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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 16:10:47 GMT
...... but then the add-ons give you a more precise meaning. Precision is Germany's middle name, no? I get all the names of the sausages mixed up. (threadjack, sorry) Rikita, BJD, Mark et al. please go back to the previous page as the break in pages disturbed the flow of the discussion. (we need a break in the page alert)
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Post by lagatta on Jan 16, 2017 17:00:09 GMT
A closet is also called a cupboard; you'll hear that more in the UK and other English-speaking countries than in the US.
A 'water closet' is an old name for a small room containing a flush toilet; while the name in full is dated, the initials WC are common in many countries.
And of course to be 'closeted' is to live important facets of your life in secrecy; most often used for LGBT people in eras and locations where it was is taboo to be gay, but you could also be 'closeted' with respect to something else.
Kerouac, I've seen those wall units more recently than you say in France, but they all look a bit old and bedraggled. Have they been replaced by IKEA or similar units?
I do have two small closets, but they were probably installed during a postwar reno. There are certainly old houses here with no built-in closets.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 17:08:24 GMT
Ikea has replaced everything!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 17, 2017 1:00:14 GMT
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Post by bjd on Jan 17, 2017 6:58:24 GMT
Wow, I am in admiration pf how tidy and organized your closet is BJD. Something to aspire to. Gee thanks, casimira! But that's not at my house -- I found it searching for an image to post. It's from Houzz. Not only do I not have many closets, none of mine ever come close to that state of neatness and organization.
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Post by rikita on Jan 17, 2017 9:04:41 GMT
The way I understand German as opposed to English is that in English we would give different names to different things, e.g. wardrobe and closet, but often the English word will do double or triple duty depending on the context, thus the same word in English can mean many different things more often than in German. Even more confusing are words spelt differently but sounding the same, which can be called 'false friends'. However, the German language seems to have fewer (and I can't think of any at the moment but Rikita will help I hope) words with multiple meanings or false friends as the language often uses a base word, e.g. in this case 'schrank' and as they do, add on to it, thus you get Kleiderschrank, Einbaushrank, Schrankkoffer, Trockenshranck, Wäscheschrank and Wandschrank etc depending on what the object is. An instance of where a single word, I seem to remember, having multiple uses, is Garderobe. Adding on to a base word is what I found often confusing about German as you can end up with some seriously long words that I would have to parse to see what they were on about. Bezirksschornsteinfegermeister, Sozialversicherungsfachangestelltenauszubildender, Zivildienstvertrauensmanngesetz, Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung for example. Does that make sense rikita? yes i suppose homophones and maybe also homonyms (two words that look and sound the same) are more common in english than in german, though we have some, too ... some of the ones causing trouble spelling-wise most often would be "wieder" und "wider" or "seit" und "seid" ... and there are lots of polysems, too (one word with several meanings) ... as for "false friends", i thought this was always for words from two different languages that appear similar but have a different meaning (like "to become" and "bekommen") ... in the end, this happens in every language, it's just that we are used to it and thus don't always notice it. the thing in german is that we often distinguish the exact meaning by using different compound nouns, just as you point out - though in every day use people might sometimes leave out the distinguishing part (like, we have a big "bücherschrank" in our living room, but when i talk about it to mr. r. i might refer to it just as "schrank", as he will know which one i am talking about). those long words you mention would usually only be used in very official speech (or more likely writing), in every day language people usually just combine two or sometimes three nouns - and in the end it isn't that different from english, we just write them as one word - but whether you say "washing machine" or "waschmaschine" or "birthday cake" or "geburtstagskuchen" is pretty similar in spoken language ... (okay the thing that might be different is that sometimes you need a connecting letter, like the "s" in "geburtstagskuchen") (and as you see with "birthday", sometimes in english two words are written as one, too)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2017 13:33:07 GMT
Wow, I am in admiration pf how tidy and organized your closet is BJD. Something to aspire to. Gee thanks, casimira! But that's not at my house -- I found it searching for an image to post. It's from Houzz. Not only do I not have many closets, none of mine ever come close to that state of neatness and organization. Taking a huge sigh of relief at reading this. People who are that organized are somehow not human to me and I would be quite intimidated and self conscious at knowing one. Surely it would spill over into other characteristics. My new sister in law borders on being this way and I live in fear of my brother and she coming here to visit. Her eyes would scan every single inch of my house. I could maybe pull off the downstairs but if asked for a tour of the house, there is no possible way I could pull it off.
