Horses Sweat, Men Perspire And Ladies Glow ~ Late Night Thoughts

The last of my illness seems to be passing away. Unfortunately, it seems to passing through my body...all I will say is there has been more dripping and such (I'm being discrete here folks!) and I've been literally sweating more out. Thanks for the comments and emails I've received...they mean a lot. I think this is the last of it.

I didn't want to simply not post tonight - and as I was bedded down this afternoon reading I ran across a delightful passage in a book that I just HAD to share with you.

I am an enormous fan of Lilian Jackson Braun who has written over 20 of "The Cat Who..." books. Without taking away any of the surprises in the books, she has managed to create a set of characters that are amazing in their reality ~ and a pair of Siamese cats that, if people will only pay attention, can solve murder and other mysteries.

The main character (other than the cats) is a delightful bushy mustached gentleman by the delightfully odd name of Qwilleran who writes a "Qwill's Pen" column for the local paper. In the book "The Cat Who Saw Stars..." he also starts a column about grammar - titled Gramma's Grammar. And as much as I love words, puns and use of language ~ I just couldn't resist this passage:

Dear sweet readers -- Your charming, sincere, intelligent letters warm Ms. Gramma's pluperfect heart! Sorry to hear you're having trouble with the L-words. The safest way to cope with lie, lay, lied, laid and lain is to avoid them entirely. Simply say, "The hen deposited and egg...He fibbed to his boss ... She stretched out on the couch." Get the idea? But if you really want to wrestle these pesky verbs to the mat, use Ms. Gramma's quick-and-easy guide.

1- Today the hen lays an egg. Yesterday she laid an egg. She has laid eggs all summer. (Ms. Gramma likes them poached, with Canadian bacon and Hollandaise sauce.)
2- Today you lie to your boss. Yesterday you lied to him. You have lied to the old buzzard frequently. (Tomorrow you may be fired.)
3- Today you lie down for a nap. Yesterday you lay down for a nap. In the past you have lain down frequently. (See your doctor, honey. It could be an iron deficiency.)

Here's my challenge: what fun combinations in the style of the above can you come up with for ~

who - whom
that - which
as and like
less - fewer