Weird? Pretty much.

[Fcrate]

Huh.. Elina, I'll make a note of that. Although by that time, Elayne would be available once more, so maybe Elayne the Second.
I'll stick with the ELN for this line though. We'll see about Heidi and Hamida.
LOL, the pedigree thing reminded me of my grandparents on my mother's side, where all Boys had names that started with M like their father, and all girls had names that started with R like their mother. And trust me, there were enough of them to justify me using the word "All"

[Dina]

LOL!
I know a few things who had children with the same first letter, but none of the cases I know is for more than 3 children in total.
I was also reminded of a very old movie called 7 brides for 7 brothers. The seven brother had biblical names following the alphabet. The first was Adam. I remember Benjamin, Caleb and Gideon. I do not remember the others.

[Regenbogen]

Herodes...

[Fcrate]

That would be number 8, Regen
@Dina: 3 children don't justify a pattern. My grandmother used to chastise my uncle's wife for stopping after 4. (As the above joke hints, Egyptian mothers in law are horrible)

[Regenbogen]

That would be number 8, Regen
@Dina: 3 children don't justify a pattern. My grandmother used to chastise my uncle's wife for stopping after 4. (As the above joke hints, Egyptian mothers in law are horrible)

Yes, after Gideon
One of my sisters-in-law told me after my second child's birth, that in this family it is custom to give birth to at least 3 children. I wanted 3 kids already without her telling me, lol, but fate intervened. But it is rare here to have more than 3 kids. Some people I know have 4 or 5. One family in our street has 6 and the old doctor of the village has 12. But this is the exception.
Maybe if I had started earlier, but I was already 30, when my first child was born and my pregnancies were more of the life threatening kind for both me and the babies, so we didn't risk a third one and are just glad that we have two healthy girls. No matter what the family says.

[Fcrate]

Nowadays it's rare for people to have more than three. Most everyone stops at 2, even though they start early. But that's an economy thing.
My parents had 5, but their generation was different.
You made the right decision though. Personally I believe 2 are enough. 3 at most, as we have to think about our planet.

[Regenbogen]

Nowadays it's rare for people to have more than three. Most everyone stops at 2, even though they start early. But that's an economy thing.
My parents had 5, but their generation was different.
You made the right decision though. Personally I believe 2 are enough. 3 at most, as we have to think about our planet.

Yeah, I told myself that a third child wouldn't be practical anyway. We would need a bigger car. Our bedroom downstairs would be too small for all the baby stuff. We moved downstairs so that each girl could have their own room. Luxury, I know, but we actually bought that house because there was this option. Before it became our bedroom, it was my husband's father's room, who was officially living with us. Though he spent most of his time with his girlfriend at her home, lol.
Also I would have to stay at home again. And having a job and having more children is more complicated. At one time in the future you have them in three different institutions, at least with our age difference. One in kindergarten, one in elementary school and one in whatever next school she goes. I already tend to get confused with all the stuff they need for two different institutions and all the dates, meetings and deadlines they have combined with my shift schedule, the grandparents' schedules and my husband's.
In hindsight I am glad that we didn't try it. Though I always was convinced, that I would once have a son. Maybe because there are not so many girls in our family.

So I told myself it was a completely logical and practical decision. And I'm OK with it now, though I am sometimes getting sad, when I see families with three kids.
But honestly, once you know what it is like to care for a baby or two, you can enjoy holding babies of other mothers and give them back as soon as they start crying. It would be weird to do that with your own child. Just imagine: hey you, hold that please, it is crying.

[Fcrate]

Heh, I am allergic to kids ever since my cousin puked on my new shirt when I was 10 or 11 years old. (I still blackmail him about it sometimes). I do hold my nephews and nieces sometimes on our family dinners when their mothers are busy, but I prefer kitchen duties to be honest (except washing dishes..not a chance).
About having three kids in different institutions, not necessarily. My parents had us in 11 years. With gaps of 2, 1, 5, 2 years respectively, with me being the youngest. By the time I came around, my eldest siblings could take care of me most of the time. Very little was required of my mother by the time I was 8. Which was lucky because by then she had her sick father to take care of.

[Regenbogen]

@Fcrate: LOL allergic!
My father's friend's son I was babysitting threw a boccia ball at my teeth when I was 12 or so. I wasn't prepared to him throwing that high and lost half a front tooth because of that.
But on the other hand one of my older cousins once threw a shuriken into my calf. It was an accident, but it's not only the small kids who can hurt you, lol.

Another topic. I played some blues today with the violin. And now I walk around in the rhythm of it. Sometimes I snap my fingers to the music only I can hear. I can't get it out of my head, but it's OK. I like the music.

