bread and buttons

Well, this week, this week. There has been a case of fifths disease for my little girl which meant missing a special outing with a friend. Tears were shed, but joy was found in a tea party with her brother. They made their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and had some lemonade and blueberries all served up in an Emma Bridgewater tea set. A gift from her nana many moons ago which stays up on high until an occasion special enough comes along to warrant using it.  It makes it all the more exciting and special when it does come out to play.

There was a beautiful iris from just such a friend.

Some knits were finished for a little girl turning one. The hat is the same as this one and the scarf/snug was made up on the fly.

And then, oh ill fated jump from the couch, my sweet boy broke his wrist. And now we are all at sixes and sevens with cancelled swim lessons, a lack of knowing what to do with oneself, not being able to write, draw, take gym or dance class and my goodness the itchiness of that cast. Poor sweet, sad boy. Promises of trips to the cinema and reading lots of books, baking favorite cakes, commiseration chats with nana (because it happened to her last year) are going some way to making him feel a little less dejected. So is his little sister, so concerned for him and trying to make him laugh. But six weeks seems so long to me, how long it must feel to him, more like six months I imagine.

And me, I have been taking solace in these well written words. In remembering that it can be hard for all mothers every now and then, and for some mothers well, so very,very much harder. Tonight when I go to bed I will kiss my kids and count my blessings, be grateful it wasn't worse.

first dip of the year

I have photos of them like this from the last five years. There is always a day more than any other that signifies the beginning of summer. That is the day when they turn on the hose, fill up any random container with water and get thoroughly soaked. Usually there are a lot less clothes involved. This year was no exception.

They began by making a soup in the blue bucket and stirring it with the shovel, but that only lasted so long because of course the real aim was just to get wet in the blazing sunshine.

You may notice she is wearing her pajamas inside out and back-to-front. I don't know why but they both wear them like this now. They think they are pretty funny when they do it. I'll admit, looking at these pictures, I smiled thinking of how giggly they get when they do something dopey.

I got my admission pass to 30 Day Vegan by Heather at Beauty That Moves. Oh my! I am not vegan, not even vegetarian but this online course looks amazing. I did the 'bring a friend' deal way back and am so glad I did. I am excited for a new twist to our weekly meals. Last night for dinner I pulled out this cauliflower recipe which was so good, but I skipped the capers. They are weird little things with altogether to frog-like skin. The dish was otherwise spectacular and we had it with lemon roast chicken (Ina Garten style) and green beans. It was a meal beloved by all.

Tonight we had tofu curry. There are plenty of leftovers.

muddling

Well, I am muddling along for now, trying to write things I want to remember.

The farmer's market re-opened this weekend and it was packed. A few years ago it was a little hit or miss. But nowadays those local farmers and producers know what it is all about and there were so many people there buying up everything they could lay their hands on. I managed to get some spring onions, garlic ramps, chives, new potatoes, rhubarb, locally grown, milled and baked whole wheat bread, local organic jack cheese (first time this year!) and maple syrup. And a sweet bunch of lily of the valley. I must get to planting some of that in our garden. I love its lush green leaves and soft scent.

I made the rhubarb into a yummy crumble with apples too, served with custard of course. The kids liked it just fine, normally they are not so big on rhubarb but a good dollop of sugar seemed to solve that problem. I sauteed the sping onions and garlic ramps with the some leeks, piled them high on the whole wheat toast and sprinkled some of that jack cheese on. Back under the grill until bubbly. Delicious. Almost sweet.

The potatoes became a warm salad with lemon and chive vinaigrette, recipe from my mum. It was all so good and fresh and gone so quickly.

An ipad found its way into our home this week, and what a splash it has made. Oh, the kids love it alright but I don't know. I like it fine (especially that Smurf village) but it's just another thing to argue about and another screen to get obsessed with. We don't have a t.v. any more. Like lots of folks we seem to watch everything on our computer now. I just struggle with finding the right balance of technology in our lives.

We've swtiched from eating oatmeal every morning to eating granola now. A sure sign that summer is upon us. I've been especially loving this olive oil granola, I found through Pintrest. Little girl loves it and would eat it all day, little boy not so much.

after all this time

Spring is in full swing here. Beautiful and green. This week it is supposed to be warm and sunny every day. The apple tree that we moved last year is not looking so good. Lots of flowers but no leaves, the one in the front garden is resplendent. I am sure there is so much lead in the soil here, I would never eat the fruit but I love the tree and want it to get on and decide to live already. We are having our house painted. The very nice painter came, sanded the house, made it look awful and then announced he wouldn't be back for three weeks. Luckily, he really is very nice.

