Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Archive for the ‘Misc’ Category

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Five Ways To Help Relieve Pain

Posted by terrepruitt on July 23, 2018

Not only am I receiving my dad’s magazines, but my neighbor had some subscriptions that he is no longer using so he is passing them on to us. I have a lot of magazines. Most magazines are just advertisements. Even the “articles” are just ads disguised as “information”. I used to go through a magazine and just rip out the advertisements the second I got it, but now I am passing magazines onto one of the community centers where I work so I don’t rip out the advertisements. I have been perusing the magazines to get information to pass onto my readers. An article I read recently in Good Housekeeping was titled 5 {WHO-KNEW WAYS} to Fight Pain. Well, many of us knew, but sometimes it is interesting to see what others are saying. And some of them were NEW to me.

The five things are Diet, Sleep, Reframing, Relaxing, and Exercise.

The first thing they recommend to help ease pain is change the diet. One of the main causes of pain is chronic inflammation.  I am not sure if you have ever noticed that some days you might wake up a little sore. Could be that you didn’t even do anything the day before to make you sore. But when you get out of bed you notice that your joints feel a little stiff. A lot of people attribute this to the aging process. While aging probably has something to do with it, I know plenty of young people that wake up (or sit for a long time) and have a difficult time moving right after. For me, I believe it has a lot to do with what I have eaten. Next time you wake up sore without having lifted weights or done anything to warrant it, think about what you had to eat the day before or even the day before that. Just keep an idea in your mind of what you had. Then see if you are sore the next time you have that same food. I believe that for some people gluten causes joint pain. There are a lot of foods that can trigger an immune response and they (the foods) are different for everyone. So switching up your diet might help alleviate some pain. There are Anti-Inflammation Foods you might want to add to your diet.

Lack of sleep can increase inflammation in the body. And we have already stated that inflammation is one of the main causes of pain. Also, the article is saying that sleep deprivation can change how people experience pain. Studies have shown that getting an hour’s more sleep before surgery has helped patients need less pain medication.

Then there is “reframe the pain“, as in stop talking about it, stop dwelling on it, stop focusing on it, and start thinking about it differently. Instead of just thinking about the pain and expecting it to be bad, think about something else. Focus on something positive, kind of distract yourself from the pain. Or instead of saying something like, “Oh this is going to be awful, it is going to hurt so bad.” Perhaps think, “This is something that I can handle. It will not be that bad. I can easily get through this.” I found an online article about “Reframing”.

Then there is relaxing. The article mentions Biofeedback with electrodes or classes that you can take the help you be more mindfully relaxed. I believe that breathing techniques like Pranayama might help. Focusing on relaxing tense muscles can help bring ease into the body.

There is also mention of exercise. When you exercise your body produces endorphins which give you that happy feeling and that can help fight the pain. Exercising for pain management really depends on the type of pain, of course. You have to be able to move and make certain you are not further injuring yourself. People often ask me after an intense workout that has left them sore, what is the best way to get better, and my belief is to keep moving. Some people don’t think that way so we all need to deal with DOMS in a way that you feel is best. While you want to let the muscle recuperate sitting around and doing nothing isn’t necessarily going to make the aches and pains go away.

What type of pain can these five things help?

Diet: Chronic pain due to inflammation

Sleep: Any kind of pain

Reframing: All types of pain

Relaxing: Chronic pain

Exercise: Mild to moderate Chronic pain, especially muscles pain (DOMS)

So for many of us who would rather not reach for a pain killer in the form of a pill, these ideas might be something to try. What do you think?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

