Catchup

Hi! I've not posted for the last couple of days because I went up to visit my sister in Nottingham. By golly, does she spoil us when we go there! Wonderful food as ever and because I took me eldest (Gluten Free and Vegan), my sister rose magnificently to the new challenge and cooked up some fabulous recipes for her to eat.

Jamie Oliver's, nut roast with mushrooms, tofu and spinach - delicious! 

Back home now though and thinking about all the little jobs I need to get done. So what am I actually doing? Reading everyone's blogs and writing on mine!!

I have managed to make another two containers of washing liquid this morning at least. I've also written a list and done one load of washing, so not an entirely wasted morning! 

The challenge of finding appropriate care for my Mum continues! For the uninitiated, this process is far from simple, particularly when you aren't close by! Due to her complex needs, there are only three homes in her area that are equipped to take her. One said yes, but I said no! Another one said yes, then changed their minds. The third is full with a long waiting list. The first one now has another place and I suspect that because Mum is in a hospital bed - bed blocking - she will have to move there, at least for the time being. Thank heavens that Mum isn't aware of all of this at least! It really is a case of one step forwards, three steps back. Perhaps this home will turn out to be just what Mum needs and my initial reservations (not founded on much more than instinct to be fair) will turn out to be unjustified!

We are off for our annual holiday next week. I have booked a week in a cottage in the Gower area of Wales, so I'm hoping for dry weather and some sunshine if at all possible so we can fit in lots of walks and I can play with my new camera which was my Birthday present at the weekend! There are a lot of buttons on it and all the instructions are in German! I did do my degree in German and French, but it was a VERY long time ago and it's very technical. Where we are staying is very remote, no TV, no internet, no phone! It will be a test for the teenagers amongst us, but also means that I won't be blogging at all next week - I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, just hibernating in rural Wales! I'm hoping to have some lovely photos to post the week after! Here is a link to where we are staying....its isolation looks magnificent to me :)

http://www.clovercliff.co.uk

So, if I don't speak to you before hand, have a wonderful Easter break and I wish you all a peaceful, rewarding and gentle week ahead x 

home made treasures - final part

And now on to the bedrooms...

Ours first..

The final piece from artist Rachel Shute, given to me the same Christmas I received my husband's song. I shed a few tears that year!

In my son's room....

  

He and his father are Manchester City fans, so when he moved into his own bedroom, I took his first kit and made it up into a framed piece. When I look at him now, it's hard to believe he ever fitted into it! 

My youngest daughter's room...

 

A découpaged box to match her vintage style room.

The frame I made her for Christmas this year

A take home gift from a friend's birthday party. A lovely idea! 

A memento of her babyhood x 

 Daughter number two's room...

The fabric covered door handles I made her this Chrismas.

The chairs I upcycled. The green for daughter number two and the pink to match my youngest daughter's room. 

My eldest daughter's bedroom is a war zone, so even if there are treasures up there, it would be difficult to see them! This is one of her pieces from GCSE Art which fortunately was just inside the hatch (she has the loft room). It's a shame I couldn't locate more of her beautiful embroidery pieces.... 

 Well that ends the tour of some of my home made treasures. They bring me joy every day and I'm looking to create many more, which I will of course blog about! Eventually I aim to have a totally individualised home full of hand crafted items and wonderful memories .

Have a fabulous weekend x 

Home made treasures (part two)

Moving on through the house....

In the bathroom we had a canvas made up from a photograph taken by either myself or one of my two eldest daughters (none of us could quite remember!). The bathroom is all very light and neutral in colour,  but the accent colours are chocolate and orange! 

This is so cheerful and because I was working in a school at the time, the Tech department made up the frame for me and printed it off for £7.50! 

In the hallway....

 

Illustrations of my three eldest children by the same North Devon artist - Rachel Shute - who did the mussels painting in the dining room. I used to childmind her son when he was very little. 

