Let's Hear It For The Sock

This pain in my neck is becoming, well...a real pain in the neck.  I probably over-exerted it a little bit during the recent classes I taught in school safety interventions.  The headlock release was the likely culprit, I suppose.  It wasn't all that bad until I needed to reach into the depths of the refrigerator later to get butter or some other baking-type ingredient and pulled it again.  It's been an annoyance ever since.

As an uninvited house guest, you'd think the Pain In The Neck would be a bit respectful, maybe keep reasonable hours or something.  Instead, it partied all Thanksgiving night and kept me up into the wee hours.  I'm all for a good time...but I'm not built for this.  I finally decided it was time for The Sock Trick. 

Never heard of The Sock Trick?  This is the thing you do when you have A Pain and need a heat source, but haven't been able to find the heating pad for going on ten years now.  It's pretty simple, really.  You simply need to find an old cotton sock (clean, please), fill it about a quarter full with dry rice and pop it in the microwave for short intervals until it is heated up.  The rice holds the heat rather nicely and the shape of the sock lends itself beautifully to neck wrappage.  It's an inelegant, but functional solution when you have a Pain In The Neck.  

I suppose, though, that I should offer one or two disclaimers. 

 

1.  Sheep are not doctors.  The lack of opposable thumbs makes it a poor career choice.  Then there was the unanimous decision a few years back to boycott the use of the term. "earning your sheepskin."  Without a working degree or license to practice medicine, I have absolutely no idea whether your Pain requires heat, cold or some sort of aromatic poultice.  Treat any injury with logic, not with a desire to make a craft project.

2.  When heat is applied to unprotected skin, it can cause discomfort, redness, blisters and other such undesirable stuff.  Again, let's let common sense prevail and protect the skin.  If you think your hot pack is too hot, put something between you and it.

3.  Don't just throw this thing in the microwave and then go call Auntie Eunice to complain about Uncle Fred's behavior during Thanksgiving dinner.  In the words of that great sage Frankenstein, "Fire Bad!"  I have a small microwave so I go between thirty seconds and a minute at a time.  I then redistribute the rice a bit and let it go again.  Larger microwaves may require shorter heating periods.

I don't want to hear from any of the blistered people who have burned down their kitchens and been told by their physicians that they should have been applying ice.  I share because I care. This is a handy little treatment, but let's all stay nice and safe, 'kay?

Loosening up the Kneck-Knots has allowed me to Knit Knots and make a little more progress on the sock that will not be used for a heating pad.  I've knit up a good length of cuff and started on the heel flap at this point.  Having one or two concerns about fit, I decided to lose a few stitches as I moved closer to the ankle.  This, of course, has resulted in a little change in patterning, but I'm OK with that.  It's all going to be spread out over my stuffing-inflated calves anyway, right?  All in all, it's just nice to be back to sock knitting.  It's amazing the progress you can make on your knitting once you go return to the projects that make you happy.

Pretty Sock and Rice-Filled Sock.  Form and Function...

You can also get more done when uninvited holiday guests pack up and head out.  Here's hoping that The Pain gets the hint soon.  It's overstayed its welcome.  Maybe it's hanging around thinking that it will get a share of the leftover stuffing.

Not gonna happen...

SA