The summary of what I learned in April doesn’t seem to fit my normal end of month list. A paragraph will suffice.

In April I learned how to plein air paint. I also learned to use a cell phone, how to navigate the world of travel that is now dependent on cell phone ownership, usage, and competency, and that a green lizard in Georgia is actually called an “anole”. I learned that a small cat can have 5 kittens, that a cat with a stump of a tail can have tailed cats, stumpies, and rumpies. (We don’t know yet if the “rumpie” is healthy. Stay tuned.)

So, here is a beautiful and dramatic photo for you (because it was a beautiful and dramatic month) and tomorrow we will resume our adventures in plein air painting.

I learned some hard things in January, but will only share a few because many are too personal for the World Wide Web.

1. Unexpected death creates a ton of work.
2. The more animals you own, the more you will spend in time, feed, and vet bills.
3. It is horrible to lose a close friend. Horrible horrible horrible, like losing a family member.
4. Cow poo is very slippery. (I hope those jeans will come clean. . .)
5. Cowgirls don’t wear leggings, pointy-toed boots, or cowboy hats.
6. When you feel an urgency to clear your schedule and complete tasks, follow that prompting, because it is probably God helping you be ready for an emergency.
7. If you bake bread and undercook a batch, there is no need to put it back in the oven later. It won’t fix the raw center, even after another hour at the original temperature.

Happy New Year! 

Do you like those end of the year round-up lists? Here’s one for you, almost entirely made up of links to previous posts. (Each one will open in a new tab.) We remember the things we review, so let’s go. . .

1. 11 Things I Learned in January
2. 8 Things I Learned in February
3. 8 Things I Learned in March
4. 6 Things I Learned in April
5. 8 Things I Learned in May
6. 7 Things I Learned in June
7. 7 Things I Learned in July
8. 8 Things I Learned in August
9. 8 Things I Learned in September
10. 7 Things I Learned in October
11. 6 Things I Learned in November

We have documentation of 84 new things learned in 2018. (and probably 1/2 of them already forgotten). Here are 3 more from December (much of what I learned this month isn’t worth sharing publicly).

1. You can find a doctor online and have him call a prescription into your local drug store! What? I had no idea, and don’t know how to do this, but it is good to know, and I know who to ask for more details.
2. Green tomato pie is not worth making unless you have no apples; if you insist on making it, 1-1/2 cups of sugar is too much.
3. Frost-on-the-Pumpkin pie is worth making if you don’t mind 2 sessions in the kitchen and using every bowl you possess.

I wish you a year of learning in 2019!

Now I will be quiet for a week. Fret not, I’ll be back.

November felt rough and busy, and I wondered if I learned anything. Some of these things may have been acquired in October, a more educationally productive month. Perhaps the continued filthy air has muddled my thoughts. It certainly messes with my attitude. Sigh.

But let not your heart be troubled; learning continues. . .

1. Barkthins – these are scary good dark chocolate treats that come in 6 flavors. Supposed to be 9 servings per bag. Fall down laughing. Barkthins available on Amazon
2. Tomatoes – Some plants just don’t make fruit in the heat. We planted 4 tomato plants in the spring and harvested about 6 tomatoes during the summer. The bugs and birds got the other 6. Then, when the heat subsided, the tomato plants went nutso. They now contain about 3-4 dozen tomatoes and are taking up twice the space. Guess I’ll have to learn what to do with green tomatoes next month, because we will have to pick them before it freezes. Wish I could remember the variety so I don’t do this again next year.
3. New words: Chatoyant and druzy are 2 words (adjectives) that I learned from my friend Elizabeth, who makes jewelry using beautiful stones. “Chatoyancy” refers to an undulating luminescence, and druzy refers to a stone that is covered by crystals. (I don’t feel equipped to use these words in sentences yet, but I like the sound.) Cruft: a noun that means a. Anything old or of inferior quality; b. Redundant, old or improperly written code, especially that which accumulates over time; clutter.
4. Hand-lettering is a real thing. I volunteered to do some verses on signs for a church event, and holy guacamole, I could not believe how slow and difficult it was to do a good job. This is more about design and drawing than about typography. Turns out that these were practice for the Perfect Gift Boutique! (Need any signs hand-written? Ask me, but please give me more than 2 days to do 17 signs.)
5. Family weddings are the best thing ever. I already knew this, but it was reinforced when we had one in November. Here is my favorite candid photo, not of the bride, but oh so beautiful.
6. Clean Happens is the name of an all purpose cleaner that comes in a spray bottle made by Better Life. I like to keep things very simple, and try to only use 2 cleaning products: ammonia and bleach. Trouble is, those 2 can’t be mixed, so I have to really pay attention. Clean Happens is supposed to do the trick of both those other things. I don’t know what it is made of. I don’t know how well it works yet. November is too busy for messing around with mops and rags – shows to put on, weddings to attend, signs to letter, paintings to complete. Clean Happens is available on Amazon

