5 in a bed

works in progress

2012-02-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

OOh, scary, posting a picture of me ( my husband took the photo, can you tell I was nervous!?), But its the first belly picture I've taken during this pregnancy ( slack!) at 37 weeks ( last week). taken in my sewing room/ old verandah/porch thingy. My work in progress...? Pipkin in my belly. Inspired by these :/wardrobe-wednesday, and here.

And tiny socks for pipkin ( the bump was christened pipkin early in the pregnancy and so far thats the only name thats stuck). I don't know about you but little socks make me clucky, so don't anyone show me any after this ones born because for us, four really is enough I think!

knitting for baby

2012-02-09T17:15:00.000-08:00

I haven't done much sewing for this baby except wipes and nappy inserts etc but I have been knitting since the beginning so i thought I'd finally get around to sharing the finished articles. Above is a pebble vest in white, and a front tab sweater from a local store called Cruellas.

Two more vests using up the odds and ends in my yarn stash, while trying to stay neutral as we don't know and I have no strong intuitive feelings about this one. The one on the left is this one found on ravelry, and the one on the left is from an old vintage pattern I think.

The nappy covers are the frantic mama ones and the pants are modified Das monster pants ( modified to be smaller using a lighter weight yarn and less leg length. I kept the rise the same to create ease for the cloth nappies we use). Good old Ravelry!

another vest from a vintage pattern found at an op shop knitted in wool also from the op shop and handdyed by me using food colouring , and kanoko pants using some light blue yarn from an op shop too, I think. I spend a bit of time drooling over beautiful yarn on line and in shops occassionally but our budget has been super tight so this baby will have to make do with a frugal mama's welcoming and nesting attempts. I just think of pioneering women and how they used and reused whatever they had to hand to clothe and feed the family and I feel proud of my efforts and not so glum! And I still have plenty of projects I wish to start, for the other children in my family. The longer the baby waits the more knitting will happen....

new corners

2012-02-05T23:11:00.000-08:00

Our new lounge... probably the most "me" lounge I've ever had as an adult! I love the beautiful ceiling details and rimu floors and how our "art" looks on the light grey ( pukaki quarter) walls. The couch cushions were re-covered and since then I've made some new throw cushion covers too, based on the old blanket plus some decoration idea.
The printer draw was a dump shop find, as were the lamps which I recovered with recycled coffee jute bags. Its a very peaceful room, and now I just need to find a piano teacher for our family to play the piano that gilly kindly left with the house! I don't think I said thanks, yet so Thanks, I've always wanted to learn!

a holiday project

2012-01-07T16:11:00.000-08:00

we've been redecorating the kids room; they all share a room at the moment ( thats how we are not always 5inabed at the moment, and maybe when baby comes there might just be me and babe in my bed!). We pulled the wallpaper and scrim off, and painted the boards underneath, sanded and sealed the floor, painted the ceiling, and I made a new/old lampshade; inspired by this book: Eline's winter Huis, and this blog. I'm pretty happy with the results! Now just to find some pretty curtains to matchish.

some gifts

2011-12-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

Some stitchy gifts for family members this christmas. We have managed to buy things only for the immediate family (the 5 of us), and we do this because we don't often buy new things for ourselves or our children, but we believe firmly in handmade or thrifted for gifts and so I have been stitching up a storm. The embroideries for my niece and nephew have been attached to canvas for bedroom art, while others have been turned into ornaments for next year. And a pair of cushions for struan's sister and partner. The other stitched gifts for my family members are already at their destinations waiting for unwrapping tomorrow.

I wish everyone a merry christmas, some quiet moments in a busy day, and think again of Christchurch as new shocks unsettle their lives again.

sunday morning

2011-12-17T16:47:00.000-08:00

The holes in my garden are getting filled in; I had enough energy to weed around my seedlings ( I managed to germinate some carrots and parsnips- my nemesis!); a parcel came for me in the mail despite the widespread flooding ( oops, maybe I enjoyed the rain too much!), from the mushroom lane giveaway a few weeks ago! A package of goodness and craft supplies, yay! Thanks Angela.

Yesterday we harvested our apricots, split from all the rain, before they stared going moldy and turned them into stewed, preserved, apricots with cinnamon and cardamon, for the store cupboard, and enjoyed the redcurrants, fresh and unblemished. Thanks Gilly for your provisions, as I truly cannot claim any effort on my part has come into play here. The strawberries are being eaten before they are ripe, but the raspberries, we'll beat the birds to, I think. I think the extra iron I'm taking now is helping my energy levels and my husband has school holidays, so the pressure is off somewhat. Looking forward to a more positive time, as I start the countdown to babe time ( a few months to go yet). Hope you all enjoy the solstice time and the leadup to chritsmas:)

time for me

2011-12-13T17:25:00.000-08:00

The childrens' aunty is down from Auckland and has taken the kids for the afternoon. Its raining. I'm listening to Ani diFranco and doing some stitching, some looking for inspiration online.

rainy days are my favourite; I like the excuse to sit inside and be crafty. I can ignore the washing for a day or two. And today the only interruption to my own ( positive for once) headspace, has been the phone.

Lots of handstitching in the christmas presents this year, a bit of stillness. Some blankets waiting to become cushion covers. A picture downloaded for free to brighten up my "studio", from belle and boo, (see side bar of blogs I'm reading).

The view out the window of my space, red poppies wilting under the weight of raindrops, apricots ripening (?) on the tree, mud from where men ( husband and his father) dug up my garden last weekend looking for soaker pipes and pits ( we found the connection, now waiting for water to drain away... weather forecast is for rain all week.....) Its okay I'm just stitching away....

stitching for dec5th

2011-12-05T11:47:00.000-08:00

wee wonderfuls sew la tea do

This year I've made many embroidered pillowcases as gifts, inspired originally by pip linolne's sew la tea do. Now I apply that technique to other embroidery patterns and other fabrics. The patterns I use this time were: the two elf freebie patterns from wee wonderfuls, The heart pattern is form the book Embroidery companion by alicia paulson, that I got from our local library.

We celebrate sinterklaas on december 5th, although in a very low key way yesterday. The kids sing dutch songs , we share a special meal together and they get presents. Now they get to use their pillowcases until christmas,an extended advent/ christmas season, but definately not southern hemisphere based!

Christmas in summer

2011-11-30T14:50:00.000-08:00

In September we moved to our new house, a beautiful grand old lady ( for us) with original features largely intact and a wonderful garden, which is quickly becoming jungle-ish, as I struggle to juggle illness ( kids have had whooping cough all winter and we are on our 5th bout with our son, bleeding noses, vomit and all), tiredness (mine), the garden, a growing belly ( baby no 4 is about 28 weeks along and growing fast!), christmas preparation and a husband whose job is manic at present. ( i love wild gardens anyway, i just hope the neighbours don't think we are slobs!)

We were lucky to take over guardianship of this beautiful place from my lovely friend gilly, and hope to continue her work here. (I'll have to refer often to her old blog posts as I try and learn what I'm supposed to do and when!)

We are also putting our own stamp on the place, taking out wallpaper and carpets and finding many characterful surprises of the kind that makes us appreciate old homes ( like a concrete patch in the middle of the lounge floor when the rest is gorgeous rimu floorboards!)

But actually all I feel right now is numb and tired and I just want to sleep for days....

I can't quite bring myself to close my blog, so maybe I'll be around a bit more after all.

Summer for christmas, I am struggling for ideas. I am Waldorf inspired but can't find any info out there in www land for craft ideas, or stories or anything. friends of mine are swapping to just celebrating summer solstice but I have christian beliefs so can't give up christmas... any links would be appreciated!

Wishing you all a wonderful summer / advent season!

busy times

2011-05-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, hmm busy times. Three kids with chickenpox ( not all at the same time though, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it!), Visits from grandparents, a whole lot of sock knitting: 5 pair for my niece and nephew and one for an uncle, 1 pair for tobins birthday, and now something just a little bit different... tights for maaike's birthday in june.
( no photos, i had an unfortunate run in with the camera and deleted lots ofphotos!). And then, still with a bit of pox we drove to Dunedin and stayed for a few days with friends and then drove back ( that all took 6 days).
The children are a bit unsettled as a result an needing more of my time to structure activities etc AND our computer is too slow ( still on dial up)!!!! Hence my absence. Hopefully I can be back with some sort of regularity soon, or maybe I might just close down for a while, and regroup ma familie.
How are you all? If you are interested in nutritiuon, here is a site recommended me in a wapf ( Weston a Price foundation) meeting recently.: www.marksdailyapple.com Challenging!

craft love

2011-03-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

So here we are, another group of people, mamas, grandmas, children... stitching away in solidarity with friends and folk of lyttleton, recently devestated by the quake. We stitched during our homeschooling gathering group. Adults stitched, children stitched, each heart is not only a work of art but also of love, for people we don't know, for people we do. This project clicked for us, not only because some of us know some of the stitchers in Lyttleton, but because we are crafters and all of it made sense: the symbolism, the community, the physical act of each stitch; the next best thing to hugging everyone, which is pretty hard to do from a distance.

There is LOVE in them hearts! Completed hearts and more supplies for making them are on their way to you folk. KIa Kaha Christchurch, Kia Kaha Lyttleton!

A touch of Autumn

2011-03-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

Last Week, the kids and I went for a walk here in the area, foraging for wild blackberries, and rosehips and collecting things for our nature table.

