Today I discovered the Tickle Ink blot test. Now, most of the tests on the tickle site are your usual run of the mill test, but this ink blot test is actually very good. Here's its description...
Welcome to Tickle's Original Inkblot Test, the most thorough and scientific inkblot test available on the Web. Traditionally a closely guarded test administered only by trained psychologists and based on the original Rorschach test, this is the first and only inkblot test of its kind.Tickle's Inkblot test is free, it's private, and it's developed by PhDs.
In the course of this test, you will be asked a number of questions about 11 different inkblots. To truly capture your unconscious thoughts, it's important that you take a good look at each inkblot before reading the questions about it. There are no right or wrong answers on this test, so always give the response that most closely matches your feelings or observations about each inkblot.
It takes about 15 minutes to do the test. You need to really do it well and give it time to get the best results. You can take the test yourself by clicking here. (Don't forget to share your results if they are good ones!) Here's what mine said about me...
You have a deep desire to use ideas to change the world around you. This drive influences you far more than you may realise on a conscious level. You love to brainstorm and imagine new possibilities. The world is a fuller, richer place because you can contribute new ideas to any experience. Your natural curiosity inspires those around you and encourages them to come up with ideas they wouldn't have discovered without your help. Your psyche is very rich; the more you learn about it, the more you will understand who you really are...
I think it was pretty spot on in what it said. I do have a desire to change the world, my desires to adopt a poor child, or open an orphanage in a third world country are my own ways to change somebody's world. The same with writing to people on death row I guess. When I don't like my kids education I change their world by keeping them at home. I brainstorm and think about new possibilities a lot, which is why Im always doing some new project or other - home schooling, postcards from around the world collecting, writing prisoners, growing vegetables etc. My natural curiosity keeps me reading about new things, and I want to learn so much which I just don't have time for. I don't know if it inspires and encourages the people around me or not. People often tell me they'd like to do the same stuff that I do, but they never seem to actually do it. I guess the more Im learning about my psyche, the more I do like it and Im slowly realising I like myself.
Friday, 18 August 2006
Transport museum - Belfast
I decided to take Luke and Jude out yesterday. They had been so good while I was painting the kitchen and they were both missing Sam so I gave them a choice of places to visit. Jude said she would go wherever Luke chose. No surprises, Luke chose the transport museum in Belfast. His favourite place in the world. We invited Aunty Hannah, Uncle David and cousin B, who was staying with them. This was Luke's dream come true. He often talks about going to the train station (as he calls it) with friends. His dream is to show someone else around his favourite trains and displays. Well, he was just in his element! He was so excited to show people his favourite place. As usual, we found the steam engine that looks like the one on 'the polar express' and, as usual, we re-enacted the 'hot stuff' scene. (For anyone who hasn't watched it, the waitors bring hot chocolate onto the train for the traveling children to drink, with a song and a dance and a bit 
of magic). So, Hannah, David, myself, Jude and B all sat in the seats and sang "Hot stuff, ooh you got it, hot stuff, yeah we've got it..." whilst Luke prepared imaginary hot chocolate and danced up and down the ilses with it. Hannah couldn't contain her excitement and just had to have a go at it too. Days out with our family are just so much fun!
You can see more photos from our trip by clicking here.
Jude ended up going back to B's house for a sleep over, so Luke and I returned home alone. This morning I went into town and bought the last few remaining items for Sam's new school. I couldn't find a plain black ruck-sack anywhere though. Luke needed some new shoes. He hates getting new shoes fitted and usually cries. This time Daddy told him that if he was good he could collect a chocolate iced donut on his way back to the car. Needless to say, he was an angel, had his shoes fitted and paid for in minutes, and told everyone in the shop that Daddy had a donut for him, for being a good boy. After that we went to Lidl and Tescos for food shopping. I've just unpacked it all and now we are off to my Mum's house to collect Jude. She is taking part in a 2 day archery championship, starting tomorrow. She's been practicing for it for weeks.
Two more days till Sam comes home! I do miss him.
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of magic). So, Hannah, David, myself, Jude and B all sat in the seats and sang "Hot stuff, ooh you got it, hot stuff, yeah we've got it..." whilst Luke prepared imaginary hot chocolate and danced up and down the ilses with it. Hannah couldn't contain her excitement and just had to have a go at it too. Days out with our family are just so much fun!.jpg)
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You can see more photos from our trip by clicking here.
Jude ended up going back to B's house for a sleep over, so Luke and I returned home alone. This morning I went into town and bought the last few remaining items for Sam's new school. I couldn't find a plain black ruck-sack anywhere though. Luke needed some new shoes. He hates getting new shoes fitted and usually cries. This time Daddy told him that if he was good he could collect a chocolate iced donut on his way back to the car. Needless to say, he was an angel, had his shoes fitted and paid for in minutes, and told everyone in the shop that Daddy had a donut for him, for being a good boy. After that we went to Lidl and Tescos for food shopping. I've just unpacked it all and now we are off to my Mum's house to collect Jude. She is taking part in a 2 day archery championship, starting tomorrow. She's been practicing for it for weeks.
