Mount Playmobil

Last night I tackled and conquered Mount Playmobil.

We bought Angel - who adored swings as a tiny - a Playmobil swing set for Christmas when she was three, and from then on it became our standby gift choice for birthdays and Christmas for both girls. Over the years we gathered a veritable mountain of the stuff, and very well used it was too until Angel and latterly Star outgrew it (in Star's case mainly because she likes a playmate and Angel will no longer oblige).

Little Cherub has been enjoying playing with a tractor and some farm animals, so I decided the time had come for a major assault on the Playmobil boxes. After nearly three hours work I have sorted out various toddler-friendly sets - farm, zoo, furniture, cars, playground and a selection of people. There are also a number of larger items she can play with - a bus, an aeroplane, a caravan, a motorhome, a fire engine, a helicopter, an ambulance and a swimming pool, some of which I had even forgotten we owned! Now they are all nicely organised I can easily rotate them into her toy boxes. Today she has been having a lovely time with cars, the bus and some playground items, including the original swing set. What goes around, comes around!

Angel at Work

Angel is sitting next to me writing a geography assessment paper in which she has to explain to the European Union Finance Committee in 1000 words why southern Italy needs to continue to receive subsidies. If I had ever set her such a task, the wailing and gnashing of teeth would have been spectacular. As it is, she is working away steadily, if unenthusiastically. ("How's it going, Angel?" "Boring!")

She is also munching on uncooked spaghetti as she works. Odd, but I suppose it at least has an Italian connection.

Book Review: Great Tales from English History

A couple of weeks ago I promised a review of Great Tales from English History by Robert Lacey. Originally inspired to love history by the "storybook" style histories of H.E.Marshall, he sets out in this three volume series to tell the great stories of English history in similar fashion. If you want an easy to read introduction to the outline of English history, these books would do nicely. With short chapter and lots of anecdotes, they are easy to pick up and read in odd moments. Obviously they are limited by the format - there is very little historical analysis, though he does put the stories into context. They are written for adults and although Lacey is not overly graphic for that audience, there are sections that are not suitable for children (Edward II's relationship with Piers Gaveston and the assumed manner of his subsequent death for example). Despite this, they could be read aloud to older children with a bit of editing. The best description I can give of Lacey's books is to say that they are the adult, non-illustrated equivalent to Geraldine McCaughrean's Britannia - which admittedly is not helpful if you have not seen Britannia, but if you have then you will understand what I mean!

The author has his own website, where he helpfully includes some sample chapters.

Ouch!

Well that has never happened to me before.

Getting dressed this morning, I went to pick up my clothes from on top of the laundry basket and they bit me! It took a few seconds for my fuddled morning brain to process ...

(a) my finger hurts
(b) the pain is caused by my underwear
(c) my finger really hurts
(d) I need to let go
(e) why is my clothing stuck to my hand?
(f) why is it biting me?
(g) OUCH!!!!!

Finally I summoned up enough presence of mind to shake the item from my hand and reveal the offender ... a wasp! It wasn't a bite. It was a sting.

This leaves me with a question and a thought.

What on earth is a live and stinging summer wasp doing in my bedroom in January?

... and ...

Thank heavens I didn't put my bra on before discovering the wasp!

Gadget Queen? Me?

I do try not to covet new gadgets ... but I have to admit I do enjoy nifty little techy things. I have had an iPhone on my mental wishlist for a while, even though it is clearly under the section labelled "no chance". The UK deal on iPhones requires commitment to a monthly service package that is way, way out of our budget. In any case, so is the iPhone itself. I have also been wanting an iPod, especially since we switched to Macs and I discovered iTunes. Then ... ta da! ... I spotted the iPod Touch. iPhone meets iPod! Cue shameless coveting. Fortunately I have a very nice husband and a very nice mother, who between them bought me an iPod Touch as a birthday-and-Christmas present.

After playing with it for a month - I love it! On the one hand it is an iPhone without the phone and camera (and therefore without the service charge), and on the other it is an iPod that has wireless internet and runs Safari (the Mac equivalent of Windows Explorer). The screen is clear enough for it to be genuinely useful for reading web pages, blogs and so on - obviously not as good as a full size computer, but a handy extra. There are an increasing number of WiFi hotspots locally, including the library, which means I can use it when I am out and about. I can access my Google Calendars, my booklists, and even at a pinch write email or blog entries (a bit slow and painful on the touchscreen keyboard, but manageable). It has a smaller memory than the classic iPods, which doesn't bother me as I don't want to use it as a storage device, but it does all the obvious iPod things - plays music, podcasts and movies. It also has a built in YouTube widget. In the last week or so Apple have brought out new software that adds an email program, Google maps and a notepad.

I don't just like what the iPod Touch does, I like how it does it. The touchscreen is so futuristic and clever - a gadget lover's gem. Stroke it to move a web page up or down, pinch to make things smaller, tap it to make the view larger. To switch from portrait to landscape, you just turn the iPod round and the screen follows. It's just so ... neat!

