Every year in Wenatchee, there is a home show. It takes place in a large convention center that is called the Town Toyota Center. This place hosts concerts, sporting events, and any kind of large function that involves lots of people. It is a great, new facility for our area. The home show includes many exhibits of products that are used to either build, furnish, or decorate the home. So, you can imagine, there are ton(nes) of items being displayed. It's all about networking, really. The NCHBA s...
Jan 28, 2010•5 min
As most parents, I am concerned about what my children eat. Do they eat healthy food, and if they do, do they eat it consistently? And what about me? Am I careful about what I put in my body? It will, in time, influence my health and those around me. I find it is easy to quickly grab food when I am 'on the go', and not necessarily feed my body everything that it needs. School kids, especially, need a balanced diet. When my children come out of school, they are always ready to devour something. I...
Jan 27, 2010•5 min
It's no secret that computers are a large part of our lives, a huge part. The other day, I noticed as we sat in the lounge, that my husband and I were both busy on our laptops. The television was actually on as well. A couple of years ago that would have seemed like an odd scene, but now it is the norm. My oldest son keeps on begging me for a laptop. "Mum, I will need one in middle school," he insists. Hmmm, why on earth would he need one in school? When I went to school, we just needed paper, p...
Jan 26, 2010•4 min
I can't believe that it is almost the end of January already. Where has the time gone? We have had an unusual Winter so far, weather wise. It has gone from being overcast and dull, to sunny and mild, back to freezing and snowy. You don't know what to expect from one day to another. One thing that helps me through the cold season is remembering my New Year's resolutions. Everybody I know seems to make them. They might not tell anybody else about them, but they make them nonetheless. Some people w...
Jan 25, 2010•4 min
On a cold, dull, Winter day, I sometimes light a fire after picking the children up from school. We gather around and feel cozy. The lounge where we have the fireplace also has a computer and a Wii console, so there is plenty to do for everyone. Though I like to give the kids a healthy snack after school, I make an exception every now and then. Marshmallows are the perfect treat when you have an open fire. Put them on a stick, hold them over the flames, and in no time you will have a light brown...
Jan 22, 2010•4 min
The other day I was cleaning inside a free-standing storage cabinet that we have in the dining room, when I came across a tray that I bought a few years ago in Scotland. It is medium sized, made of a light metal, and has a beautiful picture of British birds. Since I bought the tray I have barely used it. It's perfect for tea for two, or a full meal for one. The picture reminded me of the place I bought it. It was in the gift shop of an owl sanctuary near the Mull of Kintyre. Do you remember the ...
Jan 21, 2010•4 min
One of the obsessions you will find in our family is Star Wars. My second son, Cass, has been saving his pocket money, birthday, and Christmas money to buy one of the biggest Star Wars Lego toys: The Death Star. For those of you who are fans, or, at least, for those of you who have seen the movies, you might remember the huge space station owned and operated by the 'baddies'. It was a sphere, and from a distance looked like a moon. It housed Darth Vader, the evil emperor, Lord Sidius, and all th...
Jan 20, 2010•4 min
Well podlisteners, it is time to continue with important vocabulary about the homes that we live in. There is one room which helps me keep the house both clean and organized. It's the mudroom. It's name suggests that it gets very dirty, muddy even. That only happens sometimes. The mudroom is the first room that you enter when you walk into the house from the garage. It is the place where you hang up your coats and jackets, store your shoes and boots, and even put your extra things away. In our h...
Jan 19, 2010•4 min
Beginners. Haiti, as you all know, has suffered a terrible catastrophe recently. The 12th of January, an earthquake hit the nation. It registered 7.0, and there were many after shocks, about 33. Many countries have given assistance and money to help the Haitian people. The greatest need is to find people in the rubble, and then to give medical assistance and basic food and water to those who are alive. One of the many problems faced by the international help groups is the difficulty of getting t...
Jan 17, 2010•7 min
Beginners. Mango languages is an internet language learning program(me) that we get for free through our local library. I want my children to learn Spanish very well, so the program will be a useful tool to use at home on our computer. My three boys are in a bilingual program at school. They have about three hours of classes in Spanish. Their knowledge of the language has really grown. At home, I try to speak to them in Spanish at least 50% of the time. I am proud to say that they understand eve...
