Wednesday 27 February 2008

bubble


'the child-soul is an ever-bubbling fountain in the world of humanity'
freidrich froebel

tomorrow's word is serendipity

Tuesday 26 February 2008

mellow .....


it washes over like the wave of a smile
and lingers there, a flower in spring
a child's laugh, fresh dew on the grass
the mystery of what life will bring

the sun rising, a bright hello
all that i think of when i ponder yellow

so here you go the word for tomorrow is bubble

Monday 25 February 2008

a creator's pint


so here goes...the word is procrastinate and i could do that all night about this post or in 'a ripe contrast' i could just get on with it, and gain a good nights sleep! it's so rare that we get to go out together these days, j and i. we used to while away many long hours bbs (before baby stan!) savouring a delicious pint or few of ale. putting the world to rights as you do. reminiscing about past adventures and thinking up exciting futures. working out new projects and realising only at those times how to finish others. these days i have to rely on vitamin packed fruit smoothies to get the creative juices flowing! it's not quite as fun. if only i could enjoy a creator's pint more often - it certainly makes you look at worlds and words in a different way.

ok then little sis, something a little sunnier for you. it's a colour and it's yellow. i look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Sunday 24 February 2008

pasties and scissors


we went to liskeard for the day, to have a malcolm barnecutt's pasty they truly make the greatest pasties in cornwall, well the best we have tasted so far. while we were there we popped into the local craft shop, i bought some card, to make cards, and stick bought me some new scissors. there have always been battles surrounding the scissors in our house, i suppose i do use them, lose them and then go crazy trying to find them. stick likes them to be where they should be, when he wants them, so i am now very happy to have my own special ones.


i made these slippers for franc before christmas, but even then they were too small for him. i have decided to send them along the coast to baby stan, so here you go my lovely nephew.

now my big sister.... in order to give our brains a good sweaty workout, and to get those creative juices bubbling over we are going to do a post every day this week. your word of the day is procrastinate very relevant as it is something we are always doing. so what are your first responses, a quote, a poem, a picture, or something else? looking forward to your response.

Tuesday 19 February 2008

down to the woods


we just spent a lovely weekend visiting granny and grandad at the woods. we were so lucky with the weather as it was gorgeous and sunny every day. the freezing nights were compensated by beautiful frosty mornings. the moon is waxing at the moment and so when we stepped outside at night the starry sky was lit up and you could see all the trees glowing magically around us and crunchy grass underfoot sparkling in the moonlight. i always enjoy going to the wood as it's such different scenery to being by the sea. so lovely to see the trees and their branches gently swaying in the cool breeze and listening to all the tiny birds chirping and flitting from branch to branch.


i love it when the sun shines. i know, who doesn't? the way it beams into a room unexpectedly and makes you notice little details. and it's amazing what a bit of sunshine can do for your mood by instantly making everything seem rosier, more positive. the best thing about the sun being out at this time of year is that spring is coming and it's so lovely to see the evidence all around. flowers poking their heads up through the autumn leaves, catkins on trees and new growth starting everywhere. there's more pictures of our weekend over at flickr.


at this time of year i always find myself thinking about the year just gone and feel a tinge of excitement in the air looking forward to the future and what adventures will unfold. a weekend away is the perfect time for reflecting. whilst looking for some of my cookery books, mum and i discovered some diaries that i kept during my travels and amongst these an old unfinished weaving that i did a long time ago that we decided to brush the dust off and air.


so who knows what this year will bring for all of us. i can't wait to find out, but i guess the adventure is in the not knowing. maybe i might actually finish something for a change!

Wednesday 13 February 2008

hello, goodbye


we sadly lost a close friend of the family last week and travelled up to oxford for the funeral. if it can be said the day was beautiful, the best it could have been. franc was a little angel and really lifted everyones mood by being very silly and funny. we arrived back, after about a week away, to find my seed trays sparkling with new life. it always fills me with a certain excitment when seeds germinate. there is always the hope that some kind of crop may follow. i made a pillow case based on the curly hazel photo posted a couple of weeks ago, it's a bit scruffy around the edges but i like it.


the sun has been shining all week and it feels like winter is almost behind us. much to our pleasure a new playground has been built in saltash, we spent most of the day there, and the rest, making yummy surprise valentines day biscuits for stick. there were more but someone kept eating them!

Saturday 2 February 2008

the wonderful world of weaning

i bet baby stan had no idea that he'd ever be eating anything apart from breast milk! he's on two meals a day now and i have no idea what we used to do with all that time before he started meal times. it's proving to be a really fun and sweet experience. did i mention messy too! watching him react to all the different foods makes us smile a lot. he's such a cutie pie and so serious about the whole thing. i wish i knew what he's thinking when we introduce all these new tastes to him.


'did i miss a bit?'










we had 'rice congee' for breakfast this morning, it's eaten in china and is just a porridge made out of rice. very soothing. we put fresh pear puree on it and it went down a treat. it's a recipe from this lovely book i found in the library, food adventures that talks about what babies first foods are around the world and explains what happens at meal times in different countries. we had the chorizo and chickpea stew ourselves for dinner tonight. it was very tasty. i think i'm going to buy it as i'd love to try some more of the recipes, when he gets older.























i also made this mobile. something i was inspired to do after seeing one that stick made the last time we visited. it has lovely balance and moves beautifully. he collected stones with holes in, fishing line and wood from special places on his travels. i did collect the shells for mine when i went to visit our brother in ireland a little while ago, so that's nice, but the wool and balsa wood were just from local shops, not half as romantic. it's also taken me since november to finally get round to making it. so it's great to have an encouraging sis to help spur things along! i really enjoyed putting it all together, and am already thinking of making a more robust one for baby stan as he loves looking at it.