nothing to complain about
Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 7:33PM I had been planning on posting about the knitting paralysis I've been experiencing.
It's knitting paralysis for a dumb reason, though. I don't even have a good excuse, like pregnancy-related carpal tunnel syndrome.
As you can see, I'm about 3" away from finishing these pants for Baby Shamrock, who is due in a just a few weeks. I could finish these tonight if I wanted to.
But I don't. Because the knitting needles smell awful. They are made of brass (Addi Lace). They are nice needles. I like them. I spent a lot of money on them.
The smell of the brass being warmed by my hands is more than I can deal with right now. I took these pants out a few nights ago to try and finish them and could not.
I've tried cleaning the needles with rubbing alcohol. What else can I do? Thoughts? Has anyone else ever had pregnancy nose and been unable to stomach the smell of warm brass?
But this post is really quite silly now, in the wake of what happened yesterday. My stinky needles are nothing compared to this:
Or this:
Or this:
We had a very dry winter with little snow. But we've had a wet spring. Normally, this is good, it helps make up for the drought conditions and lowers the risk of forest fires.
This spring, however, instead of gentle rains, we got pummeled with several weeks of near-daily thunderstorms.
On Tuesday, forecasters warned us of the potential for flash flooding. I don't think many people paid attention. Duluth is built into the side of a hill, without much room for standing water. The elevation climbs more than 700 feet in a short distance, which is a lot for the mountain-peak-lacking Midwest.
I grew up in this city, and can only remember one time when something was flooded, and that was a few streets after a tornado nearly touched down. It was gone within a few hours. Flooding is not something we commonly worry about here. We have a lot of trees and vegetation that can absorb moisture, and dozens of rivers and streams inside the city limits for the water to flow through.
We repeatedly checked the sump pump in our basement on Tuesday, hoping it would do its job of keeping water out of our 106-year-old house with a stone foundation. We noticed water slowly seeping in, just enough to dampen the floor, but not enough to be considered a trickle. We moved anything of value off the floor, just in case.
The storms -- and I do mean full-on, wake-the-dead thunderstorms -- continued all night. As pregnant women are wont to do, I was up several times during the night, and each time, I went to the top of the basement stairs, flipped on the lights, and peered down to see if we had 6" of standing water down there. We never did.
At 6:30 am, I got a phone call from an employee asking what our plans were for the day -- he lived across the bridge from the studio, and didn't know if he would even be able to get across safely.
"Is it that bad out?" I wondered. Flipping on the news, I saw that it was, in fact, that bad.
These used to be roads:
Trains used to cross here:
This was someone's home.
The rain continued throughout the day Wednesday. A state emergency was declared and federal disaster money applied for. All told, we got 10" of rain in 24 hours -- the equivalent of 80" of snow. Our aging storm drains and infrastructure could not withstand the river overflows, and the resulting clogs caused the water to rise at alarming rates.
Many of my friends had significant water damage to their homes -- some said that at the height of the flood, it looked as though their house was set down in the middle of a rushing river. One of those people lives only blocks from me. Somehow, my home was spared. We never had more than a bit of dampness in the basement -- it looked as though we'd just finished mopping. The studio stayed snug as a bug. We are very thankful.
Today, Lake Superior looks like this. I've never seen the lake muddy before, it's disconcerting.
The flood waters have receded. And now we have about $80 million worth of public infrastructure cleanup -- that's not to mention the damage done to private property.
So yes, my stupid knitting needle problem pales in comparison. My child will be clothed even if I don't finish the pants. I have somewhere warm and dry to live, despite the storms that swirl.
Keep Duluth in your thoughts and prayers this week, if you wouldn't mind.
Reader Comments (29)
I will definitely keep you guys in our prayers. Try to stay dry and know that Shamrock won't care if things don't get done in time, she'll love you anyway! :)
Such tremendous damage is difficult to comprehend. I am very grateful that you and yours are safe and that the studio was not damaged! How can we help your community?
Water can be so destructive! It's pretty amazing what the simple thing of water can do when there is a lot of it at once. Keeping you in our thoughts. I have one pair of those needles and I do like them,but I've had the same problem with the smell even being NOT pregnant. I definitely shy away from using them because of the smell. I have no idea what would fix it. What about wearing thin latex gloves? Or other needles you could swap them out for and still keep gauge?
Hugs! so glad you are safe and mostly dry. I'm sorry for the mess your community finds itself in.
Praying, dear Yarnista. And I happen to live about 1/2 mile from Como Zoo ... they are taking good care of your polar bears and seals for now (maybe other animals too, but I know of those for sure).
