Yellow Wallpaper

Jamaica: We read a few informational books, but the library didn't really have any good story books. We also colored the flag and listened to some reggae music (something we already do on a regular basis). For dinner I 'cheated' and stopped by the Jamaican restaurant to get some jerk chicken and pork. Then I made our own rice and peas and we ate the food with fruit. Japan: The library had a lot of fun books about Japan; we also really liked this story quite a bit. The kids colored the flag and I also printed off this bookmark for them. They loved the bookmark dolls and we talked about kimonos a bit. Dinner was a challenge for me because I actually don't like Japanese food very much. So we had chicken katsu , which is a bit more American-friendly. We also watched Ponyo and the kids loved it. Kenya: I thought Kenya was fun to learn about because I didn't know much about it before this month. We ate some yummy food for dinner; I used a recipe from a cookbook I had

OK, maybe not 100 posts, but quite a few random thoughts based on what's been going on around here: Today a baby quail fell into one of our window wells. A family of them visit our backyard on occasion and apparently one little guy fell in as they were walking by. We first tried putting a board down in to see if he would walk up, but it was too steep and he kept falling off. I called the animal shelter to ask for advice, and they recommended using a net to catch him so our scent wouldn't rub off on him. Mr. Fob used our fish net to scoop him up into a bucket and I placed him in a shady corner of the backyard. When we checked a few hours later he was gone. I hope his parents came back and found him. I understand that nature is harsh and sometimes fragile baby birds don't make it, but I hate having to witness it up close. Last night I was listening to NPR on the way to Target for some shopping. It was hard to go in and do my shopping after hearing a speech from the Bolivian a

This last week has been busy for me as I've been revisiting some of my old hobbies. I think it's kind of funny that I was much more of a 'homemaker' in high school; now that I have kids I sometimes feel too busy to do some of those old-school things. But this week I ended up really busting out the provident living skills. First I canned twelve quarts of peaches. It's still early for Utah peaches, but last weekend Bountiful Baskets was offering boxes of California peaches for only 11 dollars (for 25 pounds). I bought a box and managed to turn them into lovely jars of fruit. I did two batches and the first one was rather stressful since I haven't canned for years. I used to just freeze fruit, but now we have a tiny freezer and a large basement storage room. Thankfully I decided to try a second batch the next day and it was much easier after doing it once. Now I'm looking forward to doing applesauce and possibly some pears. Last year I made a ton of jam and I s

Last night in the drive- thru at Burgers Supreme I asked Mr. Fob if he knew how many hours he has spent sitting in waiting rooms while I describe vague symptoms to a doctor. Yesterday my sister-in-law had the older kids come over for a sleepover and the most exciting thing we could think of doing was visiting Instacare together. My stomach had been bothering me since last Friday, and while I was mostly feeling better, there was still a nagging ache in my side and I just felt yucky. I finally got around to going in yesterday afternoon and the visit was actually pretty pleasant. They took some bloodwork and did an ultrasound of my gallbladder and other abdominal organs. The somewhat disappointing news was that there were no obvious stones or blockages, but the ultrasound tech said that I could still be experiencing some inflammation or irritation that may not show up on the screen. What I really need to work on is getting more exercise and changing my diet, but last night I still dec

I have a memory of my seven-year-old self standing by the counter in the kitchen of our house on Paradise Street in San Diego. I'm contemplating how I can get a taste of the Blueberry Strata Pie without anyone noticing; if I remember right, I probably picked off a corner of the crust or swiped my finger through the blueberries. Just the name was magical: "Blueberry Strata Pie". It took me many years and at least one geology class before I learned that 'strata' is simply a fancy word for layers. I don't know when my mom started making it, but for years it was our family's special pie when we had guests for dinner. I also have a memory of my sixteen-year-old self slaving over fancy whipped cream on a Blueberry Strata Pie that I made when I knew a particular missionary was coming over for dinner. Sigh. I recently had a nice slice of the pie when I went to Portland for my sister's graduation. This time she was the chef, while I held my baby and watched. S

Sorry for the delay this month. Summer time has really cut into my free time, plus I have a baby who is still learning how to go to sleep and often takes up my whole evening as well. There aren't as many books as usual because I've been reading Middlemarch off and on all month; it's a good book, but at 800 pages long it's taking up quite a bit of my time! Yearning for the Living God: Reflections from the Life of F. Enzio Busche A friend recently mentioned on her blog that she was really inspired by this book. I felt the same way; it was a nice break from some of the books I've been reading that, while good, tend to be a bit depressing and harsh. At the same time, it did not feel 'fluffy'. Elder Busche is articulate and has obviously spent a lot of time reflecting on his life and the lessons he has learned. I have read a lot of books--both fiction and nonfiction as well as Mormon and not--about 20th-century Germany and felt that this book was a valuable contr

India: We colored the flag and read a few books about India; we also watched a movie called Two Brothers because the library had it labelled as being set in India, but it's actually in Indochina. It was still a good movie and the kids liked it. We ate Indian food twice, once by ourselves and another time when we got together with some friends to eat together. When we ate with our family the kids helped me make chapatis and we had some aloo gobi with rice. On the other day, our friends made some curry and I brought samosas with cilantro chutney . Indonesia : We read a few informational books, as well as this story that the kids really liked. After reading a lot about the puppet shows and dancing from Indonesia we looked up some videos on You Tube and watched a few shows with shadow puppets. For dinner we had chicken satay and fried noodles . Iran: We read a few books about Iran and colored the flag; S-Boogie decided she wants to live in Iran because the boys and girls are separ

I have occasionally seen people who can pull off posts complaining about stuff that other people do that they just don't understand. Despite the fact that I'm pretty opinionated I generally tend to avoid those kinds of posts since I just can't figure out how to do it without offending. I'm just not a clever/snarky blogger. Today I've decided to blog about something I really don't understand: people who don't recycle. My family has recycled for my whole life, even before it was cool or became a political issue. I have years of memories of packing up newspapers, cans, and bottles to haul down to the recycling center. I still can't put a newspaper in the trash; it just feels wrong. Today the kids were in the backyard playing, and when I went outside to check on them I discovered that they had two large, rusty metal stakes they'd discovered in the dirt. I confiscated the stakes and went out to the front to put them in our garbage can that was waiting at