moments to savour

these days seem to race by in a flurry of activity, especially since my sweet boy has started school. sometimes i feel as though i hardly have time to take a breath let alone remember  and enjoy these moments with my little ones. and i so want to remember. a long bank holiday weekend was a good reminder to just slow down and relax. and that's just what we did. the pretty much constant rain didn't worry us one bit. we snuggled for a little longer in bed in the mornings, made it up as we went along and snuggled some more with lots of giggles thrown in for good measure.

 ps the sunny pictures are from the week before, when we had one day without rain!

 hope your weekend was relaxing too,

 sarada xx

this week

this little one decided that standing in the buggy on short journeys is far more fun

we've been busy planting pea, tomato sweetcorn and carrot seeds for the allotment as well as sweet pea plants on the balcony, to hopeful grow up the railings and look pretty

in-between hanging washing i made a macrame pot holder following this great tutorial. i do love a quick and simple project. by the way instead of inserting a ring at the top, i made a loop out of the string and carried on from there

and the poor babies have had coughs and high temperatures over the last few days, daddy cuddles are an integral part of the recovery process

how was your week?

sarada xx

beautiful connections

hello march. i can't believe you're here already! i didn't mean to be away for so long. but after the slow month of january which is generally only eased by the ambitions for the new year, plotting great plans and a full of hope feeling that brightens even the gloomiest of winter days. by the time march comes around i am always surprised that it is already, well, march! and here i am hoping that i will catch up with this year before it races off and i am left chasing behind wondering where all the months have gone. is it only me, do you ever get this feeling?


definitely a highlight so far this year and a happy distraction from our woes was when my mother and i, along with my little ones visited my lovely sister in cornwall for a few days. we had a great time catching up and seeing her life close up rather than on the end of a telephone. it was wonderful. and as we said farewell she handed us each a jar filled with some of her sourdough starter to take home and nurture. from start to finish the whole process is quite a labour of love. after feeding it for a bit (you can see how to make the starter here) and making the sponge, and all that rising time here is my first loaf. it is delicious and fresh bread and honey is so simple and wholesome. but what i like most is that we are all making bread to feed our families from the same sourdough starter. the three of us, in our homes that are not as close to each other as we'd like. i enjoy thinking about my sister and my mother every time i feed my starter or eat this delicious bread. and yes, it makes me feel connected to these amazing women who also happen to be in my family. and i love that, it's a special feeling and one that makes me feel very happy indeed.

sarada xx

perspective

this is where we live.


i love it. the chicken run is bigger than our house, the shed is also bigger than our house and taller than the workshop. the living roof which we created about 3 years ago, has amazingly big flowers growing on it, and the birds in the sky above our garden have smiles and beaks. nothing amuses me quite like a 5 year olds perspective.

we have been baking a lot lately, getting prepared for christmas.


i took my wedding ring off when we were making these mince pies and forgot to put it back on. i remembered when we were out shopping in town. francisco said, "don't worry mummy, everyone will know that you're married by your happy face"

4 days till christmas, i get the count down daily, there is a lot of excitement here.

ambika x

happy new year

i caught myself the other day writing september 2011 on stanley's latest artwork. i think it was a felt tip drawing with lots of lines. and i only noticed my mistake when later in the day i was looking at his gallery. the place we call the hallway where his pictures are tacked up for all to see whenever they are passing. i was a bit taken aback when i noticed the slip and it was a big reminder to take a deep breath, several in fact. i think life has been such a tumultuous blur since the highs we were feeling in september with birth of our littlest the month before. so much has happened, good and not so good and the months have sped by so fast that i obviously didn't fully register any changes in the outside world. things hopefully have settled down now and we can potter along in january slowly. just enjoying each other and the simple routines that each day brings. hope you can do the same.

sarada xxx

the last few days

the house is a mess but who cares when there's sunshine and these two lovely boys to play with.
sarada xxx

9 months and 7 weeks...

i'm sorry i have been away from this blog for quite a while, so long in fact that i was planning to mention that i was pregnant again, and now the summer has just flown by and it's too late! and wow it's been so different being pregnant the second time around with a lively toddler in tow. and my sweet boy is definitely an energetic little soul. it makes me appreciate what a lovely quiet and restful pregnancy i had the last time, totally indulgent. it's been more common this time round to catch me tearing down the road at a slow gallopy waddle trying to keep up with my bundle of energy.

