Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Here is a bobbin of alpaca singles.  Thumb included for scale.  When I said I had small bobbins, I wasn't kidding.  The wheel actually came with several bobbins, some original to the wheel and smaller than this one.  The guy who sold me the wheel made two of these and included them.  For Christmas, Kate bought me some generic bobbins that are slightly bigger but with the flyer set up the way it is, you can't go much bigger.  Pk had to cut them down to fit.  I'm pleased with the singles.  They are soft and have slight variations in color.  I'm about a quarter done a second bobbin.  It spins so quickly and easily, I almost feel like there's something wrong.

Things are in a small uproar at work.  Word came down yesterday and today we got copies of the hospital policy to prove it, that we are being required to get flu shots this year.  Now, in the past, it has been strongly (and I mean strongly) encouraged for everyone to get a flu shot.  For the first 5 yrs or so, I complied.  And every single time, I got the flu that winter.  I don't think the flu shot is to blame, it's just a coincidence.  I do know that when I stopped getting flu shots, I stopped getting flu.  And for 10 yrs I have been flu free.

This year, there is the regular flu shot and then the H1N1 shot which will probably be 2 shots.  We are being required to get all of them.  I know they have their reasons and I even agree with them but somehow to require that I allow them to put foreign substances into my body (even if it's for my own good) seems wrong.  There are a lot of people who are upset about this but I'll bet no one makes much of a fuss.  No one wants to lose their job (the policy is very firm that stern disciplinary measures will be taken) and have to try to find another one in this unstable economy.  I wonder what the American Civil Liberties Union would have to say about this? 

I had a busy day although if you asked me what I did, it wouldn't sound like much.  Last night we had a funeral service for my uncle.  He's being cremated and there will be a grave side service sometime in the future.  My mom was one of seven and now three are gone.  It is hard to watch them get old.  They're the buffer between me and ultimate adulthood.  At least that's how I think of it.  As long as they're alive, I'm not the official adult in the room. They are.  Today, I ran around making sure people got appointments and medications and got their hands held if that's what they needed.  And I thought of my Uncle Al (and we just found out his middle name is Grant.  We all thought it was George after his father, who knew?) and hoped that someone was holding his hand when he needed it.  Pk wanted to put a piece of wood into the casket, Uncle Al was a woodworker, but we didn't think of it until it was too late.  He's going to work on a wooden box to bury the ashes in.  I think Uncle Al would have liked that.  He passed some of his tools on to Pk when he could no longer use them.  Woodworkers are like knitters that way.  We hope someone will appreciate our tools and stuff when we're gone. 

Well, Uncle Al, we appreciate them and we'll miss you.

11 comments:

roxie said...

Oh, blessings on you, Donna Lee. I'm so sorry to hear your news. And I know what you mean about there being adults around. It's scarey to think of becoming the senior officer

DrK said...

oooh pretty 'packy. and there would be a national mutiny if they tried that here. and anyway the H1N1 vaccine doesnt help apparently. but like you say, its the principle of the thing, isnt it?

Rose Red said...

I know what you mean about your parents and their siblings and still feeling like not quite an adult while they are around. My dad had 8 siblings (of the 9, 7 are still living) and my mum has 9 (of the 10, 7 are still living - the oldest being over 90!). It will be very odd when they are all no longer with us.

Kaye said...

Woah. That bobbin is teeny. I"ve had the same experience w/flu shots. It's just seems too hard to dismiss as coincidental. But that's the joy of the economy these days. They work you to death and make you do things you don't want to b/c you're afraid to speak up and defy them b/c you don't want to lose your job. Sigh. Good luck!

Alwen said...

I had 24 hours of "feels like flu" from my very first flu shot, then it went away and I've never had that from later flu shots.

That alpaca is very pretty - I need to escape from this computer and go knit something!

teabird said...

That is one of my favourite colours - so soft-looking, and so neutral!

I'm very sorry about your uncle. I know what it feels like to become the grownup. Even at my age, it's still scary.

Tanya said...

Sorry to hear your news. That's a lovely idea to bury your uncle's ashes in a wooden box, especially handmade by a family member.

As for the flu thing, I'd be jumping up and down in a frenzy about that. No way would anyone be "requiring" me to have a needle stuck in me. It's assault, for a start, if you don't consent to it.

Amy Lane said...

That's too bad, Donna Lee-- and yes--I am VERY afraid of being the Ultimate Adult in the room... (I've feared that day for years...)

The alpaca is lovely though... spinning seems like it could be a VERY soothing hobby...

MadMad said...

Oh, Donna Lee, I'm sorry about your uncle - those last paragraphs about him, you getting older and woodworking were lovely writing. The thing about the flu shot troubles me, though. I can't imagine in this day and age they can MAKE you do anything, you know? That doesn't seem right.

Sheepish Annie said...

I have mixed feelings about forced flu shots. For myself, I'm getting every shot they are willing to give me. Then I'm going to the back of the line to see if I can trick them into giving me another one. I sort of hate the flu and the flu shot has worked well for me for the most part. But I still think that we need to be careful about forcing medicines on people, even if it seems like the right choice.

So sorry to hear about your uncle. He sounds like a great guy. I love the woodworkers of the world and I'm always sad to see one leave us.

Jeanne said...

Pretty yarn - and those are really small bobbins!

Sorry to hear about your uncle - so hard to see a generation start to go. Its a beautiful idea to handcraft the box for his ashes though.

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