Wishing all raviolis a very happy 2010

Happy New Years Eve my raviolis.  What a busy year it has been.  I want to share some of Grampy's underwater pictures with you today.  I hope you enjoy them.

This is a Lionfish.  The spines are poisonous and their sting really hurts.  These fish are native to the Asian Pacific ocean reefs and have found their way to Caribbean waters and are now taking over.   

This pretty blue fish is called a Trunk Fish.  They are one of grandma-ma's favorites because of their funny faces and shape.  They are usually brown with black and white spots, but the Trunk Fish in Mexico are blue and white.

This is a very large sea turtle.  He was bigger than the pillow you sleep on.

This is a pretty sea Anemone. They usually have Clown Fish hiding in them, but we did not see any today.

Here is a picture of Grandma-ma under the water.  Grampy took the picture very close to my face so I look a little startled. 

And now, my raviolis, I thought you might enjoy this picture of everyone's favorite princess's being very silly for the new year.  Wishing each and every one of you a happy new year.  Love, Grandma-ma and Grampy.

Word of the week Wednesday

Hello my end of year raviolis.  Today is Wednesday and you know that means we have our word of the week.  Since Grandma-ma and Grampy are still in Mexico, I thought today's word should be:

Huevos

(prounced who-wave-o's) - this is Spanish for EGGS.

and everybody likes eggs. 

Grampy likes them "over easy", Grandma-ma likes them "sunny side up and dippy", Aunt Renee likes them in an omlet for breakfast.  How do you like your eggs?  You cane leave a comment and tell me.

Can you use the word "Huevos" in three sentences?  Here is a sentence using the word "Huevos"...You should never, ever throw Huevos at people.

I hope you have a wonderful day my little huevos...no you are my raviolis.  Love to you all. Grandma-ma

Iguana's in the sun.

Hello again my raviolis!  Grandma-ma and Grampy will be leaving very early in the morning tomorrow to take a bus and a ferry boat to Cozumel to go diving so I wanted to leave this video for you tonight.  When I come back tomorrow evening, I will have a Word of the Week Wednesday for you... but for now you have two postings in one day.

This neat looking guy was snoozing on a temple base in Tulam.  He came down to see us and I coaxed him over to me.  He would only get about 8 feet from me so I zoomed in on hime and made a little video.  It is a little shaky because so many people kept bumping into me to see what I was doing. 

Here is a picture of him. 

 He was not really big, about 2 feet in length.  After about 2 minutes, he turned around and crawled back up the stone ruins and  began to lay in the sun again.

Have a wonderful day my ravs and be good.  Grandma-ma

Under the Sea

Good morning my ravioli's.  Grandma-ma is sorry that she did not get this posted yesterday.  She had to clean  her dive equipment and then get pictures ready for you.  I hope you enjoy these pretty pictures of some of the fish we saw under the water in Cancun.  (if you double click on each picture they will get bigger.)

Look at all of these pretty fish.  These are in the grunt family.   There were hundreds of them.

This pretty French Angelfish is the size of a dinner plate.

More pretty fish swimming around their coral reef.

Closeup of a grunt against a large coral head.

Grandma-ma loves this picture of the bright corals with all of the fish.

So many grunt fish following us.

Pretty little baby Blue Tang.  He is only about 4 inches in length.

This is a happy Trunkfish and measures about 12 inches in length.

I hope you enjoyed these fishy pictures.  Grandma-ma will have some interesting pictures soon.  Love to you all.  Grandma-ma.

Christmas Lights in the Lobby

Buenos dias raviolis or in english, "good day, raviolis!"  I hope you are enjoying your Sunday.  Today I want to show you the pretty Christmas lights they have in the center of the lobby at the hotel we are staying at in Cancun.  These are giant Christmas balls and stars and they sparkle with twinkling white light.  They are very pretty and I thought of each of you, my raviolis, when I saw them.  Our room is on the third floor and I took this short video from that floor so you could see the shadow on the ceiling and then the pretty lights at my eye view.

I hope you enjoyed this short video.  Tomorrow, Grampy and I will be taking an afternoon dive.  I will bring back fishy pictures for you.  Love Grandma-ma

Say "hello" to my little friends

Happy Saturday my holiday raviolis.  Say hello to some of my "little friends."  

