crazy days...

Last two weeks were crazy and depressing.

First, my husband broke down from overwork. He just couldn't move at all. That forced him to stay at home off from work for three days

Second, he broke his wrist bone on the next week.


...He is workaholic.

Even if he was not, generally this time of the year is crazily busy for all the teachers to finish up the school year, write reports and prepare for the summer break.

On top of the year-end craziness, my husband was teaching Class Eleven project of building a shelter. This was a quite big project for pupils and my husband was very eager to work on it with pupils. Actually the project was really going well. But the time for this project was limited since the pupils were going to fly to Greece on Sat.

So it was unacceptable for my husband to stay at home without helping pupils. He wanted to proceed the project as much as they can, before the pupils left for the trip.

While he was working at the construction site on Wednesday, my husband slipped on a wet surface of an old door which he used as a slope. He fell down as he tried to protect his whole body with his dominant left hand.

That broke his left wrist bone.
He said that he has heard the sound when the bone got broken... How scary...

The school office phoned 999 immediately, and we hurried to an A&E by the ambulance. He got some treatment there, but an operation was still needed to be done.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday have passed and today is Sunday.

No operation yet.

Today, finally, he went back to the hospital preparing for the operation that would be held next morning.


It was unbelievable that they didn't give him the operation immediately. Can you believe that he had to wait for the operation for five days?





It is NHS after all...






Hope the operation will go well.
Hope the doctor will be good.

Hope he will get better soon....





Now I feel lonely without my husband next to me.........XD


←This is a banner for the blog ranking at the "Blog MURA".Each click encourages me a lot! Thank you for clicking this.

Blooming!

Now various flowers are blooming and are adding colours in our little court yard.




Confrey. This weed-like plant grows everywhere and becomes good natural fertilizer. Also this can be used to make cosmetics and natural remedies as it has healing effects for skin and circulation.



Thyme. This is growing as a border in my plant bed. It has a good smell and can add nice taste to dishes.



Foxglove. This is a common wild flower that can be seen in a cottage garden.



Here is a honeysuckle. Now this climber has gotten a blackbird nest in it.



Many more flowers are gorgeously blooming now, and more will be appearing!
Let me update other flowers later!



←This is a banner for the blog ranking at the "Blog MURA".Each click encourages me a lot! Thank you for clicking this.

bamboo cloth

Do you know there are yarns made from bamboo fibre?



These are the bamboo yarns. They are so soft and smooth. I imagine this yarn would be great to knit a summer jumper.

But....I bought these yarns to knit "bamboo cloths."

One of my friends told me how well the "bamboo cloth" works for washing up. You can buy it at a supermarket, and it is reasonable. I tried it, and now I love it!

There is one problem.... just one.
The cloth is a bit too big for washing up dishes.



That's why I bought these bamboo yarns.



The natural colour cloth is from a shop, and pinkish one is my hand-knitted work.

They work great.
It doesn't get oily by washing oily plates. This cleans the plates well, and makes the plates shiny!

I usually use acrylic cloths that work really well. I don't need to use any detergent for regular use. But this bamboo cloth is even better than the acrylic one. I like the natural and ecological aspect of this bamboo fibre a lot.

Again there is one problem with this hand-knitted one.... only one.
The bamboo yarn costs more than an acrylic yarn..... XD

Probably I might as well cut the manufactured bamboo cloth into two and sew the edge.
That would be less work and less expensive.....


←This is a banner for the blog ranking at the "Blog MURA".Each click encourages me a lot! Thank you for clicking this.

Twine bag

Today I completed my new bag. The photo above is the bag. This is crocheted with twine, is good size to contain A4 files.

I like this braided handle. Isn't it nice??

The twine bag I made before was "stolen" by my son. That was just his size and he loved it. So I made this for myself.

Even though he likes this new bag .....,(↓)




I won't give this up this time!!! This is MINE!!

←This is a banner for the blog ranking at the "Blog MURA".Each click encourages me a lot! Thank you for clicking this.

Little pleasure

Today I found something pretty, that is a blackbird nest. The nest sits in our honeysuckle which is climbing on a lattice next to our kitchen door.

It is surprising to find it where we often walk around nearby. But the nest is hidden behind the flowers and leaves and it is almost invisible.

In the nest, one blackbird is sitting quietly. Probably it is waiting for its baby blackbirds will hatch. They usually have four to five eggs at a time and egg colour is brownish green.....


