Busyness

29 August 2013


Is that a word?  Whether it is or not it describes me to a t at the moment.  I am not in a manic state of running around, meeting myself coming back,  just busy with stuff and no time for blogging.  We have just had a week away from home enjoying a music festival sandwiched between a few days with friends.  It took a few days to cook and pack everything we needed.

We arrived home late on Tuesday and have spent the last two days unpacking, repacking and buying a huge amount of food.  The car is loaded up again and we are off to help out on an Explorer Scout camp for five days.  We always have a great time but I shall be glad to home again.

I have been away a lot in August and am looking forward to spending some quieter days at home in September.  My garden has been busy whilst I have been away, I have found the time to tend to it  in between my comings and goings and this has definitely paid off.  Despite returning home to an empty fridge and no fruit or veg the garden has provided all we have needed for meals these last two days.  The photo above was the harvesting for a delicious stir fry.

I will return again in September!

Pleasures...

22 August 2013

...eating breakfast and lunch outside in the sunshine with friends.

...a visit to their local yarn shop a short walk from their house.

...an afternoon in Montgomery visiting the most amazing shop ever, cold ginger beer and cake in a cafe and a walk up to the castle.

...and tomorrow we head off to a festival for a weekend of wonderful live music shared with friends.

What more could be better?

Have a great weekend!

Knitting

21 August 2013


I have been knitting various projects recently.  I have finished my first Christmas knit which I will share another time.  I have also been trying to knit a pair of slippers, I say trying because I am struggling with the gauge.  I have bought a variety of yarns to knit these and cast on to make a small pair having done a gauge swatch.  I was unsure of the construction so when I got to the stage where I could see the size I realised they were far going to be far too small, even allowing for a small amount of stretch and blocking.  I tried again with a different yarn, again doing a gauge swatch before hand on larger needles and still they are too small.  I am going to try going up one more needle size and if that doesn't work going up a size on the pattern, this means that I will have to write a bigger size!  I have read through other notes in Ravelry and was amazed at how many knitted these and found them too big, I must be a very tight knitter!

One project that is progressing and staying on the needles is a jumper which I shared a couple of weeks ago, I have reached the stage of the front cables.  I was happily knitting this whilst watching a DVD last night when I realisd that I had gone past the stage of shaping the armholes, I had to rip it all  out!  This is not mindless DVD knitting anymore, I have now written out the shaping rows so that I can do these without having to concentrate quite so hard.  I am likely to have some knitting time this weekend so I hope I can get this piece finished and maybe one of the arms.

I started a reading great book this week, I have read a few books by this author and whilst in the library picked up another of his.  The Elephant Keepers' Children by Peter Høeg (he also wrote Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow or Sense of Snow in the US) is set in the authors native country,
Denmark and is written from the perspective of a fourteen year old boy.  It tells of three siblings and their life alongside their eccentric parents on a fictitious Island.  The parents have gone missing and the children set out to find them, with some madcap adventures on the way.  Some of the characters names are wonderful and add to the charm of the story.  I am enjoying reading this book!

Joining in with Tami for this weeks work in progress.

Parties

20 August 2013

Welcome to the July edition of the Simply Living Blog Carnival - Celebrations cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. This month, we write about keeping things simple with our kids. Please check out the links to posts by our other participants at the end of this post.


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Picture the scene if you will, a very large room with a high ceiling, twenty or so excited children running around, the noise levels are high and in we, my eldest and I, walk to a birthday party for one of his friends the first he has attended.  To the children present this is their idea of heaven, to my eldest the epitome of hell.  It was a truly awful experience, the mother of the birthday boy could not comprehend that a child could attend a party and not want to join in the games.  We did not stay for very long.

I knew that he would not enjoy that party but he desperately wanted to go.  We had attended Christmas parties that the nursery he attended held, the first year he sat on my knee though the whole party, he was little and not yet walking.  The next year the noise and bustle actually made him shake with fear, we left soon after arriving.  Despite this when he received an invitation for the party I mentioned at the beginning he really wanted to go, the child had become a good friend and they played often at each others houses and at nursery.  It was really no good explaining to him what the party would be like, he was three nearly four at the time and he had no experience of birthday parties and could not remember the Christmas ones he had hated, my words of explanation meant nothing to him.  So we gave it a go.

