Mexico and MD Sheep & Wool Part 3

or ... Swine Flu, Celebrations, and Wool.

Firstly, it was May the Fifth a few days ago, but much of Mexico was under lock-down because of the swine flu. Mexico appears to recovering now, but the US has over 2000 (mild) cases (and climbing) reported and Australia has reported its first case. There is a small number of items to consider from here:

• What happens when it hits the poor countries of the third world? We already saw the difference between the US and Mexico.
• What happens in China and India if the virus hits them hard ?
• What happens next winter when flu season starts up again?
  

One not-so-nice example that we have in front of us is this: in 1917 there was an outbreak of early flu here in the USA. It appears to have started in Kansas, where a large number of US Cavalry were stationed. The available DNA from that flu seems to indicate that it had equine DNA included, indicating that it may have started in the horse population. However it started, it was mild, and the cavalry went off to Europe in 1918. From there, research the 1918 flu outbreak - about 100 million people died.

This 2009 flu appears to have two versions - mild and severe. In normal life the mildly-affected people go to work and the really sick stay at home. In Mexico it may be that the really sick (those with the severe version) had to go to work to make a living, so that version got spread far more than here in the USA.

Anyway, I'm getting flu jabs this winter - I normally don't, but this year I think I'll do differently!

Now here's some really good news. Let's see what Man. U. think about that, then!

Liverpool !

West Ham 0 - 3 Liverpool

And Now ...............The Yarn You've All Been Waiting For !

Well, pictures of it, anyway.

To the left, yarn from Hill Farm in Maryland.

To the right, Toni Neil of The Fold had a shop, featuring a lot more wool that I had time to take pictures of here. There's Blue Moon silk shown, along with some of what looks like Alpaca, but I'm certainly not certain (the AG will correct later if need be).


I think that the lady to the left is re-arranging hanks in The Fold, but I'm not sure. The wool on the right is from the same shop - same labels !

TESS'

I'm afraid that, while I really loved some of the colourways throughout the fair, TESS' seemed, to me, to have some of the most vivid and striking offerings.

Here, on the left, in front of a nice blue sweater example is yarn of a hue of orange that I have rarely seen, except on this year's Renault F1 cars.

Just around the corner I found a soft, muted blend of pinks and blues. Somewhat appropriate for the drizzly day we were having.




Here on the left we're still outside, and the colours are a little muted because of the amount of cloud-tinted light. The variety of shades of blue, however, are just a harbinger of what was to come.

I moved inside and found this wonderful array of blues. The colours benefit here from the use of fill flash, so they're really rendering as they actually appeared to my eyes.

Finally, almost an entire rainbow of colours on yarn.

By the way, you see a few hands and elbows in some of these shots: that's because TESS' store was pretty packed. The staff there were busy both times we passed by, unpacking things to replace what was sold, so I guess they were selling pretty successfully.

There'll be one more blog with MD S&WF stuff later today, after I've done some programming and some video editing. Meantime, if you're into giving photographs as a present, take a look here. It's a rather romantic take on personal messaging and something to think about the next time you want to send a birthday card, I think.

TTFN

A Quick One, While I'm Away!

We made it to the Sheep & Wool yesterday. Great fun, even for a non-knitter, just so long as you join in and "go with the flow". We saw lots of different types of sheep, naturally, including even a couple of South Downs', which are the locals from where I was brought up. After you've wandered down the aisles of pens you start to realise that the different breeds really do look different! Especially when you get to one breed with what looked like a Mohawk hairstyle and brown skin! No; not aboriginal American sheep, but a breed used mostly for meat and whose hair just sheds, rather than having to be clipped or sheared. What's more, it doesn't just "shed", but you can just pluck it out like cat hairs from off your coat! Weird to watch isn't in it, as the owner was doing it and the animal really didn't seem to mind in the slightest. The (wool? hair? fur? stuff?) has oil on it (great for dry hands) and some of it, at least, looks spinnable, although we think that you'd really need to mix it with some other type of wool to do best.

After the sheep there were barns and barns of exhibits, and more in tents, and Ravelry in the Rabbit Building (that's what it was called, but I think that the rabbits had gone elsewhere for some quiet by the time that we got there). And people! Thousands of people! All sorts of people (about 95+% women, of course, but why not?), but long people, short people, skinny people, round people, people of all shades of colour (basically brown to white, but that became brown to various shades of pink and red as the morning rain turned into afternoon sun and winter skin soaked up the rays!). All happy and friendly people, who were a really fun crowd to be one of, and that, I think, really made the day.

Next post will have pictures, but for now I'm signing off to get a shower and head home.

Sheep, Wool, ....... and Flu ... ?

