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Contents
Posts
Day of the Dead
Sunday, November 1st, 2009Today and tomorrow, November 1st and 2nd, are the Day of the Dead. It’s celebrated in Mexico. Family and friends get together to remember those who have died. People also make alters to the dead and visit the graves of their loved ones.
We went to a Mexican restaurant this evening and saw an alter.
There were skulls on it made of sugar, and favorite foods and drinks of loved ones who have passed away. A woman who works there told me about some of the desserts that were on the alter. One was made of sweet potatoes and another of guava fruit…
They gave us a special hot chocolate drink and sweet tamales for dessert, specially for the holiday.
The lady who works there told us how in small towns in Mexico they decorate their houses with flowers in the doorways and petals strewn about the floor. Marigolds are particularly important. It sounds pretty.
The day is all about celebrating those loved ones who have passed on. It’s nice to have a day each year specifically for that.
Check out some other posts about the Day of the Dead…
Walt Whitman’s Woods and his Poem "Miracles"
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
We took a walk today in Walt Whitman’s woods in West Hills, on Long Island, east of New York City. I highly recommend taking an autumnal hike or stroll if you can. Then you may feel the truth in Whitman’s line, "As to me I know of nothing else but miracles". There’s much beauty out there. Here are some photos I took in Walt’s woods, followed by his poem "Miracles", and then recordings of two people reading the poem.
Miracles
by Walt WhitmanWhy, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.
To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim-the rocks-the motion of the waves-the ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?*****
Geocaching – Fun Treasure Hunting with the Kids and a GPS
Sunday, October 11th, 2009This weekend we geocached with our daughter and a couple of her friends. Geocaching is “a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches…” with the help of your GPS guidance system.
We used my husband’s iPhone to guide us on our adventure. We knew there were a couple of geocaches in a nearby park. So we headed there.
My husband had previously downloaded a geocaching app for his iPhone called Geocaching.com Intro. At the park, the app finds the closest geocache and guides you to it.
The app found a geogache for us to find. The girls took turns with the iPhone pointing the direction on a compass.
Eventually you usually go off the path. (If they were on the path, people who didn’t know about the game might take them.) Then you follow the directions until you (hopefully) find the cache. The two we found today were in small plastic tubs. You’re supposed to sign the log that you find inside the tub. There are also trinkets inside the tub. You’re supposed to leave a trinket and you can take a trinket in return. We made sure all the girls had trinkets to exchange.
It was a lot of fun!
We had tried this last weekend in a more public park and never found the geocaches. Our theory is that people who didn’t know how the game might have found the caches because it was a more public place and took them. The game seems to work better in larger parks with more vegetation.
If you have a regular GPS system you can go to geocache.com and type in the zip code for the area you are going to. Then you can find different geocaches nearby. Pick one and find hints for finding it. I think it will give you the final coordinates too. You’ll need to sign up and read all about it!
Have fun!
Mama Lisa
Parenting the Kid Who Likes to Eat A Lot!
Saturday, September 5th, 2009The New York Times has an interesting article about Parenting and Food. It talks about what to do with the child who wants to eat a lot. The dilemma is that telling your kid not to eat too much can cause eating disorders in the future. Yet, if you don’t help them control their habits, they might just eat everything they want: including lots of junk food!
Here are some possible ways to help your child:
1) Eat right and exercise yourself as an example to your child (most of us could improve our habits!)
2) Have lots of fruit in your house as an alternative to junk food and limit the junk food and soda in your house. (The NY Times article points out that your child will just find the junk food elsewhere. But meanwhile, if s/he’s grazing on healthy snacks presumably your child would be less hungry for other food.)
3) Eat Family Meals together
4) Less Take-in Food
5) Have them Bring Lunch to School (cafeteria lunches leave much to be desired)
6) Find an alternate activity to snacking – like a hobby
7) Have your child help you plan the meals for the family, thus helping them learn how to think about food in a healthy way.
