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Happy first day of fall!

A pumpkin patch at the supermarket where I shop, displaying some fall colors before the leaves start to turn in our area.  Pumpkin PATCHES are POPPING UP around town once again, especially in grocery stores and farmer’s markets. It’s one sign that fall is here! Well, it officially arrives tomorrow. The temperatures in NYC have… Read more »

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Feeling UNDER THE WEATHER sucks.

If you know me, you know I’m not usually one to admit that I’m sick, but sometimes, you just can’t deny reality, can you? I’ve been feeling UNDER THE WEATHER (not well) for close to a week now. My throat started to feel SCRATCHY (a little sore) last Saturday, and I’ve been feeling like I’m… Read more »

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Talking about FOG

I still have the morning fog that we had this past Thursday in mind and thought it would make a nice vocabulary lesson. First of all, I was running late and was in such a rush to catch my train that I didn’t notice that FOG had BLANKETED the area. It wasn’t until my train… Read more »

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Do you prefer dawn or dusk?

Cars heading home in the twilight in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I stepped out for a short walk the other day at dusk to grab a couple slices of pizza and was reminded of how much I love this time of day. It’s called twilight, the short period when the sun is already below the horizon after… Read more »

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On the word “FOLK”

How often do you use the word “FOLK”? In my latest lesson at the small guide site, I explain the different uses of this word and talk about how the meaning changes depending on the form. It’s a simple word that’s used quite often. However, it can cause misunderstandings if you’re not familiar with the… Read more »

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HARD vs HARDLY

Sales like this one are just HARD to resist. I quickly decided to get two poundsand HARDLY had to think twice about it. I’m cooking one pound & freezing the rest. The words HARD and HARDLY can be confusing to English learners because the two words look directly related. You might think that HARDLY is… Read more »

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SOAK

SOAKING beans so they can absorb water and soften for quick cooking. I thought about the word SOAK today as I SOAKED my clothes in the washer while doing laundry and SOAKED some mung beans for an easy-to-cook soup for dinner. About 6 hours later, the beans were soft and cooked IN NO TIME (very… Read more »

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Morning jog to the subway

The last intersection I have to jog across before heading down to the subway. I’m always running late in the morning. One day, I was so late that I had to run to the subway to make a train because the next one would have been too late. I was OUT OF BREATH and had… Read more »

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Not knowing WHAT TO MAKE OF this allergy season

Trees are in full bloom everywhere, but where are my allergies? Just wondering.  I’m completely AT A LOSS trying to figure out and explain what happened to my allergies this year. My hay fever never really KICKED IN, and I don’t quite know WHAT TO MAKE OF IT. Don’t get me wrong; I’m definitely not complaining…. Read more »