Making

Making stuffed mushrooms from an old recipe and these fabulously large fungus that Bayan found in the supermarket. He thought they were hilarious. Ruhi thought they looked like they belonged in Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Very possible. Anyway the lamb and herb stuffing was fabulous as for the rest well, it was just way. too. much. mushroom.
Making weaving looms from recycled memo board frames that I used to have in my classroom but can no longer use for that purpose. Some students wanted to try their hand at traditional Mexican and Guatemalan style weaving. I am improvising the "looms" and Bayan, the self proclaimed fabulous fixer man, was very helpful when it came to hammer time. He was also excellent at locating renegade nails.

Five down. Two to go.

Sophia

turned six for the second time this week. And we celebrated with chocolate cake, candles and lots of songs. She is (apparently) sitting between Anisa and Bayan. The kids had such a blast planning and preparing for Sophia's impromptu party that, rumor has it, she may be turning six again tomorrow.

Feeling Justified

So, as it turns out I do not simply have pinchable fatty pockets (I ask you, honestly, have you ever heard of such a thing?) I also have a wandering kneecap. The physiotherapist didn't put it quite like that, but he did explain that one part of the knee socket seems to be worn down a bit on one side which would explain the sensation of it "popping out of place" that, coupled with an old dance injury and: voila you have the pleasure of having your kneecap surgically taped into place to prevent it from dislocating again while the muscles get strengthened around it. It is not quite as much fun as it sounds. But at least I can move normally and at least I feel justified in the aforementioned agony as, not only was my fatty pocket pinched, but the kneecap was also dislocated. So there.

Not to be outdone... when we arrived home Anisa gave Bayan a rambunctious piggy back ride. Never a good thing. Anisa slipped, knocking her elbow on the tiles and dropped Bayan, who landed on his head. Ugh! Between the screams and the tears and the howls and the swelling of heads I carted the children off to the bedroom to calm them down because Mehran (who arrived home early - not a mistake he will repeat any time soon I am sure) looked like he was about ready to check himself into the nearest mental asylum. But he recovered himself, bandaged some body parts and peace was restored at last...until Bayan skinned his knee. But that is another story.

Anisa's concoctions

Someone has been having a thoroughly spiffing time inventing new foods for the family and any innocent visitors to try. I am not sure which I enjoy more: watching the concentrated effort as Anisa carefully crushes cornflakes, measures specific quantities of milk and water and raids the condiment section of the refrigerator adding dashes of this, splashes of that and usually a touch of ketchup which always enhances the flavour, at least according to her; or watching Mehran's face as he samples (more warily than he did at first) her latest concoction.

I love the fact that Anisa is so creative and adventurous with her cooking and I hope that she keeps it up. One day I am sure she will hit on something big. I also love the fact that Mehran can generally be counted on to do the official taste testing. This is especially helpful when I can't quite get past the unidentified "floaty bits" hovering around the surface. It's good to know that those 9 months he spent in a Pakistani refugee camp have fortified him for his daughters culinary experiments. God bless them both.

Fun at IKEA

The last time that I took the kids to IKEA this is what I remember:

• not finding exactly what I came for


• playing defense as Bayan maneuvered the mini trolley through the kitchen section. Why they provide child size trolleys and then place all their delicate glassware in stacks on the floor I cannot comprehend. Consequently parents are forced to attempt to hang onto the handle of the trolley (easier said than done) or jump in front of displays to prevent imminent crashes and chaos (easier done than said - and occasionally more painful too.)


• taking a very long time to reach the exit thanks to the extensive labyrinth of the floor plan which requires you to walk through the entire store in a very round about fashion before you can escape. For marketing purposes I completely get this, but it does not help matters when you must traverse said labyrinth while carrying an hysterical child in your arms.


• leaving with extensive shin bruising and frazzled hair.

