tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-340800342012-02-13T15:43:27.892ZHE 2 children on the Yorkshire coast.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.comBlogger8851100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-11141465796339068312012-02-12T21:39:00.001Z2012-02-12T21:41:53.931Z

I made this one for the Linus Project I found out about through a friend A.  I am very pleased about this as it give me every excuse to buy gorgeous fabric in colours I might not normally to make quilts for children aged 0 -18.  It was hard going emotionally cos saying "Oh yes, I'll make one." and making one are two different things. Making a quilt for a sick child is different to making one for

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-87949039092802907182012-02-11T23:53:00.001Z2012-02-11T23:53:54.331Z

and we haven't got off the blocks since Christmas.  I have a list of "excuses" as long as my arm as to why that hasn't happened but really none of them are good enough.  I have provided an education.  LOLOL  They haven't wanted to receive it.   Oh they've been busy.  Doing what they want and learning what they want to learn.  D has done maths and reading.      B has rebuffed all my efforts,

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-40576316295815835262012-02-09T22:48:00.001Z2012-02-11T23:54:11.286Z

I like order, chronology and step by step learning. They don't. I like broad and balanced. They don't. I like to finish what we start. They don't. I like handwritten work. They don't. I need to keep learning in boxes in my head to keep sense of it. They don't. I need to see what they have learnt. They don't. I like to do just one more page to make sure, They don't. No wonder they

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-37010243267569499072012-02-08T23:03:00.001Z2012-02-08T23:03:44.397Z

along with a long discussion on the Diamond Jubilee and reminisces about the Silver one which I made Union Jack cakes for and bunting to hang down the street.  All of the above are connected as they linked one from another but I can't remember how now. ( might have been the news actually). It's an example of the convoluted discussions that take place here most days. Usually the Wiki page is open

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-2181543053130859152012-02-01T19:06:00.002Z2012-02-01T19:06:45.556Z

out about the Cold War?  I was treated to an hour long lecture on The Cold War last night at 1.15 am  ( so actually this morning) from D.  Everything he told me was true as far as we know from history.  I am always puzzled by how he finds things out. He shrugs and said he "saw it somewhere" which made no sense. Dh has been doing maths with him to see "where he is at".  So far, despite having 

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-86471301264089968282012-01-30T20:53:00.001Z2012-01-30T20:53:33.423Z

I love my birthday cos it means we are getting nearer to Spring.  One more day and we are on the downhill run into February and quickly into March.  Last April was so hot we had 4 BBQ's in one long weekend. ( Easter I think) It doesn't seem that far away once my birthday has been and gone. I live for the summers here.  I am going to plant bulbs this weekend in tubs currently

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-82214942646745338252012-01-29T18:51:00.004Z2012-01-29T18:55:34.116Z

I feel like we've reached a HE crossroad. Or should I say my brain has but the participants in the walk are still dawdling along down the road.  One is sat on the edge of the road and the other is stood gazing at the view behind him.   Neither are moving forward as fast as I'd like.  I had it in mind we'd be closer to the crossroads than this by now.  I have had to back peddle and forget the

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-29518494646199873732012-01-28T13:08:00.001Z2012-01-28T13:08:38.433Z

Looks lumpy cos of all the things under it lol its double bed size but hangs down to the floor on this one. Katie asked for the colours and I made it up. She loves it. I have fabric to make a Renaissance quilt for eldest.  It is gorgeous. I ought to cut it out today but have a headache so am avoiding it for now. Hoping to re-group on Monday and get regular some HE under way.

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-75966725928180903912012-01-26T22:28:00.000Z2012-01-26T22:28:12.984Z

H.E wise not a lot really. My plans disintegrated to dust this week.  I've had a kidney relapse thing going on which is a pain and mean going back on meds that make me feel ill all the time.  Not fun.  During the feeling of sick, dizzy and exhaustion we did do a bit of history, moon phases - yet again, Australia Day, why cats lick their bums type discussions  and how the heart works ( Kerri was 

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-61847409410266217722012-01-18T20:33:00.002Z2012-01-18T20:33:27.373Z

D had a morning long read of this book which he got for Christmas.  He has a few animal books and enjoys piling them up around him for a look. Among his favourites are this one and this one but he has others.  I do wonder where it is all leading too. He could do animal related courses at the college S is but it's not SEN friendly and an ASD student was bawled out by a tutor who repeatedly shouted

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-40697773442551465972012-01-14T22:36:00.002Z2012-01-14T22:36:32.327Z

consisted of finding out that flexing our gas and electric account means this:- I ask for a month opt out. ( December) They say yes.  They take the money in December anyway and then try to take the next due payments 10 days after that.  I phone up to point out we cannot pay 4 fuel payments in less then a fortnight and they agreed to change the direct debit date to the end of January ( only they

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-86297411883924182452012-01-13T20:26:00.001Z2012-01-16T14:58:13.656Z

Independence have taken up a lot of the time lately.  B got some money at Christmas so has bought more Dungeon's and Dragons books which he has been reading avidly since their arrival.  He has been making his characters and doing many things I do not understand.  Alongside this has been a fair bit of maths, some Roman history reading and learning about Edgar Allen Poe.  I found a study unit for

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-44783871244770042722012-01-11T12:51:00.001Z2012-01-11T12:51:31.092Z

