Miner's Lettuce

Latin name: Claytonia perfoliata (syn. Montia perfoliata) It's common name "Miner's Lettuce" was given to it because miner's used to eat it as salad greens. It's an annual herb, and a dicot, which means (like a green pea) its seed has only one "storage compartment," or cotyledon. Some say it is native to California, but "also is found" outside of the state. One source says that it's a native of British Columbia, but other websites show it growing in abundance out in the wild as far north as Minnesota. Yet another site calls it an "eastern-North American wild flower." My husband, who is always thinking about and planning for the future, planted some Miner's Lettuce in a pot with garlic in our back yard. It's been back there for a few years, and I haven't paid any attention to it until this morning for some reason. It's also called Indian Lettuce and Winter Purslane. It has a round, disk-like, somewhat fleshy leaf through which the stem grows. A small, white, five-petaled flower grows on the stem coming through the leaf. I actually tasted some of our little clump, and my taste buds recognized the taste as very similar to raw spinach. I really liked it. Since it's reputed to be full of vitamin A and C and some trace minerals, I think I'll add some to our diet until it goes to seed. We'll have to spread this little tidbit around! Here's a nice little video describing this plant, harvesting technique, and a suggestion to add it to "green" smoothies. I think I'll be adding some to salads and sandwiches. Our little clump has small leaves, but other pictures and videos I've seen on the web show plants with much larger leaves. I suppose they grow larger out in the wild where they have more room to spread out.

Caution:
This plant contains nitrates/nitrites which could be toxic if you eat too much. However, this is more of a problem for grazing ruminants (cattle) than for humans. I'd still not give it to pregnant or lactating mothers, or young children.

Extra:
Really cool blog with videos embedded about a couple up in Minnesota who decided to eat only wild foods for a month.

More Morning Spider Webs

Last August I blogged about gigantic orb webs. It seems that "The Year of the Spiders" is continuing. This morning I awoke to the sight of dozens and dozens of sun-catching, sparkling, gossamer webs hanging from branches, tall grass, and some spread out like a counterpane on the surface of the grass. Some hung like delicate baskets from tree branches and tall grass, catching the early morning sun and sending it back in surprising sparkles. Others were spread like welcoming coverlets over the grass, thick and cottony sloping to a perfectly round opening in the center that is the door to the spider's home. I suspect that the webs on the grass belong to Hobo spiders and funnel spiders, both of which can leave a nasty bite if you get too close. I have no idea, however, what kind of spider weaves those delicate hanging baskets.

Lightning in the Clouds

We had a line of thunderstorms roll past us last night. Fortunately, we were on the very northern edge of the line and did not get the severe weather. We did, though, get some wind, thunder, and lightning. The lightning was in the clouds. I'm no weather expert, so I don't know the technical terms for what we saw last night, but it sure was pretty! There was a line of clouds ranging along the horizon from the south to the east. At dusk, the lightning started. I had just put up my chickens, and had gone out onto the front porch to call in my cats when it started. It was beautiful. I grabbed my camera and started just pointing and clicking. Unfortunately, in my hurry to capture the flashes of lightning, I kept moving my camera before it had time to focus and imprint the image on the card, so most of the pictures are blurred, but a couple of them were relatively good. There were three places in this line of clouds that would alternately explode with light from inside. Sometimes it would just be a quick glow, and other times a fork of lightning would accompany the glow. I've posted a few of the pictures that came out without too much blurring. I hope you enjoy them.

Behoove

The other day my husband was on the phone with somebody who needed to come out to our place. Well, our place is way out in the boonies, and even locals whose families have been here for generations have trouble finding it. So, while he's giving this person directions, I heard him say, "It would behoove him to take his cell along and call us when he gets lost." Now, behoove is actually part of my husband's regular vocabulary, and I've even used it myself on occasion when I couldn't think of another word. But I got to thinking about that word, behoove. What exactly does it mean and where did it come from? I know what my husband was saying was that it would be advantageous or beneficial for this person to take along his cell phone, but just how did I know that? Behoove isn't exactly in the Wordpower exercises we did back in our school days, but somehow we had both learned what it means and how to use it.

It's an interesting word. The Online Etymology Dictionary defines it thusly:

behoove

O.E. behofian "to have need of," from *bihof "advantage, utility," from hof, past tense of hebban "to raise" (see heave).

