Z is for my 26 favorite blogs from the Challenge, then Zzzzz...

Each year at the end of the A to Z Challenge list 26 blogs that have intrigued me, made me laugh, or taught me something.  So here they are for 2013:
     Spunk on a Stick   www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
     Corinne O'Flynn, Writer www.odetoblogging.blogspot.com
     Rhonda--Laugh Quotes www.laugh-quotes.com
     Scattergun Scribblings www.nickwilford.blogspot.com
     Katka Travels www.katkatravels.com
     Daily Dish Reciptes www.dailydishrecipes.com
     A Faraway View A Blog about Dreams 
              www.afarawayview.blogspot.com
     Living, Loving and Learning www.wifeandteacher.blogspot.com
     Nickers and Ink  www.nickersandinkblog.blogspot.com
     Delightfully Amiss www.delightfullyamiss.blogspot.com
     Practially At Home www.practicallyathome.blogspot.com
     Dark Thoughts. www.scarymarythehamsterlady.blogspot.com
     Patty. Published  www.kenandpatty.blogspot.com
     The Desert Rocks www.thedesertrocks.blogspot.com
     Tales of the Reborn Crafter www.talesofthereborncrafter.blogspot.com
     Shaiha  www.shaihasramblings.blogspot.com
     Haiku Corner www.haiku-corner.blogspot.com
     Scribblegirl's Adventures in Writerland www.helenjameson.wordpress.com
     Tui Snider's Texas www.mentalmosaic.com/blog
     Faye North Destination:  Fiction www.destinationfiction.blogspot.com
     Spark My Creativity www.sparkmycreativity.blogspot.com
     Praise, Prayers and Observations www.jessyferguson.blogspot.com
     Elizabeth Seckman, Author www.eseckman.blogspot.com
     Mother of Brothers www.mothersofbrothersblog.blogspot.com
     New Day Rising www.fantasywriterguy.blogspot.com
     MM's Fundamental of English  www.queenofenglish.wordpress.com

And now, fellow A to Zers, I'm off for a well-deserved nap.

Y is for my favorite Yiddish proverb

Not long into my widowhood I discovered a Yiddish proverb that translates to "When one must, one can."  I resolved to make that my motto as I trudged through life alone.  Know what?  It's a wise and somehow comforting saying and I've done my best to live by it because...what choice does one have?

If you have a favorite proverb, list it in the Comments section.

X is for Roman Numeral for Twelve XII

 

 

 

 

 

The number 12 or XII appears throughout the world, in religion, mythology, literature, sports.  Here are some twelves:

 

12 apostles

12 tribes of Israel

12 sons of Jacob

12 jobs of Hercules

12 major gods of Greece

12 sons of Odin in Norse mythology

12 months of the year

12 signs of the Zodiac

12 animals in the Chinese horoscope

12 inches in a foot

12 astonauts who have walked on the moon

12 members of a jury

12 days of Christmas

12 basic hues in a color wheel

12 numbers on a clock

 

      And that's just the beginning.....



W is for Word of the Year, Decade, Century

Every year the American Dialect Society selects The Word of the Year
The word or phrase chosen is meant to be one that best reflects the language and preoccupations of the year gone by.

Here are the words of the past ten years:
     2012 hashtag
     2011 occupy
     2010 app
     2009 tweet
     2008 bailout
     2007 subprime
     2006  Plutoed
     2005 truthiness
     2004 red state, blue state, purple state

     Word of the decade  google
     Word of the 20th century jazz
     Word of the millennium she (See below)
Yes, she, the feminine pronoun. Before the year 1000, there was no she in English; just heo, which singular females had to share with plurals of all genders because it meant they as well. In the twelfth century, however, she appeared, and she has been with us ever since. She may derive from the Old English feminine demonstrative pronoun seo or sio, or from Viking invasions.

Have a suggestion for the word of 2013?

