forest school is cool

since september, we have spending our monday mornings at a local forest school type parent and toddler group. it's such a lovely thing to take part in and really starts the week off on a positive note. so all wrapped up, whatever the weather, we go and meet our friends in the woods for stories, singing and lots of seasonal nature activities. there is always a cosy fire to sit around and usually we cook something on it too. this is an apple cake that was baked and steamed with the ashes from the fire. we quite often have vegetable stew and last time we all helped wrap up little potatoes in foil to bake in the fire.


we learnt how to dry slices of apple by coring an apple and slicing it into rings then hanging them from a hazel stick to dry. ours never made it back home to the airing cupboard though!


and we've also done things such as making fruit leather out of hawthorn berries, dipping colourful autumn leaves in wax to preserve them and we made a hideout using twigs and leaves.


we have a nature display of sorts at home now, where our little clay and teasel hedgehog, we made at the group now lives. he's been glued back together several times and is accompanied by little bits and pieces that we find when we are out and about.

we love our little woodland group! it's such an antidote for the sometimes hustle and bustle of our busy town lives. and i always leave feeling so inspired, and i know my little stan does too.

sarada x

black ink

i've been doing these drawings when i really should have been doing other things.



i have an introductory accounts exam in december. i cant remember if i have mentioned it before. probably not as it does not stimulate my creative senses, or seem to sit very comfortably in this space. anyway i have been revising and revising with a touch of drawing in the middle. a little light relief. i will be glad when it is all over.

ambika

at halloween

we went to stanley's first halloween party. he dressed up as a spider. he did wear it for about 15 minutes at the party but his favourite thing was showing daddy his costume when he got home.


we decorated a pumpkin when granny and grandad came to stay. a potato peeler turned out to be the best tool.


and we made biscuits out of the pumpkin flesh which turned out tasty but more cake like than biscuit. i think because i wanted to use all the pumpkin i had they turned out much more moist than they were supposed to!

here is the recipe that i adapted from an old cookbook to suit my little dairy allergy sufferer;

pumpkin biscuits with brown butter glaze
4oz soya margarine
5oz plain flour
4oz wholemeal flour
6oz soft brown sugar
8oz of cooked pumpkin (i used the flesh of a whole medium pumpkin)
1 egg
2tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp ground allspice
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
3oz pecan nuts roughly chopped
3oz raisins

brown butter glaze
2oz soya margarine
4oz brown sugar
4oz icing sugar
2tbsp soya milk

mix together the margarine, sugar and egg until light and fluffy, then mix in the cooked pumpkin. stir in the rest of the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. place teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto a greased baking sheet and cook in a pre-heated oven (375f/gas mark 5) for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are firm.

to make the butter glaze melt the soya margarine in a pan over a medium heat, add the brown sugar, then take off the heat and add the icing sugar, thin with the soya milk and spread on the biscuits when they have cooled.

a delicious way to use up that pumpkin.

sarada x

i think i love you

i have been doing a bit more drawing lately. in fact i think i have the bug and find myself with pen in hand when i really should be doing other things. here is my latest doodling.


we have also found a new love for dips and dippers. it is great tonight francisco was eating raw broccoli, carrots, tomato, and cucumber.


yesterday i made some tahini. it was so easy. i toasted some sesame seeds and then ground them up in the pestle and mortar, and then added a little water until it made a paste. inspired by the tahini i have now made some cashew and brazil nut butter using the same method except adding a pinch of salt and using olive oil instead of water. it is so delicious.

ambika

lovely

we just spent a lovely weekend with lovely friends and their gorgeous little boy. we even had an adventure in the shape of this. sun, sea, a bit of sand and not much sleep! so good to spend time together.

sarada x

birthdays

the weekend before the clocks go back is stephs birthday. this year we celebrated at our local pub with a few close friends. it was really nice to get this opportunity to go out in the evening, as with a little one to look after it is not always easy. i made steph this pen and ink drawing which now sits by the bed in the cheap frame i painted in with a farrow and ball tester pot i found in the shed.


i am really pleased with how it has turned out, as i used one of francisco's felt tip pens. i think maybe the time has come to get my own.

i also made this brightly coloured cushion cover to remind us of the warmth of summer as winter fast approaches.


ambika

snuggling in

well autumn is certainly here now. the days are getting shorter and the nights are colder. so we have gradually been spending more time inside. that and the fact that we are all a bit poorly with coughs and colds means that we haven't strayed too far from home this week or done anything too strenuous.

i got stan a paintbrush the other day, before that we were using hands, and spent a morning painting with water colours. i find that sometimes it's easier to do activities like this especially if you aren't feeling up to it. he loved rinsing the brush in between using each colour and how with the help of the water the paints merged into one another.


we are lucky to have lots of big windows in our home so this is where we display our artwork at the moment. the crayon drawing was done by my sisters little boy and is a nice reminder of when they came to visit. it's a picture of his mummy as a chicken! very sweet and funny. we had such a lovely time with them and i did a lot of catching up with my lovely little sis. it was great. i will post some more pictures of their visit soon.




sarada x