Welcoming the Return of my Cooking Mojo!!!!

Well I am sitting in my darkened living room with the back door open and a cool breeze wafting in, swigging ahem, sipping wine, and celebrating the return of my cooking mojo! For many weeks now I have not enjoyed cooking and have relied too much upon convenience foods which are both expensive and boring! When I have attempted 'proper' cooking it has resulted in pulled faces and being pushed around before eventually being eaten due to it just not being that great! I haven't been able to organise a decent menu plan though, let alone a shopping list and a tasty result!! From past experience, I knew that it would return and so I was patient - and return it has!

I am just waiting for the oven to beep to inform me that some rather cute and hopefully tasty little blackberry bakewells are golden brown..... it has been years since I baked after the children had gone to bed, baked for the joy of it that is rather than necessity. Yesterday afternoon, whilst Idris was snoozing, the girls and I sat in the garden and pored through the Good Food magazines that come on a gift subscription from my parents. We pulled out all the yummy looking pages and added them to a clipboard that is propped up behind my battered old chopping board.

We made yummy Sausage Pot Pies for dinner - a really versatile and easy recipe that would be fabulous with red cabbage in, or pumpkin in the Autumn.... it met with ravenous approval and I wondered about baking the bakewells when the children had gone to bed. I then decided I shouldn't - it seemed rather frivolous to cook for pleasure, just me 'by my own' (family joke, sorry!). Wasn't there something serious and important to do?

Oh hang on, there's the beep - let's see now.....

Well it turned out that there wasn't anything more important and that baking by myself was really enjoyable and I almost remember doing it before I had children and felt compelled to include them in all baking activities!! As it happened, just between you and me - I couldn't resist inviting my little willow the wisp to help me put them together - she never goes to sleep until late anyway, and she dearly loves to help me cook!!

I am very relieved to be back into cooking mode again, where I find it simple and fun to prepare and cook healthy meals for my family - long may it last!!! The recipes for these aren't available yet on the Good Food website..... I'll pop back and add the links when they are up there!

Seed Markers Made from Vintage Spoons!

This is another of my 'seen around the web thought I'd try it out' endeavours..... not the most successful one I've ever tried to be honest! It looked so easy..... but then it always does..... I bought a pile of unusual vintage spoons from ebay and a set of steel letter punches.

Here are the spoons in their original condition.... before I got Dewi to hammer them flat (approach this carefully - he was a tad enthusiastic and split a couple of the spoons near where they attach to the stem)....

These are the punches and here it became tricky as I'd underestimated just how HARD a steel teaspoon can be..... no, really, steel is VERY hard!!! In my naive little bubble I'd imagined tapping perfectly formed letters into the spoons and joining the ranks of crafting genii..... alas I joined the ranks of bumbling also-rans, and collected a couple of blood blisters along the way!!!!

Idris was fascinated with the whole process and laughed like a drain when I hit my thumb and hopped around the patio hissing unmentionable things about spoons and pinterest!

A couple of them turned out really well and at least I'll know which seedlings are which now!!!!! I think I'll look for other ideas to use the letter punches with next time.....

An Olympic Muffin Tin Dinner!

I hadn't made the girls a muffin tin dinner for a long time and thought the closing ceremony of the Olympics was a perfect opportunity to surprise them with one! I racked my brains for what to do and decided to represent some of the sports that the girls enjoyed watching and learning about, as well as some of the classic Olympic symbols. I always balance savoury with sweet and try to include all the food groups and we always have jelly in our MTD's, it's a tradition! So we had:

• An Olympic torch made from a tortilla twisted up with yellow peppers and carrot slices as the flames
• Beach volleyball - couscous sand with a team GB flag left over from the Jubilee celebrations!
• Gold medals - cheddar discs cut with a cookie cutter and a ham number added
• Olympic ring fruit salad with black berries, blueberries,  red peach,  yellow banana and green apple
• Rythmic gymnastics ribbon baton - Strawberry fruit roll-ups coiled just so with a cocktail stick as the baton
• Diving - lemon and lime sugarfree jelly dyed blue with gel food colouring, and with a toy person (cleaned with boiling water first) embedded upside down as if they had just dived in. I managed this by putting half the jelly in and allowing it to almost set then suspending the person upside down with a pipe cleaner twisted around their legs and hooked over the edges of the cup with their head resting on the already set jelly. I finished it off with a tiny blob of plain yoghurt as a 'splash' - in a GB cup of course!

Our previouse MTD's were St Patrick's Day and St. George's Day.

A Metal and Shiny Objects Treasure Basket!

I asked my Mum to keep her eye out for metal and shiny bits and bobs for a new treasure basket for Idris.... and THIS is what she came back with.... the most amazing, super-inventive collection all ready in a basket! She collected metals of different types and colours, as well as metallic items and it is so well put together....

