Tag: Humor

When accent marks count

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Learning a foreign language includes acquiring an awareness of subtle distinctions. Oh, we really can have pity on anyone trying to navigate English as a second language!

Here are ten things I’m finding in Spanish.

  • Bebe / bebé … He/she/it drinks versus a baby.
  • Papa /  papá … A potato versus Daddy.
  • Mamá / mama … Mom or mommy versus breast.
  • Esta / está … “This” versus he, she, or it is.
  • Si / sí … If versus yes.
  • Hablo / habló … I speak versus he, she, or it spoke. In other words, that accent changes both the person doing the speaking as well as the tense.
  • Que / qué … That versus what.
  • Él / el … He versus the.
  • Sé / se … I know versus reflective pronoun for he, she, it, even you.
  • Cómo / como … How versus I eat.
  • Sólo / solo … With the accent, it can also mean “just,” in addition to “only.”

Of course, I don’t have those accent marks on my English keyboard or cell phone. Things can get really tricky when I’m trying to reply en Español.

Pigweed, no joke

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Every year, it seems we have a different weed or two that really takes off in the gardens. Virginia creeper nearly took out some shrubs a few years ago, the same time Jerusalem artichoke went rogue and nearly demolished a rhubarb.

Last year, a newcomer seemed to be popping up everywhere, and we kept tossing it out to the lawn for me to mow or to the driveway. Then, one afternoon, I put some in front of the rabbits … and they loved it.

Then came our quandary. Was it safe for them to eat?

In trying to identify the plant, we came across Better Homes & Garden’s online “only guide to weeds you’ll ever need,” and after scrolling past a few dozen we know all too well, we came across our suspect – pigweed.

And yes, it’s edible, even by some humans.

No wonder the bunnies were, uh, pigging out.

And our weed suddenly became a welcome crop to harvest abundantly.

 

What Eastport doesn’t have

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

Let’s be honest. There’s a lot you won’t find here.

For starters, there’s:

  1. No pizza parlor. No Chinese, Thai, Indian, or Mexican restaurants, either. At least a brewpub just opened, overlooking the water.
  2. No bakery.
  3. No laundromat.
  4. No name-brand gas station. Just one off-brand pump at the garage where the Mobil once was.
  5. No auto dealership.
  6. No hospital or specialists, though there is a health center and pharmacy.
  7. No indoor swimming pool or even a public outdoor one.
  8. No fitness center or gym.
  9. No tattoo parlor. Much less piercing.
  10. No traffic lights. Not one.