Dave had a very busy but very satisfying Father's Day, spent with a gang of lively kids in the superbowl and then in the garden with a minecraft scavenger hunt. He was cutting and pasting the scavenger hunt chests at the superbowl, whilst our friends Debs and Sarah were keeping an eye on the kids bowling! I was busy at home cooking in the kitchen ~ four home made pizzas, a tray of glamorgan sausages, baked fries, one birthday cake and a large bowl of fruit salad with ice cream. We were so not organised and yet despite this, all the kids declared that the day was a roaring success!
Kathryn and Mary-Grace also came to stay and Kath was a big help ferrying Dave and the kids to the superbowl whilst I worked in the kitchen. MG really enjoyed Grandpa's home made porridge!
Having Fun.
Team Work.
Pip and Jack playing air hockey.
The minecraft geeks totally got this and there were suitable nether noises and chuckles upon entering!
Looking for clues...
... which also involves looking menacing with a broom and a stick!
Robin and Pip waiting to trade ~ R was crowned The Minecraft Champion at the end of the day, needless to say he was very pleased!
Scavenger Sheets.
Ollie and Dave working together and Jack is wearing a home made minecraft t-shirt from his brother Lewis' party a week earlier.
Partners in crime!
End of the day light relaxation ~ a batman game on the wii.
Blowing out the candles.
A Minecraft Creeper Cake.
A well deserved end of the day sit down for the party girls.
Benedict had a fab birthday and apart from deciding the meals for the day, he finally recieved a working Mindstorm Lego Robotics Set! We chalked the older model and its incompatability with our software down to experience and bought this year's version the EV3, this will keep him busy for a little while methinks!
Serious Lego Building.
Sorted and ready to go.
Artistic shot of the wheels!
Looking quite grown up.
First model built, only another thirty to go!
Birthday Breakfast ~ drop scones, strawberries, cream and chocolate sprinkles.
In amongst all the birthday chaos, Sara was also having a wedding hair practise session with our hairdresser, Sam:
Here is the latest creation from the "Knit One Stitch One" workshop:
Standing.
Side View.
Button and button hole close up.
Sitting Nicely.
Rosie is made from a redundant pair of Dave's linen trousers. That guy is famous for putting holes in his knees, it's all the floor play he does with the kids, that plus hard wood flooring throughout! Her body is stuffed with regular toy stuffing but since I was running low and wanted to road test this design for the shop, I decided to use rice for her arms and legs! This version is definitely not child friendly!!
Her dress is made from left overs of my skirt and is fully lined in cream, with tiny cerise buttons for the fastenings. She is also wearing a pair of cream bloomers to keep her legs warm and preserve her modesty! I had loads of fun making her and she will be a good companion for me in the workroom.
My next task is to source some good quality linen and sheep's wool for the next batch of bunnies. Joining in with Nicole and others over at The Keep Calm and Craft On blog link up.
A week or so ago I posted a question in response to a video link that Sue had made and this was her response. As a result of her sharing and words of encouragement I approached this Monday morning with a totally different mindset.
In all honesty since beginning to work on the online shop and all things handmade this past month, I knew that our half hearted formal approach would have to be put on hold and the focus would be on outstanding practical projects such as Meccano models and a wooden Stephenson's Rocket. All of these could be supervised by Dave and this freed me to work on the crafting, without worrying about lesson plans.
In between all this Pip also had a two week recess from school and we always run to a different rhythm when she is on a break, so it was no exaggeration when I sat down last night and was actually dreading this morning! Benedict was not the only one not wanting to do school :-) But I still have this thing about wanting him to achieve and not be left behind when his peers are off at University or work. I don't want him to turn around and say, "Mum, why didn't you help me?" So to say it is a dilemma is putting it mildly!
