Moments...

31 December 2013

...this year of...

...happiness...
at celebrating Midsummer at a camp with friends the weather was perfect, as was the location and the company.  Some of the children performed a Midsummer Night's Dream in the woods on midsummer eve which was enchanting.  Taking my children camping and exploring Hadrian's Wall on my own, the weather was cool and damp but we had a wonderful time.  They particularly loved going for walks in the evenings.  A hot enough summer that enabled us to go river swimming several times.  Our regular visit to a music festival, this was the second year we attended Shrewsbury Folk Festival which we will now make a regular trip to.  I love live music and this is one time of the year that I indulge in doing what I want to do, staying up late and soaking up the music, we have already booked our tickets for 2014.  A wonderful summer camp with teenagers from a local Explorer Scout group, it is hard work but we always have a wonderful time.  On the last evening as we were celebrating achievements at camp and saying goodbye to some of the older members who were going off to university the owls joined in and were hooting all around it was a truly magical evening.  My husband deciding to return to work and being happy about that decision, the regular stable income has made our lives much easier and being invited to join a friends singing group for my youngest, she absolutely loves this each week.
...sadness...
the loss of a member of our family, my dear father in law.  He was diagnosed at the very beginning of this year with mnd and none of us was prepared for how quickly he deteriorated.  We celebrated Christmas 2013 with him and his speech at that time was a little difficult to understand by February I could not understand him at all, by June the muscles in his mouth were so wasted that he had a tube fitted for feeding.  The fear in his eyes was heart breaking.  This is a terrible disease, one which affected us all and he lost his fight the day after my birthday in October.  Despite the sadness some good has come of it, my husband and his brother who have never got on stayed up talking late into the night, the night he died and laid their differences to rest.  They now speak on the phone regularly, it is sad that their father never got to witness that but I am just glad that they have become friends.

...creating...
pieces for our seasonal table for winterspring and autumn, sewing a needle case for my dpn's, a skippy skirttrousers and a princess hat and cape, lots of knitting including animals, a jacket, my first projects with cables and baby cardigans.

...reading...
inspired by other bloggers I have gotten back in to reading this year.  I really thought I did not have time for it but like so many things if you want it to happen you can make it happen.  Wonderful and inspiring reads have been Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn, Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracey Chevalier, Someone I Loved by Anna Gavalda, Why be happy when you could be normal? by Jeanette Winterson and The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri Mauri.

...learning...
aside from the learning that happens day to day numbers, Vikings, Romans, rivers, snakes, dinosaurs, filtration, parachutes, fractions, migration, geology, reading maps I could go on the two big learning achievements this year have been both my children learning to swim and riding bikes.  These are both activities that we love to do as a family and I am looking forward to bike rides with the children next year.

...thinking...
about a hugely diverse range of topics screenstrustcreativityfriendshipsrhythm, siblings, measuring achievement and green living

...hoping...
for 2014 to stay true to what I believe in, be open to new ideas and look after myself and my family to the best of my abilities.

...looking forward to...
another great year, how about you?

Gratitudes

29 December 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...

...time spent with my family

...lovely thoughtful presents

...surviving the stormy weather

...a break in the grey weather

...a lovely walk

...rest

...calm

...a warm fire

...a really good book

Weather

27 December 2013







It has been a grey old world where I live, for weeks and weeks and weeks.  Every now and again we get a glimpse of blue sky a rare and precious moment.  I am an outdoor girl, I love to spend a least some time outside every day if I can, but when we have day after day of greyness, with rain and often high winds it is a tad trying.  The amount of clothes you need to put for protection leaves you barely able to walk.  The children and I have been trying to get out for walks at least three or four times a week, it takes more time to get dressed and undressed than the time we are out walking!  We have a wet waterproof rack permanently set up in garage dripping onto the floor.

