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    Contents

    Two French Goodbye Songs with Recordings

    Grandma’s Sayings

    Can Anyone Help with a Croatian Song that Sounds Like, “Kille killi jakasaka okoama bum”?

    Can Anyone Help with a Polish Lullaby that Translates as “Sleep My Baby Doll”?

    Mama Lisa’s Puppy Hunt Blues

    Pennsylvania Dutch Version of Dies Ist der Daumen – This Is the Thumb

    Birthday Chant and Jump Rope Rhyme – Apples, Peaches, Pears and Plums

    Can Anyone Help with a Czech Rhyme that Sounds Like “Hou-py, hou-py, hou-py”?

    Geocaching – Fun Treasure Hunting with the Kids and a GPS

    Can Anyone Help with a Maori Song that Sounds Like, “Nane paku ana”?

    Chanda Mama – “Moon” Video by Playing for Change

    Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – It’s Really about a Kid’s Drawing!

    Koriteh – Celebration of the End of Ramadan

    It’s Rosh Hashanah – Shana Tova Umetukah – A Good and Sweet Year!

    Arr!

    Robert Frost’s Proverb: “Good fences make good neighbors.”

    Modern Poetry Around the World

    Time and Tide Wait for No Man… Is it the “tides” or “noontide”?

    Can Someone Help with a Swedish Kids Song about Being Little Now, But Soon Being as Big as Mama?

    Banana Dosai – A Dessert from India

    Posts

    Two French Goodbye Songs with Recordings

    Friday, October 23rd, 2009

    I was recently asked for a Goodbye Song in French. While looking for a song I found out that some French school teachers use the French version of Auld Lang Syne, “Ce n’est qu’un au revoir”, as a Goodbye Song. It’s a Scout song that’s also called “Le chant des adieux”. When teachers use it as a Goodbye song, they sing the 1st two verses. Here they are in French with an English translation….

    Faut-il nous quitter sans espoir
    Sans espoir de retour ?
    Faut-il nous quitter sans espoir
    De nous revoir un jour ?

    Refrain
    Ce n’est qu’un au revoir, mes frères,
    Ce n’est qu’un au revoir.
    Oui, nous nous reverrons, mes frères,
    Ce n’est qu’un au revoir.

    Here’s a literal English translation by Monique Palomares…

    Must we leave each other without a hope
    To see each other again some day
    Must we leave each other without a hope
    A hope of return

    It’s only a goodbye, my brothers
    It’s only a goodbye,
    Yes, we’ll see each other again, my brothers
    It’s only a goodbye.

    Here you can hear the whole song…

    Another Goodbye Song we have here today was written and sung by Alain Le Lait. It’s in French and English. Sit back and enjoy the song by clicking the MP3 below. You can read along with the lyrics in French and English…

    Listen to Alain’s French Goodbye Song

    Au revoir
    by Alain Le Lait

    Au revoir, good bye,
    Now it is time for me to go away.
    Au revoir, good bye,
    But I wish I could stay with you all day.

    Thanks for your smiles
    And for singing along
    I hope to see you again before too long.

    Au revoir, good bye,
    Il se fait tard et je dois m’en aller
    Au revoir, good bye,
    Mais j’aimerais rester toute la journée
    Pour vos sourires et vos bien jolies voix
    Je vous remercie et a une autre fois.

    Au revoir, good bye,
    Au revoir, good bye,
    Au revoir, good bye.

    (English Translation of French Verse)

    Good bye, good bye
    It’s getting late and I must go
    Good bye, good bye
    But I’d like to stay with you all day
    For all your smiles and your pretty voices
    I thank you and I’ll see you another time.

    The French and English lyrics to this “Au revoir” song are © 1994 Alain Le Lait.

    Alain Le Lait is a French native who grew up near Paris, France. He moved to the United States in the 1970s and now lives in Colorado. Alain writes and performs easy to learn children’s songs in French, Spanish and English. Check out his site www.Yadeeda.com to hear samples of his music and to buy his CD’s or mp3’s.

    Merci Alain & Monique!

    Feel free to share any French Hello or Goodbye songs you know in the comments below.

