I've been making lots of lovely smelly things recently - with lavender.
I love the smell (particularly around the house) and it grows really
easily. Having lavender in the garden also attracts bees which is
really, really important. I've made a little video (with some footage
Tim took in the garden earlier) - please watch :)
So, what do you do with all that lovely lavender (apart from seduce
bees!)? Lots of things! Here are just a few.
Hang it in bunches to dry (and scent the room!) Here's mine in my
kitchen - it needs to be somewhere warm so that it dries quickly before
it rots.
Make lavender water (which can then be frozen in an ice cube tray and
defrosted whenever you need some)
Pull the flowers off the stalks and put in some fine cotton material
Fasten with an elastic band
Pop into a tall glass jar
Pour on boiling water, cover the jar and leave for 24 hours (sorry for
the blur!)
Then, remove the bag and throw away the flowers. Put some fresh flowers
in the bag and reseal with the elastic. Tip the water into a saucepan
and bring to the boil then put the flower bag and boiled water back into
the jar and top up with fresh (boiled) water. Leave for another 24 hours
then tip into an ice cube tray and freeze.
Make a very special, dry-skin busting soap. First, grate up some
unperfumed, uncoloured soap (mine is palm oil based). I actually used a
zester to do this - takes a while but is strangely satisfying!
You will need: olive oil, lavender flowers and dried chamomile. You will
also need some sillicon cupcake cases and a baking tray.
Put the grated soap in a glass bowl and put that over a saucepan
containing boiling water. Set the whole thing on the hob on a lowish
heat. You will be adding freshly boiled water to the soap mix but it
needs to be on the stove to keep everything at a good, constant
temperature otherwise your soap mixture won't melt down properly.
Put your lavender flowers in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to
GENTLY crush them
Make some tea with your chamomile!
Add about a cup of boiling water to your soap mix and stir. As it starts
to melt down, add in the (strained) chamomile and the lavender flowers
and a couple of teaspoons of olive oil. Stir. Looks a bit yuk at this
point!
Add another cup of boiling water and stir again - it will be getting
bubbly
Now, take the bowl off the heat - don't worry about any soap bits
remaining because now you're going to beat the mixture with a wooden
spoon. It will start to thicken up.
You can go in with your hands to squish out any remaining bits (make
sure it's not too hot still!)
When you're ready, spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases and put in
the fridge to harden off.
In a couple of days you can turn them out - hey presto! Cute cupcake
soaps that are wonderfully good for your hands (got rid of April's nasty
dry bits!) HOWEVER PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE test on a small patch of skin
before completely lathering up with it to make sure it doesn't cause an
allergy!!
Oh, and one final bee-related thing ..... Tim was tidying the front
garden this afternoon and found a poor dead bee :( We have a little
"animal graveyard" in our garden (created by April) to put any dead
creatures she finds (woodlice, bees, spiders etc) - but before she put
him there, she had a look at him under our mini microscope ......
Last night we had (the first!) fruits of my labours and ate a homegrown
lettuce! I'm so happy - it's the first time I've successfully grown
food! Oh, and here's a budget-related bit of advice for you - if you
want to save some money grow your own veggies (even if you just have a
balcony you can grow stuff in pots - you can even grow some things
indoors!) I brought a mixed packet of seeds from Asda - carrots,
lettuce, sweetcorn and white onions. I've now got a plot FULL of these
veggies and didn't actually use all the seeds (next year I'll make a
bigger plot). We've got loads of stuff getting near to the point of
picking and will do quite a few meals. Do you know how much that packet
of mixed seeds cost me? £1.00. So, for £1.00 and a bit of (enjoyable)
labour, you get a lot of food.
Anway, yesterday we also went out to the farm and picked 2 huge
basketfuls of strawberries (to go with some that my brother gave us from
his garden) .....
yum, yum, yum ... the little black things poking up are vanilla pods -
good tip - leave your strawberries in the baskets and stick a vanilla
pod in for a while and they pick up a slight vanilla-y flavour ..
gorgeous :)
Tim is off back to work (his normal work as opposed to the music related
work!) tomorrow - the show he did already seems like SUCH a long time
ago! I really hope he gets the chance to do another very soon. Anyway, I
updated my 2010 memory scrapbook for June with some Seussical related
stuff - including my seat ticket :)
Made April a dolly - she's gone to bed cuddling her so a success I guess
:) I managed to stitch one of her arms on upside down but, never mind,
looks like she's waving!
