Just a picture and a word!

WORD OF THE DAY!

ELUCIDATE

e·lu·ci·date /ɪˈlusɪˌdeɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[i-loo-si-deyt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation verb, -dat·ed, -dat·ing.
–verb (used with object)
1.
to make lucid or clear; throw light upon; explain: an explanation that elucidated his recent strange behavior. –verb (used without object)
2.
to provide clarification; explain.

REST?

I will start this morning with the word of the day, but first I need to explain! I am taking two vacation days, with one vacation day still owed to me, which I will take next month some time. So, anyway, I lay awake in bed, hoping that I can go back to sleep, but that just isn't going to happen. I get up and go outside in the brisk weather, in my slippers and sleeping clothes, which made it even brisker, to get my newspaper. I read a couple of articles, letters to the editor and such and then find my trusty pencil so that I can do the morning crossword puzzle. (I do crosswords in pencil because my Mother told me to never use a pen in case you have to erase something. If you can use a pen, you are just entirely too smart.) There I am, getting my brain exercise and come upon the weirdest clue that I have ever had. The word of the day is:

BACCHANAL

bac·cha·nal /n. ˌbɑkəˈnɑl, ˌbækəˈnæl, ˈbækənl; adj. ˈbækənl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[n. bah-kuh-nahl, bak-uh-nal, bak-uh-nl; adj. bak-uh-nl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1.
a follower of Bacchus.
2.
a drunken reveler.
3.
an occasion of drunken revelry; orgy; bacchanalia. –adjective
4.
pertaining to Bacchus; bacchanalian.

I grab my trusty Crossword puzzle dictionary, and it gives two possibilities. One of them is orgy! I am thinking what the hell kind of word is this to put in a puzzle. Well, of course, orgy doesn't fit into the spaces that I need to fill, so I just go on about my business and try to fill in more spaces, especially now that I have my trusty helper out. I try to work it for a while, but the word bacchanal is really bothering me and I think, man, that will be my word of the day. Actually, it's a pretty good word, and one that probably a lot of people don't know, except for those that are able to do crossword puzzles in pen.

In other happenings, there is not much going on. Christmas with the grandkids, John and Megan turned well, but kinda hectic and crazy, in a good way. I was sad to see them go, but I know that they needed to get back to their lives. Bailey and Wesley are in kindergarten and getting smarter every day, and Will is in a day care that also has a pre-school. Wesley can count in French and Will can count to 5 in Spanish. That was pretty impressive! Bailey is starting to sound out words and such, so they are doing well.

Ever since Sunday, when we did our Christmas, I have been thinking that the most horrible job to have would be a garbage man! I guess that the politically correct term is trash collector or something like that. I mean, I would really hate that job! It would probably seem that with a somewhat mundane job, the work load would double or even triple in less than a week. So, KUDOS to all of the hard working people in the City of Paducah that have this job, for cleaning up my trashy mess after the holidays! If you know any of them, tell them thanks for me. I don't know any trash collectors, but I am sure that they rarely hear thank you! Maybe I'll leave them something on top of the trash bin, but I would be afraid that it would get thrown away.

Two days off and what will I do? I can tell you what I AM doing! Laundry! How freakin' ironic is that? Anyone out there wanna give me a break? Just holler at me! Maybe a glass of wine, beer, or just chit chat for a while? Won't be much of a rest! On a final note, I guess that it's like my Mother says, "No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need any!" Wonder which category I would fall into.

Oh, by the way, one of my most favorite pictures that I have ever taken.

Exhaustion!

I am completely and totally exhausted! I am going back to work today in hopes of getting some rest. I hope that we will be done early though so that I can come home and take a nap. You would think that I would be rested after going to bed at 7:30 last night, but I guess that it wasn't enough. We have had a great time with Megan, John, Wesley, Bailey and Will. We did our Christmas yesterday, but it kind of made me feel out of sorts. It's been absolutely nuts in the household with 5 extra people staying here, but the time has been well spent and it's always nice to have your family around you. Saturday evening and Sunday morning, I spent my time cooking all of the things that we usually have for Christmas. I did a ham, homemade rolls, tons of gingersnaps, chocolate chip cookies, and several different appetizer type dishes. By the time that all of that was done, I was done also. (Thanks to Jill for all of her help.) We opened some gifts and we all got some really nice things. I got 2 pair of really cool shoes! One pair is red! But, anyway, I didn't take one single picture of anyone or anything, BAD ME, but who had the time?
Tomorrow, Edwin, Pete, Jill and I will do our Christmas after we have all had coffee and stuff, then I will be on vacation until the 31st of December. Now, that doesn't mean that my cell phone won't be ringing like crazy, but I really am going to try and rest my body and my mind starting this afternoon.
Mother, Cameron, and Sybil, I love you guys with every nth of my being and really wish that I could be there with you guys at this time of year. It just seems that it's never in the cards for me though. I hope that you all try and have a good Christmas and play some cards and laugh and all that stuff. Samantha, I love you too and I know that you will have a lot of fun considering that you have 2 young ones that still believe! The looks on those young faces on Christmas morning will be priceless.
Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention the fact that my car won't start! Maybe Pappy will work on it today! Just my luck!

WORD OF THE DAY:

I see this word in crossword puzzles all of the time, I guess that it's time that I learn what it means so that I can fill in some blanks!

ERSATZ
er·satz /ˈɛrzɑts, -sɑts, ɛrˈzɑts, -ˈsɑts/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[er-zahts, -sahts, er-zahts, -sahts] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1.
serving as a substitute; synthetic; artificial: an ersatz coffee made from grain. –noun
2.
an artificial substance or article used to replace something natural or genuine; a substitute.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!

