WEEN - "The Mollusk"

Posted just because we love it!

My bestest day - ever!

Things have been looking up, the sun is still shining and I have had a good strict talking to myself and realise I'm very lucky to have such a wonderful fellow, 3 lovely boys, a houseful of lovelies and some great friends plus I'm in good health so with that in mind Ive been feeling much better than my last post. I have been sewing lots and this is a sneak preview of my newest project, I have been machine embroidering and loving it, I'm making a sewn family portrait, it's fun to do. I also saw a Jan Constantine cushion in Easy Living and at the costly price of £65, I got myself some gingham and set to work on making one, I'm really pleased how it turned out, on the heart is embroidered flowers - I love my new sewing machine!

I'm about half way through my first ever patchwork quilt, I enjoy seeing it coming together but its oh so slow, I'm a quick fix kinda girl who like to make things the same day, but patience I'm told is a virtue!

Now not many of you know but my favorite animal is an elephant, I have loved them since I was a small girl and dreamt of being a clown in the circus - it's true, I'm still a clown but just at home, well as members of the zoo we got invited to an enrichment day with the elephants, it was so cool to learn loads about them, and make them their dinner, Chris made this funny face out of hay and mash and fruit and veg,

we then carried out things out to the elephant enclosure, it was surreal being in the same place where the elephants normally are.

we positioned the food near to the viewing platform so we could have a good view when the elephants got let out

the boys loved it and so did I,



Here's Indra the elephant enjoying our enrichment, we got to go inside and see some foot work too, the elephant was so clever following instructions, she used to belong to the circus but now has a lovely time roaming around. The zoo contributes thousands each year to an elephant project in Sri Lanka to help injured and orphaned elephants, we learnt that the bull elephants are blinded on purpose so they are reliant on the masters - how awful is that.

Her she is again, the keeper said she wants to be blond because each day she covers herself in straw!

Can't wait for the next one, hopefully its going to be about monkeys so Chris will be in his element

ups and downs...

I have been having a great couple of weeks cooking new dishes, each time masterchef is on the TV I get all experimental and borrow more than usual books from the library for inspiration, this yummy plum and polenta cake was delicious but the next day we had very sore tummy's, i think it was overload of plums that did it, I have themed our evening meals this week with a different country or type for the night and we have really enjoyed trying new things, even fussy eater Chris has tasted some new foods after much coxing and bribing!
I found this rather lovely swirly pattern in a watermelon and I have never seen anything like it before, have any of you?

We went here this week -Ingleton, the place we feel at home and the place we really want to live, a house came up and we went on 4 buses and travelled for 4 hours to go and view it, it was everything we dreamed of, we fell for it, all of us even the children, so when we got home we emailed the estate agent and put in an offer.... we waited until the next day for a reply and one came..... not the one we wanted, another application has gone through before ours, I'm gutted, we all are but a small glimmer of hope is still with me, I feel ( and I know this is terrible) that the other persons application/checks may fail and we will be offered it, maybe I'm in denial, maybe I'm just mean thinking that way but i cant help it.

we went to the waterfalls whilst there and had our picnic here.....

We were so happy with the thought of a new begging, a new lovely greener life...

this would of been the view from the bedroom windows :(

I'm trying to be positive and think everything happens for a reason, something even better will come up and all that jazz but it has made me feel pretty sad.

It would of been my dad's birthday today, he died from cancer 4 years ago, it still pains me, I still feel guilt that I didn't go and see him on the night he was dying, I cried this morning whilst making breakfast - no one saw, they thought I was cross because I was ranting about not getting much help, I sometimes feel like it's always me rushing around trying to make things perfect for everyone else, I guess I'm just having one of those days, tomorrow will be better x

making, reading and baking, just a normal rainy day

The clocks went forward, now time flies by and before I know it, it's 1.51am again, I'm still up on the computer or knitting or reading in bed, sometimes I'm playing trivial pursuit with my lovely fella and nodding off on his shoulder, the days blend into each other and I'm sure old man time has got his seconds and minutes mixed up.

Last night was horrid, my youngest got into our bed with tummy ache which turned into trips to the loo and being sick, he cried and cried, I couldn't help him, I just rubbed his head and snuggled up with him, eventually very early this morning we fell asleep, when he woke he was right as rain. I have spent today in a sleepy blur, feeling ratty and my head hurt. Now when all the children are fast asleep I'm wide awake and my mind is full of creative things and I'm sure I will dream tonight again and have a very naff sleep and tomorrow will be the same fast clock, hours lost blur.

On a more cheerful note my book arrived, its a fantastic, really lush book. It's by French General and it is ring binded so the pages don't close on you whilst your following a pattern, the texture of the cover relates as luxurious and like you know a treat is going to be inside... In the front cover there is this gorgeous envelope full of templates and patterns and alphabet transfers....
there are some basic patterns and some more trickier ones, I like the mix of it all, there are 30 designs for around the house including the much over used lavender heart! I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in sewing, shabby chic and romance because it is abundant with all three.

