Gratuitous Mom photo. I was struck by how her clothes matched the scenery. If she were a little further back on the horizon, you wouldn't even see her!
And now, a little vocabulary lesson for the day. Caveat: Before AD, Mom never swore, ever! She would give us the Mom evil eye when we did, too.
Snicky. As far as I can tell, this means dirty. As in, It's all snicky, after the dog walked on the floor with muddy feet.
Oh, shittlefackle. I'm pretty sure she was meaning Oh, fiddle faddle, she often said that.
You snotfart! We were goofing around, and she called me that.
Picklefucky. At Thanksgiving last year, we played a rousing game of Monopoly while Mom colored. We finally wrapped it up around midnight. Mom stood up, sort of plucked at her shirt, and said, "I'm feeling all picklefucky." We laughed until we couldn't breathe anymore and then laughed some more.
Pittypat. It originated in a DQ with my sister, Mom was bothered by all the pittypats on the floor. I think it was bits of napkin, and the paper covering on straws. In my family, this has come to mean anything you want it to mean, and can be substituted anywhere in a sentence, or famous quote, or song lyric. Some examples: I went to the store and forgot to buy pittypats. Friends, Romans, pittypats, lend me your ears! Oh, I come from Alabama with a pittypat on my knee. Happy Hallowpittypat! You get the idea.
Oh, I just had an idea for a contest. Leave your best use of pittypat in a sentence in the comments. Multiple entries are encouraged. The one that makes me laugh the hardest, wins a prize. I don't know what yet, but a prize appropriate for the winner. Handspun yarn, a felted neckwarmer, a handknit something, a batch of peanut butter cookies, a print of Alzheimer's Art? I'll leave it open until next Friday, 7 am Central Time. Spread the word, if you like. Make me laugh, people!
ETA: I've decided to offer up the Polypay roving pictured on Monday's post if a spinner/felter wins, will spin it up as close as possible to winner's specs if a knitter/crocheter/weaver wins, and will fall to plan D if a non-fiber enthusiast wins. Not that I actually have a Plan D, yet.
28 comments:
I recently found your blog on Knitterguy's blog - and must say that your stories about your mom have touched my heart. Having worked with folks with Alzheimers for years, I can relate! So....
where the pittypats is my whatis at?
Big hugs to you and your mom :)
i t'ought i taw a pittypat.
this is an hilarious post. i'll put my pittypat on and see what i can come up with.
if i can just get off of this pitt-y-pat-way, without gettin' killed or caught...
i pittypat the fool.
oh, picklefucky. sorry those are so lame.
Dragon, thanks for the lovely compliment. Be warned, now that I know there is a professional reading, I may ask for advice! I'm just sort of bumbling my way through this caregiving thing.
Rick, I'm not sure what it says about my intellectual capability that I immediately got Tweetybird, but not the reference for the first one of your second post. It is probably a famous book or movie that I should know, right? (Bonus points for using picklefucky!)
I'll have to put my thinking cap on to figure out a clever response. Love the picture of your Mom against the sky.
hahahaha. no, and i even snickied it up. AND it's hardly an intellectual reference. it refers to an old jerry jeff walker song, "LA Freeway."
http://www.cowboylyrics.com/tabs/walker-jerry-jeff/la-freeway-917.html
polypay roving? holy shittlefackle, batgirl! what in the cornbread hell kinda pittypat is that?
any time I can help out, I would be delighted to :) I rather doubt that I know any more than you do tho - just try to keep your sense of humor, delight in the moment, take breaks when you can, and don't sweat the small stuff :) See - all stuff you already know!
Kathy
My pittypat is lying in his bed...as a word in Dutch that comes close is zielepiet...
Hubby over-lifted himself when he took out our youngest son out of the car seat; hurt his back; here's my pittypat. :-) He is asleep at the moment, as I gave him a pretty heavy pain killer.
I can imagine you have fun times and sad times with your mom. Cheris the good ones though and we'll keep you and your family in our prayers
First time reading your blog, but not the last. I love your mother's artwork. Is she composing her next painting, do you think, and this is as far as she can take things nowadays?
Days like that must be little pittypats from heaven for you.
If you don't put your pittypat on the time out chair, I'm going to send you to your room.
The setting: A mom helping her usually tousled son transform into presentably neat young man for a formal occasion.
Mom: "You don't have to be so snotfart about it. Just make sure those pittypats are straight and your picklefucky's tucked in so Aunt Gertrude doesn't go all shittlefackle on you. Then smile, smile, smile and it'll be over in a snicky."
Uh oh. Somebody left the back door open and this place is filling up with pittypats again!
