Posts by jo

test

15/03/201302/02/2014 by jo

Arnie and Barnie are back on Nick Jr!

Way back last December we were invited to the Nickelodeon studios to watch some filming of the new series of A Bedtime Story with Arnie and Barnie – and as an added bonus we’d also get to meet the storyteller – Konnie Huq, formerly of Blue Peter.

Becky Overton watches Arnie and Barnie being filmed

We met the children’s writer Becky Overton who writes all the stories for the show and had plenty of time to chat and find out what inspired her to write stories – in a nutshell they evolve from regular stories about regular things with a little twist at the end. Occasionally she’ll write a new fairy tale based on an existing one, adding an alternative ending – and given Becky has done this for ages now, and we’re on series seven I reckon she’s on to a winner! Sometimes Becky has written stories with the person reading it in mind – the first in the new series is a re-imagining of Jack and the Beanstalk, called ‘The Jumping Beans’ read by the Olympian Greg Rutherford (who of course competes in the long jump!).

I asked if any of her stories would ever be compiled into a book – we do a lot of reading and I do feel like sometimes I drift when watching tv, so having a large collection of stories would be nice – and it’s something Becky said she’d like to do.

We were taken into the main studio to have a look at the Arnie and Barnie set (Wormy Glen) – going up for photos which was fun – and fortunately the people behind the puppets were well covered up keeping the magic going for the little ones!

Actually, that in itself is interesting too, as the stage setup means they’re at a quite awkward angle – though in being that way they’re both well propped up! It sounds quite comfy, actually….

So H was terribly excited about having met them, and we were led back into a room for a spot of lunch, including some fabulous Arnie and Barnie cupcakes. Konnie came to join us – giving us time to have a quick chat.

So, what did I find out? I have to say. Konnie looked fabulous (something she disputed having not had a huge amount of sleep the previous night), and we had a good chat – any organised person would have made notes somewhere, but not me, so I’ve forgotten most of what was said – other than when we got a chance to watch Konnie filming she was a natural, switching between accents – I think it was also the first time Becky had seen her stories being filmed too.

Each story takes around 30 minutes or more to film, then gets pictures and more added to it which takes an additional two to three months until finally it’s ready to go – and tonight was the first episode in the new series.

I spotted this link on YouTube about the Importance of Bedtime Stories (which will be a live broadcast in just under a week!) and looks pretty interesting too.

Actually, the best thing in all of this is how A Bedtime Story With Arnie and Barnie keeps the same format – songs and stories and chatter and it’s really good at engaging H – she’ll sit listening (and laughing) at the stories – we tend to catch the Nick Jr 2 showing at 6pm (which are earlier series – we’re recording the new ones!). Nick Jr have launched a new section with some stories in too which is worth checking out!

A Bedtime Story With Arnie and Barnie is on Nick Jr every Friday at 6.30pm. The list of episodes coming up are…

15/03/13	Greg Rutherford	The Jumping Beans
22/03/13	Konnie Huq	Three Princes and the Pea
29/03/13	Samantha Womack	Freddie The Brave
05/04/13	Stacey Soloman	The Grimble
12/04/13	Kimberly Wyatt	Sausage on Sticks
19/04/13	Kara Tointon	The World Behind Walls
26/04/13	Stacey Soloman	The Horse with Funny Hats
03/05/13	Helena Dowling	Be Quiet Benny!
10/05/13	Konnie Huq	The Sheep That Couldn’t Sleep
17/05/13	Kevin Duala – Blues Clues	The Great Pillow Fight
24/05/13	Gemma – The Go! Go! Go! Show	The Secret Club
31/05/13	Steve – The Go! Go! Go! Show	My Cat’s a Superhero

Disclosure – we received no payment for this post, just an invite to the studios. All opinions are our own.

14/03/201302/02/2014 by jo

Weight Watchers – a Big Catch Up!

Firstly, as I can’t remember if I updated, I am now my ideal weight. I’ve not hit my target yet, but we’ve had a couple of weeks of feeling unwell here, so I switched myself to maintenance mode to get my head around having more points (which promptly led me to have some left from my 27 some nights, you can’t win!) – but has meant for the last two weeks I’ve stayed the same which is nice.

