a year of happy

the blog cafe -- a year from oak cottage

It's Blog Cafe Day!

And today we're meeting up at
A Year From Oak Cottage!

Marie is taking us to a quaint little village in Wales--
I'm so excited about this--
some of my ancestors are from Wales.
That makes me....
let's see...1/8 Welsh!

I've always wanted to visit and see the places they lived,
but I've never had the opportunity.
Today will be the next best thing!
I can hardly wait!

See you at Marie's place--A Year from Oak Cottage!

mari and my laundry

 

This is Mari.

And this is my laundry.

When we went to Guatemala last year
we met Mari at Church on Sunday.

She told us that her husband was living in Canada.
She stayed home with their four children
and earned money by doing laundry.

But she was unable to work anymore
because of the pain in her shoulders. 


It took me about 3 seconds to process what she said.
The reason her shoulders hurt so bad
was because she was doing laundry in a washtub,
washing mountains of clothes by hand.

I most certainly don't do laundry
the way she does laundry.

I guess it's all about perspective, isn't it?
Now I feel a little ridiculous
when I complain about laundry....

bandanamom is hosting the blog cafe!

Hey everybody--
today is the Blog Cafe!

Meet me over at Lezlee's place!

Lezlee blogs at Bandanamom.
She's got beautiful photos,





and she writes about all sorts of things,
like home decor, and family,
and her missionary son in Bulgaria.

I can't wait to see
where she's going to take us for the Blog Cafe!
I'm looking forward to it...how about you?!

See you at Bandanamom!


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Are you new to the Blog Cafe?

You might want to go back and visit some of our past bloggers. We've had some great food and lively conversations! Click here to go to the Blog Cafe Calendar--you'll find all the links for past weeks, as well as upcoming weeks too.

Last week, we were at Claudia's place talking about the pros and cons of eating organic. I learned a lot -- it was especially interesting to read Hilary's comment as one who comes from a conventional farming family. Check it out--it's a great read!

We're looking for more bloggers to host the Blog Cafe in upcoming weeks! Would you like to take a turn? Contact us at: theblogcafe@yahoo.com. Jenny (the calendar girl) will get you set up!

here comes trouble!

Several weeks ago, when we first started this Team Up Project, I was sure that by this time I would be able to create a really cool photo using the theme "Speed," which was supposed to be our theme this week. Boy was I wrong!

When Arizaphale contacted me wondering how I was doing, I said, "I have one photo of "A" turning his head away from the camera really FAST...and I have lots of blurry photos taken from a SPEEDING bus!"

Then I said, "I am in big TROUBLE!"

And SHE said, "I think we should switch our theme to TROUBLE!"

So we did!

The minute I thought about the theme "Trouble", I thought of this picture of my grandson, who goes a mile a minute, and gives his mommy a run for her money. The more mobile he gets, the more this little phrase from a long-ago little-boy t-shirt comes into my mind: Here Comes Trouble!

So my photo for Team Up Thursday is of Baby M, the drooling little munchkin going in for the attack on the teenager "A". The perfect description of trouble.

"Trouble" also made me think of this pic taken by his mom, of Baby M, who had climbed into the cupboard. 

Arizaphale's photo is like the title to go along with my picture--TROUBLE! The perfect combination!

claudia invites you to the blog cafe!

It's Monday....
and that means we're meeting up
for a day at The Blog Cafe!

Today we're at Claudia's place--
The Knitting Blog by Mr. Puffy the Dog.

You've got to check out
Claudia's knitting blog.
Just recently she took that ball of yarn,
and turned it into the most amazing shawl.
Click here to see it.
As someone who has just learned to knit,
I'm amazed that someone can turn that into THAT!

She has the cutest new puppy...
you'll want to see him too!

So head on over to the Blog Cafe!
I can't wait to see what
Claudia has in store...
click here to follow me over
to The Knitting Blog
for some good food
and fun conversation.

See you there!

