International Kid #2: Aussie Mite Sandwich

As I've mentioned before, my kids (including 4-year old T) make school and work lunches for all of us on work/school evenings. Once a week is Bowling Day, so I have been leaving work to pick T up from preschool and drop her off at the bowling alley where she can meet up with the wife. Rather than taking up an hour of the work day to do this (time I have to make up) we're going to let her stay after preschool for an hour and have the wife pick her up after bowling. As a part of this extended preschool care, we need to send along a lunch.

So, of course, T was really excited about getting to make a lunch for herself as well as helping with everyone else's! And, what did she chose to make for herself with no prompting from anyone? I was rather shocked, but she started to make herself an Aussie Mite sandwich! I helped her to make sure she didn't glob too much on there. I'm sure the teachers won't know what it is. I hope it goes OK.

Aussie Mite, for those not in the know, is a product similar to Vegemite, except not as good. I have some left over from our trip to Australia last (northern) summer. I'd add a link to the web site listed on the Aussie Mite jar (www.allnaturalfoods.com.au) but that site seems to not exist.

International Kid

So, we're making a rare visit to McDonalds on Friday night (more later on Friday night, hopefully) and my 7-year old son points out an ad on the wall at the restaurant and says, "Hey, there's a cricket batter!" There were other activities on the ad as well, like basketball and fishing. But his notice of cricket brings the following thoughts to mind:

1. I'm surprised that he recognized the cricket batsman. When I was his age, I'm pretty sure that I had no clue about cricket.
2. Why in the world does McDonalds use cricket in its advertising schemes? While I don't mind the internationalization, it's not like we were in a high-immigrant area or anything.
   

Outdoor Ice Skating

Last year, I bought a pair of new ice skates for a little more than $30. I thought that this was a good deal, since I would have expected new skates to cost around $80 or $100. Of course, at the rate I use them, it will still be many years before I make back what I would have paid in skate rentals the infrequent times that I do go ice skating. (But, at least I guarantee not getting a pair of cruddy skates.)

In order to make my purchase less of a waste, another not-very ambitious goal of mine is to use them outside on a pond (where skates are not rented) at least once a year. Here I am on the local neighbourhood pond. Conditions weren't all that great, as there was some snow and slush. We brought along a shovel, but I didn't venture too far out as I didn't trust it out there. (I think I heard a crack once.)

All-in-all, the three of us (G, Delhi, and me) had a good time in the snow and ice. It was about 10F (-12C), but nobody complained of being cold -- a first, I think.
(Photo by Delhi)
While I'm on the subject, I've noticed a difference in how kids are taught to treat frozen ponds in the wintertime compared to when I was a kid. Perhaps this is because I grew up in slightly more northerly climes than where I live now. Or perhaps it is due to global warming, or more likely, liability insurance. But, when I was in Boy Scouts, and maybe school, we were taught how thick the ice had to be to be safe for one person, a small group, and a large group. Now, as best as I can tell, it seems that kids are told, "Always stay off frozen ponds, no matter what." That's a shame.

By the way, the pond has signs that say, "NO BOATING; NO SWIMMING; NO WADING." Since the sign doesn't say anything about skating or walking on the ice, I figure we're OK.

Literary Character Day

Unfortunately, today was an unnecessary snow day, so all our efforts in costume design came to naught.

Morality in Costume Design

Next week, my son and daughter have a special day at school. They are encouraged to go to school dressed as a favourite literary character. My son wanted to go as King Arthur, or at least a knight. To accomplish this, we went to a costume shop and rented a knight costume (which is something that I would never have considered when I was a kid). The rental cost $30 plus tax.

My daughter wanted to go as Oliver Twist from the Dickens book. That took a bit more thought, trying to figure out how to dress her as a 19th-century English orphan boy. What we did was go to a thrift shop and bought the following items in grey or tan:

• A pair of pants for $2.
  
• A scarf, overpriced at $2.
  
• Some used shoes that really aren't that bad for $1.
• A slightly small button-down sweater for $2.
• A t-shirt for $1.

So, the total was like $8. The plan is to cut off the pants below the knees, perhaps with a raggedy edge. We also might sew a few patches on the pants and/or sweater. Plus, she also had the idea to put some black smudges on the shirt and pants.

Thinking about it, we still need to get her one of those caps...

