Raising the Next Generation

2008-07-07T04:32:00.000-07:00

I'm moving my blog in the hope of reducing spammers and the computer problems that they seem to be causing me. I hope that you will come along and continue to share in the ups and down as I carry on swimming up stream in this crazy world *grin*. You would be very welcome.

Yo can now find me at Still Raising The Next Generation. I hope to see you there.

Dancing with fire

2008-07-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

I came across this video about a week ago and I've watched it countless times since. I'm mesmerised. I want to dance with fire in the darkness!

Doubt it's the kind of thing you learn to do at local college nightclasses and probably isn't the sort of thing you should attempt without some sort of idea of what you're doing. Hopefully it will happen one day though.

Local Home Ed Camp

2008-07-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

We joined a group of approximately twenty other local home ed families on a campsite on the Northumberland Coast this week. It was fabulous. The location of the site was excellent - just a quick hop over the sand dunes and we were on the beach. We were also spoiled for choice in the way of beautiful attractions if we wanted to head off site. The weather was glorious and the company was great. We really couldn't have asked for more. Many families camped for five nights but we just camped for two. We are novices in the world of camping and really just dipped out toe in this time to see how it would be. We'll certainly stay for longer all being well next year.

The beach was one of those where at low tide you can scarcely see the sea. If you look hard here you can see a small amount of white on the horizon. That's the waves breaking.

However, within no time at all the tide had turned and whilst the breaking waves still seemed a long long way off, a really fast moving sheet of water, flat as a mill pond, surged across from the right of the bay area. It was fascinating to watch. Craig thinks there must have been a sandbank. Something for me to look into. I am absolutely fascinated by the sea.

While in the area we visited Paxton House. I had been once before and was keen to go again. We didn't go in the house, just the grounds - they're fantastic. The highlights this visit had to be the waterlilies and croquet on the lawn.

We also visited Chain Bridge Honey Farm and stocked up on some of the delicious local honey. They have a great observation hive. The kids were fascinated.

When the children were settled in the evenings I had the opportunity to chat to other home ed folks who I rarely get to speak to. Actually I rarely get to speak to any home ed folks when I see them out and about during the day as Miles is still of an age where he need a watchful eye on him all of the time. It was great to chat.

There are a couple of conversation which I had which are still buzzing around my brain. One was about how you feel when you reach that stage and know the likelihood is that you will never bare another child. The other was about the ongoing process of grieving the passing of certain development stages your children go through, for example knowing you will never again pace the floor in that back breaking position holding the hands of a child who is on the verge of taking their very first steps. It was really poignant that these conversations came about, that someone else initiated them, when they are matters that I myself have been thinking about so much of late.

All in all I had a wonderful time but I'm very pleased to be home. We all missed Craig lots and I was also well over due a good soak in the tub. I've made a mental note to ensure I buy flip flops before my next camping excursions as I'm sure that will make the site showers more user friendly.

Elderflower champagne

2008-07-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

We've had a quite an easy going day today after our trip out yesterday.

Hermione and Nana headed into town to buy Uncle Brian a birthday present. They were away longer than I expected and that was because they had called into Waterstones and Hermione spent time reading books out loud to Nana. I think we're really making that transition right now from reading being perceived as a chore to it being a pleasure.

In the meantime Miles and me bumbled at home. We played between snacks but in all honesty most of the day has been spent snacking. He wasn't too well last week and off his food but he's certainly making up for it now. In addition to three good meals he has eaten two raw carrots, two oranges, three nectarines and a banana today. It amazes me how much fruit and veg that boy can eat!

We picked the first of our broad beans but the beans inside were quite small. We enjoyed them with dinner but I think it will be two to three weeks before I pick more.

We also picked some more elder flowers and have started to make elderflower champagne from this recipe. I've never made anything like this before but it seems very straightforward.

The flowers and lemons looked and smelled good when they first went into the pan but they're looking and smelling less so now. Will have to wait and sample the finished product before forming any opinions though.

Archaeology, jelly fishes, elderflower pancakes

2008-06-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

We've had a lovely day today. We've done lots but it's been at our own pace so I just feel pleasantly weary now as opposed to exhausted and frazzled.

We hung out at the beach for a while making sandcastles and gazing at the numerous jelly fish washed onto the shore.

We then went to a park which was absolutely fantastic, with all kinds of play equipment and interactive water features, but unfortunately a school trip descended within minutes of us having arrived and suddenly it wasn't at all pleasant. We made a hasty exit but will certainly go back.

From there we meandered round to Arbeia where we watched the archaeologists at work until such time as the school party had vacated the resource centre - after which we had it all to ourselves.

Watching the children running around, laughing and playing hide and seek I pondered what effect their upbringing will have upon their relationship in years to come. Will the fact that they are home educated and therefore spend a lot more time together than many siblings result in them having a closer bond? I don't know - and won't know for many years to come, but it still doesn't stop me wondering.

Back at home we played in the garden and picked elder flowers to make elderflower pancakes.

The first one was a disaster as the flowers burn very quickly but once I got the hang of it they were fine. I'd like to tell you they tasted delicious but I didn't get to taste one. Hermione and Miles ate them as quickly as I made them. Guess they can't have been that bad.

Maypoling

2008-06-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally happened, the sun shone and we danced around the maypole - all forty seven of us at some point or other, (I think Craig was the only one who didn't pick up a ribbon at all).

Here is one of the patterns we made.

It's been fabulous. I feel so lucky to have the space to be able to do this and to have so many lovely friends to come and join me.

Mooli

2008-06-27T02:08:00.001-07:00

We have just been out in the garden and noticed our first set of mooli are starting to bolt too. We pulled up a few and they were dissapointing, not much bigger than raddishes. But then we pulled up this one which is a good six inches (possibly bigger if you ask a man).

It's mooli and pak choi stirfry on the menu here tonight if you would care to join us *grin*.

Strawberry picking

2008-06-26T04:22:00.000-07:00

We went strawberry picking earlier this week. I think we were too hasty as many of the berries were nowhere near ripe. We still managed to fill a basket though and most of them have already been eaten.

We do have a few strawberry plants in the garden but not many. What we do have seem to be producing masses of leaves and not many fruit too. Considering the price of strawberries I think we should make efforts to grow our own next year. I've heard that they grow well in guttering and that would save space on my patch. Just pondering where to attach the guttering too though. Thankfully I've a few months to figure that one out.

Sports Day

2008-06-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

We had a Sports Day at one of our local home ed groups today. It was brilliant. The place where we generally hire the hall agreed to us using a large area of their grassland for the event and even mowed it for us specially. The rain stayed away until we were making our way back to the hall and thanks to the hard work of some parents, (not me I hasten to add), all went like clockwork.

It was a real traditional sort of affair with egg and spoon races, sack races, wheel barrow races, three legged race and water events. Hermione and Miles had an excellent time and judging by the looks on the faces of the other children they did too.

I have sometimes feared that by choosing to home educate my children would miss out on what I feel to be some of the more enjoyable aspects of school life - such as sports days. That concern was blown away today and whats more the event was managed in a way that there was no big thing made of winners or loosers - it was all about having fun and taking part. Excellent!

Magic

2008-06-24T11:55:00.001-07:00

The postie arrived with my Amazon order today, Raw Magic by Kate Wood. It is a beautiful book full of wonderful colour photographs. All of my other raw books look very drab in comparison. There are some really exciting recipes and lots of nutritional info too. I suppose the only downside from my point of view is that virtually every recipe contains a high percentage of super foods, making them quite expensive. I suspect I will adapt some of the recipes to make them more affordable for day to day consumption. Lots in there to inspire me, from cakes, dips, breads and more!

Something else happened today which felt almost magical. We were driving along in the car and Hermione started to ask what is A add F, what is B add two times H and so on. When I didn't know the answers she told me and I quickly realised she had assigned a value to every letter depending upon it's place in the alphabet. She's very excited about her new mathematical approach - I think she believes she's invented it! I love it when things happen like this. Had I said to her, 'now let me tell you all about the basics of algebra' there would most likely have been moans and groans.

On the not so magic front Miles has been unwell today. Not terribly unwell in himself but he's had a very high temperature. Along with my Amazon delivery came my delivery from Thompson and Morgan and I hoped to get some seeds planted. That wasn't possible with Miles being as he was and will have to wait till another day. I'm really happy with my seed delivery too. I've bought some carrot and parsnip seeds which grow rounded vegetables for use in clay soils - where the vegetable can't develop because it can't get through the hard earth. I also bought a promotional pack of seeds for £1 and when they arrived they included a packet each of melon, cabbage, parsley, strawberries and rocket - not bad at all!

The Nettle and the Butterfly

2008-06-23T14:05:00.001-07:00

We read this book today.

I think the text was possibly too detailed for Miles and insufficiently detailed for Hermione, however, we all enjoyed the fantastic colourful illustrations.

We now have two beautiful caterpillar hotels here in which we hope to watch the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly - just as soon as we find a caterpillar looking for four star treatment with a guaranteed supply of nettles.

Best made plans

2008-06-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

I don't usually make plans but I did for this weekend - and nothing turned out to plan at all! It started out that we were going to spend part of the weekend camping and celebrate the Solstice with friends at an outdoor event. However once we factored in Craig's work commitments and the strong wind warning issued by the Met Office we ended up in a caravan on a cliff top (still not the best place to be in high winds but certainly better than a tent), swimming in the indoor pool and making the best of what was round and about between torrential downpours.

I'm not sure why it is but I always feel that caravans are even more claustrophobic than tents. I think one factor is that they don't lend themselves well to the needs of co-sleeping families and the living area ends up resembling some sort of nest - which some people can't resist bouncing about on!

Some things that made me smile this weekend.

Welly boot washing line.

A den.

A den with a very impressive roof I should say.

His and hers scarecrows.

A willow dome that someone should rightfully be most proud of...

...complete with seat.

Clay oven.

The sound of wind and torrential rain outside when I was cosy in the caravan also made me smile but there are no photos of that - thankfully.

We read Ellen Jacksons Summer Solstice book.

As a wholly unrelated aside, do you know that you can now get purple sweet potatoes? I didn't until we visited frineds for dinner on Friday evening and they were on the menu. They are delicious, really chestnutty. Even Craig the usually reluctant sweet potatoe muncher enjoyed them. I recommend them!

I will not succumb

2008-06-20T05:58:00.000-07:00

Repeat, I will not succumb....

Ok, so after much humming and hahing I have decided that Miles is not too old to still be slung (in the nicest possible sense). I have parted with my stash of slings much too early. So, this morning I went to meet with a lady who sells Eden Mei Tais so that I could indulge Miles and myself in more cosy carries. I think he's too big for anything other than a back carry now and it will take a little while for us to a new carrying style, but we'll get there.

One of the good thing about traditional baby wearing slings is that the resale value is good. Although the initial investment can be high you know you will recoup most of it.

Anyway, when we met up with the lady her little children were riding these fabulous bikes with no pedals. They were excellent. You could just see them exuding confidence as they whizzed along on what at a glance looked like a big kids bike. Cycling at a much earlier age than would be possible with a traditional bike.

They are called LikeABike and unfortunately they are quite pricey. I'm hoping I won't succumb but I suspect I might. Probably best not to even mention that thought to Craig till we pay the bill for damage to the car I pranged this morning *sigh*. Thankfully no one was hurt but someone is now driving a car with a crumpled door and I have a dented boot.

Fusion

2008-06-19T01:58:00.001-07:00

Take three plastic carrier bags, an iron, a scrap of material and some thread. Put them all together and complete with original handle from bag. Voila!

It's very touchy feely. The reformed plastic tiles are quite strong but flexible. I guess you could use this technique for making all kinds of things - plastic bags which are durable, place mats for cats - there are endless possibilities. I like it!

Promises of things to come

2008-06-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Craig and Hermione went bowling this afternoon. I love it when the combination of Hermione's home ed status and Craig's self employed status come together in unison. It's something which I envisaged happening regularly but in reality it's quite a rarity. We have the means by which to organise our lives in certain ways but something (life perhaps) keeps getting in the way.

Anyway, with Craig and Hermione out having fun, Miles and I dragged ourselves around the garden, complete with camera. Our energy levels seem to have hit a real slump this week. Miles curled up and fell asleep on the rug yesterday which is an absolute first. I've been in bed by 8.00pm two nights in the last week which is also most unusual. Usually we are very in tune with the seasons, but here we are, on the lead up to the longest day of the year, a time when we should be sleeping least and yet we just can't seem to stay awake!

'Do I like butter?' asked Miles, rubbing a buttercup into his chin. Well, I suspect he won't get to find out living around here but he certainly did enjoy the vegan chocolate cake he had after lunch *grin*.

Looking around the garden there are signs of so many good things in the making. Much to look forward to.

Courgetti spaghetti

Cherry pie

Salad potatoes

Apple crumble

Elderflower cordial

Pasta in a creamy sauce with fresh green beans

I don't want to get into a rut. I'm hoping to use different recipes with our garden gifts this year. I need to start thinking about the elder flowers now as they will all be out within a couple of weeks. I don't want to use them all on cordial this year. I'm wondering if their flavour would lend itself to some sort of sorbet perhaps?

If anyone has some 'ooommph' going spare could they fling it this way please? In the meantime I think I'll get myself over to Amazon and order this book in the hope that it might help to rev me up. I've been looking for an excuse to buy it for ages - not that I should *need* an excuse to buy something like this I know.

Edited to add, when putting Hermione to bed tonight she said, 'I know what's wrong with you mum. You go out to meditation once a week and out for wine and pizza with friends once a month. You should do it the other way round.' Could she be right? I would say bring on the garlic bruschetta and merlot but I think that could finish me right off at the moment!

