I was thinking about acronyms in the shower this morning. I think I’ve mentioned before that I do a lot of my thinking in the shower. As my brain slowly wakes up, it bounces from topic to topic like the ball in a pinball machine and I’ve thought many times (also in the shower) that a waterproof mini tape recorder would come in pretty handy. I could easily dictate whole blog posts during my morning ablutions. Then again, if we are dreaming here, a mini word processor with voice recognition would be awesome. I’d talk, it would transcribe, I would add the photos, and bing bang boom! Blog post! Hey, geeky guys, would you get on that please?
But anyway…. acronyms*. They fascinate me. We use them all the time in knitting: dpn’s, ssk, tbl. It’s like a code, or another language. Hey, maybe I can claim to be multilingual. I speak knitting, crochet and medicalease in addition to English.
I could, for instance:
Give you a PPI for your GERD. Tell you to take an ASA to reduce your risk for CVA. Tell you to avoid NSAIDS if you have a history of PUD. Give you an SSRI for your PTSD. Oh, and they work for PMDD too.
Take my son to TKD. Stop by KFC for dinner (I wouldn’t, but work with me here), then come home and do some ssk on my dpn’s. Always busy Chez Stressreaction as you can see. Both in and out of the shower.
The product of my most recent ssk on the dpn’s:
Madder Rib Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks.
Sock Hop Yarn in Pink Cadillac
Crystal Palace Bamboo dpn's 2.5mm
I know what you are thinking. They don't match. But it's much more obvious in the pic's than in real life. I probably wouldn't use them in a swap, but for me? Perfect. The yarn is squooshy and the handspun nature makes every pair unique. If you get a chance, grab some Sock Hop. You won't be sorry!
*Acronym key in the extended entry if you are at all interested! Impress your doctor with all you learn surfing the knitting blogs!
Acronym Key
PPI: Proton pump inhibitor (Prilosec, Nexium, Protonix, Aciphex)
GERD: Gastroesphageal reflux disease
ASA: Aspirin
CVA: Cerebral vascular accident (stroke)
NSAIDS: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
PUD: Peptic ulcer disease (which also respond to PPI's, btw (whoops, there's another one)!
SSRI: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (Prozac, Lexapro, Zoloft, Paxil)
PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
PMDD: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
TKD: Tae Kwon Do
Comments (19)
GORGEOUS! I must spin and knit some sock hop SOON!
Posted by margene | March 15, 2007 3:17 PM
Posted on March 15, 2007 15:17
Those are gorgeous. Having just discovered the world of sock knitting blogs, I've seen loads of socks with patterns I'd love to try. But sometimes it's just enough to let the yarn do the talking - and those are a very good example.
I'm afraid you lost me on the acronyms. Apart from KFC. And I've only ever been there once so how come I know that one and not the others? Can I blame my cold filled head?
Posted by Cybele | March 15, 2007 3:36 PM
Posted on March 15, 2007 15:36
Hehe, love the acronyms - and the socks are pretty. I've always wanted to try that yarn, or spin my own, lucky you!
Posted by keri | March 15, 2007 4:11 PM
Posted on March 15, 2007 16:11
I think the socks look great--they have character AND style, where's the bad?? (grin) TTFN!
Posted by --Deb | March 15, 2007 5:14 PM
Posted on March 15, 2007 17:14
great post! the socks look awesome. and btw, as ocd as i am, matchy-matchy on the handspun socks might be too much. you handspun, handknit by a human does not equal perfect matchy-matchy socks and in this one particular instance i can rise up, look my ocd in the face and give it the finger.
sorry for the run-on sentences. my 6th grade language arts teacher, ms. gibbons, would be appalled!
Posted by amanda | March 15, 2007 5:16 PM
Posted on March 15, 2007 17:16
The socks look yummy!
Gerd is actually a guy's name in German.
Posted by Dorothee | March 15, 2007 5:24 PM
Posted on March 15, 2007 17:24
I often notice that my HPI and PMH of my H&P has no actual works in it. Fascinating, isn't it?
Posted by Theresa | March 16, 2007 9:01 AM
Posted on March 16, 2007 09:01
I wasn't thinking that at all about them not matching. I was thinking how pretty they are and it's even better that they're made from handspun. Unless the handspun was solid, is it even possible to get matching handpsun socks? Sounds like too much work to me.
Posted by Karen | March 16, 2007 9:04 AM
Posted on March 16, 2007 09:04
The socks are PURTY!!! lol - the color is great (I love pink) ;-)
Posted by Esther | March 16, 2007 9:47 AM
Posted on March 16, 2007 09:47
HaHaHaHa.... I had a lot of fun reading through all the acronyms too:)
Oh and these socks are very pretty---Dare I say: Pretty in Pink;)
Posted by Marisol | March 16, 2007 12:47 PM
Posted on March 16, 2007 12:47
I love my Sock Hop Satisfaction socks and have several more skeins in the stash. And I would so totally love those socks if I was your sock partner.
And acronyms - I work for the federal government and they definitely go overboard on the acronyms. It's too much sometimes!
Posted by Lisa | March 16, 2007 1:48 PM
Posted on March 16, 2007 13:48
Those are so gorgeous, Leah! And forgive me for being so late to see the new hosting info. I'm just so excited that I can see all of your photos now without disabling my Norton!
Posted by katie | March 16, 2007 7:42 PM
Posted on March 16, 2007 19:42
I completely agree -- acronyms make for their own language and once you become fluent in that language you don't even notice that you're using acronyms. My college was famous for turning everything into acronyms and my a capella group once made a joke about this by doing a song made up almost entirely of school acronyms. Half the listeners didn't even notice because the acronyms just sounded entirely normal to them.
I love your socks! I don't think the inexact match is a problem at all.
Posted by Rachel | March 17, 2007 1:06 PM
Posted on March 17, 2007 13:06
they're gorgeous - i love the mismatchyness of handknit (especially handspun) socks. it's part of the charm. who wants matchy anyway ; )
Posted by anna | March 17, 2007 5:17 PM
Posted on March 17, 2007 17:17
great post Leah!
I used to be married to a military guy (many many moons ago) and the acronyms would drive me nuts. I laughed so hard at this post. nice job.
The socks are fabulous! Can I post one of these pics on our Sock Hop page?
You totally rock!
Posted by Teyani | March 17, 2007 11:02 PM
Posted on March 17, 2007 23:02
I like the madder rib! I will remember that when I finally get around to my sock hop socks. Don't think they aren't on my to do list. Unfortunately, there are a LOT of socks on my to do list...
Posted by Emily | March 18, 2007 9:02 AM
Posted on March 18, 2007 09:02
Oh, delightful...the socks look like dessert!
Posted by Lynne | March 18, 2007 6:30 PM
Posted on March 18, 2007 18:30
Love those socks!
Posted by Jill | March 19, 2007 11:59 PM
Posted on March 19, 2007 23:59
I love the socks and I think that they look even better together since they don't match.
Posted by Opal | March 25, 2007 11:50 PM
Posted on March 25, 2007 23:50