Author: Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Swimsuit Edition

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Yes, it’s that time of year. At least it’s that time of year in Florida. I don’t know if real Floridians consider April a part of summer, but it sure feels like summer to me. In fact, we’ve been going sporadically to the beach and regularly to the pool for the past few months.

Unfortunately, my swimsuit didn’t survive last year’s daily dunks in the extra salty Mediterranean very well. The elastic is so bad I’m afraid it will fall off in the water one of these days. So. I’m in need of a new swimsuit.

As I said before, though, I really hate sunscreen.… Read more

Narnia, Iraq, and the Moors of Al-Andalus

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

The Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven HeavensThe Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens by Michael Ward

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I went into this book pretty sceptically, because really, in the post-The Da Vinci Code era, who could possibly take seriously a book with a title like this? However, forty pages or so into the book, I found myself wishing that the author had written a real, scholarly book, since his theory was sounding fairly plausible. And then a few pages later he admitted that The Narnia Code is actually the popularized version of his published phD thesis, Planet Narnia The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S.… Read more

Welcome Home, Part 5: The Harem

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

First, because I must, a word about the word. Among the things that fascinate/repel Westerners when they think about the Middle East is the idea of an exotic, opulent harem full of beautiful women, secreted away from the world for the sole purpose of unbridled male pleasure.

The word itself is a Turkish derivative of the Arabic root “haram,” meaning sacred, and therefore forbidden. The idea is that a woman and her household domain are sacred, and not to be intruded upon by outsiders. The concept predates Islam, and secluding the royal wives and concubines has been common practice in the Near East from time immemorial.… Read more

Best Places I’ve Never Lived

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I realized the other day that there’s not enough time in a lifetime to live all the places I’d like to live. In fact, it’s a good thing inter-planetary space travel has not yet been invented, or I would be completely overwhelmed by possibilities. My blogger friend Amira (who presently lives in Kyrgystan) is doing a series on all the cities where she’d like to live. Some of them are so obscure I have to look up what country they’re in. Of course, I had to look up Kyrgystan when I first “met” her too.

It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who can’t help viewing every international vacation (and every National Geographic article, for that matter) as a house-hunting trip.… Read more

Chanticleer, A Line in the Sand, and The Mormon People

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Today I have only awesome books to review for you.

Chanticleer and the FoxChanticleer and the Fox by Barbara Cooney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a treasure of a book! This made it to our house because it is on the Ambleside Online Year 2 free reading list. I can’t think of a better way to introduce my seven-year-old to a bit of Chaucer. Maybe it’s just that I remember my own foray into chicken-keeping so fondly, but I was enchanted by this story of a proud, beautiful rooster who learns a lesson about trusting to flattery. The lovely illustrations really make the book.… Read more

A Mormon Holiday

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Heather at Women in the Scriptures was talking the other day about our lack of holidays that specifically commemorate our religious history as a people.

Sometimes I am a little envious of my friends whose religions involve a year full of holidays. Ramadan, for instance, is kind of like a month-long holiday for Muslims, complete with special foods and lots of family time.When I was growing up, the Jewish family next door invited us over to their house to eat potato pancakes for Purim. Then we listened to the story of Esther, and all us children stamped our feet and shouted to drown out the name of dastardly Haman whenever it appeared in the story.… Read more

Worse than a Bad Hair Day

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Is it just me, or does my family have more than a normal share of hair woes? First of all, there’s Axa.  I have a really hard time keeping up with her glorious copper tangle. Here’s a representative day:

As a matter of fact, my own hair doesn’t look all that great either, does it?

Recently, we’ve finally settled into a routine where Tony brushes Axa’s hair every morning and I braid it immediately, which keeps most of the tangles more or less under control. If we miss a day, though, we’re pretty much back to square one.

Fortunately, (since I’m sure we’d never stay on top of two unruly heads) Raj’s hair is straight and smooth, so it usually doesn’t give us much trouble.… Read more

Fame

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Guess what came out of my mailbox today? My copy of Bridges, the alumni magazine for Brigham Young University’s Kennedy Center for International Studies. And guess what I found on page 14? An article about the Tunisian Revolution. Written by me.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ve probably already heard what I have to say about Tunisia. But if you think it’s as cool as I think it is to see my name in print, you can access the online version here.… Read more

A Word from Our Readers

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

One of the fun things about having a blog is seeing which search terms lead people to Casteluzzo.

I had no idea I was an “authority” on so many bizarre topics. Whenever I need a good laugh, I just open up my google analytics. So here, for your reading pleasure and edification, is a somewhat annotated list of some of the latest queries.

“why can’t people eat non newtonian fluids”

Because they come from another dimension. Also, the mouth-feel is too chalky.

“how to pronounce grishnakh”

In Italian Orkin or Tunisian Orkin?

“weirdos outside buckingham palace”

It wasn’t me!… Read more

The Emerald Isle

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

In honor of the holiday, I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from the summer we spent in Ireland.

For sheer beauty, I’m not sure if any countryside can compare to Ireland’s. It is so, so lush, even in the dead of summer. The quaint low rock walls everywhere, the charming steeply-sloped roofs, and the green, green, green of everything make you feel like you’ve stepped into a fairytale.

All that green does come with a price tag in precipitation. So rain boots were standard attire when going out.

I believe the fields of Ireland were the origin of Axa’s frog-catching obsession.… Read more