Unplugged Project

2008-06-16T00:54:00.000-07:00

The theme for this weeks Unplugged Project was plastic.

Once again we tried to crochet with plastic carrier bags - and once again it was an exercise in frustration and disappointment I'm afraid!

Coming around again

2008-06-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

I think it must be the third time I've heard it in the last year or so - can we learn about making maple syrup mum?

We've read stories about it and made collages and stuff in the past, so I just Youtubed it this time (lazy I know).

No prizes for guessing Hermione's specialist subject should she ever take her place on Mastermind.

Slummy Mummy

2008-06-14T11:27:00.001-07:00

Is my husband trying to tell me something? Do you think this is an improvement on when the Easter Bunny left me a copy of Good Housekeeping Magazine? I'm not sure.

Life is a bowl of cherries

2008-06-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

I arrived home from the supermarket this afternoon to find a beautiful can of flowers and a rather snazzy looking bottle of wine waiting for me. I should go to the supermarket more often!

Things have been very neglected around the house of late. I'm breeding dust and fluff. Fly Lady would not be impressed. Incidentally, does anyone still do that Flying thing? I can remember a few years ago there used to be lots of chats about it on parenting sites. No one seems to talk about it anymore - there's probably a reason for that *grin*. Anyway, I made big inroads into the mountains of washing waiting to be put away today and everyone has had their bedding changed. I feel a bit embarrassed that it has become a blogworthy event, but sadly that is so.

We picked our first tomato today. It's from a yellow tomato plant - it looks under ripe but it's not supposed to be red.

Something else put a smile on my face today. No knead bread. I like the look of this. May try it sometime.

Tomorrow a friend is coming over to cook a Greek meal for dinner. Moussaka, baklava, the works *grin*. Looking forward to it very much. I'll be one year closer to getting my bus pass tomorrow and I can't think of any better gift than a meal I don't have to cook or clear away myself.

On a slightly less positive note, I think it may be time to reacquaint myself with this book. I read it once a long time ago at which point it didn't really seem applicable to us. It may be that I could use some of it's wisdom right now though. However, I'm not going to dwell on that right now. Today may have just been 'one of those days'.

I hope you all have one of those 'bowl of cherry weekends', just watch out for the pits!

Roots

2008-06-12T13:10:00.001-07:00

A couple of local home edding families are fortunate enough to have a wonderful fourteen acres of land, complete with river and woodland to call their own. We are fortunate enough to have been invited along there today along with other local home educators for a get together.

The families who own the land have offered to host us all once a month and share their many crafts (basketry, wooden bowl making, iron work etc) and nature insights with us. The sessions are to be called Roots.

Although only a few miles from the city centre it felt like we were miles away. It was lovely to chill out and watch the children playing games, building assault courses, clambering around the woodlands and identifying different trees. A lovely relaxed day outdoors - my favourite kind of day.

When Miles becme tired and a little engulfed in the high undergrowth of the woodland a mei tai appeared almost as if by magic and he enjoyed a ride on my back. The little boy who had been in it a lot of the day no longer wanted to be in it just at the time we really needed a lift. Wonderful! I've used lots of different kinds of slings over the years but have never got on with mei tais before. That all changed today and I'm now wondering if I should try to pick up a second hand one even if just for occassions like this - nettles higher than child *grin*.

There is so much positivity in the local home ed community right now. I really do feel lucky to be right here, right now as a home edding parent. In the right place at the right time.

Polars on the path, pak choi and perfect timing

2008-06-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

We finished reading Polars on the Path the other day. It was yet another excellent story from the Animal Ark series. We really like these. Some are more involved than others but by and large we have enjoyed all of the ones we have read.

Polars on the Path tells the tale of polar bears congregating at Churchill while waiting to move on in their migration when the bay has frozen over.

I have heard reports of global warming having a negative impact upon the polar bear population and thought this would be a good time to discuss this with Hermione. We watched a couple of Youtube clips which I've embedded below and talked in general about global warming. However, looking at some of the comments written about these clips I feel I should now start Googling and find out what really is going on with the polar bears. Some people suggest that the polar bears are thriving and that global warming is having no effect at all. Sounds odd to me, surely global warming would have some effect upon them even if the negative impact was still minimal at this point?

While out picking spinach for dinner this evening (I decided I needed to pick lots as it's starting to get very tall and looking like it may bolt at any time), I noticed the tiny start of buds on my pak choi. I'm despairing! At the start of last week I noticed my rocket was beginning to bolt and we seemed to eat mountains of rocket for a couple of days. By the weekend we had about eight plain lettuce which overnight seemed to be ready to eat and have eaten at least one a day since. The spinach is getting tall and now my pak choi has the start of buds!

I'm all for a seasonal kitchen. Seasonal is good. The rush to eat copious amounts of greens before they burst into flowers is less good though!

I don't know what's gone wrong. Perhaps it's the warm spell we have had over the past week or so? I read on a site the other day that rocket and pak choi should never be planted before the longest day so perhaps I have planted them too soon? Perhaps the height of summer isn't a good time for them? There's more to this veg growing business than meets the eye - or at least I should say there is if you don't want to end up eating the way we have the past couple of weeks.

We have had a fabulous day today. We went to a home ed gathering and then wandered around the park with some of the families from the meeting. The weather was glorious. Now, with the children all tucked up in bed the clouds have opened and it's pouring with rain. Perfect timing. It will be great for the garden. I love a good downpour after a few days of good sunshine. Opening the curtains the next day and seeing everything looking much greener and perkier *grin*.

'Over Parenting'

2008-06-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why I've called this post 'Over Parenting' as that's one of the few things that's certainly not gone on around here of late. Everything else has been going on though, or so it seems.

Sometimes it gets to the end of the day and it feels that I've been on hand all day, made meals, answered all kinds of questions, retrieved toys stuck on trees, passed down games from high shelves, kissed bumps and bruises better plus much more besides. However, it doesn't feel like I've spent any *real* (aka *quality* perhaps) time with the children.

But then what is *real* time? Surely all time is real and all time has a quality of it's own?

I spent a long time thinking that I was responsible for keeping my children continuously occupied. Caught up on a merry go round of stimulating activities and social engagements. I think my decision to home educate fuelled my constant desire to keep them busy - as if activity somehow equalled growth and development.

In the last couple of months I've been too busy to be as attentive as I was before. I spend quite a lot of time in the vegetable patch because I attach a lot of value to providing my family with some fresh food.

Slug and lettuce

Feathery fennel

Potatoes and geraniums by the patio

I've been busy with Wooly Wonders because although mumming is the most important job I'll ever do, I need to do something else too.

This weeks creation which started out as a necklace.

But it grew so long that I think I may keep it and decorate my headboard with it.

I've been trying to help Craig keep afloat while he sails through choppy waters as the effect of being part of the 'sandwich generation' bites again.

Both Miles and Hermione have become much more relaxed in their own company. They were both reasonably happy doing their own thing before but seem to find greater pleasure in their own pursuits now and for much longer periods of time too. Whats more I've become a lot more comfortable with it. I've stopped being an 'in yer face' mother and I think that's a good thing.

I've concluded that it's time to quit feeling guilty about the time I do spend in the vegetable garden and playing with wool. By being occupied with other things of late I've given my children the opportunity to develop sufficient curiosity and imagination to spend more time creatively alone. I think that to know you can be alone with yourself and take pleasure from those moments is a real blessing in life. I'm so pleased I've had a 'lights on moment' about this. I feel that weight has been lifted from me and we can carry on living life together yet apart, a life with a very special quality indeed.

Bee keeping

2008-06-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of my bee keeping course. I headed off there this morning, full of trepidation at the thought of handling the bees. That was my greatest concern.

It was initially a bit scary handling them, but I got used to it and after half an hour or so of being right in the thick of it I didn't want to stop.

By the time I came to drive home my concerns had changed. My greatest concern now is how to fund my new interest. A new hive, safety equipment plus a colony of bees could cost well in excess of £500.

I'll be back again tomorrow and I'm thoroughly looking forward to it and hoping that we get the opportunity to be 'hands on' again!

Clepsydra, cygnets etc

2008-06-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

This morning we made a clepsydra (water clock).

We cut an old plastic bottle in half and put a hole in the top with a drawing pin. We stuck a sticky label on the side and recorded the water level at one minute, two minutes and so on. Ours was scientifically flawed as the bottom of the bottle was bumpy, but hey ho, we had fun and Hermione grasped the concept.

We read this English Heritage book about the Romans. I'd say it is probably aimed at slightly younger children but we still enjoyed it.

Cygnets in the park this afternoon.

Driving through town this evening I noticed lots of students going out dressed in rara skirts with ankle sock and leg warmers. Goodness, I feel ever so old!

Rocket and Romans

2008-06-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

I was doing a spot of weeding on our patch this morning when I noticed what looks like tiny feathery thistles in some of the rocket. Quick search on Google confirmed my fear - it's bolted. Thankfully the flowers are edible but they are much stronger. Way too peppery for the children unfortunately.

I don't want to waste it. It's just the odd one that's seeded. It's still really good right now but presumably won't last. So, Rocket Salad for lunch and Rocket Soup for dinner.

This is what I threw in the pot.

One and a half cups of vegetable stock
One and a half cups of rice milk
Two potatoes
One onion
A splash of soya cream
An armful of spinach, rocket and wild garlic.

I didn't cook the greens, I just added them at the very end and whizzed it all up. Delicious with Lemon and Poppy Seed Cornbread.

We visited Arbeia at the weekend. It was virtually deserted - no doubt at least in part due to the wet and foggy weather.

It's a 'free' museum with a small but exceptionally well equipped hands on space for youngsters and those who are young at heart! Being the only people there we could really get to see and do everything which was great.

The main part of the activities area is a mock archaeological dig where the children can dig for bones, pottery and broken tiles. Craig felt that although it is smaller it is comparable with The Dig at York. I've not been to the York one so couldn't possibly say.

In addition to digging we also wrote our names in wax tablets..

.. made an arch..

..made mosaics..

..copied the roman alphabet..

..sorted a big box of things into the appropriate compartments on the tray..

..did brass rubbings..

and reconstructed a broken bowl.

When we finished in the activities area we braved the weather and headed over to the reconstructed buildings for a look around. Some of the rooms were fascinating but they were all quite dark and didn't photograph well.

The fort is open to the public and Craig and Hermione headed up to the top while Miles and I watched some snails.

We've done a couple of related activities this week and have a few more planned.

We made a roman snakes and ladders with roman numerals and roman dice.

We monitored the sun and shadows and observed how the shadows move as the day goes by.

Tomorrow we hope to discover one of the ways in which the romans told the time when it was dark.

Arty offerings, strange conversations

2008-06-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Pot and Kettle by Hermione

Butterfly by Miles

Fabric and wool plaits by Hermione

I had a bizarre conversation with nana this morning. So bizarre I thought I'd share it here.

Me - Hermione is really annoyed that she can't go to the Cathedral with Badgers on Sunday. To be honest though I'm not sure why they go every few months.

Nana - All kinds of things go on at Durham Cathedral. It's been a focal point for lots of things over the years, particularly the Durham Miners Gala.

Me - Why do you think that is?

Nana - I don't know. I only ever went to the Miners Gala once, I was seventeen at the time and all I can remember is the fleas riding bikes.

Me - Fleas riding bikes?

Nana - Yes, and doing other things. At first I thought the man must have trained them but I'm not sure that you can train a flea. I think it must be what they *want* to do.

Open for business!

2008-06-03T01:20:00.000-07:00

Well, after many technical hitches plus much hair tearing, chocolate eating and marital strife, Wooly Wonders has finally come into being!

I love crafting with my hands but it must be said that trying to create anything on the computer leaves me feeling really frazzled.

I’m not entirely happy with the site but I feel I have done as much as I can right now while retaining any sense of sanity. Some of the formatting is odd and you have to scroll right down to see product details in places. After a brief return to my wooly ways to recharge my batteries I’m hoping to come back to the site and figure out ways I can improve it, possibly by adding more and larger photographs, and also by sorting out the ability to accept other payment methods. I think I need a new camera. This is just the beginning as they say!

As a thank you to all you lovely people out there who come along and join me in the ups and downs on here, I’d like to offer you a 15% discount on any order placed on or before the 16th of June. To claim your discount please contact me on wootie@blueyonder.co.uk to place your order rather than placing it through the site –I’m yet to figure out the discount code facility I’m afraid.

Unplugged project - paint

2008-06-02T00:57:00.000-07:00

The theme for this weeks Unplugged Project was paint.

This inspired us to get on and look at a book which we have had for a couple of years but haven't really looked at properly till now. It's called The Story of Painting by Abigail Wheatley ISBN 9780746076965

The chapters include Cave Painting to Classical, The Middle Ages, The Renaissance, High Drama and Quiet Lives, Revolution, Modern Times and a timeline.

It is quite heavily illustrated with very appealing colourful pictures throughout. Having said that it still contains masses of information and I would estimate it to be most suitable for the 7 to 11 sort of age range.

I can't say more than that right now as we have just read one chapter, but so far so good!

Rained off!

2008-06-01T02:07:00.000-07:00

This was the view from the window as I called round everyone a wee while ago to tell them that the maypoling had been rained off. Bunny sheltering under the slide.

It is early in the day to cancel but even if the rain stopped now the grass would be much too wet for picnicking today. Whats more it certainly doesn't look like stopping.

We've rearranged for another day and hopefully the folks who couldn't make today will be able to make next time.

Editted to add sheltering bunny now joined by trio of hens.

Preparations

2008-05-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

I mentioned a while ago that I fancied having a maypoling session in the garden. Well, weather permitting it's happening tomorrow.

