Petits Haricots

OK, so route 51 doesn’t sound quite as swish as route 66 but we did have a lovely cycle down it. It was jolly cold, and we were an hour later than planned so that my migraine tabs would at least kick in a bit [which they did, a bit!] and we met up with the manor borns in the carpark by danish camp before cycling to bedford along said route 51

it was jolly cold! and there was mud about, but not much as it was a good surface for most of the route. we did a couple of geocaches on the way, finally moving on the geobug that lecielrouge took over a year ago ad then didn’t log! felt much better when that was moved on

we got v quickly to the park, the kids played a bit on the slide wire there and cycled round the lake whilst i had another tablet! we cycled back in time for tea and cake at the danish camp which was delish

Back to the manor borns for a delish meal, playing munchkin booty and chatting. v convivial and lovely thankyou:)

honestly, i must do better at paperwork! i have a tax return to do, 2 massive paperwork forms for work, and i am behind on the blog! honestly, should do more living at arms length rather than directly!! so this will be a backdated catchup

SB again did holiday orchestra, jazz with clarinet, intermediate strings with violin and folk. she was unfortunately v v coldy, so did struggle a bit, but loved it. she really wants to do an orchestral/band experience regularly now. obviously, i suggested she would enjoy this years ago, but some ppl like to take time to get there themselves… so now we shall consider our options there. unfortunately it might mean messing up the weekend – something i have been long relucant to do! she didn’t enjoy folk so much, and was v disappointed, as she loves folk songs etc. hopefully since it was the first time they have done folk, that it might improve. she also would have prefered she thinks the samba band! She had 2 sleepovers in this time, both that she enjoyed very much thankyou Morag and Katy. she loved quilling, and had a fab time at ceilidh, even if shoes fell apart!!! BB was unwell and miserable at home. I was working all that weekend tho, so not so jolly! she did do some crafting. We did send dh off to see SB in concert, hoping I wouldn’t be called into work, and luckilly i wasn’t

the next week we attempted to restart home ed in a meaningful way. hmmm, i guess you need to warm up to these things… However, we did have a fab wodensmeet.

There was a bit of sewing to start with, practicing different stitches [tho bb doesn't sew currently...] then I did science, divvied into 2 groups. I found this fab website for biology experiments, and I plan to work my way through them this year for wodensmeet, finishing in december. [or if the kids scream enough!!] we started with starches. we saw whether iodine reacted with a glucose solution, albumin solution or starch solution with a tap water control, and then we took a starch solution and diluted it by factor of 10, 100, 1000 and 10000 to see whether iodine would still test positive for starch. Next time planning to test for sugars, proteins and fats

Zoe had a blowing paint around messy craft we were going for a more sunset/dark and moody version of this. We all enjoyed making them too . I am looking forward to zoeart

And in a fit of bravery Em did some role playing for the girls [as well as clarinet for SB] , fuzzy heroes. mostly setting up characters etc and taking through one adventure. SB was happy enough, BB will give it another go – she was getting tired!

so a lovely start to the year

between christmas and new year we did a fair bit of chilling, crafting and play8ng board games[oh and i went to work!] and decided some new years resolutions.
1. chill out more
2. tidy up more
3. exercise more
4. reinvigourate home ed
5 eat less

yep, these are a bit repetitive but still to be worked at . I was looking to see if I had written them last year, but I hadn’t. What i did write was a very private wibble wondering how i was going to face the year, and it is nice to have done so. much helped by my lovely dh, gorgeous kids and fabulous friends and family, so thankyou.

