Day 12 Charlie & Lola

Another museum and another trip on the bus! Today we went to the Manchester Art Gallery to visit the Charlie and Lola exhibition. This is not the official name, I believe it was called Green drops and Moonsquirters and it was about all of Lauren Child's work not just Charlie and Lola but it was FANTASTIC! It was very busy when we got there, all these efficient parents trying to be on time to do all the activities but it got better later on. There was a lot to do, we did badge making and book making. Girl monkey started her 'First book of shapes' and boy monkey just glued, cut and used anything that he liked, especially all things blue.

The first thing we did though was enter Charlie and Lola's kitchen. A studio covered in paper and decorated with fridges, pots, pans, stove, etc all drawn by visitors to the exhibition and we were asked to add some more fruit and veg and we were given some paper clothes to decorate and hang on the washing line. It was wonderful to be in a room where you could draw on all the surfaces. I felt like I was Alice in Wonderland!

Further in the exhibition were rooms set up with a play kitchen, magnetic Charlie and Lola clothes, dressing up clothes and scenes and drawings from other Lauren Child books (Princess and the Pea below). We had a great time and might go back on a day when there are no craft activities as it was just a little too crowded.

When we got home I had a wonderful surprise, my artist friend dropped off this fabulous work of art that I had wanted on my walls for 4 1/2 years! It is the work by girl monkey done at 15 months of age, inspired by Sam Francis, finally framed. I just love it! I hope it is going to be a nice surprise for Mr Betsy when he comes home tomorrow.

Last but not least I started a little project for tonight. I refurbished another Unicorn bag. This one was worn all along the gusset (fabulous word). It is nearly finished so I will quickly get these last stitches done before I fall asleep. 

Day 11

So what did we do today? Boring things such as sorting out paperwork, laundry, keeping up with FLYlady and hoovering but we also did some fun things!

The monkeys made super scrumptious pink fairy cakes. They were so delicious that I had to write down the recipe for my friend where we had dinner tonight so here it is :

100 gram sugar

100 gram butter

100 gram self raising flour

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence 

1 tbsp natural red food colouring

Cream the sugar and butter, add one beaten egg and a tbsp of flour, then the next and mix in remainder of ingredients, pop in a preheated over 180 C for 20 mins. The monkeys then decorated them with Swaziland strawberry jam and sugar hearts. 

I finally managed to hang this Under the Sea pocket quilt above girl monkey's bed. It is in a temporary place hence not entirely straight but at least it is up. I picked it up from the exhibition in the GMEX in March when it was still only four panels. I have since put them on a backing but it took a while to put the border and the loops on it. Girl monkey was thrilled to bits because she helped me design it. I heard about the exhibition at a time when I was low on 'Under the Sea' inspiration so she thought it would be a good idea to have something for her room. Smiles all around again.....
The monkeys and I then went to my friend Rosana where we had a lovely dinner and I came away with these fab felt pockets. I do not know yet what I am going to do with them but I think that some might be put on a denim skirt and others might turn into some jewels for an apron. I will keep you posted.

Busy Betsy in holiday mode

Time flies, I cannot believe we are in the second week of the holidays. I always find that these 6 weeks fly by and we are always looking forward to the next summer holidays which makes the year go even faster.... I shouldn't get sentimental now. Anyway here's the diary of the first week and a bit. Nothing much happened, it was very much party, park, party, relax for those of you who can't read through the next part! 

Day 1 : Liverpool

Today the tall ships left Liverpool to start their journey around Scotland, towards Norway and onto Holland. My friend's little girl needed a new passport so we all tagged along to this fabulous parade. It was such a beautiful day, very warm and sunny but also very crowded. We managed to have a quick lunch at the Tate Cafe where the food is always great and a quick browse at the bookshop before we went to see the parade. The first ship was the Stavros Niarchos, very impressive but there were some bigger and beautifully decorated ones following. The Mexican was very impressive, the German loud (well the music played, but very jolly though) and the Dutch were represented with a couple. I remember that my brother often went to see them when I lived in Holland but I never made the effort somehow. And of course I have to show the Brazilian ship as the monkeys are a quarter Brazilian!