I’ve got my routine in place and I’m bringing in different things to add a bit of variety, while keeping them healthy and low in calories – I’ve recently discovered some Special K bites, which my Sainsburys Local has for sale, so I’ve been eating those as they’re pretty delicious. They’re 90-something calories too, so still two points.

I’m getting loads of comments as well – when people compliment you and you don’t feel like they’re glazing over when you chat about it, it’s really nice! A definite confidence booster.

Things don’t stop here though, I’ll be switching back to weightloss mode from Saturday to get those last few lbs lost.

Our first thing to talk about is ‘me time‘. This is an alien concept to me these days – me time used to be that time from H going to sleep and me being on my own until Shaun finished studying – now he’s downstairs and we’re spending time together again (apart from tonight when he goes out for a run) it’s nice, but weird! I can’t even think of the last time I’ve done something FOR me in my time, or made time for it. However, this weightloss has been for me, and two of my friends have signed up and are joining in with it, which is great – so we’ll all compare what we’re doing and think of ways to do things and so on – it’s definitely made things fun.

One thing I could have done (rather than switch to maintenance mode) was a few ‘healthy and filling days‘ – they’re worth looking at if you’re still working on your weightloss, there’s recipes to try and more.

My final thing is Workplace Weight Loss – and as previously mentioned I’m terrible at leaving my desk – though now the days are getting warmer I’m making myself leave my desk and walk down the hill and back (which can be worth two propoints on a good day). However, my way around this is to pick low calorie foods and plenty of fruit. I’ve made it work for me, and haven’t been up the road to the corner shop for crisps or chocolate for well over six months now – and that’s a major result coming from me who would have a finger of fudge in her top drawer and a pack of crisps sealed up in the middle drawer.

So the journey continues, and I’ll be a little more up to date with these updates, I promise!

I have been provided with six months of Weight Watchers membership, all opinions are my own.

14/03/201326/01/2014 by jo

Souptastically Souper Carrot and Leek Soup

It’s been a while since I posted up a soup recipe – we’ve been lazy lately, just doing left over vegetables in our recipes and not thinking ahead – that was until last night when I prepared extra vegetables to be tonight’s soup. It worked pretty well too.

It’s a simple one, and actually I think could have been a bit sweeter (maybe add some parsnip?) so here goes…

I peeled and chopped up about six or seven large carrots

Wash and chop four leeks

Get a decent chunk of ginger and peel and chop it up.

Do as you would with the soup maker, setting it to smooth, and once your time is up you’re left with a soup which has a nice thickness and taste. Now, the only reason I think it could do to be sweeter was the addition of a gorgeous goats cheese we picked up from our local farmer’s market last weekend – I sliced it and the inside of the cheese was gorgeous and gooey – perfect for putting in the middle of the soup. This probably bumps it a few points, but considering the soup is 0 points I think we’ll let that one go – and of course add it at the end once the soup is in bowls!

If you leave out the cheese then it’s pretty good – and I’d never think of mixing leek, carrot and ginger. Total time taken was around 30 minutes, including the time in the soup maker.

13/03/201318/01/2015 by jo

We Love Books – Love Our Library

We went back to our local library and took out two more books today, so without further ado, here’s this weeks duo…

Love Our Library Books

Pip and Posy – the Big Balloon by Axel Scheffler. I know nothing about Axel Scheffler other than his Gruffalo history – so to find out he’s written a book was what attracted me to it – and it’s a nice short pleasant story. Pip lets his balloon go, it bursts, Posy has a good idea – that they should blow bubbles, which of course pop, and everyone is happy. I like this, it’s a simple story but a good one when you’ve a slightly fickle three-year old who remembers everything she’s ever had which has broken and been (cough) discarded by her loving parents… and of course it has fabulous illustrations as you’d expect! It’s published by Nosy Crow Books.

No! by Marta Altes is about a dog who thinks he’s called No, what with being a mischief. Actually he’s called something else altogether and just has people shouting “NO!” at him a lot. H is starting to recognise words, and funnily enough ‘no’ is one of them – it’s another simple story with plenty to talk about on each page (over tea H asked why the dog “broke the boy’s teddy”) and has been fun to read. Published by Child’s Play (International) Ltd.