For as long as I can remember my family has gone out for a walk on Boxing Day, whatever the weather, having spent the whole of Christmas Day inside stuffing ourselves eating and drinking it is a good way to walk it all off.  I really wanted to continue that tradition but was slightly trepidatious as to where we could go as the ground underfoot is like a bog almost everywhere.  We woke on Boxing Day to blue skies, no wind and best of all frozen ground, isn't nature wonderful it solved the problem for me.  We had our walk, it was very very cold but we could see the sky and had a wonderful day out.

I hope your celebrations were as you wanted them to be, whatever form they took :)

Moments...

23 December 2013

...this week of...

...happiness finishing off my Christmas makes, candles, parties at friends houses, sharing food, the decorations up, relaxed and feeling ready for a lovely Christmas

...sadness my eldest's friends being unkind he was really confused and bewildered

...creating more felted bowls, slipper soles, a nightie

...reading The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N. Murari

...learning about Oceans, Rainforests, Numbers, Rivers, Borneo, the Earths orbit, using a ruler, making a cube net

...thinking about those that are living alone 

...hoping that I have remembered everything as I don't want to go out to the shops again!

...looking forward to a lovely fortnight with my family and friends

Gratitudes

22 December 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...

...staying safe in the stormy weather

...a warm dry house

...a fire

...sleep

...time for making presents

...being able to finish my Christmas makes in good time

...friends

...wonderful parties we have been to this week

...joining together with a lovely group of friends to mark the Winter Solstice

...the security my husbands job gives us

...patience

Knitting

18 December 2013


I am one happy lady this week, I am on my very last slipper, hooray!  This is pair eight, I cannot believe I have now knitted fifteen of these.  I am hoping this will be off the needles by the end of the week then I have the small matter of sewing.  I will need to sew on twelve soles, I have already done this on two pairs, four by Christmas Day the rest by New Year's Eve.  I think I can probably have this done in time....

Then I am looking forward to casting on something else, in fact I can't wait.  I am not going to knit so many of the same thing next year, you would have thought I would have learnt from last year with all the socks I made.  So I have a jumper for my eldest, a shawl for my mum and a shawl for a friend to make.  I have decided on the patterns for the first two, but not the last can you help?  I have a skein of 4ply, which is in my picture above, about 280m/305yds but cannot decide on a pattern, any suggestions?

In between times, in those free moments, I have also knitted a few bowls which I have felted!

I am still reading 1215: The Year of the Magna Carta, nearing the end now.  I am really enjoying this window into a significant period of history.  I studied so few parts of history at school, it always seemed to be the Romans, that I am really enjoying expanding my knowledge now, it is never to late to learn as they say!

Joining in with Ginny for this weeks Yarn Along, head on over to see what others have been making.

Stars

17 December 2013

We have been busy making and creating this week.  Little bits and pieces for the house and the season.  Stars, snowflakes and other wintery, seasonal shapes

Window stars...


...made with tissue paper, I put sticky backed plastic on the back of them as we are prone to a bit of condensation on our windows and I didn't want them turning into a mush.  The yellow star was made using instructions in this book.

Crystal snowflakes....


We made ours using borax which we bought when it was still available, you are not allowed to buy this in the UK now so if you haven't got any then you may be able to make it with Epsom salts or bicarb which we have also used to make crystals.  We made ours with a pipe cleaner cut into three pieces, twisted together and then spread the arms to make a snowflake shape.  We cut some smaller pieces and twisted them around each arm.  Now make the solution using hot water and your borax adding spoons and stirring until the solution can hold no more.  Finally carefully lower your pipe cleaner snowflake into the solution making sure it does not touch the sides or the bottom.  Leave for a few hours and ta da you will have a sparkly snowflake!

Salt Dough decorations....


Salt dough is a a really old craft which you can read all about here.  I made the dough using a cup of plain flour, 1/2 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of water mixed together, kneed for ten minutes or so until smooth then leave to stand for twenty minutes before rolling out and cutting.  We made stars, moons, holly leaves and bells with our dough and then out them in the oven at 100°C for about three hours to bake, it may take longer it depends on your oven.  We painted them in suitably festive colours once they had cooled.  If you want to hang your decorations up don't forget to make a small hole in them before you bake them!