ANyway, crafting, playing, loving and living we got from christmas to new year, saying goodbye as family went home, and then after the chillx weekend, hello to friends. In between SB also got to try out her new sewing machine and made a couple of cushions

New years eve was a bit hastily thrown together as we had saved the date for something that didnt happen, and then never got around to arranging anything else, but luckilly Zoe and Barbara were free to take us up on a games and tea kind of evening we did have mulled wine too, and assorted other drinks and a spanking dinner of jacket pots and bits and pieces. we played the after eight game – of placing it on your forehead and seeing if you can jiggle into your mouth – lol! as well as a num,ber of board games – i lost every one! the children all played some games too. zoe brought f her temporary german daughter – she must think we are all v odd!! especially since we had some more indoor fireworks. oe and family went home at some point after midnight. we tried another game and managed a 3.30 bedtime [including kids - argh!] and so a late wake up, pain auz raisin brekkie, and so a somewhat later pancake meal – 4pm! with more game playing involved . perfick

my parents arrived the weekend before, so the final preparations started BB and I made a Mary Berry Buche de Noel together. Quite a challenging recipe! but it did work very well and we were proud of it. It got eaten Christmas eve . SB made bundles to little nanny’s specification with my mum. The hallway was decorated and nativity got ready :). On christmas eve everyone else arrived – BIL with my newphew M, niece E and his dad A. My inlaws also, so 12 for Xmas – an easy number to fit round the dining table and the festivities commenced.

Sadnesses – that Vivien not there to be with us, and i always miss little nanny x x x
difficulties – BB sleep! she was dreadful! just far too wound up, so 2am christmas eve[day] snuggled into submission and worried that father christmas hadn’t given her anything [aw bless] but she said she knew i would make it ok if that happend [more aww!]. and in fact bb sleep thereon! oh and migraine for me – ah bah!
joys – many christmas is a time for me that i enjoy the day we are in, love the children and their pleasure, see beyond to when they are no longer so young and enthusiastic, and even further perhaps when they bring children of their own, and also to the past, raised glasses with my grandparents and their siblings. christmas past, present and future all collide happily. the stresses of prechristmas fizzle away, and just left with the love and happiness.

we got the balance of presents right i think – def not too much, but no disappointments we opened in 2 stages, a post breakfast from the children and parent age and then we had nibbles and champagne and checking xmas dinner on course, then grandparents and their generation . it worked really well, we got to see [mostly] what the children had, and also make sure they were packed nicely into a box! SB highlights were kindle from us, and sewing machine from my parents [john lewis mini one in pruple and turquoise] and BB loved her mp3 player, mechano from us and garage from chris’s parents, lego from my parents. But all loved all their presents. I loved my board game from BIL, owl cushion from niece and nephew and the words on the candle holder frm sb nearly made me cry. i thought all my presents beautifully chosen. everyone seemed very happy

we did institue a screen ban for xmas day and boxing day with things to watch on iplayer saved! [i know, mean!] but that meant lots of laughter and fun from children playing together. M making his mecchano with BB beside, E with her sylvanians, sb playing games. we did play lots of games adults and children which mixes the family groupings making us one big family. BIL dad A certainly enjoyed being here, with all the noised and muddle and inclusiveness

All food was delish and worked, apart from the kids option of toffee pudding, which had perhaps been lanquishing on the back of a shelf! tables groaned!! leftover sprout and carrot pakoras went down a treat the following day! we did have indoor fireworks to less enthusiasm from the older males!

A lovely time with a lovely family

giggle to being so far behind! here we are in a new year, so much has happened, and having to rewind a long way! so these are some of the things we have done…

we made, crafted, cooked presents
spicy nuts for brother in law, choc brazils for dad, chocolate for nephew [all by and from the girls] decorated plates, tiles etc, and all wrapped and ready

we had a festive wodensmeet with some crafting and carolling
we crafted and practiced ‘at base camp’ and then went to an elder care centre to sing and play carols there, which we enjoyed, and got the feeling that the people there also enjoyed. we have been invited back in the summer! Zoe at le ciel rouge has better pics, as she was wandering about with camera, whilst i was trying to honky tonk my way sight reading thro requests on the keyboard

on the way home we stopped off at the garden centre and had fun deciding which pots and what to put in them for the 2 nannys’ christmas presents . we then made them up at home.