Hey look, I started one of those linky things. Do you write about your library books? Link up here. Who knows, I might even make a badge or something.

11/03/201331/03/2018 by jo

Film Night

We decided to start having a family film night at home – we’ve Virgin TV so have a few movies on demand, as well as H’s collection. Last night was our proper first one – and to make the night easy for all of us, we ordered in our food from Domino’s.

Toy Story 2 was the film of choice for H, while we chose a pizza each, plus starter and a small dessert. Being vegetarian and a Weight Watchers Blogger Ambassador I managed to keep my points low (and eat half a pizza and be full) – I switched my cheese to a lower calorie version, so while I’ll still have used a lot of points it could have been worse!

H only likes cheese and tomato pizza although will try bits of ours – and Shaun picked the new Chimichurri pizza – Chicken breast strips, red and yellow peppers with a drizzle of Chimichurri sauce (parsley, garlic, olive oil, oregano and white or red wine vinegar). He found it interesting (trying to work out what the flavours were) although wasn’t that keen on the taste of the sauce. The pizza itself wasn’t overloaded with topping, just the right amount of everything. I’ve since read that a member of the public won a competition on This Morning to devise a pizza – The People’s Pizza – and this is it.

Thanks to my newly found wine knowledge we even picked a wine which went with the food which was pretty good (apart from when Shaun knocked his glass on the floor), and of course Toy Story 2 was great, even though H still asked what was happening all the way through.

One thing I really like about ordering with Domino’s is being able to choose your time of delivery – we opted for 6pm, so H was in her pyjamas and ready – and we were tracking the order online from being cooked to being out for delivery (she found it really exciting) – in fact our driver only turned up late because he was confused where we are (we’re on a main road, but off the main road) – otherwise it would have been with us by 6pm – though that wasn’t a problem as our pizzas were still nice and warm.

Now we’ve started our Family Film Night, can you recommend us any films we need to be watching please? I’m thinking Finding Nemo is the next one!

We were reimbursed for our pizza for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own.

08/03/201308/10/2019 by jo

Celia Birtwell Comes to Uniqlo

I love Uniqlo. I wear their clothes pretty much all the time and have done for many years now. In the last month or two I’ve finally been able to wear their women’s clothes for the first time due to my WeightWatchers success – and you know what, I love how well they fit. So I’ve signed up to be a UniQlo affiliate – I love the clothes and they have some really lovely designs, so I may as well gush about what I know about!

Which brings me on to this – Celia Birtwell has done a collection which will be in-store from 21st March 2013 – although I’m not so keen on the short trousers (they’ll show off my dry skin rash a bit too much) – but the designs are lovely!

Celia Birtwell is fashion royalty. She cemented her name in fashion through her bold prints and collaborative work with husband Ossie Clark, creating iconic, famous designs in the 60s and 70s.

And…she was even Hockney’s muse!

“I always use paint, paper and a brush and I believe that when you’re designing it should come from the hand, eye and heart,” said Birtwell. “I’m often asked where one takes one’s inspiration from, so obviously nature and I like quirky things too, which I think Uniqlo quite understands…”

The collection includes dresses, T-shirts, and bags featuring prints with cutesy names like Bird Song, Dilly Daydream and Cherry Pet Spot. All of the featured prints are from Celia’s own famous archive, but have been re-imagined, re-scaled and reworked so that they translate perfectly onto the range.

“I loved working with Uniqlo, I find lots of smiling faces, which is very pleasant,” she said. “We have a language actually that relates to each other and that’s been a real pleasure.”

Celia’s iconic prints add an atisan touch to the range. The silk culottes and shorts were the winning pieces for us but with a wide selection of garments in a variety of pretty prints there really is something for everyone.

While I’m here, the Greengate collection is still for sale in-store and has some GORGEOUS things to choose from – check out the link – and I’ve seen some Disney t-shirts still in stock in my local store too!

VIP Treat – Enjoy £5 off when you spend £45 with code UQ5OFF

08/03/201326/03/2018 by jo

A National Trust and Cadbury’s Easter Event? Yes please!