We have hung some of ours on our little tree along with the holly leaves and berries I made last week, you can find the pattern here and the bead snowflakes we made last winter.

We have also made our Christmas cards....



....and finally got them in the post, the international ones will be late but it's the thought that counts, right?

Joining in with Nicole for Keep Calm, Craft On head on over to see what others have been busy making.....

Moments...

16 December 2013

...this week of...

...happiness my children baking together, a quiet week at home, our new table, getting all my Christmas cards made, written and sent, 

...sadness at the commercialisation of Christmas 

...creating salt dough decorations, window stars, biscuits, rock cakes, felted bowls, crystal snowflakes, Christmas cards, a candle holder

...reading Project Based Homeschooling by Lori Pickert

...learning about addition, multiplication, vowels, Burma, the Tudors, earthquakes, plate tectonics

...thinking about all those people who may be struggling to make ends meet at this time of year

...hoping to get my present making finished this week

...looking forward to parties with friends this week

Gratitudes

15 December 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 day of sun, after so many days of gloom and gray

....our new table

...candle light on dark days

...a quieter week at home with the children

...ticking Christmas makes off the list

....getting out to the shops alone to buy the last few presents

...time with friends

...warm coats and hats

...my children helping each other when I am not able to

...a warm fire

The picture was taken at sunrise and you know what they say..........

Surfaces

13 December 2013

We live in a small house.  I love my little house and have no desire to move to a bigger place.  If I had the room there are two things I would love to have in my house, an upright piano and a second table.  The piano I can live without, I do have a good electric piano that lives on the upstairs landing it goes without saying that is not the same as a real piano, but it will do.  The second table is harder to live without.  Our dining room table gets used for eating and just about everything else, it is a surface for games, jigsaws, crafting, drawing, painting, a science lab and every time we need to eat it has to be cleared.  I have lost count of the number of times that I have had to say no to the children wanting to do something on the table because a meal is about to be served.  But how to fit another table into our house.  The table needs to be downstairs as that is where the children want to be when they do stuff, my youngest has a desk in her room which I am sure she will use when she is much older and one day my eldest may ask for one in his room.

We have a small desk, well surface rather than desk, in the corner of the dining room which houses our PC, a filing tray for each of us to store stuff and most of our household paperwork is stored on shelves above.  The desk is not big enough to work at and there is only space for one.


We have been pondering this dilemma for a while until we hit on a table attached to the wall that you could fold away.  We had room for this in the dining room.  We have talked about making it on and off for the past year.  Then I started reading this book this week and knew that another table was an important addition to our household and something that we needed to stop talking about and actually make.  So we did, well my husband made it with consultations along the way, and twenty fours hours later we had a second table!  It doesn't look like much but it has been used so much in the last week, this may if course be the novelty factor, but I am rather hoping the novelty doesn't wear off and it gets used a lot forever.  The pots on the window sill contain pencils, pens, scissors, glue etc easily accessible. Although the table can be folded down, it is hinged, I can see that this may not happen that often…


Spurred on by our making and organising we tackled another part of the same room which had been bugging me for ages.  As you come into the dining room if you are not careful you can crack your ankle on a conveniently placed wooden box which houses the library books and magazines.  This box was originally made to hold kindling and newspaper for our fire, we now have purpose built shelves for them, so the box is on a second life as storage.  My children always borrow a truck full of books every week so often the box is not big enough and the books end up strewn all over the house which elicits much tutting from me as I attempt to find them all to return.  So tentatively made a suggestion to my husband when the table was finished.  Of course, let me see what wood I've got.  I nearly fell off my chair!  So much sawing, sanding, buffing and drilling later we now have four shelves.  One for magazines and three for library books.  Perhaps it is a little decadent to have shelves just for library books, especially when our shelves for our own books are bursting at the seams, but library books have an important place in a home educating house, as I am sure they do in any other, and I needed to be able to easily find them come return day.



