Friday Field Trip!

A Lovely Day of Art

We have been having beautiful weather lately and I felt we needed another field trip, so we decided to go see the Rodin exhibit at the Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University!  I had never been there (never even knew it was there) but a friend told me how wonderful it was, and then another friend told me about the Rodin exhibit and how wonderful it was- so we went! And guess what?  It was wonderful.  First of all, the museum is FREE!  Even parking was cheap and close to the museum. 

Secondly, they make it relatively child-friendly by loaning out art kits with a sketch pad and color pencils so the kids can sketch out certain works of art they admire.  Well my daughter thought that was the best thing ever!!  My son, who isn't as artistically minded, wasn't as impressed.  We went from room to room finding works of art that struck her and she would spend 10 minutes drawing it while my son and I wandered or talked about other paintings.  I wish I could have let her spend all day doing that - next time we'll go without her brother.  But the main reason we went to the museum was to see the Rodin exhibit, so let me talk about that.

I didn't know squat about Rodin and, frankly, didn't learn much at the museum since the kids flitted back and forth so quickly, but I looked it up when I got home and here's a quick biography. 

Auguste Rodin was born in France in 1840 and lived until 1917.  He was not a conventional sculptor and his work was often not well received.  Eventually, he was accepted as a man who changed the idea of sculpture from showcasing the model as perfect or a heroic figure, to showing the model as they truly were and often leaving them slightly "unfinished". 

He completed his works in clay and plaster molds were made of his sculpture.  These molds would then be forged in bronze.  Rodin's highly trained assistants did most of the work- the artist mainly dealt with the original clay sculpture.  Often his assistants would even re-size his works to make larger monuments.  One of his most famous works is The Thinker, which is one of the most famous sculptures of all time.  But the sculpture was actually a piece of a larger piece of work - The Gates of Hell. 

This enormous piece of work was so amazing to see in person.  Pictures could never show all the details and really how immense it is.  The kids liked the sculpture garden, I love the unstuffiness of art presented outdoors.  Indoors, I felt like I had to keep shushing them but outside they were free to run from piece to piece.  We had a lovely day and saw some amazing works of art.  I can't wait to see what our next adventure will be.....

The Thinker as seen on The Gates of Hell and the larger stand alone version

 

On the Menu: French Food

Bon Appetit!

I think everyone knows that French phrase meaning "good appetite"!  The French are known for their delicious food, the decadent pastries and butter-laden sauces, the wines, freshly baked baguettes and croissants, the cheese.... Ok, wipe the drool from the corners of your mouth and let's make some French food.  I saw this recipe on a slow-cooker blog (sorry I can't remember the name) but the author had taken it from 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes so the blog name doesn't really matter, but ANYWAY, it sounded easy to make and delicious - and it was!!  French food has a reputation for being fussy and frou-frou and fattening!  This dish was full of good fats from the olives, yeah it had some bacon, but everything in moderation right?  I had 2 doctor appointments, had to pick up my daughter's softball uniforms, and get our taxes done all on the same day, so I needed something I could slow-cook that would still give us that "French" feeling.  Here it is...

French Country Chicken with Olives
For the recipe you will need:

• 3 oz. thick bacon- chopped
• 1 onion - finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves - minced
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup white wine (or chicken broth)
• 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
• 3 lbs. skinless chicken.  I used boneless thighs and breasts.
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives - sliced
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives - sliced
• parsley for garnish if you desire

** Before dumping everything in the crockpot, there is a bit of pre-cooking required- unless you have the Ninja Cooking System that lets you do it all in the same pan- which I don't.

1. In a skillet cook the bacon until it is crispy.  Drain it on some paper towels and save it in the fridge for about 6 hours from now.
2. In 2 tbsp of the bacon grease, cook the onions for a few minutes to soften.
3. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and bay leaf and stir around for another minute.  It smells good already!!
4. Add the wine and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 2 mins.
5. Add tomatoes and bring them to a boil also.
6. Put the chicken in the bottom of the crockpot and pour the sauce you just made over the top.  Cover and cook for 6 hours (low heat) and 3 hours (high heat). 
7. Now for that bacon and olives you've saved. Put them in about 15 minutes before you are going to eat. 
8.  Serve with some crusty French bread dripping with butter (not for me- still restricting carbs) and enjoy!!