It contains:

• A pile of disposable metal pie tins
• A solid non-stick black coated pie tin
• A couple of small coloured tins that open in different ways
• A mesh desk-tidy pen holder
• A red metal bucket
• A set of metal bangles
• A set of spanners in different sizes
• A ring of interesting keys
• A plug stopper
• A brass decorative kettle
• A balloon whisk
• A tea strainer
• A metallic bouncy cat toy
• A spiral metal egg cup
• A spiral toast rack.....
• .....with gold and silver metallic coated scouring pads slotted into it
• A metal drinks tin with a money slot in the top.....
• ..... and a packet of oversized metal paperclips just PERFECT to post into the slot (see Iddy below - he is really into posting things this last few weeks and sat down immediatly to post clips into the tin!!)
• Two blank CDs
• A mirrored coaster

I love this treasure basket and it has already provided hours of entertainment for Idris - treasure baskets are so easy to put together and you can add to them over time. Mum thinks all the things for this (some found, some bought) came to about £20 which is much less than commercially available ones.... go on, give it a go - it's what carboots, pound shops and the like were invented for!!!!

Making a Nappy Cake!

I just found out that my oldest friend - the one I have known for the longest, not the oldest in age - is expecting a baby in January. I am thrilled for them and even more thrilled to get the opportunity to make this gift!!! I saw it somewhere on the net a few weeks ago and was taken with the idea but knew no-one who would benefit - until now!!!! I have made it in yellow and green to suit both eventualities!!

The base layer is made by wrapping newborn nappies around a bottle of my favourite baby shampoo/wash - I secured them with large elastic bands as I went - this is a little tricky and you may want a willing volunteer to help you! Try to get them as tight as possible and with the folded end of the nappy visible down the side for neatness!

I folded two white muslins together into a strip the same depth as the nappies and ironed it smooth, then carefully wrapped it around as icing and had Eve hold it for me whilst I tied the ribbon. I used a plain yellow vest from a multi pack (size 9-12 months to give me plenty of icing!!) - it is ruched up a little to go around the bottle neck but this is hidden with the second tier of 'cake' so don't worry!

To make the second tier, I again wrapped some nappies around the neck of the bottle and secured with an elastic band. I then rolled four more nappies into tubes and five of the remaining vests into tubes and put a small band around them, then arranged them around the nappy stack and held them in place with another large band....

I 'iced' the top tier by laying the other yellow vest over the rolls of nappy and vest and smoothing it over/tucking it in. The edging is made with another muslin folded, ironed, wrapped around and tied with coloured wool this time, in three strands. I tucked a baby comb and brush into the bottom ribbon and finished the top tier off with a pair of newborn bootees!

I'm SO pleased with the result - it was such fun to make and although Dewi thought I was crackers, even he agrees it is very effective and a lovely gift! It now has pride of place in the lounge awaiting Julia's visit next weekend!

There are so many ways you can adapt the 'recipe' to your own tastes - washable nappies, any colour vests - use socks to make roses, rattles instead of brushes, use velour or minky receiving blankets to make the icing instead of muslins........ your creativity is the limit!!!



Reflection and Re-direction!

This last couple of weeks have been tough for a variety of reasons and from a range of angles, and I felt like I was in a blizzard and couldn't find my way out. So I did what I always do when under this kind of stress and tackled each event on it's own, sometimes by thinking it through (in my head and on paper) and sometimes with direct action:

• At the beginning of the week I thought long and hard about my fearful reaction at being harshly judged and criticised by another adult for my parenting decisions. It, along with the next event in the week, brought back painful memories of being bullied as a young adult and this is clearly something I need to deal with at some point.
• Two days later My five year old daughter was punished by a gymnastics coach for saying 'no', I went to her aid and challenged the coach on the spot. I later decided I couldn't let it pass and made a complaint to the welfare officer. Their response was unsatisfactory and I have escalated my complaint to British Gymnastics. Suffice to say she is not returning there! In thinking through my reactions to this event, although it added to my feelings from earlier in the week, it confirmed some positive things. The main one is that I have an intuitive, trusting, loving relationship with my daughters. My commitment never to compromise this, no matter the situation, the lost opportunities or the repercussions is the right one and my daughters rely on that as the foundation stone for their confidence and consolation. I won't go into the particulars as it would fill a whole blog post but my heart was already overflowing when......
• Two days after that My older daughter was tested as severely dyslexic and dyscalculic and I was distraught..... I knew it already but being told is a different matter! I came away very sad and cried my heart out for the third time that week! I reached out to friends and family and had some amazing support in response and after talking it through with my husband we began to take some positive steps towards dealing with it OUR way rather than the prescriptive way we were being told to deal with it..... but this really IS another blog post and one I will definitely be writing as I'm so excited about it.....
• Whilst all this was happening, in the background, our house purchase was quietly falling apart - to put it in context, this is the third house this year that we have tried to buy and have now either spent or are liable to pay, thousands of pounds even if we never actually purchase it! I did everything possible, e-mails, phone calls, more phone calls, asking nicely, asking not so nicely but still it crumbled..... until this week when it seems to have quietly got back on track so we are now cautiously optimistic!