We went to no parties for several years after that until he was six and a very good friend he had made invited him to his house for his birthday.  The first thing my eldest said to me was are there going to be games, even though he was very young he clearly remember the experience of the awful party.  I doubted it but did check for him, it was just going to be food and play nothing structured at all.  He loved it.  We have been to other parties since, some ok some not so, where there are games, noise or unfamiliar children he usually sits in another room on to one side often reading a book!  Luckily for us there is no longer any coercion to join in the games so he is totally accepted into the celebration whatever he chooses to do.

When he was coming up to his seventh birthday later he announced that he would like to have a few friends round to play on his birthday.  He was very sure about what he wanted for the day, no games, no singing happy birthday but he did want a cake so he could blow out the candles!   So at age seven he had two friends over for the afternoon they were the first children to celebrate his birthday with him.  He has told me that this is how he wishes to celebrate his birthday for now.  He is a winter baby so it is hard for us to go outside and celebrate as it is often wet and cold on the day.  I know that he would love to be outside in the woods or somewhere similar for the day perhaps when he is a little older we will do that but for now he is content with what we are doing.

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Thank you for visiting the Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. Read about how others are incorporating simple living and parenthood. We hope you will join us next month when we discuss Money Matters!

 
  • Parties - sustainablemum explains how and why she keeps her birthday celebrations for her eldest a simple affair at his behest.
  • Simple Birthday Celebrations - Birthdays are kept simple at Living Peacefully with Children. Mandy shares how her family celebrates birthdays without the stress and expense.
  • Countdown to a Simple Christmas - Start now to prepare your house and home for the holidays. Steps to take each month to enjoy a much simpler approach to Christmas.
  • Simply Celebrate - Jorje has tried celebrating kid birthdays BIG and small... which one do you think was more simple? less stressful?
  • That's a Wrap - At Parentwin, Darlena describes her experiences with wrapping gifts and how she has changed her ideals when it comes to gift giving.
  • Simple Celebrations - Laura at Authentic parenting shares how her family keeps celebrations simple.
 

Moments...

19 August 2013

...this week of...

...happiness a walk in the hills, decluttering exhausting whilst I do it but satisfying when done, fresh veg from the garden, a chat with a friend, dinner with friends.

...sadness at an email I received from a friend this week.

...creating a tidy house, home made bread, a jumper, painting pictures, Lego scenes, drawings of birds.

...reading an interesting book The Elephant Keepers' Children by Peter Høeg I have read several novels by this Danish author and loved them.

...learning about dinosaurs, animals that live underground, numbers and patterns, perspective in drawing.

...thinking about why people behave as they do when they drive and whether it is a reflection of our society.

...wondering when I should be sowing seeds for autumn plants in my garden.

...hoping that I can fit in a catch up with friends I have not seen for a while this week.

...looking forward to music festival this weekend.

Gratitudes

18 August 2013



Joining in with Taryn for her heartfelt Sunday tradition.

A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful.

This week I have been grateful for...

...the produce from my garden, garlic, potatoes, kale, beetroot, salad leaves and white currents.

...time to myself which I was not sure if I would enjoy but it was a lovely recharge.

...being able to help a stranger.

...a big declutter which has made my house feel bigger.

...sorting out all my home ed resources into a useable state which the children have spent the weekend investigating.

...picking white currents with my youngest it was lovely to do this together, chatting whilst we picked.

...a wonderful chat with a friend who I have not seen for a few weeks, it made my heart soar that she was so delighted to see me.

...dinner out at a friends house.

Determination

17 August 2013



Whilst eating our breakfast one morning this week a chicken walked by the house, several of our neighbours keep chickens so we thought nothing of it and assumed that it would find its way home by the end of the day.   It stayed around all day and survived the night outside (we have foxes living nearby) though we know not where.  It did not belong to any of our neighbours and looked keen to hang around.  When we were able to get close enough we realise that it was one plucky chicken, not only has she survived several nights outside but she has escaped a visit to the abattoir from a local chicken farm.  Sadly she has had her beak clipped and is not used to foraging but we think she will survive a neighbour has taken her under his wing, so to speak.  It is pouring with rain today so she has sought shelter under a hedge.  Perhaps she is slightly bemused by these new surroundings like she has been dropped into a foreign country.  We have become rather fond of her and rather want her to survive, maybe she will even lay an egg!

