Katie is currently studying Interactive Media, Btec level 3 at college and is hoping to move on to university in September to study Illustration and Graphic Design.  She entered this poster into the Norwich Film Festival 2015 poster competition and was delighted to find she’d reached the 2nd round and is up against 9 others.  She wanted her work to take on a vintage look as that is quite “now”.  With its dark colours and slightly “dirty” look, and she’s certainly achieved that and we all think it’s fabulous!  

All top 10 posters are available to view at the Norwich Film Festival competition website.  If you’d like to place your vote, for whichever poster you feel is the best, please do.  Voting for this round closes 25th January, 2015.

Edit: Katie reached top 3 in this competition which was fantastic.  Her design will be printed onto post cards to be distributed around Norwich to advertise the forthcoming film festival.

Uni visits take over!

We have been doing the University visits thing with Katie - it's all very exciting but incredibly draining too.  Wanting initially to take a degree in Game Art, but also showing an interest in Illustration and Graphic Design, our first two uni visits saw us taking part in lectures that covered all these subjects.  At the end of our second uni visit it became clear that Illustration and Graphic Design would be the path she'd prefer.  Although Katie absolutely loves concept art, the Game Art courses involve far more than just that - by doing Illustration she could certainly put her new skills to use at a later date with concept art if she wished.

It may sound obvious, but each uni visit has been a totally different experience, and because of that, the time spent has been well worth it.  There are still a couple more that she'd like to see, but time is no longer on our side (unis seem to all have the same open days), so they'll have to wait until June next year.  Out of the ones we've visited, there seems to be a clear winner so fingers crossed that's the one she'll end up at.  It had a vibrant atmosphere and 100% genuine "warts 'n all" attitude from the course tutor that took the lecture, and the studios were absolutely amazing.  Certainly and inspiring place to study, that's for sure.

Her college work this year is very demanding and it's beginning to take its toll as Katie's often up working until the early hours, even though she's put in a many hours of work during the day.  Trying to find time to complete other necessary things to enable her to even apply to uni is proving difficult.  She needs an impressive portfolio, not just of college work, but her own sketch books too as well as any other bits of work she may have done for others, plus of course the dreaded personal statement.  The stress levels just seem to snowball but it'll all calm down at some point.  I'll look back on this next year and say, "yeah, we got through it"!

September's gone already

The Summer continues which is lovely - warm days and cool nights with mist and fog some mornings.  Just love those last few Summer days, with Autumn biting at the heels.  A few of the chimneys have started to smoke in the evenings around here - a sure sign that Winter is on its way.

Ben did well in his two GCSEs and is studying two new subjects, Chemistry and Astronomy for next Summer's exams.  He's into both subjects in a big way, but my teaching only extends to the Chemistry as he's doing a distance learning course for Astronomy (although I'm still sourcing interesting websites and I'm around for night sky viewings etc).  Both are taking up a lot of time.  In the mornings, when I sit in the car at stupid o'clock having dropped Katie off for the college coach, I spend an hour studying Chemistry (not a subject I know at all) ready to teach Ben when I arrive home from the yard.  We're doing well, and as always, I'm loving the fact that I'm learning something new too.  Astronomy for me kicks in when I'm ready to turn in for the night.  Tripods are set up, binoculars are focussed, sketch books out and much toing and froing (and choice words) trying to get decent photos of the moon.  Ben talks non stop about galaxies and what have you - my head becomes more of a fuzzy muddle that it is already.  I can't complain, I'd prefer him excited about his learning than not.

Katie, having completed her first year at college, is now looking at University courses for September 2015.  She's not sure which route to go down - at present it's a toss up between Game Art and Illustration.  Having visited one Uni last weekend and being completely bowled over by the enthusiasm of all the tutors, I think her leaning is more towards Illustration, but after the next three or four Uni visits, who knows - she may end up doing something completely different!  She's very tired at the moment - her course is full on and she knows (thanks to my constant nagging) that she needs to start her own portfolio of art work to present alongside her college work when interviews start from January next year.  She also knows (thanks again to my constant nagging) that she needs an impressive Personal Statement.  She'll be fine I'm sure, she always is, but it feels like a constant worry at the moment.

