Do you ever watch the programs (programmes) on television that show the funniest international advertisements? They generally come out about Christmas time, and provide an hour of side-splitting* entertainment. Advertising is to be scrutinized*. Even my children will comment on whether or not an advertisement is any good. Some are very clever, some are downright* annoying, and some are confusing. I've found that as my children's critical thinking develops, so do their comments about anything in ...
Dec 06, 2011•6 min
What kind of characteristics or behavior can get you the title of Student of the Month? What would you imagine them to be? Intelligent? Avid* reader? High scorer? Or, are there other qualities that can get you noticed by teachers and rewarded. It looks as if there are many traits* and behaviors that can get a student both noticed and appreciated. Recently, in my childrens' middle school, there was an awards ceremony for a group of students who had 'stood out'* as community builders. By community...
Dec 05, 2011•6 min
Those of you who have been listening to my podcast for the past three years, will know that I have complained about my camera on quite a few occasions. Though it has been both useful and practical for my podcasts, and small enough to fit in my handbag, I have been frustrated with it most of the time. I've described it as a 'dinosaur' more than once. This is a term we often use for an out-of-date piece of technology, such as a computer, or an old cell phone. Well, my little camera is going to be ...
Nov 30, 2011•7 min
The tenth of November was a day of great excitement for my son, Hudson. He had been waiting for months for a new video game to be released. Skyrim is a game of battling dragons, strange worlds lost in time, heroes, enemies, and lots of gore*! It was going to be released at midnight, so the very beginning of 11, 11, of 2011. Skyrim is one of a series of games called the Elder Scrolls, made by Bethesda. It's appeal is basically a concoction of everything that teenagers, and some adults, like in a ...
Nov 18, 2011•7 min
Those of you have been following my podcasts over the past few months, will know that my husband has recently 'got into'*hunting. He is now fully licensed, fully equipped, and on his way to becoming an experienced hunter. Today, instead of leaving at six in the morning, as he usually does, to go to work, he spent the morning with me. He has taken a few days off to go with a friend to Minnesotta to hunt White Tail deer. He deserves a small vacation, so I have enthusiastically watched him pack all...
Nov 17, 2011•7 min
I had never heard of a Round Robin, until this past Sunday. My friend, Jody, invited me to a ladies' round robin in the town of Issaquah which is on the outskirts of Seattle. We left at about eight o'clock, stopped for coffee on the way, and reached the town of North Bend at about ten thirty. Jody had decided to expand our day trip to include an hour of shopping, and North Bend is a great place to do that. There is an open mall area that has many discount, name brand stores; we call them 'outlet...
Nov 08, 2011•7 min
Paying bills can be such a pain. It's a necessary evil. It's also something that keeps us honest: when we have to look at our true expenses in the face*, it makes us consider our life styles, and whether or not we are being responsible. But still, it's a pain. I have to have peace and quiet to do it properly: no one around, no music, no tv. Like other people, I have a system that helps me. Daily, I sort out the bills from the junk mail. The junk goes into the recycling bin, and the bills go in a...
Nov 04, 2011•6 min
The Skagit Valley is a beautifully dreamy green valley located between the Cascade Mountains and the Puget Sound. It is very close to the border with Canada, and right next to the West Coast. I went there a few months ago with my husband, as he had a business meeting with some potato growers. We drove along miles of tree-lined coastal roads, and finally came to a large, flat, lush valley that is farmland. It was cooler and more moist than Wenatchee. There was a consistent breeze coming from the ...
Nov 02, 2011•6 min
Halloween has become a bigger and more celebrated holiday over the past few years. I suspected that it would. There is something innately fun about being scared, and telling scary stories. Parties and dressing up appeal to the child in all of us, of course. But I've noticed just how the machine of materialism is driving these occasions. There are Halloween cards now in the shops, so the expectation will soon be that you must give your friends and family a 'Happy Halloween' card. The decorations ...
Oct 26, 2011•7 min
During my visit to the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery, there were several Native American displays. One was a story telling session, inside a large, colorful, inflated salmon. Two ladies from the Yakima Indian tribe sang songs and told a couple of stories. One was about salmon. As with many Native American stories, the main characters are animals with superpowers and human characteristics. It was an emotional story, told well by the ladies, wearing long skirts, and braided hair. It begins with the Cr...
