Tempted by a Goldfish

I've often wondered if it's true what they say about goldfish, if they really do have short attention spans, and if they can forget things by the time they swim to the other end of the fish tank. Really? I don't know. I mean, they've made it this far, surely they have learned something in that time, right?

If it's true, then I spent most of last weekend being tempted by a goldfish.

I was about halfway through my Semele by Friday night, and I was looking forward to having a nice long weekend with lots of time to work through the last of it. I figured that, since the rest of it would be decreasing in size to the end, it should have been a breeze.

Saturday afternoon, I settled down on the couch and started knitting. I finished a few repeats of the pattern and was feeling quite pleased with myself. One more repeat, and then I'll go and get a drink and maybe go outside for a while.

About halfway through that repeat, the goldfish part of me said, You know, if you put a sticky note here, you could put this down and go outside right now. You've done quite a lot.

I shook myself and said to it, No, I'll just finish this repeat. I don't have far to go.

A row later, my inner-goldfish said, Hey, look at that! There's a garage sale down the road! You should go check it out!

No, I argued. Five more rows and I can take a break.

After struggling with my fish brain a bit longer, I did finish the repeat and then went out to enjoy the sun.

By Monday afternoon, I was nearing the end. I was flying through the last few rows when the goldfish started swimming around in my head again.

Are you done yet? It asked. Can we go and play with your spindle now?

Almost there, I said. I just have to finish this section, then I can do the very last bit and sew the ends in. I should be done in half an hour.

Half an hour? I'm bored! Come on, you're supposed to practice your spinning anyway. You can finish that later. And you're supposed to take Rascal out for a walk. Look how bored he is.

Not yet. I'll be done soon. I said.

The goldfish continued to find ways to distract me: snacks, tv, playing on the computer, but I gritted my teeth and ignored it. I was determined to finish.

I'm glad to say I won.

How many words can you think of that mean elegant?


It's light as a feather. Delicate, but surprisingly warm. I was starting to get a bit warm taking these photos. It would make a perfect shoulder warmer for a summer/spring/fall evening, or a pretty neckwarmer in the winter.

I'm often discussing the idea of being a one-project-at-a-time knitter with others, and it really does pay off. I think I manage to get through lots of projects through the year because of it, and I know that I would probably not complete nearly as much if I allowed myself to stray from project to project. It is an exercise in patience and tenacity.

Who knew it took so much tenacity to defeat a goldfish?