Go away!
I comforted myself with the fact everything in the garden was being watered. That's now done. Then that DD1 liked playing in the puddles. Have exhausted that now. Then we had one glorious day of sunshine where we went for a long walk, raided local bramble bushes and came home tierd but happy. Having been *outside* and enjoyed *being out without rainmacks and wellies* and (shock horror) actually got to get a few jobs done, without feeling guilty about driving into town (something we've had to do recently, for fear of being caught in a downpour, DD1 getting soaked, DD2's buggy/sling becoming a swimming pool and both me and Taller Half (hence refered to as TH) resembling drowned rodentia.)
And then we wake up to torrential downpours... so long summer - yesterday was nice.
Sunday 31 August 2008
Thursday 28 August 2008
Charlie 2 boobs
Well, DD2 is living up to her nickname. She now weighs in at 10lbs 1 1/2 ozs. She weighed 8 1/2lbs when born 24 days ago...
Does my nappy look big in this?
Does my nappy look big in this?
Wednesday 27 August 2008
The Search For Sensible Shoes...
*Sigh* did think on saturday my dd1 would have to go to and from school barefoot when she goes for the 1st time on Friday (5th sept). Have been searching for sensible (without a ridiculos heel, and without being a 'must have ballet pump style' - great for looking pretty, not so when wanting to walk to school, and having a daughter who likes to step in puddles, and would wreck these shoes within minute of putting them on.) school shoes, in the right size....
Now y'see the comment above should be easy enough to attain - you go into clarks, child is fitted, they tell you width fitting and you buy shoes which are (A) right size (B) right width. Ooooh no, this is not the case. You go into clarks, and are told your daughter (who when last fitted for shoes was a 'D' width fitting) is a 'G' and that she takes a 9 1/2. Tried a 'G' on, and you could have got both her feet in one shoe. Which although would have possibly saved on expense, but I doubt they'd only sell you one shoe at a time.
Eventually went to our local john lewis this evening, wide eyed and desparate, had her properly fitted, and atttained a pair of sensible mary janes in black leather (with leather insole, for breathablity) in a 9 1/2 'E' - so although they got the size right, god only knows what the shop assistant in clarks was mesuring when she got the width, its sure wasn't dd1s feet!
Now y'see the comment above should be easy enough to attain - you go into clarks, child is fitted, they tell you width fitting and you buy shoes which are (A) right size (B) right width. Ooooh no, this is not the case. You go into clarks, and are told your daughter (who when last fitted for shoes was a 'D' width fitting) is a 'G' and that she takes a 9 1/2. Tried a 'G' on, and you could have got both her feet in one shoe. Which although would have possibly saved on expense, but I doubt they'd only sell you one shoe at a time.
Eventually went to our local john lewis this evening, wide eyed and desparate, had her properly fitted, and atttained a pair of sensible mary janes in black leather (with leather insole, for breathablity) in a 9 1/2 'E' - so although they got the size right, god only knows what the shop assistant in clarks was mesuring when she got the width, its sure wasn't dd1s feet!
Monday 25 August 2008
Tab Tops For Dummies
Link for making tab top cutains. Super simple, and saves a large ammount compared to shop bought, especially if you can find a remnant on ebay big enough for your window.
http://alternative-windows.co.uk/tabtop-curtains.htm
http://alternative-windows.co.uk/tabtop-curtains.htm
Sunday 24 August 2008
Starting School
DD1 is 4 1/2, and will be starting school in september (5th to be precise) - it now seems much closer. A friend of ours turned up with some prefectly servicable 2nd hand uniform (her daughter, 2 years older, had outgrown) and we're going to try and find school shoes (in a size 9 1/2 D width fitting - that'll be fun, nad a whole other post) tomorrow. Waited until we knew she'd got hopefully all of her growing in, so we didn't get to the day before she starts and realise they were now too small. Thankfull for that as when we started the holidays she was a size 9.
DD1 also seems very comftable with the idea of going to school, and has friends she knows who'll be in class with her.... all in all looks like we're in for a smooth transition. However, it does now seem to be getting very close. And you just cant help but feeling your 'baby' is all grown up!
DD1 also seems very comftable with the idea of going to school, and has friends she knows who'll be in class with her.... all in all looks like we're in for a smooth transition. However, it does now seem to be getting very close. And you just cant help but feeling your 'baby' is all grown up!
Zero Waste
A friend of mine has recently launched a website for zero waste - http://myzerowaste.com - which is a highly inspiring tale of liveing without waste, and trying to reduce impact where ever possible by limiting the rubbish you produce. There's also a pledge section, where you can take a number of promises, to reduce your waste and to encourage recycling among family and friends.
