I didn’t know what to do today with the kids, lack of sleep perhaps. However I did know I had to get rat food as we are going away but then it took ages to find the car keys so the kids found something to do and they suggested I sit down and have a coffee… Of course as soon as I mentioned that there was a charity shop nearby the pet store they were desperate for jobs for money but as there was nothing our calm world turned into a drama and I was cast as a bully for saying that there may be a charity shop but that they had no money. I said they should be expending their energy in coming up with counter arguments… Helena took over, getting pens and trying to pin her friend down to do a “brainstorm” of ideas. Instead I got a letter saying they loved me (not sure how to classify that) and that I won. Hmmm.

So I did have a coffee and they listened to Smash bang best which is an awesome radio show where people argue about such grownup things as which is best out of a spider and a bat. This one was Sugar versus Salt. Sugar being topical at the moment. I learnt something… interestingly no one mentioned diabetes or hypertension! The debate is always interesting, the different approaches by the debaters; appealing to your emotions, telling a story, science facts… The kids get right into it, Helena’s friend pointing out that fruit’s got sugar.

The salt person made a comment that without salt we don’t taste other tastes. So we had to experiment. One has salt, one has sugar, one has both all in the same amounts. We did a blind test – hence the bread tags…

Weird but it’s true. The salt and sugar ones tasted like water yet different and the one with salt and sugar tasted salty!!

Before we left for the charity shop the kids came up with a plan to win the arguement – full a box with toys and they would get rid of one everytime they got a new thing from the tip/charity shop. A one in one out system.

I gave in of course, not to the 5$ massive dog like thing, but to a hat like a giraffe and an apparently calming wire thing! I gave in because on the way I saw a pallet that I needed help getting home. I even gave them ice cream.

Then we started lino cutting…

Because I want a print to go on my new, second hand, t-shirt.

Not bad for a day I had no inspiration for… (Helena is asking now if putting salt or sugar on a campfire would make any difference “are they flammable?)