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Archive for January, 2010

Time for Asha to turn of her light and get some sleep. She has finally got into a routine. I agree it is demanding for Steve, but Asha is sleeping a lot better, and generally looking and behaving a lot better for it.

Her routine now is : 7 pm,,, P.J’s and cereal, plus drink. 7.30 up to bed, where daddy reads to her untill 8. They are currently reading the Lord Of The Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring.

At this point, Daddy comes downstairs and Asha is allowed to read untill 9 pm, at which time daddy goes up tucks her in and she normally now settles down to sleep, before 10.

Most nights now she is sleeping though, to around 8.30. At which point she comes and wakes Daddy up. and they go downstairs..

Anyway.. i digress.. Its 9 pm.. We have just made some buscuits as we have had none all weekend, and i get annoyed with the rubbish that is found in shop bought ones. I have a rucksack full of books to return to the library tomorrow, and Steve is enjoying a break, after a busy day of cooking roast dinner. I am wearing my home grown.. woollen coat, and am considering the fact that in 3 days time i need to have enough bits of card cut out for 20 home educated children to make a horse and cart… Guess what tomorrow night is going to be!

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4 robins
1 jay
1 magpie
2 dunnocks
6 blue tits
6 great tits
2 nuthatchs, first time i have seen two together… must have been the hazel nuts we put out!!!
4 chaffinch
crows, carrion 1

Not bad going.. for 15 months worth of feeding the birds every day by Asha!

Looking forwards to next years, and I am going to find out how we can attract some different breeds and more numbers into our garden.

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Robin
pigeons
Blackbirds
blue and great tits
Shovellers

Grey heron
canadian geese
coots
loads of other birds which we didnt recognise

We were trying to find a tufted duck, but we couldnt.. I believe there was some there, but we couldnt see any. We did however have a lovely day in the sun, although it was snowing when we left here, and when we got back it was sleeting!

Our trip was followed by a quick visit to llanfairfechan for a play on the swings, and to feed the ducks on the duck pond.. and the two mute swans.. (I am pleased we did a review of the which swan is it code last night) with wild duck and swan food, not bread!

Asha had a great day, and is now settling down for bed.. Her usborne sticker book has more birds filled in, and we have all enjoyed some sunlight.. and it was WARM.. relief.

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O.k. When your 5 and a half year old asks you to do “real science” as the subject for the month.. what do you do?

Well Steve armed with two ballons, one for him and one for Asha.. supervised filling them up with water, measuring around the circumfrances writing the length down and popped them in the freezer.

A few hours later, the little scientist, got frozen items out of freezer, measured them.. and noticed with glee they had grown 2 cm each! WOW..

She then asked for a big jug of warm water, and defrosted the balls of ice, stating that it was interesting how they both ended up with holes in them, and this allowed the warm water to defrost them faster as both sides of the ice had warm water on them!

My daughter is far too scientific for me!

She then got her doll and some kitchen roll, and proceded to wash her doll with the water from the jug.. saying she was being a mummy like in india…:D

We also did a fair amount of sums today. We did a good review of the 2x table, and i was pleased to see she can still do it. We discussed adding and subtraction again, and hopefully tomorrow morning when i get up, she will have done some of that too.

We also had another look at the difference between, Whooper swans, mute swans and bewick swans, as its been a few months since we have seen any around. So wanted to get these clues back into the brain, before the weekend.

Had a lovely day at home with Steve and Asha, and we even managed a good go on the violins today… It was brilliant.

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UPDATED STATEMENT: Breastfeeding is the First Line of Defense in a Disaster

Washington, DC (January 27, 2010)–The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), International Lactation Consultant Association/United States Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA/USLCA), and La Leche League International (LLLI) strongly affirm the importance of breastfeeding in emergency situations, and call on relief workers and health care providers serving victims of disasters to protect, promote, and support mothers to breastfeed their babies. During an emergency, breastfeeding mothers provide their infants with safe food and water and disease protection that maximize their chances of survival.

http://llli.org/haitimilkdonation

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On Monday we went to portmerion, with one of Asha’s little friends, X and her Mum.
It was LOVELY as the sun was out, for most of the day and the two girls played well all afternoon, though by the end the tiredness did start to show!