School is nearly done for the year, just a few more weeks. Five? Six? Something like that. I can't wait for it to be done. I am over making packed lunches and just want to hang out with them. We have no plans to travel this summer. I am so happy with that. I am not sure we've ever spent a full summer here and it is the best time of the year. I have visions of picnics, fruit picking, creek wading and lolling around with friends. We've already managed one evening picnic in the park. They ran around, I sat on a quilt and knit. It was good.

I have been sewing a little, I made the bag above for summer. Both the kids can fit into it. It is huge. Maybe a little too big. I was making it with summer in mind, ready to pack it up for day trips with a blanket, towels, swimsuits, snacks, books. I could probably just attach some wheels to that thing and load us into it as well. I made it from this quilt. I was never going to use that for a quilt, I could just tell.

I am not really sure where I am going with this on-line space any more. I don't know what its purpose is. I want somewhere to keep a record of the things I make and our daily lives but I don't know if it needs to be public any more. I kept a family blog for a while but let it go about 18 months ago and now I have all these photos on the computer that aren't in print or in a blog and I need to do something with them. Start up the family blog again? Is it worth keeping two blogs? Yet there are so many photos that I wouldn't want in the public domain. Or should I print them out and put them in photo albums? I just don't know.

Looking at that wide frame shot up there, all I can see is the laundry on the dining room table (folded, at least), a couch that needs re-upholstering, a carpet that needs replacing (preferably with a wooden floor) a piano we never play and a dining room that only ever gets used for folding laundry. I might need to re-think that space.

flowers and muffins

I just had to put up a new post. (The flowers are from our early spring garden and along with the muffins were a gift to a friend with a new baby)The old one kept making me cry. And after all he healed my heart in more ways than I can say. He was a good dog. He was my first friend when we moved here. He was here when I bought both of my babies home. And now he is gone but in the end there is nothing I can do but carry on with all the living that needs to happen. I think he would understand, especially if there was food involved.

ten things

1. We got Emlyn from an Italian restaurant. The husband had left the wife for another woman and she no longer wanted his dog. She put an ad in the paper asking for $75 for him but in the end gave him to us for free. He was worth every penny. He jumped up on my legs the first time I walked in the parking lot and was so sweet and friendly. They called him Primo but we changed his name on the first day.

2. When we picked Emlyn up for the very first time we put him in the car and started to drive home. He went crazy, jumping all around the car, trying to sit in my lap while I was driving, sticking his head out the window and acting like a loon. Andy and I looked at each other and wondered what they hell we were getting ourselves into.

3. When we got home with him I realized I didn't know what to feed him so I called the previous owner trying to find out what brand of dog food he ate. She replied that he usually had veal or steak for dinner.

4. Emlyn the wanderer. He loved to escape out the door any chance he got. The very first time he ran away we were still living in our first home. I was terrified, I thought I would never see him again. A few hours later we got a phone call from a very nice guy a few blocks away saying he had our dog and he had shut him in his basement so he couldn't run away again. By the time we picked him up, Emlyn had eaten all the man's Halloween candy. Four bags of it. He was pooping out silver Hersey's kisses tin foil for days. The man was so nice about it and in fact said if we ever wanted to give Emlyn away, he'd love to have him.

5. When we moved to our second home he managed to escape again. I was about 6 months pregnant with my son and it was the middle of winter. We pulled on our snow boots and set off on foot through the neighborhood, calling his name. A woman in a pick up truck saw me and asked if I was looking for a dog because she had just seen one wandering around. She was so nice and gave me a lift to where she thought he was, he wasn't there but she insisted that we drive around for a bit. We eventually found him. He had his face stuffed in an overturned bin and when he turned around he had an entire package of frozen hot dogs stuffed in his mouth. He was very pleased to see me.

6. By the time we moved to our present home we were pretty used to his antics but he caught me off guard one day. He slipped out the front door and trotted off to the high street. About an hour later I got a phone call from our local bakery saying they had him. I rushed down there and they were all petting him and laughing. They said he had just walked in the door, sat down and stared at the cupcakes.