Two more days till Sam comes home! I do miss him.
Wednesday, 16 August 2006
Death Row in Zambia
I received my second letter today from T, who is on death row in prison in Zambia. It was a very long letter. Two letters actually, and a poem. I stayed in bed today until 11.30! I told Steve I wasn't going to get up as I was shattered from painting the kitchen. So he took Luke to work with him! They had great fun. Luke washed the shop windows and was an all round great little helper. I picked him up at 12 and he was full of stories about how he had helped Daddy. Sam and Jude often work in the shop with Daddy, and he feels so grown up being able to do it too.
So when I got back with Luke at 12 this letter from Zambia had been delivered. It was a sobering start to the day, and helped me to appreciate my life and forget about the little stresses. The first letter I received from him was a basic introduction, which I replied to. This letter was an account of his life, how he ended up in prison, what daily life is like. He was involved in a robbery. They were caught by the police and because he was in possession of a gun he was put onto death row. He says that in Zambia anyone caught with a gun is put on death row. His family have forgotten him. He has been there since 1999. He shares a very small, windowless cell with 5 other men. They do not have toilets in the cell and have to use pots which they empty every day. There is a small vent in the cell, and he says that the prisoners often get delirious and imagine themselves transforming into insects so that they can crawl through the vents to freedom. He says that prison there is very hard for anyone who do not have family. The luckier prisoners can get food and basic necessities from their families, but the unfortunate ones get nothing. Absolutely nothing is provided, apart from one small meal a day. He says that all the poorer men are hungry and they worry constantly about food. He was delayed in writing back to my letter (which he says he had read 10 times, as it was like a visitor to him) because he had no stamps. He had to clean other prisoners toilet pots, and hand wash their clothes, in return for a stamp to reply with.
In his second letter, which was in the same envelope, he told me that he has recently found out that he is HIV positive and he is devastated. The drugs he needs are provided by the hospital, but he has to take them with food, and some times he doesn't have any food to take them with, so they make him ill. He is hoping that I don't judge him for having HIV and that I will still write to him. He has asked me to ask every Christian that I know to pray for him, and for his illness.
After reading his letter I felt grateful for the life that I have, joyous that I could bring a little happiness to the life of someone less fortunate, and scared by the prospect of writing to someone who had nothing else in life to look forward to.
So when I got back with Luke at 12 this letter from Zambia had been delivered. It was a sobering start to the day, and helped me to appreciate my life and forget about the little stresses. The first letter I received from him was a basic introduction, which I replied to. This letter was an account of his life, how he ended up in prison, what daily life is like. He was involved in a robbery. They were caught by the police and because he was in possession of a gun he was put onto death row. He says that in Zambia anyone caught with a gun is put on death row. His family have forgotten him. He has been there since 1999. He shares a very small, windowless cell with 5 other men. They do not have toilets in the cell and have to use pots which they empty every day. There is a small vent in the cell, and he says that the prisoners often get delirious and imagine themselves transforming into insects so that they can crawl through the vents to freedom. He says that prison there is very hard for anyone who do not have family. The luckier prisoners can get food and basic necessities from their families, but the unfortunate ones get nothing. Absolutely nothing is provided, apart from one small meal a day. He says that all the poorer men are hungry and they worry constantly about food. He was delayed in writing back to my letter (which he says he had read 10 times, as it was like a visitor to him) because he had no stamps. He had to clean other prisoners toilet pots, and hand wash their clothes, in return for a stamp to reply with.
In his second letter, which was in the same envelope, he told me that he has recently found out that he is HIV positive and he is devastated. The drugs he needs are provided by the hospital, but he has to take them with food, and some times he doesn't have any food to take them with, so they make him ill. He is hoping that I don't judge him for having HIV and that I will still write to him. He has asked me to ask every Christian that I know to pray for him, and for his illness.
After reading his letter I felt grateful for the life that I have, joyous that I could bring a little happiness to the life of someone less fortunate, and scared by the prospect of writing to someone who had nothing else in life to look forward to.
It's about time we decorated the kitchen
We've been living in this house for almost 2 years and for every second of it I've detested the colour of the kitchen walls. The kitchen units are quite dark anyway, and wouldn't be my personal choice, but the walls were a horrible mustard colour. Like a babies nappy contents. Yuck yuck yuck. So I finally decided to buy some paint and rectify the matter. I spent all day yesterday painting the kitchen walls, with a little expert help from Jude and Luke. I think the kitchen looks so much better. I finally got to display the beautiful canvas paintings that I bought a year ago, and they look fabulous in the kitchen. Here are the before and after photos...
BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
This is Luke's kitchen corner, where he prepares his own delicious meals. Above it is a picture that I embroidered for Jude. It took me a year to complete!
