Since I do not read Japanese, and even if I did…, I would like to find out the correct name for each of the Asian knots pictured below and possibly even a link to where the information might be … in English

Click for larger view

For the sake of context, I usually sleep in the guest room because it is closer to where I needed to be if Mom needed help in the night, and because I tend to be a toss and turner and no surprise Talker when sleeping.

FORTUNATELY I also tend to fall asleep while reading so the light was on.

About 1:30am I woke up and felt something cold and dampish around my upper arm.

Thought we had a roof leak since it seemed to be moving – That must be dripping … right

WRONG – Sat up in time to see a SNAKE almost hidden under the pillow I HAD, up until about 4 seconds ago had wrapped around me. Something I would have missed had the light not been on.

After a non-crucial (it turns out) one or two seconds to take a fast deep breath, dump the waste basket and slam it over the snake.

OKAY NOW WHAT DO I DO?!?!?

Oh my good Lord in Heaven, there is a portion of it sticking out, but if I lift the edge minutely to shove it back in will it escape like the rattler that bit Valerie. What would Valerie do (our cousin who raises snakes) Vaguely I remember seeing Valerie using a flat piece of cardboard to slide under their Snake boxes

I used a 14 inch Double Ended Crochet hook to push its bits under the basket.

and thought, yet again

MMOG, NOW WHAT

All I can say is THANK GOD FOR COLOR CARDS and the fact that most are done with “over sized” cardboard. Better yet thank goodness I was working on some color cross refs yesterday .

Wait, I can’t leave that color card under the snake, what if it makes a mess and damages the samples!

By this time, the colorful words have reached sufficient volume so that TH has somewhat awoken and comes in to see if I am Okay, why are there tissues all over the floor, and why am is standing with my weight baring down on the top of the waste basket where the tissues belong.

No, I AM NOT OKAY, there is a snake under the waste basket and I have

ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Following the careful replacing of the Presencia Color Card with an appriopriated size Priority mail box (the guest room is also my “shipping center” but the color card was closer”

After several minutes of discussion, ending with you cannot kill it and are you sure you did not just have a nightmare?

“FINE I will take it outside – but if it is dumb enough to come back, before it is large enough to catch mice, then its safety is NOT assured.”

The boring end to this little adventure. I carried it outside and dumped it into the road (as far as I willing to go in sleepwear.

For those interested in the details. I came back in and sat down to GOOGLE Maryland SNAKES – it appears to be a Black Rat Snake – not a poisonous breed but still not welcome in most people’s beds

Based on the picture in the Wiki entry, it appears to have been a young Black Rat Snake.

Now I need to go call the family herpetologists and find out what to do next – to determine how it got into the house. Likely the same way the field mice do.

I think I will go read email. Hopefully that will be less exciting.

Wheat

P.S. I solemnly promise never to complain about the odd size card stock used by most YARNandTHREAD manufacturers to make their color cards no matter who awkward it is to try to mail them or the awkward shape of that particular (shoe box) priority mail box.

Tiny URL : http://tinyurl.com/snake-blog

Nothing (except possibly copyright) can stir a more lively discussion in a fiber art oriented group that defining art vs craft.

Admittedly much of my own viewpoint has likely been formed with my obsession with all the writings of Ayn Rand – even if my 6th grade teacher said there was no way I could “understand” what I was reading.

Frankly in view of what is going on in our country of late, I have been thinking that not only do I need to, like our Congressional Representative Roscoe Bartlett, need to be giving away copies of the US Consititution, The Federalist Papers, but as importantlyAyn Rand’s novels Anthem ” and “We The Living“.

Aside from the obvious, what Ayn Rand has had to say about Artistic creation and Art continue to inspire me and maybe are really about as close as I will EVER come to understanding the meaning of life.

So what does all this have to do with “Ukraines Got Talent”?