7. After a party, we were sitting in the living room relaxing when we heard a thump from the kitchen. I walked in to find Emlyn standing with all fours on the table eating everything in sight.

8. Another time we were sitting down to dinner and he jumped up on one of the chairs and sat down there, as if just waiting to be served with the rest of us. I remember that so well, it was so funny because he was waiting calmly as if in a restaurant.

9. Andy's mum and dad came to stay one summer and Emlyn found his way into my father in-law's wash bag. He managed to eat some of his high blood pressure medication but we couldn't figure out how much. I called the vet and they recommended giving him hydrogen peroxide to flush out his stomach. I gave the required one tablespoon and nothing happened. The vet said just keep giving it to him in tablespoons until he vomits. I got through half the bottle and nothing happened. At this point I had to leave to pick Andy up from work but was too nervous to leave Emlyn by himself so I loaded him into the back of the car. Half way to campus, he vomited white foamy sick all over the back of the car. It looked like a fire extinguisher had gone off.

10.Some friends came for a visit and I told them in no uncertain terms that if they had any food in their bags they should put it in the fridge. They decided to keep the cheese in their suitcase. Emlyn managed to unzip the suitcase, pull out the bag, tear the cheese out of the bag and the wrapper and eat it all. Later that night when I thought everyone was asleep I heard him woofing really loudly. I went to their bedroom to see what was going on. My friend had bought a plate of brownies to her room and she and Emlyn were in a physical fight about who should get to eat them.

Today is the day and oh, my heart.

recording and remembering

On Sunday the kids and I sat around the breakfast table in our pj's and sorted through the fossils we collected the week before.  With the help of an identification card and some literature from the digging site, we sorted the fossils into groups, dusted them off and drew them. 

I gave them both new sketch books and a new set of pencils and we all tried drawing what we saw. I joined in too. We talked about the patterns and shading, how to (try to) draw a three dimensional shape. When they finished their pictures, I got them to date and label the page. I love the idea of a book filled with their work. It was all good stuff and the kids were super into it. Can you tell how immersed they are?

I've decided hanging out and drawing still life might be a good Sunday morning thing to do, so maybe this weekend we'll have another go round with new subject matter.

while away the hours

I'm heading out into the countryside to visit a friend today and try out the goods at a new bakery. Wanna come along?

If you can't make it here are some things to keep you entertained:

This may be next on my needles, pickles tunic free pattern.

I love this collection of ideas for painting rocks.

I am going to print this and hang it in my kitchen.

I need new laundry baskets, these ones are lovely.

I'd like to make a skirt like this one for my daughter. She wants a fairy party this summer.

I laughed and the kids thought this was hilarious.

The cake above is this recipe. It is good. Very good. And gone.

 

a spring day

I've been enjoying;

the last of my birthday flowers

watching the kids play outside, the favorite game of the day is shop; picking dandelions and selling them too each other. We have a never ending supply.

my kitchen table and chairs, they fit us so well.

my lovely new stationery from Vicki. Oh the hours she spent making it all. It is gorgeous.

all the butterflies in the garden, so many of them.

hand picked posies.

vintage table linens.

the kids setting the table.

delicious spring meals. Last night was asparagus risotto, green salad and beetroot with orange juice vinaigrette.

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Hope there's a little spring in your day too.

non-weekend getaway

Well, I am a lucky duck. I know this because no less than two of my birthday cards told me so. Part of my good fortune involved a little getaway in the middle of last week. Yup, that's right two getaways, zero kids.

This time Andy stayed at home and kept care (as my daughter calls it) of the kids and I took off with Vicki. (And look who is back blogging again. I am very happy about that.)

Back to our little vacation. We stayed in a super cute and cozy inn not too far from home. I called Andy and the kids in the evening and told them I missed them, he pointed out that I could, in fact, drive home in half an hour. Not so very far away. The little village was funny and old timey, the shops were filled with things I have never seen before...watermelon extract? honey powder? cheesecake dip? Where do these things come from? I have a feeling I know why I've never seen them before.

It was so nice hanging out with Vicki and talking non stop. Non stop. Touring antique shops, parks, book stores, fountain sculpture artists and talking the whole time. Oh and boy did we eat. The food was so good and I didn't have to prepare, cook, clear up or wash up any of it. Just lounge around drinking wine, eating and talking with a great friend.

Lucky duck indeed.