I’m Dennis and I have been a tutor for 10 years. I tutor adults from other countries, in person here in the city. I enjoy one-on-one tutoring because of the personal touch I can provide once getting to know my student. I have been blogging for 5 years primarily to educate anyone who will take the time and effort to learn English.
I have broadened my blog to include more topics that I think will encourage people like you to read more articles in my blog. Tutoring is my passion. I can’t tutor unless people read my blog and get ready to learn.
So, are you ready to learn? I’m telling you that learning doesn’t have to hurt!
OK, sometimes, life hurts. So, stick with me and maybe I can smooth out some of those life wrinkles. Or maybe you learn something new. Who knows? Stay here, follow me down the path of knowledge. I promise, no hurts allowed!
Just so you know, I’m not all about grammar and pronunciation. No way. I enjoy reading about what happens in life, and I want to pass this information along to you, so you are wiser too!
The Arlington Heights Memorial Library is a suburban library that is considered one of the top 3 in the state. Here is a list of recommendations for book and audiobook lovers.
Fall is a beautiful time of year, but it comes with a list of chores to be done before the snow flies. Is raking leaves one of those chores? Maybe, maybe not. If you have trees dropping leaves on your lawn grass, in many cases there is no need to incur blisters by raking them up. Leaves have nutrients, which can be recycled into your lawn. The concern is if your leaf layer is very thick and will smother the grass.
If you have just a few leaves, such as 20 percent of the lawn covered, you can just ignore them. They will blow around, settle in, and break down on their own. If you have a moderate amount of leaves, such as 50 percent coverage, you still don’t need to rake. Simply run your lawn mower over them to chop them into smaller pieces so they can settle between the grass blades where they will decompose over time and release nutrients for your lawn to use next year.
If you have a thick layer of leaves, where you can barely see any signs of grass beneath them, then it’s best if you remove some of the leaves to prevent matting and smothering of the grass. Rake or otherwise remove at least half of them. You don’t need to get every last leaf, but if you remove a significant amount of them, then you can mow the rest up and leave them on the lawn. Those raked up leaves can be a valuable resource, and used in composting, winter mulching, or saved until spring for mulching in vegetable or flower gardens.
The one caveat to leaving tree leaves where they fall is if your trees have had serious foliar fungal diseases. While most leaf spots on leaves are cosmetic and harmless to the overall health of the tree, fallen diseased leaves do serve as a source for spores that can infect next year’s emerging leaves. Significantly diseased leaves should be raked and removed from the area and disposed of properly, such as by burying, burning where allowed, or hot composting.
Of course, one good reason to rake up leaves is to have a pile to jump and play in! But if you only have a moderate amount of leaves on your lawn, quickly mow them up and spend your time doing the other things on your pre-winter chore list.
Article By: Diana Alfuth for hort.extension.wisc.edu
If you struggle to keep up with online slang or think terms like GRWM (get ready with me) sound like total gibberish, don’t fret. We’re breaking down the internet’s new favorite acronym, IJBOL, so you can spend more time interacting on social media and less time googling “IJBOL meaning.” And TBH (to be honest), using it is so much easier than you probably imagine. It’s a fresh way to convey stomach-busting amusement—IYKYK (if you know, you know).
So goodbye, ROFL. You and the image you conjured will be missed. And hello, IJBOL.
RD.COM, GETTY IMAGES
IJBOL’s meaning.
So what does this snazzy new slang term mean? IJBOL stands for “I just burst out laughing,” a trendier way of letting whomever you’re messaging know that you’re laughing hard at their joke. While it takes a few more taps on the phone to write it out, it’s certainly trendier than a “face with tears of joy” emoji—according to the kids, using one is a telltale sign you’re an uncool millennial.
Beyond IJBOL’s meaning, there are a few other things you need to know about this on-the-rise term. Like, for instance, the fact that it’s actually pronounced when used in an audible conversation. (Yep, it’s one of those funny words that sound fake.) Instead of spelling out each letter like you would when saying, “IDK, my BFF Jill,” you’d simply say “eej-bol” when speaking the term, making it two syllables instead of five.
As with all new internet terms, there’s a period of buzzy excitement when we encounter a new way to express ourselves. But will IJBOL stand the test of time or turn into one of those overused slang words we really can’t stand? You’ll have to stick around online to find out.
