Language & Grammar discussion
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The L&G Kitchen Party
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Introductions and Welcomes
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My daughter is applying for Peace Corps work as well. I told her to try for Switzerland (there must be some poor people who need help harvesting edelweiss or something).
Kittens? In China? They only allow one, isn't that so?
OK. Interview's over. Party on, dudes and dudettes. For once, I won't be listening to "Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got Nobody" by Cat (but not in China) Stevens.
IZZZZYYYYY !!!!!!!
YAY !!!!!
SURPRISE !!!!!!!
YOU GET DOORS !!!!!
REAL DOORS !!!!!
YAY !!!!!
SURPRISE !!!!!!!
YOU GET DOORS !!!!!
REAL DOORS !!!!!
Hi - I'm new too, although not nearly so exciting as a #100 or an Izzy, or even a canape, for that matter.I DO live in China, if that helps! I'm a linguistics professor at a university here in Sichuan province, finishing up the last term of a fellowship as my husband continues his TCM/acupuncture work. We'll be headed back to Portland, Oregon in July, where I generally work with the immigrant population doing ESL and with at-risk youth doing language arts things.
Oh, and for the record - I don't believe in the "abuse" of language. >; )
Anyone wanna fight about it?
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Welcome Lara...I don't believe in the abuse of language either, but I see and hear it happen on a daily basis! I don't believe in fighting either (although reasoned debate is good)!!
Right, now that the formalities are out of the way...Black Russian please NE....and make it a double. I brought the chippies and dip....will that do instead of the canapes??
Am I to understand that I was mistakenly bashed in the head with a cascarone?(Leaving to find the nearest available banana creme pie...)
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Anyway, four cheers (we go the extra mile) for Izzy's turning the dogs of celebration loose and for Debbie calling in the Russkies (black ones, yet -- my Babcia once had a picture of a black Madonna on tin, and I used to love to drink it in as a lad).
Lara -- Love the name. Are you named for the character in Dr. Zhivago? I know it's a book, but I've only seen the movie, and ever since, the Indian-born, British actress Julie Christie (at that age, in that film) has been my idea of the perfect woman.
Anyway, we're really playing the China card at this here party. Don't tell the Dalai (nor the Llama), OK? It's very political these days. Your job sounds very cool and very noble, Lara. And I'd love to get to the "other" Portland one of these days (being a New Englander, I think of Maine when people say the word "Portland").
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Plus, everyone who talks gets greeted. I'm not one to look over heads at a party in search of my friends (probably because I've never been one to have any friends, but there you have it).
Bottom line: the minute you (or anyone else) post(s) here, you ARE one of the "good friends" you just alluded to.
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Debbie - pleeeeeez tell me you're really a Kiss fan. I would sleep well at night knowing that about you. : )Newengland - actually, yes, like most women my age with the name, our fathers (and mothers) fell head over heels for Ms. Christie in that movie and so got the name and the expectation of wonder that comes with it. And all our jewelry boxes when we were children played "Lara's Theme," (you know, balalaika, "Sommmmmewherrrre my looooooovvve?" I figure I dodged a bullet with that one, as they thought I was a boy and wanted to name me Hans Gustav, instead. Phew.
Oh, and to clarify - what I meant with my flip little aside was that I don't think language abuse is possible.
You all are officially the friendliest online group I've ever seen...what a pleasure.
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Donna, don't forget the mincemeat pie. It's my favorite (um, faux mincemeat, that is -- the kind made with raisins and apples and cloves and cinnamon and nutmeg and rum and all that good stuff).
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(Oh, and no one EVER throws a mincemeat pie -- it's too valuable. Thus, my suggestion.)
uh donna
i sort of ate the chocolate silk...
it was such a long wait and all
lara oh lara welcome as for me, oh mar
and alicia you are wit personified
don't let the moving thread stop you
we're all just really talking to ourselves anyway
ok give me a lyric to a prince song
while i put on this red beret
i sort of ate the chocolate silk...
it was such a long wait and all
lara oh lara welcome as for me, oh mar
and alicia you are wit personified
don't let the moving thread stop you
we're all just really talking to ourselves anyway
ok give me a lyric to a prince song
while i put on this red beret
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Lara...I am a bona fide Kiss fan...went to a concert in Wellington last week. They still sound as good as they did 28 years ago (last time I saw them live.) Sweet dreams!
I will come and play behind the chiffonier too, but only if I can bring my favourite pie (lemon meringue).
