Vindolanda Roman Museum

We made an epic road trip to this place today.  Sometimes it is good to step outside of your box and do something radical :-)

 Car boot road stop lunch.

 We are here!

The 3-D film was really good.

 Our hologram teacher for the day!

 I look like I have fallen asleep but that is not the case!  Since we took part in a "lesson" the lovely lady at the front desk gave Pip a scroll poster as a memento of the day.

 Pip testing out her archery skills, she qualified for the job!

Examining the chain mail. 

 " I wonder how I'll fair ..."

" uh-oh looks like I'm also joining the Syrian archers!" 

We all really enjoyed the day but I'm ready for bed now for sure :-)

All Sorts

For some inexplicable reason I had the sudden urge to sew a garment for myself and sew(!) I did :-)

 I think the fabric is a Liberty Lawn and the pattern is from the book, " Stylish Dress Book," by Yoshiko Tsukiori  Hindsight is a wonderful thing and therefore next time I would make a smaller size.  I almost had a disaster with one of the buttonholes which was a bit stressful and one side of the front hem hangs a little lower than the other, but not massively misaligned! 

 To save paper the designs are printed on both sides of the paper and do not contain seem allowances.  As a result I ended up tracing the sleeve design for another top which is in fact longer than the original pattern but regardless still works well with the blouse. Although the patterns instructions and images are relatively easy to follow, I wouldn't recommend this book for a first time sewist since some prior knowledge is helpful in working out the various configurations.  Having said that the designs are very versatile and comfortable and  I am looking forward to trying one of the dress patterns in the near future.

We received a lovely package in the mail from our blogging friend, Kezzie  In the parcel was a beautiful dress for me which fits every where apart from the bodice, so I will have to put my sewing skills to use with the help of my mother outlaw!  There was a super cute jumper for Pip which looks to be a bit small as she is quite muscular but I have an idea to morph it into something else :-)  There was also a bamboo tooth brush fro me to try as Kezzie is doing a mammoth job in not only reducing her plastic waste but also educating and encouraging other to do likewise.  Dave received a box of chocolates from Kezzie's end of year teachers' stash and the main purpose of the parcel was a t-shirt for Ben which fits perfectly and hasn't been off his back since!

Apologies for late night blurry image but I think it's safe to say that he approves!!

During one of our Saturday jaunts to Wesleys I did my usual thing of finding the thought for the day and I thought it was quite appropriate:

 I really felt in my heart that God was confirming and encouraging our decision to home educate and for me to make a real go of utilising my crafting skills as a means of sustainable part time employment at this end.  We might have plans but then life happens and the test is to make the best of where we are :-)  I think this family does a pretty good job of making the best of things and working together day by day.

Kathryn and Mary came to stop over the weekend and we had Mary whilst Kath attending a meeting on the Monday.  As usual it was lovely to see them and Mary had fun spending time with Pip.

I have made a start on subject preparations for September and we are currently working home school light at the moment, so far it is going well :-) 

Paper Box People

Pip spent yesterday afternoon with a fellow altar server from church.  The girls spent the afternoon crafting these paper box people, followed by painting their hair with washable pink and blue hair chalk and playing with Lego.  It was the first time that both girls had spent some time together outside of church and they got on really well.  

 Dave devised the hat for E's model apparently he is wearing a 'stove pipe hat' ala the iconic civil engineer, I K Brunel

Pip just loves blue hair!

We are in the throws of crazy politics and even crazier weather :-)  I love the heat but the humidity and temperature today has been quite a challenge.  It has been too hot to knit so I have been sewing instead, if all goes well I should have a new top to wear quite soon :-)

Family Time

Over the past few weeks we have spent some time with extended family.  We managed to visit my dad on his 80th birthday.   Here he is holding a mammoth piece of work courtesy of Dave, it is a well documented piece of history; our family tree on my Dad' side of the family.  Dave took the original piece of research from my Dad and cousin and amalgamated the info with further additional information.  We have family from Somerset and Northumbria, two of my favourite places in Britain :-)

On Friday we had an impromptu visit from Sara, Tom and Ollie which was really lovely.  Ollie in true toddler form attempted to gain access to cupboards and drawers and thought the blinds in the lounge fascinating!!

I am pleased to report that Pip's smile has returned, yay!  She hasn't even grumbled to much about keeping up with home school light in the form of maths, read aloud and spellings.  Pip has a busy summer of activity camps, visits with friends and day trips in between.  We kick started this week with an orienteering home ed afternoon at Beacon Fell.  The same group that organised the day is also responsible for the forest school sessions tomorrow and Friday.  In addition she has also been attending youth football on a Wednesday with the opportunity of additional sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer.  Pip is football mad and the guy running the session today said she is really good at controlling the ball, she is one happy bunny. 

Highs And Lows

The Highs:

A birthday gift from  Dorina in NYC and a Get Well card from Eva in NY state, both arrived in the same postal delivery!  Thank you dear friends for thinking of me, your friendship is much appreciated x 

Outside knitting and eating.

Ben having fun building a wooden shoe rack for the hallway.

A Saturday morning cooked breakfast only a five minute walk from our home.

Beginning to make contacts and friendships within our church community, most especially there are three other church folk living with MS that also attend our Sunday mass!  

A new lounge carpet and bathroom flooring upstairs.

