MUNICIPAL

Kath's (Mother Hen) latest post is a cute rhyme about her trip to a thrift shop. She has a pensioner's free pass to travel. What a wonderful thing to have.

A free bus pass wouldn't work very well in most of the United States because the bus systems here are such a joke. In most small towns there is no bus line. Small to medium cities may have a bus line, but to keep costs down one has to go to the central transfer station for most trips to the other side of town. Most folks won't put up with a 2 hour bus trip that only takes 20 minutes by automobile. Also for inter-city trips, Mid-western and Plains states towns with bus stations are so much further apart here than in Great Britain. Plus, if there is a bus stop it is usually on the highway—nowhere near shops—with no guarantee that there will be intra-city transport once you get to the town.

Admittedly, in some places in the States, where the population base is large enough, or where they are dedicated to the Green principle, the intra-city systems are better developed. Portland, Oregon, for instance, has a good light rail transport in conjunction with a bus system that really seems to work. Still, my son (who lives in Portland) has a pickup to take when he goes junking for his art materials. If he wants to visit friends in California, he rents a car. If he comes to visit us, he flies and then rents a car when he gets here.

Our word for the day is "municipal" — Pronunciation: \myu-'ni-s(ə-)pəl also myə-, mə-, -'ni-sə-bəl, ÷,myü-nə-'si-pəl\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin municipalis of a municipality, from municip-, municeps inhabitant of a municipality, from munus duty, service + capere to take — more at mean, heave
Date: circa 1540
1: of or relating to the internal affairs of a major political unit (as a nation). 2 a: of, relating to, or characteristic of a municipality. b: having local self-government. 3: restricted to one locality.

Our quote for the day is from Charles, Prince of Wales, on Peter Ahrends’s design for an office building housing additional space for the National Gallery, address at 150th anniversary celebration of the Royal Institute of British Architects, NY Times 12 Oct 84:

[It’s] a kind of vast municipal fire station … a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved friend.

;^)

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CANDLEMAS

Happy Groundhog's Day. Or Candlemas. Or Imbolc. Or whatever holiday you're celebrating today. The groundhog saw his shadow, the day dawned bright and clear. So we'll have six more weeks of winter instead of just a month and a half.

We finally made the trip to Omaha that we had been planning. The day was sunny, but not too warm. If it hadn't been for the shimmy in the left front wheel, the dog getting sick and Lloyd insisting that I wasn't using the most direct route, it would have been a great drive.



Claudia and her son, Mitchell, are doing fine. She's thinking of moving to Arkansas, where her mother and step-father live. It would be a great move for her. All of her family except for a couple of Lloyd's cousins, with whom she has little contact, have moved away. Her best friend moved to Texas last year. So now she's decided she needs to be closer to her mother and her nieces and nephews. She will actually be a couple of hours closer to us, as well.

Coming home was a much better trip. We had a cloudy sky, but no rain. No construction zones slowed us down. The wheels all stayed on the car. When we finally got home, Lloyd told me, "I don't want you ever to drive me all over the map like that again." Not a problem. In spite of what Lloyd tells everyone, I do not like to drive.

The word of the day for February 2, 2009 is "Candlemas" Pronunciation: \ˈkan-dəl-məs\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English candelmasse, from Old English candelmæsse, from candel + mæsse mass, feast; from the candles blessed and carried in celebration of the feast
Date: before 12th century
: February 2 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of the Virgin Mary.

Our quote for the day is from Robert Herrick (1591–1674), Ceremonies for Candlemas Eve:

Thus times do shift,—each thing his turn does hold;
New things succeed, as former things grow old

;^)

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HEALTHY

Yesterday, my primary care doctor gave me the results of all the tests they took last week. Apparently, I am disgustingly healthy for a woman of my age. The blood pressure is medicated to a reasonable level; the cholesteral is humming along at normal; the blood sugar is good.

Anything else, he asks me. Well, I've got this pain in my wrist that started in November when I took out the birdbath with the riding lawn mower.

So I got sent down to x-ray-not that they expect to find anything, but just in case. Monday, I call in to their automated line and get the results on that. Meanwhile, I'm to wear the wrist bracers—which I wear to ward off carpal tunnel—all the time. Make that as much time as is practical. I'm not about to wear them while showering, etc. Also, I get some heavy-duty meds for the pain (Celebrex) for the next couple of weeks.

Tomorrow, if Lloyd feels better, we will be on the road to Omaha. I'll try to remember to take the camera this time so I can take a few pictures.

The word of the day for January 30, 2009 is "healthy" — Pronunciation: \'hel-thē also 'helt-\
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): health·i·er; health·i·est
Date: 1552
1: enjoying health and vigor of body, mind, or spirit : well. 2: evincing health [a healthy complexion]. 3: conducive to health [walk three miles every day…a beastly bore, but healthy — G. S. Patton]. 4 a: prosperous , flourishing. b: not small or feeble : considerable.

Our quote for the day is from Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936), British author. Generally Speaking, “On Sentiment,” (1928):

It is as healthy to enjoy sentiment as to enjoy jam.

;^)

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