Tinkering...

OK I confess, I have an inability to concentrate at the moment, tick tick tick...I find I am just watching time passing me by a second at a time.  Some days I awake and I am in 'full on' action mode, the washing gets done, the house gets cleaned and I even manage some time sewing.  Then there are those other days I struggle to get out of bed in the morning and the day just sort of gets lost... I have noticed I am am having more of the latter than I find acceptable,  despite the present situation I find my little family in.  So I am trying to take action.  Whats a crafty girl going to do when the going gets tough??? Well get crafting of course... now inspired by some yarn and a knitting book I bought a while ago I finally got round to some chicken knitting.  I had planned to knit these a while ago and when I saw .....Periwinkle Park.....  (8th May 09) results I was inspired to pick up the pins.  Something that needed shaping, a little concentration even but, quick results...
So I sat there on Saturday night in front of the fire with a quilt over my knee and watching a tear jerker of a film with a good glass of wine for company I got clacking (or should that be clucking) away.
Ahhhhhhhh I am now on to the crochet bits, as I do not crochet very well this could be challenging...

I have been really good this year on my book buying and only actually bought a couple of books.  Recently though I have had a desire to hold some new inspirational books in my hands.  So I took a peek through blogland and noted down the books recommended and made some purchases.  As the books arrived the guilt of buying myself something kicked in.  It disturbed me a little, I looked back on last years 'May'  postings and I discovered I had bought a pile of books at just the same time.  SO I am guessing its a season thing with me, after the bleakness of winter passing and the promise of sunny days, the in between stage of rainy days and gloriously sunny days, it aspires me to get lost in the beautiful pages and the wonderful photographs of these books...
I am slowly working my way through them, devouring each book with passion, my head is spinning with ideas and my design pad is getting scribbled in daily.  My guilt in these purchases is still there, but I justify them against the price of a meal out or of a few drinks in a county pub on a Sunday afternoon, things I just do not do anymore, and I feel that taking that into account, these books are good value, and what is more they will last me for years to come.  I am especially enjoying the Homemade book, to be fair its nothing none of us will find new, but the photography is superb and I adore the feel of the matt pages, not shiny and glossy but a lovely smooth papery texture...just beautiful.  Should you buy a book for beauty alone...I should think so!!!
Its also that time of year when the food I feed my family changes.  The heavy warming stews cooked in the slow cooker and the thick creamy soups of winter are now not being made.  I sift through my cookery book shelf looking for brighter, lighter summery dishes.  So once again fresh inspiration is required... with books like these, Voluptuous delights, Family cooking and the wonderful Bill Granger's Feed me... well there will be some goodness  being put out on the dinner table this summer that's for sure.  My favourite cooks are the fabulous Jamie Oliver who's energy and zest for living really speaks to me.  The other favourite is Bill Granger, his books are always so beautifully photographed and the lifestyle he puts over is incredibly appealing to me (OK I give in I also find him very attractive)... 
The opening words from his cookery book...I really don't think we can underestimate the importance of good food in our lives.  Providing nutritious and delicious meals for loved ones-and taking time to eat together-is one of life's prime sources of satisfaction.  It is also fundamental to good health and happiness.  But, in today's world, where the pace of life seems to be ever increasing, and we are all juggling competing priorities, time for preparing and sharing meals can easily be compromised.  But it needn't be... and should not be.

Well I could not have said it better myself if I tried...The book is filled with family orientated food, with excellent (and available) ingredients, all laid out in easy to follow  chapters with stunning pictures.  Yes maybe its a lifestyle kinda thing but his books are the most inspiring for me and if you get a chance to watch his cookery programmes, pull on your shades, imagine the sand between your toes and the salty sea spray as you enjoy outdoor eating!

Music I am listening to... Nelly Furtado In Gods Hands

A beautiful person with a stunning voice, a song that rips through my heart about love lost, trust and sadness. 

To make a rustic heart....

To make a heart...you will need one thrifted felted sweater...one beautiful spring afternoon... Keep the children busy...

Cut up your sweater and start stitching freestyle! Watch out for the spring breeze, a couple of pebbles collected from rivers and beaches last year help to stop it all blowing away, especially the heart pattern designed by small people...
Relax and sip a refreshing drink in the spring sunlight whilst you stitch....
As the evening air brings a chill, bring in the little rascals and wash their muddy paws clean!
Settle down for a relaxed family supper with homemade pie...
After story time and the little ones are asleep, sew up the heart, add a label and string loop...stuff!!! One little rustic heart, a little nobbly and bobbly but with so much character holding in it the memories of the first warm day of the year...

-

I am busy preparing for tomorrow, one of my babes is going into hospital for an operation, we will be staying in overnight and he will need some time off school, so I am not sure when I will be able to pop in to say hello, but it will be soon...Until then...take care

The day has come...

The day has come when my youngest started school, his first full day...I really do not want to talk about it as at the moment, it all feels VERY strange, after a sleepless night which involved a long cuddle with him at 4.ooam and tears whilst I made up his lunch box, would he be able to open it?could he get the top of his pudding? etc...well, as you can imagine I am a bit of a mess. SO on to things more joyful, on Friday morning I awoke to sounds by my bedroom door...'Oh the children are up'...I opened the door to hear giggles and this left for me to discover...One of my many knitting books, with various bits of pink paper and the adorable writing by my older child. Asking me to look in the book on the pages marked with more pink paper, and a note to ask for me to knit something in particular...a woolly sheep!!!
So whats a Mommy supposed to do...drop all her currant projects and get knitting sheep that's what! I had the wool in my stash, it was intended for a cow, but a sheep is good! Now the thrill for me is my older one despite loving his Rummage Mouse and Smiling Croc I have knitted him, he is not a fan of my knitting. He groans when I go into a knitting shop, fabric he's pretty cool about...wool however, is not his cup of tea. So with the slightest bit of interest and I am going to make the most of it...
Well the weekend was not as productive as I had hoped it was going to be, the sheep did have something to do with this. We got up on Saturday and spent the morning in our PJ's. As usual some baking with the kids, more cookies and pancakes. Then I went into overdrive to prepare for the nights dinner. We had some friends coming over, the usual dilemma of what to cook...well with the latest cookery programmes on telly here in the UK I was some what influence by what I cooked.
Menu...
Poppadoms with various dips and relish including a mixed dressed tomato salad from Jamie Oliver's latest series using some of my own home grown tomatoes.
Chicken 'Fruity' Curry served with brown lime rice, roasted peppers and olives. (Forgot to put the extra limes on the table)
Pudding a selection of chocolate delights...Chocolate strawberries (well what was left of them after my oldest and I had made and sampled them) A RICH chocolate mousse from the Nigella Express series and a selection of chocolates with coffee. All quick and easy, I made the curry while we had our aperitifs at the start of the evening. I so adored the mousse...yum, Now in the Nigella Lawson series she claims to make the mousse along with a three course meal with in 30mins including time for her to get ready...I would really like to know how she does this. It was quick I grant you, but the pudding alone took me nearly twenty minutes and a good two hours for the mousse to set. SO be warned if you wish to make this, give yourself some time, its worth it, but maybe smaller portions because it really is sweet 'n' rich!!! I would post the recipe but do not know about copyright for this, I know I see lots of recipes in blogland, indeed I have cooked some of them, so I guess it must be OK.
Anyway the food seemed to go down well, but my hint as a host...always provide lots to drink that way everyone is too 'tiddled' to care what they are eating!!!