Anyway, the point I wanted to make with this post is that, even though I tried to get cruddy-looking thrift-store clothes to start with, the clothes didn't really look that bad. We haven't done it yet, but it's like I'll feel guilty ruining a pair of nice pants to create a costume that she'll wear only once. I didn't feel particularly bad paying $32 for my son's costume (though I know it's not cheap). But sacrificing wearable clothing to make a $9 costume makes me feel kind of bad. I'm sure there's a reason for that, that someone can explain to me.

Maybe I'll post a photo later of them in their costumes.

Oh, also, we may be doing a bit more thrift store shopping in the future.

Mustard Again?

Each school/work night, I have my kids make lunches for themselves to take to school, and also have them pack a lunch for me to take to work. (It's good to be the Dad.) Sometimes, they can be a little adventurous. For example, I once mentioned that while I've never had a peanut butter and cheese sandwich, I didn't think I would like to have one for lunch.

Last night my son attempted to make me a mustard sandwich (the kind with cranberries). While such a thing would certainly be edible, it isn't my first choice. I think he was just in a hurry and trying to take a short-cut. I had to ask him, "Would make yourself a mustard sandwich for lunch?" ("No.") "Would you like to have a mustard sandwich for lunch?" ("No.") I got him to also put a slice of meat on the sandwich, and agreed that he could make me a mustard sandwich whenever he also made one for himself.

Pennies on Their Way Out at Jolly Pirate?

On the way to work/school this morning, we stopped at the Jolly Pirate Do(ugh)nut shop. We usually (once or twice a week) go to Tim Hortons, but we made an exception today. I got a small decaf and a doughnut to share with T. The order came to $1.54. At first, I handed the lady $2, but then decided I had 5c in my pocket so I handed her that coin, too. She gave me 50c in change, without any regards to the extra cent owed me.

This was no problem to me -- I feel that one-cent coins are more hassle than they're worth. But it was interesting to see an example of a merchant who seems to agree with me. I'd like to think we would have already done away with pennies if it wasn't for the zinc lobby.

And, here is T's comment on Jolly Pirate doughnuts. (Say this with the tip of your tongue far back on the roof of your mouth.) "They're too dry. I need something to drink."

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a novel by Mark Haddon. (Here's the Amazon.com link.) It is narrated by a fifteen year-old boy named Christopher who discovers that a neighbour's dog has been killed. Despite being innocent, he's initially suspected of the killing and decides to track down the real killer. The "catch" of the story is that Christopher is autistic. He is very gifted in math (or "maths", as it was called in the book -- I assume this is a Britishism) and can be very logical. But he can't stand to be touched, has little tolerance of crowds, strangers, or lack or predictability, and has his own little rules for life, such as avoiding things that are yellow.

At times, I found myself relating to Christopher and his way of thinking in the story. However, at other times I didn't, such as when he mentions that when shopping with his mother, there were too many people, so he laid down on the floor and started screaming. The jacket says that the author previously worked with autistic children, so I assume he knows what he's writing about.

While, on the surface, it's about an autistic boy tracking down the murderer of a dog, it is, of course, much deeper than that. It may sound corny, but it's more about what he discovers along the way, how it affects his relationship with his family, and how he reacts when his ordered life is turned upside down. There are also insights (through Christopher's eyes) on how his very ordinary parents dealt with a very special child, and the effects it had on them.

Also worth noting is that the author has experience as an illustrator, and there are lots of neat little illustrations in the book. These are not overwhelming and add to the effect of the story.

The book is shorter than much modern fiction at 226 not-very-dense pages. I view this as a good thing. To me, this is long enough to tell a good story. I'm busy and a slow reader. I'll try 600-page books, but they can become quite an effort for me. The length of this one seemed "just right". Still, it took me about 6 weeks to get through it -- I don't think I really got into the flow of the mostly short chapters. But another reason could be the fact that, since I've been getting up in the middle of the nights, I haven't been too eager to read much before bed every night.

When a friend suggested this book, I had high expectations for it, and I expected to love it. Maybe having high expectations can be a bad thing, as they left room for disappointment. I liked it, but didn't love it. If I liked it better, would I have read it quicker? Or was my schedule really maxed out? In any event, I'll still give it 4 stars out of 5.

How do you pronounce "Siobhan"?

Early 2005 Rose Bowl Comment

When, at the 50-yard line before the game, the referee told the Michigan and Texas captains, "Mickey will toss the coin", I just had to change the channel.

