celebrations

 Recently there has been the busy mix of my youngest turning 4, (4! How did that happen?) Father's Day and lots of busy family stuff in between. Both of these special days were celebrated with a trip to Swanage on the steam train, armed with buckets and spades and high hopes for the sun to stay out.
The sun did did us proud, going by train made it even more special and now we're finding piles of sand everywhere - we seem to have brought an awful lot of Swanage home this trip!

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Jago's beautiful Mini picture sewn by a very clever friend of mine - thank you Leah!!!

at the Bath and West...

I love an agricultural fair.... We managed to catch the rare breeds sheep, mountain and moorland pony class, whilst managing to play at the funfair, drink cider and watch the Morris Men (morris men are obligatory at such rural occasions) and see the mechanical bull charge at bales of hay. 

All in all a perfect day!

in my garden... May

Last year I got a bit despondent with gardening. It was so cold and wet, the only creatures that seemed happy were the evil slugs which munched everything.

This week we got our first Rocket Gardens delivery (we got it as a family Christmas present.) Part of me feels a bit guilty that we're not growing our own from seed but in reality I don't have the space to raise such a variety of plants. When the box arrived - plug plants carefully wrapped in straw - it was like Christmas all over again. The children and I have spent most of half term in the garden planting out, dreaming and sowing a few plants we didn't get (butternut squash and globe artichokes.) We're dreaming of a proper summer - hot sun, breakfast outside, wandering round the garden to pick crops for our meals. If I think positively it'll happen, right?

Tomorrow we're off to the 150th Bath and West Show - an extravaganza of all things agricultural and rural from the West Country. We all have our favourite areas - Jago can't wait to see more tractors, Jess wants to see the moorland and mountain ponies and lots of her friends, Mr Oak is holding out for the steam engines and I want to see the rare breed sheep... We're taking a picnic and a camera - be prepared to be bored to death by pictures of rural things next week...

Enjoy your weekend!

bank holidays

Sunny bank holidays are a rare thing indeed... this weekend has been full of family, friends, gardening, walks, imaginary farms*, spinning, crochet, bbqs, singing, dancing and above all, sunshine.

Life recently has been a bit hectic - nothing bad but much busier than normal. But I have now supplied the National Trust with some of my work and I have a few small shows coming up so I think things may settle down into manageable chaos.

* More of this later but Jago has an imaginary farm with pigs, sheep and chickens. He's often outside on his tractor talking to his pigs. (he likes their imaginary smiley faces.)

tis the season...

...to decorate cakes in a Christmassy fashion.

I had dreams of a stylish simple cake in pure white but after the children saw the reindeer cake I made for a friend....

... we are now all immortalised in snowman form - Jago's snowman has a car, Grandma's has some sewing, mine has knitting. Who knew we could all look so festive!

getting ready

Remember I said we were a house of poorly? Oh my, it seemed to go on for ever - tag team poorly...

Anyway I'm convinced we are coming out the other side with the help of lots of rest, sleep, manuka honey and ice cream....

The mince pies are made, ready in the freezer to be popped in the oven whenever the craving to eat huge amounts of mince pies occurs.

Glogg extract made from lots of our summer blackcurrants - trying a Scandinavian spin on mulled wine this year.

Printing cards with the children - more printing ink is on them than the cards but they're looking pretty... (stamps from the wonderful Yellow Owl Workshop)

Being homeward bound has meant plenty of time to make and create. We've been getting ready in a calm way. One week left of school and then family time - I can't wait!

How are you getting ready?

making happy

We are a house of poorly at the moment. Sad faced little people coughing, feeling miserable and wandering about, not feeling like doing much of anything. Can't go out because its still raining and lots of roads are impassable.

 So. Remembering that when I was a kid the best meals are the ones not at the table - picnics, eating on the stairs at family parties when the grown-ups grabbed all the chairs, sandwiches in tree houses - you know? (School packed lunches do not count, unless you're on a school trip.)  We made a den under the table with blanket walls and a oil cloth floor, cushions and lanterns. Funny how poorly little people have a bit more of an appetite when it's teamed with a little (non strenuous) adventure and a warm blanket.

Hopefully all the bugs are on the way out and the pale wan faces will be replaced by robust smiley ones soon.

Hope you are all well and dry wherever you are...

beginning with 'b'

We had a day beginning with 'b'. Jago often says that he needs something beginning with 'b' and ending with 'iscuit'. (Don't we all sometimes?)

Biscuits (well, cookies really)

Building 

Bubbles....

Happy Monday everyone....

things I have learned....

• a single wheeled vehicle is a unicorn.
• A warm salad of mushroom and roasted squash is a yummy autumn lunch  (thanks to Mr H F-W for the recipe)
• the woodburner is (almost) my best friend and the perfect place to hold a chicks with sticks knitting session.
• a watched kiln doesn't reach temperature.
• purple is my favourite colour.
• There are now more imaginary friends in the house than there are real people - who knew Mr Knickers and his cat, Mr Miaow had a window cleaning business?

the year is turning...