If you order these 2 products on Amazon by using these links, I will receive a few pennies. That’s called “affiliate marketing”, something I learned about and told you about back in June’s Things I Learned post.

P.S. Today’s oil painting at Anne Lang’s Emporium (YOU’D BETTER DROP WHATEVER PLANS YOU HAVE FOR LUNCH TODAY AND GO HAVE A TURKEY MELT!! – last chance ever)

1. These are dogwood “berries” (don’t know if that’s the real word for this). A friend showed me that her domestic dogwood tree made berries, but this is the first time I’ve seen them in the wild.
2. This same friend introduced me to this: “Cottage gas stations” a style of gas station built in the late 1920s and ’30s. What?! The idea was to have them blend architecturally with residential areas, and some went so far as to have decorative non-functioning chimneys! Many have been remodeled as coffee shops, retail stores, hair salons, markets, offices, and all sorts of businesses, while others have fallen into disrepair. Here are a few links to some of these photogenic structures:  History of Cottage Gas Stations, Historic Filling Stations, Gas cottages Phillips 66
3. The topic of cabins and what makes a cabin is much deeper and more thought-provoking than I ever imagined. A cabin might be simple, but discussing it is not. Who knew??
4. I learned the hard way that buying a template is no guarantee of correctness. Even when you buy a calendar template from a printer and add your own artwork to the template, YOU NEED TO PROOFREAD THEIR TEMPLATE. If you ordered a calendar from me, you will be receiving a replacement one in the mail soon. If you bought it in person, get in touch with me for the replacement. (I don’t know when they will be arriving, but I will replace every one that I am able to find the buyers, all 65 calendars if possible. . .Oy Vey. . .)
5. Each summer I think I will learn the names of trees in Mineral King. Then I get so into the wildflowers that I don’t pay attention to the trees. This fall I learned Western White Pine, AKA Silver Pine. We found one between Crystal Creek and Soda Springs, and then I was able to find it in a simple “Tree Finder” book. I’ve never seen this before, and don’t know if I’d recognize it in another context.

   

   

   

   

6. Did you know that in the publishing world, it gets busy in the fall? Many people want to get their books printed by Christmas. It is slower in January and February. This is helpful information to me as I work on Wildflowers of Mineral King. No one needs this book in December; no one needs this book until May. Hence, I am slowing down the process of completing the book. (This will give me more time to proofread it. . . sigh.) 
7. Magnifying glasses, just like a kid’s magnifying glass, can start fires or melt plastic.

   

It has been over a year that I have posted these monthly lists, and one of the things I’ve learned is that I learn 6-8 notable things every month. (I didn’t add this fact to September’s list because it felt so obvious.)

1. Ladyfinger grapes are a new variety of seedless grape. I don’t know where to buy them, but I sure enjoyed them at a potluck!