Well, that's pretty straightforward. It means what I always thought it meant. But that last definition "to raise" looked interesting. And what does "raising" have to do with the word, "heave"? So, I had to look that up.

heave

O.E. hebban "to lift, raise" (class VI strong verb; past tense hof, pp. hafen), from P.Gmc. *khafjanan (cf. O.N. hefja, Du. heffen, Ger. heben, Goth. hafjan), from PIE *kap- "seize;" related to O.E. habban "to hold, possess." Sense of "retch, make an effort to vomit" is first attested 1601. Nautical heave-ho was a chant in lifting.

So, the Old English hebban "to lift, raise" worked its way from Old Norse, Dutch, German, and Goth (East Germanic tribes) back again to Old English habban "to hold, possess." Where the retching comes in I have no idea, unless it's the raising of stomach contents. I can get a handle on habban as it relates to behoove. You have to take ahold of something, possess it in order to have the benefit or advantage of it. I can also see the connection between our modern understanding of "raise" and "heave." You have to lift something up, raise it, in order to heave it, or throw it. But what's that got to do with holding or possessing something, or with something being beneficial or advantageous? That's beyond me. Then there's that pesky prefix be-. I have no idea how that fits in. Well, that's my mind's meanderings around that word. It's not exactly erudite or profound, and probably not even close to being an accurate description, but that's the way I see it.

Love One Another

I've been reading from the Evergetinos for my Lenten reading, and the subject has been repentance. I can't help but think about my mother-in-law and how hard she tried to be a good person to all around her and failed miserably. She was a very pious Roman Catholic and attended mass daily. I know she tried her best to follow Christ's example in all she could to the best of her understanding, but still she failed in the "game of life." I can't help but wonder about this. My mother-in-law was mentally ill. She died when Hurricane Katrina washed away the house she was staying in with some friends. But as I said, she was mentally ill. She suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder with narcissistic and paranoid features. This means that she did not relate well to other people. She was a very good person down deep where she, herself, lived and existed; but her life-long experiences of both real and perceived rejection taught her that she was inferior, no good, would never measure up, was unlikeable and unloveable. She learned all her life that no matter how hard she tried to make friends, to be a good person, to fit in, it was just a matter of time before something would happen to destroy forever all she had worked so hard to build up. She could not see that her constant expectation of rejection and her deeply held belief that she really was actually at core a bad person in spite of how much she tried to be good (it didn't matter that this erroneous belief was hammered into her brain from her lifetime of rejections--how could she not believe it after such a life?) was actually pushing people away from her. She would get close to a person or two and be on cloud nine. She would be so happy that she had finally left the pain of rejection behind forever. Then something inevitably would happen, because life is not static. She would not be able to handle life's problems and troubles as well as other people because she did not have the lifetime experience of care and support that so many other people had. So, when troubles came she lashed out. She truly felt and believed that she was literally fighting for her life. And she was, actually. She was fighting for her own existence, because in her mind, when troubles came and the people around her, whom she had come to believe were her friends and loved ones, or at least people who held positive regard for her, did not or were not able to help her through the bad time, she perceived their inability, or unwillingness, to help as an attack on her. She felt that they were in effect discounting her, devaluing and dehumanizing her as a person--taking away her existence. Her sensitivity to perceived rejection increased exponentially as she grew older because of her many experiences, both real and perceived. This life-long constant expectation of rejection increased the violence of her reactions to life's ups and downs. Now, granted, not all of "life's downs" were just "downs." Some of them were serious, and she actually did get help from those around her, but by then she had so many years of bad experiences behind her that she could not believe that those who helped her did not have a hidden agenda against her, or at least secretly despised her and just "acted" nicely to her. So, finally, she drove off everyone in her life--all her childhood friends, all her siblings and relations; everyone. She lived out the final decade of her life far away from anyone who had known her when she was a girl, or a young wife and mother, or as a mature woman and grandmother; she drove away her only child and all her grandchildren. Despite all her efforts to the contrary, she simply could not believe that she was a valuable person, although she did not think in those terms. She just knew that everyone was against her and had rejected her in spite of her love and care for them--even her own family--and she continually fought against that, because to cease fighting meant to admit that she was nobody, a nothing, a truly at-core bad person and someone to be avoided like the plague at all costs. She was still unable to just relax and believe that people really did care for her; that she didn't have to constantly test their love or look for hidden agendas. She did make friends in that last decade of her life, some very good friends. However, I can't help but wonder if she didn't still feel terribly alone. How can one not feel alone when one has irrevocably lost one's past?

