Come See Me, Gramma Sue!

Nothing can top being a grandma!

My first granddaughter is a gift from God. You can read my first post about her here.

Malak is a happy little 2 1/2 year-old who bubbles with energy and laughter. Today she called me all the way from her home in Saudi Arabia. I was on my lunch hour; she was ready for bed. I asked her how she was in English--she told me all about her day in Arabic. I don't know Arabic. But, the excitement and enthusiasm in her voice made my day--especially when she sang the ABC song that I had taught her back in October.

Before she hung up, [with her mommy's help], she said in English,  "Come see me, Gramma Sue."

"I'm coming, my darling. Only eight more months and Gramma Sue will come see you in Saudi."


Love,

Gramma Sue

 [aka, Homestay Mama]

Cooking is Innate in Men!

Cooking is not my 'thing.' I do it because I have to.
Men are better cooks. I swear they are. It's innate in them.

I will admit that I can make some pretty good pancakes, but my omelettes burn on the bottom. Every time.

Toshi doesn't cook--doesn't even make sandwiches. The most I've seen him do is put a bag of popcorn in the microwave!

So anyhow, this morning I was late getting breakfast on the table. Toshi was starving--well, not literally--but he stood staring into the refrigerator. I could tell he was very hungry.

"Toshi, if you'll help me, we can have breakfast real soon."

"OK," he hesitated, "but what can I do?"

"Break 6 eggs into this glass measuring pitcher, then get the egg beater out of the drawer and beat them until they are well mixed and a little fluffy." I seeded and chopped a plum tomato, a couple tablespoons of an orange sweet pepper and three green onions.

"OK."

"Now put the skillet on the stove and turn the burner to medium. Pour in about a tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle a couple drops of water on the oil. When it starts to sputter, the skillet is ready." I stirred the pancake batter.

Pop, sputter, crack! "I guess it's ready now."

"Yep, sounds like it. Now pour the eggs into the skillet and sprinkle the chopped veggies over them. Then shake some salt, pepper and a little onion powder over the top." I flipped a couple pancakes.

"Like this?"

"Yeah, that's good. OK, now put the lid on the skillet and turn the heat down to simmer." I flipped more pancakes. Toshi warmed some maple syrup in the microwave and set the table.

When the pancakes were done, I lifted the lid to check on the omelette. It was ready. I cut it into wedges and loosened it around the edges, then gently lifted out the first couple of pieces. They came out too easy. Nothing was sticking to the pan. Nothing was burned. The bottom of the pan was clean as a whistle!

Amazing! My omelettes never turned out like this! Never!

See? I told you cooking was innate in men and now I offer these pictures as proof!

Toshi was pleased. And, I was humbled. Next time I'm going to watch how he does it and learn from him!

Bowing to the next great chef...
Love,
Homestay Mama

Helping Japan One Pin Badge at a Time

March 11, 2011 at 2:46 p.m. will forever be etched in my memory! Sadness engulfed me as I learned about the earthquake, tsunami and radiation leak that devastated the northeastern coast of Japan on that day.

What about Toshi's family? Were they alright? And what about all my former Japanese homestay students--all thirteen of them? Where were they when this triple whammy slammed Japan? Were they alright? Or, were they--God forbid--among the tens of thousands who perished?

We quickly learned that all of Toshi's family were safe--their house received a few cracks from the earthquake, but nothing major. They live far enough inland that the tsunami didn't touch them. Thank God!

I've also heard from two of my former homestay students. One lives in Tokyo and the other lives in Kyoto and neither were affected. Praise God for that good news, also!

But, I continue to worry about my other eleven homestay students. And, my heart still aches for those I don't even know who lost their family, their homes, their livelihoods--literally everything! Their needs are staggering! I want to help. But how?

One of my former homestay students is married, living in New York City and working on his medical degree. His wife (from Japan) has a master's degree in art. Today I received this e-mail from him....

"My wife is helping a non-profit designer group to support the aftermath from the Earthquake, Tsunami and Radiation disaster in Japan. Each artist has designed and produced a pin badge at their personal expense. The designers will donate profits from the sales of their pin badges to the American Red Cross for the casualties in Japan.

Their web store launched this week, and about 40 buttons were sold yesterday. We hope to continue raising funds to help the people of Japan in need.

