MAY 19, 2020 in the Year that didn't happen.....the year that events didn't take place. So instead we finally have been given the gift of time. Yup! Now we have the time to spend on whatever it is that we once thought we wanted to do or didn't want to do. Now we have it, dropped in our lap, because of the COVID Virus restrictions.
And just in case you haven't been learning alongside of kids at home, or reading to your grandchildren via Face Time, or attending a Zoom meeting or meet up with friends and family from across the world, I thought I'd share with you my R.A.K - Random Alternative Knowledge. Although you might know this acronym R.A.K. as Random Act of Kindness, this is my own version, Random Alternative Knowledge.
And just in case you haven't been learning alongside of kids at home, or reading to your grandchildren via Face Time, or attending a Zoom meeting or meet up with friends and family from across the world, I thought I'd share with you my R.A.K - Random Alternative Knowledge. Although you might know this acronym R.A.K. as Random Act of Kindness, this is my own version, Random Alternative Knowledge.
Here we go:
RAK #1 Did you know that Swedish and Dutch are two languages that English speaking people can learn easily? I learned this while trying to learn some French basics. Have I pursued my interest in learning French, the language of my great-grandmother? not really. Do I think it is difficult to learn a new language by yourself? Yes! absolutely. I did try Duolingo.com but I guess its more for the dedicated learner. Have you learned another language on your own?
RAK #2 A King's Ransom means a fortune, a lot of money. How much did you pay to fix that dent in your new car? A kings' ransom. Or you could read the book, "A King's Ransom."
RAK #3 Consider these two words: homely and comely. They sound a like except for one letter difference. They mean opposite. Homely is plain, and "slightly more gentle word than ugly." Comely is "fair, pretty, lovely, good-looking". In spoken conversation, we don't hear "comely". Have you heard this word?
RAK #4 Did you" know that you can go to wordhippo.com to translate or find the meaning of a foreign word?
RAK #5 Immigrants to the United States came into Castle Garden in the years before Ellis Island. Read about immigration there and when Ellis Island began.
RAK #6 When have you used the word "cacaphony"?
RAK #7 What do you think of when you hear or read the word "reticule"? I think of the the word ridiculous, but they are not the same thing. Reticule is a woman's purse, like a drawstring bag. And we know what ridiculous means.
RAK #8 Hutte meg tu! in Norwegian. Check out its meaning here
RAK #9 Does your barn have a mansard roof?
RAK #10 Have you ever used cow chips to heat your house?
RAK #11 Have you used a compass? Did it have a gimbal?
RAK #12 Have you ever eaten Gammelost Cheese?
RAK #13 Did you know that the medicine digoxin used to treat heart disease comes from the Foxglove plant?
RAK #14 Did you know: The Faroe Islands is a self-governing archipelago, part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean, connected by road tunnels, ferries, causeways and bridges. Hikers and bird-watchers are drawn to the islands’ mountains, valleys and grassy heathland, and steep coastal cliffs that harbor thousands of seabirds.
RAK #15 Travel in the 1800's in the US. You could travel by wagon if you had time - a journey could take as long as 3 months; or the same distance weeks by boat or days by railroad. What am amazing journey it must have been to have once only had the option of wagon, then improved by boat and then to see a train whipping along the country side.
RAK #16 Don't think you'll ever be able to travel all around the U.S.? Here it is at your fingertips, from your own chair, in your own spare time.
RAK #17 How deep is standing at a fetlock? Do you know how deep in the water you'd be standing if you stood at a fetlock deep?
These are the R.A.K. Random Alternative Knowledge facts that are part of a few pages in my RAK journal. I don't have an excuse for not having time to read and discover so much about our world.
What have you been doing in your "time on a silver platter" moments? Take some time for yourself. Take time to breathe and ponder and learn. Take time to wonder and discover, time to laugh and dream and imagine. Find Serenity. Take time to discover Random Alternative Knowledge. Take your time and give it to someone else - write a note, make a call, donate food, drop a gift on a doorstep. Don't have time? Now that's a pity.
Thanks for reading. Until we meet again, be blessed!
SB
RAK #2 A King's Ransom means a fortune, a lot of money. How much did you pay to fix that dent in your new car? A kings' ransom. Or you could read the book, "A King's Ransom."
RAK #3 Consider these two words: homely and comely. They sound a like except for one letter difference. They mean opposite. Homely is plain, and "slightly more gentle word than ugly." Comely is "fair, pretty, lovely, good-looking". In spoken conversation, we don't hear "comely". Have you heard this word?
RAK #4 Did you" know that you can go to wordhippo.com to translate or find the meaning of a foreign word?
RAK #5 Immigrants to the United States came into Castle Garden in the years before Ellis Island. Read about immigration there and when Ellis Island began.
RAK #6 When have you used the word "cacaphony"?
RAK #7 What do you think of when you hear or read the word "reticule"? I think of the the word ridiculous, but they are not the same thing. Reticule is a woman's purse, like a drawstring bag. And we know what ridiculous means.
RAK #8 Hutte meg tu! in Norwegian. Check out its meaning here
RAK #9 Does your barn have a mansard roof?
RAK #10 Have you ever used cow chips to heat your house?
RAK #11 Have you used a compass? Did it have a gimbal?
RAK #12 Have you ever eaten Gammelost Cheese?
RAK #13 Did you know that the medicine digoxin used to treat heart disease comes from the Foxglove plant?
RAK #14 Did you know: The Faroe Islands is a self-governing archipelago, part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean, connected by road tunnels, ferries, causeways and bridges. Hikers and bird-watchers are drawn to the islands’ mountains, valleys and grassy heathland, and steep coastal cliffs that harbor thousands of seabirds.
RAK #15 Travel in the 1800's in the US. You could travel by wagon if you had time - a journey could take as long as 3 months; or the same distance weeks by boat or days by railroad. What am amazing journey it must have been to have once only had the option of wagon, then improved by boat and then to see a train whipping along the country side.
RAK #16 Don't think you'll ever be able to travel all around the U.S.? Here it is at your fingertips, from your own chair, in your own spare time.
RAK #17 How deep is standing at a fetlock? Do you know how deep in the water you'd be standing if you stood at a fetlock deep? These are the R.A.K. Random Alternative Knowledge facts that are part of a few pages in my RAK journal. I don't have an excuse for not having time to read and discover so much about our world.
What have you been doing in your "time on a silver platter" moments? Take some time for yourself. Take time to breathe and ponder and learn. Take time to wonder and discover, time to laugh and dream and imagine. Find Serenity. Take time to discover Random Alternative Knowledge. Take your time and give it to someone else - write a note, make a call, donate food, drop a gift on a doorstep. Don't have time? Now that's a pity. 
Thanks for reading. Until we meet again, be blessed!
SB
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