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Earworms and a Sanibel Cowl

According to Wikipedia an earworm in the venacular is:  ". . . a piece of music that sticks in one's mind so that one seems to hear it, even when it is not being played. One reason that this occurs is that melodic music tends to have a rhythm that repeats."

This phenomenon became a part of our Sunday afternoon.  It all started when I got up earlier than usual yesterday because the sun was streaming into our bedroom, followed by my coming downstairs complaining out loud about it.  The ever problem solver, Paul, had been working on a plan to eliminate this situation in his head for sometime and was now motivated to act.

He went to Jysk, a local discount home furnishing store, and purchased room blacking drapes and necessary rods to hang them.  Unfortunately we needed more of the drapes than the store had in stock and that became clear as we installed the three he brought home.  So rather than drive around the Lower Mainland in search of drapes, he let his fingers do the walking and called.  The first store was the slowest to respond after the main reception was reached.  He was put on hold and given an opportunity to listen to Billy Joel's, Just the Way You Are.   (Warning, if you click on the link to the left, you too might be infected by the earworm.)

The first time through the song was relatively enjoyable, we both liked (notice it is now past tense) the song which came out in 1977.  The only exceptions had to do with the varying volume and the fact the song was looped for long-term listening.   At times the volume was far too loud and then it became far too quiet, which over time allowed for short celebrations for the reprieve.    After about 8 minutes on the phone (or twice through the entire song) we found store #1 was out of our drapes but would be getting a shipment on Tuesday.  We did, however, get leads on which other stores showed stock on the shelves.  So Paul called store #2 and again was put on hold with the exact same poor volume-control Just the Way You Are, so the sound adventure continued.  Store #2 was also out of stock so on to #3.  By now it was a joke between us to see if  Just the Way You Are hold music would continue, and we were not disappointed; well really it was disappointing to hear the song again.  After a total of 21 minutes of Billy Joel, we located what we needed and sped out the door to make the purchase before the store closed.

So Just the Way You Are and Jysk will be linked into perpetuity for us; we'll be laughing about this adventure for years.   And yes, everything was installed so this morning the room was so dark I could stay in bed until my usual time to rise.  ~~  Room darkening problem was solved.

Whether I like it or not, Just the Way You Are is knocking around my head today and goodness knows for how much longer.  The earworm stuck. I didn't know what to do to help myself forget it, and then it hit me:  The Muppets Mahna Mahna song!  (Be careful you'll be throwing away one earworm to gain another!)  So now I'm humming that tune :-(

During all this I was knitting a cowl using some of my recently purchased stock.  This Classic Elite Yarns free pattern, called Sanibel Cowl has a look of sophistication, yet any beginner who can knit, purl, purl two together and yarn over will be able to make it.  I like the fact this cowl drapes and folds over itself without having to be fastened with buttons or tied around the neck to look lovely.



During the yarn crawl I purchased a silk and baby alpaca blend called Seda Rustica from Knit One Crochet Too in the colour of walnut.  It has a soft feel which I thought would be perfect for this light-weight cowl.  On Sunday between hanging drapes and listening to our new found earworm, I  made a Sanibel Cowl of my own.  Here's a closeup so you can see the pattern clearly.


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