Do you use calendars very much? I do. Without them, I'm sure I would forget a lot of appointments. I have a calendar conveniently placed in my kitchen, just above where I do my podcasts. I have a collection of other important things on this 'mini-des...
The other day I went for a walk in the park with a friend of mine. We don't see eachother very much because she is busy taking a nursing degree, so it was a treat to spend some time together. The day couldn't have been any nicer. It was a cool but ve...
Well, Halloween came and went as it does every year, leaving a house full of sweets! We had a lot of fun yesterday. I told my children that I wasn't going to buy them costumes this year. They had to find bits and pieces around the house and make do....
As I drive around town, I find myself saying the occasional oooo!, ahhh!, or oh?! Do you know why? There are Halloween decorations all over the place, and they make a real impression. There seem to be two approaches to decorating for Halloween: frien...
It's funny how ordinary items or actions can show your knowledge of a language. Sometimes when I do something, or say something, I ask myself the question, Could I say that in Spanish or French? Your question would probably be, Could I say that in En...
I received a flyer in the mail the other day. It rang a bell; I had seen something like it in previous years. It was the annual Make a Difference Day information sheet. From the title, you can tell that it is about getting involved in the community a...
Are turkeys a part of your culture? They are over here in the U.S. You have probably heard about the Thanksgiving turkey. Did you know that the tradition of celebrating by eating a turkey started with the Native American Indians? It was the Wampanoag...
Every year, either in the summer, or around October, we make a trip to Smallwood's Farm. It is a family-run farm with a petting zoo. All of the produce grown on the farm is sold directly to the public. Through the years, it has grown from a small att...
The photo on today's blog is one of the most unusual I have taken since I started A Cup Of English. Bras on a bridge.....um.....it makes you think. It's symbolic, of course. There are so many of them, each being unique. They represent the women who h...
I realized today, that yesterday's date was special: 10/10/10. It was October 10th, 2010. I had been too busy over the weekend to stop and realize the curious and interesting date. While I was chatting to my sister-in-law today, she mentioned that sh...
Kindergarten is proving to be quite a fun place for my daughter. They went on their first field trip the other day; it was a 'tree walk'. They have been studying trees: how they grow, and how they change with the seasons, so a tree walk was the perfe...
Yesterday, there was a knock at the door. Mum, there's some guy at the door, said my son, letting me know that he didn't feel like opening the door. I had just woken up from a nap. So, still feeling drowsy, I unlocked and opened the front door. I exp...
As I walked outside yesterday to throw the garbage in the dumpster, the evening sky caught my eye. There was a spread of small clouds that were lit up by the sun, beautiful and pink. An English saying came to mind: Red sky at night, shepherd's deligh...
At this time of year, the schools have tests of all kinds for the children. Reading and writing tests, math skills tests, and tomorrow, there will be hearing and vision tests for the whole school. If you think about it, the two last mentioned tests a...
One of the places we stayed this summer was Whithorn, Scotland, where my father lives. It is one of many picturesque towns in Galloway. Whithorn happens to be very famous; it is considered possibly Scotland's first town. It is the starting point of C...