However, I have been listening to Sue's videos on unschooling, she talks and I knit! Just like it would be if Sue were spending an afternoon with me, plus plenty of cups of tea and a cake or two! So buoyed up by her sharing of her own unschooling journey, I decided to try a strewing activity and "streuth" (to coin an Aussie phrase often repeated on Ramsey Street!) it works!
Benedict is a total Minecraft Geek and so he had ten challenges to choose from and history caught his eye. With the help of Dad he looked at an arial view of Hardknott Pass and set about recreating that image on his Minecraft world but as it would have been in Roman times. In addition to history there was some maths in amongst it all ~ working out the perimeter of the arial plan and then translating that into minecraft cubes. He really enjoyed his work and had a great sense of ownership at the end of the day, a feeling of a job well done and I too had some really productive time in the workshop, a win-win situation:
The weather was actually decent enough to venture forth outside today and so we went on an adventure with our family friend Fiona. Arnside Knott was our destination. We found an exisiting den left in the woods and added another layer and extended it slightly:
We then took a walk up the hill to catch a view of the surrounding countryside and shore:
Wild Strawberries.
Across the shore.
Rain Catcher it must have been put there first thing this morning as it was empty and rained loads yesterday!
Looking across to Grange where Tom's parents live, we sent them a wave!
By now it was time for lunch and so we packed up and made our way down to the shore:
Setting out the picnic things ~ we found this fleece sleeping bag liner in the back of the car courtesy of Uncle Bernard, so useful and so this will be washed and put back in the car.
Blood Testing.
Arnside Viaduct all newly repaired.
Arnside Village.
We came home and I crashed in the garden and slept whilst the kids coloured and kicked a football around me!
Pip and I had a trip into the town that was made famous by this man,if you want to have a laugh, have a look at this;
Our first port of call was the library, we had fun choosing books and settled into the newly refurbished children's area for a cosy read. Pip's ulitmate treat was stamping her own books and goodness me there was a stack of them!
We then made our way to the prom and shunned our usual Costa and settled for a far more appropriate sitting down venue:
The sign that really drew us in was a pavement board announcing "gluten free cream teas" and those were my opening words upon entering. The owner then sheepishly admitted that the sign was a little mis-leading as it was meant to read gluten free foods and then on a separate line, cream teas! We had a laugh over the error and I assured him I would not be calling trading standards!! They did however offer us some lovely gluten free toasted tea cakes and I had mine with a pot of tea and Pip had a fruit juice:
Little Miss Independent!
I had a really lovely chat with the owner and his wife and in the course of the conversation, the topic of gluten free scones came up and I shared with her my recipe. She is wanting to offer gluten free cream teas and extra cake choices through the summer months. We will definitely visit again and Pip's verdict?
A resounding success!
We just had time to pop across the road for a quick charge around the playground before the time ran out on the parking ticket. Pip very quickly made friends with another little girl who was just seven and they were both the same height! I think that wee lass of ours is going through a growth spurt!
Monkeying Around.
Spinning.
As for other news my shop items were despatched to the pop up shop this morning and the lady collected and paid for her owl bag. I felt a little flat leaving all the items for someone else to display, I think it was a combination of extreme tiredness and the uncertainty of whether or not this venture really will work.
This week-end alone saw me sewing through the night until 4am Saturday morning and then last night Dave and I were both up until 2am making labels with the shop logo and pricing! I however did not get to sleep until 6am as Benedict had a middle of the night hypo followed by totally whacky high readings so I've survived on three hours sleep today! Needless to say I have been a little cranky!
I have however managed to source some much needed sewing supplies at wholesale prices and I made the first batch of headbands for the shop this evening. The website is coming along nicely. There is a standard front page announcing that site is under construction and Dave has several layers hidden behind the scenes and he works on these daily. I am hoping that there will be a "shop open" sign being displayed before too long.
Branding ~ shop name and logo designed by me and made by Dave using a CAD industrial standard package on the computer.
You might have heard the expression "money doesn't grow on trees" but in our garden bags do!
Thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes on yesterday's post they made me smile!