It’s back! The National Trust and Cadbury Easter Egg Trails will be running from the 29th March to 1st April 2013 – head over to www.eastereggtrail.com to find out more. There are events on at 246 National Trust places, so there’s plenty of choice. 2013 also has some new events – an Easter Monday egg and spoon race happeening at over 120 National Trust properties – so check the link for more!

Here’s a selection of the National Trust’s best events over the Easter fortnight:

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, North Yorkshire
School holiday fun – golden egg hunt, 29 March – 14 April, 11am-4pm
Shhhhhh. There’s a tiny golden egg hidden somewhere on the estate and it’s your job to track it down. However, you must keep its location a secret. Team up with family and friends for this challenging treasure hunt. Tell staff where you saw it and we’ll enter you into a prize draw to win an eggstremely eggsellent prize.

Normal admission charges apply.
Cadbury Easter Egg Trail, 31 March – 1 April, 11am-4pm
Take part in an egg hunt at Fountains this Easter, have your face painted, join in with games and collect a chocolate ‘Egghead’ at the end.
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £2 per trail.
Easter egg ‘Eggsploits’, 1 April, 1:30-3pm
Get your paints and glitter out and bring along your hardboiled eggs to Fountains for an egg and spoon race, best decorated egg and egg rolling competitions.
Normal admission charges apply.
Booking is not required for any of these events.
For more information on each, please call 01765 608888.

Charlecote Park, nest ball©National Trust Images John Millar

Stowe, Buckinghamshire
Temple trail for kids, 29 March – 14 April, 10am-4pm
Follow in the footsteps of famous 18th century explorers to discover the fantastic temples, monuments and hidden treasures of Stowe. This self-led trail is fun for the whole family. Can you discover the secrets behind some of the temples by the end of your inspiring visit?
Normal admission charges apply.
Dogs on leads welcome.
Cadbury Easter Egg Trails – ‘Easter eggstravaganza’, 31 March – 1 April, 10am-
4pm
Crack the clues around the New Inn and gardens at Stowe to claim your Easter egg prize. On the trail, discover the adventures of Greek and Roman gods and heroes, as well as the grand tours of the family who used to live at Stowe in the Georgian times.
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £2.50 per child’s trail.
Booking is not required for either of these events.
For more information on either, please call 01280 817 156.

Petworth House and Park, West Sussex
Bunny in a bag, 29 March – 7 April, 11am-4pm
Ever wished that you could be the Easter Bunny? Well stop rabbiting on about it and hop over to Petworth to get the ultimate bunny makeover. Pick up a bunny bag and follow a trail of woodland creatures to help build your very own bunny ears, tail and whiskers. Once your transformation is complete, you can enjoy a chocolate treat.
No admission charges apply, ticket charge £3.50 per child.
Booking is not required for this event.
For more information, please call 01798 342207.

Lanhydrock, Cornwall
Cadbury Easter Egg Trail, 29 March – 14 April, 10am-4pm
Find all of the clues in the garden at Lanhydrock over the holidays and win an Easter-themed prize.
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £2.50 per trail.
Servant stories, 2-14 April, 10am-4pm
Find out more about the Lanhydrock servants in this fun trail around the gardens and receive a small prize at the end for completion.
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £2 per trail.
Booking is not required for either of these events.
For more information on each, please call 01208 265950

Stourhead, Wiltshire
Cadbury Easter Egg Trail, 23-28 March and 2-7 April, 11am-4pm
Join in with springtime family fun at Stourhead and take part in their Easter trail, giant games, face-painting and of course…eating chocolate. (Face painting available
Easter Sunday and Monday only).
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £2.50 per trail.
Booking is not required for this event.
For more information, please call 01747 841152.
Beat the egg and chase the rabbit, 30 March, 10am-1pm
Join the Eco Fitness team for some fun Easter antics at Stourhead including a beat the egg 8k run and U’16s chase the rabbit 1k run.
No admission charges apply, ticket charge £10 per adult and £3 per child.
Please visit the Eco Fitness website www.ecofitness.co.uk for more information.
Booking is essential for this event.
For more information, please call 01373 836552.

