I have something pretty that sits on my windowsill in my kitchen. It's a shell from Hawaii. I'm not sure what kind of shell it is, or what it is called, but it certainly is something that I love to look at. My mother brought it back from her recent trip there. She went during the Winter, which apparently is one of the best times to go, with it not being too hot. I would like to say that she went scuba diving and found the shell, but then again, you would never find a shell that looks like this underwater. It has been processed, in a way. The outer most layer of the shell has been ground off. Underneath, a pearly white layer is revealed. It's stunning. There must have been a creature like a crab that lived inside it, because there is plenty of room for a little animal in its cavity. I'm not really into jewels, ornaments, and decorations around my house, but I do love shells. I think it's because there is usually a story that comes with them about when they were found, or how a person found them. I still have a tiny shell in my handbag that I found on one of the beaches in Mallorca, Spain, last summer when I went with the kids. When I'm rummaging around, looking for my cell phone or my check book, I will stumble across it. It gives me an unexpected reminder of our vacation. My sister also brought me a beautiful shell from New Zealand. It's called a Paua shell, and has the coloration of a bluish, greenish rainbow. Again, the outside has been ground off, revealing the unexpectedly beautiful layer underneath. When I started to write this podcast, I remembered that up in our storage area, we have a collection of large, conch-type shells from Mexico. My husband and I found them years ago while we were snorkelling. We used to have them placed around our bath in our previous house, but when we moved, we boxed them up and forgot about them. I'll have to fish them out today, to add to our growing collection of shells around the house.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: recent, to grind, cavity, to rummage.
1. His recent illness has left him tired and thin.
2. He uses a metal file to grind down the piece of stone. He ground off enough stone yesterday to make the basic shape of the statue.
3. When they knocked down the old, rock house, they found a large cavity in one of the walls where the owners stored stolen paintings.
4. The table in the shop was covered in clothes. You had to rummage around to find what you wanted.
Ah Guinness! We have lots of it in our house at the moment. My brother loves it. I'm not unfamiliar with it either. Back in London, I used to drink it mixed with 7Up. I found it too bitter to drink neat. If you've never tried it, you should. It is a black, thick, creamy alcoholic drink that is served by the pint. It has a rich, cream colored head of bubbles that is one of its main features. The head is produced by the use of nitrogen when the beer is poured. It's actually considered a dry stout. A stout isn't a regular, cold beer. It is a strong, dark beer that is made from roasted barley. 'Stout' as you might know, is another word for strong, or proud. Guinness, in particular, is known for its slight burnt taste, or what we call its 'bite'. You might have noticed that I spelled burnt b-u-r-n-t. This word isn't used in the U.S. They use the past participle 'burned'. Anyway, Guinness is produced in Dublin, Ireland, but is sold all over the world to stout-lovers. It is actually quite nutritious as well. My ex-stepfather's mother drinks half a pint of Guinness every night to get her daily dose of iron. That was recommended to her by her doctor. So there! When I was researching Guinness, I came across a very interesting fact about it. One of its ingredients is the collagen from fishes' swim bladders. Yuck! Apparently, it helps to clarify the beer, and is also used in some wines. I'll think of that the next time I have a glass....Mind you, it's not as bad as some drinks. There is a famous cider from the south of England called Scrumpy. Traditionally, when it is being made, or so they say, a sheeps head is thrown into the mix. The fermentation process kills anything harmful, and, I suppose, the quite scary ingredient adds a special flavor. I don't know who the genius was who came up with that idea, or what inspired him to do it. It's not the usual thing to do when you are making up a drink. If I'm making a punch for a special occasion, it doesn't occur to me to throw in an animal's head. But, there you go; maybe I'm not a natural drinks mixer.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary:neat, stout, collagen, to occur to someone.
