Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

A Plural Primer: do not use an apostrophe

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Can you spot the error in each of these signs? An apostrophe is never used when pluralizing a noun! Apostrophes are for showing possession or contractions. Despite this, apostrophes are so often misused that we are accustomed to seeing errors. Most nouns are made plural by simply adding *s* to the end of the word, but like anything, there are lots of exceptions and rules to confuse … [Read more...]

Silverware Drawers, junk, and furry critters

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Critters The other day when cleaning sesame seeds and peppercorns from the plastic silverware tray, I noticed the varied assortment of forks and spoons we've collected over the years: a fork and butter knife from my late mother, spoons from IKEA, and various pieces from the first set of dinnerware we had over 45 years ago in our first home. We lived in a two bedroom, one bathroom ranch in … [Read more...]

Rising Sun Roll and new tricks

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Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? The implication is that old dogs (and old people) learn less well than the young, and that old folks are set in their ways. It's one of the oldest proverbial sayings in the language. The earliest example of it in print is in John Fitzherbert's The Boke of Husbandry, 1534: ...and he [a shepherd] muste teche his dogge to barke whan he … [Read more...]

The Sun Bird Crest Legend of Chengdu

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 The sun and immortal bird: People often ask me about the unusual symbol on my necklace that my husband bought for me when working in Chengdu, China. The symbol is the official city logo, inspired by the Golden Sun Bird, an ancient relic unearthed in 2001 from the Jinsha Site. The four birds in the symbol represent the four seasons, while the 12 inner rays stand for the 12 … [Read more...]

Bad intentions or are you just clumsy? Fido knows

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Oops Looks like your dog understands you more than you think. The results of a recent study explains why my pup Cowboy quits the game when I fake a throw one too many times. Researchers used a unwilling-unable paradigm to study 96 dogs of various breeds and ages and discovered that dogs may be able to actually understand humans' intentions. This paradigm measures whether an animal is … [Read more...]