Blondie ( described on vet records as brown which he clearly isn't) our oldest guinea pig had to have a GA yesterday for dental work on his teeth as he is getting a bit long in the tooth.  Prior to it he was very poorly and needed syringe feeding and antibiotics for a week until the vet decided it was his teeth and not an abscess. He lost over half his bodyweight so it was a good thing he was

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-21786317349673568772012-01-08T16:41:00.004Z2012-01-08T22:54:28.407Z

looks like it is getting put on hold. Dh has not met his deadline on the bathroom  which was supposed to end on the 5th January and is not anywhere near finished, and this mean no H.E until the noise stops which may or may not be sometime in the next month :(  That's just the bathroom.  The kitchen is next and will be a huge upheaval. I am wiped out, totally shattered and feeling a bit flat with

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-78108911201364506012012-01-07T15:15:00.004Z2012-01-07T15:19:02.995Z

I cut this out on New Year's  Day.  It's for B and he loves it.  He was hovering over me, as I finished the binding, to take it away. The backing is blue flannel and it's really cosy. It's the 5th quilt since the end of November. Not bad going considering. Apart from that not much else has been done. I've sewn a panel for the middle of a double sized quilt Dd wants me to make for

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-60910498067683326272012-01-06T16:15:00.000Z2012-01-06T18:57:07.553Z

arrived regarding if the boys will be able to take exams or not.  They're 13 so we have had to make up our mind to gear up  in case.Well short of a lottery win so we can buy a house in a H.E friendly L.A ( down South seems to be easier but house prices are out of our league)  or near an independent school set up, it's not an option. It never has been.  Even GCSE's for 16 plus year old's are

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-27352073630023841982012-01-04T14:07:00.001Z2012-01-04T14:07:18.632Z

that won't do more harm than good is difficult.  I remembered D reading fluently to my mother at the age of 6 to "prove" to her that H.E worked and he wouldn't grow up an illiterate delinquent ( as she seemed to think lol).  If I showed him that same book now he would say he couldn't read it.  I don't know why children lose skills or why some can't seem to master them in the first place no matter

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-41053115504461823142012-01-02T19:28:00.001Z2012-01-02T19:28:41.195Z

describes today.  It began badly with S and S smoking out the kitchen with revolting pancake mixture they ended up throwing away and the resulting mess of raw egg and shell, melted butter, flour and milk and enough dirty bowls and pans to cook a 3 course meal that they left behind. Then dh pushed me on the floor tile issue for the kitchen which ended up with trip to B & Q in which he told the 

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-58870151255777144232011-12-31T19:45:00.000Z2012-01-01T10:32:46.803Z

I don't make resolutions anymore as I never stick to them.  They are like plans for H.E and evaporate even faster. I have been thinking about the next few weeks tho now the excitement of Christmas is over.  Today we took down the decorations and cleaned the brick dust up.  It took all. day. Even after I thought I had finished I opened a pan cupboard to take out pans to cook a roast and discovered

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-15286508298848232872011-12-30T20:40:00.000Z2011-12-30T20:40:04.365Z

One of my reasons for moving from here got blown out of the water a few days ago when the Air/Sea Rescue helicopter came over our garden and did two very low tight turns around it and hovered above the fence and waved to me.  I now know they can get Dd or Ds to the hospital in record speed and would. Another of my reasons for moving also went West.  Family relations at the other end of the road

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-2149316598405983552011-12-30T19:01:00.001Z2011-12-30T19:45:21.178Z

I started cutting this quilt out for D on the evening of the 23rd and finished it this afternoon. It's 62 inches x 62.  It got harder work after I split my index finger open right on the tip.  If that hadn't happened I think it would have been finished a day ago.  It needs ironing but the iron is buried in a sea of brick dust  due to renovations along with everything else in the kitchen, utility

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-71327882551696958852011-12-26T22:53:00.002Z2011-12-26T23:36:06.042Z

My new cutting mat :)  Molly and Daisy asleep in a box Dh pressie.  Nuffsaid ;) my pressie Blurred but any of C is rare;) G in the background Nearly Kerri :) Katie B completely overwelmed :) Steven is very happy :) Dibs :) Not a bad haul boys :) The game that produces manic laughter Ah heat!

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-84152259992066247812011-12-22T21:56:00.003Z2011-12-22T21:56:39.800Z

D  was in a quiz on xbox live in which he had to describe an actor and then a film he had been in without saying his name.  He got Will Smith and after a fruitless time trying to get his fellow quizzers to the right answer he screamed down his mike "He was in I am cock!"  "Hancock." hissed dd.   D turned and gave her a filthy look "No need to be so rude" he hissed back.    It could have been

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-20697952483311425782011-12-21T15:38:00.002Z2011-12-21T16:07:55.183Z

I cut this quilt out late on Saturday night and started hand piecing it on Sunday. I made it with left over Chrimbo fabric I had and a Winter Flower Fairy backing.  It's 52 inches x 40 cos that was the size of the backing. I used a gorgeous Heirloom cotton wadding as the batting cos I had run out of the cheaper stuff. I finished it today at lunchtime. My finger tips are sore. It is now on the

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-62491403660123701232011-12-17T12:16:00.000Z2011-12-17T12:16:11.575Z

