...and spinners. I've often wondered at the patience of those who weave and spin. And other similar occupations. I don't have such patience. My daughter knitted me a scarf--and is busily knitting one for my mother--and I wonder at her patience.

And that wondering takes me back to the first beings who thought to twine and twist. Were they the primaeval knitpickers who found that by picking and twisting, something longer and more substantial would be formed? I'm amazed today by my kids who collect rubberbands and combine them into huge balls--and those who do something similar with paper clips.

And has anyone seen a spider slow motion actually connecting all those points in the classic Halloween spider's web? I'd really like to see that being done.

If there's something to be twisted or spun or looped or connected, some being will set to do it--and the results are fabulously worth the effort in many cases.

Oh, one more observation: my daughter sat next to a passenger on the flight home for the holiday who knitted two scarves at once on very long needles! I would have loved to have seen that, too.