BEFORE
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DURING
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AFTER
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This is Luke's kitchen corner, where he prepares his own delicious meals. Above it is a picture that I embroidered for Jude. It took me a year to complete!
Sunday, 13 August 2006
Lazy days and birthdays.
Sam has been away since Tuesday. Thank goodness for modern communication measures! I sent him with my old mobile phone, and programmed in our home number and both mine and Steve's mobile numbers. He phoned me when he got on the ferry, then when he had breakfast on the ferry, when he had lunch on the ferry, when the ferry got to Liverpool, when he got to the house and when he went to bed in the house. That was the first day. But now that he has made it to the camp with his grandparents, he is only phoning at 11pm before he goes to bed each night. I felt much happier knowing that he could contact me at any time though. Only another seven days before he comes home!
Jude and Luke have been lost without him. Sam really is the entertainment in this house. But I think that Luke and Jude will bond a little closer while he is away. Usually Luke gets into bed with us in the mornings and goes back to sleep. But once he wakes up he gets into Sam's bed for up to an hour, and they chat and play, and read together. That always puts Luke in good form for the day. But sometimes I suggest he gets into Jude's bed in the mornings and he always refuses. Last night, at 10.20pm, I found him all snuggled up with Jude in her bed. He wanted to sleep with her for the night. They looked so cute together. I didn't let him because it was so late, but I will do tonight if he goes to bed on time.
Yesterday we went to another home educating family's house for a birthday party. This little girl is nick-named Lady on her Mum's blog, so that's what I'll call her on here. Jude was the only girl. Lady and Jude spent the whole day together, joined at the hip. They seem to get on really well. Lady had two guineapigs and the two girls were never far from these creatures. They nursed them, carried them round the garden... when Jude got home last night she decided to spend more time with her own guinea-pig, Hudge. Lady's guinea-pigs were called Daisy and Cruikshanks, but Luke told me they were called Diesel and Crackers. How cute. Lady's Dad is a whizz in the kitchen, just like Steve. He enjoys cooking, and he made a gorgeous tasty meal. Luke usually wants to leave after an hour or so at someone's house. He was a little nervous going into this strange place, but soon settled in. Once Lady's Mum (the big Mummy as Luke calls her - not because she is big, she isn't, but because she was obviously the head Mummy in that house) brought down a big box of Thomas the Tank engine trains, Luke spent hours playing with them. Various boys joined in a different times and he played along with them. I watched him to see how he would interact. At home he lines up all his toy cars, and if anyone dares take one or move one he gets very upset. I watched him lining up all these trains the way he would at home, and then another child would bound into the game and take a few trains. I expected tears and confusion, but actually he was just fine and pleasant to the other kids. He didn't seem to mind at all, and he talked away to whoever was playing at the time.
It took us far too long to leave. I packed up all our belongings and Luke kept saying "in a minute Mummy, I just want to play a bit longer." That's so unlike him. Eventually I persuaded him that it was in fact past his bedtime, so it was time to leave, and then we couldn't find the two dummies that he had brought in with him. I knew that he'd had them, because I'd been holding them at one point. I searched through my bag, through Lukes bag, round the garden, in every room in the house. I asked Luke what he'd done with them but he couldn't remember. I looked in the car, in the train box, in the bathroom, kitchen, eventually everyone was looking for them. I knew that he'd be unhappy on the way home without them. He was tired, and he likes to have one dummy for his mouth, and one for each hand. We only had one. Eventually we gave up looking and got into the car. In the car I said to Jude "you'll never guess where I found his dummies once, in the boot of a little blue toy car". Then a light bulb went 'ping' in my head. That little blue car was in the bag of toy cars that he had taken into the house. I found it, opened the boot, and there were too very squashed in dummies!
(Ooohhh, Steve has just brought me in a big bowl of fruit for breakfast - strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, banana, nectarine, grapes and mango. Nice one!)
Anyway, since I last blogged we've been a bit lazy around here. I've been trying to spend some quality time with Luke and Jude while Sam is away. On Thursday afternoon Luke announced that he was now old enough to watch grown ups DVD's. I had to laugh. So we got out Dr Doolittle 3. Steve brought it home from his shop for Jude to watch. I figured it was grown up, but that Luke might like the talking animals. He said the cutest thing. He was confused between Dr Doolittle and Dr Who. So he kept saying "we're going to watch Dr Hoolahoop now". So we forgot all about housework and gardening, and sat and watched the film with a big packet of biscuits.
On Friday we were supposed to have friends over. However, when they didn't turn up I texted them to see where they were and they were still in bed. They apologised and said they'd come another day. The kids were disappointed so we drove up to my Mum's house for the afternoon instead. Aunty Hannah and Uncle David were there, and cousin Bevin too. Jude and Bevin were much better company for each other when all the other cousins weren't around. Mum made lunch and we all sat and nattered. Uncle David told us about his recent trip around America. Hannah and David have set a date in November next year for their wedding. They have managed to persuade the manager of Castlewellan Castle to have their wedding there. They have a strict no wedding policy, but because our sister Jenny ws married there he has agreed for Hannah to use the place too. So that's exciting. I was looking at wedding dresses with Hannah. It's so exciting. The wedding dresses are so gorgeous.
