I did enjoy going to see School of Rock in March. I loved the feeling of being so uplifted and impressed with the performers. John then suggested they perform it as their end of Year 6 production. It was quite an effort but suited the year group well and I really enjoyed getting to listen to the songs again. And my class loved watching it and we recreated it lots in the classroom!
I decided I wanted to see it again and suggested to my girl friends that we might like to go as part of our Christmas outing. They were all game so we went on Friday 1st December. First we went to the soft opening of a steak restaurant. It made me feel very hip and trendy to be going to a soft opening! And it really was just opening. They were still putting signs up outside and taking covers off chairs. We had a funny time when we sat down at our table and tried to order from the menu. It seemed everything we decided on then wasn't available! We couldn't really complain though as we knew it was a the soft opening and the food was going to be half price - a good job really as the steaks were £30-something and then the sides were extra. The restaurant did start to smoke up, but we enjoyed our food and our time. We were then utterly gobsmacked when the bill for the 4 of us came to £27...??? It turned out that all the food was on the house - £150 off our bill. We wished we hadn't shared the sides!!
Then it was on to the show. I enjoyed sharing my knowledge of the theatre and Andrew Lloyd Weber and trying not to give to much away. The show was good again and I was pleased to get up and dance at the end. There were a few minor differences that I noticed from the songs (which I now know so well!) and from last time. Dewey seemed more a physical actor this time and didn't do the very high singing at the end. The girls seemed to enjoy it which pleased me greatly and we listened to the soundtrack the next day in the car. My fave songs were still You're in the Band, Stick it to the Man and the only ALW sounding song, the ballad Where Did the Rock Go.
This was the first one on my list that I was hoping to see before life changes in March! I also hope to see Phantom (having just read the book) and The Woman in White which is back for a limited run.
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." Confucius "Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead." Louisa May Alcott
Tuesday 26 December 2017
Friday 22 December 2017
Baking - pear cake
The children get given fruit every day at school. This year my class really aren't keen on pears and some weeks in autumn we were getting pears twice a week. There were always bags left at the end of the week so in the end (post horrible morning sickness times) I decided to try take them home and make a cake. I often took it back to school for the staffroom and it proved popular.
I've used this Genius Kitchen recipe and though it takes a long time to peel and chop and mash the pears, it seems to work ok in the end although I haven't succeeded with the topping yet.
I've used this Genius Kitchen recipe and though it takes a long time to peel and chop and mash the pears, it seems to work ok in the end although I haven't succeeded with the topping yet.
Apple or Pear Cake
READY IN:
1hr 5minsCAKE
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 4 cups raw diced apples or 4 cups pears
TOPPING
- 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
- 1⁄4 cup milk
- 1⁄4 lb butter
Directions
Baking - cookies
I love eating cookies! Chocolate chip ones really. I have tried a few recipes and still don't feel I have really got it sorted. This one from All Recipes I did for a second time recently and really love the texture they produce - soft and gooey which is the best. I don't think the flavour was quite right last time, but I shall certainly try some more times to be sure. I feel there's lots more info on the website that would help me perfect.
Ingredients
Method
Best big, fat, chewy chocolate chip cookies
Ingredients
Serves: 18
- 250g plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 170g unsalted butter, melted
- 200g dark brown soft sugar
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 325g chocolate chips
Method
Prep:10min ›
Cook:15min ›
Ready in:25min
- Preheat the oven to 170 C / Gas mark 3. Grease baking trays or line with parchment.
- Sift together the flour, bicarb and salt; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and caster sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough onto the prepared baking trays, with each cookie around 4 tablespoons of dough (for smaller cookies, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful and adjust baking time as necessary). Do not flatten the dough. Cookies should be about 8cm apart.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking trays for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Washing Alpaca
I got some lovely Alpaca jumpers in Peru and I want to try to keep them as nice and cosy for as long as possible. So I haven't washed them very often and I have tried to follow the proper instructions online. I follow the ones on the Novica website which has lots of information on Alpaca clothing in general.
How to clean your alpaca clothing
- Fill a clean sink or tub with cold water and a small amount of mild liquid detergent like baby shampoo or a fine fibers formula. (Using hot water, or even two different temperatures of water, will “shock” the fibers, making them mat together and start turning into felt.) Do not use chlorine bleach or even gentle Woolite, as these harsh cleaners will cause damage.
- Soak the garment for 3 to 5 minutes, gently squeezing the suds through the garment. Avoid twisting, wringing, scrubbing, or otherwise agitating it, as this will cause felting. Dyed garments will have some chance of bleed, but since alpaca fiber takes dyeing better than most other fibers, this shouldn’t be a problem after the first wash.