Aaaaah does indeed feel like it might be here proper now (after the
false start a couple weeks ago!) To celebrate this I flew through the
house this morning and hoovered and dusted and cleaned the bathroom.
After that I headed outside and tidied up the veggies which had got a
bit weedy after all the rain. Inbetween all that I did homeschool with
the kids.
Tim got home fairly early so we went out shopping - mostly ordinary
stuff but we also went to Hobbycraft (one of my most favourite shops on
the entire planet I believe) because I had to get some card making
things (it's a special occasion on Sunday but more on that then). I also
treated myself to a new paper punch in the shape of a balloon to add to
my growing collection. A bunch of felt and some A4 and A3 construction
paper for homeschool stuff finished our shopping there.
Now we've just had tea and I'm chilling for a bit before I go wash up,
get the washing in, water the plants and get the kids in bed. Then it's
dinner and Springwatch - am SO thoroughly enjoying it!
...enjoyed the lovely weather which was was warm and sunny and gorgeous
despite what the weather forecast said :)
... met an odd looking man who came round to bring Tim a musical score
for the show he's doing.
... played some maths games with Rosie (adding and subtracting negative
numbers).
... got an email from a blog-friend who told me that Chris Packham was
making an appearance at the Ringwood Waldorf School (to do something
called Never Mind the Buzzards!). Oooo! I want to go!
... wandered round the garden with Rosie and used April's little old
Fisher Price tape player to record bird and bee sounds (not sure why -
was a nice thing to do though!)
... sewed a tooth fairy pillow for my little babe who has got her first
wobbly tooth! It's hanging on by a thread at the moment so won't be
there for much longer. The odd thing is that the new tooth is already
there, already erupted, BEHIND the baby one! April is terribly, terribly
worried she's going to swallow the tooth while eating because she's
heard the story of Rosie doing just that when she lost her first tooth.
She was eating a custard cream at the time!
... put Rosie's name down for a place at Young Rangers at Moors Valley
to start in September when she turns 13. She's very keen to, eventually,
work with wildlife/conservation so it's a really ideal step into that to
start getting some experience. She's wanted to end up working with
wildlife since about the age of 6 and is really very knowledgable :)
... and now I'm going to go and watch Bill Oddie on the telly.
.... at least for today as I was busy doing other things. Hmm, so much
for Sunday being a "day of rest" - certainly wasn't for me!
I've hoovered - twice because Hemmy is moulting and driving me
absolutely bats by dropping his fur everywhere, put mountains of laundry
away, stuck together paper daffodils (that me and April made and painted
yesterday) to put on the nature table (strangely, we don't have any real
daffodils in the garden this year, normally they pop up on their own
year after year), cleaned the rabbit out and repotted all my seedlings -
here they are in their new homes :)
I've got sunflowers in the 2 trays at the front, various, butterfly/bee
attracting wildflowers (cornflowers, poppies etc) top left and tomato
plants top right. I've also got a garlic growing elsewhere. This is a
slightly nerve wracking time because, generally, plants don't like being
moved but I had no choice because they were outgrowing their old
accommodation! I hope they survive! I still want to plant some carrots,
chives and lettuce so will need to buy some more seeds.
Tim made some scones for tea - normally my job but I was busy with the
rabbit - very nice they were too :)
Now, finally, got the kids off to bed and going to relax, have dinner
and watch Wonders of the Solar System ... lovely!
Despite ongoing sicky-ness, we've packed a fair bit into the last couple
of days. Yesterday was utterly gorgeous weather wise and April and I
spent AGES hunting (quietly!) for in-progress birds nests in the garden.
We stared for a long time at our resident pigeon flying backwards and
fowards ALL morning with twigs in it's beak. We've also got blue tits in
the bird box in between April's and Rosie's bedroom windows which is
sweet :) The kids decided (eeek! a bit of homeschool stuff slipping in
here!) to make maps of our garden and start plotting where birds are
building nests - this is largely so that they can go back in the autumn
and locate the now empty nests and investigate them!
