Blue

29 November 2013





I am feeling slightly odd at the moment, a deflated feeling which has everything to do with the manic two weeks I have just had.  Just over three weeks ago I realised that I didn't have very much time to make and finish off some Christmas presents that I was going to hand deliver to save on postage.  At that point one of the projects was only a thought in my mind I had no pattern or yarn lined up, admittedly it was a baby cardigan I needed to make which are usually quick, but I am not the worlds fastest knitter.  So, in what has felt like record time, I have chosen, cast on, off and finished a delightful little cardigan.  The other little cardigan which I cast off ages ago and needed finishing, it had stalled due to the 36 ends that needed weaving in, has been finished off and wrapped up also ready for delivery.  Ravelry notes are here and here.  They were both lovely knits to make up, well perhaps with the exception of all the ends that needed weaving in on the garter stripes cardigan, but if you are looking for baby knits for boys these are both good patterns and you don't have to knit the garter cardigan in stripes.

My house has been largely ignored so consequently is resembling a pig sty and I still have a few Christmas knits to make, slippers, only slippers.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, back in July, but now I am fed up with them I have made so many that once I know how many stitches to cast on I can knit them without looking at the pattern.  I have a few other projects I would love to cast on especially as they would give me some variety but for now I am holding off and will do so for as long as my sanity allows.  Got to knit the slippers, got to knit the slippers, got to knit the slippers, I don't think it will be long before I cave in.......

Knitting

27 November 2013


It feels like I have been in a knitting frenzy these past few weeks.  I had to finish off certain projects by the end of this week to deliver them ready for Christmas.  I have managed to finish most of them they are waiting, wrapped up, for when we travel south to family tomorrow.  When you spend time and energy creating something it can feel strange wrapping it up to give to someone else can't it?  Maybe it is just me but it feels like you giving a little bit of yourself a way, which I suppose it is!  I will share pictures later in the week.  The slippers are still waiting for a sole, I was going to sew on leather but I have abandoned those plans I have two more ideas which I am going to investigate today when I pop into our local town I will let you know how I get on....

...meanwhile I am still knitting slippers...

I am loving the wool for this pair, beautiful greens, it was really hard to get a good picture this morning in the November gloom, it goes rather well with my reading matter this week don't you think?  I have this one and it's pair to knit, along with one more pair and an a half and that is all my Christmas knitting left to do!  Hopefully I won't be knitting on the way to our new year gathering with friends like last year.

I am still reading Woodsman by Ben Law, rather slowly at the moment with all the knitty distractions.

Joining in with Tami and Ginny for sharing of all things yarny.

Moments...

25 November 2013

...this week of...

...happiness a day out with the children, our warm fire, quiet mornings, full days, our rhythm gently beating

...sadness that my Urticaria is still bad

...creating baby knits, slippers, a farm, dens, thick homemade yogurt, applesauce muffins

...reading my Vegetarian Society magazine

...learning about dinosaurs, the geological time scale, farming, money, some French 

...thinking about whether I can out tomorrow as I have so much to do before going away at the end of the week

...hoping the remedy I desperately needs arrives this week

...looking forward to spending a few days with my parents

Gratitudes

24 November 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...

...friends to talk things over with

...a free museum

...my big chest freezer and all the lovely puddings and cakes I have this month with the fruit I froze this year

...a warm fire

...sleep

...fresh air

...a dry spell which enabled me to hang washing outside

...music

...finishing off making some Christmas presents



Pizza

23 November 2013

I love to eat pizza.  To me it makes a great meal hot, or dare I say it, cold and since I started making them from scratch they taste so much better.  As a vegetarian who cannot eat tomatoes I am usually unable to eat pizza unless I make it myself.  What I call pizza and what the rest of the world calls pizza is probably not the same thing!

