Gauntlet of Iniquity and Keep of Dragons by Daniel Adorno

Having recently read The Blade Heir, I went on to read the next two books in the series: Gauntlet of Iniquity and Keep of Dragons.  These books continue the story of Lucius as he tries to fulfil his destiny in being the Ellylei.

I'm not going to talk too much about the story itself, because I don't want to give away any spoilers; but over the two books there is treachery, rebellion, secrets, promises, love, battles, death, heartache and much more.

I do remember reading some of the reviews saying they didn't like this series because the dragons are baddies. Yes, they are, but that shouldn't put you off.   As much as I enjoy books where dragons are portrayed as intelligent creatures, it's good to occasionally read a book that rewrites the script somewhat.

The story is well written, and keeps the right level of suspense.  Some of the sub-plots are predictable, but it just means it's an enjoyable read that's comforting.  It is easy to read, and a couple of times I had to force myself to stop reading so I could get some sleep.

I would definitely read some more of Daniel Adorno's books in the future.

Garlic Flatbreads

I was meant to be making slow cooker bread to go with my slow cooker soup. Unfortunately, I forgot, and then it was all-of-a-sudden lunch time; so I made flatbreads instead.  These are really easy and only use two ingredients, plus oil to fry.

Ingredients: 

Image from dreamstime
All my flatbread got eaten before I thought to get a photo!

200g Self Raising Flour
200g Greek Yoghurt

Method:

Combine the ingredients to make a soft dough. 
Cut the dough into portions (I made eight).
Roll each portion into a ball, then roll flat and really thin.
Heat a griddle pan hot, and pour on a little oil.
Fry each flatbread for a few minutes on each side.

To turn these flatbreads into garlic flatbreads, make some garlic butter (crushed garlic, butter and optional herbs) and spread on the flatbreads after cooking, whilst still warm

The Fragrance of Crushed Violets by Cathy Bryant

This book is a Bible study about forgiveness, so we can learn about God's forgiveness of ourselves in order for us to forgive others.

The blurb says:

Forgiveness is a crucial part of the Christian faith and also a way in which we can experience strong and healthy relationships with our fellow man. Unfortunately, the truth about forgiveness--as presented in God's Word--has been somewhat tarnished by inaccurate human philosophy.

The destroyer wants us confused and hurting. The lack of forgiveness in human relationships--even those within Christian circles--is written in the scars upon human hearts, souls, and minds.

But Jesus always taught the need for forgiveness, loving others, just mercy, and justice redeemed by grace. Living by His command to forgive you can declutter your mind and heart through the removal of hatred, malice, grudges, resentment, and bitterness. You can also experience reconciliation and restoration in your relationships with others.

This Bible study guide and workbook is appropriate for either individual or small group study and includes the following:

•what forgiveness is and what it isn't
•God's role in the process of forgiveness
•what Jesus accomplished at the cross for each of us
•our mandate to forgive as we've been forgiven
•what gets in the way of forgiving others
•how to truly forgive the inexcusable

"Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it." -Mark Twain

 This is a short book of only 72 pages, but it is filled with God's word.  There are plenty of examples given of forgiveness in the Bible and how it can apply to our lives.  At the end of each chapter there are open questions for us to reflect upon what we have read and what we can do.

The main negative I have for this book, are that the Bible verses were not explicitly written in the text.  Most of the references were only one or two verses long so easily could have been included; either in the text itself, or within an Appendix at the back of the book.  Being only 72 pages long, it would have given more substance to the book. Whilst I can see that if you were reading a paperbook, you are likely to have the Bible as a paperbook nearby, and the act of searching and looking up verses can help commit them to memory.  However, I was reading this as an e-book on my kindle.  Initially I tried leaving the book, looking up the verse in my e-Bible, then going back to this book to find the next verse, but it was just so clunky that I gave up.  It meant that I just skimmed past all the verses that presumably would have spoken to me and taught me something. If this isn't in the next version of the paperbook, please can it be included in the next version of the e-book.

Weekly Update Y2w12

From last week, my weight actually did start to decrease.  You can see that by looking at the yellow line (rather than the blue daily weight which fluctuates loads).

Yesterday was Mother's day, and I may have eaten a whole box of Thornton's chocolates (my family did have some too - just not as many as I ate), which has impacted my weight this morning.

On the recommendation of a friend, I have also started to read a book called Made to Crave.  We're going to [virtually] meet up weekly to discuss what we've learned and the impact it has on our weight and health.

My smaller goal for this week, is to get back into the 2B Mindset, specifically "water first".  For my weight, I'm meant to be drinking over 2.5litres of water a day.  I do drink water, but have got out of the habit of drinking that often.  Even though I may be self isolating atm, drinking water comes out of the taps in the kitchen, so I really have no excuse.

From Social Distancing to Self Isolation

I know DD2 is not a toddler anymore,
but this still applies!

Yesterday morning, I awoke in bed after a really good night's sleep.  I had read in bed for a little while, stopped when I felt my eyes drooping, and slept all night.  I woke up feeling refreshed, to discover an extra person in bed with me.  Not just my husband (I had gone to sleep before he came to bed), but an extra person altogether.  At some point during the night, DD2 had decided she didn't want to be alone, and decided to climb in between us.

"Good thing nobody has any Coronavirus symptoms!" I thought.

Fast forward 18hours, and I'm still in DD2's bedroom trying to get her to sleep, but she can't stop coughing.  I eventually get her her inhaler and some cough mixture to soothe her throat, but she is still coughing.

