end of term

December 17, 2009 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)36 Comments

I must have been in a good mood when I decided earlier this week to make some sweets as teacher presents this year. It seemed good idea at the time but that was before I realised what a hugely messy and time consuming process it would be! The chocolate truffles were relatively painless but the marrons glace were a different story. My fingernails are now rather ragged and I have 2 sugar burns – I do hope that the teachers like them and it was all worth it!

First slit the chestnuts and simmer them. At the same time make a vanilla sugar syrup

peel the chestnuts (allow at least an hour for this and give up now if you need nice nails in the next few days!!)

poach the chestnuts in the vanilla syrup

and bring to the boil for 25 minutes

drain and dip into a second stronger sugar syrup then dry overnight on a rack

pack in twists of cellophane and bag up. Then have a very large glass of wine and make a mental note to do shop bought next year!

general stuff

from dingy to dazzling

December 7, 2009 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)48 Comments

A couple of months ago my oven packed up. I'd known it was on it's last legs as it was practically an antique but even so managing without it wasn't a pleasant prospect. We did manage to replace it within a week but of course the new one was a different size and needed fitting in such a way that the old oven housing had to be demolished. Well, one thing led to another and soon we were renovating the whole kitchen.

So the last few months here have been a bit dusty but at last there is something to show for all of the effort and upheaval. We managed to do it all on a very tight budget – we left all of the fitted cupboards, tiles and worksurfaces so it's just needed some wood, a whole load of paint and a great deal of elbow grease! The kitchen now feels at least twice as big (although in reality it is quite small) and painting it in cream and buttermilk has really transformed it.

before…

after…

during…

after…

So now H has done all the hard work I suppose it's my task to keep it clean and tidy. Clean I can handle, but tidy is more difficult as I'm a natural hoarder – my little shelves are fast filling with new finds!

autism · general stuff

nomads

November 30, 2009 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)51 Comments

Life with an autistic child inevitably results in lots of compromises. What most families may take for granted as normal is often unachievable for those with special needs children. That's not to say life is worse but there is a definite need for some creative thinking and flexibilty and it definitely helps to let go of any ideals you held for how family life should be.

One of our household compromises has been to become quite nomadic, especially when it comes to sleeping and eating. Most mornings either H or I wake up in a different bed to the one we went to sleep in (largely thanks to Toby's nocturnal shenanigans). We're usually awake for a few hours each night as Toby doesn't often sleep through and is quite active when he wakes. When it comes to meals we take a similar flexible approach. Toby grazes most of the day and is an extremely faddy eater so we only tend to eat our Sunday dinner altogether at the dining table, the rest of the time it's picnics, knee balancing and plate juggling. It's all to do with coping – I think if you strive for perfection when it's not an achievable attainment then you're less likely to cope (that's my excuse anyway!)

Toby is of course the most adventurous nomad of us all, usually choosing to eat at altitude – he often heads off to the top of the climbing frame or his platform bed with his assortment of bowls but his current favourite place is half way up the stairs!