Oct 21, 2011•6 min
Yesterday, I had the most unusual thing to do. If you had asked me a couple of years ago if I could see myself doing what I did yesterday, I would have told you that you're insane. I delivered a Bobcat to a taxidermist. Take a while to chew on that sentence*. I will explain. My husband recently developed the hobby of shooting. He started by acquiring a rifle, a shot gun, and a pistol. Fine, I thought. Then, the passion took hold* more substantially. His gun safe became quite full, he learned the...
Oct 12, 2011•7 min
On my recent trip to Leavenworth, I had an unexpected opportunity to see a song and dance performance by the Colville Native American Indian tribe. As the salmon festival has expanded over the years, it now includes historical and cultural displays that are related to the salmon and wildlife of the Northwest. The Colville Indians, whose real name is the Shipwoyelpi, have a culture that is strongly tied* to salmon fishing. When European settlers came to this area, they gave the tribe the name of ...
Oct 04, 2011•6 min
It was field trip day last week for Robert who is in third grade. He was particularly excited because it wasn't going to be the ordinary kind of field trip that schools make, you know, to a park, or the fire station, or a bakery. It was to the town of Leavenworth which is about a half hours drive. Each year, among other celebrations, there is The Salmon Festival. On the outskirts of town, there is a salmon hatchery which opens its doors to the public. The salmon have returned from their long, lo...
Oct 03, 2011•6 min
It was during this Summer vacation that my family and I came across the best toy shop that I have ever been to. It was in the town of Coeur d'Alene, in Idaho, the state that is to the east of Washington State, and next to Montana. As we were only on vacation for a few days, we had a very short time in this particular town, a few hours in fact. The town itself is very clean and organized, with lots of greenery, and right on a lake. It's a tourist attraction, and has a seaside feel to it. It's mai...
Sep 21, 2011•6 min
This past weekend was very special. We had friends to stay. What made the weekend special was that, at the beginning of their stay, we actually didn't even know them. This unusual situation started back in June. There was a knock at the door, and when I opened it I found a blonde, young man, with a shy smile, and an armful* of books. "Hello," he said in an accent that I couldn't exactly place. "My name is Mikhail. I wonder if you have five minutes for me to show you these books that I'm selling....
Sep 12, 2011•6 min
Summer has been and gone, can you believe it? For me, it has flown*. I suppose you have been wondering, "Where on earth is Anna? Has she fallen off the planet? Has she given it all up*, moved to Nepal, and become a monk? Or is she just enjoying her Summer too much?" The latter is the correct answer. Yes, I have enjoyed my Summer. I've taken long breaks from the computer. But, you know, to tell you the truth, I have felt the pull back to podcasting. Something in me has missed doing it. I must adm...
Sep 08, 2011•6 min
There is a simple principle that can be applied to all homes: if you don't do the chores, the place becomes like a pig pen. But, if you're wise, you can train the little pigs to do the chores. That is something that I have discovered recently. My four little piggies are starting to really help around the house. Now, when I refer to my children as piglets or piggies, it's not meant insultingly at all, though I am aware that in some cultures it may be so. The diminuitive form of the noun shows aff...
Aug 17, 2011•6 min
"We've got a bunch of poles missing," said my husband *in a huff, as he got in his car to go to a meeting. He had been looking in the storage area above our garage for tents, and all that goes with them. We needed the tents because nine boys had come over for a Summer party, and the expectation was, that they would camp out in the back yard. The weather was perfect for camping out, plus the thought of having an extra nine, *rowdy boys in my house at night, didn't appeal to me at all. So, camping...
Aug 01, 2011•6 min
I learned a few things this past weekend about the fruit industry. My husband has been involved in national and international export of fruit for over twenty years, and right now, he is *up to his neck in this season's fruit: the cherry. Washington state is one of the major cherry producers, and July and August are the two months for harvesting and shipping. We happened to be in a town called Brewster which is about an hour and a half north of Wenatchee. As you head north, the landscape becomes ...
Jul 26, 2011•7 min
For those of you who are following the Tour de France, you will recognize the name Tyler Farrar. He is from the town where I live, Wenatchee. The fact that he is not only in the Tour, but also doing well, has really created a buzz of excitement here. The local newspaper, The Wenatchee World, has a daily spot about the race so we can all keep up to date with how Tyler is doing. What we are holding our breath for, is the sprint into Paris. He will be against Mark Cavendish, the English missile, an...
