Cherries--A healthy fruit

My group presentation was on cherries. The part that I did involved the belief that cherries are very good for you because of their anti-oxidants. In staff meeting at my work my co-worker asked if anyone had learned anything new that week. I decided to share that cherries supposedly help with arthritis and are believed to be a pain reliever. They found it very interesting and some of them said that they wanted to start eating cherries. It's fun to pass on things that you learn even if they may only be home remedies that may not necessarily have scientific backing.

Cranapple, Please.

In the book, Rooted In America, the chapter on Cranberries talked about how the industry has profited by combining cranberry with many other fruits. I experienced this first hand when I flew to visit my sister in Chicago. On the plane, the stewardess came by with her cart of drinks and when I asked what kind of juice she had, she replied, "apple, cranapple, orange, and tomato." Thinking of the book, I chose Cranapple and greatly enjoyed it. I thought it was interesting that they would have that choice among only four. When I was in Chicago, I also encountered cranapple there. My sister had it in her refridgerator and we had it for a few different meals. She also told me that she loves cranapple juice. Interesting to see how it has really become popular.

Hot Pepper Punishment

Our reading today on hot peppers reminded me of my mom's punishment for saying bad words. When we would say a bad word, she would get her finger wet, dip it in the jar of cayenne pepper and wipe it on our tongue. I remembered this because of the story Sister Rudy told about the pepper eating contest. My second oldest brother had a quick temper and thus would often get this punishment. However, he, being a stubborn boy, pretended that he didn't care and would say that he liked it. I think he may have developed a taste for it or convinced himself that he did like it because to this day, he likes his salsa and other things very spicy hot. :)

Apple Stem Twist

The reading on apples in Rooted in America made me think of apple traditions that I know. Later when I was eating the apple in my lunch I remembered the one about twisting the stem and saying the alphabet and whichever letter the stem broke off on is the first letter of your future spouse's name. I learned this when I was a young girl, but my friend reminded me of it on my study abroad in Sweden because she would do it all the time. Since I was eating my lunch with my brother and dad, I shared this tradition with them and later my brother did it when he ate his apple, so I am helping to pass on folklore. :)

Put on your thinking cap

I was reading my cousin's blog and came across her saying "So, as my elementary teachers always used to say, put your thinking caps on!" I have heard this my whole life, but never really thought about the literal meaning. Why should we put a hat on to think? Does it really help us think better? I searched online and found a website that gave a possible origin of the phrase. It said, "In previous centuries, it was customary for judges to put a cap on before sentencing criminals. Because judges were respected thinkers, it was referred to as a 'thinking cap.'" Hmm, interesting. So, from now on, whenever I say that phrase I will be imagining a judge with his cap on thinking really hard to decide whether to sentence a criminal to death or not. :)

Bent out of Shape

I heard one of my teachers use this phrase and was just curious about its origin. I have heard it all my life, but never really thought about it. Free Dictionary defined it as "very angry or upset." Answers.com said that it is slang used during the later half of the 1900s.

Skewampus

I was at my boyfriend's grandpa's house and his grandpa said that something was "skewampus." My boyfriend and his brother laughed at that and were joking about it on the way home. I have grown up hearing that phrase, but have not heard it from very many people (my co-worker from Utah and this elderly man from Utah), so I decided to look it up. I found out that it is a mixture of the words askew and cattywampus. One source said that it was frequently used in the West which makes sense with my experience of it.