Today was different. Kind of the opposite actually. We went in, I was looking for a plush ball for the classroom and some inexpensive storage cubes for Bayan's room; Anisa and Bayan were looking forward to going in the playroom and Ruhi was looking forward to some one on one time with me. So, I filled in the forms, asked Bayan if he needed the toilet and told them that they may have to wait for a turn in the play room as it looked very busy. As luck should have it some kids were coming out and Anisa and Bayan were whisked in. No sooner did Bayan enter the premises and look at all of the toys and play equipment then he turned to Anisa and said I have to go to the toilet. I will admit to spying on them from the lobby, just to make sure that everything went alright and there were no unfortunate mishaps. What I saw through the little space under the door was a wonderful big sister leading her little brother to the bathroom, helping him when he struggled with his pants and assisting him to wash his hands when he was done. Those were some prideful, heart warming moments watching Anisa (well, her feet) looking after Bayan. The independence and the assurance of having a capable big sister and protective little brother right there made me feel comfortable and confident enough to leave them in the play room and head off into the depths of IKEA with Ruhi. And what should we find, but the very ball I was looking for. While searching for the storage cubes I quickly decided that they were either far too big or far too expensive but Ruhi and I found some little storage baskets that were half price. We also took part in a treasure hunt locating international landmarks and identifying the countries that Smoochy the IKEA dog had visited on her holidays Ruhi was great at tracking down the clues using the map and even happily played treasure hunt guide for Anisa and Bayan who wanted to do it too when their time in the play room was up. Anisa was really good about working out the clues, while Bayan helped us out by finding the arrows on the floor. There were no wayward trolley escapades and the "treasure", a mini ice cream, was thoroughly enjoyed while watching snippets of Ice Age. When you are 8, 6 and 3 it simply does not get better than that.

Digging for Dinosaurs

I have been wanting to do a dinosaur activity with the kids for quite some time. I have been mulling it over in my head thinking about all the things that we could do, but have just never gotten my act together. Until today - that is. It all began last night while the children slept. Someone was inspired to whip up a double batch of salt dough, making three rough egg shapes with little dinosaurs tucked inside. I baked them on low heat for three hours and then left them in the oven over night. They needed a bit more cooking time but later that morning they were done - enough. When they were cool I brought them to the making table to show the kids and asked if anyone would like to paint a dinosaur egg. Needless to say there was no shortage of volunteers. And here is what they came up with. I am no expert on prehistoric eggs but I think they look pretty good.

While the kids had a snack I read them the book Archaeologists Dig for Clues and we talked about what sort of things you might find in the ground and how archaeologists (and paleontologists for that matter) might divide up the ground into a grid shape to keep track of where they make their discoveries. I took the kids outside where I had set up a grid in what was supposed to be an herb garden (it's in the pipes, so don't despair) but for today was the designated dig site for prehistoric creatures. Tucked below the earth was a nest of eggs (eggs that looked suspiciously similar to the ones they had painted earlier) and no less than six assorted dinosaurs hidden at different locations throughout the grid that the children had to dig for. We kept a chart going so that we could see what we found where and when all the dinosaurs were collected we went on a treasure hunt in the upper garden (I use the term loosely) where I had placed a few additional dinosaurs (all the dinosaurs I purchased were from the markets for something like 50 cents each for larger ones and a dollar for a bag of smaller ones). We used the map that Ruhi had drawn up of the yard identifying key features such as rocks, trees, the swing set and cubby house and I marked the location of each hidden dinosaur with an x on the map and the kids had to find them. When they had collected them all, wouldn't you know it it was time for the eggs to hatch. With a little help from some enthusiastic fingers the children found three more dinosaurs and then spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the small herd they had discovered right in their own backyard.

They played beautifully for hours, the only mishap was when one dinosaur disappeared only to be discovered attempting to devour a ladybug antenna and eye. His folly might have gone unnoticed had not the items become lodged in his throat on the way down. He is supposed to be a vegetarian, a plant eater, a herbivore. So, I ask you, what is with the scarfing of lady bug eyeballs? Hmmmmm? Perhaps I should just ask Anisa.

Middle age:

It's not lookin good.


I bobbed down to get some potatoes out of the basket in the pantry and something in my knee gave way. There was no pop, but there was certainly some almighty pain as my kneecap dislocated and all delicate attempts to relocate it failed miserably. It is presently tender and unbendable past a certain point, but interestingly I can still walk normally enough, I can crawl, sort of (that was learned by an unavoidable fluke) and can stand and move about, albeit there is a bit of swelling and discomfort.


Now before anyone begins condemning our diet, let me just say that this is pretty much my own fault. I decided to do the lunges in aerobics this morning. I never do the lunges because, even as a teenager, they always bothered my knees. Well, some things never change. But I was feeling so fit and robust, I thought what the heck I'll do some lunges, and even as I was doing them I could hear and feel little creaks and pops. Not a good sign, but I was so focused on attempting to tone some, ahem, trouble spots that I ignored the snaps and the cracks and the pops. Consequently I am off to see a chiropractor later this afternoon. I hope she's good with knees.