Jan 12, 2010•6 min
Beginners. One of our favorite soups to eat is Tom Yung Goong. It is Thai soup that we first discovered in the local Thai restaurant. Someone recommended it to us. As with the rest of their food, the restaurant gives you the choice of the food being mild, medium, or spicy. We usually order the soup medium; I can't handle spicy. It's far too hot. This soup is a traditional recipe that is used to help people get over colds and flus in Thailand. It's ingredients are not only very healthy, but also ...
Jan 07, 2010•7 min
Beginners. When we travel, it is great to feel safe. If you travel by car, train, boat, or plane you want to feel secure. You don't want anything dangerous to happen, do you? One of the safest ways of traveling is by plane. It is true. Just think about it. There is not much that you can crash into. Other planes are easy to avoid, and birds don't cause a problem for a big, metal airplane. It seems a little scary to be flying around, thousands of feet up in the air, with nothing between you and th...
Jan 05, 2010•6 min
Beginners. The other day, my friend Nataliya invited me to go cross country skiing with her. We don't see eachother very much, so I was happy to go. "Julia can babysit your two youngest, if you like, and we can leave at about ten o'clock." Julia is her eighteen year old daughter who often babysits my children. "It's okay, Nataliya," I said, "I think I'll take the kids with me." There was a pause on the phone, "Okay," she replied, "if you're sure, it's up to you." Nataliya also has a ten year old...
Jan 01, 2010•7 min
Sorry everyone, no podcast today. I finally caught the cold that my husband had had for five weeks. I thought I would avoid it, but I suppose we are all equal in the eyes of a virus. I hope you are all well. I'll podcast later on in the week. Take care, Anna.
Dec 15, 2009•56 sec
Beginners. It's that time of year again. I find myself rushing around with lists of things to do. I need to get the Christmas cards written and sent out to my list of friends and family. This year, we decided to send a family photo, which is what a lot of people do in this area. The photo is sometimes a Winter scene of the family next to some trees covered with snow. Or, you might get a family holiday picture that was taken in the Summer. These types of Christmas photos can be designed and print...
Dec 11, 2009•7 min
Beginners. This morning, I went into the kitchen and checked the outside thermometer; it was two degrees. Two degrees! Now that is cold! I made my coffee and looked out of the window. It was still dark, dark and freezing. It's a good job I have my coffee; otherwise I would stay in bed. But there are bright and pretty parts to Winter, even on a dark morning. As I walked around our quiet house, I saw our Christmas lights outside that twinkled all different colours/colors. I went into the lounge an...
Dec 08, 2009•6 min
Beginners. I took a trip to Seattle last week for an appointment, and to do some shopping. I had arranged for my mother to pick up my kids from school, and stay with them until my husband got home from work. So, I was free for the day. Luckily, we have no snow yet, so the towns and highways are still clear and dry. Driving from here to Seattle takes about three hours, so, there and back, you are on the road for six hours. It sounds crazy to drive six hours for a brief visit. Mind you, Seattle is...
Dec 04, 2009•7 min
Beginners. Black Friday is the name of the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of the month of November, and Black Friday is the following day. It is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Stores open at 5am, and some even open at midnight. Typically, the shops are packed with people. It is a stressful event, and often, in the newspaper the next day there are stories of conflicts and fights. Too many people in a limited space, all trying to get the same cheap produ...
Nov 27, 2009•8 min
Beginners. Cold fingers, cold toes, chilly shoulders, and a cold nose. When the weather gets chilly, sometimes you feel as if the inside of your body is as cold as your extremities. Some how, putting on lots of clothes isn't enough. You long to get into a deep, hot bath. That is our plan this Winter. We bought ourselves a very early Christmas present that, I'm sure, we will enjoy for years and years. It's a hot tub. I wasn't familiar with hot tubs until I came to Wenatchee, and got in a few duri...
Nov 24, 2009•8 min
Beginners. We have a mouse in our garage. There might be more than one. The one I have seen is small, grey, and causes a lot of mess. As much as I love animals, I'm afraid we have to put down a mousetrap. My husband bought a box of traps a long time ago, some of which we have used. So, he prepared the trap, put some cheese in it, and put it on the floor of the garage. My youngest son, Robert, wanted to make his own trap. He went into the garage and bashed about for a while, moving things, and ar...