On the work front things are ticking along nicely and I'm working hard to build up my shops ready for Christmas.  One customer has requested a catalogue as she finds it hard to use the PC so I've just started making some new goodies just for this and hope to get it out to her (and anyone else who requests one) within a month.  At the back of my mind I'm thinking that Katie could help with the design as that, together with the business cards she designed for me not so long ago, would look good in her portfolio

One big down that we had this month was the loss of 7 years of photos from our PC.  We've lost a disk load of photos before (which was tragic), but 7 years worth seems 10 times worse.  Luckily some are still on blog postings, facebook and instagram, but a lot of videos of the children and pets have been lost which brings a lump to my throat.  I'm not really sure how it happened either - deleted one photo and suddenly (in that moment when you go completely cold with fear), the whole lot vanished and couldn't be found, not even in the recycling bin.  Ho hum - these things are sent to try us.

A post without pics is a little dull so here's a bright and cheerful fabric wallet that I made recently and is available at Ellie's Treasures.  It's been cut from gorgeous vintage fabrics - the brightest of which (the blue and orange) was brought over to the UK from the Far East in the 1970s.  Love it!

The Merry Month of May

This May has seemed like a long month (and it still hasn't ended!), which is unusual in this day and age as time seems to whizz by and before we know it the end of the year is upon us and the mad rush to stock up on Christmas presents has presented itself once again.

Other than keeping myself busy with a customer order and making plenty of new things for Ellie's Treasures at Wisbech Craft Centre, May also saw my birthday come and go and Jay's too - he's now 17 years old, although he certainly doesn't act that age!


We've had some glorious hot days where the barbecue was dusted off and the home made coleslaw prepared for a couple of alfresco meals.

Ben's "selfie" whilst toasting marshmallows on the barbecue.

The lawn is being cut every weekend and the herb garden has gone into over-drive!  We've been busy tidying the front of the garden too, mainly because we had a special visitor (or 15) come in the middle of May.


Back in January we received a letter from a gentleman named David whose Great Uncle used to be the village policeman living with his wife in our home.  He used to ride around on a specially adapted bicycle and David asked if he could bring the bike back to its home for a visit, along with some of his family and a team of cyclists doing a charity bike ride.  The day dawned, bright, sunny and wonderfully warm and the rather large team arrived around lunchtime.  It was as if we'd known them forever, they were all so friendly and chatty and interested in the bike in question and its origins.  One of David's Aunts used to visit our home as a teenager during the war so we gave her a bit of an indoors tour and took the opportunity to ask her some questions on the house layout and which rooms were used for police business etc., etc.  She also got to meet one of the oldest residents in the village who lives next door to us.  David's Great Uncle was 6'7" which is why the bike had to be adapted.  Many of the cyclists, including David, had a go at riding the bike up and down the road - not as easy as it sounded as there were no gears and you had to peddle backwards to brake!  A lovely sandwich lunch with the group at the local pub and a pop down to the village fair afterwards made for a very pleasant day.

David riding his Great Uncle's special bobby bike.

May has also seen the start of Ben's GCSEs.  The 3 hour English Language went well and luckily the hot weather broke in time for the big day, meaning those sitting it weren't feeling as uncomfortable as expected.  By the afternoon the weather had changed drastically with thunderstorms and very heavy rain.  Villages close to where the exam was held experienced unbelievable hail resulting in damage to some properties in the area.

Since then, the weather has remained fairly unsettled.  This little fella seems to be the only thing around that's enjoying the sudden downpours and sogginess of it all.


With his Maths exams popping up early next month and soon out of the way, concentration is turning to Physics and Chemistry and the thoughts of GCSE Astronomy as well (via distance learning).  We have found lots of You Tube videos to help with the sciences and some interesting hands on experiments (which so far have been successful - it's not always the case!).  We made a basic battery a couple of weeks ago which was fascinating.  Details can be found on this pdf here.

Layers of pennies, tin foil and kitchen towels damp with salt water = simple battery.

Ju-jitsu award for Ben

A few weeks ago Ben took part in a competition run by KSOMA, the martial arts school he attends.  He had to perform four moves, three of which he could choose and practise before the event and the fourth a move that the teachers and judges selected on the day.  Each part of the competition was judged and marked and a comment sheet presented a week later with an overall percentage mark and grade.  Ben was thrilled to received a Distinction grade (and was especially pleased with the two "awesome" remarks on his sheet") and a trophy too.  All who took part received a medal with different coloured ribbon depending on age and current belt grading.  Go Ben!