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Post by patricklondon on Jan 17, 2017 18:22:40 GMT
I could maybe pull off the downstairs but if asked for a tour of the house, there is no possible way I could pull it off. Everyone needs at least one room or cupboard space they can just shove anything into to make the rest of the place look tidy. And a polite guest doesn't ask to look in there. Remember Bluebeard! My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam"
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2017 18:42:12 GMT
I always hand my visitors a pair of white gloves so they can inspect my apartment. Not.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 17, 2017 20:49:21 GMT
My mother, even at an advanced age, would get up on one of those little kitchen stepladders to check on whether there was dust above my doors.
I have a friend in another city who is a neat freak and who removed our cheese or dessert plates practically before we'd finished. Very unnerving. And odd among our circle of friends who live in a cheery mess of books and papers.
That said, I'm really trying to declutter.
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Post by mich64 on Jan 17, 2017 23:20:17 GMT
I still have 3 unpacked boxes from the kitchen renovation in one of the spare bedrooms. I know I am missing a few things that are surely in those boxes but what else is in them will be a surprise! I think we will be making another drop off at the recycle shop.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 18, 2017 7:32:37 GMT
I love neatness but am an untidy person at heart. I have many drawers and cupboards that desperately need a thorough clean out. I hate to think what my house would look like if I did not have house help. Maybe I would shape up and tidy as I go. In latter years I have realised the way to tidiness is to be minimalistic and chuck out everything that is sitting around gathering dust and of no particular use or memory or of great value.
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Post by chexbres on Jan 18, 2017 8:33:34 GMT
I always think that if I buy things from the "organize your life" section of any store, my life will be magically organized - even if I don't actually use those products...
My current problem now, is that I am faced with an embarrassement of light bulbs - each of which was necessary for the apartment I sold, as well as for the one I just left - and none of which fit the fixtures I have in my new apartment.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jan 18, 2017 8:36:57 GMT
I love neatness but am an untidy person at heart. I have many drawers and cupboards that desperately need a thorough clean out. I hate to think what my house would look like if I did not have house help. Maybe I would shape up and tidy as I go. In latter years I have realised the way to tidiness is to be minimalistic and chuck out everything that is sitting around gathering dust and of no particular use or memory or of great value. Somebody once said something along the lines of - Do not have anything in your home which is not beautiful or useful.
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Post by bjd on Jan 18, 2017 8:55:03 GMT
Mick -- that must have been that Japanese obsessive Kon Mari (or a name like that) who tells you to get rid of everything that doesn't give you joy.
Chexbres, I have the same problem with cleaning products. I get conned by the idea that spraying something on the tiles behind the cooktop will miraculously make the dirt go away without my having to scrub and rub. It doesn't happen so I have tons of once-used cleaning products under the kitchen sink.
As for neatness, the problem is that any flat surface in my house tends to act as a magnet for various papers. They either contain information that will come in handy at some point in the near future, or are a reminder to do something. I had 3 forms + envelopes reminding me to renew my subscription to the NYRB and finally yesterday I discovered I could do it online. I did put the papers in the recycling bin.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 18, 2017 12:20:41 GMT
Actually, the "beautiful or useful" quote is from Willliam Morris.
Many of my drawers are very well organised indeed, with dividers and little baskets. That didn't prevent me from misplacing my remaining cheques; and yes I do need cheques for certain things such as my rent - the co-op still hasn't set up a system which we could pay into directly.
My main problem is "schlepping" no longer needed things to a charity shop; there are some things I'll put out in the street as I know people will pick them up quickly, but this is no longer possible with clothing as there are bedbug problems now here as in many cities. It is hard to carry donations in the wintertime; in the summer with my bicycle or a wheelie-cart it is easier. I also share the "paper" problem, though I do try to file a lot.
My friend with the serious hoarding problem has so much stuff in his little flat that there was nowhere I could sit or put my bag down when I was feeding his cat and changing his (the cat's) box.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 14:11:07 GMT
If only it were that easy...