well we had our new baby boy leonard three weeks early, peacefully at home, and are just besotted with all 7lb 1oz of him. i was taken aback at how big my toddler stanley looked the next day (he's just turned three) and i couldn't remember how little he seemed to me the day before. that took me by surprise. he on the other hand has taken it all in his stride and i'm so proud of him as we adjust to this new chapter in our lives. tiredness prevails but we are totally in love with our new family of four.

sarada xxx

mum's birds

our mum has been making these beautiful birds out of clay from her pond and feathers she has found around the woods. they are exquisite, and so tiny they sit snugly in the palm of your hand. i love them








ambika x

Pink tea party

i picked up this cute pink tea set at the charity shop today. Francisco loves it and insisted we have a pink tea party in the garden. we made heart shaped scones and ate them in the sun with bramble jelly and butter. it was delicious.




ambika x

when i grow up?

i have not written here for a long time, still been here visiting though, reading what my lovely sister has been up to. sometimes i feel as if we are living in a parallel world. we have been watching the same programmes, and doing similar projects, thinking similar thoughts, and the same flowers even decorate our homes. but somehow, somewhere along the road i have lost my ability to blog, or maybe i have just lost the ability to photographically record what we have been up to.

i have to admit that i have been in a bit of a creative funk which i am trying to pull myself out of. i don't mean to wallow in my lack of lustre but sometimes i find things in the creative community a little fluffy lacking the reality of life, or maybe just the reality of my life. the times when i just want to pull my hair out and scream because my child has pushed me just that little bit too far, or times when you have to stop yourself being mad because you know, its really you not them.

it is difficult not to compare yourself to all these people who seem so sorted and together. i am still not sure what i want to be when i grow up, and with my baby boy starting school soon, i really should be thinking harder about it all. so what do i enjoy doing? i love making fancy dress costumes, but i'm not sure that raspberries make much money, maybe if they teamed up with some cream.



i love my garden, these are my chilli's in there own little green houses.



and my broad beans finally in flower after so long in the ground.



i love going to the bike park with franc who has now started riding a skateboard, all his trousers have holes in the knees, he does look cool though!



i love this doodling robot too.



i love looking back at old pictures. it makes me realise how quickly time flies (an old cliche i know) but suddenly i get it. i am very grateful for every day and now i just need to find a good project to get my teeth into, and then decide what to be when i grow up.



ambika x

snow fun

Steph just downloaded these lovely pictures form his phone, i just had to share them it was such a great time. the other day i smelt spring in the air but now it is so cold i think we may have more snow.






ambika xx

adventures in bread making

j had the day off today so i had a lovely lie in and was awoken to the smell of freshly baked bread. what a treat. we've both been getting into bread making lately, partly as it is such a great activity for little stan to take part in especially the kneading bit! and of course because the bread tastes so good. so yesterday little stan and his dad mixed and prodded and waited and prodded some more and filled two tins to rise in the fridge overnight following delia's advice in this book. this is such a great thing to do as it means you can just pop the risen loaves in the oven first thing in the morning. so we sat down for breakfast, with our warm bread spread thickly with butter and jam. the crust had just the right crunch and the bread itself was light and slightly chewy. just delicious. this is the first white loaf we've made and it was a real success. i've been experimenting with wholemeal bread using a variety of recipes and adding sunflower seeds and walnuts (my favourite). but they usually end up too dense and heavy, so i'll just have to keep on practising until i find the perfect recipe. that'll keep us in bread for a while at least!

sarada x

a few things from the start of 2010 (and before)

hello again. it's been so long i don't really know where to begin. we had a truly lovely family christmas, i made this print for my mum as her secret santa.


and i received some really beautiful amazing handmade gifts myself, this hand turned bowl and rolling pin, and a lovely hand crafted wooden spoon. i felt incredibly lucky.


christmas was followed by a barrage of fancy dress parties, an 80's new year, a movie star 30th birthday, and another 1920's 30th birthday party. i decided to make a dress for the 1920's party, in hindsight it was a little ambitious but somehow i managed to pull it off, and the dress actually managed to stay together for the whole evening! i forgot to take a photograph which is a shame but i'm sure someone has out there.

we also had some snow which has now gone, and managed to get a little bit of sledging in, our chickens were very bemused by it all.









this is cattyfly (a cat who can fly) he landed on francisco's pillow one night causing much surprise and many tears. after a lengthy discussion, cattyfly has now become a friend and we have been awaiting another visit with much anticipation. i have copied franc's picture and made a toy one for his birthday. This is very organised for me as his birthday is not for a couple of months.

and lastly, check out the size of my parsnip. i dug up this beauty just before christmas. i cant wait to get the garden planted up this year.



ambika 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