1 2 3 Meme

Michele Q tagged me for this meme, which is a fun one with simple rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

I have two books sitting in a pile on my desk. The top one is Small is Still Beautiful by Joseph Pearce, but page 123 is a title page for Part 4: Grounded in the Land. No fifth sentence. No sentences at all! If I cheat and jump to the next page with text (p.125) I get this:

"Our future, and the future of our natural environment, is rooted in the soil. In the years since Schumacher wrote, ecologists have carried out much research into the complex ecosystems that govern and determine the interdependence of life forms. Their research has vindicated Schumacher's insistence that the land is the greatest material resource available to humanity."

The book underneath Small is Still Beautiful is Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI, which does have a page 123, forming part of a section headed 'Compromise and Prophetic Radicalism':

"But is what Jesus says here actually realistic? It is incumbent upon us - is it even legitimate - to act like this? Doesn't some of it, as Neusner objects, destroy all concrete social order?"

So there you ... pick the sentences of your choice - right book, wrong page number or wrong book, right page number.

I tag: Faith, Lucy, Melanie, Rebecca and Shari

The Homefront

My dear friend and kindred spirit Shari has taken the plunge and started a blog. Please pay her a visit at the Homefront and welcome her to blogland.

Please also say a prayer for Shari's daughter who has just moved to Washington DC to begin a new job ... unfortunately she is in Washington and her luggage is doing an independent tour of the USA.

Lark Rise to Candleford

My Sunday evening treat for the past two weeks has been the BBC's new dramatisation of Lark Rise to Candleford, an autobiographical story of country life in the late 19th century by Flora Thompson. I just discovered you can watch it online ... but if you want to do so, there is only a limited window of opportunity. Episode 1 is available for two more days, and episode 2 for four.

Go to BBC iPlayer and find it in the alphabetical list.

Enjoy!

ETA: Unfortunately you can only use BBC iPlayer if you are in the UK. Shame. I know a few people who would have been delighted to get future episodes of Doctor Who when they are first broadcast instead of having to wait for them to be shown in the US. Which I guess is why the BBC block non-UK users.

The Human Internet

J-next-door appears ...

J: Do you have any books I can use for my science homework?

Me: What do you need to know about?

J: Hydraulic systems

Me: ... after a brief search ... "Will this do?" (giving her a science encyclopedia with two pages on hydraulics)

J: Great! I was stuck ... our internet's gone down ...

I am, apparently, the human version of the internet. Put something into my search engine and I can provide the answer. In book form.

I love the internet ... but I love books more.

Little Cherub's Book Choice: Scarecrow's Secret

Last year I bought a boxed set of twenty Usborne Farmyard Tales books very cheaply from The Book People and put it away for Christmas. After a couple of weeks fixated on In the Night Garden twaddle, she has now moved on to these books. Scarecrow's Secret was the first to catch her attention because the song "Dingle Dangle Scarecrow" is a current favourite - reading the book always entails a certain amount of "dingle-dangling" (shaking arms and legs as in the song).

I like these books for their double-whammy effect. Although written for beginner readers, they also work well for toddlers. The simple text and animal themes make them good to read to little ones. A nice extra is that every page has a tiny yellow duck hidden somewhere, and playing "spot-the-duck" gives an added touch of toddler interest. As readers, they are designed to work on two levels. There is a simple sentence at the top of the page, then some more text at the bottom. Initially the books can be buddy-read, with the very new reader reading just the single sentences while the adult reads the rest; as reading skills develop, the child moves on to reading the entire book. For example, one page has: "Mr. Straw is doing a good job." ... "Every day Mr. Boot, Poppy and Sam look at Mr. Straw. There are no birds in the cornfield." Simple stuff, but Little Cherub likes it. And I remember finding them very useful when Star was at the "Mr. Straw is doing a good job." stage of reading. I don't think I found them in time to use them with Angel.

After multiple readings of Scarecrow's Secret we have finally been allowed to move on to the rest of the box. Today's choices were The Old Steam Train and The New Pony.

Menu Plan 2008

I have been in menu planning mode, and have posted my new 2008 menu plan on my long neglected cookery blog.

Stuck in Tookland

My walk to Rivendell has stalled and I have spent the entire week bogged down in Tookland. After last weeks efforts I was confident of reaching (and beating) my target of 40 miles for January. Then I succumbed to the cold and sore throat bug that the rest of the family have been suffering from off and on for the last month. In my case it has left me coughing and breathless, and definitely not up to walking in the rain. This week's miles covered: zero. Ugh.

Loveliness of Planning Fair

I am a little behind, but I finally got round to visiting Sarah's Loveliness of Planning Fair at Plainsong. As you know, I love plans, and there are some great planning ideas here. I particularly like Dawn's monthly Themes and Plans - this is something I could certainly use, for myself as much as for the children, to remind myself of feast days, nature highlights, seasonal foods, special family dates and so on. I do so much better when I have an overall picture of the next few weeks in my head, rather than blundering from one thing to the next in a state of constant surprise.