On Friday evening Hannah and David offered to babysit. Now I have to whinge about how little there is to do in this country. The weather was too bad to do anything outside. The only other options for a night out in this country are going for a meal, going to the cinema, or going clubbing. Seen as we don't drink there isn't much desire to go clubbing, and there was nothing on at the cinema, so our only option was a meal. I just didn't fancy it. I was in the mood for action and adventure... paintballing, lazer questing, absailing, boating, anything with a bit of fun involved. Anyway, we drove to Lisburn and I remembered a lovely Indian Restaurant in Bridge Street called Spice. I went to it once with Heather. We found it and had a lovely meal there. The restaurant is really nice. The staff are all Indian, and are all so pleasant. They play Indian music (I feel it ruins the atmosphere somewhat when you go out for an Indian meal and they are playing British pop music). The only thing I would advise is that there food is quite mild (probably perfect for the typical NI palate.) We both ordered meals with 3 chillis next to them. The menu has a hotness scale of 1 to 5 chillies. Our 3 chilli meals tasted very mild, so we would definitely go for something hotter next time. It was nice to get out for the evening, with no kids. The meal was very un-rushed. And we sat for over an hour after finishing our meal, without feeling pressured to leave. We will definitely go back there again.
Today we are having a very lazy day. We decided that life is too rushed and we never get to relax, so today we are doing nothing but spending time together as a family. We are all still in our PJ's at midday. Steve has played scrabble with Jude and is now going to play 'doggies' on the trampoline with Luke. Happy days. It's nice to do nothing.
Jude and Luke have been lost without him. Sam really is the entertainment in this house. But I think that Luke and Jude will bond a little closer while he is away. Usually Luke gets into bed with us in the mornings and goes back to sleep. But once he wakes up he gets into Sam's bed for up to an hour, and they chat and play, and read together. That always puts Luke in good form for the day. But sometimes I suggest he gets into Jude's bed in the mornings and he always refuses. Last night, at 10.20pm, I found him all snuggled up with Jude in her bed. He wanted to sleep with her for the night. They looked so cute together. I didn't let him because it was so late, but I will do tonight if he goes to bed on time.
Yesterday we went to another home educating family's house for a birthday party. This little girl is nick-named Lady on her Mum's blog, so that's what I'll call her on here. Jude was the only girl. Lady and Jude spent the whole day together, joined at the hip. They seem to get on really well. Lady had two guineapigs and the two girls were never far from these creatures. They nursed them, carried them round the garden... when Jude got home last night she decided to spend more time with her own guinea-pig, Hudge. Lady's guinea-pigs were called Daisy and Cruikshanks, but Luke told me they were called Diesel and Crackers. How cute. Lady's Dad is a whizz in the kitchen, just like Steve. He enjoys cooking, and he made a gorgeous tasty meal. Luke usually wants to leave after an hour or so at someone's house. He was a little nervous going into this strange place, but soon settled in. Once Lady's Mum (the big Mummy as Luke calls her - not because she is big, she isn't, but because she was obviously the head Mummy in that house) brought down a big box of Thomas the Tank engine trains, Luke spent hours playing with them. Various boys joined in a different times and he played along with them. I watched him to see how he would interact. At home he lines up all his toy cars, and if anyone dares take one or move one he gets very upset. I watched him lining up all these trains the way he would at home, and then another child would bound into the game and take a few trains. I expected tears and confusion, but actually he was just fine and pleasant to the other kids. He didn't seem to mind at all, and he talked away to whoever was playing at the time.
It took us far too long to leave. I packed up all our belongings and Luke kept saying "in a minute Mummy, I just want to play a bit longer." That's so unlike him. Eventually I persuaded him that it was in fact past his bedtime, so it was time to leave, and then we couldn't find the two dummies that he had brought in with him. I knew that he'd had them, because I'd been holding them at one point. I searched through my bag, through Lukes bag, round the garden, in every room in the house. I asked Luke what he'd done with them but he couldn't remember. I looked in the car, in the train box, in the bathroom, kitchen, eventually everyone was looking for them. I knew that he'd be unhappy on the way home without them. He was tired, and he likes to have one dummy for his mouth, and one for each hand. We only had one. Eventually we gave up looking and got into the car. In the car I said to Jude "you'll never guess where I found his dummies once, in the boot of a little blue toy car". Then a light bulb went 'ping' in my head. That little blue car was in the bag of toy cars that he had taken into the house. I found it, opened the boot, and there were too very squashed in dummies!
(Ooohhh, Steve has just brought me in a big bowl of fruit for breakfast - strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, banana, nectarine, grapes and mango. Nice one!)
