[Easy English Blog] Teddy Bear Hunt

brown teddy bear on brown wooden bench outside

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Today’s Easy English Blog is from Patricia in New Zealand!

Coronavirus has changed our lives.   The government asked everyone to stay home.  The rules are very tough.

People can go to the supermarket or the pharmacy. They can take walks.  All the schools are closed. Young children are very bored. Their parents take them for walks but walking is very boring for small children.

Someone in England had a good idea.  There is a famous children’s book by a man called Michael Rosen. It’s called ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’.

The idea is to put teddy bears in the windows of your house. When children are walking with their parents they can look for teddy bears and count them.

When I am walking I look at the windows of all the houses. In our neighbourhood many people have put teddy bears in the windows.

But I guess some people did not have teddy bears – so they have put other soft toys in their windows. I have seen Disney characters, Pokemon, My Little Pony, koalas, gorillas, toy dogs, pink cats……

Other people have pictures and messages in their windows.  Everyone is trying hard because life is difficult all over the world right now.

Do you have the teddy bear hunt in your neighbourhood?

[Easy English Blog] Murphy’s Law

Today’s Easy English Blog is from Patricia in New Zealand!

person holding a chalk in front of the chalk board

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When you studied science in school, you learned some laws.

F= ma

P1V1 = P2V2

e=mc2

 These were very useful for passing science tests.

 But people say there are laws in our daily lives as well. I think some of these are very funny.

Murphy’s Law says – “if anything can go wrong – it will.”

There are many different ways of saying Murphy’s Law. One version that I like, is this one…

If you are eating toast with jam on it, and you drop the toast on the floor, it will always land with the jam side downwards —

 Do you agree?

[Easy English Blog] Multi-tasking

Today’s Easy English Blog is from Patricia in New Zealand!

man in white jersey shirt and pants holding cricket bat

Photo by Patrick Case on Pexels.com

Do you know the expression – multi-tasking? It means to try to do more than one thing at the same time.

I am multi-tasking at the moment.

I am watching a cricket match on TV, I am cooking chicken to make a chicken and mushroom pie for dinner and I am writing this blog/message.

The TV is in the living room.  My computer is in the office. So I am walking a lot.

I have the volume on the TV up/loud.  Every time I hear some shouting or clapping or cheering, I run to the living room to see what is happening with the cricket match. Every two minutes or so, I go into the kitchen to check the chicken.  Then I sit down at the computer and type a few more words. I am spending half my time walking or running. This is not efficient!

Sometimes when I multi-task, I think I am efficient.  I watch TV while I iron clothes. I watch TV and sew.  Some people ride an exercise bike and watch TV – this is efficient. Get fit and watch your favourite programmes at the same time!

Maybe the best multi-tasking is to do one thing that needs your brain and another thing that uses your body but doesn’t need your brain.

Sorry! Time to go. There is a lot of noise from the cricket and I must check the chicken!

[Short Story] The Mirror

woman holding mirror against her head in the middle of forest

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Sally wants to buy a house.  She saves very hard and after 3 years, she has enough money to buy a very small house.  She is very excited.

But now Sally has a big problem. She has a house but it is empty. She needs furniture but she has very little money.

Her mother gives her a bed, a table and a chair.  Her grandmother gives her some plates and pots and glasses.

Sally can live in her house but she wants many more things. On weekends she drives around all the towns near her house. She looks in secondhand shops.  One Saturday afternoon, she finds a secondhand shop in a small village. She looks in the window.

Everything in the shop is very dusty and dirty. But Sally thinks she will go inside.  There is no one in the shop. She looks around. She sees a mirror in a corner of the shop. It is big and old. I need a mirror, thinks Sally.  I will look at it.

She walks over to the mirror.  It is so dirty she can’t see the glass.  Sally takes some tissues from her bag. She starts to clean the glass.

“I’ll clean it for you.” Sally jumps. She turns around. There is a man standing behind her. He is very small. He is very old. He is wearing a black suit.

“Thank you,” says Sally. “Are you the owner of this shop? ”

The man doesn’t answer. He goes away and comes back with a cloth and some water. He cleans the glass.

“Now you can look at yourself in the mirror,” says the old man.

