Author Archives: HHaricot

SB’s chocolate marzipan hearts

sift 100g of flour and 25g cocoa powder into a bowl. add 75g chilled butter cut into chunks. then stir butter into mixture so coated weith flout, and rub until breadcrumby. stir in 50g of caster sugar. add 1 egg yolk [ie not the white] and stir mixture into dough, put into ball shape, wrap in cling film and pop into fridge for 30 mins.

sprinkle icing sugar sugar onto rolling board and roll out 100g marzipan until 3mm thick. cut out with a small heart cutter. redo – will need 12.

heat oven to 200C [400F or gas mark 6]

sprinkle flour onto rolling board and pin and roll out chocolatey dough until 3mm thick. use a bigger cutter to cut out 24 hearts.

use a paper towel to wipe oil over a baking tray [or use a magic thingy] and put half the choc hearts on the baking tray. put a marzipan heart on each one and put a second chocolate heart on top. press the edges of the biscuit together, bake biscuits for 10 mins.

sift icing sugar over them and then sprinkle some cocoa powder. leave on a wire rack to cool.

as dictated by SB from the usborn children’s book of baking

IMG_3914 IMG_3926

My New Violin Case

thanks sis

thanks sis

I think it ticks all the boxes my sister wanted, including making me cry.

it has been refered to as ‘a pimped up maestro’ :lol:

violin case decisions!

still humming and hawing over this one, or this one [it is being bought for me]

actually, i have read a few violin forums, and I might be decadent and get this one.

Both the maestro and elipe do well, and the maestro is a bit heavier, but i don’t travel with violin in hand much any more…

rievaulx abbey in the snow



IMG_4095, originally uploaded by Scrumbledelicious.

Post camp Day

is always a bit of a psychological low really!
ANyway, the girls were structured by me, and did a fair bit of HE whilst chris got the tree – SB did maths, spelling, handwriting, music theory and piano practice and read a bit about columbus and about about mediaeval food. BB did some maths and before the code, and then loads of letter writing. we read about megs eggs in french alltogether, and also a daughters of eve story
We were all a bit fractious but the girls tree is up and decorated, and the big one has a lights problem, so we grownups are a bit fed up with christmas lights. i did my first opitec order, and may never do one again, their website being so awful. i have been looking at violin cases for xmas pressie as well.
oh, and i have made some tablet. we all watched the first harry potter, now sb says she is ready for it, and she really enjoyed it.

Emergent writing

BB is writing everywhere. it is the most favourite thing to do, she says. She got a notepad and pen from english heritage, and she scribbles letters on every page and hands them out. I am going to put a picture to this post. It is entirely different to anything SB did [she still is a reluctant writer, but getting there]. It is v cute – especially when she asks me to read what she has written. I think we will get some magnetic letters and early phonic sounds to play around with swapping them about and reading, as Jax said small had a lot of fun with that game.

what instrument are you….

You are a Violin. You are quiet and soft sounding, but you can be loud and draw attention to yourself when you want to. You don’t know it, but you can get people to feel practically any emotion. You also have a playfull side that people want to see. So you should go out into the world more and express yourself! You never know, someone might truly like that.

http://www.quizilla.com/quizzes/8314353/what-instrument-are-you

you know, I can’t get this one to get to the blog properly?

A Snowy Helmsley camp

we were lucky enough to go away with friends last week to a YH in Helmsley. We had a v fab time!
the girls got to run around and play with friends – for SB this included DS and board games, and BB mostly ran around and played, a new group of littlies are finding their feet as a girl posse! i do wonder who BB seems to have acquired the love of all things doctor who from…
Crafting happened too – making candle holders, paper xmas light covers and paper plate angels. Also numerous colouring opportunities, all much appreciated.
games were played, we took castle keep and hisss, and they were both played loads of times, as easy games to set up, get the rules and get going. others brought ticket to ride, settlers of catan, Puerto Rico, carcassonne and blokus. again played, but often with an adult too [often me, the babs or em, as we v much like playing games!!] i think we may get settlers as well.
music was made – this was my highlight TBH, and a v selfish one! Em brought some telemann and bach, and tues am i sight read at various levels of awful, and then thurs am we played ‘out in the open’ i really really LOVED it! thanks SOOO much Em. we moved on to christmas carols, all transposed so that assorted violins and recorders could just play a D for most of them as a drone, and it worked reasonably OK. The other music making i enjoyed was a rendition of abba songs via mamma mia. quite a dreadfully corny chick film, but with plus plus feel good factor, and the singalong rendition. we have promised not to say who projected the film as it may ruin that persons image…
talking of ruined images, Nic Knits!!! [where is that jaw dropping smiley when you need it!]
friends christmas – great secret santa presnets given to us, and we enjoyed making them for others. christmas dinner with friends, carols and mulled wine.
erm, yes, snow!! what a fabulous addition to any CHRISTMAS camp. we adults could take nice photos and the children could – and did – go wild playing in it. for BB it was def the most exciting and fantastic part of the camp.
good hosts! as always lovely spending time with Nic and Ady, and it all went wonderfully. We adults enjoyed spending time together, as well as the children. But i perhaps should have gone to bed a bit earlier!
out and abouting. we went to rievaulx abbey and it was v fab in the snow, and didn’t make it into helmsley castle due to it being too icey. oh well!
A stop with Jax on the way home, and there we are. sure there is stuff to add later though!

musical mondays – advent music

i am sorry, i have a sneaking suspicion that the whole of december will be filled with christmas carols – which i adore! so i will start with a proper advent hymn!
yay! i love, adore etc christmas carols. and my spine starts to tingle, and i smell the cinnamon/cloves and oranges!

packing, and the first scent of christmas!

here it comes, i can feel it in the air!! we spent today tidying, sorting and packing. SB did a fab piano practice, i did a short violin and piano. both girls did a lot of sewing – v cute and homeschooly!! they helped chris make a christmas cake. chris made his secret santa. both girls did some maths. BB did loads of maths, and has insisted on packing her maths books. SB has insisted on some french books for katy to read :rofl:
erm, we did some ballet moves and gym moves. we made more xmas cards, we wrapped the secret santas, we watched merlin. somehow the day seemed busier than that! oh, and they spent ages making polyhedrons. still doesn’t seem as busy in blogland as it did in real life though!