 

This was delicious!!  Sometimes dishes that I make in the slow cooker come out tasting watered down, but this had a lot of flavor! My husband and brother each had 2 bowls of it (with the hot, fresh baguettes and butter) and they raved about it.  My daughter and son even ate some- not a lot, but honestly, more than I thought they would!  And it was able to be made while I was running around like a madwoman! Viva la France!!

For dessert we had another French treat- macarons.  I have seen them before and thought they looked good but the recipes seemed very daunting, so I've never tried to make them.  Luckily, I found some in the freezer section at Trader Joes- and they are wheat-free so I was able to try them :)  Prep couldn't be simpler- defrost for 30 minutes and enjoy!!  My husband was skeptical because he"s not a fan of coconut macaroons but these are a totally different cookie.  The cookie part is made with almond flour and are fluffy and crispy at the same time, while the middle is creamy and delicious.  Needless to say, they are a new favorite!!

Le Eiffel Tower part deux

 Bigger and Better...

I was not about to leave my Eiffel Tower project being so frustrating and poorly executed, so we went back to the drawing board.  Remember our first week when we made a Native American tipi using PVC pipe? Well, I still have all that pipe sitting in the backyard, so we got 4 of them and a roll of duct tape and went to work!

Le Eiffel Tower (part deux)
For the project you will need:

• 4 Long pieces of PVC pipe
• Duct tape

1.  Join up your 4 pieces of pipe and wrap the tape around one end.
2.  Go about 18 inches down and wrap the tape around again.
3.  Stand up your pipes and spread the bottom of the pipes apart as far as they can go.  2 adults make this much easier!
4.  Decide where the 2nd and bottom platforms should be and put a row of duct tape around the spread pipes.  If this is going to stay up awhile you might want to brace the pipes open with something.
5.  Use the duct tape to make the arches and gridwork if you wish.
6.  Enjoy the view of your very own Eiffel Tower from the sidewalk cafe as you have a snack.  C'est Magnifique!!

  We had a great dinner that night after our visit to the Eiffel Tower!  I'll post it later, right now we are about to head to the museum to see some sculptures!!  I'll be sure to post pics from that adventure!! Bon Jour!!! 

The Eiffel Tower (and the Awful Tower)

The Symbol of France

Possibly the most recognizable building in France, and maybe even the world, the Eiffel Tower has been gracing the skyline of Paris since 1889.  It was engineered by Gustave Eiffel as an impressive entrance to the 1889 World's Fair and since then has had over 250 million visitors.  That makes it is the most visited paid monument in the world.  It is also the tallest structure in France (and at one point the world), standing at 1050 ft. tall it is the equivalent of an 81 story building.  The tower has 3 platforms, the first and second are accessible by elevator (my choice) or a 300 step staircase for each level.  The third platform at the top is reached by elevator only- but really, climbing 900 steps is just showing off!!  Construction of the tower was begun in 1887 and was completed by 300 workers by the opening of the fair in 1889. 

 Pretty impressive considering the San Francisco Bay Bridge has been being rebuilt for at least 5 years with a much bigger crew and it's still not done!

The tower only had a permit for 20 years and was supposed to be dismantled in 1909, but because it was so useful as a communications tower (especially during the World Wars) it was allowed to stay.         Good decision Paris!!  

Our project today was to recreate the Eiffel Tower using stir sticks and marshmallows and tape.  I thought it would be easy. I was wrong.

The "Awful" Tower

For the project you will need-

• stir sticks, tooth picks, straws, popsicle sticks, etc.
• marshmallows - fun idea but sticky!
• tape- lots of tape.  Duct tape was our friend.
• Patience and 14 hands.

1.  Look at pictures of the Eiffel Tower and try to make a plan about how to go about making that.
2. Forget that plan- it's not going to work :)

3. Eat some marshmallows and get the duct tape.  Bend four of the sticks and tape them to the table as the 4 legs.





4. Brace the legs with some cross beams.  They were originally going to be joined with marshmallows but we found tape worked better.  My skewed tower shows some marshmallows being used.
5. Keep on keeping on and do the best you can. 

It should be fun but it was WAY harder than I thought it was going to be, so we brought in outside help from my brother Ryan, who works for United and used to build space satellites. 

