It's not often that(1) I find myself trapped, stuck in the middle of two things. However, I put myself in the middle of two things the other day deliberately(2). The two things were my dog and cat. The dog wanted to get the cat, and the cat wanted to...
Excuse me, am I close to the college? Yes, it's just around the corner. Which department do you need? I need to go to the Science department. Ok, that's on the fourth floor. Go through the main entrance, and on your left you'll find the stairs. Thank...
One of the great consolations(1) of the end of the year is a New Year's Eve party. We don't always go to a party on New Year's Eve. Sometimes we prefer to stay at home, by the fire, with good food and drink, family and maybe a few friends, and welcom...
This following paragraph was taken from a home magazine that focuses on storage and using spaces well in the home. It might seem, in this age of electronic books and computer tablets, that a library is an outdated (1)room to include in a home. But, i...
We have a new addition to our house. It's a furry, playful little thing that, at the moment, is fast asleep(1). Lilly is her name, but I'm not sure if it suits(2) her. Most of the time 'mini monster' would suit her, as she hides around the corners, w...
Facing powerful opposition to new gun laws, President Barack Obama is considering(1) 19 steps that he could take through executive action(2). The steps could include punishing(3) people who lie on gun sale background checks(4), getting more complete...
Mum, can you put in your password? is a question that I hear almost on a daily basis. My kids are into apps in a big way(1). We are slowly getting sucked(2) into the app market. I allow my daughter to play on my iPhone every now and then(3). That's f...
Nationwide(1), metal theft has become a serious problem since about 2005, according to(2) a 2010 report on metal theft by the U.S. Department of Justice. That's when metal prices rose substantially(3). In 2002, for example, copper prices hit a record...
Do you ever check your bills? It's a good practice(1), but sometimes seems unnecessary. If you do, however, you might find the occasional odd charge, or you might have a question about something on the bill that you don't recognize. That is exactly w...
Farmers, ranchers(1) and county officials(2) from Eastern Washington said a plan to manage(3) wolves as they are re-established in the state has good ideas but doesn't go far enough to cover their potential losses(4) or protect their property. Wolves...
Mum, please don't buy me any clothes. I just want to go shopping for clothes with Dad. This request was made by my almost thirteen year old, and echoed(1) by my fourteen year old. It was totally unexpected. In fact, I have never heard anything like t...
Do you remember a few episodes ago, a podcast called Smoke to the North? We learned how to say that something is going on in a particular direction. Well, recently, we have had very bad fires to the West which are still burning. The photo on the blog...
We're back in business! In fact, I'm back in business. This is an English expression, an idiom(1). And what does it mean? It means that things are working again as they should. I decided to call this podcast 'Back in business' because I am beginning...
Oh, I'm frustrated. I haven't seen the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. I've been searching on the internet, but all I can find are a few highlights(1). NBC, here in the U.S. refused to show a live stream (2) of the event. They had their...
The view from the back of our house faces north, looking at the hills on either side of the Columbia river. They are brown this time of year, after a hot and dry summer. For a few days, the view was hard to see because there was smoke to the north(1)...
