Is it really March? So soon? Didn’t we only just pack up the Christmas decorations and sweep up the pine needles? February is always a good month. The simple fact that it’s not January anymore guarantees that February will be an improvement on its predecessor. It’s the shortest month and that means money has less far to go. I don’t know why those extra three days make such a difference, but they do. An extra weekend throws my budget into chaos, so I like February.
I thought I’d write a little monthly catch-up in the form of a good things list, so here is my February summed up:
1. We made lemon slices
The problem with being a lifelong vegan is that you have no idea what things taste like. I knew a girl who didn’t know what Wispa Golds tasted like, can you imagine? Ebony is that girl in the making. Being vegan has never been easier, there are substitutes for most things nowadays. Modern vegans don’t know how good they have it, the free from shelves were bare in 2007 when I went in search of vegan treats.
Ebony wanted to know what Mr Kipling lemon slices were like. One of her friends has them in her packed lunch at school, and Ebony wanted to know if there was a vegan version. There isn’t, but I decided we could make one. We don’t bake very often. Pre-kids, I was always making cookies and Laurie went through an intense pie phase, but now we don’t do much baking. The lemon slices seemed like the perfect way to rectify this.
We made some vegan lemon curd (using this recipe) which was surprisingly easy and tasted amazing. If I’d realised how easy it was to make, I would have done it already. Then we used Ms Cupcake’s cake recipe and switched a few of the ingredients to turn it into a lemon cake. And then Ember made some icing to go on top (she was very pleased about this). They tasted amazing, and we ate lemon curd on toast for breakfast all week long.
2. The Life I Lead
I went to the theatre with my mum, dad and sister to see Miles Jupp in The Life I Lead. The play was about the life of David Tomlinson (the actor who played Mr Banks in Mary Poppins) and it was so interesting. Miles Jupp was brilliant, he was engaging and funny and everything you might expect him to be. I didn’t know anything about David Tomlinson before I went (in fact, on the way in I worried that maybe the show might be a little boring), but he had a really interesting life. I really enjoyed seeing the show, and it was lovely to go out with my family for the afternoon (matinees all the way).
3. Half-term
Half-term seemed to arrive without much warning, so we didn’t have much planned. I was a little worried that we might end up wasting the week, but in the end, we seemed to strike the perfect balance between days out and time at home. I loved having Ebony at home for the week, and Ember loved spending so much time with her big sister. We saw my sister a couple of times which both kids loved, too. I wrote more about our half-term here.
4. Walking
I have two good things to say about walking. Firstly, Ember is walking more now. She whines less when she’s walking and she can walk faster now so I don’t have to pick her up to get to school on time. This doesn’t sound like much of an achievement, but she is very heavy and carrying her while running to school was taking its toll on my aged back. I even managed to get her to walk along the canal to visit friends in the next village (shout out to the bird seeds for providing the in-walk entertainment).
I’ve also started walking more again. When Ember was a baby, I walked every day. I would bundle her into the sling and head out into the fresh air. It became part of our daily routine and Ember would sleep against my chest in the sling. Now that she’s older, it’s impossible to go for those long walks with her. She walks slowly and it doesn’t really count as exercise because I spend so much of the time waiting for her to catch up. I’ve started walking in the evenings when Laurie is home to look after the girls. It’s not quite as nice because it’s dark and I can’t walk through the woods or down the canal, but it still counts as exercise. I go with my friend and it’s so lovely to spend that time with her.
5. The weather
Isn’t climate change lovely? Hasn’t it been great playing out in the warmer weather in the middle of winter? Yes and no. Yes, the weather was glorious during half-term and being able to spend most of the week outside was amazing. I did some gardening, the swing got dusted off, and Ember mastered her scooter. It made me excited for the months to come. The ice lollies enjoyed in the garden after school, the weekend barbecues and the hours spent playing in the garden. I can’t wait. But, also, climate change is terrifying and the planet is definitely dying.
