From Grey to Orange

I have been growing my hair, not to have long hair but to try to grow out the home hair dye and see what colour hair I really had.

When I was younger my hair was dark brown, then at twenty-one I spotted my first grey hairs. I hated not being a teenager anyway, this just proved I was getting old (oh the tribulations of youth!).

In my thirties I had acquired a grey streak in my hair, I tried to love it and go grey gracefully. Then at a Christmas party a colleague took lots of photos, there I was with my grey streak and looking so old. I did what anyone in that situation would do, I dyed it.

Thirty plus years later I am still dyeing my hair. I've gone from boring brown to gorgeous brunette, from ash brown (yuck) to medium caramel brown (still yuck) to glorious mahogany with red overtones, then as always, once I find a colour I love - the brand changes it

"NEW AND IMPROVED" no "WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!"

So I'm going to go grey.

The Reality Of Lockdown 2020

The reality of lock down in our house. I use the grandchildren as my excuse why the place is cluttered with toys and dirty fingerprints, while they are not here I would expect it to be clear of clutter and sparkling, when in fact it is messier than ever.

Lockdown fun - Painting Rocks

My first go at painting rocks

Lockdown is putting pressure on us all to find ways to entertain the kids while we work or cook or just have a few minutes to ourselves.

Painting rocks isn't just for children, adults can have fun too. This isn't a How To post more a Why Don't You Try This? If you do an internet search you will see so many gorgeous rocks, these are not easy to replicate, but it doesn't matter. Find a rock, give it a wash and dry, cover it in paint or nail varnish or stick things to it, then place them around your local area for others to find.

46th Wedding Anniversary- Things we didn't do to celebrate

Today is our 46th Wedding Anniversary. The sun is shining and we've stayed at home. We were going to celebrate with something special but a pandemic got in the way - anyway here's a list of things we would liked to have done, but along with my birthday celebrations, they will have to wait for another time.

FREE Online resources - Coronavirus UK

FREE Online resources - Coronavirus UK

One thing you can say about us Brits - once we have our cupboards full of toilet rolls and pasta we are quite generous. Thousands have signed up to volunteer to help the NHS, and offer services to help the elderly, vulnerable and lonely.

DISCLAIMER - I have not been paid or rewarded in any way to include links

Here is a list of FREE online resources I have found as I have whiled my time away online, some are just for the duration of the coronavirus epidemic, some are regular free resources.

Please bookmark this page and keep coming back as I will add to it as I find new resources.

New additions will be highlighted in RED

A Modern Fairy Story - The Princess, The Boy and The Dragon

Once Upon A Time there was a boy. He was born into a loving and powerful family.

Bear's First Day At Big School

photo thanks to Make-up Pixie

Bear's First Day At Big School 

The summer holidays are over and I missed you this morning.

The house stayed quiet. No-one shouted Nanny at me or gave me a big hug. No-one asked me to put on children’s TV because the news is boring, or begged to play on the X Box.

Conversations with Bear #1 - The Dark

Conversations With Bear #1 - The Dark

Bear is at that golden age. He's four. He knows exactly what he wants, he can ask for it and he can describe events and things he's seen.

He has the enquiring mind of a four year old, hampered only by his beliefs. Everything is good or bad. Right or wrong, black or white, but he is open to learning and is quick to pick up new ideas. His knowledge astounds me every single day.

He does come out with some absolute gems, which once spoken are lost into the ether for ever. I spend so much time laughing with him or amazed at his knowledge, that I thought I would share some of his spoken thoughts. A small insight into the workings of a four year old's mind.

This will be an occasional series, just as and when he says something worth repeating, but more importantly, those that I actually remember so I can record it for the future.

Conversations With Bear #1 - The Dark

It's a dark, winter afternoon. Only the lounge light on, the rest of the house is unlit. Bear never tells me where he's going in the house, he just goes.

Bear - "I'm just going into the dining room to get a car"
Me - "OK"
Bear - "From the toy box in the dining room"

I nod and notice for the first time that it's now become dark

Me - "Would you like me to turn a light on for you?"
Bear - "No, Mummy says I must be brave"
Me - "Brave?"
Bear - "Brave in the dark"
Me - "OK"

Bear dashes out and seconds later runs back in.

Bear - "Can you come with me?"
Me - "Of course"

I follow Bear from the lounge to the darkness of the dining room.
He looks around nervously, checks I'm there. I'm stood right next to him.

Me - "Are you sure you don't need the light to see?'

Bear - "No, it's OK. I eat carrots so can see in the dark" and he grabs a car and legs it back to the lounge leaving me to deal with the unseen monsters, alone.