Household Cavalry Equestrian and Country Show

Having unfortunately missed this last year I blocked out the majority of July's weekends for this year in order not to double book and miss it again. The Household Cavalry spend some time in Norfolk for their Summer break, the highlight of which (for the locals and those lucky enough to find out about it beforehand) is their Holkham beach visit where horse and riders in large numbers have the best of times in and out of the sea. They don't really broadcast the date of this trip in advance, I guess for obvious reasons of being swamped by visitors and cameras, and so we did actually miss this again this year but hope, one year, we shall be lucky and get to witness what must be an amazing site. You can follow the The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment on Facebook and see all their fabulous pictures.

However, we did get to go along to their Equestrian Show and Country Fair last Sunday. Weather was blooming hot by the time we reached there, around 2ish, and I felt a bit sorry for the riders in all their finery, they must have been very uncomfortable. The atmosphere was amazing - friendly, welcoming and relaxed. We watched the Mirror Image Knockout Competition - something I think should appear at the local shows - such great fun. Two rows of simple jumps and two competing side by side to clear them in the quickest time, against each other. These horses (and perhaps the riders) aren't so used to jumping, so it made for an entertaining show at times (as was the Eventers Grand Prix later in the afternoon).

 After this, and a quick watch of the bird of prey demonstration, we headed off to see the tentpegging. I have to admit, when I saw this listed last year I didn't realise it was a horse activity, the name doesn't really give away what is involved! The steady horse and rider team has to ride at a fast pace, aim and successfully scoop up a couple of hanging rings and then something secured in the ground using a javlin to begin with, and then a sword.

A quick visit to the beer tent for much needed cold refreshments and then a wander through the temporary stables to visit the gorgeous cavalry stars - the horses, including Mercury the adorable drum horse. Stupidly we'd left our packet of polos in the car (and it was a long walk back to it), but those horses certainly didn't miss out, people were handing out treats left, right and centre!

As the sun heated up even more we found a seat and watched the Eventers Grand Prix and then the parade or horses which featured, as a guest star, Joey from the musical War Horse. When the crowd were invited to jump the fence and meet the horses in the parade, the majority went over to see Joey - he was so lifelike and had quite a personality for a puppet horse!

The highlight of the afternoon was of course the Mounted Regiment Musical Ride.


A spectacular show of man and horse working in partnership.



An absolutely brilliant afternoon - will certainly be diarising again for next year.




Photos taken by Katie.

Somerset holiday

We spent a lovely week in North Somerset, coming home last Saturday.  As Katie was taking her art IGCSE in Bristol is seemed a perfect opportunity to rent a cottage for the week somewhere close by and we found Mendip View in Congresbury as our ideal holiday home.  It was absolutely perfect with owners, Clare and Richard, just next door in case any problems cropped up and for a good natter over the fence should we see them!  A homely, well stocked welcome basket awaited us on the kitchen table and there were other lovely little additions around the house - bubble bath, dishwasher tablets, a towel for Poppy (should the weather be foul (luckily it wasn't)), games and plenty of books.


As the week went on we began to realise how perfectly located the cottage is.  Main roads to Bristol were a stone's throw away, the motorway about 15 mins and the local train station which took us into Bristol (and then on to London as Paul needed to go into the office one afternoon) just 5 mins away.  We even had Bristol airport a short drive away and took a couple of opportunities to drive up to a parking area alongside the runway to get a really good close view of take offs and landings.  We could quite easily up-sticks and move to this place - it ticked all the boxes.

Shopping took place in Bristol and at Cadbury Garden Centre (excellent craft finds there).  Pretty water feature at Bristol harbourside.  Some eating out took place - nice to be spoilt once in a while!  Watching planes take off and land alongside the runway at Bristol airport.

With the house being at the foot of Cadbury Hill, we took  a climb to the top to witness the fabulous views right over the Bristol Channel to Wales.  On the way back down, getting a little lost among the many man-made paths, we discovered a vast expanse of wild garlic - it smelt wonderful.


Other amazing views were from the top of Uphill, a lovely village close to Weston-Super-Mare.


There were also visits to Clevedon, SS Great Britain (Brunel's beautiful ship docked at Bristol harbourside), At Bristol interactive science centre (Ben's highlight of the week) and a few drives in the Land Rover, including some lovely leafy and hilly lanes.

Nice to be home, but really missing the fun and relaxation of being away.