I remembered to take bird food with us this time, so the girls both dropped loads in the play area, and we all enjoyed sitting outside in the sunlight to eat our lunch.. Yes in JANUARY! Must be a first!

We dropped into the shops on the way home and I bought some of that jussroll pastry. So we could bung a top on some vegetables and have veggie pie for dinner.. Yummy!

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that there are powers and energies out there which we have no control over.. Have you ever tried to catch a wave??

So for me, instead of using the word Lord i use energy…

I give this to all my friends who are finding life tough right now.

Footprints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

Carolyn Carty, 1963

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An idiots guide O.k. the Asha’s guide to gull spotting.

Has it got red on beak… If no.. What colour are its legs… if green = Common Gull

Has it got red on beak… If yes… What colour are its legs…If yellow – Yellow Legged Gull

Has it got red on beak… If yes… What colour are its legs…If Pink – Herring Gull

If short black legs – Kittiwake.

I am sure there are other factors and Gulls which need adding to this, but as they are most of our local common Gulls. It is a hugh improvement on.. “Oh look at the seagulls Asha” We now have.. Asha what kind of Gull is it.. and Its working.. We saw a Herring Gull in town mummy today… Success!

Pink legs, grey back, small red mark on beak.

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2010 Is happening in August / September this year.

http://www.walesenvironmentalhomeeducationcamp.com/

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http://www.foodincmovie.com/

“you will never look at your food the same again”

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Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
William Pitt

Think about it!

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Since Christmas we have not really been doing much on the formal side of education.

We have done very little sit down and read or write.. and maths has been largely neglected. Probably not too worrying, as Asha can count well enough and understands all the concepts i feel she needs to right now.

Anyway, its the RSPB bird watch this weekend, and last week we bought a new bird book, so tonight we sat and wrote a list of the birds we know are found in the garden, and had a look at them in the book. We then had a look at the gulls and wrote a list of the ones we often see.

The garden list went like this:

Blue tit
Great tit
Coal tit
Robin
Tree pipit.
Song Thrush
Starling
Nuthatch.
Blackbird, Male and Female
Magpie.

The seagull one went like this:

Yellow Legged Gull… has yellow legs.. there is a surprise!
Herring Gull – pink legs
Common Gull – no red on bill and greenish legs
Kittiwake – black shortish legs.

Right so next time we are in town, and are watching the gulls, we might know which is which.. Yes??

I have also sat and gone over the parts of a plant, and hopefully tomorrow morning Asha will have cut out her plant puzzle, coloured it in and glued it onto a peice of paper…

I also hope to find the play room tomorrow and thus the education on the PC can start again, as i shall be able to reach it to help her with it!!

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Well I got an email through today asking me if i wanted to attend an school reunion in June.

If you know of someone who was a student at Wellington school on the Wirral before it got knocked down, please pass the word. We have ended up all around the world, but as many as possible would be good!

Dan can be found on facebook, as can “Wellington School Bebington” but if you want me to act as go between, just let me know!

Dan Smith 22 January at 12:15 Reply
Hi all,

I’ve booked the Birkenhead Cricket Club function room / pavillion for:

Friday 25th June. 6pm – midnight.

http://bpcc.play-cricket.com/content/view.asp?id=10226341&cid=202

I hope this date is fine for everyone.

In answer to a few questions:

Kids are welcome, as long as they are supervised. Plenty of room to play outside on the cricket field too.

Dress code.. shall we say smart-casual?

The music will not be banging all night, the volume will be monitored & always appropriate. The room that we’ll be using is long… from the dancefloor area through the function room, to the foyer, exit and outside, so plenty of areas to chat, inside and out.

