Food swap.

Today, I went to a food swap. Its a charity based organisation and its completely free. You bring homemade, home grown, or foraged things to swap with others at the event. You taste people food and if you like it you write down your name on their item sheet. Then once evrybody has decided, you go to that person and ask if they want to swap for something of yours. Most of the time they do, but sometimes they don't. Check out Homegrown Exchange which is my aunties food swap project. http://www.homegrownexchange.org/

I made some flapjack to swap!

This was the venue!

I also made some bread rolls

And some elderflower cordial (don't worry its not alcohol!)

This is what I went home with today, YUM!

The workhouse.

Today, I visited the work house in Southwell, Nottingham. After watching the itv programme, the secrets of the workhouse, I was really interested to find out more about it. Basically, the work house was a last resort for the poor people, they went to the workhouse if they were homeless, starving or just extremely poor. Because there were no benefits, if you didn't have a good, well paid job, then you had nothing, Although it sounds like a nice place to go, the work house was feared. As soon as yo entered, all your clothes and personal belongs were taken away from you, you were separated from your loved ones and set to work for 10 hours a day. The women doing hours of grueling house work, cooking, cleaning, washing ect. Whilst the men decorated and broke stones. The children however got a good education and were taught life skills. The food wasn't very substantial or exciting. For breakfast they would normally have bread and gruel, gruel is a flour and oatmeal based liquid, sort of like porridge. For lunch it would be meat and potatoes and then for supper it would be some sort of broth. Doesn't sound very appetising but its certainly better than nothing.  Life was very hard in the workhouse and people would only go there if they really really had to. They say that an empty workhouse is a successful work house. That basically meant that people would do anything that they could to get themselves fed and watered and not have to go to the workhouse.

This is the workhouse, its huge!

Elder flower cordial.

So today, we held an ''event'' at our house for the home ed group. Previously my mum and auntie had been foraging at the stone bridge farm centre in Nottingham and they have special events on regularly. This particularly week it was elder flowering cordial making! Mum went along and after realising how easy it was, she decided to invite some people around to do it with us. Ju, my auntie, came to help and about 8 people turned up! The people that came were different ages, from about 6 to 15. I didn't know anybody but soon got to know them. Its crazy how many elderflower tress there are around when you know what your looking for! Like I said, the proccess is quite simple, have a go at home maybe! Its delicious.

Elderflower cordial

Ingredients

10 elderflower heads

500g of sugar

1 lemon zest

1 sliced lemon/orange

1 pint of boiling water

Method

    1.    Pour the boiling water and sugar in to a big container/bowl.

    2.     Add the lemon (sliced and zested) and flower heads and stir gently.

    3.    Cover with a clean tea towel or muslin and leave to ferment overnight in a cool dry place. Stir regularly.

    4.    Strain through a fine sieve or through filter paper or a muslin .

    5.    Pour into a sterilised jar and refrigerate.

    6.    Dilute to taste.

It really is that simple and is so delicious. Unless you put a preservative in, citric acid, it will only last a few weeks in the fridge but you can freeze it for as long as you like really.

Bits and Bobs.

So today I haven't done anything too exciting. I've just mainly been doung bits and bobs. I haven'treally  had much time to do much either because I was at my grandmas so the time it took to get home it was lunch time! I had to do some tidying to earn some money because I am going to France on Thursday with my old school as I paided for the trip so I can still go. Its just one day but the only bit I'm not looking forward to is the journey! BLEUGH. I get very bad travel sickness. So yeah, I did some cleaning and some sewing but I had to leave the house at 5pm to get to the chiropractor in time for my appointment. I got to the chiropractor as I have a twisted pelvis and snapping hip. Sounds scary but its not, its being treated well and I'm not in much pain anymore. 

sewing club week 1

Today was the first week of home ed sewing club. It was good and we made a zipper purse. I got a lot further than most people as I didn't need to go over all the basics. The purse is fully lined. Each session is 3 hours long and its for 6 weeks. Everybody who goes I already know from other clubs and it was nice to get to know people better.

Party!x

If you have read through my blog fully, you will understand that my mum has set up a charity, called Babysteps.
https://www.facebook.com/babysteps.org.uk?ref=hl 

^on this page it explains about what the purpose of the charity is. Anyway, on Saturday, it was babysteps first birthday! We held a party in nottingham to celebrate the first year success. All the money that was raised from paying a small fee for games,food and raffles all got donated back into the babysteps bank. All of the raffle prizes were donated, passes to wheel gate and white post farm; vouchers for antenatal classes and reflexolygy; also other bits and bobs including toys,beauty passes, chocolates and jewellery. Also, there were lots of games to play, bat the rat, where there is a drain pipe and the rat comes flying out the end and you have to bat it. Hook a duck, dosent really need explaining, you just hook a duck for a small prize! Teddy bear tombola, pay a small fee and win every time! Teddy bear hostpital, take in your poorly teddys to be sewn up, fixed or even if they just need a health check up. Plus there was a stall with 'nanny crafts' on. The last stall was pirate treasure and princess jewellery, 25p per item! But,you cant have a party with out cake? Can you!? There was LOADS of cake. 20p per slice! mmm...delicious. I dont have any pictures to upload right now because I am in town on my way to sewing club, I will put some on tomorrow x

Film Club!