Quite a few families are coming along to join us in what I hope will be a really fun afternoon. The lady who is providing the maypole and basic tuition is also going to bring her accordion so that we can have live folk music as we skip round the pole!

We have spent a lot of today tidying the garden. I'm hoping there will be plenty of space for the maypole. Weather permitting we'll find out tomorrow!

I'm pondering what to do with the hens. They don't like being in their run as they're not at all used to it, but I have suggested that folks bring picnics and I'm worried that the hens will get after the food! May just have to see how that one goes.

Late afternoon we went for a swim. We had the pool to ourselves for the last half hour which was wonderful. We used to go on a morning but have found now that if we go at the very end of the day session it's very often deserted.

Dry run

2008-05-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

After seeing some adverts on the tv Nana suggested that her and Hermione go to Amsterdam on the ferry.

She feels it would be an educational experience and fun. Now, don't get me wrong, I think it is fabulous that my kids have such a 'hands on' and enthusiastic Nana, but I have been troubled by visions of the pair of them wandering lost in Amsterdam's red light district. Nana is a lady of many talents but navigation is certainly not one of them. We have lived here for eighteen months now but a few weeks ago she got lost on the drive back from Tescos which is about six miles away!

Anyway, we headed up to Newcastle today as I wanted to buy some particular shades of wool so I decided it would be a good idea to give ferry travel a dry run. We boarded the ferry at North Shields and sailed across the river to South Shields.

Then we came back again.

Miles loved it and sat mesmerised throughout. Hermione wasn't quite as enthused with her new found mode of transport. She became increasingly on edge after hearing the captain announce about everyone having to leave the boat - and assumed he meant there and then in the middle of the river as opposed to when it reached the other side!

Over dinner tonight there were moans and groans of persisting sea sickness. I think the North Sea crossing may be off the agenda for the foreseeable future and in some ways I'm a little relieved.

Since we were up that way we called into Jesmond Dene for an hour or two and Miles saw a live peacock for the first time. He was very impressed. We looked at the other animals, messed by the river, made daisy chains and chased around the terraced garden till Hermione stumbled into a big nettle patch and that changed the mood significantly. She dove straight into my bag knowing she needed some urtica urens but unfortunately I had my child birth kit not first aid kit with me. Doh! Nothing for nettle rash in there. I really don't know why I even hang onto my childbirth kit. Never say never I guess.

On the way home we went through the Tyne Tunnel. So, we went over the Tyne and under the Tyne today. Every year I plan on going to the English Heritage open event at the Tyne Tunnel. I think it would be a great opportunity to see the inside workings of the Tunnel. One of these years I might actually make it.

Nana has just reported that the hens are behaving oddly. Apparently they have become afraid of their Eglu and won't go to bed. I suspect we've had a cat they don't recognise in the garden. Or may be a smaller fury creature actually in the Eglu? Best be off to try to calm them and get them tucked up. Oh the joys!

Pumpkin soup....

2008-05-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

...for the weary mama's soul *sigh*. (I know the phrase is chicken, but I just don't *do* chicken!)

After having waited a long time for a space to become free, this evening I joined with a group of seven other women in an evening of meditation and visualisation. It's a weekly meeting so I can look forward to having this floating, loved up and illuminated feeling on a regular basis. Bliss!

Bananas, waste and choices

2008-05-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Britain throws away 1.6 million bananas every day? That's not all we are binning off in colossal quantities either. Read more about it here.

We waste food, I'm sure most people do. It only ever seems like a little bit, but I guess when you add it altogether it's far from being a small amount. I have to say I'm quite blown away by those figures in the article.

I've been thinking a lot about food waste this week. I think that when you strive to produce your own food you start to view it in a different light. It holds more meaning. It's not just a price tag in the shop, it's the end product of a process which has required time, effort and patience.

In the past I have often cooked four different evening meals for a family of five. It has been quite unheard of to cook only one meal. Offering and honouring food choices has been part of my parenting philosophy. It was important to me to give my children control over what they would like to eat.

I've re evaluated my views on that this week and we are piloting a new way. The emphasis has moved from autonomy to commonality and I hope that as a spin off there will be less food waste around here. From now on I will cook only one evening meal. I no longer see my role as providing everyone with a food choice - it's my role to provide everyone with nourishing food, which they may or may not choose to eat. If they choose not to eat the meal then there is always the fruit bowl or nut drawer.

I've no doubt there will be resistance - well, I should say there *has* been a little resistance already. However, in truly caring for and respecting my children I must respect the world they live in. One meal as opposed to four will to my mind be sure to create less waste. Individual autonomy has lost out to a greater purpose. That may be a pain in the butt for some but I think that overall it's the right way to go.

Getting back to the subject of bananas though, even before I read this article it has still always naffed me off that so many people believe a ripe banana is *bad*. Spotty bananas aren't bad - they're full of flavour and by far the best for making smoothies, ice cream and banana loaf.

Hawthorn salad

2008-05-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

Garden gifts - aka lunch.

Unplugged Project

2008-05-26T00:42:00.000-07:00

The theme for the Unplugged Project this week was metal.

We made bird deterrents from old pie cartons.

Ever so simple but I'm hoping they will be effective - not that I want to scare all the bids away, just the ones that keep eating my broad beans!

Lacewing Hotel

2008-05-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Did you know that lacewing moths eat aphids in large quantities? I didn't till yesterday. Certainly one to welcome in the garden!

They need somewhere to shelter in winter so we have made them their very own hotel from recycled junk. You can buy fancy hibernation boxes from sites such as this but I'm sure ours will do the job just as well.

Apparently you hang them in low trees from about August time. Mustn't forget!

Rockpool ramble

2008-05-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

We went on a guided rockpool ramble with friends this afternoon. The ramble was organised by these people and when we arrived we found that we knew the leading ranger from home ed trips to one of our local nature reserves.

Despite bracing winds and the fact that Hermione managed to slip on a rock and land in a pool quite early in the ramble, a good time was still had by all!

I know that the coast is there for us to explore whenever we want but it's nice to do it with an expert on hand ready to answer all of those questions which I would really struggle with. The ranger recommended this book as one of the best identification aids.

After the ramble we sewed felt fishes and Hermione had her face painted. We all had good fun which I'm really pleased about as there doesn't seem to have been as much laughter as I would like round here this week.

Potty Train

2008-05-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm still tearing my hair out. Clumps not strands today.

Spent the morning trying to get the Potty Song out of my head. Certainly not a good one to be overheard singing in the checkout at Tescos. For those who've not heard the Potty Song you can check it out here. 'When you go you gotta get low....

Spent the afternoon driving twenty five miles through hideous bank holiday traffic, stuck behind every caravan on the road in order to get to the dentist. Hermione and I were booked in for a check up. Miles was going to have his first dental experience too which would most likely be a ride up and down on the chair with mouth firmly closed. Arrived to be told I had come at the wrong time and should have been there an hour and a half ago *arrrghhhhhh*. Turned around and drove twenty five miles home in even worse traffic.

Topped the day off with another evening of IT irritations. Wandering the streets with tray and/or sandwich board looking like an ever more attractive option in my business plan.

Roll on tomorrow!

Tearing my hair out here

2008-05-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

Has anyone here set up an online shop? Goodness, I'm tearing my hair out here! It took me a few months before I figured out how to put a link in my blog. Whether I will ever manage this shop malarkey is yet to be seen. I may end up just having to wander round the village with a tray, touting my wares.

So pleased I opted for chardonnay not hawthorn blossom tea tonight *grin*

Feeling tempted...

2008-05-21T14:22:00.001-07:00

I've been reading about wine making over at Sallygardens. It sounds quite straight forward and I'm tempted, but in all honesty probably shouldn't take on anything else until I've been on the bee keeping course and fully explored that avenue.

Both of the children are not firing on all cylinders right now. Bunged up and bogged down with summer sniffles. We're taking things easy, pottering and chilling. Still doing bits and pieces on the education front. Hermione read half of Harold and the Purple Crayon to me tonight. It's a good book for early readers. Not too many words per page but doesn't have the 'reading book' feel. She is doing ever so well with her reading now. I know I keep labouring this point but I was starting to worry it may never happen.

We picked our first plain lettuce from the garden tonight.

Delicious. Much more tasty than the veggie lasagna we (attempted) to eat with it. I've never been good at making lasagna, but the upside was that everyone tucked into their salad!

Todays pickings

2008-05-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

We seem to be picking things from the garden much sooner this year than last. We picked spring cabbage, spinach, rocket and radishes today.

This is the first time we have grown rocket. I'm surprised at how easy it is. You sew it directly into the ground where you want it to grow, no transplanting or thinning out to worry about. It's a 'cut and come again' crop too although I don't know as yet how long it will keep coming.

I'm so excited!

2008-05-19T12:19:00.001-07:00

I've just bought this tent. It's eight berth, 22 feet long and has over 6ft headroom. One of the sleeping compartments can be opened up to make a dining area. Space for all of the family, including Nana who has expressed interest in camping too, but only if she doesn't have to crawl in, (hence buying this particular tent with headroom).

Guess I'd best go and tell Craig, the reluctant camper. Wish me luck!

Camping

2008-05-18T11:49:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I managed to persuade Craig to go camping. He was far from keen and we have no equipment. I decided to post on our local home ed list to ask if anyone could let us borrow their camping stuff. Within a few days we were equipped with tent, roll mats, airbeds, sleeping bags and the offer of company!

Yesterday we packed up and set off for Woodhouse Farm camp site in Yorkshire. It was a really pleasant location with what I thought to be good facilities. I didn't make it as far as the pub and restaurant but the men folk seemed to enjoy it when they had a jaunt up.

This was one of the views from our tent.

The children settled really well considering it was their first time camping, leaving lots of time for us to sit outside the tent chatting till it grew pitch black.

I woke this morning feeling rather stiff. We were in a four man tent but I can only think that means four exceptionally slim men who know each other very well. As two adults and two young children we felt quite cramped. Thankfully my aches and pains were soon forgotten as I was lured out of the tent by the smell of veggie sausages sizzling in the pan. They smelled that good that I even forgot that it was the wrong side of 7.00am!

We later packed up and headed off to Newby Hall. I thought the admission price was quite steep but we did have a great time - and certainly didn't see everything that is there.

We played in the big adventure play areas, sandpit and interactive water feature.

We went on the train ride round the gardens and on the pedal boats.

Hermione managed to drag Craig onto the shuggy boats but thankfully for him it wasn't long after that she was befriended by a pleasant young boy her own age and they were inseparable for the following couple of hours. He was a much more willing shuggy boat buddy.

We crossed the suspension bridge rather nervously, watched a mother duck and her ducklings and wandered through a couple of the formal gardens.

By late afternoon we were getting tired and all headed for home. The unpacking can wait till tomorrow *grin*.

Bleary eyed

2008-05-17T00:51:00.000-07:00

There were so many things I *should* have done last night, but instead I finished making this.

I'm really happy with it. I've been making necklaces for a while but I've never found a suitable natural material for the chain part, (one that doesn't stretch or make you itch I should say). Yesterday I discovered some hemp and I think it's ideal - non stretchy or itchy. Very versatile hemp isn't it? Eating, smoking, stringing - not that I smoke it of course!

Off to do what I should have been doing last night now....

Feel the fear

2008-05-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

We headed off to one of our usual home ed hang outs this morning. It was quiet. Some folk were camping, some were unwell - some were just AWOL! Those who were there still all seemed to enjoy themselves though, we did despite the fact that we had to pass on our usual jaunt to the park afterwards because our packed lunch was still on the kitchen bench, doh!

Back at home Nana got on with her crocheting, Hermione with her nifty knitting. Miles and I pottered in the garden.

The blossoms are falling from the apple tree and the grass is littered with petals. They look so pretty and disguise the hen poops beautifully!

I sat down on the deck and realised there was a bee crawling right beside me. I must have just missed it. I'm not sure who had the lucky escape - it or me? My first instinct was to move away. I've been scared of bees since being stung as I picked laveder as a child. I can still remember that evening as if it were last week. Thankfully I didn't jump up and run today. I remembered that next month I'm going on a weekend course to learn how to keep bees. As I understand it I will be expected to handle parts of the hive - an inhabitted hive!

Sitting next to the bee, crawling ever closer, the title of a book I bought years ago, (but never have read), flashed into my mind - 'Feel the fear but do it anyway'. I don't know if the book is any good, but I like the title and I hope that ths is what I'll manage to do with the bees.

Oh, and I don't just mean friendly looking bees like this...

..I also mean big bumbling swarms like this.

Changing the subject completely here, to something else that's buzzing around my brain a lot of late, I've been thinking more and more about a need I seem to have acquired - a need to be part of the working world, to make money, to feel a certain amount if independence.... I'm not sure where this need has arisen from. It's certainly not like I'm stuck for things to do. Parenting is undoubtedly the hardest 'job' I've ever done. I just feel the need to grow inside. To stretch myself in different directions. To create something more than 'what is' right now.

Having said all this, my profession, (as was pre motherhood), holds no appeal to me now. Although still a law abiding citizen, the legal process just doesn't do it for me anymore *grin*. I've thought about homeopathy, but although I am deeply fascinated by it and would struggle in my day to day life without it, I can't imagine running a practice.

I want to do something creative. I want to work with my hands. I want to join the skills we have within our household and do something together. I'd really like to set up an online store to sell the woollen creations we make - bags, waistcoats. bowls, decorations etc.

I guess the only thing that is holding me back is the fear. The fear of our creations not being 'up to scratch', the fear of failure, the fear of disapointment.

Wandering along, looking at the hawthorn blossoms which seem to have appeared over night, I realsied this afternoon that if I don't, 'feel the fear and do it anyway', in relation to lots of things, I risk missing out on many opportunities.