- Rinse the garment twice in clean, cold water and gently squeeze out the excess. Be gentle handling it to avoid wrinkles and distortion.
- Lay the garment between two towels, roll up the towels and set it aside for a few minutes.
- Place the garment on a dry towel or sweater rack and reshape (do not hang to dry). Let it dry away from sunlight and direct heat.
- If the garment is wrinkled after drying, you can steam it lightly with an iron, or simply hang it up in the bathroom, run the shower, and let the steam ease away the creases.
Friday 25 August 2017
Early Pregnancy Thoughts
I'm copying over somethings I wrote in the early weeks of pregnancy on my phone. I only kept it up for a few weeks but I felt worth putting on here anyway.
Friday 4th August - week 6
Two weeks ago my period didn't come and I started to wonder. It still didn't come and I started to feel occasionally more nauseous than normal, just like I sometimes feel in the car. I started to read more of the NHS website pregnancy section and read that the bad gums I had could be a pregnancy sign. On Wednesday 2nd August I felt nauseous all morning and didn't really want to do anything. It felt a bit better after lunch and reading some Harry Potter. I felt fine in the evening at Scottish dancing and figured it was probably fairly psychosomatic and if I was distracted I'd be fine. I took a pregnancy test that I'd bought at a local chemist. It was about as inconclusive as it could possibly be. The second line that should say whether you're pregnant was so faint that you had to squint in some lights and we weren't sure if we were imagining it. I bought another one from the supermarket along with some pregnacare vitamin tablets. I took it Thursday morning and it was quickly conclusive. I rang to make an appointment at the doctors and the first one was for 3 weeks time...! Oh well, at least I'm booked in. My biggest challenge at the moment is trying to remember which foods I should and shouldn't eat. No real other signs or symptoms at the moment other than some sore boobs and a slight aversion to eating as much as I normally do.
Friday 11th August - Week 7
Not a lot to report this week. The only (and omnipresent) noteworthy occurrence has been the fairly constant nausea. It has been slightly better in the evenings but it has felt present all the time. Sometimes worse than others. And I think it's still the case that if I'm distracted then it's better for me. I'm nauseous, tired, listless and pathetic on the days spent just at home. John has been great at letting me rest and not complaining at my complete lack of cooking or washing up or tidying. Nausea often increases when I open the fridge. Monday and Tuesday I had sleeps during the day which I really enjoyed and is very unusual for me. Wednesday morning I had my first actual being sick, which was disappointing as I'd hoped that maybe I wouldn't actually do that and so now I'm more on edge when I'm feeling nauseous in public. On Sunday I'd gone to get a pan while eating breakfast as it did seem like a possibility. I think on Wednesday I'd left it too long after waking before actually eating and had been in and out of the fridge a bit and then when I started to feel really bad it was too late for me to eat anything to settle my stomach which is what normally seems to help. We had JR staying with us and I managed to get to the bedroom where there was a plastic empty food pot that did the trick. It just seemed to be the orange juice that I had drunk. I thought that was all I was going to have to report but Thursday night I was sick in the sink after brushing my teeth. I do often gag a little when finishing brushing my teeth and sadly this time a small portion of dinner came up too. Then after a moment pause, the rest of the sausage, mash and courgettes came up too and filled the whole sink. Yuck! Oddly today I have felt much better and far less nauseous. I had a low moment about 12 o'clock where I went back to full on nauseous but after forcing some crackers down and a little burp it went away again. Hopefully this is an encouraging sign of things to come. The other thing I have found hard to get used to is appetite and feeling full. I definitely have to eat frequently and can't wait half an hour or more for food which I would have done easily before. It's then really weird that there haven't been many meals that I have been able to finish - so not like me! Still have firmer sorer boobs but nothing else yet.
Friday 18th August - Week 8
(Although actually writing on Monday 21st)
Not too much to report this week. Continued to feel sick and was sick about 4 times I think at all different times of day and stages of digesting. Had a horrible spell on Thursday morning of retching without being sick. Eating continued to be tricky, the standard being small meals as was quickly full and a Crisp Kingdom with me constantly to help me out between meals. On Thursday morning I went to the dentist and he was the first person I told I was pregnant. He was very nice and helpful and mainly talked with a short look in my mouth at the end.
Thursday night and Friday I felt far less nauseous and ate normally which was exciting and encouraging!
Friday 25th August - Week 9
After a good start to the weekend, I was sick again on Sunday. It's been a tricky week in that we have spent every evening with different people but managed to contain sick so far...
