A round turn and two half hitches

This was an impulse buy when we went to the enormous camping superstore on Saturday:

I thought (and clearly I’d been in the shop too long without access to natural light or nutritious food) that it would be fun to learn to knot! We could do it as a family hobby! An engaging hobby to indulge in outside the tent as the children drift off to sleep and the sun edges towards the horizon.

I may be delusional but I’m still holding on to this dream. I’m even coming up with scenarios where a well-placed knot would be in order, might even save the day. And to add to my delight, I even know one of the knots already! The Larks Head – also known as the one you use to put on a luggage tag.

Still, a knot’s a knot.

Little and Large swap!

Aren’t swaps great? I signed up for Vonnie’s Little and Large swap, and was paired with the delightful Kirsty and her two wee ones. The brief was to get crafting with your kids.

Ha, easier said than done! The big girl had BIG ideas, including tapestry, embroidery, art and probably power tools, given her way. The little one knew pink was the way ahead. Pink and glitter.  We had fun, though. The main lesson I learned was to let go a bit. Uh huh. I have a tendency to maybe take over a little, to get corners square or edges curved, make suggestions and well, just ‘help’ a bit too much. So this was a good chance for me to learn to back the hell off.  Mostly.

Anyway, this isn’t supposed to be about me! It’s about the fantastic goodies Kirsty sent us!

Here’s what Kirsty sent my big girl:

I would have taken photos so you could see her delighted face but she told me she didn’t want to be on the internet. Fair enough. But she was soooo pleased! We put the friendship bracelet on her right away – “It’s my favourite colours!” – and she was extremely impressed with the mosaic.

This book that Devin made was a big hit. She delighted in kidding us on it was a book, then – ta-dah – revealed the hidden compartment. It’s now in her room, full of secrets.

Kirsty clearly got the measure of me very quickly: chocolate and stationery!!! I love them both in equal measure.  Thanks, Kirsty!

Miss Small was super-pleased with everything. The parcel was nearly as big as she is:

And the wrapping paper! Tinkerbell! She LOOOOVES Tinkerbell!  In fact, she kept the paper and several days later spent ages carefully cutting out each fairy group.

Inside was this gorgeous friendship bracelet, a cute picture by Brodie …

…and this wonderful pink cat mask.  I love the glittery eyes.

All in all, it was terrific. The girls loved what you made, and so did I – thanks, Kirsty, Devin and Brodie!! And thanks to Vonnie for organising such a nice swap.

Coming up smelling of roses

Today I had to dead-head the big yellow rose bush at the front door.  It was covered in beautiful blousy flowers a few days ago, but this morning it was a sad sight – dead pods, a few blown blooms and an air of being generally unloved.

Miss Small came out with me, so she could hunt for snails, but soon she abandoned the hunt to watch me snipping. There were a couple of flowers that were past their tight-furled best but weren’t quite ready for the compost heap. What to do? Then it came to me – rose perfume!

I used to love making rosewater / perfume, when I was wee. My mum had a friend, an old lady even then, called Mrs Brown. Mrs Brown had a sore leg and so whenever we went to visit her in the summer, I’d rustle up a jar of rose water for her to put on her leg and make it better. And bless her, she always took it gratefully and made a little girl feel useful.

Miss Small fetched a jam jar and set to, filling it to the brim with soft fragrant yellow petals. Then we brought it inside and added around a third of the jar’s volume in boiling water. She poked the petals a little with a spoon, to make them wilt down, then we put the lid on, gave it a wee shake and set it aside to cool.

I might add a few drops of bought rosewater to boost its scent, and maybe a shot of vodka or kirch (whatever I can find in the cupboard!) to preserve it, then we’ll decant it into a little bottle for her.

There’s another rose bush needing deadheading, a red one – maybe I’ll see if her big sophisticated 8 year old sister fancies making a jar too…