We have a problem, we have had it for too long, our beautiful cast iron bed is not very comfy when you sit up in it to read, your head ends up between the bars and your ears stick out the front, the other problem we have is the cushions on the bed, its a real ball ache finding somewhere to put them at night (that's not the floor) so I combined both problems and came up with a solution, introducing the "head bed cushion holding reading rest" - that's going to be copy righted hehe....

its actually much prettier in real life, I just used a vintage sheet, measured how long I wanted it across the bed, cut and edged the seams, added hearts filled with lavender to the front part, folded it in half and sewed it together to make a long bag shape, added four sets of satin ribbon to hang it with and then popped my cushions (the red bits sticking out) in it and now more sore heads! The extra cushion on the bed will end up on the floor probably because it won't fit!!.

My baking consisted of a lemon, poppy seed spelt loaf and a vegan carrot cake which was very yummy indeed. Off now to challenge my fellow to a quick game in bed -trivial pursuit ladies please!!

Blessed be, Spring and summer

And spring arose on the garden fair,

like the spirit of love felt everywhere

and each flower and herb on the earth's dark breast

rose from the dreams of its wintry rest

Percy Bysshe Shelley, The sensitive plant

sunday catch up again!

This week we went to see the long anticipated (by me) Nanny Mcphee (small c big P) film, I was so excited more than the children I think. I loved the first film so very much, the costumes, the comedy and especially that house -oh my god the hallway with that blue paint, how gorgeous. I was slightly apprehensive as well because I wasn't sure this one would live up to the first but it did, I won't go into any detail in case any of you want to see it and it spoils it but it I will say it is worth watching and the comedy, costumes and set are all great and I want the shop drawers and the china and the tea dresses!! You will know which if you see it! After much fun and being busy every night I found Adam like this on the sofa after tea,
I have been thinking about Easter and all that comes with it, the eggs, the hot cross buns etc and felt a bit put off because of us being dairy free and not knowing what to do really, but alas Salisbury's online have dairy free Easter eggs - a bit expensive though and a friend told me Holland and Barrett health food shops have them too so its not all bad. Then my mother gave me a pile of magazine's and I found a recipe for hot cross buns in, I have always thought they are something that would be fiddly or time consuming to make but with a bit of changing the ingredients to suit us and a brave heart I made some - oh my they are delicious, I took this pic quick before they all disappeared, I will post the recipe in another post.

Two surprises this week came from the garden, the first this massive double yolked egg that one of my lovely chickens laid, it measured 8cm! ooh poor thing pushing that out.

The second I found today was a huge clump of frog spawn in our pond, it made me smile a great big cheesy grin knowing that life and spring and all that, is starting again.

We went back to the zoo again, this time our eldest, James came with us, he's 15 and didn't really want to go out with us but he really enjoyed himself and he was running around with a joyous grin with the other two, quite forgetting that "someone might see him"!.

This is the best pic I could get of the lion, he kept parading up and down but I think there is a delay on the camera and each time I cut a bit of his head off the snap.

These fellows are so funny, Jackass penguins, this enclosure has been modernised and is really great to watch them when they swim, one kept following Chris' black and white stripy glove when he had it on the glass.

Lastly Bruce the very smelly, huge and noisy pig just because he made us all smile with his grumpy face and grunts.

sunday catch up

This week we have mostly been learning to play star wars on the keyboard... Making yummy carrot and coriander soup that we had with some home baked wholemeal bread...
been to the zoo again seeing all the animals we missed last time...

we went to the trough of bowland with our very good friends and had a fantastic day....

played at dunslop bridge in the river, we saw huge dead salmon apparently they swim up this river to lay eggs and then die, its like the ultimate sacrifice. We also saw loads of ducks and broken duck eggs, Chris was so happy that my friend found an in tact one and we brought it home and ever since he has been incubating it and turning it, he is so excited that we might have our own duckling....

Went to Chipping and saw the water wheel, ate our lunch and went off again, Chris managed to find some sycamore seeds that had started to grow so he planted them when we got home.

We also went ice skating with the home ed group, that was lots of fun, Adam was especially keen to go back as soon as we can. We went up to Lancaster too and went to a brand new home ed group, not sure if we will keep going though as it is early on in the day.

We also had some crappy news that we have been reported for having chickens and that we are encouraging mice into the neighbours house, we have had the chickens for almost a year and the mice have been coming on and off for the past 7 years - you do the math, I'm fuming about it all, we have been told not to compost anymore either as that attracts them and also that we have to pay for a van to collect our chicken manure, we are not meant to use is on our veg garden! I'm so sick of the rules, I'm desperate for us to move even more now as I feel we can't live how we want too in this urban environment.