Rocks and milestones

Following on from yesterdays discussions about rock formations we headed off to Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens today to look at the fossils and crystals there. Thankfully we weren't disappointed. We saw lots of crystals, fossils and other natural formations.

We also saw a cacao bean.



An interactive feature showing the creepy crawlies which are likely to lurk in your home.- Nice.



Lots of fab water features and plants - including bananas, ginger, bamboo and black grapes.



A mysterious nut shell in which Hermione was convinced she could hear the sound of the sea. Hmmm, bit odd that.



We've also hit a few milestones today. Miles mastered using the scooter. He scooted along the deck shouting 'jump on Nana'. Thankfully she declined his invite. Hermione helped to chop veg with a sharp knife, stirred pots that were on the hob and after dinner mowed the lawn with the hover mower, (all with supervision of course). Time for me to loosen the reigns I guess. I think she's ready. The joy and pride on her face as she did those things was priceless.

Incidentally that stalactite experiment is not doing anything. I'll have to get my thinking hat on. String instead of wool? Perhaps the wool has nylon in which is resisting the solution? I never have been good at science.

Unplugged Project - stone

This weeks Unplugged Project was stone.

We decided to look at some rock formations and stalactites and stalagmites in particular.



We have set up our own experiment to make stalactites. I read about the experiment in a book, (not that offers any guarantees), so it *should* work but I'm not hopeful. The solutions hasn't even started to travel up the wool as yet for some reason.



We dissolved a few teaspoons full of sugar in two cups of warm water. We then weighted a piece of wool with a plastic bead on each end. We placed one end in each cup with the wool drooping between the cups. There's a saucer between to catch drips (assuming the thing starts to work). Apparently a stalactite will form on the wool.

Hmmm, watch this space.

Whiling away the time, waiting for rock formations to appear on our window cil *grin*.

Life goes on

Thank you everyone for your kind comments and hugs below. Knowing that people care may not make a lot of difference to the harsh physical facts but I do think it makes the storms easier to weather.

It's been a busy few days here. The forensic team have finished their investigations and established that there is nothing suspicious about the fire. They have concluded it was a case of spontaneous combustion and thankfully were even able to see it happen as the controls for the CCTV were in a part of the building which didn't burn down. They were able to watch footage of the fire start. There were small wisps of smoke for quite some time and then suddenly a mass of flames. Within fifteen seconds of the flames appearing the cameras were engulfed and no longer able to record. Scary stuff. Very scary stuff.

We now need to wait for the building to be made safe and then the clean up operation can begin. I say 'clean up' but it's not a job for mops and brushes, more a case of demolition and rubble removal *sigh*. We drove up there today. Craig wanted to show me. It's just a black, mushy, smelly mess now.

On a lighter note we watched some of the bands heading off to the Miner's Gala on Saturday morning. I like to see the bands en route but wouldn't like to go into Durham when the Gala is on. It's a big booze up for many I believe and the local papers usually report lots of trouble.

As we watched the bands last year I thought that I must be prepared this year so that I could fill Hermione in on a bit of our coal mining heritage this time round. I didn't. Hopefully I will have done my homework and be well prepared next year. Tut tut.



I've an update on my Elderflower Champagne. On closer inspection I realised that only one bottle had mould on. I decided that while the rest was still OK I would call a halt and freeze it. I know this means that it won't ferment and go fizzy and alcoholic - but then it also means it won't go mouldy too. Another reason for deciding to cut my losses at this stage was that I had bottled it in glass bottles but have since read on quite few sites that glass bottles are really not recommended for this drink as it is very liable to explode. Anyway, I now have quite a lot of flat and not particularly alcoholic Elderflower Champagne in the freezer. It's a really refreshing and earthy drink, particularly good with a splash of gin I've found.



In between everything else going on I've been crocheting and messing in my veg patch. They're better than any other therapy I know! I've made a lovely new necklace for my shop. Since starting my online shop I have constantly hounded Craig for help. I cannot get my head around how to add and delete things from the site, which means that I can't take down what I've sold and can't add my new stuff. Knowing that Craig will have even less time to help me out with that sort of thing over next few months I've decided to host my business on a blog page instead. I'm familiar with blogging technology so can do that myself. You can see my new necklace here. I'm much happier with the format than I was with the online shopping site, and doing it this way I also don't have to pay site commission and domain name fees so I can sell things for less. Hopefully I've made the right move.