8) Smaller dishes lead to smaller portions. When my friend visited us from France, she was amazed by the huge sizes of our dishes here in the US. If you have smaller dishes and you fill them up, you feel like you’re eating the same amount as a larger dish filled up. Yet your portion is less.
9) Make less carbohydrates. My husband is over 6 feet tall and my 15 year old son is almost 6 feet tall. Sometimes, I find myself making larger and larger amounts of pasta or rice to keep up with them. Lately, I’ve been trying to make less pasta, so we all eat less carbs, rather than making more and having leftovers.
10) We try to take long walks at parks together as a family.
11) We’re considering getting a dog – with the understanding that our kids would have to help walk it. That would be a daily walk for all of us!Please feel free to let us know any advice you might have, in the comments below, for helping children eat healthy food and eat healthy amounts of food, without causing eating disorders down the road.
A Little about Indonesia with some photos of Indonesian Kids!
Thursday, August 20th, 2009I learned this week that Indonesia has tens of thousands of islands. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Indonesia has 13,670 islands, over half of which are inhabited. Wikipedia puts the number over 17,000. The truth is that the number of islands continuously changes due to seismic activity in the area.
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, after China, India and then the US.
Here’s a photo taken by Marlina Efrida of some Indonesian kids. What I love about this photo is that it shows how children are alike all over the world. Our kids love to make faces and signs when they have their photos taken too!
Here’s another lovely photo from Indonesia by Marlina…
If you’d like to share any photos from your country, feel free to email me.
Many thanks to Marlina Efrida for sharing her photos and to Lin Fdln and Dedy Subandowo for telling me about Indonesian life!
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Indonesia pages for Indonesian kids songs.
Cheers!
Mama Lisa
ABC’s in New York’s Roads and Buildings
Saturday, July 25th, 2009Rachel Young found all the letters in the alphabet using Google Maps in the buildings and roads of New York. Young was inspired by the idea of Australian graphic designer Rhett Dashwood who made an alphabet of roads and buildings in the state of Victoria, Australia.
I thought the use of Madison Square Garden for "O" in the NY ABC’s was a nice touch…
This shows an important point: there are so many ways to be creative in life… all it takes is an interesting idea!
Enjoy the Alphabet of New York… as a bonus you can hear my daughter sing the ABC’s when you click on the image above!
Mama Lisa
Proverb: Time and tide wait for no man.
Friday, July 24th, 2009Now’s a good time to keep this proverb in mind… if you’re going to take a walk on the beach or near a river… you may want to check a high tide chart… because…
Time and tide wait for no man.
My husband and I almost learned this lesson the hard way today. We were taking a hike on the shore of a river… on the way back we noticed the water was very obviously rising. Good thing we decided to turn back when we had or we would have had to swim back and I wouldn’t have had these lovely shots to take home (my camera would have gotten wet!)…
Scarecrows in Gambia, Africa
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009I blogged recently about how Del Dallimore has been collecting Gambian children’s songs on YouTube.
Del took these photos below of scarecrows in the rice fields of Brufut, Gambia. I thought it was interesting how they look different from those here in the US. The scarecrows in Gambia are made out of plastic bags.
Del said, "They look really realistic from a distance."
Del wrote, "They were arranged in a group of three – for some reason I assumed that the Gambians would not use scarecrows."
Many thanks to Del for sharing these photos with us! Be sure to visit Del’s YouTube Channel to watch her videos of Gambia featuring kids songs!
Mama Lisa
Happy July Fourth – Photo and Firework Video!
Friday, July 3rd, 2009Here’s a short video of some fireworks we saw last night and a photo of flags near the Empire State Building to help get you into the mood for the 4th of July…
Have a Happy July Fourth!