On the way back home from the train station I got the monkeys a little treat. They had been so good all day, not that I can complain on the whole but they had to stand up the whole way on the way there in the train and walked for miles and miles in the heat and through the crowds. So when we walked past the pound store and they saw these dinosaur eggs I couldn't resist. One of their friends had one and they grow really big I was told.

Day 2 : Whitworth Art Gallery

Hey we are back again! I told the lady at the desk we would be coming every week and so far so good. My friend and I were under the impression that the Arty Picnics had started in the museum but we had to wait another week we were told so we spend a long, long time in the Thinkspace Makespace again. Our 4 little ones had a lovely time making lots of drawings in their sketch books and we did some ourselves. I actually made some designs for Christmas decorations. Can you believe it in this heat?

We then walked on to the Manchester Museum, dubbed the Dinosaur Museum by most children here where we had our picnic, did some more drawing and then went to see the stuffed birds and the live reptiles. The monkeys were most excited about all of them although the geckos got the most outcries. How nice it is to just wander around enjoying yourself....

Day 3 : yet another children's party!

We've had lots of them in the last few weeks, the children might not be worn out but I am absolutely exhausted going from one place to the next with my hands full of presents, cakes, party bags, balloons. However this one today was at my friend's house, very relaxed. Her boy is mad about dinosaurs which is great as we were in the right place yesterday to buy his presents : we got him a dinosaur egg too, dinosaur tattoos (I bet he is going to love these), play dinosaurs, fossils, balls with dinosaurs in them. I was thrilled to get these goodies, we knew they were going to be a hit. The monkeys had a ball, all the little ones were running around in the garden, jumping in the paddling pool and having balloon races. I wish life would stay this simple forever sometimes.

Look how our little babies have grown. Sorry only just realised the funny position they are in!

Day 4 & 5 : lazy days

After the busy last few weeks and the first few busy days of the holidays we had some quiet time at home. Well I say at home, we spent our mornings doing nothing and then went for picnics and playtime in the park. Just lovely, Manchester is great when the sun shines!

In the holidays I usually make the kids 'poffertjes'. These are little Dutch pancakes and are eaten with butter and icing sugar traditionally. Occasionally a Dutch vendor comes to town and only brings the sugar and lots of squirty bottles with toppings full of e-numbers because he seems to believe that the English do not like butter but I think the best way to eat them is the traditional way. Today though was too hot to turn around about 100 little ones so we made some normal size pancakes, they were yummie!

And look at the size and shape of girl monkey's radiccio! She planted a lot of seeds in a small pots some time ago which I tried to transfer to a bigger one when they began to sprout but I think they were all too close together to grow. It was so lovely though that she had done it all by herself as a surprise and we managed to get two big ones out. This one was 10 cm! It tasted lovely, she was so pleased.

Day 6 : Party, party & party

Yep three parties. How did this happen? Girl monkey had been invited to another one but we were lucky to make it to three as they were all one after the other. But hey as it is the holidays we should have fun and I was only too pleased that one of them was for adults even though the children were still jumping on the bouncy castle. It is amazing how much better the social life of my little ones is compared to mine, what happened to all my parties?

Day 7 : Garden Party

The invitation read along the lines of there will be music, cocktails, games and some surprises. This sounded absolutely lovely for a Sunday afternoon. But hey, hang on, who's invited? Ah it will be girl monkey. She really dressed up for the occasion, I was almost jealous. Boy monkey was very upset but as it turned out he was the only boy allowed to stay and I was the only mum! I did accept gladly as Mr Betsy had a car accident this morning so I needed to relax a little. Thank goodness he was absolutely fine but it could have been so bad. Anyway seven hours and some glasses of Rose later we all had a smile on our face!