Please, visit our site to support our cause by pasting the following into your browser or clicking the link: http://hopejp.wazala.com/

If you could spread the word to your family, friends or colleagues through any type of communication medium like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Personal Blog or e-mail; we would be grateful. Thank you for taking the time to read this email and for your contribution." Ryan and Kanako

I was thrilled with this unique way to help! By buying these pins badges, I'm helping the people affected by this disaster. By wearing these pin badges on my lapel, I can bring attention to this unique & worthy effort and be reminded to keep hope alive as I pray for my homestay students and the people of Japan.

There are many more designs on their website. I hope you will check them out and place an order if you can. Every little bit will help.

Also, I hope you will continue to pray for the people of Japan as they face the daunting and overwhelming task of rebuilding their lives!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Love,

Homestay Mama

Cause for Celebration

May I brag a little?
My homestay students are very smart young men! They are the creme de la creme! They study long hours. They ace their exams. And, at the end of each quarter, they come home with top grades.

This is Toshi from Japan. He is a junior at our local University majoring in psychology. With a major like that, you can imagine his classes are pretty tough. On top of that he's studying in a class full of Americans and English is his second language. He burned a lot of midnight oil this past quarter, studying and writing 'umpteen' papers. Many nights on my way to bed, I noticed the light in his room still shining out from under his door. Today he got his grades for last quarter--straight A's in all his classes!

This is Abdul from Saudi. Three months ago he came to Seattle to learn English at the local University. When he first arrived, I used simple English words and he used his translator a lot. But he's been learning by leaps and bounds! We can now carry on a normal conversation and he no longer needs the translator. He has just graduated from ESL level one to ESL level two. I am truly amazed at his progress!

So bring on the ice cream! This is cause for celebration!

Congratulations, Abdul and Toshi, you are the best!



Love,

Your very proud Homestay Mama

A Big Hindrance

I've been trying to blog. Honest, I have.
Scout's honor.

But, I've run into a big hindrance....

a black, hairy, twelve-pound hindrance!

Notice Teddy Bear's head and left paw in the next three pictures....

as he adjusts his position....

to find a more comfortable spot!

"Hey, where are you going?"

I'm giving up. I'll try again next week... or next month....or whenever I get another break in my busy schedule.

Love,

Homestay Mama

The Hurrier I Go...

It doesn't seem possible that eight months have passed since my last post!
So much has happened--so much to write about--so little time!
No, make that NO TIME!

And, still I have no time, but I'll leave you with a few pics.
I wish I could write more.
Maybe in another month, or two, or.....

'Gramma Sue'

"Gramma Sue"--that name is music to my ears.  This picture was taken November 1, 2010, the night I returned home from a week in Houston helping my former Saudi homestay student and his wife after the birth of their second daughter.

This is Malak, their firstborn. I also helped them when she was born in Houston back in 2008. Now she is two years old and sooo cute! And smart! We had a lot fun together! 

This is Areej at 4 days old. She's so calm and laid back. What a little sweetie. I only wish I could have stayed longer!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now go back to the first picture and check out the plaque on the wall behind me. I bought that back in 1970, from a little country store in Pennsylvania. It's an old Amish saying:

"The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!"

....which describes my life to a "T"! [sigh] and is the real reason why I haven't posted in eight months!

I hope it won't be eight more months before I can post again, but if it is, I hope you won't forget me! 

Hurrying off to my next task.........

Love,
Homestay Mama

Please Don't Forget Me!

I haven't been visiting my friends in Blogland lately--much to my dismay! And sadly, neither have I been posting anything in my own two blogs. Not that I don't want to. I really miss all of you! And, I have lots to tell you. But either I've slowed down considerably in my old age, or I've heaped way too much on my plate! Actually, it's probably a combination of the two. All I know is that there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done. So, I've hired one of the girls in my neighborhood to come help me every Saturday for the next three months!

The slightly warmer weather plus the abundance of rain has precipitated prolific weed growth in my flower beds this Spring. It's also encouraged my lawn to grow from 'newly mowed' to 'past my ankles,' in less than 48 hours! OK, so I exaggerate a little, but not by much--as you can see in this photo.

Yes, it's been an unusually rainy Spring, but we hope some positive thoughts, a clean deck/lawn furniture and some potted flowers will attract some warmer, sunnier weather!


One of my neighbors has asked if he can rent half of my two-car garage. The extra income will come in handy, but clearing out half of the stuff in my garage is going to be the 'mother' of all challenges!


Where does all this stuff come from anyway? I just cleaned my garage a year ago, didn't I?

Anyhow, that's why I haven't visited your blogs lately, and why I probably won't be coming around for awhile longer! But, I promise I'll be back. So please don't forget me.

Love,

Homestay Mama