Othello and the Blue Blanket by KimB

MrsB always has a project or two or three or four or a dozen, at any one time. One of her many projects is knitting. Currently her focus is on baby blankets or small shoulder throws that ward off a chilly draft.

While she always plans to sell them, many of them end up as presents for birthdays, holidays, Christmas, New Years, and as Monday Morning Post Office surprises.

Every one is unique, like MrsB herself. She gets an idea and branches into a hundred directions at the same time. Her mind overflows with ideas and patterns. She works and works and rips and rips and works again and again until it matches her imagination. As soon as one is done, another is being started: another pattern, color, style to be turned into something practical and a unique piece of her.

Because only she can make these, don't you see.

Otherwise they wouldn't be a MrsB Baby Blanket. In a time of robotic automation, she works by hand. In a time of mass duplication, she makes one. In a time of orchestrated sameness, hers are extraordinary.

They are wonderful to look at and soft to the touch. They hold just the right amount of warmth when you want a nap and provide perfect comfort when getting over the sniffles.

I guard them jealously. I am careful about how I use them.
I am also en-garde against the cats ... and ... their claws.

Recently, I let Allen use one of my favorites: a Blue Blanket. It is soft to the touch, a wonderful shade of blue and the pattern of waves is like lace. After his nap, he folded it up neatly and left it on the dresser for me to put away.

He wasn't the only one watching though.

Othello, who rarely gets on the dressers, preferring instead the overstuffed padding of a leather recliner, noticed the blanket on the dresser. Slowly, slowly, he inched his way to the dresser. His eyes riveted on the blanket.



Othello unfolding the blanket

Quietly we watched him. He was so intent he didn't realize we had spotted him heading for the blanket. I was ready to dash in to rescue the blanket but Allen indicated we should wait and see what Othello would do. After all the Blue Blanket was folded into a small square and Othello is a very big cat.

Very carefully Othello looked and sniffed at the folded blanket and ever so gently, started to unfold it by pushing his head and nose into different seams. He carefully pushed this way and that, until he had it "Othello Size" and then cuddled up for a nice snooze hugging part of it as a pillow.



Othello and the Blue Blanket