Sunday, May 22, 2011

A Finale of Grand Proportion - Day 14

My favorite part of the 4th of July or a visit to Disney World is always the end of the fireworks show, when they throw a bunch of stuff up all at once and fill the night with light and noise and chaos. So that's what I am going to do today - throw this all at you, one right after the other, boom, boom, boom. I will choose five - count them - FIVE lucky winners from today's post. Five lucky random people will receive one of the following:

From my personal stash
A skein of delicious Ball and Skein 50% Merino 50% Tencel in the color Arbori, along with a sock pattern of my own design and choosing (I haven't chosen yet. But I will.)
One skein of Sanguine Gryphon 100% superwash merino Little Traveller Tintagel along with a sock pattern of my own design and choosing (still haven't chosen yet. But I will.)
One ball of Trekking Pro Natura 75% new wool 25% bamboo in a color that has no awesome name, but is a lovely indigo with the shine that only bamboo can create along with (is this getting repetitive yet?) a sock pattern of my own design and choosing (which I STILL haven't chosen yet. But I will.)

And for the final explosion in our finale we have some beautiful yarns generously donated by Gail Callahan, the Kangaroo Dyer:
One skein of Kangaroo Dyer 80% BFL 20% nylon, Zinnia, which really does remind me of zinnias!
One skein of Kangaroo Dyer 50% superwash merino 50% silk Golden Flower accompanied by a copy of the talented Kirsten Hipsky's Carcosa Design "A Clockwork Daisy"

To enter to win one of these awesome prizes, just answer today's question in the comments below and I will choose five lucky winners. Today's question? Well, there's TWO of them. You can answer both, or just one. I challenge you to be brave and answer both. Ready?
When the civil defense siren goes off, what's the first thought that goes through your mind?
and
When you clean your fingernails, do you clean from pinky to thumb, or thumb to pinky?

Don't forget to return here tomorrow for the list of winners! Thank you all for playing, and thanks most to our generous contributors:
Wiley Publishing
Lexie Barnes
Webs
Foxfire FIber and Design
Jessalu
Lion Brand Yarn
Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Buffalo Gold
Spirit Trail Fiberworks
Lorna's Laces
Kangaroo Dyer

66 comments:

lemur said...

Civil Defense Siren - first thought is how can I help? (I used to be a volunteer firefighter, and am on the evacuation committee at the company where I work)

For cleaning fingernails, I do neither - it's index finger to pinky, and then thumb!

smitty said...

thumb->pinky.

Anonymous said...

Well, I have no idea what a civil defense siren is, so I can't answer that one!
As for my nails, I always start from the thumb, down to the little finger.

Kristi said...

I think the last time I heard a civil defense siren was in school, so I immediately want to get under my desk!

For cleaning fingernails, I start with my pinky.

Thanks for the fabulous giveaways and congrats on the new book!

Judy said...

Civil Defense Siren - I pay attention to see what needs to be done, who may need help, etc. At the ripe old age of 70, I try to resist the urge to go lie down and take a nap. Here where I live, they test the siren every Wednesday and it seems to be more of a bother than any actual warning.

alcatmom said...

When the civil defense siren goes off, what's the first thought that goes through your mind? How am I going to round up 8 cats and keep them safe.
When you clean your fingernails, do you clean from pinky to thumb, or thumb to pinky? I keep my nails very short and the morning shower usually keeps them clean.

Bonnie Lemme said...

I clean pinky to thumb...Wow if the sirens went off..I would want to give support to where it was needed!

This has been fun...THANK YOU and congrats on your book!

Terri H. said...

First thought: grab as much stash as you can clutch!

index finger to pinky, then thumb.

Judy said...

Fingernails - I usually clean them while taking a shower, index to pinky, then thumbs last. Since I don't garden any more, they don't seem to get that dirty. Just doing up the dishes cleans them pretty good. Also, I attend water aerobics in the morning and after 45 min. in the pool, they almost look lik a French manicure.

I love how your mind works (shown by the variety of thought-provoking questions)

IndigoMuse said...

Even though I spent my childhood in Hampton Roads (the land of military bases), I've never heard a civil defense siren. And we don't have them in mountains of VA. I now wonder why...