Although, yesterday I was ruthless in bagging up a huge amount of clothing and linen items, I still have a ways to go though to really accomplish some semblance of order.
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Post by chexbres on Jan 19, 2017 14:26:28 GMT
bjd - when I used to have a cleaning lady who came twice a week, she insisted that if only I bought the right products for her to use, everything would be clean and smell good. So I bought what she wanted, and she didn't even open them, because she was a creature of habit and kept on using the same old stuff I wanted her to use. When I sold my apartment, of course I insisted that she take those products with her.
I've since limited my cleaning products to these: white vinegar bleach a polish for the stainless sink a calcium-deposit remover spray for shower and toilet a liquid floor cleaner for sealed wooden and tile floors
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2017 14:38:21 GMT
I need to seriously winnow out my wardrobe again. I already gave away a bunch of stuff when I stopped working but when I look at all of the stuff that is left that I have no intention of ever wearing again, it's as though I had done nothing.
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Post by bjd on Jan 19, 2017 15:42:33 GMT
I just got home from checking out the sales. I did not buy any shoes! I did try on a couple of pairs but finally decided that I didn't really need them, even though the prices were good.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 19, 2017 15:50:44 GMT
I would have had trouble resisting, not because I am such an Imelda, but because I'm hard on shoes, so snap up good walking shoes when I can. Kerouac's wording reminded me of something I read the other day, by Sarah Vowell. She claims that he so had Hollywood ingrained that he once referred to military uniforms as "wardrobe".
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Post by lagatta on Jan 19, 2017 16:33:51 GMT
I certainly would in France, where there are sturdy walking shoes that are actually reasonably attractive. They are also sold here, but never go on the same degree of discount as in France. I do need WATERPROOF warm boots or booties, as my pair has sprung a leak. Hard to find this time of year.
Kerouac, you'll feel relief if you take your unworn clothing in decent condition to a place that gives it or sells it cheap to people in need. There must be places in your neighbourhood.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 19, 2017 16:48:08 GMT
I can proudly announce that last year I sold enough of my wardrobe stored in suitcases and boxes for the last 20 years. I reached a staggering total of R25,000 - 1,728euros approx. It was my spending money on above average meals. Very necessary in Paris. I'm still selling what is left but won't reach that target again.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2017 16:56:27 GMT
Kerouac, you'll feel relief if you take your unworn clothing in decent condition to a place that gives it or sells it cheap to people in need. There must be places in your neighbourhood. I always take my stuff to the Emmaüs charity bin in back of Saint Bernard de la Chapelle.
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Post by bjd on Jan 19, 2017 18:03:42 GMT
Bixa and Lagatta -- since they were winter shoes on sale, they were sort of low boots as well as knee-length boots. I tried on some Timberland brand boots -- on sale for 68€, which is less than half price if I can judge by their website -- because a woman beside me in the shop told me how comfortable they are. But I decided that the big white soles did nothing for the appearance of the shoes. I just don't see myself in these:
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 19, 2017 18:47:12 GMT
My brain hurts trying to picture you in those clodhoppers!
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Post by htmb on Jan 19, 2017 18:49:23 GMT
I don't like the white soles either, bjd, but you know they wouldn't stay white for long. I'm sure I'd wear something like that in cold weather if I could get the soles to turn to a dingy gray and if the leather uppers would soften up a bit.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 19, 2017 18:51:14 GMT
The soles really wreck the look, true. I'd also tend to prefer a darker colour for winter booties.
No German booties?
I know St-Bernard-de-la-Chapelle because of the occupation there about 20 years ago, but it is also very close to your maman's hospice...
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Post by bjd on Jan 19, 2017 19:06:06 GMT
I admit they were really comfortable, and the uppers were very soft. There were some darker ones in smooth leather but with those ugly white soles. No, no German booties. They had Uggs though.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2017 19:34:36 GMT
More than once I have refrained from buying shoes because of white soles. I wouldn't even have looked at them if they had not been on sale. This leads to two thoughts:
1. Clearly some people like white soles or they would not continue to sell them. 2. If the best discounts are for shoes with white soles, they are having trouble getting rid of them.
There seems to be a contradiction here.
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