IWSG, Butterflies Lollygagging in Your Stomach, Fourth of July Quotes and Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:   JS Pailly, Rebecca Douglass, Pat Garcia, Louise-Fundy Blue, and Natalie Aguirre!

 

This month's question is: What are your favorite writing processing (e.g. Word, Scrivener, yWriter, Dabble), writing apps, software, and tools? Why do you recommend them? And which one is your all time favorite that you cannot live without and use daily or at least whenever you write?

I'd be interested to find out what other people use. I've only ever known Word, which used to be delightfully simple but has grown more complicated as time has marched along. Or...I go old school, pencil and paper. But that, of course, then has to be transcribed into...Word. 

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Happy Fourth of July!

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Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: Butterflies in your stomach

We all know what the phrase means and how it feels, right?

But where did it come from.

Florence as Puck, transforming Bottom.

Sometimes it's hard to pin down these fluttering flights of fancy that I have. What I did discover is that the American author, Florence Converse, was the first to write it into a novel in 1908, but she used it differently. "...gave him a sad feeling, as if he had a butterfly in his stomach.” Source: theidioms.com. However I couldn't find what novel it came from.

In 1943 it was a paratrooper named Bill Gardener who used it the way we do now, to indicate nervous excitement or anxiety, “I landed all right and although I’ll always have butterflies in my stomach every time I go up …” Source: theidioms.com. And, as we all know, it isn't just a pretty, descriptive phrase, it can be an actual physical sensation.

Today's Weird Word is: Lollygag

It seems to have appeared out of nowhere sometime around 1862. 

It was once spelled "lallygag" and had two meanings: to dawdle (love that word), waste time, dilly-dally, etc. and to kiss, neck, smooch and engage in that sort of love-making. 

It probably came from the the word "loll" which goes all the way back to Shakespeare and has to do with the tongue dripping, drooling, or hanging out of the mouth. Licking a lollypop comes to mind and why it may have first evolved to mean kissing.

Quotes of the Month

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” – Erma Bombeck

"We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. – Robert J. McCracken

"Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.” – James Bryce

"America is a tune.  It must be sung together.” – Gerald Stanley Lee

"So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snow capped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful air conditioning.

What are you thankful for? Does this Fourth feel different to you, or is it just me? 

I lost my marbles and they went all cattywampus on me. IWSG. Origins. Weird Words. Being Thankful.

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.
 
Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:  Liza at Middle Passages, Shannon Lawrence, Melissa Maygrove, and Olga Godim!

This month's question is: In this constantly evolving industry, what kind of offering/service do you think the IWSG should consider offering to member? The only thing I can think of is, when I want to switch to the IWSG site to pick up the question and this month/s co-hosts, I get a message warning me not to go to the site as there are trojans lurking there and it is highly recommended that I not visit it! I don't know if it's true or not...I don't know if it's just the "sensitivity" of my ante-bug programs. I don't know if it's something that can be checked or if anyone else has gotten these same messages. This has happened the last three months or so and I thought I'd mention it because I think the IWSG is about the best thing to come along since sliced bread!

Origins: is a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: Loose your marbles

This is a simple one. It probably originated in the United States in the late 1800s. The first written record is from 1876, but it was likely in oral use before then. As you might suspect, marbles was (still is) a game played by children (and some adults). Marbles were precious items, they were collected and coveted. When you played some games of marbles you could lose them to another player. Or, if you literally lost them and couldn't find them, it was a great loss indeed. You might get very mad or upset if you lost your marbles, which was understandable. 

Growing up in the Virgin Islands marbles was strictly a game the boys played, jacks was for girls. However that didn't stop my sister and me. We were the only girls who played marbles. Our shooters were "steelies" large steel ball bearings our father gave to us. Steelies were coveted and sought after by anyone who was a serious player. Fun times.

But wait! There's another possible origin of the idiom. In the early 1800s it was believed that people who were mentally ill had tiny glass balls in their heads (I kid you not). Which is why, when people went crazy, they were said to have "lost their marbles." 