So when I wanted to make my own pizza I had to get creative with the topping after trying mushrooms, slow cooked onions, pesto and spinach, I decided that spinach made the best topping.  I wilted it with a little onion and a dash of nutmeg and spread it on top, hey presto a tasty alternative, but there is a down side you need a lot of spinach to make a pizza topping.  No problem I will grow my own........or maybe I won't.  I have successfully grown many veggies over the years but spinach has been a spectacular failure, I have no problem getting it to germinate but it never grows more than a couple of inches high before it bolts.  I have tried growing several different varieties outside, in the polytunnel, in full sun, in full shade and variations of in between but nah it doesn't want to grow into a plant with leaves that I can actually harvest.  So the spinach for my pizza has to be bought either fresh or occasionally frozen which means we don't eat it as often as I like.

I plan a menu each week and buy the ingredients I don't have in the house to cook the meals.  One week I had planned pizza and didn't put the spinach on my shopping list.  I make the dough in my bread maker and had started that off, I had chopped some onion and was gently frying them went to the fridge for the spinach ah none there a quick ratch in the freezer none there either, I needed some inspiration.  I had kale growing in the garden in abundance that would do, possibly? I de stalked it, shredded it finely and wilted it in the pan with the onions spread it on top of the pizza base topped with mozarella and hey presto a pizza!  The topping does not stick to the base like other toppings do as it is fairly dry.

It does taste delicious, in my book, the kale gets slightly crispy at the edges which is ok because crispy kale is really tasty, ever tried kale chips?  That is what you get at the edges, so two meals in one.  What is more my eldest who up until then had declared he didn't like kale now loves the stuff, so it was a great way to introduce him to a new food!

Kale Pizza

Base - made in breadmaker using:
3/4 tsp dried yeast
300g whole meal flour
1/2 tbsp sugar
15g butter
1 tbsp milk powder
1 tsp salt
160ml water

Topping
1 onion
10g butter
Approx 500g Kale
125g Mozarella

Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7

Finely chop the onion,  melt the butter in a large frying or sauté pan and gently fry the onions until clear.

De stalk the kale leaves and cut into fine strips, add to the pan and cook gently until thoroughly wilted.

Roll out the base to desired size and spread the kale and onion over the top.

Cut the mozarella into slices and place on top.

Cook in oven for 15 minutes.

Serves 4

This recipe has been added to the Shop Local #3 Challenge over at Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary.

Presents

21 November 2013



Welcome to the November 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Homemade Holidays.
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 how homemade gifts can make your holidays more cost-effective and special! Check out all of the posts to get homemade gift ideas for everyone on your list.
—–

We used to have a wonderful independent bookshop in our local town.  Every year around this time I would make a visit to the shop with a list of names and spend a couple of hours choosing books.  My children were more than happy to spend the time in the children's bit of the shop reading and playing with the toys.  My Christmas present shopping was very easy and as some of them had to be posted, also ideal.  I didn't need to take a list of titles with me as this shop never failed to inspire me.  Two years ago, in the summer, it closed.  That Christmas (2011) I was lost, like I fish out of water I floundered, and suddenly present buying was much harder I needed ideas and then I needed to find the time to make the purchases.  It felt like it took forever, it felt like a chore, in short I hated it.

Around this time I had started to read a few blogs, some of which were showcasing presents that they had made I didn't have time to start making presents at that point but the seed was sown.  In late August of the following year I started to make a list and come up with ideas of what and for whom I could make presents.  It was an ambitious list, hindsight being a wonderful thing.  The last present I was still making, when part of it had been wrapped and given!  I knitted several pairs of socks, sewed bags and dolls clothes, knitted scarves, a dress, dolly clothes, mittens, flowers for hair slides, bowls for felting it was too much in such a short time.  The socks were the slowest bit, made even slower because I was making a pair for my husband and didn't knit any of the pairs in front of him, it coincided with a lull in his work so he was at home most days...But what it did do, which was one of the reasons I had decided to make presents, is reduce the bill.