When we got home and I made blackberry muffins and rosehip syrup the children trawled through my vintage linens and sorted out their treasures and arranged them all over the house. Very beautiful and autumnal.

For the leaf shapes i used a wee folk art pattern from their list and knitting/ felting patterns from living Crafts magazine for the acorns and oak leaves on our hanging wreath.

It feels good now that its cooler, and the light is different. I feel re-invigorated and have even spent some time in the vege garden, hoping my seedlings grow enough before winter hits. ( We had 2 degrees here yesterday).

butterfly buns and more sewing love

2011-02-10T19:22:00.000-08:00

Some butterfly studying this week, led to a butterfly day, with origami butterflies now decorating our hanging table centre wreath, and butterfly buns for lunch ( along with plenty of drawing and reading and watching and observing.

And another photo of my love: She needs a name! She feels like an old maiden aunt or well- worked grandmotherly type, persistent, and just needs to be used and oiled every now and then.

I've been hemming handkerchiefs, ready to be embroidered for Valentine's day tokens. The handkerchiefs are from old calico from a thrift shop, or another old cotton tea towel, also thrifted. The children will get one each too, with their names cross-stitched on. very vintage! I really like that I can hem the hankies like hundreds of other women have done before, then stitched the initials of family members with love. Very simple ( very cheap), but full of sentiment!

The cross-stitched alphabet comes from a new book for me: linen, wool, cotton, as does the idea to make hankies. My husband has allergy issues, so always carries one!And he/we can always use more, and its a nice way to be closer when he is at work. As you can tell we don't go in much for the commercial version of valentine's day, and normally don't do anything at all as our anniversary is the very next week! I do think it's nice to try and remember to show him how much i love him as after nearly 8 years of marriage that stuff is often last on the list. Hope you have a lovely day sharing your love for you families too!

holiday love: sewing

2011-02-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

Here she is! Well part of her, I've decided to let a man who knows what hes doing to give her a once over and put a new belt on, and i can't wait to use her!

You see, at the moment my sewing stuff is in the garage/shed, which is about 50 metres up the drive, which is great but not so great when i need to be with the kids ( I can't see or hear anything from up there!), so now I can sew down in the house ( well soon), without lugging sewing paraphernalia too and fro. Yay!

And so in the holidays while there's been someone else to supervise and stuff I've been up there, hiding and making these: A foxy quilt from the book sew la tea do, by meet me at mike's pip lincolne. I supersized it by making an extra fox head panel and didn't quilt it as such but used an existing washable duvet inner inside and bound it together with the binding, more a continental bed spread or something I suppose. I am in love with this book and have made her tunic dress three times for three very different looks too. While i was busy with the quilt I decided to make the pillowcases too and embroidered these creatures from her book too. In fact you'll find them on almost anything now because the kids liked them too and they can be found lurking on clothes and fabric waiting to be clothes... Tobin even knew that he wanted a "blue foxy please mama."

And a dump shop find: an embroidered lacy valance that fits our superkingsized bed for a few bucks, wow! (It has to be superking, how else would we fit 5inabed!?)

And a throw pillow for good measure, i got a bit quilting happy! It was my fist time!

holidaying

2011-01-26T18:27:00.000-08:00

A spontaneous roadtrip to Christchurch, lunch in Lewis Pass, a walk on new Brighton Pier, watching the buskers in Cathedral square... a not - needed excuse for a last fling in the summer holidays and a chance to pick up an old singer treadle sewing machine. more pictures later, I'm giving her some love at the moment, oil and treadling....

happy new year

2010-12-31T18:45:00.000-08:00

I am having trouble with various applications crashing on our computer: no photos until w can fix it... we are back from 10 days with family and friends and many happy memories to end the year with and start this one "filled up". Hope you have a happy new year and are also filled up and ready to go. Happy summer! for the next few weeks we will be swimming lessoning, and clearing the thigh high weeds I have come home to then sowing seed and planing our winter garden and harvests.

garden update

2010-12-13T13:58:00.005-08:00

a quiet morning crafting in the garden , experimenting with weaving and another making yet more gifts for the many people she loves.

A few shots of my ever hopeful garden. certainly no profusion of flowers yet but there are hints of flowers and blooms to come; a few brave plant souls braving the early heat, dust and recycled bath water to bloom and energise my heart and soul.

Rhythm of the home giveaway

2010-12-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

check out the new rhythm of the home winter edition and definately this awesome giveaway !

adventing

2010-11-30T13:34:00.000-08:00

Crafting has been my refuge in the last few weeks, and in particular little hand stitches and repetitive crochet, little actions that require all my focus and are in and of themselves stilling and meditative.

We are enjoying all that advent has to offer in terms of baking, crafts and thinking of others ( yes its overwhelming at times but I'll get there, one tiny stitch at a time!). We have decorated already as we will be in Auckland for the week before Christmas.

Our seasonal wreath bringing good tidings of great joy.

Christmas bunting. There's even matching tablecloths and napkins!

Enjoy the advent weeks!

thoughts

2010-11-24T12:02:00.001-08:00

my thoughts, condolences and prayers go to the westcoast people, miners and rescuers on this more final turn of events. xxx

Oma

2010-11-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

Oma on one of her many trips to New zealand, in mum's garden at Titirangi in Auckland, just before Struan and I were married in 2003. 3 Generations.

My Oma, my children's Oma Rietje, passed away after a dance with breast cancer that spanned many years, many of which passed by in great health as her management method of choice was through alternative medicine and diet. To me she showed great strength and determination to have quality of life at an older age rather than drugs and sickness, despite what the outcome may be, and that is what she maintained as long as possible. But my memories of my grandmother aren't of her illness, they are the childhood memories of her visits to new zealand and the return trips we made to Holland where she lived. Memories of amazing stories told under the bedclothes of two little children who had many adventures in forests with gnomes and other creatures. They are of a woman who in spite of not being able to further her education as a young woman ( She was 2nd oldest of many children), took many courses as an older one, learning English, french, bookbinding and art. She used to give my sister and I drawing lessons when she visited. I remember her art eraser that you could mold like plasticine (WOW!).

She was a great craftswoman, and I still have the bear she made for us when we were younger. In fact she made the same bear for my children when we last visited Holland in 2007, stuffed with scrap fabric. The ultimate in reuseing and frugality! She knitted without patterns and made clothes and bags. She pottered in her garden and had frogs in her pond ( My girls loved that!) She played the piano and sang.

I lived with her for three months when I was twenty. We cycled many miles ( she was already 80 years old) and we had many cosy evenings together where we would cook together and share a glass of red wine ( allowed occasionally on her strict diet). We even took a train trip to Maastricht, and walked around the old town battlements; she told me the stories of my family and I left Holland after that trip with a deeper connection to my extended family and history, something that had always left me slightly alien in this country so far away, where the cultures never quite fit for me as a child.

At the end we were able to skype with her three days before she died and she was able to meet Tobin who was conceived on that 2007 trip. Some say I have her hobbies and her figure! She would have turned 90 on the 30th of November. Goodbye Oma, you were inspirational to the end.

life

2010-11-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

Anoushka, the explorer/birdwatcher; off on a trip around the garden, with camera, binoculars, and bird identification book in bag. A self-portrait!

My maternal grandmother in Holland passed away a few weeks ago after a long dance with cancer, a month before her 90th birthday. I am planning a post about her, my chance to have my say and my memories. I am waiting for some photos to be turned into jpeg files , and for my thoughts to settle into some words I can use.

In the meantime life goes on: A "bus trip" in the lounge becomes the best possible place for drawing and writing time ( Why not?), Anoushka writing down all the words she knows and for the first time having a go at words she hasn't memorised and getting them, by gum she's figured out what some combinations of letters sound like! I love that sometimes in my head I think about what the next step could be or should be, and you try and help and explain and theres that blank look like what on earth are you on about mama? And then a week, few weeks,months later, its in there and owned and I never mentioned it again.... they learn stuff when they need it, how they need it.

secret squirreling and a celebration

2010-10-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

(Maaike the gnome-fairy, modelling the gnome hat I finally made with my first art-yarn attempt from here ).

Our eldest daughter, Anoushka, turned six in the weekend, and we have been so focused on preparing for it that I haven't had time to post for a while, sorry! We have made a stand on commercialism-free gifts for the last three christmases(e.g, handmade or thrifted), and I often make somethingfor the children's birthdays, but this time the only thing we bought for her was handmade by the local Steiner/Waldorf school's doll making group as a fundraiser, so in other words, handmade by someone else. Of course this means lots of time investure instead of dollars.

Anoushka had been asking for more farm animals,(waldorf style), so I made a family of cows using wool felt and tweed fabrics,using the book of patterns sew soft toys , and to complement the farmyard theme, my husband made fences from a branch donated by a friend, and a forest of trees, using patterns and instructions from Wee Folk Art,

We decorated the house with flowers and a ring with fairies and butterflies. I made her a red riding hood cape, in rainbow colours from a living crafts mag, and a dress using bits and pieces, ruffles and lace and an old linen table cloth ( more photos to come maybe).

