a year of happy

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!

reading between the lines

As a woman of a certain age,
I've gotten really good at
reading body language.

You know what I mean--
that age-old way of speaking
with gestures and expressions
that doesn't need any words.

Just look at the expressions
on these faces....





You can tell at first glance
each person's emotions,
just by reading their faces.

But in this new virtual world
of blogs and emails and text messages,
how are we to know
what people are really thinking and feeling
when we can't see their eyes
and read their body language?

Today I'm blogging
over at "Vision and Verb",
and I'm asking this question:
how is everybody getting along
now that nobody's speaking
body language anymore?! 

I hope you'll follow me over
and let's talk about it.
How do you communicate
when all you have is words?

_____________________________


"Vision and Verb" is one of
my favorite blogs.
It's a collaboration of
several multi-talented women
from all over the globe
who share their life experiences
through their photography
and their written words.

I'm so excited to be
a guest blogger there today!
Won't you join me?
Just click here
to read my post,
"Reading Between the Lines."

getting around in nicaragua

It was fascinating
to see all the different ways
that people in Nicaragua
use to get around.

You see horse drawn carts
right next to motorcycles
and buses and pick-up trucks.

There is a lot of poverty.
One local told me that
about 70 percent
of the people do not own a car.

There are lots of colorful buses
that were once U.S. school buses.

They are often jam-packed full of people,
and it's not unusual to see
someone riding on the outside,
clinging to the ladder on the back
or standing in the open doorway.














There are a lot of taxis of all kinds,
including this three-wheeled variety....





and the taxi
pulled by a horse!





This bad shot
through the bus window
gives you a look at the front
of the three-wheelers!





And how about these forms
of mass transportation.

You see huge groups of people
traveling like this all the time.





There are apparently
no laws against
riding in the back of a pick-up!

But this group wins the prize....
it is by far
the largest we saw
in the back of a truck!





Central America can be a
dangerous place to visit.

The group we travel with
goes to great lengths
to keep us safe.

But there have been many incidents
of violence in recent days,
so we were asked
to stay with the group at all times
and only go where our bus takes us.
That meant that we couldn't do
any wandering around alone
looking for the perfect photo-op!

So most of my photos of the city
and the countryside
are taken from the window
of our moving bus.
You'll see a lot of blur,
a fair amount of window glare,
and often the Nicaraguan flag
that sat on the dash of the bus!

But I decided to take my chances.
These photos are definitely not art,
but they will be wonderful memories!











 





  

meet me at the blog cafe!

One of the great things about blogging is becoming part of a wonderful virtual community of friends. Sometimes it feels like we're sitting around a table at our local cafe talking and laughing and having a great time getting to know each other better.

But in reality, we're sitting at home, in front of our computer screens and leaving comments on each other's blogs.

We're in countries all over the world, from Norway to Australia, and all across the U.S. But we're still talking and laughing and getting to know each other better, just as well as if we really were sitting around that table together.

Last week, we had a virtual get-together over Molten Chocolate Cake. It was so much fun, we decided to make it a regular event--and we hope you will join us!



We're calling it "The Blog Cafe," and here's how it works:

Every Monday, we're going to gather at somebody's blog for some food, fun, and great conversation. Each week, we will have a different blogger act as our host for our virtual get-together.

When you are the host, you will choose what we're "eating" and where we're "meeting", and you'll get us started on a topic of conversation.

We hope you'll share some photos of where you're taking us and what we're having--give us a taste of the local fare and maybe give us a peek of the world in your neck of the woods!

Then the rest of us--anyone and everyone is welcome--will pop in for a visit sometime throughout the day and leave a comment. We'll share our thoughts and insights on the topic you've chosen, and we'll all get to know each other better!


A few questions:

• How will I know where we're gathering each week? Jenny and Tracy and I are the coordinators--visit our blogs each Monday morning, and we'll give you the blog address of where we're meeting up. We'll post at 12:01 our times, so hopefully wherever you are in the world, you can join us sometime during your Monday!
  .
• How do I have a turn as the host? Send an email to theblogcafe @ yahoo . com. We'll get you on the list and give you a hosting date!
  .
• Who is invited? EVERYONE! We hope you'll feel welcome to join us anytime. You don't have to sign up to play along. Just join us when you can. If you miss a week or if you're new, you are always welcome. The fun is all about getting to know new friends!
  .
• Do I have to meet at a certain time? No! We are not having a set meeting time. Just pop in anytime during your Monday, read the post and the previous comments, and make a comment of your own. If you'd like, check back later and follow the conversation throughout the day.
  .
  

The Rules
.

We just have one rule--and we'll rely on our weekly hosts to make sure it's followed:

We want to keep our conversations positive and uplifting. if you're looking for sarcastic, snide, or snarky conversation, you won't find it here.

And that goes for criticism of other commenters. Those kind of comments will be deleted. So just keep it nice! Also, many of us write family blogs, so please--let's keep it  children-safe!

We're looking forward to seeing you on Monday--we're starting here at "A Year of Happy" on April 19.

I'll go first, then the next Monday we'll be at Jenny-Jenny Who Can I Turn To, and for week three we'll be at Pink Purl. Who knows...maybe the next week could be you!

Can't wait to see you for treats and talk on Mondays! And be sure to tell your friends--everyone is welcome at "The Blog Cafe"!

Grab a button for your blog!

When you install this button on your blog,
please link it to our Blog Cafe page
so your followers will be able to join us!

http://www.ayearofhappy.com/the-blog-cafe.html

.
.