Update: I wound up in physiotherapy as I have apparently, and I quote: "pinched the fatty pocket in my knee." How glamorous does that sound? Dislocation sounds so much more worthy of the pain, yet I assure you pinched knee pockets, be they fatty or not, are perfectly excruciating. On the bright side mine is healing remarkably well and thanks to some ultrasound heat treatments and pressure bandages is only noticeable when I squat down. A maneuver I am currently trying to avoid. At least for a little while.

A Few Surprises

1). I got to sleep in. I never get to sleep in, but the kids were up and were happily content with activities and, OK, a little bit of TV. There was no "Mummy get up." "Mummy I'm hungry." "Mummy can you read me my airplane book?" There was just happy quiet and I got to sleep in.

2). When I did finally wake up, it was to discover that, while I dozed, Bayan had tucked both of our can openers into bed with me. These currently double as his personal airplane and rocket ship. He can often be found these days dashing about the house, screeching an array of super- sonic sounds, with a flying can opener on the end of each of his extended arms.

3). Anisa and Bayan decided to help clean the house today- without being asked. Both wonderful, beautiful and amazing, I know. It's just that this 'help' consisted of partially rolling up the Persian carpet and leaving it askew in the middle of the floor while Anisa shook out the sofreh (Persian indoor picnic blanket) inside the house - thus blasting pieces of rice and bits of last nights dinner across the room. Despite their earlier desire to "help clean" neither felt inclined to vacuum. Sigh.

4). Ruhi, while standing at the kitchen counter and clearly thinking of more fascinating things, forgot what she was doing and began using the honey from our honey bear as a hand soap. I do believe she was just as surprised as I was.

5). We have a new member of the family. She answers to the name of Sophia. She is usually six years old, but that is subject to change. Despite the fact that she is invisible Anisa assures me that Sophia has the most beautiful rainbow hair and luminous rainbow eyes (although, in Anisa's words, "her body is skin color." I love that. As if there is only one color for skin. Anyway I had to check.) She is really nice and she even catches puppies with her hair. How cool is that? This is how it works, (in case you, like myself, are ignorant of the best methods for capturing canines) when she sees a puppy that she likes or that needs help she stretches out her long hair until she reaches the puppy, then she gently tangles the puppy in her rainbow tresses and carefully pulls the puppy towards her. Sophia even has a pet, a princess puppy called Sarah. Hmmmm.

Thanksgiving Lunch

So the day that we set for Thanksgiving arrived, with soaring temperatures of 43 degrees. (Well over 100 F) Which, as I am sure you can appreciate, is the perfect weather in which to be baking a 12 pound turkey for five hours. But due to the numerous postponements we had previously made (for health reasons) I wasn't about to cancel again. Instead I stuffed the bird in the oven and dashed out to the markets to grab some fruit and veggies and whatever fabulous treasures I should happen to find. I was back within an hour and a half to start preparing the rest of the food: there was mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, turkey, rice (thanks Haleh), garden salad, pasta salad, numerous batches of ice cold, parsley, lemonade (don't knock it till you've tried it) and pumpkin soup served up in it's own shell (Ruhi's idea, and a pretty groovy one too.) See what I mean? I made Mehran, before he escaped to play soccer with some friends, hollow out the pumpkin with a melon baller. This was a challenging and tedious process and one that he was not very enthusiastic about- although it worked splendidly compared to with an ordinary spoon. Anyway the soup was pretty good. Not the most tempting thing to have on a hot day, but it was delicious the next day when served cold.
For desert there was the torta caprese, cheesecakes, chocolate wafers, chocolate pudding and banana creme pies (courtesy of Celeste) and also some fresh dates. But the best part - and the part that I pretty much got no photos of (save for the first picture of some of the kids) -was just getting to catch up with family and friends, some of whom we don't get to see as often as we would like. And, contrary to what you might think after reading this post, it is really the family and the friends, not the food, that made the whole celebration worthwhile.

Preparing...

We spent the afternoon preparing desserts for tomorrow: torta caprese (a flourless almond and chocolate brownie) and cheesecakes. We are finally having our annual Thanksgiving lunch. I am leaving the foods till the morning, so its all pretty low-key at the moment. My three bakers donned their aprons for the occasion, so Mom you can finally get a vague idea about which one belongs to which child. They were very excited, consequently all the pictures turned out something like this:
You understand.

