Well, podlisteners, I thought that it was about time that you saw my husband and I, so check out the photo on the blog page......Okay, I'm only kidding. We look nothing like the two people in the photo. They are fitness trainers from the P90X program that my husband and I have just started to use. We saw an advertisement a few weeks ago on the television, you know the kind: it shows what people used to look like when they were overweight and soft, and then, it shows them after using the P90X, an...
Mar 17, 2010•5 min
In our house, at night, when everyone is asleep, the sounds of nature fill the air. Actually, the noises don't come from outside, but inside the house, and I'm not talking about my husband snoring. Chirp, chirp, chirp, is what we hear. It is the familiar sound of crickets. Normally, we would get cricket noises in our garden in the Summer. But it's only March, and these crickets are in a glass cage, living happily for a few days, until they get fed to our lizards. We have a leopard gekko and a be...
Mar 16, 20100
You remember, don't you, that last week I was busy in the front garden. I was enjoying the weather and changing the look of our entryway. Well, I had had enough of digging, weeding, and raking, so I decided to go on a hunt for the perfect tree. The closest nursery garden to our house is just down the road, literally about one minute by car. It is actually a home appliance business which opens up a nursery area for the Spring and Summer only. Bark is poured out over a large area and then a variet...
Mar 15, 2010•5 min
I was pulling out of the parking lot of a country bakery today, when the orchard opposite caught my eye. All the bare trees were a bright white color, from the bottom of the trunks to the tips of the top branches. It was quite a sight, and contrasted beautifully with the dark hills in the background. The reason that the trees were so ghostly white is that they had been sprayed with diatomaceous earth, which is like a clay powder that stops the eggs of insects developing .Maintaining an orchard i...
Mar 12, 2010•5 min
I make no appologies today for talking about one of my passions: gardening. It's that time again, whoopee! The weather has been perfect recently. Though there is snow on the tops of the nearby mountains, and the breeze is cold, the bright sun makes up for it. There is always something to do when you have a garden. This time of year means clearing the place up and getting ready for the Spring. Our entryway had five large bushes in a row. For years, I wanted to move them, and finally, we have. My ...
Mar 11, 2010•4 min
Last week we learned a little about Germany. Today, we will learn about a country that is close by, Italy. You probably know already that this country of sixty million people has been a major(our) influence on Western civilization. So, what is Italy famous for? The Roman Empire, the Renaissance, music, food, cars, and motorbikes. Mainland Italy consists of a peninsula that lies in the Mediterranean Sea, with the Adriatic Sea to the east. It shares its northern boarder with France, Switzerland, A...
Mar 10, 2010•4 min
On our way to the basketball game at the weekend, we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. The consensus was that we wanted asian food. So, as we drove along, half of us in the car looked out in one direction, and the rest of us looked in the other, until someone spotted a chinese restaurant. We turned into the parking lot and looked at the building. It was pink, it had colorful (ourful) accent colors (ours), and its style was very chinese. "I have a bad feeling about this place," said my husband ...
Mar 09, 2010•4 min
Here in the United States, basketball is really popular. Children start at a young age going to practice and joining teams. Both college and professional basketball games are televised, and most adults have a favorite(urite) team. I was lucky enough to see a college basketball game this weekend, in the city of Spokane which is about a three hour drive. We all piled into the car; we took blankets, pillows, snacks, drinks, video games, and colors(ours) and paper to keep the kids busy. The drive is...
Mar 08, 2010•5 min
Sorry everyone, my cold has got the better of me, so there is no podcast today. I will be back, on Monday with your next podcast. Have a great weekend!
Mar 05, 2010•43 sec
Do you ever have aches and pains? Do your muscles ever get sore? Do you get headaches? My husband used to until a couple of years ago. He would come home from work with tight shoulders, or a headache, or a knot in his back, near his shoulder blades. Tension was the problem, caused by stress from work, and sitting too long in front of the computer. I tried to help by massaging his back, but it wasn't very effective. Then he went to a chiropractor for an adjustment. You know the routine: you lie o...
