Fix-it-Friday

Ok todays post is another make it post. While I've not made this yet myself it is for an outdoor science day I'm doing soon.
Make your own.... catapult! These look really cool and could be great if we ever get any hot weather to fire water bombs. You can just use garden canes, elastic bands and plastic cups.
I've got a couple of links to point you at, but I'm sure kids could come up with their own designs to. Anyway the sites are here and here.
Have fun!
Be sure to head over to Jo to see the other posts.

Fix-it-Friday

Todays post has taken a bit of deliberation. I mostly avoid talking about knitting on here, I have ravelry for that, and this isn't a knitting blog. However when I first started out knitting I had no idea how much wonderful stuff there was out there, (or how much some of it costs!). I decided for todays post to summarise where I buy stuff from (Mum you should maybe stop reading now, of course I'm not spending all of my bursary on this!)

Some sites however are places to get some absolute bargains from, even better they're all UK based, which is a common trouble I ran in to. So many places have links to lovely stuff, but it's all in the USA.

1) New Lanark
I can't quite believe how little they're charging for their wool. a 100g ball of DK weight costs just £1... I'm making my whole honeycomb vest in it for less than £8 including postage....

2) Get Knitted
This place isn't the cheapest, but they are the only place to stock the knit picks needles in the UK. I love their needles, in fact I have just used by Grandads"congratulattions n getting a job" money to buy the interchangable set. I've also just bought this . Who could refuse colours like this.



3)No post about yarn could be complete without a link to the Yarn Yard.
All of Natalies stuff is hand dyed and really reasonably priced. I love the feel of her sock yarn, and have just bought some yarn to use in my first shawl to take part in Seasons of Lace.

4)Finally is a Texere Yarns where I've not yet got my order from, but the prices are ridiculous. I've just bought some Alpaca for £3.30 per 50g ball, you'll have to trust me if you don't knit, but that's stupidly cheap! Their customer service seems really good to. I ordered last night and they were out of stock of the colour I ordered I got an email immediately today asking me to pick another yarn as a substitution. the yarn I picked is on clearance which is why they were out of stock.

Anyway, if yarn isn't so much your thing then be sure to head over to Jo and there is bound to be a post from somebody where you'll learn something new.

Fix-it-Friday

Yet again it's fix-it-friday, and yet again I have no idea where the week has gone! It really has been panic round here, I have less than a month until my course finishes and lots of things going on. Added to this I'm also loosing things, has anyone seen a folder containing nearly £500 of receipts in?

Thought not, I could really do with it as well, and it would appear to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

Today we've been marking exam papers from Year 10 mocks in school, I thought I'd share a favourite from todays batch.
The final part of a question about volcanoes asks why people might want to live near one. A pupil answered-
"Really, you mean people WANT to live near volcanoes?" (Insert spelling and grammar mistakes of your choosing to produce near illegibility!)

Anyway last up is Fix it Friday, today Im going to share a tried and trusted recipe for making victoria sponge.

100g Self Raising Flour
100g Margarine or butter
100g Castor sugar
a splash of vanilla extract (not that nasty essence stuff)
2 eggs

You can increase in 50g intervals for every egg you add. To make 2 20cm diameter sponges to then sandwich together with jam or buttercream I usually use 150g of each ingredient and 3 eggs.
To make up you just beat the sugar and margarine together until light and fluffy then lob in the eggs and flour and continue beating. To cook the oven needs to be about 180 degrees centigrade and it takes about 20 minutes, sometimes longer but check after 20 mins. It's cooked when it's pale golden in colour and when you prod the top it springs back up.
This recipe is pretty much infallible, and despite what people say about sponge cakes they're really not hard. Sorry for teh lack of a picture, but I'm away for the weekend so don't need to have a sponge cake sitting around!

Fix-it-Friday

First of all, and unlike Jo I intend to shout about this from the the roof tops, I got a job today whooooo!

