The Giraffes who came for tea.

Along with Pooh Bear and the neenaw car - it was quite a party :)

Season Table and toys

This is our Summer seasonal table - still has that big old sun there and a couple of gorgeous fans I found in the fair trade shop in Linlithgow for £2 each! They have been used quite a bit already, as the conservatory gets really warm during the day. Wooden bowl full of shells, flower heads, seed pods etc, a couple of bug and butterfly spotter guides for easy access, James's gardening gloves and his watering can which he allowed me to use as a vase - containing some roses, hydrangea and lavender from the garden. Hanging above is a bee mobile with willow hives and paper flowers. The bees are made from pine cones with yellow wool wrapped around them and greaseproof paper wings. I first saw this idea on Mama4's blog - A Smile a Day. Mama's were much better than these, because she had used alder cones, which are more bee-like. Mine are far more blowsy.

I am going to be changing the location of our table soon, as this space is right by the side door - the family and friends door. As a consequence, my seasonal display often feature items such as car keys, the dog's lead, handbags, soft drink cans, and once (shock) a fag packet :0. Just to make the point - here is a picture I took yesterday just after the organic box was delivered. James immediately made for the punnet of raspberries, and i couldn't resist snapping the moment. Later on when I downloaded the days shots I noticed my 'seasonal display' lol. I have a space in mind, but it needs a lot of decluttering and some shelf building.

Now shelf building is not a problem for my clever husband. He has just constructed this masterpiece to hold James's toys and books. These were previously stored in various boxes and in different places around the house. This did not work as chucking everything into one box means that the toys at the bottom are rarely played with,and play can be limited. I felt it was important that his toys were in the family living space, as that is where we spend our time. I don't like the idea of him having to go to his room to play - he doesn't have a room anyway as we co-sleep and his older brother and sister have the other bedrooms. This is a really small house - a bit like the Tardis in reverse, it looks like a sizeable bungalow from the outside, but inside it is a typical 1930s design. Of course we didn't really expect to have such a wonderful addition to our family when we first moved here!

Anyway, I am really pleased - no - thrilled with how this has turned out. All the toys are now accessible and together; cars in one basket, blocks in another, dressing up clothes - you get the idea. James has already played such imaginative games with toys he had forgotten about, and his creativity seems to have taken a huge leap. Happy, happy happy me!

Wonderful Word Wednesday

Today I am going a wee bit academic for my wonderful word. Back to my first anatomy and physiology lectures in fact. This word randomly jumped into my mind last week, but i am wondering if it is related to James and his love of water - the sea, puddles, harbours and rain are all favourites right now, but try to get him in the bath or shower - no way!
So, my word is Hydrophillic - which means water loving, as opposed to hydrophobic - both words fit James at the moment :)
These words are terms used to describe the molecules which make up the cell membrane - the phospholipid bilayer. The molecules have hydrophillic heads and hydrophobic tails and look a bit like this:This is how the membrane that surrounds all our cells is made up. I could go on, but I'm sure it is searchable if you want all the hydrogen bonding and negatively charged ions and stuff.
Hydrophillic - my word of the week. Thank you Tired Mummy for Wonderful Word.

