FORKS





my garden fork

Once again I find myself being led by the up-coming "photo of the day" prompt in helping me choose my topic for the Thursday 13.

 

Consider all the different directions you can go in doing a quick brainstorming exercise around the word FORK.  For instance, think of all the different geographical locations with the word FORK in the name: Forks, WA, Roaring Fork River in Colorado, Grand Forks ND, and then there is all of the ranches with the word FORK in the name, the most famous being Southfork from the televisions series Dallas. Intrestingly enough, the Southfork ranch is now a conference and event center located in Parker, Texas.   

In doing a little research I learned an amazing fact: there are 13, yes, I said exactly 13 different dining forks. Now how convenient it would be to just make the list and share the photo and we'd be finished with the list for this week.

illustration of various forks types by Julia Rothman

Hold on there, Tiger. Not quite so fast. Let's make our list of forks a little more personalized and see what I can come up with on my own just brainstorming all the different kinds of forks I've used in the past and maybe, just maybe, even have nearly all of them in my home at this very moment .. I wonder ... beginning with the obvious and then moving to some that may be a little more obscure ...

 

 

1. salad forks, luncheon forks, and dinner forks ... I use the salad forks the most; not because I'm eating a lot of salads, but because I feel like I could be scratching my tonsils when I  use the dinner forks with their loooonnng tines!
2. dessert forks ... I threw all of these in together but I did learn and interesting fact today: that odd shaped fork in the buffet silverware drawer is an ice cream fork. Personally, I have a hard enough time eating my pie or cake with a fork so I can't imagine trying to eat my ice cream with a fork. Moving on ... the list wouldn't be complete without mentioning the ubiquitous
3. fork in the road ... and then there is the ...
4. pitch fork for the barn
5. spading fork for the garden and
6. gardening fork for scratching in the dirt on my hands and knees ... and back to the kitchen ...
7. foley fork (my mom gave this one to me and I love it!)
8. fondue fork
9. pasta fork (a weird scoop shaped spoon/fork that works great for scooping noodles out of the pan)
10. lobster fork and oyster fork
11. pickle fork, relish fork, and olive fork ... MIL always gets out her olive fork when serving up the relish trays during the holidays and family gatherings ... and, of course, I don't have one of these in the garage but I do love it when my neighbor brings his over to help me load in the pellets for the winter heat ...
12. fork lift ... and what musician family could possibly be without a ...
13. tuning fork!

Forks did not receive a warm welcome in the dining halls of the western world for many years. In fact several religious leaders declared forks to be immoral evil utensils of the devil. To quote the opinion of several prominent religious writers of the early 17th century, "God in his wisdom has provided man with natural forks – his fingers. Therefore it is an insult to Him to substitute artificial metallic forks for them when eating."

 

Go here to learn more about the history of forks and to see some beautiful museum pieces of a common everyday tool, a must-have for every kitchen. And, have fun with the dinner table conversation next time you get together with friends.

 

... go HERE to read more interesting lists from the Thursday 13 players ...

STRIPES

The prompt from the photo-a-day challenge with #fmsphotoaday today is STRIPES and that got me thinking ... STRIPES also serves as a fun prompt for the THURSDAY 13 list.

I am most pleased any time I can combine challenges and prompts into one task ... can you come up with 13 things that naturally or almost always have stripes? Don't forget to click on the links above for more info about each of these challenges and to see what fun things others came up with in response to the prompt.

Here's what I came up with ...
 

1. flags
2. sargents
3. zebras
4. the road
5. referees
6. tigers
7. watermelon rind
8. barcodes
9. tv test patterns
10. bumble bees
11. barber poles
12. skunks
13. candy canes

... a fun mental diversion and exercise ...

THURSDAY 13 - 010313

Many of us choose to use a word to guide our intentions for the upcoming year following the guidance of Ali Edwards and her ONE LITTLE WORD program. I have done this for two years now. The first year for me was a little more focused and I was more actively involved with my word. (create order)

 

Alas, not so much last year. (balance) I plan to take a more active role this year with my new word ... more than the occasional think about it and then go on about my day  kind of participation. The first step in owning my word and being more accountable to what that could mean is declaring its existence and presence in my life for all the world to know with regular check-in posts to follow throughout the year. (why is it that I squirm in my chair when I write those words ... commitment issues?)

 

The word I chose as my word for this year this year is savor.

 

Definitions: verb: taste and enjoy completely;

noun: a characteristic taste, flavor or smell - especially a pleasant one.

And now for 13 synonyms for my one little word:

1. delight in
2. enjoy
3. respect
4. treasure
5. appreciate
6. luxuriate in
7. relish
8. admire
9. applaud
10. cherish
11. praise
12. revel in
13. adore

Do you have a word chosen for the year? Are you a "one little word" follower? I'd love to learn what word you chose and hear how your "one little word" works into your life from day to day

... go HERE to read other THURSDAY 13 posts ...