Category: Children
Successsssssssss!!
Joy is simply producing a whopping, great bubble…and wanting to do it again, and again, and again…
Yesterday, we finally go our giant bubble mixture to really work…YAAAAAAYYYYYY!
The recipe was:
One and a half teaspoons of guar gum (bought from Amazon).
Mixed with enough glycerin (from local chemist) to turn it into a paste.
To which 4 litres of hottest tap water is slowly added.
And a tablespoon of baking powder.
Then finally 6 oz of the best fairy liquid you can buy (we used platinum).
(The trick is lots of vigorous stirring..and then let it sit for 20 minutes).
(The bubbles wands are simply made from wooden spoons and cotton string, tied in a triangular shape with a weight (keys/keyrings work well) at the bottom).
We learnt that if you blew into the bubble..
You could get bubbles inside the bubble!
Hours and hours of pure, unadulterated FUN!
Laters, Kate x
Oh Charlie….
I’m not sure what it is…end-of-term-itus, the weather..a growth surge? But Charlie and I are having regular run-ins like a pair of bulls in mating season. I picked him and Bella up from school just the other day and he got upset because I refused to carry his bag. I never carry his bag – it’s a principal. But because it had a library book in it, a big one chosen by him, he wanted me to. I had 4 bags and a laptop to carry. There was no way. He moaned and moaned. So I gave him my bags and took his. He couldn’t walk..and moaned again. Took my bags back and told him to stop complaining. He complained more. I said if he didn’t stop, I would dock 20p off his pocket money. He lost 20p. Then I realised we had to go to the shops before going home as Bella had a school trip the next day and needed a packed lunch. In the time it took us to get to the shop he’d lost £4.00. I asked him to wait outside the shop so I couldn’t hear him whine. He refused. By the time we eventually got home he was £8.00 down. I advised him in no uncertain terms that after 45 minutes of pure torture he got out of my sight before I did something I regretted, and maybe the best thing to do would be to go up to his room and punch a pillow till he’d calmed down and could be human again.
Five minutes later he re-appeared with arms outstretched saying, ‘I’m sorry Mummy,’
I went to give him a cuddle…
He looked up at me with his big brown eyes full of concern…’I’m so sorry Mummy….but unless you change your attitude I’m going to have to leave home.’
I pointed down the hall, ‘There’s the front door.’
Laters, Kate x
Summer DIY
The rollercoaster ride of summer is gathering speed..today will be the first day of wearing a summer dress all day long without a coat. Bliss. I would happily wear summer dresses all summer long – they are without doubt the ultimate capsule wardrobe. I did my Atlantique Ascoli check and I have 5 cotton ones…so I’m on the hunt for 2 more to make 7 outfits for the sun ticked off. They’re all I take on holiday now – simply blinged and pimped with jewellery and different shoes for the evening.
I’m also collecting together my summer craft box – a tupperware container with enough bits to while away the magic hours that only appear on holidays, when time seems to get stretched by the sun. Last year we made macrame and friendship bracelets (even Charlie can rustle up a mean macrame)..and I’m sure we’ll make more this year..we got pretty proficient at sewing in chains and all sorts..
This year I’ve found this to add in..all we’ll need to add are a crochet hook, some buttons….
Maybe we’ll finally do a take on this…all I need is time..(and that little bit of child labour)……….
Laters, Kate x
7 Questions..
Favourite Colour: Blue..denim, navy, the sea, the sky..it rocks.
Best trait: I value the simple things in life..but truthfully, what I hold truly dear doesn’t a lot, but is ultimately priceless.
Worst trait: I like to think I’m tidy, but I fear I’m not – things just get discarded like the feathers from a plucked chicken so there’s a perpetual circle of chaos around me. I’m also surprisingly crap with technology – I’m not an obsessive checker and regularly lose my phone. I see the internet as something wonderful but inherently dangerous and I suspect losing my phone is a Freudian way of trying to keep a distance from it’s pull.
Oldest item in wardrobe: Hard to say – there’s a fair amount of vintage with unknown heritage, but I do have a cream cape that used to belong to my Grandmother. It’s a treasure.
Newest item: Vintage silk dress bought on Ebay and dyed black, otherwise it’s my Miss Hellfire stripey shoes..certainly different and surprisingly comfortable..
Favourite piece of music: Schubert Lieder sung by Ian Bostridge which shouldn’t work because he’s a light, English tenor, but does..maybe because it’s such intelligent singing.
The last time I laughed: Charlie was asking me about the world’s tallest animal. I said ‘Giraffe’..he looked at me in surprise, and said ‘But what about the Decondra lizard Mummy? It’s at least 2 metres taller, lives in South African and has the ability to make anything you need – if you’re in the Arctic and you need a coat, the Decondra will just make one for you..it can also make plastic..and toys..basically it’s the best pet ever to have..just a big shame it’s so tall’..deep sigh…..