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i don't know how i found this group, and i'm sure i will lurk too much, but what a delightfully wicked find you all are! yes, YOU. keep up the good work.
Hey-- I was in charge of the cascarones! *sigh* Step out of the picture for a few days to get some R&R . . . it's like Ferris Bueller said "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Inky, Izzy, Lara, Alicia, and Heather (sorry if I missed anyone)-- welcome!
Inky, Izzy, Lara, Alicia, and Heather (sorry if I missed anyone)-- welcome!
Thanks for the welcome Sarah -- glad you didn't folllow that up with a cascarone to the head....Donna, I fear I lack the ability to call a second, so I'll have to stand alone. Don't expect an easy win though... I'm bringing cannoli...
Inky, I'll be yor second! We can put soe cascarones in the pies!
uh inky...about that cannoli
was it in the back seat of your car?
i was walking off the chocolate silk and mesio or izzy still hadn't shown up...
and i sure worked up an apetite taking those doors off...
sorry
was it in the back seat of your car?
i was walking off the chocolate silk and mesio or izzy still hadn't shown up...
and i sure worked up an apetite taking those doors off...
sorry
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You are most kind Sarah, first among seconds:)I appreciate your assistance, especially since Maureen appears to have depleted the weapons locker.
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How about fish tacos? I never can wrap my head around that one . . .
I was just watching about fish tacos yesterday on the Food Network's Unwrapped (street food). Never had one before, I don't even know where I'd get one around here, but now I'm craving.
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Yeah, the show was talking about some sort of yogurt/(?) combination that goes on them, and red sauce (salsa?) and cabbage, not lettuce, to go with it. It sounded really good.
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And NE, those little hairy fishes have every right to be on pizza. One of the traditional toppings.
Unlike bacon, and cashews and pineapple and other oddities that truly have no business on pizza.
R
I wonder ... would it work with fried shrimp?
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And here's a tasty little word tidbit concerning tacos. When we bought our new house last year, we needed some work done that could disturb the
Spanish tile floor. Here's picture of it.
http://www.expo.com/images/products/b...
When we went to buy more tile, we discovered that the little blue & white medallion like thingies are called tacos.
Huh? Even though I studied Spanish in school and lived in So Cal all my life, I'd never known that.
Looked it up in my Spanish dictionary. Seems that taco simply means "plug." What we talk about when we talk about eating tacos, are tacos de boccadillo, in other words, "little mouth plugs."
Fun, huh?
not me donna-no mo ammo for mo
i stopped after the pizza
especially since ne called me a teenager on the peeves thread (oops kitchen sink thread)
fish tacos are good oddly
i stopped after the pizza
especially since ne called me a teenager on the peeves thread (oops kitchen sink thread)
fish tacos are good oddly
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Ruth, what lovely tacos you have (tiles... you use them in Scrabble, too, non?... and I love word play... but I don't much like Scrabble... go figure).
Donna, I meant I'm just learning to enjoy fish. I had mahi-mahi (sp?) with some mango sauce smothering it at a seafood restaurant in Boston and it was actually good (remember, my fish pedigree consists of Gorton's fish sticks).
Then I got adventurous last month and bought a slab of salmon and made a wine sauce. Hmn, hmn good. The wine sauce, I mean. Fish was OK, too.
I spend my summers in Maine yet I loathe lobster. Most everyone considers it a delicacy. Apparently I'd make a great Arab -- I think they consider them "garbage eaters of the sea floor" and steer clear. Sounds good to me. Taste like soft red rubber (or as I imagine such a thing might taste).
Irony: I love raw oysters. Well, I loved them even more when I use to chase them with an icy Muscadet (a young white wine, steely dry). Sigh. Sometimes a body can miss alcohol.
Lobster, mmmmmmm. And fish tacos, yummmm. Newengland, I think you and I need to change locales. My desert dwelling seems more suited to your Arab tastes:)To be honest, I came to a liking of both those things late, having grown up inland. But it's hard to spring break in Ensenada and not fall in love with the fish taco. It's street food there and basically goes from the ocean to the grill. They weren't served with any white sauce in Mexico. It was basically cabbage, tomatoes, cilantro and a healthy squeeze of lime on grilled corn tortillas.
