senior moments

Like everyone, there are days when I have senior moments. Some days I have more senior moments than others.  Yesterday I was having senior hours, to the point where I think someone may have made a mistake on my birth certificate.

Picture this: yesterday morning was cool, verging on downright chilly.  As my house is in full shade, it does not warm up very fast, so I decided to indulge my inner lizard and went outside, moving my Adirondack chair into the sunlight to bask and knit.  I am working on a lace cardigan shop model.  When using charts I always use Post-It notes to indicate which row I'm on.  Now, Post-Its are one of the greatest boons to knitters since ziplock bags, and justifiably so.  But one can only reposition them just so many times before they lose their sticking power.  So a couple rows in I decided I needed to get fresh Post-Its.  I got up, went into the house, and noticed that Katmandu wanted a snack (he gets several soft food snacks a day due to his bad teeth).  I made him a snack, gave him fresh water, and went back outside.  I sat down and picked up my knitting, then realized I had not gotten my fresh Post-Its.  I went back inside, noticed the time, and decided to get the chuck steak I was making for dinner underway.  I tenderized it, seasoned it, dredged it in flour, browned it, added veggies and tomato sauce, and went back outside.  Still sans Post-Its.

I went back inside, got the Post-Its out of the kitchen drawer, and realized I needed a nature call.  I went down the hall to the loo, noticed it was low on toilet paper, and went to get some.  I restocked the TP,and went back outside, leaving the Post-Its on the kitchen counter.  I went back into the house and this time came outside with the Post-Its.  Finally.  But I had not yet been to the bathroom.  So back in I went, did what I had to do, and went back outside.

I knitted for a while, then went inside to get some pie crust dough underway.  Resuming knitting on the couch (as it had gotten quite warm in the sun), I got to the end of one pattern repeat and went to mark it off as I do with hash marks.  No pen in the knitting bag, no pen on the coffee table.  I got up to get a pen, poured myself a glass of water, and sat back down - still without a pen.  I got up again, checked on dinner simmering on the stove, got the pen, and sat back down, only to realize I had left my glass of water in the kitchen.  I got up again, firmly grasped my glass of water, and noticed that Katmandu had had an accident on the dining room floor.  I cleaned this up (he is very, very old, blind, and has incontinence problems - he can't help it), took my glass of water back with me to the couch, and sat down.  This seems to be my current exercise program.

Then I realized that the pie crust dough had chilled long enough, and if the pie was going to be dessert I had better start on the filling.  So I peeled and sliced apples, rolled out the dough, and put everything together and into the oven.  I sat back down only to discover I had run out of wound yarn, and had left my ball winder at the shop.  One of these days I am going to end up wandering outside in my nightgown and forget the way home.  As my darling husband pointed out, this is especially problematic in that I do not wear nightgowns.

So for all of you who think you are getting unusually absent-minded, do what I do when I am caught in a senior moment - firmly tell others (and yourself) "I meant to do that". And keep your Post-It notes close at hand - with your name and address written on them, just in case.

Purls of wisdom: there is no snooze button on a hungry cat.  Knit happy (wherever you are)!