Raw Nori Snacks

We bought these a little while back – very expensive but the kids liked them and it seemed simple enough to make on our own.

The kids don’t like this version as much as the store bought one but I noticed they also had lime juice and that may make just enough of a difference. I do like this version – a different and neat taste.

I soaked ½ cup of cashews (in water in the fridge as that slows down the soaking I believe – they can become bitter if they soak too long) and ½ cup of almonds overnight. I blended the nuts up with some onions, red pepper and tomato until fairly smooth. PM cut up nori pieces into squares and we put a spoonful onto each square and then dried this in the dehydrator.

Kind of crunchy, interesting taste and texture and it is something that will last in a sealed container.

The end of a phase…

Construction is no longer the be all and end all in PM’s life. Oh sure, he still likes to dig holes all over the place, lay pipes, and still occasionally plays with his trucks for construction purposes. But now his fascination is about guns, guards, wars, armies, military, well you get it.

The construction phase has been an easy one to deal with. I never looked forward to the dinosaur phase – I really don’t get the fascination so many kids have with those huge prehistoric creatures with names that are bigger than their pictures. I learned to appreciate the big moving machines and the folks that work in those trades. I could feel good about imagining PM as a trade worker. Of course I didn’t really expect it to last into his adulthood though that’s not to say it isn’t a nice thought.

Now the hunting and gun and fighting phase is not so easy. I can’t fathom that there is any real understanding of the true destruction that comes from these things. The other day he asked if a lot of people were killed by soldiers. I said yes there was a lot – many, many. And he responded that there were still a lot of people that weren’t killed. Yes, but… I then explained to him that if something happened to his daddy he would feel a great loss but there would still be a lot of other people around. Not sure if that was overstepping the boundaries of discussing these fascinations in a safe but real way.

This seems to be the age that kids get into guns and killing and superheroes. I’m imagining that superheroes fall into the same category. It’s partially about finding your power, finding a way to feel safe in an overwhelming world where there is so much that is out of your control (OK I have serious control issues so that’s where this belief comes from), and I guess there is some sort of trying to make sense of death. I’m sure there is a lot more other than the fact that it is a ‘boy’ thing.

So I go along with this phase and remain as supportive as I can and also try to be as realistic as I can while he learns and experiments with this other side of life. Who knows where it will lead to but there is no attempting to close it out of his life – we know that doesn’t work. We will learn together and wait and see – at least he still likes Richard Scarry…

Running Roundabouts

The house I grew up in didn’t have one but my friend’s house did. This is a circle that you can run around – the usual would be dining room to kitchen to living room. Around and around you could go.

The house we live in now has one. It’s great in many ways. PM can zoom around with something for the cats to follow and play with (today was a dried out corn attached to a ribbon). The indoor tricycle/truck has a circuit it can do (as long as there isn’t too much stuff strewn in the way). The kids can play chase together and on occasion I will join in the act. Sometimes it is just running around in circles just for the sake of it.

We spent many a time running around when LB was younger and in a sling. We weren’t going out quite as much and PM needed exercise (heck so did I) so we would play chase. Amusement for all of us, at least once LB was more aware of the game – before that she was just content to be attached and it didn’t matter so much what we were doing. Once she could join in she would toddle around too.

The kids run the roundabout and the kittens follow and all is fine and happy till the next fight breaks out or someone gets upset or another distraction is found…

Christmas is coming…?

PM enjoys the holidays, the planning for them, the decorating and the time itself. He enjoys celebrating those that are having birthdays. For Halloween he had various decorations that he put up for that one day only. He was dressed up as a pumpkin and created a festive atmosphere for the day. Quite the fanfare really.

Now it’s only the beginning of November but he is already quite excited about Christmas. Part of this is my fault as we started on our cards already (last year at the rate of one a day to make it took a while). But it was even before that when he asked for a particular Xmas book.

Our house already has some decorations up. Santa Claus puppets are talking, Santa Claus mittens are being worn and PM is asking for a Santa Claus hat. Seeing as he doesn’t really ask for much he will get this hat. He is all set to do some Christmas baking.

Neither Thomas nor I are big celebrators and generally have things pretty low-key but with the kids it is becoming more and more important. I guess part of this is making special times, adding more excitement to normal days, and honouring the magic in our beings.

Cat caught in a tree

I often figured it was just a myth that cats get caught in trees. Heck if they know how to climb up a tree they should be able to climb down right?

Lately I wondered if maybe it is actually true. We have started letting the kittens outside and ever so often they would run up a tree. They would only go so far and then stop. From this place they would look around as if trying to figure out where to go next. Usually they aren’t so high up that they can’t just turn around and jump.

Seeing this I understood how a cat could get caught in a tree. They can run and climb up no problem but going backwards isn’t so easy.

I watched Star (female cat) today and she seemed to get the hang of climbing down backwards.

Then Mojo went running up the tree much faster than previous and went quite a bit higher as well. Then he stopped and looked around. He looked around some more as if trying to figure out how to go down. He found a branch to walk out onto. He walked back and forth on this branch. He kept looking at us down below. He’d walk to the trunk of the tree and then walk back out on the limb.

I now completely understood how they do get caught in a tree. He looked pretty caught to me. He would bend over on the branch as if contemplating jumping down. It was too high. He let out a little meow (by this time he had been up there for about 10 minutes). We watched and waited. For a moment our attention was towards Star and he took the plunge. He must have jumped from the branch (a good 12 feet off the ground).

He walked away unscathed and I am curious how he will be around trees now. Has he learned anything? I haven’t noticed the cats to be terribly quick to learn what is and what isn’t acceptable so we shall see. Hopefully he’ll learn the trick of walking backwards down a tree as well before he goes storming up towards the top again…

UPDATE: Well he did it again. He found himself up on that high branch again and spend a while walking back and forth and meowing in a pitiful sort of way. Finally PM and I went and got the ladder and I helped Mojo down from the tree. Ya think he would learn not to go so high if he doesn’t know how to get down. Oh well the cats sure do have fun running around and they are pretty darn good at climbing trees as well.

Crikey!

Lately I have been surprised to hear myself using the exclamation ‘Crikey!’. This is a saying that I associate somewhat with my father. A comment that he used on occasion. I wondered if there was a connection here and if perhaps he was close by in spirit. Maybe it’s because it was his birthday a while ago though the use of the word started a while before that.

Today I was introduced to the life and death of Steve Irwin. Saw a few videos that were tributes to his life and the work he did. One of his aims was to bring love for wild animals to those of us that don’t have direct contact with them. One of the things that jumped out at me was the word ‘Crikey!’. I understand he worked for and with an Australian Zoo. I seem to remember the word Crikey as being from that part of the world.

These connections make me wonder. Why did my dad use this comment? Was it a connection to the greater consciousness that had me unknowingly using this expression at this time?

Just one more thing to wonder about and another freak accident that took a ‘lightworking’ person off the planet for a while…