Have you ever tasted fresh hawthorn blossom tea? I did for the first time last year. It's delicious.

Watercolours, flags, conversation and cuppas etc

2008-05-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

Another busy but very enjoyable day today. Friends came to visit this morning and we chatted about how children do and don't learn, (amongst other things), over a lovely cuppa tea. The children played ever so well - ever so quietly in the case of Miles, which should have alerted me to the possibility of all not quite being as it seemed. Most of the felt pen is now off the door. Only traces remain. Any ideas for removing black felt pen from white acrylic paint?

This afternoon we went to visit friends. Again the children all got along ever so well so I was able to indulge in adult chat again. Two adult conversations complete with cups of tea in one day! My apron strings are flapping and I *think* it feels good. I guess this means my babies are growing up, starting to make their own way albeit in very small steps right now.

When at our friends house this afternoon I noticed she had some flags hanging on the wall. Apparently she bought them at Laura Ashley. This reminded me that flags I've made for Miles bedroom are still waiting to be put up. Something else on the 'to do' list. Along with finishing the matching patchwork door hanging for his wardrobe.

Colour explosion by Miles.

Tulips and peacock feather by Hermione.

Wood and wool

2008-05-12T13:44:00.001-07:00

We went to our local home ed art group again today and all had a good time. The children took turns drawing portraits and then we wove wool round willow sticks to make some very South American looking webs. Once in the rhythm they were very easy to do and very relaxing. We made more at home this afternoon from our big stash of yarns from Freecycle and some old willow that was lying in the garden.

Here is one that Hermione made all by herself.

We decided to hang them on the wall in the garden. It's a high wall which can look quite stark - although much less so now!

As pleased as I am with my willow dome, I've thought for while that it needed something in it. The other day I happened to spot a large part of a tree trunk on waste land not far from us. After a wee bit of persuasion Craig headed off complete with sack barrow to bring it home. After much chopping and sanding I had a seat for my dome.

Complete with a little carving.

I'm thinking of giving it a very light stain and mat varnish to protect it. On the list to do when the sun comes back.

Snowtubing etc

2008-05-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

What a busy weekend we have had! Lots of activity, lots of fun but thankfully lots of laid back pottering too.

Here are some of the high points.

Hermione and Miles joined a friend in celebrating his birthday. Full on fun and jelly all round!

I picked the first of this seasons crops - a radish. Very pink and peppery. That was yesterday. Today I also picked the first of our spinach and chopped it up with some more radishes and wild garlic flowers from the garden. You can't beat home grown!

Hermione and I went snowtubing with a bunch of home ed friends. The weather could have been better. The regulations of the dry ski slope were that we must wear long sleeved tops and gloves - not ideal in the baking mid day sun, particularly not when you have to hike up a steep slope carrying your snowtube after each ride.

It was great fun though. We thoroughly enjoyed it and hope we can do it again some time - preferably when the weather is much cooler.

A friend gave me some Jerusalem artichoke tubers. According to our gardening guide they can grow up to ten feet tall. I'm very excited about them. Miles helped me plant them in the flower borders. I think they would take up too much room in the veg plot. Gradually more and more veg is migrating into the flower borders.

This afternoon Hermione and Nana went to a family get together. They had a great time. My cousin had hired a Spanish restaurant in town for four hours and everyone congregated there to eat, drink and be merry. Crowded places aren't really Miles thing so I stayed home and pottered in the garden with him. Hermione returned in disguise as Miss Muffet.

We went swimming this morning to escape the heat. Both Craig and I were surprised at the progress Hermione is making with her swimming. Another surprise this morning was when she picked up the book I'm currently reading from the side of my bed and started reading it. That's not something she's done before. Her reading is really coming on too. Thankfully it was just an Anastasia book and nothing too odd *grin*.

Hot and prickly

2008-05-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, like most of the country I believe, we opened our curtains to see another beautifully sunny day dawning this morning. I resisted the cries of 'beach' in favour of a day in the garden. I sensed that we were all on the point of sun overdose and decided that any heated situations were probably best had at home.So glad we did stay home as by mid morning Hermione had a nasty outbreak of prickly heat - and a prickly mood to match. A dose of Sol Britannica improved the mood very quickly but her skin is calming much more slowly.

The rest of the day was spent in and out of the house - but by and large I would say indoors. I was very keen to potter in the veg patch but acutely aware that another day in the sun, even with cream and hats, was probably not best for the little ones.

My veg patch is a cause for concern right now. If gardening really is the new sex then I think I'm having an anticlimax. I could put it another way but I won't be crude. Basically lots of things that I have brought on from seed have not transplanted well into the ground. They are week straggly plants. Nana no doubt felt she was helping today when she trundled off to the garden centre to buy some veg plants - and she was helping - but I couldn't help but feel a bit deflated.

I think various things have gone wrong. Pots have been too small for some things, the conservatory was too warm, possibly planted too early in the hope of extending growing season...... It is all very disheartening but hopefully it won't put me off trying to do a lot from scratch again next year.

Sitting eating lunch today I opened yet another of our jars of chutney from last years gluts and remembered why I do it. This chutney is delicious. Sad thing is I don't have a recipe to be able to do it again as I just used whatever was in the spice cupboard at the time.

Craig spent a few hours at the weekend trying to fine tune my rain harvesting system so I'm hopeful that it will be fully functioning soon.

My third lot of runner beans have gone in this week. The first were killed by frost and the second by slugs. I've now decided to grow them in the border of the garden which means they have had to be netted in for thier own protection from hens and the rabbit. Wish them luck!

Things are still trundling along on the education front. I know I rarely mention it in my blog these days but that's because Hermione is still quite focused on improving her reading, writing, grammar and maths. She's using her Horizon books on an almost daily basis. There still is activity on the education front but it just isn't that exciting to post about *grin*. I am very pleased that she's developed enthusiasm in these areas though - even if it is to the exclusion of other project type stuff we have done in the past. That will all come again I'm sure.

I was presented with a little posy of flowers the other day, and later a picture of the posy too.

Rewind, repeat, fast forward....

2008-05-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

We had such good fun at the aquarium and the beach on Tuesday that we decided to do it all over again today. We were joined by great friends which made it all the merrier.

Sandcastles, beach ball, frisbee - the works *grin*.

Just as on Tuesday the seals were the firm favourites at the aquarium. The viewing area is very effective. I only hope their enclosure is at least adequate for them.

I love the coast so much. Even as a youngster it always really lifted my spirits.

'...water is the life blood of earth, and just as you need water to sustain yourself, so does the earth, when we pollute our oceans we are polluting ourselves, so take care of the oceans...' Chitra

Returned home, opened my Amazon parcel and quickly hit 'fast forward' to December. Amongst other things Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season by Jo Robinson had arrived. I will be prepared this year *grin*.

Oh I do like to be...

2008-05-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

..beside the sea side.

Glorious weather, revamped aquarium, blue flag beach and beach side cafe selling fab chips.

I've always thought there's something very special about seahorses. Magical, mystical creatures.

Bliss.

Gussets

2008-05-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

I hold this man responsible for the mad droopy gusset syndrome which seems to have swept the young population of late.

I was very excited at the prospect of a rare solo excursion today and took myself off to the hairdressers, where I then spent almost two hours looking at some young hairdressers hairy jaxi. I tried not to look but it was so 'out there' it was hard to miss it. Had his gusset been at his groin and not flapping around a couple of inches above his knees we would have all been saved the sight.

Gok Wan, I hold you responsible! Pull up your pants for goodness sakes! There's a generation out there with a chill on their kidneys and chaffed inner knees!

Whirlwind day

2008-05-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to Saltwell Park to play and picnic. We love it there. I do miss living within walking distance of it.

This afternoon Hermione went to a drama workshop at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle with Nana. I took Miles back to the Discovery Museum as he has asked every day this week to go.

After dropping Hermione and Nana off close to the theatre Miles fell asleep in the car. I parked in the museum car park and looked at the old red brick building through the wiggly rain water on the windscreen.

There was a time when situations like that really irritated me. Stuck in one place with nothing to do. Now I love times like that and consider them to be a real blessing. Time to think. What's it all about? Why did I decide to educate my kids at home in the first place? What did I hope to achieve? What really matters to us?

You'll be pleased to hear that I'm not going to bore you with the answers to all of those questions, suffice to say I've concluded that I think we've wandered a little off the path I originally chose. We're not always dancing to the rhythm of our own drums. We've somehow got caught up in a whirlwind of 'doing' at the expense of occasionally just 'being'. This feels familiar as I type, I'm sure it's not long ago since I wrote something very similar *scratches head*. Hopefully I'll take heed of my thoughts this time round and start doing a bit of space clearing in the time stakes.

Beltane blessings

2008-05-01T12:16:00.001-07:00

I've just shared a wonderful hour with Hermione sipping cinnamon cocoa and reading May Day tales. Our favourite is still The Goddess Blesses all forms of Love by Starhawk. Hermione had remembered almost every detail from when we read it last year. Memory like an elephant that girl!

Downshifting

2008-04-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

I had high hopes for Downshifting Week. I thought it would inspire me to achieve all manner of things. As it is I don't feel I have achieved lots, but I have certainly enjoyed more time away from the computer and have started, (but by and large not completed) a few new projects. Here is some of what I got up to.

One evening I got together with friends to make some cloth sanitary pads. I have used cloth pads for seven years now but had never made my own till now. The pads we made are basically made up of four parts. First an oblong shape of half a dozen layers of brushed cotton sewn together. Secondly two outer brushed cotton 'covers' and lastly a layer of nappy wrap type fabric.

We sewed the padded inner to one of the outer cotton covers, placed that over the other cover with nappy wrap on top and sewed round the whole thing. Add a couple of press studs to the 'wings' and there you have it *most pleased with self smile*.

I paid £5.50 for the nappy wrap material, 60p for the press studs and the brushed cotton was an old sheet which was no longer really fit for it's purpose as a sheet. I'm hoping to get ten pads from that and I see no reason why they won't last for years just as my store bought ones have. What a bargain! Invest a few pounds and a little bit of time and save yourself and the planet a fortune!

Sticking with the 'moontime' theme I started to think about other ways in which I could use what I have readily available to me thereby reducing my all round expenditure. I'm not too sure about this. I can vouch for the fact that house plants thrive on this kind of fertiliser - but as for using it on edible stuff, well, the jury's still out on that one....

I have added another dish to my rather limited 'make it from scratch repertoire'. Dumplings. Real (veggie) suet ones at that! Craig likes them, which is surprising as he's not generally a big fan of my cooking. I only hope he continues to like them as I'm so pleased that I've ordered a case of veggie suet in the wholefoods order.

The patchwork wardrobe curtain/door is still a work in progress - hampered very often by my keen assistant. I do like it though and I'm really looking forward to seeing it up. I've made some flags to match to hang around his room too. When the door first broke I immediately thought about buying a new one but I'm much happier with our decision to keep it and make a patchwork curtain with scraps of fabric from friends. Craig made the wardrobe by hand when I was pregnant with Hermione. He beavered away for hours on end out in the garage, trying to escape my raging pregnancy hormones (of the argumentative not passionate variety) no doubt. It would be a shame to throw it away as it holds many memories.

Not much more to report on the downshifting front. As I said it encouraged me to think lots - but those thoughts haven't all transpired into actions yet *grin*.

Worzel

2008-04-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

We watched the film one day last week when it was raining and today we started our own 'Worzel' creation.

Still needs some attention but he's standing tall now.

All in all it's been a very industrious day in the garden today. Planted out the summer squash and runner bean plants. Sewed our second batch of runner beans and radishes. Sewed some nasturtiums, pak choi, marigolds, mooli and spring onions. The plants are doing well. The potatoes in sacks are starting to show. I'm very excited about it all. I think it's right what they say, gardening is the new sex!

Badgers, owl puke and art group

2008-04-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

I am delighted to report that the owl puke is gone. The dozens of teeny weeny smelly bones held very little appeal after a while. I got sick of moving them around trying to find a place where Miles wouldn't get them, and also where I couldn't see them or smell them. Craig and Hermione sorted them all in the tray and started a reconstruction but I could tell they weren't enjoying it, so (with their permission) I threw them away. I'm really pleased we did it. It has been a good learning experience as I doubt very much that any of us will forget our close encounter with an owl pellet in a hurry.

We've not been far this last week or so. We waited in one whole day for a delivery man who didn't turn up. We then waited in the whole of another day for a delivery man who did eventually turn up - unfortunately with a broken wardrobe. Today we have stayed in all afternoon waiting for the delivery driver to come and collect the broken wardrobe yet it's still in our hall. Deep breaths...counting to ten.....I feel irate telephone calls coming on in the morning....

This morning we did venture out to a new home ed art group which has set up just a couple of miles away from us. It was really good as both Miles and Hermione enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. There really is a great trend around here in the home ed community. Lots of things are going from strength to strength. Take this art group for example, it's held in a hall right in the centre of the city, prime development land, yet the owners of the hall have agreed to rent it to the local Steiner group for their purposes and home ed group meetings for less than £600 a year. What a great resource! City centre hall for home ed use - at minimal rent! I'm hoping we will see lots of good stuff going on there. There has already been talk of a paper aeroplane club, lapbooking session and a book club for parents who wish to meet one evening every few weeks to discuss a choice of parenting book and renew their 'vital enquiry into parenting'. All sounds good to me.

This evening we went to a presentation by the St Johns Ambulance. Hermione was presented with a few certificates and a medal by the mayor. Here she is with part of her group and also presenting the mayor with flowers.

Did anyone do anything for the Downshifting Week? I did some things but I'll have to save that for another night. I'm hoping to plant my spring onion seeds before the light fades.