T Plus 3 Months

(The full-sized images, which you can see by clicking on the images below, seem to be less blurry than these reduced-sized versions.)

	C Girl
	E Boy

Best Monopoly® Quote

Tonight, we played our first family game of "adult" Monopoly, with myself as the car, the Mrs as the doggie, my almost 9-year old daughter as the horse, and my 7-year old son as the battleship. I came in second to my daughter, who always wished people a nice stay when they stayed at her properties. (I wasn't "taking it easy" on anyone, either.)

But the best quote of the night came from my son. Not being 100% familiar with the rules, when he acquired a monopoly in the light purples (Virginia, States, St. Charles), he asked my wife, "Can I knock down your Electric Company?"

BD's Mongolian Barbeque

I recently had the opportunity to eat lunch at a BD's Mongolian Barbeque restaurant. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, the diner puts his desired meats, vegetables, and sauces into a bowl, where they are grilled together as a stir-fry while the diner waits.

There was a wide variety of meats and seafoods available. It had been a long time since I had duck, so I loaded up my bowl exclusively with pieces of dead duck. (So much for my consideration of making it a vegetarian lunch.) There was also a good selection of vegetables; really I would have preferred more vegetables than would fit in my bowl. I chose a variety, but the largest component was bean sprouts. Finally, for the sauces, I didn't know what I was doing, so started with some black bean sauce, added some Chinese hot sauce (I think it was kung pao sauce -- a Chinese co-worker said that I added too much) and some wine as well. Then, to complete my spicing, I added some curry powder.

All-in-all, of course, it was exactly what I wanted, even if it wasn't any good! Actually, it was fine. I can say that every time I've had duck, I've been less than 100% impressed, but that wasn't the fault of the restaurant.

Still, it's not difficult to find faults with the place. A few are as follows

• They priced a meal by the bowl, and not by the weight or contents of the bowl. This differed from the previous time I ate at a Mongolian-style restaurant, which was in Edmonton. There, the priced the meal by the weight of the contents of your bowl. That system had the problem of charging the same per gram no matter what the filling was. But the "by the bowl" pricing system is an example of what I consider to be the worst thing in current American restaurant practices. Since any bowl was priced the same, I felt compelled to fill the bowl to the brim, since I would be charged the same no matter what I put in it. Plus, they offered diners a second trip for only a few dollars above the initial price. Thus, it's another example of over-sized portions and inducement to overeating.
• I guess my second complaint against the place was that it just seemed a little ungenuine. I mean, it's a modern chain restaurant with waiters who smile a little too much, and the place is following processes from some manual of proper restauranting techniques designed to get as many customers in and out as quickly as possible, taking as much of the customers' money as possible in the interim.

In short, O.K. food, especially if you like to experiment, and an atmosphere and experience not any different than any other modern restaurant chain in its genre.

Curling Game on the Web

There's a neat (one player vs. the computer) curling game at mousebreaker.com. Some elements are missing, such as sweeping, but it's still fun and addictive. I should win almost 100% of the time; not that I do.

By the way, some of the games at that site might not be considered suitable for children (for reasons other than violence). That hasn't stopped me from letting my kids play, but maybe it should.

2004 Heisman Thoughts

I'm glad that I'm not a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Well, that's not exactly true, since I wish I was a voter for said trophy. However, I will freely admit that I am completely unqualified to vote for the award this year. But being unqualified to express an opinion hasn't stopped me before, so why should it now?

Anyway, the five finalists are:

• Reggie Bush, RB, USC
• Matt Leinart, QB, USC
• Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma
• Alex Smith, QB, Utah
• Jason White, QB, Oklahoma

I'd vote for Peterson. The times I've seen Oklahoma play, he just stood out as being the best player out there.

Nothing Much to Say

It's been a while since I've made a blog entry. This means that either I have nothing much to say or no time to say it.

• Last night at curling, I had maybe the most frustrating night since the league (my first) started maybe two months ago. I released 18 stones as we played an extra "end" beyond the regulation 8. It was probably around stone 15 or 16 until I felt somewhat comfortable with my release, and I had some control of what the stones were going to do. I'd like to have some time to practice releasing a bunch of rocks in a non-game situation.
• Before then, I went to the Christmas pageant at my kids' school. Another sign of my kids' growing maturity is that I was confident that my son would be able to make it through the entire show without fidgeting too much, or otherwise being a distraction or calling inappropriate attention to himself. Maybe sitting on the opposite corner of the room helped, but he seemed to exude a new sense of confidence and maturity.