A family catch up post

It's been a while hasn't it? 

Things have been busy with new school work schedules.  Katie has finally decided on three subjects at GCSE for next Summer - ICT, computer studies and art.  We shall have to go all the way over to Bristol to sit the art exam at quite a large expense, fingers crossed she does well!  College open days are currently on the agenda to find out a bit more on the media (TV and film) course that she'd like to take next Autumn.  We've been to Peterborough Regional College so far and was hugely impressed with the enthusiasm from the tutors and the amazing studios they use for their teaching and practical work.  They have transport from a town 10 miles away from us - a 7:20 a.m. start 4 mornings out of 5 - will be quite a change in routine if she decides to go there!  The only other two college options we have are Stamford and Kings Lynn.  Their open days are next month - looking forward to comparing.

Ben is also working on GCSEs - maths and ICT.  I'm considering putting him in for the ICT exam in the Summer, along with Katie, so he has someone to go in with.  It's a big step for him as he'll be 13 but he's more than capable of the work, not too sure if he'll cope with the pressure though.

The annual ju-jitsu competition happened at the beginning of the month with Ben taking part in a number of categories.  This year the competition, judged by an outsider, was purely in-house.  In previous years they have competed against a fabulous group from Wales, but I think the snow and freezing weather last year put them off planning future Autumn/Winter trips away from home!

He showed off his stuff and came away with a some medals and a trophy which was very well deserved.

We held our annual firework party last weekend - a weekend earlier than normal so it became a Hallowe'en event too.  Lots of chatter, grub, hot cups of tea and coffee (and the odd glass of wine too), bbq, fireworks and, of course, sparklers!  The last two years we've had dry (and even warm as I recall) evenings, but this year we'd had a lead up week of rain, sleet and strong winds.  To our amazement, the weather forecast was correct for Saturday evening - clear skies and dry!  By 3:30 p.m. the weather had settled and although it was still bitterly cold, the bbq and fireworks were able to go ahead as planned.

Our four hens are doing fabulously - they all seem to get along well, just a few minor quarrels at feeding time!  No eggs to speak of  (I know the weather doesn't help) although either Mrs. Tiggs or Lola occasionally drop a tiny, tiny brown egg for us (I have yet to know if there's actually a yolk inside - should crack one and see).  Flo, and sometimes are sister Ebb, will fly over the main gate to follow me when taking Poppy for her morning walk.  Luckily they haven't ventured too far up the road, but it makes me laugh when we come back home and they run after us eager to have their breakfast.  Running hens are the funniest things :0)

Will post about Ellie's Treasures in a couple of days as I'm in the process of adding postage prices for those wishing to buy from abroad - just in time for Christmas.

Have a good week 

Time for an update!

Ellie's Treasures, the blog, isn't just about what's happening on the shop front, or in the craft world, but also about family life in general.  It seems to have been a while since I updated you on what's been going on here.

Katie's horse, Jay, continues to dominate our lives more than anything else at the moment.  As one thing gets sorted it seems another comes to the fore!  I've been told this will continue throughout our horsey lives, so I should really start to get use to it.  We've been at the new livery yard for a month now (where does time go?) and am happy to say we've all settled in extremely quickly.  Jay seems far more relaxed in his new surroundings, and because of this, Katie and I also feel good (although we couldn't say we didn't feel happy at our previous place - our old yard owner, like our new one, was lovely and welcoming (as I've said before)). 

The first few times Katie got back in the saddle was quite interesting.  She'd forgotten how uncomfortable Jay's trot was and it was looking very bumpy.  It didn't take long for the pair of them to get into a routine and with each day of work, they seem to be progress further and are starting to become a lovely horse and rider team.  Jay's mini-bucks are generally kept for the cooling down part of each session, but Katie won't let him get away with it!  She'll push him back into trot or canter to get home that he really can't behave like that! Sessions are still relatively short (she's now working him for about 30 mins), to build up his stamina and muscles - and he's pretty sweaty after this short time, so obviously needs the exercise!  Being in an enclosed arena has made Katie far more confident and able to concentrate more on what she needs to do with Jay, rather than worrying he may shoot off across the field at any moment.