V is for Vegetable Recipes that are Quick and Easy

 

 

 

Here are some of my favorite vegetable recipes:

Minted Glazed Carrots
Boil peeled and cut up carrots (Because I'm lazy, I use a bag of already peeled baby carrots)
Drain water, add 1/4 cup of butter or oleo and 1/2 cup of sugar.
Cover and heat on low until glazed.
Just before serving add 2 T. mint flakes

Broccoli with Walnuts
Heat 2 T. olive oil in a wok.
Add 1 t. minced garlic
Cook for 30 seconds
Add 1 head broccoli cut up into florets and stir fry until tender
Sprinkle with 1 T. walnuts
Easier:  use frozen broccoli.  Cook, sprinkle with garlic salt and walnuts

Spinach with Raisins
Heat 1T. olive oil in large skillet for 30 seconds
Add 1 t. garlic
Add 1 bag baby spinach
Add 1/4 c. water
Saute until spinach is cooked.  Drain.
Stir in 1 T. golden raisins
Add salt and pepper

Enjoy

U is for Urban Dictionary

Urban Dictionary is an edgy, online platform that provides user-driven definitions for practically every word and phrase imaginable. Link Diving The act of clicking further and further from your original subject of research. Commonly related to the popular website Wikipedia.com   linklost State or condition when a person has unintentionally reached a completely different and unrelated internet destination than the destination at which the person originally intended to arrive by clicking on links on successive webpages (such as on Wikipedia or YouTube), to the point that the person cannot remember how he or she arrived there, or possibly even what the original destination was.   backseat surfer Anyone who stands over your shoulder as you use the internet, directing your internet navigation elevision The act of people in an elevator staring up, uncomfortably, at the numbers as they light up when the car moves. Practiced out of nervousness.     My phone's about to die. This is an expression commonly used to signal to another party that either a) you no longer want to text them, or b) you intend on hanging up. This is a smooth way to avoid answering or hearing things from other people. right of wave The expectation that a fellow driver will offer a wave after allowing them to cut into traffic.   parking karma The uncanny ability to find an open parking space in a desirable location of a busy parking lot.   gift card laundering The act of using a gift card to purchase another gift card of equal or slightly greater value in order to hide the fact that you're just regifting the original gift card. Right of Wave The expectation that a fellow driver will offer a wave after allowing them to cut into traffic.

T is for Texting in Poetry

There's texting and there's texting.  Heard of text poetry?  I hadn't until I came upon the annual text poetry contest of the Guardian newspaper.  Here are some former winners:

I left my pictur on th ground wher u walk
so that somday if th sun was jst right
& th rain didnt wash me awa
u might c me out of th corner of yr i & pic me up 

w8 fr yr mesg the beep yr wrds of rude luv.

U mke me blush w



The curve of yr letters u tch me thru my palms, my eyes.

 Pls, stop sendg msgs2ths
no, i am not linda,
I hv not slept w/yr sis,
+i wd nvr call any1's ma a slag.
Gd luk w/viag.
Luv, yr wrong no. xxx

Want to add a text poem to the Comments section?  B mi gst.

S is for Sniglets

 

Know what Sniglets are?  Made famous by Rich Hall, they are words that should be in the dictionary but aren't.  Here are some of my favorites:

Doork:  Someone who pushes a door clearly marked Pull.

Cheedle:  The resideue left on your fingertips after you've eaten a bag of Cheetos.

Snackmosphere:  The air that takes up 95% of the space inside a bag of potato chipd.

Musquirt:  The water that comes out of the initial squirts of a squeeze mustard bottle.

Toastaphobia:  The fear of sticking a fork into a toaster even when it's unplugged.

Have a favorite Sniglet?  Post it in the Comments section.

R is for Roger Housden, Author of the Ten Poems Series

Roger Housden is the author of the Ten Poems series.  His books, all of which I own, are:
          Ten Poems to Change Your Life
          Ten Poems to Change Your Life Again and Again
          Ten Poems to Open Your Heart
          Ten Poems to Set You Free
          Ten Poems to Last a Lifetime
          Ten Poems to Say Goodbye

In each book he chooses ten iconic poems and discusses them.  You learn about his life, what the poems mean to him and what they may say to you.  Each of these is a treasure.  I turn to these books again and again when I need comfort or inspiration.  Hope you'll take a look.