In these tumultuous times let us not lose our marbles, but keep them securely together in our craniums.

 

Today's Weird Word is: Cattywampous

Also spelled, catawampous, cattywampus, or catiwampus, it's related to catty-cornered. Catty has nothing to do with cats but is from the obsolete cater, (cater-cornered)  "to set, cut, or move diagonally."  Cater is from the French, catre, meaning "four" which is from the Latin quattuor.  Wampous may be related to the Scottish word wampish, meaning "to wriggle, twist, or swerve about." The Proto-Indo-European root for four is kwetwer.

However, back in the 1830s Americans loved to make up funny pseudo-classical sounding words using cata. Catawampusly, first used in adverb from about 1834, didn't have a particular meaning but added intensity to an action, as in "utterly, completely, fiercely or eagerly." "She was catawampusly in love with cad." By 1864 it had graduated to noundom and was used to describe something that was askew or wrong. Nine years later it was being used to describe something on the diagonal, was bias, or crooked.

Quotes of the Month

"Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing can ever be made." Immanuel Kant

Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The Little Prince as a
little boy.

"Of course I'll hurt you. Of course you'll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence." Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful that we've had some actual measurable rain. Not enough to break the drought, but enough to put some much needed water in the river.

My sister's second annual visit with her heart doctors went well. She's in good health and we had a lovely visit.

Shenanigans are Afoot with that White Elephant in the Room, IWSG, Quotes, Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:   Victoria Marie Lees, Kim Lajevardi, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

This month's question is: How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you? I used to handle distractions pretty well, would even write in pubs and other noisy places. Any more I like it quiet and can be frustrated if interrupted.

Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: Elephant in the room

As we all know, the elephant in the room, is a metaphor used to describe an issue that is obvious or controversial but is being ignored and the people don't want to talk about, like say, climate change. 

A royal white elephant of Thailand.

Ivan Krylov, a Russian poet and fabulist may well have been the first to have used a close cousin of the term in a story he wrote back in 1814 called "The Inquisitive Man," in which a man goes to a museum and is very interested in all sorts of small things, but fails to see the elephant on display. Fyodor Dostoevsky says in his novel Demons, "Belinsky was just like Krylov's Inquisitive Man, who didn't notice the elephant in the museum..." But it was Mark Twain, in 1882, who gave us a story about inept detectives trying to find a white elephant -- which do exist, by the way, but are rare. Myanmar had ten in 2023.

Today's Weird Word is: Shenanigans

Originally it meant, "nonsense, deceit, humbug."  Nowadays we mostly used to mean being silly, high-spirited or full of mischief.

You'll never guess where this word was first recorded. California! Not only that, in San Francisco and Sacramento!

It seems to have come into usage around 1855 and may be derived from chanada, a shortened form of the Spanish word charranada, meaning "trick or deceit". There are other possible origins: the German, Schenigelei, jargon for "work, craft." OR the Irish sionnach, meaning "fox." Take your pick. Shenanigans are bound to happen if Weird Al has anything to say about it.

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I'm sure everyone is wondering what happened with the eclipse last month? It was cloudy, mostly overcast, but we did get a couple of very nice glimpses of totality. Hubby and I went for the experience and weren't disappointed. I'd heard that a breeze could spring up right before totality and that it would get cooler. Both of those things happened. Hummers, cardinals, and wrens that were all singing got very quiet when it got dark (and it did get dark) and a cricket started chirping. It was eerie and surreal and I admit, quite emotional. I got all teary-eyed. 

I never thought that I'd have the change to see/experience a total eclipse let alone be in the path of both the annular and total... what can I say. Awesome!

Quotes of the Month

"What else is love but understanding and rejoicing in the fact that another person lives, acts, and experiences otherwise than we do?" Friedrich Nietzsche

"That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all lessons that history has to teach." Aldus Huxley

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful that my sister will be here 12 days.