We had the saddle fitter out at the beginning of the week.  This is the (hopefully, but probably not) the final thing we wanted to check with regard to his bucking.  It seems his saddle is too long for his back, and is sitting past his last rib (therefore with little support and putting a strain on his back ligaments and muscles).  I had my suspicions from the start, but, once again, ignorance of these things lead to making a costly mistake.  At the time it was suggested we buy a larger saddle, as they are apparently easier to sell second hand when needed, but it seems we really needed one slightly shorter.  Ho hum, we live and learn!  The saddler has given us an excellent price to our 4 month old saddle and we're going to either replace with another the same (but new size) or choose a good second hand one.  I'm hoping we can go for the latter as forking out another £300 odd isn't my idea of fun!  He did say he'd throw in the re-fit visit for free though - bless him!

Away from horses - both cars are seriously needing attention too - and draining our bank account at the same time.  First the radiator has bust on our Landie and I'm wondering if our -14 cold spell had something to do it.  To save on labour costs, Paul has bought all the bits and tools himself to fix it.  I think he's looking forward to the challenge - just hope he doesn't take too long!  Our other family car has got mega power-steering problems.  It's been going on a while now and has got worse and worse as time has gone on.  We had a couple of drives where it reverted back to normal (pure bliss), but other than that we may as well say it doesn't possess power-steering at all, and makes driving tiresome and probably a little dangerous at times.  I've decided that tomorrow's trip to jujitsu, being around 100 miles journey in total, is not going to happen, it's just far too much hard work.  The car's going in to the garage on Monday for a new power-steering pump.  I really hope that'll fix it and there's no more expense.

Ben's next jujistu grading is fast approaching.  The weeks go by so quickly, it doesn't seem five minutes since he got his current belt.  He's loving the classes and the weapons too - so we decided to buy him his own Bo (long stick) and will eventually get him a Jo too (although we've been told a broom stick will do).  Being left handed, with most strenuous moves using the right hand, using a proper weighted Bo will be a bit of a challenge at first I think - but he's up for it!

Katie's working hard on her IGCSE English and will be taking this at a local secondary school at the end of May.  She's far more confident about this exam than the maths last year and her written English has come along in leaps and bounds since starting the course.  Ben is keen to do Interior Design, although at the mo we haven't looked further than the internet and a few books from the library.  He seems to have an eye for colour and room design and enjoyed building homes and furnishing rooms on The Sims until our computer died and we lost it!  He's now found something a little similar online which he's using, as well as putting together mood boards on my Pinterest account.

All our pets are well at the moment, although we had to say goodbye to Billy the rabbit a couple of weeks ago.  Again I think it was the terrible cold spell that pushed him over the edge and it seems his snotty nose (that he's always had and couldn't really cure) turned to pneumonia and he stopped eating and drinking and seemed quite down.  He would have been 8 this Spring which is a good age for a rabbit.  Tilly is off to the vet next week for, what the vet called, a "snip and chip".  They're running a scheme to neuter cats and kittens for a cut price so was pleased to take up that offer.  She's a typical kitten - into everything - jumping up your legs (ouch), scooting across the floor chasing after things and many bouts of serious play-fighting with the other cats (mainly Pepper).  She loves Poppy and follows her around outside; they've even been known to snuggle up together which is very cute.  Mrs. Tiggs, one of our hens, has started laying eggs again.  A sure sign the days are getting longer.  Paul is talking, again, of getting perhaps a couple more hens to increase our egg quota - although once Mrs. Tiggs gets into daily egg laying, we usually find that's enough for our cake making needs.

Think that's it on the update front.  Sewing continues (I'll post again about new things) - life continues - Spring is well and truly on its way - warmer days certainly make me feel more cheerful, it almost means the return of frequent cups of tea outside in the sunshine!

A summer catchup ...

We've had a very good summer, fun and, at times, non-stop.  August especially seemed a month full of "happenings".  There was a very special lunch time event at Hambleton Hall along the banks of Rutland Water celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of Paul's parents.  Words cannot describe how delicious the meal was.  Without wanting to sound like a snob, "normal" food will never seem as appealing after witnessing the combinations of flavours carefully put together in the menu we had that day.  Even the fish and chips that the children had was superior to the chippy with the accompanying peas being surved in a tiny little copper saucepan which was a big hit around the whole dining table! Presentation and friendliness of the staff made everything so relaxing and enjoyable.  Gushing over - but you get the message, it was truly a memorable occasion.

A week later, my sister's annual family get together was just as fabulous and great fun.  It's lovely to all get together for a long natter, lots of grub, lots of fun games and to see how the children have all grown and developed in their personalities over the year.