Today, (Friday) I met up with the home education group again for film club. Most of the people I already knew from skating but there were a few new faces. The day consisted of watching films and eating! Ha. The film we watched was 'To kill a mocking bird' by Harper Lee. It was about a innocent black man (Tom Robinson) who was hated for being coloured basically. He got accused of rape and assault when really he was innocent. The father of the women he 'assaulted' was actually angry at his daughter for kissing Tom and the father was the one who assaulted his daughter. Obviously the daughter stuck up for her father ending up in terrible results. Don't want to say much more because I might give it away! Anyway, we had questions to answer about the film. Before we sat down to watch the film, we had lunch, inspired by southern America (where the film was shot). For the meal we all had to bring a different dish. There were lots of different things there but they all had to be vegetarian or vegan. Some of the things that were there were, sweetcorn fritters (which I made), corn on the cob, a potato salad which in the olden days got stewed until it was just sloppy stuff and fed to the black slaves, but this wouldn't of really appealed to young kids, haha.

Watch a snippet of the film, explaining it. Couldn't find a good trailer but this will do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR7loA_oziY

Ice Skating

On Wednesday, I met up with the home education group and we went ice skating. I had a really good time and made some new friends that I had not previously met at Art club. I used to do Skate UK which is basically ice skating lessons. I got up to Grade Silver but then I missed a few weeks and haven't been back since. I really enjoyed my skating lessons but after failing to pass silver I was getting quite bored. However because of my lessons, I know quite a few tricks and could show off! hahaha. Joking. A lot of the girls from home ed go to skating lessons aswell, Amelia, Molly and Iona are in grade 7.

films

today consisted of lots of different things whilst watching some amazing films. First  did some embroidery on my patchwork blanket and watched away we go. Then I did an GCSE ict test paper  whilst watching beauty and the beast. Then I did some spanish whilst watching elf!? Don't ask, I was in a good mood:)

also I made a yummy smoothie!🍹

4 strawberries🍓

2 large bananas🍌

a tablespoon of peanut butter🍴

a dash of maple syrup📍

and then add as much milk according to how thick or thin you want it.🍼

it was DELICIOIUS!😀

sewing,films and textbooks ✏✒✂📂📚

patchwork blanket

Today was my second patchwork sewing lesson. My blanket is almost complete! It didn't really take long and once you got going it was fairly easy to do. The only problems we had was mis-match squares, although we used a template,we couldn't be 100% sure on the accuracy. All I have left to do is embroid some pretty designs on the the patches for a nice touch.

above-nearly finished project.

below-sewing up the squares.

textbooks:)

this morning i was doing some spanish and science. I really enjoy spanish and i would like to become better at it. Mum recently brought me some text and work books offline. They are really easy to understand and are quite simple and clear. 

        In science I did about cells, I didn't have a lot of time on this because i was going out with my dad to do some photography around nottingham.

charity.

yesterday I was busy helping my mum at Bumps Boutique. Its a non-profitable project which is part of the charity, Babysteps that my mum set up. Bumps Boutique is the first of many projects, its a maternity clothes libary in which expectantant/new mums can borrow dontated clothes for a small fee. Mum holds monthly events at kiddicare nottingham.

Sewing Day With Grandma!

Every week I am going to have a sewing day with my grandma. She is an amazing sewer! After finishing Adelaide's fairy dress, I decided to make a patchwork quilt cover. However the prep takes so long! As I am making it for my double bed, we had to cut out around 80 squares! It took ages as you can probably imagine. But now I am ready to sew all the patches together which shouldn't take too long. Not holding my breath though;) 

There was no point getting the sewing machine out, but we had some spare time, so grandma taught me how to do a chain stitch which is useful for embroidery writing or making pretty flowers. Its quite a simple stitch and I think I've got the hang of it. Will post a picture tomorrow of my patchwork 'blanket'(which at the moment is a bunch of squares in a bag!) 

childcare.

had a really great half term! Didn't do anything too exciting but it was nice just to relax,ahh. 

     Yesterday I carried on with my childcare and development book,reading the chapter,making notes and then answering the questions at the end. I did 1 and a half chapters. Also my mums asked me the read the first chapter of 'what every parent needs to know' its a book about your childs brain development. Its really interesting actually. I was asked to make notes and then mum is going to ask me some questions about it tomorrow. Also I did some really childcare! Looking after my niece for an hour or two. I really enjoy having her. She just so adorable. Whilst I had her, I went down to meet some of my friends from school. It was so nice to see them! After taking Adelaide home, I went to my grandmas house to sleep the night. She spoils me rotten;)

below, childcare work, watching the voice in the backgroud:O cheeky.