Shopping

This afternoon John wanted to go into town for a haircut, so James and I decided we would go along for the ride. James was hoping to buy another boat from one of the charity shops, so I suggested that he donate an old toy that he didn't play with anymore. He was quite amenable to this idea and selected a Postman Pat figure complete with mail trolley, that he had inherited from one of my step-grandsons. He was very excited about this and wanted to put it in his own bag to give to the lady himself. We took a couple of bags of books with us too.
Well, he didn't get his boat, but he did find a yellow digger and a wooden tractor instead. The lady in Barnardo's was very pleased to take his donation and made a wee fuss of him, which he always enjoys. Then we found a bag of large lego type pieces in the Capability shop for 50p and the lady there gave him a little Eskimo figure she had sitting on the counter.
We met up with Dad, who was sitting reading on a bench outside the barbers. James stayed with him while I investigated the British Heart Foundation shop. When I returned, (with a skirt, a top and a couple of good children's books) he had built a large tower, helped by Dad and an older man who had been sitting on the bench too. They were totally engrossed in their construction project and the man was genuinely sorry when we left for home.
On the way, we passed another 2 charity shops - Help the Aged and Sense (more books, a jumper, shirt and wellies for James). In each place and along the way, people smiled, chatted and generally took an interest in him. All the shop volunteers made a fuss of him; an elder from the Islamic community centre, who was browsing in the Sense shop came up and shook his hand; and, as a group of teenage boys passed by, one of them said to the others "Awww,did you see that cute wee boy?", and they all turned round a smiled at him
I was struck by the way these folk, strangers to us, all immediately resonated with James's natural innocence. There is something so touching about a child's wonder at the world; and the world responds back. I hope James will never lose that sense of wonder and innocence.

Book sharing Monday (xiv)

This week we are reading Dinosaurs and all that rubbish by Michael Foreman, which we bought in a very cosy 2nd hand bookshop opposite The Meadows in Edinburgh.



In this fable, Man has stopped at nothing in his bid to reach the stars. He cuts down all the trees, burns whatever he can in his attempt to build a rocket. Smoke and fumes poured out and the Earth was soon covered in waste and rubbish. When all the damage was done, Man finally set off in his rocket to the stars.

The heat of all that rubbish woke the dinosaurs who had lain asleep underground for thousands of years. This is James's favourite page.

A dinosaur held his nose
as he looked around.
"POOH!" he said.
There is nothing on this planet but mess.
If we are going to live here
we'll have to get busy"

So they clean up the Earth, and forests and flowers grow again - the world becomes a beautiful paradise once again. Meanwhile, Man has reached his star and found that there was nothing to see. He sees a beautiful blue star in the sky and sets off for it. Once he arrives he doesn't recognise the planet that he had trashed before, and thinks he can take over. The dinosaurs have other ideas, and soon put him right, reminding him that the Earth belongs to everyone and they must all play their part in enjoying and caring for it.

A very relevant read in the current environment. Interesting that it was first published in 1972! I wonder if the planet would be in better shape if the dinosaurs had woken up then.
Share lots more books at Canadian Home Learning.

Shadow Shot Sunday - Gate between darkness and light

Walking along a shady wooded lane, this gate seemed to open up to the light.


See more light and dark partnerships from around the world at Shadow Shot Sunday

Raw

I have been experimenting a bit with raw food lately, after finally coming across a raw no-cook book that contains recipes that are actually accessible - do not require several pieces of horrendously expensive equipment or bizarre ingredients sourced from mountain lakes in the middle of the high Andes. Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw Food Made Easy has some of the most delicious recipes I have tasted. You do need a some kind of blender or food processor - even a stick one works.
Just before we went off on our break, I made Not Meat Balls in a raw Marinara sauce with courgette pasta.

Forgive the blurred photograph, but if you are ever to try a raw food recipe it should be this one - especially the sauce
I have a veg peeler which does very thin pasta shapes, so I used that to slice my courgettes, but I have done a tagliatelle type with a potato peeler.

Marinara Sauce

1 ripe tomato
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes in oil (or soaked for 30 mins if dried)
1/2 red pepper
2 tbls olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 crushed garlic clove
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
dash black pepper and dash cayenne.

Blitz in blender or food processor and keep in a sealed container (up to 3 days in a fridge)

Not Meat Balls

1 cup walnuts (soaked for 6 - 8 hrs)
1 tblsp lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp tamari
1/4 tsp garlic powder
dash salt
1 tbsp minced parsley
1 tblsp minced onion

Place everything except the parsley and onion into a food processor and blend into a paste. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and still in the parley and onion. Will keep for 5 days. Make up into ball shapes and serve on top of courgettes with sauce drizzled over.