N is for Not Gonna

by Carol13 Comments
I have a bucket list of things I want to do, but I've never made a "Not Gonna Do It" list. Here goes. I may add to it as time goes by. I'm not gonna feel guilty about not baking desserts for activities at church or school - store-bought is fine. Ditto with covered dishes. I'm not gonna buy things from every kid who is fundraising for some activity or other. I'm not gonna work in the concession stand at the football games. I don't want to and there are plenty of other parents. I'm not gonna complain about the stupid little things that get on my nerves at work anymore. It's not worth my energy. I'm not gonna put impossible things on my list. I'm not gonna avoid fried foods. I like them. And pasta and bread. I'm not gonna prioritize housework over exercise. I'm not gonna eat grapefruit or grape leaves or puffer fish. I'm not gonna drink tea. I don't like it, even if it is...
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M is for Math

by Carol11 Comments
I am not a numbers person. I do not have dyscalculia, which is a kind of numbers dyslexia, that Mich posted about today over at Sick B*tch, and her post is certainly worth reading. I do sympathize with her, though. My mother and brother are both CPAs, my husband deals with numbers and calculations all day. They seem to think better in numbers and equations than I do. They're even more likely to win those stupid how many M&Ms are in the jar contests than I am. I'm not going to say I can't do math, because I can. I just have to work at it. Amber's taking algebra this year, getting As by the way, and will be in geometry next year and I'll be able to keep up, but it'll be the third time I've learned the subjects. The first was when I went through school. The second time was when my husband went back to community college. I have to relearn...
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L is for Lowcountry

by Carol11 Comments
I just finished reading Southern Heat by David Burnsworth. It's set in Charleston, South Carolina, but often refers to the area as the lowcountry, a term I was unfamiliar with, so I looked it up. The Lowcountry is a geographic and cultural region located along South Carolina's coast, that includes the South Carolina Sea Islands. Once a location that was known for its agricultural wealth, the Lowcountry today is internationally renowned for its historic cities and communities, its natural beauty, and its unique cultural heritage, which have attracted millions of visitors and thousands of new residents. The definition of what constitutes the Lowcountry varies. While it always includes the counties of Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties, it usually is broadened to include Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties, which is how it is used in the novel. Tourism is the current dominant economic sector throughout much the Lowcountry and is based on resort amenities, historic and cultural sites, and natural features. Hilton Head Island, Fripp...
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K is for King of Tokyo

by Carol3 Comments
King of Tokyo - A game where you're a bunch of giant monsters trying to take control of Tokyo is as fun as it sounds. Purchase: Amazon Sorry about the short post today, but I'm tired and coughing and sneezy and want to go to bed. Also linking to Saturday Snapshot hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads....
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J is for Jolly Roger

by Carol10 Comments
The Jolly Roger is any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates that were about to attack. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today is the skull and crossbones, a flag consisting of a human skull above two long bones set in an x-mark arrangement, most usually depicted crossing each other directly under the skull, on a black field. This design was used by several pirates, including Captains "Black Sam" Bellamy, Edward England, and John Taylor. Some Jolly Roger flags also include an hourglass, another common symbol representing death in 17th- and 18th-century Europe. Despite the prominence of flags with art in popular culture, plain black flags with no art were often employed by most pirates in the 17th–18th century. Historically, the flag was flown to frighten pirates' victims into surrendering without a fight, since it conveyed the message that the attackers were outlaws who would not consider themselves bound by the usual rules...
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Thursday’s Tale: I is for Iceland

by Carol3 Comments
Today's tale, "The Troll in the Skrúdur, " is from Iceland and was collected in Icelandic Lengends collected by Jón Áronson, translated by George Powell and Eríkur Magnusson, 1864. Iceland is a Nordic island country marking the juncture between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It sounds like a beautiful place. Iceland's best-known classical works of literature are the Icelanders' sagas, prose epics set in Iceland's age of settlement. Icelanders are avid consumers of literature, with the highest number of bookstores per capita in the world. For its size, Iceland imports and translates more international literature than any other nation. Iceland also has the highest per capita publication of books and magazines, and around 10% of the population will publish a book in their lifetime. "The Troll in the Skrúdur" begins with a priest from Hólmar near the Reidarfjördur whose daughter is lost. They've searched near and far for her, but she was not found. Near...
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