I'm looking forward to next weekend. Our oldest nephew will visit us with the girl who is not his girlfriend but he spends almost all his free time with her... Of course, NOT his girlfriend. 
It will be interesting to finally meet her. We have just seen photos so far.

[Dina]

Hi everyone!
In urban middlecase it is now rare to have more than 3 children, and even 3. I know people with 4 or even 5 children, but it is quite rare. Additionally I am at university, where women normally have 2 children at most.
Hubby and I chose not to have children, we do not really want them. My family is like that too. I am the only child of my parents, who had no siblings either. One of my grandmothers had a sister than died too young and a brother (who had 2 children himself). My other grandmother had 2 brothers (a child each). Only my grandparents had several siblings (7 and 5 I think).
Hubby is also an only child because his dad died when he has only a year. He has an uncle (his mom had no siblings either). So we are just the extreme of a tradition of few chidren. I only regret that we are the last in our families, but I was not going to have children only for the sake or a family name or anything.

I am sure you will have fun next week with your nephew and his friend who is a girl, as Sheldon would say.

And about the names, yes, Herodes would not be in the movie, because there are only seven brothers. It was a classical musical movie.

[Fcrate]

Hello there
Yes, I remember you saying that you chose not to have children. Unfortunately, here in Egypt that's not really an option if you are able. The attitude is relaxing over the years, but it's simply a matter of limiting the number of children and regulating your household. There was a government awareness campaign in the nineties that encouraged people to have less children, and it was still met with a lot of opposition from religious conservatives (and non religious conservatives as well).
In other news, I gathered the last of my grapes yesterday, and they were delicious. I made a fruit salad with apples, grapes, mulberries and strawberries with mango nectar as a base. Yum.

[Regenbogen]

@Fcrate: yummy

I went to the cinema yesterday with my little one and a friend of her's. We watched the Minions. Cute and funny. And air-conditioning!!!! Which was the main reason I took them there, lol.

Today is supposed to be the warmest day of the week. 36°C. I'll definitely stay inside as long as possible.
Most of my vegetables didn't survive the heat. There are almost no plums this year, but this is because I cut the tree brutally last year. Next year there will be more, I am sure. The plums like the heat. And I still have a lot of last year's harvest in the freezer.
The apples seem OK, though the leaves are starting to roll themselves. I'll have to water them in the evenings and mornings.

Reading update:
I am currently reading "Wandel" from the online-library. That's the German title for "Changes".
In August there will be the latest Mercy Thompson novel.

Edit:
The big house in our street is done. There are already people preparing to move in. Officially they move in in August. The house looks nice now. I was allowed inside once, when it was still under construction. 

[Dina]

That fruit salad sounds so delicious, Fcrate!

Sorry about the veggies, Regen. I hope the new neighbors are nice 
Let us know how is the German translation 

Today is an important day. Friends' Day!! It is a day where normally people (especially young ones) gather with friends to celebrate friendship  . I won't gather today but sent several messages. So, happy day to you, my virtual friends! 

[Regenbogen]

That's nice. Happy Friends' Day to you too!

The German version is OK. They changed the translator sometimes and I have the feeling the translations got "into the flow" bit by bit. It is nice to read. But I am not sure, if I would have kept reading after the first two, if the only version I knew was this translation.
The later translations were more artful with Harry's use of the polite form, but still... Charity still uses it when addressing Harry up until the end of Small Favor. You just don't do that with your husband's friends, even if you don't like them.
Harry uses it with Ebenezar. I can see the logic there, because of him calling him "sir" and Eb being one of the only humans in his life he shows respect. But it feels weird, because they act so familiar with each other.

And sometimes I remember while reading that there was a funny sentence somewhere in this part, but it is missing. Not only because it wasn't good for translation, but simply missing either way. And sometimes there are puns translated which only work in English. For example word plays. Sometimes the word plays or puns are replaced by a working German one which means the same but doesn't fit in the context.

But I am enjoying them nonetheless. But I am thinking: no wonder almost nobody knows the books here. Or doesn't like them like this friend of mine with the same taste in books as me.

About the polite form: it would be possible for Harry to almost never use it. My father is a good real life example. He isn't impolite and he doesn't provoke people, but everyone just seems to accept him talking to them in the familiar form. I have rarely heard him use the polite one. He even talks around it sometimes by using phrasing with which he wouldn't need to use either form, lol.

Now I have to bake raspberry muffins for my daughter's birthday tomorrow.

[Fcrate]

Well, happy friendship day to you too
I think I've mentioned before how much I dislike translations. Once my English improved enough that I didn't need the dictionary 10 times in every page (that was before Google), I switched to originals and never looked back.
Sorry about your veggies, Regen. But 36 isn't that hot.. What kind of veggies do you have?