Orlando day 4 – December 24th – Universal Studios

Posted on January 7, 2015 by clairesallotment

If you don’t know, there are 2 parts to Universal. Firstly the Islands of Adventure which is one massive section, which we did a couple of days before. And then the Studios section. Each section takes at least 1 whole day to do, if not longer, and as we’d already done the Islands of Adventure, today was the Studios day. As we walked through the security all those memories of our last visit flooded back into my mind. But that wasn’t going to happen again. Today was going to be FUN!!

The family selfie was becoming common place.

The family selfie was becoming common place.

We headed straight for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was totally BRILLIANT!! Emily is a massive Harry Potter fan, but we all like the films. Emily is more into Ravenclaw, and bought herself a Ravenclaw fleece, which her friends are very jealous of. When you arrive you see the wall to Diagon Alley, and have to walk through it to get into the alley itself. It’s very crowded as the area is small, but they have all the shops that you see in the film, and you can go in many of them.

The dragon on the top of Gringotts bank breath fire every hour. It's amazing.

It’s just like being on a film set.

Mark and the kids then went off to the Escape from Gringotts ride, which wasn’t for me at all. So I went for a wander round Diagon Alley and saw loads of wonderful things. It was just like being on the film set, and the attention to detail is amazing. Make sure that you look up at the ceilings in all the shops as they have all sorts of things going on up on high. As Mark and the kids were queuing for the ride, Mark took a picture of one of the animatronic goblins. Weirdly one looked like a cross between his dad and his granddad! On the hour, and every hour the dragon on top of the Gringotts bank breaths fire, and you really can feel the heat. If you are able to, make sure you see it, as it’s amazing.

It really does breathe fire, and it's hot!!

It really does breathe fire, and it’s hot!!

We spent all morning in the Harry Potter section, and had lunch in the Leaky Cauldron. Outside the wall to Diagon Alley they had the Knight Bus and replicas of various London landmarks. Somehow they put Kings Cross Station right next to Leicester Square Station. This was a little confusing, especially for Mark as he felt for a brief second that he was back at work.

It can't really be London, people are too polite.

It can’t really be London, people are too polite.

In the afternoon we explored the rest of Universal Studios, and came across Jaws (shark still looks fake). I gave it a kiss on the nose and it didn’t bite me, we saw a Blues Brothers performance, a massive christmas tree with huge balls, the Back to the Future car and train, and many other films sets including the Twister experience. Now I know this sounds like something that I wouldn’t do, but you walk through it, and there are scenes from the film. It does get a bit windy, and being Universal you always get a bit wet, and we had a flying cow at one point. We saw the Terminator 2 show which was amazing. George is a HUGE Terminator fan, so he was a very happy chappy. And were part of the Disaster ride which we appeared in. It was rather odd as this was introduced by Christopher Walken. We finally ended up in the Simpson area of the park. Mark and George went on The Simpsons Ride, which is a roller coast thing (no suitable for me), and Emily stayed with me and we went on the Kang and Kodos Ride. It’s called Twirl ‘n’ Hurl, but it’s very, very Claire friendly. There was NO twirling or hurling involved. Just some gentle moving up and down when you decided. It was suitable for babies and me!

 

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Orlando day 3 – 23rd December – Magic Kingdom

Posted on January 6, 2015 by clairesallotment

Now you hear that this is the Magic Kingdom “Happiest Place on Earth” and yes it is. There is something odd about this place, but in a good way. I don’t quite know what it is. I think the phrase I used was “Everything’s turned up to 11”. Everyone is so helpful, no one is grumpy, even when there are so many of you trying to move. Kids don’t scream, parents don’t shout at their screaming kids, everyone just gets on. The employees or “Cast Members” are all so thankful that you came, and also kept telling us to have a great rest of our day. Everyone is the same. I’ve never know so many polite and helpful people.

The obligatory family selfie by The 7 Dwarfs Mine Train.

The obligatory family selfie by Thunder Mountain.

I was feeling so much better today, but was very selective on the rides I would go on for the rest of the holiday. I didn’t want a repeat of the day before. Mark and the kids went on a the Space Mountain ride which was unsuitable for me, so I had a wander around and met Mr Incredible, Frozone and Mrs Incredible who had got everyone dancing.

I suppose I look a bit like elastigirl, but not as stretchy.

I suppose I look a bit like elastigirl, but not as stretchy.