We had a whole lot of families here for her party, where we dyed some yarn as an activity, which the children ( and mamas) really enjoyed. Above are the results, drying before they all went home. I love how they were all different and beautiful.

spring flowers

2010-10-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

some of the few flowers in this garden at the moment. I have come to the conclusion that we need more! We need them earlier: its been a long weird winter/ spring season and I need some colour to lift my spirits. The birds, bees and butterflies wouldn't object I'm sure! Hopefully next spring i'll be able to post pictures with masses of flowers in them as i plant and divide my way through the year. How is your spring garden growing?

spring holidaying

2010-10-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

Its been a holiday of two halves, so far, the wet and wild half, and finally a more mild and dry half. I don't know how long we can keep blaming el nino or la nina weather systems for the mad weather we've had this winter/spring, or whether we should start blaming global warming! In the spring holidays we have been lucky enough to have papa home ( benefits of a school teacher), so we've had days out and days at home. Another friend had a baby boy ( welcome Austen, the vest is for you), we've been in a mild car crash ( We were the lucky ones, but no one in the three car pile up was hurt, and neither was our car- thank you God) , we visited the Waimarama bird sanctuary in the Brook, the Nelson Museum, we've camped out in the garden and cooked on a campfire, we've walked and rode our bikes, we've rescued a baby rabbit from our cat and then let it go again , don;t tell the farmers around here, they would have preferred it be dead; we are just lucky we managed to convince the kids that the rabbit was wild and not a new pet! And we've gardened. what have you been doing?

more crafts

2010-09-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

A friend had a beautiful baby girl last week... Welcome Nia Grace! I made her this vest.To hide or accent the fact that the pinks are all different ( I just used what I had in my stash), I crocheted a flower to match all the colours. The buttons too, are from my stash!

And now to share a project we have been working on for about a month: A playscape! I have been inspired by many different places. The idea I saw first in the LIVING CRafts Mag about a year ago and then recently I saw it again , although in a different form on the RYTHYM of the HOME site.

Together with the children I felted the mat in stages that fit the bubble wrap i had, then stitched on felted pebbles ( bought), made pumpkins and a cave. the bushes were made by the children by making pompoms, and the grass was crocheted with an extra row of loops n top. There are more trees coming and then I'll stitch some hessian to the bottom for added strength and longevity!

sheep

2010-09-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

I've been really enjoying my subscription to the living Craft s magazine ( Thanks hubby!), The children are really enjoying the story table ( see previous posts) , and enjoying playing with natural toys. I've been knitting sheep from the spring 2010 issue. I've made two for my nephew who turned one yesterday (happy birthday Wyatt!) And i'm onto my third for my children. watch out, if you have a birthday you may also get a sheep! Today the sheep are looking o t the window at the rain, and asking where spring has gone!

The Tomten

2010-09-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a crafty day! A trip to Spotlight ( I wish we had a decent craft shop around here, some things I'm after it seems I'll have to order online!), a play at the Tahunanui playground and a picnic snack and when we got home there were seven eggs , a new LIving Crafts mag and the book of the Tomten I had ordered, so we got right down to the business of making our own tomtens to tell stories with. And here they are! Maaike thought hers needed love hearts sewn on. Cute hey? Patterns for story table things mentioned on earlier post. I hadn't read the story before, and its lovely. A story about a gnome type thingy who has lived on this farm for hundreds of years and when night falls visits the inhabitants and talks in a silent tomten voice that the animals can understand, checking all is well. A good bedtime story!
And tonight we are to have a barbeque, with homemade burger buns and maybe sleep in the tent we have had up all week. My kids seem to be desperate for summer, swimming and adventures. Actually That sounds pretty good to me!

garden pickings

2010-09-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

Our first garden harvest here! Very slim pickings but its lovely after about 6 months to be able to wander around the garden and pick our own salad greens! There are mint leaves growing wild in the back paddock, parsley brought from our old garden taken to all our various places of abode and now transplanted in the herb garden. There is corn salad that grabbed a lift on some raspberry canes brought from the old place, and mesclun mix sown into a pop and overwintered in the plastic house, cut as baby leaves. With a simple dressing of home-made cider vinegar, local olive oil, fermented mustard from mum and some rapadura ( Old style evapourated sugarcane juice), some salt and pepper. Yum! And with it for lunch? Baked potato hot chips with home made mayo/hollandaise ( Made with half melted butter, half olive oil).

new "corners"

2010-09-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

This week I have been creating some new "corners" and spaces in our home, trying to maintain an order that stimulates creativity and peace in our playing and tidying away. A peace that runs through the day and encourages storytelling and drama. I was inspired by this article in the online mag: Rhythm
of the Home. Its an article about bringing books to life with props. So by moving stuff around we now have three surfaces to create "stories" on ( One day hopefully they will be co-constructed stories, but not just yet....).

Another space in our home is this one,our treasres space; A little seasonal corner ( a lot of props have been absorbed by the story table!) , some of my opshop finds and family gifts, amap of the town one of my Oma's in holland lived before she was too ill and moved to a care facility, and inside the cabinet two of her cup and saucers, from the set they had when they first got married. On the wall a painting of my husband and a young Anoushka done by his Brother, and some cards Struan and I have given each other for birthdays etc.
This place is starting to feel like home (for now).

happy Birthday to you....

2010-08-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

A little bit of anarchy anyone? So amowhawk for him lest likely to actually get a real one ( not sure I'd want him to anyway); a way of dressing up for adults; a way of saying 'F' you to the system when you want to! Pattern from the book Domiknitrix.

The kids made badges , by drawing little pictures ( quite a challenge for some of them) and we used my badge making kit from Spotlight to finish them off. Some images are only half a picture, but still look pretty funky we think.

He also got breakfast pancakes, a mushroom kit and some spending money for the dump shops in Nelson tomorrow. Have a nice weekend!

Shh, Struan don't look!

2010-08-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Incognito from here for a birthday coming up soon. I have some more "cheeky" knitting patterns up my sleeve for him too. Question is , will he wear it to school?

Pav perfection! And I made it! It just didn't sit right that he had success and I didn't. Recipe from Edmonds cook book ( A NZ classic).

AWWW! What more can I say? ( He lives outside now, We've weather-proofed his house, and he's proven his survival instinct.

Look what we've got!

2010-07-31T15:59:00.000-07:00

His name is Oscar, and he is 5 days old. His mother abandoned him, but we haven't!

birthday/ back into it!

2010-07-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

Its a rainy day in Dovedale today; the earth sure needs it, though maybe not so the washing pile!

The children have done painting, Anoushka has helped me get ready for the day, doing little cleanup chores, and now they are playing cosy tent/camping games in the bedroom. Fun!

Umm, birthday dessert: Pumpkin and apple meringue pie as made by Hugh in River cottage . It was my turn this week, and I was sure spoiled! Can I just say, I have tried making meringue and pavlova many times and each time it has been a failure, and Sturan's first try turns out perfect. Hmm, new job in the kitchen for him: meringue maker!

The girls, anoushka inparticular, has ben getting more interested in taking photos and documenting things that are important to her ( A child's camera may be in the pipeline), and here is one she took this morning. Her dolls had taken about an hour to dress this morning ,while she thought about what items of clothing would be appropriate for this rainy winter day.

I also want to send out a shout to my friend Alexandra, who on behalf of playgroup gave me a bottle of wine from her own , certified organic vineyard.
Fantastic thanks! You can find them here .
Have a nice day.

lifestyling

2010-07-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

Ahh, school holidays and lovely weather, perfect for getting outside and prepping the garden for spring. ( Why school holidays when We homeschool? Hubbies a teacher so get an extra set of adult hands and eyes around the place. As good as a holiday for me too!)So this is a photo of my vegie garden. Barebones, a before shot shall we say! Compost bins on left, worm farm in old tub ( there must be one on every old farm property), and goats in paddock behind ( not ours yet, just goatsitting for friends. Glad they've done their adventures in the night so real farming neighbours don't laugh at our city slicker attempts at animal moving!) Chook house at back right of garden currently housing four chooks whose run is to the right of my garden and about as big. We'll be getting more. Where goats are will one day be hoed and ready for potatoes, corn for grain and other big crops etc.

This is Bebe on left and Billy. Bebe gets milked once a day (the easiest part of goat keeping I think!)

Our girls, and my flower garden ( the driest hardest part of property, old sheep yards I think. But imagine flowers growing all over that old fence and a wee walkway with borders and round garden in middle. Probably old cottagey flowers, I think.

My koanga Gardens seed catalogue arrived today and some tagasaste ( tree lucerne ) seeds I ordered on trade Me. I'll be seed dreaming and ordering now and still have some pruning of exsisting fruit trees to do too. A bit early but I think I'll focus on planning and prep for now I think. What are you growing this spring?

a visit from family

2010-07-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

We are graced with the presence of my sister and her family from New Plymouth this weekend ( for my sister's birthday, today!), which means lots of feasting, playing with cousins and for me gooing and gahing over my young 9 month nephew ( SOO CUTE!!) I've also been madly spinning and knitting to complete a cowl for my sisters birthday. The fibre was a silk hankie and some merino dyed by spinning a yarn and bought off gillybean.
The weather has been frosty and sunny reaching quite reasonable temperatures during the day which means lots of outdoor play ( even pretend swimming lessons in the nud but no photos of that!). The highlight of the week: family and a Matariki celebration with playgroup.

art yarn

2010-06-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I bought Lexi Boeger's book, Intertwined , about spinning unique yarns using a variety of new techniques. So I am Completely Inspired!!!! Although maybe I will continue to increase my more traditional spinning skills, I am also keen to play around with fibre too. So I attempted my first art yarn, using some ratty old roving that I dyed last week, some bits of sari fibre left over from my Blendy box sampler , I cut up a sari skirt that never fit me and weren't really my colours and spun a thick and thin single using a thread for stability through the whole skein. Here is the result:

And last night we had this sunset:

I can see that sunset inspiring some fibre adventure too sometime.

fibre and fun filled days

2010-06-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

hand painted merino from a giveaway by spinning a yarn last year, finally spun and plied this morning.

Natty and gnarly, thick and thin yarn, from that in raw fleece from the other day. Anyone teach me about handcarding?

A birthday party for a toy dog named Sally, last year we celebrated her fourth birthday, this year shes 16!

We all love reading!

As well: dyed some tick and thin spun white yarn, pink, blue and green, and some plain white fleece bright pink and red with a bit of purple, but they are still drying.

Have a nice day.

a catch up

2010-06-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Finished: Some mitts for me! Pattern is Reading Mitts on Ravelry.

Maaike's fourth birthday started bright and early.

results of a painting morning from us four that are home during daylight hours.

They really enjoyed the painting, though at times the process overwhelmed me! Note to self:Next time have it all set up before toddler starts washing hands in water jar and 4 year old paints the table! Also art smocks would be good!

I am tired but inspired this week after hooking up with some other home schoolers and talking about what they do. Actually just knowing there are others like us, even if we all do things our own way is good. There are even other homeschoolers down the street! ( Believe me our road is so rural, its surprises me sometimes there is anyone down the street, especially on foggy mornings!)

So inspired I am and have to knuckle down and provide more for the children, and do it alongside I think. Not lessons as such but definately experiences with variety as the spice of life?

My W.I.P s are some homespun socks for Anoushka ( two at a a time on circs, how hard can it be?), spinning some raw fleece in the grease and trying to learn to handcard from googled sites; videos aren't any good for slow dial up like this!

The blanket for girls is taking some time out and I am trying to find time for sewing overpants , new cushion covers for lounge, an obi belt for me and more pants for the young lad.

what inspires you and what are you making?

Birthday preparations

2010-06-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

Seeing as I hadn't realised just how fast a fourth birthday has crept up I have been rather stressed and busy!
Last weekend we were lucky enough to have my father visiting too so lovely busy times. Have more cooking and baking to do for tomorrow....

so far

2010-05-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

So far... we have got a cat and 5 chooks! Dug over some vege garden, planted broad beans and transplanted strawberry plants and a rosemary bush from poole st house. We have unpacked everything except all the books and the adults clothes. today we read a story about the letter P ( in a very roundabout, Oak meadow curriculum way), and did pictures of P in our workbooks, divided and planted a clump of daffodils, baked bread from scratch ( though not sourdough so none for me).

The cat called mittens or slofjes came from the spca and is very tolerant! She came from a family with children and is about 12 months, they moved I think? She is very loved! ( all sorts of lessons happening here... how when animal s hide under the bed they might need some space....), the chooks are brown shavers from the BUy, sell,swap, a local mag, very interesting to read, actually!
There is lots more to do!

A place of our own ( well kind of)

2010-05-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

We are here!!!! Finally! Well we've been here a week but they only connected our phone line today, so I couldn't communicate till now! And it snowed on the mountains close by us last night! Our move into our home ( a converted woolshed) seems to have coincided with the arrival of winter, which is great as I have been looking forward to a Dovedale winter for a while. We feel like we've come home. ( we lived in the house next door when I had Maaike, she tells everyone she was born there, in the kitchen. it snowed in our valley that night too). The kind of? Well we don't own it. But we can stay as long as we like and we can use the land ( about an acre?) as we like.

I have forgotten how slow dial up can be, and how many photos our digital camera can store.Expect some retrospective shots over coming weeks, he he. And now some pictures.

The children spread out and play with new-old toys, outside the house, and the snowy mountains.

more yarn

2010-05-18T00:33:00.000-07:00

Maaike started trying to knit earlier in the year, but needed a bit of help, but yesterday, while I was untangling bits of wool she found her knitting and polished off four whole rows with only a quick reminder of the rhyme we use. the shot is a bit grainy though, woops!I had a play on my spinning wheel ( a new to me one, donated by a colleague of my husband, rescued from her garage), playing with how skinny I could make the singles, using scrap bits of fibre that a few months ago I couldn't spin, plying them together etc. Fun!

The two fibres used here are in natural colours but I have no idea what sheep they came from. Finally confirmation of moving day! This friday we finally move our stuff into our rural rental and start to make it our home!

Opshop finds and knitted things

2010-05-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

In between holiday (though of course we are not on holiday) accommodation on Monday we went into Richmond and it was one of those good days for second hand and junk finds! Great even!

Some lovely old copies of one of my favourite series of books; little women by Louisa M. Alcott, a great vintage book called Pookie and the Gypsies. Some old cot sheets, a beautiful tea tray, some old half finished linens and rolls of embroidery floss. Not pictured, some old cups and bowls.

This week I finished some mittens for Maaike using some of my prettiest yarn leftovers and some of the samples from my Blendy yarn sampler box. But don't look too closely, as I obviously didn't conccentrate hard enough making the second mitten and she has two the same.... the pattern is playground mitts from Ravelry. she doesn't seem to mind...

In April was Tobin's birthday and I think i forgot to post photos of the things I knitted for him ( that he hasn't the patience to wear yet), so here they are!

A hat from tot toppers, and more playground mittens, but adjusted for a smaller size. Just fewer rows really , all the shaping I kept the same. His I managed to get right!

On the house front, It seems that we will get to move into our rented Dovedale home, but we are still not sure when... It was supposed to be today, but we are kind of lucky its not as it is actually raining here in sunny nelson today! Pouring!Have a nice weekend, I'll be knitting, off to the nelson library and baking fresh bread today. You?

breathe out

2010-05-04T00:44:00.000-07:00

Hedgerow socks from Ravelry.

Saartje-inspired bootees also found on Ravelry. ( The whole family now have a pair each, mum and dad included! watch out you could get a pair next, they are addictive and quick!)

Still life in kitchen.
A change of scene this week ( we really are gypsys at the moment!). A bach in Kina Beach near Tasman, kindly organised by a friend and just in time for my sanity. Even better, just 50 metres from the beach!Its the little things that make this resting space wonderful: grass, trees and tuis(native birds with beautiful song) feeding from them, a full size fridge, and oven, space for the children to play away from my feet.
Its been good for the whole family, for even though the change is hard particularly for the smallest in the family, the space has been good for everyone's creativity. Anouhska has started to read books on her own ( fiercely on her own), accepting help only on her terms. not surprising really as that is how i find most children are about learning new skills. How often have we heard wee toddlers saying emphatically "I Do it!!!"

knitting, surviving...

2010-04-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

No pics today, i left camera at the chalet and am at school this afternoon with kids to blow out a bit. Although the chalets are lovely and I still can't get enough of the view, it is apparent that we are all yearning for our own space and in particular some outdoor space to run around in. we still have about 3 weeks to go and I am missing my sewing machine and spinning wheel! I have been knitting up a storm, and will post pics of the slipper family soon, but just feeling umm constricted, stifled, and down. Oh well, more runs on the beach required I think! Have a lovely week!

West Coast tripping

2010-04-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

We have just come back from a few days in Punakaiki, on the beautiful west coast. It was stunning weather (which i think is not the norm on that part of nz), and the kids coped admirably with the long drive. the coast was beautiful, and hanging out in our own space for a while was lovely. We are celebrating tobin's second birthday today with a lot of music, his favourite thing! A few more days with lovely husband home, then back to normal.

knitting updates

2010-04-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

A blanket for the girls bed. pattern from living crafts magazine.

A little bit of knittinghas been done in the days following the easter fair, and lots during! Trade could have been better, but it was great to get this pattern finished! The following pics are of my "Victoria vest" by the Rare yarns company, made with wool I found on trade me for fifteen dollars for one kilo, and spun myself as singles. I didn't wash the yarn to set the twist but did block the vest after finishing and am super happy with how the yarn responded, fluffing up and stretching out nicely.

Also some photos of where we are at the moment. Beautiful Mapua!

Enjoy the rest of the week or autumn holidays! I'm off to find some needles to complete some more knitting projects!

Of no fixed abode....

2010-03-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well I have kind of resurfaced after absolute and utter complete chaos that was moving day, and now we are making do in a chalet in a holiday complex with breathtaking views and a spa! It s beautiful, a lot small and a bit kid space short, but there are beautiful walks in the area, through forest and around sea sides, and five minutes from hubby's classroom, which is becoming a second space ( and where I am blogging from now!). Unfortunately, even though I packed our camera to take, said hubby packed the cord for down loading with computer at the back of storage container where it will remain for about six weeks! I am going to try and borrow the classroom camera for some pics but I can't give any promises!
In the meantime I am also madly sewing for the easter fair in Mapua, because i lost a bit of time there, and quite happy with my kiwiana kitsch tiki collection really. There are sleeveless hooded vests with felt tikis on. Tiki brooches, and softies. Come check it out 10 - 4 on Sunday 4 April at Mapua domain. Gold coin entry with proceeds to school and playcentre.
Also very excited to draw your attention to an almost family member's new blog: ♥ and sol, she has started down the craft journey and has a great eye for cool, check it out!

