I learned a new word recently: limned. It means something along the lines of “looking shiny when light hits it”. The reason I know this word is that I’ve been reading a collection of short stories from the library, pleasingly titled St Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised By Wolves. The stories are good - creepy and imaginative, which I like - but there in every single one, every twenty pages or so, is the word. Limned. Tombstones limned by moonlight, mirrors limned by moonlight, rocks limned by… moonlight again, I think. It’s most odd. Then again I’ve been using word “canard” in every possible context since coming across it a few days ago, so can’t complain.
Today I am joining my sister-in-law and her baby for a massive pre-Christmas grocery shopping mish. The pressure is intense. What am I likely to forget? We’re having a slightly non-traditional menu this year, so I can’t just check off turkey, potatoes and cream and figure I’m safe. Turkey being prohibitively expensive and also somewhat evil, we’re doing a roast chicken (I know, only marginally less evil) and also focaccia, chocolate mousse and almond torte, while the inlaws provide ham, wine, salad, trifle and milktart. Then on Christmas Day I’m bringing a cold roast pumpkin and feta salad with cashews in, and possibly lemon sorbet.
LATER:
We came. We shopped. We conquered. My feet hurt.
Also, would somebody kindly tell me the correct spelling and pronunciation of “focaccia”? Focaccia and foccacia both anger the spellchecker and I’m never sure whether to call it fokaysheea, fokarchia or fukarsha.
Miriam Says: