Have you got change for a C..

Today I remarked to my husband that I have heard the phrase “sea change” used often lately. I thought I knew what it meant but wondered about the origin of the words. He looked at me quizzically saying he had never been aware of it. I had to refer to my favorite source to settle arguments and pursue information. I googled it. There were over one million hits with sea change. The first one lead to a page that gave a definition (transformation) and origin as written by Shakespeare in “The Tempest”. I clicked on some of the other listings and found out it is the name of a book by Robert B. Parker and a recording by Beck. It is also the name of a digital video server system. This satisfied my curiosity and I did not try all of the million sites.
The first site with the definition was from a page called World Wide Words. It lists weird, seldom used words alphabetically. Click on a word and you get the definition and use. I found a new favorite—snollygoster. The short definition is: “A shrewd unprincipled person, especially a politician.” The longer definition sent me to the dictionary to check a couple more words. It says “…someone who wants office, regardless of party, platform or principles, and who, whenever he wins gets there by the sheer force of monumental talknophical assumnacy.” I will need a fatter dictionary to find talknophical. It will not make me a better writer to study this site but I bet I could
do better on the Jeopardy pretest or the National Spelling Bee.
Prediction for the next two years. We will have to watch out for the Snollygosters until fall of ’08 unless they undergo a sea change.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-sea1.htm

Secret of a Happy Marriage

It's been a Two Tree Day on a Three Dog Night. That got your attention and needs some explaining. I know "Three Dog Night" is an old pop group, but I am talking about the original meaning of the phrase. It's about a night cold enough to sleep with three dogs to keep warm. The mercury, although there no longer is mercury in thermometers, dipped to -3 last night where we live. My husband is currently talking to his long-time friend Dave on the phone. It is +47 in New Hampshire where he lives. At 47 you can let Fido sleep in his own bed. We actually don't have any dogs but a wonderful down comforter helps and is low maintainance.

Now about the two tree day. I recently "won" another silent auction bidding on a decorated Christmas tree that was auctioned off for charity. I thought I had bid low enough to start the bidding but not win the tree. Last year I also purchased a tree the same way. It jump starts the season to bring home a tree already decorated and light it up. I thought at least I wouldn't have had to dig through boxes of ornaments and assorted Christmas decorations but in a weaker moment recently decided to put up last year's tree as well. It is decorated with angels and I thought I would miss seeing it. So it was a "two tree day".

Traveling in Europe to the birthplace of Jon's great,great, grandfather in Germany and grandmother's birthplace in Nova Bystrice, CR has motivated my husband to organize his information on a computer program called Family Treemaker. Working on geneology has become a popular hobby of many people. Jon will sometimes say jokingly that he is going to "work on his gynecology!" He has extensive information on his mother's and father's kin collected over the years by other relatives. With the program he has been able to add old and new photos that are relevant. He found the ship's log listing his emigrant G.G. grandfather and family. His goal was to merge his info with data from my dad and mom's families. That would give an up to date family tree for our children. Doing this is a learning process and he is still working on it. When he announced, "I now have two trees" I looked up waiting for an explanation. Apparently he has all of his mother's families info in one tree and his father's in another. That does not account for my parents data. He tried to explain he has many branches or trees and it is still not merged. At least we had that in common. We both had two tree days.

I also remembered that I have a third artifical tree in my storeroom. Maybe I could merge the three of them for next Christmas. When you are married it is always good to have the same goals.

I was sent the following story on email today and thought it was cute.

Secret to a Long Marriage --

With a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary at the church's marriage marathon, the minister asked Brother Ralph to take a few minutes and share some insight into how he managed to live with the same woman all these years.

The husband replied to the audience, "Well, I treated her with respect, spent money on her, but mostly I took her traveling on special occasions."

The minister inquired trips to where?

Ralph replied, “For our 25th anniversary, I took her to Beijing, China.”

The minister then said, "What a terrific example you are to all husbands, Ralph. Please tell the audience what you're going to do for your wife on your 50th anniversary?"

Ralph replied, "I'm going to go get her."

Not Legal Here

Sign speaks for itself. This is the last of the subject, I promise.

How Do you Spell Relief

Here it is allowed. It must be "anfahrtszone". Actually it is a little village in Austria.

