100 posts, 100 words

This is my 100th blog entry since my first, One last move, in June of 2012.  Woohoo!  To mark the occasion, I read my previous 99 posts and plucked a favorite word from each.  I was fascinated by trends in word choices.  For example, I discovered an apparent affinity for gerunds (words ending in -ing) and that I gravitate towards adjectives and adverbs rather than selecting “concretes” – strong nouns and verbs that require no further descriptors.  I had to search hard to find nouns and verbs for this list.  I aim to improve on that in my next 100 posts.

soul-eating, One last move
butterflies, Haiku for the road
shawl, Haiku from the road
briny, A small thing my dad never knew
swagger, Life in a college town. With kids.
crowns, Like the Halloween Blizzard of ’91
a-flutter, What to do with this butterfly mind
dusk, Haiku from the porch
badass, The thing I dreaded most
bounty, Gaia Pumpkin Spice Soap
pursuit, Slogging through Moby Dick
chubby, The heft of an old Minolta
solitude, In the quiet of morning
hemlock, Durable Happiness
afterglow, The Grandaddy of all gift cards
rubies, Haiku from the leaf pile
hedgehog, In a bay window
puddle, Staying in my sunbeam
chaps, Gobble Cakes
slashing, Hurricane memories
tube socks, Bookish
creamy, Snow day recipes…
scrawled, Dear Diary,
quivering, Boy declares Dragon’s Tooth “Best hike Ever…”
gloaming, Haiku from November
hollow, I quit my job
grisly, I got a free facelift
burbling, How haiku saved me from a mid-life crisis
butterfly-minded, There’s power in that adjective
skeletons, Cascades of green in winter
wing-nut, Shining Dad’s shoes
crystal, Haiku of late autumn
holler, Men and their socks
buttinski, I ♥ Introverts
stoneware, New keys
salty, Haiku from a winter run
delirium, Visions of rum balls danced in her head
gurgling, I think I tipped the wrong guy
sugarmass, How I saved the pralines (and the pralines saved me)
brittle, A taste for excellence: re-reading The Shipping News
lurk, Buts
yeasted, Haiku from Christmas
inky, Precious gifts: electronics
rude, Emergency gin
diplomat, The time someone tried to give my dad an elephant
obnoxious, The tme my dad got chased by an elephant
naked, The challenge of the challenge: not editing.
timeless, Don’t judge
jewels, Waiting for winter
activate, Housekeeping schedule: dailies and weeklies
clatters, A morning in sounds
wink, Meat under my nails
bristle, Insulted
tittering, Would I know how to do this if I had taken Home Ec?
punch, Finding focus
simmer, Mom: score!
streetlamps, Sledding at night (or: Life in a college town…)
gurgly, Do we have to read this whole thing?
paralysis, On being published
mullet, Try not to push
chartreuse, Grandma’s gin and milk
neophyte, I remember
ritual, Sunday coffee
freckled, Riding in boats through salt marshes
gravelly, Reading Hemingway with our son
stench, 32 minutes of work for one minute of silence
chuckle, Have you ever learned a critical lesson from an only okay book?
pshawed, We talked to our kids about sex
kettle, Too much to see
billowed, A world of pleasure. In my nostrils.
schizophrenic, The Haunting of Hill House: Holy Crap.
mediocrity, Click, and click, and click, and click
jangle, Gathering words
squinched, Lost Balls
starfish, Training ’em up for Euchre
scowly, Ironic table talk
brisket, At the table
moxie, Wild: a book review in four words
booze, Snow day fatigue (comments)
crumble, Ready Player One: epic fun factor
finesse, The care and feeding of athletes
whiskey, The prize at the bottom of the bottle
squeaky, Toes like telltale crocuses
sparkly, Spring cleaning checklist
forging, I abandoned a book last night
glee, The Swart
whisper, Reading Southern Women
elemental, Lexicon entry: animus
fluffernutter, A day in the domestic life…
pastry, Learning to let go in the kitchen
puckered, Insomnia
cumbersome, Reading out loud
yellow, Confessions of a former bookseller (comments)
shucked, The Color Purple
shards, I left our kids at home alone
cobble, From posts to “pieces”
Appalachia, Branches, buds, and blooms…
nurture, Local Authors to Present Works…
plucked, 100 posts, 100 words

When our kids were in kindergarten, they made hats like this one on their 100th day of school (only they didn’t write favorite words in the dots.)  I always thought they were funny.  Also, for my friend who challenged me to write a post of 100 words, check out the word count on that first paragraph.