For the Birds

Birds do quite well at our house. We have hens, and even though we have one of those feeders that opens when they stand on it, and closes otherwise, the birds still get quite a bit of food.

Some of them seem to be nesting already,  so we thought we'd make their lives even more luxurious by providing some bits of wool to line their nests.

Here is some of the felting wool after being raided!

I liked these flowers next to the chillies when I went out...

Then we found an old dead stick from one of the trees round the back, stuck it in the ground, and tied bits of wool to it.

All the children had a go! I was so pleased that they liked the idea. Maybe we'll find some nests at the end of the season with multicoloured wool in them!

The Fluff Tree.

So then I thought we'd better hang the gourds up quickly, I did this one earlier, and put the other in the trees at the back.

Hope we get some nests!

Where is she?

This is a picture of me eight years ago with our first born, who would have been about 9 months old here, and I'd have turned 25.

We're just hanging out at the top of some cliffs in Cornwall, where we used to live for his first year.

It would have been September, probably after Edward finished work in the evening, before someone small would have got a bit tired and grumpy.

There are lots of pictures of us all looking so happy, and carefree, so in the moment of happiness, an innocence almost...

I look at this picture, and so many like it, and think what happened?

Where is that girl now?

Two more babies, a move to this fairly disappointing country, losing all my friends in the move, and a culture I was happy in. Losing a place to live in of such beauty and opportunity for a young family. The sea, the countryside that you could just walk through, the conveniences so freely available in the UK. My parents disowning me for mainly marrying Ed, realising I had the most awful nightmare of a mother in law, who is as mean as can be and also throws things at me (mainly food). Trying to make new friends, but finding myself hurt in the process.

All these things have added up to push the carefree girl above right down inside me.

Also I'm probably about a stone heavier (at least)!

I want that me back. I really do.

What can I do to see her again?

Lose the extra weight would be the easiest part. I can't change where we are. Its not that bad, but just not right for me. But its the only place the children have ever known...The broken sleep will change with time I know as the children get older. I don't have to try to make friends with anyone I meet, and I'm probably a lot happier since I found myself to busy to bother with others who just don't matter.

Perhaps its the responsibility of small children that prevents you from completely letting go whenever you feel like it.

What has anyone else found?

Maybe I'll start at home, just being me, and not Mrs Responsible Parent all the time. Dancing maybe... Being silly in front of the children...

I don't know...

Has anyone else been here? I'd love to hear.

On Tuesday..

We made smoothie with frozen strawberries..

The juice of half a lemon..

Some milk and some sugar..

It was so delicious, and reminded us all of berry picking back in the hot summer.

We made paper aeroplanes and flew them all over the garden...

We hung one of the gourd birdhouses I made last year in the crazy passionfruit.

There are always nests in there, and hopefully this year a family will use our gourd!

I painted a welcome note on it, and a field of sunflowers. One of the sunflower centres is cut out to let the birds in...

Had to have pancakes using a blue egg from our araucana pullet.

And had a pot of mint tea on the go made from sprigs of fresh mint and boiling water...mmmm...

It was a lovely relaxing day!

A Year of Choice

Last week I found a really really lovely blog by Erin, and all her posts are so beautiful ( she's a professional photographer) and also really sunny and positive. It turns out that this is her choice, and what a  great choice to make!

Recently I've been trying to only see the positive in situations, and I feel so much better - things don't worry me so much, and I truly appreciate the positives more. That's why I like gratitude Sunday so much with Taryn!

So anyway, I've put her button on the side there for others to be inspired by as I am, and also to remind me too!

Thanks Erin, love it!

Gratitude Sunday

Today I'm joining in with Taryn and friends for a list of things I'm grateful for over the past week....

* Chilly weather.

 The weather has finally turned a bit colder here, and the air is crisp, the days are sunny, and I'm really loving the way the children are finding it too cold to wear just T shirts (!) and are really grateful for a handknit jumper!!

* Skittles night.

Every weekend we try to have a skittles night in our lounge. I bought some wooden skittles about two or three years ago from the fair trade shop, and they are just lovely to use. We keep a score in a book, and I enjoy looking back over these games, and remembering the laughter that goes with skittles.

Real bowling is too costly here, and they time the games, so we found it really hard for all of us to actually finish our game when we went once. Home skittles is much better!

* Fair trade shop

That reminds me how much I love the fair trade shop. They have such lovely toys for children, and home ware too. If ever I need to get a birthday present for a child I'll always call in there for a good wooden toy.

* Good food

Last night I made corned beef, which I've never done before. We had it for dinner, and it was different to what I'd expected, but this morning I made sandwiches with it for Ed to take to work, and it is just lovely! I'm so glad I tried something new. It would be perfect to make one at the weekend for the week's lunches!

* De-cluttering.

This weekend all I seem to have done was de-clutter! But I'm so glad I put the time in. Its amazing how much stuff just collects - too small clothes, inappropriate toys, papers etc. As I'm in the groove at the moment I might just carry on today too!

There are many more little pieces of my week that I've forgotten, but that have been enjoyed too. Like as I write this I can hear the birds twittering outside, and it is just nice.

Enjoy you week friends!

View from a room

I thought I'd take a picture from our children's bedroom today. I like the view, and the small bit of garden it overlooks is just us - lots going on, but peaceful too.
Charlotte our rabbit lives in the hutch, and she likes to come out for a run around most days, except when its pouring with rain.

And here is what their room looks like when tidy. All three share a room, and I try to keep toys out of the bedroom apart from beloved friends.
Also we just have one wardrobe in the room, I'd love some drawers some day too.

Also, really boringly, I took a picture of our airing cupboard as I've just tidied it, and am so pleased with the result!
I am getting to the stage where we can take old clothes to charity shops rather than having to keep them forever, somewhere, as we have hopefully completed our family.
I hate mess, and feel so much better when things are tidy, but it doesn't seem to happen much these days!

