now this is what i call a room with a view.
—
“when you chop wood, chips fly”
-nikolai yezhov
Jul10
Author Archives: beth
Jul9
alphabet soup.
i have always loved alphabets
when i was young
one of my favorite days ever
was when i could finally
decode the letters and read words
i love alphabets created out of every imaginable material, and alpha art and images of all kinds
today i tried to look up the word for someone who loves alphabets
and there was nothing to be found
the closest i could come was for someone who loves words:
What do you call a person who loves words?
A logophile is a person who loves words; a word nerd.
Because it’s not all that commonly known,
logophile is probably most commonly used by logophiles themselves.
(of which i am one)
but alas, ironically, no word for someone who loves the letters that make up every word.
—
“human society, the world, and the whole of mankind is to be found in the alphabet.”
-victor hugo
Jul8
village.
This Haunted, Abandoned Village in Scotland
Can Be Yours for $173,000
The Old Village of Lawers, currently for sale in Scotland, comes with some baggage. In addition to its centuries-old ruins, the property purportedly comes with the ghost of a seer whose famous for her accurate predictions. If this sounds like your dream listing, the historic village can be yours for $173,000, CNBC reports.
The sale of the Old Village of Lawers in Perthshire, Scotland, is being managed by the Goldcrest Land & Forestry Group. The settlement dates back to the 17th century, and it includes the ruins of the Old Lawers Church, a kiln, and mill, and the House of Lawers. The latter site housed the Lady of Lawers in the late 1600s.
The seer put forth various prophecies in her lifetime, including visions of “fire-coaches” and ships powered by smoke. These have since been interpreted as predictions of trains and steamships. She also proclaimed that the ridging stones for the church would never be laid—a prediction that came true when a storm washed them away. Today, the ghost of the Lady of Lawers is said to haunt the village she once called home.
The 3-acre property offers more than dilapidated buildings and supernatural legends. It also comes with a private beach, semi-ancient woodland, and the rights to fish for trout and launch a boat in Loch Tay. The village, which has been unoccupied since the early 20th century, is perfect for someone looking for a truly secluded getaway in central Scotland. The Old Village of Lawers is listed for £125,000, or roughly $172,859 USD.
who’s in?
—
“the village is coming back, like it or not.”
-david brin
—
source credits: mental floss, michele debczak, cnbc
Jul7
mugs.
met my dear friend at a recently reopened local diner
for breakfast and a long overdue catch-up
mid-breakfast she noticed the variety of cups they used
all from other sources
mine was covered with the logo of an alcoholic beverage
hers bore the name of a blood pressure/heart medication
luck of the draw, kind of like a fortune cookie
can make or break your whole day
we had a great laugh and talked about
how we both choose our morning mugs for coffee depending on our moods and needs
each morning we seek out and grab, without much conscious thought, the mug we need to start that day
do we reach for –
the inspirational-phrased mug, the heavy mug, the ego-boosting mug, the gift mug, sentimental mug, the deep thought mug, the light as a feather delicate china mug with the flora or fauna, art mug, clean mug, favorite place mug, photo mug, travel mug, joke mug, big mug, little mug, ironic mug, two-hands needed mug, favorite color – shape – size, ceramic, plastic, paper, metal, glass, unbreakable mug?
i knew we were friends for a reason.
—
“i have a mug that actually verifies that i’m the world’s best dad.
that’s a mug. that’s not me talking.
you can’t just buy those.”
-stephen colbert
Jul6
extraordinary.
rereading one of my favorite books
well-worn/well-loved
dr. zhivago
sweeping epic set in russian history
extraordinary characters
extraordinary times
pasternak a poet
i would love for it to have
a different ending
for just one reading
yet know
it would not be
the story it was meant to be.
—
“literature is the art of discovering something extraordinary about ordinary people,
and saying with ordinary words something extraordinary.”
-boris pasternak
Jul5
climb it.
one is a crazy toddler yeti
one is an energetic tween grandie
both are natural climbers
can you guess which is which?
“obstacles don’t have to stop you. if you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up.
figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
– Michael Jordan
Jul4
small arms.
“seasons pursuing each other,
the indescribable crowd is gathered,
it is the fourth of the seventh-month,
what salutes of cannon and other small arms!”
-walt whitman
happy 4th!
Jul3
blind date.
summer meets july
—
“july is a blind date with summer.”
-hal borland
Jul2
you say cicada, i say cicado.
it’s been 17 years and they’re back!
they been sitting around underground
patiently waiting
for a dramatic return
no reason to stress
instead
our library has created a city-wide bingo game in their honor
what could be more fun?
and i’ve already got my free spot filled.
—
Cicada Summer
Brood X has ARRIV- er, EMERGED from the depths to see YOU!!!!
But have YOU seen THEM? HEARD them?? READ ABOUT THEM??? FOUND THEIR SHELLS????
If you have, you may have one or more boxes checked off on our CICADA SUMMER BINGO!!!
From your friends at the Ann Arbor Public Libraries
—
“i work even in the middle of the day, in the full sunshine, and i enjoy it like a cicada.”
-vincent van gogh
—
source and photo credits: ann arbor district library, cicada@aadl.org
Jul1
thanks to our neighbors, on canada day.
things you might not know were invented in canada
1. Peanut Butter -1884 (by a pharmacist as an option for people who couldn’t chew food)
2. The Wonder Bra – 1939 (by Canadian Lady Corset Company)
3.Trivial Pursuit – 1979 (by a sports editor and photo editor who couldn’t find all their Scrabble squares)
4. Odometer – 1954 (by a nova scotia inventor)
5. Rotary Snowplow – 1869 (by a dentist – a popular train track clearing device)
6. Egg Carton – 1911 (by a newspaper editor who found a new use for paper)
7. Imax – 1967 (by 3 filmmakers and an engineer)
8. McIntosh Apples – 1835 (by a farmer grafting his wild apple trees)
9. Walkie Talkie – 1937 – (by a western canadian inventor)
10. Insulin – 1922 – ( by 3 toronto scientists- not invented but discovered it and its use )
11. Instant Replay – 1955 (by a cbc tv producer)
12. Foghorn – 1854 (by an inventor/civil engineer/artist – who never patented it)
13. Green currency ink – 1862 (by chemist/mineralogist – ink used to make us dollars green)
14. Baggage tag – 1882 (by a new brunswick railway man)
15. Paint Roller – 1940 (by a canadian inventor – later tweaked and patented by an american)
16. Standard Time- 1883 (by an engineer who brought it to canadian and american railways)
17. Wheelchair – accessible bus – 1945 (by a blind, quadriplegic veteran – took his first ride after his death)
18. Electric Wheelchair – 1952 (by an engineer)
19. Plastic Trash bags – 1950 (by 2 inventors – later sold to union carbide and became glad bags)
—
“i don’t even know what street canada is on.”
-al capone, american gangster
—
source credits: amanda green, mental floss, canadian pixel