    Mama Lisa

    PS Here are some other Hello and Goodbye Songs…

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    Grandma’s Sayings

    Monday, October 19th, 2009

    Oscar Teliz told me his grandmother used to say in Spanish, “No hay mal que dure cien anos, ni cuerpo que lo soporte” which is an obscure saying meaning, “No bad occurrence will last forever, and if it did, you wouldn’t be able to stand it anyway.”

    My grandma always said, “What will be, will be.” In other words, “Don’t worry about it! The future will take care of itself.”

    Feel free to share your grandmother’s sayings or words of wisdom with us in the comments below!

    Mama Lisa

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    Can Anyone Help with a Croatian Song that Sounds Like, “Kille killi jakasaka okoama bum”?

    Monday, October 19th, 2009

    Michael wrote:

    Hi Lisa,

    We just returned from a vacation in Croatia. We are German and have 3 little girls. They learned a song from a “mini disco”. I hope you can tell me the name of the song.

    From what we understood it sounds like this:

    Kille killi jakasaka okoama bum (repeats) Olee mal jole…….

    Do you know how this song is named and what the lyrics are?

    Thanks in advance for any information.

    Regards,

    Michael Andres

    If anyone can help Michael, please let us know in the comments below.

    Thanks!

    Mama Lisa

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    Can Anyone Help with a Polish Lullaby that Translates as “Sleep My Baby Doll”?

    Sunday, October 18th, 2009

    Theresa wrote:

    I am looking for a Polish lullaby my mother used to sing…

    Śpij laleczko moja mała, czas na ciebie już, ja cię będę kołysała, a ty oczka zmruz…

    This is all I remember.

    If anyone has all the words, I would be very grateful.

    Theresa

    A rough English translation of the above text is: Sleep my little baby doll, it is the time for you now, I will, I will rock, and you close your eyes.

    This is the tune to the Polish Lullaby.

    If anyone can help Therese with the original text of the lullaby and/or an English translation, please let us know in the comments below.

    Thanks!

    Mama Lisa

    UPDATE:

    Here’s the text of a slightly different version of the lullaby, thanks to Agnieszka Magnucka:

    ŚPIJ LALECZKO

    Pod pierzyną czarnej nocy
    W blasku srebrnych gwiazd
    Gwiżdże swoje kołysanki
    Rozśpiewany wiatr.

    Księżyc wplata w warkoczyki
    Kolorowe sny
    Śpij laleczko moja mała
    Śpij córeczko, śpij.

    W płatkach herbacianej róży
    Calineczka śpi
    Nawet przemęczony świerszczyk
    Zasnął w trakcie gry.

    Wszystkie małe grzeczne dzieci
    Już od dawna śpią
    Dobra wróżka opowiada
    Bajkę którą śnią.

    Księżyc wplata w warkoczyki
    Kolorowe sny
    Śpij laleczko moja mała
    Śpij córeczko, śpij.

    Agnieszka Magnucka and I came up with this English translation…

    SLEEP MY BABY DOLL

    Under the blanket of dark night
    In the glimmer of silver stars
    It is whistling its lullabies…
    - Singing wind.

    The Moon is braiding in plaits
    Colorful dreams
    Sleep my baby doll
    Sleep my daughter, sleep.

    Between the tea rose* leaves
    Thumbelina is sleeping
    Also some overtired little cricket
    Fell asleep while playing.

    All the good little children
    Are sleeping for so long
    The good fairy is telling that story
    They are dreaming of.

    The moon is braiding in plaits
    Colorful dreams
    Sleep my baby doll
    Sleep my daughter, sleep.

    *Tea Rose is called Herbaciana which is a rose with peachy/yellow leaves that sometimes have a little pink or cream in them.

    *****

    Enjoy!

    Mama Lisa

    PS Thanks so much for your help Agnieszka!

