英语博客：Fashion dictates.

Mum, please don't buy me any clothes. I just want to go shopping for clothes with Dad. This request was made by my almost thirteen year old, and echoed(1) by my fourteen year old. It was totally unexpected. In fact, I have never heard anything like t

英语博客：Oh my Cannon!

Those of you who have been listening to my podcast for the past three years, will know that I have complained about my camera on quite a few occasions. Though it has been both useful and practical for my podcasts, and small enough to fit in my handba

英语博客： The First Transpacific Flight.

Clyde Edward Pangborn, a stunt pilot, and flight instructor during the First World War, arrived in Wenatchee on October 5th, 1931, after 41 hours and 15 minutes of flighing. He and his partner, Hugh Herndon Jr., had just made a historic flight from S

英语博客：A Food Drive?

What does a food drive mean? It's nothing to do with driving a car, that's for sure. You could also have a clothes drive, or a drive of something else. It is a call for donations, to put it simply. I received a plastic bag in the mail, placed there b

英语博客：When will she arrive?

Waiting, waiting, waiting. It's difficult to do sometimes. I found myself waiting a couple of weeks ago at Seattle International Airport. My sister and my two nephews were coming for a two week visit, so I made the three hour drive over the mountains

英语博客：A Time For Parades.

There is a festival in this town that brings in thousands of visitors, and livens(1) the valley for over a week. It's called Apple Blossom. By the name, you can tell that it coincides with the blossoming of the many apple trees that grow here. The we

英语博客：A hanging head.

Recently I've had the strangest feeling when I've been alone at home. My husband is at work, and my children are at school, so I should be alone. I don't hear footsteps(1), or anyone moving around in the house. I don't hear talking or breathing in an

英语博客：Do it yourself and win $5000.

Do-it-yourself is more than a hobby in this town. It is more like a craze. When a job needs to be done around the house, a lot of people will do it themselves, instead of hiring someone else. You don't always need to be an expert to fix a pipe, to pa

英语博客：Sharp is good.

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

英语博客：Where, oh where can they be?

图片1 Have you ever lost something, and looked and looked for it? I've been doing that lately. My oldest son had a PSP and an iPod touch. I say had, because he doesn't have them anymore. They have disappeared, vanished, evaporated. I have looked ev

英语博客：Ali Baba part 2.

Ali Baba part 2. By now, Ali Baba had opened the shop which he had always dreamed about. He was a fair and generous shop owner. He was happy, his family had plenty, and every neighbor was his friend. Ali Baba hired a helper named Morgiana. She was a

英语博客：A patriot.

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

英语博客：Bras on the bridge.

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

英语博客：Get the setting right.

It was only this evening, after a busy day, that I realised that my phone had not rung all day. That is unusual. I checked my messages, and there were twelve! How come I hadn't heard the phone ring? I checked the setting, and it said 'silent'. Oh, gr

英语博客：Local rivals.

图片1 We spent a noisy night on Saturday at the local arena. We had tickets to go and see a basketball match between the two big local rivals, Wenatchee and Eastmont. We were lucky enough to have box seats, so we were up high with a good view. We t

英语博客：Back and forth.

图片1 I have missed a couple of podcasts this week, oops! So here is the first of the two, a little late. My reason for writing this podcast late is that I've been spending time researching my options, as far as the education of my two youngest. Th

英语博客：A new camcorder.

图片1 Well, it was about time that I got myself a camcorder, a decent one. I have been meaning to for a long time. The app that I have has bonus content which can either be an extra audio file, or a video. Until now, I have not really offered this

英语博客：New passports.

As I was going to the recycling center today, I passed the postman (or, the mail man in U.S). He was sitting in his cute little mail van, next to the mail boxes where he was inserting all of the letters, cards, and junk mail. I pulled over and asked

英语博客：Run for reading.

I'm interviewing Cass today. He's my second son, and he's nine years old. He's going to do something very interesting on Friday. What is it Cass that you're going to do on Friday? - Uh, we're going to do something called Run for Reading, and that's h

英语博客：What's for breakfast?

What do you feel like eating in the morning? Are you a breakfast eater, or do you just have a coffee or tea? There are so many things to choose from when it comes to the first meal of the day. Traditionally, in England, we have what is called the 'gr