The working vocabulary of the average 14-year-old has declined in the last 50 years from 25,000 words to 10,000. Language reflects the depth of our human experience. Because we think in words, are we losing the capacity to say what we feel?
Like, whatever.
Lean in, girls …
Here’s a nibble of gossip that’s begging for gab:
I hear that a Carrotmob may be coming your way.
Keep your eyes peeled!
Photo by Kander via Wikimedia Commons
I can only imagine what you must be thinking …
A carrot-hurling gang of hoodlums!
Garden raiders!
Is Bugs Bunny behind this?
What’s up, Doc?
Before you take up your garden hoes,
let me explain.
The Carrotmob isn’t about raiding
(or rabbits).
Photo by Kessa Ligerro (GFDL or CC-BY-SA-2.0) via Wikimedia Commons
It’s a fabulously fresh initiative that is out to convince businesses to make positive changes by providing incentives.
The philosophy is simple: dangle a carrot—you know the adage.
Terry Steinmetz says: I love this idea. I try to shop in our local businesses as much as possible. There is this one hardware store that if you need it, they will have it. They will go to their basement to see if they have something if you need it & it isn’t on the floor. I love that about them! Also loved the bunnies!
What a beautiful photo! I looooove ladybugs:) Good luck all around! Love your blog!
The leaves are green, the nuts are brown.
They hang so high they won’t come down.
Leave them alone till frosty weather,
then they will all come down together.
I recalled this old autumnal rhyme
Just in the nick of frosting time!
Okay, enough with the verse.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Thunk.
But, really …
Can you believe we’re already cuddling up to November?
As I peer out the window through the soft shadows of an early morning,
I can see …
Winnie Nielsen says: This is a new word to me but the tree just explains what it means. With it being in the 80s still here every day, I cannot imagine what it must look like out your window. I have always loved the black starkness of leafless trees against the azure blue sky of a cold day. Breathtaking!!
Terry Steinmetz says: I love those words & I’m going to add them to my “dictionary” of new words to learn & use. We are traveling to Connecticut to visit our son & daughter-in-law & it is still in the high 70’s!!!
Do you ever have one of those mornings when dawn shatters at the sound of the alarm clock?
You literally fly out of bed, realizing that you only have a shred of time before an early phone appointment.
Leaving the blankets bunched at the foot of the bed, you lunge for the loo and end up tripping on a table leg.
Ouch!
Who put that nightstand there anyway?!
(We all know the answer to that one.)
So, there you are, holding your pummeled pinky toe and
shouting daggers,
when a lovely little lilac of a face peers through the doorway and coos,
“Good morning, Mommy! I love you!”
Ahhh …
The world melts at your feet (one of them still in your hand).
Your heart drizzles dreamily back into its proper place,
And, just like that,
the day sheds its dour demeanor
and begins to dance.
Can you guess what all of the bold phrases in this entry have in common?
Winnie Nielsen says: How about ” she got ready in a heartbeat?” I have never heard of this word either. Who thinks these words up anyway??
MaryJane says: Perfect. I know! Who/where/what/how/why? I loved the history behind petrichor.
So, ladies, are you in a hurry to hear the huff-and-puff that is soon to emanate from the hustings?
Huh?
Let me clarify.
Winnie Nielsen says: I’m just agreein !!!!
Having a 14 year old, I can see that! Seriously considering Homeschooling for my younger ones.
Interesting that this word just came up in the Wall Street Journal not too long ago.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444772804577623452628195804.html
At a political rally in Wonderland …
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland illustration by Jessie Wilcox Smith, Wikimedia
Our beguilingly befuddled heroine, Alice (who else?), was muddling her way through the hugger-mugger of a most unruly crowd of partisan expatriates.
She was feeling a tad topsy-turvy as a result of guzzling a gallon of green goo which had been labeled in a language of gobbledygook that she hadn’t even tried to decipher before drinking (a word to the wise: never wander into Wonderland thirsty).
While Alice fumbled amidst the fray of white rabbits slinging wristwatches at men primly dressed as playing cards, she struggled to …
Winnie Nielsen says: Things gone Willy-nilly? Today, I am simply Thrilled!! No gobbledygook for me today!! Snow White Winnie is flying high!!!!!
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
This makes me smile. We moved to WA state earlier this year. I’m so looking forward to the snow and seeing my mountains. They are much more beautiful covered in snow.