What are you thankful for? Are you bothered or not by distractions when you're in the midst of being creative? Participated in any shenanigans lately?

IWSG, A Total Eclipse of Green Cheese, Quotes and Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:   Janet Alcorn, T. Powell Coltrin, Natalie Aguirre, and Pat Garcia!

This month's question is: How long have you been blogging? (Or on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram?) What do you like about it and how has it changed?

I'm not sure how long I've been blogging, maybe since around 2003/04? My earliest posts, where I tentatively put my big toe in the internet waters, seem to have disappeared. So, I can only go back as far as April 19, 2008.  Blogging introduced me to many people in the writing world and I am every so grateful to all of them. I used to blog almost every day, then it was three times a week, then once a week. Now it's once a month. And, I feel guilty for not visiting other blogs like I used to. My excuse is that I'm always at work on the first Wednesday so by the time I'm off on Friday I'm so distracted with other things that I don't get around to visiting visiting! That's not very nice of me when there are several of you who keep coming back to read my wandering words. 

As for Facebook, I think I've been on since around 2015, maybe earlier, but I don't really know, nor do I know how to find out. For me FB has been a needed place to keep in touch with my family and friends in the Caribbean, particularly after hurricanes. Lots of valuable and needed information has been able to be shared and for that reason, I stay on board. FB has gotten very political (I'm guilty of adding to it) and I'm dismayed at the amount of mis and disinformation that get's posted, but I'm also inspired by the many uplifting memes and stories.

I was on Twitter/X for a  while, but I never did get the hang of it or how to use it or figure what good it was for. So, when I heard Musk was going to buy it, I deleted my account.

Origins: is a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: The Moon is Made of Green Cheese

Not really a phrase... but there's a reason for choosing this descriptor of the moon.

A HUGE BIG DEAL is going to happen here in my small town. 

We are GROUND ZERO for the TOTAL ECLIPSE the universe has scheduled for Monday, the 8th. A mere 5 days away! We are starting to see an influx of traffic. NASA is already here as we will have about the longest time in the dark, 4 minutes and 24 second. Realize the total population of the town and county is about 53,000.  No one has been able to give us a reasonable estimate on the number of people that will be descending upon us, but it's anywhere from 150,000 to 500,000! We are excited and holding our breath at the same time. How will our infrastructure and facilities hold up? The "Authorities" say they aren't concerned about the people who have made plans well in advance -- hotels, motels, B&Bs etc. have long been booked with a minimum 3 to 4 night stay. But they ARE concerned about the day trippers who think they'll just be able to get on Interstate 10, Texas 27 or Texas 16 to come watch the sun disappear. The people who haven't planned are the ones who will cause the worst of the traffic jams; they might run out of gas, not have enough water and food on hand, and will be difficult to reach if there's an emergency. It could take anywhere from 5 to 8 HOURS on I10 to get from here to San Antonio a mere 60 miles away. No heavy trucks or semis will be allowed to travel on the 8th in more the 80 counties. Interstate 10 will have one lane closed in both both directions, a distance of about 100 miles -- we're in the middle of that -- to allow people to park and watch the event. 

We will be staying put at home.

I'd like to say I'll be posting pictures on Facebook the day of, but the Authorities have warned us that cell and internet connectivity will likely be non-existent for the day because we only have 4 cell towers and they'll quickly be overloaded.  However, those of us with Spectrum and WiFi, may be ok. 

All that said, I'm excited as I've never experienced a total eclipse.

Now on to the curious idea of the Moon as Cheese

Since the moon is going to be covering the sun I thought the idea would be interesting to explore.

Thinking the moon is made of cheese is an old metaphor used by many nationalities in folktales to describes a simpleton who, upon seeing the moon reflecting in water, believes it is a wheel of cheese. The general population never actually believed the moon was made of cheese let alone green cheese -- which is newly made, unaged cheese.  As early as the 1520s, it has been considered an example of...to put it bluntly...stupidity to think it was.

