Easy like Sunday

 

Hello! Just popping in for a quick little chat on this fine, sunny day!  What a blessing it is when January affords us a few days like this - it makes you think, "Yep, I can make it to Spring - not long now!"

We've been making the most of it in the Welch household over the last couple of days and in keeping with my new found chilled out vibe at the weekend, we have had our first lunch around the fire outside. Yummy bacon and egg sandwiches.....mmmmmmmm

 

and a cup of tea.......there's something about that combination, isn't there?!  (Notice I am wearing my furry winter coat - it was still quite chilly outside - lovely though!)

I remember when Jonny was building this brilliant feature in our garden, it was such a struggle.  When you have a small baby in the house - everything seems like a colossal effort.  Just to find the time out from changing nappies and feeding is an achievement.  I once wrote to my best friend, who had a baby a few weeks old, that if all you had done all day was feed your baby - you'd done a whole day's work!  Squeezing in projects like building an outdoor fireplace - and at the time, a fort for our boys, was an extraordinary thing to be doing really.  It's such a prized corner of our tiny garden now though and many an opportunity to sit, cup of tea, or glass of wine in hand have been taken over the last couple of years.  We even spent last New Year's eve out there, watching the fireworks all around us and toasting the new year, snuggled up in blankets round a roaring fire.

I was contemplating this as we walked around Blackdown Hill this morning.   It was a scramble for the car as it always is with five boys, all of whom needed to be kitted out in wellies, hats, gloves and coats, but it was well worth the effort and I realised that recently, things have felt easier!  I'm telling you this, because I know it's something people have often said to me, "Oh, it does get easier!", as I stand with a child tucked under each arm, both screaming, the dinner ready to be served and the shopping still where it has been on the floor since it was delivered that morning.  This sort of chaotic scene is not uncommon in our house.  This IS our house most of the time.  Our house is chaos held together with threads of order.

However, They are right.  It does get easier and I am beginning, just beginning to see little chinks of light, where I catch myself thinking, "Why does this feel so easy?" and then I realise - it's because the older ones have got their own wellies on and are sitting in the car waiting.  Little by little it's getting easier to extend the moments of calm and enjoy.  This bit of parenting is physical hard work.  Every day is physical effort and it's no wonder we feel tired!  Gradually though there will be less of this and more of the harder bit of parenting;  the constant working out, pondering, ordering, second guessing and motivating you do!

It really is beautiful out there and we had a wonderful walk, watching the boys dodge oncoming walkers, bikes and numerous dogs and pretending to be on a great adventure.

 

I have also been working busily on etsy this week and have managed to list a few of my items over there, so do visit my little shop - won't you?

Well, for now I will love you and leave you - I'm off to find a pattern for a crochet ear warmer after our chilly walk on the highest place in Sussex (apparently).  Who knows, I may even get one finished in time for next Winter!

XXXXXXX

Happy Hour

 
What a lovely, sunny morning we've had here!  Truly a welcome change from the storms that have buffeted us over the last few days.  Days like this fill you with hope for the year ahead and certainly make my mind race with hundreds of ideas for projects I'd like to get done.  So, this morning I am ignoring the way the sunlight brings to life the dust and dirt of the winter months and just doing the cleaning I can - a new regime of "Friday Clean" for maximum weekend family time.  AND....the boys' sheets are drying on the line outside!  I know it's a small thing - but there is something so pleasurable about hanging washing outside for the first time this year - Spring is on her way and soon the house will not feel so much like a laundry and the washing will smell a little less like dinner!

Other than that, I have managed to balance The Clean with time with Noah.  I am determined to savour the days I have with him now his hours at Pre-school have increased.  So, this morning we played snap with his new Octonauts cards, animal dominoes, a Peppa Pig Floor puzzle and some Gruffalo colouring with his magic colour changing pens (How I loved these as a child - and the wonder has not gone with age - I enjoyed them as much as he did!)

I hope I don't sound smug - because believe me, most days this sort of perfect calm activity is not achieved and that's why I celebrate the days it does!
I even made myself a proper lunch of a yummy salad - something I am hoping to do as often as I can this year - too often I settle for a slice of toast (if that!  Naughty, naughty....).

The lovely sunshine and my new resolution to Love My Home inspired me to take a few photos to share with you of some things I love.  For Christmas my younger brother made us a beautiful wooden chopping board, which now sits proudly underneath one of my Dad's Trug baskets and next to his little spice grinder - ready to whip up some Kashmir Garam Masala at some point soon.

