Floss

I first encountered the word "floss" in combination with the word "river" in 1966, whilst studying English I at The University of Newcastle. "The Mill on the Floss" was written by George Eliot,and was set on her imaginary River Floss, somewhere deep in the dialectic-English countryside. I next encountered floss as that sliver of nylon that is so difficult to get between my teeth, that when I do manage so to do, I split my gums in a most distressing manner. And, all along it was just another word for tapestry thread. Alannah and I have a hoop, some burlap, assorted floss (is this word singular AND plural?), and some lovely pastel buttons. We are going to teach ourselves embroidery. Hopefully, little blood will be drawn. I have invested $2.30 in plastic needles from Shanghai.