The boys were 13 yesterday.  They had a good day and got Lego and some x box games. D fell asleep before the birthday tea tho and visitors didn't turn up. They didn't even phoned to say why either so....It didn't matter as we are used to this so never told the boys they were coming. Craft bits.  The Activity Village Advent Calendar has been coloured in but we will not make it to day 24 as the

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-54495201700291140502011-12-14T13:38:00.003Z2011-12-21T16:11:04.892Z

and the house is like a pig sty. Thanks to 3 people.  I hate you all ;) Yes this is the front room!                               Note the Frijj, its been there 10 days! In other news. The table runner is ready

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-77332146909936049832011-12-12T10:21:00.001Z2011-12-12T20:54:32.105Z

Good vet told the truth. Basically my poor rabbit has been kept alive in distress all weekend. I have been lied to and Penny has suffered for nothing except to get money out of us.  I am beyond furious and upset. Good vet did the kindest thing this morning....what should have been done, in her opinion, on Saturday. I'm stunned.

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-32396858265893682322011-12-11T20:13:00.001Z2011-12-11T20:27:17.647Z

Penny has improved slightly.  However her problems are long term and will re-occur. I have no idea what to do cos I don't want to keep putting her through this.  I know she is scared cos of the things the vet has told me about her.  She has to be syringe fed and can't even drink water cos her breathing is so bad. I am phoning the good vet in the morning to discuss options cos I know she won't

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-33239664077331212592011-12-10T17:15:00.001Z2011-12-11T20:45:55.277Z

gave to me a £70 emergency fee.  Also today :(  Yep another rabbit was running around the run this morning and just keeled over.  I rather uncharitably wished she had done it before 10.30 and then we would not have had the £70 fee but she didn't so.......... Off to the vets were Mrs Stroppy met her with the bedside manner of a rattle snake. Obviously bored her day had been interrupted by a mere

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-77719496917677611442011-12-09T20:10:00.001Z2011-12-10T19:28:07.786Z

Today I had confirmation my mother has Alzheimer's ( a word I can hardly spell correctly).  My mother has not been here mentally for a long, long time.  I knew what was coming but nothing prepared me for how I felt actually knowing. I'm angry that she refused treatment that could have helped her years ago, angry that I phoned MIND in 1998 and nothing else got done cos she hid behind my dad who

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-73884910177039346852011-12-08T18:01:00.001Z2011-12-08T22:05:38.498Z

Today dawned bright and sunny.  Well no it didn't actually.  It's howling a gale with torrential rain but never mind it'll soon be summer. I was forced to clean out in it having not been able to do it at all yesterday due to the high winds.  Today was even worse so I gritted my teeth and spent 2 wonderful hours cleaning, feeding , battening down and moving hutches into a corral. I was bone cold

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-4032251328903718522011-12-07T21:12:00.001Z2011-12-07T21:21:46.483Z

D helped bake cookies for the Christmas cookie jars.  This could turn into an everyday event as they go like..well...hot cakes:) It's been a bit fraught today.  C and G's heart issues are almost certainly genetic so the round of hospital trips start early in the New Year. I spent most of the day fighting a losing battle with the elements before the trip to the doctor with C.  I lost.  The

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-46597054827339891662011-12-05T19:21:00.001Z2011-12-10T22:19:06.326Z

The Christmas quilt is done.  Today's sewing was a trial due to the children behaving like loons all day but it got done. The tree that was decorated yesterday night.  It's 7 foot tall but looks tiny as it doesn't quite reach the picture rail.  It is freezing here and we've already used 1/4 of a store of wood on the fires.  Moving about is not great as the rest of the house

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-82001763466215783352011-12-04T20:44:00.001Z2011-12-04T22:15:07.734Z

We started reading A Christmas Carol last week.  The Eyewitness version is great.  It's very informative about Victorian life, values and attitudes ( I'd have punched someone if I'd have lived then) and has lovely pictures in it.  B laughed and laughed at it. We found some Victorian silk postcards in a box of postcards in the attic.  Fortunately they were in a separate ziplock bag as the rest

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-36086109315475845262011-12-03T18:23:00.001Z2011-12-03T22:59:15.014Z

is his personal toy.  He greeted it like a long lost friend after not seeing it for nearly a year ;) It's not the same tree.  It's a small artificial one that won't take the weight of all the cats.  So far he has been up it 3 times, Alice once, Daisy twice and Tibbs once.  It's only been up an hour.  The rest of the cats haven't seen it yet. Decorating done, as

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-12905411712824028252011-12-01T22:16:00.001Z2011-12-01T22:37:33.217Z

Ossie with a lampshade on Ossie Chilling in the boys room Ossie Under Hypnosis ( S can do it) Rabbit Dog as she was nicknamed, came to us in the Easter of 2009 and we called her Ostara but it quickly changed to Ossie.  The children dubbed her Rabbit Dog cos her first playmate was our German Shepherd dog and Ossie thought she was one too.  She buried bones and laid like the dog

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-4043296997478794212011-11-30T23:42:00.001Z2011-12-01T00:00:09.244Z

I stopped shaking last night sometime between a glass of red and a chunk of chocolate.  Sleeping was hard tho. I have a vivid imagination and it works against me at times like this. I didn't sleep well. I was on a short fuse all day.  D drove me insane playing with a cat on the chair I was sitting on as it kept dragging at my hair and I lost it with a broom that broke when cleaning out.  I was