Oh and I have plans for our bookshelves just as soon as the porch is built but that is is whole other story.....

Knitting

11 December 2013


I am still working on slippers a different pair this week, the green pair are now off the needles and awaiting their soles.  It's weird how each Wednesday when I write a knitting post I am at the exact same stage of the next slipper, just starting the instep, all my picture look the same.  Despite having plenty of Christmas knitting to be getting on with I needed a diversion this weekend, and my husband had an day off work so I couldn't knit the slippers anyway.

We recently changed our seasonal table to mark the change to winter and I thought it looked a little bare.  I have some ideas for bits and pieces I would like to make, but am saving them until after Christmas when I have more time.  I thought making some holly leaves and berries would be an easy and easy addition.......but after a scan thorough my flower pattern book and online I could only find crochet patterns, I cannot crochet and now is not the time to be learning!  So I had a go a making a pattern up, after all I have nothing else to do, right?  After several attempts I finally came up with a pattern I am happy with and I thought I would share it with you all, in case anyone else has a burning desire to knit some holly leaves too.  You could use any yarn to knit these, the heavier the weight of yarn the bigger the leaf will turn out, just use the appropriate needle for the yarn you are using.


Holly Leaf Pattern

Cast On 3 stitches

  1. P
  2. K1 m1 K1 m1 K1 (5 stitches)
  3. P
  4. K2 m1 K1 m1 K2 (7 stitches)
  5. P
  6. K3 m1 K1 m1 K3 (9 stitches)
  7. P
  8. K4 m1 K1 m1 K4 (11 stitches)
  9. P
  10. Cast Off 3 K1 m1 K1 m1 K5 (10 stitches)
  11. Cast Off 3 P to end (7 stitches)
  12. K3 m1 K1 m1 K3 (9 stitches)
  13. P
  14. K4 m1 K1 m1 K4 (11 stitches)
  15. P
  16. Cast off 3 K to end (8 stitches)
  17. Cast off 3 P to end (5 stitches)
  18. ssk K k2tog (3 stitches)
  19. P1 p2tog (2 stitches)
  20. K2tog
Berry Pattern

Cast on 3 stitches
  1. P
  2. K1 m1 K1 m1 K1 (5 stitches)
  3. P
  4. K2 m1 K1 m1 K2 (7 stitches)
  5. P
  6. K
  7. P1 (p2tog) 3 times (4 stitches)
  8. (k2tog) 2 times 
  9. Cast off
Cut thread and sew through stitches and pull to make a small berry.

I have left a small loop on each leaf and berry so that I can hang them on our little tree…..



I finished The Winter Ghosts and really enjoyed it.  I am now stepping further back into history with 1215: The Year of the Magna Carta a description of what it like to be alive in that momentous year.  Thus far I have read about the houses people lived in, the shape of the landscape, the towns, education, families, tournaments and the forests.  The forest were strictly managed you could pay with your life if you broke the rules, they were managed by forest officials who sound like they were the modern day equivalent of traffic wardens in my country!

For those of you interested in such things the date today is a special one if you write your dates, day, month, year it is the 11/12/13 you won't be able to do that again for just over 86 years I will be long dead by then.  If you write your date month, date, year you have missed your last one but I have just realised that it was my eldest's ninth birthday!

Joining in with Ginny for sharing of knitting and reading and Tami for this weeks work in progress, head over to see what others are up to...

Junctions

10 December 2013

Welcome to the December 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: The More Things Change . . .
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 shared stories and wisdom about life changes.
***

Sometimes, on this journey through life, we head off down a path not knowing where it is going to head, this can be both exciting and scary at the same time.  Five years ago this was us, it was scary and exciting, my husband gave up well paid employment to become self employed, just to add to the pressure at around the same time I became pregnant with our second child.  The first four years were great with a steady flow of work, then around a year ago it steadily started to dry up to, well, virtually nothing.  When a job was advertised at the company he had been freelancing for it seemed like a proposition that we couldn't ignore, but we were hesitant.