A Good Pair Of Scissors

Posted by terrepruitt on July 18, 2018

I am not a hairdresser, nor do I really know anything about cutting hair. I do cut my own hair. Not all the time but more often than not. When I lost my corporate job I was trying to cut costs and I believe my hairdresser at that time raised her prices on me without telling me. I understand when stylists have to raise their prices, but in the past I had been notified in advance, she just tacked on some money one time when I went to write my check. Which upset me, I had FINALLY gotten her to cut my hair the way I wanted. So the two situations (job loss and no advance notice on the price increase) had me exploring other options. When my hair got too long to tolerate I would just chop at it with my cuticle scissors. They were sharpest ones I had. Or maybe I used my other pair and they got dull and I started using my cuticles scissors. No, it was my cuticle scissors first because I remember laughing and thinking I was Kinsey Millhone – hacking at my hair with little cuticle scissors.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise ClassesEvery once in a while I do go get my haircut, but I go to a place that does not take appointments and so sometimes I am sitting there for 45 minutes or more and that is just annoying. The last time I was there she mentioned that she spends more time on me than any once else so I kind of felt bad taking up so much of her time, so I haven’t been back.

I have also been challenged with getting my hair stylists to cut my hair like I want them to cut it. I am not one to have the latest style anything (clothes, hair, makeup) so I want my hair cut like I want my hair cut and because of my work, I want it to be as easy breezy wash and go as possible. Most of the time I am out with sweat drenched hair. Yeah, that sounds gross, but when I finish a class and I am right next to the grocery store, I am NOT going to go home and shower and then go all the way back. I just run my errands after my classes on my way home and I need my hair to be acceptable looking after I towel dry it.

When I go out, I do my hair, but that is not as often as me running errands after a class. I hate flat hair and when my hair is too long it just lays flat. So I like it a little shorter and choppy. It is the choppy I can’t get a hair dresser to do. So usually I come home and end up chopping at it on my own. So I just decided that – for the most part – if I am going to come home and cut my hair after I get it cut, I might as well do it myself.

The problem is . . . oh, heck, there is more than just one problem with me cutting my own hair so I won’t get into all that. What I will say is a good pair of scissors makes all the difference in the world. I bought a low-end good pair of scissors. I can understand why stylists spend a lot of money on scissors. They need to be good in order to cut the hair. And since they (stylists) actually know how to use them they can do wonders. My aim is to get my hair out of my eyes and if I can, make it stick out a bit.

I could very well be walking around looking like I cut my own hair, but now-a-days people walk around with all types of stuff going on up there so . . . that is ok with me as long as I am ok with it. And I am. Especially since I purchased actually hair cutting scissors. They make it so much easier to cut my hair.

One thing though, I cut my hair wet so, I never really know what it is going to look like when it is dried and styled. I don’t actually cut it the same way every time (refer back to the “I don’t know what I am doing.”).

I just cut my hair today and had my scissors out and that is what made me think to share how a good pair of scissors can make a world of difference.  I don’t know what my hair will actually look like, I have yet to see.

Do you have a pair of specialty scissors?  Perhaps for hair, gardening, cooking?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

A Little More Brave

Posted by terrepruitt on July 16, 2018

It was way before 2008 that I first noticed an oriole on our hummingbird feeder.  I didn’t know what it was then.  I got a picture of one on a feeder in 2008.  I don’t know that I saw any more for years. Now they are regulars. In fact I am rushing to post this so that I can go fill the feeder they just emptied. I’ve mentioned before that the feeder we bought specifically for the orioles is way too difficult to clean. It is very narrow and I am not sure I can get the brush in there and get it clean enough. They are much dirtier than the hummingbirds. Or something. It could be that they have to get their beaks all the way in whereas hummingbirds have long tongues. I am not sure, but the hummingbird feeder they primarily eat off of is way more gross than the ones the hummingbirds eat off of. It gets this black sludgy stuff in it. This time of year it is not so bad because I am filling it every three or four days. Our hummingbird feeders come apart and are very easy to clean so we just take the flowers off of them so that the orioles can get their beaks in for the sugar water.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise ClassesI think the orioles we get are Hooded Orioles. I originally read (now I can’t find it) that they depart in July, but now I am looking at a site that says they depart in August. So we might have them another month or so. I am trying to keep the feeder full so they have enough before they go. But I try to keep them all full for the hummingbirds anyway.

