div#ContactForm1 { display: none !important; }

Friday, May 30, 2014

Celebrate the Small Things and Grammar Friday!!!




The wonderful Vikki over at Viklit sponsors this weekly meme to help us remember the small things in life. Yep, it's those tiny wonders which happen every single day that make life worth living.

This week, I'm celebrating:

1) Goats. Yep, our new friends on the farm. I mentioned these Wednesday, but thought you'd like at least one picture. This is one of the babies. Isn't it cute?



2) Candied apples! Since the kids are now on school break (YAY!), we have to find fun things to do. So one of our 1st activities was making candied apples. They were delicious.

3) My son changed our spark plugs and wires! It's his pre-father's day present on my husband. I'm so proud of him. Guess those kids do grow up after all.

4) My daughter is finding tons of four leaf clovers. The other day, she even found a six leaf one. Double the luck? She seems to think so. Now, I have a whole tiny vase full of the wonderful luck bringers.



And now, before you go out into the field and search for your own four leaf clovers, it's time for. . .





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




As you may (or may not) know, we're stuck smack-dab in the middle of semicolons. We know they're used to combine two independent clauses. We know we can use them in lists to help against comma disasters. Is there more?

You can bet your momma's britches there is!

Today, we're looking at a third rule (yep, let those little jiggers of excitement roll through you.) Did you know that semicolons can help you introduce a list into a sentence?

You didn't! Well, then you're about to find out how!


Sometimes, we want to combine two sentences, the second which has a list of things directly related to the first sentence. I know, that sounds awful confusing, but as usual, an example will clear it up.


When George goes camping, he needs to take several things with him. A tent, sleeping bag, food, rope and a flashlight are necessary.


The 2nd sentence is directly related to the first, so I want them to stick together like glue. To accomplish this, all I have to do is add a semicolon and a cute, little introductory word.

Like this:


When George goes camping, he needs to take several things with him; for example, a tent, sleeping bag, food, rope, and a flashlight are necessary.



Notice, there's our buddy, the semicolon! To help him introduce the 2nd sentence, we use an introductory word or phrase like namely, however, therefore, that is, i.e., for example, e.g., or for instance.
These introductory words are ALWAYS set off with a comma.

Got it?

Here's one more example to make sure.


There are many different types of tea. Cylon, Assam and Orange Pekoe are among the most popular.


There are many different types of tea; however, Cylon, Assam and Orange Pekoe are among the most popular.




What about you? What is your favorite type of tea? Do you love to go camping? Going to roast marshmallows? What wonderful things happened to you this week? Is there such a thing as 8 leaf clovers?

25 comments:

  1. Mmm, candied apples sound delicious. And your goat is adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The goat looks like a puppy. And I love puppies.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Six leaf clovers, goats, and candied apples are all sweet to celebrate!!!
    My favorite type of tea is vanilla chai. :)
    Have a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ooh candied apples, they sound tasty! I've never found a four leaf clover, never mind a six leaf one!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have friends here in Ecuador who have just gotten their goats to mate, looking forward to seeing the little ones next October...then it's homemade goat cheese! WOOT! ;)

    D.B. McNicol
    Romance & Mystery...writing my life

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yummy! Want a hint? Stuff peppers with them (green bell, or something spicer too) and grill them in some alu-foil. :)

      Delete
  6. The goats are adorable! And I always wondered about the semi colon used like that. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Candied apples in the summer! We always did that around Halloween, but why wait 'til then? Summer is perfect for that. Did you make the kind with Red Hots? I always liked caramel apples...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol! Yep, Halloween is the right holiday. But they looked so nice at the grocery store. I figured, why not? We'll have to try the red hot ones next time.

      Delete
  8. Six leaf and four leaf clovers are extra luck, for sure. Well, I'd like to think so anyway. Yay for candied apples, I'll have to try it with the kids when they're older . . . I'm sure they wouldn't mind. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What we didn't know was that the humidity makes the candy coating melt after around 6 hours. We woke up the next morning to a nice pond of red. So up in the fridge with them!

      Delete
  9. NOW she posts pics! LOL. MOAR pleeze. :-)

    If there is such a thing as an 8-leaf clover, I'm sure your daughter will find it.

    I love camping as long as it involves a four-star hotel and room service. My favorite tea is coffee.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol! One at a time ;) So, you're not a camper, eh?

      Delete
    2. Sorry, no. Too much bugs, dirt, and darkness. Also hard to get cell phone or maid service in the middle of the woods.

      Delete
  10. OMG, the goat is SOOO cute! ^_^ Yay!
    All these things are so great. Especially the four leaf clovers! What?! So lucky. ^_^

    Okay, I did NOT know this third semi-colon rule! Love it! I've been using regular colons all this time. Lol!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used to think colons should be used in that case too. Wonder where we got that? Hmmm....

      Delete
  11. The goat does look surprisingly like a puppy!
    I want to go back and find your post on using semi-colons in lists. Could be helpful when writing lengthy lists on Acknowledgements pages!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love candied apples. Four leaf clovers? Six too? Interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  13. What wonderful things to be celebrating! I can't wait until my son is old enough to help out with car stuff like that...right now, he's just a "helper" to daddy :)
    ~Katie

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear your valuable Tidbits -