I had a knock on the door yesterday which I tentatively opened thinking it might be someone trying to sell me double glazing, instead it was a beaming young man proffering an empty water bottle.  I am cycling end to end, he tells me, and I have run out of water could you refill my bottle.  As I walk away to do so he asks and have you got any snacks?  I provide him with a refilled water bottle and a bag of fruit and off he goes.

On Tuesday I set off from my house alone, a very rare occurrence, and spent the next twenty four hours away from my children.  As I drove away from the house I wondered what on earth had possessed me to make such an arrangement.  My youngest has spent every night in my company since her birth over four years ago, would she be ok?  Of course she was she had her brother and father for company and they kept busy, swimming, cycling and canoeing.  Meanwhile I had a wonderful two days out on the hill keeping an eye on a group of young people, knitting and reading.

This morning I tackled a job which I have been putting off for a while, my excuse is that I always have something else to do.  Finding myself with a few extra days to get ready to go away I could put it off no longer.  I have had a major declutter and reorganise of the children's books, toys, home ed resources and our desk we all share.  I have a big bag of books and toys which need a new home and a much tidier, more organised house.  I could really so with giving the Lego the same attention we seem to be drowning in it as some of it does not have a home.  I will save that for another day as we do have to go out now but I will try not to put it off for too long.

Things turned out ok.

Sustainable

15 August 2013

Welcome to the August 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Living Sustainably. This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month, our members are talking about steps their families have taken, or hope to take, to live more sustainably. We hope you'll find inspiration for your family's journey towards sustainable living, and share your tips with us as well!
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We humans are a highly successful species, we have utilised the earths resources far more than any other species and we dominate the food chain and the planet.  If we carry on doing so at the rate we are I wonder how long we as a species will last and what it will do to the earth's resources.  If we are to ensure that they are around for future generations to make use of we need to be wise in our usage, but how do we measure what is wise.

Forty years ago recycling was virtually unheard of in the way it is now, there were not recycling banks or places to take materials that could be reused, repurposed or recycled.  Forty years ago consumption was totally different.  Promoting recycling is a great idea in principle, if it means that less raw resources are used up then it should be a winner but is it not actually better to buy less, just what we need rather than what we want. In our consumer driven societies this does not sit well.  We do recycle as much as it is possible to, to the extent that we only put a rubbish bag out for collection every six to eight weeks but we are also mindful shoppers.  We only buy what we need and we are conscious of packaging when we do purchase, especially food.  We don't buy clothes that are only worn once, we make careful purchases which will last many years.

The food we eat is not only purchased with packaging in mind but also the season.  I remember as a child what a treat it was to eat oranges at Christmas time, this was the only time they were available to buy in the shops in the northern hemisphere.  Similarly strawberries were only available in the summer, apples in the autumn now we can buy all these products and more all year round.  They are shipped, air freighted and driven hundreds of miles around the world before they get to our door.  We grow as much as we can on our small patch of land, this provides us with a small amount of vegetables and fruit for some weeks in the summer and autumn.  What we cannot grow we have delivered from a local farm co-operative once a week.  We look forward to the change in the seasons and the new fruit and vegetables that this brings.  The rest of the food we buy is bought in a local town, we use small independent shops as much as possible and buy as locally produced food as much as possible.  I write a menu for our lunches and suppers based on the vegetables we have in the garden and delivered.  Our food shop is based on the ingredients to cook the menu and we have virtually no food waste as we don't buy anything we don't need, we are not tempted by the reduced bargains unless it is something on our shopping list.  I cook every meal from scratch with mostly raw ingredients, we do buy a few processed items such as pasta and mustard.  We are mostly vegetarian, I am but the rest of my family do eat some meat, what meat we do buy is always direct from the farmer at a market.