Mama Lisa
Images from Hubble
Friday, May 15th, 2009You’ve got to go to Hubblesite and check out their wonderful gallery of images. Bring your kids, bring your grandkids, bring your students, bring your friends. It’s really incredible! Here are some to show you how cool they are…
Planetary Nebula K 4-55
Hubble Snaps a Splendid Planetary Nebula
Abstract Art Found in the Orion Nebula
Spitzer and Hubble Create Colorful Masterpiece
Mars: Closest Approach 2007
Combined X-Ray and Optical Images of the Crab Nebula
The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared Light
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Credits: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), J. Bell (Cornell University), and M. Wolff (Space Science Institute, Boulder).
A Bunny Came to Visit us Today
Saturday, April 11th, 2009My daughter took this photo of a bunny in our yard. It was hanging out under the slide seeking shelter from the rain. It’s still there about 3 hours later!
Cute wittle bunny wabbit!
Cherry Blossom Viewing in Japan
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009When the Cherry Blossoms bloom in Japan it’s traditional to go to the park to view the blossoms and have a picnic. Cherry Blossom viewing is called called Hanami. Ayako Egawa generously shared her photos of this years cherry blossom viewing.
Ayako wrote, "We walked under the flow of cherry blossoms in the park. It was beautiful!"
Close up of the cherry blossoms.
Ayako continued, "Lots of people enjoy sitting and eating ‘bento’ (their lunch)."
Ayako wrote, "We hiked along the road hearing the twitter of Japanese Bush Warbler.
I like the feel of spring!"
I asked Ayako what the Japanese Bush Warbler sounds like and she wrote, "Hearing the twitter of the Japanese Bush Warbler is a sign of Spring in Japan. They sing like ‘Whoo Who ket kyo’! It’s a unique twitter." Later Ayako sent me this YouTube video below she found to hear the bird’s tweet.
Ayako wrote, "Small purple flowers in the park. They are pretty."
Ayako wrote, "Cherry blossoms in this school playground are really beautiful! It’s common that there are lots of cherry blossoms in school playgrounds in Japan."
Thanks so much for sharing these great photos with us Ayako!
Check out these posts for more about Cherry Blossom Viewing and Festivals.
You can also hear 2 well known Cherry Blossom Songs on Mama Lisa’s World:
Sakura Sakura – Cherry Blossoms (Song #2)
Enjoy the season and try to see Cherry Blossoms blooming near you if possible. It’s worth the effort.
Mama Lisa
Signs of Spring
Friday, March 27th, 2009It’s amazing that people over 5000 years ago knew enough about astronomy and the seasons to create a cave and have specific chambers within it be lit up by the sun only on specific days of the year… specifically on the solstices and equinoxes.
I’m talking about the Loughcrew Megalithic Cairns in Ireland.
Michael from Newgrange.com sent me this:
"At the 5000 year old Loughcrew megalithic cairn T in Ireland, the rising sun on the mornings around the equinox illuminate the passage and chamber."
You can see cairn T being lit up on March 20th of this year in the photo below.
When you stop and think about it, it’s really amazing that mankind was able to work out the placement of the sun in this detail over 5000 years ago!
Check out Signs of Spring the Big Picture to see photos "from Stonehenge and Mayan pyramids to Dutch meadows and Texan beaches" that show different signs Springtime is coming in the northern hemisphere.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Photos from Kamakura, Japan
Monday, March 2nd, 2009Kamakura is 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of Tokyo. Ayako Egawa wrote to me from Japan about her trip there, “I went to Kamakura where there are many famous historic Japanese sites. This is “Daibutsu” which means Great Buddha. It was cast in 1252 and its height is approximately 13.4 meters (44 feet). ‘The figure sits in dignified repose with a most placid expression of countenance.’ That’s a quote about it from Dr. C. Dresser’s Japan – Its Architecture.
It was fine day. Daibutsu made a beautiful contrast with the blue sky.”
This is the Hasedera Temple that houses a statue of Kannon the goddess of mercy.