Today (noooo! more homeschool mentioning!) Rosie was studying Picasso in
art and she drew, in pastels, a Cubist portrait (hers will be on the
homeschool blog if you want to look). This looked like a bit of fun so I
had a go to - here is my (rather lame) effort *laughs* - the neck is too
skinny and the yellow side of the face is far too "sloped" - I think
there should be a gentler angle upwards and off the paper. Oh well, it's
good to be creative sometimes even if it does turn out shabby :D
I started watching a new series on telly - The Wonders of the Universe
(9pm BBC2, Sundays) - Empire of the Sun was the first episode and it was
totally amazing! The bit with the total eclipse of the sun was
incredible! If you want to watch it you can still catch the first
episode on BBC iplayer for another month.
Due to the increasingly better weather (although today was a bit
rubbish) and the leaf buds popping up everywhere and the crocuses on our
lawn, I've gone all garden-minded :) So, today, we went to our local
garden centre and came back with 2 bags of compost and a tub of plum
tomato seeds. I've also got various flower seeds and herbs to plant so I
think me and the kids will get started on those tomorrow or the next day.
We have these little gnomes which have ball-bearings in so that when you
put them on the top of a slope they tumble (head over heels) down to the
bottom. To anyone with no sense of humour or fun this might sound
rubbish but it really makes us laugh!
We've had the little gnomes for ages but today Rosie decided to try and
make a really big one out of a toilet roll tube so we did and here he is
next to his smaller brothers :)
Then, Rosie took a few bits of video, from different angles and put them
together in one film (with some funny music!) and the result is everso
funny *laughs*. Here you go:
I have to teach the "mouse lived in a windmill" song to April in time
for the Guides Thinking Day party on the 21st. I've also got to make her
a mouse mask and she and all her little Rainbow friends are going to go
on the stage and do "A mouse lived in a windmill in old Amsterdam".
She's going to look so damn cute! :) Rosie's also doing something on the
stage too with her Guide unit, namely, the Cancan which some woman came
along and taught them last Monday. They've also got to both take along a
small torch for reasons that we have yet to find out.
Other stuff ... Tim came home from work today bearing gifts. Well, not
gifts - he did in fact bring back two large cardboard boxes and an
industrial size pack of centerfeed rolls (which is costing him £8.00!!!)
These items are because I'm beginning spring cleaning next week (I SO
cannot wait ....) The boxes are to put ornaments and cd's and whatnot in
to get them off the shelves while I clean and the blue tissue stuff is
for ... well ... cleaning with! We went to the shops today and I
stocked up on borax, soda crystals and essential oils and all the other
paraphernalia that I need. I'm ready. I'm going in. Wish me luck.
Was in the mood for crafts today so once I'd finished homeschool with
the kids I got busy :)
We have this tradition in our house where, when it's a special occasion,
Rosie makes a post box for our hall and we all leave little cards,
pictures and presents for each other. So, at the moment, we have a
valentine box in our hall and it's been slowly filling up with things.
It's very sweet - Valentine's isn't just about "secret admirer" stuff,
it's also (in my opinion!) about giving your kids an extra special bit
of loviness and for them to do the same. So April has been putting
things in there, so has Rosie and so have I. Last year I made the kids
little beaded hearts and this year I decided to make little bedroom door
hanger things (not sure what they're called!) - very quick to make:
Cut heart shapes from card
Glue both sides and cover with pretty paper (sorry for the blurriness!)
Punch holes in the top and poke through embroidery thread
Decorate and glitterize to your hearts content!
The finished hearts ..... lighting went a bit weirdy in this one!
I also downloaded some gorgeous pantry jar labels from Cherry Menlove
and wrote and decorated some for our jars in the kitchen. They're just
so damn pretty :) Oh, and please try to ignore the fact that my jars are
quite empty! Haven't been shopping!
Deliberately sideways (trying to be arty!) photo
What you can't see very well in that picture is the fact that I
glittered them (oh! I bet Tim just LOVES me *laughs*) - so, here you can
better
So that was that :) Tomorrow the kids have yoga and I'm going to
continue with a bit of decluttering. That was another thing I did today
- started decluttering in preparation for a full-on spring clean. Today
I tackled a completely forgotten kitchen-junk-drawer ..... it was messy
hell on earth .... glad it's finished because it's VASTLY better.
