June 07, 2004
Bee Careful!
This weekend we traded burns and blisters for bees. Of the stinging kind.
The Mysterious K spent most of Saturday working in a corner of my yard which needs major clean-up, no thanks to a neighbor who decided to tear down the fence in that corner—which I’m not totally convinced was his to tear down—and, in so doing, knocked down my lovely, winding, personality-rich, 50-year-old hydrangea vine which subsequently was deemed a lost cause and had to be chopped down. I got as far as the chopping up and piling up but no further which, as the months passed, was more than TMK could stand. So Saturday, I busied myself in the house, and TMK busied herself in the yard. About an hour into our separate activities, I heard a muffled shriek come from the yard, immediately followed by the TMK-shaped blur racing into the house, yelling “Bee! Bee! Bee!,” as she danced around on her toes in considerable pain. And, sher ‘nuff, she'd been stung on the back of her left shoulder.
Now, I’m the first to tell you that I am no good in an emergency. I’ve had first aid training but most of it flew out of my head when the EMT who taught the class started telling us what to do in the event of a beheading, which is ridiculous ‘cause the victim’s dead, dude. Besides, eeeeeeeuuuuuwww. However, somewhere way back in the recesses of my brain I heard my late mother’s voice whispering, “Cooooorn staaaaaaaarch. Use cooooorn staaaaaaaarch.” So I grabbed the box of corn starch, a little glass prep bowl, and ice water from the fridge and started mixing. First, I made a very dry paste “button” which sat on TMK’s shoulder for a nanosecond and then popped off onto the kitchen floor. Then I made a very watery paste which dribbled down back of her arm and dripped off her elbow, making her giggle insanely from the tickle. Finally, I made an adequately paste-y paste which stayed on her shoulder, looking very much like bird poop. (TMK wants to report that corn starch works very well, BTW. Not an old wives' tale. As does the Heimlich maneuver, which we also had an opportunity to try out recently.)
TMK returned to her labors. Five minutes later, a second muffled scream, a second TMK-shaped blur, more exclamations of “Bee! Bee! Bee!,” and more toe-dancing. She had been stung again, in exactly the same spot but on the opposite shoulder. Half a box of corn starch and one Motrin later, TMK headed off to the dump in her truck, looking as if she had had tangled with an entire flock of sea gulls and lost.
Not the restful day of puttering around the house either one of us had had in mind...
Knitting Knews
Vision Quest socks: 90% done. 1” of the foot left to go, plus the toe, plus the infernal weaving in of ends.
Not being of a religious bent, I know I will never be the type to knit a prayer shawl, but it did occur to me that I was coming thisclose to doing so by knitting these socks for a special friend at a special spiritual time. Unfortunately, if the theory is that you knit well-being, healing, and peace of mind into a prayer shawl, due to the short timeframe, I think I knit stress, irritation and anxiety into the socks. I will have only myself to blame if our friend comes back from the vision quest an emotional and spiritual wreck…
On the Norgi front, here is a photo of the first band of color:
The holes right above each green diamond are the places where I did the M1s* to start the increases. Since the pattern didn’t specify which type of M1 to use, I picked the bar up between the stitches…and got these ugly little holes. Any suggestions? Would there have been a better type of M1 to use?
The fact that this cuff doesn't look puckered, despite my whining in my last entry, is because (1) the hem is folded up inside, depuckering it somewhat, and (2) a nice plump ball of all my loose ends is also stuffed up inside, depuckering it even more. ("Depuckering?" What the hell kinda word is that?)
And, lastly, for once, from my yard, a picture of a flower, specifically, a miniature rose, acquired during our trip to Flower World:
*(For non-knitters, M1 stands for "make one stitch.")
ooh, ouch- bee (wasp etc) stings hurt!! another workable remedy from the kitchen is a paste of baking soda and water- know this from sad experience-
i use the ez method of m1 which is to make a backward loop and place it on the right needle- there are pics in most of the ez books to illustrate this-
stay happy-
Posted by: barb in texas on June 7, 2004 11:33 AMOh. Wait. Maybe it was baking soda I was supposed to use. Drat.
Posted by: Ryan on June 7, 2004 11:37 AMOkay. So the first aid book says baking soda for stings. But I'm here to tell you the cornstarch worked just fine! Having never been stung by a bee before Saturday, I wouldn't have had a clue what to do. So I'm very thankful to Ryan and her cornstarch!
TMK
Posted by: The Mysterious K on June 7, 2004 11:44 AMDamn! It WAS baking soda. This explains why I am not a nurse.
Posted by: Ryan on June 7, 2004 11:49 AMOh my! Bees and burns and... You have my full sympathy. I remember, when we were kids mom and dad took us along to pick wild raspberries. We inevitably stumbled upon an equally wild bee or wasp nest. While wild raspberries tasted sweet the stings were not fun. As soon as I could have my will I stopped going. Until this day, if anything comes buzzing, I run.
