Footle and Grok

I often have a problem with historic and historical.

I learned when to use one or the other, but I can’t remember, so I was happy to hear a Grammar Girl podcast that explained the difference.

If you want all the details, listen to the podcast. I’m going to jump to the critical part.

A historic event, person, or item is important. The Revolutionary War is historic. Martin Luther King, Jr. is historic. The Rosetta Stone is historic.

A historical event, person, or item is in the past. People rode wagons to historical state fairs. Steven Pressfield writes historical fiction, Historical pottery shards are found in ancient Egypt. All these things are about the past but are common and not important.

So how can we remember the difference? Historical ends in “al,” which is similar to “all.” So if the topic is common or applies to all events of the past, then it is historical. Historic doesn’t end in “al,” so it is important and singular. Easy.

I’m glad that my historical problem of not remembering the difference between historic and historical is solved.

Except for Walmart, I haven’t been shopping.

However, I’ve needed to replace my Nike running shoes since February. I like to buy them at the Nike Outlet store in Centralia. Their prices can’t be beaten! Of course, they were closed for a while, but when they did open, I never made the time to go, partly because I didn’t know how it would work.

I like the prices in the store, but I’ve never liked the crowds. It’s amazing how many people shop in this store. Every aisle would have a dozen shoe shoppers, making it difficult to browse the shelves.

My experience now was completely different. Thanks to COVID, we had to line up outside because only 25 customers could be inside at any time. In less than ten minutes, I was shoe shopping, and I was the only person in my aisle. It was so nice. I found the shoes I wanted, and instead of waiting in line for twenty minutes to check out, I was done in no time.

The Nike store might not be making as much money as it was before COVID, but when I left the store, the outside, social distance line was three times as long as when I arrived, so I think they are still getting customers. We just aren’t crammed in like cows in a round pen.

And how are my shoes? I’ve been wearing worn-out ones for so long that I’ll need to get used to new tight shoes with fresh soles. However, I did have a fast run, so I was glad I finally chanced the store.

Summer is here, and it’s been hot.

To me, anything over 75 °F is hot, so needless to say, I melted during the past week.  I have a lot of family in Arizona and southern California, where triple digits are common. I know we weren’t that hot here in Washington, but it was hot for the Pacific Northwest.

As I melted, I wondered where the hottest places in the world were (so I won’t accidentally visit them during their hot season.) It turns out that the hottest recorded temperature was on July 10, 1913, in Furnace Creek, California. This is in Death Valley National Park. It was 134.1 °F. This summer, Furnace Creek reached 130 °F. I guess it’s well-named.

I’m surprised that the hottest recorded temperature is found in the United States. I would have guessed Africa or the Middle East. Below is the record temp for each continent. I think I’m happy I live in Washington, where we have a heatwave for just one week a year.

The Hot Spots!

• Africa: Tunisia, Kebili, 131 °F, July 7, 1931
• Antarctica: Seymour Island, 69.3 °F, February 9, 2020
• Asia: Iran, Ahvaz Airport (OIAW), 129 °F, June 29, 2017; Israel (then Mandatory Palestine), Tirat Zvi, 129 °F, June 21, 1942; Kuwait, Mitribah, 129.0 °F, July 21, 2016
• Europe: Greece, Athens, 118.4 °F, July 10, 1977
• North America: United States, Furnace Creek, Death Valley, California, 134 °F,  July 10, 1913
• Oceania: Australia,  Oodnadatta, South Australia, 123.3 °F, January 2, 1960
• South America: Argentina,  Rivadavia, Salta Province, 120.0 °F, December 11, 1905

I know about spring cleaning, but why isn’t there summer cleaning?

Usually, August means traveling, playing, and spending time outdoors. 2020 is not usual, so you might be spending more time at your house. This is a great time to do some cleaning, organizing, or rearranging. I’m talking about this on Wednesday, so you have time to plan a cleaning project for the weekend.

I’m not talking about everyday cleaning. I want you to plan something that takes several hours or even all day. Plan to have take-out for dinner, have all your supplies ready and start bright and early.

Here is a list of projects you could tackle. Feel free to design your own.

• Wash all the windows in your house
• Wash and detail your cars
• Clean all the closets in the house
• Steam clean your carpets
• Clean your garage
• Empty your pantry and organize the contents
• Pile the contents of all the bathrooms on the dining room table and sort them
• Go through all your papers
• Do a day of yardwork
• Rearrange and organize your book and DVD/Blue-ray shelves

As you clean, check the expiration dates and condition of each item you touch. Get rid of anything you won’t use anymore, never used but always hoped you would, or is broken or disgusting.

I’m not suggesting you follow the Marie Kondo doctrine, but feel free to do so. I read a story about a person who decluttered their life. The word she kept repeating was “ruthless.” I like that word. Tell yourself that you are ruthless as you clean, and the results will be amazing.