Nymans, West Sussex ©National Trust Images David Levenson

Castle Ward, County Down
Easter at the barn, 29 March-7 April, 10am-5pm
Join Castle Ward for some Easter fun over the holiday period, with children’s craft activities, table top games, ride-on tractors, sandpit and farmyard trails to enjoy. Bring a picnic, visit the farm animals and relax by the shores of Strangford Lough.
Easter family fun, 30 March, 10am-4pm
Visit the beautiful estate over the holidays and have some quality time with this great family package – hire bikes, canoes and have a go at archery.
Booking is essential for this event, please call 028 4372 3933.
Easter sea safari sightseeing boat trips, 30 March – 2 April
Everyone will love this sightseeing boat tour of Strangford Lough with its abundance of nature and wildlife. See the SeaGen, Angus Rock Lighthouse, surface whirlpools and the seals at Cloughy Rocks Nature Reserve. You might even see a pod of porpoises or a basking shark.
Please note; this trip is suitable for children over 3 years of age and leaves from
Strangford Pier. Please check for times.

Booking is essential for this event, please call 028 4372 3933.
Easter fair, 31 March – 1 April, 12-6pm
Visit Castle Ward and enjoy the annual Easter fair, including kids’ activities, local crafts and food, and horse and carriage rides (weather dependant) for all the family.
Easter family adventure day, 2 April, 11am-1:30pm and 2:30-5pm
Enjoy a fun day out with the family over the holidays and try out a range of activities including canoeing, archery and orienteering.
Please note; this activity is suitable for children over 4 years of age.
Booking is essential for this event, please call 028 4372 3933.
Kids’ Easter camp, 3-5 April, 10am-4pm
Join in with activities galore during an action packed three days at Castle Ward. An answer to all child care problems for the Easter week, with archery, rock hopping, canoeing, climbing and more.
Please note; this activity is suitable for ages 8-15 years.
Booking is essential for this event, please call 028 4372 3933.

Normal admission charges apply for all of these events.
Booking is not required for any of these events unless otherwise stated.
For more information on these events, please call 028 4488 1204.

Newtown National Nature Reserve, Isle of Wight
Wildzone: spring lambs, 11 April, 10-11:30am
Have fun meeting the sheep and making spring lambs with real wool from the National Trust’s flock at Newtown over the holidays.
No admission charges apply, ticket charge £3 per child.
Booking is essential for this event, please call 01983 741020.

Winchester City Mill, Hampshire
Seasonal baking demonstration – Easter hot cross buns, 30 March, 11am-4pm and Easter baking, 6 April, 11am-4pm
Learn how to make and sample delicious baked treats at Winchester City Mill this Easter. Discover how freshly milled stone-ground flour can be combined with locally grown produce to make delicious hot cross buns and Easter themed treats.
Normal admission charges apply.
Booking is not required for these events.
For more information, please call 01962 870057.

Trelissick Garden, Cornwall©National Trust Images John Millar

Polesden Lacey, Surrey
Cadbury Easter Egg Trail, 29 March – 1 April, 11am-4pm
The eggs-tremely popular Easter Egg Trail is back at Polesden featuring lots of activities for children including face painting, games and storytelling.
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £2.50 per trail.
Easter holiday trail, 2 – 14 April, 11am-4pm
Join in the fun at Polesden Lacey this half term with their Easter holiday trail.
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £1 per trail.
Booking is not required for either of these events.
For more information, please call 01372 452048.

Castle Drogo, Devon
Cadbury Easter Egg Trail, 29 March – 1 April, 11am-4pm
Follow the trail around the garden and grounds at Castle Drogo and collect your Easter egg prize.
Easter egg and spoon race, 1 April, 11am-4pm
Come and be part of the National Trust’s nationwide Easter egg and spoon race and have fun with all of the family.

Normal admission charges apply for both events, ticket charge £2 per event.
Booking is not required for this event.
For more information, please call 01647 433306.

Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire
Discover Easter, 25 March – 8 April, 10am-3:30pm
Have you ever wondered when Easter is, why the Easter bunny exists or what an Easter tree is? Then pop into the chapel at Clumber Park this Easter where more will be answered.
Cadbury Easter Egg Trail, 29 March – 1 April, 11am- 3:30pm
Explore the quiz trail at Clumber Park this Easter. Follow the clues, solve the puzzles and win a tasty prize.
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £2 per trail.
Traditional Easter Sunday, 31 March, 11:30am-12:30pm
All are welcome to experience a traditional Anglo-Catholic Easter Service with choral song and music from the magnificent organ at Clumber Park this Easter.
Normal admission charges apply for all of these events unless otherwise stated.
Booking is not required for any of these events.
For more information, please call 01909 544909.

Hardy Country, Dorset
Victorian Easter activities, 29 March – 1 April, 3-7 April and 10-14 April, 11am-5pm
Visit Hardy’s birthplace and Max Gate over the holidays and have fun with Victorian craft activities. You can decorate the brightest egg or even make the prettiest Victorian bonnet.
Normal admission charges apply, a small fee may apply for some activities.
Cadbury Easter Egg Trail, 29 March – 1 April, 11am-5pm
Go and explore writer Thomas Hardy’s birthplace over the Easter weekend and take part in the fun Easter egg trails and puzzles to win a chocolate prize.
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £2.50 per trail.
Dogs on leads welcome to both events.
Booking is not required for either of these events.
For more information, please call 01305 262366.

Kinver Edge and the Rock Houses, Staffordshire
Easter geocaching, 11 April, 11am-4pm
Join the hi-tech treasure hunting game at Kinver Edge this Easter and search for hidden treasure boxes, each one filled with an Easter themed activity.
No admission charges apply, ticket charge £10 per group.
Dogs on leads welcome.
Booking is essential for this event, please call 01562 712 822.
For more information, please call 07920181605.

Dinefwr Park and Castle, Carmarthenshire
Cadbury Easter Egg Trails – ‘Eggs & Birds’, 29 March – 1 April, 12-4pm
Children and grown-ups can join Dinefwr this Easter holiday to discover the wonder of bird-watching. Learn to use binoculars and I.D. sheets and try the ‘Eggs & Birds’ trail over the Easter weekend to win an Easter egg.
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £1.50 per child’s trail.
Dogs on leads welcome.
Booking is advisable for this event, please call 01558 824512.

Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate, Cheshire
Cadbury Easter Egg Trail, 29 March – 1 April, 12-4pm

Hunt for clues around Quarry Bank Mill over the Easter weekend to earn an egg, plus take part in games and activities on the Mill Meadow.
Normal admission charges apply, ticket charge £1 per trail.
Booking is not required for this event.
For more information, please call 01625 527468.

07/03/201306/01/2015 by jo

Review – The Sapphires on DVD

We were sent a copy of The Sapphires to review – and is based on a true story, though the film is based on the stage play. Think along the lines of something like The Commitments but without as much humour, heartwarming and plenty of soul.

Oh, and it features Chris O’Dowd from the IT Crowd (who even sings – if that is his voice and not someone else dubbed in then he’s got a good one).

So, the film. Firstly, I enjoyed it – I like a bit of that ‘feelgood’ feeling and this came along at the right time. Shaun wasn’t so keen after a while, but I put that down to him being a bit grumpy that night.

It’s 1968 and three sisters have a singing group, enter a local talent competition and despite being the standout talent, don’t win due to being Aboriginal. Dave Lovelace (O’Dowd) is rightfully angry and ends up becoming their manager encouraging the girls to find soul, and finally their cousin comes on board. They then set out on a tour of Vietnam to sing for the troops.

Obviously, being in Vietnam back when the war is on isn’t the safest, and we see parts of their journey, highs and lows and plenty of courage and commitment, and especially their friendship and family.

If you like your films to have that kind of slushy feelgood feeling, this will be right up your street. It’s available to rent and own on DVD from the 4th March 2013 and if you’re stuck for a film then I reckon this would make a fab Mother’s Day present!

We were sent a copy of the DVD to review, all opinions are our own

06/03/201304/02/2014 by jo

Review – The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club by Helen McGinn

Knackered? Yep.

