Me, Myself and I

It is true, English is a difficult language. I should know. I’ve been studying it for a very long time – formally and casually. I doubt I will ever master it.

Several years ago, Carol and I took a  New Testament Greek class. Our professor and friend, Ben Lawton, was a Greek geek. No he was a linguistic geek. His background included teaching New Testament Greek in Italian for over 15 years. One of the many things he emphatically stated was, “Words are slippery.” Meaning definitions of words are evolving and ever-changing. Grammar also changes.

Here is an interesting article about grammar evolution from The Lexiteria Corporation.

Reading Speed Bumps

The other day, my S.I.L sent me a message regarding some of my recent posts. She kindly let me know that she discovered a few errors that distracted her as she read them. I went back to take a look and, sure enough, there they were. Errors that were larger than life, reading speed bumps, in my posts.

I can certainly understand how writing errors can be a distraction. They also distract me as I read. The incorrect use of Me, Myself and I is one speed bump that always causes me to stumble.

Which sentences are correct?*

1. Carol and myself are going to get me a new shirt.
2. Carol and I are going to get me a new shirt.
3. Please send the check to Carol and me.
4. Please send the check to Carol and myself.
5. They are giving Carol and I an award.
6. They are giving Carol and me an award.
7. I see myself in the mirror.
8. I see me in the mirror.

Another grammatical speed bump that always trips me up is the misuse of that and who. As an example, our local media reporters often refer to individuals as ‘that’, not ‘who’. I may have not enjoyed my English classes in school but I did learn a few tricks. It is always people who and things that. This is a loose generalization but it is pretty accurate.

In my pre-retirement days, I kept a copy of The Little, Brown Handbook, 7th Ed.  nearby. It served as a handy reference whenever I got confused with about the proper use of English grammar. Remember that Greek professor I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Ben Lawton? He is the person who introduced me to this remarkable little book. Thanks, Ben, for that recommendation.

I now use a cool on-line resource – The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.  I hope that will be helpful to you also.

Now I am going to get me a cup of coffee by myself.

Thanks for stopping by, y’all come back now.

*The correct sentences are  #’s 2, 3, 6, & 7.

 

 

Patches

https://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/

Say hello to Patches our Calico cat. She has been with us since April 1998 and is the senior member of our fur babies. Like most cats, she is curious…

September 1999

and likes any kind of box.

April 2005

She loves naps…

September 2012

and loves clothes baskets especially if they have freshly dried clothes in them.

January 2013

If she cannot find a box, she will sometimes wear a hat.

October 2013

She is a faithful guard cat who protects our RV when we are away…

October 2013

and will let MeiLing join her in a sunny spot on the RV’s dash-board.

January 2014

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The Incredible, Edible Egg

The Incredible, Edible Egg was a jingle for the American Egg Board from the late 70’s through 2012. It has been replaced by the jingle, “”Wake Up To Eggs.”

While some say eggs are bad for a person’s diet, others say it is OK. I don’t care what ‘they’ say because ‘they’ are funded by special interest groups.  I like eggs and as long as my doctor says my health is OK, then I will continue eating eggs. I enjoy eggs for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Of course, I don’t consume eggs in all three meals on the same day.

What is the most unusual way you have ever eaten eggs?

My most unusual is Breakfast Pizza. Yep, you heard that right, breakfast pizza. I hear you screaming – “What? Eggs and tomato sauce and pepperoni?” NO! It’s not like that at all. But why not? Tomato sauce is made from tomato and tomatoes are a fruit. (I’ll reserve that for another post.)

