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Friday, May 16, 2014

Celebrate the Small Things and Grammar Friday!



The amazing Viklit sponsors this weekly meme to help us remember that it's often the small things in life, which make the biggest difference. Go on over and sign up because everyone could use an extra smile on their face.

As for me, I'm having a pretty hectic week (hence, no Wednesday post), so I'm glad Vikki's making us stop to think. Thank you!

I'm celebrating:


1)  Kittens. We found two baby kittens in our old milk barn. The mother must have carried them in and is still taking care of them. We've been putting out milk and food (which they've been eating) in hopes of bribing them to stay. Every farm needs its farm cats.


(This is right after we found the 1st. We had to figure out what was going on first, but she was set free a few minutes later again. Hope they stay!)



2)  My cows/calves are eating out of my hand and come stampedeing when I call 'Morning, Girls!'. I just hope they always stop their charge in front of me and don't plow me over someday. (would they?)




3) The kids had their book fair yesterday evening. It was so strange to walk through it and say 'hey, this book has been a best-seller for ... many weeks', 'I know that author', 'Oh, I remember when this first came out. It's a series now?' I think I drove my kids crazy. Living in Germany, I watched most of this stuff from afar via internet, and out here, there aren't any bookstores. So this was really a new experience for me. I think I got giddy! The best was when I pulled up a book and said 'Hey, the agent that reps this one has my full at the moment, and this one has been on the best-seller list . ... weeks!'  
Amazing, what a tiny book fair can do for the spirit!



Before we head into the weekend though (and may it be a sunny one!), it's time for another. . .






http://picasion.com/gl/2Qq3/




This week, I'm going to step away from commas and head into a new form of punctuation. Are commas done? Gosh no! But those guys do getting irritating at times, don't they? So, we're taking a vacation this weekend and heading over to. . .

*drum roll*

SEMICOLONS!!!!


Now, isn't that exciting stuff? *hahaha*


Have no fear because semicolons are actually really easy. Honestly, they are. And by breaking it down into a couple week post, you won't feel like you're on brain-overload either.

(Week 1)
RULE 1:

Semicolons are used when combining two independent clauses instead of a conjunction.
The key here is 'independent clauses'. Both clauses must be able to stand alone as complete sentences.



Example:

The tea was hot; I couldn't drink a sip.


The flight landed in New York as scheduled; it should have been no problem for the passengers to make their connections.






So, what about you? What wonderful, little things happened in your life this week? Are you a semicolon fan (I heard that they are in Britain)? Do you like book fairs? Did you ever miss a flight connection (dumb, question; I know!)? Are you going to semicolon through life this weekend?




16 comments:

  1. THANK YOU for the semi-colon post! Those things are so misused and it drives me crazy. And the kittens! Too, too cute!!

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  2. I love semi-colons! But I sometimes find myself trying not to use them in my writing because I don't tend to see them very often, =( Hope your kittens stay, and that your cows always stop in time. Have a great weekend!

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  3. The kitten is so cute! And I really hope you don't get plowed over by your girls. I try to avoid semi-colons as much as possible. Have a good weekend!

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  4. I once had an English teacher say using semi-colons properly proves you've been to college. Funny how the weird things stick with you.

    My aunt was once run over by her cattle, but she was between them and the grain trough. Not a good place to be. My father-in-law has several bucket babies who greet him in the fields. They are like his pets.

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  5. OMG kittens!

    Don't forget to put food and water out for mamma, as well as old blankets and/or towels. And pet/brush the kittens every day so they don't go feral. On an icky note, don't forget to wash your hands because possibly . . . fleas. Maybe when they're older, you can adopt them. :-)

    Sorry, you lost me at "there are no bookstores out here." I think I need CPR. How is that even possible? How on earth will you survive? Is there at least a library?

    I also love semicolons, even though they've gone out of fashion on this side of the Atlantic. Maybe I should move to the UK, where they probably believe in the Oxford comma too. Because you know, over there they have . . . Oxford. ;-)

    And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to semicolon my way through the weekend. Great phrase, by the way. *wanders off*

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  6. That kitten has me smiling! Oh the cuteness!!! :D
    Glad you and the kids had fun at the book fair. Well I hope they did too lol. I'm sure you didn't drive them too crazy. Giddy is good ;)

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  7. Randi - Glad I made someone smile :) Looking forward to your new chat group!

    Mere Joyce - I find myself using them more often. They can be so useful *nods*

    Christine - I did drop my food bucket to escape my bull yesterday. When he charges, I don't trust him so much ;)

    Elizabeth - my brother complains about bucket calves. They follow him around and try to suck on his legs and everything. And no - never get between cows and their grain. Just never.

    Ilana - I know! No bookstores is horrid! Yes, they do have a library. The kids section was much better stocked than I feared it might be, so that was encouraging. Enjoy your semicolon weekend (hmmm...wonder what that means you're going to do. . .)

    S.K. - My son loved it! He found a book which gives a detailed description of every element on the element table. He's the ONLY 3rd grader I know who seriously gets excited about things like that. *shakes head* wierdness runs in the family ;)

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  8. Many years ago, my family adopted a cat that kept coming by our front door. None of us had really been "cat people," but we grew to adore that cat, and I wish the same for you.

    I loved book fairs as a kid, and I love them as an adult!

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    1. Lol! I'm not a cat person either, but as long as it's a farm cat (outside), I have no problems with them. My youngest is totally excited :)

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    1. She is so small but has a HUGE attitude. Even my dog was scared of her - okay, he's scared of everything, so maybe that doesn't count.

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  10. That kitty is cute. I would be a bit concerned with cows getting too thrilled to see me. They never are; they run the other way instead. How did I do it with the semicolon? I usually follow Spanish rules of punctuation in English too. Big mistake sometimes.

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    1. GORGEOUS semicolon usage. Lol! My cows might be spooked by a dragon too ;)

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  11. Yes! I hope the kitties stay! It's so perfect! And it's awesome how nice the cows are. ^_^

    I use to really hate using semicolons, but I find now that they are actually quite nice. :)

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    1. Semicolons are addictive. I ended up cutting some out of my latest MS because I felt there were too many. Glad you like them!

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  12. I want to hang out at your house and hold the kittens and hear the cows moo. Yeah sounds weird but I like those little things!!

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