I’m finding knitting a shawl to be a bit more tedious than I thought. Granted, if I were knitting a more intricate pattern, or if the yarn changed color more frequently, it might be more entertaining. As it is, you start with one stitch and gradually add two stitches every other row. So, as you get further along in the course of knitting the garment, the rows become longer and longer. There is something of a psychological obstacle when you knit and knit and knit and get two rows done. Ugh. Now I totally get why knitters have more than one project going at the same time.
I decided to start a pair of socks yesterday. I’m using a hand painted yarn. It’s four-strand fingering, 85% wool and 15% nylon for strength. It’s twisted very loosely and it’s not incredibly soft. I got it out of the interest in seeing how the socks match. Because, allegedly they’ll match stitch for stitch. We’ll see. It was a lovely break to see a different color and watch my work grow more quickly.
Of course, when I knit, Mr. FixIt has the TV. Yesterday was actually rather entertaining. He binge watched Modern Marvels where they film how different foods are made. It was really interesting and informative. Something caught my attention on TV recently. There was an ad for a car warranty company that I want to talk about.
This company has advertised for years. Sometimes a celebrity talks about how important it is to have your car under a warranty. They usually have “customers” who sing the praises of said warranties and how it’s saved them thousands of dollars. However, they have started showing a new commercial and I just couldn’t believe what they did. They did the usual pushing of the warranty, and how it would save you money. But, it was like those posts you see on Facebook that are designed to get you to participate and click. “Tell me you’re old without telling me you’re old.” It was what they DIDN’T say that was so obvious.
They referenced the economy, and inflation. And how with the way things are going, you may have to keep that old car forever. Then, she went on to say. “It’s our patriotic duty to have a car warranty to keep our costs down.” This is so wrong on so many levels. First of all, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Google car warranties and see how many of them are scams and they turn people down right and left when it comes to fixing the vehicle. And you pay out the nose for these things. Second, it is insidious to call out to “patriots” to buy their product.
They are marketing to a certain segment of our population. A population that may be coerced more easily perhaps. As I get older, I am more aware of how companies market to the elders in the community and they are likely on a fixed income and can’t afford things like car warranties. I hate seeing people taken advantage of and this smacks of preying on the elderly and those who, perhaps for political reasons, think this company cares about or represents them in some way.
I may be totally off base on that, but it’s just the way it struck me. I’ve watched more television in the last four months than I’ve seen since Mr. Virgo died. We watch mostly comedy shows like old Andy Griffith reruns or Frasier or Big Bang Theory. We watch America Says and The Chase sometimes. We love the singing competitions like American Idol and The Voice. And we watch a half hour of news every day. I’m knitting away the entire time and of course, this will all go to the wayside when it warms up and we are outside working.
It’s Monday, y’all. The time has changed and there was still light in the sky at 8:08 last night. Mr. FixIt and I were saying how much we love Daylight Savings Time and don’t mind the shift at all. But, as he pointed out, we don’t have to get up and go to work or school either, so that makes a huge difference. Get out there and make it a good week!
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“Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Proverbs 31:9 ESV