Word Nerds Unite!

pretty maids all in a row

Happy November to any readers out there in space… What a beautiful day to start off the month!
I really enjoyed this past month focusing on the senses. I will continue to share random sensory experiences as a sidebar to my topics, but will be moving on to a different subject for November.


As you may know, I enjoy words. a lot. I like repeating them until they lose meaning. I will stare at a point in space, ignoring all interaction and conversation until I think of the exact word that best expresses what I’m thinking. I dig and dig at length with mr-go-round about the roots of particular words, and the meanings that they hold with each particular conjugation. I use words to express myself, I use them to make jokes/puns to entertain those I love, I read them to enjoy myself and escape into a good book, and I sing them in the shower. Thus, I dedicate November 2010 to the power of words, broken down under the Meri-scope.


Hope you enjoy, and PLEASE chime in if you have words you want to discuss or add to my lists.


The blog will thus be organized into these types of posts this month:


1. categories of words that fit together
2. single words that I love or think are underused
3. new words that I learn
4. foreign words
5. new words created to use in place of swearing (you just WAIT for this to come in handy!)


and possibly more.


Also, I will continue to share random pictures with you, both related to words and unrelated.
Off we go!


So today I want to focus on something really negative! cool huh! hehe…


it’s a category people… WORDS THAT ARE ANNOYINGLY, OBNOXIOUSLY COMMONLY MISUSED or MISPRONOUNCED or OVERUSED TO THE POINT THAT ALL SANITY IS LOST….


oh, how gratifying this will be…


-“Italian”, pronounced “eye-talian”… good lord…
-“irregardless”- go ahead, weed yourself out Darwinianly…
-“literally”
-“melk”- no, its milk. it’s spelled with an “i”. This is a cousin of “pellow”
-“libary” -yes, I hear this pretty frequently




well, what is happening now is that the minute I try to think of all of these words, they fall out of my head. Come on folks, rescue me and add your favorite misused words in da comment box!


If you do this, tomorrow’s will be more exciting!
Goodnight!
Meri

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mandatory pumpkin post for halloween

I am going to “spice up” my pumpkin/halloween post by focusing on the glorious sense of smell! But first, some plumpkins for your viewing pleasure!

glam mini pumpkins for my nieces
dopey felt pumpkin and bowie pumpkin lounging on the dek
much better for their close up!

who’s the handsome devil?

I feel pretty… oh so pretty…


Now, onto the other goods I promised. 
Yesterday, I went to mom and pop’s house and we planned to make some pumpkin soup. It ended up incredibly delicious. Here is a taste of what went into the pan:

can o’ pumpkin
cannellini beans
mushrooms
leeks
carrots
chicken stock
olive oil for sauteing leeks/carrots
nutmeg
ginger
cumin
chili powder
ketchup
salt
pepper


It was straight up delicious! we also added some fresh spinach at the end. As the soup cooked I was frantically finishing my homemade halloween costume for the party (we had a great time guys- thanks!) and TOTALLY enjoying the smells as the soup cooked for 40 minutes to an hour… It was delicious scents of autumn triplified (probably not a word. deal with it). 

So, in honor of pumpkin, I think I will list a bunch of spices and combinations I like with pumpkin! (out of a can because I’m lazy)

-nutmeg and parmesan cheese
-sweet curry powder with cayenne and ketchup
-cinnamon, nutmeg, sweetener (usually sugar or splenda but have also used vanilla pudding mix…)
-cumin (as of yesterday)
-nacho cream cheese, curry powder, paprika, salt and pepper (I use this mix to make pumpkin cauliflower…. obsessed…)
-garlic, cheese, and salt and pepper. on pasta
-pumpkin pie spice, oatmeal, nuts
-rosemary, salt pepper, on toast/crackers, with goat cheese on top. 

That’s a good list to start. Now start eating your pumpkin people! It probably has vitamins in it since its orange… and god knows it tastes good and its one reason to stay positive about the season!

Happy Halloween!

Stay tuned to see what the focus for November will be! Sensory month has been a blast but I have many  more ideas up my long sleeves…

(post script: it took many candy corns as fuel to write this blog with a clear head. GOD BLESS CANDY CORN!)



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ice ice baby

Hi folks!


This morning, there was FROST on the windows of cars… brrrrrr! Why does this have to happen? I know, I know, I’m a Minnesotan- accept it man, theres about 7 months to look forward to of frost (not to mention snow, ice, windchill, black ice, blizzards, icicles, window scraping…okay okay step away from the ledge people I’ll stop!)