Below is the Japanese garden at Hasedera Temple. Ayako wrote, “This is a typical Japanese garden. Typical Japanese gardens have a pond with a small bridge, a garden lantern, garden stones and old trees that show the four seasons.”
Ayako wrote, “Garden lanterns are stone lanterns for decoration in the Japanese garden, not real lanterns for practical purposes. Here’s a photo showing some Japanese stone lanterns…”
“This is ’smile Jizo’. Jizo is a stone statue of Buddha. The height is about the same as kids.”
Here’s the gate of Hasedera Temple with an old pine tree.
Ayako wrote, “This is "Kintsuba" which is a Japanese sweet I bought at Kamakura.
It is made by simmering pumpkin and sugar with small beans. The beans are Azuki, a small red bean. It is used as sweets like “Kintsuba”.”
Thanks so much for sharing your photos with us Ayako and for telling us about them! It’s all really neat to see and learn about.
-Mama Lisa
Photos of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009Here are some wonderful photos of the Taj Mahal (plus one of an elephant walking down the street) taken by Matt Mullenweg…
Check out Matt Mullenweg’s Blog to see more photos of Agra and the Taj Mahal plus miscellaneous stuff about Wordpress. This blog is powered by WordPress as is Mama Lisa’s World. If you’re thinking about starting your own blog, I’d recommend checking it out!
-Mama Lisa
Pictorial Photography in America 1920
Sunday, February 8th, 2009Project Gutenberg just released Pictorial Photography in America 1920.
You can see it online. I pulled out some of my favorite photos in it to show you here.
EARLY MORNING
By David W. Bonnar, Buffalo, N. Y.
A BIT OF HOME LIFE
By Will D. Brodhun, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
THE DOORWAY
By Dwight A. Davis, Worcester, Mass.
THE LIFTING MIST
By Jerry D. Drew, Montclair, N. J.
BOATS
By E. G. Dunning, New York
FIFTY YEARS
By Frederick Frittita, Baltimore, Md.
PUCKACHIPE-SEAGULL
By Elizabeth R. Allen, Moorestown, N.J.
STEAM UP
By J. W. Newton, Columbus, Ohio
You Can’t Keep a Good Kid Down…
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009Or in this case… dry!
It’s wet and slushy here in New York. But my daughter got off the school bus today and jumped right into the puddle at the bottom of our driveway!
Some Photos of Béziers in France
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008Here are some photos Monique sent me from Béziers in southern France.
The first one is from a small park called “le Plateau des Poètes” …
The next one is of the canal (it’s almost empty – since they’re cleaning it)…
This photo was taken from the canal bridge that crosses the river…
This photo was taken by the river side, from one side of the canal bridge.
Many thanks to Monique Palomares of Mama Lisa’s World en français for sharing these wonderful photos with us!
-Mama Lisa
Great Photos on the Internet to Show Your Kids!
Thursday, November 20th, 2008Here are some photos from the National Archives Ansel Adams collection (one near Death Valley, the other of the Grand Canyon)…
The Library of Congress has a Catalog of Online Prints & Photographs. (Many of those photos are in the public domain.)
They’ve teamed up with Flickr to post some of their popular photos. Below is a photo of President Taft with his sister and her kids, from the early 20th century. It’s from Flickr.
Google has teamed up with Time Inc. to make available on the internet millions of photos from Life Magazine. The photos span from the 1860’s to the 1970’s. You can look at the photos – of course – but I believe they’re still copyright protected.
I must say, it’s interesting to view some of the wonderful photos. Here are links to a couple of my favorites…
Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1900)
It’s worth taking your child to these sites to see some wonderful historic photos – or simply check ‘em out yourself!
-Mama Lisa
Photos of an Autumn Lake
Saturday, November 1st, 2008Today we took a hike with our kids around the woods and pond at Caleb Smith State Park in New York. We wanted to spend some time together as a family and see the beautiful autumnal colors. Here are a couple of photos we took of the lake…
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