Fables, proverbs, and children's stories about the moon reflected in water and thought to be edible can be found in Slavic, Turkish, Jewish, Zulu, French, Scottish, and English cultures. It was interesting to discover that a fox or wolf, or in the case of the Zulu story, a hyena, was often involved.

Quotes of the Month

 "In other words, if a decision-maker thinks something cannot be true and interprets this to mean it has zero probability, he will never be influenced by any data, which is surely absurd. So leave a little probability for the moon being made of green cheese; it can be as small as 1 in a million, but have it there since otherwise an army of astronauts returning with samples of the said cheese will leave you unmoved." Dennis Lindley

"If I tell you there's cheese on the moon, bring the crackers." Tyronn Lu

Being Thankful

Today I'm obviously thankful for the opportunity to watch a total solar eclipse.

We pray for clear skies, 

particularly since there is currently a 50% chance of rain for Sunday and Monday.

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How long have you been blogging, or been on Facebook/Twitter etc.? Have you ever seen a total eclipse? (I've seen several partials). Would you/have you traveled to see a total eclipse?

IWSG, Gee Willikers Let's Chew the Fat Awhile, Quotes, Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:    Kristina Kelly, Miffie Seideman, Jean Davis, and Liza @ Middle Passages!

This month's question is: Have you "played" with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI's impact on creative writing?

I haven't "played" with AI at all, nor do I intend to. I'm too old for this New Age stuff. I think it's impact on the arts could possibly lead to a diminishing of human creativity, ingenuity, and imagination. 

Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: Chew the fat

There appear to be several myths about the origins of this phrase, all of which sound quite plausible but are unverifiable. The truth came as a complete surprise to me.

Myth 1: It came about because sailors ate salted/dried fish and meat while at sea which required a lot of chewing.

Myth 2: It originated with Native American tribes who chewed on animal hides to soften them.

Myth 3: (The most commonly believed one) In the fifteen hundreds a family could show of its wealth by offering guests small bits of pork to chew. (Ewwww) 

Here's something from 1942-43.

The Truth: We can blame it on the British army in India. "Prior to the adoption of metallic cartridges, most ammunition was composed of powder and a ball wrapped in paper or cloth soaked in animal fat, which was bitten open during musket drill. Soldiers were known to chew on these ends to pass the time and reduce nerves, and in some cases to stave off cravings for chewing tobacco." (Wikipedia)

1885 is when it was first used in a book titled, Life in the Ranks of the British Army in India by J. Brunlees Patterson, where he described it as military men  complaining, grousing, and grumbling about conditions. An earlier form (1875) "chew the rag," is American and is more about gabbing and gossiping. 

Today's Weird Word is: Gee willikers

This is strictly an American euphonism, an exclamation of surprise, enthusiasm, or exasperation. Earliest citation is from 1847. "Perhaps (i) a fanciful alteration of Jerusalem! (which is probably itself a euphemistic alteration of Jesus.)" Oxford English Dictionary. 

There are many variations of this theme: Gee-Whittaker, Gee-whitaker, Geewhillikins, Gee willikers. 

Does anybody even use it any more?

Quotes of the Month from Eleanor Roosevelt 

One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes.

We shall have to be willing to learn and to accept differences of opinion and background.

In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. The choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.

...freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.

It takes a good home and a good school to prepare young people for citizenship in a democracy and even then they will have to go on learning throughout life.

Being Thankful

Today I am thankful for the seemingly simple things of life:

air to breathe, food to eat, a roof over my head.

The list is long. 

What simple things are you thankful for? Have you used AI? What are your thoughts on it? Have you ever used "chewing the fat" or "gee willikers"?

IWSG, By the Skin of My Teeth I'm Driving that Jalopy, Quotes, Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:   Janet Alcorn, SE White, Victoria Marie Lees, and Cathrina Constantine!