So for Christmas this year I have decided to try making presents again.  I have started earlier, in July, have less on the list and quicker to make items all of them knitted or sown.  On the list this year are lots of knitted slippers, two baby cardigans, a shawl, wristwarmers, felted bowls and sewing cloaks, a nightie and a bag.  I am progressing well this year and hope that I am not still making presents as I am giving them like last year!

—–
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:



Princess

19 November 2013



My youngest has been asking me for ages to make her a princess hat and cloak a la a picture she showed me in one of her books.  She was very specific about what she wanted it had to be the same, down to the patterns on the material.  I was very touched and proud that she asked me to make it for her rather than her assuming we would just go out and buy it.  I gently informed her that we may not be able to buy the exact same material but we could go and look in the haberdashers to see what they had.  In the mean time I remembered that a while ago I had bought a few pieces of material from a friend who is emigrating, they were all suitable for making princess capes and I had bought them with that in mind.  She chose the piece of organza type material with sparkly bits.  We still needed something to make the hat or Hennin to give it its correct title.  She thought going round the haberdashers to choose her material was wonderful she spent quite a while deciding what she wanted and eventually chose some gold satin material which was, as she informed me, most suitable for princesses!

I made the hat by cutting a piece the shape of a quarter of a circle. I drew this on the material by holding a pencil on a piece of string at the corner, making a large drawing compass.  The radius was approx 15 inches/38cm.  In order for the hat to stand up, so to speak, I also used a stiffening material I went for the iron on type which in sewing speak is fusible interfacing.  I cut the interfacing slightly smaller than the material so that I could fold the seams to sew them more easily.  I sewed the two seams up and added two small pieces of the organza material to make the veil, although these are a token veil as they would not cover her face.

The cloak I made by sewing a hem round the bottom and a seam at the top for the elastic.  Once I had threaded the elastic through and sewn it together I also stitched the cloak together just at the top.  Whilst I was sewing the seam at the top I discovered something new on my sewing machine.  I bought my machine for £5, fifteen years ago from someone I was working with at the time.  It had been originally purchased in the Middle East the only 'instructions' with it are a small booklet with pictures only no words at all.  I am a self taught sewer, still at a basic level of sewing, so much of what I have learnt has been along the way often by trial and error, I am sure some of the things I do would have an experienced seamstress spluttering.  I have made a couple of items from this lovely book and the author talks about machine back stitching at the the beginning and end of each seam, I had no idea if my machine could do this so I had always done this by hand.  Whilst consulting my highly detailed instructions to remind myself how to place the bobbin, it has been a while....., when I realised that one of the pictures was showing you how to back stitch.  So I gave it a go and it worked, whey hey something new to my repertoire and less time fiddling about doing it by hand.


I was lucky enough to have some time in the haberdasher this week on my own, such a luxury, I could chose what I wanted in peace and take my time.  My children don't spend their time pulling all the ribbons off the shelves of fiddling with the buttons but after a few minutes in the shop they are usually asking when are we going.  So I had time to choose some material to make some Christmas presents for the children, I will reveal all another time.......

Joining in with Nicole for Keep Calm and Craft On.

Moments...

18 November 2013

...this week of...

...happiness spending more time outside, a birthday, stories with the children on the sofa, unhurried time in the haberdashers

...sadness at a flare up of Urticaria on my hands

...creating knitted slippers and baby cardigan, a princess cape, apple leather, birds eye view drawing

...reading Anyone can do Arithmetic by Brian Fletcher

...learning about fractions, multiplication, dinosaurs, how things work, Titan, weather, electronics and circuits

...thinking about presents that I need to buy before the end of the month

...hoping to get the knitting finished in time to be delivered at the end of the month

...looking forward to a great day out with the children 

Gratitudes

17 November 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...

...a lovely Martinmas lantern walk and singing with friends

...generous birthday presents for my eldest

...crafting with friends

...regular walks around the village

...a wooden bowl found in a charity shop for storing our rock collection

...a meal cooked by a friend, food always tastes good when not cooked by yourself

...catching up with friends we have not seen for months, they are hoping to move back to our area after seven years living elsewhere

...finishing making another Christmas present

...my husband looking after the children whilst I spent time in our local haberdashers choosing material, patterns and bits

...homemade yogurt


Nine

15 November 2013

Three days ago we celebrated a birthday in our house.  Our eldest is now nine, I know it is a cliché to exclaim where have the years gone and how did that happen but it does feel that way.  I write this for him.