Friday 4th August - week 6
Two weeks ago my period didn't come and I started to wonder. It still didn't come and I started to feel occasionally more nauseous than normal, just like I sometimes feel in the car. I started to read more of the NHS website pregnancy section and read that the bad gums I had could be a pregnancy sign. On Wednesday 2nd August I felt nauseous all morning and didn't really want to do anything. It felt a bit better after lunch and reading some Harry Potter. I felt fine in the evening at Scottish dancing and figured it was probably fairly psychosomatic and if I was distracted I'd be fine. I took a pregnancy test that I'd bought at a local chemist. It was about as inconclusive as it could possibly be. The second line that should say whether you're pregnant was so faint that you had to squint in some lights and we weren't sure if we were imagining it. I bought another one from the supermarket along with some pregnacare vitamin tablets. I took it Thursday morning and it was quickly conclusive. I rang to make an appointment at the doctors and the first one was for 3 weeks time...! Oh well, at least I'm booked in. My biggest challenge at the moment is trying to remember which foods I should and shouldn't eat. No real other signs or symptoms at the moment other than some sore boobs and a slight aversion to eating as much as I normally do.
Friday 11th August - Week 7
Not a lot to report this week. The only (and omnipresent) noteworthy occurrence has been the fairly constant nausea. It has been slightly better in the evenings but it has felt present all the time. Sometimes worse than others. And I think it's still the case that if I'm distracted then it's better for me. I'm nauseous, tired, listless and pathetic on the days spent just at home. John has been great at letting me rest and not complaining at my complete lack of cooking or washing up or tidying. Nausea often increases when I open the fridge. Monday and Tuesday I had sleeps during the day which I really enjoyed and is very unusual for me. Wednesday morning I had my first actual being sick, which was disappointing as I'd hoped that maybe I wouldn't actually do that and so now I'm more on edge when I'm feeling nauseous in public. On Sunday I'd gone to get a pan while eating breakfast as it did seem like a possibility. I think on Wednesday I'd left it too long after waking before actually eating and had been in and out of the fridge a bit and then when I started to feel really bad it was too late for me to eat anything to settle my stomach which is what normally seems to help. We had JR staying with us and I managed to get to the bedroom where there was a plastic empty food pot that did the trick. It just seemed to be the orange juice that I had drunk. I thought that was all I was going to have to report but Thursday night I was sick in the sink after brushing my teeth. I do often gag a little when finishing brushing my teeth and sadly this time a small portion of dinner came up too. Then after a moment pause, the rest of the sausage, mash and courgettes came up too and filled the whole sink. Yuck! Oddly today I have felt much better and far less nauseous. I had a low moment about 12 o'clock where I went back to full on nauseous but after forcing some crackers down and a little burp it went away again. Hopefully this is an encouraging sign of things to come. The other thing I have found hard to get used to is appetite and feeling full. I definitely have to eat frequently and can't wait half an hour or more for food which I would have done easily before. It's then really weird that there haven't been many meals that I have been able to finish - so not like me! Still have firmer sorer boobs but nothing else yet.
Friday 18th August - Week 8
(Although actually writing on Monday 21st)
Not too much to report this week. Continued to feel sick and was sick about 4 times I think at all different times of day and stages of digesting. Had a horrible spell on Thursday morning of retching without being sick. Eating continued to be tricky, the standard being small meals as was quickly full and a Crisp Kingdom with me constantly to help me out between meals. On Thursday morning I went to the dentist and he was the first person I told I was pregnant. He was very nice and helpful and mainly talked with a short look in my mouth at the end.
Thursday night and Friday I felt far less nauseous and ate normally which was exciting and encouraging!
Friday 25th August - Week 9
After a good start to the weekend, I was sick again on Sunday. It's been a tricky week in that we have spent every evening with different people but managed to contain sick so far...
Tuesday 25 July 2017
Welcome to the Summer Holidays
It's good to be here in the Summer Holidays. So far today we are having a very lazy day and haven't even been out of the house. It was quite a shock to see my last email was April. It has just been hard to still find the time to blog even when I have had ideas of what to blog about. Maybe I will get a bit better over the holidays. It is annoying that I don't have the blogger app on my phone anymore and it seems to be out of existence. Though it has just occurred to me that I may be able to get it back from iTunes...
I am on the computer today trying to get back into sorting GYIL photos and videos. I am saddened that it has become such hard work and effort. What a shame we couldn't do it sooner, but we do at least have 2 books on the coffee table in front of me and 1 more at the printers, so there is some hope!
Another year of teaching is over. It hasn't been the smoothest year. I think I will remember it for the year of trying to support John through some tricky Year 6s. But they are out of our lives now and John can hopefully start to look forward to teaching at a new school close to home in September. I hope it will be a wonderfully special place for him.