Unfortunately, my mother-in-law was so ill that she was beyond recovery; but I wonder if she could have been an entirely different sort of person if someone in her youth had cared enough to stay with her, to be someone to whom she could always point and know loved her and accepted her--most importantly accepted her--in spite of everything? Could such a person exist? Has anyone the strength required for such a herculean, life-long effort? Perhaps not. I know people who tried to help her and failed over and over again until they had to stay away from her for their own health.

How hard it is for those who do love and care for a person like my mother-in-law, and I believe there are many people in society today who suffer as she did. How hard it is to constantly take the paranoia, and sometimes downright abuse, and continue to show care and concern. How much can those who love such a person be expected to endure? Do they not, also, suffer to see her suffering? Are they not also doomed to a life of regret for the "what might have beens"?

May God, the Lover of mankind, have mercy on us and teach us repentance.

Lenten Rose

My husband planted a Lenten Rose last year. It's a small plant that hugs the ground and grows in clumps. Its color can range from cream to purple. Actually weeks ago (it was the night I first saw the armadillo), I noticed that our Lenten Rose had bloomed. It was early January and there was actually some snow on the ground when I noticed it's pure white blossoms shining in the dark when I went outside to investigate some critter noises. (I took a picture of it then, but lost it.) It was pure white then, but it's got a pink blush along the edges and some pale green toward the center now. It's Latin name is Helleborus orientalis; and it's in the ranunculus family, which means it's cousin to buttercups and something called a crowfoot. (I'll have to look that one up.) They are apparently native to parts of Eurasia including Greece, Turkey, and the Caucasus. (Odd how many flowers we take for granted come from Turkey. If my memory serves me well, tulips and many roses had their beginning in Turkey.) Well, our little Lenten Rose is still small, but I hope it grows and spreads so much that we have to divide it and plant it all over the place. We have plenty of woodsy, shaded places to put it. Wouldn't it be nice to walk through the woods and suddenly in the middle of winter come across a blooming clump of Lenten Rose?

A late thought: This plant is also called a Christmas Rose because it sometimes blooms in December. I wonder if it's a coincidence that I first noticed it blooming in early January right around the time of Christmas on the Old Calendar?

It's a gray, cold, rainy day here at my place today. This has been a long and cold winter. Part of me is glad to know that this means that there will be fewer mosquitoes, ticks, and other pesky insects that like to eat up our vegetables. My daffodils and grape hyacinths are up and blooming in the yard, though, creating bright splashes of yellow and intense points of blue on the hillside behind the house. It's a day for staying inside and looking outside.

Spring is coming and with it my hens are beginning to lay more. Always, a couple of weeks before Great Lent begins, my hens start laying. I have only ten hens now, and lately I've been getting four or even five eggs per day now, with the occasional day of getting only one or two. (That's because hens lay every 30-some hours and not every 24.) So, today I get seven eggs. I've always said those hens were "heretic chickens." I shouldn't be surprised; they're Marans--a French breed. They must be Roman Catholic! My daughter, who doesn't go to Church any more, loves them since she gets most of the eggs during Lent. Oh, well.

A Picture Thought

I love this picture. I took it of my blossoming rosemary plant last year when we had a bit of snow. It's so quiet and promising. To me it speaks of hope, perseverance, meekness, and endurance. Sometimes the simplest things are the most beautiful and profound.

The Lenten Spring is Here

Just a few words because my head is hurting and my mind is not behaving itself right now.
Great Lent is almost here; in fact, we are well into the preparation phase and the spiritual warfare has begun.
One word: logismoi.



"And quench the flame of my passions, for I am poor and wretched, and deliver me from my many cruel memories and deeds, and free me from all their bad effects...." --Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos

As I promised....

As I promised, I'm posting a picture of that armadillo I blogged about previously. It's not a very good picture, since the critter started scurrying away as soon as I approached; but the picture (if you click on it and see the larger version) is clear enough to tell it's an armadillo. He's a good sized one, too.

Critter trouble

Last night seemed to be a busy night for animals up around my chicken houses. (Click on the pictures to see a larger, more detailed version.) My husband bought a StealthCam* a few months ago, and we've been "watching" various spots on our property at night. I've captured photos of a large opossum up there in the poultry yard, which I've since trapped and re-located. Last night a younger 'possum came by less than an hour after this huge raccoon. This 'coon his huge. He (or she) has been digging under one of the henhouses trying to get in, and I blocked that up. You can see in last night's pictures that he still shows an active interest in the second henhouse. I think it's a matter of time that he/she will try again to get in there after my chickens.