When we moved into our house over ten years ago it was the middle of a very cold winter.   We had a basic central heating system that relied on a open coal fire being lit to warm the rest of the house which took some heating as it was poorly insulated.  Our coal bill was really high that first winter and we knew we needed to do something about it to reduce the cost and our reliance on coal.  We replaced the open fire with a wood burning stove which we heat with scavenged wood, branches that have fallen from trees, in our local area.  We have installed solar water panels to heat our water, and improved on the insulation in our house in the cavity walls, the loft and under the floors.  We also have a gas boiler which we rarely use.  We have a warm and cosy house and very, very low energy bills.  We would love to take our house off grid one day by installing a wind turbine we are in the process of researching this to work out our options particularly for storing energy for the (rare) windless days.

We live in a small rural village which has a bus service.  The village has good services such as a small library, a shop, a post office, an outdoor pool in summer, a sports hall and a school.  We are home educating as a family and there are no other families, known to us, in our village who are doing the same.  All our home educating friends live some distance away, none on our bus route.  Currently we have two cars, one my husband uses to get to work the other we use to get us out of the village.  If we are going some distance we often use the train.  I would love us to only own one car but it would hamper our ability to get to home ed events, there are six buses a day and if we miss one it is often a two hour wait for the next!  We have home ed friends who don't have cars they all live in big towns with really good public transport networks, we have a train line at the end of our garden but the three train stations near us all fifteen plus miles away.  We try and mix our use of the car and public transport as much as we can as a compromise.

All our decision making in the past and in the future has been and will continue to be mindful.  We carefully consider our options, the impacts they may have, the cost to the environment and our bank balance.  We have not made them because they are what we should be doing but because we believe in them and we hope will leave the world as a healthy place for our children's future.
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Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival!

Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:


Support

13 August 2013

Welcome to the August 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Sibling Revelry
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about siblings — their own, their hopes for their kids, and more. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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A year or so after my eldest was born I was ready to add to our family and talked to my husband about how he felt about it.  He was really reluctant.  We talked about it a lot over the next year and I established that he was worried about me, I was unwell at the end of my first pregnancy which led to a difficult birth and a serious flare up of my Crohn's soon after, he didn't want me to have to go through all that again.  Hindsight is of course a marvellous thing and I reassured him that I knew what had caused the cholestatis and I could prevent it returning again (which I did!).  But he still was not convinced that he wanted to have more than one child.  I couldn't help thinking there was something else which I hadn't put my finger on.  Then I worked it out, he has a really poor relationship with his sibling they don't get on and do not choose to be in each others company if it were not for the next generation we would not seem him at all.  He didn't want to inflict this on our first born whereas I was adamant I did not want an only child.   It made me realise that our own experiences as children with our siblings was effecting our decision making about our family.

I have two younger brothers and whilst there have been periods that we have drifted apart in the main we are a close knit family and I can't imagine life without them.  Growing up there were of course arguments but we played and rubbed along together, I have my memories, stories that I have been told by my mother and photos as a record.  We built dens, rode bikes, played shops, board games, threw snowballs, made up games and generally enjoyed each others company.  Life for me when growing up was about sharing my home with my siblings, I knew children who had no siblings but I found them difficult company and did not seek them out as friends they were uncompromising and selfish in the eyes of my child self.

So we talked some more.  About what siblings meant to us both, about whether we wanted to be a family with an only child.  I sailed through my second pregnancy and we now have two children.  There is four and half years between them and they get on with each other, they play together, they argue and disagree all important in the relationship with a sibling.  If they got on all the time I would be worried as I would know that one of them was compromising which is not the makings of a healthy relationship.

