Prickly Pronunciations
These words all rhyme: New Cue Lieu Woo Do So how do you spell the “oo” sound in English? Um, it depends. The English language represents a mixing of cultures because it has borrowed words from many other tongues and…
A Peek into the World of Introversion
I’m a teenager sitting on my bed staring into space and contemplating life, the universe, and everything (by the way, the answer is 42). My sister barges in; looks at me, then around the room, then back at me; crosses…
Larger than Life Characters
It’s Friday Fiction time! I recently read a great post by Literary Agent Kate McKean (top ten things agents and editors want to see every day of the week) and noticed a phrase she used to tell people not to wallow…
Word Weaver, Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton with her chickens If you’ve never heard of Sandra Boynton, you are missing out. Most parents have either seen Boynton’s children books or heard her CDs. She has also designed numerous greeting cards. What I love most, though,…
Yep, I’m a Fanilow
The first album I recall owning was Donny Osmond: Portrait of Donny. As a young girl, I was wowed by Donny’s looks and voice. But this post is not about him. (Sorry, Donny.) You see, as I matured,…
My Reluctant Conversion to Ebooks
I lament the loss of texture. With our touch screen world, it is becoming rarer and rarer to feel the push buttons of a telephone, an ATM, or a debit card machine; the click of a mouse rather than…
Wednesday Words: Tongue Twisters
You had to know eventually I would get around to mentioning the TONGUE TWISTER! My father was a speech and preaching double-major in college, and apparently one of his professors used tongue twisters to help students enunciate better. My dad…
25 Years and Still Looking Good!
After the post in anticipation of my 25th year high school reunion, I figured I should post an update on how it went! Did I wow them all with my brilliant success and gorgeous looks? Well, no. In spite of thinking ahead…
Top 10 Quirky Comedy Films
I’m taking a respite from book-focused Friday Fiction. Perhaps this is better titled a Friday Favorite post, since I wanted to talk about some favorite films. While writing about American vs. British English, I watched part of A Fish Called Wanda…
Wednesday Words: What’s Your Pet Peeve?
No, not that! Anything but THAT! What is your greatest pet peeve in common language usage? I polled some friends and here are a few I heard: Confusing words like your and you’re; to, too, and two; idea and ideal…