Also, as part of our preparations, we have been reading The Secret of Saying Thanks and thinking about things that we are grateful for. These range from the usual health, home and family to apples, butterflies, soft pillows, hairbrushes and chocolate. Though Anisa made sure to cover all her bases by emphasizing that she was grateful for everything. Here. Here.

The week in foods

Not so very long ago, as I hunched over the toilet bowl, I could not imagine ever wanting to eat again, let alone having the desire to prepare any type of food either for myself or anyone else. Isn't it funny (and miraculous) how quickly we can forget the unpleasant aspects of life and get on with enjoying the better things. Speaking of which... I have been having a great time making snacks and meals and treats for everyone. I suppose I am trying to compensate for the two and a half wretched weeks I spent not wanting to think of food and being terrified of ingesting anything more lavish than crusty toast and ice chips. So, I present the week in foods:
There was a creamy, shrimp, fettuccine with fresh herbs,
a vegetable curry with steamed basmati rice, (you'll have to excuse the picture, everyone was so hungry that we started before I had a chance to take a picture. I snapped this one as I was putting the leftovers in Tupperware.) Yellow squash, zucchini and shrimp pasta. Surprisingly the kids loved this. I will make it with buckwheat noodles next time, regardless it is extra scrummy if you crumble a bit of feta cheese on top. The old standby, and one of Bayan's favorite dinners: Ghormeh sabzi (Persian lamb and herb stew) with basmati rice and salad shirazi.

I am seriously in love with these. I adapted this from a recipe I found at allrecipes.com and have never looked back. I think I could live on these. Grilled eggplant, roma tomatoes, fresh basil, feta cheese and a zippy garlic mayonnaise on a toasted, sesame seed bun. It doesn't get better than that. Admittedly the children didn't go for these, but that's OK because then there is more for me. Besides, I planned ahead and there was a simple back up sandwich starring a piece of ham which was far more acceptable as far as they were concerned.

The famous cannelloni, made with fresh spinach from the market. There was so much spinach that I made a "spinach brownie" (also from all-recipes). That sounds kinda gross, but it was delicious, kind of like a spanakopita without the dough. The tossed, garden salad wasn't bad either.We tried the sweet-potato burrito (also from all-recipes). Everyone liked these except Bayan who refused, point blank, to try them. So I cannot accurately report on his true feelings for this dish - though Ruhi loved them.We also enjoyed deserts such as this highly scrumptious, gluten free, blueberry and apple pie.
Breakfast foods like these gluten, dairy free, apple pancakes with pure maple syrup. For gluten free these are really good.

And fun lunches like these love heart and nine pointed star sandwiches.There were lots of fresh snacks like these fancy fruit salads (the fresh strawberry sorbet - pictured first in this post)and fun strawberry smoothies.To say nothing of some special treats like warm cups of cocoa topped with marshmallows and sprinkled with chocolate shavings.

Yum. I think I might go make myself one of these right now.

Plums

Our plum tree likes to outdo itself every year. Once again the branches have been groaning under the weight of all the plums. They are not officially ripe yet but the rainbow laurikeets and Magpies have been gorging themselves on the fruits and Mehran was horrified when he saw the extent of their snacking. Ruhi and I went out to collect what we could from the tree, and much of our harvest included fruits that were far less than perfect, having been scratched or pecked by birds first. I would be a little wary of this normally, but because most of the harvest was going to Mehran's parents to be transformed into jams and they don't mind working with less than stellar fruits we salvaged all we could. Ruhi was quite a trooper because it was really, really hot. But we got a decent harvest and even left a few for the birds to enjoy, as if they haven't already.

Some Favourite Books

Be forewarned: this post is long! Make sure you are sitting down and you have something nice to eat and drink. You may also want to take this opportunity to visit the bathroom. Truly... I'm serious... Go now. You'll thank me later.

Well, we have been reading a lot of books lately. A lot. I love reading, but must confess that I am getting a little tired of continuous Dr. Seuss. The kids however are loving him and constantly request The Cat in the Hat, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Ten Apples Up on Top, Green Eggs and Ham, I Had Trouble in Getting to Sollow Sollew and Scrambled Eggs Super... to name but a few. They want these read not once, not twice, but numerous times. I try to comply, but have been searching out some of our old favourites to add a little variety. Martha, ages ago, (sorry 'bout that) asked for a post on some good books. So, here we go.

