cattywampus flumadiddle, rantipole and ninnyhammer

Ed often tells me -- you are so lacking in a true American education! He is correct, to an extent. Although I attended six years of elementary and middle school in New York, I'd say that my most formative years came later, after age 13 -- and those would be years that I spent in Poland. Years that I did not study American history (however it was presented in the 1960s), or the English language. And importantly, according to Ed, I missed the cultural icons of the period. But since I came back to New York at age 18, my "gap years" are a funny blank insert into an otherwise very American cultural immersion. Well, of sorts. Living then as I did with a wealthy New York family (as a nanny to their child) doesn't quite put me in the American mainstream. Still, I returned to school here, I had American friends -- it all rubs off, no?

So we play this game (he and I): I come across a historical fact or a word that is completely new to me, and I ask him if he knows of it. If he says "no," then I classify it as an esoteric little thing that many Americans would find odd or unfamiliar. If he says "yes," then I add it to my collection of "things I probably would have known, had I fully grown up here." 

This morning I came across one such word, and then another, and then two more -- all new to me. Once I learned their meaning, I saw that I could put them together to form a sentence that well describes action taken by our leadership at the moment! But putting that aside, I was interested in seeing if these were familiar to my all-American sweetie. So again I asked -- Ed, have you ever come across a cattywampus flumadiddle or rantipole or ninnyhammer?  And he had! But just one. Cattywampus. Slowly I'm filling the gaps I had by leaving the US as a teenager. Today I join the ranks of all Americans who know what it means to be a cattywampus flumadiddle, a rantipole or a ninnyhammer. Useful words, all of them and especially now, don't you think?

 

The reason I had time for mulling over less than familiar words is because I was supposed to go to the Biggest Outdoor Water Park Ever (or at least in America), which happens to be just an hour north of where I live. A couple of grandkids, their mom, some kid friends, and me. And slowly that plan fell apart. As a result, I went very quickly from having before me a full day, to having an empty day. Normally that would push me outdoors (weeds!), but unexpectedly, it rained. Well now, isn't that a signal for me to stay home and think about travel and in the alternative (because I have no trips coming up) words? 

The rain brought down what few flowers were still standing tall. Some will recover, but most will not. All the more reason to post a photo or two from just prior to the rain. Tomorrow's lot will be... slumped.

Ed and I ate breakfast inside. 

 

 

 

Because of the rain you think? No, because we finally gave up on trying to cope with the bugs and asked the mosquito guys to come spray some areas with their "natural whatever" -- stuff that keeps them away for about an hour. Well, maybe two. Ed thinks he's as allergic to their spray as he is to my Christmas scented candles and so he wont go outside until the air "settles." Of course, then the rain came and whatever was there to deter bugs got washed off by late afternoon. 

Tomorrow I will get moving again. TOday? pure couch potatoes, both of us!

with love...