Lizard

a lizard on a rock, he has a v shape on his head and stripes on his trunk. He is surrounded by green leaves

Do you know my name?

 

This week I am sharing another photo from the Wildlife Conservation Park. This is one my husband took and I thought it was pretty good seeing as he took it through a glass window in a dimly lit place. When I asked him what type of lizard it was he had no idea.

He does look rather friendly though as he came right up to the glass to greet his visitors. If you have any idea what type of lizard he is I’d love to know.

I did try to remember what I was photographing and the following photo is one of mine. It’s a gorgeous little Tamarin Monkey. I could have  took him home he was so cute, although I’m not condoning monkeys as pets.

A very small and furry black Tamarin Monkey sitting on a rope in a wooden enclosure

 

You can read about our trip to the Wildlife Conservation Park here.

I think that’s enough wildlife for now, next week I’m hoping to bring you a photo or two of our new family member that we are picking up on Monday.

 

Photalife

 

Sunday Snap

 

 

Memories

During the half term we took a trip to the local Wildlife Conservation Park. I’ve written about our visits there before and I wasn’t going to write about it again until I read this post by Captured By Jade on Memories. It made me realise that this is exactly what I want my blog to be, a record of memories, something we can look back on and enjoy. So, even though I’ve written about the Wildlife Conservation Park before, this was a new memory to treasure and record. Also, just look at how my children have grown since our first logged visit back in 2014.

If you don’t have time to look, here’s a peak!

 

The Old and the New

I’ve been visiting the Wildlife Conservation Park for about 30 years now. I used to take my older children when they were youngsters. It was originally known as the Nature Centre, then the Nature Reserve and now the Wildlife Conservation Park. I’ve seen it grow and change with many different species of animals and growing gardens and wildlife areas. (I do wonder when they’ll upgrade the toilets though.)

This time we had some new animals to see including this creature which didn’t have an information plaque and we have no idea what it was. When it moved it kind of reminded me of a cross between a rabbit and a deer. I have asked Mr Google what he thinks and I believe it might be a Patagonian Mara.

patagonian mara, looks like a cross between a rabbit and a deer.

We saw a lot of the usual animals like the otters and monkeys, wallabies and flamingos. The kids went into the darker buildings to look at the snakes and the nocturnal animals. I preferred to wait outside soaking up some sunshine.

A lovely new addition was the wooden play park which the kids loved. They were able to run around and swing like the monkeys.

We had a wonderful day and now I’m wondering when my young ones will get too old for this place? I don’t think I need to worry about that, Daddy still loves it, even at his age 😉

 

 

Country Kids

School

This week the kids returned to school after half term….well, the girls did. The Little Man is not going back. We went to the school for a meeting on Monday and although they tried to talk us in to sending him back, we asked for a few more days to decide. Yesterday we de-registered him from the school.  We have applied to another school nearby but they will have to let us know when they can take him. The forms are completed and we have our fingers crossed. In the meantime I am going to home educate him.

I explained more about why we don’t want him to return to his school in this post, School Days Trials and Tribulations part four – Karma. What really nailed it for us was the meeting on Monday. We were told that everything was being done to keep him safe but he often made the wrong choices by hiding in corners or under tables where the teacher finds it difficult to see what’s going on. So, because my son is so scared of being hurt he is hiding from the bullies and this is his fault somehow!

Home Educating

I am hoping he gets into a new school soon but I won’t mind home educating him for a while, even if it’s up until the end of term. When Star was off school for eleven months with her neck problem she had a home tutor and I picked up a lot from her. In fact, Star was only a little older than the Little Man is now, so I have a good idea of what I will be doing. I’m even a little bit excited (remind of this when I’m totally fed up of him refusing to work for me and I’m moaning about never having any time for myself!)

 

The Reading Residence

 

 

Photo by Jason Briscoe on Unsplash

Trying to decide on a theme for your home? Whether it’s antique, modern or contemporary, coming up with a theme can make for a beautiful aspect to your home. Besides, a theme is the perfect way to bring together individual elements.

 

Coming up with a theme may be the hardest part of a home renovation because a theme is where the entire process will be aimed at. Finding the supplies you need is no longer that hard as there are several shops now providing home improvement supplies.

 

Below is a guide to applying a couple of basic principles of design to help bring your theme together.

 

  1. Choosing A Theme

 

Of course, the first step is to pick a theme. You may already have one in mind based on a pattern or interest. Or, you may have no idea where to start. Try this:

 

  • Write down a list of your favourite interests, in order of importance.
  • Look online at themed rooms and list some of the themes that appeal to you.
  • Look for décor items and make a list of the ones that jump out at you.