Over the last year both mine and my husbands father have been seriously unwell.  If there was ever a time that families need to come together and support each other it is at a time like this.  The difference in how our two families have dealt with this is really marked.  Thankfully my father has returned to full health but I was really grateful to have two siblings, I spoke to at least one of them every week.  It helped me to come to terms with what was happening knowing that I could pick up the phone and talk to them.  This has not been the case for my husband, the rift that exists between him and his sibling has gotten wider and the prognosis for my father in law is not good.  This has made me hugely aware that I as a parent need to provide the right environment for the relationship between my children to flourish.  I want them to be in my position when they are older, to support each other when they need it, not to be like their father.
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Carnival of Natural Parenting -- Hobo Mama and Code Name: MamaVisit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
  • The Damage of Comparing Siblings — Comparing siblings can lead to hurt feelings and poor relationships. What Jana Falls has learned and why she hopes for more for her son.
  • Connecting Through Sibling Rivalry — With four children who are spaced so that each child grows up in a pair, Destany at They are All of Me shares her method for minimizing the competition so her children can focus on bonding, rather than besting each other.
  • Sibling Revelry — Lucy at Dreaming Aloud shares the two-week transition that happens every summer as her kids transform from bickering to learning how to play.
  • Baby Brother born from an OceanAbby Jaramillo describes how her toddler connects in a possibly mystical way with her new baby brother and his birth at home, and Abby draws parallels with her own sister's new baby.
  • Hard, But Worth It — Claire at The Adventures of Lactating Girl discusses how difficult having two children can be, but how it's definitely worth it.
  • Raising Attached Siblings — At Living Peacefully with Children, Mandy and her husband are making conscious choices about how they raise their children to foster sibling connection and attachment.
  • It's Complicated — Henrietta at Angel Wings and Herb Tea reflects on how life's twists and turns have taken her from a childhood with no siblings to a constantly changing family life with five children, including one in spirit.
  • Supportsustainablemum reflects on how the differences between her relationship with her siblings and her husband's have affected their family and at a time of need.
  • Peas in a Pod — Kellie at Our Mindful Life enjoys the special relationship her oldest two children share.
  • Lessening the competitive enviornment in the homeLisa at The Squishable Baby discusses how downplaying competition in the home has led to cooperation, not competition.
  • The complex and wonderful world of siblings — Lauren at Hobo Mamareflects on her choices to have not too many children, spaced far apart — and how that's maybe limited how close their sibling relationship can be.
  • 5 Ways to Help Young Siblings Have a Loving Relationship — Charise I Thought I Knew Mama shares the strategies that help her three year old and 14 month old have a somewhat beautiful relationship and aid in keeping peace in their home.
  • 4 Steps to Encourage Sibling Revelry, even in Hot Moments of Rivalry — Sheila Pai of A Living Family share 4 Steps she uses to shift hot moments of sibling rivalry towards connected moments of sibling revelry and human compassion.
  • Twins Are Fun — Mercedes at Project Procrastinot witnesses the development of her twins' sibling bond.
  • Growing Up Together- Sibling Revelry in Our House — Amy at Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work realizes that there is great utility in raising siblings that are close in age, and is grateful to have been blessed with healthy siblings that both love and challenge one another every day.
  • Top 5 Ways to Reduce Sibling Rivalry — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares ideas that helped her two children be best friends along with Montessori resources for peace education and conflict resolution.
  • Sibling Uncertainty — Alisha at Cinnamon and Sassafras wonders how her children's relationship will change now that the baby is mobile.
  • Living with the Longing — Rachael at The Variegated Life sees that she can live with her longing for another — without changing her plans.
  • For My One and Only DaughterPlaying for Peace mommy reflects on her choice to not have more children in order to focus on other dreams.
  • Siblings: A Crash Course in Relationship Training — How have your siblings prepared you for later relationships? One of Dionna at Code Name: Mama's top priorities as mama of siblings is to help them learn how to navigate relationships.
  • The Joys of Siblings: An Inside Joke — Ana at Panda & Ananaso shares the a glimpse into the joys of having siblings through sharing a perplexing yet hilarious inside joke betwixt her and her own.
  • Sibling Support, even in the potty! — Even though Laura at Pug in the Kitchen's children didn't start out best friends, they are joined at the hip these days, including cheering each other on with potty successes!
  • Don't Seek What Isn't There - On Sibling Jealousy — Laura from Authentic Parenting analyzes the seeming desire people harbor for seeking out hints of sibling jealousy.
  • Sibling Love / Sibling Hate?Momma Jorje speculates whether her children will have a different sibling experience than her own. Did she make the right choices based on her own history?

Moments...

12 August 2013

...this week of...

...happiness getting a new bag of yarn through the post, spending a lovely day out with friends, returning home after being away, at my eldest sitting and reading his first novel he has shown no interest up until now.