   

2. My last name is associated with jaundice in Ukraine; they call it Botkin’s Disease. Jana Jaundice does sort of flow, but I will choose to stick with Botkin.
3. The wildflower Indian pink, which blooms in the foothills in the spring, is red, not pink. This has bothered me for many years (Yes, I know, get a life already). In September, I learned that it is so named because the edge appears as if it was trimmed with pinking shears!
4. Duckduckgo is a search engine that doesn’t save history, chase you around the internet, and clutter your life with ads. I’ve used it most of September; this is how my home page looks now. Back in the last century when I chose the G for my home page, it was because of its clean white simplicity. This will do quite nicely instead. I’m very happy to not have ads chasing me onto every web site.
5. Clean air is essential for people with lung diseases even with oxygen 24/7. My friend who is waiting for lungs is markedly improved in her strength, endurance, and overall health after 6 weeks in a place of clean air.

   

6. The Elfin Forest in Los Osos is a  San Luis Obispo County park. It has pygmie oaks, because of the salt air and poor soil. It all looked like shrubs to me; seeing it satisfied my curiosity about the place.

   

7. Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal is the most instructive book I’ve ever read about aging and terminal illness. If you have people in your life who are aging and are wondering about assisted living options for them, or people who are facing a terminal illness, this book will help you figure things out with your loved one’s best interests in mind. It is outstanding, teaching through stories and the author’s personal experiences. I learned way more than you want to read in a blog list.
8. The plant that I and everyone I know calls “Ice Plant” at the beach is actually called “Sea Fig”. “Sea Fig”? Who makes up these names? I found it in several of the wildflower books that I’m using to gather names for the upcoming Wildflowers of Mineral King: Common Names.

And now, may we PLEASE be finished with summer’s heat??

Fridays are for Mineral King, but today’s post is my end of the month list of things I learned. Here is a Mineral King photo for you as a consolation prize.

1. A friend of mine is always on his phone, always always always. But he only uses it as a telephone. For note-taking, he uses a yellow legal pad, which he refers to as his “y-pad“. I’m stealing this term!
2. In August I learned the real difficulties of lung disease by helping my friend who is waiting for new lungs. Become an organ donor!!
3. A friend is moving to Furnace Creek, the settlement in Death Valley. She learned that in the summer, residents turn off their water heaters and use it for cold water; their cold water taps become their hot water sources.
4. Tulare Co. ranked 150 out of 150 in adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher, quality of the public system, and racial and gender gaps in local education. The study, by WalletHub, was of major metropolitan areas. Tulare County is hardly a major metropolitan anything, but the study combined Visalia and Porterville, the 2 largest cities in the county. Well, bummer. (We’re fat and poor here too. Oh, we also have really bad air. Sounds inviting, no?)
5. Making Sense of God by Timothy Keller is one of the most helpful books I’ve read in a long time, and I learned more than this post can contain. If you are a skeptic or know one who is seeking solid truths about Christianity, this book is a winner. It requires thought and took me a long time to get through, and now I need to reread it and take notes for more solid remembering.
6. For years I’ve wanted to find something cold to drink that had no sugar, no fake sugar, no caffeine, no alcohol. This was just a vague wish for something more interesting than plain water or herbal tea. At a block party this summer, my good friend said, “Ooh, this is not very good!” so I picked up her can for a taste. Wow! carbonation, no sweetness whatsoever, and a hint of berry flavor. It was LeCroix, nothing but carbonation and a hint of flavor. Eureka!
7. Keeping cats is almost impossible around here. (We’ve lost four in 2018.) Now there are two – Scout and Tucker. Bye-bye, Piper. I didn’t even get to know you.
8. If you need to get rid of an old couch, you have 3 options: dump it on the side of the road, drop it off after hours behind a thrift store that won’t take it when they are open, or take it to the dump. We took the third option, and it hurt my heart. Trail Guy salvaged the good fabric from the backside (the front was wrecked by cats through the years). The couch served us well from 1984 onward, and was reupholstered once. The only thing that helps assuage my guilt is that we saved two antique pieces of furniture from the same fate.