Oh, also joined us up to Dorset Wildlife Trust today - we were members a
while back but left for a bit. We're pretty keen to get going to some
of their events! :)
Just sat waiting for Tim to get back with the kids from yoga. I must
say, I'm really loving these Wednesday afternoons - much as I love my
kiddos, a couple of hours peace and quiet a week is much needed and much
appreciated. I don't actually DO a lot during these quiet times and feel
a bit guilty because of it! This time was particularly needed today
though because Tim and I had one of our "talks" last night which swung
between silly and giggly (or out and out full-on laughter in his case)
and a serious and tense. I'm always left feeling slightly weird after
such things so some me-time was good.
I have been working on a little something for April though - a little
"dressing skills" felt book with buttons and laces and so on to practice
with - not finished yet .... soon, soon!
Of course, I'm still knitting ...... *grinds teeth*
Posted by Sarah at 5:33 PM [Permalink] Edited on: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 5:36 PM
Categories: Crafts, General
- - - o O o - - -
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
"Why stop now, just when I'm hating it"
Oh look honeys, it's some more knitting ......!!
MORE KNITTING. Aaaah curses! The Guide people decided they were going to
knit 100 squares to make a blanket - not sure what the blanket is for
but they've decided the guides all have to knit about 5 or 6 each. In
Rosie's case that means yours truly has to knit 5 or 6. I'm in woolly
hell.
Also craft-related but much more enjoyable, I finally finished my teapot
applique. I'm not 100% happy with it but it's quite cute and brightens
up our (totally plain) hall wall somewhat :)
.... and yes, I have rehung it so it's straight now!
We had a day of "no activities" today so after the kids had finished
their schoolwork and we'd had lunch we went off to Tesco (my favourite
big one as opposed to the shoebox sized one round the corner from us!) I
got my monthly card making/scrapbooking magazine and was soooo happy
that it had a free, 320 piece PADDINGTON set with it! Oh, I love
Paddington! Everyone will be getting Paddington birthday cards this year
and I may even sneak a Paddington Valentines card in for some lucky
recipient ...... is that not romantic? No? Thought maybe not *laughs*.
Posted by Sarah at 5:40 PM [Permalink] Edited on: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 5:51 PM
Categories: Crafts, Places
- - - o O o - - -
Monday, January 25, 2010
*Sighs with relief*
FINALLY finished knitting the square for Rosie's Guide project - JUST in
time (she's going tonight!) I NEVER want to knit anything again as long
as I live!
Had a day of tidying and sorting (mostly the homeschool area) today -
Tim took the kids up the local park this afternoon so I could get on
with it. Slightly annoyed because originally we were all going to go out
somewhere for a walk having put it off from yesterday because my brother
came over. Irritatingly, the weather yesterday was absolutely gorgeous
and a walk at Avon Heath or Hengistbury Head would have been perfect.
Anyway, in the end, I decided to skip it and get on with tidying but the
kids were desperate to get out so Tim took them.
Sat down last night to watch "Rock and Chips", the prequel to Only Fools
and Horses. I wasn't sure what to expect to be honest but I actually
ended up rather enjoying it. It wasn't hysterically funny (like a lot of
bits in Only Fools was), other than the bit in the pregnancy testing
place. Del's mum had gone there to get a test after her relationship
with Freddy Robdal - when there she gives herself a false name (not sure
why, must have missed something somewhere) - in this case Gloria Ming
(?!!), only when the doctor called her name he didn't pronounce it
"ming" (as in the vase) he pronounced it to rhyme with hinge. Ahem....
Oh god did I laugh!
I think by far the best bit was Mr Robdal himself, played by Nicholas
Lyndhurst who I'm sure we all know was Rodney in Only Fools, in that he
was dopey, drippy and idiotic. As Freddy though he was a lying,
cheating, womanising, safe-exploding git .... and soooo much more
appealing because of it. Oh, ok, I've got a thing for the villains in
these things *laughs*. Seriously though, it was, in my uneducated
opinion, brilliant acting because the way he played it you COULD see
bits of Rodneyish stupidity coming through sometimes.
So that was that - wonder if there'll be any more?