Mar 03, 2010•4 min
For a small town, Wenatchee is actually quite musical, I'm pleased to say. There are lots of choirs, trios, quartets, jazz groups, singers, and locations for them to perform. It is a growing trend, as well. Music isn't very well funded in public schools, but the availability of music centers(res), teachers, and musical groups, seems to make up for it. The Woodshouse Conservatory of Music is a historical building that has been converted into such a place. It was actually donated by the Woods fami...
Mar 02, 2010•5 min
You have probably learned from my podcasts, that the region where I live is agricultural. It is rural, the communities are small, and its post native american indian roots lie in the apple tree. I realised the other day how I take the apple tree for granted. Not only is it everywhere in this and the surrounding towns, but there are so many businesses built around the fruit. There is a large juicing factory called Tree Top which, of course, uses apples. There is also a special candy, unique to th...
Mar 01, 2010•4 min
Drive throughs are part of daily life here in the U.S. It all started with fast food, but now, there are drive throughs for all kinds of products, even medicine. Some pharmacies have the available option of a drive through medicine pick up for those who are in a hurry. It is convenient, especially if you have little children in the car. It is so much easier than getting everyone out of the car, keeping them quiet inside the store, and then getting back in the car. But, in the past few years, a d...
Feb 26, 2010•4 min
My family has adopted a new, night time routine on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It's one that is an obsession in this country. We watch American Idol. You have probably heard about it. It is a reality television show which is based around a competition to find the next, big singing star. It was created by Simon Cowell, a British music executive producer, who started a similar reality series in England called Pop Idol. The American version has now become one of the most viewed series ever in this cou...
Feb 25, 2010•4 min
Today's podcast will be dedicated to the 'th'. English, being quite irregular at times, has two ways of pronouncing the combination of the t and the h. That may seem simple, but getting it right is a key to sounding like a native. I have met many people from all over the world who speak English quite well, but who have a weakness when they use a word beginning with th. Some people will pronounce 'the' and similar words as 'de', as if the 'th' was a 'd'. Other people pronounce it as a 'z'; I have...
Feb 24, 2010•6 min
There has been a lot of activity just down the road from us, for the past year. A hotel has been built, and we have witnessed the process from start to finish. About a year ago, the construction crew 'broke ground' and started digging and moving earth. Then came the foundation. The big cement mixers came in to pour and pour until the amount of cement was just right. Each afternoon, driving my children home from school, I would deliberately take a slightly longer route which leads right past the ...
Feb 23, 2010•4 min
So, I have a penguin in my car. It is small, plastic, and makes a very irritating, repetitive noise. Thankfully, it has an on-off switch. But, where on earth did it come from? McDonalds is the answer. I hardly ever go there, but, the other day, my two youngest children begged me to take them there. My son was taking a day off from school because he felt a under the weather, and my daughter didn't have pre-school that day. We needed to get out of the house, but I wanted to take them somewhere war...
Feb 22, 2010•5 min
It's time for me to start preparing our Summer holiday. This year, my family and I will take a trip to Spain for a month. We will visit my father and sister in Scotland and England first, and then family and friends in Spain. I can't wait. Our preparations actually started last Summer, when I discovered that we had accumulated quite a lot of air miles over the past few years. I wondered how many return tickets from Seattle to London could be bought with those air miles. To my surprize(se), most ...
Feb 19, 2010•4 min
For 90 years, Wenatchee has celebrated the Apple Blossom Festival. It is a huge event that takes place, as the title suggests, in Spring. At that time of year, the valley becomes full of the color(our) and smell of pink apple blossoms. The festival celebrates not only the beauty of Spring, but the community that has been built around the apple tree, and the lives that the orchards support. A queen and two princesses are chosen from many High School age girls who apply. To become one of the royal...
Feb 17, 2010•4 min
They are crunchy, small, folded, and light brown in color (colour). They usually come in individual, plastic packets. They don't fill you up, but they are an important part of certain meals. They hold a different promise for each person at the table. And, finally, they have an Asian touch about them. So, what are they? They are fortune cookies, of course. No Asian style meal would be complete without them, at least, from a Westerner's perspective. I'm sure there are a lot of Asian meals that sho...
