October belongs to baseball

I know I should have said this about three weeks ago. What can I say, I'm a major procrastinator!

I love baseball. Grew up watching the Mets and as time marched on morphed into a Boston Red Sox fan thanks to Youngest Son. So when playoffs and pennant races begin I'm glued to the TV until the wee hours of the morning, occasionally "resting my eyes" during commercials.

Consequently the world around me tends to fall by the wayside, laundry piles up, emails go unopened, dogs and cats don't get fed, and blogs go into suspended animation, without the animation.

I know THE team lost the ALCS--I'll discuss that at some later time, when can cope with their lose better ; ( -- but I am a true fan and will watch the World Series--pitch by pitch and strike by strike. I'm torn this year though--root for the Phillies or Tampa Bay? The Mets fan in me leans toward the National League Phillies. Yet, the Rays are such a young team I'm leaning toward yahooing for them, even though they beat out THE team.

The best would be another seven game series, split 3-3 until the final game...tied all, bottom of the 9th, 2 outs and Upton swaggers to the plate, swings and whack................

Analphabet

Courtesy of A.Word.A.Day, a daily e-newsletter that I receive. Many fascinating words have graced my inbox since subscribing.

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

analphabet

PRONUNCIATION:

(an-AL-fuh-bet)

MEANING:

noun: An illiterate; one who doesn't know the alphabet or the basics of something.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek analphabetos (not knowing the alphabet), from an- (not) + alphabetos (alphabet), from alpha + beta.

USAGE:

"For an auto-analphabet like me, this was big news indeed. Armed with these magical tires, I'd never have to lug around a spare."
Amy Gamerman; Tires -- No Pressure; The Wall Street Journal (New York); May 29, 1998.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Nothing is illegal if one hundred businessmen decide to do it. -Andrew Young, author, civil rights activist, US congressman, mayor, and UN ambassador (b. 1932)


Now, how many would like to use the word in a sentence and share?

Pick a peck of peppers to pickle

A peck? Quite honestly, I'm not sure how many peppers it would take to fill a peck! This is how much I used. And as you can see, I also have some green tomatoes, sweet green peppers and cherry peppers thrown into the mix. Oh, yes, can't forget the okra, there's not much, but it's there.



I used two different recipes, both are cold-pack, meaning, to me at least, the jars are not processed in any way shape or form, and must be refrigerated, and consumed within a reasonable amount of time.


Pickled veggie recipe #1

Sterilize jars, lids, etc.
Wash vegetables and place in jars.

Place in pot and bring to a boil:
10 peeled garlic cloves
2 quarts white vinegar
16 tablespoons pickling salt
2 tablespoons celery seed.

Pour over vegetables and seal.





Pickled vegetable recipe # 2

Sterilize jars, lids, etc.
Wash vegetables and place in jars.
Put 1 and 1/2 tablespoons pickling spice and several peeled, cracked garlic cloves into each jar.

Bring to a boil:
1 and 1/2 cups white vinegar
8 teaspoons pickling salt or kosher salt
2 quarts water

Pour over vegetables and seal.


These two recipes produced 8 quarts of pickled veggies. The jars must be refrigerated for at least 4 weeks to achieve full flavor fantasy! So sometime in early November I'll be cracking open a jar and fighting with Youngest Son and Husband for the luscious garlic cloves!

mmmm...definitely good eats.

Socks? No, not yet.

Nope. I'm not ready for socks. The book came, I ruffled through the pages, got intimidated, closed the book and decided that what I really needed was a poncho for myself.



The color is raspberry and it's moving along quite nicely.
This what the end result should look like.



I'm not sure about the pom-pom thingies across the bottom. They do serve a purpose--I think--to help weigh down the poncho, maybe, so it lays nicely? Whatcha think? Pom-poms or no pom-poms?



The pattern is in this book. Doesn't that cover wrap look lovely? I ordered this book online based solely on the amazing cover!

I haven't given up on the socks.

I mean, just look at those awesome socks! After the poncho is finished I'll give the book another whirl!

Writing Prompt

Here's a writing prompt for all you writers out there, including and especially, my writers group, the Appalachian Wordsmiths.

Use the following sentence as the first sentence of a writing piece--prose or poem.

Or incorporate it within the first paragraph or stanza.

"The picture in the catalog had lied."

On your mark, get set, GO!