Source: IJBOL Meaning: How to Use the Slang Term Replacing LOL | Trusted Since 1922 (rd.com)
Fawesome — a combination of “free” and “awesome” — offers over 10,000 movies and shows available instantly. It’s available online, through mobile apps, and on Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV.
Haystack News
Haystack News is “a free newscast made just for you,” including live coverage, available online, through mobile apps, smart TVs and other common devices.
Plex Watch Free
Plex’s free offerings include thousands of titles on more than 300 channels, including movies, shows, sports and live TV. You can stream from “just about any phone, tablet, smart TV, gaming consoles, or PC.”
Globi launched in 2021 with hundreds of hours of free titles from more than 20 countries. Not everything is in English, but they will at least have English subtitles. It offers both linear and video-on-demand streaming and is dedicated to providing international content and has officially launched with over 500 hours of award-winning content from around the world. Most of the library is available exclusively on the platform and comes from more than 20 different countries1. Globi aims to cater to the growing appetite for international content among American audiences1.
You can access the service online or via supported devices such as Amazon TV, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Apple and Android Mobile.
You don’t have to prune this easy-care shrub in order for it to look beautiful in your landscape.
Boxwood
Photo by Marty Baldwin
Slow-growing boxwood (Buxus spp.) is a perfect candidate for the no-pruning-needed club of low maintenance shrubs. Boxwood is known for its compact growth and petite evergreen leaves. Plant boxwood where it has space to expand to its mature size and you’ll enjoy these easy-care shrubs for years.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
The United States desperately needs more railway options to ease crowding in the skies and on the roads. One of the country’s most promising new train options, open as of September 22, 2023, finally links the major population centers of Central Florida with Southeastern Florida, known widely as South Florida.
The privately funded Brightline railway connects the Orlando area (which has about 3 million residents) with the megalopolis of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach (about 10 million people). That’s a lot of locals to serve, but the real boon will be for tourists who want to see more of the state without having to bother with car rentals.
Now, rather than braving the unbridled mayhem of I-95, where multitudes of reckless Florida drivers have apparently never even heard about the technology of turn signals, or parting with high fees on Florida’s Turnpike or the state’s many privately funded toll roads, tourists can simply hop aboard a newly built, modern train carriage and zip between the two tourist centers in slightly less time than it would take to drive.
Brightline is being built and opened in stages. The first section of the train’s route, from Miami to West Palm Beach, was adapted from a previously existing right-of-way and opened in 2018. That segment now includes stops in Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach.
But the addition of the Orlando leg north of West Palm Beach required a lot more investment, including the construction of entirely new rail beds. Future expansion plans include pushing the line all the way to Tampa, on Florida’s west coast.
Brightline estimates that a trip between Orlando and West Palm Beach takes about 2 hours; going all the way between Orlando and Miami would take about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Driving the same full distance would usually take you 4 hours, but would cost you a lot more in stress (as you try to survive the Darwinist jungle of Florida’s seemingly lawless highways) and, at other times, dozy boredom (as you cross Florida’s mind-numbing swamps).
The train’s scheduling is convenient and plentiful. In late 2023, Brightline trains depart Orlando for South Florida 16 times a day between 5am and 8:50pm, which puts the last train of the day in Miami at 20 minutes after midnight.
Going north, from Miami to Orlando, 16 daily trains depart for Orlando at regular intervals between 5:45am and 9:45pm. No matter which direction you’re traveling, you’ll never have to wait more than 2 hours for the next train between 6am and 10pm.
For all this, a standard one-way ticket between Orlando and any station in South Florida costs $79 each way (peak hours favored by commuters may be $99). You can also buy “Family” tickets for four that start at $199. That costs much less than airfare usually costs for the same trip, and it saves hours of wasted time at airports.
How did Americans manage to make train travel so convenient? What is this—Switzerland?
Tickets can be purchased at stations (like here, at Orlando’s stop), via the Brightline app or at GoBrightline.com.
For food, you’ll mostly have to rely on grab-and-go kiosks at the stations, because full meals are not served aboard trains. You can get snacks and beverages, including booze, during your ride, although the options are somewhat simple.
