Wordwise Word Wednesday

Wherever I see words, I also see words misused. I was always the "word police" in my family, and when we would go on trips I was always pointing out word misuse and misspelling on signs and in print. I am notorious for being bothered by signs at roadside stands that say "Strawberrys" instead of strawberries. To be fair, I give them the benefit of the doubt and think perhaps it was an issue of space. That extra letter in the correct spelling may have proven too much for the width of the sign, after all.

There are several others, but the most frequent are the mix-up of "there", "they're", and "their" and the transposition of "your" and "you're." How exciting! I found a little quiz on the subject! It is on a site with several other grammar lessons and quizzes. Fun!~

• There is an adverb, and can be used to tell where something is located. As in: The books are over there. It can also be used to discuss a particular point at which something begins or ends, or can be use as an interjection. THERE!

• They're is the contraction of THEY and ARE. It is used correctly as: They're going to the theatre this evening. They're in the city for the weekend.
  

• Their is the possessive pronoun one uses when discussing what belongs to them. As in: They left their home very quickly. Their food was getting cold. Their ship just came in.
  

To use all three together: "They're over there in their hut."

• Your is an adjective describing possession or direction. As in: Your books are on the table. They are on your left.

• You're is a contraction of the words YOU and ARE, so would be used to describe your current state. You're late. You're fired. You're sad. You're going to be so happy when you hear the news. You're not going to believe what happened!

Your work is not finished because you're daydreaming.

Another that I have seen lately is the use of "rod" instead of "wrought" in connection with iron. I poke about on the internet looking for cast iron cookware, and often find incorrect offerings of "rod iron" items as well.

Wrought iron is malleable iron that has been worked into shape [by a blacksmith]. Merriam Webster says:

Main Entry: wrought iron

Function: noun

Date: 1678

: a commercial form of iron that is tough, malleable, and relatively soft, contains less than 0.3 percent and usually less than 0.1 percent carbon, and carries 1 or 2 percent of slag mechanically mixed with it

Allwords.com says that "rod iron" is a common misspelling of "wrought iron." However, Red Willow Forge does offer "rod iron art" which is comprised of items created from rods of iron. Thus, the term "rod iron" may have some place in the world of blacksmithery.

Keep and eye out on Facebook and Twitter
and other places you go on your internet journeys.

You're likely to find some further examples...

Doin' Jeff Foxworthy Proud

I could not resist sharing this slice of subpar advance planning with you. At the end of the summer when we were putting all things in for the coming cold and covering things for the winter, we applied a tarp to the top of the spa. The spa cover is aging and is beginning to crack from the years of weather, so we needed to give it a little extra waterproofing.

The tarp was not long enough to tie down and cinch around the spa, so we decided to weight the four corners. With one gallon glass jars full of water. Brilliant! Not so aesthetically pleasing, but it got the job done.

Until we had that cold snap recently with 4 nights of 10 degrees. And a few other days in the high teens and low twenties. Oh, yes, you have already guessed it and are having a good laugh right now, aren't you? The water froze. The jugs broke. Now shards of glass are left hanging from the four corners of my spa. And cleanup on aisle west deck is in order.Why do I share? Because maybe somewhere out there somebody else lacks the same forethought as myself. And I can spare you the catastrophe. That, and I just found it funny.

Where's my sign?

(Almost) Silent Sunday

12-01-09

12-19-09

Into winter we go!

Chicken and Rice Soup (finally...)

As promised, here is the soup, but I warn you, I am not a recipe writer and though it was very simple, I realize that it makes for a boring read!

First, I bought some organic chicken legs (4) because they are inexpensive and perfect for using in soup. When I got home, I put about 6 cups of water into a stock pot and boiled the legs until they were fully cooked. This created the broth.

Then, I took them out of the pot, while leaving all the liquid in the pot and leaving the temperature on low. I pulled every bit of meat possible off the bones, and shredded it by hand. Once the meat was separated and shredded, I put it back into the pot with the broth.

I tied a sprig of rosemary and a couple sprigs of thyme into a cheesecloth and dropped it into the broth with the meat.

[earlier] Just after I got the meat in to boil, I cooked 2 cups of rice in a separate pan. For rice, I use a deep stainless steel skillet. I put 4 cups of water in and bring to a boil. Add a pat of butter. Once the butter is melted and water boiling, I put in the rice and stir one time. Then, place the lid, and do not touch for 20 minutes. Done.

While the rice was cooking and the meat boiling, I sauteed an iron skillet full of celery, garlic, and yellow onions.

Once the meat was cooked and shredded and back in the pot, I added 1 cup of the cooked rice and the sauteed celery, garlic, and onions to the pot with the broth and chicken. I added 1/2 tsp of salt. I added 1 more cup of water because I wanted more broth. I added 1 cup of broccoli. I let it all simmer together for about 45 minutes. Then, I pulled out the cheesecloth, and the soup was ready to serve.

I put it into bowls and sprinkled scallions and cilantro on top. I salted and peppered to taste. Yum!

Ingredients:
chicken legs (4)
1-2 cups rice
1/2 cup celery (approx.)
1/2 yellow onion (or whole yellow onion, depending on size)
2-4 cloves garlic
1 cup broccoli
1/2 tsp salt
sprig of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme

scallions to garnish
cilantro to garnish

In my seconds bowl, I sprinkled cumin on to taste. Mmmm. The next night when we had the soup again for dinner, I sprinkled some yellow curry on mine. Not bad!

Note that I made two cups of rice, but only put one in the soup. This was because I always make 2 cups at a time. I wasn't sure how much my soup would want, and we used the rest for teriyaki stir-fry lunch while we waited for the soup to cook. So, adjust as you will.

Happy eating!