Halloween Village

Ghostly Greetings! This boo-tiful pumpkin was carved by Hailey and won the pumpkin contest.

Caution! Skeleton Crossing! Halloween Village sent many goblins leaping with delight. Logan's class was in charge of the Haunted Garden. The kids sang songs and then crawled under the spider webs to get out of the graveyard! No bones about it!

As the kids journeyed through each room, the wall of explorer's were waiting. We encountered famous painting's of explorers and the frame traveled around the room explaining who each explorer was and why they know in history for their unique excursions. Hailey's explorer was Zheng He (pronounced jung huh) was a 15th-century skilled Chinese commander who made seven voyages from Asia to Africa at the height of Chinese maritime dominance.

After all the travels through Halloween Village, it was time for a coffin break to eat some boo bites. Bat Wing Soup is Now being served.

Listen to your mummy! When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam,
good fortune may be yours this Halloween.

Pumpkin Festival

Fall is in the air! With scents of pumpkin spice and everything nice. Autumn is is particily special on scenic coast around Half Moon Bay. The Pumpkin festival is surrounded by magnificent vistas of seaside farm country dotted with vast, rolling fields of orange, scarecrows, barns, and pick-your-own pumpkin patches. No rainy weather was going to hold back our family from sinking our teeth into some pumpkin pie and pumpkin roles. Unfortunately, no pie eating contest this year for the little boys because they were under the weather but we all had a smashing good time.

Dragon Bread

A trip to the bakery is always fun. Our class took the bus to a local bakery for a fantastic learning experience. The brave souls at Parker- Lusseau taught 20 eight year olds how to make dragon bread. We watched the dough rise and each student received a piece. They squished, patted, and rolled them into long forms. They cut the dough into "dragon" shapes and then decorated the yummy dough with raisins and almonds. Some made the slivered almonds appear like scales all over the body while the raisins were great for eyes and claws.


Here's a yummy Dragon Bread Recipe


1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon yeast
4 cups whole wheat flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, warmed
almonds - slivered and sliced
sunflower seeds
raisins

Combine the water, honey (or sugar), and yeast. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamon, and salt; cut in the butter. Add the yeast mixture and stir until stiff. Knead 5 minutes. Place dough on a cookie sheet and shape it into a dragon lying flat (side view) or have lying on belly making hands, feet and tail - almost lizard appearing. Decorate dragon with almonds, sunflower seeds and raisins. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Serve him for dinner!

Taste of India

Welcome to India! This is Matthew and he'll be your tour guide during this short duration. In India, the British presence dates back to the early part of the seventeenth century and most signs are written in English and Hindi. English is the language of the government. The statue is of the deity Shiva Nataraj's dance that represents both the destruction and the creation of the universe and reveals the cycles of death, birth and rebirth. His Dance of Bliss is for the welfare of the world.

This is one of the most popular Indian restaurants - Burhara. Below was a simple meal of paneer (fried cheese with spices), prawns ( four to six inches long), dal (beans) and butter nan (flat bread). Matt said it was fantastic!

The cardinal rule of dining is to always use the right hand when eating or receiving food and never the left. The left hand is considered unclean.(Normally the left hand is used for cleaning oneself.)

Entering an embassy taxi is more challenging than it seems. Every car has a deity (GOD) placed on the front dashboard. The cars are small and despite the lines for three lanes of traffic, they make six lanes themselves continuously honking horns and merging into oncoming traffic. Thus, why they pray to their deities so frequently.

A woman carrying goods wearing a traditional sari.

The small car is called a rickshaw. There are motorized and bicycle rickshaws, which are quite useful when traveling short distances. Many areas have local grocers who get their carts and sell their goods through the neighborhoods daily.

These are some of the shanties. Because of the environment, the buildings fall into disrepair. These are homes and businesses of people who are fortunate. Many families live under a tarp and move as needed. Because of the recent floodings, many people are displaced and living on side of busy highways.

These are local schoolgirls wearing academy uniforms. Being able to attend school is a luxury for most children. Matt thinks the store in the background sells doors. He said there were nothing but used doors all around the building.

The Mughals brought with them a love for gardens, fountains and water. The Humayun's Tomb is the first mature example of Mughal architecture in India, Humayun's Tomb was built by the emperor's grieving widow, Haji Begum, in 1565 AD. Constructed with red sandstone and ornamented marks the beginning of a new tradition of ornate style. It shows a marked shift from the Persian tradition of using coloured tiles for ornamentation. The dome stands 140 feet from the base of the terrace and is topped with a copper pinnacle. In addition to the remains of Humayun, the complex also houses the grave of many other distinguished members of the Mughal dynasty.
This was just a taste of India, there will be more coming in May 2011.

First taste of India

The first taste of India. Matt is there on a conference right now and I thought I'd share a paragraph from the email he sent:
"Just as we got to Frankfurt my nose started running a little, this got worse and worse, with my throat starting to hurt. I am fine though, only got 4 hours of sleep last night because we have to get moving on the conference stuff this morning. Delhi is very humid, it is raining right now and very overcast. It was 80 degrees when we arrived last night, and I suppose it will stay between 80-90 degrees the whole time we are here. Right now i am writing to you from a luxurious very well appointed room, with a tissue stuffed up my nose, looking out over a ridiculously impoverished landscape of shanti homes, apartments, and greenery. Amazing because we are in the diplomatic district were all the rich live...this is very interesting and I cant wait to get out and see some of the town."

Gizdich Ranch

We headed out to Gizdich Ranch for an apple picking good time. Evan and I had a great time with his pre-school class. Lilly and Bob gave us a warm welcome. They sang and played the guitar for the kids. One little boy went up to Bob and asked if he was German (noted for his short stocky features with blue eyes). We had a good laugh because kids aren't afraid to tell you what's on their mind. We had a nice picnic with a play area of hay tunnels, mazes and farm equiptment. Each child picked a bucket of apples (twisting not pulling). They were able to see where the apples were washed, rode the convayer belt, placed in the hammer (for chopping), down to the press placed on "pillows" to squeeze the juice, through the ultraviolet lights to kill the bacteria and bottled. Bob asked the group what they thought the most important step was (correct answer: ultraviolet step) and a child said the most important was the bottle so he could drink the juice. We couldn't leave there with out getting a few pies. I have to tell you that the Olallieberry pie was out of this world. (Olallieberry is a cross between black, logan and young berry from Oregon) Amazing and I think I'll make another trip soon.

Connor starting Kindergarten

My little Connor started kindergarten this month. We spent the day before making banana bread for his class. His first day of school they made Lavender wands to use in his classroom. Not only does it smell good, it helps keep the pain away from the "ouwees". The evening held a meeting of the teachers. Each teacher dressed up in costume and did an improv of what their plans were for the upcoming year. Waldorf schools are so inspiring.