We have had an eventful morning… spent an hour or two lying on the sofa bed reading the same books over and over..

(and just when I was getting into doing the voices and making it all very animated, I was usurped by someone needing to watch The Snowman.

Me: “Sweetpea, will we read “The Paper Caper” again?”

Herself: “No. Me like ‘Nowman now”…)

Then we wandered out to the garden to pick some tomatoes for lunch- our Autumn fruiting raspberries are only  coming into fruit outside, but are ripe and delicious in the polytunnel. We picked a bowl for our dessert, and  before we got as far as the back door …

Me: “Hey! Where did our raspberries go?” 

Herself: “Heh heh heh” (evil cackle) 

“We” made egg fried rice with some left-over rice 

(Me: “do you want to scoop some coconut oil out for the frying pan?”

Herself: “yes” (and scoops out a spoon. And eats it. Then we have a minor altercation over allowing me to have a spoon of it to fry the rice)

Someone had to test each tomato before I could cut them up

and artfully toss some over the rice

(“Isn’t that pretty?”

“No”)

And then after lunch we decided to be creative and cut up the felted blankets to make cushions and a photo tutorial too (cue: delightful images of mother and daughter measuring and smiling and working completely in harmony)

Well. That daughter of mine!

she is so bloody independent, decisive, impatient (with me!!!!) single minded (where did she get all these traits from, I’d like to know?) determined, creative…

funny and soft and cuddly and warm…

I have to run… Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go!!!

We had lots of small and not so small kiddies (we are a burgeoning group here in the west!) who helped brush, pick hooves and feed the horses.

Lauras uncle kindly loaned us his puppies which were a huge attraction,

and afterwards we sat in this beautifully scenic field (complete with dead crow, we found out later- “not fresh kill” I was confidently told by one four year old)

where we had our picnic (there seems to be a common thread running through this blog) and natter before extricating our children from a hole in the hedge (the camp) two fields away to go home.

Next week we are going to a story-telling session in a caravan (not sure whether it is a gypsy caravan or Father Ted style…) Eclectic, that’s us…

I’m not sure if I’m completely happy as yet with what I’ve done though…

-This was an alternative page header!

  So it was a welcome distraction to have a friend over for lunch today:

Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart

followed swiftly by an utterly delicious light sponge with cream and peaches (can’t take responsibility for this gorgeous creation I’m afraid…)

Last week, we were visiting my parents for a few days in their beautiful home in Kildare. 

Our little ones spent plenty of time running up and down the avenue,

which is brimming with snowdrops and crocuses,

and taking time-out with Old Faithful (only spotted the hand-cuffs just now, not sure what they were being used for!!!)

I came back with a few treasures:

A gorgeous old leather case (thank you William!)

Old maps and books, postcards, letters, photos;

newspapers from the second World War,

and an truly ancient “Midland Reporter And Westmeath Nationalist” from 1923!

But the piece de resistance, for me, is my mothers sewing basket: for as long as I can remember it “lived” in the corner cupboard, full of odd buttons, needles, thread and other delicious treasures! I’m so excited that I now have it, ready to be filled with all my sewing bits and pieces,

Thank you dearest mother!!  

I’ve been starting more projects also: I find that if I have several on the go I can inch away at them:- crochet when I’m sitting down, drinking tea and chatting (hence plenty gets done, ha ha); painting and mixed media work when I’ve an hour to myself, children fed and baby in bed; sewing at any spare minute (and I’m getting good at doing all these with a baby or boys sitting on my knee or “helping” me!)

At the moment I’m making journals-

I’m recycling brown paper bags,

stitching them together,

then painting them white,

which renders a most lovely painterly surface. I’m going to photograph the entire process tomorrow, it’s as easy as pie!- and the result is wonderful.

 I’m in the middle of finishing some crochet for the Official Opening Night of Kelly’s Bar in Galway, it’s opening on the 26th, next Friday!- so that’s my priority at the minute. So on that note I’m off to sit beside my blazing fire, with a pot of tea, and my basket of crochet… Bliss!!

We are almost finished four more bench cushions for Kellys Bar in Galway (hurray!) and I also finished my sewing boxes (Mixed Media/ altered-art wooden cigar boxes):

I am delighted with them, They are covered with copies of sheets from an old Irish-English dictionary, with gorgeous old Irish/Gaelic lettering, then further embellished. I just have to pack them full of all the lovely necessities for mending and making do!

This is a journal cover I made (not an easy task, with baby on my knee brandishing a glue stick and flinging buttons all over the place!!) It is A5 size, and I’m hoping to have a similiar style one for the giveaway… just have to do a few finishing touches and take some photos…

Check back tomorrow for details of the giveaway-to be in with a chance to win all you have to do is leave a comment! – FREE STUFF!! How great is that?!

I’m trying to work out orders of wooden toys for our shop for Christmas- wooden train sets, pedal-free bicycles, wheelybugs, wooden cash register for all the budding shop owners…. this must be my favourite part of the job!!! My youngest son, almost five, has a list of about twenty “definites” -eeek!!! (hate to disappoint, but…)

Meanwhile, when I sit down later I’ll be back to crochet-I have three crochet workers (a.k.a. crochet slaves) helping me crochet four long bench cushions for Kellys Pub in Galway since the others were STOLEN (you know who you are) Hopefully these ones won’t be as easy to shove under a jumper and walk out… We have a plan, and gorgeous cotton yarn (see previous post), so my hopes are high that these will be just as lovely!! 

(I’m here breastfeeding baby as I type, and every few seconds a foot bends up and types a few letters, so if I have any typos, apologies)

I have a pile of post to send off today, cards I have been meaning to write for ages and eventually getting around to it. I’ll put up a picture of the bag I made for Liz, the lady who ‘gave’ us our little fluffy dog, Pebbles. WEEKS later and it is only being posted. TUT TUT.

The little dolly to the front is one of the Waldorf-inspired dolls I’ve been making (in my free time, ha ha ha), Once I have a face embroidered on I’ll post detailed photos. I’m so chuffed with them. I especially love the fluffy nappies!! I’m thinking of having a weekend in October where we showcase all the “handmade” delights rather than drip-feeding them onto the shop site as they come through- oooh, the lovely baby blankets, dolls, cards, cushions, felted mobiles that we will have in our shop for Christmas!!! The anticipation makes up for the rotten weather over the summer (just about).

I was about to say that I was going to head off and have a cup of tea and a slice of the most delectable banana and chocolate bread I made yesterday, but, lo! My three little savages have scoffed it all (we’ll have to work on their definition of “some”) A plain biscuit for me then……..