...sadness my father in law not having the operation he desperately needs for the second week running, there was no bed again.

...creating wristwarmers and slippers with wool, drawings of dragons and dinosaurs, arrows with wood.

...reading a really good book, Fear Not by Anne Holt.

...learning about dinosaurs, the body, what is in the food we eat, what makes a healthy diet and what happens when you mix bicarb and vinegar.

...thinking about my mother in law at this really hard time for her.

...wondering how my youngest will be when I go away overnight for the first time in her life.

...hoping my tomatoes will ripen before it gets cooler, the temperature has dropped slightly and the sunshine is much reduced so I am not sure they will!

...looking forward to spending some time out in the hills this week.








Gratitudes

11 August 2013

Joining in with Taryn for her heartfelt Sunday tradition.

A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful.

This week I have been grateful for...

...being home again after time away.

...our wonderful neighbour who tended to our garden whilst we were away.

...more meals cooked by family and friends it is lovely to have a break from this for a while.

...meals cooked with vegetables from our garden.

...the view from our house.

...our garlic harvest.

...a friend inviting us to join them on a day out which was great fun.

...having time to knit my first Christmas present, I know it is early to start but I will get them all made in good time if I start now.

Boredom

09 August 2013

We are a few weeks into the school summer holidays where I live and so many of the shops that I drove past when visiting family last week were offering ways to alleviate boredom.

This really saddened me, in a day and age when we have a highly structured school system, when children may be in organised activities before and after school as their parents are out at work, holidays should be about freedom from structure.  It is also indicitative of children's lives being so structured and organised for them that they are no longer able or wanting to engage in free play.

Our perceived danger out on the streets, cars aside, means that they no longer play freely outside.  So liked caged animals in a zoo they are stuck inside unsure of what to do with all the 'free' hours.

Perhaps the boredom busting activities on offer are better than being glued to a screen but what happened to children busting their own boredom?  If a child says I am bored aren't they are really saying tell me what to do?

Are we in danger of creating a society of unthinkers who are not able to do anything unless it has been suggested, created or managed by someone else or am I just being dramatic?

There is nothing wrong with being bored.  In my opinion it leads to creativity if you just give it a chance.

Knitting

07 August 2013


The Antler Cardigan is nearly off the needles.  I just need to knit the sleeve and body stitches together.  There are also many ends to weave in, buttons to choose and sew on and then blocking.  I ordered a huge amount of yarn online this week in preparation for Christmas knitting I can see that casting on these new projects is going to take over finishing off!  I have also been working on a Sweater for my youngest, I have knitted up the back and have now cast on the front.  This pattern is in this lovely book, this is the fifth project I have knitted from it.  Most of my recent projects have been knitted in one or in the round it feels strange to be knitting up the individual pieces to sew up at the end. The yarn I am using is very old, judging by the label, I bought it from a friend of a friend who is emigrating and selling all their crafting stuff before they go they must have had this yarn sitting around for a long time. A quick look on the Internet has revealed that the factory closed in 1990.  This is the only project I really have on the needles now but I am sure that the new bag of yarn will lure me to cast something else on before the week is up!

I have read very little this week.  I was at the stage of the story where the characters and the plot were being developed and it was dragging on a little but now it has moved on and become mysterious and exciting as I am unsure where the plot will go.  I always find a book hard to put down when it reaches this stage I just need to find the time to read and knit!  Nearly forgot to say the book is The Devil's Acre by Matthew Plampin.

Joining in with Tami for this weeks work in progress and Ginny for this weeks yarn along.

Moments...

05 August 2013


...this week of...

...happiness spending time with family and friends, meeting my baby nephews for the first time, my youngest learning to ride a bike.

...sadness at how dejected my father in law is, he is very seriously ill.

...creating a cardigan.

...reading not much!

...learning about ships, polar bears, to ride a bike

...thinking how few weeks it is until my husband goes back to being an employee.

...wondering what we are going to do for the rest of this week, we have been away and I have no plans as yet.

...hoping my garden has coped whilst we have been away.

...looking forward to being at home again.

Gratitudes

04 August 2013


Joining in with Taryn for her heartfelt Sunday tradition.

A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful.

