Cheese, Chinks, and Chasms

Okay, so we've had this game for years and never got around to playing the actual game on it.  Let me explain:  we had Kinect Star Wars, and because Madison was younger and because of the sometimes frustrating responsiveness of the Kinect system, we just didn't do the longer game segment on this disc.  We did the shorter activities, such as the rancor monster rampage and the pod racing, but the jedi padawan game was just a bit too much at the time.  So here we are a few years later, and we're just now trying it now.  And we're enjoying it.  You can see our jedi master Mavra Zane above, who is training us, and inadvertently leading us on a mission.  We went to Kashyyyk today to do a bit of training, and how exciting was it to run into Mace Windu and Yoda there.  And then the Trandoshans showed up with battle droids, and all-out war.  The end result was Madison and Daddy jumping, swinging arms, kicking, and just generally flailing all over the place for a really long time.  Seriously, the battle went on for so long that Madison was asking for a break, and Daddy was grateful for the rest as well - we escaped from Kashyyyk, and went straight to the kitchen to get a drink.  That game is a pretty good workout!  We'll continue tomorrow, I think.  But on the horizon is the dance floor, which we've never tried before.  There's this instantly catchy song called "Han Solo," which we've already got stuck in our heads.  Yes, it won't be long before we're dancing to that one.

So, recently Daddy spotted a particular cheese at the grocery store, and finally picked it up:

This past week, I finally picked up some Camembert cheese.  Mommy has warned me that she doesn’t like it that much, although not for the reasons Monty Python warns us about.  We’ll see!

But I’ve had somewhat of a "Cheese Shop Bucket List" in my head for years, and I’ve put it off for too long.  I’ve had Wensleydale Cheese several times now, mostly thanks to Wallace and Gromit.  And of course I’ve had plenty of the single most popular cheese in the world, cheddar.  Also, I’ve enjoyed the more common cheeses on the list, like Gouda, Edam, Greek Feta, Stilton, Mozzarella, Paresan, and Gorgonzola.  Madison has tried some of these as well, although we haven't stopped to create a checklist.  

Still it’s taken me this long to actually purchase Camembert cheese.  And once I’m done, I may even brave the cheese that all Warner Brothers cartoons taught me to avoid:  limburger.  I’m anxious to see if you can actually spot a visible yellowish trail of stench-mist emanating from each slice.

One note:  there apparently is no such thing as Venezuelan Beaver Cheese, as there are no beavers in Venezuela.  As many years as I’ve been making reference to this sort of cheese, I’ve never known that it was entirely made up.  But fortunately, the rest of these cheeses are not made up.

That being said, Norwegian Jarlsberg, here we come!  And while we're in a cheesy state of mind, here below is a poem that Daddy wrote rather hastily for David Austen, Madison's cousin, who has a birthday today.  He was actually a cheesemeister for a time, which is why this poem below is so cheesy:

We hope your birthday’s gouda, and not at all runny
And in fact fairly grate, (yes these cheese puns aren’t funny)

Like Casu Marzu, these jokes are rotten and stink
They may smell like limburger, when you stop to think.

But we’ll say them regardless, so have mercy please
And don’t take our plate here, because it’s nacho cheese.

Anyway, happy birthday! We hope that it’s not blue
Because our dear nephew, we’re quite fondue you!

This year won’t be a muenster. Nothing will be amiss.
Because God made you holy, like a good slice of Swiss.

You won't start to crumble, like a nice piece of feta,
because you’re strong as Stilton, and sharper than cheddar!

So have a great birthday! It’s not our expertise:
We’ll stop with the puns now, because you’re the Big Cheese!

His birthday is on the perfect date, because it's not too hot and not too cold.  All you need is a light jacket.

Although today a jacket might have helped with the windy day.  It was breezy, but it was still good to go outside and do some yard work in.  Mommy did just that, planting some more in our garden.  Daddy was working on messages as well - got to keep moving forward!  Also, I've been working on a version of the Dr. Seuss book, "Oh the Places You'll Go" for Madison's other cousin, Hannah.  We got the book, and we've been adding scriptures on each page, handwriting them in.  It'll be a nice graduation memento.

Mommy made Swiss cheeseburgers today with mushrooms, and these were just the most delicious cheeseburgers we've had in ages.  They were so good!  Tonight, we really got into Narnia by watching the movie "Prince Caspian."  I forgot how good this movie was - having just read the book, you realize how much of a good job they did with it.  Obviously, there are a lot of things added here or there, such as a dreadful sequence where our heroes attack Miraz' castle.  And the "shipping" of Caspian and Susan, I don't remember that.  But there are key lines in this, key bits of dialogue, that are really strong, and the message is there certainly.  It was nice.

Afterwards, we continued our voyage east of Narnia, visiting an island with invisible monopods, although Madison and Mommy don't remember these characters at the moment.  They don't know anything about the monopods, which means they have more in common with the voyagers in the story, left in mystery by these unusual voices from all around.  Tomorrow we'll read the next chapter, and we'll meet the Dufflepods.  But it was pleasant reading again tonight, and really an entire evening spent in Narnia, which isn't that bad of a place to go if you're stuck at home.  Sadly, we have no wardrobe around here, or a painting of a ship on the sea.  But we'll keep looking around.  These chinks and chasms are all around, and surely we can find one.

Until then, we said our prayers tonight, and we did the hide-and-seek thing, which is always funny.  It's a game where Daddy has to find Madison before bedtime, and it takes a while, because she's getting more and more advanced.  The last few years, she's even set up things to make me believe she's one place, only to be on the other side of the house.  She'll put a bunch of pillows under a blanket, to look like that's her underneath there.  Or she'll lay a blanket over vacuum cleaner in a spot in the corner, but it's not her under the blanket.  And so on.  It's getting more and more elaborate.  And we've been doing this ever since bedtime began.  To think, it started out so simply, where she was in the same exact hiding spot every night, and Daddy had to march around pretending he couldn't find her.  Now, it's legit:  I can't find her!

One of these times, perhaps she'll find a chink or chasm to Narnia.  And won't that be a wonderful adventure.  Perhaps that is what we'll dream tonight.