Red Nose Day 2013 (by sarah)

Catching up on all my photos again 🙂

We had a three fold Red Nose Day spanning several days!

I made cakes for the Cubs. Red nose cake pops, cherry scone things which were diary and wheat free along with the dinosaurs, and cupcakes in red cake cases.

I made up games and craft activities such as get the red noses in the hoops, draw the red nose on Alaric, make a fluffy red nose and so on.

Then Friday Mary had to go to Nursery in red spotty clothing - Al whisked her away before I could take a photo 🙁 But I did manage to get Jeany and her Wacky Hair 🙂

The it was off to Centre Arts who were doing Red Nose Day stuff in the shopping centre in Cheltenham. there was a cake competition which I had forgotten all about!

The Giant Cupcake was baked by Vanilla Pod Bakery and was raffled off for £45. The Red Nose was made by one of the ladies at the centre and was actioned for £20.

Recipes for my bakes will be appearing on Salaric Cooking.

A Birthday Surprise (by sarah)

Today is Alaric's birthday so he took the day off work to potter around tidying his workshop. Not all went to plan as there was a baby poo incident in the bath she was sharing with Jean and a lot of bath toys - it took both of us to shower children and clean both and toys ups.

He was just having a break and debating when to go our for lunch when there was a knock at the door. Three kids trying to rehome their kitten as they are having to downsize and have only just been told that it's no cats at the new place. Al explained we have too many cats already and that they should try and find someone else. Which they did - I was over at the neighbours and watched them try house after house.

Eventually they came back back to our house and Alaric took the kitten. I was still over at the neighbours when Jean appeared very excited - so excited she didn't want to stop for the chocolate the lady next door was offering her!

The kids mum appeared a bit later with all the kitten suplies. They were very sad and very desperate - we were first choice as we already have cats and kids. The kitten has been well looked after and loves kids!

So we now have a little kitten.

I may have gotten a little over excited over it - and indeed the first thing Alaric did was take a photo of me with a kitten sticking out of my jumper and post it on Twitter with the words 'Sarah in her natural element'.

I personally reckon that everybody should just call me Crazy Cat Lady from now on.

Broodiness issue solved for now!

Mary was so excited babbling about 'abee ca!'

Jean took her responsibility of kitten stroking very seriously.

She is so in love with the little thing - I've never seen anything like it. She loves the rabbit and things but this is a level up - I think it is because she's that bit older and it is smaller and more interactive. The baby bunny was still big enough you could see it looking after itself - Fluffy was a sub-adult when we rescued him were as this kitten is oly just old enough to be away from mum.

She automatically went into protection mode - worrying about it falling off of things and forgiving it if it bit her etc... (which is does a lot as it is a playful little thing unlike Hydrogen and Helium who have always kept their distance and would occasionally come over for snugs - this one loves being snugged with humans).

Once it as settled we went out for lunch were the girls both pretended they were She-Ra and then wizards with bread sticks. 🙂

The kitten had been called Kitty but we felt that as it was so young and that is more a description we could use our naming pattern we had started when we got the two girls. So the new cat was to be Lithium however Jean wanted to keep the kitty bit so we went through a few variations such as Hello Lith and so forth but in the end the poor things name is Lithium Hello Kitty.

We all wanted to get back to the kitten and even Jean shrugged at the suggestion of ice cream factory.

Jean, Mary and the kitten bounced around all afternoon whilst Alaric pottered in the workshop and I attempted to make him easter chicks for his birthday cake. When I checked all three were crashed out on the sofa!

Jean just kept saying how she hadn't realised how cute kittens were and how sweet it was that Mary was trying to look after the kitten 'it's a baby looking look after a baby!' with Jean supervising - almost made me cry with cuteness. Alaric didn't stop grinning.

So it looks like the Snell-Pym Zoo has a new member - also it turns out that Alaric shares his birthday with Grumpy cat 🙂 Lith is not grumpy at all! Though it's mews to be picked up heart Jean's heart she says so she just has to pick it up.

A Little Bit Of Random and Things I Learnt (by sarah)

Saturday was the last day of my Science-Art Exhibition and I went along to the Arts Cafe to meet with friends who were coming along to see it and too work on my visual poetry journal.