The orioles have gotten a little more brave as they used to fly away immediately if we even walked into our living room. But now they will stay at the feeder or even come into the yard when we are in the living room. And they are so brave that now they are eating at the feeder that is close to the window. They are tormenting my cat. She climbs up on the cat tower and talks at them. She reaches at her paw for them. There were two on the feeder today while Nessa and I were playing and that quickly distracted both of us.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise ClassesI guess over the summer they have gotten a little used to us so they are not as fearful.  They are still very cautious, but they are less freaky and will stay and eat as long as we are not too close.

My husband said he saw six last night around the feeder . . . that could be why it is empty and I have to fill it.  I know that I have seen two brightly colored ones together, so I know that there are at least two males.  It is difficult to tell the females apart but I have seen at least four together so I know that there are at least four of them.  I have never seen all six together.

Since they have gotten a bit brave I was able to take closer pictures.  So here are a few.

Do you get to see birds in your yard?

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Posted in Birds, Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Orange Collars For Indoor Cats

Posted by terrepruitt on July 9, 2018

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise ClassesI can’t remember why exactly . . . I think it was because when we adopted Teagan (Smokey) and Nessa (Esmeralda) The Dancing Cat used pellet litter . . . . so I started researching litter. I liked the litter that we used when we first got Spot, but Costco stopped selling it LONG ago and we had switched to Arm & Hammer. I liked it. It clumped well and it — the unscented kind — did a good job of keeping the smell in check . . . at least with Spot. But I got very tired of the dust. I share a room with the litter box and just regular dust is hard to deal with, but add cat litter dust on top of that and I just was tired of it. My research revealed that Dr. Elsey’s Ultra Litter was pretty much dust free. Of course, that was the old formula . . . according to the reviews. Seems like about the time I was thinking about buying it they switched their formula/litter and loyal customers were upset because the dust free litter now had dust. I decided to try it anyway because there were a few reviews that said it was good. Well, I think it is a lot less dusty than the litter we used to buy. It might be more dusty than it was at one time, but it is still less dusty so we use it. And the cats had no trouble at all adjusting from pellets to one litter the the next. They are such good girls. This story is all leading to #Orangeinside.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise ClassesThe last litter bag we opened had an orange collar inside. (Ha! That is not what #Orangeinside is about. 🙂  ) I picked up the package and read “Share a photo with #Orangeinside on Instagram for a chance to win a year supply of Dr. Elsey’s Ultra cat litter.*” And I said to my husband, “Will you do it for me? I don’t have Instagram?” And then I went on to say what a brilliant way to market. Send out an orange collar with your website on it and have people take pictures of their cats in it and post it on Instagram! I thought that was brilliant. I don’t even HAVE Instagram and I was going to do it — or have it done. I could use a free year of cat litter. Heck yeah!

But then I flipped the bag over Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classesand read the other side of the enclosed card. It said that less than 5% of missing indoor cats are returned home, that a cat with an orange collar is an indication of an indoor cat, a cat with an orange collar should not be outside. Ha! I hadn’t read past that because I thought that was a great idea. Now that I am reading the entire thing I understand what the white strip on the collar is. It is a space to write your phone number so someone can call you when your cat is found. This is cool. I like this program.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise ClassesI also noticed once I really looked at the collar that, there is a little kitty face on the breakaway buckle and if that kitty face is facing outward the website does not show, only the spot for the owner’s number.

The thing is . . . my cats are indoor cats and they don’t wear collars. That is one reason I love indoor cats, they are unfettered by collars. I was planning on putting the bright orange collar on our black cat for a photo because I thought the orange and black would really stand out. But when I thought about it I don’t know where she was and her sister was right there. So I tried it on her. Well, I am not posting all the blurry shots I have. She wouldn’t really sit still. She was trying to get it off. I did manage to get one or two, but not of her face.Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes

Today as I was preparing to write this post I put it on the black cat. She was in mellow mode so she just laid there and actually let me get a few photos.

