Accessible Gardening: #20 Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners, 4 by seacanepain

seacanepain wrote:
Beth, I heard on the radio that Joaquin had stalled off the coast and commented to Kay that you might not have to endure all that rain after all. Is all the rain being caused by Joaquin coming close to shore or is it a different weather system giving your region trouble. Is Hendersenville close enough to the mountains that y’all have to think about landslides? (I’m speaking to a southerner GGG; I can say y’all.)

Well, Carrie, you now know you are appreciated and missed. I don’t logon to Facebook often. Kay said I would have seen you were just busy via the newsfeed if I had. It is a bad sign when my zombie wife knows more about what’s going on than I do. She doesn’t like FB much. It isn’t easy to navigate with her screen reading program. She is there more than I am because that is her way of keeping up with what the kids and grandkids are doing

Naw, I don’t think TTC is a grammar Nazi. I believed I was living with one of those until today. Nadine defined the traits of a true grammar fascist. It turns out I am fortunate and have yet to encounter one. Nadi claims grammar guru as her standing. She’s a greedy grammar guru in my opinion. She is accustomed to getting paid for proofreading online and demands a payment from me for her proofreading services. She says I am getting a good deal since payment consists of providing her with the energy to do the job. That translates as a can of Monster energy drink or something that is both sugary and contains coconut. That was fine when I was writing once a week, but now that I’m writing almost every day it isn’t good for my wallet or her waistline. Monster cost $2 or more a can and Nadi is trying to lose her pastry chef’s dimensions. It is time I learn to proof my own writing. I can’t afford a secretary.

Nadi (a.k.a. GGG) claims a true grammar Nazi writes to the newspaper editor, book publisher, etc. to complain about perceived offenders of the English language. Grammar gurus are professionals and only gossip (“share”) with their professional colleagues the most amusing misuses of the language. Dangling participles, split infinities and sentences ending in a preposition don’t bother her kind unless it alters what was meant. In fact, writers who twist sentences in an awkward way to avoid a split infinity are one of Nadi’s pet peeves. “When will these _*%#@_ stop trying to stuff English into a Latin mold? It doesn’t work people!!!



It appears I goofed even by the greedy grammar gurus standards because obviously I failed to accurately communicate my meaning. Crinum, Hymenopteris, and Lycoris are all plant families. I should have taken the time to look up all the plant names and written something like this:

I know that many members of the Crinum family are called spiderlilies. There are also two members of the Lycoris family, L. radiata and L. squamigera. Yet another plant known as spiderlily is Hymenocallis coronaria.



There is probably a more streamline way to say all that using colons, semi-colons or dashes, but I’ve never been comfortable using those. Maybe I will by the time Kay, Nadi and Richard Lederer are through with me. If I had gotten an English teacher with a sense of humor, like Lederer, I might have retained what I learned the first time around. Think two hens on a nest. One is laying eggs and one is lying on her side. Lol. I can remember that

I managed to pass English only because I have a musician’s ear. If it sounds right, it usually is proper English. I didn’t understand how little I remembered about the mechanics of English until I started formally learning Spanish. I need to go back and re- learn all those things I forgot as soon as the English teacher collected my test paper while Kay catches up with me on Spanish vocabulary. I learned what Spanish I know by ear too

I am glad I didn’t cave in to Kay’s sisters sooner and made sure Kay had all the tests. It will take 7-10 days to get the sleep evaluation test results back, but the results from her last blood test came in this morning. The GP made her an appointment with the nephrologist. Her liver Lipids arn't right. It could be one of the medications. I wish it were just sleep apnea. That is easier to treat than liver damage. At the moment, it looks like it could be both problems.

TTC, there are many versions of the mooning scarecrow. The one in the photo was made with an old coat rack. You will find lots of ideas on the website below to use what you have on hand. TTC, I consider you a GGG also. LOL. ;-) In your case it an acronym for Generous Grammar Guru.


[HYPERLINK@www.google.com]


We don’t have an entry in the scarecrow contest, but I dropped in at the Dothan Area Botanical Garden to check out this year’s entries. It is still called the scarecrow contest even though the displays are elaborate and often don’t include a scarecrow. This year’s garden display theme was movies. I miss the classic scarecrows, but what the DABD does brings kids to the garden in droves.

Photos #1 & #2: There were two entries from dentist’s offices. How appropriate. A dentist office is scarier than any haunted house. Movie: Little Shop of Horrors and Dracula.

Photo #3: Not all the displays are designed to scare. Bambi.

Photo #4: The local postal workers got together and did The Wizard of Oz.

Photo #5 I liked Magnificent Maleficent done by Wallace community college.

This message was edited Oct 3, 2015 12:20 AM