Our man who can and the van

Some friends of ours are setting off on a great adventure soon. They have bought an old bus and our resident man who can, is helping them do it up. Today we started taking out the old floor. It's really important to try and reduce the weight especially if you are going to build inside it.

We had to remove rather a lot of bolts using various methods - angle grinding them out, drilling them out and undoing them with a cordless drill. I will keep you posted as to how things proceed. Our friends have about a month before they set off to Spain.

Building leaf shelters

Yesterday we had fun making leaf shelters. First we made shelters for our toys then we made one for ourselves. We also made some simple bread out of flour and water which we cooked on  a fire and later we cooked sausages. Today in complete contrast we took the boys ice skating at a local outdoor rink.

On another note altogether we are getting ready to have some pigs. We are housing them in a old poly tunnel frame and have made a sty out of old pallets.

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Cork Rocket

This is a cork rocket.

we took a piece of toilet paper and wrapped a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda in the middle. To secure it we used some cotton thread. We pour lemon juice into the bottle then add slowly add water. Next drop the soda in and quickly put the cork in. Stand back and see what happens.

Drawing Lines

Papa Stone here - As one of my alter egos,  I teach Art. On Wednesday I found a great book about drawing and was inspired to go through our old pen pot and draw lines on a faded yellow sheet of A4. This is a great exercise to get kids thinking about line. Thickness, colour, softness and lightness of touch to produce different effects are all explored in a very simple but effective way. Give it a go, you'll be amazed at the results. It's all gone a bit Bridget Riley.

Pruning an Old Apple Tree

Today was the day I decided to tackle the fruit tree.

It has produced well this autumn and I still have some apples left in store. Although I have noticed that I am sharing them with the mice. 
There are more details and ramblings  on the website, if you fancy a peek.....

Getting the Greenhouse Ready for a Survival Party

On Sunday Dan is 10 years old, a whole decade of life passed by. So we are having a survival party. Fortunately we have a large greenhouse in case it rains but  we had to spend the day tidying up. We found lots of broken glass and discovered it made a really interesting material for a small sculpture. We love living dangerously.