(This isn't a discussion I should have joined before I had a chance for supper. Sigh)
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I think that comes from a common-usage confusion of "dolphin" vs. "porpoise," right? Mahi-mahi is a kind of dolphin, the cute things that squeak and can communicate with humans and breathe air are porpoises, I think... I get confused with that, too - especially with the whole "dolphin-safe tuna," which I think is really "porpoise-safe..." I grew up in Alaska - ask me about salmon. These warm-water fish are harder to wrap one's head around. Although we did have the squeaky cute things; called 'em porpoises. They liked to play with the boat.
i thought mahi-mahi was tuna?
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I agree that doing anything with 72 children is a monumental achievement. Hello to all, I'm glad to find a group of like-minded souls here. I'm new to Goodreads, am a writer/mom/community volunteer, and blame my lifelong obsession with grammar, spelling and punctuation on the four years of Latin I took in high school. I live in Virginia but long for Oregon (I moved from Portland three years ago), and am a big fan of writers Betty Macdonald and Miss Read, which seems to indicate I should have been born about 40 years earlier than I actually was.
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I suppose I should introduce myself, since I've been lurking and occasionally posting on this site for a few weeks now. I'm a mother of three girls, ages 11, 14, and 17. Which means I have a new driver, who is also starting to look at colleges. Oh, the stress levels are rising daily! I finally broke down and made an appointment to cover the grays, because they are multiplying by the minute. (TMI? Sorry.)I live in (gasp!) New Jersey, residing happily in a small town not far from the Big Apple. (Special thanks to Elliot Spitzer for taking over the reins in the Disgraced Governor wagon -- we needed the break.)
I live minutes from the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, and am eagerly awaiting the opening of the '08 season. I am the unofficial book-share person in my yoga class, and joyfully share my paperbacks with my fellow yoginis. Now it is time for the mass pickup: Lily from work, Abby from ballet, Nicky from a playdate (it's not just "playing" anymore, you know; it has to be a date!) See you in the funny pages,
Jeannette
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Weren't Ma and Pa Kettle of TV fame lifted from this book?
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Hi Jeannette,
Thanks for the official intro. I've been through the college process. What a racket. I applied to one (read: uno) college, was accepted, and went there. Nowadays that would be considered sacrilege (or worse, idiotic). Oh, well. I also spent 6 years of my life just outside of Morristown, NJ. I did it for love (my wife was transferred -- I gave her 5 years to get us back to New England and she took six, but back we are).
Welcome Jeanette and Kathleen!Is anybody else experiencing secondary panting on Debbie's behalf? I love being outdoors, but I've never tried it with 72 children in tow. Isn't that the equivalent of at least four classes?
I love the Fairacre books Kathleen:) As a teenager, I discovered Miss Read in my ancient hometown library, where book jackets were optional.
And I didn't know that New Jersey has a Shakespeare festival. I go to those as a hobby, but I've only made it to events as far east as Stratford, Ontario. Is the New Jersey festival a good one?
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I'm not surprised there's a Bard Festival in NJ. When I was in the Garden State (oxymoron), I acted up quite a bit, too. Alas, Poor Yorick. You're stuck in Hoboken...
Thanks for the warm welcomes! Jeannette, I've got two girls, 11 and 13. Please tell me that my 13-year-old will indeed be a lovely person again one day! And my 13-year-old is one reason I recently went back to reading Betty Macdonald again: Her book, Onions in the Stew, about raising her daughters on Vashon Island, has stunned me with its relevance to my own life. Her daughters sound EXACTLY like mine. It's very reassuring to know somethings never change.
And Miss Read's real name is Dora Saint. She's a wonderful storyteller. According to literature map (a really fun website if you haven't discovered it yet), readers of Miss Read usually are also fans of Angela Thirkell, Dodie Smith and PG Wodehouse, among others.
And Miss Read's real name is Dora Saint. She's a wonderful storyteller. According to literature map (a really fun website if you haven't discovered it yet), readers of Miss Read usually are also fans of Angela Thirkell, Dodie Smith and PG Wodehouse, among others.
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Language & Grammar
Books mentioned in this topic
Roughing It (other topics)The Fault in Our Stars (other topics)
The Way We Live Now (other topics)
Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric (other topics)
Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric (other topics)
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Sorry I didn't realize before that I was supposed to introduce myself.... Let's see. I am a JD/MBA student right now and working on a cert in Women's Studies. I was raised by a pack of grammar Nazi's who aren't always right, but remain unapologetic.
I live in WV, once lived in DC, NYC. I am currently considering running off with the Peace Corps next May instead of joining an evil law firm.
I will be taking my kitten with me to China.