When you are self employed you need to spend time looking for work, selling yourself, it can take a while for the work to come to you.  My husband felt he was not someone who could sell himself and waiting for the work to come to us was not happening, you can't live on fresh air, we did need a steadier income.  But self employment had defined who we were as a family for the previous five years what would that mean for us.  We loved the flexibility, we could do things as a family on any day of the week if we wanted to, we could plan our holidays as and when we desired, we could visit family for extended periods rather than just a weekend, but none of this is possible with no income.

We are a home educating family, we had a rhythm to our week which had slowly fallen apart over the last year as my husbands work became erratic and I was never sure whether he would be in the house or not.  Trying to plan our time at home became so difficult that I simply stopped and I felt like we were drifting like flotsam on the tide with no direction or aim.  We still had days out with groups, I always had something to look forward to and not having it was putting a strain on our relationship, I was working harder to keep it going.  I am so grateful that during all that time we never had any money worries, we had plenty of savings which helped us through the months, I think that strain may have pushed us over the edge.

So he applied for the job, got it and in September returned to being an employee, exactly five years since he had quit.  The few weeks before I was both excited and anxious.  Excited because I could bring back our home rhythms, anxious as to how it would change my husband and our relationship and also how the children would cope with it too, all they could remember was him being self employed and all that that entailed.  The first few weeks were hard everything was so different for the children, it took them a while to get used to daddy being out of the house for the same number of hours on the same days each week.  The week had a new rhythm, daddy at work for five days and at home for two.  I slowly introduced a new rhythm at home building up over the weeks adding new ideas and activities as the days and months went on.  I felt that it was important to take this slowly as too many changes at once could be too much.

Then five weeks into this new journey it had a big test, my father in law who had been ill for some time took a turn for the worse, we got a call late one night to say he may not make it through the night.  So after doing a full days work my husband set off on a four hour journey, late at night.  He phoned a colleague to explain what he wanted to do and by the next morning his employer had told him to take all the time off he needed.  This was so reassuring for both of us, it had been one of our worries knowing that this could happen at any time with the condition my father in law had, to know that his employer was totally supportive.

We are a few months into this journey now and are feeling very settled.  The children have got use to which days are daddy days.  The house feels much calmer.  Our rhythm is flowing gently along.  A few years ago I would have resisted such a change but it has been such a positive move forward for us at this time.


