Various and Sundry Monday: Vol. 26

If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance. –Andrea Boydston

Last Call
Have you finished a really great project this month and want to show it off? Blog about it and link your post at the April Finishes Linky Party page. Each link is an entry to win a jelly roll from the brand new line, Tradewinds by Lily Ashby! If you've already posted your finish for this month, there's no need to do a separate post. Just add the button to that post and link up.

<center><a href="http://emsewandsew.blogspot.com/2012/04/stitch-in-time-april-finishes-linky.html/" target="_blank" title="April Finishes"><img alt="April Finishes" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRXycaJOD_gF4mGlvKzjH4iZft_fYuxnaRAI8D6F03VSKNXFVyTZw90ejhY_osXxusoM5R2TUHWAq4Q0MY4h9ApSv_xMPfddYfbR-DcI-63K48epSx662l3rhE1Fd-Yp1PQxNmJPrT-k/s169/A%2520Stitch%2520In%2520Time%25202012%25204.jpg" /></a> </center>
If You Give A Mouse A Dishwasher
Our dishwasher washed its last load of dishes last week. It was a sad occasion because who likes doing dishes by hand? Not me. Fortunately for us we got a very meager tax refund which went to buying a new dishwasher last weekend. We got a really nice model at a very reasonable price at a scratch-and-dent clearance outlet. It is SO quiet and has a lot of extra space inside. This is my very first brand-spanking-new appliance. It is kind of fun and I love how quiet it is. But it got me to thinking . . .

. . . If you give a mouse a sweet new dishwasher that is so, so quiet, she'll want a new fridge too because the ice maker went out and the auto-defrost in the freezer isn’t working quite right and there is a near-constant drip of water inside the fridge. And then once you get the mouse her swanky new wide-by-side fridge with ice and water in the door and a pull-out drawer freezer, the stove will start looking shabby and the mouse will want a new stove. Once the pristine new stove is in place, the mouse will realize just how much she hates the super noisy over-the-stove microwave and will need a new one of those too. It will have to be extra quiet so as not to be heard over the really quiet dishwasher. Then, the completely spoiled little mouse will want a front loading washing machine. And dryer. With pedestals. With all those shiny new appliances, the mouse will definitely need a new couch so she'll have a comfortable place to sit to fold all the super clean laundry.

But if you give a mouse everything she wants, she won't have any scratch left over to take the Little Bugs to Disney World. So, she'll just have to be content with the new dishwasher.

Derivatives
Last night at dinner, Grasshopper wanted to know why “Bill” was short for “William.” The only thing we could come up with was that it rhymes. But we also talked about the other variations of William, which got me to thinking about the variations of my name. I listed 10, right off the top of my head: Beth, Betsy, Bette, Betty, Buffy, Eliza, Libby, Liz, Liza, Lizzie. Then I did a quick Google and found a few more: Alisa, Bess, Bethia, Bettina, Elisa, Elise, Elissa, Ella, Elsie, Liesel, Lilly, Lisa, Lisette, Tetty, Tibbie. According to Think Baby Names {where you can look up your own name—and if you do, I'd love for you to share your favorites}, there are 152 variant forms of Elizabeth. I looked up the names of the rest of the residents at Bug Cottage and Mr. Bug's name has 21, Grasshopper's name has 24 and LadyBug's name has 21 derivatives, most of which are similar spellings of their original names. This is also true for a number of the 152 variations on my name. But there also quite a variety in there of names that are very different from each other. The funny thing is, I'm kind of a stickler for being called by my full name. That's just who I am. But it is good to know that if I ever have to enter the witness relocation program, I'll have a good selection of related names to choose from.

Monday Music Spot: Only the Young