I have tomorrow off, which makes today feel like Friday. So here’s some early unrelated information!

1. I will be struggling with the vintage dress pattern tomorrow (and I will win, by god). The fabric is a bright plaid, and while spending THREE HOURS on the bodice last week I had some time to wonder about the origins of the word “plaid.” The first recorded usage was in1512, from the Gaelic plaide “blanket, mantle,” of unknown origin, perhaps a contraction of peallaid “sheepskin,” from peall “skin,” from Latin pellis (but OED finds this “phonetically improbable”). (Unrelated note: I need more opportunities to use “phonetically improbable” in everyday conversation.)


2. Have you ever wanted to see where your cat goes when he has his adventures? Order him a CatCam and find out! Or just see photos from a day in the life of a cat named Mr. Lee.


3. If you ever need to ask a French person is he or she made something themselves, this is how: Avez-vous fait cela vous-meme?