DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog

Vocabulary words

DearREADERS,
Ol' Myrt's granddaughter Aubrey works with new kindergarten vocabulary words every week. And Myrt has added a few new terms of her own to the mix. Aubrey can tell you the definition of the following decidedly NOT kindergarten-level words:

-- evergreen
-- deciduous
-- clarify

I read recently that when faced with life in a "foreign" country, our immigrant ancestors had challenges with language and local colloquialisms.

Ol' Myrt here can certainly relate, having developed a fondness for "sunny, warm beaches" and "balmy sub-tropical nights." In fact, talking with Russ back in Florida yesterday (experiencing 80 degrees Fahrenheit with little humidity) was a stark contrast to the weather here in the intermountain west (snowy, with a high today of 28.) Now I am having to learn such terms as defined by the good folks at Dictionary.com:

-- alpenglow: a reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains.

--wind-chill factor: The temperature of windless air that would have the same effect on exposed human skin as a given combination of wind speed and air temperature.

Last evening the local TV station, KSL Channel 5 talked about the upcoming SNOW storm as being a CAT2. To my Florida state of mind that means category 2 HURRICANE.

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HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN OF THE snowCAT scale
From http://www.ksl.com
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CAT1
Average number per year: 23 per yr.
Valley Floor accumulation: .1" to 2"
Accumulation in Benches: .1" to 3"

CAT2
Average number per year: 7 per yr.
Valley Floor accumulation: 2" to 4"
Accumulation in Benches: 3 to 6"

CAT3
Average number per year: 3 per yr.
Valley Floor accumulation: 4" to 8"
Accumulation in Benches: 6" to 12"

CAT4
Average number per year: 1 in 2 yrs.
Valley Floor accumulation: 8" to 12"
Accumulation in Benches: 12" to 21"

CAT5
Average number per year: 1 in 25 yrs
Valley Floor accumulation: 12" +
Accumulation in Benches: 21" +

To ol' Myrt here, benches are those hard wooden things you sit on at church, though here, benches are the lower not-too-steep portions of the mountains where people have built houses. Since we dont' have mountains in Florida, I have nothing with which to compare. (!)

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GENEALOGY ANYONE?
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If you need to find the definition of an archaic GENEALOGY term, check out the links at Cyndi's List: http://www.cyndislist.com/diction.htm

My bookmarked favorites include:
-- http://www.acronymfinder.com/

-- Dan Burrow's Genealogy Glossary
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nsdigby/lists/glossary.htm

-- The Genealogists Handbook Kentuckiana Common (and not so common) Abbreviations
http://www.kentuckianagenealogy.org/guide/help/abbreviations.html

-- FamilySearch Glossary
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Policy/FSI_sitemap.asp#

-- FamilySearch Word Lists
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/rg/research/type/Word_List.asp

-- How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/index.html

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A BOOK ON THE TOPIC, WHICH MAY PROVE USEFUL
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-- Abbreviations & Acronyms: A Guide for Family Historians (paperback) by Kip Sperry

Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt :)
DearMYRTLE,
6023 26th Street West PMB 352
Bradenton, FL 34207
http://www.DearMYRTLE.com