I’m gonna put together a playlist of good music.. 60s, 70s, 80s & 90s eclectic groove based. Turntables will be there, so if anyone needs to DJ then feel free to bring your tunes (Vinyl or MP3). I probably wont get on the decks myself as this has been my job for the last 13 years every Friday & Saturday night, so I’d much rather catch up with a lot of my old pals.

more stuff to sort out..

Had a couple of offers to help with food. I’d much rather keep the budget down, so would rather not get caterers in. How about if people make / buy & bring a dish each???
Anything buffet style.. crisps & dips etc?
Let me know.

As I’m Manchester based, would anyone be up for popping down to the venue asap to formerly secure this date?
To avoid losing our slot, they just need someone to sign a booking form in person. No deposit required.
Eileen is the venue manager, she’s there Fri & Sat from 5pm, or Tues to Thurs from 6pm. Please let me know if anyone can help here.

I’ll put a couple of notices in the local Wirral press, say April / May?

OK, that’s all for now folks, any questions or thoughts just message me.

Looking forward to it!

Regards,

Dan.

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When living where we live, with so many areas being very isolated, you come to understand some of the many challenges that the RAF and other rescue agencies deal with.

I have always had a great respect for the emergency services, and feel that this is a wonderful gesture, of Art, meeting religion, meeting rescue…

“A stained glass window which took eight years to come to fruition has been dedicated at a church on an RAF base.

The two-part window, depicting rescue work, is sited to the side of the altar at the RAF Valley church on Anglesey.

It was the brainchild of 38-year-old Simon Allen, a former winchman who now trains air crew instructors.

The window was created by Karen Newby, who makes stained glass windows, and Lindsey Abbott, who paints and restores them.”

source :http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/8473055.stm

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I found this photograph today, from when Asha was around 1 and it reminded me how important it is to sit and talk to children.. all children.. how ever old they may be.

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Well today was the home education group.. otherwise know as CLAS.

We were all a bit sleepy this morning, and none of us really wanted to get up. We have received this weeks “i love film” dvd’s and so we watched one in bed before we got up. “What to eat now.. Autum cd 1”

Well if your going to watch tv in bed.. it needs to be interesting…!

After that we all got up, and i had a much needed bath. Asha did some early morning art work.. and then we got together our selves and went to pick T up, as his mums car was off the road again.

At CLAS we ate our dinner, and Asha enjoyed playing with her friends, and using her roller skates. She is currently really enjoying roller skating and skateboarding. I plan to take her to the local skateboarding “site” one day soon.

I had a lovely time talking to Kay and Rowenna. It was good to have some time, to sit and talk. I am not spending much time in the main hall at the moment, but this is partly because its just too active in there and my little head cant cope with it!

J and I sat and discussed crafts for the next few weeks. Hopefully she will start feeling brighter soon. If we can get through this blip in the craft market, then we will be back on track i am sure. E, has offered to do some crafts as well which is fabulous, the more the merrier!

On the way home, Asha was hungry, and asked if we could go to the shops for some crips.. I agreed. She was very happy at having a whole pack of hoola hoops to her self!

Oh well.. Night all!!!

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We sat and watched the bee movie again in bed, then Asha and Daddy got up, whilst i struggled to wake enough to get to the drs.

After a trip to the drs, Asha and I sat and watched a 1995 version of Little Women on video. Asha seems to have understood much of it, but got confused over the characters a bit.. the older girls did look rather similar to her!.

We had shepards pie for dinner, and home made rice pudding for pudding.

Asha listened to “The Little Prince” published in 1943, is French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s most famous novel.

We have not covered “The Little Prince” before, so hopefully it will be something new for her to talk to us about for a few days. Normally with audio books, we have read the book, prior to introducing the audio book but I am interested to find out how much she listens to from the audio book on its own.

After bed tonight, steve and i cut out some material to make me some new clothes.. We just need to get some cotton now, to sew the bits together!!

I was going to write a new status up on facebook when the skye boat song, popped into my head.. so i have put it here instead!