Sally stands next to the old man. She looks at the mirror. She looks at the old man standing next to her.

Sally is very shocked. She can see herself in the mirror, but she can’t see the old man.

“But! But!” says Sally.

The old man smiles. “It is a very special mirror,” he says. “And it is cheap.”

“It is very nice, but I have changed my mind. I don’t want to buy it.”

Sally runs from the shop. She runs to her car and gets in. She drives away very fast.

It is a very nice mirror, thinks Sally. But either the old man is very strange or the mirror is very strange.  Maybe I will save some more money and go to a department store and buy a nice new mirror!

[Easy English Blog] Blackberries

Today’s Easy English Blog is from Patricia in New Zealand!

food forest blueberries raspberries

Photo by Public Domain Pictures on Pexels.com

It is very hot here today – our weather station says it is 33 degrees celsius

I walked up the narrow paths on the hill near our house. I was wearing heavy shoes, long pants, a long-sleeve T shirt, thick gloves and a big hat. Why was I wearing so many clothes?

I was looking for blackberries. Wild blackberry plants have many sharp thorns. If you want to pick them, you have to protect yourself against the thorns. The big hat was so I did not get sun on my face, but the other clothes were to protect me from the thorns.

Do you like blackberries? We like them very much. Blackberries are good for jam. I like to make blackberry and apple pies too. I clean the blackberries and put them in my freezer. Today I got about 1.5 kilograms of blackberries – that is enough for three big pies.

My husband often goes to look for blackberries – so I have maybe 5kg in my freezer. Blackberries are a gift from nature so I will give some to friends.

By Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] Learning to drive

Today’s Easy English Blog is from Patricia in New Zealand!

green and yellow tractor on dirt

Photo by John Lambeth on Pexels.com

Learning to drive is very scary. Many people learn to drive a car, but then they don’t want to drive anymore. They say ‘I am a paper driver.’

My country does not have good train and bus services. The big cities are OK, but the small cities and towns are difficult. If you want to do anything, you have to drive a car.

When I was 12 years old, I learnt to drive tractors on a farm. It was fun.

When I was 15 years old, my father was often away on business trips. My mother did not want to drive a car, so my father said to me “You must get a driver’s license. You must drive your mother to the supermarket. You must take your sister to sports club.”

I learned to drive in my father’s car. It was very big and powerful. When I was ready to take the test for a driver’s license, my father said, “You are too young and too small. The test people will be unhappy. My car is too big. Go to a driving school. The test people will like you if you come from a driving school.”

I went to a driving school for 3 lessons. I took the driving test. It was OK.

Now I am teaching my son to drive. It is an interesting experience. He did not drive tractors on a farm. His life is different. I think he will go to a driving school.

By Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] Seasons, memories and food

Today’s Easy English Blog is from Patricia in New Zealand!

appetizer close up cucumber cuisine

Photo by Buenosia Carol on Pexels.com

I have many plates in my kitchen. I change the plates I use. I think about the season, the guests and the food.

In winter I use brown and black plates. In summer I like to use white or glass plates. Today my sister-in-law came for lunch. It was a very hot day. I didn’t want to serve hot food. I put cold meat, cheese, bread, salad and fruit on a big plate.

The plate is very big. It came from my husband’s grandmother’s house. It is white with green decoration. I think my husband’s grandmother put very big pieces of meat on it. I put cold meat, cheese, salad and fruit on it.

When we eat with family, we can have good memories if we use the plates they used. We can think, “my grandmother and my grandfather used this plate”….. We can remember them while we eat a family meal.

By Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Short Story]A Bad Mistake

background bags carry casual

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Lonnie steals bags. It is very easy.

He travels on trains when people are going to work, or going home.  The trains are very crowded. He always wears a big coat so he can hide the bags inside his coat. He always wears a hat and sunglasses.

He looks for someone who has put their bag on the floor, or on a seat. He waits until the train stops at a station and many people are trying to get on the train or off the train. He quickly takes a bag and disappears in the crowds of people.

One Friday evening, Lonnie is on the train. He sees a woman in a red coat. She has many shopping bags. She doesn’t have a seat and it is hard for her to hold her shopping bags and her handbag. She is standing near the door of the train.

