Hi!
Youngest and I made gingerbread shapes over the weekend. They were meant to be all men, but the dough came out a little sticky, and the resulting ‘people’ started to look a little less than perfect…
So, we switched to using the star cookie cutter 😉
I was impressed with Youngest’s sudden knowledge of baking – I hadn’t read all the recipe through (just the great reviews and the ingredient list) and before I got to the part about having to rub the butter into the flour, Youngest casually mentioned that would be his job, and he’d make sure he had clean hands.
It turns out that in the baking session at school near the end of last week he had really coveted that privilege, but had been disappointed when the teacher didn’t let the kids get their hands in the Apple Crumble…!
Youngest definitely adhered to my hygiene principals a LOT more than usual when making the gingerbread. Thank you, Primary one!!
Ancestral Yum
While I’m on the topic of baking, I must show you some of the wonderful haul my Mum brought over on Friday!
I have shared with you before that I struggle to do domestic things well or consistently, and that I therefore will spend time reading books and watching YouTube videos about how to keep my house clean/decluttered/running smoothly on a regular basis, often revelling in ‘old school’ advice I find along the way. (I love learning new uses for Baking Soda, for example).
I love poring over old patterns for knitted socks, marvel at the tiny crochet hooks that were used for lace, feel honoured holding a book or crafting implement someone close to me had…
Some of my best friends and teachers in my life were my Great Grandad (my Mum’s paternal Grandfather) my Great Gran (my Mum’s maternal Grandmother) My maternal Grandmother (Nana) and -Father (Grandad) and my Dad’s folks, too (called Grandma and Grandad).
I have always loved listening to the stories from older generations and wondering how I would cope in their shoes – especially now that I am supposed to be running a house of my own and raising kids…!
With this background outlined, you can maybe get an inkling of my delight when my Mum presented me with handwritten notebooks that belonged to her paternal Grandmother (whom I never got to meet in person and I have grown up with being referred to as my mother’s ‘Big Nana’). They not only contain recipes but also include the odd tip for how to clean things, what concoctions to mix up for different ailments and also some old temperature conversions…!! 😀
There were a couple of lovely hardbacks, that I remember from my Nana’s kitchen, in the pile as well:
and quite a few recipe tomes and pamphlets from the 1920s onwards that I am going to spend many a happy hour going through in the next few months (and will probably blog about) 😉
The Joy Of Homework?
Youngest has brought home his first proper homework tasks today! There have been reading books in his bag for a couple of weeks now, which we have enjoyed, but this ‘Learning Log’ (that gets issued on a Wednesday and handed in the following Monday) will mean we can sit up at the Diningroom table as a family, chat about the work and share in each boy’s progress.
Youngest used to stand on a bathroom step in Eldest’s room and scribble on wipe clean learning materials at homework time, when Eldest was in Primary one. Youngest has had many excerpts from books read to him by Eldest over the last three years, learned his letters and simple sums alongside his brother and helped out with games and projects that have instilled key concepts – but Youngest having schoolwork of his own to do is a milestone both boys will relish, I’m sure.
Fingers crossed it all goes as well in reality as it does in my imagination…!
Slug
I wrote a poem about a little friend we made on the schoolrun today, and I thought I’d share it to finish off this post 😉
The Golden Slug
A sunny day: us walking, talking, running fast and loose;
Your brilliance was spotted by our mother (mid-vamoose).
“Ah look!” she said, “a golden slug, just wandering past here –
It’s lucky you didn’t squash him!” Intrigued, we came to peer…
“A golden slug?” we chorused, as our interest neared its peak;
“How’s that even possible?! What does this bright slug eat?”
“I don’t know…” said our mother. We all had a think, and then
I decided it liked sunshine (or a lemon) with its friends.
“Yellow leaves” said my brother, “or some paint and – BANANAS!”
(This started off some Minions’ speak that made us also dance…)
Mum ushered us away and gave you, slug, your sweet release
Us waving, blowing kisses – goodbye, conversation piece!
Is it just me, or could the slug’s shadow almost be a man’s face in profile??
I hope you’ve all had a lovely Wednesday, and I’ll be back soon to let you know how the boys fared with their homework!
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