Anyway, since I last blogged we've been a bit lazy around here. I've been trying to spend some quality time with Luke and Jude while Sam is away. On Thursday afternoon Luke announced that he was now old enough to watch grown ups DVD's. I had to laugh. So we got out Dr Doolittle 3. Steve brought it home from his shop for Jude to watch. I figured it was grown up, but that Luke might like the talking animals. He said the cutest thing. He was confused between Dr Doolittle and Dr Who. So he kept saying "we're going to watch Dr Hoolahoop now". So we forgot all about housework and gardening, and sat and watched the film with a big packet of biscuits.
On Friday we were supposed to have friends over. However, when they didn't turn up I texted them to see where they were and they were still in bed. They apologised and said they'd come another day. The kids were disappointed so we drove up to my Mum's house for the afternoon instead. Aunty Hannah and Uncle David were there, and cousin Bevin too. Jude and Bevin were much better company for each other when all the other cousins weren't around. Mum made lunch and we all sat and nattered. Uncle David told us about his recent trip around America. Hannah and David have set a date in November next year for their wedding. They have managed to persuade the manager of Castlewellan Castle to have their wedding there. They have a strict no wedding policy, but because our sister Jenny ws married there he has agreed for Hannah to use the place too. So that's exciting. I was looking at wedding dresses with Hannah. It's so exciting. The wedding dresses are so gorgeous.
On Friday evening Hannah and David offered to babysit. Now I have to whinge about how little there is to do in this country. The weather was too bad to do anything outside. The only other options for a night out in this country are going for a meal, going to the cinema, or going clubbing. Seen as we don't drink there isn't much desire to go clubbing, and there was nothing on at the cinema, so our only option was a meal. I just didn't fancy it. I was in the mood for action and adventure... paintballing, lazer questing, absailing, boating, anything with a bit of fun involved. Anyway, we drove to Lisburn and I remembered a lovely Indian Restaurant in Bridge Street called Spice. I went to it once with Heather. We found it and had a lovely meal there. The restaurant is really nice. The staff are all Indian, and are all so pleasant. They play Indian music (I feel it ruins the atmosphere somewhat when you go out for an Indian meal and they are playing British pop music). The only thing I would advise is that there food is quite mild (probably perfect for the typical NI palate.) We both ordered meals with 3 chillis next to them. The menu has a hotness scale of 1 to 5 chillies. Our 3 chilli meals tasted very mild, so we would definitely go for something hotter next time. It was nice to get out for the evening, with no kids. The meal was very un-rushed. And we sat for over an hour after finishing our meal, without feeling pressured to leave. We will definitely go back there again.
Today we are having a very lazy day. We decided that life is too rushed and we never get to relax, so today we are doing nothing but spending time together as a family. We are all still in our PJ's at midday. Steve has played scrabble with Jude and is now going to play 'doggies' on the trampoline with Luke. Happy days. It's nice to do nothing.
Tuesday, 8 August 2006
Not a happy day
I'm feeling quite sad today. Firstly Sam is going away for 2 weeks. My husband (who sometimes has his head in the clouds) gave me the impression Sam was going for 1 week when he organised it, but it's not, it's 13 days, which to me seems more like 2 weeks. Steve also neglected to tell Sam's grandparents in England that he was coming, and that they would be looking after him, so that was a nice surprise for them when they spoke on the phone Sunday night. I can't believe he forgot to tell them about it. Sometimes I wonder what planet he is living on. So today I'm packing up Sams bags for him. Me and Jude went out to Tesco's last night and bought him enough socks and pants to keep him clean for 2 weeks. We also bought some treats to hide in his bags - sweets and snacks, a book, his favourite football magazine, etc. I'm really going to miss him. Two weeks is such a long time. I keep hugging him and telling him how much I'm going to miss him and I feel very tearful. He leaves this evening.
Today Steve took the kids out for breakfast and while he was there he told them about his other grandparents getting divorced. We thought it was time we told them about it, seen as their cousins know, and we didn't want them trying to guess about it. They were both really upset. Sam more so. He said that everyone is getting divorced, and he has a good point. First one Aunty, then another, now his grandparents. That's 3 major families in their lives that are going through separations. Sam's face was horrified and they were both genuinely upset about it. The very sad thing is that now they are wondering if we will get divorced too. Everyone else is, so why shouldn't we? Sam voiced this to his Dad who tried to assure him that it wouldn't happen, but he wasn't at all convinced. I feel really sad about this too. Firstly, that my kids should be hurt by other peoples problems, and secondly that every time me and Steve have a disagreement or argument, we will be so cautious about worrying the children unnecessarily. So all in all I'm feeling damn low today and not at all good company.
On the plus side, my eco balls arrived today and I'm currently putting a wash through the machine with them. They cost me £26 and should last 1000 washes, so I'll report back as to how well they actually clean.
