Sunday, February 06, 2005

Medicine and Knitting Collide

I’m not the kind of person who has to have the correct box for everything. I make do with whatever is around. I love bookshelves for this reason. They hold my 10,000 books, my stereo, my photos, my tin canister collection… you get the idea. My steel crochet hooks are stored in a zippered cosmetics bag. My knitting needles are in a Fisher Price block container. I am the princess of make-do. But I have been surpassed.

I’m a sucker for knitting and crochet tools. I haunt yard sales and thrift shops. I buy all the needles I come across. I’m afraid to try Addi Turbos for fear I’ll have to get rid of all my beloved aluminum. Anyway, during my most recent bi-yearly pilgrimage back to Gettysburg to the Twin Oaks community yard sale, I came across a box of knitting supplies. Of course, I bought the whole box ($5!!). The previous owner had stored many of her sets in these lovely, form-fitting plastic tubes. “What a great idea,” I thought to myself. When I got home, I noticed that one tube still had its original label. I took a closer look at the tube…

“Argyle STERILE FOLEY CATHETER”

“Aieee!” I yelped. *Ewww!* thought my brain. (for those of you who don’t know what a Foley catheter is, see description
here) Then I began to speculate about the former owner of these needles. She (I’m assuming it was a she) probably worked in the medical profession. She was probably a child of the depression and had been trained never to waste anything. She saw the cases being discarded and thought, “Those would be perfect for my knitting needles!” The needles were lovingly stored in their separate cases, carefully identified and protected from damage. So I applaud my unknown benefactor’s ingenuity.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Brewgal,
your blog entries are all very humorous, but today's is my favourite. Great, keep up the good work.