We all went on Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which was gentle, so Claire friendly as we judged certain rides. Don’t worry the pirates didn’t eat the tourists. So that the kids didn’t miss out on all the rides they wanted to go on, we alternated from them going on a fast ride, to them accompanying me on a slow ride. I persuaded them all that we needed to go on “It’s a Small World”. Which is very gentle and relaxing, although the puppets are a little on the freaky side. It felt that you were hallucinating throughout the whole ride, and had been on  a massive drug induced trip. We also did the Jungle Cruise and various other rides. When the boys went on the scary “Splash Mountain” ride, Emily stayed with me, and we say the parade go past and I took loads of pictures. I won’t bore you with all of them, just one.

Look at all those lovely Disney princesses.

Look at all those lovely Disney princesses.

As we walked past the statue of Walt Disney which stands just in front of the famous castle, George said “He doesn’t look like Tom Hanks!” In amongst all the chaos you could find little places of quiet, but you had to seek them out. Then at the very end of the day we went in the Haunted Mansion which was fun. And just as we were about to leave they lit up the castle with goodness knows how many LED lights. A cast member informed us that it took the same amount of electricity to power all those lights as it would 2 fridges. I was very impressed.

All together.....aaawwww!

All together…..aaawwww!

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Orlando day 2 – 22nd December – Islands of Adventure.

Posted on January 6, 2015 by clairesallotment

Our first full day here, and before we’d arrived, we’d decided what we would be doing each day. We’d booked various Fast Passes for certain rides, so we were all ready to start having fun. Today we were spending the whole day at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, or as it was later named by me, Islands of Puke Adventure. At each park we took a family selfie, so you’ll be seeing lots of these as we go through each day.

Islands of Adventure family selfie.

Islands of Adventure family selfie.

When we first arrived there was hardly anyone about, and the first ride that we came across was Dragon’s Challenge. Now please bare in mind that I’m now 40 (yes I know I don’t look it), and haven’t been on a roller coaster for a good few years. I don’t like to go upside down, and drop suddenly. I don’t like to be thrown about and feel like I’ve been through the washing machine spin cycle and I like to look at rides before I venture on them. Before I knew what was happening, I was strapped into this ride and then the horror began. I believe I said every single swear word very loud (even the really bad ones) as this ride threw me about and let me see the sky more times than I wanted to. Once it stopped I was shaking like a jelly and had to then sit down on a bench for a little while.

I think I was shaking more than Mr Jelly.

I think I was shaking more than Mr Jelly.

Then after I’d recovered a little we then went onto the next ride, which was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. They make this sound like a lovely gentle ride where your seat just rocks back and forth and you watch a huge screen and follow the characters through their journey. Well they LIED!! You’re flung about and whizzed up, down and round. I didn’t see much of the ride as I started to feel very unwell at this point, so tried to focus on the side of the seat, but that didn’t work. Let’s just say that it was handy that I was on the end seat!! I believe I shouted “MAKE IT STOP!!” several times. When it finally finished did finish, I was whisked off by a fabulous lady called Theresa, where she gave me some spare clothes and let me clean up. I then said to Mark that the best thing for me was to go and lie down in the First Aid room for about an hour and then they could go and have fun, and then come and pick me up later. Which they did. I fell asleep and when I woke about 45 minutes later, I felt much better. For the rest of the day I carried the bags, took photos and did some shopping while they all went on all these rides and had a great day. Well someone has to hold the bags don’t they? They all got very wet (especially George) on the water rides. George was ecstatic at being able to go on these rides again and again. And having to wait 30-40 minutes wasn’t a problem for him at all. Sometimes Emily stayed with me, and the boys went to play, but to be honest I was happy watching them have all the fun.

All very wet after fighting dinosaurs.

All very wet after fighting dinosaurs.

Later we met Mark’s old school friend Sally and her partner Sarah, and had dinner in Bubba Gump Shrimp, before heading back to the hotel and to bed.