1. I cannot drink neat alcohol. I have to have it mixed with something else.
2. That farmer is really stout. He is big, and strong, and impressive in stature.
3. They say that collagen is the protein that keeps skin smooth.
4. I turned on the vacuum cleaner, but it never occurred to me to plug it in!
I'm afraid that I'm going to talk about one of my dogs. The reason for my apologetic tone is that some dog lovers go on and on about their animals, and often the people listening have no interest in their little beasties. Well, I'm actually not a dog lover, but I do love my dogs. There is a difference. You could say that I love my dogs because I know them so well, we have a history together, and they form part of our family. One of my responsibilities as a mum, is to make sure that the family members stay clean. One member, in particular, has a real problem with this, Rosie. I don't think she consciously likes to be dirty, but when the good Lord designed her, he gave her the rattiest, wiriest, dirt-holding coat of any dog. I remember taking her for her one and only haircut last year. What a performance that was! The dog stylist patted Rosie lovingly when she first met her, and about a handful of dirt fell out of her coat and onto the counter top. Well, I'm not going to let that happen again. The poor dog was so embarrassed; she looked up at me with her big brown eyes for comfort, by I had already turned and looked away. So, I made it my oldest son's job to give her a bath. The hardest part was getting her in it, and keeping her there. Once that was accomplished, the rest was easy. He used a huge jug to pour gallons of warm water over her while rubbing her hair. I'm sure after her bath, she was half a kilo lighter. These dogs that dig and go down holes, just accumulate layers of dirt and dust while they are busy sniffing out mice and rats. Anyway, Rosie came out of the bath and gave a tremendous shake. She was as shiny as a penny, and the bath looked as dirty as a sewer. Now, our little princess just needs a pink bow on her head to look like one of the royal family. Um, maybe that's not the best comparison....., to look like a movie star.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: apologetic, in particular, consciously, sewer.
The man who bumped into me on the street the other day was so apologetic. He didn't need to be.
It is so important to learn good grammar, and in particular, expressions using prepositions.
I'm sure his strange habits are unconscious; he doesn't do them consciously.
The local council is mending the sewer lines before there is a huge, smelly disaster.
It's always fun when my brother comes to visit from New Zealand. Because he is a math and science teacher, he often thinks of interesting things to do that fascinate the children. When he heard that one of my sons does experiments in the kitchen for his science homework, he had the idea of making a list of fun experiments. "The next time you go to the supermarket, could you get three large bottles of diet Pepsi, and some Mentos mints?" he asked. I had a sneaking suspicion that the experiment he was thinking of would involve either a mess, or an explosion of some kind. By the time I got back from the supermarket, the three boys and my brother were ready to start mixing things together. We took the ingredients outside to the back garden. I have a wooden planter pot that is upside down that we used as a base. Each boy took turns holding the top of the bottle, with five mints lined up in his hand, ready to drop them in when told to. The camera was set up, and then the count down came, "Three, two, one, put them in!" As soon as they were dropped in, the boys had to jump back, out of the way. A brown column of fizzy Pepsi came shooting out of the bottle, going five to six feet in the air. "Wow!" they all cheered, with smiles on their faces. The Pepsi splashed on their jeans and got all over the deck. Their uncle Richard is the coolest, according to them. Who else would encourage them to make a big mess? The next experiment is, apparently, one that is powerful enough to launch a Pepsi bottle over the roof of the house. I think a little supervision by me will be necessary. I don't want to upset the neighbors by knocking out one of their pets. That wouldn't do much for neighborly relations.......As they say, "Boys with toys..." it could get a little dangerous.
Grammar notes.
Expressions: to take turns, a sneaking suspicion, out of the way.