(If you click on the pictures they will enlarge)

This blue hued iguana had white stripes on his back.  He was a soft blue color and about 24 inches long. 

When I got closer to him, he had already begun to change his color to a pale gray.  He was friendly and never moved from the spot as I took a pictures of him for you.

This sleeping alligator was a juvenile and about 4 feet in length.  He looks like stone and never moved an inch.

Here is another sleeping alligator. They are snoozing in the sun.  If you look closely, you will see a chicken leg floating above him. The resort staff feed them chicken parts daily.

This is a picture of the pool at the resort we visited. It is nearly a mile in length and meanders over many acres.   It is a fun pool to swim and play in.

I hope you enjoyed my new friends her in Cancun.  Look for new adventures tomorrow.  Grampy and Grandma-ma love you all. Hugs and kisses.

Merry Christmas

Hello my dear raviolis. Today is Christmas Day.  The birthday of Jesus who came to us in a manger surrounded by caring animals, working shepards and singing angels.

Remember, that Jesus loves you and so does Grampy and Grandma-ma.   We are in Cancun for Christmas and we just finished up a nice supper.  The wind is blowing and the warm breeze is all around us.  Tomorrow we are going to spend the day by the pool.  I wish you were all with us as we would have so much fun.   
Wishing you a kind and gentle Christmas Day.  

Love you all and we miss you.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house

Happy Christmas Eve my raviolis.  The title of this post contains the openings words to that world recognized poem, "A Visit From St. Nicholas" or as most commonly known, "Twas the night before Christmas."  When I was a little girl, my dad would recite this poem to us every Christmas Eve.  We would gather around the chair he sat in and even though we had several picture books of this loved poem, my dad would never need to read it. He knew all of the words by heart.   I would love to be with all of you my holiday raviolis, but we are all scattered across the globe, so instead, I have posted the words of Clement Moore and hope that they will be read to you by someone else who loves you too.

'Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring,
not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Wishing each and every one of your the happiest of Christmas Eves.  Be sure to leave cookies and milk for Santa and toss a cookie bone or two for the reindeer.  They get hungry too on this busy night.  Grampy and I love you all very much and send big Christmas hugs and kisses to you. 

Word of the Week Wednesday

Good morning my raviolis. Today is word of the week Wednesday and the word for today is:

Sugarplum

I know you are all familiar with the verse, "While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads", from Clement Clarke Moore's popular poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas."  (you may know it as "The Night Before Christmas.")

This was originally a poem written by Henry Livingston Jr. and rewritten by Clement Clarke Moore, first published anonymously in 1823.   It is Mr. Moore's rewritten version that gave us the poem so many of us know by heart and it is in this poem that we are first introduced to a sugarplum.

So what is a sugarplum?  Well, the dictionary defines this as a word from "old English" and it means "small sugar confection."  Confection is a big word for a sugared candy or treat.  Early sugarplum treats were made from sugar (of course) and nuts and fruits all ground up fine and rolled together.  Grandma-ma has made real sugarplums from a Victorian English recipe that was over 100 years old. 

 I used dates, apriocots and nuts and ground them all up very fine.

I added spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, grated orange peel and honey.  These spices all smell so good.

Everything has been ground up fine and mixed together.

Now you roll these into tiny balls ... they almost look like a sugarplum already.

Grandma dusts her sugarplums with confectionary sugar and also rolls them in fine powdered chocolate.

Can you use sugarplum in three sentences today?  Here is a sentence you can use, "My grandma-ma makes sugarplums for Christmas."

So my raviolis or should I call you "Sugarplums" today?  Have a wonderful Wednesday and  be good.  Grandma-ma.

Reindeer Fun!

Happy Tuesday my Raviolis!  With Christmas just around the corner, Santa is making sure his reindeer are ready for the trip around the globe on Christmas Eve.  Grandma-ma loves reindeer because of their big and pretty antlers.  This is a very happy reindeer and he is giving you a big Christmas smile.

Reindeer are work animals and they love to pull sleighs and wagons.  Did you know that both the male and female reindeer grow antlers?  They also have their antlers for several months and after they fall off new ones grow back.  Reindeer live where it is cold and snowy. They have special fur that keeps them warm. Next to their skin, reindeer have thick, woolly fur. During the summer, the fur thins out so the reindeer will be cooler.  Kota sheds a winter coat every spring too, just like the reindeer.

