Gallup Sun

At the dawn of every springtime, I make a list of things I want to do in my lawn and garden. This year, I hope to grow items to make salsa, increase the amount of native perennials growing, add mulch, use compost, finish my brick edging project from last year and get the kids to help me. Is this list too ambitious? Should I hedge my bets here (much as I intend to prune some hedges)?

While I’ll admit my outdoor to-do list is too lofty, I can’t wait to try to make all these things happen. I love working in the yard. I would never say I “kind of” like working in the yard, because my yard work enjoyment is unequivocal.

If I did want to play it safe, I’d employ a “verbal...

Are you ready for a linguistic adventure that blurs the lines of words and verbal volleyball? Buckle up, buttercup, because things are about to go to a-whole-nother level of morphological creativity.

 

We’ll start with tmesis (pronounced tuh-MEE-siss). In speech or writing, tmesis divides a word into parts to provide emphasis. Tmesis doesn’t change the meaning of the original word being modified. I’ll explain.

 

The word “tmesis” is borrowed (or loaned) directly from Greek, meaning “a cutting.” Sometimes you’ll hear or read someone using tmesis like this: “You didn’t do your homework again? Un-be-lievable.”


In this instance, the teacher or parent chides...

Dear Editor,

New Mexico’s greatest asset is its cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity. Our people are the heart of our state, and now, our Legislature is recognizing that in a big way. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the tax omnibus bill currently under consideration (HB 547) does more to improve economic opportunity and equity in our tax code than any legislation in our state’s history.

The bill cuts personal income taxes for more than 94% of New Mexicans and provides nearly a billion dollars in tax cuts for everyday New Mexicans – workers, parents, veterans, rural health care professionals, and child care providers all receive targeted benefits. Increases in the...

In my line of work, I have the unfortunate job to deal with the passing of someone’s spouse, parent, or sibling. I see how, in these moments of grief, if the details aren’t thought of ahead of time, the pain can be compounded with the frustration of trying to navigate through the messiness of financial matters not thought of ahead of time.

Recently, a friend died, and now her husband not only has to deal with the grief of losing his spouse, but also with all the details of their financial life.

It soon became evident that he did not know the details of their finances (he didn’t even know the password to the checking account). And because of this, I thought that I would take the...