One of the pledges (there were 4 I didn't already do) I took was to take a container to the butchers instead of using the wrap and plastic bags they give out. I went, container in hand to acquire some chuck steak for our slow cooker. having passed my container across, and having a bit of an odd look from the butcher, I proceeded to put my re-useable contain in my reuseable bag. Then I made an observation....
The people in the q were all giving me a *funny look* - but the majority of them had re-useable bags.... surely a reusable container is just a natural progression from a re-useable bag? I mean, I han't used one before, until pledging to do this as a method of reduing our waste, but I'd toyed with the idea, but just never remembered to take container to the butcher when going. It was the fact I'd promised which was the push I needed to make myself put it in the bag the night before, a foolproof method when trying to herd 2 children in the morning - I'd even written it on our notice board.
I suppose the question I'm posing is - is it such a progression to have a reusable container? And where do *normal* folks draw the line at being eco? If my container seemed a bit 'weird' to the others in the q, is that because reusable bags are now the norm, which is good, or are they viewed more as a fashion accessory?
One of the pledges (there were 4 I didn't already do) I took was to take a container to the butchers instead of using the wrap and plastic bags they give out. I went, container in hand to acquire some chuck steak for our slow cooker. having passed my container across, and having a bit of an odd look from the butcher, I proceeded to put my re-useable contain in my reuseable bag. Then I made an observation....
The people in the q were all giving me a *funny look* - but the majority of them had re-useable bags.... surely a reusable container is just a natural progression from a re-useable bag? I mean, I han't used one before, until pledging to do this as a method of reduing our waste, but I'd toyed with the idea, but just never remembered to take container to the butcher when going. It was the fact I'd promised which was the push I needed to make myself put it in the bag the night before, a foolproof method when trying to herd 2 children in the morning - I'd even written it on our notice board.
I suppose the question I'm posing is - is it such a progression to have a reusable container? And where do *normal* folks draw the line at being eco? If my container seemed a bit 'weird' to the others in the q, is that because reusable bags are now the norm, which is good, or are they viewed more as a fashion accessory?
Saturday 23 August 2008
Cheesecake....
Ingredients
2 package cheam cheese,softened (8oz)1/2 cup sugar1/2 tsp vanilla2 eggs1 graham-cracker crust,9Directions
Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla at medium speed with electricmixer until well-blended. Pour into crust. Bake at 350'F. for 40minutes, or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours orovernight, Makes 8 servings.NOTE: You can also use lighter Neufchatel-type cheese.Variations: For chocolate, melt four squares of semi-sweet bakingchocolate; add after eggs and mix until blended. For candy version,sprinkle 1 cup of chopped candy bars on top of cake before baking. Forpumpkin, add 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamonand a dash each of nutmeg and cloves in the first step. Then add eggsand proceed as directed.
Servings: 8 servings
2 package cheam cheese,softened (8oz)1/2 cup sugar1/2 tsp vanilla2 eggs1 graham-cracker crust,9Directions
Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla at medium speed with electricmixer until well-blended. Pour into crust. Bake at 350'F. for 40minutes, or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours orovernight, Makes 8 servings.NOTE: You can also use lighter Neufchatel-type cheese.Variations: For chocolate, melt four squares of semi-sweet bakingchocolate; add after eggs and mix until blended. For candy version,sprinkle 1 cup of chopped candy bars on top of cake before baking. Forpumpkin, add 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamonand a dash each of nutmeg and cloves in the first step. Then add eggsand proceed as directed.
Servings: 8 servings
Friday 22 August 2008
The wonderful world of flapjacks...
http://www.flapjackrecipe.com/
Does what it says in the URL.
A wealth of recipes for making something easy with the kids.
Does what it says in the URL.
A wealth of recipes for making something easy with the kids.
Thursday 21 August 2008
GP Lets, Q&A
GP LETS – Q&A:
So, what is a lets scheme?
LETS (local exchange trading schemes) are all about exchanging goods and services without the need for cash.
Ok, now you’ve lost me.. how do you pay for stuff then?
Right, you trade using wooden dollars. This means you can buy and sell without having to swap, as such. The way this works is someone keeps a spreadsheet, and every time you trade, you let the person with this spreadsheet know (that’d be me)
- who the trade is going to (credit) , including their member number
- where the trade is coming from (debit), including their member number
- how many ‘greenies’ the trade is for (you agree this with person you’re trading with, via PM or email)
- what the trade is for (describe what you’ve received in return for your ‘greenies’)
I think I’ve got it now… I talk to who I’m trading with, agree a price and then let you know about the transaction?
Yep, that’s it.
Ok, bear with me… what about my ‘account’?
