Still Learning in 2010…

Taking the lead from my blogging friends, Todd Pack, Izzie Darling, and Lady Justine, here’s a list of the things I learned this year…if you want to read the full story on any of these lessons, search a keyword or click the appropriate tag in the sidebar:

1. Our dog thinks porcupine poop is dessert.

2. Hope loves Jake enough to share her toothbrush with him.

3. Homemade rolls don’t have to be “pretty” to taste good.

4. Egg cartons are not good containers to start plants indoors in.

5. Dogs love to destroy egg cartons with seedlings in them.

6. Jim’s parents are our biggest supporters.

7. Bleachers are hard things to sit on for more than a couple of hours.

8. I am really out of shape.

9. Seeing a toy from your childhood 40 years later brings you right back to that time in your life.

10. If the winter is mild enough, spinach from last year can survive.

11. Maple vinaigrette makes spinach salad a beautiful thing!

12. There’s no such thing as “too many bird feeders.”

13. Squirrels can do amazing tricks to get to a bird feeder.

14. Some people keep their toilet paper in the breadbox.

15. Mothers-in-law are often right.

16. More people in Saint John knew when the new Costco was opening than were aware of the city’s 225th birthday this year.

17. Rhubarb runs amok if left to grow unchecked.

18. Orthodontists make more per hour than most of us.

19. Sometimes plants get a lot bigger than the seed package says they will…my five-foot sunflowers ended up being seven or eight feet tall!

20. I like portobello mushroom/swiss veggie burgers.

21. Our dog enjoys eating Popsicle sticks.

22. Cosmopolitan was a literary magazine back in the early 1900’s.

23. There is only one kind of hummingbird which frequents New Brunswick: the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.

24. I love Mint Crisp M&M’s.

25. I learned what a “fisher” was, after seeing one cross the road in front of our car.

26. Before you construct a really big birdhouse, figure out where you’re going to put it and how to get it up there!

27. My dad’s a good singer, and I’m not the only one who thinks so!

28. They sell live ladybugs at Home Depot.

29. Right after you purchase twenty tomato plants, the forty you started from seed will rally.

30. Ladybugs aren’t always red with black spots…sometimes they’re brown with cream spots.

31. As long as they’re under warranty, Vogue Optical will replace glasses which have been chewed by a dog!

32. We have a cherry tree, and eight high-bush blueberries I’d never noticed before.

33. “Beaver Tails” are too expensive to buy now.

34. Hope really likes getting muddy.

35. Wallpaper is nearly impossible to find.

36. Hummingbirds are fearless.

37. The Chinese cabbage I planted is not the “head” type.

38. How to make good piecrust…the secret is lard.

39. Some people will ignore a sign that says: “Danger – Do Not Touch.”

40. Deer can be aggressive.

41. Organic broccoli often goes to seed faster than I can harvest it.

42. I love rutabaga!

43. I found out what “purslane” looks like.

44. It’s never a good idea to put a chicken burger into a toaster.

45. I don’t hate all sci-fi…I enjoy “Eureka.”

46. You can purchase a sailboat on the Internet.

47. Ripe canteloupe is not a good lunchbox food.

48. Picking things from the garden in the dark is really difficult.

49. I suck at “Musical Chairs.”

50. The blogging community is full of incredible people…I am so happy to have made their online acquaintances!

I’m looking forward to learning more in 2011!

58 Comments

Filed under blogging, cooking, family, food, gardening, memories, nature, self-discovery

58 responses to “Still Learning in 2010…

  1. planejaner

    Whew! That’s quite the list!
    🙂
    have a wonderful day, dearie!
    glad I got to know you this year–what myriad blessings are those of a blogger’s!
    🙂
    jane

  2. Great idea for a post, Wendy! I love the one about not putting a chicken burger in the toaster–will have tor read more about that!
    Happy New Year,
    Kathy

  3. You’ve learned a lot, Wendy! From reading this post, I’ve learned that I need to pay attention more to what I’ve learned 😉

    Wishing you many more fabulous learning experiences in 2011!

  4. How can you NOT notice 8 highbush blueberry bushes?! Seriously, is there anything more glorious? If those were in my yard they’d be the centerpiece with possibly even an alter constructed in their honor and for the blueberry gods. (I like them, can you tell?)

    #2: Ew!

    #36: They’re vicious too. :s

    #44: LOL! Thanks. I won’t bother trying that. 😉

    #50: Amen, sista!

  5. Wow–and here I am, learning from your list of things you’ve learned. Nicely done. (Cosmo was a literary mag?)

    Happy New Year to you, Wendy! May 2011 bring you much happiness and even more knowledge to share!

  6. Love this post! I started thinking of all the things I learned this past year. Hmmm, maybe I will do the same.

  7. I have no trouble believing that more people knew about Costco than knew about the anniversary of the city’s founding.

    And I’m glad to know that about chicken burgers!

    Years ago, Dave Barry discovered that strawberry Pop-Tarts, when left in a toaster that doesn’t pop up, will send flames like a blowtorch up to three feet high. I’m just passing that along so you don’t have to learn that lesson the hard way in 2011!

  8. I wish I didn’t know about the chicken burgers, Todd! I hardly ever buy Pop-Tarts, so I think I’m safe from that one!

    Wendy

  9. You’ve had a grand year! Happy New Year!! Diane

  10. Birdhouses and bird feeders are going to be my ‘thing’ for 2011, I feel. I need first to document the twenty or so that exist here already before embarking on my own!!