Rabbit returns

2008-04-27T04:17:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to report Pringles has reappeared, looking rather subdued and tired. We are now wondering whether something came into the garden one night which alarmed him so he cleared off for a while - or perhaps it's just that spring is in the air! Hermione is convinced he's been off having 'bunny love.' I think she may be right. Either way we are just delighted to have him back.

Lost rabbit

2008-04-25T12:33:00.001-07:00

It's been a tough day here today. Pringles, our free ranging, fun loving bunny, has disappeared without a trace. He's been gone for over twenty four hours now. We don't know if he has managed to somehow get out of the garden and lost his way home, or he's been carried off by a fox which has some how made it's way in. Hermione has been in tears off and on throughout the day. I do hope he's alright.

This afternoon we drove to Newcastle. Hermione and Nana went to a workshop about plants at the Centre for Life. Hermione had enjoyed it but was in a big rush to get home to see if Pringles had reappeared while we were away - which he hadn't.

While Hermione and Nana were at the Centre for Life I took Miles to the Discovery Museum where he had great fun with lots of hands on stuff.

I like science at this stage. I can answer their questions at this level. When it goes beyond this stage I start to get confused!

Wool

2008-04-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

We met with a couple of friends this afternoon to eat cake and get crafty with wool and willow. Hermione decorated a willow design with wool. I blended various coloured wool fibres to make a beautiful earthy shade. I love crafting with natural things. Believe me, blending those woolly fibres was more therapeutic than play doh!

I have decided I would like this book and some felting wool.

I'm sure that if I spent more time doing the garden and crafts it would pay dividends for family life as a whole, as I would me much more happy and relaxed. Just need to break through the guilt barrier now.

Smiles

2008-04-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things that have made me smile this week.

Tiny signs of life when I was starting to give up hope.

Pink roses and lemons. Lemons with the ends bitten off. Cheers Miles!

Play areas which offer something a little out of the ordinary.

The thought of possibly being made redundant from my chores.

A verse sent to me by a good friend.

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.
And there are things to be considered:
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
This could be a good time!
There is a river flowing now very fast.
It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold onto the shore.
They will feel they are being torn apart and they will suffer greatly.
Know the river has its destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore,
push off into the middle of the river,
keep our eyes open and our heads above the water.
See who is in there with you and celebrate.
At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally.
Least of all, ourselves.
For the moment that we do,
our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.
The time of the lone wolf is over.
Gather yourselves!
Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary.
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we've been waiting for.

Old water jug and wash bowl which I found in a charity shop. It matches my freshly painted bedroom perfectly.

The thought that tomorrow we may finish the stuff we started ages ago about kangaroos. The thought that if we don't finish it tomorrow then then there's always the day after.....

So much to smile about this week and it's only Tuesday *grin*. Find something to smile about every day and hold that thought. Thoughts can become reality.

Downshifting

2008-04-20T08:23:00.008-07:00

This week is International Downshifting Week. I aim to do three things from the suggestions made on the official website - three things I wouldn't ordinarily do. I'll report on my progress at the end of the week.

Anyone else taking part?

Junior Life Saver

2008-04-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

Today Hermione attended a Junior Life Saver Day organised by the Badger Sett she attends.

She had to be there by 9am complete with packed lunch. I'm so glad I don't have to contend with school runs. I guess you get used to it but for us that transition from pyjamas to clothes can often take much of the morning.

From 9am till 3pm they practiced first aid techniques. She was very keen to place us all in the recovery position when she came home this evening *grin*. She did it remarkably well too. They had also learned what to do in the case of minor burns and a few bandage techniques to help in dealing with cuts and sprains.

They had watched a health and safety video which dealt with various situations. The video showed a boy trying to come downstairs on his roller blades - resulting in a nasty fall and broken leg. It also featured a girl drinking copious amounts of alcohol, so much so that she was poisoned. Oh, then there was also the middle aged couple who had an argument and after having been hit with a handbag the man fell and cut his hand on some glass which was lying on the floor.

At 3pm they headed off as a group to a local cafe where you can paint clay models and collect them another day glazed and fired. Hermione hasn't told us what she painted, she wants to surprise us. After that it was baked potatoes all round and home for just before 6pm.

It has been a very different but also very enjoyable day for us all. Hermione has never been away from her immediate family for such a long period. I think we were both a little apprehensive about this yesterday, (not in a huge way, she just menioned that it would be the first time she had spent a day without her family), but it has worked out fine. It's been lovely to be able to spend one to one time with Miles without regularly checking that Hermione is also happy and content in whatever she's doing. Hermione also seems to be feeling very upbeat about her burst of independence.

Horizons, swimming lessons, drawings etc

2008-04-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

Last night was Hermione's first one to one swimming lesson. It was fantastic, the pool was very quiet and the instructor got in the pool with her. The instructor respected the fact that she didn't feel ready to dip her head right under the water (unlike her last experience with a swimming instructor) and everything went swimmingly if you'll pardon the pun. I hope that within a few weeks she will have grown in confidence and be happy to go into a group lesson as at £13.50 for half an hour the one to one tuition isn't an indefinite option.

Hermione finished the Horizon Math book she has been working on the past few months today. We are making big headway with basic maths and literacy right now, and as she's so keen to do so much workbook based stuff (which totally surprises me as she's never been into them before) I feel I'm managing to take it a bit easier than I usually do. By the time she's reached saturation point for the day with her workbooks she's keen to play - and not so keen to do the project and literature based stuff we have always done in the past. I'm sure we'll level off and achieve some sort of balance again soon though.

Lots of drawing today. Hermione drew a rather chintzy looking girl.

Miles drew patterns all over the clock faces I had started preparing to make a time telling game for Hermione. That'll teach me to leave anything I value lying around in close proximity to a box of felt tips!

We dodged the showers and planted out the leeks. Not much more than blades of grass right now. I've put them down the bottom of the patch out of the way as it will be so long before we are picking them. I had help.

We were watched by hens and rabbit, all behaving in a really frantic manner. They hate it when anyone is in the veg patch. The fact they have a big garden to peck about in suddenly becomes irrelevant at the prospect of possibly missing out on a juicy worm we may unearth. Bit of hen psychology there. I *suspect* that is what they are thinking.

With there being less evening preparation to do on the education front right now I've decided to arrange another sewing evening with some home ed friends. Last time we made reusable shopping bags. This time the plan is to make cloth sanitary towels. I need to spend a bit of time googling for patterns and tips. Only hope the evening doesn't lead to any further embarrassment in Tescos. On the last occasion when folks came round Hermione and I called in Tescos that morning to buy some wine and snacks. The guy on the checkout asked her why she wasn't at school. Usually she's very good and explains enthusiastically that she's home educated. However, on this occasion she announced, 'I'm not doing lessons today. I'm helping mummy to buy wine for the sewing mothers'. His face was a picture! I guess he's heard the dentist/chicken pox/occasional day reasons before but never that one!

Clocks, cloud in a cupboard and more...

2008-04-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

It's less than two months ago when Hermione developed a keen desire to be able to tell the time. I think this coincided with receiving a very pretty watch as a gift. Well, I'm pleased to say she can now reliably tell the time on the analogue clock. She has a good grasp of digital and twenty four hour clock too but I think there is sometimes something lost in the translation from one to another. I'm thinking of trying to make up some sort of game to help with this. Possibly just some cards showing analogue and digital for her to match up the two. May be a lotto type thing with the board being analogue and the cards digital. I wonder if there's a free printable of anything like this online?

This morning she asked, 'why do man mallards look different to females'? Good question. We found and printed pictures of mallards, peacocks and lions - all of which are much more ornate in the male of the species. Hermione labelled them. I explained that the male was more attractive in order to attract a mate/girlfriend. Once again wimped out of the nitty gritty though.

The rest of the morning was spent painting and gardening.

We are raising a lot more of the veg plants from seed this year. It's a steep learning curve and labour intensive. I think we may have lost some of the perpetual spinach because I didn't pot them on quick enough. The courgettes have suffered from quickly becoming a little pot bound too but hopefully will recover. I do feel a bit discouraged but we'll live and learn. We now have plain lettuce, red cabbage, spinach, peas, broad beans, broccoli, radishes, fennel, chard and rocket planted out. The leeks are coming on fine and should go out within the next day or two. The rest will continue to litter the windowsills till the frosts stop.

This afternoon we visited a friend for a science session. It's a great reciprocating agreement, we take turns to prepare a session and present it to the older children or alternatively entertain the younger children.

While I looked after the younger children the older children carried out a experiment to demonstrate how clouds form. Boiling water was placed in a sizable glass jar and a tray with ice cubes in was placed on top. The vapour rose from the boiling water and condensed upon hitting the cold surface above, forming a cloud. This wasn't easy to see at first and was best viewed with the help of a torch in a dark cupboard - cloud in a cupboard!

Then followed a couple of illustrations of the experiment and the water cycle.

With the afternoons science activity cleared away there was just enough time to trade some clothes, homeopathic remedies and vegetable plants under our local skills/time/goods exchange, before heading off home with two tired children.

Unplugged Project - food

2008-04-14T01:53:00.001-07:00

The theme for this weeks Unplugged Project was food.

This was excuse enough to whip out the superfoods and try out more raw chocolate concoctions.

We melted a couple of chunks of raw cacao butter and cacao liquor. We whizzed up a handful of goji berried and coconut in the blender and added it to the melted chocolate. We then stirred in a few spoonfuls of mesquite powder, lucuma and crystal manna. We left it to set and then ate it. Delicious *grin*.

It's wonderful to be able to give the children free reign to eat lots of chocolate knowing it is so good for them. Good for children to make too as there's no cooking involved.

Map making, sheep farming etc

2008-04-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'm back. My computer has spent the last few days in pieces on the kitchen table while Craig has tried to iron out the problems I've been having with it. Fingers crossed it will behave itself now.

On Thursday we went on a guided tour of a local nature reserve with a bunch of home ed folks. It was fun. It's always pleasant to get out and about in beautiful surrounds but it's nice when there is someone there to point out things you otherwise may miss - such as badger paw prints, poisonous plants, edible plants and follies from years gone by.

It was rather slippery and muddy under foot which made it tricky (but fun) for smaller members of the group.

Thankfully I had a ring sling with me and Miles could still be squeezed in - the terrain certainly wasn't buggy friendly!

The dene was carpeted with wild garlic. I even spotted some buds. I love garlic flowers in salads.

The children drew various distinguishing features in the dene as we walked down, the idea being that they would then make a map from them to help them find their way back out. Not sure how well that worked out. When we reached the end of the hike we just turned round and headed back the way we came *grin*.

On Friday the children made and decorated a vegan chocolate cake with very little help from me. We took it with us to visit some friends we have made in the village. We made these friends through Freecycle. Nana jokes that they are the best thing we've had from Freecycle and I think I agree - we've had some good things through Freecycle but to be able make friends with lovely local people is wonderful, particularly as we have no way into the local community via chats at the school gate.

Yesterday we went swimming. I hate swimming with the children. Well, I don't exactly hate it but I do find hanging about for ages in waist high water is pretty much guaranteed to make me really chilly and naffed off. I love swimming but I guess that wouldn't be the best thing to do, leaving two non swimmers bobbing about alone! After a negative experience with swimming lesson three years ago Hermione has finally reached the stage where she is confident enough to try again. I think we will start with one to one lessons to try to give her a bit of a boost. Must try to organise something about that this week.

This afternoon Craig and Hermione headed off on a trip with Badgers (Jr St John's Ambulance) to a working hill farm. They saw the new born lambs and sheep dogs, hiked through mud and over hills, enjoyed refreshments in the farm house and generally had a good time. Unfortunately no pictures though as Craig just isn't as snap happy as me.

I'm pleased they had a great time at the farm but I had half hoped they would be home earlier as I was hoping they would sort out the remains of the owl puke which is lurking in the kitchen. I've bought black card for their reconstruction - just need them to get on with it now. Ho hum, looks like it will be next weekend now. I'm not doing it. This is certainly one for Craig!

We have been having great success with our new Horizon spelling and grammar books. Hermione thinks that 'spelling quizes' (I thought that sounded better than 'spelling tests') are lots of fun. We have covered what they suggest to be two weeks worth of activities in a week. Her handwriting has improved markedly over the course of the week as has her reading. I think we are about to hit a eureka moment with her reading. We are finally reaching a stage where she is able and confident enough to be reading things she actually *wants* to read. I'm so pleased that we are making progress in this respect, and that I did manage to hold back when at times I felt like crumbling under societal pressure and wading in to try to 'push' her along. Pleased I managed to keep my nerve and encourage from ahead rather than push from behind on this one.

Look what I got for free!

2008-04-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

One of the home ed groups we go to is really fabulous. It's not just full of great people but also a 'free table' with lots of great stuff on. It operates a bit like Freecycle. You take along anything vaguely remoted to children and if someone wants it they take it home. If your things are unclaimed at the end of the session you take them back home and possibly try again another time.

I've had lots of great things off the free table. I keep meaning to blog about a wonderful very early eighties Topsy and Tim book I picked up there. You know how Topsy and Tim deal with current social issues, (I think the latest one is 'Topsy and Tim have Head Lice'), well this one deals with meeting Asian people. It has made us laugh in parts and I guess would be considered to be not politically correct now, but in my opinion it still is a worthwhile read in 2008.

Along with mountains of books, cd roms, clothes and games, last time I was there I acquired this book rack. I have just managed to get Craig to put it up tonight and I'm delighted with it. Our play room suddenly feels like a library *grin*.

It will be great for Miles as books on shelves aren't very accessible to him. Will also be good to leave a few easy reads there for Hermione just in case she spots one and decides to do a bit of independent reading - well, one can hope!

