Distracted

I didn't mean to be away for so long, but I have been distracted...

by Audrey Hepburn, my daughter's new kitten, who likes to be at the centre of all that we do;

knitting and crocheting for rebeccamaryjane's

and making and creating with the children at my after school art and craft clubs.

It's been a busy time.

It has also been a very stressful and emotional time: my husband's brother has cancer and it has shaken us all to the very core. He is battling hard...and we are all trying to carry on as best we can.

Back soon,

Rebecca

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Back to School...and a sparkly sink!

Both my youngsters returned to school this week, my lovely daughter to Sixth Form (I still don't know quite how that's happened so quickly!) and my teenage boy to Year 9! Next week, it's back to school for me too as my after school art & craft clubs begin! Once all four clubs are up and running, I shall be making and creating with up to 80 children each week...and I am so looking forward to it!

I love to hear the children's ideas and to see what designs they come up with! Last term, we made coasters using old CDs and DVDs and, as the World Cup was underway, I had made a football-themed example and mosaic example for those that were not into football.

Without exception, the boys all made football coasters and the girls made mosaic ones!
I have always been fascinated by the "nature versus nuture" debate...are boys and girls conditioned to have different tastes or are they just born that way? What do you think?

I am a keen recycler and this crosses over into my after school art & craft clubs, not only because it is eco-friendly, but because I aim to show the children that you don't need a lot of expensive materials and equipment to be creative and have fun!

We made football trophies and goblets using plastic bottles, recycled cardboard, masking tape and papier mache - they looked fantastic once they had been painted gold and silver!

The children did some observed drawing using a charcoal pencil: apple and banana in a striped bowl. I found the end results very interesting:

These are some of the drawings from the Foundation & Key Stage 1 group - children aged 3-7. I love the different interpretations...the way that some children have drawn the fruit and bowl as separate pieces and how, for some, the fruit was hovering above the bowl rather than in it! I was most fascinated by the drawings produced by twin girls who are the youngest in the group, which can be seen at the bottom of this photo. The drawings are so similar, even though they didn't draw them together - they didn't even see each others drawings until they took them home!

So my sink will be sparkling again next week as I wash the empty pots, sticky spreaders and dirty brushes...in fact, it's not just the sink that sparkles during term time...glitter seems to get everywhere!

I'm really looking forward to going back to school!

Bye for now,

Rebecca

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Chuffed

As you know, I love old books so I always have to have a good rummage through all the boxes of books whenever I'm in a charity shop, or at a jumble sale or flea market!

Just over a year ago I bought a 1949 edition of Dorothy Whipple's Because of the Lockwoods - you might remember me blogging about here. It's taken me a while to read it, not because it's a difficult read, but mainly because the only time I read is at bedtime and I tend to fall asleep, which is most annoying! Anyway, such was my enjoyment of this book from the outset that I vowed to look out for more of Dorothy Whipple's work. I have since purchased the Persephone edition of Someone at a Distance, but I really like to get my hands on old editions...there's just something about the old ones! So you can imagine how chuffed I was to come across this one recently at a local fleamarket:

No dust jacket and a little bit of damage to the spine, but I'm not bothered about that...I'm a book lover, not a book dealer! It has an inscription inside the front cover: "To Dad, With Best Wishes from John - Christmas 1941", which just makes me love it all the more! And, at 50p, I was even more chuffed!

I couldn't resist bringing home the needlework and dressmaking book - again 50p! It was a text book at Bingley Grammar School for Joan, Kathleen, Mary and Barbara, girls of Form 5A - I cannot be sure when, but the book is the 1937 edition. It is full of useful information, as well as snippets that make me smile, such as the advice when choosing the style and colour of a garment: "The Stout should always avoid bouffon style. Taffeta, for instance, is never a suitable material for a stout woman"!

I'm home alone today so, if I finish this now and speed through all my chores, I must just have time to read a little without nodding off!

Back soon,

Rebecca

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Goodies from France

When my daughter's boyfriend asked if there was anything that I would like him to bring back from France, I couldn't resist asking for a copy of Marie Claire Idées, which is always inspirational, and some soap...I love French soap, particularly the handmade lavender variety!

The shea butter soap (at the bottom of the picture) is in the bathroom at the moment and it smells gorgeous! I have had a quick flick through the magazine, but I'm saving a proper look in the hope that, by doing so, I can hang on to 'été' a little longer! Despite today's blue sky and sunshine, there's certainly been an autumnal feel to the last couple of days, particularly the evenings, which have found us reaching for our blankets to keep our flip-flop feet warm as we relax on the sofa!

Bye for now,

Rebecca
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Muddy delights!

Thanks to our allotment-keeping friends, whose son plays rugby with ours, this is what came home from rugby training on Thursday evening:


Crates of mud-covered beetroot, courgettes, squashes and spinach...a very pleasant change indeed from the muddy boots and dirty washing that usually lands in the kitchen after training!

Spinach and potato soup is simmering away as I type, the beetroot is ready for the oven and I've been consulting my Women's Institute Book of Preserves and Pickles for chutney recipe ideas as the courgettes are more of marrow proportions! I love pottering around in the kitchen...the simple things make me so happy!

Back soon,

Rebecca
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I've fallen in love

...with Italy! Hubby and I have just had a fantastic weekend away in Milan!

The weather was hot!

The architecture was amazing:

La Scala

and Il Duomo, which was beautiful inside too!

We discovered a market just minutes from our hotel on Saturday morning with stalls brimming with delicious, fresh produce:

and how about this for a shopping centre?

Gorgeous food, wine, ice creams...just the two of us! It was a real treat and the first time that we've been abroad, child-free, since before they were born! We were sad to leave...

but our post-wonderful weekend blues were soon lifted by news of our daughter's GCSE results yesterday: a total of 7 A*s and 5 As - we are so proud of her!

Back soon,

Rebecca

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Beetroot & Being Bold

I enjoyed watching Alys Fowler's TV series so thought I would borrow The Edible Garden from the library. It's great to dip in and out of with its lovely photos, tips and recipes.

This, along with eating delicious vegetables from other people's gardens and allotments, has made me think about changes that could make in our garden. To have a good, regular supply of veg, rather than the dribs and drabs we have at the moment, we need more growing space. We also need to be more organised, which means that 'I' need to be more organised as, once the rugby season starts, hubby's weekend gardening time will disappear! We need to be bolder: we need to sow and plant more so that we are not caught out by pests (as we have been this year!) and so that we are able keep our plates full of fresh, home grown produce!

We bought beetroot from the market this week as ours, what the pests left of it, is not ready yet. Since buying Sophie Grigson's Eat Your Greens, I always cook it slowly in the oven,

which doesn't look too good at first,


but its skins just slip off

to reveal these beauties:

I can never resist popping one of the slightly warm, earthy beets into my mouth as I peel them! I love beetroot!

So we are going to be bold: we are going to dig up some lawn to give us the veg growing space that we need!

I could do with being a little bolder in other areas of my life too: I need to stop letting little niggling doubts and fears hold me back. Perhaps digging up the lawn will prove to be a catalyst!

Back soon,

Rebecca

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