Second is todays fix it friday post. Todays fix it post takes the form of a plea, and a chance to fix someone else. If you've seen my page on facebook you might have realised that I donate blood, in fact I've donated 10 pints since I started at 18. Donating blood can make a huge difference to a huge number of people. That 1 pint that I donate takes me about 10 minutes, it makes a huge difference to a huge number of people as the blood is often split in to different parts. (Here comes the science), platelets can be used to help people who have trouble with their blood clotting, plasma is a straw coloured liquid that the cells float around in, this has loads of uses. Cancer patients often receive transfusions to help with their quality of life, as well as everyone who has an operation and needs a transfusion.
It really doesn't hurt that much, and requires very little effort, after all you get to lie down for most of it!
If you're in the UK you can go to The National Blood Service website here. They also have some pretty cool games.

PS. Why has it taken me 6 months to notice my header is missing a "the" and please if you spot another daft mistake like that, tell me!
PPS. I've fixed the header, and decided that I needed a more summery look, the one you see is temporary as I'm not happy with the colour scheme, however when I'm very tired is not the time to meddle with html! come back tomorrow and hopefully you'll see something a bit more coherent and springlike!

Fix-it-Friday

Well it's Friday again (how did that happen????)
For once I'm still in bed at 8.30am, which has been a bit of a rarity lately but I have a day off school today to go in to university and I don't need to go in until 11.15am. In that time I have a mountain of things to do, like packing for the weekend away I'm about to go on. Do you remember a while ago I ran for catering officer in the university club I'm a member of? While when I did I didn't quite realise that my living room would end up looking like this!


And you can't see the piles of vegetables and bread that are still behind me!
Yesterday started at 6.20am and didn't stop until 11.30pm, I practically fell in to bed unconscious! Shopping for 40 people for 3 days is a lot of food, and I don't think my body is liking me today for what it went through yesterday, too much carrying of awkward heavy crates, bending over and generally standing up for hours at a time has done nasty things to my back!
Anyway a list of things to do today-
Shower
Pack
Put clean washing away
Find things to take in to university
Collect wool from the post office

And I have to leave the house at 10.45am! I don't quite think it's going to be done in time.

Anyway I promise to be back on Tuesday (or maybe wednesday) with some entertaining photos of the weekends activities.

Which leads to me todays fix it friday before I go and shower. i thought today I'd share a few of the programs I've downloaded for my gorgeous macbook that I couldn't live without.

Planbook- this is what I use to organise all my teaching, it's an amazing piece of software ad I'd be lost without it.
You Control Tunes- this puts a play/pause, and skip button in the top menu bar, meaning I can leave iTunes minimised but still pause what I'm listening to.
Flickr Uploader- this is my newest discovery, but make uploading photos to Flickr so easy.
VLC- For some reason the volume on my macbook is stupidly quiet, all the programs that come with my mac don't let me increase it anymore, however VLC lets me increase the volume further than any other DVD/media player.

And you know what's the best thing, they're all free!

Fix-it-Friday

Todays' fix it Friday is going to start with a plea. I've just read about this on Sugarpants. The idea that a group of children will stand around watching a group of boys beat another boy into unconsciousness makes me feel sick.
How can their parents not feel shame and disgust, I feel almost more horrified at the ones who stood watching and filming it instead of helping than at the boys who did it.
Bullying makes me sick, it shouldn't happen and yet it does. the comment I made to Karen was in response to another reader saying that the parents are the ones who enable this, and they're often bullied themselves.
I totally get this, I feel bullied by some of my parents. there are some pupils in my top set for whom I dread marking their work. I know that anything less than perfect marks will result in a message from the parents wanting to know why their little darling has not achieved perfection, and practically demanding I change it. I hate that sick nervous feeling, and wish that parents would trust my professional judgement, and accept that sometimes their little darling does not work hard enough.

Anyway, please promise me that if you have children you do not automatically take the word of your child against a teacher, we put our heart and soul in to this job, however sometimes when it's the 60th test we've marked that night after a full day at work we make mistakes. We're human, and for that you need sometimes to cut us some slack.

On a poor positive note I am pleased to report that this blog is graded at being a a high school reading level.