Our little kitchen window sill houses the Flour Jar I found in a charity shop in Bath for my bread and pasta making hubby - and some ceramic bottles bought from two sweet girls who had a table outside the village church a few months ago, raising money for their trip to faraway lands....

A cheeky comic strip sign hangs on the dresser - a gift from my good friend, Esther, who knows me so well!  The beaded "Home" sign at the top of this post was another gift from my friend Sally - a beautiful reminder to me every time I see it that that is what this place is.

The dresser contains a few of my cake stands, gleaned like treasure from charity shops over the years.  The Paper Pom pom was created for our Make Space Christmas Craft Night - but I can't quite bring myself to put it away, so it may stay there!  

A pretty pink plate found on Cinnamon Kid's stall at Grittenham Barn Craft market - a tiny treat to myself and other precious cakey things including a bowl and cupcake stand given to me by my mum and Auntie, a cupcake timer from my sister in law and a little piggy, found in the mud at my childhood home the day we went to do a final clear out.  My Dad loved pigs and this was probably a little ornament we gave him for a birthday when we were kids - so he remains a precious smile prompter of my Dad.

A beautiful cake plate from my Auntie, A blue teacup and saucer left here when we moved in, My Granny's favourite teacup with a very Sussex scene and two funky teacups found whilst Christmas shopping!

Yes, you can see we are Jamie fans in this house - perhaps it's all the pasta recipes!  And you can't go wrong with a bit of Nigella.  The Hummingbird Bakery book, a present from my friend Bev has already become sticky with use - always a good sign for a baking book!

The inventive gift tags our presents came with from my brother Tim and his wife Jo - aren't they lovely?!

So, I hope you've enjoyed the little tour around my kitchen.  It has made me realise how much I am surrounded by evidence of the generosity of others and the love that has been described in the many, many gifts we hold dear.  It does the soul good to have a peek around your home and see what reminds you of the people you love and how much they love you too.  Thank you to all my lovely friends and family who make this house a home.
xxxxxxx

Mmmmmm...cake!

 Another show over and a really lovely atmosphere at Wisborough Green.  It's such a lovely village, especially this time of year when it's horse chestnut lined green bursts into Autumnal oranges and reds.  It was lovely to chat with people and get a bit more into the Christmas spirit - which is proving more difficult this year, with the late warm weather we've been having.  Not that I'm complaining!

When I got back from the show, there was just time for a quick bowl of beetroot soup with feta and croutons.....

and then off to the woods for a leafy walk with the boys and their cousins.  And yes, it is all boys in our family.  We currently have five sons and five nephews! It's just the two youngest in this photo - the others are all playing hide and seek!

 

 I did manage to stop a couple of times to admire the scenery before the relentless pace of the boys spurred me on.  This lichen was particularly lovely colours, don't you think?  Perfect inspiration for a new project of some kind....

Once again, one of the highlights of the show for me was the cake stand - this time the baking expertise of Judy and Kate from Wisborough Green, who had come fresh from icing sugar covered kitchens with their trays of delicious and quite stunningly beautiful cupcakes, tiffin and biscuits.  The whole array of goodies displayed natural baking talent and an eye for making them look as pretty as a picture.  It didn't take long for their stall to empty.  Hats off to you ladies and by the way, loved the popping candy in the tiffin - nice surprise!

My cousin, Natalie and my mum had a stall next to me today - Natalie makes blinds and curtains for a living and I am quite envious of her precision and crispness when it comes to making things from fabric.  I consoled myself with a new apron from her stand - isn't it gorgeous!  I have wanted a new one for a while - sometimes I spend most of my waking hours in an apron and my current one was looking very sad!  This one will be worthy of answering the door in and will certainly cheer me up about having to wear one for the whole day!

So, we did manage to squeeze in a very lovely Thanksgiving dinner last night too - complete with cola baked ham, courtesy of Esther, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry and pear relish and maple and pecan carrots  all finished off with Pumpkin pie and maple cream.  Mmmmm.  (Sorry, no photos of the food - we were all too hungry!!!) Perhaps this is why I woke up so late this morning with only just enough time to pack everything into the car and get on my way, thermos mug in hand!

Tonight is definitely time for that relaxing bath and peruse of Mollie Makes I have been promising myself, before the week ahead, which I think will be full of Bag Buddy making, as I have almost sold out!
xxxxxxx

Super Hero Saturday!

