Gryphon's Word of the Day, January 12, 2008

The word of the day for January 12, 2008 is "busy" — adjective — 1 a: engaged in action : occupied. b: being in use [found the telephone busy]. 2: full of activity : bustling [a busy seaport]. 3: foolishly or intrusively active : meddling. 4: full of distracting detail [a busy design].

Quite an eventful day here. I did laundry, took the Christmas lights off the spruce tree and the porch, walked the dog, bought Girl Scout cookies, put together a doggy booster seat, fed my husband and played with the computer. I also sorted through some clutter in my computer room (this must be women's work because it is never done.) It is a good thing that tomorrow is a day of rest.

After church I may talk Lloyd into driving us to the park so we can see how well the dog seat does. Bubbles thinks it is a very nice thing to have, but we haven't tried it out yet. There will be pictures.

The quote for today is from John Donne (1572–1631), British poet. The Sun Rising (l. 1–3). . .:

      Busy old fool, unruly sun,
      Why dost thou thus
      Through windows, and through curtains call on us?

;^) Jan

Tags: busy

Gryphon's Word of the Day, January 11, 2008

The word of the day for January 11, 2008 is "natal" — adjective 1: native. 2: of, relating to, or present at birth; especially : associated with one's birth <a natal star>.

As today is my birthday, I brought cake in to work to share with my co-workers. Twice since I turned ten years old, I have been surprized: once by my mother on my sixteenth and once by my sister on my 20th. Other than that, if I wanted a cake I've had to bake or buy myself. Not that that's such a bad thing; I've never been compelled to celebrate unless I felt like it.

Age is an odd thing anyway. The year I turned 37, I thought I was 38. That persisted until the year I turned 40. I was 48 for two years. I think there must be something about that 9 on the end that makes people think you are trying to cling to the past.

Our quote for the day is from Brigitte Bardot, (b. 1933), French screen actor, on her 40th birthday:

     "So many women of 50 and 60 say they are 40 that I look damn good."

;^) Jan

Tags: natal

Gryphon's Word of the Day, January 8, 2008

The word of the day for January 8, 2008 is "melody" — noun — 1 : a sweet or agreeable succession or arrangement of sounds : tunefulness. 2 : a rhythmic succession of single tones organized as an aesthetic whole.

I tried to call Jacob on his birthday to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. His mom answered; he was off with friends—celebrating, I assume. I'm batting two for two in the past couple of weeks: Caitlin was "too busy" to come to the phone on her birthday. Kirstie's birthday is next week, we'll see if I can catch her at home.

The melody for the song, "Happy Birthday", was written by sisters Mildred J. and Patty Smith Hill in 1893 as "Good Morning to All." The birthday lyrics were added later and was used for the first singing telegram in 1933. In 1934 a third sister, Jessica Hill, managed to get the song copyrighted in her sisters' names. The copyright is not owned, and never was, by the Beatles, Paul McCartney, Apple Corps or Michael Jackson. At this time the tune is now owned by AOL Time Warner and is bringing in a couple million dollars annually in royalties. (This, according to Snopes.com)

Our quote for the day is from Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–1898), French symbolist poet. La Revue Blanche (Paris, Sept. 1895). Variations on a Subject, “Verse Crisis,” Complete Works (1945):
     Every soul is a melody which needs renewing.

;^) Jan

Tags: melody

Gryphon's Word of the Day, January 6, 2008

The word of the day for January 6, 2008 is “journey” — noun — 1: an act or instance of traveling from one place to another : trip. 2: chiefly dialect : a day's travel. 3: something suggesting travel or passage from one place to another <the journey from youth to maturity> <a journey through time>.

 

Happy Epiphany! We are at my step-daughter’s home in Omaha, NE, this morning. Yesterday we drove through fog most of the way—very tiring as one must drive much more slowly than normal because of reduced visibility. Since we couldn’t see the landmarks it seemed even longer. However, we started out earlier than usual so we arrived in Omaha only a little later than usual in spite of the fog and walking Bubbles at “every rest stop and tree” (to quote my mother.)

 

Everyone here isfine. We exchanged Christmas gifts. Claudia showed off the “new” bathroom—a new tub surround and basin with sturdy handrails for safety. She also reported on her trip to Arkansas to see her mother and siblings for Christmas. She had a lovely time and saw several nieces and nephews whom she hadn’t seen for some time.

 

The quote for the day is a Chinese proverb:

 

On a journey of a hundred miles, ninety is but half way.