Day 8 : Liverpool again

Today was a rare occasion as we went en famille to Liverpool. Mr Betsy had been on call the day before so he was able to join us. It wasn't a smooth journey as the train had been cancelled, we had just missed our hourly bus and of course the car was wrecked but we got there just in time to see the first major Gustav Klimt exhibition in this country. It was a nice display but couldn't really interest the monkeys. They were most interested in the architectural models and we tried desperately to have them looking at all the other works. It is amazing how different you start to look at art with little ones around you. I never thought I would try to find monkeys and knights, flowers and patterns in works before admiring the composition. 

Day 9 : Whitworth again!

I need to come up with something else quickly before you give up reading! Today we did manage to join the Arty Picnic though. This was so well organised. The staff had laid out a number of picnic rugs around one of the galleries where families could sit down to eat their packed lunches. They provided nice cakes, biscuits and drinks and great craft materials. The craft object today was a camel which we then had to go and find in the gallery next door. Boy monkey got very excited and made a blue hairy one (with a bit of help from mum) and girl monkey carefully cut hers out and then went on to make two sets of headphones. You can always rely on her to bring some stage related object in the picture. It might sound boring but we will certainly go back again. I can thoroughly recommend this place. 

After spending some more time in the Thinkspace Makespace (where this time they had more fun playing with the cushions then drawing!) we went to the park next door where all the boys had to join girl monkey in her band. A branch and a lot of sticks were used to create a lovely drum set. Girl monkey put her hat in front of her as a little busker and was most surprised that no one had put money in it. Such a little entrepreneur. 

Day 10 : Lazy day

Well at least for the monkeys. After a hectic morning for me we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the park. I had to do some crafting though today. So far the days have gone so quickly that I haven't managed to do anything so when I noticed the handles on my favourite shopping bag fraying I got some fabric, covered them and added a jolly Suffolk puff (I believe some people call them yo-yo's). You can't really see but it is perched on top of a book case that I am painting. I found this discarded in the alley way at the back of our house, slightly bruised and weathered from some rainfall last week but it is going to be a beauty. 

I had to include this by request from girl monkey : her dessert creation today. Ice cream, peaches and marshmellows. It was truly tasty. 

My smoothie of the day was made with :

1/2 cup of Greek yoghurt

1 glass of orange juice

1 large pear

1 small very ripe banana

I needed cheering up today. The monkeys had yet more parties (their social life is soooo much better than mine) and Mr Betsy and I were on call to ferry them to and fro. So I went into town and bought these lovely baby booties for my friend Emma who just had her second girl. I can safely show them as she will not get near a computer before she gets these. They are so lovely I wish I had made them.

I also found this sturdy, sunny ice cream scoop, very cheerful. If only I had ice cream in my freezer.

We're off to the tall ships in Liverpool tomorrow, the monkeys still awake, they are so excited!

School's Out!!

Yoohoo the holidays have started! I have just composed and printed off the script for the next 6 weeks. This sounds rather rigorous but it isn't. Over the last few weeks I have gathered leaflets from local museums, libraries and other nearby venues that organise activities for free or for a minimal charge. I have put this information in a calendar and added various parties and commitments that we already made and hey presto a nearly full calendar. I am in the process of making a lucky dip pot for those moments that we might be bored. We've got theme days(various nationalities, colours), home cinema, park, baking, painting, crafting. Of course if we don't feel like doing the available activities then obviously we won't and might resort to a lazy day with books on the sofa or in the garden, but at least I do not need to worry about not having anything to do. 

I am glad that yesterday was the last day of term, I just love having the monkeys at home but I was also getting very embarrassed taking my girl monkey to school in the last couple of weeks because of her shoes. They didn't last very long at all, i.e. a month and they were plastered on the inside with all her good behaviour stickers. Is this a common thing to do nowadays? It doesn't help hygiene and if she'd keep them on it would be fine but she is ever so happy showing her stickers off to anyone!

I don't think I will achieve a lot on the craft front in the next few weeks but here's a little project for the next few nights. Mr Betsy came home the other day with a very practical but rather dull conference bag. I managed to find a piece of fabric with a flower that just covers the logo on it that I ironed on today with bondaweb. I will embellish it in the next few days and hope to use it lots as it has quite a few pockets on the inside. I'd like to have an organised bag for a change!

