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Archive for the ‘Art&Craft’ Category

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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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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“Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
and two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,
He was made of snow but the children
know how he came to life one day.”
- Christmas Carol

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Since August I have been fairly ill, not managing to really do much, but this has lead to some changes in how we do stuff at home.

Asha seems to have finally settled into this house, a few months of play at home, with regular short walks with daddy on the local fields has settled her right down.

She is wanting to read, and some days she is really strugling But then when she is trying to read words such as “grumble,” “grouse”, “frolic,” “warm,” “hurricane,” and can actually do them.. I guess getting stuck on “trailer” must be frustrating!

She has also been continuing with her violin lessons, which she finds frustrating, as she wants to be able to do it NOW..However she is deffinatly getting very confident with it, and its a pleasure to play with her..

The next week or so we will continue our witch and halloween theme. Because its interesting and allows me to cover some words with her which are used in many of her books and right up to christmas..

We had never taken Asha into Argos. Prefaring instead to buy online. A friend of ours took Asha there one day. Asha now wants EVERYTHING in the catalogue..

Solution? Cut out a big letter B.. get her to find things which start with B, and glue them onto the B. We then allowed her to cut any other pictures out she wanted…. and make a collage of them for in her den.. Asha no longer wants everything in the catalogue…. peace restored!

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This competition is a showcase for the best in contemporary painting and sculpture, open to all artists – established and emerging talent – aged 18 and over, living or working in the UK. Approximately 60 works, selected from a national open submission, will be exhibited at the Mall Galleries, London in September 2009.

Two major prizes are available: The Threadneedle Prize

This year the prize has gone to Sheila Wallis. For her self portrait.

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and this was the result… No sound…

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

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We have been having a few days at home, in order to re-juvenate and relax, and collect our thoughts..

Today Asha loved baking a cake, and decorating it with chocolate and sugar strands. She has also had a go tonight at making origami frogs, she was sat on the floor looking through her books, and suddenly ran to me saying.. “mummy can we make, can we make” and we did make :d

She has also just played, on the floor in nearly every room of the house, there is little pools of Asha’s toys. She has loved the time and space.

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Whilst I cant claim to be an avid fan of the politics behind the National Trust as an organisation, I am a definate fan of there FUN days.

Today was Alice in Wonderland at Penrhyn Castle. Along with Chris, from the Harlequin Puppet Theater The oldest purpose built puppet theater in britain , at Ros on Sea – Well worth a visit!!

Asha loves the national trust fun days, as she gets time to do some crafty project – todays was decorating a fairy cake,

and making a plate rabbit. Also today she planted some seeds, in little pots. As well as this there was the colouring in competition, and the trail – with a prize for everyone who did it..

she also enjoyed having a go at lawn crochet, and hoop playing..

Added onto this, about three hours of Bimbamboozle,and time to play in the large grounds, fun play area and if you want visit the castle, or stable areas where there are displays such as the steam trains, old dolls etc etc..

Anyway, today we had agreed to meet some friends there, who did the fancy dress parade, as well. We didnt do it this week, but are going to endevour too for next week.

Having fun doing all mad stuff at the moment but I fall asleep as soon as I get home at night, exhausted!!

(Photograph of Chris, and Asha, kindly provided for by Debbie Pritchards Proffesional Child Minding Service )

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bird watching, playing with dolls, scooby do, drawing rockets with daddy.. all in a day!

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Its the end of march all ready!

And what have we been doing? So far this month, we have been to Portmerion 2 times, whilst it is still free, the first time it was just the three of us, the second we went on a CLAS trip, which co-incided with a friends birthday.

We have been on numerous play dates, and returned to gymnastics after a long period of just not being well enough on a Monday. We have returned to the library, and been doing awareness work on disability.  We have been feeding the birds, and trying to learn our bird songs.

We have collected leaves, and flowers to try and press. We have watched the robins, meadow pipits, gold finches and other birds in the garden.

We have enjoyed a couple of trips to caernarfon, and a few more to Portmadog. We have learned that the Police arent always the good folk (our caravan was seized with no notice for causing an obstruction… ummmm)

We have enjoyed videos, been to see lambs, played with friends, been paddling in llanberis, nearly mastered skate boarding, and done painting, drawing, glueing, reading, writing, and laughing in abundance.

Been going to Gwerin every two weeks, and CLAS every week still. I have been to a party with friends at the Play Barn in Caernarfon, and walks with daddy.

