West London. I didn't notice the shaded map after each question, would have like to see more details. I was surprized that scone did not rhyme with gone in Scotland, according to the map. Or did I look wrong? My Scottish mother was absolutely adamant that scone had to rhyme with gone, if it was the scone you ate. But Stone of Scone was thyme during with own.

NW NJ is so beautiful! Defies all the NJ stereotypes, lol. We go hiking and camping up there with our various scouting groups. Stokes State Forest is amazing. And I especially love all the farmland just east of the State Fairgrounds. Still wet snow/rain here, cleared off roads, sticking to grass, but not accumulating. No real wind.

Amy, I am so sorry about your pastor. Today, we are waiting for what is supposed to be a big nor'easter. So far just wet snow. I went to supermarket last night (hate night shopping) just in case. Then, this morning, stopped by veggie store because I like carrots with tops on, parsnips, turnips, watercress -- all things that were absent from supermarket. Sometimes it seems as though the larger the store, the less the variety. Dinner will be apricot--mustard glazed salmon with parsnip purée and sautéed little heirloom tomatoes with garlic and balsamic, naval oranges with Cointreau for dessert.

Northern NJ here too, but schools and everything else open. East of 287 sounds much better than west of 287. Here snow was predicted to begin in late afternoon, but wet snow started falling just before 8 am. No wind yet though. I did some errands, seems pretty normal -- so far.

Nickel sounds so lovable. We had turtles when I was a child, but never one that would come when called. I am so sorry that you will be without him after 28 years. (((Hugs))) How did Nickel get his name? I'd love to hear more about him. He sounds quite unusual.

Thank you for saying where you are. We are in NJ, nothing closed as far as I can tell from radio. So far, not bad here, rain and a bit of wind. I went to supermarket yesterday night, and it was crowded. Hope everyone will be ok.

One branch of our family settled in PA in late 17th-early 18th century. We actually visited the house they lived in, sort of. When the house was first preserved, dating was not vey accurate. The preservationists tore down a little shed at the side of the house. Turns out the house was lived in by later German settlers, while the 'shed' was our ancestral home, lol. The shed has since been reconstructed. The curator told us that they would likely have spoken Welsh rather than English, even after many years here. But a little difficult to tell with certainty, as they did not seem to have been skilled at writing.

Recipe or hint of a recipe? I'd like to make cawl sometime too.

OMG, no, I haven't watched this. I will look for it -- I love mysteries. Two that I enjoyed were Shetland and Loch Ness. Shetland has the most sense of place.

Well, my only connection now is that I recently watched the series, The Indian Doctor. Lots of Welsh, but it took place in 1960's. I hope the language survives and thrives.

Oh, no. Bewildering. I have both Welsh and Scottish Gaelic speaking ancestors, but these languages do not come naturally. I am glad that Welsh is still pretty commonly spoken, isn't it? Maybe I'll just buy some leeks or daffodils? Or get out my copy of the Welsh version of Peter Rabbit for kids to look at?

Selkie, feel better. Rest. Today is bank, bills, emails, calendar update, errands, evening activity, simple dinner. I thought I'd share this recipe from NY Times food section that I cooked yesterday -- cumin-roasted pork chops with Brussels sprouts. It's a sheet pan recipe so easy clean up. ( I hope there's no firewall for a single recipe....) Incredibly good. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019196-cumin-roasted-pork-chops-and-brussels-sprouts

Faith, that's a lot to do with a headache, good luck! I've got some meetings and social things today. Then back to the usual desk work, decluttering. Long way to go still, but some visible progress, so I am feeling reasonably happy about it. Dinner will be healthy, fish probably, because I put a coeur a la creme (very rich) in the refrigerator last night for tonight's dinner. We have a delicious raspberry sauce from Valentine's Day to use up. I may try a first course of scallops, one scallop each. I have frozen sea scallops, $15/lb, on sale, but they give off so much moisture that it is hard to cook them well. Google has pages and pages about this, so I will try some ideas, as I'm determined to make this work, lol. ETA Selkie, I hope your headache gets better.