1. When we play this game, we have to take turns.
2. You have a sneaking suspicion when you suspect something, but you are not yet convinced about it.
3. Move out of the way; the delivery truck is coming.
The official first day of Spring came and went on 20th of the month. We've had a few very spring-like days, but usually the next day, it has returned to wintry weather. That's okay, though. There are signs that Spring is on its way. The birds are beginning to get noisy in the mornings. And, little patches of colors are appearing here and there; the Spring flowers are coming out. The ones that I have noticed in my garden are the crocuses. They are one of my favorites; they are purple with yellow-orange stamens, and only about eight or nine pointed petals. They are a simple reminder that Winter is long gone. I have been meaning to buy some bulbs and quickly pop them in the ground. The most popular ones around here are tulips and daffodils. Its a cheap way to fill in an empty or boring area of your garden with color that returns each year. I don't know if you remember when I changed the entry way to my house. I transplanted five big bushes last year, planted perennials, and eventually found a Japanese maple tree to shade the walkway that leads up to the front door. Well, that red barked tree has gone bananas. It is about a foot taller than when I planted it. It will very soon been arching over the walkway, which is exactly what I want it to do. I've noticed that as the weather has improved, people have been coming out of the woodwork. That means that, like insects, people have been coming out of their homes where they have been avoiding the cold, and now they are walking around and enjoying the change of weather. Woodwork is actually the various wood panelling that you have on the walls in a house. The shops are doing their part, getting ready for the hoards of shoppers who will want plants, seeds, and gardening equipment. I'll be doing my best to find bargains, and to focus, I think on growing vegetables. If I want flowers, I will go for either seeds or bulbs. That will force me to be patient, and have to wait for the final outcome.
Grammar notes.
Vocabulary: a patch, stamen, to arch, woodwork.
1. After painting the kitchen, I realised that I had patches of paint on my jeans.
2. The stamen is the center of the flower where the pollen is.
3. The trees leading up to the manor house, arch over the driveway.
4. We pulled out the old woodwork in the lounge and just plastered and painted the walls.
I was driving down the road the other day, to go to Walmart, when I saw something that really caught my eye. On the left hand side of the road, infront of a house, a huge tree had been cut down. It was so big that it took up all of the house owner's front garden. I was really surprised at first, because this tree, that I drive past every day, had not appeared to have any problems at all. It hadn't looked diseased or weak, infact, quite the opposite. It had been one of the biggest and oldest in the neighborhood, so much so that it dwarfed the house that was near it. That might be the reason that the owner doesn't want it anymore. Perhaps it was just too big. Well, the workmen started out the project of bringing down the tree, by hacking off the limbs, one by one. It's the only safe way to do it when the tree is right next to a busy road. Over the course of a day, all the limbs came off, and only the massive trunk was left standing. Then the next day, that too was cut down. I would be interested to measure the diameter of the tree, or at least count the rings inside the trunk to calculate its age, because it really is quite thick. As I drove home yesterday, I noticed a sign that had been put next to the trunk, "Free firewood." A great idea. It would be hard to get rid of all that tree from your front yard if you didn't have any help. Our firewood supply has dwindled because we've had quite a few fires this winter. We need to stock up again, chop some wood, and let it dry out for next winter. I hope that the big tree will be replaced by something tasteful and pretty, not just a two foot little twig that takes years and years to grow. There seems to be a gap now, where the big tree had stood. Let's hope it gets filled with something worth looking at.
Grammar notes.
Expressions: quite the opposite, to hack off, to dwindle, tasteful.