Despite having tackled all these things though, it just wasn't enough, I was only fire-fighting and I knew it! I had had no energy since before then for the really important things, like putting my children and husband first, eating healthily and sleeping and there was no room on the horizon for them either. My to-do list was stacking up to 'critical' level and the pressure was so intense that I couldn't relax or decide what to do first when I actually HAD time to do something!

Drastic action was needed and I'm dubbing this the 'dump and run' technique - I cut out all non-essential commitments and activities:

• The Open University course.
• The child minding network that made extra requirements on my time in paperwork, meetings and 'compliance visits'.
• The foray into 'terrific for two's' - the government initiative for funded places for two year olds that WOULD have required me to do extra paperwork and be checked more often!
• I drastically reduced my working hours to ensure regular time focused purely on my own children.
• I put away all paperwork that I've been doing in a bid to gain an 'outstanding' rating at my next inspection and have decided that 'good' is good enough and outstanding will just have to be in the eye of the beholder!

Initially, instead of feeling better I felt guilty, inadequate and low - I decided not to push things and just give myself time and that my head will naturally adjust to the new status quo and we will go from there. I am already feeling more peaceful and hopeful and have been enjoying reading without feeling guilty that I should be doing something else instead! Despite a stinking cold, I feel better than I have felt in months and have relaxed now that certain battles and torments have been removed.

I have been here before - this is a cyclical process of mine unfortunately but I DO get better at recognising and dealing with it I think! And it isn't an entirely negative experience - far from it in fact - I am always amazed by the bright new directions I am led in after I emerge from the dark and murky unpleasant bits! My husband and I used to call it the 'silver lining effect', that something good would always come after the bad stuff - I long ago learned to attribute it to God and His plan for me and perhaps I am just learning to listen better!

Although we are all - apart from Idris - showing varying signs and symptoms of 'soul fever', we dealt with it in the main part with humour, affection, empathy and patience. I am truly grateful for the hardcore of friends and family that were around to prop me up in my hour(s) of need!

Now for the next chapter - beginning tomorrow with my baby boy's first birthday!!!!

Rag Rugging is Addictive!

Welcome to a peek at our latest craft adventure- rag rugging (not sure if that is the proper term but that's what we call it!). A friend introduced us to the joys of Blists Hill Victorian Town two weeks ago, an amazing place of Victorian shops, houses and amusements where you really can live the history! I have no pictures of the day as I chose to leave the camera at home and just enjoy the time with my children! As we explored, I was struck by how many creative pursuits people (mainly women in the home) followed back then - everywhere we went we saw embroidery, rugs, lace, paper cutting, peg dolls, the skills the women had back then seemed endless. It touched me how much of that is sadly lost now that every convenience can be bought and replaced when the desire strikes. Many of the crafts were from cheap, recycled materials where waste items were re purposed into beautiful, cheerful decorations that made their simple homes snug and cozy. I quizzed the lady making rag rugs very carefully and decided we could manage to have a go!!! My friend stood us the hessian for the bargain price of £2.50 (as we'd spent ours on candles, the swing boats, and lacy handkerchiefs!!).

This is a picture of the back of the corner of the rug that I have started - we chose a pattern of circles, made by drawing around various cups, bowls and plates with a felt pen!! I'm not sure if I am doing it exactly right but it looks effective and once you have done a few, you get into a rhythm and it goes along faster!

Above, you can see us all working on the rug together, using tools made from a dolly peg snapped in two and then with a point formed carefully and blunted.

I chose two old duvet covers given by another friend - one brown with little flowers and one in yellow spots and stripes - I am not sure if they will be enough to do the whole rug but I'm hoping! I cut them up into small strips about 1 inch by 3 inches and put them in a soft bag for easy access, the rug and tools can be stored alongside them!

The technique is to poke a hole in the hessian with the point of the tool, push one end of the strip through, then move about four fibres down and make another hole and push the other end of the strip through, then pull it taut with your other hand from the other side of the fabric. I found it easier to work in a block, and to work from right to left so you aren't trying to hold the bunched up fabric you've already put in, out of the way!

This shows some of the circles we made for the pattern - I've done more than is in this picture and finding it very therapeutic! It's a bit like the wet felting we tried in that it doesn't require a precise finish so it is very forgiving to the beginner or serial multi tasker like myself!! I'm also impressed that, as we cut the hessian in half, this has so far cost £1.25 - the cheapest craft we have ever tried I think!!! We'll be back to Blist's Hill soon as it was so lovely - I may even take my rug to show them what we've been up to!