I was going to start a post about our insular day yesterday but then I got a wee bit paranoid about bandying the word ‘insular’ about.
What if it was one of those words that you THINK you know but then it turns out you have been misusing it all these years?
Say it a few times and it sounds totally foreign. Insular. InSUlar. InsuLAR. It’s not even English anymore.
Kind of like the time I was sitting in the living room with, oh, just my entire family. All 8993 of them. I was commiserating with my Dad about a situation and said "Well. They really have you by the short hairs, don’t they Dad?" Dead silence. My Mother cleared her throat and gently said "Erm. Andrea, do you even know what that expression means?" I look over at my sisters, always supportive and sympathetic in times like this, and they are all turning purple and trying not to wet their pants.
"Of COURSE I know what it means. You know – when someone has you by those little hairs on the back of your neck."
Turns out I was a bit North of target. Great thing to say to your FATHER, don’t you think?
Or ~ and this is rich ~ you find out you have been mispronouncing a word. Not two or three weeks ago, again sitting with all those relatives, I am spouting off about something (note to self: shut the heck up) and after about ten minutes my Dad says "you mispronounced a word." Nicki, ever helpful, chimes in ‘Yes, that’s right you did." But when pressed neither of them could remember what the word was. But I surely did mispronounce it. Great. Now I can’t talk at all because I’m sure it’s a word that I commonly use and I’ve been sounding like an idiot all along.
At any rate; we had a lovely day yesterday. Just hunkering down and sticking close to home.
Insular: 1 a: of, relating to, or constituting an island b: dwelling or situated on an island <insular residents>
Oh Andrea. . . the photos are just beautiful! The first thing I thought when I saw the top photo was that it might be in Giverny & was the inspiration for one of Monet’s paintings. . . You have a beautiful yard! And, thank you for teaching me the word ‘insular’. . . it is a great description of us quilt designers & the relationship we have with our studios right about now!. . . My new favorite word!
By the way – I mispronounce words all the time. . . I just found out a little over a week ago – that I had been mispronouncing a decorating term since. . .forever. And as a former interior designer . . . I don’t even want to think about al the times I used the term. . . ! Oh well. . . maybe they just thought I had an accent. . . ?! (big wishes there!!)
Enjoy your wonderful “island”!
xo, Bren
I just stumbled upon your blog, and I just love it! I love that you’re a mix of garden, crafting, eating, drinking, and many other things I find crucial to my sanity! Don’t worry, I’m not a freaky (well, maybe a little freaky) stalker person. Although I do teach 6th graders, and well, that means I’m just a tad abnormal.
I laughed all the way through this post.
It’s as if you were talking about me! 🙂
Margie
You’re cracking me up.
Oh my gosh – great blog! LOL I loved this post! I can’t remember when I’ve laughed so hard! Great photography, too!!!! Donna
Oh what a great post, thank you for making me chuckle!
Love the photos – ahh, the bridge.
~Tracie
Hee hee! That reminded me of the time I said something about “ripping me a new one” and my dad calmly provided the derivation of that expression to me. I don’t say it any more. Thanks for a fun post to read!
Good one…but one that is just as good. My boss at Saddle and Bridle magazine had to remind me that ad, as in selling an ad, is spelled AD and not ADD as I kept spelling it in ALL OF MY E-MAILS TO HIM! Yeah – that was a blusher too!
Well, Andrea, you don’t have to worry about pronunciation when you’re writing the words instead of speaking. Stop talking and carry a chalkboard to all family gatherings. Write like you’d text message–that will keep some of them busy for awhile, trying to figure out what you’re saying. Or learn American Sign Language and refuse to speak–just force them all to learn to sign. Hey, have some fun with it! LOL!
P.S.: My all time favorite was a former boss–this was a handwritten edit to a document by someone with not only a college education but a law degree to boot: “For all intensive purposes . . . .”
I’m thinking you did a pretty good job with the vocabulary 🙂
Does remind me of the one coworker who kept using ‘violation’ instead of ‘volition’ in his emails.
In my best Inigo Montoya voice said to him “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means…”
Fabulous photos!
My husband had to try really hard not to laugh once when one of his employees was telling him about how his wife had gone in for a “monogram.”
(he meant mamogram)
lol
Hi Andrea
When I was a child I was fond of swapping words about. One night my Dad was making horlicks and you guessed it I did a bit of swapping and added ‘the’ in the middle. My Dad had to explained what it meant and that I probably shouldnt go round singing it.
I was young and honestly didnt know what I was saying!!
Great blog!!