Thank You Librivox!

I found a fabulous free audiobook resource! Volunteers over at Librivox.org read and record books books that are in the public domain. The selection is endless and also includes foreign language texts.  Books in French, Urdu, Ancient Greek, Church Slavonic, and Tagalog (I've never even heard of that one) are all up for grabs in MP3 form.

 

I'm currently reading, listening, and bumbling through  'La Femme de Trente Ans' by Balzac. It's a big help to hear the pronunciation of each and every word. I'm hoping that some of the vocabulary will get stuck in my wee brain:) Have fun!

librivox.org

That Old Chestnut

This little lady from the Limousin region of France is busily cracking open chestnuts. I often make bread with chestnut flour. It's naturally sweet and doesn't grow stale as quickly as a baguette. Chestnuts are also surprising bursting with vitamin C!

 

Chestnuts used to be a common food staple in the United States until the chestnut blight fungus of 1904 devasted the population. 4 billion American chestnut trees died within 40 years. That makes me want to plant a chestnut tree in my backyard!

The History of Tinsel

Tinsel in its modern form was invented in Higham Ferrers England in 1843, and was originally made of shredded silver.  

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary the word is from the Old French word "estincele", meaning sparkle. 

Back To the Salt Mines

The word 'salary' actually comes from the word salt. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder stated as an aside in his Natural History's discussion of sea water, that "[I]n Rome. . .the soldier's pay was originally salt and the word salary derives from it. . ."