Picture Catch-up: February 2008

LW loves to help cook in the kitchen. Here he is making apple crisp.















Here are all four of the kids on a recent snow day, next to one of the two snowmen they made that morning.

Picture Catch-up: The Uninvited Loud Procession Band

IM, NB, and LW had a great time over Christmas break making their own Uninvited Loud Procession Band (based on a book by Sandra Boynton that my mom got LW for Christmas). We had to set a rule that procession bands were only allowed between the end of breakfast and the return of guests from skiing. Here is the visual. I'll do you a favor and spare you the audio.

Picture Catch-up: Blueberry Boy

LW loves, loves, loves blueberries. He eats the frozen ones by the bowlful. Here he is showing off the results of too many blueberries.

Picture Catch-up: LW's First Haircut

I finally downloaded pictures off my camera--a task that's been on my To Do list for months--and I thought I'd post a few.

These were taken of LW's first hair cut, which was just a few days after Thanksgiving.

Before
















During




















After

Engrish

My non-inn job is writing technical documentation for a software company. Our company has a partner in Japan that, among other things, handles tech support for our Japanese customers. The cases that might be related to product defects get escalated to our U.S. tech support team. Since our local guys are a bit rusty with their Japanese, the Japanese partners communicate with us in English. On good days. On the not-so-good days, we get Engrish* emails.

The one that has become something of an in-house joke came several years ago:
"Product broken! You fix!"

Tonight, I found the following in my in box:
"The customer is hurrying up. Someone gives correspondingly. I'm sorry by poor English. If the meaning of sentences is not clear, I want you to ask back."

I think he's saying the customer is in a hurry and he'd like the tech support guys to answer the previous email he sent on this issue. But it's sort of anyone's guess.

* For a definition of Engrish (and some good laughs), see www.engrish.com. Technically, these emails aren't Engrish because they aren't product advertising or design.

Books read

My reading is progressing slowly this year, but I have finished Rebels of Ireland and Cocaine Blues.

I enjoyed Rebels of Ireland as much as its prequel, Princes of Ireland. Just as when I read the first book, I was struck by how much more complex the religious-political situation was in Ireland. Catholics versus Protestants doesn't begin to cover it. The chapter on the Irish Potato Famine was horrific to read, and left me wishing for some good old-fashioned Old Testament justice.

Other interesting facts that were new to me:

• A lot of Catholic Irish nobility fled to various European countries, many becoming mercenaries in the conflicts of the 18th and 19th centuries.
• There was a lot of effort put into enlisting France's aid for Irish independence. In December 1796, a French fleet sailed to Ireland, but thick fog and stormy seas prevented the troops from landing.
• In the late 1600s, it was not uncommon for Catholic Irish families to raise one of their sons as a Protestant, hoping he could protect the Catholic family members during times of political crisis.
• In 1800, Ireland's Parliament voted itself out of existence.

Cocaine Blues is a quick read, a mildly entertaining mystery. It takes place in Australia during the 1920s, and is the first book in a series about Phryne Fisher. I enjoyed it, and might pick up another if I were looking for a light book, but I don't think I'll seek out the sequels.

Skiing breakthrough?

Michael and I went skiing yesterday. It was my first time on that mountain, and it quickly became my favorite of the three closest to us. It has many short green trails.

We spent some time skiing the lower half of the mountain, and then ventured up to the top. It has a fabulous, panoramic view that Michael has been wanting to show me for years, but unfortunately by the time we got to the top (the lift was closed the first half of our visit) thick clouds had rolled in and I was unable to see anything.

We split up coming down the mountain, as Michael had a black trail he wanted to ski. The blue trails at the top were a pretty green blue, so I was comfortable making my way slowly down the mountain.

Whenever I'm not with Michael, I get unsolicited advice from whichever ski instructor happens to be nearby when I pause to take a break. Impromptu ski lessons in fortune-cookie doses. Last week, someone told me, "Point your belly button where you want to go." This week, while waiting for his class to ski down to him, a man said, "Keep your shoulders and head pointed down the mountain, and use the lower half of your body to turn."

I tried doing that until I got to a part of the trail I didn't like, and then I tensed up and reverted to my previous methods. I found myself wondering if I shouldn't resign myself to being the read-in-the-ski-lodge-and-dispense-cocoa-during-breaks ski mom.

When Michael and I met up again for the last two runs of the day, he had a new piece of advice for me. "Pretend each foot is on a gas pedal. When you turn, push down on the gas with one foot and lift up on the gas with the other." Surprisingly, this seemed to work really well. It kept me from holding too much weight on my uphill ski. Automatically, my skis maintained a parallel position, instead of the wedge they favored before. As an added bonus, my speed picked up significantly without a loss of control.

I don't usually look forward to skiing, but I find myself wanting to get back on the slopes to practice my new technique. Maybe it's too early to limit myself to the lodge.

World record holder

Is there a Guiness Book of World Records category for "Most Consecutive Readings of Richard Scarry's Busiest Firefighters Ever!"? Because I have the title all sewn up. No contest. (Well, Michael might be a close runner up.)

Seriously, I can quote this book in my sleep. Michael and I have even begun to delve into the big issues. How safe is Busytown when the fire engine causes a two-car pile up? Was there ever a time when firefighters wore ties? How does the snake put his pants on in the morning? Are those beef hot dogs the firefighters and Mr. Frumble (all pigs) are eating at the end? Or does Busytown have a seedy cannibalistic underbelly?

Yesterday I had a brief respite when LW allowed me to alternate Busiest Firefighters Ever! and Fox in Socks.

Is it any wonder I am finding How the Irish Saved Civilization a bit dry by comparison?


* This post is not intended in any way to convey a lack of gratitude for the relative who gave us the book. You have made one little boy very happy. And we can't remember who you are, so no hard feelings.

Quotes from LW

Things he's said lately:

"Me not two. Me six!"

When EM told him he wasn't old enough to play a game, "Daddy! EM say me not older!"

While trying to convince us to let him watch TV, "Take a picture of me crying."

On being denied a second piece of coffee cake, "No, coffee cake not for the guests!"

I'm a mean mom

Or so my kids will tell you today. The evidence? When we went to the library, I made them check out one non-fiction book and--this is the kicker--one fiction book that is outside their usual reading habits (specifically, a book without talking animals, wizards, fairies, dragons, magic, or space travel).

Shock. Horror. Scandal.

Someone call Amnesty International.

NB, my future lawyer or perhaps judge, had to ask me about every possible exception.

"Does Warriors count? The animals don't talk to humans."
"But, Mom, Dragonslayers Academy is outside my usual reading habits. I almost never read them."

From looking at the library shelves, it appears my kids are not the only ones who only read fantasy or science fiction. It was really rather challenging to find non-depressing, age-appropriate books at their reading level that met my criteria. In the end, I'm not entirely sure we succeeded. NB's book is The Incredible Journey, which is about animals, but they don't seem to talk. EM's book is The Book Thief, which is narrated by Death, but other than that seems to be about a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany. IM got The Pushcart War, about which I know nothing except that it seems to take place among humans in New York City.

I'll let you know how they like them.