This week I have been grateful for...

...my health.

...rest.

...having meals cooked for me by family and friends.

...my nephew and eldest playing together all the time that they possibly can and never tire of each other, they get on so well it is wonderful to watch and listen to them.

...spending time with an old friend and her family, we have known each other over thirty years and have stayed in touch for that whole time.

...my mum paying for a wonderful day out.

...my husband driving us safely to visit family.


Ships

03 August 2013

We spent a very long day at the Docks in Portsmouth this week.  The area calls itself the Historic Dockyard and it is indeed steeped in history.  We started the day on the HMS Victory the naval vessel that Nelson took into the battle of Trafalgar, the battle which took his life.  The ship is the original not a copy and is a wonderful insight into the world of the Georgian Navy it was in service for over thirty years.   It is hard to imagine the huge numbers of crew in such a small space, over 800.  The noise of the 100 guns would have been deafening no ear defenders in those days.  The crew had to be highly organised and there were the most ingenious ways of storing and organising all the kit necessary to function on such a ship.

After a picnic sheltering from the rain we headed in for our timed slot to the newly opened Mary Rose Museum.  This amazing museum contains the remains of the flagship of Henry VIII's fleet which was sunk by the French in Portsmouth Harbour in 1545.  It lay in the harbour for over 300 hundred years before being raised in 1982 since then it has undergone a thirty year of work to preserve the fragile remains.  Whilst this was being dug from the mud and silt in the harbour the archaeologist and divers found hundreds of artefacts including, personal chests, musical instruments, clothing, shoes, cutlery, food preparation items, bows, arrows and many many more. All these items have been wonderfully displayed in a really interesting way in this museum.  We spent two hours walking round before the children declared they were wanting to leave.

The last ship we visited was the HMS Warrior, an ironclad armoured warship built in 1860 and powered by steam and sail.  She had a crew of around 300 who mostly ate, slept and worked on the one deck around a mess table and a cannon.  Amazingly this ship had early washing machines, mangles and baths to make sure the crew and their uniform, which had just been introduced by the navy, were always clean.  It is the only surviving example of an iron clad warship and spent seven years in Hartlepool being extensively restored.  It was a wonderful end to a busy day.

We only visited a fraction of the museums in the dockyard, you could spend days there and you can take a boat around the harbour.  It is really expensive for a family ticket (Mum paid for ours!) but it was worth it especially as it is valid for a year, we will be visiting again soon for sure!

There are no photos with this post as the ones we took were awful, it was a grey overcast day which made taking pictures outside hard and in the ships and the museums it was too dark to get a good picture as flash photography is not allowed.

Health

01 August 2013

On Sunday whilst out with my youngest at the village pool I started to feel bloated and not quite right.  After eating tea that evening I had to take up residence on the sofa as I was feeling distinctly queasy.  By the end of the day my dinner had not stayed down, I was hot and uncomfortable and unable to sleep.  I lay listening to the unusually endless traffic going past my house, folks leaving a music festival and hoped that I would be well in the morning.  I did, tho weak from lack of food, feel slightly better.  A morning of packing bags to go away probably did not help with my strength but an afternoon sat in the car was a good trade off.  By Tuesday I was ravenous and all was well again.

It always makes me pause for thought when I am ill.  It was hard on my children to see their mama not able to sit up or walk around at my normal speed.  But they forget when you are sat sit and make endless requests of me that I am not able to meet without mamouth effort.  I worry that I will be ill for a long time, especially when sickness is involved as I have Crohn's Disease, a condition that for so many is chronic and debilitating.  My health is good, I can be up and functionally normally after sickness usually within 24 hours.  I work hard to keep my health good, I manage my Crohn's through my diet and am strict about avoiding the foods that I should not eat to keep the disease at bay and to ensure that when I do pick up a bug/bacteria/virus it does not mean the disease itself will also return.

I would not be the mother I am if I was constantly suffering with a chronic condition I don't know how mothers that are, do.  I don't know where they find the strength to get themselves up and through the day with their children by their side.  I admire them.  When I am ill I need to hide away and rest to regain my strength.  I am grateful for my health, but know that it is important to look after myself so that I can be the mother I want to be to my children.