We LOVE dress up in this house (or at least I love to indulge the dressing up urges of my boys!). No, I don't get to do sugar plum fairies, princesses, or Snow White, but I do get to do Medieval Knights, Dinosaurs and today - a very cute little Superhero, off to his first party "on his own"!


There seems to be a ceaseless torrent of requests from school to do dress up - and now that I have 3 at school, it can be quite a time consuming event. However, if you could see the mountain of photos clogging up this hard drive of various boys transformed into pirates, wizards and Jedis, I think you'd be able to tell, I don't really mind!
The investment of time last year to make spotty capes for Children In Need day paid off today when it came to the Superhero party "Supa Noah" was attending. He is at a particularly edible age, when the whole world is new and exciting and small things mean a lot. It was lovely watching him work out how he was meant to act with the outfit on - racing round the garden making all the right noises for someone with superpowers!


Today has felt like one of those days when things go right.
Superhero safely delivered to the party.
Quick jaunt to the farmer's market in town which produced a bounty of Olives and ciabatta for lunch....
around the fire.


We are taking every opportunity for outside time at the moment, not knowing when the weather will change. The boys had a lesson in fire lighting.....


and we toasted brie sandwiches and ate our olives.



My lovely boys also brought me back some cyclamen, which Reuben and I planted up in my new flower border (we have reluctantly given up on the vegetables for now). I love cyclamen - as I explained to my bemused husband, for the tenuous, but significant reason that they featured on the tea set we used in our honeymoon B&B. I know! They just stuck in my memory! And now I have a little splash of colour in the garden to take me back too.




I have had the day in the studio - finishing of a growing "sisterhood" of dolls, which I am uploading to my Facebook page for purchase over the next week if you would like one. It's been crocheted flowers and smiles today! Now they are finished I am looking forward to creating a collection of jewelery.


I hope you have been enjoying this low Autumn sun today as much as I have - there is something quite special about this crisp, clear, but mellow light.

xxxxxxxxx

Oh, and by the way, the real Superhero of the day was definitely my lovely hubby - determined to give the boys a brilliant half term holiday, and succeeding with panache on the first day. Well done. Time for a lovely dinner to finish the day off. xxx

Fruitful seasons

It's been a productive few weeks.
For the first time in seven years, my lovely hubby and I went away on our own, courtesy of my brother and his wonderful wife and their beautiful Bath town house. We had a lovely time, mooching (great word!) about, getting up when we wanted to, going out of the house without having to dress 5 children for whatever weather the next few hours may contain, and basically eating lots!


One of our favourite pass times is good food - mostly cooking it together, but also on the rare occasion a restaurant. And we just had to visit Jamie's, didn't we!


I have to say, it was right up our street. Great food, lively and welcoming atmosphere, originality and creativity and best of all, the chance to watch the chefs working away in the kitchen and the hustle and bustle of the waiting staff preparing bread baskets and drinks. They seemed genuinely happy, and that's got to rub off on you when you're eating their food, hasn't it?! Having worked in restaurants, as a waitress and behind the scenes as a cooking the kitchens, I know that it doesn't have to be shouting and swearing to make it work. There just has to be good working relationship where everyone knows their role and a healthy amount of fun and laughter. That's what food's about - and I really think it tastes better when it's made with a giggle. And that's why I love cooking with my husand! Mmmmmmm....


One lovely treat was to be able to have an undisturbed hour to draw a thank you present for our hosts of their house. I hope they enjoy looking at it as much as I did that hour.


Since getting back, the house has been a flurry of clearing out and making ship shape. We both came back inspired to make our home work for us and our family as we grow into a new season of life. The children are growing quick (too quick!) and we packed the cot away for the fifth time. I have cleared a huge cupboard of years of "too precious to throw out, but not urgent enough to sort out" boxes of photos and memories and we have both filled the recycling bin with our University notes. I now have a Redeem Creations stockroom in said cupboard and very organised under bed boxes full of birthday cards, first drawings and hospital bracelets......sigh.

Time for a new season of fruitfulness.

The Little ones continue to make me smile and I reminded myself this week that one day I will miss finding random toys in my pan cupboard


and the sight of freshly washed soft toys drying.


One day soon I won't be searching frantically everywhere for teddy before bed,


sticking autumn leaves to bits of paper,


or sharing the wonder of colourful balloons in the last sunny days of the summer.


But I am excited about the days to come; helping my boys become young men and gradually finding little windows of time to create.

It's all good.