  11. I love all these things that you’ve learned – you always make me smile. And I’m so glad to have found you in my cyber world! May 2011 be a wonderful year for you – it’s our year of special birthdays!
    Sunshine xx

  12. Any poop is dessert for our shih tzu. She’d love something exotic like porcupine for sure.

    Happy New Year!

  13. I’m still cringing about porcupine poop dessert. Ewww!

  14. Loved your list Wendy. Looks like you’ve had a busy year learning. One of my favorite things to do is to learn new things. I’m working on learning Spanish these days.

    I’ve never put a chicken pattie in the toaster but once when I was young I decided to warm up my cold peanut butter toast in the toaster and started it on fire. Not cool!

    I’m not fond of Jake’s dessert choices. Maybe he’ll try something new in 2011. My in-laws dog used to eat the peas from the garden.

    • Thanks, Jeanne…glad you enjoyed it! Good luck with the Spanish…I know a little bit of French, but my kids are bilingual. Peas would be far too normal for Jake to eat… Glad I found you this year! Wendy

  15. What a great list. These are the types of posts that are just pure fun to write aren’t they? And yes, deer can be aggressive!

    • Thanks, Clay…it was really fun to go through the archives! I’ve been in more than one “argument” with a doe…I always win, though! Wendy P.S. Did you get my note the other day about George MacDonald Fraser? WordPress e-mail notification hasn’t been working well for me…will resend if you didn’t!

  16. This was so much fun! I feel like you’ve handed me a basket full of goodies and i can pick anything anytime I want. So, I did! And have really enjoyed my cuppa with you this morning. Happy New Year and thanks for the wonderful treats.
    Nancy

  17. What a busy year you’ve had! Thanks for sharing your memories with the online world — looking forward to reading more in the new year!

  18. When I got to #44 my husband said, because…..? He ended with “the toaster caught on fire.”

    Fun list, not sure what I’m posting at the end of year.

    Glad I found you, Jeanne.

    • Actually, there was no fire, Jeanne (thank goodness!)…I had put the chicken burgers in an unlabeled bag in the freezer (chucked the box to save space). Hope had asked me (while I was doing something else) if those were waffles, and I said “Uh-huh” the way moms do when we just want the kids to stop bugging us. The next morning, Hope decided to make “waffles” for herself and her friend who spent the night (it was Saturday – I was upstairs sleeping in)…when I came down, I had a big mess to clean out of my toaster! Glad I found you too! Wendy

  19. Wow…porcupine poop huh?

    I was not aware of the potential delicacy of Mint Crisp M&M’s…perhaps I’ll have to seek those out, but I highly doubt that we’ll be finding them in Iqaluit.

    I fully agree with #50. Since I only started writing my blog this summer, I’ve met a lot of wonderful people…yourself included. It’s great to be a part of such a lovely community!

    But seriously? Porcupine poop? Yikes…

    Happy New Year!

  20. wait, mint crisp m&m’s…I did not get the memo on that.

    Why did the fisher cross the road?

    • Hi Oma: I found through Google research that the mint crisp M&M’s were a special release to promote the Crocodile Dundee movie release in 2008 (see link in my response to Suzanne, above). I had them this summer, but haven’t seen them again! Re: the fisher…to get to the other side? Wendy

  21. Okay, just reading down the list and a few comments:

    Some people keep their toilet paper in the bread box. Did you really mean THE breadbox and not A breadbox?

    I am from a place (Kentucky) where practicality is often called Redneck, but toilet paper in the bread box is a new one on me.

    Nice to meet you! Loved the blog!

    http://timkeen40.wordpress.com

  22. Wow! I’m impressed by all that you have learned this year. Your list is wonderfully entertaining as always. Glad to have met you online, too, Wendy! Here’s to learning more fantastic things in 2011. Happy New Year!

  23. I LOVED your list. #4 and then #5 cracked me up. I bet this was fun for you to write. It sure was fun to read. 🙂 Happy New Year, Wendy!

  24. Hippie Cahier

    Great list, Wendy! #35 surprises me the most. I don’t have any idea why that is.

    I am glad to have joined your blog community this year. Looking forward to an entertaining 2011 from you and your beautifully chaotic life. 🙂

    • Thanks, Hippie…it seems that people just aren’t using wallpaper any more…I can see why!

      “Beautifully chaotic life”…descriptive and accurate!

      Glad you’re one of my peeps!

      Wendy

  25. Great post and a great list!! I must remember to make mine this year!
    I think Vogue Opticals deserve a medal for their approach to dog-chewed spectacles 🙂 I have no idea why people would store toilet paper in the bread box!!

    I agree, the Blogging world is indeed full of wonderful people and I’m glad I found several of them this year , including you 😀

    Hugs and Cheers to a great 2011!! H.

  26. What a fun and fascinating list, and great idea for a post 🙂 Here’s to learning even more in 2011, happy new year!

  27. These are fun and funny. Trying to come up with a few myself feels like playing Jeopardy where the answer comes before t he question.

    I guess don’t know what a fisher is and am smiling at the thought of you playing musical chairs. I hated that game as a child. Too much pressure.

  28. Amazing list. I did not know Home Depot sold Lady Bugs–I did know hummingbirds were fearless. You can work on your musical chair skills this year…

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