You teach me so much.

When you were very young the changes in you were easy to see, obvious signs, you are still changing but it is more subtle I have to took hard to really see.  You make me do that often, to stop and really look.

You are passionate about so much, you put your heart and soul into what you do it is you and only you.  You don't pretend to be someone else to fit in, if you don't like what others are doing you say so.  You know your mind.

You still love to read, cross legged on the sofa or floor.  You still leave them everywhere like a trail behind you.  You have discovered fiction this year and consume book after book sometimes three or four in a day.  You have loved me reading to you again, much to my delight,  you haven't wanted this for a long time.

Your knowledge still amazes me, when I take you to places that you want to go you tell me about what we are looking at, you have read, absorbed and remembered.

You have shown me that it is possible to be creative without getting your hands dirty.  You are not a tactile person and never have been.  You really don't like anything soft or squidgy.  You prefer harder materials like Lego, pens and pencils for drawing, wool for weaving and knitting.  You have enjoyed learning to knit over the last few months you asked me to teach you.

You love your little sister with a passion, you are distressed if she is hurt or upset.  You play together for hours sometimes her demands are too much for you but this happens less and less these days.  She is the only person you give in to.....

I love all your questions you make me think.  When I cannot answer them it is great to find out together, to think about where we could find the answer and then look it up.  I learn with you.

Something in you is changing, your friendships are altering slowly, subtly.  Maybe you will move from some this year, time will tell.

You are kind, thoughtful and generous.

Happy Birthday my love.


Knitting

13 November 2013

This past few weeks I have knitting as fast as I can to get some of the Christmas presents made.  I have made plans to visit some of my family at the end of the month to deliver their presents.  We are staying at home for Christmas this year so the alternative is to post everything.  So I have a deadline for some of the presents which I need to meet.  I needed to knit another pair of slippers for my niece, finish off the slippers for my nephew, finish off a cardigan for one of the twins and find a pattern, some yarn and knit up a second cardigan for the other twin, not much then!


I have cast on and off a pair of slippers for my niece.  I had been knitting these in much bigger sizes for some of my friends and they were taking ages.  This pair were super quick, I can understand how some knitters could knit these up in an evening as I have read about!



The Stripey Cardigan is off the needles and I am slowly, and somewhat tediously, weaving in all the ends.  The downside of knitting in stripes are all the ends to weave in, 36 be precise, I have done half of them only another 18 to go.  I spent ages finding this pattern because I had some odd balls of yarn I wanted to use up, so needed a pattern that had been or was easy to adapt into stripes.  It was surprisingly easy to find another pattern, thankfully.  So this week I have cast on a hooded cardigan with some yarn that was on offer, hooray for offers!

I have also cast in another pair of slippers this time for my eldest.  I popped into a craft shop in my local town to top up some crafty bits and found a couple of balls of this yarn in their bargain bin exactly what I wanted.  That doesn't happen very often so I am always glad when it does.

I am reading a great book at the moment, Woodsman by Ben Law. The author has lived in the same woods for the past twenty years building the most beautiful house, working and living in the wood. He has gained a wonderful understanding of how to live amongst trees and this book is his story.

Joining in with Tami and Ginny head on over for more yarny things.

