I give up....

The Ipad will not work for blogging... not until Apple actually make it possible to upload images... so I am cheating and I am using the works laptop... shhhh don't tell anyone... it'll be our little secret! ;D

So... whats been going on with all you lovely peeps... ? I hope you are all well and finding something positive to dwell on in this sometimes humdrum world we've managed to create! lol

I have been a bit busy teaching, cooking and fretting! .... well it would appear I'm a secret fretter and I don't mean that I can carve intricate woodwork either! ...

Where to start.... hhmmmmm

Well the teaching is going well, we were inspected by the LEA and we have been given the go ahead and approval to home school... he did say to not follow the curriculum in History, Geography and Religious Education though .... he suggested project work rather than individual subjects with these three... So today I will discuss with Jamie a subject or place that she would like to do a project on, after all, if its of interest to her then perhaps she'll be more enthusiastic about it... here's hoping!

We've been to Stourhead doing photography, but her favourite subject so far is design technology.... We got out the sewing machine and she has been learning how to cut fabric and plan a design and sew...

Luckily I already have a lot of equipment, cutting mats etc... I did go out and buy a rotary cutter which I confess I have never really used but now wonder how I survived without it! lol

The finished cushion made from materials I bought from my friend Joanne... and luckily Jamie has no attachments to her creations... her first words were... can I sell it! lol

The cooking is going well, I have to confess that I am lazy in the kitchen... it would appear that I am fairly capable but its not a great love of mine.. lol ... However I have cooked a meat and 2 veg meal every evening for the last 15 outta 17 nights... this is a major achievement for me and I do feel good about it.  Its been decided that Friday night is fish and chip night and the chap down the road is most agreeable with this arrangement! as he loves the fish we get from the chip shop! lol

Its always been too easy to order a takeaway and we have gotten into bad habits as Id rather be out in the garden than cooking in the kitchen... however I'm getting better at prepping and juggling the two! ;D

Now ... the garden... I have fenced off the veg patch and I have planted runner beans and courgettes...  so that's all coming along nicely...

and Daisy Kate our Sussex hen decided that it was time to go broody...

So she was moved from the Eglu cube, (she was stealing the other girls eggs!) and I bought 11 fertile eggs from my friend Dawn and moved her to her new broody coop... AKA an unused rabbit hutch! lol

She settled in well and here she stayed for the next 21 days....

Reading the Western Gazette and keeping up to date with local news! lol

The big day drew closer and a new nursery coop was bought on eBay... Les and Jamie drove to Leicester to collect it and the girls and I waited for signs of life!

Eventually on Day 23 I could wait no longer and I opened the hutch to see if she was okay... I had closed the hutch leaving her with food and water inside on day 22 when I noticed a black ball of fluff dissapearing under her wing...

As I opened the hutch and stepped back she jumped out and started eating dandelion leaves and clucking and tried to get her 4 chicks to follow... so I closed the hutch and the task of moving her and her brood to the other coop began...

Ta daaaa!
from 11 eggs 4 hatched successfully, and one died half hatched and the other six were unhatched and buried in the straw... to be honest 4 is plenty and nature has a way of deciding how many should live and I think she'll cope well with this many as its only her second go at being a mum!

This is Daisy Kate's baby from last year! Amber (aka Rusty) was born at Karen's house before I brought them home to live with me...

I just love sitting in the sunshine watching her teach them how to peck for food and preen themselves... they are such little mimics... her every action is copied!

on the creativity front I have managed a few things...

I did make a couple of dream catchers for Nicola...

 we did a little swap and she sent me some fabulous Body shop products...

 Thank you Nicola! love the Aloa vera face cream! xx

the bunny was crocheted around Easter and I sold him to a friend of my mums for £20...

I was stunned! ;D

But the yarn and other bits and bobs were probably that much so I covered costs...

This week Daniel has been poorly with a viral throat bug...

I took him to the doctors yesterday and he just said he'd get better on his own and to keep giving him nurofen and bring him back if it wasn't better in a few days...

he does seem a bit better today though!

so fingers crossed!

well that's about the lot for now...

I had better crack on and get Jamie sorted and feed Daniel... hang the washing out and so on and so forth!

No rest for the wicked!

I must have been really bad! lol

I hope I enjoyed it! xx

take care

Alex

x