Main news of the day is that we have had no rain! This is the first dry day we have had in weeks so needless to say most of it was spent in the garden.

We did come in for a short while this morning, just long enough to read Aunt Isabel Tells A Good One by Kate Duke. It is a story about telling a story. It talks about having a good title, setting the scene (when and where the story is set), introducing characters, heroes and heroines, villains and happy endings. The story in itself wasn't brilliant, far from it to be frank, but it did set us thinking about the best 'ingredients' for a good story.

This evening Hermione went to Badgers. She really enjoyed it as usual. The theme was masks and disguises today. She came home painted like a panda. I have to say that I wonder where the first aid actually comes into it all but I'm not going to get hung up on that, she enjoys it and that's the main thing.

Other than that not a lot has happened round here in the last day or so. Craig and Hermione went ten pin blowing yesterday. Nana and Hermione started the long awaited Knifty Knitting yesterday too.

Tomorrow is our first needlecraft gathering here. I hope it goes well. Off to sort out a few odds and ends in readiness.

This morning Hermione and Nana headed off to the Village Summer Fete and bought a wide array of Summer Fete nick nack type things - more stuff to be dusted and tidied!

This afternoon we went fruit picking. This was Miles first time fruit picking and he loved it! He ate almost all of what he picked *blush* and I did feel rather embarrassed as we passed through the check out area with one toddler with red stained face and red t shirt. Just as well we actually bought lots too.

I later made a raw chocolate berry cake. The base layer is made from hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and raisins. Then there is a layer of banana mashed with raw cacao powder followed by a mountain of strawberries and raspberries.

I placed a 'wanted' post on Freecycle last week for some needlecraft items as I'm hoping to organise a little gathering here at my home for local heme ed children to get together and do some crafty bits and bobs. I had a reply and Craig went to collect this evening. I'm astounded by all the wool, patterns and threads the lady has given us. There is one big black bin bag full plus a large carrier bag and a box. Hopefully this will give the children lots of scope to do different things as there's wool of so many colours and textures.



Here are the random remembrances of the past few days.

We read The Tale of Peter Rabbit again and also listened to The Tale of Benjamin Bunny and The Tale of Tom Kitten. We went on to look at pictures of rabbits and hares . We compared the two and learned that one big difference is that rabbits are born without fur. We checked out a clip of new born rabbits on Youtube. They look like little pigs.

We looked at lots of animals and decided whether when living in the wild they generally made their home under ground or not.

Hermione and Nana went to a workshop called Shipshape for Flapjack at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle. They really enjoyed it. They considered whether various things would sink or float and the group was then split into teams to make a boat with a pack which was provided. Nana and Hermione's team won!

The girls went dancing two nights this week instead of their usual one. It was an extra rehearsal in readiness for the show they are putting on next week.

Life feels quite hectic right now although I guess that is all about to change with the arrival of the school summer holidays. Rainbows, Badgers and possibly dancing will end next week. I'm hoping that there will be some good activities on at the local libraries and museums over the holidays.

Well, where do I begin tonight? The children have done lots over the past couple of days - and I know this essentially a 'home ed' blog - but tonight I'm going to blog about a lesson I learned to day - a lesson I learned the hard way.

When I was at university I had a very special friend. I can't possibly imagine my university days without him. Once we were working we stayed in touch and visited each other regularly although our career paths saw us in different parts of the country. Some how, I'm not sure exactly how, we drifted. We lost contact. I married and had children. He later married also.

I've thought about him often and always told myself I would track him down one day and see how he was. I kept putting off though - waiting till I had lost the post pregnancy flab, waiting till the children were sleeping through the night so I was more human less zombie, waiting till all my hair that fell out grew back...and so it went.

Today I decided I couldn't put off any longer. The children were out at a workshop. I tracked down his employer through his professional regulatory body. I took a deep breath and dialed the number. I asked the receptionist if he still worked at those chambers and if I could speak to him. There was silence. 'I don't know how best to say this' she said, 'he's dead, he died of a brain tumour.' He was thirty eight. He died the day I gave birth to Miles. Why did I wait?

I know I always laughed at your taste in music Rob, but this ones for you xxx

Poppy fields..