This month's question is: What turns you off when visiting an author's website/blog? Lack of information? A drone of negativity? Little mention of author's books? Constant mention of books? Oh gosh. Lack of information about what?  I don't recall ever visiting a blog or website that's a drone of negativity. But I'm sure that would be a turn-off for me. My own blog is guilty of not mentioning my books much, but they're there...over to your right if you'd care to check them out. Since writers have had to become their own promoters (even if published traditionally) I can't fault those who loudly toot their own horns. If they don't do it, who will? I'm an introvert in that department. I'm happy be in the chorus and sing my part, but I'm not comfortable as the soloist.

Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or  phrase.

Today's phrase is: By the Skin of My Teeth

I was surprised to learn how old it is...

The phrase made it's first written debut in the 1550s in the Geneva Bible.

Job. A haunting painting
of despair... 

When Job is lamenting all that Satan has done to him and all that God has allowed to happen (it is a piteous and heart-wrenching passage to read) he cries out in anguish, "I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth." And this is a direct translation from the Hebrew. Who can say how long the Hebrews used the phrase before it was written in the Book of Job? I think it's safe to say, it's anywhere between 4 to 9 thousand years old, as that's how old scholars believe Job's story to be (give or take 5 thousand years). You can read the whole lament here at Job Chapter 19. None of that explains what the skin of one's teeth actually is. I'm kind of inclined to think it's that semi-slimy layer of scum that's on your teeth when you wake up in the morning. (Gross I know.) Or maybe it has to do with the gums.

Today's Weird Word is: Jalopy

Most sources acknowledge there's no sure source of where or how this word originated. It popped up in the early 1920s. Most however agree it might have come from Jalapa, Mexico (same place the Jalapeño is from) which, it seems, is where used cars from the US were sent to die.

In my experience growing up the Virgin Islands, a jalopy was definitely a beat-up vehicle, a rust-bucket held together with baling wire and maybe duct tape, but still running, still operational. Anyone who had a good running jalopy could be called upon to go places regular vehicles couldn't go. I learned to drive in a jalopy. It was a jeep that jumped out of second gear and barely had reverse! 

We were "jeeping" and "off-roading" LONG before it became a "thing.

Quotes of the Month

"Faith gives you an inner strength and a sense of balance and perspective in life." Gregory Peck

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"Enjoy life as it is today -- it is going to change." Stephen Ramjewan

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"Measure not men by Sundays, without regarding what they do all the week after." Thomas Fuller

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"Those sons-of-bitches over there ain’t buying. Every yard gets ’em. They’re lookers. Spend all their time looking. Don’t want to buy no cars; take up your time. Don’t give a damn for your time. Over there, them two people – no, with the kids. Get ’em in a car. Start ’em at two hundred and work down. They look good for one and a quarter. Get ’em rolling. Get ’em out in a jalopy. Sock it to ’em! They took our time." John Steinbeck from The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 7.

I don't know who wrote this analysis of the quote, but it's great.   "Dehumanized by his runaway greed, the used car dealer lectures his employees on how to exploit customers. Seeing vulnerable migrants as easy money, he motivates his sales team to suck as much money as possible out of them. There is irony in the fact that even those not interested in buying a car are targets for his cynical sales pitch."

And who knew "Sock it to 'em" didn't originate in the late 1960s on Laugh-In.

Being Thankful
Today I'm thankful that we survived a very hard freeze 

(at one point we were colder than Billings, Montana!) 

And, we got a little bit of rain. 

The weather has been wild and crazy.

What are you thankful for? Do certain authors' blogs or websites annoy you? Have you ever felt like you were hanging on by the skin of your teeth? Ever owned or driven a jalopy?

IWSG, Origins, Weird Words, Quotes, Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:    Joylene Nowell Butler, Olga Godim, Diedre Knight, and Natalie Aguirre!