Jul 22, 2011•6 min
*It's no secret that boys of a certain age like guns, even if they are *make-believe. I remember that before my boys ever had any plastic weapons, they would use other toys, or even sticks, and pretend that they were guns. Perhaps they were influenced by something that they had seen on television, or maybe in a book. Who knows? Even at snack time, they would hold up their carrots at eachother and pretend to shoot. Well, now that my boys are older, we have found a happy medium between play and re...
Jul 18, 2011•6 min
Oh, I haven't been getting much sleep recently. It seems as though* the whole world is noisy. It's summer, and every living thing is feeling fully alive, and therefore, making lots of noise. I often have to put our two dogs in the garage in the early hours of the morning because they have a barking fit* at who knows what*. There are racoon families in our neighborhood. At night they scurry* around, looking for food in the garbage cans. They need to feed their babies, so they are busy. And, of co...
Jul 07, 2011•5 min
One of the things I like most about Summer is barbecuing. As a person who cooks all the time, it's so nice to have a break from the kitchen, and to do some rapid, easy clean-up cooking on the barby. Over here, it's often the men who are in charge of barbecuing the meat; it's like a tradition. However, because of its convenience, I take over often, and get everything prepared before anyone else turns up. The other day, when I went grocery shopping, I stocked up* on sauces that I can use for marin...
Jul 06, 2011•5 min
A routine is a habit, often one that gives us comfort, or some sort of benefit. We say in English that we are 'creatures of habit'. Humans like to have a routine, a familiar way of living. I've noticed that even my children have developed their own routines: how they dress and take care of themselves, what they like to eat and when, and even how they play. A routine that I have in the morning that makes a positive impact on my day, is my coffee routine. A few years ago, my husband and I decided ...
Jun 29, 2011•6 min
Are you enjoying your Summer? It is in full swing now. The clothes shops are full of swimming suits, bikinis, and barbecue equipment. Flowers are out, and most families find a swimming pool to enjoy. There were end of year celebrations for schools, held in parks around the area. We went to the end of year barbecue for the alternative school that two of my sons have been going to for about six months. It took place in a well manicured park that is next to our nearest dam, Rocky Reach Dam. There a...
Jun 27, 2011•6 min
This is the first week of Summer vacation. The first couple of days seemed a bit unreal; my two youngest kept on asking if they had school the next day. "Nope," I would reply,"it's the Summer, remember?" Thankfully, we are getting used to a slower pace. I don't have to drive as much, which is a relief. There are a few things that I have arranged for the children this Summer to keep them occupied and learning new things. My first and third sons have been attending a basketball Summer camp. It is ...
Jun 22, 2011•5 min
I have an excuse for not updating my podcast for a few days, honestly....I dove into a renovation project in my house. It's something that I have wanted to do for a long time, but something always seems to come up*, so the project gets put off. The powder room on the first floor of the house has had a face-lift. It was a sweet, little, room, but really quite out of date. Getting involved in this kind of project is tempting, but also dangerous. What you plan on taking a few days to do, can easily...
Jun 14, 2011•6 min
I bet if you have downloaded this podcast, you are wondering what on earth it is about. I know, the title is curious. Well, let me tell you. I'm in the city of Yakima at the moment, writing for you from a lounge chair, next to a pool, at the Oxford Inn hotel. It is situated right next to the river, in a lovely tree-lined area, quite close to the baseball park. And that is why we're here. Yes, you've heard about our involvement in this sport before. This summer, we have weekend tournaments just a...
Jun 12, 2011•5 min
I know a few people who have Stetsons. Infact, when my brother was visiting a few months ago, he bought himself a couple. They are good quality, and last for a long time. Where he lives is very sunny, so they are a charming, and unusual way to get shade in New Zealand. Stetson is an icon of American society. It's typically American, like baseball, and Elvis Presley. Close to the end of the 19th century, the Stetson Hat Company was the biggest in the world, producing over three million hats a yea...
Jun 07, 2011•5 min
Clyde Edward Pangborn, a stunt pilot, and flight instructor during the First World War, arrived in Wenatchee on October 5th, 1931, after 41 hours and 15 minutes of flighing. He and his partner, Hugh Herndon Jr., had just made a historic flight from Shabishiro, Japan, the first time the pacific had been flown across. What's exciting about that historical trip, is that they completed it in Wenatchee. They had been scheduled to land in Seattle, but couldn't do so because of bad weather. I had heard...
Jun 07, 2011•5 min