Moving on

2010-03-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

I won't be posting much for a while, as we have sold our house and have 10 days to get out and nowhere to go for the next 6 weeks ( but a rented country house after that to look forward to, while we save a bigger deposit for our own country dream!), so will try and post when I can . No promises. If you are in the area catch up with me at the Easter fair in Mapua, tasman.

Autumn dessert

2010-03-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

I found a recipe for Blackcurrant Deep -dish Crumble in an old New Zealand Lifestyle farmer magazine,

and thought that I'd make it, but give it a WAPF ( Weston A. Price Foundation)remake.

After A health scare for both my parents and a time for me feeling exhausted and depressed following the birth of my third child, we all started on a journey of discovery regarding nutrition.

We found the concept of nutrient dense, traditional foods to make a lot of sense. We could see where being long term vegetarians without the traditional knowledge of how to prepare grains and legumes and the use of unfermented soy had worn down our digestive systems and immune systems.

In terms of the relevance of that to this recipe?

Grains, of any sort contain a substance called phytic acid, which our bodies cannot digest and even worse, mean that our bodies cannot take up any nutrients available in the grain ( or flour), and over time we deplete our bodies levels of other minerals and vitamins through over use. I have been largely gluten free for a long time due to IBS, but by applying WAPF principles to flour I can tolerate small amounts of organic wheat flour.

In order to make grains usable for our bodies the phytic acid needs to be neutralised through soaking or fermenting.

Also sugar in its refined state is bad for all sorts of reasons, so I use Rapadura or dehydrated sugar cane juice available fro health food shops.

Heres the recipe:

110 g sugar

110 g flour

70 g butter

1 large egg beaten

180 g blackcurrants. mix first 3 ingredients until mix is crumbly. add egg and mix, fold through fruit and bake for 40 -45 mins

My Version:

1/2 cup rapadura/ honey or maple syrup

1 1/2 cup organic flour soaked with 1 cup warm water + 2 Tblsp cider vinegar for 12 -24 hours

100 gm softened butter

1 large egg

blackcurrants and rhubarb ( because I have heaps and need to use some up)

1tsp almond essence

Serve with lots of whipped cream. (Saturated fat is good, important and protects against heart disease! They've been lying to us! Find out for yourself!)

Mix first four ingredients in food processor, fold through fruit and bake.

The mixture is not like normal baking and is rather solid, but delicious and healthy and I don't get a sore tummy!

For more information see the cook book Nourishing Traditions , or our Kay Baxter in nz has this one : Change of Heart.

Saturday morning

2010-02-26T15:37:00.000-08:00

Aren't I lucky, to be able to hang out here, to pretend for a week: these animals are ours, and even to be able to enjoy the gifts of milk and eggs they give in return.

And even more lucky to enjoy a picnic breakfast and a swim on nearby Kina beach.

more beautiful wool pics

2010-02-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

my cowl, and earrings my husband bought for our anniversary. sorry no pic of my face, i haven't presented myself yet! But I have milked a goat, he he!

Autumn calling!

2010-02-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

The children thought the slightly chillier mornings and faint colouring of the poplar leaves mean that it is high time to make an autumnal nature table display. Nice work don't you think? It was completely self directed, and we are looking forward to some nature walks to collect more leaves etc as they fall.

I've started sewing for the easter fair, inspired by retro sheets and pinnies, and bias binding and ric rac. lots more projects in mind, lets see how far I get!

Ive also been knitting up this wool. it has turned into a cowl style scarf, with a twist ( unintentional, but makes it drape nicely), and I am completely in love with the colours, it is like knitting molten gold, or autumn leaves and so soft! My son was stroking it this morning as he had his wake -up -nurse. I'll try and get a photo soon of me wearing it.
I have been busy this week looking after a friends farmlet: milking her goat and feeding chickens etc. I love it. I spent a year in Australia on a farm stay outdoor centre attached to a high school where we had a myriad of animals to see to every morning; including teaching the students who came on camp to milk cows by hand. It made quite an impact, and I think has made the yearning for a country life unignorable!

Friends

2010-02-17T16:30:00.000-08:00

A morning tea with friends, babies and a baby to come (soon), knitting, Talking, food and herbal tea, and this morining, an email from a friend that moved away, perfect. Now an afternoon , for sewing!

(the light is not great ( nor is my camera), but this is the vest for Maaike, from the wool she dyed).

Sorry to miss you Gill!

organised chaos?

2010-02-15T11:35:00.000-08:00

A corner of my workroom/playroom. I tried to organise enough a path through to my sewing machine. I received my application form for the local easter fair, and thought, yes, I had better get sewing, can't earn any money without stock!
So Before I got sick, I searched through my patterns and my fabric stash , and cut my first 'range' of the year (!!!I have been slack!). its now sitting my my trestle table ready to sew, alongside my containers of trims, buttons, threads etc (which are, although, orgainsed, still to chaotic to photograph!). Maybe Ill get some done while the girls are at Playcentre today; or maybe and more likely, Tobin will want to stay and play, and I will have to too. Still abit wobbly, but a bit more strength today.
And it was only tonsilitis! We are all taking colloidial silver- We call it magic water. Have a nice tuesday.

Away sick

2010-02-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

I have been "away" sick; I felt like crap! I am still really wasted, dizzy when I stand etc. Struan coped, just! Its busy, 3 kids and all the chores, which we normally divide between us.

Look at my wild orchard! All the herbs are in flower, good for the bees and beneficial bugs. More later in the week, when I'm coping better.

A moment

2010-02-09T16:29:00.000-08:00

just before 5 pm yesterday, i poured a little glass of wine, and looked at our summer nature table. just a moment of calm. before the mad rush, dinner, bath, bed, time of day.

some of Jessicah's wool, spun up( see previous post). What do you think?

Wool!

2010-02-08T17:14:00.000-08:00

This blog is turning into a yarn blog! I think this time last year i blogged about the garden more! (Its doing okay, maybe wilder than last year, yesterday I harvested carrots, cauliflower, runner beans; purple and green, zucchinni, and tomatoes). But look what came in the mail today! The wool giveaway from Jessicah at Spinning a Yarn , dyed in the colours I suggested, PLUS, some goodies for the children, and chocolate for me (And maybe Struan, if it isnt gone before he gets home)! i'm so blown away, thank you Jessicah!

A glove (other still to come), for Struan in some more of the wool I dyed last week, I'm very happy with it. The pattern is from stitch 'n Bitch for men .

In other new, we have been making some good old fashioned valentines cards for people we love, after first having read about the history of it and looking at examples of the olden days cards held at a museum (found by googling valentines cards history of). The kids all got stuck in their own creative ways.

it is incredibly hard to find paper doilies these days! Is anyone else going to bake off? Sounds like fun don't you think?

wool dying

2010-02-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

yesterday we dyed some wool with the girls while Tobin slept. It came about because Anoushka decided she didn't like the wool she was knitting with. So I said, "do you want to make your own? " We've done this together before so they knew what was involved, and jumped at the chance( in fact they are already designing their next yarns!) Anoushka had some white (badly) spun roving, from one of my attempts at spinning, and she will use the wool for a dolls blanket. I felted it slightly as I was rinsing the dye out after fixing and I'm quite happy with it actually. I hope she is too!

Maaike started with some commercially spun grey wool (not sure what breed), and knew she wanted a rainbow wool. It ended up with beautiful yellows and pinks with some flecks of blue and green and orange. I like the mellow effect with the colours on the grey. Her wool will be a winter vest that I will knit for her next project.

The light doesn't really do it justice. I did some too, a whole lot of mellow greens/ blues /yellows on the same grey wool that maaike had, and some yellow/red/orange on some random white merino looking wool from the op shop. The white wool definately took up the colours in a brighter way!

I felt really "present" yesterday, something I have struggled with in the past. I like playing OMA /grandma in the fantasy games if it means I can sit and knit at the same time. I have lots more projects to go.....

Another day at home (school)...

2010-02-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

A pattern traced, cut out, fabric selection made, felt heart stitched on and mama helped with the sewing machine bit : a dress and jumper for a doll, and all before 9 am!

The finished (and blocked), homespun jacket. not too bad?

A silky eye pillow for a sick little Maaike,and a heart pillow for both the girls for good measure (and hopefully to help oldest insomniac calm and settle to an anxiety free sleep). Patterns from Amanda Blake Soule's Handmade home.

Unfortunately also lots of tv time beacuse the sick one is too sick for anything else.

Sewing

2010-01-28T12:51:00.000-08:00

A boat necked tshirt for a two year old's birthday, with felt squirrel hand appliqued on. T shirt fabric from op shop stash! pattern from ottobre magazine.

Textile addiction

2010-01-24T15:07:00.000-08:00

To add to my long list of textile obsessions, I've added spinning! (i'm not very good), but I found a spinning wheel at a local op shop about 3 months ago, and now i'm finally spinning a yarn that i can knit with! Its a single ply something, which mimics a felted yarn that I love ( if anyone knows how to do that, drop me a line!). I'm using it to make Anoushka a cardigan from the latest Living Crafts mag . Now i've discovered that people sell a lot of carded wool on trade me ( new zealand's version of ebay) and i've been spending hours looking at it all....

for a friend

2010-01-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

A dear friend from my first baby days (we were introduced by our very wise midwife) came to visit today. it is a rare occassion when friends from Auckland pop in! i made her this bag, also from carefree clothes for girls (see previous post). A doily from my collection, the outer is an old tablecloth bought yesterday from a second-hand shop, the inner, a remnant of upholstery fabric from a friend, the handles, an offcut also bought at a second store.