Intolerance

12 November 2013

Welcome to the November 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Feeding Your Family
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared recipes, stories, and advice about food and eating. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
***
Food is really important to me, where it comes from and how it is grown.  I prefer to buy direct from the producer if I can, for fresh products at Farmers Markets or at the farm gate.  We eat fruit and vegetables in the season that they are grown, no strawberries in the middle of winter here.  I cook every meal we eat from scratch and we rarely, if ever, eat out.  Now I am not suggesting for one minute that anyone who does not do the same (always cook from scratch and rarely eat out) is letting the side down, but for me it is out of necessity.  There are a number of foods that I am intolerant of, if I eat them they make me ill.  A little amount is not life threatening but over a long period of continuously eating them I would be very ill.  I have excluded certain foods for over fifteen years to manage a condition called Crohn's and latterly I have also been suffering from Urticaria on my hands.  Both these conditions are in remission, the Crohn's for a long period and the Urticaria for about a year.

Intolerance can be defined as an unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behaviour that differ from one's own.  When it is used in conjunction with the word food it can be defined as being very sensitive.  In the years that I have had food intolerences I have found a huge amount of intolerance and complete lack of sympathy and understanding in so many quarters.  Eating out is a minefield, where some intolerances are deemed ok and will be allowed for, particularly gluten intolerance, but when I give my list of food I get raised eyebrows, rolling eyes and am left with the impression I am making a fuss.  All intolerances are serious, they all make you ill.

Christmas is a big minefield for me.  There is an abundance of food, often rich.  We get many invitations to eat out either at friends houses or in restaurants.  I have to be choosy about which to accept and sometimes end up taking my own food with me.  If we are staying with family I often end up cooking for myself.  We have to go on self catered holidays too so I rarely if ever get a long break from cooking.  My ideal holiday would be one where I do not have to think about cooking or meal planning for a whole week!

But all this said I am passionate about food and cooking.  I love to experiment with ingredients, putting together flavours that I think will work well together, and luckily I am often right!  What having food intolerances has shown me is that it is important to think about what you are eating all the time.  There is an abundance of convenient foods available to buy now they are not available to me and whilst I am not sure they make for the healthiest of diets if they are eaten all them time, when time is short they are something I wish I could make use of.


I am the food buyer, planner and cook in our house and everyone eats what I can eat.  I have been concerned that by doing this my children will be intolerant of the same foods as me as they don't get them in their diet.  I have made a conscious effort to include them where possible as an addition to their meals but they often choose not to eat them as they don't like them.  What is most important to me is that we are all getting a health balanced diet overall.