She looks rich, thinks Lonnie. He looks at the shopping bags. She went to some very expensive stores. I will take her handbag and maybe I can get some shopping bags as well.

 He stands next to the woman. The train stops. There are many people trying to get off the train. Everyone is pushing. Lonnie pushes the woman in the red coat very hard. She almost falls over. Lonnie quickly pulls her handbag and two shopping bags from the woman’s hand.

He hurries off the train and puts the handbag and shopping bags under his coat.

He hears the woman shouting. “Stop! Stop! Stop that man! He has taken my bag and my shopping!”

Lonnie laughs. They won’t catch me!

 Outside the railway station Lonnie hides behind a tall building. He looks in the handbag. He takes a mobile phone and a wallet from the bag – the wallet has a little money. Lonnie counts it. $90. He puts the money in his pocket and puts the handbag and wallet in a garbage can.

He looks in the shopping bags. One bag has some towels. He puts it in the garbage can. But in the other bag he finds a beautiful necklace. It is pink and green and gold. Wow, thinks Lonnie. My girlfriend’s birthday is tomorrow. I will give her this necklace. She will like it very much.

 On Saturday night, Lonnie takes his girlfriend to a pub. She is wearing the necklace. She is very happy. She likes her birthday present very much.

Lonnie and his girlfriend are sitting at a table in the bar. They are drinking beer. A woman comes to their table. She is wearing a red coat. She says, “Where did you get that necklace?”

“My boyfriend bought it for me,” says Lonnie’s girlfriend. “It is a birthday present.”

“Oh no!” says the woman.  “He didn’t buy that necklace for you! It is unique. My husband ordered it for me. Your boyfriend took my bags on the train last night!”

Oh no! thinks Lonnie. I must run away.

He tries to run out of the bar. A very big man runs after him. He throws Lonnie on the ground. “I am a policeman,” says the man. “You took my wife’s necklace and now I am taking you to the police station.”

[Easy English Blog]Do I love nature or do I hate it?

gray small bird on green leaves

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Today’s Easy English Blog is from Patricia in New Zealand.

At lunchtime today we heard the sounds of birds behind the house. When we looked out the windows we saw two adult California quails – a male and a female. They were looking after ten baby birds. The babies were sitting on the edge of the vegetable garden with their mother. The male bird was on top of the fence watching out for danger. I thought – This is so cute! I love the nature in our garden.

Our vegetable garden is on a hill behind our house. Just now I walked up the steps to our garden. I wanted a lettuce for our evening meal and some radishes.

At the top of the steps there is an old tree. When I walked past the old tree I saw a wasp – it was flying into the tree. When I came back with the lettuce and radishes I saw more wasps flying in and out of the old tree. Some wasps have made a nest in this old tree – do you know about wasps? They are like hornets. They are not so big and maybe not so dangerous – but there are many many more wasps than hornets! I thought – I hate wasps. Wasps sting people.Some people are allergic to wasp stings. It is very dangerous for them. And wasps attack honey bees. Honey bees are good. We all like honey. So I thought – Do I love or hate nature today?

By Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] The taste of summer

Today’s Easy English Blog is from Patricia in New Zealand.

photography of tomatoes near basil leaves

Photo by monicore on Pexels.com

It is summer here. I read some blogs today. One blogger wrote about the ‘taste of summer’ and another blogger wrote about ‘eating summer’.

I thought about this – what is the taste of summer for me?

I thought about the fruit – strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, apricots, peaches and nectarines.

I thought about BBQs.

I thought about ratatouille. Do you remember the Disney movie Ratatouille? It was about a rat who wanted to be a chef. Ratatouille is a French dish with onions, zucchini, tomatoes and eggplant, I often make this, but I don’t add eggplant because my family doesn’t like it.

But then I knew what the taste of summer is for me. About a week from now, our tomatoes will be ready. Our vegetable garden is on a hill. I will walk up the hill when the sun is on the garden. I will find one perfect tomato. It will be warm from the sun. I will pick it and carry it back to my kitchen.

I will make a piece of brown bread toast. I will slice the tomato and put it on the toast with a little salt and pepper.

Perfect! The taste of summer!

By Patricia @ I Talk You Talk Press