 

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Christmas and New Year 2014 in Orlando, Florida – Day 1

Posted on January 6, 2015 by clairesallotment

This is something we’ve wanted to do for quite a while, and in April, we came into a little bit of spare money, so Mark made the decision that now was the time to have a holiday in Orlando!! We booked it through Thomas Cook, who were amazing and got the right package for us. We left home on Sunday 21st December just after 10am to go to the airport. The last time that we were away for Christmas, George was 4, and now he’s 12 (where did that time go?). We flew with Virgin in a Jumbo Jet. It was the first time that any of us had flown in a Jumbo, and they need more runway to take off. Which was a little unnerving as I’ve flown in a propeller plane before and they take off immediately. Still off we flew, and 9 hours later we landed in Orlando in torrential rain and high humidity. The cabin crew on the plane were brilliant, and we all had little TV screens, so after I’d read my Ronnie O’Sullivan “Running” book for a couple of hours, I then watched “Goodfellas”. I forgot how brilliant this movie is. I then read a bit more and then readdressed the balance and watched “The Inbetweeners 2”. We finally got to our hotel Comfort Suites Maingate East, Kissimmee about 6pm local time and were very hungry, so went to the bar by the pool to see “The Dude” for something to eat. We called him The Dude, because he came out with our order and said, in what can only be described as someone who is stoned, “So who likes……food?” Once we’d eaten we went straight to bed as we had 10 very busy days ahead of us.

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Monday 5th January 2015 – Leeks, the vegetables not the burst pipe kind.

Posted on January 5, 2015 by clairesallotment

I know that it’s a few days late, but HAPPY 2015 TO YOU ALL!! I hope that you have a great year, and that your Christmas and New Year celebrations were amazing. Our Christmas and New Year was a little strange, but I’ll blog about that very soon. So with the kids back to school today and Mark back to work, where do you think I went today? Yes that’s right, straight to the drinks cupboard…No, of course not. To the allotment of course (the drinks cupboard comes later). During the autumn, I’ve been harvesting my Leeks as and when I need them, but today as it was dry, albeit a little overcast, I decided that they all needed to come up. So I donned on my wellies and went to the allotment to harvest the rest of them. The ground is very wet, but that’s to be expected for this time of year. All my Leeks are now up and drying in the greenhouse for a couple of days so the soil is easier to get off. I’ll give them a wash tomorrow in warm water (it’s too cold to use cold water). Then when they’re mud free, I’ll keep some whole in the fridge and then cut up the rest in thick slices, wash and then freeze. That way I can take them out, as and when I need them. I tend to use them instead of Onions, and those are starting to run low, so I’ll be moving on to the Leeks very soon. I had a bit of time to spare before I needed to leave, so I dug up a few Jerusalem Artichokes, which are always a good substitute for Potatoes. Although I’ve mashed them together with potatoes and they taste lovely. Give it a go sometime. I’ve still got 3 sacks full of Potatoes in the shed, so I won’t be running out of them anytime soon.

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Unusual sayings from children…but not mine.

Posted on December 15, 2014 by clairesallotment

Now we’re away for Christmas this year. We’re popping off to Orlando to see lots of cartoon characters, movie sets and a space rocket. Where could that be I hear you ask? We’re all so excited you have no idea!! I’ll take lots of photos and put just a few up when we return. So because we’re away for Christmas we had a special “Fake Christmas” yesterday. We had turkey, crackers, stuffing balls, brussels sprouts with pancetta, basically the works. I put some sprouts on my kids plates, but they both said “Can we have more sprouts?” Now usually most kids and many adults come to that matter, (and I know that I don’t speak for all children and adults) absolutely HATE sprouts and wouldn’t eat them if they were the last vegetables left on earth. But we all love them. Even Mark will eat them!! When I first met him the only vegetables he would eat were peas. Now they eat practically everything!! It’s the way you cook them that’s important. This is what I do with my sprouts: Boil sprouts for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Fry some pancetta until lovely and brown. Add sprouts to pancetta a warm through for a couple of minutes. Perfect. After we’d eaten far too much, we settled on the sofa to watch the second Hobbit film, and promptly fell asleep (well I did). After a little snooze we then all sat round the table to play a couple of games of Mr and Mrs. We played 2 games, and each won one. We had a lovely day just us 4, which makes a change for Christmas usually there’s about 12 of us if not more. I love it, but sometimes it’s just nice to have just us.

Anyone for Turkey and the trimmings, especially sprouts!!

Anyone for Turkey and the trimmings, especially sprouts!!

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How do people use that much water?

