Comments and pigskins and needles

Wow! I received some great comments on my last post. Great minds think alike. I just have to post the comment Jade made; she states her position much more eloquently than I did. Bravo, Jade!

"Whenever I bring up these ideas, I get slammed with the "function before form" argument. What they fail to see is that form *is* a kind of function. It declares the writer's level of education in basic English as well as his/her dedication to the project by displaying how much attention is paid to detail. It also shows the writer's respect towards the reader. At least that is how I feel about it. I am a foreigner, it took me years to learn English properly, and I love this language. I hate to see it misused because of mere negligence."

Last night, DH and I sat down and watched the Texas Tech/Texas college football game on TV. They played in Austin at Texas and my eyes were burning from all that orange. I was hoping DH's team would prevail and give me taunting rights toward my Austin buddies, but alas! they did not. Texas won with a little help from the officiating staff.

"Uh, no Mr. Referee, you don't blow the play dead when the quarterback fakes putting his knee down on the ground in a play designed to trick the defense. Apparently, the play was so good it tricked you, too."

"Mr. Referee, if a defensive player tackles the quarterback while leading with his helmet in such as way that said helmet strikes the quarterback's helmet and causes it to COME OFF and said quarterback subsequently drops the football, you do not rule this a fumble. Where I come from, it is considered a personal foul on the defender!!"

I now have a new favorite needle. My all-time favorite is Mardina's "My Favorite Needle" but Mardina Enterprises no longer makes them. I have two that I guard jealously and use sparingly. These needles are petite with small, smooth eyes and they glide like silk through the fabric. They were also five bucks each.

My next favorite needle was "The Perfect Needle." These come in packs of two for six bucks. They come in gold or platinum. They have long, narrow, easy-to-thread eyes. My only complaint about them is that the eye is sometimes "draggy" on the floss. They're about six bucks for a package of two.

Recently, I bought a package of Mary Arden needles. These are made in England in the town where Shakespeare's mother lived, hence the name. They are smooth, have a narrow eye that is easy to thread, and the eye is very smooth, too - no "dragginess" on the floss! I love 'em and they are my new favorites.