Party day. I am tired.
The kids and I went to work right
after breakfast and we really got the house cleaned up. Alesia scrubbed down
the kitchen and the kitchen floor, and ingeniously found ways to store things
in the cabinets, out of sight. Mike helped me water plants, vacuumed, and hauled a lot of
things which needed to be put away in the garage.
When we were pretty much done
cleaning, about 12:30, Alesia announced she was going upstairs to get a shower.
Mike and I went to Arbys to pick up sandwiches for lunch. When we got back,
Alesia was clean and had rearranged her room. After lunch, she rearranged
Michael’s room.
Both their rooms now have much more
floor space, because the beds are smack against the windows. I was not terribly
pleased, but they assured me they would keep their curtains closed – which they
usually do anyway – so I wasn’t going to fuss too much. I remember taking great
delight in rearranging the furniture in my room fairly often, when I was a kid.
My party went well, although I
didn’t have a big turnout. Several neighbors came, but only one of my MAPREC
families. The weather was so hot, the kids stayed upstairs playing. However, at
one point Michael took the neighbors’ 4 year old outside and supervised him,
and Mom said she looked out in the back yard and the little guy was just
running around in circles like a dog, then he’d plop down and rest, then run
around again. He was on the trampoline. Mike was very patient with him.
Michael got to spend several hours
yesterday at the pool with his buddies, and taught himself to do a flip off the
diving board. All day long he’s been saying “I have to go back to the pool so I
can flip! I don’t want to forget!”
We’ve worked hard all weekend, and
really for the past week, so I told the kids tomorrow is a rest day. We all
need to do laundry, but that’s not a tough task.
I meant to take photos of the party but I just forgot. One of my neighbors, Jenean, made me a gorgeous cake with the Russian flag on top and an inset of the book cover. She has a website. If you're in the north Atlanta area and need a special cake, let her know.
The kids and I made dinner of the party food, and watched Valkyrie, which was interesting, but not as good as I had hoped.
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Mother sent me an amusing email, which is below. I know I am old, because I have heard most of these expressions all my life and I still use a lot of them. I've never heard of "barking at a knot" or "between hay and grass." They didn't list one of my favorite expressions, which one of my great grandmothers liked, "climbing fool's hill" - usually applied to a foolish young man.
A LICK AND A PROMISE
'I'll
just give this a lick and a promise,' my mother said as she quickly
mopped up a spill on the floor without moving any of the furniture.
'What is that supposed to mean,' I asked as in my young mind I envisioned someone licking the floor with his or her tongue.
'It means that I'm in a hurry and I'm busy canning tomatoes so I am going to just give it a lick with the mop and promise to come back and do the job right later.
'A lick and a promise' was just one of the many old phrases that our mothers, grandmothers, and others used that they probably heard from the generations before them. With the passing of time, many old phrases become obsolete or even disappear. This is unfortunate because some of them are very appropriate and humorous. Here is a list of some of those memorable old phrases:
1. A Bone to Pick (someone who wants to discuss a disagreement)
2. An Axe to Grind (Someone who has a hidden motive. This phrase is said to have originated from Benjamin Franklin who told a story about a devious man who asked how a grinding wheel worked. He ended up walking away with his axe sharpened free of charge)
3. One bad apple spoils the whole barrel (one corrupt person can cause all the others to go bad if you don't remove the bad one)
4. At sea (lost or not understanding something)
5. Bad Egg (Someone who was not a good person)
6. Barking at a knot (meaning that your efforts were as useless as a dog barking at a knot.)
7. Barking up the wrong tree (talking about something that was completely the wrong issue with the wrong person)
8. Bee in your bonnet (To have an idea that won't let loose )
9. Been through the mill (had a rough time of it)
10.Between hay and grass (Not a child or an adult)
11. Blinky (Between sweet and sour as in milk)
12. Calaboose (a jail)
13. Catawampus (Something that sits crooked such as a piece of furniture sitting at an angle)
14. Dicker (To barter or trade)
15. Feather in Your Cap (to accomplish a goal. This came from years ago in wartime when warriors might receive a feather they would put in their cap for defeating an ene my)
16. Hold your horses (Be patient!)
17. Hoosegow ( a jail)
18. I reckon (I suppose)
19. Jawing/Jawboning (Talking or arguing)
20. Kit and caboodle (The whole thing)
21. Madder than an wet hen (really angry)
22. Needs taken down a notch or two (like notches in a belt usually a young person who thinks too highly of himself and needs a lesson)
23.No Spring Chicken (Not young anymore)
24.Persnickety (overly particular or snobbish)
25.Pert-near (short for pretty near)
26.Pretty is as pretty does (your actions are more important than your looks)
27.Redy up (clean the house)
28.Scalawag (a rascal or unprincipled person)
29.Scarce as hen's teeth (something difficult to obtain)
30.Skedaddle (Get out of here quickly)
31. Sparking (courting)
32.Straight From the Horse's Mouth (privileged information from the one concerned)
33.Stringing around, gallivanting around, or piddling (Not doing anything of value)
34.Sunday go to meetin' dress (The best dress you had)
35.We wash up real fine (look good when we are cleaned up)
36.Tie the Knot (to get married)
37.Too many irons in the fire (to be involved in too many things)
38.Tuckered out (tired and all worn out)
39. Under the weather (not feeling well this term came from going below deck on ships due to sea sickness thus you go below or under the weather)
40.Wearing your 'best bib and tucker' (Being all dressed up)
41. You ain't the only duck in the pond (It's not all about you)
Well,
if you hold your horses, I reckon I'll get this whole kit and caboodle
done and sent off to you. Please don't be too persnickety and get a bee
in your bonnet because I've been pretty tuckered out and at sea lately
because I'm no spring chicken. I haven't been just stringin' around
and I know I'm not the only duck in the pond, but I do have too many
irons in the fire. I might just be barking at a knot, but I have tried
to give this article more than just
A LICK & A PROMISE!
