The things that say ‘me’

The things that say ‘me’

I have kept a very ‘sciencey’ focus to my blogs for the last while; it was a deliberate and conscious move in a slow transitional way. However, some of my very favourite posts here are the personal ones and sometimes I do miss writing them. And then I read this lovely post by Awfully Chipper (objects of me), about all the little things that project her character and likes, that will trigger memories of ‘mom’ in her childrens’ minds. As I read, all my own little personal images popped into my head and I decided to join in.

So here you are, a personal post with not a bit of science in sight: The things that say ‘me’…

Stripes

My daughter recently said to me…  “You look lovely today mum, even though you are not wearing stripes”. That says it all really. I was surprised initially by her comment, but one look in my clothes drawer reveals my love of all things stripy.

Stripy

 

Red and spotty

Red and spotty

This item is new, but still very ‘me’. After a recent phone change, I asked my husband to buy me a cover. I told him which type I wanted, but as for the colour and pattern, I suggested he ‘surprise me!’ (Every husbands nightmare.) The man did good though. I was delighted when he returned home with this red, spotty cover. Along with my love of stripes, I also have a hankering for things that are red, or spotty… or both! This was emphasised when someone pointed out how coordinated I was one day… my scarf matched my phone! (I hadn’t even noticed.)

 

Scarves

Speaking of scarves… I love them. I wear them most days of the year. Warm ones in Winter, lighter ones in Summer… but nearly always with a scarf.

Scarves

 

Elephants

I love, love, love elephants, such beautiful animals; For me, their sense of community and ‘love’ for their babies adds to their appeal; I began to collect little elephant trinkets many years ago. These little collections suddenly reached a critical mass, as other people noticed and suddenly it was ‘elephants’ for every birthday/Christmas/gift thereafter. I found myself with a house brimming with elephant paraphernalia, and the appeal waned. Over the years, my elephant stocks have dwindled to a small number of much-loved objects. My sister, who happens to have the best talent in the world for buying gifts, still manages to give me elephant themed gifts. They are subtle, they are beautiful, and I love them. These are some of my favourites.

elephants

 

Pizza

Apparently a lot of food items popped up on this list when I asked my children for suggestions. They spoke of the dishes I make that they like the most, but pizza seemed to make it to the top of the list. No surprise really, as I have been making it every Friday night for more years that I care to remember.

pizza2

 

Mammy’s smell

Don’t worry, this is not as bad as it may sound. I’m very sensitive to smells and it seems some of my children are too. My boys can literally tell if someone has visited the house while they were at school. My youngest says he loves the ‘smell of mammy’, sometimes he likes to curl up with one of my scarves because it smells of me. I remember that as a child too, the lovely comfort and safety in the smell of my mum and dad. If I wear an usual perfume he will comment that I don’t smell of me, and he doesn’t tend to like it much!

Smell

 

Respect

This was the nicest one of all. When I asked my daughter for a suggestion she said “when people respect me it makes me think of you, Mum“. What a heart melter! For that comment, I even let her drink out of my favourite mug – wouldn’t you?

Respect

 

They are my objects, an unusual mix when I look back on them. What would be on your list? If you want to read more, or join in, check out the lovely linky over at Awfully Chipper.

Another week in Dinners (linky)

Another week in Dinners (linky)

I love the Bumbles of Rice blog, showing life as it really is. Sinéad, from Bumbles of Rice often shares images and recipes of what the family is eating on an given day. Sometimes it turns into a whole week in dinners, and a linky. I took part in one last year and I’m delighted to do so again. Apart from being “nosey” I love getting ideas and inspiration from what other people share, and it’s nice to see that other families have their quick-cheats too.

So here is what we ate in the Sicence Wows house this week…

Monday

Dinner was home-made burgers with home-made chunky coleslaw, for me anyway, my kids turn their noses up at the coleslaw (which was a favourite of mine as a child) so they got corn and carrot sticks instead. A good start to the week, no complaints, no bribes required and they all went back for seconds. What’s seldom is wonderful, as they say!

Monday

Tuesday

I decided to try something new on Tuesday, some sticky chicken wings with chilli dip from The Extra Virgin Kitchen Cookbook. I served them with home made oven chips and broccoli. They were fairly successful, despite the request to “remove the black bits and then I’ll eat them”. Good enough that I would make them again, but maybe with a second batch of chicken wings containing no marinade.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Wednesday night I kept it easy and simple, fish fingers, beans and mashed potato. Another good night (it turns out this week contained less dinner complaints than usual, it is a good thing I have it documented for my own records!).