I love the various home management folders people have been putting together. My current "planner" is just a plain ring binder with my Motivated Moms pages for January, some scribbled menu plan pages, a couple of recipes needed for current menus, and my Walking to Rivendell route print-out. I haven't yet remembered to add section dividers, so it is definitely not yet set up for ease of use. I think I'll make tidying up and improving my folder a priority for next week.

Random Information Meme

HT: Everyone. I've lost count of the number of places I've seen this meme over the past few days.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE ? My middle name Helen is after my mother's adoptive aunt.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? A few days ago, reading this blog.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? No.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Fresh cooked ham.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Only three.

6. WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Occasionally. Even though it is the lowest form of wit.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? No. And I no longer have tonsillitis.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No. Maybe. I was going to put that I wouldn't bungee jump for a million pounds, but then decided that I just might if the bribe was big enough!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Currently Jordan's Country Crisp with strawberry pieces.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Never.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Probably.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Strawberry Cheesecake.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? I am the most unobservant person imaginable. I don't think I notice anything! Maybe whether they are male or female?

15. RED OR PINK? Pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? Lack of self discipline.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My great-aunt.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Olive green skirt, black socks.

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? A bread roll with Philadelphia cream cheese.

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Little Cherub snoring on my lap.

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Multi-coloured.

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? Fresh-baked bread; new leather; roses; coffee.

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mother.

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Gymnastics; athletics.

25. HAIR COLOR? Dark brown.

26. EYE COLOR? Green-hazel.

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No. Just glasses.

28. FAVORITE FOOD? Bacon sandwiches with mustard. Or chocolate ... you expect me to choose?

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings. I never watch scary movies.

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? DVD of Angel and Star's dance show. Does that count?

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Grey sweater.

32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer, though autumn is my favourite season.

33. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs

34. FAVORITE DESSERT? Bread-and-butter pudding.

35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Great Tales from English History by Robert Lacey.

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? It died. What do you mean, how can a mouse pad die? The plastic covering came off leaving it sticky, and it no longer did what mouse pads are meant to do. It was a bright striped one, and I liked it.

38. FAVORITE SOUNDS? A giggling toddler; Vivaldi; silence.

39. BEATLES OR ROLLING STONES? Depends on the mood of the moment.

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Jerusalem.

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Yes.

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Why would it do that?

Why would the nice wintery tree scene I had as a page background suddenly start showing through the posts instead of the plain text background, making my blog unreadable?

Any clever blog-techie people out there have any advice?

Maybe my blog is better unreadable!

A Sense of Order

Little Cherub now has a very decided sense of order - of what should be where, and what should happen when. She loves to help to tidy her toys, or anything else, and will often try to tidy things away without being asked. Wet bibs, just out of the washer? The bib drawer, of course! Yesterday morning she saw Star getting ready for school, collected Angel's shoes from the hall and presented them to her. If we have been out, she wants shoes and coat off and put away immediately, both hers and ours. Any parental dilatoriness is met with frantic pointing and squeaking. At Jo Jingles she is so anxious to tidy away instruments that she is often there before the teacher puts the box on the floor. Last week she obviously felt the other children were tidying too slowly and was trying to grab instruments from them and put them away herself. Oops!

Her sense of order has obviously developed to the point where she is able to sort and classify. I take her to a local toddler group which is particularly well supplied with toys as it is run as an offshoot of the local playgroup (preschool). This week at tidy up time she was helping me to return vehicles and people to a box when she found a couple of animals that had strayed onto the play mat from an adjoining one. Before I could tell her to take them to the animal box she was half way there.

Between thinking of this post and writing it, I was very amused to find that Melanie at The Wine-Dark Sea had just written one about her Bella on the exact same topic. Bella and Cherub are much of an age ... it must be the age of order and tidiness!

She likes it

Note to self ...

When experimenting with giving a toddler couscous for lunch, do not place the bowl of couscous and a spoon in front of said toddler and then turn your back (even if it is to read an excellent post by Meredith). Especially when the toddler does not yet have great spoon control. And even more especially when the room is carpeted.

And remember to take note of when said toddler has finished eating spilling couscous and intervene before she gets down from her chair and wanders round the room.

Even after brushing her down and giving the room a through vacuum, I'm still finding bits of couscous.

Which Jane Austen heroine are you?

Take the Quiz here!

You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Meet Elmer

No, not Elmer the patchwork elephant, but Elmer the flying monk of Malmesbury.

I am reading Great Tales from English History by Robert Lacey (review to come later), and came across this medieval character for the first time. Elmer (or Eilmer) was an eleventh century monk of scientific bent who developed a fascination with Daedalus, the ancient Greek who manufactured wings for himself and his son Icarus that melted when they flew too close to the sun. Elmer built his own "wings", jumped from the top of the church bell tower and managed to glide 200 metres before losing confidence or concentration and crash landing. He apparently worked out why after the event. As Robert Lacey puts it:

In his final years Elmer’s limping figure was a familiar sight around the abbey – and the would-be birdman would explain the failure of his great enterprise with wry humour. It was his own fault, he would say. As William [of Malmesbury] told it, ‘He forgot to fit a tail on his hinder parts.’

You can read the whole story here, as it is one of the sample chapters posted on Robert Lacey's website.

I love history.