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-89036933920928498602011-11-29T20:05:00.001Z2011-11-29T20:24:14.026Z

for a while anyway.  I have wound up any H.E until the New Year as I am too distracted by the older two's heart issues to concentrate on anything very much.  I am just reading with them and doing a bit of Christmas stuff.  All I want is the next few weeks to be over and to know what is wrong, if it is related and what we can do about it?  I won't be happy until I have had those questions answered

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-7160419474917212312011-11-28T11:43:00.002Z2011-11-28T11:52:14.404Z

have crumbled to dust. Dh emptied one room and the whole place has descended into complete and utter chaos. This is cos dh didn't put the contents of the room where we agreed. He said "It was just you wanting to do it your way." Yes he is right I was cos I am good at this and, judging from the blockages on two landings, the door to the only available shower room, S's room, and the front room

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-15534752429706509082011-11-27T16:30:00.003Z2011-11-27T19:50:26.065Z

is hard work. No one will part with their c**p..erm....sorry... precious stuff. Last time we moved it took 3 removal vans trips - one of which was full to the brim with dh cr*p. We started at 5 am. Unloading dh's cr*p at 1 am 20 hours later in a force 10 and torrential, freezing rain was not my idea of a good time..or anyone else's who was helping. We were all shattered and soaked and I

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-58731817125521535912011-11-25T16:33:00.003Z2011-11-25T16:55:06.938Z

DIY continues at a pace only dh is capable of when he knows a For Sale board is in the offing. The dining room will be finished tomorrow and then he starts our bedroom on Sunday. I spent a happy hour on Argos ordering sea grass chests for the loft floor bedding and towel rails, toilet roll holders and cabinets for the en-suite bathrooms in preparation for them being decorated and re-tiled.This

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-69447772283715341702011-11-24T15:33:00.007Z2011-11-25T15:57:59.764Z

we made these:-They are from the Toymaker. Pretty easy but sometimes fiddly. We have others to do but will do them another day. I also put up the Victorian timeline, poster and got out the memorabilia pack. That's as far as we got. It's been quite a day of it so I am amazed we did anything really. The boys have also learnt a fair bit about hearts and how they go wrong. I am shattered and have

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-81186143879669570802011-11-23T19:41:00.003Z2011-11-23T20:15:02.192Z

even tho no one else did very much. D is snuffly again and croaky. I have a sore throat and a cold yet again. These bugs just seem to go around and around. C stopped all heart meds last night and is already in tachycardia. He gets his trace put on tomorrow morning. I've had to book a taxi as I don't think he could walk. Dh finished the wall painting and is now on the rest of the gloss. I

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-25168932371253415212011-11-22T12:58:00.003Z2011-11-22T19:21:44.188Z

as dh decorates the dining room. The contents of which are now in the front room. Asking him to buy paint was a drastic mistake. He's colour blind and the labels have names like Satin bow on them instead of ....pink. Dh thought it was cream. That went back. Next up came one that was supposed to be Water Colour Green but is Duck Egg Blue. Luckily dd wants it for her room so that worked out. Next

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-47585834138670455452011-11-20T18:33:00.008Z2011-11-21T22:25:50.619Z

take that long :) The H.E room is ready.Seats of learning lol. Walls space left for a British History timeline poster ( Schofield and Sims do a huge one) and Victorians. The pot plant is to see which cat will knock it off before tomorrow. D thought it would be a good experiment. No idea why.Mostly history.Stuff and the boy's work crates.The busted T.V. It's 15 years old and owes us nothing.B

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-75291258695729407292011-11-19T23:44:00.002Z2011-11-19T23:53:03.753Z

I don't know if to hug or punch them. DD, despite everything, is insisting on going to work tomorrow even tho she needs to be seeing the doctor asap and shouldn't be working in another town that involves a long drive and the ensuing travel sickness that sets off her heart arrhythmia that then goes into AF for hours. Not to mention the boy racers she has to ride with and the fact the roads will

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-35222280563642037602011-11-19T20:25:00.007Z2012-01-25T14:34:36.432Z

Autumn lap quilt. The cats are already asleep on it.

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-87137336647707367872011-11-17T17:22:00.004Z2011-11-17T22:49:48.419Z

Pity they can't help :) Unwittingly history seems to have moved on to the Victorians by the appearance of the book A Christmas Carol in the house. I am a bit of a chronological freak so not sure what to do about it yet. We've sort of done the previous eras but not in any great depth, apart from Middle Ages. I might got with it as a Christmas theme and make toys from the website I linked

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-62439642618214808472011-11-16T20:38:00.002Z2011-11-16T20:58:11.970Z

the mess a cat can make after running through a tray of white gloss paint! Cleaning up took some time. Not least cos the cat wouldn't stay still and kept jumping onto things like my laptop, the printer, books, my quilting fabric I was cutting out at the time................he left a trail of white paw prints around the house. In other news we got nothing done today. It's hard to work in a

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-72697732643245795712011-11-15T15:57:00.003Z2011-11-15T16:08:31.385Z

Help!Where's our sofa gone?It's under there!It was all going so well too. Only my dh has to decorate 2 weeks before I want to decorate. Oh well. I have a sore throat and feel iffy anyway. D did his reading, science and geog before the book shunt. B got up took one look at the empty room and went back to his room, came back later to demand a burger for lunch and went back.The cats are most

