Reading Dictionaries

When I was visiting my Great Aunt last month in Colorado, I found her old dictionary. It was over seventy years old, and I read and took notes, all the while looking for words that aren't "common". She laughed at me, saying in her whole 90+ years she's never seen anyone sit and read the dictionary.

hamshackle (v) -> fasten head of animal to forelock

hobbly (adj) -> rough, uneven

pot walloper (n) -> a scullion, one who washes pots

potvaliant (adj) -> having false courage stimulated by strong drink

One of the words I ran into was cyclorama. It's been along time since I've thought about that term. Even though this picture (directly below) isn't a cyclorama, it reminds me of the concept. I took several shots of the Tongass Narrows from atop Deer Mountain on one of my mountain climbing expeditions (as listed on Things I've Done/Haven't Done). Deer Mountain is "easy" to climb for a fit person. I was fine on the way up. On the way back down, I was so hoping that a helicopter would come get me. ;)

Tongas Narrows & Ketchikan, Alaska



Deer Mountain

Things I've Done/Haven't Done

I stole this from Two Voices

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink [But, it was a quiet night in a small, small town so ringing the bell didn't break me.]
02. Swam with wild dolphins [No, just my next door neighbor's pet dophin they have living in their backyard pool. Giggles. On the news there was an episode about wild coyotes attacking the sheep at the University and I got to laughing. As opposed to pet coyotes?]
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse [It was a mechanical slot machine though! LOL.]
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales [Suppose last weeks episode at SeaWorld reminds people whales aren't really ever tame.]
45. Stolen a sign [My friend and I stole road construction sign and put it on our friend's door step and he got in trouble for it.]
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business [According to the IRS, that is what writing is.]
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie [I tried out to be an extra. They didn't chose me. Sigh.]
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River [I have rafted other rivers, but this was not one of them. I do know where the Snake River is in Idaho, if that is what they're talking about.]
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas - [Kind of an easy one, having lived in Boulder City before.]
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Been to the Great Barrier Reef
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived [Hard to tell on this one. I've never been hospitalized after an accident. But I've been damn lucky before.]
105. Wrote articles for a large publication [Do books count?]
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart [It's hard to tell on this one.]
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states [Just Canada and Mexico though. Haven't been off North America.]
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office [Someone tried to talk me into being on the school board once. I wasn't ellible as I'd only recently moved there so I couldn't try.]
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ [Me and this lady I worked with volunteered at the PBS station during the time they wanted donations, and they tought us how to be DJ. I did maybe two songs though. LOL.]
148. Shaved your head [I've shaved someone else's head.]
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life [I think I have. Called 911 for someone. Who knows what would have happened had I not been there.]

I wonder if anyone can highlight them all? If you're reading this, you've been tagged!