So here we are, The Better Half and I, in Laurel, MD. Staying the night in a Super8 before heading out to this year's MD Sheep & Wool. Why Super8 ? Well, it was near, cheap, and we hadn't been to Laurel. The MD Hotel Guide entry looked good while TripAdvisor's entry was very mixed. We noted the dates on the user comments on Trip Advisor and chanced it. The renovation and new staff definitely are a change from the old comments. The main worry here, aside from the volume of traffic on the main road outside, is the danger from the school buses that use the car park to turn around in. I almost got nailed by one!

I was, I'll admit, tired last night, so I went to bed early and slept well. The Better Half came to bed sometime later. This morning I looked for the (old, white, cotton) socks I was wearing yesterday (to put them in the dirties bag - honest!) and couldn't find them. Eventually found them in the bed! Now, I never ever wear socks to bed, so this was puzzling until The Better Half admitted to having had chilly feet last night ... "and, well, your socks were just sitting there, on the chair, and they weren't doing anything, so I put them on".
Ok. Fine. Far be it from me to criticise her for that - aside from the fact that I wanted them this morning for padding around the room in before taking a shower, and the other small fact that she came well prepared for cold feet - with no fewer than four pair of self-knitted woollen socks for today ! I suppose all that Venus & Mars stuff might be right after all.

Swine and Influenza
In Mt Laurel, NJ, near where I live, there's a guy who went to Mexico recently, got the flu, came back, and gave it to his two school-aged children and a friend (not his wife, interestingly !). PhillyBurbs has a good release and article on the case, which includes a description of the symptoms. On the other hand, here in Laurel, MD, the council issued this, somewhat panicky, statement on Thursday, followed immediately on Friday by declaring closure of its elementary school because of its first “probable” case of a child with the H1N1 virus. (their quotes). Mt Laurel, NJ, OTOH, seems unfazed.

Yarn
MD Sheep & Yarn today. It's 6.40 and, as soon as we escape from the clutches of the shower we'll be breakfasting and getting on the road for West Friendship. I'll blog from there when I have time.

The Great Escape !

Now Monday is over I've actually got time to sit down and tell the end of the story.

So, on Saturday night The Better Half woke at 7.45 with very little pain, and all of that seemingly a result of having four holes more than she had entered the hospital with! What a wonderful thing being pain-free is. Those of you who haven't experienced real pain (and that probably includes most of us who've never given birth) probably won't know the relief when pain that absolutely makes you want to die gives up and goes away. I can't say that I do. However, I saw the difference in The Better Half, and that's enough for me. I can believe that Gall Stones are one of the most painful things just by seeing - I can definitely pass the experience by! Our surgeon, Dr. K., stopped by and said that The Better Half could go home after a couple of meals. Sounded good to us. So good, in fact, that he was promised a pair of hand-knit socks there-and-then, on the spot. He seemed pleased!

Sunday dawned bright and (as it usually does) early. Breakfast didn't happen for The Better Half, so that meal didn't get to be one of the two. It didn't look like she was getting lunch either, but her name was placed on the list literally at the last moment, and there it was: a slice of turkey and a fair imitation of an MRE version of a Thanksgiving Meal! It kind-of tasted ok, especially the pieces of fruit on the side.

So, we waited for dinner. I told you that hospital life was like the military life - short periods of adrenaline use interspersed with long periods of intense boredom. A peckish 4 pm became a hungry 5 pm, and the nurse arrived to ask how dinner had been. She was greeted with blank looks: "Dinner? what dinner? Isn't my wife on the starvation diet?". She wasn't amused, I think - judging by the words uttered as she sped off to arrange food as fast as possible - maybe she actually wanted to get rid of us!

Food arrived, was satisfactorily consumed, and The Better Half was approved for departure. We grabbed all belongings, signed papers, and were en route to the ground floor. We saw why we were rushed out. The ward was suddenly half-empty and the ER wasn't sending up more occupants. In times like that some nurses are let off early for the day. The ones that remain tend to get a slightly heavier workload, so getting rid of another patient made life easier for them.

Today (Monday) The Better Half spent resting and contemplating the use of a brand-new Cuisinart toaster - this evening she built a bear to celebrate not being in hospital any more.

The Thanks

Thanks go out to Brian and Ryan for being there when asked for, Mitzi and Apollo for visiting at a great time, April for the Tulips (they really do close at night and open in the light !), The Better Half's Mum, Dad, and Gram (the flowers really were good, and I hope I kept you up to date), and likewise Cindi, Flora, Jessica, Jane, Debra, Alison, Sheryl, Ali and Jenna and everyone else in Haddonfield, Woolbearers and everyone else who said "Hi and Get Well Soon" !

For those of you here from FaeryKnits,
Normal Service Will Soon Be Resumed

Normal service will also resume here ... a mixture of code and yarn and some comment on the insanities of the world.

One last wish to you all: be far from having gall stones!

We can be found on exhibition at the Haddonfield Stitch 'n' Bitch on Tuesday evenings, in Woolbearers on the first Friday of the month (oops ! sorry - missed April's - drat!) and most Sunday afternoons. Also, we anticipate, at the MD Sheep & Wool this year.