.

there's nothing like a good line from a movie

Don't you love
a memorable line from a favorite movie?

You know the kind I mean...
the lines that are repeated
over and over again
because they are so good.

Today we need some good movie lines.

Lines to make us smile.
LInes to make us laugh out loud.

And lines that we'll enjoy
because we all saw the movie
and we all know exactly
what we mean!

Here are just a few...
can you name the movies
they belong to?

• "No, I don't think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how."
  .
  
• "The King's stinking son fired me, and thank you so much for bringing up such a painful subject. While you're at it, why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it?"
  .
• "Honey, time marches on and eventually you realize it is marchin' across your face."
  .
• Well, yes mate. See, I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you need to watch out for, because you never know when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid.

What is your
favorite movie line?

picture morning

It's time for
Team Up Thursday photography!

Our theme this week
is "Morning."

Isn't it amazing
to see what
morning looks like
on opposite sides of the world
and in opposite seasons?

Arizaphale's photo was taken
at Port Vincent in Australia.
I think it's beautiful--
the peaceful water
with the lone boat
under the sparkle of the sun.

My photo is in Utah and shows
beautiful Mount Timpanogos at sunrise.
This is the mountain
that is right outside my door.

This week I went out
on a couple of early mornings,
hoping for a spectacular sunrise,
because that's the best way
to say morning to me--
the sun coming up
over the mountains.

It was such a peaceful experience...
so quiet as I watched and waited
for the sun to come up.

I could hear a few early birds
singing their morning song,
and a rooster crowing it's welcome
as morning slowly arrived.

To me, it's the best part of the day!

Check out the other
Team Up Thursday diptychs,
or come play along!

Visit Melody or Megan's blogs
and find out how to get started!

running free

"A's" favorite activity
is parkour or free running.

Have you heard of it?

This is the Wikipedia definition:

Parkour is the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one's path by adapting one's movements to the environment. It is a non-competitive, physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, as if moving in an emergency situation.

Skills such as jumping and climbing, or the more specific parkour moves are employed. The object of parkour is to get from one place to another using only the human body and the objects in the environment. The obstacles can be anything in one's environment, but parkour is often seen practiced in urban areas because of the many suitable public structures available such as buildings and rails.

The term freerunning is sometimes used interchangeably with parkour. While superficially similar, freerunning places more emphasis on the aesthetics of movement and finding creative ways to overcome obstacles than on efficiency and simplicity.

"A" and his friends
love to practice their
free running skills.

They're getting strong by
doing handstands
every day during their lunch hour.





They like to go to Discovery Park
which has lots of wooden obstacles
they can run and jump over.

They also go to a gym
that has pads
where they can practice
without getting hurt.
(That makes their mothers happy!)

And they each have their
own signature trick.

"A's" is a side flip.
We decided to try to get some
action shots of his moves.











Pretty cool, don't you think?!

a saying for every occasion

"D's" Grandma Brown
is legendary for her
traditional sayings
that have been passed down
through the generations.

Her daughters remember them all
and they use them too.
It seems like for every occasion,
there's an old adage to go with it!





For instance, if a couple got married
who didn't seem well-matched,
Grandma Brown might say,
"She probably
married him
to get rid of him!"
Or:
"There's a Jack for every Jill."
Or even:
"She jumped over
all of the daisies
and landed in a cow pie!"

She had sayings
to go with housework too.
When her children were playing
when there was work to be done,
she'd say,
"This and better might do,
but this and worse will never do."

And if one of her children
tried to take a short-cut on chores,
and had to come back to do it again?
"Lazy people always
have to work the hardest."

For today's list,
I'm going to give you
a whole slew of
Grandma Brown's sayings.

We'll call it:

List 7: Grandma Brown's
Sayings for Every Occasion

• A stitch in time saves nine.
  .
  
• That's the pot calling the kettle black.
  .
  
• Pretty is as pretty does.
  .
  
• What doesn't fatten helps to fill.
  .
  
• There is no disgrace in honest labor.
  .
  
• Birds of a feather flock together.
  .
  
• There is no use crying over spilled milk.
  .
• No use closing the barn door after the horse is out.
  .
  
• Kids and fools should never see anything until it is finished.
  .
  
• It's not what you want that makes you fat, its what you get.
  .
  
• Waste not; want not.
  .
  

I'm sure you've heard
some old sayings
that aren't on my list.
Please share--
I'm sure Grandma Brown
probably said it
at one time or another!

nature outtakes

Last week,
I spent an afternoon
wandering around with my camera.

I got back to my computer
to look at my photos more closely,
and had a good laugh
when I saw these shots.

I thought it would be fun
to share them with you.





These birds had somehow
found their way
into the airport....
and were watching
the planes take off and land
as if they were
right where they belonged!



 


This little guy
was playing tag
with his friend
until he realized
I was watching.
Then he scrambled
to a high branch
and kept his eye on me
until I finally left.


_________



Then I spied some geese
wandering around a
small grassy area.

Really, no room to fly....

Wait for it....

wait for it....





Nope--he made it!

But from the look of things,
I thought it was going to be
a head-on collision with the tree!



Then there was one of his buddies,
who had had just about enough.





He was angrily honking
at that other goose,
who just stood there
and took it all in.
Never even got flustered.





(I always thought
geese were such
graceful creatures....)



If you want to get
a closer look
at any of these shots,
click on the photos.
They really are better close up!


Do you have any photos
that will give us
a good laugh today?
Leave a link in the comments!