Right, it’s all kept on spreadsheet, and I’ll let everyone know balances via PM once a quarter (three months), more if you request a balance via PM. Don’t worry about going into commitment, as no-one will be asking you to pay it back! You get 10 ‘Greenies’ at the start, so you don’t need to feel like you’ve got to have someone buy something before you can trade – this’d mean everyone waiting till they had greenies, so it just gets the whole thing started.
Think I’ve got the hang of it now.
Good, lets just recap a few of the biggest points I’ve talked about above, plus a few other bits which might help get your head round it.
- The currency is called a ‘greenie’
- To help when sorting out how much to trade, 1Greenie=1Pound
- You need to inc your membership number, the person your trading with number and amount of greenies and description when you email a trade to me.
- You sort out paying any cash for postage etc, or for raw materials, and do this outside of the main scheme. Pay pal or cheque/po is probably best way to sort this.
- All members get 10 greenies to start with, so you have something to trade in straight away.
Hope that’s covered everything, more questions, add comment below.
So, what is a lets scheme?
LETS (local exchange trading schemes) are all about exchanging goods and services without the need for cash.
Ok, now you’ve lost me.. how do you pay for stuff then?
Right, you trade using wooden dollars. This means you can buy and sell without having to swap, as such. The way this works is someone keeps a spreadsheet, and every time you trade, you let the person with this spreadsheet know (that’d be me)
- who the trade is going to (credit) , including their member number
- where the trade is coming from (debit), including their member number
- how many ‘greenies’ the trade is for (you agree this with person you’re trading with, via PM or email)
- what the trade is for (describe what you’ve received in return for your ‘greenies’)
I think I’ve got it now… I talk to who I’m trading with, agree a price and then let you know about the transaction?
Yep, that’s it.
Ok, bear with me… what about my ‘account’?
Right, it’s all kept on spreadsheet, and I’ll let everyone know balances via PM once a quarter (three months), more if you request a balance via PM. Don’t worry about going into commitment, as no-one will be asking you to pay it back! You get 10 ‘Greenies’ at the start, so you don’t need to feel like you’ve got to have someone buy something before you can trade – this’d mean everyone waiting till they had greenies, so it just gets the whole thing started.
Think I’ve got the hang of it now.
Good, lets just recap a few of the biggest points I’ve talked about above, plus a few other bits which might help get your head round it.
- The currency is called a ‘greenie’
- To help when sorting out how much to trade, 1Greenie=1Pound
- You need to inc your membership number, the person your trading with number and amount of greenies and description when you email a trade to me.
- You sort out paying any cash for postage etc, or for raw materials, and do this outside of the main scheme. Pay pal or cheque/po is probably best way to sort this.
- All members get 10 greenies to start with, so you have something to trade in straight away.
Hope that’s covered everything, more questions, add comment below.
The new natural collection 'Community'
Natural collection now have a series of community pages, accessed via their main website www.naturalcollection.com - recipes look very interesting, think we might be trying the vegtable tangine next week.
Wooly Bugs..
We've just come into the recipt of two cute and cuddly ladybirds, one just the right size for DD1 and one perfect for DD2. A very kind friend of ours made them, after my confession I can't knit for toffee! Thanks.
Wednesday 20 August 2008
RECIPE: Parmesan and Poppy Seed Twists.
375g puff pastry
1 med egg, beaten
1-2 table spoons grated parmesan
1/2-1 table spoon pooppy seeds
(You also need a baking tray, lined with parchement)
Set oven to hot/gas mark 7/220oC
Unroll Pastry and trim off edges. Cut in half width ways, brush egg over one half of pastry, and sprinkle with about 1/2 the poppy seeds and parmesan.
Place other half of pastry on top, and roll out a bit.
Brush egg glaze over the top of this layer, and sprinkle remaining cheese and poppy seeds on it.
Cut into strips, and twist, lay on baking tray and chill for about 10 mins or until firm.
Place in oven, and bake for 15-20mins. Best served hot.
1 med egg, beaten
1-2 table spoons grated parmesan
1/2-1 table spoon pooppy seeds
(You also need a baking tray, lined with parchement)
Set oven to hot/gas mark 7/220oC
Unroll Pastry and trim off edges. Cut in half width ways, brush egg over one half of pastry, and sprinkle with about 1/2 the poppy seeds and parmesan.
Place other half of pastry on top, and roll out a bit.
Brush egg glaze over the top of this layer, and sprinkle remaining cheese and poppy seeds on it.
Cut into strips, and twist, lay on baking tray and chill for about 10 mins or until firm.
Place in oven, and bake for 15-20mins. Best served hot.
