A Daily Life

Invite (from Wiktionary) – To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something. For her 50th birthday, my sister asked me to coordinate a party for her.  We went through lists of friends and family to invite everyone she wanted.  And did they come!  Here she is (in red) with her friend & […]

Discontinuing (from Wiktionary) – To stop producing, making, or supplying something. Once upon a time, my favorite boy toy had a thriving orchid business.  He was very good at it and he loved it – growing them, taking care of them, selling them to customers.  Unfortunately, the bottom fell out of the market.  Energy costs […]

Guaranteed (from Wiktionary) – Simple past tense and past participle of guarantee – to make something certain. When my daughter goes to take a nap, it’s guaranteed that she will not sleep alone.  How many dogs does it take?  One more than you see here – the one I shooshed away for standing there and breathing […]

Casting (from Wiktionary) – A manufacturing process using a mold. Manufacturing is intended to be a repeatable process with consistent results.  That’s the whole purpose of casting molds.  Of course, molds can also be used as the jumping off point for creativity, fun, and a big old mess, complete with laughter and little show-offs.  These “molds” were […]

Pump (from Wiktionary) – An instance of the action of a pump; one stroke of a pump; any action similar to pumping. In late January, I started walking outside again.  I simply could not face another lunch workout in the gym, staring out the window as my legs did a pump on the stationary bike.  I wasn’t […]

Chuck (from Wiktionary) – Meat from the shoulder of a cow or other animal. I love the local farmer’s market.  It has so much energy and enthusiasm and so many things to try out.  I love talking to the vendors and hearing their stories and about their lives.  I shopped local before it was hip to […]

Stem (from Wiktionary) – A slender supporting member of an individual part of a plant such as a flower or a leaf. See these little cute guys?  They’re in my parsley and will eat it down until all that’s left is a stem or two.  But if we wait a few more weeks, we get […]

Albert Einstein said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. ”  (From Brainy Quote) I thought about today’s word as I took my lunch walk yesterday and thought how can I even begin to describe the word valuable? My list of what is valuable is so long.  I will […]

A big old thank you to hugmamma for her post inviting her readers to come check out my blog!  This is so cool.  I look forward to seeing her posts on the word of the day. And as always, thanks to KittyHere or There, Anywhere  and ThreeSixFive, TwoZeroOneOne for their diligence in putting the words to photos and for […]

Situate (from Wiktionary) – To place on or into a physical location. It is difficult to situate oneself as king of the hill when your partner in crime thinks he should have it.  Of course, when Mom starts thinking “pest control”, you simply ignore her and pretend that this is your right to take over. […]

Council (from Wiktionary) – A committee that leads or governs Her trusted council is advising my daughter on the proper way to fix and share supper.  They have no selfish motivations in their assistance and only seek for the best for everyone involved.  There were other advisors present, but my lens was not wide enough to show […]

Promotion (from Wiktionary) – Dissemination of information about a product, product line, brand, or company. After Jenna Woginrich published her first book, Made From Scratch, she invited readers to take a picture of the book and send it to her.  I took the pictures, but never sent it (sorry Jenna!).  It was a great idea – pictures […]

Near (from Wiktionary) – physically close. So what happens when a bee gets near the dog?  It becomes a dog entertainment center.  And apparently it tastes pretty yukky too, although that has not yet stopped the dog from trying to catch them and eat them.  Thankfully he hasn’t gotten many – and he must not have […]

Attention (from Wiktionary) – Mental focus. Mom!  Mom!  I’m here!  I’m here!  PAY ATTENTION AND PICK ME UP.  Mom!!  Mom!!  NOW NOW NOW.  Put the camera away and pay attention to MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.  And for such a little dog, he sure can give a mean poke to the shins.  Word for tomorrow – NEAR.  If you prefer […]

Presently (from Wiktionary)- At the present time; now; currently. If I wrote this last Sunday, I’d say:  Presently, I am on the deck, sitting in the sun.  It’s warm on this March day, unseasonably so, and I’m enjoying just sitting here, looking up at the sky, my mind blank and just enjoying the sun, the […]

Smiled – Simple past tense and past participle of smile – a happy, facial expression. It’s always fun to look at my pictures when I’ve uploaded them and realize that the dog smiled at me.  He’s normally a content animal – this one though I think he was being petted and enjoying every minute of it. I […]

Research (from Wiktionary) – Diligent inquiry or examination to seek or revise facts, principles, theories, applications. I do corporate tax work for a living.  When I started in my field, the tax reporters were all paper.  I specialize in state taxation, so there were over 50 reporters (at least one for each state; more for […]

Expensive (from Wiktionary) – having a high price, cost. I love my little car.  It takes me everywhere – here it is pictured outside the dentist office.  That day it took me to a doctor’s appointment for some tests, the dentist for a broken tooth, and then to work.  I love the freedom it gives me […]

Soul (from Wikitionary) – The spirit or essence of a person usually thought to consist of one’s thoughts and personality. I am a deeply spiritual woman.  This is important to me, and while a integral part of my life, I often feel that I do not engage in spiritual practices as often I would like.  Still, each […]

I changed the header photo on my blog today.  This is one of my husband’s photos that I cropped to fit.  He is a professional photographer and his work can be viewed at http://www.kensphotographs.com. He looked at what I did and thought it was very “Nancy”.  Homemade, country, and colorful.