However, frost is pretty cool. especially when it makes neat designs on the windows! Furthermore, snowflakes are pretty cool too. I mean, every single one is different! Cheesy as I may be, that’s pretty stinkin amazing! I once saw a book at B&N that had closeup microscopic lens photos of snowflakes. It really sucked me in. Another cool thing is the snow itself. I like the crunch under your boots (IF YOU ARE A MINNESOTAN YOU NEED GOOD BOOTS. IF YOU DON”T KNOW THIS YOU ARE RIDICULOUS!!!) I also like how it has a different texture practically every time it snows- sticky, fluffy, wet, dry, sparkly, sandy, yellow… okay, well maybe I could do without the yellow…


Us Northerners sure now how to appreciate a good snow too. We ski, snowshoe, make snowpeople, snowmobile, ice fish, talk about it incessantly, shovel it, drive badly in it, throw snowballs of it maiming innocent bystanders…


Are you sensing my inability to stay focused on the positive here… maybe the only snowflake I can really get excited for at this point is this kind:

Snowflake crafts- courtesy of free scanner from Apple!





Argh. Well, I’m inside now, and the only ice anywhere near me for the rest of this evening is the ice from the freezer I mixed in my lemonade!


Here’s to fall, and then to winter my friends! I raise my glass (with my frost bitten hand) to you cold weather!

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the shadow knows!





It’s a (pre) Halloween sunset!


check out the “spidery” trees and orange haze…






Today the sun returned after the scary monsoon windstorm of the last few days. I walked home from work with the return of my shades, and started noticing these shadow guys on the blinds when I got inside!




Who are these mysterious devils you ask?

They’re my tulips, doing a little recon of the ‘hood. They look out for me, you see.

Aha- unveiled- its the family heirloom wooden tulips! Much livelier out of the shadows though…

I often take photos of shadows when I’m out and about at that late afternoon hour. Usually, this is an afterthought or I am in motion, strolling, and notice a cool shadow and quick snap it. I know on an episode of ANTM (that’s america’s next top model, super important media to be consumed…. tune in people!!!!!) tyra did her episodical display of narcissistic personality disorder/random egomania where she displayed her “photography” skills using shadows over the contestants’ faces. I actually thought this was super dope, and was totally hooked into the episode. Tyra Banks might be a madwoman, but if she’s not entertaining to watch, I don’t know “what” is.

Crap, I got super off track. I can’t bring myself to delete that shameless plug/stream of consciousness, but I will continue…

So I was trying to express that I haven’t reached Ms Banks’ level of obsession with detail, lighting, camera setting, etc with this shadow exploration, but more photograph them to remind me of that feeling I had when I saw them. Who knows why I like shadows, I just think they are cool. So here is an abbreviated travel journal through the power of light and dark.

Brace yourself.

Stillwater MN with the man-go-round
Arizona, on a sunset drive with mama

San Francisco, near the ferry building farmer’s market


San Sebastian, waiting for the seaspray!

There are more (including a grand canyon shot I wish I could find!) but it’s time for this chick to make some dinner. Now go forth and enjoy the dark side. I allow it!

-M
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acorns and more- a nut’s tale

plink
plank
plunk
 
as I drank my glorious diluted coffee yesterday morning, I heard some odd noises. Living in an older home, there are definitely odd noises, but I like to get to the bottom of them if possible. Ahhh, then I understood with a bit of further research.
 
Things were going “nuts”


 
As in, acorn season. Last year we had a SEA of acorns out front (covering the steps as well. TOTALLY safe…) This year we have not had many. At least none that attacked me like last year while innocently doing crosswords out front.. chicken little anyone? So, with a bit of further research I found that acorn production varies year to year. And, apparently, every 7 years or so is a “mast” year where there are many more acorns in order to insure survival. cool huh? Humans don’t typically consume them outside of a few cultures, but when soaked to remove tannins they can be eaten. Now you’ve had your school for the day! you are welcome.
 
So the sounds effects for this rainy morning were provided by wind/autumn/naughty squirrels!


…

 
Later in the evening, at  dinner over at a friend of man-go-round’s I was having some delicious mushroom stroganoff with cashews in it (will have to make it like that myself sometime! great recipe!) and I thought about the acorns again.
(side note: cashews are in my top 3 for nuts. food of the gods.)
 
Even later in the evening, I was eating some peanut butter and pita, and was thinking about nuts for the third time of the day. Sorry mom, sorry stomach- I was naughty and ate peanut butter. I considered I might end up with heartburn. I KNEW I would feel it in my tum-tum in the morning. But gosh darnit, peanut butter is DELICIOUS!!!!! and NUTRITIOUS! so I choose to live on the edge.
 
Often, I do not live on the edge. I will take this opportunity to review the various types of nut butters I have tried in avoidance of the ever-mischievous PB.
 