I'll include about 20 favorites, but there are so. many. more. Bear in mind that many of these are pre-school and junior primary oriented although Ruhi still loves listening to them as well.

In no particular order:

1). The Wonderlamp by Don Stevenson

A beautiful, poetic, piece about progressive revelation for kids. Lovely artwork and poignant story. It tells how the dawn of a new day is celebrated by the children of man and how the whole world celebrates the birth of a new revelation, however adults thinking that they know best and can improve the light of this Wonderlamp take it, and try to make it more beautiful and worthy. As it passes from a merchant to a governor to a king the lamp undergoes a series of transformations and its light and true essence is slowly obscured by ornate decorations. Eventually the people can barely see the light behind the illustrious disguise and slowly the light goes out, the world turns dark until...the dawn of another revelation. It shows how humanity likes to alter the essence of religion to fit our own needs and how sometimes the essence of that faith is lost, or forgotten, and how God will not leave us in darkness but will always send another Manifestation to guide us.

2). With You All The Way by Max Lucado

Carlisle, Alon and Cassidon - the strongest, swiftest and wisest knights in the kingdom set out to see which is worthy of the princess hand in marriage. As the Prince explains the test that is set to challenge them the knights begin to understand the danger of the journey before them. With only the King's song to guide them and one companion to accompany them they set out on the adventure of a lifetime. In the end only one succeeds, all because he has chosen the right Companion. This is a timeless tale about one of the most important choices life will offer.

3). The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale retold by Angela Elwell Hunt

The classic Bible story of three trees with big dreams that came true in ways they could not even have imagined, ways that were infinitely better than what they had hoped to achieve for themselves all because of the role that Jesus and God played in the unfolding history of humankind.

4). You Are Special by Max Lucado

A heartwarming story (and a personal favourite) about looking at what you can do- not at what you can't, about trusting in God and knowing that he loves us despite our imperfections. It is about realizing that we are all different and that God has made us that way for a reason, that He loves us for our uniqueness and that we are all special.

5). The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch

I think this is a classic. I love this story not only for it's content but also for the fact that it provides an alternate type of ending. Princess Elizabeth lives in a castle and is going to marry a prince named Ronald. She is completely smitten, while he is simply in love with himself. When a dragon smashes her castle, burns all her clothes and carries off Prince Ronald Elizabeth sets out to rescue her beloved. On her journey she demonstrates resourcefulness, fearlessness, determination, ingenuity, wisdom, creativity and tons of intelligence (that's my kind of princess) she succeeds in rescuing Ronald only to be told, after all her endeavors, that she doesn't look like a real Princess because her hair is messy and she is wearing a dirty, paper bag. He has the audacity to tell her to come back for him when she is dressed like a real princess. Elizabeth tells him a few things too before happily dashing off into the sunset (on her own) having decided that she doesn't want to marry him after all.

6). Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

I love this book. 'Molly Lou Melon is short and clumsy, has buck teeth, and has a voice that sounds like a bull frog being squeezed by a boa constrictor. She doesn't mind. Her grandmother has always told her to walk proud, smile big and sing loud, and she takes that to heart. But then Molly Lou has to start in a new school. A horrible bully picks on her on the very first day, but Molly Lou Melon knows just what to do about that...' She uses the attributes that she has in a positive and powerful way and handles the bullying situation with assertiveness, determination and humor.

7). The Princess and the Kiss by Jennie Bishop

One of Anisa's favourites. A loving King and Queen present their maturing daughter with a precious gift from God - her first kiss, which (she is told) is hers to keep or give away. The wise princess decides to save it for the man she will marry. Many princes come to call bringing costly gifts, pledging never ending romance and volunteering to move mountains in her name but none of these are worthy of her kiss, none will find it special enough, none need it or will cherish it the way she does. So one by one she sends them all away. Just when she begins to despair of ever finding someone she can share her kiss with the answer arrives in heartwarming disguise. This tale beautifully demonstrates the importance of purity and chastity.

8). The Squire and the Scroll by Jennie Bishop

This story tells of the adventure of a young squire who has memorized the Sacred Scroll and travels with the last of the Kingdoms' knights to rescue the Lantern of Purest Light from the evil dragon who has hidden it deep in a dark and dangerous cavern. All the men of the kingdom have gone out to search for it, but none have returned. This is the Kingdom's last chance. The knight is brave and strong, but he has forgotten the words of the Scroll so halfway through their journey he meets the same fate as all those that have gone before him. The squire is left to go on alone. Because he knows the Words so well he is able to protect himself from poison and entrapments and can guard his heart from fear, envy and greed. He succeeds where others failed because he remembered the Divine Words and chose to live his life by them. A powerful and poignant tale.