Carefree girls

2010-01-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the generosity of a crafty friend I have been able to borrow her copy of carefree clothes for girls , and have been inspired! I love the aesthetic of it but haven't got the money at the moment to go and get beautiful linens etc. So in the spirit of use what you have I whipped up these creations, the chemise (on Anoushka, right) the blouse with crochet doily trim ( on maaike, middle ( thats my monkey son in his grubby pyjamas, I'll get around to new clothes for him later)), and the quilted bodice dress (below). beautiful, now to customise some of my clothing in the same vein....

The fabrics I used were old cotton sheets, scraps of pink linen from the op shop, a remnant of the princess and the pea fabric, an old tablecloth and some doilies from my stash. buttons , a gift from gill .

and the winner is....

2010-01-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

tracey from new south wales, australia. enjoy your weekend everyone!

crafty days

2010-01-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

A Tiki brooch waiting for an owner.... Susan, I cant retrieve any contact details from your comment. If you do not contact me by Friday 12 noon( nz time), I will redraw giveaway. There is no malice intended, but I want to give stuff to someone!

crafty gifts

2010-01-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

So far, so good... the children don't ask to buy presents for their friends birthdays ( or for any reason actually), they start looking through their and my craft books for ideas. This is how with short notice a special friend of Anoushka is still getting a gift and a gift straight from her heart too! Anoushka received a fairy craft kit for christmas and decided to make her friend one of these. I only got a picture of fairy-in-progress because things got a bit chaotic in the meantime! (Toddler found glue, three year old wanted to sit on my chair with me , and said three year old has permanent case of ants-in-pants, so bumped toddler, who sent hot coffee flying onto Anoushka, and fairy was left behind in chaos!)

She also chose to make the artsy clutch from Bend the Rules Sewing , choosing the fabric and buttons herself. She sat with me at the sewing machine and lifted the presser foot and hit the reverse button for me.

So forest fairy and artsy clutch (pencil case) are on their way to special friend, with no money spent, but lots of time, family interest, a bit of chaos and love instead!

toothpaste/powder

2010-01-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

as i mentioned yesterday, we are making as much stuff ourselves and supporting local businesses. I have to really promote this stuff, struan and the kids made it and he has the link to the recipe here. I REALLY like it! Im sure my teeth were whiter than before,and the super clean feeling lasted till morning. now to find eco toothbrushes.....

sayonara supermarket

2010-01-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

We are going to make a real commitment to spending as little as possible at big supermarkets and instead use the dollars we do spend at local businesses or road side stalls. This includes cost cutting measures like trying to make our own eco friendly cleaning products etc. Struan is dedicating his own blog to the cause here , and no doubt I will blog it too. struan is on teachers holiday (lovely) and is developing his own creative pursuits. I do find it hard to share my sewing machine and garden but maybe this will one day lead to a shared business venture! look at what he made to replace the falling apart cheap plastic peg basket. much cooler dont you think?

Giveaway results: Congratulations Susan: said...Lovely! Happy Birthday and Happy New Year!

DECEMBER 27, 2009 5:38 PM

Susan could you get in touch with me with your choice of items and mailing address. thanks!

Giveaway

2010-01-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

Hi I'm back! I was given feedback that it was too hard to leave a comment, so ive edited my settings and will extend giveaway for two more days to allow those who couldnt leave a comment to be able to. Thank you for all the lovely comments received so far and I will draw the winner on wednesday the 6th of jan nz time. Good luck!

Christmas part 1

2009-12-22T11:07:00.000-08:00

It was a lovely day in rural Orinoco, filled with the sounds of a whole lot of Ukes (the craze has spread through the whole family, even my mother-in-law has one (yellow!)), children, good food and plenty of sun. A lovely present from the talented brother, a customised babushka doll.

joy on the face of a babe receiving his baby. ( as his mama I love to see his nurturing looks, cuddles and snuggles- we must be doing something right!)

Reminder....Have to be in it to win it (family and friends welcome....) leave a comment (delurk) to enter giveaway. Entries close on the 3rd of january.

Giveaway

2009-12-17T15:03:00.000-08:00

Its my birthday....

My blogs birthday that is. On the second of january. i will giveaway a felt stitched tiki cheque book holder, needle case or glasses case and a brooch. The winner will be able to choose which of the above they would prefer, and I will make it to order! I am away over the christmas new year period, so will draw the winner on the 4th of january 2010. I will ship all over the world! So to enter, leave a comment, and an email contact! I will figure out how to get get the computer to randomly pick a winner (it will take me that long to figure out I am sure!). Here are some examples of my work.

buttons

2009-12-14T17:15:00.000-08:00

Buttons, I love buttons! I am running out of stash, if anyone finds some collections anywhere I'll pay you for them! A bracelet for a belated birthday present....

p.s with this blogs first birthday coming up on jan2, I feel a birthday giveaway coming on, more details to come...

Finally, and a great find at market!

2009-12-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

Today we got a great heads up from my good friend Gillybean at the local market: an estate clearance sale! I was there late (all the stall holders got in first, I heard!), but still got some great finds! Some beautiful hand embroidered linens and tablecloths and some lovely old books about baking form 50s new Zealand. I am totally into my baking at the moment after receiving this great book from Struan: Ladies a plate. Full of beautiful baking photographed on vintage linens, so look at what we had for morning tea!

So, My wild garden has been tamed slightly with some weeding and planting out but still grows in joyful (unruly) abandon!

The christmas elves have been busy too (i have told the children that Santa's elves have outsourced some of the manufacturing for christmas as they are just soo busy this year!...)

here are some pics of babes in varying states of completion and crowns and wallets for other family members.

(Please excuse me while I get my head around blogger: obviously a lot changes while I take some months off!)

soon...

2009-12-09T11:43:00.000-08:00

Soon... we will get a camera (thanks Oma Rietje), soon... I will post photos of the christmas presents I am making slowly, soon... it will be school holidays and struan will be home, soon ... i will have time for my own interests at least some of the time (the garden is a wild jumble of weeds, flowers and straggly tomato plants!) I have toyed with shutting down my blog but I really think having a camera will help inspire me to share, and writing will (hopefully) challenge my mind! If you read this blog check in again this weekend!

Away from my blog....

2009-10-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

It has been too hard juggling a clean- inspection ready house, an extra child some days, kindy dramas etc and my blog (especially without a proper camera). This images were take in that time with the idea of posting more regularly (which obviously didn't happen), on our digital video camera, but it is a palaver to upload them. We have spent a few days in Totaranui, Golden Bay at a DOC camp, which is hugely popular in summer, but we only had to share with a handful of campers/ trampers and tourists. We even got the children tramping: only over to the next beach but it was a stretch for them...! We were lucky enough to see and watch some native birds : a weka, kea, paradise ducks, kereru. On the way home yesterday we stopped at a GREAT children's store called Grasshopper where we found a cD with songs about new Zealand's indigenous creatures for children Its very good, and funny! Its called "little blue and the living treasure band" by wildbeet productions.
We are at an anxious stage with our farmhouse purchase as it seems another offer will come in (cash unconditional) so we have a week to sell with no one interested at present. Everyone project/ pray for us please!

knitting

2009-08-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

As you may know, our house is on the market and therefore I have packed up my sewing stuff, boo hoo! And of course I actually have inspiration at the moment! Spring does that to me! So I am throwing myself into knitting as a tidy and instant antidote to cleaning!!!! unfortunately I am also inspired in the knitting department with many projects in my mind, and I am labouring over a vest for Struan's birthday ( I know its passed already!). I don't want to start anything new until its finished otherwise he may not receive it until next year! So I surf the knitting and yarn sites and knit. The vest is from the book son of stitchnbitch. A very cool book for patterns for males. I have been enjoying the knitting patterns in the Living Crafts magazine, and yesterday found The Backwards loop, a very cool site with beautiful yarn and patterns. Anoushka is knitting a gnome for her friend, and we are watching the garden start to awaken from its winter rest. Today is a grey and drizzling day, perfect for knitting! What are you knitting?

Happy 30th birthday Struan!

2009-08-19T14:17:00.001-07:00

An early birthday breakfast on a cold but sunny day. My lovely turns thirty now and commented this morning that he didn't feel any different despite having been nervous about it this week! he certainly kept his nerves quiet! The girls did some lovely stitching on linen as hankies for him to carry in his pocket. And of course any birthday money he gets goes straight into music:Age Pryor, Dan Sperber and Tiki Tane:all good new zealand artists!
locals check out the new deli on high street, Motueka for lovely goodies, local and imported. Can recommend their hot chocolate and elderflower cordial!
The beautiful daphne from the lady who delivers my raw mik, in a jug from the op shop. have a nice day!

Open Home and surprise!

2009-08-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

A BUSY weekend, trying to prepare for an open home in the pouring rain! And I knew we were having a wee party for my husband! He didn't guess, which is amazing! A lovely afternoon and a few pics: The winter rosehips and my first daffodils.

How time flies....

2009-08-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, nearly two months, how slack of me. I certainally haven't crafed much to write home about, but had a lovely inspiring morning with a group of crafty mums. We have been painting, readying our home for sale in the hope of a move to the country. Check out our listing here.
I recently celebrated my 30th too. Here are some grainy photos of the lovely things my husband and children gave me.

Thats all for now.

