The Life of Mrs. Miles

KAT'S TURTLE-TORTOISE ELEMENT

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I hope you all had a good weekend! Its back to the zoo animals again – I was starting to feel like one of my critters. Making them is giving me a good appreciation for them. Now this turtle/tortoise is BIG – I think I created him to be 8 x 8 inches, so that gives you loads of room to resize him any way you like. I also would HIGHLY suggest a bit of drop shadow and bevelling, as I have added into my preview only – I leave the element without any alterations for your own personal tastes. A BIG thanks to KAT for the reference photo!

Here are some interesting turtle/tortoise facts so you can get a deeper appreciation of this splendid creature!

1. A turtle can breathe through it's bum. Speaking structurally, turtles are different! For example, they have an exo-skeleton with their ribs and spine being 'fused' into the back and stomach plates of their shell. Most have a pliable neck which is able to 'kink' in a way that allows it to be withdrawn into the shell when threatened, though some kinds could only turn their necks to the side and under the edge of the shell.

Turtles can survive on very little oxygen for long periods of time. They do have lungs, like most animals/reptiles, and they take air through them. A few species, however, boast a pair of sacs or bursae which are attached to the internal portion of the cloacal opening - a single exit which acts as a port for both reproduction and digestive system elimimation.

2. Police detectives have used snapping turtles to help them locate dead bodies. At one time, searchers used snapping turtles to search for dead bodies that were past the point of floating. They tethered the turtles with a rope, and turned them loose in the water. When they stopped moving, it was assumed they were feeding, and either a diver would be sent into the water, or they would drag the bottom with a hook.

3. The incubation temperature of a sea turtle's nest is a major factor in the determination of the sea turtle's sex. Females are more likely to be produced in warmer temperatures.

4. The only species of turtle that lives in the open ocean is the sea turtle

5. In 1999, a three headed turtle was discovered by Lin Chi-Fa in his pond in Southern Taiwan.

6. It was believed by Ancient Hindus that the world was a sphere and rested on the back of four elephants, which stood on a turtle.

7. The desert tortoise can live without having to drink any water. It extracts the water it needs from the vegetation it eats

LOOKING FOR A GOOD CANADIAN HUSBAND, ANYONE?

(seen on the streets of Osoyoos this weekend)

Miles has begun his spring break – which really means he's able to catch up on all our other 'stuff'. He takes care of the 'web' end of things around here... and we have an announcement!
WE ARE UPDATING OUR BRAINTRHILL WEBSITE!

Yes, its well overdue – our content is starting to over-ripen and so we are giving it an OVERHAUL – its more than an update, its a total redesign! It will be exciting to reveal it to you in a few short weeks. New home, new site! Yes, there will be some 'goodies' available on our site too!

We've been able to move more boxes to our new home. The lino is in, but carpet was delayed. Everything looks so awesome. Let me tell you that my future view from just my kitchen sink is enough that I could be content to just stay and do dishes all day long!

So besides packing and sorting, there's the cleaning on this end. Ick. How does a ceiling fan collect so much dust it looks like it's growing fuzzy whiskers? (I shouldn't have looked up, hey?) And UNDER things. Sigh.

MY NEW PAPER-CLIP/ELASTICS HOLDERS

(my hunny went back to the thrift for me!)

My friend Amy sent me an email the other day and she said my croc element gave her the 'eeby jeebies'... I'm sure she's talking about the heebie jeebies, as I heard all my life.. and it got me wondering where that came from. Yep, went and looked it up to share with you... this is what I came up with!

('borrowed from the PHRASE FINDER site)

Meaning:

A feeling of anxiety, apprehension or illness.

Origin:

The sound of this term seems to hark back to earlier rhyming phrases, like hocus pocus and mumbo jumbo with a touch of the jitters thrown in. The meaning is more like the British term - the screaming habdabs.

Heebie and jeebie don't mean anything as independent words and heebie jeebies was coined at a time and place when there was a spate of new nonsense rhyming pairs, called rhyming reduplications, - the bee's knees, etc., i.e. 1920s USA.

The term is widely attributed to William Morgan "Billy" de Beck. The first citation of it in print is certainly in a 1923 cartoon of his, in the 26th October edition of the New York American:
"You dumb ox - why don't you get that stupid look offa your pan - you gimme the heeby jeebys!"

Heebie jeebies caught on quickly and very soon began appearing in many newspapers and works of literature in the USA and, from 1927 onward, the UK. For example, here's an entry from the Van Nuys News, 6th November 1923, just a few days after de Beck's cartoon was published:

"Bill Alton showed up poorly in center field. The boys seemed to have the heebie jeebies."
The lack of any explanation in either of the above citations seems to imply that the term would have been known to the readership of both publications by the time of printing.

SHABBY PRINCESS has a beautiful new April Desktop for you on her blog - you can find it HERE! (isn't her work amazing?)

BARB'S HANDY TIP # 225

Let Them Sing It To You!

Amy, are you LOOKING... haha, no maps today. So.... send me a sung message back Amy - and EVERYONE... just go to the link below and type me something and send it to me at lalalime@hotmail.com

LET THEM SING IT TO YOU