I am on the computer today trying to get back into sorting GYIL photos and videos. I am saddened that it has become such hard work and effort. What a shame we couldn't do it sooner, but we do at least have 2 books on the coffee table in front of me and 1 more at the printers, so there is some hope!
Another year of teaching is over. It hasn't been the smoothest year. I think I will remember it for the year of trying to support John through some tricky Year 6s. But they are out of our lives now and John can hopefully start to look forward to teaching at a new school close to home in September. I hope it will be a wonderfully special place for him.
Thursday 20 April 2017
Excitement
I felt that after my (rather poor) blogs on political occurrences of the last couple of years (Election 2015 and Referendum 2016) that Tuesday's surprise announcement that there would be a General Election this year on 8th June deserved some blog action. But really there isn't an awful lot to say. Fortunately some great excitement occurred last night so I felt the two together merited blog time! So feel free to skip the political bit to read about the real great times at the bottom!
While sitting at the computer on Tuesday I got this group message from a teacher friend:
Apart from the despair that conservatives will get re-elected as labour is in disarray... on the bright side... YIPPPEEE - Poling day = closed school!!
I puzzled and wondered if there was a bi-election today so I went on the BBC site and there was the announcement with Teresa May live. I really did feel excited - not necessarily in a happy or worried way, but just in a 'this is momentous' way. I find it odd that our country can hold elections so quickly. We followed the US election for at least a year before it happened and with all the talk of the Dutch, French and German elections this year, it rather seemed like the UK didn't want to miss out. I will be interested to see if there are many changes of seat and although there will be certain things I am hoping for, my main feeling is that not a lot will change.
So now the really special news...!! We went to have dinner and play games with some new aquaintances last night. We cycled: I'd like to say it was because we are naturally athletic people, but really it was because the car was in the garage. We cycled out of there place after 10.30 at night, fairly city centre, and were waiting at the lights, when towards us and over us a Barn Owl flew!!!!!!!! It was fairly low flying and directly towards us so we were able to see it clearly and have no doubt what it was. It was gone within seconds but it felt like such a magical occurrence. This is the first time I have confidently been able to say 'I have seen an owl in the wild'. Wow! Special special times!
While sitting at the computer on Tuesday I got this group message from a teacher friend:
Apart from the despair that conservatives will get re-elected as labour is in disarray... on the bright side... YIPPPEEE - Poling day = closed school!!
I puzzled and wondered if there was a bi-election today so I went on the BBC site and there was the announcement with Teresa May live. I really did feel excited - not necessarily in a happy or worried way, but just in a 'this is momentous' way. I find it odd that our country can hold elections so quickly. We followed the US election for at least a year before it happened and with all the talk of the Dutch, French and German elections this year, it rather seemed like the UK didn't want to miss out. I will be interested to see if there are many changes of seat and although there will be certain things I am hoping for, my main feeling is that not a lot will change.
So now the really special news...!! We went to have dinner and play games with some new aquaintances last night. We cycled: I'd like to say it was because we are naturally athletic people, but really it was because the car was in the garage. We cycled out of there place after 10.30 at night, fairly city centre, and were waiting at the lights, when towards us and over us a Barn Owl flew!!!!!!!! It was fairly low flying and directly towards us so we were able to see it clearly and have no doubt what it was. It was gone within seconds but it felt like such a magical occurrence. This is the first time I have confidently been able to say 'I have seen an owl in the wild'. Wow! Special special times!
Snake's-head fritillaries
At Rose Hill Runners on Monday, a fellow runner mentioned these flowers. It meant nothing to me and she said they hadn't meant anything to her until they saw the signs when walking with her botanist friend who was most excited to see them. So off I went for a little walk today following the signs to see what I could see. There ensued a lovely meander through Iffley Meadows, not something I knew existed. Very happy times.
And on the walk back to Iffley, I couldn't resist any longer, a photo of the beautiful view down the side part of the river from the flood gates bridge. The greeny emerald almost turquoise colour of the water at the moment I find quite captivating.
Tuesday 18 April 2017
Maastricht
What a fabulous weekend we had in Maastricht! Perfect weather, company, food! It definitely needs to be recorded here. So here come the photos...
We carried on walking through the parks and along the old walls of the city.
After a rest back at our Airbnb place we went to the Lumiere which is also a cinema for a delicious evening meal.
Sunday.
After driving to Lizzie's and loading the car up with some of her belongings, we set off walking again down more beautiful streets and passages.
For our final meal we headed to the Vrijthof to eat in one of the many outdoor restaurants there. And of course we had to follow it up with waffles!
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