I apologize for crude remarks.

Sign of the Times

Sign we saw by nursery school in Garmish, Germany. I love German words. Do you suppose there is "anfahrtszone fur volks"? You see the word fahrt a lot such as in "ausfahrt" or exit. It relates to journey or drive. Krankenwagen is an ambulance. We guessed the signs means something like a parking or pull in place for ambulances, but it still amuses me. They serve a lot of beir and cabbage in this country and it might me good to set aside a zone for the results.

The Other House on the Rock

Above: View of Fussen from Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavarian Alps
Two views of the castle below: from the path and from the Marionbrucke the "poster" picture.

No picture but visit site for Alex Jordan's House on the Rock, Madison, WI

Recommended if you find yourself in that part of the country: http://www.thehouseontherock.com/html/attraction.htm

Please fasten your seat belts and keep your seats in the upright position. We are visiting Bavaria and the best known tourist site in Germany, Neuschwanstein. This prototype of the Disney Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyworld still stands in the Alps at Fussen. In October '06 we joined international tourists trudging up the hill to tour the landmark.

We had visited Fussen in May '03 but due to throngs of tour busses only seen it from a distance. It is the newest of fairy tale fortresses you find in Germany. It is not in ruins because it is just over a century old having been built by "Mad" King Ludwig of Bavaria in the 19th C.

( Wiki-pedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_II_of_Bavaria)

There are three ways to reach the castle: 1. Hike up the steep hills. 2.Buy a ticket on a bus that takes you part way for a small price. 3. Pay 20 euro to take the horse and carriage that almost gets you to the gate. We chose the bus. From the staging area where busses drop tourists it is a steep walk to the bridge for the photo-op view of the edifice. At this point 20 euros does not seem like too much to have paid for the horse and buggy. It is a wonderful vantage point and we bucked up and decided to enjoy it. We still were not at the castle and became painfully aware of the trudge ahead of a couple of 60+ yr. old travelers. I was wishing I had prepared for these hikes by doing a little more leg work at home. As we climbed we were shamed meeting those health-conscious Europeans coming up the mountain carrying their walking sticks. I don't want to climb those mountains but maybe I could just buy the walking stick and have my picture taken that way. Do you think I would fool anyone who knew me? Maybe I could fool some of you who don't. I was the one taking a break everytime I saw a bench. This is when one of us uttered the line, "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!" to paraphrase Shakespeare.

There is an advantage to traveling off-season. The lines are shorter. We had tickets to tour the castle at an appointed time. This was an incentive to keep climbing up the hill and keep the breaks short. We were a few minutes early and visited with others waiting in the courtyard. One gent from the UK was wearing a tee shirt with those familiar golden arches and the logo "Mc S...t". Fill in the blanks yourself but I do not think he likes America's most visible export to Europe, Mc Donalds. He was too polite to discuss it with a couple of Americans.

The view from the castle is awesome. No wonder Ludwig hid out here. It had central heating, indoor plumbing, and electric lights along with all the amenities suitable for a king. This was a great improvement on it's medieval counterparts. I believe it took 17 years to build and the king only occupied it half a year. Swan motifs are everywhere. There are floors of the building that were never finished. It is imposing and it's location on the rock offered Ludwig some delay from the forces who eventually dragged him out and deposed him. They were upset with his politics or lack of and his spending a fortune on the fortress. I think he had the last laugh and a lasting legacy that draws millions of people and their money. Maybe if he had lived a little longer he could have built Frontierland, Adventureland and Space Mountain too.

Mina Ballerina

MINA BALLERINA

Brown eyes
Bobbed hair
Smiling face
One tooth not there
Upbeat, so sweet
Nine year old Mina.

Skates fast
Never last
Soccer kicker
Doesn’t bicker
Lots of friends
That’s Mina.

Princess, yes
Likes to dress
Only thing
Room’s a mess
Try to Keep it
Cleana Mina.

Girl scout
Camps out
With a group
Called a Troop
Cookie selling
Champion Mina.

Sleeps well-no fright
If there’s - some light
Stuffed toys
In bed
All around
her head
Where’s Mina?

Reads a book
Likes to cook
Quick to hug
A cuddly bug
Dancing queen, Ah
That’s our Mina.

Love, Grandma