Soo, Nana, Hermione and Lily headed off to TV Home Ed meeting this morning. Hermione and Lily really enjoyed the session. They seem to have spent most of the time playing volley ball and were in really good spirits when they bounded back through the door.

Just enough time for lunch and play in the garden before Rainbows. It's been a busy day.

Soo tipped me off about a poppy field which she had spotted on her way back from the mornings meeting. I headed off there this evening to see it for myself. A sea of poppies at sunset. Breathtaking.

I felt inspired today to get my bellymask out of the cupboard. Well it's a bit of a heavily pregnant torso mask as opposed to just belly. I remember the fun Craig and I had making it that night. Trying to stand still on a plastic sheet, covered in plaster and vaseline for a long while. Still makes me smile. I can certainly recommend it to anyone contemplating it. I know I had the kit a long while and almost left it too late. I'm glad now that I didn't.



We started the day with The Tale of Peter Rabbit. After that we had a look at this write up about Herman possibly the biggest bunny. We got our bathroom scales out and made up his weight so that we could feel just how huge this big bunny is.



We chatted about different kinds of rabbits. How there are various breeds. We talked in particular about angora rabbits.

We talked some more about the story and how the man in the story would have to organise his vegetable garden so as not to have too much or too little of each thing he planned on growing. We got some fruit and veg out of our kitchen and made a graph of what we had.



The girls asked if they could get out the watercolours. I didn't feel up for the mess that would inevitable follow so suggested they try using my watercolour pencils. They hadn't used them before and really enjoyed them. Hermione used them like an ordinary pencil much of the time but I guess that's fine.



A friend called unexpectedly around lunch time to see if she could call over this afternoon with her children to play. It was a lovely afternoon and made all the better that it was last minute and therefore I hadn't had time to stress about tidying up before hand! A lovely impromptu gathering!

It has been a lovely day today, even if only because the rain let up long enough for us to spend an hour in the garden this afternoon. The sun was really bright and it was lovely and warm. The garden is flourishing. The hydrangeas and marigolds are beginning to bloom. Lots of buds on the sweetpeas too.




This morning Hermione and Craig headed off to Richmond Castle to meet up with a group of other home edding families for a guided tour. They were shown around the Castle, heard stores and tried on costumes. They thoroughly enjoyed it.

I made more raw fudge for Miles while they were out. I used pumpkin seeds and dates today. It worked out just the same. He really enjoyed it again.

This afternoon the girls watched Miss Potter. They enjoyed it although Hermione was starting to get a bit restless towards the end. She takes after me in that respect. I have difficulties sitting still for long periods too.

Our Knifty Knitters arrived today. They look cool. I can't wait to get started. If I start now I may have made a hat come winter time. I also ordered the ideas booklet and have to say I am a bit disappointed with that. I think we have come up with some better ideas between us. I particularly like Nana's idea of matching snood and boob tube set!!!

This morning we read the Beatrix Potter title from the Real People Real Lives series. We had read it once before but Hermione was really keen to hear it again.




By mid morning the skies were looking slightly brighter so Hermione and Craig headed off to a small green type festival a few miles away. They joined in a Junk Beat Workshop and made a rather interesting instrument from an old soup carton and some sticks! There had been lots of other craft stalls, people on stilts and such likes. Unfortunately they hadn't been there long when it started to rain again. This didn't deter Hermione but Craig seemed to have lost enthusiasm at that point.

In the meantime I stayed home with Miles. I was quite industrious during his nap time today. I made Raw Raisin Fudge. It was really easy to make. I just stuck a cup of raisins, a cup of sunflower seeds, some cinnamon and a dollop of honey into the blender. Whizzed it up then put it in the freezer for an hour or so. It was delicious even if I do so myself. Miles ate most of it but Hermione refused to even try it!




Having made the fudge I decided that my NVC training programme had stood on the shelf untouched for long enough. I listened to the first of nine cd's and found it really interesting. It sounds so easy but in practice is so hard. Trying to move beyond the way I have always been conditioned to think and act - moving away from punishment, reward, criticism and blame. I'm looking forward to the rest of the course.