The Skye Boat Song

(Chorus)
Speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing
Onward the sailors cry
Carry the lad that’s born to be king
Over the sea to Skye

Loud the wind howls, loud the waves roar,
Thunderclaps rend the air
Baffled our foes, stand by the shore
Follow they will not dare

Chorus

Many’s the lad fought on that day
Well the claymore did wield
When the night came, silently lain
Dead on Culloden field

Chorus

Though the waves heave, soft will ye sleep
Ocean’s a royal bed
Rocked in the deep, Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head

Chorus

Burned are our homes, exile and death
Scatter the loyal men
Yet e’er the sword cool in the sheath
Charlie will come again.

Chorus

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It is with sadness that I must let my favourite hot drink , my favourite easter egg, and my favourite chocolate go..

Kraft have bought them out. Now for most people this wouldnt seem a major problem, after all… aren’t Nestle the real problem in the chocolate industry??

Well yes, but Kraft arent a lot better!

http://www.tdu.org/node/1942

http://www.sfexaminer.com/economy/ap/62386327.html

http://library.law.emory.edu/1circuit/feb2000/99-1446.01a.html

Just a few examples of how they treat there employers.. so be prepared!! Cadburys may well be leaving the UK… It wont surprise me.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/8467485.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8467007.stm

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Forestry Commission scraps Magna Carta right to collect woods from forests
The right of people to collect wood from Britain’s forests that was created under the Magna Carta has been overturned due to health and safety fears.
By Chris Irvine
Published: 9:28PM GMT 26 Oct 2008

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3264458/Forestry-Commission-scraps-Magna-Carta-right-to-collect-woods-from-forests.html

then we get

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-7KTLDR

Forestry Commission Wales (FCW) is committed to promoting the use of wood as an economical, sustainable and carbon-neutral fuel.

As more people in Wales turn to wood as a form of fuel, we are changing the way we sell firewood in order to respond to the growing demand in the most appropriate way.

We want to support the development of a firewood supply chain in Wales which delivers a quality firewood product, and also supports community enterprises. Our aim is to develop a network of local firewood merchants and community enterprises who are willing to collect timber from the forest roadside for processing into domestic firewood.

So they are now selling it.. where as three years ago you could collect it…ummmm…

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‘m not a pheasant plucker, I’m a pheasant plucker’s son
I’m only plucking pheasants ’till the pheasant plucker comes.

Me husband is a keeper, he’s a very busy man
I try to understand him and I help him all I can,
But sometimes in an evening I feel a trifle dim
All alone, I’m plucking pheasants, when I’d rather pluck with him.

I’m not a pheasant plucker, I’m a pheasant plucker’s mate
I’m only plucking pheasants ‘cos the pheasant plucker’s late !

I’m not good at plucking pheasants, at pheasant plucking I get stuck
Though some pheasants find it pleasant I’d rather pluck a duck.
Oh plucking geese is gorgeous, I can pluck a goose with ease
But pheasant plucking’s torture because they haven’t any grease.

I’m not a pheasant plucker, he has gone out on the tiles
He only plucked one pheasant and I’m sitting here with piles !

You have to pluck them fresh, if it’s fresh they’re not unpleasant,
I knew a man in Dunstable who could pluck a frozen pheasant.
They say the village constable had pheasant plucking sessions
With the vicar on a Sunday ‘tween the first and second lessons.

I’m not a pheasant plucker, I’m a pheasant plucker’s mum
I’m only plucking pheasants ’till the pheasant plucker’s come.

My good friend Godfrey is most adept, he’s really got the knack
He likes to have a pheasant plucked before he hits the sack.
I like to give a helping hand, I gather up the feathers,
It’s really all our pheasant plucking keeps us pair together.

I’m not a pheasant plucker, I’m a pheasant plucker’s friend
I’m only plucking pheasants as a means unto an end !

My husband’s in the forest always banging with his gun
If he could hear me half the time I’m sure that he would run,
For there’s fluff in all my crannies, there’s feathers up my nose
And I’m itching in the kitchen from my head down to my toes.

I’m not a pheasant plucker, I’m a pheasant plucker’s wife
And when we pluck together it’s a pheasant plucking life !

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