Word for the day…put that in your pipe and smoke it!

This word stumped me while I was playing Scrabble, so I’ll share it:

“Estrone is an estrogenic hormone secreted by the ovary as well as adipose tissue. Estrone is one of several natural estrogens, which also include estriol and estradiol. Estrone is the least abundant of the three hormones; estradiol is present almost always in the reproductive female body, and estriol is abundant primarily during pregnancy.” (from Wikipedia)

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

As always, feel free to add your own crazy, hazy, silly, new or weird words to this thread.

Wordmeisters appetizer for the day….now let’s be honest about this…

Please add any of your favorite words to this thread! Our word for today is probity. The Definition of PROBITY:
(noun) adherence to the highest principles and ideals : uprightness

Etymology: Middle English probite, from Latin probitat-, probitas, from probus honest —First used in 15th century

Antonyms: badness, evil, evildoing, immorality, iniquity, sin, villainy, wickedness

Source cited:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/probity

Killing for sport is….

“Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow-creatures is amusing in itself.”- James A. Froude, Brittish historian.

The Mothers of Invention- not just another rock band

Frank Zappa may have named his rock band “The Mothers of Invention” but the original phrase “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” was first printed in 1658 in  Richard Franck’s ‘Northern Memoirs, calculated for the meridian of Scotland‘. The frontispiece of the reprint states that the original was “writ in the year 1658“. It contains this: “Art imitates Nature, and Necessity is the Mother of Invention.”  The phrase denotes that difficult situations inspire ingenious solutions.

Source cited- www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention.html

 

 

How to get your New Years resolutions to stick!

Many people talk about resolutions, but here is a 35 minute video that can inspire and educate you on how to make those resolutions into new habits and help you make them reality!
http://socialmediabar.com/light-your-new-years-resolutions-on-fire

Live Christmas tree or fake Christmas tree; which is better?

Here’s some information I’d like to share about the live Christmas tree vs. the fake Christmas tree debate.

We have over 20 large trees on our property already (many of which we planted, including two Christmas pines). Now that we don’t have any more room for trees, we contacted the City of Pasadena about replanting a live Christmas tree anywhere in the city. They kindly refused saying that they were concentrating on “planting only indigenous trees” so that the water consumed by the new trees would be less than non-indigenous trees (like the huge pines). We called conservation groups, the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, all had run into the same restrictions. So, if we do get a live tree, where will we plant it after Christmas?

Who was the real “Uncle Sam”?

I got this from a Care2 newsletter, they always have groovy trivia to share around the holidays.

- In 1812, Samuel Wilson was a meat packer providing meat to the United States Army. The meat shipments were stamped with the initials “US”, leading to the joke that the initials stood for “Uncle Sam”. This eventually led to the idea of Uncle Sam representing the United States government.

- The word “patriotism” comes from the Latin “patria”, meaning homeland or fatherland.

- Three American presidents died on Independence Day. John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day in 1826 and James Monroe died in 1831.

Source: http://www.care2.com

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

Op-Ed: What I really miss…

What I really miss…

Of course, if we’re talking about going back in time, I would say “I really miss my vigor; the health and vitality I used to take for granted.”

But, if we’re talking about things I miss that have even a passing chance of coming back, one of those things would be…roomier parking spaces.

Yes, you heard me right!

You see, public parking lots used to have a small lane that was painted in between the cars, which would allow you to get out of your car without banging your car door into your neighbor’s car.

I guess some up-and-comer figured out that they could squeeze a few more parking spaces into a parking lot by omitting this extra space between the cars.

What that hot shot failed to forecast is that cars would become SUV/tank sized (now the car doors are bigger), while the populace of the US also increased in size (requiring more room to get out of those cars.)

What we have now is a veritable extravaganza of car door dings, scratches and body work that needs to be done after trying to exit our vehicles, leading to a proliferation of business for the auto body shops.

Not to mention more business for chiropractors as we have to become human pretzels just to get out of our cars!

All I can say to the guy who designed these new parking lots is…

“Thanks a lot, pal.”

What do YOU really miss???

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

Where did the phrase “keep it under your hat” come from?

The phrase “keep it under your hat” means to keep a secret, meaning keep the information in your head, not on your lips.

An early example is found in P. G. Wodehouse’s Inimitable Jeeves, written in 1923:

“It made such a hit with her when she found that I loved her for herself alone, despite her humble station, that she kept it under her hat. She meant to spring it on me later.”

Entire citation can be found at www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/under-your-hat.html

Some of my favorite holiday movies…..

I’m enjoying the new holiday movies with Tim Allen…The Santa Clause, it is a great modern take on keeping the Santa tradition alive. Check it out if you get a chance!

I also have an unusual choice, called “Twas the Nightmare before Christmas”. It’s not a horror movie, it’s an animated movie about how all the holidays “live” in a land of their own and how Halloween got mixed up with Christmas one year. Very witty! (The music is by Danny Elfman.)

My new favorite Dickens “A Christmas Carol” is with Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge. I think it’s well done and uses less of the special effects and relies more on the acting to make it meaningful and authentic.

Would anyone else like to share their favorite movies at this time of year?

Snuggle up with a friend and have some hot cider, chocolate, or tea, and enjoy!
Diane Tegarden