 

;^)  Jan the Gryphon

Tags: journey

Gryphon's Word of the Day, January 4, 2008

The word of the day for January 4, 2008 is “educated” — adjective 1: having an education; especially : having an education beyond the average <educated speakers>. 2 a: giving evidence of training or practice : skilled <educated hands>. b: befitting one that is educated <educated taste> c: based on some knowledge of fact <an educated guess>.

 

The puppy is now in fine fettle. He is inquisitive. I had to fix the striker plates on the bedroom doors so that he could not push his way into places he should not be. I wouldn’t mind if he didn’t pull things off of the beds, disarranging my “piling” system.

 

Also, we are going to have to have a long discussion about toilet training. (Imagine me the great explainer—when Cybil was learning to deal with shoes, I harangued her for fifteen minutes on right versus left. I then asked, “What’s the first thing you are going to do when you put on your shoes?”She looked at me, all pitiful and said, “Look for you, Mommy.”) So Bubbles is going to have to put up with a lot of “Outside?” in the next little bit. I’ve learned a few things since writing L and R on Cyb’s shoes.

 

Our quote for the day is from Allan Bloom (20th century), U.S. educator. The Closing of the American Mind, preface (1987):

 

The liberally educated person is one who is able to resist the easy and preferred answers, not because he is obstinate but because he knows others worthy of consideration.

 

;^) Jan

Tags: educated

Gryphon's Word of the Day, January 2, 2008

The word of the day for January 2, 2008 is “exhaust” — transitive verb 1 a: to consume entirely : use up <exhausted our funds in a week>. b: to tire extremely or completely <exhausted by overwork> c: to deprive of a valuable quality or constituent <exhaust a photographic developer> <exhaust a soil of fertility>. 2 a: to draw off or let out completely. b: to empty by drawing off the contents; specifically : to create a vacuum in. 3 a: to consider or discuss (a subject) thoroughly or completely. b: to try out the whole number of <exhausted all the possibilities>. intransitive verb discharge, empty <the engine exhausts through the muffler>.

Today was my first day back at work after the holidays. Since Lloyd decided that he doesn’t want to sit at the Burger King to wait for me to join him at lunch, I elected to come home to see that he ate. The puppy, who has been feeling better since yesterday evening, exhausted him, but they both had their lunch, and I went back to work.

I stopped at the grocery for a few items and picked up some take-out chicken for supper. It was a good thing, because Bubbles needed a walk. Lloyd had dozed off by the time we came back. We’ll see how the two of them do tomorrow.

The quote for the day is from Sir Herbert Read (1893–1968), British critic, poet. To Hell with Culture, ch. 13, Schocken (1963):

     An entertainment is something which distracts us or diverts us from the routine
    of daily life. It makes us for the time being forget our cares and worries; it interrupts
    our conscious thoughts and habits, rests our nerves and minds, though it may
     incidentally exhaust our bodies. Art, on the other hand, though it may divert us from
     the normal routine of our existence, causes us in some way or other to become
     conscious of that existence.

;^)  Jan the Gryphon

P.S. I hear that this is showing up multiple times in some venues. I was having formatting problems, for which I also apologise. --J

Tags: exhaust

Gryphon's Word of the Day, January 1, 2008

The word of the day for January 1, 2008 is “veterinarian” — noun/ a person qualified and authorized to practice the science and art of prevention, cure, or alleviation of disease and injury in animals and especially domestic animals.

 

We had to run the puppy to the emergency veterinary clinic today. He was acting listless and was sick all over the “pee-pads” in the hallway this morning. The vet did a test for Canine Parvo Virus—fortunately it came back negative. Even so, we get to dose Bubbles for a couple of days. It’s a good thing he’s such a sweet dog because Lloyd is too soft-hearted to do medical things for children or pets.

 

Bubbles is now sleeping on Lloyd’s foot while he watches TV with his eyes closed. I would take a picture if it wouldn’t wake them up. They’re so cute. Oh, Lloyd just woke up and put Bubbles on the bed. As soon as they're asleep again .... potential blackmail—heh, heh, heh.

 

 

 

The quote for the day is from Sylvia Beckman (b. c. 1931), U.S. ophthalmologist. As quoted in The Fifties, ch. 8, by Brett Harvey (1993):

 

One fellow I was dating in medical school ... was a veterinarian and he wanted to get married. I said, but you’re going to be moving to Minneapolis, and he said, oh, you can quit and I’ll take care of you. I said, “Go.”

 

;^)  Jan the Gryphon

Tags: veterinarian, humor, word of the day, quote of the day