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Had parents, sis and gran over today for afternoon tea. So decked the house with an Easter tree:
I brought in the daffodils from the back garden (they just opened) and popped some Cadbury’s Mini Eggs in the rabbit dish Tom’s folks gave us for Christmas. Plus we bought some Peeps in the US last year so I had them out:
Looking forward this evening to torturing the brightly coloured mallow in some hot chocolate 
I love the Christmas Tree. It’s a tradition in our family to give a new decoration every year. Alas my flat is very small so a 4ft tree is all I can manage to fit.
Included on it are decorations from the Senior Section Lones Christmas decoration swap, origami birds from the first tree my parents had together, a salt dough bear from my first Christmas tree and so on. Plus of course my little Rudolph reindeer and my Christmas swaps.
Now I love the festive season and any excuse the decorate the library so I opted this year for a Christ-moose (or a Merry Moose-mas?)
The baubles hanging from the antlers are book wishes from staff – the poor moose became quite heavily laden by the end.
I also made a wreath for the door out of paper. (You cut a circle out of cardboard the size you want the wreath to be then cut out the middle so you have wreath shape. Next staple holly shaped bits of green paper onto it – work round the circle in the same direction. To finish cut some circles out of red, group into threes and spread amongst the holly).
The pupils decorated the tree and then I wheeled out the paper snowman making. I’ve done this before and giving pupils three increasing sized circles, a orange triangle and paper sticks always results in fun. This year I had a bunch wearing hats, smoking pipes and even one throwing a snowball. However I also had a pupil who reminded me of Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes) who made a Siamese twin snowman and another snowman holding a firework who was going to blow them apart plus a snowman on fire who was melting. Free reign of ideas is worth thinking about carefully!
Anyway his somewhat worrying snowmen inspired me to replicate the Calvin and Hobbes snowmen that I love so much (see last years tree decorations). So the main notice board got the bowling snowman and the rest were scattered in amongst the pupils creations.
I love a holiday and even though we don’t get Thanksgiving here I still like the idea. So for the first time in years I had people round for the big day itself so I decided to mark the occasion with some themed cupcakes (that and I found a source of Candy Corn!). I found the idea on the Disney Family Fun site but had to adapt it slightly since it called for Keebler Sandies Right Bites Shortbread which isn’t something i can pick up in Tesco.
So instead I sliced the top off a cupcake and cut into quarters. I put two on for wings and used one for the head. I used decorating gel to finish off the features and the afore mentioned candy corn for the tail. 
Speed Hallowe’en Costume and cunning literary joke in one.
I read Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress this week. Loved it. Lots of good stuff for Higher kids doing personal studies but much more excitingly a really good story and I love the character of Easy Rawlins. I admit that the main reason I read it was so I could wear devil horns and a long felt devil tail and a blue dress for Hallowe’en but it was well worth it.
I saw this at Central Station in Chicago. I assume there was some form of basketball themed party planned. The quote is “Basketball doesn’t build character. It reveals it.” Not sure what my past pitiful attempts at the sport revealed – possibly just that sport was not going to keep me in clothes.
I did think this would be a cool idea for a sports evening or even library display.
Well I turned 21 again on the 9th. Dumbledore was their helping me along. Tom made a great Polar bear cake (I think it’s the first time Tom’s ever given me a birthday cake let alone baked one!). It was a recipe from the Christmas ASDA magazine. Clair was their to witness and has added a bit to her blog.
Ever since I broke my hand I have felt that in the cast thing they made me wear there was puppet potential (though my Dad helpfully 
suggests with my arm up I look like one of those Chinese lucky cats you get).
Anyway Clair was throwing a 4th birthday party with a pirate theme so me and Tom decorated the old arm to look like a parrot (sort of).
I give you Rover. Made from card, tissue paper, scissors, glue and a sharpie. It took 3 hours but given we only had 3 hands between us and Tom had no idea what I was trying to make (I explained but he doesn’t have great visualisation) I’d argue that was pretty quick.
The cast came off on Wednesday so I am doing my physio so I can sew again soon.
My life seems to be full of murder mystery just now. I have a murder mystery for lessons and one the kids designed for our crime display so I decided to make one for my bears. The question is can you solve the murder?
It is a two page document so you can print it double sided and fold it like a book. Download it here
If you want to have your own murder mystery party then Hershey’s have a free one on their Halloween site complete with 2 styles, alternative endings and invitations.