Language & Grammar discussion

Why is it that I can never think of something witty when I have to? I'll change the title of this when something better comes along.

Getting ready for dinner, so I will wander back later.

Ah let us see all your ruminations Hayes. How about Hayes' Grazes'

Like that, Kitty!

In the meantime I'm trying to drum up some Christmas cheer... it's Saint Nick's Day in some parts of the world, so I've been listening to this:

Bob Dylan sings "Must Be Santa Claus

Bobby Boy is a favorite of mine. At least his early songs.

Hey, Hayes. I just started Robert Hughes new book,Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History. It's gotten good reviews. Are you planning a read?

How is it that everyone seems to know Hayes previously? I know Rutherford and even B., but not Hayes ('til now).

P.S. Love the title! ;-)

Thanks Newengland. I think I'll leave it for a while and see how it grows on me.

I've been round and about GR for a couple of years, and I'm one of the moderators at the Mystery, Crime and Thriller group too, so I meet a lot of people that way.

Ruth: I have never heard of the the Huges book. It looks good. I look forward to your comments about it. I just received an early xmas giftie, A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome: Daily Life, Mysteries, and Curiosities, which I was planning to read in Italian, but which will be fine in English too.

We were here today:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subiaco,...




http://glimpseofpeace.blogspot.com/20...

[image error]

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/it...

I can't find a decent picture of teh upper church. Right behind the main altar (which is very small) you can see the naked rock of the mountain. The church "grows" right out of the mountain side. Just fabulous.

Apparently Frank Lloyd Wright fell in love with it and used the idea for "Falling Water", but I can't find confirmation of that fact.

I wanna go! Where is it?

Hayes wrote: "We were here today:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subiaco,...




http://glimpseofpeace.blogspot.com/20...
Wow!


http://www.sacred-destinations.com/it......"

Debbie wrote: "I wanna go! Where is it?"

It's the Benedictine Monastery in Subiaco, Italy, to the east of Rome, not too far from Tivoli.

It was a gorgeous sunny day, and surprisingly devoid of tourists (today is a holiday in Italy, the Immaculate Conception).

A good time was had by all.

Oh. The Dig-It-In thread, is it?

A little cold over there Down East?

That's the spirit. (Of course, I'd rather the cold and snow for Christmas than Natale in Italy, so sue me.)

If I had my druthers I'd be there with you. I do miss a good old-fashioned East Coast Christmas. I have dreams where I can smell Christmas trees on the street corners of NYC. *sigh* Has everyone in the US gone over to plastic trees?

I've gone over to no tree.

That sounds good too.

I'm off to bed to finish my not-so-good book (Peter Pan, surprisingly dull and icky), but I've got Captain Blood coming up soon, so that will cheer me up over the holidays!

nighty night!

G'night, HayeZzzz.

I had to chuckle. I am reading "The Bookseller of Kabul" and I live in Italy, so what advert should pop up on my screen? An Italian company offering me direct, low cost telephone service to Afghanistan. There was even a drawing of an appropriately (?) bikini-clad woman. I do wonder sometimes.

ETA: I had to put in the screenshot, cause it's just too funny:

*whispering* Awful quiet around here today.

I spent the day translating and Christmas shopping... which is more stressful I don't know.

High Stress Week is here....

Making lists........

I'm a little behind myself...

I was laid up with the beginnings of a crunched disc (spine, not computer), and now I'm chained to my computer doing this translation. It's very interesting, fortunately, and I'm working with/for a dear dear friend, but we have a very narrow deadline.

Stress aint the half of it!

I feel sorry for anyone still having to work this close to Christmas.....and I couldn't make lists before because I was writing bloody reports!!

Debbie wrote: "I feel sorry for anyone still having to work this close to Christmas.....and I couldn't make lists before because I was writing bloody reports!!"

Wait, have I already whined about working until 2 p.m. Friday? Consider my oversight corrected!

The problem this year? We're hosting a sit-down dinner both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day -- with different guests. S-T-U-P-I-D. I told the Good Wyfe, "Next year let's go to Sun Valley. Or Happy Farms. Anywhere but here where people ring the doorbell with a banana bread in their hands!"

