A couple of cakes

Orange and Rosemary cake decorated with candied rosemary leaves and a few rosemary flowers.

Every Wednesday is 'cake day' due to Nin doing various martial arts training (Jujitsu, Sparring and Sports Sword) and not getting home until coming on to 8pm. As she's a tad hungry when she gets back, we've been having a slice of cake when she gets in.

Apple & Walnut Cake with Treacle Icing

Nin has taken to making the cakes for Wednesday and I've included a couple of them here.

Orange & Rosemary Cake (which she decorated with rosemary flowers)

Apple & Walnut Cake with Treacle Icing - she used home-made kefir cheese and olive oil (we don't use rapeseed oil here!)

She's also made a Pear cake and a Rhubarb & Orange Cake (both were lovely - particularly the Orange & Rhubarb).  Looks like she's developing a passion for baking (and none of us are complaining!)

Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds

Another belated post, sometimes it can be hard to find the time to sit down and sort through photos and write something.  As camera flashes aren't allowed on site, some of the photos are rather 'grainy'.

Around my birthday (April) we took a trip to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds and had a fantastic day out. The museum is free entry (amazingly - bearing in mind the how much we enjoyed it and the regular talks and demonstrations that were happening throughout the day, especially as this was during term-time rather than in holidays.

We had a go at drawing a longbow (it was hard work).

Children's armour (because even centuries ago some little boys clearly wanted to be 'just like Daddy'). The little knight above is a toy.

Various demonstrations and talks were on throughout the day.

The swords used were very long - taller than Ted!

The demonstrators were happy to answer questions, although Nin looks a bit worried holding such a dangerous piece of weaponry.

Some of the personal hunting rifles/guns were beautifully carved and inlaid.

There were also various early air-rifles (which were rather odd-looking).

A talk by 'Davy Crockett'.

This gun is currently on loan to the museum.  It belonged to John Tunstall, employer of William Bonney (who went on to become 'Billy the Kid').

The Oriental Gallery had some very beautiful armour on display.  The Tokugawa Armour (below) was part of a gift made to King James I.

The gallery displays armour and weaponry from across Asia (India, Japan, China, Central and South East Asia). I've included some photos here in no particular order.

The elephant armour pictured is in the Guiness Book of Records as the largest animal armour in the world.

By the time we reached the Oriental Gallery we were fast running out of time so had to whizz through and didn't really get to have a look around the displays of more recent weapons, plus contemporary social issues (such as gang crime, below) - although, I don't really think these displays are particularly appropriate for Nin and Ted at present.  

There was so much more than we were expecting at the museum and we simply ran out of time to get around everything!  It took a few hours just to see the first couple of galleries and Nin would have spent longer watching the various films and doing assorted interactive activities.  There were also regular talks throughout the day and I think we could've spent the day just going from one talk to another!  We'll certainly be returning some time soon!

A summer benefit of home ed

Is that you can take your books outside, don some (wonky) sunglasses and enjoy some reading in the sun! We're steadily getting the back garden cleared and the blank spaces filled.

And when you're finished with the books and have had some lunch, you can head on out into the locale, for a foray to photograph wild flowers, which can also take in popping into the impromptu garden centre that's opened on the side of someone's house (they popped a cow outside to attract attention):

(When Rosie, one of our cats, follows us this cow really worries her and she just can't seem to work it out at all and gives it a wide berth - although thankfully not so far that she's in the road)

Nin bought a couple of young fuschias for £1.00 each (one that will have pale pink blossoms and another with a pink stained leaf - doubtless there will be photos of them once they're planted up and in flower in her 'square' of the garden).   I suggested she pop them home (as we were going on to the larger garden centre in the village) and Ted didn't fancy the all of a couple of minutes walk home, so we waited on the verge and he made dandelion chains:

Fuschias duly dropped off on the front door step, we continued on and hadn't got a few steps when a man passing by told us to hurry to the ponies on the back lane as one had just foaled.  So we picked up the pace and found the little fellow below (and his mother showing signs that he had indeed not long been born).

We stayed and watched a while before getting on with the purpose of our walk (to photograph and then try and identify the various flowers we could find).  In alphabetical order (sort of) as that's how it appears in the photo folder.

If I get any wrong - please do let me know!

There is still plenty of blossom to be found (Ted took this photo) - not sure what sort of fruit blossom this is, but doubtless we'll find out in due course (I'm guessing cherry).

Buttercup (Meadow Buttercup?)

Chickweed

Forget-me-not - not sure which sort, though.

Gorse

Greater Stitchwort

Green Alkanet (I think!)

Ground Ivy

Not sure on this one - something from the Prunus family?  Maybe damsons or bullace?

Red Deadnettle

Ribwort Plaintain

Round leaved Cranesbill

A couple of Speedwells, which I think are different sorts, but I don't know what particular kinds they are.

Thale Cress (I think)

Quite a few flowers photographed and hopefully identified correctly (plus where they were clearly common and not endangered, we collected a few to press).  We also had a potter around the garden centre and bought some dahlias (edible - who knew?) and a yellow raspberry plant - the specifics of both I can't remember off-hand (and have to wind-up here and make custard so can't pop and check right now).

I plan to put together a page on here to make a note of all of the species of wild flower that we find and photograph over the coming year (as well as make a note of things in our Nature Journals) as something for us to look back on :)