Thursday, March 22, 2012

Things on Thursday: Socks

Socks cause all sorts of problems, don't they? Or is it just in our house? Can't be, because Rich Hall had a sniglet for socks:

Hozone: (hō'zōn') noun, That mysterious place where one sock always seems to end up after doing laundry.

Remember sniglets? The 1980s seriously rocked.

But back to socks. I have accummulated a pile of 18 individual socks whose mates are on vacation in the Hozone.

Socks don't just get lost; they get dirty, worn out, mismatched, holey, and eaten. Yes, eaten. Daisy suffers from sockphagia, or an uncontrollable desire to shred and consume socks until the loony sufferer is taken to the veterinarian to have an upper-GI charcoal enema that costs hundreds of dollars. 

Perhaps those 18 missing socks aren't in the Hozone after all.

The sock is such a simple thing, woven threads with a toe and a turned heel, easily and cheaply mass produced by oppressed people in China. Yet a lack of socks almost caused my 12-year-old to miss the bus this morning, with all the attendant drama only a sleep-deprived 12-year-old can generate.

You should know that two days ago, I handed him a brand new bag containing six pairs of ankle socks I found when unpacking a box of clothes. He put the whole bag either in the Hozone or the dog's food dish. Whatever. It's gone now, and he had to wear a pair of my Lady Hanes ankle socks with the pink toe.

This weekend, we're buying the boy some flip flops for those Hozone emergencies. Thank goodness for global warming.



What thing can you, your spouse, or your children never find when it's needed?

11 comments:

  1. It's laundry day here, so I have complete appreciation for your quandry! We don't have a dog, but my daughter has always hated wearing socks. She puts them on very last thing before she leaves the house and takes them off as soon as she comes back in. Resulting in lots of trips upstairs at the very last minute and socks all over the house! Actually, just writing this made me think up the 'duh!' obvious solution - keep her socks by the back door instead of her bedroom! That may just work!

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  2. You know it's not the socks...its the salt from sweaty feet she's after. Maybe Daisy needs a salt lick? :)

    My favorite sniglet was Carperpetetuation: when you run the vacuum over and over a section of carpet to pick up something that refuses to go into the machine.

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  3. LOL. I have a saying: "it's gone to the land of the other sock". How and where they go is a mystery!!

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  4. My father could never find his hammer, screwdriver, or flashlight when he needed them. I have 4 sisters, and we were always accused of taking them and hiding them from him. He would rant and rave until finally he'd find it- probably where he left it! Ever Christmas, birthday, or father's day, I now give him a flashlight. Hopefully one of them turns up now when he needs it. By the way, we never played with the hammer or screwdriver, but the flashlight was a lot of fun!

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  5. Oh my goodness, I hope he doesn't have to take his shoes off today, and show off those pink toes, LOL!

    My dog loves socks too, and undies. If she could, she would steal and hide every sock and undergarment in the house. She especially loves the freshly laundered clothes pile as a treasure hunting ground.

    My 9 year old came out of her room ranting about not being able to find socks this week. I was sure I had washed them all and put them in her room. Next minute, the dog walks out of the room with a neatly folded pair of socks in her mouth. It seems the dog can find things that the kid just can't. :-)

    My husband and my eldest daughter both have difficulty in finding anything that is not front and centre of wherever they are looking right at that moment. If the object happens to be slightly under something, it is totally lost forever.

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  6. I can officially say that the "other" sock does not go into hiding under or behind the washer or dryer. Yes, in a desperate attempt to find out where the wandering socks went (the one, odd time, when ALL the laundry was caught up), I actually moved both appliances. All I found was gross, wet, dryer lint that took much elbow grease to clean up from the tile.
    I have almost considered seeing if there is a way to remove the inner linings of these same appliances to see if the socks are hiding there.
    Of course, I could just run to Target and buy another pack. That would probably be the easier route.
    But then, we'd never know the answer to the age old laundry question!!

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  7. Thanks for the laughter! I'm having a moment wondering how Hozone was attached to missing socks. I thought it was a section of a city! Age requires that DH and I are starting to lose things (we used to be good at putting things in their places) and thankfully only child, DS, is another woman's problem now! Have a great weekend!

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  8. Oh, I laughed at Darnell's alternate definition of Hozone :)
    I couldn't pass up commenting, because OMG we use Sniglets all the time. Most common? Barcuuming, because of course we have a dog.
    Also, Esso Asso, since there are always a few of those guys cutting through a gas station to avoid a light.
    I had to laugh at the horror of your son having to wear Lady Hanes. My 13 yo would DIE, DRAMATICALLY, and with much wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Oh wait, he does that EVERY morning...)
    So let's see, what can we never find? Well, for dh & both sons, anything that's not right in front of them is stolen or *I* must have put it somewhere crazy. Gloves and hats were the big one up until the last week.
    For me, it tends to be whatever crafty item I *swear I was using it 10 seconds ago, WHERE DID IT GO?* I like to blame the dog. She just wants to be people ;)

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  9. I remember the sock issue when I had children at home. Not so much of an issue now that it is just hubby and I. And my golden used to collect socks too; luckily she did not eat them.

    I can never find my reading glassses. It is such a challenge; they make moving around the house rather blurry. So I absolutely need them to read; but I have to take them off to be mobile.

    Crafting, it is those darn cutter bee tweezers. I now have three pair because they wander off and refuse to be found until I buy them a companion.

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  10. Loved your post. I haven't thought about sniglets in a long time. I have one for you. I was together with my two sisters one Sunday afternoon and my youngest sister said, "I was so angry with ... I said, sit down, we're going to have a "discussment". Seriously! my other sister and I just looked at each other and burst out laughing. Our younger sister passed away 4 years ago and we still laugh about this made up word. It reminds me of why I loved her so much. As for your lost socks - we moved to Phoenix. No more lost socks ; )

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  11. A friend of mine says all lost socks go to West Virginia and become tires on the side of the road.

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Thanks so much for taking time to comment!