***
Carnival of Natural Parenting -- Hobo Mama and Code Name: MamaVisit Hobo Mama and Code Name: 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:
(This list will be updated by afternoon November 12 with all the carnival links.)
  • Nut Free Desserts for the Holidays — Becky at Crafty Garden Mama will be talking about navigating the holidays with peanut allergies in the family.
  • Making Peace with My Picky Eater — Once upon a time, there was a boy who would try anything. And then he turned 3. Thus began the dinner chronicles at Dionna at Code Name: Mama's house.
  • Foodie Morphed by Motherhood — Rosemary at Rosmarinus Officinalis reflects on the changes of her family's food culture since becoming a mother, and shares a snapshot of their current food rhythm.
  • Introducing First Foods — Wondering what your little one should take a bite of first? That Mama Gretchen explains baby-led weaning/baby self-feeding and answers a number of questions that may come to mind!
  • Feeding Your Family — Coconut Oil!!! — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama is a coconut oil devotee. In this post, she shares her favorite ways to include coconut oil in her family's diet as well as why she feels it is important to do so.
  • We Thank the Earth for its Food! — Terri at Child of the Nature Isle spends hours in the kitchen each day trying to make medicine in the form of food.
  • Focusing on Healthy, Gluten-Free Foods for My Family — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares what her family is doing to eat healthily along with her recipe for gluten-free peanut butter oat bran muffins.
  • Intolerancesustainablemum laments the misunderstanding surrounding food intolerances.
  • Don't Let Food Sensitivities Ruin Your Holidays! — Rachel, the Titus 2 Homemaker, talks about ways to enjoy the holidays even if you wrestle with food sensitivities.
  • Losing grains, keeping empathy: Paleo and fat acceptance — Lauren at Hobo Mama vlogs about her family's decision to cut grains to improve health — and hopes she can retain her position as a proponent of size acceptance even as she loses weight.
  • Easy Homemade Crockpot Mac & Cheese — Amy W. at Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work, shakes off the blue-box blues with an easy crockpot mac-and-cheese recipe with no artificial dyes or excessive preservatives … just creamy, delicious, comfort-food goodness.
  • Extended Family Dinners — Shannon at Pineapples & Artichokes talks about sharing family dinners with housemates and why it works for her.
  • Five Suggestions for Eating Healthy During the Holidays — No need to feel powerless when it comes to our highly sugared/processed food culture during the holidays &emdash; Andrea at It Takes Time offers tips to stay on track.
  • How to feed your family — no food required! — Jessica at JessicaCary.com is kind of obsessed with food. But, lately she's realized there's more to nourishment than what she cooks up in the kitchen.
  • Food as family medicine: living gluten-free and beyond — Jessica at Crunchy-Chewy Mama sticks to her gluten-free guns but sees room for improvement in her pursuit of a real-food family table.
  • Feeding My Family — Challenges and Growth — Susan at Together Walking shares what has been most challenging about feeding her two kids and how she has grown in the kitchen since becoming a mother.
  • How I Lost 75 Lbs — What I Eat & My Top 5 Tips — Abbie at Farmer's Daughter shares how she and her family became healthy, happy and active.
  • The Weight of Motherhood — Revolution Momma at Raising a Revolution rethinks her relationship with food after struggling with post-pregnancy weight gain.
  • Geek Food: Pumpkin Pasties — While Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy and family might have food sensitivities, their geekery knows no limits. So, when faced with a desire to recreate Pumpkin Pasties from Harry Potter, they do not shy away!
  • Pumpkin Harvest Muffins — This summer Mama is Inspired and family grew pumpkins, and this autumn they are baking scrumptious, healthy muffins out of those pumpkins.
  • Reintroducing Meat to the Vegetarian Tummy — Ana at Panda & Ananaso shares some of the considerations she explored before transitioning from a vegetarian diet to reintroducing meat as a protein source and a few tips on making it an easy one.
  • Thanksgiving Meal, Thankful? — Jorje of Momma Jorje has never felt terribly thankful for Thanksgiving itself. Perhaps that could change if she's a little more invested?
  • 5 Ways to Use Healing Bone Broth — It's that time of year again, when unpleasant little bugs make their way into our homes. For Megan of The Boho Mama, guest posting at Natural Parents Network, homemade stock or bone broth is a natural remedy.

Moments...

11 November 2013

...this week of...

...happiness canoeing with my family, the beautiful autumn colours, watching my youngest having fun at a birthday party for a friend, a quiet day at home, a walk in the fields round our village

...sadness that people feel they have to lie rather than tell the truth

...creating cakes, knitting slippers and cardigans, drawings, railway tracks and towns

...reading Woodsman by Ben Law

...learning about volcanoes, geology, Mars, fractions, lichens, reading maps

...thinking about those who have lost loved ones and those whose loved ones have been badly injured in conflicts past and present

...hoping my eldest has a lovely day tomorrow

...looking forward to meeting up with friends this week who we have not seen for ages

Gratitudes

10 November 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 included in the birthday celebrations of a friend of my youngest

...a restoring day at home

...having the strength to say no to doing something when we really needed a rest

...a free museum

...simple, yet productive days

...the autumn colours

...moments of sunshine

...spending time outside

...a warm fire

Scattered

08 November 2013

Whenever we play board games, ones that need a dice, we often end up playing a second game hunt the dice.  I can hear myself saying it now don't throw the dice gently roll it, which of course they don't do because they have no idea what I am talking about.  I could repeat this request until I am blue in the face but it won't make a jot of difference, if they haven't a clue what I mean.  Getting them to watch how I do it is the most obvious way to demonstrate what I mean but it takes me ages to think of doing that, meanwhile we continue to play hunt the dice as well as the game in hand.  Sometimes the solution to a problem is the most obvious one but it doesn't mean we work this out more easily.