Hugs from St Paul.
Thank you so much for the post - I've been watching the news and wondered how you fared. Wow! Unbelievable. Agree with other commenter - how can we help out? Is there a community fund being set up so dollars can directly help your community and residents? So glad you're ok, including house and studio.
Re needles - similar discussion in another group - not sure much helped but vinegar wash might help neutralize odor - especially if it is a finish.
I cannot beliee the pictures. I grew up in Northern Michigan and went to college in Marquette, this is just unbelieable. Please take car of yourselves.
I understand the nose thing I hae smells that just do me in, and especially while pregnant. No help on how to neutralize, Can you contact the maker?
Oh good heavens, Sharon, how awful! I'm happy that your house and studio withstood the damages, but your community must be devastated.
I will certainly join my prayers to those of the citizens of Duluth. Be well.
And I would write Addi about the problem with your odiferous needles; sounds like it isn't just yours that are affected.
Hugs to all.
OMG! I had heard that there was flooding, but wasn't prepared for damage on this scale. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Duluth as they try to put their lives back together.
Wow, Sharon, that is crazy. I would never have believed this until I saw your pictures. Keeping all of Duluth in my thoughts. (Also, can't you just change to another kind of needle?)
Such devastation and no way to prepare for it. Keeping Duluth in my thoughts and trying to keep my problems in perspective. :)
As for the pants: I say bind off now and be done... she could start a trend. :)
My thoughts and prayers for everyone in Duluth working through the aftermath of Mother Nature.
I've found that my Addi Lace needles smell less the more I use them, as someone mentioned above, it is the oxide layer that accumulates while the needles are not in use. Unfortunately, this is what brass does, just like copper gets green and iron rusts (I'm a materials engineer, and this stuff kind of gets me excited, haha). The reason the Addi Lace needles are not nickel coated is because the very pointy tip doesn't work well with coatings, and the nickel would flake off. So, to reduce the smell? Do what you can to reduce the oxide layer. A metal polishing cloth might work well, but that has chemicals in it too. I've also heard of using dry paper towels to rub the needles vigorously (yes, I know...) until the oxide layer is gone and the needles are new-shiny again. But, metals being what they are, the might continue to have enough of an odor to be a bother. Maybe consider a different needle to finish the leg?
So sad and scary! Your town, family and friends are in my thoughts and prayers.
Prayers for all who are dealing with the flooding and damage. I know that that damage will affect all the people of Duluth.
As for the problem with the needles, try putting a dab of Vick's Vaporub under your nose. It works well for blocking smells if you can stand the smell of it.
Thanks for sharing your story and showing us the pictures of Duluth, Sharon. It really makes the news stories more real...and yet, still unbelievable! You all are in my prayers and I'm glad your house and studio were both spared. I assume the Red Cross probably has a special fund for helping Duluth with recovery? I'm going to check into that now.
As for the pregnancy nose issue, I hope that problem disappears as soon as Baby Shamrock appears! You can finish the pants then. BTW, they are adorable.
Thanks so much for your post. We have been worried about you after seeing pictures on The Weather Channel. Is there a relief fund set up that people can contribute to?
Wow. I had no idea. I'm so sorry, and Duluth will be in my thoughts today. We're in the midst of a drought here in Indy. We had about five minutes of hard rain at our house yesterday, and I was so grateful to see it. My rain barrel has been empty for weeks.
I was beginning to worry about you actually, the lack of posting and what not.
And as for your 106 year old house, I'm betting she's seen flooding before. She survived for a reason and she'll keep on keepin on. That's why I always prefer to buy really old houses like that (besides them charming the pants off me). I'm so super glad you're ok!
As for your needles, do you have a spare pair of a different sort you can use? Stupid question, I know I have alot of iron in my water right now and I keep walking around smelling like a big piece of metal. I hate it personally, even without having pregnant nose, but at least I'm clean...
We always pray for you and yours Yarnista. Just keep us posted on how the recover goes.
I can't believe the amount of destruction from the waters! I'll be keeping you and the rest of Duluth in my thoughts.
I have the same problem with brass or nickel needles without pregnancy-nose. The best solution I've found is switching to stainless steel needles. Probably not the answer you want, but it works for me.
Thank you all so much! I am still waiting to hear if there will be some sort of official relief fund set up -- the Red Cross is accepting donations, but because there was no loss of life or mass casualties (thank GOODNESS!), their role here may be limited. When I hear of something, I will definitely let you know.