Mother? Oh yes.

Wine Club? Crazy. But yes please.

The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club has just been released – and after getting around two thirds of the way around this book, I now realise at the grand old age of almost 43 that I need some proper knowledge about wine in my life. No more will I go to our local M&S and get some of their awful cheap rosé or red and endure it, wondering if I’m pregnant as it tastes so bad and it surely can’t be that bad? (it really was)

I now know I need some wines for my wine cupboard too. Yes, cupboard. We have space – it currently holds some random spirit bottles, plus the unopened bottle of Triple Sec I bought in Duty Free once. Actually, I bought it without having a clue what to do with it – and I think that’s the problem with me and alcohol. I mean, I don’t have a problem – I’ll have a glass once or twice a week, maybe a half a guinness in the pub on a knitting night, but never that much – and what I need is education. I have bits here and there, bottles that kind of go together but not quite – I need someone to help me have some order and organisation in my life without making me feel like a bigger fool.

This book has it in droves. I’ve been sitting reading it on the train and just yesterday another mum looked over the top of my book “is it any good, this book?” she said. Whether she’s seen a copy in stores or whether it’s just the really catchy cover which drew her in I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound like it’s just me that needs some help and direction.

See, what I’m learning right now is that you don’t just buy the cheap and cheerful stuff. Think ahead – a bit like doing meal planning, work out which wines go with your food or evening snacks. Pay a bit more and have nice wine rather than pay less and have more (nasty) wine.

There’s also recommendations for which types of wine go with food – Helen McGinn, the writer was once a wine taster for Tesco so she knows her stuff. She also has her Knackered Mother’s Wine Club blog where she’ll share good deals and good wines (seriously, are you still here? She is the Superwoman of all things Wine – she’s done the hard work for us).

The best thing? The book is written in a way which is easy to understand – I now just have to work on the knackered side of me to retain the information, but I’m getting there – right now post-it’s are helping. You could too. The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club is out now and at a damn good price via Amazon.

06/03/201318/01/2015 by jo

We Love Books and We Love Our Library

It’s possibly a good thing for my bank balance that we didn’t join our library until recently, as last time I came away with new books for H I ended up wanting to buy copies for us so we could keep them forever. Sighhh.

Today we took the first lot of books back and took out some more, and seeing as it’s something we’ll be doing a lot more, here’s my new little idea – We Love Our Library – where I’ll do a briefer than usual writeup on each book and recommend (or not!). Obviously this isn’t something we can do single-handedly which is where you come in – as most people still have a library nearby (I hope… who knows these days) – so let’s share what we’ve found.

Here’s today’s stash…

The Monster Bed by Jeanne Willis and Susan Varley – published by Andersen Press. This is a Dennis The Monster book, and I’m hoping there’ll be more from this monster – H has an irrational fear of them, so this was perfect for reinforcing how much monsters are scared of humans – in short, Dennis the Monster decides to sleep under his bed as that’s where the humans go to scare him, a human finds his cave and has a lie down on the bed but decides to check underneath the bed for monsters… and well, you can guess the conclusion. H enjoyed it, it’s a book that rhymes and is fun – one we’ll read plenty of times.

Not Last Night But The Night Before by Colin McNaughton and Emma Chichester Clark – published by Walker books. It’s the familiar rhyme, but this time the little boy’s friends (who happen to feature in most nursery rhymes too) are all paying a visit – until the point it all becomes a bit too much! It’s fun and involves plenty of repetition which is always good for younger kids. Lovely illustrations too as you’d expect from Emma Chichester Clark (which is the reason I picked it up).

Finally, Ginger Finds A Home by Charlotte Voake published by Walker Books. I liked the really lovely illustrations – ginger is a cat, a stray, and is skinny and hungry. He finds a bowl of cat food and eventually a girl turns up with the bowl and adopts him, naming him Ginger. The story has not too much going on and I liked the illustrations best of all – let the story and the pictures keep everything really simple. I wouldn’t recommend this book if you’ve lost a cat (it might be upsetting with a small child thinking someone else has their cat?) – but it has a happy ending.

Mum Friendly

the things we do, the things we like

Author / jo