Wednesday

Thursday

This one I knew would be a crowd pleaser… home made chicken goujons, served with (ahem) more home made oven chips and broccoli and peas. I could go a whole week without cooking with potatoes as my kids are not big fans but this week I had a big bag and used them (it seems) in every meal. The vegetables were a bit repetitive too, it was a case of using up what was there.

Thursday

Friday

No matter what is going on in the world there is always one constant that can be relied upon… Friday night is pizza night in the Science Wows household. The kids like them with corn, salami and olives. Sometimes the sauce is home made roasted veg, sometimes it is from a jar. I made a big batch of sauce last week and froze it in portions (I make it a bit like a ratatouille then blitz it so that no one can recognise an “offending” vegetable).

The adults had theirs with a bit of blue cheese, pear and prosciutto (this is the posh combo that would ideally be completed with some caramelised onion – but not this time).

Friday

That is our week in dinners, if you want to see what other families are really eating, check out the posts in the linky by clicking on the image below. I’m off to steal some ideas for the next few weeks!

Click the image to see what others have shared
Click the image to see what others have shared

 

What has your family had for dinner this week?

Christmas memories (a seasonal linky)

Christmas memories (a seasonal linky)

As a child Christmas was always my favourite time of year. As an adult I think it still is… the lists, the planning, the choosing of gifts, the food, the lights, the parties…. and the tree. My husband seems to think that if I was left to my own devises our house would look like an exploded Christmas cracker! I will concede that Christmas may be a time for going a little over the top… from food and festivities to (over) decorating! For me Christmas is also about memories…. The recent ones, the distant ones, and the ones we have yet to make! One common feature in many of my own Christmas memories is the Christmas tree.

photo credit: jDevaun.Photography via photopin cc
photo credit: jDevaun.Photography via photopin cc

My very first memory contains a Christmas tree… it was my third birthday and I remember sitting by it, playing with a newly received present and turning my back on all my little party friends.

For many years as I grew up, Christmas day meant a big breakfast in my Nanny’s house. My Nanny was a wonderful woman with a very big heart and a very small house but she always filled it with family. She had 35 grandchildren and instead of buying each and every one a gift, she would let us pick something from her Christmas tree that she would fill with lots of little trinket. One year in particular stands out for me…. I picked a little satin purse with the image of a little girl on it. That little purse has stood the test of time and every year since has had a place on our Christmas tree. Even now as I am all grown up and have a tree of my own, I always take a moment, as I place it on the tree, to remember the wonderful woman who gave it to me.

Fast forward a few years and I got the chance to buy and decorate my very first Christmas tree. I was in my early twenties and sharing a house with two other student friends. We all decided we had to have a REAL tree to get the full effect and got a little carried away while choosing it (they DO all look a lot smaller when viewed outdoors!). We chose the biggest tree we could find but had to cut half of it away just to get it in the front door. Another few branches had to be trimmed to get it into our tiny sitting room and still more to stand it upright. We could hardly fit into the room with it but oh how we loved that tree. The closest we could come to Christmas carols was a Bing Crosby CD we found so we played it on a loop and danced around the house decorating every surface we could find. Perhaps inspired by my Nanny and her “TARDIS” like home, that little house held many a Christmas party, bursting at the seams with the number of people contained within… and always under the twinkling lights of an oversized, over decorated tree.

These days the student Christmas parties have been replaced with more family friendly celebrations. We love putting up the tree together – we are still getting a very large tree but at least the tree can actually fit in the door of our family home. As the boxes of decorations come down from the attic the excitement increases… a treasure trove of memories just waiting to be rediscovered.  We decorate and marvel at our carefully chosen tree, with Christmas carols blaring in the background and hot seasons drinks and treats to add to the festive fervour. Adding to the Christmas glow is the knowledge that we are creating new Christmas memories for us all.

Every year, as we decorate the tree, myself and my husband chuckle away as we recall a Christmas memory our first born son created for us. When he was one he became truly fascinated with the big tree with the sparkly lights that his parents placed in the corner of the room. Whenever he could escape he would sit under the tree and placing a Christmas light in his mouth. We would turn around to see a little boy sitting quietly, his two cheeks glowing from the bulb.  He used to have such a serene and contented look on his face.

This Sunday we will all go together to pick our tree and spend the afternoon decorating, admiring and remembering. We will prepare for the big event by making our own new decorations to add to the tree, a fairly new tradition we have kept up over the past few years.