Ryan, if you twist the bar you picked up, you won't get the hole. Picking up a bar is effectively a YO on previous round.
Posted by: Vaire on June 7, 2004 12:03 PMsorry to hear about the bees. Sometimes tehre is alot to be said about a loved one tending to the hurt (even without baking soda). Personally I have always heard mud works. I think your solution is much better than MUD!
When I need to M1 and I don't want a hole I either k1 leave the stitch ont the left needle and k1tbl. but the picking up the bar and twisting it is also very good. I figure you end up with the same number either way.
Posted by: anj on June 7, 2004 12:14 PMPoor TMK!!! I hope her shoulders get better soon. I swear, I've never had so many body parts on a prayer list since I started reading this blog.
Now, Ryan dear, having read all archives of said blog (just something required to be a personal stalker, mind you) I do believe I remember you saying that you weren't exactly Julia Childs in the kitchen department. So if you mixed cornstarch up with baking soda, who cares? According to the the lovely TMK, it worked. You weren't making brownies, you were making the ouchies go away. So not to worry. Ya done good.
The baby Norgi looks good. The little bitty cuffs are too cute!! And ummm...ya got me back. Depuckering made me snort. Outloud. At work. Thanks.
Hope everyone has a great day!!
Posted by: Angie in Tx. on June 7, 2004 12:21 PMBees! Oh boy... When I was living at home, there was a crawl space behind my closet used for storage - in my case - books. I crawled in there one night looking for something and at one point, backed my posterior into the wall. My posterior promptly started to sting. Well, the crawl space was unfinished and I figured I'd just hit the business end of a protuding nail. Imagine my surprise when I got back out into my room and discovered a hornet attached to my backside.
Hope TMK is doing better!
Posted by: Robbyn on June 7, 2004 01:51 PMThanks for your bee stories, everyone. I'm really fine. Mostly I'm really annoyed at the bees because I can't finish cleaning up the corner of the yard I was working on! ;-)
TMK
Posted by: The Mysterious K on June 7, 2004 02:04 PMOh dear, the loss of a hydrangea vine...sigh. I've tried many times to get one to TAKE, without success. Rumor has it, once they take, they are Lifers.
The BEE sting thing just made me cringe. I'm of the anaphlaxis shock reaction rush me to the ER before I stop breathing ALLERGIC variety, but it is good to know that bird poop (or a reasonable facsimilie) will work in a pinch.
The ROSE, is GORGEOUS.
Don't even get me started on the M1 controversey...it's a holey dilemma, requiring prayer, at MY house. Perhaps a Pair of Quest for Vision socks might not be a bad idea, though.
giggle.
I have to tell you how hard I laughed (no offense to the TMK--would never laugh at a bee sting--I was laughing at Ryan, of course). You just about had me believing that cornstarch is somehow useful in the case of a beheading. Until I read another line or two, that is.
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Amy on June 7, 2004 03:36 PMI'm glad you've both survived the burnage & stingage incidents without too much lasting damage. As to the cornstarch vs. baking soda: They look similar, so they must act similarly :-). Besides, the fact that it worked speaks to the power of the placebo effect!
I'm a big fan of the knit into the stitch below increase. I find that it's the least conspicuous method for me. I find that I get a little holey even when I twist my M1's. Besides, I think that your gaps should block out without a problem. I wouldn't bother changing it.
Posted by: Samina on June 8, 2004 08:02 AMPoor TMK! Glad to hear the cornstarch worked though it does appear from previous comments that baking soda would have worked too.
That sleeve is soooo cute! My M1 suggestion is one I am currently using on my Debbie Bliss sweater. Make the new stitch by grabbing the bar behind the next stitch. Oh I don't know if that makes sense! I'll bring the book on Sunday since I'm not making sense and I don't have it with me right now.
Posted by: Rebecca on June 8, 2004 08:52 AMWho knew when I started this blog that I would need Dear Readers who were both experts in bee stings AND m1s! Thanks everyone for the helpful advice. Rebecca, I look forward to your demo on Sunday since I can't even begin to visualize the m1 process you and Samina suggested, although it sounds intriguing.
As for the holes that now exist in the cuff, feh. I'm not going to frog it. As I told the folks at Feral Knitters last night, this sweater is really just The Largest Swatch Ever so I'm okay with any mistakes in it.
Robbyn, I laughed out loud at the image of you going from Point A to Point B with a hornet stuck to your behind. V. funny!
Amy, ditto with regard to corn starch as the perfect ointment for a beheading! I went back and read the paragraph through your eyes and saw exactly what you meant. Talk about a medical breakthrough! :-)