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Discovered a new word today:

her·mit·age

Aren’t words awesome? I enjoy finding new words – especially ones that can be used in place of a more commonly used word. Of course, I don’t want to be lexiphanic with my words – I like to be descriptive. For those of you of similar mindset you may want read this post.

Perhaps my interest in words is due in part to my family. When I was a girl, I can remember my grandma working on Word Power in Reader’s Digest. She worked the cryptoquip in the daily newspaper. My dad still works on crossword puzzles. My brother as well. Scrabble and Boggle are two word games that you can find at my parents’ house. Puzzles and games – that’s a post for another time.

I didn’t stumble upon hermitage by accident. Kevin and I are taking next week off and spending spring break hanging out with the girls. Vacation doesn’t do a great job of describing next week – hermitage fits much better.

We are headed to a place that’s like a second home to us. This home away from home does not yet have high speed internet. Normally, that can be a point of frustration, but next week it’s a bonus. It won’t be as big of a temptation to jump online to check my email, catch up on blogs or post a blog. Instead, I’ll retreat with my family and hang out with them. I am looking forward to our hermitage!

This blog was silent this week, as I was making preparations for our getaway and it will be quiet next week as well. But before the silence:

This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found in an airplane seat pocket by a gentleman on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That’s a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, “The Books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight.” Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus; there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.

I have found twenty three of the thirty words. Perhaps I will discover the other seven next week. Can you find all thirty?

Okay, how many of you reading this are multi taskers?

I am a multi tasker. Experience has taught me there are some things I can’t multi task – I need time just to focus without distraction.

Generally, the things I multi task, I do pretty well. However there are times when my brain goes into overload. A good sign my brain is in overload mode is when I do some rather idiot things when doing some things I can normally multi task.

I had one of those idiotic moments this morning.

Last night I had put a load of clothes in the dryer and a load of clothes in the washing machine and ran both. This morning I took the clean, dry clothes out of the dryer, place the washed, damp clothes from the washing machine into the dryer, put another load of clothes in the washer and started both appliances again. All while running through the mental list of things I need to do today.

Then I walked into my bedroom and became confused.

The load of clothes I had just put in the washer was sitting in a laundry basket in my room.

Then it dawned on me what happened. After I put the clothes from the washing machine into the dryer, I placed the clean load I had just taken out of the dryer back into the washing machine.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I was confronted with the reality that I’m in overload mode. So amid all the demands of today, I am going to do my best NOT to multi task. If I can’t handle my laundry, I’m frightened to consider what else I might be an idiot about today!

In its article about multi tasking, Time magazine points out:

When people try to perform two or more related tasks either at the same time or alternating rapidly between them, errors go way up, and it takes far longer–often double the time or more–to get the jobs done than if they were done sequentially, says David E. Meyer, director of the Brain, Cognition and Action Laboratory at the University of Michigan: “The toll in terms of slowdown is extremely large–amazingly so.”

Other research shows the relationship between stimulation and performance forms a bell curve: a little stimulation–whether it’s coffee or a blaring soundtrack–can boost performance, but too much is stressful and causes a fall-off. In addition, the brain needs rest and recovery time to consolidate thoughts and memories.

I need some rest and recovery time! How about you?