There are other pictures that were captured last night that did not show an animal. However, it's obvious from the sequence that some animal was messing with the StealthCam. (Motion triggers the camera to take a pre-set series of pictures.) It had to be a large animal since I hang the StealthCam about four feet off the ground. That has me a bit nervous. I'll have to think of another place to hang the camera to try to capture pictures of whatever this animal is. It could be that raccoon coming back a few hours later. I think he could reach that high if he stood on his hind legs.

*Note: Neither I nor my husband are hunters, and we don't allow hunting on our property. We use the StealthCam solely to discover what's going on around our property when we're either asleep or not there. Anyway, it's FUN!

Locust Fork River Flood - January, 2009

I think our drought is over if the pictures indicate anything. (Click on the pictures to see a larger size with more detail.) One picture shows the flood, and the other shows the same area after the water drained away. Actually, the water drained away in just a couple of days, but I didn't get down there to take a picture until days later. I had intended to post this a week ago, but got distracted and forgot about it. We had over 7" of rain in less than three days at one point. The pictures show the one-lane gravel road that goes in front of my house. This is the end of the road that goes nowhere and ends up just fading away into the woods, so this is not the part of the road that we need to take to get out. At this point it is a steep grade going down, so it is quite deep even as the road disappears into the flood, which spread out into a literal lake. I think that it must have been at least ten feet or more deep at the deepest point. Fortunately, it completely drained away in just a couple of days, but the "low water bridge" was under water for a couple of weeks, so my husband had to take an alternate route to and from work. He noticed a couple of days ago that the barricade is down, so he says he will check it tomorrow morning to see if the waters have abated enough for the "low water bridge" to be passable.

We were not able to go to Church on Nativity because of the tornado and flash flood watches going on at the time. We seriously debated whether to go or not, but decided that two women (my daughter and I), one of which has a broken arm and neither of whom sees well after dark especially with rain reflections all over the place, and a three year old traveling at night for 45 minutes in good weather over back roads that are narrow and very curvy was not a good idea. It appears that we made the right choice because we later heard that there was a mud slide complete with boulders blocking one road, and at another place a bridge was washed out with water rushing over the road. What a night Jan 6/Dec 24 was! Now this week we are having record cold weather, and I'm quite tired of it already.

There's a new "critter" on the property.

The other night while I was calling my cats in for the evening (my husband calls it "cat calling"), I heard something scratching around in the leaves under the trees just inside the woods. It was dark and I had my spotlight (a flashlight just doesn't give enough light out here), so I went in search of what animal might be making the noise. I thought it was probably an opossum because I had seen a 'possum rooting around in the dead leaves in the same spot from which this sound was coming. I know it's pretty stupid to go out in the pitch dark with only a spotlight and no defense except a walking stick in a county where wildcats and cougars have been sighted and where coyotes and "wolf-dogs" roam (or so I've been told, but I've only seen tracks in the mud and not the animal; my husband did see a wolf-dog run through our property several years ago), but I wanted to see what it was. I finally saw it under the trees rooting around in the ground and forest debris. It was gray and about the same size as that 'possum I saw a couple of weeks ago (about the size of a large, domestic cat). But something about it just didn't look like a 'possum. For one thing, it kept its head down mighty low and under the leaves. I've never seen a 'possum do that. So, I very carefully, slowly, and quietly walked nearer until I was about 30 feet from it and could get a good look at it. It was an armadillo! I don't like armadillos. They are forever digging into and under everything. They do have cute faces, though--better than that mean, rat-looking opossum face.

Armadillos are related to sloths and anteaters, according to the National Geographic website. They eat insects, snakes, small animals like lizards and mice, bird eggs, and sometimes carrion--even armadillo carrion. (Blyech!) Apparently the nine-banded armadillo is the only armadillo in the U.S., but I'd not lay a wager to that effect. Armadillos are mammals, insect eaters, prolific diggers, give birth to 4 same-sex young (developing from one egg and sharing one placenta) around July, and have low metabolic rates. When a female armadillo is under stress, they can "delay implantation" of their fertilized egg for up to two years; which results in surprise, "virgin births" and helps a single female colonize new areas. They like warm climates and sometimes cold weather can wipe out a whole population in an area. Supposedly they will not stay in areas where the soil is hard to dig, which makes me wonder why they're on my property, which is mostly clay. However, my little acres are quickly becoming "fire-ant heaven" with so many hills I can't even count them anymore, so maybe the armadillo is coming for the ants. If that's so, I'll hang out the welcome sign for them! Armadillos have long, sticky tongues like an anteater, and only a few teeth (molars) in the back of their mouths. Their teeth have no enamel, which makes no sense to me at all. They also love to swim, and my property is on the banks of the Locust Fork River, so they probably feel quite at home here.