Funny (or sad) my mother-in-law had Altzheimers and beforehand, I could no more imagine her cursing, than wearing a pittypat to a fancy dress ball. But one of the first things we began to notice was in fact the difference in her language - she knew words that would make most sailors blush, and could string them together in some of the most creative ways. I'll spare you, but it wasn't always pretty like when we were in a restaurant and she was trying out this language on the poor hapless waiter (although I have to admit it was sometimes very funny to see this petite, refined little old lady let forth).
Here's my Ode to Pittypat
The dog is so messy,
It's really quite snicky,
So I called him a snotfart,
You may think me picky.
Oh shittlefackle to you,
That's all I can say,
Don't be so picklefucky,
It's just the dog's way.
As we draw near to Thanksgiving,
The pittypat is everywhere,
So please be a snotfart,
And wanglepuss my plopcrap hair.
(I thought I'd throw a few new ones into the mix :-) )
With great warmth - if we don't find ways of laughing about these things, the heartbreak would just be overwhelming.
Every year for Thanksgiving, we buy a great big tub of Shittlefackle. But nowadays they put so much snotfart into it, and so little pittypat, I just don't enjoy it the way I used to. It looks all snicky and makes me feel picklefucky.
Happy Thanksgiving to your whole family.
You all are more creative than I am! Here's my humble entry:
Oh shittlefackle! The snotfart alpaca got out of the pen and now there's pittypats all over the yard!
this snotfart wind has made it pittypat outside.Oh shittlefackle!
Grandad went from lucid to no vocabulary so fast he was never able to create his own new vocab. You gotta love your mom's creativity!
well, picklefucky. looks like i'm gonna have to pay actual pittypat for my daughter's christmas present. (cornbreadimus cursimaximus to the competiton, dangnabit.)
but i want it in the same fucklepickin' colors or your feltyfackle is doodyfackle!
I don't really listen to rap very much, but this is the phrase that popped into my head:
Where my pittypat?
I don't know if you recognize the context or not, but that's all I got.
Yesterday we went to the pittypat store because we were running low and we wanted to make sure we had plenty for the holiday. We got to the usual shelf and there was not a single can of pittypat - instead it was stocked high with that snicky snotfart which I really do not like at all. They must have moved the pittypat just to confuse me. So we looked all around and not a single can of the type of pittypat I like could be found although we saw lots of other types of pittypat.
Oh shittlefackle! I exclaimed. Not only have they moved the pittypat, they've moved the whole store. This isn't the pittypat store, it's the pittypat store. It's so picklefucky when they behave that way, moving stores to throw you off.
So we left the pittypat store and walked down the street to the pittypat store, got our pittypat and went home (which looked a lot like the original pittypat store, now that you mention it)
Quick! Get the broom. There's a pittypat on the ceiling and if you don't get it before it falls on my head I'm going to scream.
There is way too much pittypat in this sauce. The dog probably won't even touch these leftovers.
The pittypat comes in on little fog feet.
Pittypat, pittypat, baker's man,
Bake me some Candied Ginger Scones (candied ginger... mmmmmm...)
As fast as you can,
Rooockleflap it, and
Shicklefackle it,
and have a swig of ginger beer (the perfect thing to drink with the ginger scones,)
And put it in the oven for the knitters and Squee.
Oh shittlefackle...There's a snicky cow in my berries and a little pittypat, too!
Oh shittlefackle, the cat ate the tackle,
The cow's in the raspberry bush,
The pittypat laughed to see such sport,
And the snotfart bit my tush.
I hope we've all given you a smile or two. You need it and deserve it. Don't feel picklefucky - feel wonderful! It is so tough to keep your spirits up under the circumstances. And as important as your normal support systems are, isn't it wonderful to know that there are a group of utter strangers out there who care about you too.
This was so much funny I got friends and family involve. Its a list of popular saying, movie lines, famous quotes, song lyrics, etc......
-you put the lime in the pittypat, and drink it all up
-if you pittypat…he will come
-damn the pittypats, full pittypat ahead
-We have not yet begun to pittypat
-The only thing we have to pittypat is pittypat itself
-Pittypat, pittypat, Baker’s Man
-My name is pittypat…You kill my father prepare to die
-Ask not what your pittypat can do for you. Ask what you can do for you pittypat
-Pittypat, or get off the pot
-Got Pittypat?
-Et Tu, Pittypat?
-Don’t pittypat for me Argentina
-She’s a Pittypat, Pittypat, she’s super Pittypat
-One small step for mankind, one giant leap for pittypat
-I’ll get you my pretty…and your pittypat too
-Like a pittypat, touched for the very first time.
-I did not have pittypat with that woman
two years late getting here but "I did not have pittypat with that woman" made me lol!
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