10 Things I Learned in November

Here are 10 things I learned over the past month. I hope you’ll share your own lessons and discoveries in the comments.

  1. I don’t like gnocchi. It pains me to say this because gnocchi sounds delectable, but I have tried it three times – in a restaurant, after a pasta-making class, and at home – and every time they were too gummy to be truly enjoyable. Another culinary aspiration down the drain.
  1. Hostas are edible.
  1. I’m terrible at judging how much money I’m spending as I load up my grocery cart. This month we stocked up so we would spend enough to get a free box of Lindt chocolate and ended up spending way more than enough. But it’s all good stuff and how can you go wrong with a huge box of Lindors for the holidays?!
  1. Ritchie Valens, the rock and roll pioneer known for his hit “La Bamba,” had a recording career that lasted only eight months. He died at age 18 in the airplane crash that also ended the lives of Buddy Holly and “The Big Bopper.”

5. Engagement rings have a long history.

6. The reason people in old movies and radio shows talk funny is the Transatlantic Accent.

This month I learned many bits of trivia from When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Treveler’s Journal of Staying Put.  I can’t describe this book any better than the author herself, so here are her words from the back cover:

“When Wanderers Cease to Roam is my illustrated chronicle of that special place at the end of the road. Filled with watercolor paintings and pen-and-ink drawings and a month-by-month account of the landscapes, activities, and overlooked pleasures of easy living, it shows how the memories of our past and delights of our daily lives are always with us, to be savored and celebrated year-round.”

And here are some of the things I learned:

7. The teacup handle was invented in England c. 1760 and has four parts: upper terminal, strap, kick, and lower terminal.

8. A micronation is “an entity that claims to be an independentnation or state but is not officially recognized by world governments or major international organizations.” 

9. “Sputnik” means “traveller.”

10. A French mailman spent 33 years collecting rocks to build this:

things_I_learned_11.2
Cheval’s Palais idéal

I’ve linked up with Emily P. Freeman again this month. Be sure to head over there to check out some of the other blogs.

What did you learn in November?

5 thoughts on “10 Things I Learned in November

  1. nellekeplouffe says:

    Your blog is the one I’m most likely to share bits from with my husband. This time it was the rock palace. Very fun!

  2. S C McCole says:

    Such diversity of info. I had no idea Valens’s career was that short. Who would have guessed the teacup handle is dissected into 4 named parts. And Yes, that rock sculpture is the bomb! Cool!

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