I'm a "Bad Wife"

At my house the definition of a bad wife is not a woman who has an affair with her yoga teacher, forgets to pick up the dry cleaning/children or accidentally poisons the cat. No, it's a woman that loses a lace shawl knitted from mohair, that her husband travelled two hemsipheres, three continents and five time zones to buy her.

In the winter of 2006 the "Ball & Chain" left a Toronto snow storm to attend the Aspen Institute Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility in Cape Town, South Africa (I'm not going to comment on the irony here), where it was sinfully sunny.

Between frolics with pingus (aka Penguins who escaped the Antarctic for warmer climes), the di rigeur meetings with government and business leaders ("Yes, Minister, No Minister."), trips to the Stellenboch wineries ("You must try the Shiraz!") and a visit to Robben Island, ("Mindblowing!"), the B & C spent all of his spare time scouring every textile outlet in Cape Town and its environs for yarn, in particular South African mohair, touted to be the best in the world.

He discovered much to his chagrin that while South Africa exports 75% of the world's mohair, very little is sold domestically "It's too bloody hot here to wool gather mate!" he was told over and over again. "But you don't understand," he wailed, "If I don't come home with any mohair, my wife will kill me."

Eventually a very frustrated hotel concierge suggested to the B & C that his wife might be even happier with diamonds or tanzanite which were also produced locally (albeit explotively) and available widely (albeit expensively). "No," he replied,"You don't know my wife, she's yarn obsessed!"

Finally he gave up and went shopping for an Ostrich feather featherduster (Don't ask why but I'm sure there is an S & M fantasy here somehwere) and there on Cape Town's St. George's Mall he came upon Karoo Classics http://www.karooclassics.co.za/ where he bought their WHOLE STASH of mohair for ME, ME, ME!

If ever I needed evidence that he loved me after 20+ years of marriage, this was it.

Of course he also had to buy another bag to haul it home which caused him great consternation at Canada Customs. Fortunately the official in charge was sympathetic, "My wife collects minatures," he confided to the B & C.

Well the shawl I made from one skein of it is now gone and despite my best efforts at retracing my steps, I cannot find it anywhere. This must be the revenge of the Knitting God for knitting all those stupid bat cozies--why on earth would anyone actually need one? Cricket bats hit cricket balls which are HARD!

Mind you I still have a huge bag of stash like 24 balls left....