A child free day ....

 

A child free day is a rarity in these parts and I am amazed at how much I got done today!

 

My next series of workshops are starting again tonight so I though I had better do some revision myself.

 

- a lined zipped purse

 

- that was started and finished in one sitting!

 

Binding for my quilt cut and stitched and ironed ...

 

Orange zest and juice ready to put into the carrot and orange soup ...

 

Binding stitched on and hand sewing commenced ...

 

A gluten free and dairy free cake for the ladies who are coming tonight - although I had to try it beforehand. 

Well you can't give something to people to eat without knowing it tastes OK first can you?

 

Also included in the day:

 

washing and ironing - but no need for photos of these eh?

rice pudding made - and now eaten

some computer bits and bobs

two coffees - drunk whilst hot

and started to read new library book on juicing.

 

And the most amazing of all? 

A clear lounge carpet ALL DAY LONG!!!!

The changing of the seasons .....

Last year was the first full autumn the girls had spent in the UK, whilst old enough to remember.  They had a ball but are looking forward to it EVEN more this year because they know what the events are and they know the people who will be at them better.  The anticipation of known, and loved, events seems to eclipse first time events for the children.

On our list of autumnal activities:

Birthdays
Miss M's 10th birthday - done :)

Miss C's 8th birthday - coming up soon



A bit of handmade love for Miss C's 7th birthday x

 
The Mop
Wow!!  They had never seen anything like it.  I remember how much I enjoyed this event as a child so it was just wonderful to take my own.

Miss C and her Dad on the dodgems

Hallowe'en
This is so much better in the UK because it's dark.  It's a simple as that really:

dark = spooky + candles + sparklers + lighted pumpkins

Plus the enjoyment of a wonderful party organised by some local home ed families and now friends for a spectacularly spooky evening!



The witch and her familiar

Bonfire Night
The girls had never been to one before.
They had never seen fireworks before.
Some people last year were gobsmacked that children aged 7 and 9 had been so deprived!  But again these things only really work if it's dark.  Oh and then there were the toffee apples ..... can't really say that they only work in the dark but the girls had never one of these either (maybe they are deprived!).



First ever sparkler!
 

And of course you can not forget the glorious autumn colours that England does sooo well or the humble conker (of which we had 100s) x

 



Our three day weekend ....

 

Started with a trip to their music lesson with Miss Singsong

 

on a scooter

 

a trike

 

and a giraffe - of course!

 

Cutting, drying and stripping lavender

 

followed by a lavender tea.

   

 Meditative colouring with new birthday presents

and designing your own thank you cards!

 

Being 10 means you make and write your own thank you cards!

 

They look so beautiful - I have kept one for myself and intend to re-interpret it in stitch and in fabric. 

Looking forward to seeing how it works.

 

Looking at Miss C's desk this morning I found this.  She had been working on it yesterday and I hadn't noticed!

 

When I looked closer, I realised that she had chosen the same colours in the crayons and paints. 

Not sure if she has finished yet so will leave it there for a bit longer.

 

Making curtains kept me busy ...

followed by some sorting out. 

The first box I chose was labelled "BROWN + FAWN". 

Perfect colours and textures for autumn ...

 

 and they inspired me to make an autumnal heart brooch!

 

 

 Solo baking by Miss M - chocolate kisses with raspberry cream - delicious!

 

Hope you had a great weekend. x

 

A week of celebrations Part 2 ...

It's not every week your eldest turns 10!  It's brought up some strange feelings in me and some very grown up feelings in Miss M.

- Where have the 10 years gone?
- Will the next 10 go so quickly?
- If so will I be ready for the inevitable separation?
- If my eldest is 10 that must mean that I am getting older too ...

Aside from that, we had a brilliant day.  Miss M also shares her birthday with Green, a (not surprisingly) green toy rabbit, who turned 8 and Nutmeg, a toy horse, who has been with us for 1 year!  There was a host of preparations for their birthdays, including presents, games, a magic show and a paper airplane display.

Fishing game, complete with octopus (made from dried glue!)

A selection of presents, both handmade and thrifted

The magician practising her routine

Fantastic book form which the airplanes were made - and they really flew

And no self respecting plane show can go ahead without a schedule!

Then onto the human's celebrations - present opening followed by breakfast at Hoorays.  This is an ice cream parlour and was the birthday girl's breakfast of choice ...

And she thought it was a great choice - waffles with ice cream, cream and M&Ms - good job it is only her birthday once a year!   Luckily if gave boundless energy for the kayaking course they started that afternoon.

Whoops - a little bang right at the beginning

Birthday girl in the orange kayak

And onto the river ....

Another home ed family had done a course in the holidays and organised a 5 week Home Ed Paddle Power course.  It was perfect that it started on Miss M's birthday and all the children thoroughly enjoyed it.  The weather was glorious, the progressed from the 2ft deep lagoon to the river in the first session and then they had popcorn, crisps and the obligatory cake!!! x

A week of celebrations Part 1 .....

This week marked our 15th wedding anniversary and Miss M turned 10.  Two very worthwhile occasions to celebrate I think.

The front of my handmade card

I had just seen a link to this website where you can create you own word clouds in various shapes.  Of course, I immediately knew what kind of card I was going to make for Mr C!  It was very easy to use and at the lower resolution it was free - always a bonus.  We had a morning without the girls and so decided to go on a bike ride followed by brunch.  We went along The Greenway which I had never been to before.  I love finding new places close to home to explore and knowing that they will be re-visited.  A lovely dinner, from a recipe given by a friend in New Zealand along with a bottle of champagne finished the day of nicely. x