Warm Christmas Hearth

This was the Christmas display in the foyer of our school in Christmas 2008.

It was alot more traditional than this year's prolific Penguin display but certainly just as praise worthy.

It looks like a lovely place to spend Christmas to me with the jolly fire blazing away in the fireplace, all of which have been modelled from paper by the school's hard working staff.

I especially love the paper wreath. Our school makes an effort to ensure Christmas special for all its pupils; each and every one - as Tiny Tim would say - best portrayed in a 'Muppet Christmas Carol' in my humble opinion :P

Penguin Playground

Each half term the staff at our primary school decorate the foyer in a different theme.

This half term it is the Penguin Playground for Christmas. There are penguin story and factual books, penguin activity sheets, a large blow-up penguin and a penguin decorated Christmas Tree.

Every child in the school has a piece of art work on display. I think it gives the children not only a sense of pride in themselves and their work, but also in their school and the community they are apart of through the school.

The staff and the children put in so much work; it always looks fabulous and makes the entrance to the school so welcoming.

I just love Christmas, it tends to bring out the best in us all :)

Christmas Gingerbread

B2 has been doing Christmas craft at Rainbows. Rainbows is the same as 'Gumnuts' in Australia; the youngest group in the Girl Guide Association.

She was even kind enough to share them with her brother and sister; she was feeling in the Christmas spirit ;)

Rudolf comes to Guernsey

Mr Bee is mortified and has sworn he will not drive the car!

The Bumble Bee'rs want them worn at all times, sun, rain, hail, sleet and snow.

They certainly have caused a bit of a stir.

I must say, I think I will have had my fill of the Bumble Bee'rs singing 'Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer' by the end of the week though and there will still be 20 days of Christmas Carol Cheer left.

Thankyou to the Clare Place Gang who gave them to me for Christmas last year when we were in Australia.

Nothing wrong with spreading a little Christmas Cheer!

Demented Echinda on the Loose

Yesterday was B2's long awaited 'Animal Party' . Normally we tell the kids that they are allowed to invited seven guests, as that is what we can comfortably fit around our table. B2 'COULD NOT, NO WAY MUM' narrow it down to seven, so she invited eight. I just know that I have opened the flood gates now....'but she got to invite eight, why can't I invite eight?'

The new favourite colour of the moment is purple. The sequin masks were actually purchased in Australia two and a half years ago. And yes, if you were wondering, they are the dreaded eye exploding balloons from last year's Princess party. I wore my sunglasses to blow them up this time :P


Now you must understand that before we moved to Guernsey I had only visited the Island for five jet-lagged days, during which time we had only managed to find one supermarket. As a result I had some how convinced myself that we were moving to some sort of shopping wasteland, devoid of all children's party supplies. Before we left Brisbane I went on a stress fuelled shopping spree of epic proportions. Internet, what Internet? What do people in Guernsey do for party supplies? Why did I need all these party supplies? These rational questions never entered my somewhat panic stricken head. But where would I get glitter in the shape of flowers to sprinkle on the table??


You know people actually commented on how well I handled the big international move with three small children. I didn't handle it well at all actually, I just hid it well. They didn't see my 'Just in case' party supply box jammed so full of theme based party bag gifts or sequined masks that the lid would not close without a large amount of force.


Anyhoo, B2's party was a great success, at least she tells me it was. It was an animal party full of animal games 'Pin the Horn on the Unicorn' (designed by and drawn by B2), Pass the Parcel with animal questions asked of each guest, 'What am I?' where people had the name of an animal stuck on their backs an could ask one question of each guest that would result in a yes or no answer in order to work out what animal they were, Musical Statues, Sleeping Lions where they had to lie completely still and were only allowed to blink or breathe (very good game, takes ages and they are all quite!!! - highly recommended to all parents). Mr Bee suggested we just play eight games straight of sleeping lions, feed them and send them home!

Jelly ahh, the jelly. Four different flavours layered in ten little jelly cups and two rabbit moulds (well it is an animal party) - four and a half hours later, after each layer had set before you add the next one, it was finished.

The top of this poor little fellow's head came off in the mould so some quick bunny brain surgery was required. Please note the pink heart topped toothpicks on the sausages on the shelf below. Yep, they too were purchased two and a half years ago; don't tell anyone, I think it may be a sickness.

My poor, poor sad little echidna. I let B2 choose her own cake from my gazillon (this is a technical term specifically relating to children's cake books) kid's cake books and she choose an echidna ice-cream cake.

'Great, fabulous, stupendous' I thought as I made Mr Bee this cake for his 35th birthday and it was a snap. What a deluded idiot I am. I did not factor in the tiny, tiny, tiny space in our kitchen which is apparently called a freezer. This cake is made for an Australian freezer, more akin to the American type. The cake was after all from the Australian Woman's Weekly cookbook. The cake didn't fit, move the freezer shelf, the cake did not fit, move the freezer tray, sweat, swear, the cake did not fit, gray hairs sprouting. I had to assemble most of the cake while the guests where here. I did manage to stick in all the spines the night before but, brainiac that I am, I put raspberries in the ice-cream thinking it would make for a nicer cake (which it did) but try jamming a chocolate finger biscuit into a frozen raspberry hidden just below the ice-cream surface; snap, arrrgghhh, snap, arrrgghh, snap, mmmm one for me (stress relief don't you know).

Did you know that you can NOT purchase Ice Magic anywhere in Guernsey? Well I didn't and I may have rethought B2's cake had I known. So rather than the echinda having a wonderfully smooth and chocolate covered face he looked as if he had a bad case of the pox. The cake ended up looking, well a little sad to be frank, B2 sseeeemmmmmed happy but it definitely did not look like the picture in the book - it did taste OK judging by all the munching going on so I suppose it was a success. One of my more stressful cake experiences I must say but B2 enjoyed herself so at the end of the day this is all that mattered. Happy Birthday B2!

Caramel Bovine Noses

I love these two photos and I have been meaning to post them. I really like those cow paintings some artists do, right, up-close-and-personal with the cows. These photos reminds me of one of those paintings. I took them way back in September when we went blackberry and sloe picking. It wasn't really that long ago but it sure seems it at the moment. It was sunny - something we have been missing alot here at Bumble Bee Cottage.



It has been cold wet and very windy for the last five weeks. One Saturday morning, not too long ago, our trampoline made a bid for freedom into the great beyond. It was lifted up about five metres into the air, carried for fifteen metres across our yard and crash landed upside down on top of our swing set. One of the poles that hold the anti-child-breaking net around the outside was bent so it has been relegated to the patio, behind a wall, where hopefully it will not be able to repeat romp into the great blue, grey and cloudy really, beyond.

Ah, September, where have your sunny days gone. Ah October and November - the months of trying to wash our cottage into the ocean. Roll on the end of January when the happy little yellow daffs will cover the paddocks and hedge veges and drier days are on the way.

I don't mind the rain, really I don't; it is just that I would like to go outside and winter proof my garden before it is too late and I can't face doing it in the sheeting rain in 9*c plus the wind chill.

I think I'll just focus on the cows.

How narrow is too narrow?

Answer: If you fit it is NOT too narrow. It does not matter if you are in the Town (St Peter Port)........

or in the Country (St Saviour)........

Guernsey roads are narrow and a bit scary sometimes; especially if a tractor or truck comes the other way!