And as far as the nail cleaning, I start with the pinky to thumb on one hand and continue across thumb to pinky on the other.

smbelcas said...

- When the civil defense siren goes off, what's the first thought that goes through your mind?

"I need to check the color of the sky!" I grew up in the Midwest, where sirens are for tornado warnings, not for civil defense. So I always have a minute or two of confusion before I figure out that the siren has a non-tornadic meaning. (Also I don't know how one is supposed to respond to the sirens around here...)

- When you clean your fingernails, do you clean from pinky to thumb, or thumb to pinky?

Neither. Index finger to pinky on both hands, then thumbs. I usually use a nail brush, so index-to-pinky gets done all at once.

iknit2purl2 said...

Thumb to pinky on both hands!

Janet said...

First thought on hearing Civil Defense siren is WHERE are all of my family members and second thought is which factory has had a chemical spill or explosion.

All nails at once soaked in a good nail cleaner solution and a firm brushing with the nail brush.

Jane said...

We do not have a civil defense siren. I clean my nails from thumb to pinky.

This has been fun! I follow your blog but had never left a comment. I am more likely to do so in the future. Thank you so much for the give-aways. Congratulations on your book!!

Cathie said...

I grew up in a town that had a siren every day at noon, so I don't really think too much of them unless the weather is bad and it might be for a tornado!!! I know that sounds horrible but I have no experience with sirens for chemical spills or bombs, etc. Sorry

Kira said...

We don't have a civil defense siren that I know of, so I guess if I heard it my first thought would be, "what the heck was THAT?".

I actually don't clean my nails, I just keep them cut really short. I guess I cut them thumb to pinky.

Thanks for the fun contests!

Deb said...

I've never heard a civil defense siren - don't think I've ever lived where there is one. When I was a kid, there was a siren at the fire station that you could hear all over town -- it blew at noon and whenever there was a fire. If I lived where there was one, I'd be pretty concerned.

As far as cleaning fingernails -- I guess from pinky to thumb, but they rarely get dirty enough that I need to --- they're really short, and I sometimes bite them.

Trish said...

I don't know if I've ever heard one. Maybe back in Kansas City, where I grew up, but definitely not in Brooklyn.

Love the fingernail question, because it never occurred to me to go any way but thumb to pinky. I'll be interested to see if anyone goes the other way.

Unknown said...

I never heard a civil defense siren living in New England - but since moving to the MidWest I now think "Crap! Tornado!" And follow all safety procedures that our family has established.

And for the other question - I go thumb to pinky, right to left hand. Systematic... I'm a scientist, what can I say! :)

Unknown said...

I clean my nails thumb to pinky on my led
Left and pinky to thumb on my right.

neknitsandbeads said...

My thought "Oh #*^@!"

As for cleaning don't you always start biggest to tiniest?!

Amy said...

If I heard a civil defense siren, my first thought would be "is the power plant testing their sirens today?"

I don't clean my nails the same way every time. Sometimes it's pinky to thumb, other times it's index finger to pinky then thumb.

Leslie said...

I'd probably think it was the fire siren as I really don't know what a Civil Defense Siren sounds like. Maybe I should google it to see if it's something specific???

Don't laugh, but I clean my left hand from thumb to pinkie and my right from pinkie to thumb. That's the way I file them too.

This has been fun and has gotten me hooked on your blog. I'll save my pennies for the book (and for the other sock book since I only have the first!).

Diane (djuseless) said...

Wow, what a thought invoking question for a Sunday morning regarding civil defense. Well since it is the last day of vacation, I am going to answer the easy question instead. I clean my fingernails from thumb to pinky. Phew, that was easy!

Okay, I'm off to knit!!! I am learning to knit 2 socks aat cuff-down now using your book! I am almost done the leg! I am curious to see how easy the rest of the sock is to knit. I do really like how the sturdy and durable the cuff turns out this way!

Happy Sunday! :)

thepaintedsheep said...

first thought would probably be "what's that?" never heard a civil defense siren.

as for the nails, thumb to pinky. the other way is backwards.

Dianna said...

Sheer panic. Don't function well under stress.
Pinky to Thumb.