Today Steve took the kids out for breakfast and while he was there he told them about his other grandparents getting divorced. We thought it was time we told them about it, seen as their cousins know, and we didn't want them trying to guess about it. They were both really upset. Sam more so. He said that everyone is getting divorced, and he has a good point. First one Aunty, then another, now his grandparents. That's 3 major families in their lives that are going through separations. Sam's face was horrified and they were both genuinely upset about it. The very sad thing is that now they are wondering if we will get divorced too. Everyone else is, so why shouldn't we? Sam voiced this to his Dad who tried to assure him that it wouldn't happen, but he wasn't at all convinced. I feel really sad about this too. Firstly, that my kids should be hurt by other peoples problems, and secondly that every time me and Steve have a disagreement or argument, we will be so cautious about worrying the children unnecessarily. So all in all I'm feeling damn low today and not at all good company.
On the plus side, my eco balls arrived today and I'm currently putting a wash through the machine with them. They cost me £26 and should last 1000 washes, so I'll report back as to how well they actually clean.
Sunday, 6 August 2006
Eco Balls for laundry
I've just bought some of these Eco Ball's on ebay.
Eco-balls save money and the planet! And yes, they do really work.
Just place the three eco-balls in your washing machine instead of washing powder. Together they produce ionized oxygen that activates the water molecules naturally and allows them to penetrate deep into clothing fibres to lift dirt away. They are reuseable for over 1,000 washes and cost on average 3p per wash (compared to 25-30p for normal washing powder). There are no harsh chemicals so less pollution. The rinse cycle can be shortened saving water and electricity. They will not fade bright colours or damage clothing fibres. Hypoallergenic so suitable for sensitive skins/eczema (including babies and children). Eco-balls soften clothes even in hard water, and no fabric conditioner is necessary. They are also anti-bacterial and kill Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus.
Eco-balls come with a 30-day money back guarantee, and include free refill pellets and a stain remover.
Voted one of the Ten Best Green Household Products by The Independent January 2005
I'm very keen to see if they work. I spend a fortune on washing powder for our machine and I'm always looking for ways to reduce the bills and help the environment. I'll let you know if they work.
Eco-balls save money and the planet! And yes, they do really work.
Just place the three eco-balls in your washing machine instead of washing powder. Together they produce ionized oxygen that activates the water molecules naturally and allows them to penetrate deep into clothing fibres to lift dirt away. They are reuseable for over 1,000 washes and cost on average 3p per wash (compared to 25-30p for normal washing powder). There are no harsh chemicals so less pollution. The rinse cycle can be shortened saving water and electricity. They will not fade bright colours or damage clothing fibres. Hypoallergenic so suitable for sensitive skins/eczema (including babies and children). Eco-balls soften clothes even in hard water, and no fabric conditioner is necessary. They are also anti-bacterial and kill Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus.
Eco-balls come with a 30-day money back guarantee, and include free refill pellets and a stain remover.
Voted one of the Ten Best Green Household Products by The Independent January 2005
I'm very keen to see if they work. I spend a fortune on washing powder for our machine and I'm always looking for ways to reduce the bills and help the environment. I'll let you know if they work.
Uniforms and Caterpillars
Yesterday it stopped raining. Today it is pouring from the heaven's again. Steve was off work so I decided it would be a good day to go out and buy Sam's uniform - without having to take all 3 kids. So that's what we did. One blazer, 2 shirts, 1 tie, 1 pair of shorts, 1 sports top and 1 pair of hockey socks, came to £95. Plus one pair of shoes at £39. That's without the coat, trousers, 2 school bagslunchch bag, and all the art, english, maths and writing equipment that I have to purchase, as well the 'voluntary' school fees. My friend said it cost her almost £400 by the time she bought everything. Phew! He does look very smart in his new uniform, but Sam will be posting about that on his own blog, so I won't put the photo on here.
I spent the rest of the day out in the garden, while it was relatively dry. Steve mowed the lawns, whilst I annihilated the caterpillar community which had moved into the vegetable patch. Rather than use pesticides I hand picked all the tiny just hatched caterpillars, and all the unhatched eggs out from all the cabbage and broccoli plants. It took 2 hours. Fun fun fun. I planted out some more baby lettuces which we had grown from seed. Luke helped with that. He loves planting.
As usual blogger isn't letting me load on any photos so I'll have to put them on later.Friday was spent at Jenny's house. Seven children and three adults made for a fun packed day. The kids were good enough in the end, after a short period of upsets. We all played karioke with them, and then the kids had a disco in the living room. Jenny's house is looking fabulous now that she's spent so much time and effort on doing it up. It's looking very homely indeed.
Friday, 4 August 2006
A book for a 45 year old incarcerated male?