9). Because I Love You by Max Lucado

'A long time ago a wise man named Shaddai built a wonderful village for children to live in. He talked to them and sang for them and told them stories. He gave them everything they needed. And with his own hands Shaddai built a protective wall around their village rock by rock. He did this all for just one reason - because he loved them. One day Paladin, the village's most curious child, discovers something troubling about the wall. Something that makes him wonder about Shaddai's love.' This story shows how God has given us free will but also limits and boundaries.

10). Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

As a young mother holds her newborn baby in her arms she softly sings to him:

"I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

my baby you'll be."

The mother sings this same song throughout the years as her baby grows into a toddler, boy, teenager and adult. It demonstrates the essence of a parents love for their child and shows how it initiates traditions and crosses generations. Bayan adores this book.

11). How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer

A clever story about how we all have invisible buckets and how the fuller our bucket is the happier we are and how the emptier it gets the more unhappy we become. In the book a young boy learns how when he does something nice for someone else not only does he help fill that person's bucket but he also adds drop to his own bucket too.

12). The Secret of Saying Thanks by Douglas Wood

'If you've not yet discovered the secret of saying thanks, it's waiting for you. The secret can be found in the sunrise that offers promises for the day ahead, or in the gentle shade of a tree sheltering you from the hot rays of the sun, or on the rock that offers rest from a long walk... Douglas Wood offers a spiritual homage to nature, home and family. Greg Shed's stunning portraits of the natural world tenderly portray all of the many ways in which we can say thanks for the wonders we sometimes take for granted in life.'

13). Usborne Greek Myths (a mini edition)

A collection of stories featuring brave heroes, dangerous monsters, powerful gods and goddesses, battles, quests and perilous adventures. They are told in a way that young children can listen to and understand, that older children can read for themselves and they are beautifully illustrated to provided lasting images that capture the imagination and reinforce the mythical tales.

14). Usborne Stories from Around the World retold by Heather Amery

Beautifully and intricately illustrated this collection features traditional stories gathered from around the world. There are tales of brave heroes and heroines, fables of wonderful magic and strange and mystical creatures and even indigenous myths about how things first came to be. They are told in a simplistic manner that even young children can grasp but the tales are woven with such magic that they can hold older children spellbound for ages. My kids constantly ask for more.

15). The Napping House by Audrey Wood

Lots of her books are quite charming. We also love The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe, Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear but part of the charm, I must admit, are the illustrations that accompany the text. Most of her books are illustrated by her husband, Don Wood, who is an artistic genius- specifically when it comes to children's books. This is a simple story, with a repetitive text (great for beginning and emergent readers) about people and pets who are napping. The illustrations get the kids every time. OK, OK, I like them too.... see what I mean? Check out the expressions on the dog and the cat.

16). Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

Giving kids a global perspective. This story shows how every day, all over the world kids are going about the same types of activities (though perhaps in different ways) and are feeling the same types of emotions. We may not all look alike, talk alike, live in the same sorts of houses or eat the same sorts of food but really we are very similar -if we just take the time to look closely. The story is all about celebrating similarities while appreciating diversity.

17). Something from Nothing by Pheobe Gilman

A charming story about a little boy who treasures the baby blanket that his grandfather made him. As he grows and the blanket begins to fall apart he refuses to throw it away, despite the repeated requests of his mother. Instead he insists that "Grandpa can fix it!" So Grandpa takes what is left and changes it into something more useful and suitable to young Joseph's stage of life: a jacket, a tie, a handkerchief, a button etc. until eventually nothing remains. When the button is lost, Joseph despairs but then he thinks of an ingenious way to salvage the situation. Gorgeous. There is even a sub-story told in illustrations along the bottom of the pages.