When I googled Orange Collar the result was a lot of sites selling orange collars. The few articles that came up showed a year of 2015 in the summary . . . so I am thinking that this orange collar for indoor cats has been around since at least 2015. I think it is a neat idea.

Have you ever heard of the orange collar thing? Do you have an indoor cat? Does your indoor cat wear a collar? WOULD your indoor cat wear a collar?

Posted in Cats, Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Amazonite Stone

Posted by terrepruitt on July 2, 2018

At the end of the Yin Yoga Teacher Training the instructors gave us a stone. We were to reach in and pull one out. The stones were all the same stone, but they were in different shapes. I had decided I was just going to reach in and pull out the first stone I touched. I wasn’t going to root around and try to find a shape I wanted. I just reached in and my hand came out with a heart shaped stone. YAY! I love heart shaped stones. The stone we were given was Amazonite.

Of course he told us about the stone before he gave it to us, but I forgot and I had to do some internet research in order to post this.

The stone is helpful to both the heart chakra and throat chakra. It is said to be a releasing and calming stone. So it can help you release things from your heart and also help you speak the truth. It can assist with communications. It also helps one see both sides of a situation. Because of these benefits it helps with relationships.

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It also helps block the pollution from the various devices around that can effect our health.

If you are one to believe in the energetic and healing properties of stones, this one is a good one to have around. It is a soft green color. It is pretty. And I am happy I grabbed the heart.

The following sites have more detailed information, in case you are interested:

Energy Muse Amazonite / Crystal Vaults Amazonite / The Healing Chest Amozonite

Is this stone something you might be interested in? 

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Liquid Mind Is Great Music

Posted by terrepruitt on June 27, 2018

Once upon a time, when I first got my phone I had Pandora on it. I actually still have the app on it, but I no longer use it because it requires a log in and I just can’t remember it. I don’t even know if it always required a log in and I forgot it or if I stopped using it once it required a log in. I just don’t bother. I have so many log ins to so many things, I rather would not since I don’t have to. BUT . . . we have a Roku and we can use Pandora through it. My husband has a Pandora account. He probably has as many things to log into as I do, but he actually remembers his passwords. Or at least he does a better job than I do. On Pandora you can set up “Radios” or “channels”. He has a few already set up. And he set up one for me for Christmas, which I used through out last year’s entire Christmas season. He also was kind enough to let me set up a “Yoga Radio”.

When I do yoga in the living room I turn on Pandora and scroll over to my Yoga Radio. It is so nice . . . except when I am laying in Shavasana completely relaxed and a commercial starts to blare. Oh well. Otherwise it is great. There are so many great songs out there and Pandora is an awesome way to get exposed to them.

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Mr. Wild has worked with so many famous people it is amazing. He originally wrote Liquid Mind music as a form of therapy as he and his family and friends — like so many of us — were suffering from anxiety and stress. When he found it to be helpful and healing, he released an album to the public in 1993.

His music is very slow and calming. His website Liquid Mind Music actually urges people to NOT listen to it while driving or operating dangerous machinery as some people may become drowsy and “slow music may cause slower reaction times in some listeners”.

Well, I think it is perfect for yoga, perhaps not Power Yoga or one that is really high energy. But when I am listening to Pandora and doing yoga there are other artists besides Liquid Mind so it works out perfect.

I do love it so much that I have purchased two of his albums. Even though I can listen to it on Pandora, I like to have it on my devices. I will probably end up getting more, perhaps all 15 of his albums.

You can go to his site and listen for yourself. Come back after you do to tell me what you think?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

A Pain In The . . .