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Ingredients:

½ cup rice flour

½ cup cornstarch

½ cup salt

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 cup water

1 teaspoon cooking oil

Food coloring, if desired

Directions:

Mix ingredients. Cook and stir on low heat for 3 minutes or until it
forms a ball. Cool completely before storing in a sealable plastic bag.

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Yesterday, Asha had a go at kitchen science.

Science

The material just goes softer and wetter... it swashy mummy and drippy!

We got some items out and watched what hapend to them in tepid water overnight

milk bottle plastic – no change.

Kitchen paper  erm.. where did that go mummy!

cardboard toilet roll, strip off.. came apart.

mummy!

Oil, food colouring, water and

Food colouring.. well it change the colour of the water.. oil added.. the oil floated and the oil sank.. Why mummy?

Bicarb of soda .. just went.

xanthan gum and oil in water  – well daddy can write this bit up but.. Look at the pics!

xanthan gum , with oil and water..

Asha had a great time. Considering we are all still coughing our guts out, it went really very well indeed!

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We have all been quite ill since last Wednesday. Asha started antibiotics on Thursday, and is still coughing like an old woman. Steve and I have taken it in turns to stay awake, but at times, both of us have so wanted to just sleeeep.

Asha has spent some time watching films, listened to some audio books in welsh and english, done some arts and craft stuff, and used the computer for her educational games, which she continues to enjoy.

We have also made silver mugs as in “Little Bear”

little bear mugs

Two on the box.

and she can now tell the difference between a blue tit and a great tit. She knows the three types of Swan, and there differences, Not sure if she can tell them apart yet.. We dont get Swans in our garden, to test her with

She has loved reading some of my ladybird books, and enjoyed us reading to her. She is particully fond of “beauty and the beast” i find this bizzare, as it scared me witless as a child. – it is good to know, i am doing well in not passing on my own fears tooo much!

We have made her spare bed up, and changed her curtains, made paper swans, and beautiful spring scenes. In fact considering the fact that all steve and i really want to do is sit and fester, we have done loads… Asha is a lot brighter today, but still not at all right.

asha on her teddy bed 1

this almost gives you an indication of her dolls and teddys!

Oh we have also rang granny up. Asha was keen to phone Granny to speak to her. Asha had a great laugh with grandad though. The last few times Granny and Grandad have rung, Asha has been busy and not wanted to speak to them. It is great she wanted to ring them yesterday.

Tonight Asha wanted me to read a specific book, and at the end of the book, there is a picture of an ark. Tomorrow she wants me to make an ark with her!

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When Asha was tiny, we had a kitchen which was even tinyier. So untill
she was about 3, she never was allowed in the kitchen. But we always
made sure we gave her stuff to do just by the kitchen door, if we had
to be in there, when we were on our own. ( i used to bluetak different
shaped sheets of paper onto the walls, and provide her with different
art materials to decorate the paper with.) Read the rest of this entry »

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We just seem so busy, that nothing is getting done!

Steve and I sat down last night and decided on a daily schedule. Lets see if we can keep to it!

One of our problems is that we are out soo often, and when we are in, jobs such as chopping wood, cooking food, and getting ready for the next day, all need to be done. As well as finding time to spend with Asha. This means some days, it can be 10 pm, before we get to breath. Combined with the cfs, its no wonder i am currently exhausted.

Anyway, what has Asha done since last wednesday then?

Read the rest of this entry »

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Asha made her presents, or rather chose and decorated her presents for granny and grandad this year, Enjoy!

Asha painting Presents

Grannys Candle Holder

And finally Grandad’s Key ring.

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After the chaos of last year, we decided that this year we wern’t going to have a christmas tree.
I have always had a real one, but I just couldn’t face it this year, so we agreed Asha could decorate her “den” with some of the items we would normally put on the tree.

Asha, Next to her Christmas Den.

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Home and Bargain are selling them for around £2.50 each, and they seem to work well enough for crafty jobs.

Now I haventt tried using mine since i used it last time, but i am hopefull that the glue in the gun will get warm enough for it to work again!

But well worth the price.. oh yes they are mains and not battery powered as well!

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Ginger is a spice from Indo-Malaysia. The ginger root was believed to sooth an upset stomach or to prevent a cold.

Each ginger species has a different culinary usage; for example, myoga is valued for the stem and flowers.

Myoga ginger

Garden ginger’s rhizome is the classic spice “ginger”, and may be used whole,

candied (known commonly as crystallized ginger), or dried and powdered. Other popular gingers used in cooking include cardamom and turmeric, though neither of these examples is a “true ginger” – they belong to different genera in the Zingiberaceae family.

More ….

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