At five o'clock I took it down - this happened alot quicker than putting it up. Nothing other than some post cards sold but quiet a few people came along to see it.

The main comments were, 'I really like that picture but I am a student or out of work or have just been told my contract wont be renewed...' There simply is not the spare money at the moment for your average person to buy art. Other artists have said they have had similar. But it wasn't really about the selling it was about the exhibition - however I would have liked to recoup the money spent on frames etc... but that is not money wasted as I now have a bunch of framed pics.

Also I learnt that framers can be unreliable, bought frames are rubbish and flimsy and looking into it we have decided to make our own in future.

Other things learnt are - some spray mounts are better than others and price is not an indicator of which is which. Do not mount on grey card as everyone thinks you've just put it straight on the frames back board - I assume the same goes from brown. Get frames that leave a boarder around all sides of the picture as it looks better.

Severn Print are amazing life savers and even if lots of people say they are going to contribute and take part in something most of them will pull out as the event nears.

Alaric is amazing at getting me out of such a pickle with trips to buy last minute canvases to paint and so much more.

The whole thing would not have been possible without my parents help and of course Centre Arts who helped me sort the mountings out when they slipped that first day and didn't shout!

I came back somewhat deflated from the gallery having missed the Bristol Minni Maker Fair and the meal afterwards with friends - though other friends had tea and cake with me at the centre which sort of made up for it 🙂

Also Seth and Tanu came home with Alaric and we had a lovely random time with Seth making my guitars sound much better than I can ever make them 🙂

Spring Creativi Tea (by sarah)

Sunday saw the first ever Creativi Tea - I had wanted to run them last year but never got around to it what with all that moving mand festivals and what not.

So I invited people, and got tea stuff ready and baked cakes.

Lemon and lime - lime sponge with lemon butter icing and lots of butterflies 🙂 Which Al's cousins gave me 🙂

I made sandwiches - ham, cheese and humous to cater for vegi and vegan and meat treats people. And I had crisps in butterfly bowls because I am me and the house is infested with the creatures 😉

And then it was time for people to appear - I wasn't sure what people would want to be doing as I'd said bring your own project or tell me what you want to learn. Most people turned up with writing so were clustered in the lounge.

There was a variety of writing going on from poetry to prose, to essays to novels to short stories to computer programming. Even Jeany got in on the act writing and illustrating a lovely story about a mutant girl and her dad.

People were being very British about not actually taking the cakes until Jeany broke the icing (literally).

In the kitchen sewing and knitting occured - mainly Alaric finishing off the bag he began making me at Centre Arts during a sewing course I sent him on as his valentines day present.

I was sad I had some people drop out due to weather and moto bikes breaking and fuel costs and writing events but it worked really well. Extra nibbles even arrived with people 🙂 Having noisy/messy stuff in the kitchen and the quieter stuff in the living room worked really well.

I am planning on running one of these a season 🙂 If you want to be invited to the next one let me know!

Here are more pictures of cakes as I know you all love them 😉

Recipe will be appearing on Salaric Cooking soonly.

Easter Egg Hunt With Cranham Scouts (by sarah)

Wednesday evening I organised an easter egg hunt for the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. The Beaver leader organised games and Alaric sorted out camp stuff with the parents.

I put chocs and chicks and stickers into plastic eggs.

I also made dairy free chocolates for the children with special dietry requirements.

We had a campfire for the Scouts and their's was done in the dark after the two younger sections had gone home. I had rabbit and duck marshmallows for toasting, hot cross buns of various varieties - again toasted on sticks.

Then I had creme egg splats and as it is Nation Science and Engineering Week and I had gone in to help with their astronomy badge a few weeks previously I created a came called Splats for Facts. They loved this game even though I had inflicted The Little Chicken Song on them all whilst their egg trail was being laid (some of the eggs where in the trees!).

I ended the night by telling Jean a Horice The House Dragon story - it was a continuation of one I've been telling her for a while but off course all made up on the spot. To my amazement I ended up with a group of teenagers all sitting around listening to it and even those I thought weren't listening were as they answered questions about what the story was about to those who arrived back a bit later from the hunt. They seemed very impressed that it was made up of the top of my head 🙂

It was a lovely evening and I took video of the fire and played with my camera in the hope of using the footage for something arty later on!

I took lots of low light level pictures of trees 🙂