This past week we have been madly busy.  We have, in the main, enjoyed all that we were doing but it would have been better for us if it hadn't all come at the same time.  It is hard sometimes to say no to things but actually for your own sanity it would be better.  We did have a free day in the middle of family coming to stay, travelling away to a funeral and assessing a d of e expedition, but when some friends called to ask if we were around as it was half term and they were looking for things to do and people to meet up with I somehow found myself saying why not come and stay the night.  Really?  Have I gone completely mad.  It seems I have.  Somehow I couldn't say no.

What being busy like this means is that our rhythm and routines fall apart.  We are not people who at 10am every morning have a snack or do maths every day at 11 or read a book together at 12.  Our routine and rhythm flows differently to that, if it is Monday we will be baking, Tuesday creating, Wednesday maths, Friday science interspersed with this are outside walks, a chapter from a story, visits with friends, joining up with home ed groups, a singing group, and lots of playing and reading.  It has been difficult to fit this in with everything else that has been going on and I really noticed the impact this had on the children.  When life is simple and moving along at a gentle pace, when you have had a day of doing one particular thing they know what will happen on the next, they are calm and happy.  When each day is different, perhaps challenging, when they don't really understand what is coming next the calm and happy children disappear replaced with two children who cannot get on with each other and who cannot settle to any kind of play.  Add into the mix a tired mama and coughs and colds it gets well.......you can imagine!

So this week we returned to the comfort of our rhythm.  We baked and joined our singing group.  Then we were due to join friends as usual with the addition of celebrating Bonfire Night and sharing food together but we got up that morning and said no, all of us craving some quiet time at home to recharge and restore our health.  By the end of the day my eldest who had been suffering with a nasty cough for a few days was so much better and the cough has stayed away.  We created as usual, making puppets together and putting on shows for each other, we enjoyed each others company.  It can be really hard to say no even when it is for the best but I do need to do this more often to maintain our gentle pace of life.

Overindulgence

05 November 2013



Welcome to the November 2013 Carnival of Natural Mothering! 

This article is a part of the Carnival of Natural Mothering hosted by GrowingSlower, Every Breath I Take, I Thought I Knew Mama, African Babies Don't Cry, and Adventures of Captain Destructo. This month's topic is Incorporating Natural Into the Holidays. Be sure to check out all of the participants' posts through the links at the bottom of this page.









I watched some programmes on television recently, if you are thinking and?  Bear with me!  A TV has never been a feature in my life, the adverts were loud, fast paced and insidious when you hear talk of something but don't experience it yourself it is easy to forget what it is really like.  When I hear folks lamenting the cost of buying presents for their children I often think why do you need to spend so much, having watched those adverts recently I am reminded why.  I have heard advertising companies talk of pester power and tapping into markets, it is unbelievable the lengths some companies will go to to get their products bought.

I well remember returning to school after the Christmas holidays, hearing people talk about what they had been given, I was always shocked at the volume.  This kind of present giving has emerged in my extended family since I have married and my siblings have too.  Every family has their own traditions for celebrating Christmas, I have been struggling over the last few years to find my own family traditions ones that will work for us and extended family.  Buying lots of presents for the children because they are not seen very often is a poor excuse, I would rather the visits were more often.  The excess was starting to get to me, the volume was overwhelming for me and we live in a small house it has all got to go somewhere.  

