I’ve found the past few months pretty overwhelming- I had way too much to do, and no time to do it… but now at last, thankfully, things are starting to slow down… and I’m ploughing through my “to-do” list with relief. Orders are being made for new books, puppets and wooden toys; I’m working on a whole new series of personalised illustrative paintings, prints and stationery- more, and photos on that later in the week!- and I’ve started other mixed media paintings- ones I’ve been gathering materials, ideas and drawings for, for weeks and months. 

I’ve also sorted out where we will start our crochet get-togethers – Andrea of Lush stuff and Dream Interiors very kindly has offered her beautiful shop space in Ballinasloe- so we now just to get in a few hooke – (ooops, was just about to say hookers- mightn’t be quite the terminology I was looking for) crochet-minded individuals (on that note: Clare, if you are reading this, will you get in touch with me, my phone has wiped out my entire contact list…  ) and we are away. Hopefully we will have our “Crochet Appreciation Society” up and running in the next few weeks!

And just to leave you with an image that makes me weep…. with delight..!

All from the polytunnel over the weekend… yay!

This week I eventually uploaded the photos of the blankets we have in our shop (steep learning curve every time something goes “wrong”!!) as well as one or two doll ones that wouldn’t upload. I still have cushions, corsages and some GORGEOUS wooden toys- a motorhome, 4 x4 Jeep and red sportscar- I’ll try to get them up tonight.

I’m in the middle of finishing a doll for Jenny-from-Kildare, so I’m off to immerse myself in wool and body-parts!! Check out our blankets in the “handmade@theNest” section, simply lovely.

I found a bag containing a Christmas 2008 (!) present for a little person we know, over the weekend. (Shocking, I know… I’ll make it up to her this Christmas!!) It was my intention to give her one of our “Geo-Cows”, a toy I just think is so lovely. I soon discovered that I was not the only one who thinks it’s lovely. Our little girl (14 months) soon helped it out of the wrapping, (“Genteel” should be her middle name) and shouted long and hard until I took it out of the box and she has been pulling it along behind her and putting the shapes into the slots on its back ever since. When she sees it she calls “Boo-Boo!”… very cute and all, but I’m sadly realising that I will probably never wrestle it back into the box, and I’ll have to think about investing in another Geo-Cow… but good to see that our toys are well road-tested!!

The weather is beginning to feel decidedly late-Autumnal. We had a fantastic Harvest Moon over the weekend, the weekend in which our youngest boy turned 5, and my sister gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Sarah. I’m looking forward to seeing her next weekend again for a prolonged cuddle (ooh, the newborn baby smell!!) 

Despite the cold creeping in, our tomatoes, courgettes (okay, okay, so technically those enormous ones are marrows) and raspberries are fruiting away in the polytunnel. Check out the basket of tomatoes!!!! (oh, and the basket of course, compliments of Fergal: basket-maker extra-ordinaire!) We had three tomato plants this year and they have given us kilos of delicious, sweet tomatoes, and this evening was no exception! I am planning on making some very tasty tomato sauce with these, as I have done with any tomatoes that actually made it into the house (equal quantities were eaten en route into the kitchen…)

Utterly delicious with pasta, and simplicity in itself!

Tomato Sauce

(really deserves a better name…anyhow):

Put 500g of tomatoes in a heavy bottomed saucepan with a good glug of olive oil, salt, pepper, approx 1 tablespoon of mixed herbs and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. 

Cook until the tomatoes have split and “melted” into a juicy herby concoction. You could sieve this or stir it through the pasta, seeds, skins and all (depending on how lazy/hungry you are…) 

And while I’m in recipe-mode, one to use up the glut of courgettes (cough: marrows)

Chocolate Courgette Cake

Just one thing before I go on: this is a lovely, unusual cake, well worth making, even though my son (8) thinks his chocolate cake is considerably better (the recipe for which I will post once I get over my fit of pique)

Heat oven to pprox 180’C (350’F)

Melt approx 170g decent chocolate over a saucepan of water. Put 200g of flour, 110g caster sugar, 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, 1/2 of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix briefly and add 225g courgettes, finely grated. In another bowl, mix 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract with 175mls of sunflower or rapeseed oil, and 2 medium eggs. Stir into the dry ingredients and finally stir in the melted chocolate. Turn into an oiled and papered 1 kg tin or divide between two 1lb tins. Bake for approx 55-65 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave it to cool completely, then cover it with chocolate butter icing (cream 100g unsalted butter, 200g icing sugar and 50g melted chocolate or cocoa powder)

DEEEELLLIIICCCIIIIOOOUUUSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

I’m off now to continue stock-taking (and see if we have any more Geo-Cows…..)

Took a few photos the other day… we (without a doubt I am using this as the “royal we”- John & Joyce at Pixelcode are actually doing the work, I’m merely nodding enthusiastically) are in the process of completely overhauling the website- very soon, it will be brand-spanking-new!! and even easier to use, with lots of cool stuff (well, Pixelcode is truly an ultra cool kind of place….) (Have I enough brownie points now??) So I took a few snaps, thought the toy displays were pretty- well, okay, really, until my son (8) decided to redo them all, and reckons they are considerably better- so I’ll be out tomorrow with my camera and an almost-walking baby hanging out of my leg (so professional, thats me)…

Fishing games and Toss-a Hoop…..

The only range of Family Pastimes Co-operative games in Ireland!!…

some incredibly beautiful Barefoot Books, Fruit’n'Veg’n'Pastries, Pizzas and cakes

(good enough to eat indeed)

And lots and lots more….

Between new website and new stock arriving (hardly have time to upload it) these are very busy and exciting weeks for us!

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……..