18). The Smartest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson

I picked up this book at a bargain, after Christmas sale, one year. I think I paid three dollars. I didn't read through the whole thing at the time because I was in a bit of a rush, but I am so glad I bought it. It is the lovely tale of a selfless giant who finally can afford to buy some nice clothes. He goes into town to trade his worn gown and sandals for new socks and shoes, for a shirt and pants and even for a tie and belt. He leaves the shop feeling very dashing and debonair but soon he encounters a giraffe whose neck is cold- so he gives the tie to the giraffe. All along the way home he finds animals in distress: a family of mice whose house has caught fire and burned to the ground, a stranded goat whose sail blew away in a storm etc. so one by one he gives away his articles of clothing to help those in need. He is eventually left with only his pants (which keep falling down because he gave away his belt) and a sock and a shoe. He begins to shiver and shake and decides to go back to town to see if he can get some more clothes. The shop is shut and the giant despairs until he sees a bag on the curb containing his old gown and sandals. He happily puts them on and is cozy and warm again. The giant never thought of himself, but gave up what he had for the benefit of others and then when he had nothing he was delighted and grateful to return to the rags that he had worn before. The story reminds me of 'Abdu'l-Baha. There are some beautiful lessons here.

19). Sailing Home by Colin Thompson and Matt Ottley

This is a book by two Australian authors. It is a fun adventure story dedicated to those who are dealing with drought. Ironically the pages are filled with water scenes as Peter and his family awake to find that the rain storm that came during the night has also carried them out to sea. The families house sails around the world before returning home. Lovely illustrations.

20). The Value Tale Series by Ann Donegan Johnson

This is not a single book, but rather a series of books each one focusing on a single virtue and looking at the life of someone who exemplified that virtue on a daily basis. Such as Helen Keller and the Value of Determination, Harriet Tubman and the value of Helping, Sacagawea and the Value of Adventure, Confucious and the Value of Honesty etc. Brilliant books - one and all. My brother and I had these books when we were young, they were well loved and my mom passed them onto a friend when we were older. Luckily I was able, with the help of a bargain hunting accomplice, to track down a pristine collection of the series. We've never looked back.

Bayan's foot

This poor little love. He is so patient. He stepped on a golf ball as we were about to leave Adventure Land and really tweaked his ankle. He can't walk on it at all. Slight pressure hurts and he was up throughout the night needing lots of cuddles and pain relief. This morning he is still store, but is no longer sobbing incessantly. He has resigned himself to crawling around the house to get where he needs or to asking someone to bring him things. Luckily he has two doting, big, sisters who are only too happy to oblige. One of them is even experiencing sympathy pains and has had to have both her feet bandaged. These are special pains. "Blinking pains." They shift around, and so do the bandages: sometimes it is the ankle, sometimes the knee or shin, sometimes it is even the elbow, wrist or hand and when Bayan's ankle really plays up she experiences spontaneous agony too. Sigh.

Adventure Land

New Years Day was spent at a fun park with Mehran's family. Not Disneyland, but not bad. There was boating, canoeing, rock climbing, bouncy castles (well - sort of), mazes, mini-golf, motorized cars, huge slides and water slides. There was even a tractor driven 'train' ride around the park where the kids kept a sharp lookout for further attractions, unfortunately all they found were golf greens. They, unanimously, felt that was rather unfortunate. But at least there were the slides. Bayan loved the big, wave slide the best while Anisa and Ruhi preferred the water slides.(He even hauled his heavy carpet off-cut up a mountain of stairs so that he could go down again and again and again.)

Some of my favorite moments included:

watching Bayan watching Mehran attempt to scale a rock mountain.

Watching the girls enthusiastically wait for turn after turn on the water slides and have a brilliant time going down.

Watching Mehran attempting to take the lazy route in bringing the picnic baskets, coolers and lunch bags down to the shaded lawn on the lower level of the park. He didn't wish to walk down all the steps so he thought it would be easier to take the slide down to the bottom while carrying the pile of lunch items on his lap. He neglected to account for the bumps in the slide and that while loaded up and going fast he would hit them harder. With the first dip the lid to the cooler became airborne, pieces of ice flew high overhead while others landed square in his lap and along the slide behind him. By the time he arrived at the bottom he was sporting some soggy shorts and a very moist shirt. But he avoided the stairs and that was the whole idea, so despite the fact that he was showered in melting ice, he was happy and pretty impressed with himself.PS. Note the people on the steps who have stopped to stare...you would think after fifteen years (today was our fifteenth wedding anniversary) I would be used to Mehran's shenanigans by now. But I find that we continue to reach new heights of embarrassing (albeit completely hilarious) public displays. You know I really wouldn't change it or him for that matter - well, maybe a few things... Anyway here's to fifteen more years. At least.