***
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:
(This list will be updated by afternoon December 10 with all the carnival links.)
  • Mature StudentAmber Strocel is embarking on a new adventure in 2014, by returning to a space in her life she thought she'd left behind - that of being a university student.
  • And then there were four — Jillian at Mommyhood learned how quickly love can grow when welcoming a second child to the family.
  • Handling Change As A Mother (And Why That Takes Things To A Different Level) — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama shares how she helps her young daughter navigate change and why it is so important, as a mother, to gauge her own reactions to change.
  • Without Dad-One Year Later — Erica at ChildOrganics shares how her life has changed one year after losing her husband suddenly.
  • Family Ties — Lori at TEACH through Love realized that her most significant, most painful wound paved the way for her to share her greatest gift.
  • Rootless — After Dionna @ Code Name: Mama's parents packed up their home and moved to Florida this fall, she is feeling rootless and restless.
  • A Letter to My Mama Self in the Swirl of Change — Sheila Pai of A Living Family shares a letter she wrote to herself to capture and remember the incredible changes from the year, and invites you to do the same and share!
  • Junctionssustainablemum explains how her family has dealt with a complete change of direction this year.
  • Planning, Parenting, and Perfection — Becca at The Earthling's Handbook explains how most of the plans she made for her adult life have worked out differently than she planned, but she's ended up getting a lot of what she really wanted.
  • Why First Grade Means Growing Up... for Both Me and My Daughter — Donna at Eco-Mothering discovers that her daughter's transition into first grade is harder as a parent.
  • First Year of Mothering — Mercedes at Project Procrastinot reflects on the quiet change that took her by surprise this year.
  • Building the Community YOu Desire — A recent move has Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children working toward setting up a new support network.
  • Slowing down in 2013 — A car fire and a surprise diagnosis of Down syndrome made 2013 a very different year than the one Crunchy Con Mommy and family were expecting!
  • The Seven Year Cycle — After 7 intense years of baking, birthing and breastfeeding 6 kids, Zoie at TouchstoneZ wonders, "Will I be enough for what comes next?"
  • Rebirth — Kellie of Our Mindful Life has found that each of her births leaves her a different person.
  • When a Hobby Becomes a Business — This year, new doors opened for That Mama Gretchen's hobby of writing and blogging - it has turned into a side business. She's sharing a bit about her journey and some helpful tips in case you're interested in following the same path.
  • 5 Tips for Embracing a Big Change in Your Family — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now tells about a big change in her family and shares tips that have always helped her family embrace changes.
  • Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes — Ana at Panda & Ananaso ruminates on how having a child changed her priorities.
  • Homeostasis — Lauren at Hobo Mama is finding that even as elements shift in her life — in cosleeping, homeschooling, breastfeeding, & more — they mostly remain very familiar.
  • Sally go round the sun — A new baby brings joy and unexpected sadness for Douglas at Friendly Encounters, as she is diagnosed with a rare genetic condition.
  • Embrace it — Laura from Pug in the Kitchen muses about the changes in her family this year and how she can embrace them . . . as best she can anyway.
  • Big Change; Seamless but Big — Jorje of Momma Jorje shares how one of the biggest changes of her life was also a seamless transition.
  • Celebrating Change — Change feeds Jaye Anne at Wide Awake, Half Asleep's soul. And all the work that seemed like monotonous nothingness finally pays off in a clear way.

Moments...

09 December 2013

...this week of...

...happiness a warm glowing fire, surviving the storm, reading stories with the children, sharing a advent spiral with friends, playing games at a friends house

...sadness that we build on flood plains and close to the sea and then wonder why the buildings get flooded

...creating slippers, a cardigan, holly leaves, play capes, a table, shelves, gingerbread biscuits, blackcurrant flapjacks

...reading The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse and 1215: The Year of the Magna Carter by Danny Danziger and John Gillingham

...learning about the number digits, vowels, fractions, fossils, rocks, new knitting techniques, locations of countries, 

...thinking about how I can introduce more creative ways of learning maths

...hoping to have a quieter week this week, spending more time at home

...looking forward to time to get knitting slippers as my husband is away this week!

Gratitudes

08 December 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...

...surviving the storm that battered the UK this week

...a fun afternoon with friends playing games

...joining in with an advent spiral

...a wonderful read

...swimming as a family

...a warm fire in a cold week

...sleep

..regular walks

...simple family rhythms

...homemade thick yogurt

...buying eggs, milk and veg direct from farmers


Sugar

06 December 2013

On a very cold and slightly damp Saturday in November my husband and I, along with the children, took a group of Explorer Scouts (14 - 16 year olds) canoeing on a local lake.  I was tired that evening and went to bed early with what felt like the beginnings of a headache, I rarely get them and can usually put them down to tiredness and/or dehydration both of which were a possibility.  I woke the next day with a worsening headache and a gripey stomach both of which came and went during the day, I drank plenty of water, ate a little and went to bed early again.  The next morning they had, thankfully, both gone but something far worse had taken their place my hands were incredibly itchy, a condition which had not bothered me for over a year had come back, Urticaria.  Every now again over the last year I have woken and felt that I have eaten something that I shouldn't have, my hands will have a slight itchiness, but drinking plenty of water has seen it off, this felt different like the full blown flare ups I have had in the past.  I made sure I drank plenty during the day and ate as usual, then next day it was worse and within two days it was waking me in the night.