Earlier in the month we took a trip to Yorkshire for another family do - a garden barbeque. Lots more catching up and an all round fab relaxing day. 

Katie had friends to stay from Wales and Skye - a couple of noisy nights where Paul and I decided to camp outside rather than wait for them to all go to bed!  The second night they fell asleep on the sofa at about 4am, so a wise move on our part don't you think?  Busy days too with me being a bit of a taxi driver.  Lots of shopping, lots of chitter-chatter, lots of pizza eating (and bbq as I recall - the weather was very kind).

One of the biggest days in August for us as a family was Thursday, 25th.  Katie, along with her home ed friend, at the ripe old age of 14, had taken her GCSE maths foundation earlier in the year.  It was a tense time waiting for the results (for me, more than her I think).  Throughout our HE time, maths has always been a bit of a problem for Katie.  Not that she was incapable of doing it, just she couldn't see the need.  We'd finished the KS3 maths course in a year (as had Ben) and so from September last year until her exam we concentrated on the foundation course.  It was touch and go, especially when we hit algebra!  Say that word to her now and she'll raise her eyebrows!  I couldn't fathom it out at her age either, although in the end she was able to, but having worked alongside her learning it all I got very into it - loving it actually - which would naturally drive Katie up the wall!  Anyway, the exam came and went, with much "do you think this was the right answer" popping up several times afterwards.  Then 9 a.m. on the 25th August I got the "ping" on on phone saying the result was through.  I had to keep checking it (and zooming in) to make sure but she'd passed.  She was extremely happy, I was in tears through happiness and relief!  We'd heard over the years of successes in exams from HE children, now we have added to that stat.  She'd worked hard and solid through those months (but not without some hassle and arguments I have to say), but she knew as time grew closer that the result was important for her future and she worked as hard as she could.  One under her belt and now working on GCSE English with a science and hopefully art to follow.  Way to go Katie!

Making movies

seems to be the order of the day in our household at the moment.  Katie's friend is really into writing short movies and involving Katie, Ben (and sometimes Poppy, the dog) in the filming.  It's lovely to hear them upstairs in Katie's room shooting their work (so to speak).  Katie often turns short clips of film of her riding AJ into longer length movies, putting them on You Tube and now Ben has got into the act producing this rather fun animated film of one of his toy soldiers break-dancing!

A full and fun week

which started with Katie jumping at Sissons and ended with a day trip to see The Big Bang event at the ExCel in London yesterday.  During the week Ben also had a sleepover with one of his mates which meant being out and about in the car for a couple of days, plus Katie learnt a new skill when giving AJ a hair cut using the clippers on his legs and mane!

So, Sissons then.  It was lovely to have two of Katie's friends came along and watch, one of them filmed the two jumping classes and made up a great music video of Katie and AJ which is now on You Tube.  They came away with a rosette for 4th in the first of the two classes, so all pretty good.  Weather, was dry thankfully (but still very cold) - makes it all so much easier when it's not raining.

The Big Bang event at the ExCel was fabulous.  We first got to hear about it through the HE group quite a few months back, and decided to go along, together with a few other families, to try and better ourselves, and our children, with the knowledge of science!  We certainly weren't let down.  This fair was all about science, and engineering too, and the number of exhibition stalls was overwhelming.  We booked ourselves to see a couple of live stage shows too, Brainiac Live and BBC's Bang Goes the Theory.  Both shows were brilliant, and we were fortunate enough to be seated in the second row for each performance so could experience all the flames, loud bangs and what have you close up (and there were plenty of them).  Looking around the exhibition section it became very apparent very quickly how simple methods are so often used to demonstrate and practise science and engineering skills.  Lego was used on many stalls as well everyday kitchen ingredients and it was lovely to see a whole section dedicated to shapes and models made from tightly rolled newspapers.  It bought back good memories of an HE group session in 2009 where the children constructed a dome using these techniques.


Big smoke rings produced from a giant air bazooka during Brainiac Live.


Ben building an electronic car from Lego.


Bang Goes the Theory - demonstrating the power of methane.


Ben looking thrilled to hear there will be very loud bangs during the Brainiac performance.


Graceful flying silver penguins - don't ask me how they do it, lots of big brain stuff no doubt!