Homemade Crystal decorations
Homemade Crystal decorations

Perhaps this Christmas, we will create another new memory or two to carry fondly with us into future Christmases, yet to arrive. Memories are great stories to share so that is why I am inviting you all to share some of your Christmas memories with me. If you want to join in this seasonal linky just write your post and click on the blue button below to add it to the list. There is even a badge (below… just click, save and use) you can include in your post. Of course you don’t need a blog to get involved, feel free to add your memories to the comments below!

If sharing these linky posts on social media please use the hash tag #christmasmemories.

 

Add the linky badge to your blog post
Add the linky badge to your blog post

I hope you all get to make many happy new memories this Christmas too!

Autumn, Equinox and resharing

Autumn, Equinox and resharing

Happy Autumn Equinox! With all this lovely weather we have been having it was easy to forget it. I thought it was apt that the weather became more chilly today as it is the official Autumn Equinox, marking, for many, the start of Autumn.

I have written before of how we Irish like to define the seasons in our own bizarre ways. The same post also describes what an equinox is, if you want the nitty, gritty detail. Personally, I judge the seasons more by the cues in Nature and I certainly have noticed the birds starting to gather for their migration, the days beginning to shorten and the leaves on the trees beginning to change colour. I always thing the colour display of Autumn is worth the colder nights and darker days.

Did you ever wonder why and how the leaves change colour? Well it turns out I wrote about that too, in my first ever blog post. Today I get to share it with you again while joining in a blog linky by lovely fellow Galway blogger, Aedin, over at Minis and Mum, as she invites people to share their first ever post in celebration of her lovely blog’s three year anniversary.

So here is a repost of mine…

 

CARROTS, CABBAGES AND CUPS OF TEA…

It’s funny how Autumn comes around every year and I realise how much I love this time of year…. it’s as though I seem to forget I like it all throughout the other seasons.  Of course we have had a particularly nice Autumn this year in the West of Ireland and maybe that has re-enforced my happy memories of the season.  The days have been bright and crisp showing off all the beautiful colours in all their glory and splendour.

photo credit: Stellas mom via photopin cc
photo credit: Stellas mom via photopin cc

I grew up in Co. Wicklow surrounded by some beautiful deciduous woods and forests and this Autumn has really brought my childhood memories flooding back.  My mother brought us often to the woods as children and we would hunt around for hidden treasures and delights to bring home and turn into some “masterful” collage in homage to the season.  There was also the foraging, a distinctive primordial instinct in us all, there is nothing as pleasing as returning home with your bounty… be it blackberries or sweet horse chestnuts- to be turned into jams and tarts or painstakingly peeled off all nasty layers to reveal  the divinely sweet, fruity, nutty delight beneath.  In fact the joy that came with eating the nut always made it suddenly worth your while to start the arduous task of peeling all over again!

…and I hope that I will never outgrow the delight of running, kicking, shuffling through a crisp new crop of fallen leaves!

As many people know, the lovely green of most leaves is caused by the pigment chlorophyll… green in colour (obviously) and capable of using sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into energy (sugar) for the plant.  However, when the sunlight hours fade coming into winter so too does the chlorophyll in the leaves of trees, or, to be more precise, the pigment begins to degrade and is not replaced.  Once the green colour is gone other pigments that are often present in the leaf come into view… carotenoids are pigments responsible for the yellow/orange colour of leaves, anthocyanins are responsible for the redder colour of leaves and tannins are responsible for the brown colour of leaves.  There is, within this pigmented system, a sense of hierarchy, at least in part.  But did you ever wonder about the science behind those wonderful colours?  I did… why the green suddenly disappears, where does it go and how do the other colours get there in its place? So, if like me, you ever wondered about these things… here is some insight into the why and what of Autumn!

 

photo credit: looseends via photopin cc
photo credit: looseends via photopin cc

Carotenoids are the pigments responsible for the orange colour of carrots. If carotenoids are present their colour tends to dominate leaving the leaves yellowy and orange.

In the absence of carotenoid, anthocyanin is the dominant pigment. Anthocyanin (the same pigment found in red onions, red grapes, red apples and red cabbage) is a natural pH indicator, meaning that it can change colour depending on the levels of acids or bases/alkali in its environment.  In fact one of my favourite experiments that I often do with children is to demonstrate this colour changing using anthocyanin extracted from red cabbage (but that’s a whole other blog in itself).  At the beginning of Autumn the levels of sugar in the leaves tends to be quite high, increasing the acid levels in the leaves, this strengthens the red colour of Anthocyanin if it is present in the leaves.