A few days ago, TH sent me a link about the 2009 winner of UGT,
Kseniya_Simonova

If you have about 15 minutes, and quite possibly even those *not* of Ukrainian heritage will need to be armed with tissues, you will need about 10 minutes to watch Sand Art Animation. I doubt anyone with a soul will find it a waste of time even if you don’t understand the language.

Wheat

(HBIH – I have not forgotten)

You already know why Zip Codes are important, because the NINE digit zip code can be used by many Mapping Applications such as MapQuest.com to get driving directions WITHOUT typing in a complete address.

What many of our supplier/manufacturer/distributor friends have not yet realized is how important this added info is to making their “Store Locator” Traveler Friendly and how including the nine-digit zip can aid in that traveler finding a local shop when traveling.

More years ago than I care to admit – we met Harry Newton at Silicon Valley conference where he was also a speaker – his wit and wisdom about the telecom industry are legendary.

Harry Newton’s Telecom Dictionary is now in its 25th edition,; we bought the first at that conference. We are such fans that we, until some recent book divestiture, owned many copies as they were updated, but kept the old for “future reference”.

To the Point, EVEN back then, Harry was stressing that EVERY page of your catalog should have your order telephone number. Today that advice would be your order telephone, your URL AND your Address with nine-digit zip.

Why? Because that makes it EASIER for someone to buy from you. I cannot tell you how many times I have ‘ripped out a page’ because I was only interested in THAT item – only to come back later and find no order info on the page. (Are you all headed for St Charles listening?)

Nor can I tell you how often I have given up in frustration trying to figure out where to find the address and shop hours on ANY of thier pages. Remember search engines do not always index your first/home/main page first – especially if you do not update on a regular basis.

MANY people will print out a web page as a “hint” to give family and friends – so make sure that ALL you info is going to show on that page –

Now, here we are today, with Manufacturer and Distributors doing many inventive things to help their Retailers and especially the Indies “to be found” but they often make it as difficult as possible to find that Retailer… and it is such an easy fix…

If a Manufacturer/Distributor/Self-Publishing Pattern/Chart Author does NOT include at least the FIVE and better yet the NINE digit zip code in each store listing – then the consumer cannot easily use a mapping application to find and visit the shop.

If a Manufacturer/Distributor does not allow search by Town OR State OR ZipCode and as two of the people involved in developing the FIRST find-a-store application we think AND “GREAT CIRCLE SEARCH RESULTS for AREA CODE and exchange (next 3 digits) are also important.

There are enough applications out that that allow the shop to update their own info – why not host one on your site and make it easier for consumers to find and buy from your retailers.

just some things to think about.

Wheat

From time to time there are “interesting discussion about various type of projects.

Recently an opinion about making Shrugs vs Sweaters sparked just such a conversation.

My reply – Well Whose Project Is It Anyway…

… And what is its intended purpose.

IMNHO

IF you think a Shrug is better for your purpose for ANY reason, then that is what you should make.

My Mom likes shrugs and wears them all the time – she just can’t stand a draft on her shoulders AND she like to pull it up “hood like” when she goes out in her idea of Cold Weather (pretty much anything below 75 degrees Fahrenheit (F) aka/ 23.8888889 degrees Celsius. (C)

On the other hand, I like deep cowl neck long body sweaters, sometimes with a down vest over it as a winter coat usually down to about +10 F aka/-12.22 C. My idea of deep cowl neck is not unlike a Shrug or better yet a mobius collar that can either be left down or in really ugly weather, pulled up over my hat for added protections. It also never falls off and lands on the StupidMarket floor or in an icy puddle in the parking lot.

MOST IMPORTANTLY…

NO ONE should EVER Feel Bad about the project they choose.

Other opinions may differ, but

– It is YOUR YARN –
use the best you can afford and be sure that it is appropriate to the project you have in mind

– It is YOUR PROJECT –
take the time to think about the intended use and then make your best decision

AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL

– It is YOUR CHOICE
So NEVER let ANYONE discourage you or diminish your enjoyment of your chosen craft or hobby.

Wheat