Clean Sheets

Angelina Ballerina costume

About a month ago, while rinsing a Robinson's orange squash bottle it occured to me that the rounded top would make a good animal nose. Cut with a sharp knife (a stanley knife on a chopping board is safest) and wrapped with white felt (glued all around the wider end of the nose on the inside and then stuffed into the top and finished with a tiny pink cushion made from some polyester wadding and pink material.

White pipe cleaners were stitched on to make whiskers and two long pieces of pipe cleaner sewn on in loops to make pieces to go around her ears to hold on the nose.

The ears were pads for a bra that I bought in a sewing shop and little pieces of pink fabric sewn inside each one and then sewn onto a hairband.

Some piping card plaited with a bow at the end beacme a tail, we added to a fairy costume and Angelina was ready to go!

 

Swine flu - one woman's story

So I've had it, after all the media hype and alcohol rub at doors, H1N1 got me. At least I think it did. I wasn't officially tested but apart from vomitting and diarrohea I ticked the entire syptoms list.

So these are the things you need to know:

You will have almost no doubt whether or not you have it, this is not a bad cold. Your bones will ache, your head will feel like Paul O'Connell is standing on it. Your knees will feel like they may burst and your lower back will allow you to do nothing but lie down. You will be cold and hot at the same time. It will take 20 minutes to warm up after going to the loo. Symptoms may differ, but you get the picture. This is no head cold!

Tamiflu (antiviral drugs available free on prescription) is the only thing the government gave me this year that made me feel better.

You need to get Tamiflu within 48 hours of having symptoms or it's not effective.

Small kids in your care will probably not get it - they will fight it off bravely perhaps getting a temperature and a runny nose.

All adults living with you won't get it either - I'm not sure how.

You will need to drink lots of water.

I didn't lose my appetite.

You will not get your strength back quickly, give it time.

Turn off the radio when the news comes on. Hearing the number of people who have died from it every hour is not good for morale. 

Cleansheets is not a doctor - please ensure you get medical advice if you think you may have swine flu.

Swine flu has no respect for your plans, we were supposed to have friends stay for the weekend, go to a wedding and generally enjoy the bank holiday. My parents cancelled their trip to Dublin so they could help us with the children, Thanks!

Retail oasis in the middle of a mad week

We are doing a lot of entertaining in the Cleansheets household this week. Dinner guests and overnighters from Wednesday to Monday next. I love it and I think I am fairly organised. So it should all go quite well. (She says hopefully!)  

Yesterday afternoon my parents kindly minded the Princess and the Happy One while I did the big food shop, and picked up a new pair of jeans (badly needed).

I had a very pleasant surprise as I strolled through a department store, as a lady from the Benefit counter asked me if I was familiar with Benefit - yes I am! and would I like a mini make over - yes I would! It took a few minutes was very enjoyable, and the results were pleasing to the eye. I felt no pressure to purchase but did walk away with a wish list which I may publish online for anyone who wishes to buy me a Christmas gift!

Next was Next to hopefully purchase similar skinny jeans to the ones I had bought in the spring and still really like. Skinny jeans were a big departure for me and one I only made after reading this encouraging article on whatshewears.ie.  A very helpful assistant asked me to give her the 6 digit code off the jeans ( I was wearing them) she checked if they were still available but alas they weren't. Undeterred she found the closest 3 pairs, I tried them on and had selected another pair in just 15 minutes or so. I was brave and bought sufficiently tight enough to allow for stretch, this is mistake I have made before to my disgust.

Happily they were only 23 euro and I had paid 39 in the spring so that was a boost for the budget!

I felt so rested and indulged after 2 and a half hours shopping alone, something I would have taken completely for granted 4 years ago.

Take a break , it need only be little one!

  

Golden Leaves, Golden Moments...

This post is for Michelle who, at this time of the year, like me, is drawn to the woods.