... so fast! Last night we had our first frost - I ran round the garden in the dark covering up the tomato plants (those last green tomatoes are going turn red!) There are baskets of apples everywhere waiting to be turned into something lovely. Mornings are bright and just a bit colder. The woodshed is full, the winter duvets are on the beds and the chimney is swept.

Inside the last of the (red) tomatoes have found their way into tomato and chilli relish, the windfall marmalade is made and the gorgeous Raspberry Fudge Brownie recipe from The Simple Things has been made with the blackberries from the wild patch behind my shed.

We're ready (I think) for dark nights, cooking on the fire and being inside...

adventures in bread ~ part one

For a while now I've made bread occasionally with the help of a bread maker but more recently I've been excited by the prospect of proper homemade bread.

We went to an End of Summer Bonfire (any excuse to eat el fresco!) taking homemade bread, chutneys and potatoes to bake in the fire.

I made a tomato and basil tear and share bread. It's like a savoury chelsea bun. Once you proved the dough roll it out fairly thinly into a rectangle on lightly floured board. Then cover with thick tomato sauce or tomato puree (nothing too wet or it makes it sloppy) Then sprinkle over cheese, tear some fresh basil and scatter it over the tomato base. I used a mixture of local mature cheddar and mozzarella (heresy I know to add the cheddar but oh so tasty!) Then de-seed some tomatoes and dice them into small cubes and scatter those over the top too.

Now roll up the dough length ways until you have a yummy sausage  of doughy loveliness then using a sharp knife cut into inch long (2.5cm) slices.

Place these slices cut side up into a well oiled roasting dish, given them a little room to expand. Scatter with more cheese. Cover the roasting dish with a clean tea towel and leave to prove until big and puffy. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 230C.

When the oven is ready put the bread in give it a bit of a spray of water to help it rise and get crusty.
Cook for 20 minutes until the bread is risen and hollow sounding when you tap it.

Leave to cool a bit on a wire rack until it is warm. Lovely with soup, salad or for munching on it's own...

the end of summer

Bye Bye Summer.

Hello meals around the bonfire in the dark. 

We listened to the owls, watched the toads by the pool, gazed at the stars and talked long into the night. It's sad summer is going but so exciting to be embracing a new season. Hello Autumn and all that you will bring us.

summers end

hello everyone...

As ever I spent as much of summer outside as possible and no time blogging - oops!

I can feel the season turn - more time for home I think....

now we are 3

Oh my, is it really 3 years since Jago came into our lives? In those three trips around the sun I have learned more about cars, trucks, tractors etc etc than I ever thought possible, I have learned how anything can be solved with a smile, how it is possible to sleep in your wellies because you love them that much and how he is convinced he is part lobster. Happy Birthday Jago!

home

Not that long ago I was 3500 miles away from here.  I'm settling back in to everyday home but with renewed energy and optimism. Lots of things that seemed distant now seem positive and close by. This week brings birthdays and cakes, kiln firings and making, knitting and breathing. I'm trying to bring a little bit of stillness to each day before my world erupts into the whirlwind it normally is.

Now, when things are getting a bit too loud, a bit too boisterous (or girlsterous depending on the source of the riot) I find myself thinking of that beach in Cape Breton where the waves lap gently on the shore, where the sun sinks behind the forest, where the birds flock before sundown, where I'd love to go again.

jubilee, part two

The best street party ever! Great company, great food, great music. I love where I live. The guest of honour? A 60 year old tractor and trailer. How Somerset can you get?

The last image is of the Queen, immortalised in straw bales, as seen from the A303 in Somerset. And yes, in case you were wondering, her arm does wave in a regal fashion.

time for lunch

It's snack plate season once more. Jago is doing that (almost) 3 year old thing  about being tricky at meal times. Trouble is there is so much to do other than eating, and what he wants to do is much more interesting. You know, tractors, fire engines, drawing, reading, mud pies, running around, Welly wanging, shouting 'run away' when anyone suggests coming to the table for a meal... 

So themed meals are the order of the day - the one above is a meal around the sun (though Jago said the sun needed ears so stuck his cucumber in his cream cheese) I make sure that everything is Jago sized, quick to eat and he helps too. So far we're winning but for how long.....?

favourite places...

 A long time ago I worked in Winchester - a beautiful city where I could quite happily live (there are not many cities on that list but Bath, Oslo and Vancouver are also contenders.)

 Whenever I get the chance to go back - which fortunately is often - I always try to go to the  cathedral.

 To marvel at the Sound II. The Crypt is flooded (no surprise at the moment) - it is overwhelming in its serenity.

 To say a silent hello to Jane - for all those novels that have made me smile.

To gaze at the modern sculptures that adorn the building.

Stupidly I left my proper camera at home. So I missed shots of Jago insisting on hugging every tree in the cathedral close - shame... but I will be back, for the Hat Fair