During the day, DD1 and DD2 were playing beautifully together.  They were in the garden, doing Acro together, making obstacle courses for each other, and playing other games.  As DD2 has asthma and it is the start of pollen season atm, I am hoping that it is just asthma related.  But at the same time, I don't want to be responsible for infecting anyone else; especially if that person is only a carrier and they then pass it one to someone vulnerable.

So, from today, we are not in the house for the next 14 days.  This actually doesn't bother me that much.  My house is my sanctuary, and when it is tidy (we totally blitzed the living room yesterday, ready for the girls' online dance lessons) I love it.  My husband is less happy, as he runs 10Ks a few times a week, both for physical and mental health.  DD1 is another who loves going out and about, so she's disappointed that she has to stay within the confines of the house and garden.  I actually don't know what DD2 thinks about it.  Today is Mother's Day in the UK, and I was ordered to go downstairs so DD2 could do a "secret".  That was over a couple of hours ago, and whatever it is, she still hasn't finished it, lol.

Feeling sad tonight

Seeing all the posts on Facebook about friends' children who cannot sit exams this year.

DD1 coming home from school today, really emotional.  She's only been in school for two terms, and is sad to be leaving her friends for the next 3 months or so.

Dancing has ended tonight, and though they will be offering online lessons it won't be the same.  The girls will miss their friends, and DD2 has already asked if she can skype some of her dance friends.  DD1 has asked if she can get WhatsApp on her phone, even though she's not 16 yet.  I'm also going to miss the other dance mums. 

Similarly, we've received an email to say gymnastics is stopped for the foreseeable.

All home ed clubs and meets have stopped.  I'm good friends with the home ed mums too, so will miss them lots.

My singing class has stopped. 

Everything has stopped.

Hopefully it's just tonight, and tomorrow I'll be back to thinking it's a big adventure.

I am looking forward to spending time with my family.
And social media can help keep in contact with friends and family who live further afield.
We're blessed to live in a time when we have such technology and information available to us.

Homeschooling through Isolation

Yesterday the government announced all schools would be closing on Friday afternoon.  We had already received an email from the school which recommends DD1 continues to follow the school day whilst at home:

"Encourage your child to follow as normal a ‘school day’ routine as possible. They should aim to stick to their normal timetable. This would include learning sessions of 50 minutes as follows: 

08:50-09:40

09:40-10:30

Take a break

10:50-11:40

11:40-12:30

Break for lunch

13:10-13:30 – Reading time

13:30-14:20

14:20-15:10"

Now, you may be thinking that having home educated both my girls, sticking to a timetable like this would be easy for me - WRONG!  There is a reason why we are home educators, not home schoolers!  Already DD1 has commented "yeah right, like that's gonna happen"!

The scientist in me wants to see if the oft repeated (even by me) fact is true: Following a teacher's plan (or in this case, work set by school), you can complete it all in 2 hours a day.  Indeed, I've even shared Monkey Mum's calculation in a previous blog.  Given DD1 has already shown her reluctance to follow a timetable at home, I will try and encourage her to get all the school work out the way in the morning.  Given DD1 is a preteen with the attitude of a teen, and has inherited being stubborn and a know-it-all from me, this will be a difficult task for me.

Now some people, especially those who are used to the routine of school, will do well with structure, so I'm not suggesting you chuck it out the window immediately.  Schools still need to deliver the education, and schools should be detailing how they will do that, whether by online tasks, or online videos, sending books home or by other means.  Parents shouldn't feel like they are suddenly responsible for their child's education (though legally that responsibility has never left them, even if they outsource the education to a school).

Perhaps start with the structure and routine, but don't panic if it goes by the wayside.  Such strict timetables are really good when you need to control 30 kids at once, teaching them different subjects at different times.  With this homeschooling malarkey (again, for clarity, I'm using "homeschooling" to mean following a curriculum at home, in this case provided by the school, whereas "home education" is what I did with my girls), you'll only have a few kids at home, so can be much freer.  The caveat to that is if you have limited resources at home, for example, you only have one computer/laptop, but 3 kids who all have online work to do for school.  In this scenario, it makes sense to have a timetable where each child can get their work done online for a time.  And this scenario also shows how silly it would be for you to follow the school's timetable and need to have each child online for the whole day at the same time.

Take the chance to do things that you wouldn't normally do, too.  If both parents are having to work at home (again, this can limit internet time if there's only one device!) this may be harder, but try and enjoy your time together as a family.  Imagine you are on holiday, so play board games or card games together, or watch a movie during the day.  Do some cooking or baking, encouraging your children to get involved. If you can, use technology to limit the isolation you feel, by allowing your children to play online together with friends so they don't feel so alone.  Go into the garden and sow seeds or make up planters, in the hope of getting fruit and veg in the warmer weather.  And even being stuck in the home/garden there are exercises you can do: Body Groove, 7 min Workout, and lots of content on YouTube for various yoga, Pilates and other exercise routines.

This last paragraph (above) is more what home education is like.  It is about following your child's needs, interests, rhythms and natural curiosity as they navigate the world around them.  (In reality, home education rarely stays at home, and we are going to feel as stir-crazy as the next person without our usual science classes, social meets, Minecraft club, Lego Robotics club, dance classes, gymnastics classes, singing classes etc.)  However, I am hopeful that through this crisis, some people who had been curious or leaning towards home ed, may feel a bit braver and actually take that step, in which case have a read to see what you should be thinking about first.