Posted by terrepruitt on June 20, 2018

I was recently reading an article that stated 31 million Americans suffer from some form of lower back pain at any given time. It is the leading cause of people missing work and the second leading reason for people going to the doctor. It also stated that 80% of Americans will experience back pain at one time in their life. Since I didn’t know the age of the article I wanted to see if there were other statistics that might be more current . . . .or different, but my Google search revealed the American Chiropractic Association website with the same information on it as was in the article I read. I know that a lot of my students claim to have lower back pain. Some of them have gone to various professionals to get a diagnosis, some have not. The thing about back pain is that it can be the result of many different things. Some of my students that have lower back pain also say they experience sciatica. Sciatica, like lower back pain can be from different things.

Sciatica is a pain that travels down the path of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve goes from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and runs down each leg. Sciatic pain can be felt anywhere along this path all the way to the foot. Usually the pain is only felt on one side of the body.

I was doing a quick search regarding piriformis syndrome when I came upon an interesting, very informative website. It explains that sciatica can be caused by several different things. It lists six most common causes of Sciatica.

-Lumbar herniated disc.
-Degenerative disc disease, where the degeneration is so severe that inflammatory proteins irritate the nerve in that area.
-Isthmic spondylolisthesis, when a vertebrae has slipped out of position due to a small fracture in the spine.
-Lumbar spinal stenosis, where the spinal canal narrows and compresses nerves.
-Piriformis syndrome, when the piriformis disturbs the sciatic nerve by irritating it or pinching it.
-Sacroiliac joint dysfunction, when this joint gets irritated it might affect the L5 nerve which might cause sciatica-type pain.

This is just a very brief summary of the information. I am hoping you will check out the website yourself to get more details. Each cause has a very short video explaining the issue. I find it very interesting because it is saying the last two causes of sciatica, piriformis syndrome and sacroiliac joint dysfunction are not truly sciatica, but they can cause the same type of pain.

The Mayo Clinic’s website has a few suggestions as to how to help prevent sciatica:

Exercise regularly.
Maintain proper posture when you sit.
Use good body mechanics.

Of course this post isn’t meant to diagnose anyone or anything, but it might help you when you go to your doctor.  Sometimes it is nice to have information so that you can take part in your diagnosis and treatment.

Have you ever had lower back pain?  Have you ever experienced sciatica type pain?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

More On Yin And Yang

Posted by terrepruitt on June 18, 2018

I posted a little bit about Yin and Yang for a Friday Photo because I received Yin And Yang Himalayan Salt candle holders. The candle holders are not black and white, but in many depictions of yin and yang it is in black and white. The black is the yin and the white is the yang. The candle holders do have circles in each section, but again it is not colored. With the black and white versions there is usually a white circle or dot in the black side and a black circle or dot in the white side. The circle or dot is the representation that there is always yang in yin and yin in yang.

In that post I quoted the Ancient History Encyclopedia, stating the information it had for both Yin and Yang. I am just adding to that. I am adding some of the additional adjectives I have learned that can be attributed to each. Some of the words are repeats of what is in the quote.

YIN:

“Yin is feminine, black, dark, north, water (transformation), passive, moon (weakness and the goddess Changxi), earth, cold, old, even numbers, valleys, poor, soft, and provides spirit to all things.”

Earth, water, cold, dense, moist, heavy, constricting, negative, soft, yielding, slow, female

In regards to Qi:

moves downward, passive, cooling, relates to bodily fluids, relates to the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), runs the inner side of body

In regards to organs:

Liver, pericardium, spleen, lungs, kidneys, heart

YANG:

“Yang is masculine, white, light, south, fire (creativity), active, sun (strength and the god Xihe), heaven, warm, young, odd numbers, mountains, rich, hard, and provides form to all things.”

Heaven, fire, warmth, space, dry, light, expansive, gaseous, gripping, contracting, positive, hard, aggressive, fast, male

In regards to Qi:

Moves upward, active, warming, protective, alert, relates to the muscles, relates to the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), rises in the morning, runs the outer side of body

In regards to organs:

Gallbladder, small intestine, triple heater, stomach, large intestine, bladder

Interesting as the idea is that one cannot exist without the other.  Do you have any to add?