Anyway, other things ..... not sure what we're doing tomorrow (shopping
most probably but if the sun comes out I might finally get my walk in!)
but Wednesday morning Rosie has an orthodontist appointment and then,
later in the afternoon, Tim is taking her and April to their yoga class
(aaaah! more free time for me!) Thursday is back to work for Timothy
(heehee) and Rainbows for April.
I'm relaxing with a cup of tea having successfully negotiated the
culinary juggling-act that is lunchtime in this house. It would be so
much easier if everyone would just eat the same thing but, no, obviously
not.
April's pretty good and has always ate virtually the same food Tim and I
do. Rosie has always been a bit picky (although getting better) and I
don't always want to eat "toddler food" (i.e turkey dinosaurs and
chips). So, we end up with this hot, temper-rising, nerve fraying
episode at lunchtimes. It's particularly bad when I need to cook 2
completely different things that need to go in the oven at different
times.
Anyway, hey-ho.
Onto other stuff. I'm a good way through the wretched knitting for the
Guides having finally got it to (ahem... approximately) 15cm. I shall be
glad to see the back of it to be honest and I've decide that I most
definately do NOT like knitting. When I do something creative I tend to
like instant (or at least quick!) gratification. I don't like knitting
because it's so damn slow and you can sit there for HOURS knitting and
look down and see that you've hardly made any progress.
Sewing little things I love because it comes together so quickly .....
ahh! instant pleasure :) On the subject of sewing, I'm nearly done with
my teapot picture - will post that soon, it's very cute!
Tim is finishing the last of his first (does that make sense?!) days
back at work after his holiday. The first day he came home a bit moody -
possibly because it was SUCH a long time since he'd been at work (given
his 2 week holiday and Christmas before that). I think he found it a
real struggle although this is almost certainly mostly due to the fact
that he had to get up VERY early for the first time in ages and he
hadn't slept well the night before. *sigh*, he's quite difficult
sometimes - what with his minor insomnia and the OCD. The insomnia is
really problematic because he doesn't sleep well at night and then lies
in the next day when the rest of us are trying to get on with our day.
The OCD is something I know drives him potty but rarely effects me ...
apart from getting found out for stuff. Ahem... a little while ago, I
had a sneaky Bailey's while he was at Church choir practice one evening.
He came home and said "oh dear, was someone naughty and sneaking
Bailey's while I was out?" I of course look shifty and he says "do you
know how I'm aware of this fact?"
Aaah, of course, I might of guessed. The label on the front of the
bottle was no longer facing the front. Drat it! I should have made sure
I put it back exactly right! *laughs*.
I'm still trying to plod on with Rosie's knitting - I think it's going
to have to be unpicked and redone AGAIN though as it's clearly way too
big :( I can see myself reaching the "tearing my hair out" stage before
Monday at this rate!
Even though the snow is all gone, I'm still faithfully feeding the birds
(you should you know!) only today I delegated the job to April as she
had finished her school work and I was still working with Rosie. Off she
trotted to sprinkle some left over fruit cake around the garden - see
that big pile of branches STILL there from last autumn?! Shocking! :)
My little babe also started Rainbows for the first time this evening :)
She had a good time and came home cheerful so she's going again next
week (they always give you around 3 weeks "trial" before you have to pay
anything). I'm pretty sure she'll be perfectly happy but I want to be
100% as I think it's damaging for force littles into doing things they
don't want just for the sake of it.
Right that's that, off to get kids in bed and make dinner with Tim :)
On Monday evening Rosie came home from Guides with a pair of knitting
needles on to which the Guide leader had been helping her cast on some
stitches. They are going to make some squares to sew together for a
blanket or something ..... Anyway, Rosie says "I've got to finish this
and take it back next week" and plonks it in my hands.
Translation: "You've got to finish this for me so I can take it back
next week".
Thing is, Rosie has no idea how to knit.
Furthermore, neither do I.
So, I look up online some brief knitting instructions and find out how
to continue casting on and ask Rosie "how big does it have to be?" To
which she replies "huh?" and looks at me like I've just asked her to
translate Steven Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" into Japanese.
*Sigh*
Apparently it's got to be 15cm ..... I've got no clue how to measure
knitting, I'm assuming you'd normally go on number of stitches but she
doesn't know how many stitches are supposed to be cast on.
*Sigh, sigh*
So, I cut out a 15cm square and am using that as a measuring device ....