I REALLY HATE CHRISTMAS SWEATERS

It's been a hell week so far at work. I really mean what I said in the post title. Now don't get me wrong, I love Santa and all that jazz, in fact I have renamed my living room, front room, or whatever that room is with the Christmas tree in it "Santa Hell" because of the collection of Santas that I have amassed. But, I just don't understand the point of having a sweater that you can only wear once a year for about a month. Don't get me wrong, I love clothes and am a shoe freak, but those things are really getting on my nerves. I have seen so many of those things this week that I think I am going to puke. I have seen them with little tiny Christmas lights on them, jingle bells on them, an actual Santa beard on them, sequins, glitter, you name it. Yeah, I know, I was trying to get back in the Christmas spirit, but these things are absolutely ridiculous! Maybe I shouldn't be so anal about it because it is Christmas, or maybe I'm just tired. Maybe I should change my attitude and think of it like the "little black dress" saying. You know the one that goes "every woman should have a little black dress", and say "every one needs a Christmas sweater", well, I don't need one and don't want one, but I do have a little black dress, and it's not so little. I prefer red anyway.

So much for my ranting, on a lighter note, in less than 24 hours my GRANDBABIES will be here! I am so excited to see them! We will do our family Christmas on Sunday and they will head home to South Carolina! It just won't be the same without them here for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Won't be the same without Megan and John here either.

Picture is from Christmas last year. Sorry about the red eye!

WORD OF THE DAY! SOLICITOUS

so·lic·i·tous /səˈlɪsɪtəs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[suh-lis-i-tuhs] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1.
anxious or concerned (usually fol. by about, for, etc., or a clause): solicitous about a person's health.
2.
anxiously desirous: solicitous of the esteem of others.
3.
eager (usually fol. by an infinitive): He was always solicitous to please.
4.
careful or particular: a solicitous housekeeper

Gift

Last night I made a gift for a young friend of mine. A couple of weeks ago I took her and another friend of mine to the art galleries for Second Saturday. That's when the galleries stay open a little bit later to allow more folks to come and peruse their wares and such. She was so impressed. She's a very creative person and loves art and music, and she really enjoyed herself on top of that. So, I tried to put my creative mind to work and made a montage out of a couple of slides that I did during photography class. (Thanks to Beverly!) I didn't get to watch TV, or scratch my husbands back, but I feel that the time that I spent working on it gave me a good feeling. I will put it in a frame that I bought at Michael's and hope that she likes the outcome.

WORD OF THE DAY!

sub·lime /səˈblaɪm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[suh-blahym] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation adjective, noun, verb, -limed, -lim·ing.
–adjective
1.
elevated or lofty in thought, language, etc.: Paradise Lost is sublime poetry.
2.
impressing the mind with a sense of grandeur or power; inspiring awe, veneration, etc.: Switzerland has sublime scenery.
3.
supreme or outstanding: a sublime dinner.
4.
complete; absolute; utter: sublime stupidity.
5.
Archaic.

Simple word for the day!

Christmases Past

My Christmas spirit is disappearing. I don't know what's wrong with me. Well, I do know part of the problem, but that is another post, which probably won't be written. So, instead of wallowing in the muck and mire, and trying not to become a horrible grinch, I have been trying to think of something to "light my Christmas fire", and it has nothing to do with mistletoe, so get your minds out of the gutter!
While growing up, I had the greatest parents you could imagine. Christmas was always the best time! There was ALWAYS at least a foot of snow on the ground, Mother was always making homemade fudge, homemade caramels, tons of wonderful goodies, and of course baking that EVER DREADFUL fruitcake! Of course, there were still chores to be done where Dad took charge. I particularly remember one Christmas when me and my little brother, Cameron, thought that we were going to outsmart Santa. We had been looking forward and planning for a couple of days. The only heat that we had came from a propane stove and it sat right in the living room, underneath the stairs that led upstairs to our rooms. So, the plan was, that we were going to make camp, underneath the stairs, near the stove, so that we wouldn't freeze to death. Bedtime came and our parents agreed to let us do this, probably because they knew that we wouldn't last too long. So, there we are, blankets and pillows on the floor, (why we didn't opt for the couch I do not know), and ready and willing to lay there and wait for Santa to come popping down that chimney through the stove pipe, and magically out into our living room through the vents in the front of the stove where the heat came out. I don't know if this is what Cameron thought, but I sure did believe it. We left the Santa treat near the stove, so that if we did happen to fall asleep we would hear him and it would wake us up. I couldn't tell you what happened or why, but the next thing that I knew I was awake, the treat for Santa was gone, there were gifts everywhere, I was warm, but my body was oh so stiff and sore, I guess from sleeping all night on that hardwood floor. I don't know why my parents didn't carry us up to bed after we konked out, probably to teach us some kind of valuable lesson, like don't wait up for Santa!! I think that on Christmas Day that year we played endlessly in the snow! We did that a lot though. Well, off to work I go! Oh, almost forgot, the WORD OF THE DAY IS: SPURIOUS (rhymes with furious!)

spu·ri·ous /ˈspyʊəriəs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[spyoor-ee-uhs] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1.
not genuine, authentic, or true; not from the claimed, pretended, or proper source; counterfeit.

AARGH!

WORD OF THE DAY IS CAVEAT! CAVEAT CAVEAT CAVEAT! I shouldn't need to say more!


ca·ve·at /ˈkæviˌɑt, -ˌæt, ˈkɑvi-, keɪ-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kav-ee-aht, -at, kah-vee-, key-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1.
a warning or caution; admonition.



Have you ever realized that a yellow light is a caveat? Weird! Pain is a caveat! That sinking feeling you get in your gut that moves to the bottom of your toes is a caveat! So many caveats, so little time.