Also I am making lots more Suffolk puffs (had enough of these yet?) to liven up a dull skirt. I am going for small ones this time rather than the big ones that I used on everything last summer.

One thing I do need to do is come up with an idea for a circus cake. Girl monkey is having a Circusology party at the end of the summer and would like a circus cake, layered if possible. I haven't looked into it yet but if anyone happens to have a great idea and would like to share it, I would be more than grateful!

Lazy Days

We've had a few lazy days. For a couple of days there were teacher strikes so yesterday boy monkey couldn't go to nursery and today the whole school was closed. I love it when they are at home and can't wait for the summer holidays to start. Mr Betsy was reading a local magazine tonight that had some entertaining tips for the next few weeks but guess what we've got a full schedule already. So many great things to do in town and in and around the home, I'm considering making a lucky dip pot as we might not be able to fit it all in. That way we've got excitement every day!

Yesterday boy monkey and I went to the Whitworth Art Gallery. We went on the bus, sitting upstairs, to please boy monkey. There is a fabulous exhibition on at the moment entitled Neverland: Rediscovering Child Art? The exhibition shows works done by children over the last 100 years or so alongside works by the Modern Masters such as Picasso, Klee, Appel. Some of these works are considered naive or childlike by many viewers but the question "Could a child do that?" which was raised in the exhibition hit the nail on the head. Anyone can copy but to actually make a work of art that might resemble child art is extremely hard to achieve. It was very well put together and as I will be starting an arts and crafts club for children in September I took more interest in what the children actually had achieved in this exhibition. I just did not understand the question mark in the title, it is almost questioning the point of the exhibition. Anyway one of the commissions for this show Thinkspace, Makespace is a fabulous area where children and adults can sit down to think  about ideas and create art. There are several pods to relax in, tables, reading corners, all in bright colours, very inviting. I hope many parents will take their children there. 

Outside the museum were three tipees that were being used by a couple of school groups. We were briefly allowed to go into one, a great place to have a picnic or a snooze on such a lovely, sunny day. 

After visiting the gallery boy monkey used up some more energy by running up and down these steps in the middle of the lawn. We had a fabulous time, so much so that we'll go back on Saturday morning en famille.

Another lazy day today as both monkeys were of school. We intended to go to the gym and be active but as it was coming down in buckets again we didn't feel like walking all the way their and get drenched. So we had a craft day at home. In the morning we made miniature rooms from old shoeboxes, made our smoothie of the day (1 glass of orange juice, cup of greek yoghurt, one banana and a bowl of raspberries) which was downed in one go by girl monkey (it must have been nice......) and baked Doctor Who biscuits. After watching The Cat in the Hat in the afternoon they moved onto stenciling gift wrap for their teachers presents. We used Busy Betsy's favourite colours red, white and blue and the monkeys mixed a lovely purple. I am sure the teachers will love it, heart shapes and circles. 

Oh and we discovered seedlings on the cress ginger bread figures, very exciting!!

Eton Mess

Girl monkey went on a school trip today and even though I know that she is well looked after by teachers and other mums who are able to help, I am always thrilled to have her back home. So to celebrate her lovely day out I made her favourite dessert : Eton Mess. This dish, which is traditionally served at Eton College at their annual prize-giving event at the end of May, is made with strawberries, merengues and cream. We made ours with strawberries and raspberries. Instead of making the 'mess' before serving, I put everything on the plates for everyone to mess up themselves. This of course is the best part for the monkeys! Girl monkey added some freshly made rhubarb compote on top of her merengue (she'll have rhubarb with anything...). 

I told the monkeys the anecdote of the Labrador that had supposedly sat on a picnic basket that contained the ingredients for a picnic pudding and that's how Eton mess was invented. They looked at me with utter disbelief and in keeping with the dog story started licking their plates (help!), not a morsel was left....

On the craft front, I have made some more Suffolk puffs, enough to make a little cushion and am finishing a Beach Hut hanging in Kantha (it is too wet to be photographed at the moment).