Dianna Llewellyn
2012 Wooded Lane Road
Jefferson City, MO 65101-3858

Thanks for a wonderful giveaway.

llamalady said...

No civil defense siren around here. I live next to the fire station, so if I here a siren, I wonder where the trucks are going.

I keep my nails super short and scrub with a nail brush - all the fingers, then the thumb.

Laura said...

1. No civil defense sirens here, but I am sure my first thought would be "where are my kids" .

2. Fingernails...index to pinky, thumb last! .

LizzieK8 said...

Gorgeous prizes! Thanks to you and the sponsors for sharing!

Siren: Don't have one here, but as a kid I kept repeating, "It's just a test...It's just a test..."

Index finger to pinky, then thumb.

ccr in MA said...

Thumb to pinky.

As to the siren, I'm pretty sure I would panic. How to get the cats corralled? What else do I need? Where do I go? It's perhaps fortunate that I've never heard such a thing.

Pretty yarns!

Lisa said...

Being an Air Force Brat of the late 60s to early 80s, the first thing I would do once I heard a civil siren/alarm would be to find my kids and find cover.
As for cleaning of the nails: thumb first followed by pinky finger to index finger.
Thanks!

Amy Lamash said...

What is a civil defense siren?

I clean from pinky to thumb of course!

sandi said...

I haven't heard a civil defense siren in years - I suspect instincts would kick in and I'd try to crawl under a table.
And I clean from thumb to pinky.

RubyC said...

Is it Wednesday noon - siren practice run? If it is dark clouds outside, I know that it is probably not Wednesday and not noon.

Thumb to pinky.

Rav: mzcruse

Pamela said...

Civil Defense Siren - "It must be Saturday - noon." Which is when it was checked in a small town I visited often. I never heard it any other time.

Thumb to pinky.

I am really enjoying browsing Circ. Knitting.

p said...

First thought? oh sh*t!

Nails? Index to pinky, then the thumbs...glad to see I'm not alone in this.

Unknown said...

We don't have a siren (do most cities in the US??), so I'll answer pinky to thumb (although I've never really thought about it). Thanks for the lovely giveaway weeks - it's been fun! Can't wait to see the new book in stores.

Steph said...

I don't think I've ever heard one.

Thumb to pinky.

Sharripie said...

Lately, it's been the middle of the night when the sirens have gone off, so I guess what I do is start out of a sound sleep, grumble about the effing siren, then take my pillow and blanket down to the sofabed in the basement. There might be a fleeting thought about potential danger, but mostly my thoughts are about how I'm going to get anything done at work the next day.

As for cleaning my fingernails, I usually start with whichever one most appears to need cleaning, then I work my way to the pinky. Thumb last, I think. It's not something I do often, now that I think about it.

Cate said...

no siren here either. and thumb to pinky.

Anonymous said...

When the sirens sound, I now that it is serious as this is tornado alley.

I start from thumb to pinky when filing my nails

esea on Ravelry

BlueRoseLover said...

Thumb to pinky - always!!

Civil Defense Siren - If it's the first Wednesday of the month - "Hmmmm, must be one o'clock!" If it's not - "Oh, *@#$!!"

Liz said...

I've never heard a civil defense siren, but I imagine that I would be curious and terrified and then try to figure out how to wrangle the cat up so i could keep her with me.

Pat said...

As for cleaning nails--start with thumb and go down to pinky.
I havenn't heard a civil defense siren in a really long time but being from Texas--I think of a tornado warning. In fact we had a tornado warning from the weather people just last night--it was north west of us-so no worries.

Dawn said...

I clean from pinky to thumb on the one hand then thumb to pinky on the other. So I guess that would be Both. >.<

TuttleDB said...

I've actually never heard a civil defense siren -- I understand that they are tested here in the city where I live, but I guess I'm too far from city center to hear them, which isn't really very comforting when you think about it.

I clean my nails from thumb to pinky.

mjknits said...

I so rarely have ever heard a civil defense siren it's hard to answer that but when I have, I knew it was bad and started to freak out. And I go thumb to pinky:)Melissa, thanks for all the great giveaways, the fun posts and most of all big congrats on your new book.

