first guest blogger

My very first guest blogger is four years old! She knows how to type her own name, and other important words. She spelled and typed the next five words herself! And picked the colors too!
I LOVE YOU

DADDY

MAMA

Things she would like you to know about her are...

My favorite fruits are strawberries and other red fruits.
I like blueberries too.

My favorite dress to wear is red with roses.

I like to paint.

I like to ride horses.

I like to play with my dolls.

Their names are Kipper and Kelly.

I like to ring bells.

Tomorrow I am going to New Orleans.

I love going to dance class.

I love books about the pigs named Toot & Puddle.

día de los muertos

A couple weeks ago we returned from Arizona. I was fortunate to have a three-day workshop followed by a long weekend in the Sonoran desert with my family. An incredible cultural highlight of our visit was participating in a Día de los Muertos celebration, outdoors at the Tucson Museum of Art. Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is celebrated every November in Mexico and by Mexican families and others in the US. It is generally a combination of an ancient Aztec tradition honoring the dead and the Catholic celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Families who celebrate Día de los Muertos in their homes build an altar called an ofrenda to honor their deceased loved ones, even including pets. Each altar is different, but most include candles, statues or religious icons, and favorite, food, photos, and possessions of the dearly departed.

While we missed the big All Souls Procession which was delayed for a week this year and is usually attended by 12,000 people in Tucson, we enjoyed the following on the ofrendas:

Esqueletos y calaveras--skeletons and skulls are symbols of Day of the Dead since Aztec times. Skeletons are not considered scary, rather, humorous reminders of death.

Papel picado--colored tissue paper is cut into traditional designs and strung overhead the celebration.

Calaveras de azúcar--sugar skulls re decorated with intricate patterns of icing or shiny foil and given as gifts.

Candles--light the way for the deceased to find their ways home.

Water--quenches the thirst of the traveling spirits after their long journey back home.

Cempasúchitl--marigolds are the flower of the dead. Known for their bright color and potent smell, these blooms are a common decoration in Día de los Muertos celebrations.

Food and drink--the dearly departed will often find their favorite dishes and drinks awaiting them on the ofrenda. Pan de Muerto is a sweet-tasting decorated bread that is a tradition.

Pictures and personal effects, such as reading glasses, jewelry, or toys are placed at the center of the ofrenda.

Here is our SLIDESHOW (at LINK below photo) of Día de los Muertos celebrations. You will have to click on the link below the picture. Despite trying for over a week to figure how to embed a slideshow, I am still scratching my head. Text is below the slides.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/bluefrogfarm/arizona_favorites

short note, cow

Last week's neighborhood stampede elicited a lot of nice three-lettered-words. Cow! Moo! Huh? How? Apparently, cows and calves were separated, so the mamas broke out of jail in protest and strolled a mile up the hill. Coincidentally, my husband, a dairyman in a long ago prior career who understands bovines, was helping a neighbor build a horse shed. So, he stood in the road with a 12 foot 2x10 trying to keep the mamas from going farther up the road where they sometimes graze at our place. Faux fence.

Coincidentally, another neighbor, an internationally recognized computer programmer, soon-to-be famous author, women-in-technology-leader, was home writing her book. So, she stood on her front lawn and immortalized the moment on film as the cows grazed at her place instead. These exciting moments are recorded on her blog at this link: http://www.thedatafarm.com/blog/2008/11/06/Moo.aspx

I don't pretend to understand a fraction of the types of things often posted on this blog, although I was glad to learn the definition of the word "transhumance." It's good to be surrounded and supported by dear friends and family who understand the intricacies of bovines and technology. Yay! Another nice three-lettered-word.

Picasso pumpkins and pop quiz

Pumpkin carving and roasting salted pumpkin seeds are annual rites of Halloween for us. We were up to our elbows in pearly white, pear-shaped seeds as we scooped out pumpkin contents and cut out faces. This year's tours de force were quite cubist. My daughter drew the faces, from various angles on the same pumpkin, and I cut them out. Picasso would be proud of this four-year-old's post-impressionist interpretations. Next year, perhaps she'll inject some Monet inspired light play, or some abstract expressionism, Jackson Pollock style. Makes we wonder why we ever carved conventional faces before.

We also hosted our 12th annual Halloween Open House! By design, I created a ghoulish table of haunted delights WITHOUT SUGAR OR CANDY. Real food for unreal people. Old standbys were garlicky vampire repellant, crunchy turnip witches teeth (in water), paranormal pizza...

Here's a pop quiz to see if you can guess what other savory delights were, and to test your "talk backwards" abilities.

Fare: Bat wings dipped in gore, Fun: aslas dna spihc nroc eulb

Fare: Ants on sticks, Fun: selknirps etalocohc htiw rettub tunaep ni deppid slezterp

Fare: Troll tongues, Fun: edisni dellor eseehc maerc htiw staem iled decils

Fare: Octopus tentacle, jellyfish, and mermaid hair soup, Fun: sreppep toh decils dna smoorhsum ekatihs elohw seldoon daerth naeb

As always, the cupboards were bare by the time all the guests left. All that food fueled good humor and greater hauntings all evening long.

pictures tell the story

'Twas a fine gathering on the shores of Lake Erie to celebrate my parents' fiftieth anniversary and to help them move a block away to a somewhat smaller abode. It has been a couple years since we have all been together in the same place at the same time, so the festive atmosphere prevailed. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

Hanging pictures in the new living room...then hanging them again...and yet again...yes, the same ones.

Finding my great grandfather's beaver top hat circa ~1880 and my grandfather's bowler hat circa ~1910.

Toasting my parents with home made, home grown currant and raspberry liqueur.

Everyone laughing at photos in the memory album.

Wearing mom's velvet opera cape.

Outside the Hermit Club where mom and dad had their wedding reception, and featuring the black straw coat from Rome (middle).

Sweet little girls in velvet dresses.