Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Swine Flu and Sock Machines

Wow! Who would've thought that we would be having to educate ourselves about the Swine flu?? Today life in the state of Texas has been interesting, to say the least.

Several schools are closed in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area. Some of them have children who definitely have Swine Flu and some have children who have been tested. The schools are not just closed for one day, but are closed from today, April 29, until May 11. School activities are being cancelled too.
One small town, south of Fort Worth, is actually shutting down its schools and daycare facilities. They have also cancelled many city activities and sports games. They have 3 cases.

Many of you, who venture to my blog, know that we have two FABULOUS daughters. :) One of them works in the health industry and sent out some links for us. Here is one that has some good common sense info, should you be interested. The link.
Have you ever seen a sock machine? Here are two antique sock machines! They are not mine. But, they belong to friends of mine. These machines are becoming more and more popular and more and more valuable. This is the way that socks used to be mass produced AND now some people are mass producing socks for themselves and for sale using these machines. I find the sock machines truly intriguing. They do take some practice in getting used to them, but once you get it down, the socks take a fraction of the time compared to handknitting a pair. The red one, doesn't have a sock on it, but you can see the hooks that go around the outer circumference. Notice the crank to the right? As you turn the crank, the needles will go up and down and the yarn will go around and be knit by the needles.

Do I want one? No, not really. I just like to watch them and find them fascinating. I still prefer to knit my socks, the really old fashioned way. By hand. :)










2 comments:

Deborah said...

Oink! Oink! You said it...common sense is key. I don't like the craziness the media creates about this stuff! Every day (in 34 years of teaching) after the students left, my sister wiped down the desks and surfaces in her classroom, which was a very good habit.

I'm looking forward to the KAL.

Deborah said...

I love those sock machines.