Anonymous said...

Civil defense siren- must be the first saturday of the month. Finger nails- no particular order. It's been fun participating in your book celebration.

Jill K. said...

Civil Defense Siren - to turn on the news (radio or TV) to find out more info about what I'm to do - isn't that what they tell you to do?

Cleaning fingernails is Left hand - thumb to pinkey and Right hand - pinkey to thumb. I give myself manicures and polish my nails this way also. Wonder why?

Liz V. said...

We live pretty close to a nuclear power plant, so when I hear the sirens, the first thing I think is, "Boy, I hope this is a drill."

And I clean my fingers from thumb to pinky, since my thumbs and index fingers always seem to be the dirtiest.

Lady Coles said...

1) I'm unsure what a civil defense siren is, but I would gather it's a call for help at some sort of disaster like location? So I would wonder if there's something I can send to help those that are more qualified to help the situation.

We use sirens here for tornadoes so if it goes off here then I need to find a basement. :)

2) I clean index to pinky and then thumb and I usually go over them twice.

Clumsy Knitter said...

Civil Defense Siren - First thought is, "Good grief. Another drill? They do know that if these ever go off for real most people won't even pay attention, right?"

Bgstoner said...

Civil Defense Siren- I figure they are just testing them again.
As for my nails thumb to pinky.

noallatin said...

If I were still living in KS, I'd be wondering where and when the tornado is going to hit.

I clean the fingernails from thumb to pinky.

Tara said...

I grew up in ND, so in my mind a siren like that is for a fast approaching tornado.

Nails - index to pinky, then thumb.

:)
Tara (oregonknitter on Rav)

Michelle F said...

Civil Defence Siren - "WTF????"

And Thumb to Pinky of course!

Gina said...

In my town, the sirens get tested at 11 a.m. the first Wednesday of the month. And apparently, they went off yesterday for a near-by tornado... but I didn't hear them, and no one from the library came into our guild meeting to warn us!
I think that I would be thinking about what to take to the basement with me to work on, and whether or not our storm kit is stocked...

As for the other, I start with the one that prompted the cleaning, working toward the thumb, then get which ever ones are left, starting with the pinky. Then the other hand, starting with the pinky

Christine Lima said...

First thing I think of: "Oh cr@p...now what?!?!?!"

And - Thumb to pinky. Definitely.

CuriousJess said...

I would think about my daughter and how she was reacting to this moment at school.

thumb to pinky

Jen said...

When the sirens go off, I have a vague wondering of where is the tornado and which way is it heading, usually followed by "Time to head out to the deck to look for it!" Unless it is Mondays at noon, which is when the city tests the sirens (unless it's stormy). Then I just ignore them.

Jen

billicummings said...

Melissa I'm not sure what a civil defense siren is but when our monthly siren goes of in my town I immediately look for my dog because he is gonna start howling along with the siren! ps. love the yarns

Rita said...

My first thought is, "What's that noise?", followed closely by, "Now what do they want me to do?"

As for my nails: Index finger to pinky, then thumb; repeat on the other hand.

diahrensal said...

First thought - "Is it the correct time for a test?"

Nails - neither, I generally start in the middle.

GerryART said...

Our sirens sound when there is definite possibility of tornado.
The first thing I think of is shoes, knitting, meds, netbook/laptap, water and purse. In that order.

Your part two of questions today is beyond my knowledge. :^)
hugs,
Gerry

Tien said...

When the civil defense siren goes off, the only thing on my mind is: heh it's twelve o'clock again. Because here it's only a monthly test at 12 on the first monday of the month ;-))

When I clean my fingernails, usually after some gardening, I start with the index finger of my left hand to pink, and than thumb, and then the same with my right hand.

love your giveaway, and love your blog!!
and
When you clean your fingernails, do you clean from pinky to thumb, or thumb to pinky?

Rebecca said...

When the civil defense siren goes off, what's the first thought that goes through your mind?

Is it the first monday of this month? (They test it in Holland every first monday of the month at 12.00)


When you clean your fingernails, do you clean from pinky to thumb, or thumb to pinky?

Thumb to pinky.