I am so tired right now. Sooner or later I'll have to stop being busy and get in touch with how I really *feel* about what has happened with the fire. I really am weary but I just can't quieten my mind long enough to really think about all of the ramifications just yet.

The ashes

In the early hours of yesterday morning, as we were sleeping sound in our beds, one of our business premises burnt to the ground. Almost twenty years of hard work, sacrifice and commitment on the part of Craig, (and myself to a lesser degree), gone in a billow of flames. Our livelihood up in smoke.

The *over compensatory cake baking* phase has passed. Now entered the *frantic nail biting, trying not to cry, while also keeping calm and normal* phase.

In between awaiting calls from Craig to update me on fire reports, the forensic investigations, plans for new temporary plant and premises etc I managed to cook, clean, make play doh and explain the use of apostrophes today. It feels like an achievement in the circumstances. That's one of those good and bad things about being a mum I think, no one else can step in your shoes. You just have to keep plodding on.





I feel almost struck still with fear but also have an overwhelming urge to run wildly in an effort to try to release all the tension I feel. I feel like I'm going to implode. Please, someone stick a pin in me!

Chocolate and beetroot explosion

Today started very early, with one of those phone calls you hope to never receive. We're all still alive and physically well and I'm sure given time we'll look back on today and it won't seem so bad.

In an overcompensatory gesture, as in *really all is fine,* I baked a cake. A Chocolate Beetroot Cake.



I think it looks at it's best at this stage. What do you think?

Poems, potatoes, plans etc

Yet another busy day here. Here are some snippets from the past couple of days.

We unearthed our first lot of potatoes yesterday. The flowers were long gone so really they should have been ready. The yield was disappointing. I won't grow potatoes in containers again next year. At the same time I don't want to grow them in my patch as they take up so much space. An allotment, I need an allotment for my space hungry low maintenance stuff.



Later in the day I went to the green grocers to buy some rhubarb for a crumble. It cost me over £2 for a few sticks of rhubarb to make a pudding! Rhubarb - another space hungry, low maintenance crop - another point scored for the idea of an allotment. My name is on the waiting list in the village and has been for a few weeks. Just a matter of waiting till a plot comes free now.

Nana finished reading Fantastic Mister Fox by Roald Dahl to Hermione. She devoured it in about three sittings which surprised me as she was reluctant to read it at all. She only tried it because we can't find anymore Secret Seven or Famous Five she's not read and our order of more Boxcar Children stories hasn't yet arrived. Anyway, this seemed to launch her onto an animal themed hour or two during which she dragged out an old animal poetry book which I read as a child. She decided to read a poem to me and this is the one she chose -

Rabbits

Rabbits have fur
And also more rabbits
And it is a habit

A habit is something you are doing
Over and over again
Because you are liking it
When you have it

A habit of rabbits is having more
First there is a rabbit with fur
and you have it
But soon there are more

Soon they are having more rabbits
Over and over again and liking to do it
And then it is a habit
And rabbits really have it

Ray Fabirzio

Made me laugh, lots. Hermione couldn't understand what was funny about the poem. Oh, the age of innocence.

There is mould on some of my Elderflower Champagne! Three out of five bottles have fury floaters! Nana thinks this is part of the natural fermentation process but I have to say it looks most off putting. I Googled and found this but I'm not convinced. I've now screwed down the lids on the two mould free bottles and have binned the rest. Hopefully I'll have at least a couple of bottles of fur free fizz in a couple of weeks!

Hermione has decided that she would like more structure in her learning again. She would like to continue doing her core stuff but also go back to story/project based work and more science experiments. I'm pleased she has made this decision. For a time it felt right just to concentrate on core concepts but I think we've both missed our literature based stuff recently. It's just so nice to snuggle up with a good book and read and discuss all kinds of related things. We both discover so much.

It's poppy time again. Driving home from our home ed get together this afternoon the fields were once again scattered with scarlet petals. I remember one evening last summer when I visited those same fields with a friend to take a closer look and capture the scene on film. Surrounded by beauty and the sad thing is I'm often too preoccupied to notice it *sigh*.

Sisters

We've had a very productive day pottering at home today and I was going to write all about it but after the battle I've just had with a hawthorn hedge which was swamping my sweetcorn I no longer have the energy.

Instead I just thought I'd share a message I received in an email from a friend today.

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter 'Don't forget your Sisters,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.'

'Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women... your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a
married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mum really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are
between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you...Or come in and carry you out.

So, here I am, happy, weary and raising my glass to Sisters - especially to my 'mystic mate' who always knows when I need her, even before I've called her.