Recycling crayon scraps

2008-04-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

Rising heat, bubbles and juice

2008-04-08T12:47:00.001-07:00

What a wonderful day we have had today. No television, no tears, no tantrums. We all made it out of our pyjamas. We all had our hair brushed. We all had lots of fun. Success *grin*. Here are the highlights.

This morning we asked, 'why do hot air balloons fly?' We watched this youtube clip for clues.

We noted that when the blow torch was in action the balloon inflated and headed upwards.

I switched the oven on it's very coolest setting and after a short while we felt inside. The top part of the oven was very warm whereas the bottom was just say warm. What we suspected about hot air rising was true. The hot air in our oven rises to the top too. Note that this doesn't work with the oven on fan setting as I found out when I was thinking about this last night.

So, hot air rises but what about hot water? We took two small and identical glass jars. We filled one with hot tap water and one with cold water. We added some food colouring to the hot jar and placed a card on top of the cold jar. When we had a suction with the card we tipped the cold jar up and placed it on top of the hot jar. I slowly pulled out the card and we watched what happened. The hot coloured water and the cold clear water mixed. Was this because the hot water was trying to rise to the top or was it because the two jars of water would just mix together no matter what?

We repeated the experiment with the hot coloured water on top.

Here are the jars balancing precariously with the card still between.

After carefully removing the card the colours remained separate. When the hot water was on top and the cold below they did not mix. Hot water as well as hot air rises.

Lots of time spent practising tipping the jar over with a card on. Once she had mastered this she carried out the experiments herself.

This afternoon was spent mainly in the garden. We replanted some runner beans and tried our best to get our ELC bubble machine to work. We finally gave in with the bubble machine and used bent pipe cleaners instead. Sometimes the old methods are the best - or at least the most reliable!

After that it was juice all round. Pineapple, aloe vera and strawberry. Delicious.

Unplugged Project - books

2008-04-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

The theme for this weeks Unplugged Project was books. We decided to make some mini books.

We watched a youtube clip to give us some practical hints.

I prepared one in advance, a simple picture book about bikes, just to get us started.

Hermione prepared lots, mainly about our pets, none of which I have managed to capture well with the camera.

Miles joined in too making lots of little sparkly books.

I've come across instructions for making mini books before but they've always been a bit trickier than this. This method is really quick and simple. Hermione mastered it quite quickly although they can be a bit rough around the edges if the folds aren't exact. Good fun. I suspect we will incorporate some mini book making into some of our projects from now on.

Edited to add - my runner beans are dead *sob*. Killed by frost.

Picking over the bones in all weathers

2008-04-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

We went to the Wildfowl Park today. We romped in snow,

ate our picnic in sunshine,

admired the daffodils

and practiced heelying.

This all happened in the space of a couple of hours. No wonder the British spend so much time talking about the weather, it's so changeable.

When we came home Craig and Hermione set to dissecting the owl pellet. I had thought it would be some sort of plastic imitation but it was actually the real thing. Real thing with real smell, believe me!

Here is the pellet, set against a felt tip for scale.

They soaked it in water for a few minutes to soften it up and make it easier to extrapolate the bones. It was once it became wet that it smelled really bad. There were lots of bones and the bigger ones were reasonably easy to remove with the tweezers.

The masses of smaller bones were not as easy to pick out and as time passed the heap of puke became smellier. Hermione gave in and Craig took over. After quarter of an hour or so he was called upon to go into the garden and help build a snowman. I then spent a further ten minutes trying to get the rest of the tiny bones out before giving up and taking the smelly remains up to the compost heap.

The bones are now soaking in a soapy solution to get the rest of the puke off them. Once they are clean we are hoping to sort them and reconstruct on card the skeleton of whatever animal was eaten last.

This evening we chatted about the lambs we saw as we drove past fields today. We read First Sight by Philip Larkin.

Lambs that learn to walk in snow
When their bleating clouds the air
Meet a vast unwelcome, know
Nothing but a sunless glare.
Newly stumbling to and fro
All they find, outside the fold,
Is a wretched width of cold.

As they wait beside the ewe,
Her fleeces wetly caked, there lies
Hidden round them, waiting too,
Earth's immeasureable surprise.
They could not grasp it if they knew,
What so soon will wake and grow
Utterly unlike the snow.

I have vague recollections of hearing this one as a child too.

Mini herb pots

2008-04-05T10:20:00.001-07:00

Gardening for a cold blustery day.

Bird boxes, bugs and black bags

2008-04-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hermione made a bird box today - with a lot of help from a very capable handyman. It's excellent. I'm very impressed. I'm going to Google and try to pick up a couple of pointers on where best to put it.

We also made a start on our caterpillar to butterfly experiment. More on that later. Need to find some caterpillars before we can really get underway. Apparently they tend to hang out on nettles at this time of year.
Perhaps I can combine preparation for our experiment with preparation for a pan of soup I've been thinking of making.

Our owl puke and book arrived today. I'm very excited about this too. I read all about it here on CJ's blog a couple of days ago and then managed to pick one up on Amazon Market Place for a penny plus postage - bargain! I think we'll do it over the weekend or next week.

With the predicted cold snap drawing closer I've done my best to protect my young plants with straw and plastic bags. Keeping everything crossed now and hoping that they'll be OK.

Mother Nature at the Laing

2008-04-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

This morning we went welly boot shopping. Not the most enthralling task but necessary all the same if the children will insist on wading on in to any water we see.

This afternoon we went to the Laing Art Gallery. Nana and Hermione attended a session called 'Mother Nature'. There had been about a dozen other home educated children there.

The session involved working in teams to create a picture from a written description they were provided with. They then had to find the painting which they had reproduced within the gallery (the description being of an actual painting the gallery was displaying). I guess this is something you could easily do independently and it need not necessarily be of a painting in a gallery - it could be of a particular kind of tree, animal or structure.

While they beavered away me and Miles had fun in the hands on gallery for under fives. It's a lovely little area which Hermione and I used to visit a lot when she was younger and we lived closer.

When we returned home our order of Horizon books had arrived. The next set of maths books are pretty much like the first just obviously getting progressively more challenging. The spelling and grammar books arrived too. I've just glanced through them and they appear to have some great activities in them which I hope will encourage Hermione to write, but they are also rather biblical and geared up towards a structured five day week. I think they made need a little bit of tinkering but then they'll be just fine.

Having been round the hustle and bustle of town I couldn't wait to get out into the garden. I know the weather forecast is poor for the weekend but I've planted out some runner beans and peas. They are really starting to bolt in the heat of the house and I'm worried that I'll be left with weak straggly plants. If they are finished off by a late frost I'll just start over again as I've plenty seeds left over. I love it when the pea and bean wigwams are up, it makes it look like a real veg patch. I'm even hoping that we might knock up a traditional looking scarecrow this year too. I remember seeing them in gardens as a child. I've ordered a Worzel Gummidge DVD from Amazon Rentals to help inspire us *grin*.

Oyh....

2008-04-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

...pass me the suncream will you?

It may just be April but I've caught the sun at our home ed gathering in the park today. Time to get on and order the suncreams I think. Every year I say I will be as diligent about putting it on myself as I am about putting it on the children - but I never am - hence the reason I'll soon resemble this lady.

We had a great time today, playing, chatting and chilling. The frogs were mating and the children were all very interested. There were children of various ages and understandings there. I'm not sure what Hermione heard but I think it could have been one of the frog conversations that prompted her to say tonight, 'I've decided I'm going to marry E when I grow up because he's handsome, quiet and will help me to give birth.'

Back home Hermione was keen to do some sums and reading which totally surprised me as I knew she was tired. I'm certainly not complaining though about the sudden bout of enthusiasm. When she's sitting down working I'm not having to worry about her dropping into a doorway as Miles passes. Straddling up doors is her new found practical skill this week - I say 'practical' but I'm not sure how practical it is in reality *grin*.

As well as all the stresses there are lots of great things going on around here right now too. At home ed group today I met a lovely lady who is on a mission to bring good food to people at reasonable prices. I already order organic wholefoods through a wholesaler but soon I may have access to more affordable raw super foods and organic fruit and vegetables too. I'm really excited about it and so thankful that there are people like this lady who are willing to do the leg work to enable this sort of thing to be possible.

Also, some local home educators have set up a charity for home educators in the region. It's in the very early stages, no grants have been awarded as yet, but nevertheless the potential is huge and I see no reason why it can't be a great success.

Unplugged Project - rocks

2008-04-01T04:33:00.000-07:00

The theme for this weeks Unplugged Project was 'rocks'. This is our late contribution. Sun and flower.

I'm still feeling like I've got a whole load of rocks weighing me down. What with all the emotional upheaval in recent weeks, Miles has had couple of bad accidents in the last few days (including falling from the top to bottom of a flight of stairs) and now we all seem to be developing a cough again. I'm off to find a secluded spot for a big scream arghhhhhhh.....

The rambler returns

2008-03-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'm back. Not quite rested and recharged as I had hoped but certainly feeling lighter and brighter for having spent more time thinking, communicating and decision making over the last few days.

The Home Front

It was over eight years ago when Craig and I decided to investigate the possibility of becoming respite foster carers. At that time we had no children of our own and while going through the process discovered I was pregnant with Hermione. We decided that the time wasn't right for us to take it further right then.

Recently, with seven years parenting experience under our belts and the children becoming increasingly less physically dependent, we decided it was time to look into this again. We embarked upon the assessment process and I have to say I found it very draining. It's not the actual process but all the emotions and questions it raises. We decided this week that the time still isn't right for us. Were we to proceed right now we would have to make too many compromises in relation to our own children. I feel we need to wait till at least all of their physical needs can be met by someone else while we are going through the training programme. I don't think we can revisit this one again till at least when Miles has weaned from the breast.

With the benefit of hindsight we would not have started the process again at this time. It's truly taken it's toll on me and that in turn has possibly impacted on all of us. I'm feeling sad, hopefull for the future and a bit steam rollered with this one.

The Garden Front

It's bad enough loosing sleep over the children but this week I lost a couple of nights over a hen - Henrietta our first crook chook! First sign of all not being well was when she laid a peach coloured jelly egg. It had no shell just a membrane. I picked it up from the nest and got such a shock I dropped it. I was even more shocked when it bounced off the ground to almost a foot in the air! Within a couple of hours she was listless, feathers puffed up, head tucked in and generally looking like she was about to drop dead any second. After many frantic calls to the vet the best offer I had was from a vet who agreed to see her but confessed to having only ever seen one other hen in his capacity as a vet, and from what I'd described said he hadn't the foggiest what was wrong. He did however say he could fit her in and that he would only charge me £40 to look at her because she's smaller than a dog! I decided that it wasn't worth the stress it would cause her of caging her up and transporting her to see this guy who knew nothing about hens but wanted me to pay him to view her. I put her in issolation and made her lots of warm pellet mash. I also dosed her with citricidal - great stuff which I'm forever giving to the kids if they're sniffly. Within a couple of days she was strutting her stuff again and we're all delighted.

The potatoes have been planted in a very large pot and two ripped ELC sack race bags. They'll be new potatoes, there won't be space to leave them to swell too big in the confines of their containers. We won't have as many potatoes this way but at least we will still have some without monopolising a fair proportion of the vegetable patch.

The seeds are all sprouting nicely on the windowsills. I really wanted to avoid trays on windowsills but with snow flurries all last week it's just been way too cold to put any outside. I bought a plastic cloche but we get a lot of very high winds round here and no matter how I staked it it uprooted and blew off.

As we become increasingly conscious of our food and the world around us my thoughts have turned to the lashings of honey the children have on their pancakes. We all have a bit of a taste for honey to be honest. I've decided that as in the case of eggs, if we wish to eat them then we should do what we can to see that the creatures providing it for us are treated with respect. As with all animal products there are some unscrupulous honey producers out there who will compromise the health of the bees in order to maximise yields. I'm going on a weekend bee keeping course in June. It feels a bit strange as I'm terrified of bees. Perhaps it's time to overcome that if we want to eat honey.

The Education Front.

I suspect that our recent involvement with the Local Authority Fostering Services may well lead to renewed interest from the Local Education Authority. I'm not best pleased about this. I can't say why exactly. I know my rights and it takes more than an officious official to rattle my cage. I know that I am meeting all of my child's educational and other requirements in an individual, responsive and compassionate way. I guess I just don't like the inconvenience of it all and the inevitability of judgements being made about how I meet my children's needs (be those judgements favourable or not I still don't like the idea of being judged in that very personal way).

Ho hum. What will be will be. Should they choose to visit it will be at a time when the children are out for the day. I will of course be home, with tea and home made cake on the table (never let it be said that I was inhospitable - even to an Education Officer), waving my carefully considered educational philosophy (must put that on the 'to do' list), displaying samples of selected work and ready to answer questions. If that fails I'll set the randy rabbit on them *grin*.

We are working on a kangaroo lapbook at the moment. We're hoping to finish it within the next few days and that will no doubt be a post in itself.

Hermione surprises me every day right now with her new found skills and knowledge. She's really bursting forth and picking up momentum. She's like a snowball that I've rolled for a long while. At first you don't see that changes but suddenly it grows so much more with each turn.

We have talked about the way forward and Hermione has chosen for us to order more books from the Horizon series - a vocab and grammar one as well as maths this time. She's also keen to use a handwriting practice book, although I've not sourced one we both like yet. I must say I'm pleased with this new interest in pre packaged type stuff to cover the basic nuts and bolts right now. I'm struggling to keep up with her thirst for knowledge and activities at the moment. This way she can get on with some things quite independently while I'm busy with Miles or making meals. It also means that the time which I set aside in the evenings to plan educational stuff can be used to think about more exciting projects which are really tailored to what she's interested in right now rather than basic numeracy and literacy.