Nov 20, 2009•6 min
Beginners. I drove around town today, looking for 'Hello Kitty' posters. I couldn't find any. I was so frustrated. I have a project going on at home that I really want to finish. Last week I painted my children's rooms, and now I am looking for accessories like pictures, lamps, and rugs to make the bedrooms comfortable. I don't actually like shopping because most of the time I'm in a hurry. But, I'm making a special effort to get things just right. Robert is into fishing, so I would like to get ...
Nov 17, 2009•7 min
Beginners. It's my favorite time of year, Autumn. I love this season so much that I could burst into song about all the colors, the smells, the angle of the sun, the pumpkins etc etc, but I don't want to bore you, plus, I don't sing very well. I will tell you about two great things that you can do with leaves. You can rake together a big pile of leaves and jump into them, with or without friends. Or you can do something a bit more artistic. I did this a few years ago with my kids, and it turned ...
Nov 12, 2009•7 min
Beginners. There are signs of the financial crisis in different parts of the town where I live. We hear on the news about people losing their jobs and their houses. Certain shops have closed, and so the buidings are empty. But, in another way, there is growth in the town. There is a lot of new buildings that are almost finished. Just down the road from my house, a new hotel is almost ready. I drive past it most days when I bring my children home from school, and we comment on the progress. "Hey,...
Nov 03, 2009•7 min
Beginners. There is an invasion going on in our house. It started out as an unnoticed thing, but it has grown to huge proportions. Every room of my house is affected. Every corner shows a sign of this invasion. Even my friends and neighbors have mentioned it. And the scary thing is, is that it is unstoppable. It is Hello Kitty. Every time I open a cupboard, some Hello Kitty thing falls out. When I go to the shoe closet to get my sneakers, I have to shake them upside down, not because there might...
Oct 29, 2009•8 min
Beginners. When my computer doesn't work, or when I cannot get a good internet connection, I miss podcasting. I'm sorry that I missed last week, but it was one thing after another with computers. Do you ever have problems with them? They are so useful sometimes, and then, at other times, they can be a real pain. Well, I suppose the reason for me missing a couple of podcasts has given me a story for this podcast. A week ago, I showed A Cup of English to a friend of mine. While we looked at the co...
Oct 27, 2009•7 min
Beginners. Have you had the flu this year? Do you know anyone who has had it? It can be a nasty illness. Usually you have a temperature, you feel weak, and sometimes you might have a cough also. There is a lot of talk about flus at the moment. You have probably heard about the new H1N1 flu. It seems to be scaring a lot of people. When I say that it is a new flu, what that means is that, though it is from the family of flus, it is slightly different than any that we are used to. It is cold and fl...
Oct 15, 2009•8 min
Beginners. It's that time of year again. The days are rapidly getting colder. There is frost in the morning on the grass, the sun is mild, and the colors of the trees and plants are quickly changing. Around this time every year, my husband plans a trip up to a nearby mountain, called Sugar Loaf. What a pretty name! He goes there every year to dig up some trees, then he brings them home and plants them in the garden. You need a permit to do that. So he drives to the nearby town of Leavenworth whi...
Oct 12, 2009•7 min
Beginners. A couple of years ago, we bought a Leopard Gecko for our oldest son, Hudson. He didn't want any toys, just an animal. He is fascinated with reptiles and has read many books about them. So, we went to the pet shop and immediately found what we were looking for. A young, spotty, pretty Leopard Gecko, cool and dry to the touch, and easy to look after. It is surprising what you learn through your own children. I researched the Geckos a little, to make sure that his environment was as it s...
Oct 07, 2009•8 min
Beginners. I walked into the kitchen this afternoon, and I found my son, Robert, climbing through the kitchen window. "What on earth are you doing?" I asked him. "I wanted to open the window so I can pass you all my pumpkins." "Okay," I replied, still a bit confused about why he needed to climb through the window instead of just opening it. Anyway, he passed me all of his pumpkins, about eleven of them. He put them in the sink, washed them off, and then placed them on the mantlepiece as a decora...
Oct 05, 2009•7 min
Beginners. We are continuing with our study of countries of the world with Afghanistan. As you know, it is in the news all the time, and has been for quite a few years. Let's try to understand why, and to learn a little more about the country. Afghanistan is located in the central part of South Asia. To the West is Iran, to the Southeast is Pakistan, and towards the North are Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, with China to the East. It is what we call 'landlocked'. That means that it has...
Oct 02, 2009•6 min