Q is for Quill Pens and Other Obsolete Items

No, I'm not old enough to remember quill pens.  Oldish, but not that oldish.  Still, weren't they elegant?

 

Here are some other obsolete items.  If you're of "a certain age," you may remember them:

Rotary dial phone

 

We had only one phone in our house, and it stayed in one place.  When we got phone jacks and could move it around, we thought we were sooo modern.  And our phone number had only 5 digits; my father's business phone had 4.

 





We spent many summer evenings at the drive-in, the best place to cool off after a scorching Texas day.

Car hops and curb service, another summer delight

Milk delivery, so long ago, the picture's in black and white.

 

And finally, stick shift cars.  Of course, they're still around, but many people don't know how to drive them.  I don't know if this is true or an urban legend, but someone told me a man got out of his car to check his mailbox and a guy jumped in to steal the vehicle.  30 seconds later he jumped out.  It was a stick shift and he didn't know how to drive it.

P is for Purple

Purple is one of my favorite colors, from soft, soothing lavendar to deep royal purple, from amethyst jewelry to purple twilight.

 

Some facts about purple:

• Purple was the color of the first dye made by man. It was called “Mauveine” and was made out of coal tar. The recipe was discovered by William Henry Perkin in 1856.
• Purple is the color of mourning for widows in Thailand.
• Purple was the favorite color of Egypt’s Cleopatra and has been traditionally associated with royalty in many cultures. Purple robes were worn by royalty and people of authority or high rank.
• The Purple Heart is a U.S. Military decoration given to soldiers wounded in battle.
• In Christianity, purple is associated with Advent and Lent. Catholic priests wear purple vestments before performing Reconciliation.
• Even in U.S. politics, a state with equal distribution of Republicans and Democrats is referred to as a “purple state.”
• Purple is the color of the highest denomination poker chip = $5,000.

 

 

 

 

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Here's a poem about purple from Hailstones and Halibut Bones

 

Time is purple

Just before night

When most people

Turn on the light--

But if yuou don't, it's

A beautiful sight.

Asters are purple

There's purple ink.

Purple's more popular

Than you think...

Its sort of a great

Grandmother to pink.

There are purple shadows

And purple veils

Some ladies purple

Their fingernails

There's purple jam

And purple jell

And a purple bruise

Next day will tell

Where you landed

When you fell.

The purple feeling

Is rather put-out

The purple look

Is a definite pout.

But the purple sound

Is the loveliest thing

It's a violet opening

In the spring.

O is for Omelet in a Bag

Having a large group over for breakfast or brunch?  Here's a quick way to make omelets so that everyone gets the filling they prefer--omelets in a bag.
;
Prepare a number of different fillings so guests will have a choice:
     cheese, tomatoes, ham, bacon, potatoes, peppers,mushrooms, etc.

Boil a large pot of water.

Crack 2 eggs per guest, beat, then pour into quart size baggies.

Pour whatever fillings are chosen into each bag; close bag, shake gently.

Open bag to release air, then reseal and drop into boiling water.

Boil for 12-13 minutes, then slide omelet onto a plate.  Enjoy.

N is for No-Bake Cookies

I'm not sure where I found this recipe, but I use it all the time in my speech pathology practice for language stimulation, sequencing, or carry-over of speech sounds.  I even used it once in a romance novel about a speech pathologist called A Man of Few Words (still available on Amazon). Making these cookies takes about two minutes and kids love them.

  2 tablespoons peanut butter (I like crunchy)

 

Mix with 2 tablespoons Marshmallow Creme (very sticky)
Make the sticky mixture into little balls.

Crush vanilla wafers and roll the balls in the cookie crumbs.  That's all there is to it.  Great preschool fun.

M is for Memoir

 

M, not surprisingly, is for my memoir, Stumbling Through the Dark.  It's the story of my husband's and my final year as he fought leukemia.  Writing it was a labor of love, a catharsis, and a memorial to him as I recounted a time of anger, joy and pain,  I hope you'll look it up on Amazon or Barnes and Noble and if you read it, post an honest review.  Thanks.