Urticaria, for me, is caused by an 'overdose' of histamine either in the food I eat or the food I eat stresses my body causing it to produce more histamine.  During the day as I eat an imaginary cup slowly fills with histamine once it is full it starts to overflow, the overflow is what causes my itchiness.  Fluid leaks from tiny blood vessels just under the skin, the fluid forms tiny weals, the histamine also causes the blood vessels to dilate.  It is worse at night and in the morning as the bodies coping mechanisms relax when you sleep.  It wakes you in the night as histamine in the body regulates your sleep, too much of it will wake you.  So I was trying to work out what had caused my overdosing to start.

I thought back over the previous few days, what I had eaten, how I felt, I remembered the headache and stomach ache.  The only food I could implicate was sugar.  I had eaten more than I usually would on that cold and damp Saturday whilst out canoeing.  I had had some yogurt coated ginger and a piece of flapjack not a lot really, but more than I would normally eat and the sugar in the flapjack was golden syrup which I don't usually use to make flapjack (usually use a fruit syrup).  A little bit of research on urticaria revealed that sugar can be a trigger, so it is most likely that is what it was, although I didn't eat that much it was a lot more than I usually would and to my body an overdose, so it went into over drive.  This was a bad flare up, compounded by the fact that I had run out of one of the remedies I use and struggle to get hold of more.  Lesson learned don't run out!

Knitting

04 December 2013


I thought I was going to be sharing exactly the same picture as last week but I have made progress especially on the knitting.  I am on the second of this green pair which I am hoping will be off the needles by the end of the week, then I will have three left to make one pair and a half.  These are all the biggest sizes so no surprise they have been left till last, at a week a slipper I will just get them finished in time......I hope.  I shared pictures of the finished baby knits.

I did eventually find a solution to my sole quandary.  I had hoped to be able to buy a second hand wool jumper, felt it and use that for the sole.  The jumper I bought felted a little but not enough to be able to cut it up, my eldest is now enjoying wearing it so it has not gone to waste!  My other thought was some sock stop which I had seen in my local craft store a few weeks ago.  As is always the case when you go back to buy something, because you needed to think about it, it had sold out.  In the end I visited a haberdashers near to my mums whilst I was done visiting and bought some felt, enough to make soles for all eight pairs I will make, I hope it is durable enough.  I needed something quickly otherwise I would have had to drive back home with two pairs of slippers, sort out the sole and then post them back.

I finished the wonderful book by Ben Law it had chapters on how he started off living in his wood and the observations he made over time, the surrounding lands and how they have been used and managed, his learning about the different types of trees, their uses, how to manage them and the skills needed and building his first house in the woods which was featured in the programme Grand Designs.  His connection with nature and his descriptions of the interesting skills we have lost make this a wonderful book to read.

I am now reading something completely different.  A book I was given as a present a few years ago, The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse.  I have read a couple of books by this author and really enjoyed them, they sparked an interest in reading more about that period in history.  I am already about half way through the book and am really enjoying it, it is a compelling story hard to put down....

Joining in with Tami and Ginny head on over to see what other bloggers have been making and reading.

Moments...

02 December 2013

...happiness visiting family, how much my youngest loves her new shoes, getting my ironing done, walks, finishing off some of the Christmas present making - did I mention that before!

...sadness at the lack of manners which I noticed when driving long distance on our roads a hand gesture of thanks costs nothing but a little thought

...creating applesauce muffins, slipper soles, baby knits, birthday cards

...reading nothing this week hope to have more time now :)

...learning about filtration, solutions, evaporation, condensing, parachutes, conservation of number

...thinking about this wonderful organisation and the work they do

...hoping to get started on making Christmas cards this week

...looking forward to a quieter, slower week.

Gratitudes

01 December 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 wonderful science afternoon at our home ed group

...a relaxing afternoon with friends swimming and visiting the library

...a warm fire

...meals cooked for me

...time to finish off Christmas present making

...time to get my ironing done

...sleep

...the kindness of strangers

...a weekend with my extended family