the Monday after

The girls are back to school after a five-day break. Snack time was lonely with two seats empty but Maku and I kept busy.

One of the things we did was play hide-and-go-seek.
"Maku, why don't you go hide while I start the laundry."
"Okay, Mom. I'll be hiding in the hammock just in case you can't find me."

shark specifics

The day before our trip, Maku drew me this.

"I need to bring a toy that can swim, if I accidentally drop it into Mimagra falls, I know it will be okay."

We had to make it to his specifications or potentially lose it forever.

orange - so it could easily be spotted by rescuers
blue eyes - so it could see well under raging waters
no gills - so it could breathe in air during the helicopter lift


Booksie was never dropped into the river but there have been many rescues, some more complex than others. There was a cave rescue that lasted for days with many rescue dogs hurt. Today he was found stuck in a bamboo forest and was rescued by a helicopter. Where would you go if you were a shark with no gills?

and here is part 3

After getting drenched from the heavy mist, a bit of sun and wind helped dry us off.

Then we visited Horseshoe Falls. We were greeted by a great cloud of mist and loud, thunderous roars. The children (and Dave) rolled down the slope over and over until they were completely exhausted.

I am not quite sure if these two even glanced at the falls. They were much too busy with other things. Cousins, black squirrels, fallen maple leaves and layer-upon-layer of clothing.

Before 7 am the next day, we were back on a plane headed home.

Niagara Falls, part 2

The Bridal Veil Falls - view from the top.

And the in-your-face view from the bottom.


We had a delicious Thanksgiving celebration. I handed the apron over to Dave, he had such a fun day in the kitchen he's still in there cleaning up.

Niagara Falls, part 1

The American Falls as seen from Luna Island. I always get a thrill when I see a rainbow, and this one seemed to be an arm's reach away.

Crossing the bridge to Luna Island was like walking through the perfect jigsaw-puzzle scene.


More to come. I will be preparing our Thanksgiving feast all day tomorrow but will try to post while the side dishes are simmering.

Have a happy Thanksgiving! And to those who don't celebrate, have a happy Thursday!

hi cold!

We had our first cold day yesterday -- what an exciting change for everyone! I got a call from Jin at around 8:30 reminding me to go outdoors to see my breath in the air. ^_^
As we are touched by the first chills of the approaching winter...

flip-flops are replaced by warm fuzzy shoes

the fishnet hammock is folded to make way for the wool one

and moist banana bread comes out of the oven just in time for domino night.
Tonight Dave wants to grill something -- anything. I think because we smell firewood burning in the air and since we don't have a fireplace we'll settle for the smell of corn grilling and eggplants roasting. Oh, that sounds yum!

this weary traveler

After seriously delayed flights, persistent pokes from a little black dog tucked underneath my plane seat, Dave's vertigo, and Maku puking a massive amount of orange vomit on ME, I find myself still recovering from our weekend travel.

Despite all odds, we had an excellent Saturday at Niagara Falls with Granddad, Hal and his family. The children were just thrilled to spend time with their cousins. Hopefully soon, between doctor's appointments and making dough for a relief map project, I can sneak in some time to sort out the photos.

a heavy downpour

+ a broken gutter

= the perfect freshwater shower

Maku's ponderings

"What is the difference between invisible and disappear?"
"Does the bad guy thinks he is the good guy, since to him the good guy is the bad one?"

boats! boats!

A recent fascination with boats led us to the marina. It is always a pleasure to spend the afternoon walking along the bay; it is so relaxing to hear the sounds of the wind blowing, the boats rocking gently in the water, and the occasional splash from pelicans diving for fish.

My crew was determined to find their boats. They even dressed the part, Snow in her striped shirt and Maku in his skull and bones.

Among all the fancy yachts, simple Snow picked this boat.

Maku was a bit disappointed not to find a tugboat and an icebreaker.

But happy feelings were back again after making a boat that stays afloat.

veggies and the dewey decimal system

Two hours before bedtime, two little librarians tackled the job of sorting their books. They managed to pull quite a few out of the shelves before I stopped to question their actions. And this is the reply I got: "Mom, you're not supposed to sort books by size. Nature has to be with nature, animals with animals, not board books with board books, and you can't put a stash of thin books together just because they're all thin!" And then this: "I know we shouldn't be doing this now because it is already nighttime why don't you make us eat 4lbs of broccoli."
They're thinking food by the pound now since we weighed our Halloween loot. I gave them about a pound of broccoli, that was all we had. I never use food as punishment, besides this wasn't any form of suffering, steamed broccoli is one of their favorite snacks.
But since they threw the idea out there, I added big chunks of luscious leeks to their peas last night. It was worth a try but they are not yet ready for leeks outside soups.
Now back to sorting books...

Hallows End

Four rotting pumpkins and 7lbs of candy on the kitchen counter --
another ghoulish Halloween has ended.

The scary scarecrow

the lovely Chinese doll

and the elusive ninja

all had a magical time.