So

For the past almost year I've been posting a Word of the Day on facebook.  Some come from the dictionary sites.  Some I choose myself.  Today's is very fitting for the day.  If you have no other plans, or if you need an idea for a party you are going to, this one is for you.

Word of the Day, Wednesday, December 31, 2014


flapdragon \FLAP-drag-uhn\
noun;
1. an old game in which the players snatch raisins, plums, etc., out of burning brandy, and eat them.

Because what else would you do with potentially charred fruit...


Happy New Year All!

Today's Cutenss

Go watch this!  I need to get Beau a cat statue!  Or perhaps not.  He'd probably hurt me...

My Challege

To myself.

If you think about it, this really shouldn't be all that hard to do.  I'm going to give it a try and then, if I succeed, at the end of the year I can buy myself a present.  Hmm.  Perhaps a plane ticket or two to visit friends?  Or it could go into my "Escape from Reading" fund?  I don't know.  If I manage it I will come up with something.

Who's with me?

In Case You Ever Wondered...

The history of the word “Xmas” is actually more respectable — and fascinating — than you might suspect. First of all, the abbreviation predates by centuries its use in gaudy advertisements. It was first used in the mid 1500s. X is the Greek letter “chi,” the initial letter in the word Χριστός. And here’s the kicker: Χριστός means “Christ.” X has been an acceptable representation of the word “Christ” for hundreds of years. This device is known as a Christogram. The mas in Xmas is the Old English word for “mass.” In the same vein, the dignified terms Xpian and Xtian have been used in place of the word “Christian.”


So there you have it.

Catching Up

First, I have some book news.  Karma, book 4 in my Cosmic Connections series, has been accepted for publication!  Details to follow.  How cool is that!

I've been working.  A lot.  I'm tired as you might expect.  But one good thing about the second job is that it gives me time for some knitting.  Here's my latest project, made for a friend's about-to-arrive great granddaughter.  I'm on to cozy socks now.

The other night my phone rang at 2:45.  Of course I'd just fallen asleep.  No, I wasn't doing something fun.  Beau had been playing with his squeaky mouse under the bed.  Kind of hard to sleep through that.  Anyway, the phone call.  I didn't recognize the number so I didn't answer.  There was a message.  From the gas company.  Apparently my neighbors called in a gas leak on my meter out front.  The same meter I thought was leaking the day after it was installed.  The meter I questioned the workmen who had moved on down the block about.  The meter I was assured was perfectly fine.  Good thing I didn't blow up.  I would have had to find them and do some serious haunting.

The Penguins are winning lately.  One good thing I've discovered about my new phone.  I can listen to hockey at will.  So maybe we'll become friends after all.  Maybe.  Did I tell you it was dead beyond resuscitation?  If not, I sort of dropped it on it's head and it slowly bled to death internally.  Fortunately it was only a few weeks old so the nice tech people confirmed its demise and shipped off a new one.  Yes, I traded in my nifty Dr. Who case on a heavy duty Otter Box. 

My freezer is stocked up with oodles of varieties of homemade soups which means I've been having super nummy lunches.  I also share it with an older couple I help watch out for.  He's not doing so well so send out some comfort vibes please.

It's full moon so the kitties are extra cuddly.  Good thing since it's cold outside.  We all pile up in a lump and keep each other warm.  Yes, another reason for all the soup.  Warmth from inside out.

I got a new wigwag in the mail.  What's a wigwag you ask?  That's the gizmo that makes the washer switch gears so it spins.  Mine stopped doing that a few weeks ago.  A very nice repair dude came and actually knew what was wrong.  I was surprised since it is about 40 years old.  He's the one that arranged for the wigwag to show up.  Now all I have to do is wait til my next day off so he can come back and fix it.  In the meantime I've been doing the laundromat thing before dawn on Sunday mornings.  I even found a buddy to keep me company while I'm there.  He tells me he turns 81 soon.  Has to take his mom to the eye doctor next week.  She's having some trouble seeing and isn't really safe to drive at the moment.  Hmm.  Maybe it's just me but I don't think her driving even with her eyesight improved that her driving is the best idea.  Remember, he's almost 81.  I'm not certain but I suspect that makes her almost 100.  Yeah.

Thanks to a friend I now have a current TV so I got me one of those Roku gizmos.  Have you seen them?  All you do is plug it into the TV and you can get all sorts of channels. Yep, I've joined the 21st century and gotten myself Netflix.  I've even watched a few current shows like Blacklist and Once Upon a Time.  I know, I know.  Hard for me to believe too.

What have you been up to?