Selkie, dragging around when you are exhausted is horrible. I hope you'll feel better sooner rather than later. I love horses! If I didn't live halfway across the country, I'd jump at the chance to help. I could (probably) groom a calm horse without causing serious damage, and I'm pretty sure I could handle a wheelbarrow of soiled bedding. But I'm in an area where getting on a horse for half an hour or so costs about $70 (lessons). I believe I fainted when I saw boarding fees at a local stable, so I can't tell you those. My kids love riding, but time and $$$ have limited it. Dd did therapeutic horseback riding in early elementary -- many happy memories. Now her favorite horse is a veritable Empire State Building at 18 hands, big, but super steady, deliberate, no extra moves. How did I get on to this? To do today. Everyone has big lists, mine are always tiny. I do take care of the usual dishes and laundry, but it's more an automatic thing than a task. I've been going through extra stuff in basement (isn't this fun?). Now I have to call Vietnam Vets or someone, because our local Goodwill will not take any toys. Yesterday I opened a box full of ds's elementary school woodworking projects. How many heart shaped footstools can one family use? We need our own museum of childhood for those, Scout basketry projects, Pinewood Derby cars, and so on. Dinner: sautéed scallops, perhaps a first course of leeks vinaigrette (with capers, cornichons and quails eggs). Ulterior motive: have both kids actually IN the kitchen when scallops are done. They are so $$ that I don't want them getting cold while I beg Ds to come to dinner.

Second Quizlet. I recently did a long post on it here, will try to link when I am not on iPhone. But wanted to add that their French accent is actually very good. ETA http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/669636-quizlet-pros-and-cons-please/?do=findComment&comment=8024529 Btw, Quizlet is free and you don't need a tutorial, just start typing. For foreign language, just choose from menu of languages at top of column, English on one column, French on the other. Easy to start, easy to add cards, easy to edit, easy to use. Not that I'm prejudiced, lol.

Quizlet (at least on iPad, and I think on computer too) has a feature that lets you highlight a yellow star on the cards and then study just the highlighted ones. Kids used to put a yellow star on near misses/hesitations as well as outright misses.

My kids loved Quizlet in middle school. There are two schools of thought about how to use it. One us to search for an already made quizlet that has most of what you need. Fast and easy. The other is to make your own quizlet. More time, but putting your own quiz together engages the brain in such a way that you learn the material better, Ime. Quizlet has games for each quiz -- slightly different ones for computer and mobile, so use both. I'd suggest a different account for each child. That way it's easier to keep track of individual progress -- individual high scores, for examples. Don't forget to turn on the sound, if that helps you. At one point, I had a paid account, so that I could add pictures. You only need one paid account, for creating. Kids who use your quizzes get the pictures without paying extra. HTH

I put everything I possibly can on credit cards. I have several and use the one that gives me the best cash back for what I am purchasing. I also look at other benefits, such as rental car insurance being covered or warranties on purchases. Besides the cash back, you can get a great credit history.

Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/02/swiss-guns/553448/ Wash Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/15/europe-had-school-shootings-too-then-they-did-something-about-it/?utm_term=.56462bd5dc7d

Oh, Monday, missing the weekend. I have decided that my house is like the North Pacific gyre. Stuff comes in, circulates about and ends up in the basement. Not as random as ocean garbage -- everything (almost) is in neatly labeled plastic boxes and bins. Not as junky -- it's (mostly) worthwhile stuff, boxes of pencils, markers, crayons, filing supplies. But, seriously, I could practically open an office supply store. I have 40 or more boxes of unused crayons from 2005, when Target sold them for 25 cents. An entire file crate of cheap spiral notebooks, when Staples sold them for 10 cents. I need to get rid of this stuff. And I will go on a search and destroy mission for boxes of clear plastic ornaments that we were 'going to' make into pretty gifts. Uh, huh. I remember, when kids were little, I would get catalogues like Discount School Supply and Classroom Direct and order with completely unrealistic expectations of what we could possibly do. Dinner tonight, repeating a recent meal we enjoyed -- sautéed tofu with sesame seeds, roasted sweet potato slices, broccoli raab with balsamic vinegar.

Oh, I am so sorry to hear your news. (((Hugs)))

Oh, that sounds lovely! We get Prince Edward Island farmed mussels here, and I prefer them to some of the wild/organic mussels that are more expensive. Mackerel. I keep hearing how healthy it is, but i don't think I've seen it in my local supermarket. I've never cooked it, and don't think I've eaten it, although we used to fish for blufefish, which are also oily. What's the difference between very fresh mackerel and regular?

I have friends who lived on Chesapeake Bay. When I'd go over for dinner, they'd ask if I minded crab and then walk down to their dock and pull up a crab trap full of dinner, lol.

Well, I put away the crumpet batter after tea. I did not think it would rise in the refrigerator, but it pushed off the tight fitting lid of the storage container, rose up with the lid still on top like a hat, and sent cascades of extra batter down through successive shelves of the refrigerator. My bread dough does not rise when it's cold, but the crumpet dough has a mind of its own. Selkie, feel better.

Dd and I had a nice afternoon tea again today, teacups at a table, not mugs taken elsewhere. Much better. It's cold and rainy, so we used a pretty English china with various game birds on it. And I made crumpets for the first time, not difficult. But I need to find a better recipe. They were a bit dense inside, whatever cooking temp/speed I tried. Because of trying different temps, we had to eat four each. 😉 I don't need the calories or carbs, but it was fun.