TV Reviews

Possibly due to the fact I don't end sentences as often as I should and am far too fond of the coma!

And now for today's fix-it-friday-
I'm going to share some games today. I'm sure everyone on the planet has played Yeti sports, but if not then you can find it here. There is something highly satisfying about getting a polar bear to fling a penguin as far as you can. If you want intellectual stimulation I also love these on-line riddle escaping from a room games that you can find here.

Still jobless

So the job interview today was unsuccessful, though really that makes it sound a bit more extreme than it really is. Yet again they were really impressed with me, to the point of not being able to give me any negative feedback. They've just given the job to someone who was ever so slightly more suitable. They have however said that it is likely another job will be coming up this year (Im guessing a current member of staff is going to job interviews, and if they get a job will be handing in their notice), they have offered me that possible job, and won't be advertising/interviewing anyone else if the job does come up. This is actually really awesome, though puts me in a really odd position, I can't stop looking for jobs in case this potential job doesn't happen, but at the same time I feel like I would fit in better at this school than any of the others I've had interviews at. Oh the confusion!
I have another interview next Thursday and am just going to play it by ear in terms of if I like the school, and wether I remain a candidate by the time I get asked if I would accept the job if offered it.

Anyway, I had planned to go climbing tonight, but all my climbing partners dropped out on me. Instead I have finished Lex's socks in time for him coming to sheffield this weekend, and have also started the 2nd front piece on my Mrs Darcy obsessive cardigan.

I have also not forgotten that yesterday I promised a fix-it-friday post. For this weeks post I'm going along the culinary route. Firstly a blog containing loads of gorgeous recipes, I've mostly cooked the cakes and biscuits, but many of her savory recipes also look great. Secondly in a sharing of the bloggy goodness is a link to a blog that I read daily where she posted a link to another one of her sites containing the recipe for some really yummy looking jam turnovers that also seem to require practically no work in terms of mixing!

Fix-it-Friday

After a weeks break I am back with fix-it-friday. This Friday I'm going to share the video I created on Monday (instead of going to a lecture), that was aimed at making people vote for me and Lana caterers on the committee of the High PEak Club, despite the fact that I graduate next year, and will have managed 4 years at university without being on committee I've managed it just as I am no longer a student!

Anyway here is a video on how to make a mountain cake! (Be warned if you are easily offended I'd maybe give this a miss, it's not extremely offensive, but a cocktail stick did get a little misplaced!)


(Sorry, google video has decided to disable it (copyright?????) , it takes ages to dispute it (and it might be breaking copyright, who knows??) so I'm trying to upload a youtube version and we'll see if that one stays up.

Fix-it-Friday

Yet again it's Friday, and yet again I find myself going meh, how is it Friday again?
Basically I have nothing more to contribute this week than some links, life has just been too busy recently to manage to do more than keep up with school, Guiding and trying to have a tiny social life.
Anyway for this week I offer the Rainbow andBrownie sites on Girlguiding Uk.
If you have small daughters I'm sure they'll love the games on here.

I apologise for the poor quality of this weeks fix-it-friday. I will try harder for next week!

Fix-it-Friday

Well now that Jo has posted about the pressie I sent for her and Little Man I can actually do my post on how to make it.
Should you wish to have your own little Scottie dog, you can find the pattern here at Wee Wonderfuls.

This was really easy to make, only rudimentary sewing skills are require, and after all if something is perfect it doesn't quite have that hand-made look.

That's all for todays fix-it-friday. I am going to try and get my sock done before heading out for tonights thinking day walk!

Fix-it-Friday

Today I decided we'd have a bit of a change! I've been staying with my parents all week which has been wonderful. I don't really do lying around doing nothing so I have actually been working every day except one this week. It's been nice, I feel ready to face some kids again on Monday (or at least I will when I spend Sunday planning lessons and printing them out!)
My Dad runs a work based learning project for people with learning difficulties. They basically make garden furniture (and other things), with the aim of giving people the skills they need to be able to work.
They also make a range of nest boxes, and by coincidence it's National Nestbox week in the UK. If you do have a garden then putting up a nestbox is a really great idea. If you do get birds in it watching them fly back and forth feeding chicks is great fun. Its also good for our wildlife. If you don't have a garden them maybe you could try putting up a bird feeder. You can get window mounted ones now and the birds don't seem to mind coming so close to the house if there's food involved!