Thanks Bear!

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I'm Fed Up With Cleaning - Can I stop now please?

I'm Fed Up With Cleaning - Can I stop now please?

I don’t know about you but I’m fed up with cleaning. It was fun but now I'm bored with it. Also I have to keep doing it. When I didn't polish everything to within an inch of it's life, I didn't care about the odd fingerprint. I didn't even notice them. Now everything is shiny I have to polish, polish, polish! I wonder why I do it. I dust, I polish, I sweep but it just gets dirty again.

It's Mrs Hinch's fault. She quickly rose to fame with her perfectly clean house and her unique use of every cleaning product that smelt. I didn’t want to use all the chemicals she used, but still found myself cleaning anything that stood still.

I'm polishing everything until it shines. Taps, toaster, kettle, you name it. If it has a glossy finish I'm there with my polishing cloth. And that’s my point, I don't want to do it anymore.

What’s the point anyway? The kettle didn’t boil water faster, or suddenly make the coffee. It showed no gratitude for all my hard work. Once it was shining and looking lovely it became too posh to boil, it died. Did I kill my kettle with over polishing?

Christmas Gift Guide 2018 - Something For Everyone

Christmas Gift Guide 2018  - Something For Everyone

*Contains PR samples

Christmas shopping, love it or hate it, we all have to do it. We all want to buy the perfect gift, something that they will love and use.

It can be overwhelming and so it often gets left until the last minute and then we fall back on the traditional, socks for him, perfume for her.

We have a selection of gifts that you may not have thought of, something for everyone. From children and the young at heart to the crafter and the home.

Not only are there gifts for everyone but for all pockets too, from a little luxury to a stocking filler for children that is free.

Christmas is about spending time with friends and family, not stressing about what to buy.

We have lots of ideas so grab a drink, get comfortable and enjoy browsing our 2018 Christmas Gift Guide.

Cleaning Without Chemicals - Reducing My Plastic Footprint

Cleaning Without Chemicals - Reducing My Plastic Footprint 

Back in August I started my journey into reducing my plastic footprint. I'm commited to making a difference, who isn't after seeing those images on the TV?

I'm not a crusader, more a plodder. I think if I start with the easy stuff, then the trickier bits will just fall into place. So I ditched the plastic wrap (cling film) and it was so much easier than I thought, in fact I prefer the way I store food in my fridge now.

Then I was introduced to Mrs Hinch via her instagram account. For ages I didn't watch her stories, as I hate cleaning. Peer pressure and FOMO, (fear of missing out) made me watch.

Micralite Festival Fastfold Stroller - Review

Micralite Festival Fastfold Stroller - Review*

I first saw the Festival Fastfold stroller on Micralite's instagram feed and instantly wanted one, so I was delighted to be given* one to review. We had been looking for a new stroller for Bee as Bears old one was hard to push, pulling to one side, making trips out hard work.

Now I know we shouldn't care, but looks matter. The Micralite Festival Fastfold Stroller is gorgeous. It has a vivid turqouise seat and frame, with a complimentary jazzy hood. It looks good and we have received lots of compliments, but what is it like as a stroller?

I do not smoke and I don't want your second hand vaping

I do not smoke and I don't want your second hand vaping

The BBC News recently reported a call to lift the ban on vaping in public places. At present people using e-cigarettes, along with smokers,  are not allowed to smoke in enclosed public places. We have a ban on smoking as smoking is bad for our health, e-cigarettes are licensed as a tobacco product and are included in this ban.
I gave up smoking over twenty five years ago and do not want to start passive vaping.

Happy First Birthday Bee

Happy Birthday Bee! Photo courtesy of makeup pixi3

Happy First Birthday Bee

It was Bee's first birthday on Saturday. He's one! How quickly the time flies. We were up at the crack of dawn (literally) baking bread and making food for the party. Bee's mummy needed everything dairy, soya and oats free so he (and she) could eat anything.

10 Ways I'm Reducing My Plastic Footprint - and you can too

10 Ways I'm Reducing My Plastic Footprint - and you can too

When I was younger hardly anything was plastic. Shoes and handbags were made from leather, shopping bags were cloth, milk came in returnable glass bottles and so did fizzy drinks. We shopped at the green grocers and they just put the vegetables loose straight into the bag, soft produce such as tomatoes were put into paper bags first.

Meat was from the butchers and was wrapped in grease proof paper, then white paper. Chips were wrapped in newspaper, we were told that newspaper ink made the paper clean, it was more likely to be poisonous!