Ok, its official, E's prison have changed the rules and now I am allowed to send him books. It's unusual. Before I couldn't send him books at all, even though most of the prisons allow you to send books through Amazon. But now his prison have gone from 'no books at all' to 'as many books as you like - and don't worry about Amazon, you can send them from home'. So, I have a garage full of books left over from the book fair, and one excited pen pal. I wrote and asked him what he likes to read. He replied by saying "I can't wait to see what you pick out for me to read". So my question is - what on earth does a 45 year old male, incarcerated for over 20 years on death row, like to read? I have no idea. I've been into the garage and read the back of a heap of novels. The thing is, I don't know any men who like reading, therefore I have no idea what men read. I know what I like to read. But I also learnt from working at the book fair that people read a lot of stuff that I wouldn't touch with a barge pole. Does anyone have any idea? I've got a pile of books here and I'm going to look up their reviews on Amazon. But all the novels seem a bit girly to me.
Well, today we are off to my sister Jenny's house. Better get ready to leave.
Well, today we are off to my sister Jenny's house. Better get ready to leave.
Thursday, 3 August 2006
Attack of the killer wasps!
Phew! What a busy day! I'm just grabbing 5 minutes to write this, but really Steve thinks I'm getting Luke ready for bed. It's almost 9pm, which is late for his bed time, but he fell asleep on top of my bed today. I sent him to sit on my bed after having a tantrum (him, not me) and he fell asleep there. We've just finished a mammoth garden tidying session. I'm always amazed that people with kids have tidy gardens, as ours is always covered in toys, discarded clothes (even old nappies which Luke flings off as and when he feels like it!) It usually looks like a tip.
Today it was sunny. At last, no rain. But... WASPS. Millions of wasps. You couldn't walk through the garden without getting into their flight path. They were really busy eating all the bugs that were trying to hatch on an ivy plant (I think they were baby ladybugs, I hope not). I lifted the lid of the compost bin to throw a heap of stuff in, and hundreds of wasps emerged! It was horrible! I stood and watched (from a safe distance) and wasps were coming from all directions and flying into the compost bin. I looked up a bit of info on the net about it and got some advice. Either there is a nest in the compost, or there is too much green stuff in the compost. The advice was to wait till evening and then put a hose into the compost bin and fill it with water. It will either destroy the nest or make the compost too wet for them to enjoy. We did that (Steve did it, covered by a winter Eskimo type coat for sting protection!) The wasps were none to happy about it. After they had flown away we covered the compost with sawdust and left it, as instructed. Hopefully it will make some sort of difference tomorrow.
I spent the afternoon pulling up giant nasturtium plants that were taking over the onion patch. Me and Steve sat in the garden harvesting all the seeds and good leaves to dry out for herbs and capers. Then I dug up a heap of soil around the spuds, something which I should have done some time ago. One of our giant sunflowers fell over in the winds and died, which was sad. But the others are still going strong and one of them is well over 8ft tall now and developing a flower head. The tomatoes seems to have been hit by a virus or something. All the leaves are turning blue and dying, but the fruit is still there, all be it green.
All in all, a busy day in the garden. Now we are putting the kids to bed and watching a video together.
Oh by the way, I finally got a letter from my DRP today. I'm so relieved that he is ok.
Today it was sunny. At last, no rain. But... WASPS. Millions of wasps. You couldn't walk through the garden without getting into their flight path. They were really busy eating all the bugs that were trying to hatch on an ivy plant (I think they were baby ladybugs, I hope not). I lifted the lid of the compost bin to throw a heap of stuff in, and hundreds of wasps emerged! It was horrible! I stood and watched (from a safe distance) and wasps were coming from all directions and flying into the compost bin. I looked up a bit of info on the net about it and got some advice. Either there is a nest in the compost, or there is too much green stuff in the compost. The advice was to wait till evening and then put a hose into the compost bin and fill it with water. It will either destroy the nest or make the compost too wet for them to enjoy. We did that (Steve did it, covered by a winter Eskimo type coat for sting protection!) The wasps were none to happy about it. After they had flown away we covered the compost with sawdust and left it, as instructed. Hopefully it will make some sort of difference tomorrow.
I spent the afternoon pulling up giant nasturtium plants that were taking over the onion patch. Me and Steve sat in the garden harvesting all the seeds and good leaves to dry out for herbs and capers. Then I dug up a heap of soil around the spuds, something which I should have done some time ago. One of our giant sunflowers fell over in the winds and died, which was sad. But the others are still going strong and one of them is well over 8ft tall now and developing a flower head. The tomatoes seems to have been hit by a virus or something. All the leaves are turning blue and dying, but the fruit is still there, all be it green.
All in all, a busy day in the garden. Now we are putting the kids to bed and watching a video together.
Oh by the way, I finally got a letter from my DRP today. I'm so relieved that he is ok.
Wednesday, 2 August 2006
Herb harvesting and lots of shopping
It's been a good day today. To start with, both Sam and Jude went to summer scheme, and Steve took Luke to 'work' in his shop for an hour this morning. With a complete hour to myself I managed to tidy almost the entire house. It's amazing what can be accomplished without children under foot. I felt so great for the time alone that I decided to go shopping with Luke when I picked him up. Strictly window shopping of course! But when I got to Matalan they had a 75% off sale!!! There were kids jumpers for £1 each so I got a few for Sam and a few for Luke. I bought Jude a beautiful dress (even though she doesn't need it) because it was just divine! And reduced! It's almost like a classy bridesmaids dress. We bought one for a friend who's having a birthday soon too. Then I got a few organic bowls reduced from £10 to £2.50 (can't resist a bargain). I also got Sam an England Football Team duvet set which was half price, andduvetvet set for Jude, which was white with a grey photo of a kitten on it. It's cute.