This month's question is: Do you follow back your readers on BookBub or do you only follow back other authors? I am not a member of BookBub. I've heard of it, I've looked at the site, but to be honest, I don't buy many new books. I go to the library for new stuff. I don't know about anyone else but going to a site like BookBub is, for me, overwhelming. 

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So last year (already?) I chose interesting words to delve into. This year I'm going to explore interesting phrases and weird words.  I'm also going to go through my extensive collections of quotes and end each post with something pithy, humorous and/or mind-bending. Clever me. So original....

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Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: Up to snuff 

After three years of being careful and getting all our vaccines, hubby and I finally got one of the many COVID variants. Nice gift at the end of the year... We now call ourselves, Disease and Pestilence.  Anyway, I wasn't feeling up to snuff which made me wonder where the heck THAT phrase came from. I only knew it had something to do with snuff.

All sources agree it does indeed have to do with the sniffing of snuff, a tobacco product, which gave a certain quality of sharpness or energy to the user. So a person described as being "up to snuff" was someone who was alert, clever, and not easily fooled. So, someone NOT up to snuff, was the opposite.

The first written use comes from a play by John Poole written in 1810. It's called Hamlet Travestie: In Three Acts a humorous spoof of Shakespeare's famous play. Poole was apparently quite popular in his day.

Today's Weird Word is: Discombobulate
We all know that it means to be in a state of confusion, or disorder. But where did it come from? In that imaginative time between say 1830 and 1890, there was a fad going around to create fanciful mock-Latin words. Discombobulate is one of these and appears to be the only one that has survived. Others include: Absquatulate, to run away or make off with. Confusticate, to confound. Panjandrum, meaning a "pompous person of power and pretension." Love that alliteration! I like all of these mock-Latin words, particularly confusticate. 

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I only manage to read 22 books of my 30 book Goodreads goal. But that's ok. It's always interesting to look back and be surprised by the variety and eclectic nature of my reading.

Harbor Me - Jacqueline Woodson

The Beatryce Prophecy - Kate DiCamillo

Shout - Laurie Halse Anderson

Squeeze Me - Carl Hiaasen

Once Upon a River - Diane Setterfield - I LOVED it even though it took me three months to read!

Melissa - Alex Gino

The War That Saved My Life - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Fish in a Tree - Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Pale Blue Dot - Carl Sagan

Queen Hildegarde - Laura Elizabeth Richards

This Book is Gay - Juno Dawson

Wait for Signs - Craig Johnson

Garvey's Choice - Nikki Grimes

A Long Walk to Water - Linda Sue Park

Bellevue - David M. Oshinsky - A interesting history of the famous hospital in NYC

See You on a Starry Night - Lisa Schroeder

The Children's Blizzard - Melanie Benjamin

Harriet Tubman - Kathleen V. Kudlinski

Hell and Back - Craig Johnson

The Ranch that was Us - Becky Crouch Patterson - a family memoir about a huge ranch not far from                 where I live in the Texas Hill Country

Femina - Janina Ramirez - A account of relatively unknown mediaeval women who did amazing things

How to Meditate - Pema Chodron - A very nice book with which to end the year

2024's list begins with three books I'm currently reading

Rattlesnake - C. Lee McKenzie - a great ghost story!

The Women's West - Susan H. Armitage - A compilation of articles and stories about the lives of real                  women who were pioneers of the American West

A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living

Quotes of the Month

"This planet is not Terra Firma, it is a delicate flower and it much be cared for." Astronaut Scott Carpenter

"I'd like to read a book...I've never read a book before. I understand they have pages and everything." Frank Oz

"Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things." Frank A. Clark

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful hubby and I didn't get any sicker than we did. The medication we got certainly stopped it from galloping into our lungs and we are definitely thankful for that.

Happy New Year!

Are you a BookBub user? Have you read any of the books on my list? What do you think of those faux-Latin words? Got a favorite? Do you think we should make up some new ones? I'll start. Incompuhensive: The state of being almost understandable, but not quite, so that it drives one slightly crazy.