Beth Carpenter Books

Under words that don’t mean what I originally thought they meant—DECIMATE: to kill one in every ten of (a group of soldiers or others) as a punishment for the whole group .  So if a rabbit decimates my lettuce patch, 9 of 10 lettuce plants is okay. Honestly, I’m okay with that.  BRAISE: fry (food) lightly and then stew it slowly in a closed container.   A great way to cook pork chops BTW.  BRAISE is not the same as BRAZE: form, fix, or join by soldering with an alloy of copper and zinc at high temperature. Nor does it mean to grill over an open flame.  PRODIGAL: spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant . From context, I assumed prodigal meant someone who spurns or runs away from his home and family. Nope. Just a spendthrift. Have you discovered words you were using wrong? 

Those of you who have read Alaskan Hideaway might remember the "Running of the Reindeer" event in Fur Rondy. I thought I'd post a few photos from this year's event.  There was a crowd at the fences, and it is Fur Rondy, so I saw lots of big furry hats like the one above. The men's run was first. Some of them had very interesting costumes. I love the dragon, although it brought up the rear in more of an amble than a run, way behind the reindeer.  Then they gathered the reindeer up and took them back down the street so the women could run.  As you can see, the women had great costumes, too. I'm especially fond of the cookie monster.  All and all, lots of fun and cute reindeer. Fun times in Anchorage.