The Very Hungry Jacob

The Very Hungry Caterpiller was visiting Seven Stories yesterday and Jen very kindly invited us along to see him. I didn't envy the member of staff who's job it was to climb inside the costume and then be stroked and patted by 20 excited toddlers. Here's Jacob afterwards in the Puffin exhibition.

Rick

In knitting news, here are the Rick socks (pattern by Cookie A) that I knitted for my M-i-L's birthday. I used Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. I first cast these on just before J was born and knitted about 10 rows. They then sat dormant for 7 months. Nice to finish something off.

My tricycle has no bell.....

When you purchase these in Toys R Us there's no warning label telling you that you will end up walking up and down the street pushing it at 8am in the morning. Neither does it mention the endless circuits of the house and garden that you will have to make. We do have one very happy son though.

Holiday

I've been neglecting my blog recently and one of the reasons is that we went away for 10 days to France. We flew to Paris, rented a car and drove to St Valery sur Somme on the Brittany coast. Our sister-in-law's parents kindly lent us their holiday home there. We had beautiful weather and there was lots to do. Jacob particularly enjoyed the Somme Valley steam railway. He spent most of the journey bobbing up and down and jumping about. We were both had aching arms by the end of it.

One of the places I really enjoyed was the Herbarium in the Old Town. It was originally the garden kept by the nuns that ran the hospital. They grew medicinal herbs and other plants and that was the theme of the garden. It was also a beautiful garden. It was gratifying to see that some specimens weren't as good as my plants at home. Testement to the dry weather there rather than my skill though.

Going on holiday with a 9 month old wasn't the most relaxing thing ever, but it was a welcome break from work and home, particularly following the exams. We still managed to have some lovely food and drink.

For the sheep-enthusiasts among you here is the flock of sheep that graze on the salt marsh. I took this picture from the promenade in St Valery. They were just across the river. They taste pretty nice when cooked too, especially with the local speciality, samphire.

Curries for Sheep

"Forget low-energy lightbulbs and solar-powered homes – curry spices could hold the key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Research carried out at Newcastle University has found that coriander and turmeric – spices traditionally used to flavour curries – can reduce the amount of methane produced by bacteria in a sheep’s stomach by up to 40pc."

Rest of article.