January links

Here are just a few things that I've found or been alerted to in the past month, which you also may find interesting or helpful:

Gingie's Journey
A dear church friend at home has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Her daughter, Molly, has put together a blog with some thoughts and medical updates so that people can be aware and praying throughout the difficult process. If you know the Allshouses (or even if you don't!), please pray for Gingie's healing and recovery, and for the whole family's peace and strength.

The Gray Havens
This is a pop/folk duo that I caught wind of via Tim Challies' blog. They have a catchy little sound and good lyrics, and that combination fuels my current interest in modern American attempts at folk music. They just got their start out of the great state of Illinois, and you can currently download their new EP here.

Ladies Who Do Lunch in Kuwait
Ok, I admit that I found this link a long time ago, but I have been checking it a lot more recently for news and happenings in the New Year in Kuwait. I like the variety of cultural and fun activities that the author posts, which is a really comprehensive list of events and information.

Oxford Owl
This is an amazing resource for those teaching primary age learners. Although it is a UK-based project and the narrators/story tellers speak with a British accent, the stories are awesome and it's all completely free! There are also videos with tips on teaching phonics, free e-books, math and reading comprehension activities, and games that are extremely useful. For moms, I'd recommend exploring the site to see what would be helpful at home, too. My students love it, and it's easy to navigate by age groups, from 3yrs to 11yrs.

garden of dreams

 

Here we are at the Garden of Dreams, a little green oasis in the middle of busy and gray Kathmandu, Nepal. If you like architecture or reading about kaisers from the turn of the 20th century, be sure to check out the link. We enjoyed a few hours here one afternoon, just looking around in the various nooks and crannies and inhaling a little higher oxygen content.

 We saw a few critters here and there...

And, we saw a lot of young couples walking around. Apparently, this is the place to "woo" the new lady in your life, especially if your 18-25 yrs old.

 

The gardens were beautiful, and the landscaping was really well kept! If you're ever in the neighborhood, I'd recommend it. It's near the old royal palace, which has been remodeled into a museum.

where the buffalo roam

Oh, give me a home

where the buffalo roam

where the deer and the antelope play...

 where seldom is heard

 a discouraging word

 and the skies are not cloudy all day.

For whatever reason, that was the song that kept running through my head in Nepal. Maybe, it was because of all of the buffalo roaming around on the streets! (They looked more like cows to me, but nobody asked me, really.) The two most-practiced religions in Nepal are Hinduism and a type of Buddhism, so naturally, the peoples' care for living creatures lends them to allow animals free reign over the streets. We saw many other little critters scampering around, but stray dogs and water buffalo were the ones predominantly seen in the city streets. We had a few friendly encounters with these guys, but we still ate some tasty buffalo "mo-mos," a local steamed dumpling of sorts, in a few different locations. I don't understand the whole we-love-them-but-some-of-us-eat-them thing, but I guess I don't have to.

More to come on the amazing country of Nepal...