Cake!

I'm posting this at the risk of spoiling the surprise, but in the hope that a dodgy internet connection means the intended recipient won't be reading this. It's either a birthday cake or, if there are too many of those about, an Easter cake. Whatever the official designation, it's a big lot of chocolate yumminess!
I used Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe from Nigella Bites. I halved the ingredients as, despite her claims that if dumped you could eat this yourself in one sitting, in my experience, the full monty feeds a lot of people. I also substituted the dark chocolate in the frosting for white chocolate, partly to ring the changes, but mainly to achieve the correct colouring for the sheep. A little extra melted white chocolate for the legs and to stick the sugar flowers on and some dark chocolate for the face completed the effect.

A good Wednesday

Wednesday has a bad reputation round these parts, for reasons I think I've grumbled about before. Today was a happy exception. I knew even before I opened my eyes, as in the midst of a week of a windy, wet and cold return to winteriness, there was sunshine coming through the window (it didn't last!). Not only that, but I was opening my eyes at a time I chose, since P was contentedly playing with his bag of 'good morning' toys, chattering away to himself as he had been for maybe an hour (!) without any apparent need for me. Okay, so I discovered when I went in to see him at a comfortably later hour than normal that he had also been munching the spine of a book. Why, when left alone with them, does he eat books? What is lacking from what appears to be a healthy, balanced and generally home-cooked diet?! Oh well, doesn't seem to be doing him much harm and I really enjoyed my lie-in.
Once we finally got ourselves up and breakfasted it was time for me to do some work on the results of a slightly stressful painting session yesterday afternoon (suffice to say, grumpy toddlers who haven't napped are not best combined with paints). I made an egg template and used it to cut shapes from the best bits of his daubings, then let him loose with some crayons to add further embellishments. Actually, he mainly broke the crayons in half and tried to eat them, which makes me more motivated to invest in some nicer, and possibly more nutritious ones (!). We bought these for a friend's second birthday and I've been meaning to get some for P since then.
Anyway, with embellishments added, I cut a slit at the top and added some dotty ribbon I had stashed to make a hanging loop et voila Easter cards for various family and friends.
As for this...


...I couldn't resist sharing my delight in the project I've more or less finished during naptime today and this evening. It's something I've been meaning to get sorted for ages and now that I've got on with it, it hasn't taken too long to complete (just waiting for a delivery from Greenfibres now). Aren't the zingy colours just the thing to drive back the last blast of winter? More soon.

Carpe Diem

According to the weather reports, it seems we've been a bit fooled by the signs of Spring. Next week promises colder winds, lots of rain and even snow. This makes me even gladder that we've been getting out and about as much as we have recently. It also spurred us to go out this afternoon, despite the need to continue the big sorting out job we've begun on the house (a move is imminent, we hope, so we are trying to reduce our possessions before we have to pack and move them). Yes, Tarn Hows is becoming a bit of a predictable choice for us, but when you just need to get out and catch that last little blast of Spring weather predictable and easy fits the bill.
We found a little sunshine...


We somehow avoided the promised showers that glowered picturesquely from those beautiful hills...


We met some of the local residents...



...and did some of the stuff you just have to do when you're a toddler and there are sticks, puddles, stones etc...

Holiday

No posts this week as we've been away on a little holiday. There's also a distinct scarcity of pics, as we were just too busy having fun! However, there is this slightly blurry evidence that not did we catch our first ever glimpse of a red squirrel, but we had them right outside our door, posing in every Beatrix Potter-esque pose imaginable! I also saw a woodpecker this morning and last night, coming back from a very rare night out together (the joys of staying with another set of parents is tit-for-tat babysitting favours) C and I saw, and avoided stepping on, crested newts.
The second pic doesn't even come close to showing just how much fun P had spending the week with a little pal who was equally keen to jump in, and closely examine, puddles wherever we went. Not to mention run full pelt around our cabin, giggling, squealing and generally being full of joy. And that's without even beginning on the fun we had at the on-site swimming pool complex, with water slides, wave pool and so on!
Beginning and ending with drives through the spectacular Kirkstone Pass that not even my galloping heartburn could spoil, a good time has been had by all.

Swimming cover-up

Okay, I know the photo is terrible, but this was truly an evening's project and now it's late evening so the available light is artificial and poor. But all the same I'm really pleased with my little improv project.
It's in honour of the upcoming adventure this week- swimming! P has been a few times since he was quite small, but hasn't really had a proper go recently. This week, following the purchase of a float suit- which he currently insists is a 'hat' and wears to ride his trike around the living room, incidentally- we are going to get him making like a fish, we hope! As he's a slippery little so and so when he's wet I wanted him to have some sort of poncho or robe for apres swim but couldn't really justify the cost for what was in some cases a glorified towel. Plus I can't resist a bit of hand-made for the boy. So...one bath towel, size chosen because when folded in half widthways it should cover him but not trip him up.
Then, with the towel folded widthways still, I cut a slit in the middle, and then another halfway across the first slit and at right angles (forming a 'T' shape basically). I did this by trial and error, checking on the intended wearer to get the hole big enough for his head but not so big that it will slip off his shoulders.
I then used bias binding tape all the way around the neck hole to finish it and stop it fraying.
Finally I cut a simple boat shape from some scrap fabric and sewed it on the front. I could have done proper applique at this point, but in the end I just back-stitched about a half cm in from the edges all the way around each shape, as I quite like the idea of it being a little bit frayed and rough (no, that's not just an excuse for a short cut!). I may regret this if fraying gets to falling off, but if that happens I'll go back and do the proper applique thing.
It honestly looks better in real life than the photo. As to whether it fulfills the function- well, we'll see this week. First job is to persuade P to take his swimsuit off his head...

Big Sky

Sandscale Haws. Wind. Sun. Sand. Rippling Waves. Shells. Dunes. Grasses. Big Sky.

Spring is in the air

Spring really was in the air today- we could somehow smell it as soon as we stepped out of the door into sunshine and slightly warmer air than we've been used to for so long. We headed to Coniston, to try out the Yewdale Bridleway route, which was as lovely as the description promised, taking us through oak woodland below Yewdale and above Coniston Water. It was a bit tough for us mummies, given the steep start and a path that suffered in last November's floods, leaving some rocky terrain.


The buggy passengers didn't seem phased by bumping along but were soon keen to stretch their legs and explore- knee deep dry leaves, becks that disappeared under the path, drystone walls and more signs of Spring; catkins and these daffodils, not quite ready to burst into a Wordsworthian host but surely not far off if the sunshine stays.


It must be admitted that energy levels today didn't quite carry us to the official 'turning point' of the route- you have to know when to stop sometimes, especially when you're 23 weeks into a pregnancy! As we headed back to Coniston to treat ourselves to lunch in a cafe and check out ferry times for future adventures, this tree by the path provided yet another source of fascination. Small enough for little arms to wrap around and intriguingly covered in moss, it begged to be prodded, stroked and even hugged. Around the same time two horseback riders came thundering along- thankfully slowing down to a gentle trot to pass us. Well, it is a bridleway after all.