Did anyone notice that I didn’t learn anything in June? Actually, I did, but had so many other things to post about that I didn’t make my usual list, which means this month’s list is twice as long as usual.

1. For the very first time in my life, I gave away a cat. Two, actually. I learned that it is a beautiful thing to share kitties with people who might love them even more than I do.
2. Arizona’s speed limit for trucks is the same as that for cars, and it makes for much smoother traffic on freeways. Only Delaware and California require trucks to go 55 mph.
3. I was wrong last year when I said that Manx is not a breed of cat but the accident of birth through malnourishment in the womb. (Did I get that info on the internet?? or in a book??) The veterinarian who made sure Scout doesn’t have another litter set me straight. Scout has a weird stump of a tail and received superior nutrition while growing her 5 babies, resulting in 2 with tails and 3 without.
4. No matter how often I try to understand, the meaning of “meta” eludes me. Do the people using this word just pretend that they know what they are saying, and do the people listening just pretend too?
5. You can buy hard-boiled eggs at Costco. I don’t belong to Costco, but thought it a curious fact when I overheard it this summer.
6. Getting cats “fixed”: we had Scout fixed and she disappeared 3 weeks later. I was wondering if we shouldn’t get Georgia “fixed” so she could make us more kittens, but now she is also gone. This is why I want to have lots of cats. We have a controversial approach to pets, but it is right for us.
7. Not all my friends are readers. (Why does this surprise me?) I was quite amazed to learn that 3 of the 7 friends who reunited at Shaver Lake don’t read much!
8. Shaver Lake is wonderful. I had never been there before although it is only 2-1/2 hours away from Three Rivers.
9. I was the only one of the Shaver Seven who doesn’t color her hair. (Why is this interesting to me? Who knows.) Maybe it is because I’d rather be reading.
10. You can accidentally grow pumpkins. I thought I was accidentally growing zucchini, because the blossoms look the same. Only one is becoming a pumpkin, but wow, the plants are going nuts. (Because they are accidental, they aren’t planted in gopher-proof cages, so I fear for them.)
11. Airdrop is a thing that can send pictures from an iPhone to another nearby Apple device. It makes a funny noise when the photos are sent. (I am learning how to use the dreaded cell phone bit by bit, in spite of zero reception at home.)
12. Branches on a tree make knots on firewood and look strange if you ever have the opportunity to view the inside of a hollow tree.
13. Many flowers have the unfortunate-sounding syllable “wort” in their names. Why? It comes from Old English “wyrt”, meaning root, herb, and plant.

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??