1. He's not noisy at all, quite the opposite. He's as quiet as a mouse.
2. The arms of all the statues got hacked off during the rebellion.
3. The survivors' supplies had dwindled to almost nothing; they had to go and search for more.
4. The decor of this shop is so tasteful; it is well coordinated and quite soothing.
I'm sorry that I missed a couple of podcasts last week; I was really sick. When I spoke to you last, I was beginning to lose my voice and feel achy with a sore throat. I assumed, however, that with some good food, and a good night's rest, that I would be fine the next day. Wrong! I went downhill from there. I had originally caught the cold from my son, and then my daughter and I both got really ill. So, it's been a miserable week, with no energy, coughs, fevers, chills, and not a lot of fun in the house. Thankfully, my brother has been visiting from New Zealand, so he has been able to entertain the children more than me. What does a person have to do to get over this kind of sickness? One thing I have found to be very helpful, is to drink lots of fluid. That is something that doctors always say, and, at times, I haven't really paid much attention. But, you will find that if you have a cough or a blocked nose, drinking lots of water and juices makes you feel much better. Your mucus isn't so thick, so you can cough or blow your nose more effectively. I know, these details are a bit gross, but it's all common English that's useful. We normally use the word 'snot' for mucus, or we say that we are 'snotty'. However, in the U.S.A the word 'snotty' is very commonly used to describe a person as proud or unfriendly. So, when you use this word, make sure that your listeners know exactly what you mean. Anyway, another thing that helps when you are experiencing a bad cold, is to use an extra pillow at night, so your head and chest are elevated. This helps you breathe more easily, and it helps your nose and sinuses drain more easily. You might wish to take spoonfulls of medicine to help relieve some of they symptoms you are living with. Nasal decongestant unclogs your nose; an expectorant loosens the mucus in your chest so you can cough well; cough suppressant reduces coughing; and anti-histamine reduces the kind of allergy symptoms we get such as itchy eyes and throat. Most people have these medicines in their bathroom cabinet somewhere. It is useful to keep them handy, just in case. I'm so glad that I'm over the worst of my cold; I'm about one day away from being fully recovered. Our routines will get back to normal: the kids in school, some at home for homeschooling, and me back to podcasting. So, don't make the mistake I made of over-extending yourself and getting ill; it's not worth it. Sometimes we need to baby ourselves to avoid these yucky colds.
Grammar notes.
Cold related vocabulary: expectorant, to baby oneself, sinuses, decongestant.
1. Expectorant is great for loosening mucus in the chest so you can cough well. However, you must drink lots of water so your mucus doesn't get thick and choke you!
2. Relax, keep warm, take vitamins and chicken soup, and basically baby yourself. That way you can avoid getting ill.
3. When you have a sinus infection, you get pain and tightness across your forehead.
4. Decongestant unblocks or unclogs your nose.
Mythology seems to be all the rage these days. There have been films released recently, like 'Percy Jackson and the lightening thief', and 'Clash of the Titans', that have had a lot of people talking about mythology and what it means to us today. Other books and their subsequent films, like the Harry Potter series, have also used mythological figures. Children, teenagers, and adults have, therefore, had mythology as a subject to be discussed, or at least commented on. Video games seem to have followed suit. Heroes battling hideous mythological beasts, and the powers of good against the powers of evil, are very common, and advertised on television often. I don't remember it being that way ten years ago. This interest in mythology has come about as a new kind of fashion, brought on by book sales. Mind you, I love it. Myth is a fascinating world. When I was in Vienna a few weeks ago, I came face to face with some colossal reminders of a mythological figure who has been portrayed on many buildings and in many paintings, Hercules. I found myself wandering around Michaelerplatz, when I was drawn to the huge statues. I didn't recognize the characters, but I photographed them anyway, and planned on googling who they were later. Hercules apparently had 12 labors, or things to do. I spotted three of them in the square, the most impressive of which was when he kills the Lernaean Hydra which is a nine headed sea serpent that has poisonous breath. I'm sure that beast kept him busy for a while...The statues are located on a wing of the imperial palace, the massive Hofburg. They are in keeping with its neo-Baroque design of the 1200's. Gosh, if I had had the time, I would have explored the Hofburg; apparently it has 2000 rooms! And there is a feast of classical mythology to be found inside the palace as well.
Grammar notes.
Expressions: all the rage, to follow suit, a reminder.
Low-cut jeans are all the rage now-a-days; everyone is wearing them.
The groom took the bride out to dance, and everyone followed suit.
The flowers in Spring are a good reminder of new beginnings.