It will be interesting to see how my little spot on this planet changes with these new "squatters." I suppose I'll have to be very wary of any holes they will dig in the ground. I've fallen so many times in the past few years, that I'm becoming quite phobic about it. (Once I broke off a front tooth--on Pascha morning no less--and had to have veneers on them, sprained my ankle, and recently I broke my elbow falling up in the poultry yard. I'm 60 years old now, and I just can't afford illness and accidents like I used to; I just don't heal as well or as quickly as I used to.) I'll try to remember to grab my camera when I go outside so that maybe I can catch a picture of the little fellow. They come out early morning and after dark, so that might prove difficult. I'm usually outside at that time, though, so the difficulties will be in remembering to get the camera and then getting close enough to actually get something on "film"! (Or would that be "on pixels" since it's a digital camera??)

Life just gets "curiouser and curiouser."

Leisure time reading

The Antiquary by Sir Walter Scott

I re-discovered this book on my bookshelf at home and decided to read it. I've read a few other Waverly novels, so I'm looking forward to this one. The archaic language and phrasing should give my brain a bit of a workout, too. lol The first sentence of the "Introduction" reads: "The present Work completes a series of fictitious narratives, intended to illustrate the manners of Scotland at three different periods, WAVERLY embraced the age of our fathers, GUY MANNERING that of our own youth, and the ANTIQUARY refers to the last ten years of the eighteenth century." Sir Walter Scott is a master story-teller, and I hope to re-acquaint myself with his works. I'm so glad I have the set of novels on my bookshelf so I don't have to search for them!

View all my reviews.

GameCam Pictures

My husband set up the GameCam several days ago and left it there up on top of the hill behind our house to see what, if anything, was going on up there. (My broken elbow is still healing, and is in a splint half the time, so I can't put the camera up "one-handed.") When I'm up there, it's all woods; I can't even see the house, not even in the winter time. Between 12/28/08 and this morning, 01/01/09, it took 51 pictures. It was set to take three pictures three seconds apart everytime it was triggered by some motion. Most of the pictures captured the wind blowing the branches. However, on the mornings of 12/28 a doe and on 12/29 a young buck triggered the camera. As far as I can tell, the camera is "silent," but these deer behave as if they know "something" is watching, or perhaps there's a small "click" as the camera takes a picture that gets the deer's attention. At any rate, it's really a wonder to be able to "see" what's going on when we're not up there. The date and time, and even the phase of the moon and the temperature, are conveniently "printed" at the bottom of each photograph. Click on the photos to see them full size.

Guacamole Salad

Ingredients:

3 medium avocados, peeled and seeded
1 small onion (red, yellow, or white—may use spring onions or shallots)
1 ½ tspn soy sauce or similar flavoring
2 or 3 tblspns balsamic vinegar
freshly ground pepper, black or white (to taste)
lime juice from ½ lime

ripe tomatoes, sliced or diced
fresh alfalfa sprouts

Method:

Put first six ingredients in a blender or VitaMix and puree to desired smoothness. (You may want to leave it somewhat chunky, or completely smooth.) Place tomato on a plate and arrange alfalfa sprouts on top of tomatoes. Drop a large dollop or two of the avocado mixture on top of the sprouts.

Makes a nice complement to grilled shrimp, fish, or chicken. It's nice all by itself with fresh, crusty bread, too, for a very light lunch.

The Lizard in our Basement

When the outside temperatures get below 50 degrees F, my husband brings his citrus trees into the basement and places them under some full-spectrum lights in front of a sunny window to live all winter. This little lizard came in with the trees this year. He's the cutest thing. I disturbed his sleep to take this photo. I had hoped to catch him sleeping, but he opened his little eyes just the merest bit to see what was going on. He lives in the trees down there, and catches who knows what. Spiders and flies, I guess. He seems happy, and my husband, softie that he is, calls him "my lizard." Awww. I've become rather attached to the little thing, myself.

