Our word for today is “shadow.” I’ve written about shadows before – The shadow knows. Shadow is an old word, from the mid 1300s in Old English via Dutch and German and possibly, Greek. Such a word will have developed many meanings. Ultimately, shadow means the interruption of light by something opaque. This is its […]
Our word for today is “obsession.” Its synonyms are – passion, mania, compulsion, addiction, craze, hobby horse… wait hobby horse? How did that get in there? I had to find out. Well, one of my obsessions might very well be words – their meaning, usage and origin, as a start. So how do you get
In an earlier post, I wrote rather lightly about our word for the day, obsession. It is anything but light. Obsession is a passion. It may, however, manifest itself, in what others consider light or frivolous. Obsession is anything but frivolous. It is for many, a reason to live. A reason to get up in
Our word for today is “starter.” I had been writing about making a starter, a leavening agent for bread, so it’s an interesting word to explore. Beginnings, “starts” are always challenging. I remember, in my twenties, when I was about to begin a planned trip to live abroad, in Europe, for a few years, I
Our word for today is “artisanal” or artisnal. – made in a traditional, non-mechanical way – made by hand. It applies mainly to food or drink, such as, bread kneaded by hand, possibly using a homemade starter. Artisnal also refers to locally made cheeses, beers, preserves…the list goes on. These foods are a little more
Our word for today is “felt.” As as noun it means a cloth made by pressing or rolling fibre together. As a verb, to felt, is the process of pressing fibres together to make a cloth or a shape. Felting, in fact, is an art form, with artists creating amazing pieces in every dimension!! They
Our word for today is “fulcrum.” I have a love-hate relationship with this word. It means a pivotal point. In fact, fulcrums are essential, if you want an “easy life.” Think of the importance of hinges on doors, or that gadget that holds an oar in place on a row boat or the small grey
Our word for today is “medium.” On the surface, it’s a very common, unpretentious, almost banal word. Do not be deceived! It has a depth, that borders on the mystical…… I first thought of “The Medium is the Message.” I’m a great fan of Marshall McLuhan, who was probably the first person to make us
Our word for today is “hangover.” It might be more appropriate to write this for New Year’s Day, when celebrants have had too much alcohol to drink the night before. Of course, some have hangovers everyday. So today would be just like any other. Fortunately, it’s been a long time since I’ve suffered a hangover