At the end of Autumn the leaves die off and the levels of carotenoids and anthocynins die off too, leaving another pigment to dominate… and this is the brown pigment of tannin, the same pigment that give a cup of tea it’s colour!

So there you have it… next time you are crunching through those leaves you may wonder why you are suddenly thinking of carrots and cabbages and cups of tea!!!

 

There are lots of lovely “first steps” posts to read in this linky, just click on the image below to find some more.

Minis and Mon - First Steps Liny
Minis and Mum – First Steps Linky

 

Science Wows takes a holiday – and leaves you with some travel tips (not for the faint hearted)

It is holiday time in the Science Wows house today. Hopefully, while you are reading this I will be jetting off to somewhere nice and sunny for a bit of R&R and to soak up those rays (Sunscreen packed of course!)

The first half of our summer holidays has gone really well so far, despite a bumpy start. The four year old assumed the holidays from school also meant we were about to hop on a plane to foreign lands and was quite put out when that didn’t turn out to be the case.

He got over it soon enough, but there is no denying his enthusiasm. He chose his suitcase months ago and has had it stashed under his bed ever since. When the “week to the holiday” whistle was blown he decided it was time to pack. His brother joined in too and it was the best morning long activity of the whole summer so far. The only issue I would have with it is the content of their suitcases.

Here is an example of what they packed…

  • Chess set X 1 (this has now been moved to the hand luggage!)
  • Moshi monsters X 1,000 (I may be rounding it off but that gives a pretty good estimate)
  • Loom bands X 1,000 (and NO that is not me exaggerating again!)
  • Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (this alone has probably used up the entire Ryan air luggage weight quota – but apparently it is an essential for travelling to anywhere foreign)

 Spot anything missing from their suitcases? That’s right… clothes! Who needs them, apparently!

As part of this lovely linky over at Colorines Wonderful I have been inspired to share with you some tips on travelling with children. I have kept this one to the air-travel side of things!

  • The first one is obvious… don’t let your children pack their own suitcases 😉
  • Keep it light and simple! I used to think I had the hand luggage sorted, covering every option, every food group, every recreational preference. All I really had was over packed bags and a sore shoulder from all the weight. Have you ever tried to retrieve a scattered set of colouring pencils from under the seat of a plane?
  • This leads nicely on to the next tip, once your children are old enough GET THEM TO CARRY THEIR OWN HAND LUGGAGE! They will quickly ditch all those extras!
  • Travel days are not the time to worry about their five a day! I used to pack all the healthy food stuff but it really just means you are trying to cover up the dried fruit and bread sticks mashed into the aeroplane seat! Once they are not filling on e-numbers and lots of fizzy drinks then its a good day to chill and ignore regular meal times and nutritional content.
  • Don’t underestimate how long a child can take in the toilet when you really need to get moving. Try to get this business out of the way WELL before the flight even boards! I am sure there must be a mathematical formula out there proving how the speed of the child’s bodily functions is inversely proportional to the amount of time you have to dash to the boarding gate and smile sweetly at the irate air staff who have called you by name because you are THAT late!
  • When on the plane REMEMBER TO BREATH! The more relaxed you are, the calmer your children will be… and the less likely they will be to spend the entire journey kicking the seat in front of them!
  • If you are travelling with a baby… your entire hand luggage should only consist of spare changes of clothing. Bring three times more nappies than you can ever imagine needing. You would not believe what those altitudes can do to a child’s digestive system but you are likely to find out as well as learning how hard it is to change a baby in an aeroplane toilet! And yes, I am definitely speaking from experience on this one!
  • Once the flight is over NEVER ask another parent how they got on! They may be in denial and make you feel even worse than you already do!
  • Finally, once you have all the luggage collected and children corralled you can start to smile again and relax. Unless you have yet to collect the rental car; In that case we go right back to …REMEMBER TO BREATH!

After reading all this you may want to check out the other posts in the linky, for some more realistic, and optimistic tips and advice 🙂

In the meantime enjoy your summer holidays, whatever you are doing or wherever you are going and I will be back here very soon to WOW you with some more scientific takes on every day life.

Until we meet again this is what I will be at…

scientists on vacation

Our “week in dinners”

Our “week in dinners”

I really love the “A Week in Dinners” series over on Bumbles of rice so I couldn’t resist joining in when the series was opened up as a blog linky. I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else is eating (because I am so nosy!) but here is my contribution!

