Here's why you should swap houses! When we told people that we were doing a House Exchange, the first reaction was one of surprise. "Aren't you worried that they will steal things?" "Don't you worry about other people rummaging through your things?" "I don't know how you could have someone stay in your home: they won't put things back where they found them." Of course, DH and I would have reacted in the same way had we been in their shoes, but … [Read more...]
Simple Chicken Chop Suey
DH tells the story of when he first went to university clutching a copy of Grub on a Grant, not knowing how to cook. University suited him well, as did the cooking: his divine peanut chicken thing won me over on our first Valentine's together and I always get quite sentimental when he cooks it. But it is the Simple Chicken Chop Suey recipe that he first mastered, primarily I presume because one of the ingredients is his condiment-of-choice: … [Read more...]
Puppy Love
This week's Gallery prompt is phone photos. I like snapping things with my phone so this suited me. I have also just downloaded a new app to my phone so that I can edit it, which has given me some wonderful results. Here's the very first one I did: Editing has really added something both to the photos I have taken and the photos I want to take. I love that you can focus on a … [Read more...]
How to make a pine cone Christmas Tree
Red Ted Art has toilet roll fetish when it comes to craft. Nurture Store is a mahoosive fan of playdough. I have a (very) soft spot for crafting with corks. What's not to like? At the very least they give me a reason to regularly open a bottle of wine. And not just at home either. Whenever we go out to events or restaurants, even the Parents' Drinks at LBG's school, I have been known to sidle up to the bar staff and flutter my eyelashes in … [Read more...]
Project 366: week 1
About six months ago I started following The Boy and Me, drawn in by her Project 365, and the wonderfully daily photos that she was publishing of her Boy. It occurred to me that this was a brilliant idea and I determined to follow her lead at the beginning of 2012. It seems I was not the only one: my G Reader is filled with the most wonderful #366 posts at the moment, and I love them all. Because I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants blogger, … [Read more...]
Cork printing craft for Valentine’s Day
Last year, LBG and I had a fabulous time making Valentine's Day cards to post over with Red Ted. I just looked at the pictures and cannot believe how much her pudgey little hands have changed. It's also fair to say that her skill set has changed to. She was unexpectedly off school today with laryngitis and, despite having very little voice, made it quite clear what sort of cards she wanted to make. The idea I had was to do wax crayon … [Read more...]
No child should be left in the cold by rising fuel bills
LBG is home sick today: she has a temperature, a barking cough and has lost her voice. It's awful to hear her squeak. I know what it's like because I get laryngitis often enough. But when it's three-year-old, your three-year-old it's worse. So we are staying at home. I'm keeping her hydrated, dosing her with Calpol and Nurofen (following medical advice obviously) and have whacked on the heating to keep her warm. Because I can do that without … [Read more...]