 

By creating these lists, you may see patterns emerging. For example, your biggest interest could be country style and you find that you favour country home styles. You may even find that paintings of horses and fields stand out and you love a country feel. If you don’t notice a consistent pattern, pick a theme from the lists that seems to stick out the most.

 

  1. Design By The Room

 

Once you have a theme or two, you can decide how much you want that theme to rule. Do you want the theme to run throughout your home, or just in a single room? Or, maybe you want a different theme for each room?

 

As a rule of thumb, try not to overload your home with too many themes. Rather have a few neutral rooms to give themes a rest.

 

As for bathrooms, you can check out the showers of Trading Depot to match an elegant theme. You can choose to mix the modern bathroom parts with bathroom accessories that match your chosen theme. You can also just focus the theme on the walls, the floor, the door, and even the windows, among others. Bathroom parts are a lot more efficient and convenient these days and they easily blend well with almost any theme a homeowner chooses.

 

  1. Using Themed Décor

 

Now, let’s get down to specifics. The first thing to do is get a couple of décor elements that display the theme you’ve settled on. You don’t need to buy a bunch of new things, just find a couple of visual focal points, such as a decorative item or wall art.

 

But, if you’ve decided to base your theme on a strong and well-established interest, you may have plenty of décor items lying around. Gather them together and decide what you want to display. Aim to intersperse items throughout the room in a way that is balanced.

 

  1. Be Subtle With Décor

 

If you’re not a big fan of collections or large pieces of art, there are plenty of other ways you can incorporate a theme in a more subtle and elegant way through these tips:

 

  • Order customised prints that detail a certain theme. Place them on pillows as accents.
  • Use a few small, more natural elements to place on tables or windowsills.
  • Don’t forget the lighting is a good way to accent a theme.
  • Consider textured accents.
  • Repurpose items to help camouflage the décor.
  • Window and upholstery treatments are a great way to add subtleness to a theme.

 

  1. Don’t Forget Practicality

 

You may have to think about features that add comfort to your home. When the weather is too cold, you will appreciate that you didn’t forget that underfloor heating installation by Trading Depot in your home renovation plan.

 

Using these tips, you can effortlessly create the perfect theme for your home designs.

 

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post

Ubersonic, the world’s first Aluminium toothbrush

“The Uber Sonic claims to do one thing and one thing only, and that is clean your teeth, but it does it impeccably well.”

As you get older you realise that the thing you really should have taken care of throughout your life is your teeth. They have to last a long time and we all know that toothache is the pits. A decent toothbrush is a must and a powered one is even better.

The Uber Sonic was engineered in Germany and developed with dentists. Being made of aluminium gives it a unique look and feel. It has a Sonic high speed movement of 35000 per minute so you can be sure that plaque is being removed from your teeth and gums efficiently.

Packaging

The Uber Sonic arrives in a sturdy white and black box.

Inside you are supplied with a Uber Sonic toothbrush with a refill head and a charging base with plug. You also get a card with details about the product and instructions for use along with diagrams. The packaging is simple but classy and it proudly supports the Red Dot Design Award badge for which it was a winner in 2016.

Using the Uber Sonic Toothbrush

The toothbrush comes partially charged so you can use it straight away. You put your toothpaste on the brush and then press the button which will show a little green LED light when in use. There is a little buzz after every 30 seconds of use to remind you to move to another jaw. I found it the perfect time to do front, then back teeth of both jaws making it a 2 minute clean Then I generally do it again as I’m a 4 minute cleaner myself.

I found that the toothbrush did the job well and gave my teeth a thorough clean. The brush is light to hold and the brush head is a good shape and size for maximum cleaning. If there was one thing I’d change it would be to move the button that turns it on or off in another position. I did find myself turning the toothbrush off in the midst of cleaning on a couple of occasions and my thumb was leaning on it.

To charge you simple place it in the base, plug it in the base and wait for the LED light to turn green. Apparently you don’t have to charge it very often.

Wait, There’s More!

If you pop on over to Uber Sonic  you can join the club. You can buy your Uber Sonic toothbrush and charger for just £19, then for £9 every two months you can receive two replacement heads, package and postage is free. This means you can change your toothbrush head every month.

Personally, I think it’s a great idea and real good value for money, especially as every year you are a member you also get a new toothbrush and a tooth whitening kit.