Parenting is not all about sleep deprivation, permanent untidiness, dried on breakfast cereal and thinning patience. Once in while an image like this occurs, perhaps momentarily. These peaks on the rollercoaster that is, parenting restore us and our confidence. I'm so glad I captured this one.

Woods are magical this time of year - crunching leaves, and dappled shade.

There is something particularly photogenic about children in bright clothes among autumn leaves. Some spontaneous photos taken this time last year became our Christmas card images for last year, mmmm... I need to look through the archives for this years' soon.  

I wish you all a golden moment today (hopefully among some leaves), if you're a parent I wish you a rollercoaster peak today too!

 

New life for... an old duvet cover.

The hound is doing well these days. She was hit by a car 5 weeks ago and had to have surgery on her leg. This was an expensive business and if you have a dog but do not have pet insurance I recommend you consider it at least. You would be amazed how much 30 seconds of canine indiscretion on the road could cost. We didn't have insurance, we forked out. We were lucky to be able to but, there were lots of other things we could have done with that money. Suffice to say we will be looking for pet insurance as soon as she is no longer confined to a playpen in the kitchen.

What does all that have to do with the duvet cover in the title of this post? Truthfully almost nothing except that, the duvet cover became machine washable quilts for the hound, one of which she is lying on in this photo.

Paper, paper everywhere...

There has been little or no "domestic filing" done since we moved house (shamefully that is 2 1/2 years ago!)Some of the results are in these photos, and while we haven't actually lost anything, it hasn't always been found when required, so technically it was lost.

Our guest room doubles as an office and as you know I have recently added very attractive storage for guests clothes.  The other side of the room would be lovely too if the paper mountain eye sore was removed. So as the October Bank Holiday weekend is on the horizon and we have some eagerly awaited guests coming I decided I am going to master the mountain!

Roux the day.

I haven't done a series of posts since the pine chest was made-over and now that warming comfort food is back on the menu I though I'd give roux the spotlight for a few weeks.

I confess that it was only when The Princess began to eat solid food that I started making my own white sauce, cheese sauce and parsley sauce. I haven't used a packet mix for them since. I enjoy making them now, particularly knowing exactly what's in them and of course the raw ingredients are cheaper too. It really is very quick and the ingredients are basic so it's likely you will have them on hand.  

Roux is a mix of flour and butter cooked, equal quantities in weight.

I usually use 4 ozs of each.  

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and stir vigorously. 

Cook on a low heat for 2 minutes stirring occassionally.  

When the roux is cooled but still soft I put it in a plastic container in the fridge, where it keeps for a couple of weeks and can be used to thicken sauces and gravies.

Next week: white sauce, parsley sauce and cheese sauce and not a packet in sight.

Shepherd's Pie Recipe Error aaaah!

Somehow in transferring this recipe to a PDF the 250ml of stock required disappeared off the page.

If you were left wondering where the stock in the instructions was supposed to come from or how much of it to use I am sorry and grateful to my very busy friend Doireann with eagle eyes for pointing this out.

Enjoy your Shepherd's Pie and your weekend.

Download October_2009

No wardrobe, no panic

Our guest room doubles as a study, not ideal, but it prevents either from becoming a general dumping ground. This double use allows no space for a wardrobe so I have finally got around to providing some hanging space for guests clothes.

A recent visit to Listowel gave me time to browse in the gorgeous Elizabelle where I stumbled upon these two rose hooks and now they adorn our guest room wall, practical and beautiful!

This would also be a good solution if your guest room does have a wardrobe but it has been filled with other things - save yourself the stress of clearing space for guests clothes and get two hooks.

P.S. I still haven't hoovered up the plaster dust from the drilling -too busy admiring my handiwork!

Autumn Lamb in Shepherd's Pie

Download recipe sheet Download October_2009

Autumn Lamb getting a lot of attention from Sunday Times and Clodagh McKenna recently so not to be outdone here is Cleansheets recipe for Shepherds Pie. A trusty staple which anyone could cook for a crowd without raising blood pressure.

That's the Princess's hand in the corner of the picture waiting, not so patiently for her dinner!