You know, being a mother is an interesting job. I sit back sometimes and consider the influence that I have over my children; it's quite a responsibility. My likes and dislikes are obviously reflected in how I run the home, in what I do, in places we go, and even in the things that we eat. Because I am homeschooling two of my sons at the moment, I have decided to exert my influence over them for their physical good. Cross training! I first heard about it through my other son, Cass, who goes to a cross sport training facility to get in top shape for baseball. It is a total body workout. When I spoke to one of the trainers, he told me that, unlike other gyms, they do not isolate muscle groups in cross sport. The whole body moves in each of the activities. Because of that, the workouts are intense but short. So, Hudson and Robert have started to go twice a week for a hard and fast muscle building experience. The first time they went, I sat and observed. The workouts are never the same. They started by raising and throwing to the ground an eight pound ball. They did this about ten times. Then they had to jump up with both feet at the same time onto and off of a huge wheel. Next, they climbed a net up to the ceiling. Finally, they had to run around the track a couple of times. They repeated all of this three times. The whole thing only took about fifteen minutes. Another thing to take into consideration is that you don't get any breaks at all, not even one minute of rest! So, when the boys had finished working out, they came and collapsed on the sofa that I was sitting on. They were all red faced, but happy. I chatted to the trainer a little, and the next thing I knew, the boys were up and pulling weights on a sled. Kids recuperate so quickly! They wanted some more action. I'll take them again tomorrow, and see what other whole body work outs the trainer has planned for them.
Grammar notes.
Expressions and vocabulary: to sit back and …., to recuperate, to isolate.
It is important to sit back and reflect on one's day, don't you think?
It took the marathon runner three days to recuperate from the race.
He had to be isolated because of the virus he was carrying.
If you've never had a pasty, you've never lived. That means that eating one is an experience you must have because they are so good. I actually haven't had a pasty for years and years, though I did eat them up until I was a late teenager. So, do you have any idea of what a pasty is? It's a bit like a pie; it's usually meat and vegetables in a pastry shell that is the shape of the letter D. It has a thick crust that is twisted which you hold the pasty by. It originated in Cornwall, in the south west of England. Records of pasties in Cornwall date back as far as the 12th century. It is said that the tin miners in the south would take them to work. They are a whole meal in themselves, and the crusts are perfect for holding on to the pasties without getting them dirty. If you are a miner, that's a good thing, especially if your dirty hands have traces of arsenic on them. A tradition was to leave the crusts for the spirits of the mine to keep them happy, to stop bad things from happening. Well, I'm not a miner, and most of the time I have clean hands, but I came across a pasty shop in the York train station when I was visiting my sister. I had just said goodbye to my sister, and was waiting in the chilly station for the next train to King's Cross in London. I suddenly smelled the most wonderful smell; it was familiar. I followed it until I came to the West Cornwall Pasty company, where there were hot steak and vegetable, and chicken and mushroom pasties lined up, warm and crispy. We had had a huge lunch, so I didn't have one, but for old times' sake I took several photos. They even had some steak and stilton pasties which I had never heard of before. Stilton is a very strong blue cheese that melts deliciously, so I should imagine that that combination would be worth a try, especially on a cold, wintry day.
Grammar notes.
Crust, to come across, lined up.
Cut the crust off of the pie, would you? It is overcooked and too hard.
Whilst looking through my papers, I came across a war medal that belonged to my grandfather.
The children were lined up, waiting for their chance to talk to Santa Clause.
I have never really been much of an ice skater. When I was a teenager, I would go indoor skating with friends, mainly to have a good laugh. When people are wobbling and falling down on a regular basis, it can be amusing! My friends and I never practiced enough to get really good. And that, I'm sure, makes all the difference. When you see someone who really skates well, it is like looking at good art. I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to see world class skating. A friend of mine had bought tickets to see 'Stars on ice'. Well, I had heard of the show, but didn't really know any details about who would be performing. I assumed that it would be a group of ice dancers, so to speak, but not anyone you could consider a champion. How wrong I was! The whole group of dancers were Olympic and World gold and silver champions! I couldn't believe it! They had come all the way to little old Wenatchee! You might recognize some of the names: Kurt Browning (4 times World Champion from Canada), Evan Lysaceck (Olympic gold medalist from U.S), and Ekaterina Gordeeva ( 2 times Olympic gold medalist). The performance lasted about 2 hours, with a short intermission. I took my little girl, who was mesmerized by the acrobatics and the beautiful dresses. And the stadium was packed, as you can imagine. There were cheers and claps all the way through as the stars spun in the air and landed flawlessly. I'm sure that young people in the audience were inspired to rent some skates, and go to the next public ice skating session, to wobble around and imagine themselves as stars.