Last year I felt I needed to get a handle on presents before it spiralled out of control.  It was frustrating to be told, when giving present ideas, is that all?  Yes it is that is all we want and need.  But it is starting to work.  When we give one small idea that is all we want to be given, one small heartfelt present is far better then many unwanted gifts.  Gift giving and receiving is not, for me, about replacement for time or love or whatever is missing.  It is about giving a gift that you truly believe the recipient will love and treasure regardless of the size or cost.

Another change I made last year was to remove the myth of Father Christmas from our house.  In the past they have had a few small presents, four or five, from this mythical man and one larger one from us.  We wanted to continue to give a larger gift but I also wanted to make some small presents for the children.  They are still given four small gifts using the idea, which I cannot remember where I read about, of something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read.  I was concerned, when I bought in this change, that my eldest would be most bothered.  Neither of my children were in the least bit troubled by this change they still received presents and they loved the fact that I had made them things without them knowing.  This is no mean feat in our house as we home educate and the children go to bed fairly late, I am with them most of the time.

I feel much calmer about Christmas this year.  I have made many presents to give already and I have started to think about ideas for gifts that others could buy for us.  We are spending Christmas at home this year which makes it easier as all presents have to be posted which by necessity makes them small, next year we will spend with extended family so it remains to be seen whether I am as calm next year!



Bloggers, visit GrowingSlower to sign up to be a part of next month's carnival. 




Moments...

04 November 2013

...this week of...

...happiness friends and family to stay, a walk in the hills, homemade cake

...sadness a funeral

...creating bread, cakes, knitting a cardigan, slippers and felted bowls, a princess hat and cloak, lanterns

...reading Someone I Loved by Anna Gavalda

...learning about insects, migration, drawing circles, to knit (my eldest), some letters

...thinking about how I need to manage busy times better and to say no more when we are busy

...hoping for a return to good health for my eldest who had been suffering with a cough

...looking forward to returning to our rhythm this week it has gotten scattered in the busyness 

Gratitudes

03 November 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...

...solace

...peace

...quiet

...friends

...sleep and rest

...a walk in the hills

...the warmth of a fire at the end of a cold day

Pausing

01 November 2013

I have taken a wee break from this space this week, a short pause.  It has been a busy week here on so many levels, physically and emotionally, with family to stay, friends to stay, a short trip away and a weekend to spend tramping the hills after a d of e group.

My father in law died a few weeks ago and his funeral was earlier this week.  I do not really know my husbands extended family at all, I met some of them at his brothers wedding fifteen years ago none of them came to mine it was too far for them to travel.  I find meeting new people exhausting in itself, coupled with the occasion I was rather drained.

My grandfather died when I was fifteen he had been married for over forty years.  I will never ever forget going to see my granny the week he died.  She was sat in a chair in the garden with her family around her, she looked small and 'reduced', her eyes were closed like she could not and did not want to be part of the world as it carried on around her.  Her sense of loss was enormous to my fifteen year old self, I realised how important my grandfather was in her life.  She came to live with us for a few months after he died and for weeks she hardly got out of bed.  I used to go and sit with her when I came home from school, I hardly ever spoke just gave her some company or held her hand.  My mother and her brothers sorted out the house and the estate for her.

Grief is an emotion you cannot hide, it is very visible.  When it is not there it is not because it is invisible perhaps the sadness is not that strong.  If you are married for over forty years and there is no grief how can that be.  What kind of life has been lived for those years, I cannot begin to imagine, it is not the life I am leading.  What my grandfathers death showed me is that it is possible to find and marry someone who you can love so deeply that when they do pass away your life is diminished.  The strength of that relationship is the strength of your grief.

Do we have a fragile existence on this earth.  Should we worry about this.  Will worrying consume us.  Or live our lives to the full in the here and now, enjoying what we have, making conscious decisions, giving of our love and receiving of others love.

Making sense of what I have seen and heard, absorbing this has consumed me this week.  It has been a time of pausing and reflecting.  It has made me realise that I have and continue to make good choices in my life.  I am at peace.