GP Lets... Again
Well, its all go here! Have started a 'sign up' on the forum, and have had a good response - with offers ranging from jam to rune readings with tie-dye and basketry inbetween. It's lovely to see what a varied skill set these women have, and puts pay to the idea that all sahm do is drink tea/coffee (delete as appropriate) and watch daytime TV! We also make baskets and cards thankyou... :-D
Dummies for breastfed babies prevent cot death?
Had DD2s health visitor come over today, for our 1st visit, adn she gave me all the usual paperwork about breastfeeding, weaning and sleeping. She also happened to mention that it was now 'reccomended' that any breastfed baby over 4weeks had a dummy when being put to bed, as it was researched and showed it reduced the risk of cot death... I told her DD2 wasn't having a dummy, and after she'd gone decided to do a little more research in regard to this dummy reccomendation...
I've come up with this links:
http://www.babyexpert.com/Baby/Can-a-dummy-prevent-cot-death%5E/v1
Comments appriciated on this one, as I'm finding it very hard to swallow (excuse the pun), and would love to read research papers which claim this to be the case.
I've come up with this links:
http://www.babyexpert.com/Baby/Can-a-dummy-prevent-cot-death%5E/v1
Comments appriciated on this one, as I'm finding it very hard to swallow (excuse the pun), and would love to read research papers which claim this to be the case.
GP Lets...
So It looks like I've stuck my hand up to be 'group co-ordinator' for a completely internet based lets scheme. Yikes, with that and a 2 week old baby, a duaghter due to start school at start of next month and WEN/Local Lets comitments - will I have any spare time, whatsoever?
Well, I suppose I should explain Lets a bit, for all reading who might not have come accross it. LETS (Local Exchange Trading Schemes) are a way of exchanging goods and serivces without any cash trading hands. Think along the same lines as freecycle, but with wooden dollars being *paid* for items which are no longer req by whoever's offering. You then send a record of the transaction via email (or using paper cheques, as our local scheme do too) and this is kept in the 'accounts' so that everyone knows a balance. It doesn't matter if you go into commitment, as this isn't like a real account, it just means the co-ordinator etc have a way of seeing what trading is going on, and what in.
All members have a membership number, and to report a 'trade' you email with:
your name and membership number
ammount of LETS agreed for trade
person they're going to, and their number
description of the trade
example:
Anne, member 10
5 LETS
Bob, member 2
Gutter Clearance
Hope that made a bit more sense to everyone!
Now back to GP forums lets scheme...
This would be entirely internet based, and transactions would only be sent by email. This'd be an interesting experiment, as although our local scheme has an egroup, through yahoo, and does a lot of reporting of trading online, I'd like to see how e-communication only would work for exchange. I would guess you'd email, or PM, with what you'd like, and then sort out delivery of the item (prob by post, if its a *real* item, or by email, if its something that has been requested be typed up, or a sewing pattern/knitting instructions etc).
Well, I suppose I should explain Lets a bit, for all reading who might not have come accross it. LETS (Local Exchange Trading Schemes) are a way of exchanging goods and serivces without any cash trading hands. Think along the same lines as freecycle, but with wooden dollars being *paid* for items which are no longer req by whoever's offering. You then send a record of the transaction via email (or using paper cheques, as our local scheme do too) and this is kept in the 'accounts' so that everyone knows a balance. It doesn't matter if you go into commitment, as this isn't like a real account, it just means the co-ordinator etc have a way of seeing what trading is going on, and what in.
All members have a membership number, and to report a 'trade' you email with:
your name and membership number
ammount of LETS agreed for trade
person they're going to, and their number
description of the trade
example:
Anne, member 10
5 LETS
Bob, member 2
Gutter Clearance
Hope that made a bit more sense to everyone!
Now back to GP forums lets scheme...
This would be entirely internet based, and transactions would only be sent by email. This'd be an interesting experiment, as although our local scheme has an egroup, through yahoo, and does a lot of reporting of trading online, I'd like to see how e-communication only would work for exchange. I would guess you'd email, or PM, with what you'd like, and then sort out delivery of the item (prob by post, if its a *real* item, or by email, if its something that has been requested be typed up, or a sewing pattern/knitting instructions etc).
Naming Day
Todays the day I register DD2 birth... I can't help but find myself wondering...
'Does she *look* like a Charlotte?'
'Does she *look* like a Charlotte?'
Tuesday 19 August 2008
I've got 'blogged up'
After ages playing with the idea of getting myself a blog.. I've bitten the bullet and pushed aside my 'worries' - will I have enough time, can I come up with anything meaningful, will I be able to post enough to make this interesting, who'll want to read my 'soap-boxing'? - so here I am. With a blog. Watch this space, will be posting up soon with various bits and pieces that I have ideas/views about, or things that just matter to me.
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