I started to drive myself to the store. And lo, somebody left some door open on the Prius, their one Achilles heel. It’s hot, it’s nasty, I’m not about to tackle the problem in the heat: we have to call AAA to get the jump. So…do it tomorrow. In the morning. I called the grocery and ordered my list. It wasn’t easy to navigate their software, but I got it.
We’re having what’s left in the fridge tonight: one cabbage, bacon, half a bell pepper, and a potato. Cut up and fried together with ample pepper, probably not bad. We’ll see. At least it’s within the diet. 😉
Annnnd we have fixed it. My electronic key was out of juice. ALWAYS check the key battery before panicking. I now plan to carry spares. There is an emergency procedure even with no battery: use the fob against the start button and it will ‘read’ it.
Jane’s car, however, is still not running. Hopefully a new battery will fix this.
I’m so glad mine has a conventional key as well as a remote. I can still get the driver’s side door open. (Although that doesn’t prevent that battery from dying, which it can do really fast. And it’s not cheap replacing it.)
That sounds kinda tasty to me! A little fiddling with spices, just a little, and mmm!
And it is amazing how much of a difference it makes to have a full fridge versus a nearly empty one. Makes a body feel much more secure and at ease. I suspect most of the world would be happy enough if they always had a good meal, clean water, and a decent place to sleep.
I have heard Kroger’s in-store commercial for ordering online to have your order ready for pickup at their store, curbside. I have not tried this yet, but I may. Being sure and staying firm on what to get per trip (the, “ooh, shiny, tasty” versus, “eww, budget” could be a factor) YMMV.
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This morning, I checked BehindTheName.com, which I sometimes do for character name ideas, or for fun with etymology.
“Ursula” is today’s name, and without looking, I can guess, “Little (She-) Bear” in Latin. And this brings up two things for me: One, it’s curious how so many common names break down into very “tribal” or primitive, basic naming practices like that, usually virtuous-sounding, occasionally unflattering nicknames, and at times, just plain puzzling. Funny how those modern European names break down into things like, “Spear Warrior” and “Red Wolf” and so on. Kinda takes the pretentiousness down a notch. Two, isn’t it interesting that you’d get “Ursula” as the surviving name for a tough little she-bear, a mama bear or sister bear? Why is it that I, being male, would tend to think of bears as more of a male name, when clearly our European ancestors (Latins, Greeks, Celts, Germanics, Slavics, etc.) thought of he-bears and she-bears both? As if there should be a surviving name, Ursulo, or something close, for a little he-bear, and some big bears for the papa bear or mama bear of the tribe. They liked those names too, so why only Ursula? I think I’m overlooking some other common names.
And as for big, macho names for guys, I ran across a few that also go against the more modern first impressions, names for boys which mean “fawn” or close to it. One of these was Celtic / Gaelic, and is given as “fawn” or “little ox” or “little deer” or — aha, “little stag,” which at least sounds a little more macho, not so much like Bambi, hmm? And yet, male and female deer were prized as noble animals, totem animals, not like the popular (soft and cuddly) Bambi image. When a Hebrew name came up with “(male) fawn” too, huh, I was surprised. (The Gaelic name got mashed in with a river name and another place-name before emerging in the English version of the Irish and Scots name, but Damhán / Damháin –> Devin / Davin (mixed in with Devon for the river, different language source) is…a little stag / deer / fawn, and so is Ofer / Ophrah (with the ph) / and maybe Ophir. — With lots of other little wolves, little this, little that, among them, and little spears too. Hmm. Apparently, the girls can often be little warrior-women too, though, and yet also get “pretty” and “girly” names besides. So most of our ancestors were a little more fierce for the girls at some point, not just barefoot and in the kitchen, the way the stereotype had them. So, cute names for some boys and tough names for some girls? It struck me as really going against modern preconceptions. I also ran across at least one name for a kid with freckles: Bricius, meaning speckled, they say, which changed into Bryce over time.