Our journey to homeschool

2009-06-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

Ahh, what more could a crafty mother wish for?! The eldest daughter has started knitting, this was the second time she asked. The first time a few months ago we did a few rows together, but this time its really clicked! We use a little rhyme to remember the steps, and after only a week she could sit on the couch and do a few rows without any help! She knows when she's got a "problem" (her words), and sometimes can sort it out herself or she'll ask for help. What more of an excuse do I need to sit and knit in companionable silence!? She often does a few rows while the other two go to bed.

And the photo of the pink blanket/coat at the lantern festival at kindy last week. This week though she has been home by choice. We asked her why she wanted to be home and she replied that it was more fun. I/We must be doing something right if home is more fun? Days seem to flow nicer at home and I have more energy to really encourage their creative endeavours and extend on interests a bit. We are slowly making the commitment to home/unschooling as it sits with out philosophies on life etc and seems to flow on from some of our other parenting choices. At this stage and it may seem like a cop out, she can go to kindy (if she wants, why force a four year old to rush places ?) and "if it doesn't work" for whatever reason school will still be there! (GULP!)

On one of our home days the girls made a garden, digging it and composting it and we've planted a few raspberry suckers and strawberry plants for instant gratification. Now we've got he seed catalogues out and are choosing or thinking about what else to plant. Of course now I am reading and dreaming and making lists and thinking about light levels etc. Spring seems so far away but will come soon enough....

A month of flurries...

2009-06-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

Wow nearly a month gone buy in a flurry of creating and crafting, baking and making for a three year old's birthday and general maddness. I finally unblocked my knitter's block and finished the other sock for husband.. still don't think I've seen him actually wearing them... and in the following week,knitted a pair of mittens, a cardigan a nearly finished the rainbow cardigan as "specified!" by the now three year old. She has specified a lot recently, yesterday insiting I wear a pink skirt and pink higheals to pick up Anoushka from kindy. I kept trying to hide them (the shoes) but as we were leaving she came running out with them and said "you can't forget these mama!" So I wore them while trying to juggle four children (an extra for carpooling) their stuff etc while sinking backwards into the winter mud! not the most practical shoes for picking up children at kindy. Now I would love to post a whole lot of photos of the various creations from the past month but the camera is broken and apparently not worth fixing! Posts maybe boring black and white for a while. Here is one photo though of the birthday girl and her new woollen coat, with (my)machine quilting lining and poodle buttons, and a button on hood. Anoushka has a similar one made of an old pink blanket and sheet for lining. One day I may find a photo of that too. In the meantime, happy crafting, knitting, playing, enjoy the winter or summer wherever you may be!

Learning Stories

2009-05-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

Maaike collected these shells and sticks at the Kumeras yesterday while they had a play on a family bike ride. All the family made sandcastles at the beach, and Maaike decided her collection of shells belonged in our sandpit so that she could make another sandcastle. This morning at 7.30 (it wasn't even properly light yet), she went out there and made her sandcastle . "take a photo mama" she said.
What do I think is going on for her? She is certainly able to determine her own tasks and actions, remember her own plans and follow them through. She also knows how to document something that she feels is significant to her learning and development (or just being).

During a game of buses on Sunday, Anoushka decided to write a list of toys who couldn't come on the bus that day for various reasons. She sat down and occasionally asked me for help with the spelling of names. i find it fascinating that her letters are having directional challenges where they weren't awhile ago.However she is also writing more independently and not asking for help with forming her letters so that may have something to do with it. Sorry i can't seem to turn the photo right side up. My next challenge perhaps?

creating and wild spaces

2009-05-24T15:38:00.001-07:00

A trip to Rabbit Island in the Tasman District on Saturday. We spent hours there, playing in the sand, following tracks through the bush, finding mushrooms, climbing trees. We had a yummy picmic lunch: Homemade sourdough seed bread, beetroot lacticfermented, homemade feta cheese, pickled chilli carrots, fermented cider, kiwifruit and apples. Yum!

We took our foraging bags and sketch books and Maaike here was drawing the sand and sea and a lone seagull with great effort.

Along with our efforts to eat no processed foods we thought we'd try a recipe for soba noodles I found in a book called The HArvest Wholefoods Collection. Here is the recipe: 1 cup Buckwheat flour
1 tbspn Oil
1/3 cup water
Salt to taste.

Mix all ingredients and knead for five minutes unitl smooth. Roll out and slice into fine noodles. Refrigerate for a few hours. Cook in boiling water with oil added to prevent sticking for about 3 minutes.
We served ours with an asian inspired dressing and sesame seeds.

A head band made to tame wild tresses featuring some of the dutch ribbon I bought from Holland Fabric house on Etsy.Hope you all had a good weekend

Family times

2009-05-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

A quick outing to the local river bank for a bit of blowing out of cobwebs!

We were also inspired to have a family drawing time (after a week of sickness and snot and indoorsness, we were all well again to do something new) after reading this recent post by soulemama. Equipped with a still life (or just some objects )for inspiration and paper, charcoal, crayons etc we all had a go. It amazed me what my reactions were! I initially though my attempts were good, having always thought of myself as arty, then looked at struan's, which blew me away. my initial reaction was to call him a showoff (how very tall poppy of me!), then think of mine as crap. Every comment he made of mine made me feel as if he were trying to make me feel better thereby being condescending, however, and of course it was not intended that way. To think drawing can evoke such feelings of competition and inadequacy in me! I must practise more to draw and be accepting of the process and really think about how what I say can affect others by putting a competitive spin on something that is not intended that way. More Family Draws to come for sure. And more reflections on schools, competition, language of commentary or praise too.

A Foraging/ finding bag, quickly whipped up to save mam being the carrying bag for treasures found at the beach. They are cut down out of a pair of my old jeans and are adorned by some stitching the girls have done themselves(the one pictured is anoushka's handwork. They are big enough for a sketching pad or notebook and a pencil and enough treasures but not too many to carry. They were inspired by this blog post by tiny happy (but not nearly as nice. More utilitarian perhaps?)

A Lesson in Geometry(A Learning Story)

2009-05-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

We've all been home this week with sick children. No Kindy, no friends, no pressure(no sleep, but that's another story). Last night Anoushka, while drawing said,"I'm drawing lots of shapes". A circle, a triangle,a square. I saw a "teaching moment", and said "what other shapes do you know and can you draw? " "A heart and a diamond and stars. Mama how do you draw stars?" So I tried and explained my method of drawing stars (two triangles) but that didn't click for her so I suggested she ask her father as he has different (better) ways of explaining things, and sure enough after only two demonstrations she was away and drew about twenty more stars. "I can do it, mama! I can even do it with my eyes closed!" "You are so proud of yourself, anoushka"we said.

Interesting that when something is self initiated and really learnt that there is that element of self imposed practise until there is mastery of the achievement objective (to use some jargon!) We see it all the time in wee Tobin's quest to conquer new heights (literally).

May Days and Mother's day

2009-05-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

Its been a while, so here are some highlights of the month so far! Some bread bags, inspired by thispost by Amanda, and made out of a vintage tea towel and vintage tablecloth which was getting a bit holey. I'm looking for a bread bin now, to give our bread some space of its own, on the bench. I make sourdough bread twice a week, which is fermented for at least 48 hours and has yummy things like pumpkin seeds, cumin and fennel seeds and sunflower seeds, added. As Anoushka says: I love your bread mama!
A skirt by Delume, the designer who has a little, very cool shop in Nelson who kindly stocks my stuff. I love that it reminds me of a fifties housewife/tea towel design! It is made with a wool fabric and she screen printed the design onto the skirt directly.

A tee shirt design by Struan's brother: stylised pics of five grandchildren/nieces and nephews(my three are on the left)printed on a tee . Thank you uncle Alasta!

And finally some bits: New fabric and gorgeous ribbons from Holland Fabric House found on Etsy, some groovey retro fabric from a friend's very talented garage sale mum! And my mother's day gift: a small cheese mold for making feta and Haloumi cheese; my latest kitchen adventure. (note to self: three children underfoot, papa home late, no bench space and preparing food on stove top= small kitchen fire!!!!!)
I have been really enjoying reading and cooking from my new cookbook, Nourishing Traditions and will blog more about this in future posts. If anyone else is into this and other alternatives like unschooling, we would love to hear your comments!
I read yesterday in one of our books how real learning starts with a question. I know how that works as a fundamental principle in Early childhood education here in NZ, but the more we talk about this together, the more we know it is not easily possible in a class room situation for each child, nor are real questions really encouraged....If a child is curious enough about something to ask and then you can learn together, then it will be LEARNT and remembered...

holidays

2009-04-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

A moment alone...

Holidays,
go by fast,
a blur of learning to bike ride,
short visits with family,
a first birthday even.

Enjoying the autumn weather,
sunny days,
the last warmth before the real frosts start.

So much to do,
but so easy to be distracted,
children drawing, playing,
teething(!)

Learning to cook all over again,
Nourishing Traditions, Making my head spin.
No time for sewing,
but lots of time for planning,
where to begin?

A few treasures, pictures , found on the beach by airport after dropping off oma and opa. Did you know you could walk all the way around the perimeter of the airport and theres a beach and no-one else, right there in the middle of the flight path?

Shop update

2009-04-13T13:46:00.001-07:00

As promised, some images of items for my shop update, completed this morning (it pays to read the help pages!) Also delivering some stock to Delume in Nelson this morning.