Grammar notes.
So to speak, mesmerized, flawless.
The wedding cake she made was a triumph, so to speak.
The ladies were mesmerized by the diamond rings in the shop window.
This antique vase is flawless; it doesn't have any cracks, or even one scratch.
Many of you have seen some part of the Alps, I suppose. They're spectacular, aren't they? I saw a small part of them recently from a plane. I was traveling from the south of France up to Germany. Luckily, I was sitting next to a window, so I could look at every detail as we flew over. Now, typically, when you take a photo from a plane, it won't come out very well at all. The plane windows aren't the clearest, for sure. And it is impossible to control the light. Add to that the fact that my camera is a little cheapo. I certainly didn't expect to get a good result from any of my pictures taken on the plane. So, I snapped away when I could. When I got home, I looked at what I had taken, deleted most of them and then edited a couple that had come out well. I use an editing software by Google called Picasa. You can do all sorts of things with it. You can crop the photos, which means to cut them. Then you can add color, texture, shadow, and definition. You can even add text, which means writing. One of my photos was taken at a strange angle, so I used the straightening option to give it a better perspective. A couple of years ago I decided to create nice portraits of my children. I looked through our collection of different school photos, and those taken at home. I scanned them into my computer, edited them, saved them onto an SD card, and then printed large versions of them in a sepia tone. Sepia is a lovely dark beige or light brown color that gives the photo a soft, sometimes older look. These photos now hang formally in frames going up the stairs. I'm so thrilled that this software can improve photos. Now I have a beautiful snap shot of the alps that I otherwise would have deleted.
Grammar notes.
Expressions: typically, text, formal.
Typically, this shopping center is packed with people on Saturday mornings.
You must edit that text; it is full of errors.
That dress is too formal for our casual get-together.
I couldn't visit York Minster without telling you about it. What is a minster? It's the name of a major cathedral that used to be associated with a monastery, and considered the most important building representing the church in a large area. So, okay, it's a cathedral. But, you know what, it's a treat to visit. The city of York is what I call 'the complete package', which means that it has everything that you could want. If you check out york.com, you will see what I mean. It is about as historical as anywhere could ever be, it's a thriving center of education, it has all the facilities and entertainment of a city, but is clean and rural at the same time. York was a strategic political center for hundreds of years. It was founded by the Romans; they called it Eboracum. They used this point as a stepping stone on the way to Scotland. Well, as you know, they didn't manage much in Scotland, but York became fortified and busy. Then, after the Roman Empire fell, Vikings took over. York didn't avoid the Norman invasion either, but became a center of prosperity and trade from then on. When you are there, you can sense the history. It is all around you. The well preserved wall around the center of the city is a great reminder of the Roman presence. In fact there are even remains of Roman shrines to Jupiter and Mars. The cathedral started as far back as the Romans, but obviously not as a cathedral. The Roman buildings which were recently uncovered under the cathedral were stations for some of the 5000 legionaries. With each invasion and different people groups taking over, it was added to. It has survived fires, destruction through invasion, and the civil war. Oh, and you should see it now. It is a Gothic beauty. I walked around it with my sister, and we silently soaked it all in. I know that you don't need to know all of the vocabulary about cathedrals, but a few words are common in conversation. The nave is the large, often central part of the church. There are towers on some, spires on others, with spires looking like cones with a point. In the York Minster there is a crypt, underground, where tombs are kept. You can't go to York without admiring the Rose Window either, which is a spectacular circular stained glass window in the cathedral. I have seen a lot of cathedrals during my travels, but I would say that this should be in the top three of 'must sees' when traveling in Europe.
Grammar notes.
Expressions: a must-see, to soak it in, as far back as.
The 'must-see' in that town is the central park; you shouldn't miss it.
We stayed at the gallery, and silently soaked in the art.
My grandmother can remember as far back as the Second World War.