Me? Benjamin is, “Son of the right hand, favored son,” with the right hand being sort of, “the right hand man.” (Why the left hand can’t get equal love is its own oddness.) My first name breaks down into “Sea Ruler / Warrior / Traveler” just about, and my last name gets into Medieval English superstitions about pale hair and complexion, or hair that bleaches out in the sun and darkens in the winter, as a connection to the elves (faerie folk), but basically, it’s just “white guy,” with some dialectal spin, playing on, yes, the very pale complexion and blond hair common in the family, at least as kids, some of whom later turn dark-haired. But apparently, that very pale hair (tow-headed, white-blond, platinum blond) and any changeability were evidence in folktales and folk wisdom for being friends / allies / lovers with the faerie folk, the elves and hobs and such. (With appropriately cautionary tales about what could happen to you if you got too friendly or got stolen by those folk….)
(Note: While I was light blond as a kid, I wasn’t entirely palest blond, and my hair gradually went to a more sandy blond with a hint of red in the beard. So if I could stand to let my hair grow long enough, I’d be close enough to Tully or Bren, just not as, ah, athletically handsome. 😉 )
The naming thing just seemed too interesting not to share.
There was a strong handedness prejudice in some ancient cultures, including the Roman, but especially in the middle east (sinister means “left side” in Latin). Among desert tribes (like the Hebrews) the left hand was used for “toilet cleanup” in a land without grass, leaves, or water — so your right-hand man was a good man, he was “right (not wrong),” “in the right,” “right-minded,” “righteous,” “upright” and had the “right stuff.” (It was also why in Bedoin societies, you never ate with your left hand out of the communal dish if you wanted to live through the meal!)
I wanted to name a daughter Divarty, but the spousal unit was totally against naming a daughter DIVision ARTillerY…
I would have used “Analys”, which lends itself to many niknames down either the “An…” or “L[y/i][s/z]…” derivations. Anna and Liz “fit” two very different personalities. (And for an Aspie father, something of a “natural-born scientist”, just two letters shy of “Analysis”.)
Looks rather like a variation on ‘Annaliese’, my aunt’s name.
Our Summer Reading Program began this week, and I bet at a lot of salads’ local libraries as well. Many SRPs are branching out to include teens and adults, not just kids, so check to see if your local library offers that and sign up. You know you’re reading, so may as well put it to even more use! Bigger turnout for programs like this means statistics your library can point to when they ask for a bigger budget, and that means more materials and services. It eventually trickles down to our Gracious Hostess as well, when the library buys her books and exposes more people to her writing, potentially creating new Associates!
Regrettably, we will be short-staffed the next couple of days. Despite being a noble profession, library personnel still need to occasionally take time off, and finding substitutes involves more gods-rotted scrolls and ribbons and other paperwork than any bureaucracy should be allowed!
C.J., here’s a little eye (and soul) candy I thought you and our other salads might enjoy:
https://youtu.be/pII_2VbgheI
https://youtu.be/tNz_9BRm_5c
I’ve thought up a great “virtue name,” but it’s so good, it must have been used before. In fact, I wonder why it isn’t a lot more common.
Reader.
It could work as a boy’s name or.a girl’s name. It’s a good virtue. I wonder why it’s not more common, really.
Going back to a way previous conversation about new books on CC, how does one go about requesting a book you may or may not have available? You mentioned having a few copies of Convergence available for direct sale, but I will be blessed if i can figure out how to order one!
OK. write to cj@cherryh.com and we’ll figure it out.
As an elder person, you should have an emergency stash of food laid in.
Also, if you had edible fish in your pond you could just go out and fish. Maniacal laughter.
Also, do we have to mail you food packets every week? Or you can defrost an Ursus.
We elderly have to keep up our strength.
Since money comes only once a month here and has for many years, each grocery “buy” has to last that long. I have developed a tendency to hoard. I actually begin to get nervous if my frozen food and/or canned goods supplies drop below a certain point, even though I would still have food enough to make it till next payday.
Bulk beans and rice make a real good backup if you’ve got dry storage. We have a whole drawer full plus some in the basement. If our 8 day power-out had been city-wide we could have done very well with our supply of charcoal, matches, beans and rice.