A WINTER TO STAY

Folks, winter is staying with us for six long, dreary weeks.

And how can we know this? Ask the groundhog. ground-hog-day

Yep, I said the groundhog. Don’t you believe me? Well, apparently people from the USA believe this cute rodent can tell winter from spring in a split second. Or at least on one particular day. The legend goes like this.

Groundhog Day is celebrated in the U.S. each year on February 2nd. On this day in mid-winter, the groundhog awakens from a long winter's nap, and goes outside of his den to see if he sees his shadow. This tradition is big on an otherwise cold and dreary mid-winter's day.

According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow (a sunny morning), there will be six more weeks of winter. He then returns to his den and goes back to sleep. If however, he does not see his shadow (cloudy days), he plays around outside of his hole for a while. If he does not see his shadow, spring is just around the corner.

What do you think about this tradition? Superstition? Folly? Midwife’s tale? Or good enough to take into account? Your calling.

Say hello to Punxsutawney Phil, the sleepy, weather-predicting celebrity among groundhogs.

PICTURE THIS

Hello there!

I come today with a collection of pictures from Angie. She took them in Ireland and England this past Christmas holidays.   hotcocoa

So, I have a suggestion for you all.

Escape from the record-breaking cold, grab a cup of hot cocoa and cozy up with a wonderful array of photos.

Enjoy!

LOVE IS IN THE AIR… AND ON PAPER TOO!

j0433242

 Hello cuties!

Time for a contest here at Lctidiomas.

We have decided to award you with a night out at the movies. Yes, it’s all true. We are that generous.

All you have to do is unleash your imagination and let your emotions go wild.

Write to your loving parents, to your soul mate, your best friend, your kind neighbour, your cuddly dog, that incredibly, heart-stoppingly handsome actor or fascinanting actress… but WRITE, WRITE, WRITE.

It might be a letter, a poster, a comic, a TV spot,j0440315 a short story, a play. You can do it with a classmate or on your own. The winner of the contest will be made public on 9th March and the night out will take place right before Easter.

  Come on! Be brave, be sweet.  

Telling secrets

 Do you remember those long ago holidays?

Yeap, they exist.

 I was thinking of boasting about what fun we had when we had the chance to have fun. So I had a nice talk with all the teachers and they decided to join my little project. Below you’ll find a peek into your teacher’s secret life. Don’t miss it!

xmas “I celebrated Christmas with my family. I went to London to visit some friends. I spent New Year’s Eve with my friends.”

VICTORIA

“I celebrated Christmas at home. I went to a party on New Year’s Eve. celebrate  I played in the SNOW!”

ALISON

“I stayed @ home. It was rainy. I watched films, read, bakedeat Celebrated Xmas @ home, then went out dancing. New Year’s Eve @ home. Made sushi. Watched a film. Went to London!”

CHRIS

I flew home to Florida. I visited my family and friends. I went to the beach, although it was cold.” titanic

JOSIE

fly “I flew home to LOUISIANA. I spent Christmas with my family and spent time with friends. I celebrated New Year’s Eve in New Orleans.”

KAITLYN

“I went to Italy with some family and friends. we travelled around Italy, ate delicious food and had a great time.travel  I loved Venice and seeing the sights in Tuscany.”

KAYLIN

I went to Ireland for Christmas, tree didn’t do much because it snowed all the time. I went to London for New Year’s Eve, saw the fireworks next to the London Eye and drank champagne!

ANGIE

  Here is your chance to tell us what YOU did. Don’t be shy! Spill the beans. Tell everybody if you went to the cinema, if you ate too much “turrón” or if Father Christmas forgot to bring your favourite gifts this year.Send us an email to lctidiomas@hotmail.com

Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with millions… I  mean, with me.

Let’s start anew

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome, everyone! We’re so happy to be back again. Hope your holidays were awesome. Did you get wonderful gifts on Epiphany’s Day? The Three Wise men broke their poor camels’s backs with the load of joy brought to you on the 6th of January? I bet!

snowymonday

What a way to start the school week! No school, buckets of snow everywhere. Did you enjoy the extra day? We surely didn’t. It was freezing that morning.

  Now is the time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It's a time to reflect on the changes we want to make and resolve to follow through on those changes. Did your New Year resolutions make our top ten list?

  1. Study more
  2. Watch less T.V.
  3. Lose that extra weight
  4. Quit procastinating (I’ll do it tomorrow, mum!)
  5. Enjoy life more!
  6. Learn something new
  7. Read lots of books (well, that might be my own idea…)
  8. Spend less money on clothes, sweets, extremely expensive games…
  9. Help others ( people or animals)
  10. Get organized

What are your ideas on the matter? Pick the keyboard and click away your own resolutions. We’ll be waiting for your emails!

HAVE A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS

 mulledwine  People from Great Britain insist no holiday can be merry without mulled wine. But why should the Brits have all the fun? 

The European tradition of mulling wine started in ancient Greece where heat and spices were used to salvage old wine once the summer’s harvest went bad. In the Middle Ages, mulled wine was credited with medicinal and aphrodisiac powers and in Victorian England a spot of tea was added to a glass of mulled wine and dubbed “Christmas tea.”

It seems as every country has a tradition for mulled wine and thus their own name for it, most of which translate to a version of “hot wine”.

AND HERE IT IS…

HOW TO MAKE MULLED WINE

  • INGREDIENTS

4 oz / 115 g sugar

4 cinnamon sticks

5 cm / 2 in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced

small handful cloves, or to taste

1 orange, zest only

1.5 litres / 2 pints port wine or claret

Serves 6-8 people

  • RECIPE

Step 1:

Add ingredients to a saucepan and bring to the boil

Place two wine glasses of WATER, and the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and orange zest into a saucepan. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat to its lowest setting and simmer, stirring regularly, until the mixture has reduced to form a thick syrup, about 15-20 minutes.

Step 2:

Add port or wine

Add the port wine or claret and stir well. Increase the temperature until the mixture is piping hot, but not boiling.

Since it is served warm it is a perfect treat for a cold day.

Mulled wine is a tradition that has always excluded two important groups in the festivities... children and drivers. No more. Here is a non-alcoholic version of this welcoming recipe:

  • same ingredients
  • substitute wine with cranberry juice or red grape juice
  • follow recipe exactly
  • have fun!

Share and enjoy!

Merry Christmas to everybody from LCTIDIOMAS and Happy New Year 2010.