And finally ... here's Katie getting to grips with AJ's mane.   It's amazing how quickly it grows, having only been trimmed about 3 or 4 weeks ago!  She also used the clippers to trim the lower part of his legs and a few whiskers under his chin.  For a first go she did brilliantly.  I think if I got hold of those clippers I'd be giving him an all over shave - the power!

Been doing a spot of science ...

and geography too.  Ben has always been interested in science but a new spark of interest lead us to doing some experiments over the last few weeks.  As he's keen on this subject I dug out an all-sciences workbook for him to look through but to tell you the truth it didn't have any "hands-on" fun, just loads of blurb, so understandably that was ditched in no time at all! 

He's been doing experiments on pressure, surface tension and understanding crystals all using the Usborne books that we have.  He's been following his chemistry kit work book to learn a variety of wonderful things and finally he's been learning (and have great fun and games) with his Science Museum magnet set.

On the geography side of things we came across an ad in the paper for a set of detailed cards on countries of the world together with a free world map all for 99p.  This turned up during the week and Ben has been scouring the map for weird and wonderful countries (mainly those that are tiny, tiny dots in an ocean somewhere), looking up the facts about them and also finding out more through Google Earth.  He seems to be fascinated by Greenland too (OK, so that's not a tiny dot of an island) and has completed a fact sheet featuring the things that he particularly likes about the country.  All very informative.

You can read about some of the science experiments Ben's been doing on his blog, here.

Sharing this ...

lovely pencil drawing Katie did the other day.  She hasn't used her art tools for several months so it was lovely to see the sketch book out and a fresh drawing created.

Thanks to Poppy ...

... Katie and Ben are getting some regular exercise!

We were given a fabulous fire guard recently which, once I'd got it home and tried to assemble the pieces, realised it is way to big for any of our open fires!  I put it, folded up, to one side in the garden thinking perhaps it could be used to keep Billy the rabbit in one place when grazing on the grass.  In the mean time, Katie's found a brilliant use for it - as a jump for Poppy!  Before the snow and ice, she was taking Poppy out into the garden for a jumping session two or three times a day, previously using garden canes and my best ceramic flower pots as posts, but now using sections of the fire guard.  Poppy's jumping has come on in leaps and bounds (excuse the pun), but snow kind of stopped play so... it's now moved indoors.

Because it's much warmer and the canes can be moved to a higher position, Katie and Ben have also started jumping on a regular basis.  Guess it helps to keep them fit!

Ben's jujitsu competition

Ben took part in his first Jujitsu competition yesterday, run by the martial arts school that he attends (KSOMA).  There were quite a few categories to take part in and another school, from Wales, also came along for the event.  Ben decided to participate in three categories doing one selection of moves (called a kata) on his own, the same kata in a group with two others and another kata, called a bo kata (which uses a long pole) in a group as well.  He, and his group members, practiced so hard, getting their timings just right, they deserved to do well on the day.

As Sunday approached the Ben's nerves were beginning to kick in, and I was a little worried he would fall apart on the Sunday morning.  To top this, he didn't get much sleep the night before.  As it was, we he was perfectly OK, although still nervous!  With a careful drive through the snow to the venue and a long wait for his first class, his nerves where building even more.  He was spot on though - not hitches at all, and once things got going he was really into it all.

With the two schools put together there seemed quite a few children taking part and the atmosphere was fabulous with everyone clapping and really taking an interest in the moves the children were doing.

Ben came away with a lovely medal for placing 2nd with his team for the kata, as well as a medal for taking part.  He was pretty happy with himself and I was a very proud mum.

Let there be light

Yonks ago I came across something, probably online as I seem to live on the PC, for turning tin cans into pretty tea-light holders.

All very simple.  Fill an empty, label peeled and thoroughly washed can with water and place in the freezer until frozen.  Try not to forget about them.  Ours stayed in the freezer for months before we finally got around to finishing the task!

While still frozen, carefully use a bodger (or sharp ended tool) and a hammer to tap out a pattern of dots around the can.  Please take care with this - especially with little hands and fingers.  The can will obviously be extremely cold and slippery too.  Ben placed his can between his legs to get a better grip - not really recommended though!


Once you've made your pattern, let the ice melt, dry the can and place your lit tea-light inside.  Makes a cheap and very cheerful decoration around the home.

OK, a little blurred maybe, but you get the idea!  Holding a camera while it does its "long exposure" thing is not fun!