Almond Butter– the most obvs. of the alternate nut butters. Store bought is pricey, but Trader Joe’s with flax seeds is super tasty. Buuuut (I wasn’t lying when I admitted I like big “buut”s) it is also incredibly easy to make on your own!
 
Thanks to my BAMF (look it up mom, I’m censoring myself here…) food processor, I can churn out home-made almond butter stat.
 
Here is the process (hehe, pun intended)/recipe


 
-Any random amount of almonds. If raw, toast them on the stove first to bring out oils. I have also used the sugary sweetened ones that come in the big bags, and the skinned roasted ones, but the most economical is raw or toasted bulk almonds.
 
-extra oil if desired
 
-mix-ins! I have tried:
salt
sugar
splenda/cinnamon
pumpkin pie spice
chocolate chips
chocolate pudding mix (super super good)
sesame seeds
dates (this was a single serving PB in my new mini-processor)
 
and probably more I have forgotten.
 
Hooray for cheap nut butters!
 
You can do this with any nut. I have also made walnut butter , sunbutter, and cashew butter with same process, with delicious results.
 
I HAVE ALSO TRIED TO MAKE SOY NUT BUTTER AND IT WAS THE MOST REPUGNANT THING I’VE EVER (partially) INGESTED! I continued to try to eat bites of it for about 4 days to try not to be wasteful, but ended up spitting it right in the garbage 95% of the time. Finally I regretfully tossed the rest.
 
That’s my nutty story, and I’m sticking to it.
Stay tuned for the results of upcoming pistachio butter, hazelnut butter (also in the trifecta of nuts along withbrazil nuts) and perhaps a pepita butter or pecan butter.
or maybe, if the harvest didn’t all blow away in the crazy storm…
 
ACORN BUTTER!
Blechh!
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Rainy days/Mondays

Nope, this won’t be as dreary as it sounds.




So, by now, at this point in the fall, we can only become too, too aware of the cliches describing the fall colors. As incredible as they are, I can’t even imagine not feeling self conscious writing something discussing them further. BUT….


I like big “BUT”s and I cannot lie… hehe…


Have you had your fill of discussing the fall colors AS AFFECTED BY THE RAIN?


Despite the dreariness, today was actually a really beautiful fall day. As I walked to work this morning it was already near 60 degrees at 8:30, which is always cool. (Of course, this is the “accuracy” of the bank temperature gauge, which I often doubt). On the walk home later, I couldn’t help but notice how the rain really brightens up all of the leaves on the ground, and in the trees. It’s a bit like how pebbles underwater, in a lake, look incredibly saturated with color, but when dried are boring, stupid pebbles (gets me EVERY time). The reds and oranges that yesterday were beautiful enough, now were screaming with pigment off of the ground. Of course, I did not have my camera with me, but I have a trusty cell phone picture to show you, which looks just short of garbage! Hooray! 


Here it is:



see? GREAT PICTURE, RIGHT???

I’m not even sure I stopped walking while taking it. But its better than nothing.

Enjoy your rainy day and Monday, cause tomorrow could be snowy day and Tuesday!
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Sparkle and Fade


Yo,


interesting day here on the meri-go-round…


earlier in the evening, I was in my car and enjoying the various sparkly parts of town that I notice every time I drive by. These little things always make my day and I’d like to share a few with you!


1. The mural on the building at Franklin and 35, which is made out of pieces of mirror, and in the sunlight is like a sunburst:


This picture, which I got online, does not do it any justice whatsoever. If you haven’t seen this before, you must drive by! There’s another sparkly mural on 26th and Nicollet or so, visible when heading due west.

2. Another sight that gets me every time is the mpls skyline over the river. I’m not usually a sucker for skylines, but something about the lights over the river at night is so pretty.

3. Finally, a most unconventional bit of sparkle, and maybe not for everyone…


Of course my pathetic cell phone camera does it no justice whatsover…

so here are a few from good old google images that do a “slightly” better job, but they still ain’t nothin’ like the real thing baby…



alright, by now I probably seem as though I’m some sort of deranged sot worshiping liquor store signs (worshipping? worshiping? I need a dictionary, stat. I’m gonna go with one p for now… oh the life of a word nerd… I’ll probably be up all night now. I better look it up online- but can you really trust information online….???!)

I digress…

My point is, I LOVE this sign. I love how it sparkles, I love how it lights up that whole street that its on, and I just think it’s old school and cute. Trust me, its a pretty cool sign in real life.

So there you have three bits of shiny goodness in the big bad city.