Feb 16, 2010•4 min
Do you ever go blank when you're trying to spell a word? It happens to me occasionally. When it comes to spelling, I have a problem. I have had to learn the Standard American English whilst living in the U.S. for the past 18 years, but, I'm English. That means that when I went to school I learned Standard English which has quite a few differences from that of the U.S. Some of the obvious ones are: color in American English and colour in British English, analyze in American English and analyse in...
Feb 12, 2010•5 min
Yesterday, I looked over my shopping list, and saw something that my chidren had written down. "Valentines for school", were the instructions that I read. What they meant by that were little cards that are designed especially for school children. Here, in the U.S., it is tradition for the children to give a miniature card to each of their classroom buddies. Sometimes the teacher will allow a treat or tiny toy to be attached or taped to the card, something like an eraser, a pencil, or a small cho...
Feb 11, 2010•4 min
My husband recently returned from a business trip to Germany and England. It is an annual visit that he makes to attend a large, international fruit convention. He spends most of his time in Berlin, and then finishes his trip in London. He loves that city. When he is there, he always calls me and tells me that he is enjoying his wife's 'old stomping ground'. That means a place either that you grew up in, or that was very significant for you. When he comes home, he always brings treats from Londo...
Feb 10, 2010•4 min
Junk mail can be a real pain sometimes. You know the kind: offers from credit card companies, catalogues that you will never use, and all sorts of letters and advertisements that try to get you to spend money in some way or other. I receive a lot of coupons in the mail, mainly from local supermarkets where I shop. Now these are actually useful. Most people I know use coupons at least part of the time; it's a smart way to shop. My sister-in-law is an expert at using coupons. When the coupons come...
Feb 09, 2010•4 min
If you're looking for a bargain in this town, there is a store that offers some very good deals. It is called the Grocery Outlet. I was in there the other day, searching for the latest 'best buys' when I saw a large shelf of flowers on display. In amongst the different kinds of flowers were orchids. I was pleased and surprised at the same time. You can never really be sure what you will find in this shop; their specials change from one day to the next. To find orchids was a very pleasant surpris...
Feb 08, 2010•5 min
It is supposed to be a good thing to reward your kids every now and then for going to school, or doing their chores. Domini, my daughter is no exception. When she changed preschools, she went through a time of adjustment, and had to be encouraged to stay at her new school. She only goes four mornings a week, but, even so, a change is a change. I found that I could persuade her to go along with the new plan by giving her a surprise randomly after preschool. Sometimes it was a treat, and at other ...
Feb 05, 2010•4 min
This podcast seems like a very simple one; what could I possibly have to teach about the stairs? Well, there are many kinds of stairs in a home. You have the steps leading up to the front door, or between one room and another. Sometimes a room can be 'split level' meaning that there is a step all across the width of the room, creating the effect of two different rooms. And then you have the stairs that take you from one floor to another. The stairs between floors can be called the staircase. We ...
Feb 04, 2010•5 min
My son, Cass, has been playing the piano for over a year. He loves it! He practices at home, and attends his weekly class religiously. He really has the discipline thing 'down' as we say, meaning that he understands why and how to be disciplined. I am really impressed at his progress. When he first started lessons, I bought him an electronic keyboard that I found on Craig's List for seventy five dollars. It was a bargain. The previous owner was obviously serious about music, and had taken good c...
Feb 03, 2010•4 min
As I was walking back to my house from the mail box the other day, I looked at our entryway and realised that it looked like a junk yard. There were about four, old, plastic vehicles that our children don't use anymore, just sitting on the driveway looking yucky. I have been meaning to throw the things away, but my youngest children always beg me to keep them for a few more months. The thing is, they are too big for the vehicles, and these old favorites (favourites) of theirs are now faded, weat...
Feb 02, 2010•4 min
This past weekend, I took my children to Seattle to have a break from our home town, and to take in a few of the famous sights. "A change is as good as a rest," is a saying in England which I agree with. Sometimes if you are worn down a little, instead of resting, it is actually good to go and see something new; it is good to be refreshed. So, I booked a hotel that is fairly close to the downtown area of the city. We set off Saturday morning. Travelling over the Cascades was beautiful; mist was ...
Feb 01, 2010•5 min