we went to the fishes for christmas crafts
and spent a lovely day with a vast array of craft options. did love the pony beads and wire things, so much so that adding to my 12 days of christmas craft page. we never got to do the carolling, but did do a dinosaur french game! [today sb told me she prefered maths to french, because maths doesn't have changing verb endings ] also made some excellent marzipan fruit, had a go at ikea style fimo with melted pony beads. this doesnt work btw, because the pony beads need such a high temp to melt that the fimo starts to burn… but the idea was good

Other lovely things

I went out with close colleagues at work and we had a fab indian meal together . my weekend at work a nightmare of business, but reminded me that the job makes me humble and proud at the same time. should moan less about it! I had friday and monday off before christmas, so could play board games, craft, bake etc with my girls. this i think will all come in the next blog post, as i am tired and going to bed now

i know, i know! i have spent too much time having a life, and not enough screen time!! But before I catch up, i just wanted to write something about how lovely it is to have an oral history of the family. SB isn’t very well, i think she has a mix of tonsillitis and too late to bed last nightitis so we had a prolonged snuggle in bed to get her comfy, and we were doing that discussing random topics, and she was worrying about cloning humans and clone wars, so in my reassurance i thought that tho it could be possible, it would be unlikely in mine or her lifetime, so she was worrying for her grandaughter so i said i was unlikely to meet her grandaughter so she should think of nice things about me to tell her [it was a distraction honest, not a fish for compliments ] and so she happily told me of what she would say and pictures to show [only the nice ones mummy] and then what she remembered of the relatives of mine – grandad herbert and nanny stagles – who she had never met [my great grandparents] and their stories. and snuggling her, telling stories of little nanny and the elephant, nanny sylvia and the broken wrists as a child etc, it struck me how precious our family memories are, that they aren’t written down anywhere, despite it being possible, and the sharing of the stories keeps the threads of family alive. just cuddling and talking, of pasts and futures. absolutely wonderful hour thankyou SB

we are a house that elebrates christmas. we celebrate family, drawing together, being thankful for the family in blood and the family in friendship that we have, and making the most of the time together. That is the plan anyway. Part of this is decorating the house. first we tidy, sort out old toys and clothes to freecycle, give to friends with smaller children and to charity shops. [this part we are not so good at ] the next is to have a tree in the 2 living rooms. a large one with the tv, and a smaller one on sb’s desk in the home ed room. We have struggled this year with the smaller one, as it has taken to falling over! 3 times now, so hidden bricks supporting it! anyway, all trees are done now. have the nativity to put out, and the girls will decorate the staircase when my mum comes. I love christmas

I am woefully behind in blogging! life has just been tooo too busy at work to have any time at home but the essentials – playing and loving my girls so internettage has been disrupted! I can’t remember all the things that went on, though think pottery happened that week. we did start our love film fest, courtesy of an amazon deal.

anyway, weds was wodensmeet . v few of us due to change of date and other things, but zoe and I had a plan and the day was spent crafting various things, the kids chatting, and finished with making yummy smelling xmas puds.

so here are some matryoshka and parcel felt baubles

some matryoshka and other fimo baubles

some watercolour and some acrylic winter paintings

then some hammering on tins with nails these had water and sand frozen inside.

finally finishing with xmas pud. just me and zoe, since girls playing a game. lovely day

hard to know where to start. fab location, fab friends, fab food and fab time the fab four indeed

this year in escape to…coalbrookedale . great hostel, nearest thing to melrose without a 9 hour journey! hostel had ensuite for most rooms [reducing risk of camp gut rot which has happened surprisingly few times, but antibac is our friend ] a big games room with tv that the kids loved and a smaller ‘teachers room’ which was the only place with any signal, a few comfy chairs and our cake stash home for the families with little babies. other adults moved from teachers room to the next door dining room freely. also had a big kitchen which connected through larger servery to dining room and a separate potwash room. this realy worked as the communal cooking was fun, communal and many hands made light work, and not separated off like the prev year at castleton. the dining room could have done with being a bit bigger, as could teachers room, but, you know I think as close as perfect and also some ground floor access bedrooms for some friends of ours, for which this was very useful.