If you feel like being ultra- creative then there are directions for making your own nest box here. It's really not that tricky, I'm actually really enjoying playing with power tools!
If you have a really big rural garden you could even try a tawny owl box!
Just click on the picture to see the measurements, these things are huge!


Edited to add that a commentator has let me know that this tawny owl box design might not be the greatest. I don't know enough to really comment, it is however taken from the RSPB website. Feel free to make your own (educated) decision, we're all about personal choice here at chez hilltop. I'd say that with any bird box you need to make sure it is well constructed, can you imagine the guilt if it broke while having chicks in it! I have no doubt that whatever design is made at my Dad's project it is well constructed, after all it would have been made by my power tool wielding mother!

fix-it-Friday

Hip hip hooray for fix it Friday!

This week I am in a celebratory mood as I have just finished for a weeks holiday! (Well in a loose term, my Mum muttered something about Dad wanting me to do some climbing instruction tomorrow, and I know I will be spending 2 days safety checking all the equipment, and I have 1 day which is a job interview, and I have an induction session to run at the Guide Activity centre where I work, I have lessons to plan for next week, more job applications to fill out....), ok so maybe not a restful holiday but a change is as good as a rest..... right???

Today fix-it-friday is in keeping with my light hearted mood, and is purely a bit of fun. I introduce the wonderful Jenny B and her site Allsorts. While it is the site where I got the idea for my fabulous advent calender from, it s also the home of some wonderful activities that she has designed herself. I particularly like the decorate a gingerbread house, so much safer than having all those sweets for me to eat!

Have a wonderful weekend, if I don't manage to post in a while it will be because I've got my feet up with a drink being looked after by my Mum, or more likely I'm working my fingers to the bone....

Fix-it-Friday

It is yet again time for fix it Friday hosted by Jo at Tangled Me
I have just completed my first week in school, and am feeling quite positive about the whole thing, particularly as I don't have much to do this weekend, all my lessons for next week are planned!

I'm finally getting used to getting up at 6.45am, and am actually starting to enjoy driving to school and seeing the sun rise; it's been beautiful all week. Today is meant to be the big day we get snow, and what a disappointment it's been. So far there is not even a scattering of snow on the ground!

Anyway here's my contribution to this weeks fix-it-



A cute little pointy kitty. If you want to make your own then you can find the pattern here at Wee Wonderfuls.

If you do make one then my advice is to be really careful turning it inside out and stuffing it, I did rip mine in a couple of places and had to rescue it, which has lead to a few untidy bits.

fix-it-Friday

Well the time has come for fix it Friday again.
Now this week I actually have something physical to do! this activity is what I did with my Rainbows this week as I wanted something nice and simple. There is something strangely addictive about these spinners, and even the 5 year olds were good enough with the scissors to cut them out. If you have older kids then you can still make them but turn it in to a science investigation, maybe make the wings shorter or make it heavier... just time how long it takes to fall from a set height.

Anyway, here is your pattern, just right click and save the image and print it at a suitable size, you want it about the length of an A4 sheet.


To make it cut along all the lines I've drawn on blue (this can be a useful tactic with smaller kids to make sure they don't get it wrong)


Then fold the 2 side flaps in


Then fold the bottom bit up


and the two side sections around the "stem"

and fasten this bottom bit ll up with a paperclip to add weight so it falls the right way round.

When you have folded the wings, one in each direction you will have your helicopter, feel free to add colour. If you make one I'd love to see a photo, leave me a comment or send me an email hilltopkatie at gmail dot com


Edited to add, yes I am slightly early, however I know I won't get time tomorrow... please forgive me, the date is right though!