See the beauty that is Earth.

My nephew Alex made this creative penguin egg for Easter!  He dunked a hardboiled egg into blue egg coloring leaving the "belly" white.  Then he drew on the eyes, beak and wings with a sharpie marker. How cool is that!  It shows how creative you can be when dying Easter eggs. Thanks for sharing Alex! xo (Aunt) Mama...

The Ninepenny Fidil (Fiddle) is a song about playing a fiddle and about meeting a leprechaun.  The song was written by Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil and arranged by Herbert Hughes to old Irish melody. Below you can listen to a video of the song, followed by the lyrics. The Ninepenny Fidil My...

The leprechaun is a fairy shoemaker eagerly sought by people who like to get rich quick. If the mortal who meets him will only keep his eyes fixed upon the fairy, the little chap will have to disclose the hiding place of a certain crock of gold. But the leprechaun is so full of tricks...

The leprechaun is one of the symbols of St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s a poem about the leprechaun for the holiday… The Leprechaun,—the omadhaun*!—that lives in County Clare, Is one foot wide and three foot high without an inch to spare. He winks the sea-blue eye of him, like other saucy rogues, And underneath the blackthorn-bush he...

Here’s an Irish Blessing just in time for St. Patrick’s Day… Irish Blessing   May your pockets be heavy And your heart be light.   May good luck pursue you Each morning and night. Happy St. Patrick’s Day! -Mama Lisa

Song of The Leprechaun or Fairy Shoemaker was written by Irish poet William Allingham (1824 – 1889).  Leprechauns are known to be shoemakers.  At the end of the work day, they hide away the money they earned in a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Song of The Leprechaun or Fairy Shoemaker is...

MP3 of Love Is Enough Love Is Enough By William Morris Love is enough: though the World be a-waning, And the woods have no voice but the voice of complaining, Though the sky be too dark for dim eyes to discover The gold-cups and daisies fair...

Here’s the poem, Poet To His Love by Maxwell Bodenheim (1892-1954) with an mp3 recording… MP3 of Poet to His Love 2nd Recording of Poet to His Love Poet to His Love An old silver church in a forest Is my love for you. The trees around it ...

Sometimes, life is grand because of that one perfect moment, like in the poem below… MP3 of Jenny kiss’d Me Jenny kiss’d Me By Leigh Hunt Jenny kiss’d me when we met, Jumping from the chair she sat in; Time, you...

Kita wrote from China a couple of days ago about how she hung up banners with Spring Couplets on them around her door for the Chinese New Year : "Tonight is Chuxi. (Chinese New Year’s Eve.) This afternoon, my grandpa and I pasted up spring couplets. My grandpa makes the paste with flour. We mix flour and...

Laba is a Chinese festival that has traditionally started off the Chinese New Year preparations. It’s on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Agnes wrote about it from China: "We eat Laba Rice Porridge and Laba Garlic for the Laba Festival. Laba Porridge is made of mixed grains and corns, like peanuts, chestnuts, dates...

In the US, high schools and universities have graduation ceremonies where the students go up to receive their diplomas.  The graduates usually wear caps and gowns.  During the ceremony the song Pomp and Circumstances is played (listen here).  Usually after the graduation ceremony or the following day families have parties for the graduate.  In France,...

These Sugar Cookies are Gluten-free and made with icing that has no food dye in it! When making gluten-free recipes, make sure beforehand that all your ingredients are gluten-free. Recipe for Gluten-free Sugar Cookies Ingredients 1 1/2 c. White Rice Flour 1 1/2 c. Oatmeal Flour ...

New Year’s Resolutions are a way to consider how to improve your life.  They should be remembered throughout the year. There’s a simple way to improve your chances of sticking to your resolutions… Make them achievable goals.  Instead of saying, "I’m going on a diet", buy less unhealthy snacks and replace them with fruit. Instead of saying, "I’m...

This is the best cranberry bread I’ve ever had!  My family loves it too.  It just happens to be gluten-free. If you’re on a gluten-free diet, please read the labels of your ingredients to make sure they’re all gluten-free. Recipe for Gluten-free Cranberry Bread Ingredients 1 cup White Rice Flour 1 cup Oat Flour...

Every year, in December in Japan, a word is chosen that represents that year.  There’s a Kanji Character that represents that word.  Kanji are the characters used to represent the Japanese language.  They originally come from China. The kanji character of the year is unveiled for the 1st time at Kiyomizu Temple each year. Ayako wrote...

Cinnamon Ornaments smell great!  They’re very easy to make and are a nice early Christmas gift to give.  I made ours in somewhat neutral shapes so people could keep them hanging around the house for the yummy smell after Christmas.  We made stars, crescent moons, hearts and trees.  Below you can find the recipe for...