An article in a newspaper is responsible for my freezer being filled with cherries. It's the reason I have three cherry stoners, a cupboard filled with jars of jams and compotes, and why I can't eat cherries after the end of July. We rent a cherry tree, the fruit from which we get to pick and keep every July. I spend about four days surrounded by boxes of up to 14kg cherries that need quick processing in the heat of the summer. The point … [Read more...]
Other mothers
Other mothers were born to be mothers. Other mothers make the effort to style their hair and do their make-up before the school run in the morning. Other mothers feed their children olives and humous and seabass. And the kids eat it. Other mothers iron all their children's clothes. Other mothers felt this visceral pull, so much more than mere love, from their newborn child the moment it took it's first breath. Other mothers read … [Read more...]
{Recipe} Monkey Bars
Honestly, Dimples may have turned five but she is a determined and stubborn as any four year old. Or three year old. Or two year old. Thus the flapjacks with hidden banana, which had been lovingly dosed with chocolate chips as an incentive to eat, were quickly rebranded Monkey Bars to encourage eating. She's studying jungle animals at school this term so it was a convenient choice. It worked too. She hoovered them up and has asked for … [Read more...]
What to watch on the Amazon Fire TV Box
When I learned there was a TV set top box coming to market from Amazon, I signed up immediately, keen to take advantage of the saving- it cost £59.99 at the early bird rate*- and try out the future of television. We don't have Smart TVs at The Cottage. To be honest we struggle to get internet some days, despite the fact that high speed broadband has already come to our corner of the Kent countryside. But my grumble about my exchange not yet being … [Read more...]
Paper Plate Clucking Easter Chicken
I have been meaning to write this post for over two years, yet every time I make these chickens they get taken into school by The Girls and used and used until they crumble to pieces. I should be flattered that something I used to make long before I ever imagined living in the country and owning actual chickens that lay actual eggs and poo all over the lawn, long before I had children of my own, should be so popular. Did you ever make … [Read more...]
Family Travel: Camping Pods at Port Lympne
I have always held a picture in my head of what it must be like to camp in the wilderness and awake to the sounds of Big Cats calling to one another. As it turns out I didn't even have to get on a plane to experience it, for Port Lympne have brought Kenya to Kent. And earlier this month they launched their Pinewood Camping Pods, allowing families to come to the Port Lympne Park and sleep next door to the animals usually found on reserves … [Read more...]
Handmade Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
There are mere days until UK Mother's Day this Sunday and in most cases, by the end of today you will be too late to order anything. So it's time to get your craft on and get creative with some of these great Last Minute Handmade Mother's Day Gift Ideas. Mother's Day Cards: Make a crocus Mother's Day card with some coloured paper or card. Krokotak has a pretty spring bouquet card idea. Or simply download this great free Mother's Day … [Read more...]