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    Mama Lisa’s Puppy Hunt Blues

    Saturday, October 17th, 2009

    I’m a bit dismayed at how difficult it can be to find a puppy. I mentioned in a previous blog post how we’re looking for a hypoallergenic dog that’s good with kids. That’s not such an easy task! Hypoallergenic dogs are generally purebreds. Many purebred dogs have genetic health problems. So we’ve been trying to narrow down our search to dogs that don’t have too many health problems… or if it can be determined if they’re healthy based on the health of their parents and genetic testing. Bichon frises seem to fit the bill, but we wanted a slightly larger dog – about 30 to 40 pounds.

    We’ve narrowed our search down to Lagottos (which are very hard to find) and either 2nd generation Goldendoodles or Labradoodles. But now we’re having a hard time finding a puppy in these breeds. If anyone knows of any good breeders where we can find these types of puppies, please email me at lisa@mamalisa.com .

    Thanks!

    Mama Lisa

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    Pennsylvania Dutch Version of Dies Ist der Daumen – This Is the Thumb

    Saturday, October 17th, 2009

    I’ve been asked several times for the Pennsylvania Dutch Version of the German rhyme Dies Ist der Daumen – This Is the Thumb. Today I received the version below thanks to Luke and Mary Martin. Here’s what Luke wrote…

    My wife and I are also familiar with many of the German songs. This morning while looking for them, I found the finger rhyme, and your question about the Pennsylvania German variation. This is the song my father used to sing to us – seven children. Pennsylvania German has many varieties of spelling, and perhaps you can sharpen up the spelling. (My wife, Mary, and I worked at the pronunciation and spelling of the Pennsylvania German Finger Song. Mary grew up speaking Pennsylvania German.) Here it goes…

    Des ist die Daume

    Des ist die Daume
    Der schittelt die Plaume
    Der laest sie ouf
    Der traught sie Haem
    Und des glae Bopplemaul
    Bopplet alles mit’n ahnna da Haem.

    This is the thumb.
    This [one] shakes the plums,
    This [one] picks them up,
    This [one] brings them home,
    And this little tattletale tells everyone at home.

    It was always spoken, not sung.

    Thanks for your work in collecting old songs.

    Luke Martin
    (Pennsylvania)

    If anyone would like to give other variations of the spelling, feel free to in the comments below. Many thanks to Luke Martin for sending this version of the rhyme to us!

    Enjoy!

    Mama Lisa

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    Birthday Chant and Jump Rope Rhyme – Apples, Peaches, Pears and Plums

    Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

    My daughter and her friend Marisa taught me this birthday rhyme in the car the other day. They chant this in class to talk about birthdays and months of the year.

    Apples, Peaches, Pears and Plums

    Apples, Peaches, Pears and Plums,
    Tell me when your birthday comes?

    January, February, March, April,
    May, June, July, August, September,
    October, November, December?

    Some people only chant the first 2 lines and then another person will answer with their birthday.

    This is also a jump rope rhyme. Two kids hold a long jump rope and swing it around in a circle. They chant the rhyme. You jump in on your birthday month. Then the girls start counting 1, 2, 3, etc. until they reach the number of the day you were born on. Then you jump out.

    The other way to play the jump rope game is to skip the numbers. You still jump “in” when your birthday month is called. The other kids then repeat the rhyme and you jump “out” when you hear your birthday month the second time around.

    Enjoy!

    Mama Lisa

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    Can Anyone Help with a Czech Rhyme that Sounds Like “Hou-py, hou-py, hou-py”?

    Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

    Anna wrote:

    Do you know the nursery rhyme that begins:

    Hou-py, hou-py, hou-py,
    Ko-cka sue-dla krou-py
    Do-cour hruch

    I’ll try my best to write this poem-rhyme out for you. Of course, I will not be able to add the correct accent marks, punctuations marks, etc. The writing I have to copy is very small, so I hope my letters are accurate! Here goes!

    Hou-pa-cka

    hou-py, hou-py, hou-py!
    ko-cka sue-dla krou-py,
    ko-cour hrac
    na ka-mnach;
    ko-la-la se hue-va-ly,
    ze jim ta-ky ne-da-ly.
    hou-py, hou-py, hou-py!
    by-ly vsec-ky hlou-py.

    A friend of mine gave me a beautiful framed gift of this rhyme… he says his grandfather would sing it to him. But he doesn’t know what it means.

