The Swedish Chef is funny

When we moved to Aspen Springs in September one thing we DID NOT bring with us was the cable company.  We realize that there is next to nothing on television that we have any desire to watch - and this move was as good a time as any to cut out the cable.  The "appropriateness" of television has been declining for years, though we'd been keeping cable for a few programs here and there.  Even some of the cute cartoons for little kids had become pretty much off limits (in our opinion) because of the commercials.  Ugh.  We just didn't need the girls sitting through all that.

So, are we TV free?  Nope.  We have a television.  It's in the basement.  And it does get used.  We can rent movies on DVD or borrow them from the library.  We also have Netflix through the wii.  And, we have the ability to watch all sorts of great stuff via Mark's MacBook.

We do screen the films we watch (both as a couple, and those we watch as a family). One reliable guide is Decent Films Guide. This site provides analysis from a Catholic Christian perspective.

There are a couple good things about this set-up.  We can choose shows that are OK for the girls to watch and add them to the Netflix queue.  They get a little entertainment and it's commercial-free.  We find that after a day of school and chores and playing outside, they appreciate and enjoy a little television time.  If it happens at all, it happens while I'm getting dinner together.  Sometimes one of them will choose to do something else - or help me in the kitchen - but normally I get some alone-time and a peaceful dinner preparation.


We have rediscovered some of the old shows that were fun back when we were kids (and well before)... The girls are currently on an Addam's Family (the 1960's TV series) kick.  They also really enjoyed the Dennis the Menace series from the late 1950s.  When Grandpa was here for a visit a few weeks ago, we watched some skits from The Carol Burnett Show and all had a good laugh.  We especially enjoyed anything with Tim Conway.



As a family, we occasionally watch an episode of I Love Lucy after dinner.  A recent favorite was the episode in which Lucy wanted to learn about wine making while visiting Italy.  It is certainly a classic.  Isn't it wonderful that these old shows - that parents and children can enjoy together - are still available to us?



And, just this week, we found some snippets from The Muppet Show.  We were nearly in hysterics over the Swedish Chef!  (bork, bork, bork!)



There are lots more examples of shows/movies/series from the past that we can watch together as a family.  What are some of your favorite oldies-but-goodies?

pretty, happy, funny, real

I'm linking up again with a wonderful blog, Like Mother Like Daughter, for their Thursday (yes, I'm a day late) feature:

{pretty, happy, funny, real} 

~capturing the context of contentment in everyday life~

{pretty}

darling daughter #1 practicing piano

 

{happy}

Morning coffee is usually the job of the husband, so when he's traveling for work, I'm on my own - caffeine-wise.  The girls know that I usually just make a small-ish amount of coffee in the press for myself.  One day this week I was running a bit late and our oldest made this lovely tray and brought it upstairs to me.  She even remembered my favorite mug!

{funny}

Still smiling, even though the chicken just pecked her hand off :)

{real}

Sisters playing together - it's not always this joyful, but it was a fun moment to capture.

Looking for a way to help?

Several years ago we learned about a non-profit organization called Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA).  We have had a wonderful experience thus far with CFCA and want to spread the word.  What does CFCA do, you might be wondering?  Well, how about a little copy and paste from their own website?  I'm sure they say it better than I do.

Our mission is to walk with the poor and marginalized of the world.

• We provide personal attention and direct benefits to children, youth, aging and their families so they may live with dignity, achieve their desired potential and participate fully in society.
• We invite people of good will to live in daily solidarity with the world’s poor through one-to-one sponsorship.
• We build community by fostering relationships of mutual respect, understanding and support that are culturally diverse, empowering and without religious or other prejudice.

Grounded in the Gospel call to serve the poor, CFCA is a lay Catholic organization working with persons of all faith traditions to create a worldwide community of compassion and service.

After hearing about CFCA at our former parish, we signed up to be the sponsors of Rony, a little boy in El Salvador, who was 3 years old at the time.  Rony is roughly the same age as our middle daughter, so it's been easy to keep track of his age (CFCA also sends an updated photo of him each year.)  Over the years there has been a steady stream of correspondence between our house and El Salvador. 

 
Sometimes the letters were written by Rony's parents - sometimes by his uncle.  Every letter that came from El Salvador included a picture that Rony had colored.  Sometimes we sent him stickers, small puzzles, or other items that would fit into an envelope.  The girls also drew pictures for him.  I have to admit that we struggled with what to say in the letters - our daily lives are so very different.  Rony's adult family members refer to Mark and me as his "godparents".  What an honor! Rony's letters don't come directly from him; They come to us through CFCA - after they've been to a translator :)

When he was 4.  Isn't he a handsome little guy?

There was a letter in the mail yesterday.  As usual it was full of thanks for our help and promises of prayers for our family (and lots of decorating on the borders with blue, brown and orange crayon and a picture of Winnie the Pooh on the back.)  The news in the letter was not anything we had expected, however: we won't be Rony's sponsor any longer.  His family is doing better, they are moving, and Rony is stepping out of sponsorship with CFCA.  Isn't that fantastic?  We will miss our relationship with Rony, that is for sure.  But how great that he doesn't need our financial sponsorship any longer!

Doesn't Pooh normally eat honey?  This Pooh seems to be about to enjoy a scorpion - or some other many-legged insect!  Our girls would not think of giving Pooh a snack of that sort :)

We are convinced that the work CFCA does is good - and effective - so within just a few days, we'll be matched with another "friend" through CFCA's  Hope for a Family sponsorship program.

The CFCA website is quite good and easy to navigate.  Pop on over there and you too could become a sponsor in a matter of minutes.

Composting 101

No, no, no.  Fear not.  I don't intend to teach anything about composting here.  I am the one doing the learning.
Do you compost?  Believe it or not, we never have.  Back in the Midwest, we'd plant a couple herbs and maybe a tomato plant or 2, but never had an actual garden.  We did have a fairly big garden our first full summer out West, but the yard was so small that there just didn't seem to be a place for a compost pile.
Well, we now have space for as many compost piles as we can create.  And, the (deer-proof) fenced garden is already here, so let the composting begin!
Mark built an enclosure from some old pallets that were - somehow - just here.  Have we mentioned that the man we bought the property from NEVER threw anything away and had lots of storage space for all his stuff?  Remember the HUGO, right?  Well, when he moved, he did take most of the "stuff", but was good enough to leave a fair bit of it behind.  Therefore, we have a couple piles of pallets sitting around - among other things :)

Our youngest daughter was excited to help with the new project, so she and I worked together to get started on our pile.  We layered in leaves, hay, newspaper, and the few bits of kitchen scraps we had.  She had lots of questions while we worked.  I tried to simplify things and just told her that we were making food for the garden.

"The garden likes newspaper?  Are you sure, Mom?"

I tried for a more scientific answer, but I'm not sure she followed me.  She loves the idea of composting, however, and was tickled to learn that she gets the permanent job of taking the kitchen waste out to the compost pile.
I'll tell you... between the chickens and the compost pile, there's nothing going to waste around here anymore :)