Posted in Misc, Yin Yoga | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

New Medicare Card Scam

Posted by terrepruitt on June 13, 2018

Even though I am nearing the AARP* age, I am not quite there yet, but you may have read where I am getting my dad’s mail and he was AARP age. I get the AARP Bulletin which I actually think is pretty interesting. I think it has some good information. Especially with all the scammers out there. I would be totally surprised if there is one of you (in the USA) reading this that has not received one of those “the FBI has a warrant out for your arrest and the police are on the way to your house . . . if you don’t call”. Even though the messages are either in a computer’s robotic voice or in such broken and accented English you can barely understand the message it is pretty scary. The elderly are really not all up to date on all the scammers in the world. In this day and age some believe that Microsoft got an alert that their computer had a virus. So I think it is important for ALL of us to know the scams out there so we can help protect the elderly in our lives. There is a lot of insurance fraud and scams and one of the latest ones has to do with the new Medicare Cards.

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We have to be careful and we need to spread the word and let other people know so we can all thwart these scammers. The more people know the better we can stop it from happening. Will you help spread the word?

*American Association of Retired Persons

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Moggy, Meggy, Poggy, Peggy

Posted by terrepruitt on June 4, 2018

At our latest visit after Nia and stretch class the ladies and I were talking about names. We were wondering how certain names adopted certain nicknames. I think it is interesting because some names just seem to have logical nicknames. In fact they are just shortened versions of the names. The names that come to mind that are like that are Sam for Samantha or Samuel, John/Jon for Jonathan, Rich for Richard, Barb for Barbara, Bea for Bertha, Steve for Steven. Shortenings like that. But some names seem to have nicknames that have nothing to do with the names or so I thought. Since we had the conversation I looked up one that had always puzzled me. I never had understood why Peggy was a nickname for Margaret.

Well, the internet confused me even more upon the first glance as it said “Daisy and Peggy = Margaret.” That was even more puzzling. What? I have never heard of Daisy for Margaret. Although I can’t think of any Daisys. But it could be that if I have met some their real names were Margaret and I just didn’t know. The explanation though made complete sense. This information coming from BuzzFeed. Apparently in French “marguerite” is daisy . . . so it makes sense that someone name Margaret might be called Daisy. Reddit confirms the Margaret to Daisy theory, but also credits the Dutch.

I guess that at one time Margaret was shorted to Meg or Meggy and the “Meggy” got turned into Peggy. That explanation is not as clear-cut as Margaret to Daisy, but . . . it is plausible. Another idea is that Mog and Meg were nicknames for Margaret and they actually turned into Pog/Poggy and Peg/Peggy. That information is from Mental Floss.

Almost all the information claims that many nicknames rose out of the “rhyming nicknames”. I guess that just means that people like to use nicknames that rhyme with the actual name.

Another name that I grew up with wondering about was Jack. We had a neighbor named Jack, but I believe it turned out — and I say that because I didn’t know for a long time . . . I am sure he and his family knew — that his name was actually John. And that one I don’t get at all because to me, nicknames are often short but Jack and John are the same. And the explanation for that makes even less sense to me in that they are LENGTHEN the name when making it a nickname. The explanation is that the Normans added -kin to the names and Jen was Jack. So Jen was Jenkin which eventually turned into Jack.

In addition to Peggy the name we were talking about at coffee was Dick. How did Richard become Dick. Well again, rhyming is to blame. Richard was Rich which turned into Dick.

There are many names that have nicknames I didn’t even know about. Clicking the links above will get you to articles written about nicknames and you will see that apparently rhyming is big thing and is the reason for many nicknames – at least according to those articles.

Did any of these surprise you? What is your nickname?

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