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-14125636557339257852011-11-14T20:43:00.003Z2011-11-14T21:16:11.095Z

In the next two weeks we are finishing the Polar project. The lapbook is well on it's way and we are halfway through a book about polar animals. I want to focus on explorers next week from a book we have whose name defeats me and I am in bed so.... D's reading book is about a little known ( to us!) one called Matt Henson. He also has three more reading books associated with the Poles. I am

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-58626206139626213662011-11-13T18:31:00.002Z2011-11-13T18:41:49.811Z

D surprised me. I went out to visit friends on Friday night and came home fairly late. I got in to most of the household in bed but D was in the back room and calling me as I locked the front door. He was very excited. "Mum, mum come and listen to me read." I sat next to him and he started reading, sometimes hesitating ( when I resisted the urge to jump in with the word) but I watched and he

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-10593370103497521392011-11-10T21:02:00.002Z2011-11-10T21:25:50.139Z

It's been a very unproductive week. I know it's not over yet but I have written it off as a bad job. The boys are still feeling ill and acting up accordingly. I have had a series of petty disasters such as the atm eating my card just as a friend was going to take me for a huge food shop in his car, block drains, new spin dryer breaking, dh wrist injury taking a huge turn for the worse and other

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-76552095478236937392011-11-09T17:44:00.004Z2011-12-30T19:50:41.653Z

One of the things I am having to accept about the boys is they hate doing craft of any kind. Gone are the days we could pad out a project with a nifty bit of modelling, painting or item related to the subject theme. They refuse to do it. D will look at art, listen to me reading him art history books all day but won't pick up a paintbrush to make his own copy. He sees it as pointless as the

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-9350725503198029822011-11-08T18:57:00.002Z2011-11-08T19:17:19.657Z

is a huge hit with D. He loves learning about the animals and is fascinated with the Science Research Stations on Antarctica. He decided he isn't tough enough to go there tho as it's so cold. :) His reading hasn't arrived yet as it was out of stock so we are plodding on with the Polar project in the meantime. I got him this non fiction book and this book and this one to go with it. I predict

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-76550125924406656702011-11-04T21:06:00.003Z2011-11-04T21:48:55.692Z

I am glad it's Friday. Its been a fairly difficult day with mountains of laundry to try and get dry, ill throaty, coughing children and an emergency ECG for eldest who appears to have a heart problem which, as yet, we do not know the cause. He's been put on meds and is getting some tests done soon. It's all very worrying as the doctor is mystified as to what is causing it. The meds work tho and

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-74181635345951026352011-11-03T11:11:00.004Z2011-11-03T11:33:34.522Z

was yesterday. S was 17. She came straight in from college to people champing at the bit to eat as the bus was very late and everyone was hungry. She didn't even get time to brush her hair. People got her some great things including p.j's, a dressing gown and booties for winter, some new out blue noses she collects, hair tongs, bath stuff, a necklace. She got flowers too. I worked out it was

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-8360722370495335902011-10-31T14:21:00.004Z2011-10-31T15:01:53.398Z

I'm blogging this again to remind myself. I said in 2007 "I am 100% confident if I continue with him - reading when he wants, reading to him and doing the same as I did with B, one day I will be blogging he has got it."WRONG!N.B This was wrote before I realised B had got it. B actually "got it" years prior to that but hid the fact. I wish the same is true of D but it isn't. D never has. He

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-63367665429771229722011-10-27T17:30:00.006+01:002011-10-27T18:42:17.752+01:00

From Katie. Thank you Katie:) They are fabulous. She collected the file cards for years and it is now a huge collection of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, invertebrates, vertebrates, fish, characteristics and animal behaviour, save the species, habitats and save the planet. The cards are amazing:) D will love them. I never thought she would part with them but it seems she no longer

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-69390673736674924352011-10-25T16:01:00.003+01:002011-10-28T23:40:01.618+01:00

Today was not great tbh. Bobby had to be pts early this afternoon and it was very upsetting and horrible. As I knew what was coming up for him it may have coloured how I carried on in the morning. D was xboxing so I collared him to do some maths. Cue a meltdown of monumental proportions cos "it is half term!" He's not doing anything on half term and no one else works on half term. ( oh yes

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-88382720755821057782011-10-24T22:20:00.003+01:002011-12-30T19:52:15.972Z

It is mild and sunny here and I got up early eager to finish the quilt top. First was rabbit care and a bit of shopping for food as we had run out of milk and the cats were swarming around looking sulky and giving me pitiful meows over and over. This was partly cos they did not like the budget cat food ( If you can call Tescos Premium budget) I had bought last time I was shopping. Anyway home

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-51765522351487721422011-10-23T22:54:00.004+01:002011-10-23T23:22:37.590+01:00

among other things. It was C 's 22nd birthday on Friday. No photos as he won't have them but it was good. He enjoyed it. He got history books he wanted, games and new tops and a traditional "doggie bag" which is a large gift bag full of his favourite sweets and chocolate. We've done it for years and I keep saying once you are 16 it will stop, once you are 18 it will stop, yadda yadda ...but

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-57776336815905176252011-10-20T19:46:00.005+01:002011-10-20T21:35:02.729+01:00