    My mother is Czech, Vlasta, but she no longer can help me with this.

    Your help would be very nice.

    Thank you, Anna Vdolek Bratney

    If anyone knows the correct spelling of the rhyme and/or if you can provide an English translation, please let us know in the comments below.

    Thanks in advance!

    Mama Lisa

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    Geocaching – Fun Treasure Hunting with the Kids and a GPS

    Sunday, October 11th, 2009

    This 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.

    People Walking in the Woods

    The app found a geogache for us to find. The girls took turns with the iPhone pointing the direction on a compass.

    Geocache Compass Photo

    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.

    Geocache Log Photo

    Geocache Photo

    Geocache Victory Screen Photo

    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

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    Can Anyone Help with a Maori Song that Sounds Like, “Nane paku ana”?

    Saturday, October 10th, 2009

    Sharon wrote:

    Hi Lisa,

    This is really a shot in the dark, but I’m wondering if you know of a song, which I believe is Maori. A friend of mine taught it to me, but she doesn’t know the translation or anything else about it. I’m wondering if you’ve heard of it, and if so, if you could tell me anything about it – what it means, who sings it, etc, and perhaps the proper words. My best attempt at writing it out is as follows:

    Nane paku ana
    Nane paku ana
    eh eh eh ua
    ua ua
    ipea ipea ipea
    Kuana Kuana Kuana Kuana Kua…Choo!
    Kuana Kuana Kuana Kuana Kua…Choo!

    It is a rhythmic song with clapping on the off beats.

    Does this seem at all familiar?

    Thank you so much!

    -Sharon

    If anyone can help Sharon with the original Maori words to this song and/or an English translation, please let us know in the comments below. If you have the original text, please email me a copy at lisa@mamalisa.com – so I can make sure the accents show up properly.

    Thanks!

    Mama Lisa

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    Chanda Mama – “Moon” Video by Playing for Change

    Friday, October 2nd, 2009

    Chanda Mama is a song from India about the moon. Different versions exist in the various languages of India. This one is in the Telugu language, a language mainly spoken in southern India.

    Playing for Change made the Chanda Mama video with musicians around the world. Playing for Change creates music all over the world to make money to build music and art schools in communities that are in need of inspiration and hope. Music and art can have meaning across cultures and be appreciated by people of all economic classes and educational backgrounds. What better way to improve the world!

    The lyrics to the Playing for Change version of Chanda Mama (in the video) are something like this…

    Chanda maama chanda maama raavayyaa
    nannu yettukoni muddulaadu kovayyaa

    maaraalu nenenni cesinaa gaaraalu nive cupinaa
    maaraalu nenenni cesinaa gaaraalu nive cupinaa

    Chanda maama chanda maama raavayyaa
    nannu yettukoni muddulaadu kovayyaa

    If anyone can help with the meaning of these lyrics (and/or if you can verify or correct the original lyrics), please let us know in the comments below.

    We have another version of Chanda Mama which is a Telugu children’s rhyme, with an mp3. You can click the link to hear it and to read the lyrics in Telugu with an English translation.

    Enjoy!

    Mama Lisa

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    Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – It’s Really about a Kid’s Drawing!

    Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

    I clearly remember being seven years old and listening to Elton John’s rendition of the Beatle’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds in my suburban backyard… Looking up at the sky and imagining a girl there, possibly me, floating with diamonds, a rainbow in the background (I guess due to the colorful imagery in the song), and clouds, in a jungle of tall flowers.

    That’s the image I saw in my head every time I heard the song… until years later, when I became a teenager, it was dashed to the ground, and shattered upon being told that the song was about drug use. Somehow that tainted the song for me and made it less interesting… somehow mundane… not of a person’s own, pure imagination, but drug induced.

    Today, my childhood image has been redeemed. I learned that the song actually came from a childhood drawing by John Lennon’s son Julian. You can see the drawing below. When John asked his son what the drawing was about, Julian said, “It’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” Lucy was Julian’s playmate in school.

