Dictionaries

Sharlee Plett fell in love with language and the written word at a very early age and even to this day is fascinated by words, their meaning and their history.  The links below are some of her favorite dictionaries and word exploration websites.

Etymology Dictionary

Dictionary.com

More Words

1913 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1844 Webster's Dictionary

Chamber's Etymological Dictionary of 1871

You are Beautiful Message

Sometimes it seems that there is no shortage of criticism and fault-finding in the world, particularly self-criticism.  This remarkable video was produced as a gift to the world by Sivan Garr as a message to everyone to remind us that even with all our flaws, we are all beautiful in our diversity and uniqueness.  Listening to the video can have an amazingly uplifting effect.  Enjoy!

The Trouble with Mandy

Shirley Bigelow DeKelver, current President of the Shuswap Writer's Group, has published her new book, "The Trouble with Mandy," a novel for young teens.

Her novel release was featured in the Shuswap A.M. community newspaper:

To read more about Shirley, and to learn how to order her new book, you can visit her website at: www.shirleydekelver.com

You are Beautiful! Already.

There's an old saying: "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," and this video explores ideas about how you can adjust your own view of yourself, the view that you present in your world, in ways that are empowering and full of possibility.  The video is entitled: "On Real Beauty."

Here's the top 10 ways to make sure everyone knows you're beautiful, as shown in the video:

1.  Remember there are differences, but there are no flaws.

2.  There's only one fashion rule: if it makes you feel awesome, wear it.

3.  Be willing to be vulnerable, so you can also fully experience joy.

4.  Control your own perspective.  Perspective is everything.

5.  Another word for sexy?  CONFIDENT.

6.  Breathe.  Deeply and every day.

7.  Express yourself.  Often, kindly and without apology.

8.  The adventure is in the attempt.  Embrace possibility.

9.  To remain youthful, never stop looking for the wonderful.

10. And finally: create your own story.  Never let others create it for you...

Because no matter what anyone says, there is an underlying truth:  you are different and you are beautiful, amazing,

The video links to the website: thebeautyofdifferent.com, which offers a wonderful book:

the beauty of different

What if you had a superpower?  Because you just might.  The Beauty of Different contains intimate portraits of men and women who have discovered what makes them beautifully different.  Walrond's gifted eye captures their beauty and the beauty in the world around us in unique and stirring ways.  Spend time looking at life through her eyes, and you'll discover a whole new way of seeing yourself.

And remember -- you are ALREADY beautiful!

The World's Funniest Joke

Why do we laugh?  What makes us laugh?  Why do we so love funny stories, movies, jokes and events that make us laugh?

Believe it or not, a researcher named Richard Wiseman decided to conduct a study to try to answer some of these questions.

The project was set-up in collaboration with The British Science Association, and involved people sending in their favourite jokes, and rating how funny they found the jokes submitted by others.  The project attracted attention from the international media, resulting in the website receiving over 40,000 jokes and 1.5 million ratings. ~ LaughLab

At the end of the year of research, this joke was found to be the world's funniest joke:

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, “My friend is dead! What can I do?”. The operator says “Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says “OK, now what?” 

The second funniest joke was:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip.  After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night, and go to sleep.  Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend. "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." "I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes" replies Watson. "And what do you deduce from that?" Watson ponders for a minute. "Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.  Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo.  Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three.  Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.  Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful, and that we are a small and insignificant part of the universe...  What does it tell you, Holmes?" Holmes is silent for a moment.  "Watson, you idiot!" he says.  "Someone has stolen our tent!"

Funny Newspaper Headings

Need a good laugh?  Check out these hilarious newspaper clippings!

This collection of funny headings is just in time for National Newspaper Week -- celebrated during the first full week in October.  In 2012, it falls on October 7th to the 13th.

Visiting England Series by Sharlee Plett

In the summer of 2008, Sharlee Plett visited southern England for three months, touring all over the county of Devon, visiting the famous Jurassic Coast, Cornwall, and some of the more famous sites like Stonehenge, Glastonbury and  the Roman baths in Bath.

You can follow her journey in photos and stories from her visit -- each day there is a new set of photos and stories from the various places she visited.

Here`s the link: Visiting England Series by Sharlee Plett

Where is Salmon Arm?

Sharlee Plett is currently living in Salmon Arm, British Columbia.  So where in the world is Salmon Arm?

Just for the fun of it, this post will start with a global view, then zoom in more and more and end with local photographs of the Salmon Area.  Be sure to click on the links -- they open to satellite views from FlashEarth, which you can zoom in and out to see greater and lesser detail.  (Note: links are in blue)

North America

We'll start with a map showing a global view of North America, courtesy of Wikipedia.

North America is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the North and the Caribbean Sea to the South.

North American countries include: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadine, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United States of America.

Canada

Canada occupies the northern part of North America, and is bounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the United States of America to the south.

West to east, there are ten provinces in Canada: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland-Labrador.  In the far north, there are three territories: Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Map of British Columbia showing the location of Salmon Arm.

Salmon Arm, is in south-central British Columbia.

It gets its name from the Shuswap Lake, which has four long arms, one of which is named the "Salmon Arm," the arm that connects to the Salmon River.

Salmon Arm is part of the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, which include the cities of Salmon Arm, Sicamous, Revelstoke, Golden.

Smaller communities include: Anglemont, Blind Bay, Celista, Craigellachie, Eagle Bay, Falkland, Malakwa, Notch Hill, Ranchero, Scotch Creek, Silver Creek, Sorrento, Sunnybrae, Swansea Point, Tappen and White Lake.

Trans-Canada Highway #1 runs right through the middle of the city of Salmon Arm.  On the map to the left, you can see that it is right on the shores of the Shuswap Lake.

It is a 5 to 6 hour drive to Vancouver, on the west coast of British Columbia and a 6 - 7 hour drive to Calgary, Alberta.

It is a four season area, with distinctive weather for spring, summer, autumn and fall.

It can be remarkably hot in the summer time and yes, it snows in the winter, with the first snows usually arriving in mid December and sticking around until late March.


      The Shuswap region is drop-dead beautiful with its pine forests, mountain plateaus and fresh water lakes.

The Salmon River, where it connects with the Shuswap Lake ~ Photograph by Sharlee Plett

The Shuswap River at Enderby, B.C. ~ Photograph by Sharlee Plett

Wondrin' Where the Lions Are

Growing up outside Vancouver, in Tsawwassen, after graduation Sharlee Plett found a great job just outside of the downtown core near Broadway and Granville Street.  Kitsilano and English Bay were just a short walk away at lunch hour, so beautiful in the summertime with the snow-capped mountains in North Vancouver towering across the bay.  A quick drive across the Lion's Gate bridge and up to Capilano Canyon brought the twin peaks of the Lions into view.  (You can see them in the photo to the left).

One of Sharlee's all time favorite songs from that time period is Canadian artist Bruce Cockburn's "Wondering Where the Lions Are" from his album "Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws."  

This beautiful song always reminds of Vancouver, magnificent English Bay and the snowy mountain range where the Lions live.