The Continuing Adventures of Henry

Since I haven't bothered to take any photos of the knitting I'm actually doing... I'm just going to continue with photos of Henry.

I would like to announce that I am finally knitting Clapotis. I'm thrilled to pieces with the yarn choice and colour, but I want to tell you what Henry was up to this weekend.

So, yesterday morning, I hurried down to Tangled Skeins to open up. I didn't realize that someone had tagged along. It wasn't until I heard the giggling that I realized Henry was there.

I looked up and found him flirting with a couple of cupcakes.

"Henry!" I hissed, as I grabbed him off the shelf, "those cupcakes are less than HALF YOUR AGE! Their pattern book was just published, for the love of Pete." (That would be "One Skein")

I put him down on the floor, told him not to disturb the customers and to behave himself. He blew a kiss to the cupcakes, and swaggered toward the front of the shop. I swear, he thinks he's God's gift to yarn.

He crawled up the Noro shelf and jumped in this bag.

He wanted to hide there until someone reached for the Kureyon. I wasn't long plucking his arse out of there! The last thing I needed was for him to be popping up and scaring the customers!

I suggested that he take a look around the shop at the samples, hoping that it would make him realize that he wasn't the hottest thing made out of knit and purl stitches. It wasn't long before I found him lounging on the bench in the knitting room. He thinks he's ready for the Gap.

"Ok, so you look cute in blue." I said. "Just don't get the pants dirty, I have to put them back on the display rack."

He told me that he really liked the angora yarn. I told him that there was a green shade that would go nicely, uh, with him, as well. He asked to see it. I walked away from the counter and when I came back, he was completely entangled in it.

At least he was having fun. Eventually, though, I put the angora back and asked if he'd like to look at pattern books. I needed to find something to occupy him so that he would stop running all over the place with the angora dragging behind him. He went into the knitting room, chose a book and made himself comfortable.

I swear, he was like a 13-year-old boy with a stack of National Geographics.

"Henry! The Happy Hooker is NOT what you think."

He gave me this blank innocent look, quickly slid the book back on the shelf and jumped off the chair.

I suspected that perhaps the constant activity and sensory overload of the yarn shop (c'mon, you've all felt it in the shop... you can't concentrate, can you?) was getting to him. I decided to let him be. He probably needed some alone time. I gave him about 20 minutes and then went looking for him.

Apparently, he had made a friend.

...and from the looks he was giving her, I figured that I should probably interrupt before it went somewhere that none of us want to imagine.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the "unwinding room" with Wedding Cake and Toothache. Henry was polite and even perhaps, debonnaire. He offered Janice some coffee and asked her about school. He may be a little bugger at times, but he can be charming when he wants to be.

Finally, it was time to leave. I tidied up the shop a little and then called to Henry.

"Henry, let's go!"

No response.

"Henry?"

If it weren't for the muffled giggling, I don't think I would have found him.

Can you?