52 attendees, of which 3 effectively babe in arms from 14 families stayed, and we had 2 families visit us whilst there. SO lots of friends most that I have known now since BB was born from our ‘imaginary’ online home ed friends, who over the years, no small thanks to muddle puddle camps. A great group of friends and kids. I enjoyed [in random order] chatting and eating cake, chatting and crafting, chatting and cooking/chopping, chatting and playing games, making music – carols, our ‘mini orchestra, and most definately our quartet and trio for the talent show. the quartet was SB, E and em on recorders and me on electric keyboard [yes, piano better but not so transportable!] playing gluck and the trio SB on clarinet, BB on cello and me on keyboard playing hark the herald. I am particularly greatful for my friends [including kids in this] for going and sitting back down when it became clear BB had meant us to play carols in the talent show and not the mini orch, thus muddling everything else up without any problems. thankyou

on crafting… DH has started to knit thankyou for the very patient jsotp and merry, and anyone else . also parent1 appears to be a secretly fab crafter. enjoyed felting and sewing myself. wouldlike to learn to crochet still… next time!

christmas – carols – lovely our mini orch gets better each year, and i will do some more carols simples parts based on that website at somepoint so we have lots more to choose from and include a piano part! talent show – v v funny . loved all the comedy the kids put in, the great musicality of so many of them, and the sheer exuberance and fun of the mass gangnam style I love all our kids Play – well done, you did perhaps need to know the plot, but to condense midsummers nights dream is no mean feat – thankyou Big. christmas dinner courtesy of the male chain gang and katy. the blokes and kids did a great job of the vegetarian option, and katy of coordinating the whole shebang with huge aplomb [including lemon meringue pie in the slow cookers!] Last but not least, the secret santas. looking round at a room full of people where loads of effort had been made to personalise and create great secret santas, and everyone really happy . as a family we were v v happy that all the recipients of our secret santas were happy. the 3 games [BB's idea, she made fox and geese with wooden board, SB made 13 mens morris with embroidered board, and I made quarto with a fabric board - see below] were all played with and the recipients happy, and I believe DH’s spicy and sweet roasted nuts and chickpeas are v tasty . BB was utterly and more utterly ecstatic with hers – she says the best secret santa ever of an adapted fleece hoody and pants into a dino outfit, and also a frog. SHe couldn’t be parted from either until unfortunately the frog lost an eye. this was a disaster of immense sadness, but hopefully [having found eye] we can fix at home. the rest of us also v happy.

DH escaped the hostel 2ce, first time to walk to ironbridge – i was a bit too migrainy so stayed behind with SB and did crafty things. the second time i had planned to go, but there was dillying and dallying, so i needed to be chopping in the kitchen, so dh took 3 girls to assorted crystal, gift and twee shoppage he really really enjoyed that Both girls had a great time. SB had hennaed her hair before we went, and it looked beautiful. SHe definately had some teen moments of being to small/too big which i think she made harder than required and difficult to settle, but overall had a great time. we have now talked coping strategies again… BB had a fab time with her buds J and X playihg spies and walkie talkie hide and seek etc, and let josie join them – even better so a great foursome.

hmm, written a lot and yet haven’t captured the essence of the security, comfort and family feel of this camp with great friends thankyou all, and Babs for organising.

I so loved making this, that i am going to post it on the blog, even though ‘against form’ . the person I gave it too immediately guessed it was from me, recognising the stitches [apparently]. Not only did I love making it, but was very happy with the end result .

It is a limited edition personalised version of Quarto. [and my daughters say we need one too!]