Now for the fade. I return home, and begin doing dishes. what on earth is happening with the water? it does not appear to be working? hmmmm. now its coming out in spurts and steam, with effing brown water shooting out in spits and whistles. Giving up, and hungry, I wash the spaghetti squash in the bathroom sink (which is coming out in spurts but at least is running clear… and throw it in the oven. I must mention here that cutting a spaghetti squash for baking is a squishy, slimy endeavor. ONE DOES WELL WITH THE USE OF A KITCHEN SINK WITH FUNCTIONING WATER IN THIS SITUATION. Eventually its baking. I decide to just microwave some other food while I’m waiting. The vikings game is on in the distance (living room that is)…. life is okay, but not great, but at least there is the promise of food, then….


BEEEEEEP… 

s&%*
“blown fuse”


of COURSE, that’s RIGHT, I can’t use the oven, the microwave, and the TV (in the other room) without blowing a fuse! what was I thinking!!!

hence the fade. 

I eventually figured out the fuse, but I was not pleased. I threw the dishes in the dishwasher to hide for the showing, and finished microwaving my food. And the vikings lost, never ceasing to let Minnesota down.

Luckily, nothing can get this gal down for long. Hope you all had a more relaxing Sunday evening than yours truly.

M
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Ode to University Ave (alternate title: eau de University Ave)

Another beautiful fall day. I took a stroll down University. and within the mile or so walk encountered all sorts of weather…

windy and cloudy with no rain…

sunny with drizzle… turned to clouds with off and on drizzle and no rain… back to cloudy and no rain…

along the way things started out pretty well. I brought my camera due to Obama’s appearance at the Dayton rally/ Gopher game that were populating the ‘hood. 

First, I saw some beautiful fall foliage…

pretty pink flower bushes

this little sunburst!

the stuff I call “grain flower” but haven’t really identified…

needles and berries…hehe

Then, things turned a bit interesting… I guess Obama’s face can sell anything!



Okay, now things were just getting downright gross… come on, people- eat a melon and throw it on the lawn? I guess it slightly beats the mcdonalds and super america garbage that usually decorates the boulevards…
Ahhh, and then hope was restored… this is the type of thing I can look at and feel good about. I could sure have used this for my “body of a kid” experiment a few weeks ago…


All in all, a pretty good journey. It sure is nice to get some last-minute fresh air in before the winter announces itself…

Happy Saturday!
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On this night of a thousand stars….

Let me take you to heaven’s door…


well, maybe not. But I can tell you all about Evita (Theater Latte Da at the Ordway-McKnight Theater).





After a delightful start at Meritage (Vigin Chardonnay- Thanks Mom!) and stroll through Rice Park at night with the white lights strung through the trees, my favorite ladies and I settled down to watch the production. Here is my likes/dislikes (other than what I like or dislike about the story/production itself, which I won’t even go into…)


Likes:
*Che character- very very similar to Antonio B’s rendition in the movie version, in all departments except looks (lookswise he was much more similar to a Che Guevara type, although technically this is not him…) did a great job with “keepin it real,” had a great voice, and lots of ‘tude. Meri approve.


*The dancing was great too. I could identify the tangos, but beyond that am curious about what some of the other dance styles were. It really added to the story and I enjoyed it.


*Being in a smaller theater was really cool to see a musical like this.


*The posh-upper crust high singing crew was pretty entertaining, as were the military men in their performances.


*the production flowed very well. I only checked the time once I think, which for me is incredible. 


DISlikes:
*Eva’s voice was a bit “snow white” at times, a little bit “i’m a pretty bird who can trill so very very high and loud.” I have my limits


*the set was okay, but not great. I had to figure out where they were supposed to be several times even though I know the story…








So, as you can see, the likes definitely outweigh the dislikes. I truly enjoyed the performance, and now intend to put on a one-woman-show of the music at chateau-go-round for the man-friend to enjoy. Sorry man friend!




-This post is dedicated to my best friend, without whom my word for word memorization of the entire play would not be possible. 



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It’s a marvelous night for a moondance

Good Evening Night Sky! Anyone been keeping their eye on the sky this evening?

These lovely photos courtesy of man-friend! Thank you man-friend! see, man-friend goes round just like meri goes round! I requested photos of tonights beautiful full moon that I was gazing at (dangerously) on my drive home this evening. I thought it looked like sort of a mashed potato layer on top of the moon as it got later in the evening. 



 It seems there is a particular light that the moon gives off that is like no other light. In the different seasons it is different also. How cool is that? Winter, as ungodly as it can be in the depths of it, has some of the most beautiful light I have ever seen anywhere. Snowy nights have this light, but icy frosty sunrise mornings are one of the most staggering natural sights I’ve ever seen. I guess that’s a sort of “literal” silver lining we can “look forward to” in the coming months. 






See? Mashed potato moon!
On that note, I better make some dinner! Maybe man-go-round will enjoy my upcoming renditions of “moondance” and “moon river” i’m about to unveil… muah ha ha…



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