I’ve lived in my current home for six years.

For all those years, the mixing bowls that I use daily have been on two shelves behind a narrow door. To reach most of them, the bowls in front have to be moved, and I’m too short to reach the ones further back. I’ve done it this way for six years because I couldn’t think of another place to put them.

My cups and glasses live on a large shelf above our plates. We don’t use all of them all the time, but they are all together, with room to spare.

Finally, I made a change.

I put the bowls on the large shelf and the cups behind the narrow door. The cups I use most often are easy to reach, and the less-used ones are out of the way. But more importantly, my four stacks of bowls are now all accessible. I don’t have to move one set to reach another. It makes a lot more sense.

Do you have a shelf that annoys you or a commonly used object that is hard to get to? It’s easy to just live with the headache, and after a while, you might not even notice. A simple change might be right in front of your eyes. Perhaps like me, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it years ago.

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day.

I have three cats, and two of them are black, so I approve of this holiday. All black cats should be appreciated.

I also have an orange cat, and I wondered if orange cats had their own holiday. The answer is no. Here is a list of all cat holidays.

• World Cat Day – February 17
• Hug Your Cat Day – June 4
• World Cat Day/International Cat Day – August 8
• National Black Cat Appreciation Day – August 17
• National Feral Cat Day – October 16
• National Cat Day (U.S.) – October 29
• National Black Cat Day – November 17

Did you notice something? Not only are black cats the only ones with their own holiday, but they get two! I love my black kitties, but why isn’t there a holiday for calico, hairless, and all-white cats? I feel there is room for a lot more cat appreciation.

If you have a black cat, appreciate them today, and if you have any type of cat, appreciate them every day.

Happy National Tell a Joke Day.

I love jokes, the dumber, the better. My favorite general-purpose joke is:

Q: Why does a chicken coop have two doors?

A: Because if it had four doors it would be a chicken sedan!

You’re welcome.

For those of you who like science, especially quantum physics, this joke is for you. Share it with all your science-loving friends. If this doesn’t make sense to you, google, learn, and laugh. (Beware – Schrodinger has a potty mouth)

I’d love to hear your favorite jokes. Share them in the comments. The punnier, the better.

I read Macbeth for the first time this year.

I love Shakespeare’s plays (except for Romeo and Juliet) and had wanted to read Macbeth since high school. However, my TBR list is enormous, so I never got around to it.

I finally bought Macbeth on Audible and listened to it on my runs last spring. It is awesome!!! If you have not listened to it, or seen the play, I highly recommend it. So twisted.

What does Macbeth have to do with the 15th of August? Well, Shakespeare’s play might have been fiction, but some of its characters were based on real people, and two of those real people died on August 15 (but not in the same year.)

The Scottish king Duncan (called Donnchad) died on August 15, 1040. Unlike the book, Lady Macbeth had nothing to do with his death. Instead, he died in battle by the hands of Macbeth (called Mac Bethad), who was in charge of Duncan’s army. Macbeth then became king and ruled until he was killed on August 15, 1057, by Duncan’s son. What a twist!

So, beware of the ides of any month, but also be aware of when the ides are. In March, May, July, and October, the ides are on the 15th, but in January, August, and December, it’s the 13th. I didn’t find a logical reason for this, but when it came to creating calendars, the Romans weren’t that logical.

So beware of the 15th of August (especially if you’re Scottish,) but don’t worry about the ides until October.

I am Team Coca-Cola.

All my life, I have drunk Coke. Now I drink Coke-Zero, but I have never liked Pepsi. So, when I saw that Tic-Tac had a Coca-Cola flavor, I couldn’t resist buying it. They even made the container look like an old-time soda vending machine. But are they good?

Yes!

Not only are they good, but when you bite into them, your mouth feels like you took a sip of Coca-Cola. It’s crazy accurate.

I don’t see these at the store all the time, but if you get a chance to try some, I highly recommend these Tic-Tacs. They’re the 1 1/2 calorie soda.

Happy Left-Handers Day.

As a left-handed person, I obviously like this holiday. 10% of the world is left-handed, so most people might not celebrate Left-Handers Day. However, that number might be higher than we think.

A lot of people do some things with their left hand but call themselves right-handed. Lefthandersday.com has a test you can take to see if you are more left-handed than you think.

Or, like me, you might learn that you are less left-handed than you think. I knew I did some things right-handed, like crocheting, because I was taught by my right-handed grandmother. It turns out I do some innate things right-handed too.

The test revealed that I am 87% left-handed. That means I am “mainly left-handed,” but not “seriously left-handed.” Yay, I can celebrate Left-Handed Day. Of course, we can all celebrate. Take the test and see if you are more or less left-handed than you thought (and let me know your results.) Maybe someday, we’ll all just be handed.