I'd like to say the new way of working has been a huge, resounding success but it hasn't. Some of it was good and enjoyable but a fair bit of it was either too easy or too hard. I'm not good at pitching things just right cos they boys have a habit of being very, very good at some things and so appallingly bad at others that they'd look like a case of educational neglect if it was taken on just

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-3847529552429534782011-10-19T14:39:00.004+01:002011-10-19T22:08:41.615+01:00

Was a bit too busy for my liking. I ended up using 3 black and 2 colour ink cartridges between me and the girl's, printing off work. S also used most of the laminate pouches too. The table looked like the above all weekend and I had to keep shunting books and tripping over computer wires when I served food. Between keeping the printer fed I cooked food, cleaned out rabbits and hoovered the

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-30159224709125210372011-10-14T20:22:00.004+01:002011-10-14T20:34:03.885+01:00

We are doing a bit of astronomy from this book and this book. With the lab book from here. It is part of a whole series of books from here and some of the books are available as e books. Of course I forgot that much of the practical astronomy we need to do would be better done in Spring. It's getting cold and misty and most nights the sky is very cloudy. Never mind. I am sure we will find

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-75116895874644178482011-10-13T21:14:00.005+01:002011-10-13T22:12:39.528+01:00

It's not been a bad week. Apart from my mistake changing tack yesterday we've had a good few days. One thing that has always stumped me up until now is the boy's unusual sleep patterns. I felt uncomfortable changing their body clocks round artificially cos the world needs night shift workers and that is what I did myself. However nothing has worked anyway so I have been forced to H.E around

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-80136557141414946202011-10-12T17:26:00.009+01:002011-12-03T22:33:42.289Z

has helped more than thinking outside it today. Autumn is well and truly here after a half hearted attempt at appearing last week. The trees on the Wolds are red and orange and the garden is full of wet leaves from the embankment trees. We still have Gladioli in glorious full bloom. It has rained and rained and rained today. My non H.E day scuppered by the fact I do not want to paddle wet

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-2635000539458885432011-10-11T20:53:00.006+01:002011-10-11T21:19:51.287+01:00

It started and ended in the vets. At 9 am I was in the vet with Bobby and being given his injections. I got home and did a huge amount of HE with the boys. Both are breezing through their maths books and I will have to buy the next one up soon. B's English is a bit easy too.We had a visitor for a couple of hours, my mate of 25 years. It was great to see her and we chatted and drank coffee in

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-75830198326180775382011-10-10T16:04:00.006+01:002011-10-10T16:19:58.448+01:00

Well it was OK except my knees were like footballs this am, it was raining hard and blowing a gale. Dh helped and we got everything done in 1.5 hours. Me hobbling around painfully. So...even tho it was a none H.E day we still did history and reading and science. I have got D some reading books with older themes from here. Well not exactly from there as I found the ones I wanted from Amazon much

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-73650527553841894162011-10-09T13:24:00.006+01:002011-10-09T19:51:00.908+01:00

I'm feeling dizzy. This is partly cos since being wheat free my BP has dropped to levels it should be at. I decided enough was enough with the early clean outs and all day marathons of HE, domestic servitude and animal care. This partly down to the fact it is no longer light when I used to get up and partly cos I have run out of steam and am fed up of working to strict deadlines to fit

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-87759975514950216722011-10-07T14:04:00.010+01:002011-10-08T15:05:12.666+01:00

I can serve as a horrible warning. This post has been swilling around in my head for a few weeks now but I am still not sure it will come out right. Some people wondered why I stopped the out and out autonomy here. It was a bit like the Pope declaring he was no longer a Catholic. My older 5 kids were pretty much AE. but we had sessions of manic table work to catch up on stuff. It never actually

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-85450339238893038052011-10-05T17:40:00.007+01:002011-10-05T21:24:42.698+01:00

"I'm bored stiff of playing xbox. I want to do something else!" Cue me nearly fainting to the floor. Finally! I was only too happy to oblige after what was a complete waste of a day. We did astronomy between me putting together a Shepherd's Pie and cooking it. He already knows a lot about it ( I'd heard him discussing it with our neighbour earlier) and I asked him how cos I thought he must

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-40091666719557132602011-10-03T13:45:00.009+01:002011-10-03T21:25:59.525+01:00

being driven around the bend. Today 's disaster has been the breakage of my touch pad and the changing of the password on my email account to goodness knows what, by goodness knows who for goodness knows what reason. The boys ( who use my computer at night as well as their own) look blank faced when asked what did they do? D is very forth coming with the fact the password was changed as the

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-30642776886232234052011-10-02T18:35:00.006+01:002011-10-02T19:16:16.972+01:00

I spent Saturday morning running round like a loon cleaning out all the rabbits and shopping for nice food in Tescos, using the last of our money until we get paid on Tuesday as a result, in preparation for visitors who never turned up or even phoned to say why they weren't coming. Dh needed to scaffold up the front door and outside balcony but once a car is on the drive the only way in is

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-71388048892385133582011-09-30T18:19:00.003+01:002011-10-10T23:02:12.427+01:00

Hands of a Child have this freebie and we have the book and D wants to do it so that's worked out well. D is knuckling down to the enforced structure really well. I do have feelings of guilt but watching a programme on soldiers and seeing their heartbroken mothers has spurred me on. I do not want to end up one of them mums. Today he did maths, after a meltdown over a different book which I