This is what we ate for the second week of the Easter holidays.

Monday

We arrived back from visiting my parents with a LOT of chocolate and the leftover lamb from the big family Easter dinner. My mum is like most Irish Mums … afraid of not having enough she tends to cook a lot, especially when she has the whole family to feed. Knowing that the left over meat would not be eaten I took it home for a few more meals.

First up… a kind of curry with a Moroccan twist? (Okay I improvised and as the cupboards were fairly bare I threw in what I had to hand). Onion and garlic are always a good starting point, followed by tomatoes, carrots, herbs from the garden, tin of tomatoes, spices, raisins and ground almond…. I am a bit of a chuck it in and see what happens cook! It smelled good enough to draw them to the table… and I served it with a bowl of couscous.

 

Monday
Monday

 

I was a bit nervous serving this one up, waiting for a litany of complaints but SURPRISE! SURPRISE! they all loved it! Every scrap eaten. I was one smug mama sitting at a silent table of busy eaters!

 

Tuesday

As I said, my Mum cooks for an army when she has the whole clan together so despite last nights dinner, there was still plenty of lamb left over! “Waste not want not” as they say so the family was subjected to another round of lamb left overs. This time disguised as a stir fry, served with noodles.

Tuesday
Tuesday

 

Sit fries are common enough around here, usually with prawns or chicken but I thought I was fairly safe with this one. Not so! Perhaps one lamb dish too many, this one went down with mixed reviews, and a fair bit of picking the “I don’t like this” bits out.

 

Wednesday

It was the Easter holidays and I still had not done the big weekly shop so I decided to limp along through the rest of the week on what we had around the kitchen. The chickens were all back laying so we had a good supply of eggs… a Tortilla was on the cards for Wednesday night.

Wednesday
Wednesday

 

Served with broccoli and smoked salmon (for the egg hating family member)  this was another hit. Happy diners all around and clear plates at the end of the meal. Another smug mama moment.

 

Thursday

As a rare and very special treat my hubby and I dined out on Thursday night so the kids were fed pasta with sauce and bruchetta and the adults ate this:

Thursday
Thursday

 

After a little stroll around Galway City we settled on a lovely little tapas restaurant (Lunares) for dinner and it didn’t disappoint! We got three tapas between us: potatoes with chorizo and a fried egg, prawns in garlic and chili and a chicken dish, marinated in wine. All washed down with a lovely glass of Tempranillo! The food, ambiance and service were excellent. The taste of the food was made all the nicer by the fact that I did not have to cook it or do the wash up after!

 

Friday

Friday night is pizza night in our house… without fail! On a good night the toppings are all gourmet and there are accompaniments such as chips and a lovely salsa, on a bad night it is sauce from a jar with a sprinkle of cheese. This Friday night fell somewhere in between… the sauce was homemade roasted vegetable but the toppings were basic enough (salami and olives with a sprinkle of blue cheese for the more adventurous) and there was no chips or salsa.

Friday
Friday

 

Each pizza has to be made to the personal preference of each family member, some like small thick bases, other prefer them large and wafer thin. Regardless of how they like them, they all eat them without complaint which always makes the little bit of effort worthwhile.

 

Saturday

Still no shopping done but a rummage in the freezer revealed a pack of fish fingers so we were in business. Served with homemade oven chips and yet more broccoli and everyone was happy.

Saturday
Saturday

 

Simple, basic but no complaints… that is good enough for me!

 

Sunday
Pancakes for dinner?
Pancakes for dinner?

We started the day well, with a big grill and homemade smoothies but the weather drew us outside for the day and after plenty of adventures and work in the garden, a lovely neighbour dropped us in a lemon drizzle cake. I hadn’t even started dinner but it was one of those rare moments when you just go with the flow and five hungry people tucked into a delicious lemon drizzle cake… and ate the lot. After that there was not much point in making a dinner really so I waited another hour or two until everyone was hungry enough and it was a kind of “eat what you want” meal (not very good mothering there I know). There was beans on toast for one, ryvita and cheese for another, sandwiches, fruit…. and even pancakes for one lucky boy !

A real medley of a meal and not very healthy, I’ll admit, but a nice way to round off the last day of the Easter holidays.

 

So that is our week of dinners, what did you have?
Check out the linky over at Bumbles of rice to see what everyone else is eating!
Bon Appetit!

 

Click on the badge to check out other posts in the linky