I'm pretty sure it's going to be wrong and my square will end up too big
or too small ..... I JUST KNOW IT. Assuming I actually get it finished
by next Monday that is.
Anyway, that aside, the kids wanted salt dough today so I made salt
dough (a brief respite from going blind trying to cast on stitches). I
love clay modelling so I made this little cutey - can't wait to paint
him!
A lying down piggy with his butt in the air! Sorry, blurred pic,
handshake from the knitting most likely......
Even Tim had a go (was forced to) and made a snail and a BALL (a ball!
He is a true craftsman to be sure). Hmmm. Rosie made Wiggler like she
did from the plasticine, and a Toad from the Mario games. April made
Piglet and a small duck. I'll put a picture when they're all painted.
Right, off for a cuppa and more knitting no doubt .......
PS - the garden birds have been lulled into a false sense of security by
the recent sunshiney weather .... they are flirting with each other
*smiles* A little prematurely I believe but we'll see .....
I kept looking at the picture of my teapot sewing in the last post and
thinking "hmmm, not sure I'm entirely happy with it". I decided it was
the fabrics - in the original, Cherry Menlove one she uses a variety of
fabrics and it looked gorgeous but I wasn't happy. Anyway, I decided to
use the bright flower material I had for all of it and it looks much
better :) Better finish sewing it now!
Aaaah! The Aliens are Coming is one of April's favourite books (it's
very, very funny) and today, after having a quick read, we made aliens
.. out of plasticine.... with googly eyes.
Here's my effort (scarey no?.... no? Oh well)
and here are the rest of odd-bods made by April
Rosie joined in with the plasticine playing but made Wiggler from the
Mario games
It's been a very crafty day all round really because, after doing some
hoovering/dusting this morning I got in the mood to "make stuff". So, I
did this:
Crazy scrapbook paper owl - just got to put some cord on to hang it up.
I used those sticky 3d pads to make it "stand out" :)
and this is a work in progress - only done the spout and the steam at
the mo. I got the template from Cherry Menlove and, when done (quite a
way to go yet!), it will hang in the hall by the front door. Bit crinkly
in this pic! Needs an iron I think.
So that's that :) I think I was inspired today because the weather has
been utterly glorious - bright and sunny and mild - positively
spring-like!
Tim's back to work next week and April has been finally offered a place
at Rainbows after being on the waiting list for EVER so she's off to
that on Thursday (and she's very happy about it too!). Rosie's got
Guides on Monday and they're both off to yoga on Wednesday.
Well, new-old frock I guess! This is another one of my
fix-2-unworn-garments-together type things, in this case a plain black
tshirt and a skirt that I adored the fabric of but was waaay too big for
me. A bit of cutting, stitching and gathering later and I've got a cute
dress :) Actually, although it wasn't intentional, it came out looking
very much like the sort of dress you'd get from Joe Browns which I love
so much but can't afford - so that was an added bonus!
The photos makes it look shiny but it is actually just plain cotton. I
also added a tie to the sides to tie at the back and pull in the waist
and I've tried (not VERY successfully!) to show this in the second
picture. I'm really pleased with how it turned out - it's not perfect
but is utterly wearable and I DO love my girly dresses - especially ones
with big full skirts like this one! :)
Yesterday April and I made these cute little things - we couldn't decide
between sprinkles, flowers or Winnie the Pooh so we did all three!
Very nice they were too :)
Today, I made a long bunting to hang between our living room and
homeschool room. It's sort of shabby chic (I HOPE - as opposed to just
shabby *laughs*). I used some pale green spotty ribbon that I had spare
in my box and some old pinky/lilac fabric bits. It turned out very
pretty and I'll try and get a picture of it in situ but here's what it
looks like:
Tomorrow, Rosie is going to go and spend the day with Luke as he is
going back to school on Wednesday (and we are starting homeschool
again). So, Tim is taking me (and obviously April!) to Castlepoint as I
have some Christmas money to spend - very much looking forward to it,
been ages since I went and brought something new for myself :)
Tim is now on holiday for just over 2 weeks - I do enjoy him being at
home most of the time, it's nice because we do more things together when
he's off BUUUUT, oooo! he does so get his tall, lankiness in my way
sometimes when I'm trying to do stuff! *laughs*