What? You don't like banana bread?

(Ha ha ha... Um, I mean: Ho ho ho!)

Come to NZ...never heard of banana bread!

I will post a recipe in the cooking thread Debbie for banana bread also one for Date Nut Bread.

I normally love banana bread, but the DIL always brings one. Bread? I kid myself. It's a big, soggy, 2-ton bomb.

Oh that is yukky, Ruth . My daughter brought home some Zucchini Bread from Huntington Beach Farmer's Market. It was delicious. I usually don't like zucchini bread.

There's a gorgeous recipe for Banana Bread in the Moosewood cookbook. Also Gingerbread which is my all time favorite of favorites.

Hayes wrote: "There's a gorgeous recipe for Banana Bread in the Moosewood cookbook. Also Gingerbread which is my all time favorite of favorites."

Post the recipe over in the cooking thread for gingerbread, if you would please.

OK... will go check now.

Posted Kitty. Enjoy. I made this once and 3 neighbors knocked on my door to find out what I was cooking!

Ruth wrote: "Hey, Hayes. I just started Robert Hughes new book,Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History. It's gotten good reviews. Are you planning a read?"

Was in the Anglo-American bookshop (awful name, innit?) and a copy of this leapt into my arms. The husband is giving it to me for Christmas, sainted man.

A lot of things are leaping into arms this year. LOL

Hayes wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Hey, Hayes. I just started Robert Hughes new book,Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History. It's gotten good reviews. Are you planning a read?"

Was in the Angl..."

I'm about halfway through now. It's a long read, but I've no temptation to throw in the towel. I keep telling myself I wish I'd known all this when I was teaching Art History. Since my MFA is in Art, the History was always the weak link in my course.

He couldn't possibly be worse than Simon Scama!

The history of England? That was good. I missed a couple of episodes, and the satellite here doesn't show them any more. (I get 850 million reruns of people chasing aliens and demolition of buildings, any number of conspiracy theories about the 2nd world war, twin towers, etc...grrr...)

I only know the history of NEW England. Ancient.

I've taken the quiches out of the oven and will finish wrapping a few things then it's off to the family do. Christmas eve is the big moment here in Italy, and Christmas day is for immediate family.

There are too many people for my taste and it gets too noisy, but it's fun. With marriages and children and other guests there are about 30 of us. We have a christmas "raffle" fortunately. Everyone brings one (1) gift and we draw numbers.

So I wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Have a lovely calm evening full of family and joy.

Hayes have a wonderful day , with your family.

Sounds lovely Hayes....happy Christmas :-)

Happy (rainy) New Year to you all.

Had a lovely quiet dinner with friends and connected hoarde of teenagers. Still dealing with the mess in the kitchen, but it was a pleasant relaxing evening.
Especially as I didn't have to worry about the translation I was working on (thanks again Stephen).

Have to tell a story:
One of the books that Stephen mentioned led me to a website, which led me to a page where I found lots of helpful information. On a whim I emailed the man (whose page it was) to ask him a question. He emailed me back right away and gave me the answer to my question, and resolved a problem that I hadn't realized was a problem. In other words, I had understood something completely different in the original paper, and a chance comment by this lovely man made the "penny drop" and I was able to finish everything in the best of ways. *whew*

I do love the Internet.

Like time itself, the Internet giveth and the Internet taketh away....

That is what is nice about goodreads everyone is likely to add a piece to the puzzle. So glad you finished in time and , enjoyed a stress less day.

(Yeah Stephan!)

We were here yesterday, very cold and windy, but gorgeous place:

It's the Camaldolese Monastery of Fonte Avellano, on the border between Umbria and the Marches.

http://www.fonteavellana.it/index.php

http://fonteavellana.it/home.php?ling...

that picture with all the windows is the original medieval scriptorum, positioned so that each drop of light was available until the very end of the working day.

Lovely. I do enjoy your photos, since I will never travel there. Thank you for sharing.

Doesn't look cold, that's for sure.