The Perils Of A Long Hot Summer

The Perils Of A Long Hot Summer

I'm a grandmother and can remember the last long hot summer in the UK. It was 1976. I was twenty and had not long moved to Wales after spending a year in Greece. All the summers of my childhood were long and hot, I can't remember a cold wet one before I moved to Wales. I grew up in Hertfordshire, in the East of England just north of London. It has warmer, dryer summers and colder winters than the west.

Boxwild Children's Big Bird Gift Box - Review

Boxwild Children's Big Bird Gift Box - Review 

We love feeding the birds in the garden and every year we participate in the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch so we were delighted to be given a Boxwild Children's Big Bird Gift Box to review*. 

The parcel arrived and Bear couldn't wait to open it, it was packed beautifully and was full to the brim. We had a wooden bird box, four tiny pots of paint and a paintbrush. There was also a bird feeder, a scoop and two packets of wild bird food. The bird food is a special mix for either blue tits or Boxwilds blend for other songbirds, such as dunnock, robins and blackbirds. The packets are illustrated with the birds that would usually feed from the mixture. The contents are clearly marked on the packets and along with a mixture of seeds, both contain peanuts and wheat.

Bear chose the bluetit mix, he couldn't wait to try the scoop. We struggled a little to scoop the seeds directly from the bag but once poured into a bowl it was easy. 

I loved the quality of the items. Everything looked well made, the bird box was joined well and no rough parts or splinters. The bird feeder was of similar quality and quickly replaced my old, rusty one. 

The food mix was a good mix of seeds and pellets with no dust. I usually buy the premium brands and this looked equal if not better than those.

Bear loved filling the bird feeder with the metal scoop

Once we had the bird feeder in place we started on the bird box. I didn't give any instructions to Bear,  I just told him to paint it however he liked.

The gift set comes with four small pots of paint. Red, blue, yellow and green. The pots are really small, I doubt if there is enough to fully cover the exterior but this didn't stop Bear. I was very impressed with how carefully he painted the roof. He chose green, a good choice I think. Then he chose red, and painted around the entrance hole. I must admit it did look like something from a Tarantino movie but I bit my tongue and let him continue. A little bit of yellow and blue and we had a rainbow house.

Bear concentrating hard and trying to be careful.

The red around the entrance may not be to everyones taste haha!
Bear thought the birds would love it because it is so colourful

As Bear was adding more colours he declared;

the birds are going to love this! It's so colourful

Yes! 

I think he's right, it is colourful and quite delightful.

The finished box - perfect for a family of blue tits

Bear loved this gift set. I wouldn't hesitate in recomending it as a gift or just as a craft for your child to enjoy. We spent ages talking about birds, what they ate, where they slept and so on. It was so much more than just a bird box to paint.

Boxwild do all sorts of gift boxes, suitable for adults and children. Pop over to the Boxwild website and I am sure you'll find something you love. Our box cost £28.

* Disclosure - We were given the gift box for the purpose of this review. All opinions are honest and our own.

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How to Grow Potatoes with Children

How to Grow Potatoes with Children

Children love gardening - they love the digging, watering and the harvesting. Many plants can be grown without a garden, just a big pot and somewhere to put it.

Sadly many children think fruit and vegetables come from the supermarket. They do not know that potatoes grow in the ground, tomatoes on bushes, apples on trees. It is easy to show them by growing your own fruit or vegetables. It doesn't need to be much, you can grow fruit or vegetables in pots. Start with potatoes but also try strawberries and tomatoes.

Bear has helped in the garden since he was old enough to walk. When I said we were planting potatoes today he asked "and tomatoes Nanny?" "I have to check they are red before I pick them" Yes, he remembered from last summer and he's only three.

Growing potatoes is easy, here's a quick guide. Even if you have never grown anything before, try this.

Age - Does it really matter?

Age - Does it really matter?

It's a new year so everyone will be adding another year to their ages. Firstly Grandad, in January. Then our children in February, me in March, our daughter-in-law in April and son-in-law in May. Another year, another number.
The grandchildren will be joyous at the extra year and some of the adults will be sad, but why? Age - does it really matter? If you have health and happiness surely there's little difference in being twenty-nine or thirty?

The Tradition of Christmas Wreaths with Amara - Review

The Tradition of Christmas Wreaths with Amara - Review

I was asked to review* something Chrismassy from Amara. This was not as easy as it sounds as they have so many wonderful Christmas decorations and gifts. I eventually chose a Robin and Birdhouse Christmas wreath. It is beautiful, a little quirky whilst still being very traditional and it made me wonder about the history of hanging wreaths on doors and how it became a Christmas tradition. So I did a little research (well I Googled it).