    Image of Julian Lennon's Drawing of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

    The song “Lucy in the Song with Diamonds” was also influenced by Lewis Carroll. Paul McCartney said, “We did the whole thing like an Alice in Wonderland idea, being in a boat on the river, slowly drifting downstream with those great cellophane flowers towering over your head. Every so often it broke off and you saw Lucy with Diamonds all over the sky.”

    That is a much more interesting origin of this song! What’s more, it lets me remember my original conception of it… and feel like that’s what it was really about… the feeling of the innocent, colorful, originality of childhood.

    Oh happy day! To regain a childhood perspective!

    Hattip: Steve Bunche’s Blog

    *****
    On a sadder note, the real Lucy Vodden (née O’Donnell), Julian’s playmate, recently passed away from Lupus at the age of 46.

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    Koriteh – Celebration of the End of Ramadan

    Sunday, September 20th, 2009

    Del wrote from The Gambia, “Lisa – today is also the Muslim celebration of Koriteh – after the Ramadan fast. So people here too are very happy.”

    I read that kids go around to houses asking for “salibo” (sweets or money) just like the western Halloween.

    Happy Koriteh!

    Mama Lisa

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    It’s Rosh Hashanah – Shana Tova Umetukah – A Good and Sweet Year!

    Saturday, September 19th, 2009

    Today is Rosh Hashanah… the Jewish New Year. Much about the holiday centers around the theme of having a sweet year.

    One of the greetings for Rosh Hashanah is “Shana tova umetukah”, which is Hebrew for “A good and sweet year”.

    Apples and honey are served as a symbol of a sweet year. People dip the apple in the honey.

    Noodle Kugel is often made as a side dish for its sweetness.

    Challah bread is served to symbolize the cycle of the new year – in the shape of the circular bread.

    In synagogue, on the second day of Rosh Hashanah the shofar is sounded. The shofar is made out of a ram’s horn. You can hear it here…

    Shana tova umetukah – a good and sweet year!

    Mama Lisa

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    Arr!

    Saturday, September 19th, 2009

    Avast maties! It’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Yarr!

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    Robert Frost’s Proverb: “Good fences make good neighbors.”

    Friday, September 18th, 2009

    The proverb “Good fences make good neighbors” has been around for a couple of centuries in different forms. One place it can be found is in Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin. His version is: “Love your neighbor; yet don’t pull down your hedge.”

    It’s interesting that the specific wording of the proverb, “Good fences make good neighbors” is fairly modern. It comes from Robert Frost’s poem Mending Wall from 1914. The poem centers around this concept and questions whether it’s true or not. Here’s the poem…

    Mending Wall

    Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
    That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it
    And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
    And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
    The work of hunters is another thing:
    I have come after them and made repair
    Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
    But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
    To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
    No one has seen them made or heard them made,
    But at spring mending-time we find them there.
    I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
    And on a day we meet to walk the line
    And set the wall between us once again.
    We keep the wall between us as we go.
    To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
    And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
    We have to use a spell to make them balance:
    ‘Stay where you are until our backs are turned!’
    We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
    Oh, just another kind of outdoor game,
    One on a side. It comes to little more:
    There where it is we do not need the wall:
    He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
    My apple trees will never get across
    And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
    He only says, “Good fences make good neighbors”.
    Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
    If I could put a notion in his head:
    Why do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it
    Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
    Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
    What I was walling in or walling out,
    And to whom I was like to give offense.
    Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
    That wants it down.” I could say “Elves” to him,
    But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather
    He said it for himself. I see him there,
    Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
    In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
    He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
    Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
    He will not go behind his father’s saying,
    And he likes having thought of it so well
    He says again, “Good fences make good neighbors.”

    Listen to an MP3 of Mending Wall as read by Alan Davis-Drake for LibriVox

    Listen to a different MP3 of Mending Wall as read by Teresa Montgomery for Librivox

    The narrator of the poem is annoyed by his neighbor’s insistence that there has to be a fence between them. If only his neighbor would get beyond his father’s beliefs – originating in an old proverb – and reconsider his thinking.

    What’s ironic is that Frost coined the new wording of a proverb: “Good fences make good neighbors”, while questioning the very wisdom behind it!

