Marilyn's Photos - Apr 15 2026 - Cheese Monger

 

Why is monger such a seemingly ugly word? The word that t is commonly cited as the ugliest word is moist - due to its tactile sound. Monger is considered unappealing because of its harsh consonant sounds.  Monger originates from Latin mongo, meaning merchant or dealer.  There are fishmongers, cheesemongers, costermonger (fruit, vegetables, and fish from a street barrow)  and ironmongers (hardware), plus some more.  Then in the metaphorical world, there are fearmongers, warmongers, gossipmongers, hatemongers, and scaremongers.  And more still -  miraclemongers who feign or deal in fake miracles, drugmongers (self-evident) and whoremongers (also self-evident). A female fishmonger would have been called a fishwife, fish-fag or fishlass. A female cheesemonger was called a cheesemonger. I guess cheese is a universal thing.   Cheesemonger is still in use today although cheese sommelier and cheese steward are also terms that are used. It takes 4,000 hours of experience to get certified standing.  And then it isn't a high-paying profession.  But one has a thousand jokes.   What cheese do you use to coax a bear out of the woods with?  Camembert What cheese can you disguise a small horse with?  Mascapone. Why did the cheese lose a fight with a stone?  Because the Roquefort back There was an explosion at a cheese factory in France… all that was left was de brie And then a musical version: Sweet dreams are made of cheese, who am I to diss a brie, I Cheddar the world and the Feta cheese, everybody's looking for Stilton   Cheese at Pearl Morissette, located in Jordan.  Now Canada's #1 restaurant.

Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Apr 14 2026 - The Long Shot

 

Are you a golfer?   "Xander Schauffele’s tee shot on the par-5 eighth hole Thursday at Augusta National ended up in somebody’s merchandise bag, just a few feet to the left of the fairway. Schauffele used a tee to mark the spot, removed the ball and then handed off the bag to a woman in a pink and white outfit. He was able to play on without penalty and made par. “It just flew straight into the bag. It was a great break. That bounce would’ve put me in the pine straw and who knows if I would’ve had a shot to hit up the hill,” Schauffele said after shooting a 2-under 70 in the first round. “So thanks to the lady on 8,” he said." “A little bit of a mixed bag,” he said. No pun intended, presumably." This picture is from a few years ago, and was taken on April 14th that year - what a difference each year.

Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Apr 13 2026 - That Big Rat on board

 

The massive rat seems to be staying with me - one of the headlines from a few days ago.  It was on a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Aruba before Christmas 2025.  There are curtain rails in a KLM Airbus A330 and people saw it running along the top and into overhead storage units while over the Atlantic Ocean. It was caught on video HERE.  A rat is a rat.  I don't think it looked massive, but then what is a headline for? And can a rat compete with bringing on peacocks as pets, birds of prey (they have their own passports in the UAE), with one flight having 20 birds (in 2017).   Here's a good news weird story. On one flight,  Pope Francis married two engaged flight attendants after they told him an earthquake had destroyed the church that they'd planned to marry in.  That's a very sweet story.   Here's the opposite - an overhead locker overflowing with maggots when a passenger in 2010 from Atlanta brought some spoiled meat on board. Or what about a scorpion on board a U.S. flight in 2015 - it was spotted after it stung a passenger. And how big can a rat get? The biggest rat in the world is the Bosavi woolly rat from Papua New Guinea - up to 32 inches long and 3.5 pounds.  The pictures shown are pets - complete with collars and leads.   And don't confuse that massive rat with a Ram Air Turbine or RAT - which is commonly up to 64 inches in diameter.  Part of an airplane.   We got this picture of Millie when we were visiting friends last weekend.  She spotted something on the table in the centrepiece and was beserk over it. Here it is turned into a Birthday Greeting (of sorts).

Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Apr 12 2026 - That Marshmallow Drop

 

Remember the headline about "The Marshmallow Drop" yesterday?  Here is how it goes. Locations: Primarily held at Elizabeth Park in Trenton and Nankin Mills Park in Westland. How it Works: Helicopters make multiple passes releasing marshmallows; children are divided into age groups (4 and under, 5-7, 8+). The Goal: Children collect the marshmallows (not for eating) and trade them for prize bags. (They are flour-coated, around 15,000 - 20,000 of them.) Special Prize: One specially colored marshmallow is often hidden, with the finder receiving a larger prize. Origin: The tradition has been running for over 30 years.  The event is typically free and held regardless of weather, except for extreme conditions.  There's a "blizzard of marshmallows"  and one must find the "special marshmallow" to win an "amazing prize" - check out the BBC video HERE.   The headlines show they happen in lots of places.  It began in Michigan in 1985, and took all these years for me to find out about it. Maybe because there were glitches to start - for example, the marshmallows fell in one large, sticky clump, and then they have to keep the kids from trying to eat them.  Now volunteers flour them so they "rain down." I can see Shirley Temple in the middle of the field, singing and dancing.   Dog-tooth violets are one of the native ephermals - early Spring risers who go dormant in the summer. You will spot many of these small, spotted leaves in the woods - thousands of them - and possibly a few flowers.  Given how wonderful the leaves are, it all works.

Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Mairlyn's Photos - Apr 11 2026 - Push Comes to Shove

 

What is the oops that has happened in this answer to the question about "When push comes to shove" is an idiom meaning when a situation becomes critical, requiring1 decisive action or when1,539 final1,529,088 choices must be made.  It signifies moving from passive talk or planning to1,529,088 taking1,529,088 necessary, often1,529,088 difficult, measures1,529,088.  What do these mean? Here's Google's answer: "The numbers like "1,539" appearing in search results are part of Google's search infrastructure, often indicating the total estimated number of webpages indexed that match your search terms. They are a "ballpark figure" designed to show the scope of results rather than a precise count of individual documents." Or you can get a completely different answer when you repeat the question.  That's what happened when I repeated the Push to shove question.  The first answer gave a few famous historical events that such as Pearl Harbour and if one goes way back int he time machine, Caesar crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC leading to civil war. is another.  The second answer gave a different list of historical events altogether. I wonder what is up today in Google-land. So I'd rather move on to funny stories of the day: Marshmallow Helicopter Drop: Children in Michigan raced to gather marshmallows that were dropped from a helicopter at a pair of local parks. B.C. Bear Polite Conversation: A British Columbia man was caught on video politely asking a black bear and her two cubs to leave his yard, telling them, "I hope you enjoyed my yard. Have a good day". Massive Rat on Plane: Passengers on a flight in the Caribbean were interrupted by a massive rat scurrying through the cabin. Octopus Plays Piano: A musician successfully taught an octopus to play the piano. And that Volkswagen Beetle hanging on the Papoose rock face in British Columbia - one of those engineering student pranks that took a helicopter to remove it.    I'll go check the cherry tree on Niagara Street in St. Catharines this morning.  I can't believe it will be blooming.  I noticed this picture from almost 10 years ago was taken on April 15th.  How different spring can be each year.

Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com