Then Luke and I went into Argos where we bought him a new car seat. His old one was getting too small for him, and he would always ask to sit on the chair instead. So I got him a booster seat which works from age 1 - 11. He felt so grown up in it when he found out that Sam and Jude could both sit in it too. I'd promised Luke we'd get lunch in a cafe so we stopped at Sainsburys cafe for a bight to eat. Luke had 1/10 of a pancake with jam on, and some coke. I had vegetable lasagne, which wasn't that nice.
Then we went into Bargain books and bought a few bargain books, and a tractor. Now, I'd promised Luke we'd find a toy shop and there wasn't one to be seen anywhere. But I found a TK Max with a good toy section in it so we browsed through that and I got Luke a little farm set - a farm house which opens out, two farmers, a tractor and trailer, various farm animals, all in a handy carry case! Yes, I know, I spoilt everyone. We even went in JJB Sports and replaced the football which Sam got for his birthday and Diamond the dog eat.
By this time I realised that we only had 30 minutes to get back to the summer scheme to pick the other two up, so we raced back into the car. Luke fell asleep on the way home, then slept in the car in the driveway for another 30 minutes. He woke up crying and I got into my bed with him, where he went back to sleep until 6pm. Needless to say, he is still full of beans now, at 9pm.
While he was asleep it stopped raining long enough for me to nip into the garden and harvest some of the herbs. I've been trying to get round to it for days. I'm not completely sure yet how to dry
them and what to use them for, but I'm learning. In this photo you can see (in particularlar order) mint, lemon minMoroccancan mint, spearmint, basil, thyme, rosemarGreekeek oregano, nasturtium seeds, calendula flowers, marigold flowers, lavender, and chamomile flowers. I'm going to make tea with the chamomile, and I will use the calendula and marigold to make skin ointments. The other herbs I want to dry for culinary use. If anyone has any tips or advice be sure to let me know!
Then Luke and I went into Argos where we bought him a new car seat. His old one was getting too small for him, and he would always ask to sit on the chair instead. So I got him a booster seat which works from age 1 - 11. He felt so grown up in it when he found out that Sam and Jude could both sit in it too. I'd promised Luke we'd get lunch in a cafe so we stopped at Sainsburys cafe for a bight to eat. Luke had 1/10 of a pancake with jam on, and some coke. I had vegetable lasagne, which wasn't that nice.
Then we went into Bargain books and bought a few bargain books, and a tractor. Now, I'd promised Luke we'd find a toy shop and there wasn't one to be seen anywhere. But I found a TK Max with a good toy section in it so we browsed through that and I got Luke a little farm set - a farm house which opens out, two farmers, a tractor and trailer, various farm animals, all in a handy carry case! Yes, I know, I spoilt everyone. We even went in JJB Sports and replaced the football which Sam got for his birthday and Diamond the dog eat.
By this time I realised that we only had 30 minutes to get back to the summer scheme to pick the other two up, so we raced back into the car. Luke fell asleep on the way home, then slept in the car in the driveway for another 30 minutes. He woke up crying and I got into my bed with him, where he went back to sleep until 6pm. Needless to say, he is still full of beans now, at 9pm.While he was asleep it stopped raining long enough for me to nip into the garden and harvest some of the herbs. I've been trying to get round to it for days. I'm not completely sure yet how to dry
them and what to use them for, but I'm learning. In this photo you can see (in particularlar order) mint, lemon minMoroccancan mint, spearmint, basil, thyme, rosemarGreekeek oregano, nasturtium seeds, calendula flowers, marigold flowers, lavender, and chamomile flowers. I'm going to make tea with the chamomile, and I will use the calendula and marigold to make skin ointments. The other herbs I want to dry for culinary use. If anyone has any tips or advice be sure to let me know!
Dinner tonight was lovely. Our house smelt like a Chinese restaurant. The photo doesn't do it justice at all. It was stir fried turkey with vegetables (courgettes, mushroom, green pepper, carrot, bean sprouts, onion) and noodles in a sweet soy and spring onion sauce. We have been making quite a few dishes with noodles in lately as the whole family seem to like them, and the kids get through a stir fry much easier that way. I'd happily have just veggies as I'm not a big meat eater but my carnivorous family like their meat.
I managed to harvest some herbs from the garden today (it finally stopped raining long enough) and I'm going to dry them to use throughout the winter. In the photo you can see moroccan mint, lemon mint, mint, spearmint, chamomile flowers, marigold flowers, calendula flowers, basil, thyme, greek oregano, rosemary, lavender and nasturtium seeds.
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