- We’ve been given a lot of free almond milk lately and I’ve used it to make pancakes, French toast, muffins, and other baked goods. Here’s a tip I learned: when substituting almond milk for cow’s milk in chocolate pudding use 1.5 cups instead of 2 cups.
2. Another food lesson: make a small pasta salad for family or even a potluck… I got carried away recently and I don’t want to see another giant bowl of pasta salad languishing in my fridge any time soon.
3. I just heard about the website Eat Your Books, where you can add the cookbooks and magazines you own and use a search engine to find recipes. I haven’t signed up yet (I move slowly when it comes to paid memberships), but I love the idea.
4. Something else I only just learned about (that I will not be attempting) is credit card churning. It’s when you open new credit cards to get the welcome bonuses and then switch to a different card. Apparently you can earn a lot of money and travel incentives, but it sounds too complicated and risky to me!
5. I also learned about crash blossoms, Betteridge’s Law of Headlines, and the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect when I was researching headlinese.
6. “Taco breath” (AKA sitali or cooling breath) is a yoga breath technique that I learned last week. I had to modify because I can’t roll my tongue. (I think all my kids can!)
7. June was the first time any of my kids got stitches (just two sutures after knocking his head on his bed frame). The ER doctor said they were dissolvable, but nothing was happening so Andrew took them out after nine days. Now I know a little more about stitches, but I hope we don’t have to repeat the experience!
8. Did you know that cardigans are named after James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan who led the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War?
9. And of course I’m learning a lot about clichés this summer. (Though is it just me or does The Dictionary of Clichés define the term too broadly?)
10. Last but not least (cliché alert) I forgot to mention that in May we had a tree planted in our front yard by the city of Owen Sound. It’s an Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) which I can’t say I’ve heard of before, but I’m happy to learn about!