Isn't it exciting to imagine the tiny greenish eggs in the nest and the babies will be out of the eggs?? That would be really cute!!

And all the things are happening just outside of our kitchen!!! Wow!!


←This is a banner for the blog ranking at the "Blog MURA".Each click encourages me a lot! Thank you for clicking this.

rose garden

Today we went to a rose garden "David Austin Roses." It is a popular rose garden with nursery where we can buy all kinds of rose trees, bushes and climbers. The garden is gorgeous, the design of landscape is a bit too formal, I thought... We saw more buds than flowers unfortunately.
















Maybe two weeks from now, the garden will be splendid with colours and scents.



←This is a banner for the blog ranking at the "Blog MURA".Each click encourages me a lot! Thank you for clicking this.

Elderflower cordial

Now the season of elderflower has arrived!
Elder tree is common in Europe. Its flower is used for making cordials and the berries can be a good natural remedy for cold. We can easily make elderberry cough syrup as well.

On our school campus where we live, there are three elder trees.


Look at this !



This is one of them and the biggest elder tree on the campus!
Now it is full of elder flowers!

Have a close look at the flowers.



Aren't they cute?? They have nice scent too.


I walked to the tree with my sons, and picked a basket-full of flower head.



This photo was taken on our way home. Do you see the basket in my son's hand? It is full of the flower!!



And this is my second son who walked straight to the swings on our way home...




Cordial may be something "British" thing. It is sweet drink and we dilute it to drink.
We use berries, elder flowers, and citrus fruits for cordials, but I like "elderflower cordial" the best.

The recipe is quite simple. You need lots of flower head, sugar and lemon juice. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Then pour hot water into it. Mix well until all the sugar is dissolved. Cover it with a cling film and leave it over night.

Then dilute it with water, and ..... enjoy!



←This is a banner for the blog ranking at the "Blog MURA".Each click encourages me a lot! Thank you for clicking this.

to enter a university in England

I am aiming for studying at university in England. It is undergraduate course, although I have a degree from a uni in Japan. I just want to study something completely different from my speciality.

Normally Japanese candidates who have finished a degree in Japan can be accepted by master course in England, if they want to attend the uni as international students. But they have to pay extremely high tuition as international students.

I have a right to apply a university as a UK resident, since I live here in England. So I don't have to pay as much as international students do. Instead, I have to follow British standard exam system.

Generally, candidates are required to have qualifications, such as GCSEs and A-levels. They are British standardized exams of high school and college level.

I don't mind to study sciences, since I will need them when I study at the uni anyway. It was a long long long time ago when I studied sciences. So reviewing the basic sciences are necessary. Actually I enjoy studying sciences now.



But......problem is English.

again, English.

I have been suffering from English since I left from Japan.
If possible, I want to get away from studying English.......



For applying for the uni, I need GCSE English as grade A. That means I need to read not only modern literatures but also classic literatures. Since the exam is for native English speakers.... It is like Japanese for Japanese students.








............


Honestly to say, I was hoping to get away from the exam by taking some other English exams, such as TOEFL or IELTS, which are English tests for foreigners.

Also I was expecting that the results of IELTS would be considered by applying as a mature student.




Last month, the university administrator told me that the definition of mature students does not exist any more........


So I really really need to follow the British exam standard.......



ummmmmmmm.


I want to cry ... "help me!!!!".
But I would do this, if I have to, and if I really want to achieve this.



but.......... help me....................


←This is a banner for the blog ranking at the "Blog MURA".Each click encourages me a lot! Thank you for clicking this.

rucksack

I can't believe how fast time flies....It was almost two weeks ago when I have written this blog last time....

Anyway...,
Soon my sons will be going to a school; kindergarten and nursery. We had an interview for the enrollment before the half-term break.

Unlike Japanese kindergarten, we don't need to prepare much for starting school. I don't need to make neither a lunch sack nor a shoes bag... So I was quite relaxed for the preparation. Only one thing I made so far is a rucksack.



The materials are my husband's old jeans, leftover embroidery floss and two buttons that I found in my sewing box.

I embroidered his last name and a five-pointed star on the pocket.

Top of the sack is braided embroidery floss for the wooden button.



This is for my second son since my first son has a backpack.... But this excuse does not work for him.




The second son was carrying the rucksack on his back proudly, and the first son was jealous... of course. As I expected....

So I had to promise to make one for my first son. Fortunately I have one more pair of old jeans to make another rucksack.

...but not today....