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-72382552217937582692011-09-29T16:09:00.005+01:002011-09-29T22:31:06.318+01:00

Dh got up early to paint the front door. The door he has been going on about for weeks that I wanted him to wait until next summer to paint again. It's an ill wind as he was up to give the animals fresh water and feed the cats. He left me sleeping and I didn't wake up until gone 11! Even then it still felt like 5 am so I was no better for it really.I did a spot clean today as the animals had

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-55139722714984345422011-09-28T13:20:00.003+01:002011-09-28T13:55:57.773+01:00

a Graze box of goodies. Yes I know the operative word is Graze but it goes in about 30 minutes. What can I say? I think better when I am eating. I do a lot of thinking.Above is some of our rabbit's new abode. Dh built it and the inside shelving is made out of old wardrobe doors donated by a friend. Anyway back to my big think.....We have been doing the structure for 3 weeks. I am finding

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-61067346591654001862011-09-27T21:15:00.005+01:002011-09-28T12:50:28.007+01:00

as our hub keeps dropping out repeatedly. I have rebooted it 8 times, K has done it 5. The males refuse to move claiming it will right itself if nothing is done ( it doesn't). Today has been mixed, We are enjoying an Indian Summer. It is lovely. It's as warm as early summer but with red and golden leaves on the trees instead of green. Dh, D's siblings and I had a heated discussion about

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-26316619392207641072011-09-26T09:48:00.006+01:002011-09-27T21:15:08.193+01:00

any education taking place I am on my computer ignoring the fact the house needs hoovering again. I am shattered and feel light headed. The boys have been awake all night and are now soundly asleep. I had to get up as a rabbit was due at the vets for spaying early this morning and I have to get up to feed and water them anyway.On the table is D's Chemistry book, lab book, maths and English work

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-84352428697506983802011-09-25T13:05:00.008+01:002011-09-25T21:58:10.305+01:00

I'm writing this post as dd, who is still on Facebook has told me she has had a lot of messages from people asking where I have gone, why and how I am and it's the only way I know to let people know why I left.My invite to Facebook coincided with the beginning of the HE review and it quickly became apparent it was a great medium for sharing information and news moved quickly along walls. Back

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-42462175717235325472011-09-23T16:22:00.009+01:002011-09-23T17:10:05.128+01:00

Tibbs my cat above. He's quite ill but looking at him you can't tell that much tho he's lost weight. He will be O.K but is on heavy duty meds for 3 weeks ( that's on top of 2 weeks of injections) that are big enough to choke a horse and so far getting him to take them has defeated me. I tried getting them down him the old fashioned open wide, drop in and rub the throat way but he spat it

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-17629403244123198172011-09-22T19:55:00.006+01:002011-09-28T13:14:19.807+01:00

Today begin quite well for a change. I woke up feeling like a bus ran over me sometime between 2 am when I went to sleep and 8 am when I woke up but not bad for me..... I got all the rabbits cleaned out and the laundry on before B appeared. Dh did maths with him while I cleaned a bit more and finished the guinea pigs off then I started this book with him. I must admit to a slight worry he

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-42166956182993888512011-09-21T17:28:00.004+01:002011-09-22T22:55:38.930+01:00

I decided that, after B's lukewarm reception to Australian history, putting it on the back burner in the pile mark Fail and A Waste of Money, aka a pile in the attic was the best thing to do. While in there I found other books in the piles marked Fail and A Waste of Money and even in the What the hell was I thinking? pile that didn't seem so much of a fail now. After gathering up this motley

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-17177179916986271742011-09-20T19:44:00.003+01:002011-09-20T20:04:18.069+01:00

19 year old went away for the night and peace reigned for a while after that. The food shop was bought and hauled home between dh carrying and me pushing 10 bags on a major buggy. It works as long as the seat food is heavy than the stuff on the back or it ends up tipping over and me getting tutted at by elderly people who think I must have done it on purpose.It's not ideal in snow either or ice

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-70612947817172122152011-09-20T13:15:00.004+01:002011-09-28T13:16:01.390+01:00

I am shattered, stiff and in pain. Also cos of it being a pain. Alleged adult child's refusal to help this am reduced me to a blubbing wreck and dh got angry with her. Well as angry as dh ever gets which isn't much tbh. She is at college 3 days a week training to be vet nurse but refuses to help out with her own guinea pigs when here the other 4 days! She went away and had a night in a hotel

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-85359501258427045902011-09-19T20:39:00.003+01:002011-09-19T21:13:05.225+01:00

despite a rocky start. I woke up at 5 am and heard B cleaning his teeth. This is a Bad Sign. It means he has been up all night and is about to go to bed. Later when I got up he was still up and so was D. ( it turned out D had only just got up but I thought he had been up all night). I staggered down as stiff as a board ( damp again) and had a cup of tea and got them down to the table and

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-48142309595233746342011-09-18T16:39:00.005+01:002011-09-18T17:22:01.328+01:00

for a change. I re-arranged all the books into subject order and then into order on the shelves. I now have all the history in sequence, all the science under the correct discipline's e.t.c, so no more hunting through every book for a book any more. Well that's the plan. I doubt it will last a week. As luck would have it I found a copy of a book I bought last week so I can send one back now. I