Reindeer have hooves that spread out when they walk on them.   There hooves work just like snowshoes so they stay on top of the snow rather than falling into the snow drifts. They also use their hooves to find food beneath the snow.  Reindeer travel in large herds from place to place to find food.

This is a large, male reindeer.  He has a big snowy mane and is very strong.  Strong enough to pull a sleigh don't you think?

This is a sweet baby reindeer.  He has a furry nose and curious eyes.  I see his mother in the background.  Her antlers are soft as velvet at this stage.  They are not very big yet but will soon grow to be a very large size by winter time.

 

Everyone knows this little reindeer. He lives with the Grinch. Is this a real reindeer or a doggie in disguise?
 

Grandma-ma likes this illustration of a Christmas reindeer.  Can you see how his hooves are splayed (spread) out?  Now you can see how they work like snowshoes.  He even has some happy chipmunk friends on his green saddle blanket and lots of joyful bells at his neck.

Click this Reindeer LINK to open up a reindeer coloring page.  You can print it out and color the reindeer for your Christmas decorating. 

Have a wonderful day my raviolis and enjoy the reindeer facts from Grandma-ma.  Hugs and kisses to you all. 

Shiny gold coins for the holidays

Hello my happy raviolis!  When grandma-ma was a little girl, she celebrated both Christmas and Chanukah (Hanukkah).  We had a Christmas tree, stockings and Santa Clause but we also had gelt.  Gelt or "money" would be put in our stockings by my mom and dad when I was a little girl.    During Chanukah it is customary to give gelt (money) to children to teach them to do good deeds and give to charity (for those who are not as fortunate as we were.)  The gelt we received were shiny gold coins that held chocolate candy inside.  They were pretty and fun to look at and good to eat.

Grandma-ma always has gelt for her raviolis.  So be on the look out for a package that will have gelt in it.   Remember to put them in your stocking and on Christmas day you may open them and share with those you love.  Have a wonderful Monday, my ravs and know that grandma-ma and grampy love you all very much. 

Things in my house.

Hello my happy raviolis!  Today is a cold, wet and chilly day.  But not as cold and snowy as other places in the United States this weekend.    Look at all of the snow that has dropped in this community.  They are trying to dig out and this man decided to jump into a big pile of snow instead.

Today I thought I would share something in my house with you.  With all of the snow falling in so many places, I thought I would show you the old snowshoes that hang on the foyer wall in Grandma-ma's and Grampy's house.  These shoes are over 100 years old and when I was a little girl, my mommy found them in a thrift store in Stillwater, Minnesota in the 1960s.  She knew they were old and she also liked antiques like Grandma-ma.  She was a very good shopper and paid 50 cents for them.  Even a candy bar costs more than that today.

These snowshoes are made from bent wood and sinew that is woven in a six-pointed star pattern.   I think that the woven star pattern is very pretty, do you?  They are about 30 inches in length and about 11 inches wide and still very sturdy  They could be worn today if we ever needed to use them. (I don't think that would ever happen in Atlanta).

Did you know that one of the earliest ways people moved across snow was by using snowshoes similiar to the snowshoes that Grandma-ma has on her wall? Archaeologists say that snowshoes were used over 12,000 years ago.

Here is a postcard showing an Eskimo girl using her snowshoes.  There are many different types of snowshoes, some are very long and others are as round as a pizza.  Different snow walkers made different kinds of snowshoes that worked best for the kind of snow pack they would walk on.

Here is a drawing of different kinds of snowshoes made and worn by Eastern American Indian tribes.  They come in many different styles and shapes.

These children are all wearing snowshoes as they take a snowy walk.  They look similar to the antique snowshoes but are now made from plastics and they use pretty colors.

Did you know that Uncle Aaron has snowshoes that he wears when he goes winter camping and climbing?  Well he does.  I wonder what color his snow shoes are? I'm going to guess yellow so he can see them against the white snow.  If Uncle Aaron is reading this, will you please tell us what color your snowshoes are?  You can leave a comment and then we can read what the color is.

This is not Uncle Aaron but I bet he looks like this with his camping gear and snowshoes. 

Stay warm my huggable ravs and have a wonderful Sunday.  Grandma-ma