Have a perfect weekend everyone

to stroke = to move your hand gently and slowly over an animal's fur or hair; synonym to pet

Hope is so beautiful. I want to stroke her. (Hope is the name of the cat in the picture below)

You have two hands. You should be petting me with at least one of them all the time

Working AT my desk (**NOT in = inside my desk or on = on the surface), trying to get some paperwork done. I turn around and there's Hope (Hope is the sweet cat in the picture below). Such an inspiration

********** Thanks to my friend Terry for the picture and the inspiration

Faith explaining to me how the artificial flowers are coming apart

Thanks to my friend Terry for the pic

to stink = to smell very unpleasant

Thanks to my friend Terry for the pics!

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Men who stink of beer really turn me off - http://englishwordoftheday2010.blogspot.com/2013/03/phrasal-verb-of-day-turn-off.html 

“Faith got a little reprieve today. A half hour after I dropped her off at the Vet, they called and said she had a little respiratory infection and they didn't want to chance giving her the anesthesia. I was thankful they were being cautious. I went to pick her up and they gave me a little bottle of amoxi drops, told me to give them to her twice a day for 2 weeks and we would try to do the surgery then. They charged me $60 for the amoxi drops. That is about 4 times as much as they should cost. It is ridiculous how medical and legal professionals overcharge people so they can live in luxury. I could afford it, but many families would not be able to and have to choose between helping their pets and feeding their kids. It is a sad world we live in sometimes.” Thanks to my friend Terry for sharing this story and for the picture.

Tomorrow she goes to the vet to be spayed. She will have to stay overnight… It will be interesting to see how the others will react to her absence. I know I will miss her.

* Thanks to my friend Terry Fields for the picture

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Another similar words: neuter, castrate

** Read more about it: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5955153_difference-between-spaying-_amp_-neutering_.html

Word of the Day - DUMB (informal, especially North American English) = stupid

*Note, we don't pronounce the letter b in dumb (another words like this: bomb, climb, comb, numb, crumb, lamb, ...)

** Thanks a lot to my friend Terry Field for the picture

First to start off with the Joke of the Day and practicing the schwa sound

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English Word of the Day – spiky, enlarge

spiky hair

enlarged eyes

This is my favorite cat Hope when she was a little one and the quote "To live without Hope is to cease to live." - Fyodor Dostoevsky

English Word of the Day – cease /siːs/ (formal) to stop doing something or stop happening

Hope never ceases to amaze me (= I am always surprised by her)

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Another word which you can hear often on the news – ceasefire

an agreement, usually between two armies, to stop fighting in order to allow discussions about peace:

declare a ceasefire

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* Thanks a lot to my friend Terry Fields for the great photo of the lovely Hope

Do you know any other uncountable nouns?

If you can’t resist something, it’s irresistible.

English Word of the Day – irresistible [ˌɪrɪˈzɪstəbl] = so attractive, desirable, tempting that you can’t prevent yourself from wanting it... You must have it. You have no control — that's what all irresistible things have in common.

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Thanks to my friend Terry for the picture

wealthy = rich, especially through owning land, property, or valuable possessions over a long period of time, e.g. She comes from a wealthy family, which owns houses in London and Paris.

in charge of = you have a specific responsibility, e.g. They left the au pair in charge of the children for a week.

bully = someone who uses their authority or strength to frighten or hurt someone who is weaker, e.g. A group of kids stood by and watched the school bully beat up a smaller boy.

playground = an outdoor area where children can play, especially at a school or in a park

laugh at

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Thanks to my friend Terry Fields for creating this picture and for letting me use it

Poor guy has a cold. He is eating and drinking well, but sluggish and sneezing. I feel sorry for him, but just like humans it has to run its course:

English Word of the Day:

slug

sluggish = moving, reacting or working more slowly than normal and in a way that seems lazy

sneeze = if you sneeze, air suddenly comes from your nose, making a noise, for example when you have a cold

run its course = to develop and finish naturally, e.g. The doctor's advice is to let the fever run its course

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Thanks a lot to my friend Terry Fields for letting me use his picture and the words to it. Get well soon, Fisher!

English Word of the Day – tongue, consist of, hook, come in handy, tear up, sandpaper, lick

tongue [tʌŋ]

consist of somebody/ something -  to be formed from the things or people mentioned

hook

come in handy (informal) – to be useful

tear up (pronunciation)

That’s why a cat's tongue feels like sandpaper when it licks you.

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Thanks a lot to my friend Terry Field for creating this picture and for letting me use it

Phrasal Verb of the Day – turn off

to make a machine or piece of electrical equipment such as a television, engine, light etc stop operating by pushing a button, turning a key etc.

turn off = switch off. The opposite is turn on.

Question: What other meanings of turn off do you know except this? What about this sentence and the meaning of turn off:

Men who stink of beer really turn me off

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Thanks a lot to my friend Terry Field for creating this picture and for letting me use it

English Word of the Day

doom - if someone or something is doomed, it is certain that they will die, fail, or end in a very bad way. Read more

blueprint – something intended as a guide for making something else. Read more

greed – a strong desire for more food, money, power, possessions etc than you need. Greed comes from the Old English and it means "always hungry for more."

Read more

Thanks a lot to my friend Terry Field for creating this picture and for letting me use it

English Word of the Day – ramification - an accidental consequence that complicates things. Ramification is like consequence, but usually unintended and bad. Read more

Thanks a lot to my friend Terry Field for creating this picture and for letting me use it

English Word of the Day – puppet, pauper, pawn

Thanks a lot to my friend Terry Field for creating this picture and for letting me use it

English Word of the Day – lid and bucket

Thanks a lot to my friend Terry Field for creating this picture and for letting me use it

When two warring sides decide to call it quits, it's called a truce — an agreement to end the fighting.

Read more: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/truce.

Thanks a lot to my friend Terry Field for creating this picture and for letting me use it