Foraging trip

Here are some images from last week's foraging trip (a local wander to find hedgerow items for this post).

I don't often use black and white images but felt like a bit of a change.

Normal colour service will be resumed shortly.

Creativity and cupboard-clearing

There have been lots of birthdays recently: family, friends, babies...

Jay's brother had a birthday last week and he and his wife have been busily planting their garden up (having bought their first home together last year). So we took him a grape vine  - they're wine connoisseurs - and a fig tree.

There are two more first birthday parties this weekend so I've been drawing again.

I still have a boy's version to do. Having complained in this post about a lack of creative space, I emptied out a cupboard in the kitchen and had a bit of a tidy-out. The salad spinner, cake tins (where did they all come from?) and popcorn maker (Jay's favourite gadget) are now neatly rehoused. And there's a space - now filled - for art things. My pencils, charcoals, coloured pens, paints and brushes, sketchbooks and printer now live near the little kitchen table.

My ceramics course starts again tomorrow. The tutor said we can pretty much do what we like, so I'm planning on continuing with the nature theme I chose last time around. And I get to see the things I made too, all fired and glazed. I'm quite excited but slightly anxious they'll be a bit rubbish. This time tomorrow I'll be coming home with a few bits of pottery wrapped in brown paper and whatever I think, Jay will say they're great. And sincerely mean it.

That helps.

Five Things

This book. I've wanted it for ages and it doesn't disappoint... I'm looking for ideas as my ceramics and art courses start next week. Plus, I love Angie Lewin's work.

This cordial. It's addictive and perfect made up with sparkling water. And it's made in Rossendale (from the last remaining temperance bar in the country). I'm a Rossendale girl, born and bred.

This honey - a gift from my mum's recent holiday in North Wales. Good on toast. Even better on Greek yogurt with a few walnuts.

This sweet little jumper, knitted for Joe by a family friend (someone we've never met). She even made him another slightly bigger one for when he outgrows this one. A thank you letter is in order.

These wildflowers growing in the Moss. It's not really a flowery kind of place - more green because of all the trees and shrubs - so it's nice to spot a bit of colour in there.

We've been enjoying the sunshine. Tomorrow we're off to Jay's brother's house in Manchester for a birthday barbecue, then next Saturday and Sunday we have three more birthday parties. I think we'd give anything for a long, lazy weekend away somewhere!

Nature in the Home: hedgerow

'Hedgerow' was this week's theme for Lou's Nature in the Home series. I found it a bit of a challenge as there had been a big pot full of cow parsley on the mantelpiece at the weekend and I've just finished picking up all those tiny little petals.

So we went for a little walk yesterday evening down a farm track near home. I spotted (and photographed) pink clover, buttercups and dandelion clocks. But I brought home some of the branches we always point out in winter. They're dead and dried out, and I think from elder trees. 

I love the sulphur yellow lichen on them.

I've also got a bit of red campion.

And what's known as plantain (I learnt this from a new book - more in a later post).

And no, these aren't eggs pinched from a nest. They're quail's eggs from a trip to the 'egg man' this afternoon. He sells his own honey and eggs, plants, fruit and vegetables from the garage of his little farmhouse. You can also buy kindling wood and a few oddities.

The plan is to blow the eggs for a small project. For You Know Who.

Lilacs

We had a bit of a get-together on Sunday and wheeled the barbecue out. Ribs, home-made coleslaw, chicken on skewers, sausages, burgers, beer, Eton mess... yum.

Anyway, my mum's neighbour had kindly let her cut me a big bunch of lilacs. They look lovely. Another shrub to add to the 'one day' list.

They started to droop a little bit yesterday, but as I've mentioned before (somewhere), I used to work as a florist. Top tip: if flowers look a bit wilty, take an inch or so from the bottom of the stem. Cut it diagonally. Then plunge into boiling water and leave for half an hour or so.

It doesn't work with all flowers but it's good for things like roses and chrysanthemums. The boiling water clears any blockages in the stem so the flower can take water up again.

My lilacs are happy once more.

And yes - I have done that Thing That Everyone's Doing These Days: arranged my books in order of colour. It looks quite nice.

Looking forward

Joe seems to be coming along in leaps and bounds lately. In the past few weeks he's mastered the art of sitting up straight without toppling over, he's started crawling and we clean his teeth every day (all three of them). 

He's also had his first go on a swing - he loved it - and been on his first bus ride.

In some ways I feel sad when I look at all the little things he's outgrown, especially favourite items of clothing. But we're thinking about his birthday in August and looking forward to lots more 'firsts'.

 Like playing with his abacus...

And going to the beach (probably Formby or a trip to Hilbre Island).

And reading fairy tales together (this lovely blog inspired me to hunt out vintage children's books). I've also started collecting old Observer guides to encourage Joe's appreciation of nature).

I actually took this book to bed with me - nothing like a bit of escapism before going to sleep. My favourite story: The Princess and the Pea.

The windmill can go in his first sandpit. Yet another project for Jay...

Joe's grip is good now too. He's like a little lobster. Hopefully he'll get the hang of his pop-up pirate soon. We bought that and the spinning top from a craft fair. I'm a sucker for traditional toys.

I loved marbles when I was at primary school. Although Joe will have to wait until the compulsion to shove everything in his mouth is well and truly behind him before we have any tournaments.

Sad though it is to put outgrown clothes away, I'm looking forward to dressing him in some new things - like this retro T shirt...

And this little yellow raincoat which matches mine (not deliberate but it will look cute). We'll need a pair of wellies and a dinky umbrella too...

The red jacket was a gift from Joe's auntie. He's a very lucky little boy and I can't wait to do new things together. Which makes me a very lucky mummy.

Be Prepared

A picnic blanket and a raincoat - says it all about the British summer, doesn't it? I know it's not quite summer yet but this is what I had at the ready for a get-together a few weekends ago and it reminded me of a previous post where I wrote about noticing the small everyday things which make you feel good.

'Be Prepared' is, of course, a motto employed by the Scouts. And there's something very satisfying about that. Having the right tool for the job. Not being caught out. Things like having change in your purse, an umbrella when it starts raining, wellies on your feet when your walk turns muddy... the list is potentially very long (and fun to think about).

Having a baby to take care of demands a lot of preparation. Even a quick trip out to run a few errands can turn into something resembling a military operation. Food, nappies, suncream, a toy or two, a change of clothes (just in case). And the planning around feeding and napping times gets a bit difficult too.

It can take the fun out of things. It's quite taxing on the brain.

Although I always feel very pleased with myself when I remember to take the rain cover for the pram. A small but significant victory, every time.

Not too long ago people always had the right things at the ready for the task at hand. Driving gloves, road atlases, boiled sweets, travel rugs. Hipflasks. Bed jackets. Shooting sticks. Things were done correctly. And although our house is small and we don't have the accessories to cover every eventuality in life (I'm thinking bread makers and ice cream machines here), there are things which make me feel pleased when I remember to organise them. Some I've blogged about, some I haven't. Here are a few:

Keeping sunglasses in the car
(Ditto tissues and lip balm in my handbag)
Writing a meals and ingredients list for the weekly food shop
Updating my diary
Having a few spare birthday cards in the drawer
Having a supply of Paracetamol in the bathroom cabinet
My phone and camera being fully charged
Marking my page with a bookmark.

No specialist equipment required, just a bit of forethought.

Of course, I'm always forgetting to buy things, to take something out of the freezer, to write something down. But it never ends in a catastrophe. So pulling that umbrella out of my bag when the clouds gather is hard to beat.

Sometimes, it's the little things.