Edward's sweater update

Just an update on Edward's rather large sweater to keep me motivated.

This is pretty much as long as it is going to be, and I'm now doing the band along the bottom.

I tried the technique of dropping the stitch number by 10%, so now each round is 196 stitches. I'm also using a 3.75mm needle now, instead of the 5mm.

The reason I've done these two things is because my ribbing never seems to come out as tight as I'd hoped, so this way it should be snug round the bottom.

The problem is that I meant to do knit one purl one ribbing, but now after three rounds, I've realised that I'm doing knit two purl two! I'm not going to change it now. Hopefully it will still be ok. How did I not realise what I was doing? Silly.

I've also run out of wool, the jumper weighs over a kilo now, and I've still got to do the sleeves and collar.

So I've bought some more roving from the spinning group, and it is just lovely!

I bought 400g to start with.

I will finish this soon! 

Gratitude Sunday

Along with Taryn, and friends here is my list.......

* Laughter - from my children, so pure and clear with happiness. My own when something tickles me. Others' always brings a smile to my face.

* Strength to not get upset when others are mean. Hard to do, but unavoidable situations abound. I hate any form of conflict and try really hard to just be positive in my responses. It really helps too! 

* Thunder storms. We had a small storm last week and it was wonderful to sit at night, all together, looking out of the windows for the lightning.

* Spectacles. Golly these are wonderful things! My youngest was recently given glasses, he's four, and he is so happy he has them, and so are we, he can see everything now, and he is so much happier for it! Hurray for good vision!

* Comfy shoes. When I was younger I used to have fashion shoes, and they just weren't comfy. Now I have only one pair of really comfy shoes, and I almost sigh with relief when I wear them. One pair is all you need when your feet are happy!

* Germinating seeds. Love the wonderful transformation of seeds to seedlings. Although I can't grow much this time of year, I've done a small pot of basil for inside, and they're growing! Good stuff!

* Internet friends. Weird as most of us will never meet, but just lovely to know people out there. Just lovely.

So many more wonderful moments, and realisations of how good it is sometimes. Hugs, kisses, kind words, and the comfort of knitting are all just brilliant.

More music

Its just not going to work! I think our internet is too slow for any videos to upload.

Spinning Group

Today I made the effort to go to the spinning group. They hold meetings in the morning one week, and the evening the next week, and usually I can't get to the morning group.
But today I decided I was absolutely going to go, and I'm so glad I did!

Most members are more senior in their years than me, and it is such a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere.
Certainly as I age I don't seem to care so much about trivial things in life, and I see the same thing, but moreso with the women at the spinning group. They are older and they seem more self assured, wearing what they want, relaxing with their craft, and not being afraid, or embarrassed to ask questions etc as they need.
I find this experience to be so refreshing.

I don't know about you, but I find the company of other mothers can be quite stressful at times.
Do you ever hear judgmental comments about you or your young family? Or find yourself being preached at?
I just don't understand the reasoning behind it all. So do my best to avoid such situations. I just don't care for it all.
That is why the spinning group is so lovely. It is a place where everyone can just be comfortable.

I'm the least experienced member, and most of what I make is quite rustic looking, but no one ever makes snide remarks. They are interested in what I'm doing, that's all.

So today I spun some more white merino for Edward's jumper, listened to a talk about how a woman got started in the lavender business, and bought some caramel coloured Romney...

It has a lovely crimp, and as it is freshly shawn, the lanolin is so soft and slippy.
It smells like sheep quite a bit, and there may be a hint of wee (!) so I'm going to wash it, but with just a bit of soap, as I'd like some of that lanolin to stay behind.


Also here is some of the merino I bought ages ago. I can't get the lanolin off this lot! Its so thick!
I think it will make some good walking socks, and I can have my feet conditioned as I go!

Actually I have to get back to Edward's jumper. I really want to finish it.

Hope everyone is enjoying their wool these days!

Gratitude Sunday

I'm joining Taryn for a gratitude list.

I love this idea, it really makes you think, and then reflect on how much joy we all have.

Its good to be positive in this life, and I'm going to try to make a list everyday in a little book because it brings me so much happiness!

*Morning Yoga.

I always used to do yoga in the mornings, and for some reason I must have felt it was a waste of time somewhere along the line, and stopped doing it.

I have recently started again, and goodness my body is stiff! Anyway, I'm going to start again in the mornings or whenever, and try to get my boys to join in. My super little girl already loves her yoga. She's super bendy too.

*Inner strength. 

The strength to do things slightly differently, and the strength to know that I don't have to tell people what I do and when if I don't feel like it, or if I get the feeling their motives are not that great behind why they may be asking.

It has taken me a long time to realise this! 

Sometimes its good to keep quiet!!

*Good food.

I love the way I can spend time making good nutritious food for my family. It  doesn't take long, just got to do it.

*Friends.

We had a visit last night from a really lovely guy, who took the time to come and see us, and spent the evening away from his young family. A very happy evening indeed.

*I'm also grateful for the wonderful blogs I have found on here! Really lovely, inspiring people sharing their time with others. Thank you all!

Around our Garden

I'm joining in again with Sara for a walk about our garden....

Here are some oats I put in as a cover crop, they're quite vigorous! 

Help with rearranging the wind chime!

The lupins growing slowly..

I really liked the way the dew drops looked on the grass this morning...

A dandelion clock that I really must catch before we're over run with loads of them...

Back in for a quick breakfast of homemade rolls and homemade lemon curd - just lovely!!

I keep trying to convince myself that lemon curd is a balanced meal, but I think the huge amount of fat and sugar just spoil it a bit. But the lemons and eggs are good!

The neighbours!