On tap for this weekend:

• Get a Christmas tree.
• Fix a flat tire.
• Write and send Christmas cards.
• Maybe go running, or at least otherwise get some exercise.
• Watch some football, if my favourite team is on the air.
• Maybe watch the rest of the Grey Cup tape.
• Finish and finally return the Babylon 5 DVD that I borrowed from a co-worker.
  
• Buy some Christmas presents. I'd better get something for my wife. I think I'd enjoy the time a lot more if we did what my parents do, and not buy Christmas presents for each other. But our relationship isn't at that level, I suppose. While I'm on the subject, one year I bought her a large cast-iron frying pan. As I was leaving the store, the (former) pastor of my church was walking in. I was all excited, and showed him, "Look what I got my wife for Christmas!!" He was like, "You got your wife a frying pan for Christmas??" But I knew she would like it, and she did.

OK, that's enough for now.

Love Is...

(Note: When I first wrote this, I wasn't planning on adding it to my blog. But, after reading it, I decided it was appropriate.)

1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient,

The verse continues, and I don't want to read too much into stopping the verse there. But, patience is the first attribute mentioned, and perhaps that is for a reason. Surely, love is not just patient. But, maybe by some measure, that's a good first approximation of what real love is. Indeed, try reading 1 Corinthians 13:4-12, noting how many times the statement about love relates to patience.

Having Fun With MP3's

I would say that I've entered the 1990s with regards to music, but I see that Napster didn't get started until 1999. So, I might not be as far behind the trend as I think.

Anyway, for my birthday last month, I got a new stereo. My previous stereo was a gift from my mother about 15 years ago. It was a fine stereo in its time, but a new one was needed. Other than the very basic stuff that you'd expect to come standard in a radio, there were a few things I was looking for, stuff that most people would probably consider to be "basic" anyway. These were:

• A "line in" option to be able to beam my Launchcast station to it over my RCA Lyra wireless unit.
• A remote control.
• A CD changer that held more than one CD.
• A CD player that played MP3 files.

I added that last requirement without knowing what I would do with it. However, I have learned how cool MP3's can be. I ended up getting a Sony CMT-HPX system. I'm not much of an audiophile, but it seems OK to me. One problem I saw with it was that if I would put the maximum of 5 CDs in the unit, it would still repeat songs on shuffle play more frequently than I would like. This is largely remedied by the power of the MPs.

With MP3s, I'm able to copy my meagre CD collection to MP3s on my computer, and then burn CDs containing these files to be played on my stereo. What's so cool about it is that (with an MP3 compression rate of 160 kpbs) I can fit ten or more albums onto one MP3 CD, and still be satisfied with the resulting sound quality. I can pop one of these into the Sony, put it on shuffle play, and get a lot fewer repeats.

So now I'm working on copying my CD collection to MP3s.

Depending on your level of experience and interest in this area, you're probably thinking one of two things:

• Yes, this all is obvious. What took you so long? Or,
  
• I don't really know what you're talking about.

In any event, I think it's kind of cool.

Currently playing on Launchcast: "Space Oddity" by Natalie Merchant. (What? Did anyone else do that song?)

Hand-Holding in Public

A few weeks ago, as I was walking back to the car with my son from one of his football games, I was holding his hand. I didn't notice any other father/son combinations doing this. At the time I thought "enjoy it while I can," since I know he's very close to the end of the Holding Hands With Daddy phase of his life.

It's interesting that my daughter and I can probably hold hands in public at any age, but that's not the case with my son. This is just an observation; I'm not bemoaning societal norms or anything.

T Plus 7 Weeks

Yet more baby photos...

Four-Year-Old Wisdom

• On horses: The 4-year-old knows that there is a type of horse that is larger and stronger than a regular horse. You and I would call it a draft horse. But, she doesn't quite call it that. Tonight she wanted to play "giraffe horse," with me as the giraffe horse. I thought it was cute.


• On Cesarean Sections: She said something like, "[A friend from preschool] said that sometimes to get the baby out, they take the Mommy to the hospital and cut off her bellybutton and take the baby out and then put on a new bellybutton." I don't think that's quite correct, but maybe not too bad for one four-year-old to another.