We'd love to have you
be a host for the Blog Cafe!
Send us an email
and we'll put you on the schedule!

theblogcafe@yahoo.com

For more information
about the Blog Cafe,
visit the Blog Cafe Page here!

day to day life in nicaragua: part 3--city streets

 

looking up

Our theme for Team Up Thursday
this week is "Looking Up."

My photo was taken
at the beach in Nicaragua.
I was thinking of what you see
when you look up.

On our one day at the beach,
we got up at 6:00 in the morning,
hoping to get some great photos
of the beach at sunrise
when we were the only ones up.

We were so amazed to find
the sun already up,
and a family of vacationers
already in the water!

There is so much humidity and heat
in this tropical place.
The sky is hazy and it rains all the time.
Instead of the sunrise,
we captured this beautiful rainbow!

It was worth getting up early for.





I love Ariz's photo
of the merry-go-round in motion,
and her horses are
literally "looking up"!

Go check out her blog
and find out her story!
Here's what she told me:
"These carousel horses look like
they've seen something hideous
up above, don't they????"





Go check out all the group photos
on the Team Up Thursday Flickr Page!

day to day life in nicaragua: part 2--off the beaten path

.

(Note: click on these photos
to see them close-up.
It's a much better view.
And remember--
moving bus equals blurry photos!)
.

.

The rural life in Nicaragua
revealed another amazing side
of this beautiful country.

Look at the oxen
right next to the children playing.
There are so many signs
of family life in this photo.
What a story.






You can always tell
where someone lives
because you can see a line of laundry
hanging in the yard,
even if you can't see the house,
or you think it looks uninhabited.





Nicaragua is lush and green,
with some beautiful landscapes.








_____________________


Animals are used for work--
and you never know
when or where you'll run into 
a horse, or a cow, or even an ox.








This herd of cows was right
to the side of the road--
I could have reached out
the bus window and touched them!





One thing we noticed
is how very skinny the animals are.
We learned that one reason is because,
although there is plenty of grass,
it grows so fast it has very few nutrients.








_____________________


Fruit is plentiful--and delicious!
Check out this roadside store.
My favorite fruit was the white pineapple.
It was so sweet and juicy.





We also picked our own mangoes,
and ate them standing
right underneath the tree!





Beautiful Nicaragua.
I like the countryside the best.






Check back Friday   
for Part 3 of my series,
Day to Day Life in Nicaragua:
City Streets.

Read more:
Getting Around in Nicaragua
and
Part 1: Women at Work

day to day life in nicaragua: part 1--women at work

I watched with fascination
out the window of our bus
to see the normal
day to day living
of the people in Nicaragua.



I loved seeing the women
carrying their heavy loads
on their heads or shoulders.
Pretty amazing if you ask me.
I know I couldn't do it!









And it seems like the women
are constantly sweeping.





Sweeping the sidewalks
in front of their humble homes,
working to keep their
little corners of the world
clean and bright.






 


 
We even spotted
a broom salesman.
I'll bet he stays busy!







And have you noticed
the women's aprons?
Not everyone wears an apron,
but a lot of them do.
And some are so frilly
and pretty, like this one!

Another thing I noticed
while we were in Nicaragua
was the beautiful colors
they paint their homes.
Even the most humble of buildings
are painted bright, vivid colors.

 
These are the kinds of things
I love to watch for when I travel.
The sights and sounds of everyday life.

Come back tomorrow for part 2!

meet us at "the camp spot" for the blog cafe!

It's Monday....
and that means we're meeting up
for a day at The Blog Cafe!

Today we're at Mandi's place--
The Camp Spot.

.

I can't wait to see what
Mandi has in store...
click here to follow me over
to The Camp Spot
for some good food
and fun conversation.

See you there!

We'd love to have you
be a host for the Blog Cafe!
Send us an email
and we'll put you on the schedule!

theblogcafe@yahoo.com

For more information
about the Blog Cafe,
visit the Blog Cafe Page here!