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    Modern Poetry Around the World

    Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

    Cross Cultural Poetics has podcasts featuring modern poets from different countries around the world.

    The first podcast features Egyptian poets Mohamed Metwalli and Maged Zaher and Chinese poet Zhang Er. They compare Chinese and Arabic poetry to English poetry.

    Zhang Er points out that Chinese poetry has no tense – so it has an eternal feeling to it. It has no plurals, no articles and no pronouns. Whereas English poetry is more static – it’s set in time.

    Maged Zaher points out that the spoken Arabic language is different from the written language. He said the written Arabic language is more ornamental and rhetorical and that made his poetry more sentimental. To be free of this he writes his poetry in English.

    Mohamed Metwalli said he writes in Arabic because that’s the language he dreams in. He speaks English and studied English literature growing up, so there is an influence of it on his poetry. He writes in a modern Arabic form that’s influenced by English.

    You can listen to the 1st podcast here.

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    Time and Tide Wait for No Man… Is it the “tides” or “noontide”?

    Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

    Back in July I wrote a post about the proverb “Time and Tide Wait for No Man“. MC commented, “It has nothing to do with the sea, it’s ‘tide’ as in ‘noontide’.” Noontide means noon or midday. I still think it has to do with the tides. Answers.com agrees: “This proverbial phrase, alluding to the fact that human events or concerns cannot stop the passage of time or the movement of the tides, first appeared about 1395 in Chaucer’s Prologue to the Clerk’s Tale.”

    What do you think?

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    Can Someone Help with a Swedish Kids Song about Being Little Now, But Soon Being as Big as Mama?

    Monday, September 14th, 2009

    Joyce Johnson wrote:

    Does anyone know the Swedish children’s song that goes something like this? (Translation from dictionary is…)

    JAG er litten nu , så du se min vän , utom snart I’ll bli så stor så mama.

    I believe translates into “I am little now, as you see my friend, but soon I’ll be as big as mama…”

    It goes on to say that the child will do the things mama did – cooka, baka, diska… etc.” Does anyone know of this song?

    I can’t remember the words but remember the tune very well. Has anyone ever heard this song and do they know the words?

    I really want to find this song. My father taught it to my mother and they sang it to us all the time. The family originated in Ostergotland, Sweden.

    It seems we never pay enough attention to these things when they are here but yearn for them after they are gone. It is a song for girls and I want to sing it to my granddaughter.

    If anyone can help with this song, please let us know in the comments below.

    Thanks!

    Mama Lisa

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    Banana Dosai – A Dessert from India

    Monday, September 14th, 2009

    I came across a video for Banana Dosai today. It looks yummy! We’ve been trying to ease our kids into Indian food – we love it and we’d like to expose our children to the varied cuisines of the world. Some Indian food is too spicy for younger American kids. This dessert looks like a good introduction. Banana Dosai is like banana pancakes or dumplings.

    Depending on where you live, you may need to find a specialty food store to find some of the ingredients or order them on the internet. It’s possible you could simply substitute the butter for ghee (which the chef in the video says you can) and cake flour for maida (this I’m not sure of and I haven’t tested it myself yet).

    Recipe for Banana Dosai

    4 ripe bananas
    1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped cashews
    1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped raisins
    Butter or ghee (a type of clarified butter)
    1/4 cup maida (finely milled wheat flour – similar to cake flour in the West)
    1/2 cup Rice flour
    crushed cardamom seeds (optional)
    Sugar to taste

    Mash bananas. Add chopped raisins, cashews, rice flour, maida and a little sugar. Mix. Add a little crushed cardamom seeds if desired. It should be a pasty consistency.

    Griddle should be at 325 F. Put spoonful of batter on griddle. Put a few drops of ghee on top of batter and let it cook until lightly brown on both sides.

    Here you can watch it made…

    I’d skip the spicy sauce that the chef in the video recommends, if you’re serving this to children!

    This is a good dessert for the Indian Festival of Diwali!

    You can find more Indian recipes at at Vahrehvah.com .

    Enjoy!

    Mama Lisa

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    ________

    Copyright ©2009 by Lisa Yannucci. All rights reserved.
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