Musical - School of Rock, again

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.

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.

Apple or Pear Cake

READY IN:

1hr 5mins                                                                                   

• CAKE

• 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

1. Cake:
2. Mix all cake ingredients by hand in order given.
3. Pour in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan or springform pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and remove.
5. Topping:
6. In saucepan mix all ingredients and bring to a slow boil for 3 minutes.
7. Pour over cake and return to oven for 4 minutes.

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.

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 

1. Preheat the oven to 170 C / Gas mark 3. Grease baking trays or line with parchment.
2. Sift together the flour, bicarb and salt; set aside.
3. 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.
4. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Rinse the garment twice in clean, cold water and gently squeeze out the excess. Be gentle handling it to avoid wrinkles and distortion.
4. Lay the garment between two towels, roll up the towels and set it aside for a few minutes.
5. 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.
6. 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.