I can remember my first breakfast Pizza. It was 1984 in Dayton, Ohio. I was working for Sheffield Measurements as a software engineer. This was the first job I had that required working 4 hours on Saturday morning. The first Saturday I reported to work, I found the team gathered around a conference table. They were munching on something. I thought, cool, they have donuts on Saturday morning. I was wrong, I saw what looked like pizza boxes from Domino’s Pizza in the middle of the table; lids partially closed to keep the food warm. When I opened one of the lids, I discovered something like this.WOW, that was a tasty breakfast treat. According to an article in Entrepreneur On-line, Domino’s Pizza stores in Dayton, Ohio still serve it and it was recently introduced in Australia. Back in 1984, Domino’s would deliver this incredible breakfast pizza completed with a gallon of coffee and the USA Today newspaper. In 1984, the USA Today was a new national newspaper. The partnership with Domino’s Pizza was an early marketing campaign for the paper.

I have not been able to find it in other Domino’s Pizza locations away from Dayton, Ohio. I did add this cool breakfast idea to my personal cooking arsenal and fed breakfast pizza to my family and co-workers in other places.

What it the best way you like eggs prepared?

Back to the real story here. For me, there is no ‘best’ way. Too many options to pick one.

• Hard boiled –whole as a side, sliced or diced in salad, deviled
• Fried – over easy, over medium (preferred), sunny side up
• Poached – served on toast or toasted English Muffin
• Scrambled – with or without cream, with or without ingredients like ham, onion, jalapeno, etc.
• Omelet – rolled or folded, minimal ingredients or stuffed with anything available, covered with cheese or ranchero sauce.

I like boiled eggs and have mastered the art of boiling eggs in the convection oven. (click image to enlarge)

From left to right, place eggs, directly from refrigerator, onto a rack in convection oven. Cook for 30 minutes at 350. I do not preheat the oven. Eggs will be hot and slightly discolored. Plunge eggs in an ice bath for 10 minutes. Peel and store in refrigerator.

I’ve just recently master a technique of poaching an egg in the microwave. The ‘perfect’ poached egg has a runny yolk, with a hardening crust and no raw white remaining. This produces the best tasting egg.

 I usually put wilted baby spinach and ham between the poached egg and toast or toasted English muffin and I skip the hollandaise sauce. I learned this trick from  http://cookingwithbellson.com/2014/04/25/kitchen-hacks-poaching-an-egg-in-the-microwave/.

Hope I’ve inspired you to try something different with eggs. Now if I can only learn to peel a boiled egg.

Thanks for stopping by, y’all come back now.

Shoes!

Ever get a new pair of shoes? I know you have. Depending on your style preference, shopping for that new pair of shoes may be quick and easy or long and tedious. So tell me, how easy is it for you to shop for shoes?

For me it is pretty simple. I generally know what I want before I start shopping. Having shopped for shoes in the past and having had a large variety of styles, I can generally be in and out of the store in just a few minutes. If I do the shopping on weekends, it will of course take longer.

And if I cannot find what I want in the store, I can always by online. I know my size and shopping on-line is a snap. Can you do that?

I normally need new shoes about twice a year. Sometimes more frequently if our little fur baby want to have a chew snack. In fact I caught her the other day with my new shoes. All I had to do was call her name sternly. The look on her face was priceless. It said, “I did not do that.” Fortunately, she did not destroy my new pair of shoes.

So what do you think? Can you find the new pair? Maybe I should have given little fur baby the ones on the right. No! I don’t think so. They went into the trash. The ones in the middle are for winter – they are insulated.

Wait, are you confused? Did you think I was talking about feet shoes? Sorry, I meant ‘hand shoes” (aka gloves).

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My Valentine

We were young and crazy! It is interesting that Carol and I went to the same high school, but we did not meet until after high school graduation in 1966.

 

Eighteen months later, we said, “I do.”

They said it would never last – they were wrong. Last November, we celebrated our 47th year of marriage.

Here is one of my favorite photos of us. This was taken in November 2005 at our eldest daughter’s wedding. I think we make a dapper looking couple.

We’ve lived a full life and have lived all over. We have two wonderful daughters, two great grandsons and a cool son-in-law. Now we are retired and living our dream. I could not ask for a better sweetheart for valentine.

Thanks for stopping by, y’all come back now.