Laters, Kate x
Trial 1..
The inspiration..
The recipe.
The attempt.
That never progressed beyond this.
The aftermath.
The rain.
(Trial 2…soon….I will not be beaten. My garden might…)
Laters, Kate x
In England’s green and pleasant land..
We spent the Bank Holiday weekend with family in the light, clean air of the country, marvelling at the fresh greens and bright colours of early summer, whiling away happy hours reading papers that got read, drinking wine and watching dogs happily snoring in the sun.
Their’s is a garden that represents all that is good about England; It’s a place were time stands still yet life buzzes around.
It’s a joy just to walk around and breathe in.
And the children love the freedom of space..
(Taken just for Lauren..)
They have the most amazing tree..
Like something straight out of Doctor Seuss and The Lorax..
I loved it..made me giggle and sigh.
There was much playing of football with cousins and dogs till the sun went down. Gentle, simple..heavenly.
Laters, Kate x
Morden Hall Park x
My book club book (due for discussion next week) is H for Hawk, a memoir by author Helen Macdonald about raising a Goshawk in a time of grief. So it was pretty thrilling to go to the Morden Hall Park Country Fayre on Bank Holiday monday to see live birds in action.
Morden Hall Park is a National Trust property right at the end of the Northern line where the river Wandle, the river used by William Morris to power his factory, flows powerfully through.
It’s a place that manages to marry urban and country in seamless unity..and this Fayre was no exception.
A barn owl flying over one of Charlie’s class mates.
Full of people but still far from the Madding crowds, there were salt of the earth stalls like this man, quietly making the most beautiful and realistic flys for fishing.
In the grounds blacksmiths and basket weavers were practising their fine arts.
There was even time to catch bubbles..
With miniature steam trains, ferret racing, dog shows, lots of animals as well as traditional stalls..and not so traditional ones…it was a genuinely great and unexpected day out.
But that’s the nature of Morden Hall Park – they really like to embrace the wild. In July they’re holding a Big Camp weekend with the opportunity to set up an overnight camp in the same field that Lord Nelson tethered his horse whilst he fished in the River Wandle and two days of ranger led activities with dinner cooked on a camp fire and story telling. Just gutted we’ll be away…next time Rodders, next time..
Laters, Kate x
6 Today!!
It’s Charlie’s birthday today..a date that always brings back memories. He was due on the 18 May but I had a date with the operating theatre on the 11 May for a planned c-section. Then I went in on the 5 May for a routine check-up..and was told I had pre-eclampsia and wasn’t going home – I just thought I was feeling shite from being pregnant and looking after a toddler. I was prepped and ready for an 8.00 am section the next morning…and finally was wheeled into theatre at 10.20 pm that evening: the joys of a busy hospital and not being a priority…but, despite nil by mouth all day, I did get to enjoy the last kicks I would ever feel and savoured every one of them. When he finally came out I can still remember the shock of being told his weight – I ‘d been on regular monthly growth scans because of problems with my blood and his umbilical cord and they’d all shown he was within normal limits…then they weighed him and he was a mere 5 lbs 8 oz..he was absolutely perfect but so very, very tiny..but I was always crap at the pregnancy lark – his poor umbilical cord was like a piece of string…honestly, it’s a miracle either of my children made it through – out of 12, they were the ones that did – and for that I am and will remain eternally grateful.
(With his cousin Bea)
Laters, Kate x
Charlie’s shoes..
You turn your back on Charlie, turn round again and something has changed in a way that invariably brings a smile..
With the fake summer he got a simple pair of sandals..but he’s invented a new way to wear them. And he’s now wearing all his lycra trainers with a cross too..
Now..where are those nail scissors??
Laters, Kate x
Kent, Part 3 x
Sunshine in the UK never lasts long – it’s the human reality inside any fantastical tale as was proven in the last part of our sojourn to Kent – the day after our seaside adventure the temperature dropped like a stone (a bit like today) from the low twenties..to low. It was still emotionally sun-kissed with blue in the sky and fluffy clouds but the wind was as raw as a saw blade and straight off the frozen Norwegian fjords.
We were at Sandwich (we’d cycled here with the kids previously in the week – I’m not sure they’ve forgiven us yet as we got lost and ended up cycling at least 18 miles…) which is an historic town full of old, quaint buildings and was once the major port in the area and a centre for weaving.
We were there to take a boat ride with the Harbour Master along the 2 miles of river to the coast to see seals..
The trip out is strange – you pass all sorts of industrial sites mixed with wild flowers and Oyster Catchers.
And it was absolutely freezing! Seriously cold enough to whip the balls off any brass monkeys stupid enough to be out. We raided our bags and pockets for anything that could keep us warm..a tissue anyone??
Charlie on look-out..
Spotted!
Coming to say hello..
And then it was time to head for home, hot drinks and a spell under a duvet to warm up (that was me)…the kids wanted to go swimming! it takes all sorts…
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 