Time out

It's 7 o'clock on Friday morning. Gary has gone to meet a friend for breakfast and the girls are sleeping - they each have their own rooms, but lately seem to be sleeping together in each other's beds :) And I am awake, cause once awake, I can't get back to sleep. So a coffee and a muffin later, I decided to update our blog with the week's happenings


Not that we have been too busy this week - it has been our week off in our 6-week cycle. It is always amazing how we can keep going and not recognize our need for a break until we actually have one! (Although, this time round, I did know it was time when I thought last Wednesday was Friday!)


The girls baked condensed milk biscuits - see recipe in recipe tab. They outdid themselves working out how to get the chocolate dough inside the vanilla dough :)

I outdid myself  knitting this week - those needles clacked overtime - most I've ever done :)

 (My mother's comment when she heard I was knitting was "You? Knitting?? Well, that's surprising!" - says it all, doesn't it?)

Alexandra completed her scarf and I completed Sarah's for her - she just did not take to knitting. Alexandra is asking for the next project.

I then knitted a pair of mittens for Alexandra. I only had very thin wool, so I used 3 strands of different colours and it really worked! I started a pair for Sarah, but she asked to rather have a beanie, so I knitted that for her instead - amazingly, that also worked out fine - and more importantly, fits! And I have yarn over to make her the mittens as well.

And I used circular needles for the first time to complete a cowl. Now, this was a bit of a challenge! My friend told me it is easy to knit with circular needles, but only told me after, that she has never actually knitted in a round!! The first few rows were a nightmare, trying to keep the yarn from twisting and trying to remember where I was in my knit/purl combination, working with 96 stitches (so it takes a while if you need to count your way through the stitches to see where you are!) and not being able to see the pattern till about row 4! But with help and encouragement from my friend Elsje and other friends on facebook - as well as an offer of a whiskey to help me get my head around it...mm, not sure how that would have helped :) - I did it!! Brownie points for me :) OK, so the cowl did not come out the way the pattern shows - not surprising, seeing as I used 8mm needles (all the shop had), instead of 10mm and chunky wool. It now fits twice around my neck instead of fitting snugly, but it works and I've worn it - so very chuffed. (But yes, will have to go back and do it "properly", the way the pattern intended it to be)

Maybe socks next?...

We also visited MShed - and amazing museum of Bristolian history. Lots to see and do, including finding where you live on a large aerial photo (on the floor)

Also, some grissly reads, like the cover of a book made out of tanned human skin. The victim was a criminal, executed for murder - his body was given to the doctor to use for research - the only legal way to obtain cadavers for study purposes in those days.

On Wednesday evening, we had a movie and popcorn evening -  watched 

Disney's "Tangled".

Managed to get some housework done - a bit of spring cleaning - although I think I prefer "autumn cleaning" - for one, it's cooler, and on cool, rainy autumn days, there's no temptation to go out somewhere :) 

We also had dentist appointments - never an exciting prospect. But apart from possible future orthodontics, both girls came away with a "no problems here" from the dentist, so they were relieved. Gary had a filling. Me? Well, somehow, I didn't have an appointment. Wonder how that happened?? I'm sure I made one....

Psalm 34:8

New International Version (NIV)

 ⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good;
   blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Down time

Well, we are trying something new. In the past we pretty much stuck to official school terms and and took holidays when the schools were off (barring us travelling somewhere, of course). This year, we're following some of our friends' example - spending 5 weeks working on official academic stuff, and then taking a week's break. Must say, by Thursday last week, we were all ready for the week off (but I suspect, if we only worked for 2 weeks at a time, by the Thursday we'd be ready for the week off, too - lol).

Yesterday started off very relaxed - stayed in bed late reading, etc. Then had South African pancakes (suppose they're something like crepes) for brunch wit my Ouma's cinnamon sauce:
1/2 - 1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch cream of tarter

Boil up and pour hot over hot pancakes.

Today we were a bit more productive.
Woke up to a very misty morning, but after lunch it was a glorious sunshiny day - maybe spring is around the corner after all - the birds were singing, little snowdrops and daffodils pooping up:) A good sign!. Went for a lovely walk and the girls rode their bicycles.

We spent the morning scrap booking - our first attempt - had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the yellow in our ink cartridge ran out, so the girls were in "in the pink" with their photos - but they didn't mind much:)

Alexandra's first page - friends

Sarah's first page - Sisters

I had fun looking at our wedding photos again to choose some for my page.

And after lunch, Sarah baked buttermilk rusks (for my non-UK friends, no these are NOT Farleys baby rusks. They are pretty much a staple South African snack - baked, then dried till hard and dipped into hot coffee or tea - very delicious)
Buttermilk rusks: (recipe taken from Karoo Family Favourites)
1 1/2 kg cake flour                               2 1/2 cups sugar
750g margarine                                    1 tsp cream of tarter
15ml baking powder                            1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs                                                  500ml buttermilk (St Ives - can be found in cream/milk section)
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

* Rub margarine into dry ingredients (except bicarb.)
* Beat eggs into buttermilk, add bicarb and then pour into flour/margarine mix - quite a sticky dough
* Press into large baking tray (I use a roasting pan) and bake at 180 C (350F) for approx 45 minutes
* Allow to cool slightly, break or cut into desired sizes and dry out for about 4 hours at 100C (225F)

Especially good with that first cuppa of the day

And for the rest of the week - well, we've got a walk with friends lined up for tomorrow at Ashton Court and on Thursday we are going to the interactive Science centre - @Bristol with fellow homeschoolers. And on Friday, Sarah is off to camp in Wales with the Devotions crowd.

Phew, a good thing we aren't trying to fit in bookwork too!