URGENT NEED

I have a very dear friend who has an urgent need right now. Her name is Elizabeth Riggs, and she has suffered decades of constant pain from Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromalgia. She currently is disabled to the point that even standing is difficult. Recently she acquired an assistant dog, Emmy, from PAALS on the condition that she raise $7,000, which amounts to about one third of Emmy's training, vet care, and upkeep. Emmy came home with Elizabeth this past September, after an intensive two-week training for both Elizabeth and Emmy--at further cost to Elizabeth. Now that Emmy is home with Elizabeth, she helps by picking up Elizabeth's cane, keys, cell phone when she drops them. Emmy helps steady Elizabeth when she gets out of bed or up from a chair. Emmy helps by pulling the laundry basket for Elizabeth, taking clothes out of the dryer, and by turning on lights when they go into a room. Before Emmy came, Elizabeth couldn't even walk down her driveway to get the mail; now she can do that! Recently Emmy literally saved Elizabeth's life by steadying her when Elizabeth suffered an episode of vertigo at the top of a long flight of stairs! Emmy is also learning how to call 911 on a special phone in case of that need. I cannot stress strongly enough that Elizabeth needs Emmy in her life--for her physical well-being and safety, and for her spirit. You can read all about this on Elizabeth "Living With the Woof" blog. If Elizabeth is not able to come up with her full $7,000 obligation to PAALS by the end of January, 2009, she will lose Emmy. Emmy will have to go to another person. This will be devastating to Elizabeth on so many levels, and Emmy will also be traumatized because Emmy and Elizabeth have bonded with each other and have become a true team. I know times are tough for everyone these days, and especially in this economy. However, if you can at all, please, please consider making a donation in Elizabeth's name to PAALS. You can donate from the website, and please make sure that you note on your donation that it is "for Elizabeth Windy Riggs' dog Emmy."

Elizabeth has been and is such a help to everyone who knows her. She has been a particular help to me over the past couple of years when I was going through a most difficult time, and she helps everyone she meets without discrimination, and she helps when she needs help herself. She encourages and supports daily when she herself could use the same encouragement and support. She constantly gives of herself to so many people. Now it's time for us, her friends the recipients of her love and support, to do what we can to help her. Please send a donation of whatever you can in her name.

The Wisdom of Age

Today is my 60th birthday, and already some friends are commenting on all that "wisdom" I've gained over the years. Of course, these friends are as much as 15 - 20 years younger than I am. Well, I surely don't feel like I've gained any wisdom--a lot of experience, yes, but wisdom? I'm not so sure. The only things I can say are:

1. If you have to ask yourself if what you are about to do is right, then it's not.
2. If you wonder if someone will be hurt by something you're about to say, don't say it.
3. People don't want to hear about your problems; they want to tell you theirs. Try to listen--with empathy even if it kills you, then go find your friend who's your own age and let'er rip.
4. Keep your advice to yourself. People won't believe you, and they're going to do what they want anyway. You did the same thing at their age. Be there to pick up the pieces without saying, "I told you so."
5. Try to find a friend or two who is your age or even a few years older so you can have a real conversation.
6. Don't wear large flower print dresses. For that matter, don't wear small flower print dresses. Dress all in one color, or at least at the same end of the spectrum! (Unless you're going to a Red Hat event.)
7. Wear sensible shoes and to yeck with the "fashion conscious" snobs. They don't have to worry about broken bones--yet.
8. Take long, slow walks in the sunshine and wind and be happy that you don't have to worry about a toddler running off from you.
9. Listen to music from the 1940's, 50's, and maybe some from the 60's if you want. If people leave the room in disgust, you can turn up the volume and actually hear it.
10. When someone complains, always start your response with, "In MY day....." ;)

That's about it, folks. Maybe I'll think of more stuff later, but I wouldn't bet the grocery money on it.

"Biggest" Moon in Fifteen Years

Last night the moon's orbit came to its closest point to the earth in fifteen years.  This, according to this article, is called its perigee.  Since the moon was full last night, it made it look something like 14% larger than usual, as well as brighter.  I suppose this event holds many allures for the scientist and astronomer; but, being neither, I just think looking at a full moon when it looks even fuller than usual is a beautiful event.  Actually, I had no idea this was happening until my husband called while he was driving from one office to another (yes, after dark--he works long hours) and told me to look outside.  The moon was hanging very low in the sky and shining for all it was worth.  I grabbed my camera hoping that I could capture something to show this once in over a decade happening.  It was still just light enough to be able to see trees as trees and not as black silhouettes (although they came out that way in the picture).  I'm quite happy with my picture even though it doesn't do justice to the size of the moon I saw.   I stood out there as long as I could stand the cold and just looked at it.  I'm glad my husband called me.  He knows I love beauty and nature.