We just got back from trick or treating. I can't believe that Halloween began as a Celtic tradition, because the British suck at it - even my British husband admits this. It's getting better than it was when I first came here 12 years ago. But now they all moan about how the holiday is becoming Americanized. There's even a town in Scotland that has banned "American Jack-0-Lanterns". Whatever. Bonfire Night is a real family friendly holiday. Let's burn an effigy and then blow sh*t up. Can you tell this is the one time of year when I get homesick?
Let's face it, this is one holiday we're good at. Georgia totally gets the spirit of the holiday, and Chris was all for it once he realized there was candy involved. Last year we dressed him up as a hot dog and carried him around, but this year he chased after Georgia and was quick to smack her if she tried to steal any of his haul. Wishing you all a safe and chocolately Halloween!
P.S. We grew the pumpkins!
Well, there's a lot of cake left. Not because it didn't taste good (it did) but because it was a big cake. The kids were completely freaked when Chris put a big chunk in his mouth, and then Georgia dug in, and then they all managed to have some. I'll post more pictures later when I figure out how to pixellate faces, because I don't want to put pictures of other people's kids on the internet.
You Think English is Easy? It's one of the most difficult languages to learn! Can you read these right the first time?
01) The bandage was wound around the wound.
02) The farm was used to produce produce.
03) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
04) We must polish the Polish furniture.
05) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
06) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
07) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
08) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
09) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help wit h planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England nor French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indixes? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital, ship by truck and send cargo by ship, have noses that run and feet that smell?How can a slim chance and a fat chance bethe same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill-in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
PS. - Why doesn't Buick rhyme with quick ?You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is UP. It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or toward the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to thesecretary to write UP a report?We call UP our friends. We use something to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers, and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car . At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special .And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets the earth and oftenmesses things UP.When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.We could go on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so: Time to shut UP!
I was minding my own business on Friday when my 12 (almost 13) year old nephew stopped by my office to say hi while his mother was running an errand. I use these sorts of situations to ply my nephews and nieces with candy and find out their deepest darkest secrets and steer them in the right direction. On this particular day, we were discussing the internet and potential dangers that lurk there, like future bosses or college admissions people googling your name. This does not sound like fun when I write it here, but trust me, we have a blast. I know he has a MySpace page and I wanted to show him that the internet is not your journal and therefore, not private.
So...I googled my name. As usual (my sister googled me and had quite a laugh), the person who is named Jill Sober (no kidding) and won second place in a body building contest pops up first. Trust me folks, I am not the one ... unless they have drastically changed the rules in that sport. Apparently, someone else has the same name as me. Bless her heart.
And then, something unexpected appeared. A blog with my second grade class picture. (I will never live that one down. Is it Lew I have to thank for that?) Then he sees the other pictures as he is cruising around the blog. The inevitable question, "Aunt Jill, why are you always standing by the teacher." I have no freakin' clue. If anyone out there can help me out with that one, please let me know.
We moved on to the dangers of smoking pot, his topic, not mine. I compared the danger factor to wrapping your lips around the exhaust pipe of a running car. I think he got the point that pot is a carcinogen.
Anyway, Dave, thanks for sending me the link. I have a couple projects due and can't recap. the last 21 years right now, but will when I am not under a deadline.
I hope everyone is well.
Happy 40th Lew! Last night was Lew's 40th birthday party. As you can see there were only a handfull of classmates there. But it was a good time anyway! With these clowns, and booze, how could it not be fun? By the end of the night, Cathy had to make sure her 40 year old plaything would still work once they got home (picture 1) . His favorite (and what will be the most used gift) was the Hair Regrowth Treament. As you can see, it only worked on on his chin so far.
just wanted to show off the latest addition to the Kenney family. His name is Brian Christopher, born on September 23 and weighing 8lbs 14oz. He is a very good baby, only waking up once a night for a bottle. He even takes the poking and prodding from my two other kids in stride. We will be in Catty at Thanksgiving for his baptism at St. Lawrence.