The Lows:

A perfect storm of a dodgy u-bend, a sink that was slow to empty and a knocked tap equals a flood in the upstairs bathroom!  Hence the need for new flooring as well as a complete redecoration of the lounge and dining room ceiling.  It quite literally never rains but pours!

Who knew that Pringles plain crisps also contained yeast extract?  No, me neither!!  One of the very offending substances that I have painstakingly avoided for an entire year, so no wonder I am now dealing with another horrid candida flare :-(  Thankfully the GP has prescribed a systemic treatment so things will settle eventually.

Pip has been increasingly unhappy at school.  In addition to the issues with one of the girls she is also struggling with the relentless pace of work.  She was off school last week due to a virus and a reaction to the MMR vaccine and despite being sick was relieved that she did not have to go to school.  For the last few weeks she has felt a complete failure because she is struggling to keep up.  I had a meeting with her teacher today and in order for Pip to have a hope of managing next year we would have to guarantee 100% attendance as well as Pip working at 110%; both of these goals are totally unrealistic! 

 It has been an interesting journey trying out mainstream school and it has confirmed my thoughts that schools are just number crunching machines with little regard for the well being of the children in their care. Needless to say Pip will be home schooled as from September with the longer term view of her attending Myerscough college once she is fourteen.  So with a bit of luck I should be hopefully posting our usual home school stories as and when they occur :-)

Life Lately

Dealing - with glandular fever also known as the Epstein- Barr virus.  I had a blood test just over a week ago and the result came through on Monday.  GP will need to do another test in four weeks to ascertain which way things are going.  I have days when I hold my own and other days when I am floored and the inflammation in the glands is really bad with all out bone crushing fatigue.

We are also dealing with Pip struggling at school.  She likes her teacher and enjoys the lessons but is having difficulties with one of the girls in her class.  It got to the point last week that she broke down and sobbed for over an hour and couldn't eat her tea.  This was the same girl that was super keen that another girl was joining the year and within a matter of days she was ignoring Pip, refusing to share a map in the geography lesson and attempting to prevent Pip from playing with another kid.  I really do believe that school brings out the worst in folk. 

However we are fortunate in that the head agreed to flexi schooling as part of the transition period so Pip will be finishing at lunch time tomorrow.  Instead of taking part in the sports day she will be spending time with another home school family :-) 

I think things have been made worse as she has also been targeted by some of the girls in our local area.  They call for her then exclude her and when she stands her ground and refuses to put up with their mean spirited behaviour, they then chase her when she is trying to come home.  I have seen first hand how they are behaving as they hadn't realised I was in the garden at the time.  The whole situation has affected her confidence which is quite sad.  As is stands we are trying to make it to the end of term and will review whether or not she will return in September.

Celebrating - we celebrated Ben's 16th birthday on the 11th.  It was a fairly low key day but he enjoyed it all the same.  Ben has really grown in confidence this last year and has enjoyed his year at college.  He is also benefiting from his volunteering roles both at Wesley's and at church.  He is a real whizz on the petrol mower as he manoeuvres around the grave stones in the church cemetery!

 Opening cards and presents first thing.

 Chicken, vegetable and pesto past followed by low carb, no sugar birthday cake.

 Pouring a non alcoholic beer :-)

Thankful - for some happy mail that arrived in the post on Monday.

My friend Penelope Wilcock, author and blogger gifted me the first three books in her 'The Hawk and The Dove' series:

" The first book is written not so much as a consecutive narrative but as a series of short stories about a medieval monastery, contained within a modern setting in which a mother tells the storied to her daughter.

This structure and the somewhat naive style of the book came about not as mere whimsy but as a tribute to two particular medieval texts - Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and the Fioretti of St Francis of Assisi.

The Canterbury Tales employs the literary conceit of the frame tale, and the Fioretti gathers a sequence of short stories (not fictional) recording the early days of the Franciscan movement from which the Order began.

In writing The Hawk and The Dove, intrigued by the style and structure of these medieval texts, I constructed my novel similarly.  It also offered the balancing of the two worlds - the medieval and the modern, the monastic and the secular, the feminine and the masculine.  The second book, The Wounds of God I also crafted along the same lines.  In subsequent volumes in the series I wanted to tackle issues that did not lend themselves to this structure, so I set it aside for The Long Fall and the books that followed."

Pen's writings on her blog and her books whether they be fiction or non fiction really speak to my soul and lift my spirits time and time again.  We often have a blog conversation over on her site and she was aware that I was below par.  This gift was her way of encouraging me during the difficulties and her generosity is greatly appreciated.

I also received an intriguing package with a UK post mark and then remembered an email from my lovely friend Eva regarding a belated birthday treat.  See that cute little chicken on the right of the photo, it is keeping Our Lady of Walsingham company on our mantle piece!  Thank you Eva for thinking of me and cheering my day :-)

Sharing - some photos of this past week.

The Annual Solstice Fairy Day

The girls had fun playing the crazy golf at The Flower Bowl followed by sausage buns, fries and salad and another chocolate sugar free cake.  Pip's best buddy is a Harry Potter fan so when Pip and I saw the plushies at Aldi it was a no brainer!  It was good to see Pip smile, the first in a long time.  We have a sleep over treat organised with the girls during the summer break and they are both super excited.

A Beach Trip on A Sunday

Back in our old stomping ground, the sound of the waves, fun in the sand and the much welcomed cup of tea in The Midland Hotel.  A real tonic for us all :-)