I am so excited, we are also going to print in hard copy some lovely photos of Tobin for his inaugural birthday album update! His birhday is tomorrow! My last baby is one already..... An era is slowly (but too fast for me) coming to an end.

Easter Fair

2009-04-13T00:03:00.000-07:00

The day dawned bright and sunny with just a hint of a chill in the air. We were organised and left home without any last minute stress! I had to climb through the drivers side to get into the passenger seat but no matter, it was going to be a great day! And so it was! I caught up with lotsof people I hadn't seen for ages, and got to see some of my new womens clothes tried on for fit (I was very happy with how they looked!). I was particularaly pleased to see and hang out with my frined Gill and VERy happy with the swap we made. My eldest daughter Anoushka saw it this morning and exclaimed "Mama, look at this dolly, she's so cool I'm going to put her on the nature table!" Hehe, obviously our most treasured treasures belong there... (I know, i have linked to Gillybean lots this week, but she's my friend and I think shes cool! :)

We have spent the last few hours trying to get decent photos onto my felt site, without much luck, but will feature my latest shop updates tomorrow (After the kids have gone to bed etc...) Hope you visit then... (p.s. anyone who knows what they are doing with that kind of thing, give us some clues!!!!Any help will be much appreciated!)

Autumn foraging

2009-04-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

I've spent a lovely few days enjoying the autumn sun. On Friday I spent a day in Dovedale with a good friend and our motley children, foraging the old spots I used visit on my daily walk around when we lived there. We didn't manage to get around to the blackberries, plums or apples but we did gather enormous amounts of newly fallen hazelnuts and chestnuts. Chestnuts are always an adventure to gather, as I remember well from my childhood. Yes even in suburban Auckland there is scavenging to be found,, or at least there was in those days. The spikes on the chestnuts certainly took their toll on poor Tobin's fingers on friday!. They are near to the most beautiful, serene spot, by Dovedale church, where the children and I used to spend a bit of time playing amongst the fairy toadstool rings and sheep brought in to keep the grass down. It was a stunning day, and I always come away from a visit there and especially a visit with my friend feeling full of love, not as strange as I sometimes feel about myself, and with lovely ,sleepy, children!!!

So far today has been lovely too. Anoushka rode down to the local sunday market on a bike, all by herself. The vege stall was selling cooking tomatoes for a dollar a bag, so tomato soup for lunch, the best recipe in the world from my friend Gill. I found a recipe for chocolate chestnut cake from rivercottage and made it, and there are still more chestnuts left. When I was young we roasted them on the old pot belly and hoped they wouldn't explode all over the place. Autumn days are good!

Some stuff

2009-03-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged for a while, have been suffering the change of season sniffles, and keep forgetting how to upload photos! My husband is home today so I have some help!!!! So here are a few images of what we've been up to. I am in preparation for the biggest craft fair we have in the area at Easter (Come and check us out if you are in the area, Gillybean and I will be hanging out!)

So this is what happens when you choose two minutes of peace and quiet because you just have to finish cutting out one last softie!

A few bunnies for Easter, each one different, a variation of my first ever own softie pattern.

Some beautiful seed pods found on one of our Friday ambles, We also found a walnut tree in a local park with some very new walnuts starting to fall.

We've had working bees for firewood and painting and i've done a big change around in the sewing and toy room (theres nothing like a big sort out to get re inspired!). Yesterday we popped into Nelson for a trip to spotlight for notions etc, a play at Tahunanui and a fix for both of us. Struan found some great new music and i got a stash of inspiration from the newest edition of world sweet world, Frankie, and a UK sewing mag called Sew Hip. Check them out! Struan and I are inspired to join in with the badge swap for world sweet world, an idea inspired by girl guide badges, you can sew some badges, send them in and get some sent to you when you complete an environmental action. Click on the link to find out more!
I better go off and do some sewing. might share more photos later!

herfst stukjie (autumn display)

2009-03-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

When I was young I used to reallly look forward to our autumn walks, especially through a particular reserve where sweet chestnuts grew. We used to collect stuff and arrange them in an icecream container or similar and have them on the table as inspiration and beauty. Ican remeber we even planted real toadstools in there. The very red and white fairy- type poisonous ones! The other day the children and I decided that the weather had turned enough, there is a definate chill in the air, and the rains have come: the nature table needed changing. This is our version of an autumn display_ no toadstools were harmed in the making of this one!

I also love to knit, and with the colder weather comes the need for winter woolies! On my needles at present are some socks for middle Maaike, her favourite colours(this week). Socks are my newest challenge. No longer content to mind numbingly knit and purl for weeks! Though there will be time for that too.

And the eldest goes to a dressup party this weekend. On the invitation was a request for handmade toys only- good on them! So a couple of moopy bunnys from here

Family Friday

2009-03-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

By Friday Anoushka is generally tired from a week at kindy and I am tired of pick ups and drop offs, so I've made a general decision to keep friday asa home or walk/picnic day. So yesterday we went off for a wee walk around the inlet and cemetary then a swing by the beach and around back to the car. Anoushka walked particularly well, Maaike coped okay ( i only had a single pushchair) and even Tobin had a little wander. I had just found the website wildpicnic so had my eyes peeled to see what we could see. We found some purslane

And some of this? Any ideas? I'm pretty sure its edible, just don't know name, maybe Orach?

We had a nice time!

And there were some puddles left over from the recent rain!

Seasons change

2009-03-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

Well, all I can say is, the holidays are over and life has gotten busy again! I'm trying very hard to be more in the moment, with the children, which means there is craft happening in the house but its theirs, not mine! There is a lot of swallowing impatience walking to kindy ( what does it matter if we are late, its only kindy, she's only four!)- if they want to walk holding hands all the way, let them (soo cute!) There are also more home days, when we are tired or its a perfect day for a picnic, or just because. So far so good (And there is always knitting, I can knit while Anoushka holds the books for me to read).

A rare moment today: Sometime with middle child while her big sister was at kindy and baby Tobin was alseep in the pushchair: We had a picnic morning tea and gathered rocks and pine cones and found a perfect birdsnest for the nature table.

I'm very excited about my children's creative instincts: Anoushka made her pony a dress with fabric offcuts and sellotape. thats how I started....

summer days

2009-02-09T14:55:00.003-08:00

A new sewing pattern mag-in english, what a treat! Very inspiring and easy!

my tomato jungle is producing: this was my harvest after two days camping! Today I have the dehydrator going to make semi dried tomatoes in oil. anyone have any recipes?

camping in Ruby Bay, only ten minutes away. While there we heard tales of shark attacks (stingray), and our baby, 9 months took his first hundred or so steps in groups of about five at a time... girls handled bushwalk very well, and we had an amazing time looking and discovering in the rock pools at low tide.

things I'm learning

2009-02-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

A long weekend in the garden and other gardens, drinking coffee, sewing etc. Lovely! Things going well in the garden at the moment: Strawberries still producing; looks like birds have finally cottoned on! Scarlet and blue runner beans having another burst. Tomatoes ripening, more every day, but must remember to space them better next time. Same for corn, although we have had four feeds of corn so far. Even baby loves them! Brocoli starting to form heads. thornless blackberries ripening. Yellow zucchini marrows popping up when I'm not watching and picking.
Flop crops: Cucumbers- need more space and lots of sun. don't plant too early, then don't really get going at all. same with borlotti beans and cannelini beans.
Must sow some winter plants and keep on top of salad greens. have none at moment and buying lettuce!
Garden has really appreciated comfrey liquid feeds.

in other news: love sewing things for family; pyjama pants, blouses, pants for new kindy year etc. Back to tiki tees next week!

Favourite spots

2009-01-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

A few of my favourite spots today....

Blowsy Sunflowers

A rogue runaway self-seeded pumpkin climbing the already overgrown fence.

Roses blooming again after a liquid feed with comfrey, against a wall, where i'm dreaming about a whole new garden. Flowers maybe (although I'm sure that I will cram in some sort of food producing plant or ten, because I'm always running out of room!)

A Tiki close up. They are all different!

Whanau group of tikis before they are sent in various directions.

My shelf with some special things. I had to reorganise the sewing cum playroom before I could settle down to serious sewing. I wish I had more shelves but one was hard enough for struan to hang, not because of his DIY skills but the hardboard the wall is made with.

Some calendula oil. My good friend Gillybean had a tutorial a few years ago, on how to make ointments from herbs and flowers, and after reading about how to calm and soothe sandfly bites I decided I should really make some calendula ointment from the abundant flowers in my garden. Gilly's method involved putting the oils in a dark place for 4 to 6 weeks, but mine seem to work better on a sunny shelf. I've read that the oil harnesses some of the sun's energy that way?

Lord of the flies.

2009-01-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

I hate flies! Summer arrives and is all 'I am really hot and what are you going to do about it?' Which is cool, but the flies.
My hatred for flies has lifted slightly due to recent events.
Popcorn was made for afternoon tea the other day, and I had to show the kids my tricks. One such trick involves the said popcorn tumbling through the air, and landing gracefully in said mouth.
Kids were IMPRESSED! So being the show pony, I kept going until realising that a smart little fly was chasing my delicious morsel, everytime I chucked it up. Now my trick had increased in its coolness tenfold!
Ideas of setting up a fly circus and travelling the world soon went up in a puff of smoke when the fly was hit tragically by a falling piece of popcorn.
Oh, what could have been.
Struan aka Lord of the Flies