Posted on December 12, 2014 by clairesallotment

Now I’m not showing off here, but we received our water bill, and there are a few numbers that I would like you to think about. We’re on a water meter, and have been for years now. We’ve seen a huge difference in our bills since going on a water meter. Now here are the numbers I want you to remember. According to Thames Water (who we’re with) the “Typical annual water usage” for a household of 4 people is approximately 167 cubic meters. If however you are an “Efficient water user”, your annual usage should be about 134 cubic meters. Now remember those numbers please. We are a household of 4 people, sometimes 6 when my parents are over to stay. We have a deep bath practically every evening, and yes the kids and I share the same water. We have a shower, washing machine, dishwasher, and the garden never suffers with lack of water over the summer. I have the greenhouse to water, and even water the grass with any left over water. The paddling pool comes out during the summer as well. As you know, I use recycled water for all my plants and even made a video about it. So with all that in mind, how much water do you think we used last year? Go on have a guess…. Well I’ll tell you, 88 cubic meters!! Yes you heard me correctly. According to Thames Water that’s what they expect a household of 2 efficient water users to use. Oh, and we’re £40 in credit with them. Dear Thames Water, can you reduce our monthly payments a bit more please?

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Busy day baking, yummy!!

Posted on November 21, 2014 by clairesallotment

Well I’ve had a very busy day today. No, not down the allotment, or working, but baking. We do go through a huge amount of cake in our house because the kids and Mark have packed lunches. So usually once a week I end up baking enough cakes to hopefully last us through the week. I tend to make a variety of sizes and flavours. So today I have made the following: A white loaf (in the bread machine), which I know is a bit of a cheat, but at least I know exactly what’s gone into it. A loaf tends to last us 2, possibly 3 days. Sometimes we can get through one loaf in a day. The bread machine is great as you put the ingredients in, switch it on, and then go out. When you come back, it’s done and the house smells fabulous. I also made a Strawberry upside down cake. This will make 8 slices so will do us puddings for 2 nights. The strawberries are ones from my allotment that I froze. Make sure you defrost them before you put cake mixture on top as they give off a lot of juice. I also made some vanilla flavoured small cakes and cup cakes. This was from Mary Berry’s all in one recipe. These will be decorated with icing and small marshmallows. The kids love them, and so do the grown ups. And finally something that we’re going to have for breakfast on Saturday morning. Now I’ve never made these before, they do take a little while, but they’re definitely worth it, Chelsea Buns. I used the Paul Hollywood recipe, which was very easy to follow. I made 12 buns rather than 10, but I don’t think it mattered. I didn’t kneed by hand, but used the dough hook in my mixer (for the first time) which is brilliant! They look good, I hope they taste good. What do you think?

Chelsea Buns with orange icing, yummy!!

Chelsea Buns with orange icing, yummy!!

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Lottie and Dottie Sow Sunflowers.

Posted on November 21, 2014 by clairesallotment

Yes it’s my next book!! As Mark said to me “You now have a series!!” Two books counts as a series, right? You can pre order it from All good Booksellers, Waterstones online or from Amazon either on Kindle or in book form. So if you’ve enjoyed the first one, the second one is just as sweet and lovely. It’s published on 7th May next year, but why not be the first one to get your hands on a copy. Make sure you have a packet of your favourite sunflower seeds ready, so you can grow some as well. The front cover, and all the pictures inside have again been so wonderfully drawn by Marijke. I wouldn’t have a book without her, her drawings are perfect.

How Tall will yours grow?

How Tall will yours grow?

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Friday 14th November 2014 – Hello allotment, it’s been a while!

Posted on November 14, 2014 by clairesallotment

I’ve not been to my allotment for about 3 weeks now. Yes I know that sounds awful, but we’ve had half term and I was decorating the kids rooms, and then for the past couple of weeks I’ve been working non stop. To be honest there’s not really much to do at the moment. All the vegetables that need to come up are up and in various places either in the freezer, shed or greenhouse, so it’s just the hardy ones still in, and some light weeding to do. So after the rain had stopped pouring this morning, and after I’d done a few errands, I put on my wellingtons and went to see how it was all getting along. As we’ve had a fair amount of rain over the last few weeks, there are some wonderful puddles that I had to walk through before I got to my plot. Still I was on my wellingtons, so it wasn’t a problem. I had gone down just to harvest a few bits and bobs, so wasn’t planning on staying for very long. The soil was too wet to even consider doing any light weeding. But I harvested another Cabbage, some wonderfully large Jerusalem Artichokes (if you dig up any that are too small, just pop them back in the soil and they’ll grow the following year), some Leeks, and a couple of Celeriac. These have done brilliantly, and I’ll do a video soon about harvesting them. So all in all a good little harvest. Now that the days are getting shorter and colder, it’ll be time to start having casseroles for dinner, so the Celeriac will be very useful then. The sun is still shining, so I’ll pop out in the garden in a bit and do a bit more tidying there. Got to get it ready and sorted for winter, we had a very mild one last year, so what’ll happen this year is anyones guess. Have a great weekend.

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