Blog Break

2008-03-25T14:39:00.001-07:00

I'm taking my first blog break in over a year of blogging. Something to do with a discrepancy between energy and demands right now...

Unplugged Project - eggs

2008-03-24T00:31:00.000-07:00

This weeks Unplugged Project was 'eggs'. We dyed our eggs with beetroot juice. We juiced the beetroots which were hanging round from last season and heading for the compost heap. We soaked/rolled the eggs in the juice for a couple of days. The results are patchy and not quite as vibrant as I hoped. Perhaps it may have been better if we had used white eggs?

We popped some white wool in the bowl too. It has taken on pinkish brown hue.

Easter

2008-03-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

T'was the night before Easter....

Preparing their baskets for the Bunny to empty and then hopefully refill. We have a tradition of saving all unsuitable sweets received as gifts to offer to the Easter Bunny, Santa or neighbours at Halloween. I like the children to know that these times are about giving as well as receiving - plus it helps to move on the stuff I'd rather they didn't have in a way which they are happy to do. Daddy Bunny had a feast last night *grin*.

As predicted by Daddy Bunny the process of preparing the baskets did lead to hyper night wakings and by 5.20 this morning I wished I'd had a cream egg for every time I'd been asked 'Is it time to get up? Will the Bunny have been yet?'

The children had a couple of gifts inside. A second hand game I found for Hermione which I hope will help her with her geography and a really sweet wooden game for Miles which I 'bought' through Durham Exchange Trading.

The traditional outdoor egg hunt took on a different turn this year in the snow. We've not hunted in snow before. I was worried Craig's big foot prints leading to all the eggs would give the game away but thankfully they didn't seem to notice amidst the excitement. Hermione whizzed round and filled her basket with eggs in no time leaving Miles to discover the other one and a half dozen at a more leisurely pace.

Back inside for what Hermione would term a 'family breakfast' - that means milk and cereal boxes on the table as opposed to a quick fill at the bench.

At the end of breakfast Craig glanced at his watch and it was five past seven. Yes it was a very early start! I'm exhausted and off to bed soon with my Easter gift from the Bunny - a copy of Good House Keeping magazine. A last minute panic buy from the Co-op late last night. Am I really more in need of Good House Keeping magazine than a box of chocolates? On second thoughts don't answer that. Daddy Bunny had better watch out, if there's a recipe for rabbit stew in there I may just have him in the pot!

Choccy creations

2008-03-22T01:29:00.000-07:00

A rather large 'egg' cake and moulded carob shapes.

I hope the snow stops for the egg hunt and egg rolling tomorrow. Snow in March *sigh*. I've had to bring all the seeds in doors.

Ostara

2008-03-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

This morning we read an adapted tale about the magical Ostara hare who could lay eggs. We took it from The Spring Equinox, Celebrating the Greening of the Earth by Ellen Jackson.

This afternoon Nana dressed Hermione's hair with pretty pink ribbons and her and I headed off to an Ostara tea party. It was an absolute delight. Embroidered table cloths, decadent cup cakes piled high on multi tiered cake stands, china cups and saucers full of China Rose tea, glimmering mini eggs whichever way you looked.

We even brought a couple of cakes home. Beautifully handcrafted.

Tomorrow we will have a big family meal together. I think the hare may pay a visit. I suspect he's going to bring Miles a potty book and Hermione a children's cookery book. We'll burn a white and black candle to signify the balance of night and day. Oh I do so love celebrating with family and friends!

Natures World, Raw Chocolate and the Sheeple

2008-03-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

We went to a home ed gathering this morning. Very pleasant as always. Then we had a picnic in the Natures World grounds. What a fab place that is! Totally not the norm so far as parks go, much more interesting. We were there for over two hours and didn't see everything. Our visit was cut short by the rain.

We all had a great time - including Nana. It's awful when all the rides are monopolised by the seniors don't you think? As it was I think we were the only people there today so I'll let her off on this occasion.

We went on a hunt for the most dangerous animal in the world.

At the end there was a mirror with lots of details of how humans pollute the planet.

Miles was fascinated by the walk in talking compost heap.

It's basically a tunnel with bugs and bits of veg and things on the walls. There are sound effects with a voice over explaining that the sounds are the sound of death turning to life, dead things being digested by thousands of micro organisms and turned into something of benefit to the earth. Miles was reluctant to leave it and could only be tempted away by the goats.

Lots of mini beastie habitats, interactive structures and garden art.

When we arrived home I called Soo to let her know that our raw food order had arrived. The courier had hidden it in the old guinea pig hutch since we were out. She called in very briefly to collect it and returned unexpectedly a couple of hours later with the best raw chocolate cake I have ever tasted. I think she has found her new vocation in life as a raw chocolatier. I would have liked to have photographed he double tier beautiful creations but they were eaten within seconds.

Late afternoon Hermione headed off to Rainbows. Something isn't quite right there, that has been apparent for a while. Today when she came home she explained how she really enjoys the crafts and stories but doesn't understand the games at the end where everyone runs riot and will hurt each other if necessary in order to be the winner. Apparently girls who are polite and kind throughout the session turn rather vicious when it's game time. She asked why this happens. Why do they all follow each other and copy each other? Why do they all really really want to be the winner? Why do they pretend they like the games and join in when earlier they have told me they don't like them? Hmmm how do you explain sheeple behaviour to a seven year old? We talked about how lots of people feel better if they do what everyone else does - even if it isn't what they really deep down want to do. Not sure what will happen from here. I'm not going to pressurise her to go and secretly would quite like her not to if that's how it is, but I'll let her make her own choice.

Latest addition to the seasonal tree - decoration made by Hermione at Rainbows.

Friends

2008-03-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

I feel ever so blessed today having spent lots of time with good friends and having received lovely surprises.

A simnel cake complete with nest and eggs.

A posy of flowers.

Life is good but I must confess to feeling a bit frazzled and burnt out right now. There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day. As Hermione gets older her thirst for knowledge is growing and she wants to do more and more things at home with me. I'm delighted with her enthusiasm, and I look out there at so many wonderful resources to tap into also, but I just don't seem to have much oooomph right now. I'm just not pulling it together. Not sure what I need, tea and sympathy or a kick up the jaxi. Hmmm....

Africa - rainforest and poverty cycle

2008-03-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

Well, here goes, a couple of months on, this is what I can remember of the rest of our Africa study.

Rainforest

We talked about the how we might feel in a tropical rainforest. Hot, sweaty and nervous about big spiders was the consensus.

We looked at some of the animals that thrive in the rainforest and played snap with some rainforest animal cards I had made.

We talked about deforestation and how that affects everyone - trees help to keep our air clean. We asked *why* people want to chop down trees in the rainforest and came up with quite a few ideas - to sell the timber, to make things from the timber, to make money out of the rainforest, to clear space for roads and houses to be built in the rainforest.

We looked at a wonderful youtube clip of the rainforest which sadly has since been removed by the video owner.

We talked about the Pygmies. They were featured in the youtube clip we watched.

We painted watercolour pictures of the rainforest. As we painted I chatted about the different canopies and long trailing vines. I think Hermione understood this and at times it seemed to be reflected in her art - but then add a bit more water and hey you could be anywhere! She said the trees in her picture were emergents. I think she just forgot to paint the canopies they should have been emerging from *grin*.

Poverty

How do you explain the poverty cycle in Africa to a six year old? As simply as possible I figured. I made some pictorial representations of what I think are big factors in the poverty cycle. We talked about each in turn and Hermione placed them in various cycles, attempting to work out what exactly caused what. Not an easy one to fathom always.

We talked about war. There have been lots of wars in Africa. People are injured and crops can be destroyed. Money that could be spent on other things is used to buy weapons.

There are food shortages. Some people don't have the money to buy food. In some places food is not available to buy. It can be hard to grow things because of the climate. Some people are starving.

There is a population explosion. Despite conditions being poor babies continue to come and the population continues to grow. Food and medicine is in short supply but has to be shared between more and more people.

The climate is often very hot and dry. This makes it difficult to grow some crops. Water shortages. Not enough for people to drink. water crops, give to animals and keep clean.

Lots of people become ill - lack of food, water and medicine. Mosquitoes.

Africa Evening

At the end of all that Soo cooked us an African meal one evening with recipes from this book.

We had saffron rice and a chicken and peanut dish.

A vegetable bake.

A spinach dish.

Corn bread and fruity pancakes to follow.

Hermione had some rice and a piece of cornbread. Never one to experiment when it comes to food.

I thought the food was fantastic. The only thing that I wasn't so keen on was the African music which Craig had downloaded from the Internet. It was absolutely dire. He downloaded the first thing he came to and has since confessed that he only downloaded three songs and put them on random repeat *tut tut*.

Music concert, art detective, super sweets etc

2008-03-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

Quick catch up on things we've done this week.

Hermione and Nana went to a workshop called Art Detectives at the Laing Art Gallery this week. It was an event organised by a home educating mum. Apparently they watched a video clip which was in news report style and then had to solve the mystery of who had smuggled paintings into the gallery. Sounded very much like a game of Cluedo to me. They enjoyed it.

I started a reciprocating arrangement with another home edding mum to do some sort of activity with our children. On this occasion she did some science stuff with the big ones while I watched the little ones. Next time the roles will be reversed. I was worried about how Hermione would enjoy it with someone other than myself in that role. I need not have worried. She had a great time. They did an experiment to find magnetic north using magnets, needles, compass, straws and a bowl of water. I'm hoping the arrangement will work well and that perhaps more will come of co-operative home ed arrangements around here. I'm not talking about 'sharing the teaching' as that isn't really the sort of approach we have here at home. I'm thinking more along the lines of parents possibly sharing a special talent they may have with a group of children or maybe more one off projects with other families like we did with Africa (second part still to be blogged).

Hermione participated in her first music concert playing the clarinet. She was a little nervous by all accounts but did ever so well. Sadly I had to stay home and look after Miles. I have gone to all of her dance concerts so she felt it was only right that Craig got to see her in this concert. She's ever so proud of the programme with her name on.

The herb patch is really springing back to life. The chives, mint and parsley are doing particularly well. This is the mint.

Last year I didn't use as many herbs in cooking as I would like. Often it's dark by the time I'm cooking dinner and I don't want to tramp across the lawn in my slippers. I thought I'd remedy that this year by planting out a basket to keep close to the back door. I've put in some herbs and I've left space for a nasturtium or two also. I love those petals!

We found a ladybird when I was trimming back old growth on the herbs. At first it looked dead but slowly started to move. We decided that perhaps it was time to get out the ladybird house which Nana received as a gift on her birthday. Here it is. Complete with one resident ladybird.

Inspired by Miles recent bout of bad health (I think he could do with a boost), a tub of cacao butter reaching it's shelf life and a youtube clip by Shazzie I decided to make some raw superfood sweets. I didn't have all of the ingredients so improvised with what superfoods we did have. I ended up with a one layer fudge type creation which Miles loves, I find quite tasty and Hermione won't touch. If only I could please all of the people all of the time *smile*.

Quite a busy day or two ahead. I could certainly do with a good nights sleep tonight. If only we could all snooze in the sunshine *grin*.

One of the highlights of the week for me was our new energy saving effort. I finally got the lovely big black shiny fridge I've been dreaming of (sad I know). Startled by the size of our electric bills Craig bought one of these. It soon became apparent that our old fridge freezer was costing us a fortune in money and costing the planet in carbon. Our new one is much bigger (helps cut down on the trips to the supermarket) but costs a small fraction of what the other one did to run.

Hot cross buns, telling the time etc

2008-03-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

We've been comfortably occupied with Easter activities this week. I won't say 'busy' as it hasn't been. I like it when the pace is slow *grin*.

We put up our seasonal decorations. Miles was very enthusiastic, much more so than Hermione.

Nana has read the Easter story from The First Easter by Piper and Corke a couple of times. I worry that the Easter story is the stuff that nightmares are made of for many small children. This book approaches it sensitively. It does obviously talk about the crucifixion but it doesn't labour on that aspect, the focus being more on the resurrection.

We have done Easter word searches, played Easter word bingo and made Easter jigsaws. Today Hermione made hot cross buns with a little help from Nana. It was an all day job. They seemed to be for ever rising by the fire.

Hermione has also spent time each day this week reciting her times tables. She's quite confident with the two, three, four and five times table now providing she sings them in sequence. I guess the next stage is to be able to use them in a practical way by being able to dip into them here and there. The times table cd from the Early Learning Centre has been a great help.

She is also on a mission to master telling the time. A friend bought her a watch for her birthday and she has worn it each day since. I came across this game online the other day and she has come on in leaps and bounds since using it. Today she managed to score full marks on a game without any help from me.

I'm quite enjoying taking it easy this week. Nana is very involved in doing Easter things and the kind of stuff Hermione is asking to do (times tables and telling the time) don't really need any forethought or preparation on my part.

It made me laugh this afternoon when I walked into the kitchen to find Miles and Hermione sitting at the table with workbooks, playing schools.

I doubt that is a sight I'll see very often.

The daffodil lesson

2008-03-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

Our kitchen smells really strongly of daffodils right now. We have two big bunches of them and they are in full bloom. The pollen is dropping. The smell is very pungent.

I was flicking through It happens in the month of March by Ellen Jackson last night and I read about how the daffodil is the flower associated with March.

Coincidentally a letter arrived today from Marie Curie, enclosing a daffodil lapel pin and requesting a donation. I've a lot of time for Marie Currie. They have been involved in the care of a couple of people who were very dear to me.

This afternoon we talked about the daffodil and what it signifies to some. We talked about hope and how for many the daffodil is a sign of hope. We talked about Marie Curie and how they cared for Craig's mum, who sadly Hermione never met.

