These past few days so many bloggers have been busy writing about their plans for 2013 and detailing their resolutions for the new year. Reading all these posts got me thinking about what my resolutions and plans for the new year should be and that's where I came a bit unstuck. There's certainly plenty that I want to achieve this year and I do have some personal goals, but it got me wondering as to why people make resolutions on 1 January and just how successful they are. Yes it is the start of a new calendar year and after the excesses of the Christmas period many people feel that it ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Learnabout… Maps
There's nothing better than a New Year's Day walk to blow off the cobwebs post Christmas and that's what inspired my choice of this week's Ladybird Tuesday: Learnabout... Maps. The Learnabout series (series number 634 if you're wondering) included books on both indoor and outdoor activities ranging from Stamp Collecting to Coarse Fishing and Training Your Dog. I'm a complete map addict and hence the book on maps has to be my favourite from the Learnabout series. First published in 1967 I'm guessing that the copy I have has to be a later reprint - mainly due to the ... read more
The Christmas that was…
It's been very quiet here on the blog over the last week or so. We've had a full house this Christmas and I've struggled to find time to blog inbetween entertaining guests, generally running the house, feeding Master C (almost constantly some days) and helping Little Miss C enjoy Christmas. The box that our delicious Christmas Cake from Heaven is a Cupcake came in Things have been very different this year from all the previous Christmas Days that Mr C and I have spent together. This was the first year that we spent the day in our own home, but also the first year without my dad. ... read more
Being Mrs C
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.beingmrsc.com" title="Being Mrs C" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.beingmrsc.com/wp-content/tp/6a00e55294f55d8834017c351b8ff6970b-320wi" alt="Being Mrs C" style="border:none;" /></a></div> ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Learning About Insects and Small Animals
If you look at all the Ladybird titles originally published what really stands out to me is the number of natural history books that there were. They were not all confined to Ladybird series 651 (Ladybird Natural History Books) but that series is where this particular book sits - Learning about Insects and Small Animals. First published in 1972 and written by Romola Showell this books concentrates on those smaller creatures that small children seem so fond of finding in their back gardens or whilst out and about. The level of detail in this books is vast and covers everything ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: ‘The Public Services’ Electricity
This post has now been migrated over to my new book focussed blog Penny Reads. You can find the post on Electricity here and a full list of all Ladybird Tuesday posts that have moved over is here. ... read more
Jack and Boo’s Snowy Day – Philip Bell & Eleanor Bell
After being sent a review copy of Jack and Boo's Snowy Day I joked with author Philip Bell on twitter that he now needed to send me some snow. Damn it, he's good as this is the scene we woke up to yesterday morning! Having read the book with Little Miss C just a couple of days before it meant that she was super excited about the unexpected snow and instantly wanted to go out into the garden and explore and that's exactly what this book is all about. Written by Isle of Wight resident Philip Bell, and illustrated by his wife Eleanor, Jack and Boo's adventures in the snow were inspired by a ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Learning with Mother, Book 2
As part of this week's Ladybird Tuesday I want to share with you Learning with Mother, Book 2. This book is part of series 702 which appears to have been known as the "Under 5s" series. There were 5 titles in the Learning with Mother series, all written by Ethel Wingfield between 1970 and 1972, and illustrated by Ethel's husband Harry who was one of Ladybird's most popular artists. The Under Five series is "intended to help those parents who wish to make sure that their children have every opportunity to develop fully" and this book contain a series of simple ... read more
Slow and steady
There might not be much to see yet, but slow and steady progress is being made with Jemima Puddleduck. Whether or not I make the self-imposed Christmas deadline is yet to be seen though. The majority of my progress was made whilst I was at my knitting group last week (I know sewing at a knitting group, but still...) as Master C slept through the whole session in his buggy. Unfortunately I'm going to miss the next two session though due to hospital appointments, so I need to find some extra sewing time whilst Master C sleeps. Maybe less time blogging and more time sewing is the answer... ... read more
Wrest Park
On a weekend there's nothing we like more than a family trip out to a stately home with large grounds that we can explore with the children. The National Trust do this kind of venue very well and they're incredibly in tune with what families want. Kids activities are laid on during holidays, there's often a playground and you know that there will be baby changing facilities and high chairs in the cafe. Unfortunately for us though there is a distinct shortage of National Trust properties near where we live. I was therefore intrigued when Mr C came home from work one day saying that ... read more