spend money on ammunition and shooting range fees. If you buy yarn, you get a sweater; if you buy ammo, you get a loud noise. (This is Texas - people shoot, okay? I was never going to allow my precious little boys to even have a toy gun, but after they shot each other with blocks, shoes and coat hangers, I gave that silly thought up. Then when we moved them to Texas and their friends went shooting, well, of course they learned to shoot, too.)
Steve should have known better. The same thing happened before, when I got the shotgun case - he got excited, thought I'd bought a shotgun, when it was only a case to carry my ribber.
On knit club day, I took the pistol case to Show And Tell. I held it up and explained what a great garter carriage box a 4-pistol case makes. General consensus: this is a perfectly romantic gift for the garter carriage loving spouse.
Later, I was catching up my business checkbook and there it was, the charge for the case. John, who runs around with a debit card for my business checkbook, mostly paying for postage when people order knitting books, figured it was a knitting-seminar-related expense and put it on my business account.
Oh. So I paid for it myself...drains a bit of the romance out of it, doesn't it? But then again, one of the joys of being an old, cozy couple (36 years) is you get to be practical. For instance, we actually had a chocolate discussion this Valentines - we weren't going to have chocolate in the house and all those extra calories unless it was the agreed-upon Good Stuff. Plus, anytime my man actually pays attention to the genuine me, it's romantic, right? And, wouldn't it get him into the doghouse with me if he bought something useful for the business and didn't use the business checkbook?
And look what a great garter carriage case it is! Even when I don't carry it around, my GC is all nestled in foam inside a very sturdy box. This way, nothing nasty happens to my precious GC when I have to transport it.
Maybe he thought you could write it off on your taxes as a buisness expense? But definately, it was a great gift!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't know what to do with the cell phone, my 5 year would love to have it! There was a lady re-doing the cell phone display at Wal-mart last night, and she gave Meg a phone, but being a display phone, I don't think we can get it to do anything. Failing that, LOL, there are charities that will take them :)
The pistol case looks great for the G-Carriage. I have mine in a small, vintage, hard-side suitcase - works great! I've often wondered if a hard rifle case would work for ribbers? There never seems to be a good way to safely transport them.
ReplyDeleteNext time I pack a ribber into the shotgun case I bought for that purpose, I'll have to get a picture for the blog. It is a FANTASTIC way to transport the ribber. I put the weights along the bottom of the case, as well as a comb or two.
ReplyDeleteThe case is definitely a proper business expense, because I have to lug knitting gear around. Not exactly a gift, but he gets credit for taking care of it for me.
ReplyDeleteI am hanging on to the phone as a possible replacement for the next broken/stolen/lost phone my sons experience. My cheapie phone never seems to break or get swiped, but their Iphones do.
One of the women in our machine knitting club sews ribber cases out of heavy material. They are compact and colorful with a sturdy handle, though probably not as good as a hard sided rifle case. Have you ever tried to take your ribber on a plane? :) I have often wondered what they would do if someone tried to take a knitting machine on a plane. The case really looks like it could have a gun in it. Loved your story!
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