We took one of our daffodils and shook it over a piece of paper. Lots of pollen fell out. We cut the bulbous part behind the flower in half and looked at the hidden seeds.

This evening I read The Daffodil Lesson out loud. It went down well. I hope Hermione takes on board the message. It's a hard lesson to learn but one which I imagine (not certain I have learned yet) could really enrich life.

The Daffodil Lesson

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are gone." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I'll come next Tuesday," I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

Well, we piled everyone in the car and headed out, but after just a few blocks of driving in that thick fog, I said sternly, (I always sound stern when I’m scared to death…) "Carolyn, please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You’ll never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

Well, I gave her a good stern, motherly look, and resigned myself that I was going to die plunging down a steep mountain ravine in a car with screaming children in the fog and no-one would ever find us….

But then, before I knew it, we turned onto a small gravel road and we saw a small church just up ahead. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, “Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. There before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn.

"Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, almost fifty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world...

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal forty-five or fifty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting....

Until your car or home is paid off

Until you get a new car or home

Until you have kids

Until your kids leave the house

Until you go back to school

Until you finish school

Until you clean the house

Until you organize the garage

Until you clean off your desk

Until you lose 10 lbs.

Until you get married

Until you get a divorce

Until you retire

Until summer

Until spring

Until winter

Until fall

Until you die...

There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching. And start working on your goal! When? TODAY!

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!

Now where did I put my gardening gloves?

-----------------

Author Unknown

Up close and grizzly

2008-03-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

Not had a particularly blogworthy day today however we have had a couple of close up grizzly encounters.

Sitting in the living room today we noticed a big kerfuffle on the deck. The hens seemed to be fighting, which I've never known before. I dashed outside to see what was going on and they had caught a mouse and were fighting over it. By the time I managed to get them out of the way the mouse was dead sadly. I picked it up on a spade and Hermione and I had a good look at it. It looked really peaceful. It's tiny feet were amazing. It's nose, so clean and pink. It's whiskers so long and curved. We put it in the undergrowth behind our house.

This afternoon we were collecting sticks from under the trees when I almost put my hand on a partially decomposed black bird. I say partially decomposed as the head was completely intact but the body was a skeleton. How bizarre. This didn't hold the same interest as the mouse had for Hermione. I have to say it was altogether more grizzly.

Isn't nature a funny thing?

Unplugged Project - shiny

2008-03-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

The theme for this weeks Unplugged Project was shiny.

We carried out a shiny spoon experiment. We looked at our reflection in a shiny spoon. Looking at the part where your food would go, your face looks bigger. This is because it is concave. Looking at the back of the spoon your face looks smaller. This is because it is convex. We can remember which part is concave and which part is convex because the concave part goes inwards - like a cave.

I could have made it more technical but that was about my limit for a Monday morning!

Woodland walk, Easter crafts, digging etc

2008-03-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

Nana and I have done quite a lot of digging this week. Nana more so than me as Miles has been in need of lots of mummy hugs. I'm relieved we have now managed to dig half of the veg patch and still haven't skewered a hen or rabbit. They just won't stay out of the way. They wait poised ready to snap up any worms or other wrigglers we may unearth. The rabbit seems to enjoy the small roots. They've no fear whatsoever of the fork. They just dive on in there!

Hermione made a wormery this week. The picture is of day one. We can now see signs of soils being mixed and grass being pulled down from the top.

We went walking with friends in local woods. I say 'walking' but there was so many fallen branches after recent heavy winds that it turned into more of a 'yomp'. We rounded off with raspberry tea and carrot cake in the village coffee shop and I think a good time was had by all. I certainly felt invigorated and recharged.

Miles is feeling so much better than he did last week. He's almost back to his old self. I turned my back for two minutes while cooking lunch today to find him playing football with my chitting potatoes! Most of the shoots are now swept up and in the bin *sigh*. Never mind, I had to laugh, it's just so good to see him getting back to his normal mischievous self!

We made a start on Easter / Ostara crafts. I say 'we' but really Craig was in charge of this glue and glitter fest. Sitting up at the table, concentrating and taking it all ever so seriously, I see that my little boy is growing up fast.

I've been to the library for some books about Easter. Nana is going to spend time with Hermione this week talking about the Christian perspective. The following week we'll look at Ostara.

I'm feeling quite prepared. I have ideas about decorations and gifts. Not sure that I want to give any of my money to Hallmark so I'd best be getting on and making some cards. Also been thinking that I don't want to waste any eggs this year. I love painting and rolling eggs but my views about food are changing, and I can't bring myself to dash an egg down a grassy bank or leave it looking pretty on the sideboard till it's inedible. If we do go egg rolling, (which I hope we do), I think we'll use the plastic ones we use for egg hunts. Thankfully Craig had a misspent youth and is quite adept at blowing eggs apparently, so closer to the time that's what we'll do - use the eggs and dye the shells for decoration.

Thinking of this time of year as a child I recalled fond memories of dancing round the maypole on the village green. Over thirty years on I'm certainly not so light on my feet but I'd still like to do it again. I've been in touch with a lady who teaches maypole dancing and hope to organise something for later in the summer when the weather is more settled. I'm very excited about it.

Hermione was invited on Saturday to take part in a concert this coming Friday. She will be playing her clarinet. This will be the first music concert she has taken part in and she's very excited and a little nervous too I think. Much noisy pratice round here this week I suspect *grin*.

International Women's Day

2008-03-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. Time to think about all that we have achieved and the road that's left to travel.

I never seriously doubt my decision to be a stay at home mum but I have to say that I do miss the work I used to do with women. My time will come again I hope.

The eagle, a symbol of strength, courage and bravery. Happy International Women's Day! I hope that you all find the strength, courage and bravery to continue down the path towards a place of greater respect for us all.

Low impact homes

2008-03-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

Craig has always wanted to live in a hillside - yes I know it's odd but he has talked about it on quite a few occasions over the years I have known him.

I've recently been thinking more and more about low impact housing. Perhaps we could combine both our dreams with a home like this?

You can read more about this house here. I think it's fascinating but have to say that in all honesty when it came to the crunch I just don't think I could give up my creature comforts. I'm now quite fanatical about composting the kitchen waste, but whether I'm ready for a composting toilet is a very different matter.

Vegetable plot plan

2008-03-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

I think I've finalised the plot plan for this summer. I say 'think' as I'm only hoping my plans haven't been too ambitious for the size of the plot. I'm hopeful that this is what we can do this year.

We are going to grow potatoes, sweetcorn, squash, broccoli, chard bright lights, mooli, radishes, peas, runner beans, broad beans, lettuce, perpetual spinach, cucumbers, pak choi, courgettes, onions, shallots and leeks.

I hope to grow some red cabbage and other hardy stuff but I'm going to wait and think about that later in the summer when the first crops of things like beans have finished and we have space.

The potatoes are going in bags, probably down the side of the shed. They take up too much space for the main plot. Also, the small square marked 'squash' on the plan is where I'm going to build a mini raised bed/hot box for the squash plants which will then trail around where the sweetcorn grows. I read about it in a gardening book yesterday. They are ideal to plant together as one grows upright and the other trails the ground.

I'm also going to plant some marigolds and borage around the plot for their insect repelling properties, and of course to brighten salads and deserts with their beautiful petals. We ate lots of nasturtium flowers last year. They are my favourite and I think I'll put them in hanging baskets near the kitchen door so they are on hand.

The first batch of seeds went in today, early broad beans. Nana started digging too. I'm feeling very excited.

On the not so bright side Miles is quite unwell. He wasn't so good at the start of the week but then he seemed to recover, just to go flat again yesterday morning. We even ventured to the doctors today which is a very rare occurrence for my children. They generally are subjected to my potions unless I think things are really bad. Poor babe. He's fit for nothing other than cuddles and to prop up the all hours milk bar. He had cut his nursing right back to mornings and evenings but over the past twenty four hours I'd say he's nursed for a good eighteen of them! Never mind, it won't be long till he's well and if nothing else night long nursing gives you lots of time to contemplate life.

Hermione is well. Having Nana live here with us is a blessing, particularly at times like this. While me and Miles have snuggled they have baked biscuits, read stories to each other, dug the garden and chatted. Hermione is spending lots of time practicing riding her bike. I look at her whizzing round and round the garden and it looks like she has been able to do it for months not days!

I am very worried about Miles and I'm deliriously tired but I still feel really loved up with life right now. I have so much to be thankful for. Back to watch my sleeping babe and continue contemplating life.

Borage and Brightlights

2008-03-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

I've spent a lot of time over the past few days planning the veg patch in my head.

I've not drawn up a plan yet but I'm quite determined to give borage and chard brightlights a try.

I'm hoping that the chard brightlights will entice even the most reluctant young lettuce eater.

I also have visions of sipping drinks with borage ice cubes in. So pretty.

Unplugged Project - music

2008-03-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

This weeks Unplugged Project was music.

We assembled our instruments and I told a simple story (from my head) and Hermione added appropriate sound effects with the instruments. It went well, that is till Miles decided to join in and ran round and round the room shouting 'fun song' whilst bashing a tambourine. Hey ho, I guess it was reasonably musical all the same.

We also listened to the Ann Rachlin's CD of Mozart, The Miracle Maestro. We enjoyed it. We only have a couple of her CD's but we like them both. I've a few more of her titles on my wish list.

A cautionary tale, bicycle breakthrough and ramblings

2008-03-02T11:28:00.000-08:00

I had a lovely start to the day today with breakfast in bed. An oatibix with strawberries on top. Very nice. Then followed a little collection of shop bought and home made Mothers Day cards, very sweet. Thankfully Craig had also listened to my many hints about gifts which would be most well received and my book pile has been replenished. I love having lots of new books. It's like opening a box of chocolates!

Hermione has now made a full recovery but Miles was very groggy first thing. We had planned on going to see a friend who works in the library today, to plant some bulbs in one of her natural craft sessions, but decided to stay home instead. Miles was happy to potter around for short periods so we set about putting some washing away. We sorted it all into piles on my bed and then took it to the right places. Having been out of the room for less than two minutes we came back to find the place really smelly and quite smoky. My first thought was that one of my really cheap and nasty joss sticks had somehow self ignited. Not so. I quickly realised that the window frame was on fire!

I have a confession to make. Craig has warned me on many occasion not to leave mirrors in direct sunlight but I thought that the 'mirror igniting fire' business was a myth perpetuated by the scouting movement. I tried for hours on end to start fires with a mirror as a child to no avail. Well now I have. The double sided mirror which I leave by the window for when I put my lenses in and out caused my window frame to ignite. I wouldn't believe it were it not that now have a two pence piece sized black scorched area on my window *sigh*. To think we had only been out of the room for the time it took to put Craig's socks away.

Hermione decided that her attempts to ride her bike without stabilisers were less hazardous than being in the house with a reckless mother and headed on out with Craig. He took off her remaining stabiliser and held onto the back of the bike while she rode up and down the garden. After half an hour this was the scene.

Sick of waiting for him to revive himself Hermione took off on her own. I think she had done a couple of laps before the realisation hit that she can now actually ride without stabilisers! Quite a milestone - which I didn't reach till my mid twenties *blush*.

Later in the day Miles perked up a little and decided he was going to make citrus punch after watching Big Cook Little Cook. The floor is still sticky.

Out in the garden Miles planted some sunflower seeds in our biodegradable toilet roll pots. We've put them on the shelf in the shed as it's probably a bit chilly for them outside yet.

I've been thinking about what to grow this year. Nana thinks there is quite a science to it, crop rotation and such like. I need to read up on it. One thing I do want to grow this year is squash. Our squashes were a huge failure last year. We didn't get any. They started off well but the the plant just seemed to rot away. I'm thinking of making a 'hot box' full of compost for them this year and adding some chicken wire contraption to it for them to trail over - that way the slugs shouldn't get them.

Craig suggested that we grow goji berries as Miles loves them. I thought he was joking as they grow in China, a rather different climate to ours, but he had heard about it on Radio 4 so I decided to Google for them. Sure enough you can buy goji berry bushes online and after their first year they are frost resistant and yield well.

Our compst is doing alright but could be better.

I don't think it is well enough rotted to be used yet. I've decided we need some household activator. Craig is best equipped for the job but refuses. I'm going to have to ponder this one.

Elephant

2008-03-01T11:47:00.000-08:00

Hermione was feeling much better today. She went to see this and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm pleased that she enjoys theatre. We can certainly recommend this show although it is very sad in parts.

You can click on the picture to enlarge it and make it readable.

Miles is now coming down with presumably the same sort of lurgy that Hermione has just got over. One up one down.

Hand balm

2008-02-29T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hermione hasn't felt too well today. Coughs and sneezes. We were to go to a science workshop organised by a local home educating mum but we had to cancel.

So, we decided to put our confinement to good use and make an organic and cruelty free hand balm. Hermione was familiar with the concept of organics and the problems of chemicals in our personal care products but she hadn't realised that many products are tested on animals. She knows now.

We took some coconut oil, cacao butter and essential oils. We melted roughly equal amounts of cacao butter and coconut oil in a bowl over hot water. Added a couple of drops of lavender, geranium and roman chamomile oils, stirred well and decanted it into a glass jar.

Within an hour or so the potion had re solidified. Not so hard as the cacao butter in it's original room temperature form, but firmer than the coconut oil. It smells divine!

I'm going to hunt out my aromatherapy books and check some other oils for potential irritant problems. All being well I quite fancy making a minty foot balm and possibly a chesty cough rub.

Hermione is now desperate to tell everyone that personal care products are often tested on animals and is wondering why on earth shops sell stuff like that. Ah, the age of innocence.