Pick-A-Day

March 2024
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Whatchamacallit 165: £10 (reverse side)

This copy of the 2017 UK £10 note is on display because it features a quote from Jane Austin:

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!”

Although the line is spoken in great irony (and the Bank of England is mocked for choosing this line), out of context it is a […]

Whatchamacallit 164: Shetland Pony Postcard

I sent myself this postcard from Baltasound – writing it while at the Baltasound Hotel Restaurant on May 30, 2013.

This is the best smelling restaurant I’ve been in in years – O.M.G. The first day in the Shetland Islands – Unst – Many Shetland Ponies seen. Lots of sheep/lambs. Amazing scenery – plus […]

Whatchamacallit 163: Still Naked in Laramie

What a find this was: I started digging through my cupboard.

Either it is overstuffed or the flatpack cupboard is starting to see the end of its lifespan, some 17 years after it was initially assembled. I’ve had to reattach one of the doors about 3 times (an easy enough fix, but still….).

Maybe […]

Whatchamacallit 162: Boys, Be Ambitious

My last big, fun, international trip was to Japan, which I mentioned in Whatchamacallit 85: Japanese Vase – there I talked about Okinawa, which was pleasantly warm and sunny.

At the other end of Japan I visited the Sapporo Snow Festival – where temperatures were decided cold, with weather ranging from sunny and extra […]

Whatchamacallit 161: bamboo toothbrushes

A year or two ago, I used the bathroom at a friend’s place – noticing the non-plastic toothbrushes. I asked about them – learning about bamboo toothbrushes that are entirely biodegradable, no plastic involved, no plastic consequences for the planet, especially since I go through 4-5 toothbrushes in a year; sometimes more if I […]

Whatchamacallit 160: Dry Faucet

This faucet was a present from a friend – and it is just whimsical enough that I installed it high on the wall, just outside my bedroom wall.

I actually use the hook under the faucet to hand shirts that are fresh back from the laundry.

Wait… the last time I had shirts at […]

Whatchamacallit 159: house and home

This book, by Steve Gunderson and Rob Morris (with Bruce Bawer), was one of the few non-academic books that I kept in my dorm room at the University of Wyoming, the last year that I was a graduate student.

It was published in September 1996 – so just after I had graduated with my […]

Whatchamacallit 158: The Hockey Sweater

When I decided to write about the backside of the Canadian $5 bill, I knew that it had a bit about ice hockey engraved into the winter wonderland; I had not realized, until after I did research for that blog post, that the lines about hockey come from a book, The Hockey Sweater.

Once […]

Whatchamacallit 157: mini Book Light

This is a nightlight, as a book – with a white light option, then five other, more colorful, options.

This is a relatively recent addition to my collection of junk: a pure impulse purchase: 15€ at a local home improvement store that I happened to be wandering.

I saw something like it for sale […]

Whatchamacallit 156: Martin Luther as a cookie cutter

In 2017, Germany celebrated Martin Luther and the 500th anniversary of the reformation.

I observed the celebration by going to Canada.

Before I left, I did buy Martin Luther as a cookie cutter – which is displayed on the shelf behind my couch. It has never been used for its designed purpose.

Even I, […]