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-27857269021054430072011-09-17T17:11:00.009+01:002011-09-17T17:27:00.447+01:00

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-1323661984732343772011-09-16T20:01:00.004+01:002011-09-17T12:57:19.077+01:00

but you never know :) Anyway I have one. Its been formulating in my mind over the past few years of motherhood. 22 years of relentless mummying with no end in sight yet. So here it is:) Most of it will never happen. Some of it might.I want to work on the Lifeboat as a volunteer.I want to visit Australia for at least a year and go and see all the places my dh dad and my cousins did and the

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-74247326599761289712011-09-16T15:03:00.004+01:002011-09-17T14:10:59.394+01:00

I will, hand on heart, say this week has not gone as well as I had hoped but has gone as well as I realistically expected. The boy's sleep pattern went out of kilter again by Wednesday which meant D was up all night and all morning and then crashed at lunchtime until about 10 pm at night. B was also awake all night for two nights and ended up getting up in an afternoon and doing his work then.

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-78517584819029197102011-09-14T18:43:00.002+01:002011-09-14T19:18:16.845+01:00

The two maps above came today. The contrast between when the Aborigines owned Australia and now is stark. I was quite shocked when I saw them both side by side. B loves a good map and had a long hard look at both for a while. Apart from doing some HE I have spent a vast proportion of today stalking Mr Tibbs in the garden to see if he does any rear action I can collect a sample from. So far it

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-37606360419773579422011-09-13T21:36:00.007+01:002011-09-13T23:21:32.874+01:00

I had a sort out of books today to find some ones on Australia for B. I managed to find this one and this one which we have had a while. I also thought there was another but I can't find it. During the course of this I found some Kingfisher encyclopaedias. D was really interested in them - especially the animal sections. We have started Australia even tho the history book is still on it's way

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-22978380007012006992011-09-12T17:03:00.004+01:002011-12-03T22:14:57.521Z

The lapbook is done. It didn't take long and I'm undecided as to whether we will do anymore. I think the boys are outgrowing lapbooks and possibly so am I ;=) B got a lot from it as an exercise in remembering what he knew but we could just as easily done that by discussing the questions at the beginning of the project file and avoided wasting a tree in the process. Both boys are racing

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-26705513746533981492011-09-11T19:03:00.004+01:002011-09-11T19:28:27.547+01:00

Arthttp://www.aboriginalartonline.com/aboriginalpainting/index.phphttp://www.dltk-kids.com/world/australia/mdotart.htmhttp://www.ehow.com/list_6707300_aboriginal-art-children.htmlhttp://www.lessonplanet.com/search?_kk=aboriginal+art+lesson+plans&_kt=e118a173-029d-42cd-8d96-6af4945f04db&gclid=CM-d8JfklasCFQcNtAodFV50tw&keywords=Aboriginal+Art&media=lessonStorieshttp://www.teachers.ash.org.au/

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-66935377918482601052011-09-08T21:53:00.005+01:002011-09-24T21:34:39.876+01:00

its going well. Even tho we had cancelled Sky TV and B was so angry when he found out he still wanted to do work today. I had a tweak of resources again. I have Folen's History but not 100% sure about it yet as B is not an opinions and feelings orientated child and the book seems bit like that with its questions. So I'm toying with getting him Galore Park SYRWTL History Book 2. English was

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-5040053338603653842011-09-06T22:35:00.002+01:002011-09-06T23:00:44.446+01:00

We did get back to it but not as well as I had hoped. I spend a long time at the weekend gathering resources from all corners of the house, discovering the cats had peed on some books in the attic and generally getting worked up over the contents of most of them. History is fine, art history is fine, geography is fine, science no problem but then we get down to maths ( which I am rubbish at

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-26957579249778490212011-09-01T20:02:00.004+01:002011-09-01T20:36:58.508+01:00

I always promise myself I will not get into planning mode, buying HE resources or running around like a headless chicken moving books from a to b and furniture along with them just cos it's September. However, as usual I have done all of the above. I can truthfully saying that finding out D had learnt to read by being taught by a boy while on xbox live was a bit of a wake up call for me. (

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-15258052582865854372011-06-12T20:15:00.005+01:002011-06-12T20:45:30.768+01:00

My first ever cushion I made below. I made it for S's room and am supposed to be adding two more too it but good weather has stopped further progress. We've been out most days now it is hot and sunny making the most of the all too short summer. D goes to the river with S and S quite often ( when the miseries aren't moaning about them being on the bank) and we go for long walks along the cliff top

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-14430715189891455532011-06-12T20:05:00.005+01:002011-06-12T20:15:11.165+01:00

I've had these photos sat on the computer for a while but lost them and found then again recently. They are of the American Civil war re-enactment here and the boys birthday last year. Oh and our new cat Tibby.

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34080034.post-67456741765850291772011-04-26T16:03:00.002+01:002011-04-26T16:20:47.350+01:00

Erm...pass. The last month has gone by in a bit of a haze tbh. We've had the fair weather visitors, been to the beach, walked on the cliff and made a start on the garden. The garden is a complete mess due to the rabbits eating every single bit of vegetation. The latest victims being the Hostas which were looking lovely until they got their gnashers around them. It is a dilemma.On one hand I

Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15558017525084735223noreply@blogger.com0