 If he can build a satellite he should be able to make a tower out of straws, right?












Voila!! 

That's French for "thank God it's finished"!!

Tour de France

On your mark, get set......

GO!!!!  That's probably not how they really start the Tour de France- but let's pretend.  We decided to get out and play today, so we are reinacting the Tour de France, that famous bike race held in France every year for the past 100 years.  It was first organized in 1903 as a promotion for a magazine and started with just 65 or so entrants hoping to win the 12,000 franc first prize.  The modern race has almost 200 riders all hoping to get to wear the yellow jersey (signifies fastest overall time) and collect the 450,000 euros! 

 The race is usually held in July, and although the course changes yearly, each race includes some treacherous rides through the French Alps and the Pyrenees and finishes near the famous Champs- Elysees.  The 23 days of the race includes 21 day-long segments that cover about 2000 miles when it's all said and done - UGH!!! 

Our version, we'll call it the Tour de Millbrae, was pretty flat, had 3 racers (sharing 2 bikes with training wheels) and was about a 100 yards long.  The winners all received a trophy but, sadly, no monetary prize.  Our prize was being lucky to live in an area where we can ride bikes in short sleeves in February. 

 I feel so bad for the Midwest and East Coast who are battling the horrible winter storms.  I hope you can get out in the warm sunshine soon, but until then, here are some pictures of beautiful France and the amazing athletes who race through it!

Riding past the Eiffel Tower

and through beautiful fields of sunflowers!

Week 32: France

Viva la France!!!

I'm off to a late start this week!  I think most world travellers have unexpected travel delays, right?  Well, we're here and ready to live it up in "gay Paree"!!

We've got some fun plans for the week, I just hope we get to them all.  I thought we'd have our very own Tour de France at the local park, we're definitely making an Eiffel Tower, and, hopefully, make it to the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford to see the exhibit on Rodin, the famous French sculptor. 

Oh, and the food - you can't think of France and not think of food!! 
I'm thinking a souffle (never made one before), chocolate mousse, and maybe a Saturday morning breakfast of croissants and fruit with a cafe au lait for dear Mere and Pere (Mom and Dad). We went to the library yesterday and found a few great books about France and, coincidentally, my daughter's class did an art project today that was supposed to emulate a woven French tapestry.  All this and more as we learn about France!!!! 

But first some interesting facts.....

• France is the largest nation in Western Europe.  It was also once the 2nd largest colonial empire in the world.  At one time France ruled portions of North America, India, Africa, Madagascar, Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
• France is the most visited country in the world.  It averages close to 80 million visitors a year!
• France is famous for it's many castles and chateaus- there are over 40,000 castles.
• France is also famous for it's cheese- there over 400 different types of cheese produced!
• The capital, Paris, is known as the "City of Lights" but that was originally referring to the large number of "intellectuals" that live in Paris- not actual lights.
• The Eiffel tower is the most well-known symbol of France. The tower will have it's own post this week- stay tuned :)

 

That's all the facts you folks are getting tonite- I have "jet lag" and the kids are clamoring for their dinner!  "French" fries and "haute" dogs- just kidding :)

Arabic 101

As salaam a lai kum!

For those of you who aren't fluent in Arabic (like me), that means "May peace be upon you" and is a formal greeting used in Saudi Arabia and other Arabic speaking countries.  Let's learn some other Arabic words and phrases- they are written in English because the Arabic alphabet is a bit hard for the novice (like me) to learn but it is beautiful to look at.

Hi- Salaam or Marhaba    Goodbye- ma'a salama  
Thank you- shukram     Yes - na'am    No - la'a
Beautiful- jameel     Sorry- aasif      I Love You- ana behibak(male)
                                                                            ana behibek(female)

1- wahed     2- ethnan    3- thalathah   4- arba'eh    5- khamsah
6- setah      7- sab'ah    8- thamaneyah  9- tes'ah    10- 'asharah

black- aswad   white- abyad     blue- azraq    green- akhdar
red- ahmar     yellow- asfar

I hope you learned a little about Saudi Arabia!  I had planned a post about the Holy sites of Mecca and Medina but to be honest with you, I'm afraid of offending anyone accidentally!!  It's an interesting country with a culture that I didn't know much about, I would love to learn more but I will probably not do it on the internet. 

Ma'a Salama from Saudi Arabia