This was made for us by the parents of one of our students (we met whilst teaching at the same school)who was also our bridesmaid. Her mother made the cross stitch and her dad made the frame. All the pictures have meaning from our adored Golden Retriever to the ' key to learning'. The white flowers at the sides are the bryony flower.

In the upstairs cloakroom...

My husband wrote me a song and recorded it with a friend who was Head of Music at their school. It was my Christmas present and made me cry! Soppy old soul he is! 

Final instalment tomorrow! X 

Home made treasures (Part one)

There are certain possessions dotted around my home that bring me particular pleasure because they have either been made by myself or my children or made for us by creative friends. I thought I would give you a little guided tour of my home made treasures and perhaps others could post some photos of their favourite little treasures?
I'm going to start from the back of the house in the conservatory...

Pebbles brought back from our holiday in Yorkshire, painted with acrylics.

Framed cards - the top one was from my eldest daughter last Mothers Day. I loved the colours!

This was a handmade card from my neighbour which was so beautiful it deserved to be framed!

My little seaside hanging made from driftwood collected from the beach at Staithes and recycled Galt  beads from my childhood

In my kitchen and dining room .....

I made these little magnetic découpage hearts as take-home gifts for my youngests Birthday party guests one year. This was my daughter's one. 

Painted by my eldest many many years ago! 

Painted by my youngest many years ago! 

My eldest daughter has been teaching herself cross stitch and embroidery. These are two of her earliest efforts. She's an absolute natural at it!

This Batik was made for me by a friend from my earliest teaching days. I love the colours in it!

One of our most recent acquisitions by another old friend who is a talented artist now living in the very beautiful North Devon. Again, I was drawn in by the stunning blues (my favourite colour!) 

Tomorrow, I'll continue the tour through the hall and upstairs. I'd love to see any home made, personalised gifts you have made or received. There's something so special about being able to look at an item and remember the person who made it at the same time as admiring the treasure itself!

Life goes on

I know it's a cliché, but every loss is replaced with a new beginning. Surely that is the very cycle of life we all belong to? 

I am sad each time I look out of my windows and there is an eerie stillness at the bottom of the garden, but I also know that given time, there will be more life scratching around down there providing me with eggs and much amusement.

I am inordinately sad that my mother is slipping away from me more each day, but my brother and I are her legacy and we have done and will continue to do our best by her grandchildren, so the love and nurturing that she and dad gave us is passed on.

My father passed away 10 years ago last January and I remember very clearly looking out of my window the following day to see the first camellia bud opening. It was reassuring. Life affirming even! 

Yesterday I went into the conservatory to see all of the new growth including runner beans, newly popped up from the compost and I was reminded of life's inexorable cycle. 

Thank you so much to all of you who took the time to comment and also to those who no doubt popped by and thought of me. I am very comforted that the world is still populated by good, kind people. X 

A roller coaster ride

I haven't ever written a post like this before because I normally keep my posts fairly neutral, but yesterday was such an extraordinary day that I thought I'd share it with you. It is part of my journey after all and that was the original purpose of my blog.

My mother has been suffering from vascular dementia for some time now and due to a series of events (and yes they were unfortunate for those of you who know the books!), her health both physical and mental has deteriorated significantly and rapidly over the last 10 weeks. She is no longer able to live at home and presently is being cared for by the wonderful staff in a small Devon cottage hospital, whilst we wait for a suitable placement to become available. As it was Mother's Day yesterday, I felt I wanted to ring her and talk to her (we live over 3 hours away so visiting isn't easy). She was very drowsy, but recognised me at least. I wished her a Happy Mothers Day, but then she began to sob down the phone that her brother had died. (I knew he hadn't, but one for one terrible moment I thought perhaps it was true). Nothing I could say would reassure her, so we had to end the conversation after just a few traumatic moments.
My mother is a strong, independent-minded woman who worked most of her life. She is well educated, well travelled and interesting. She is generous and funny, challenging and infuriating too! The woman she is now, is not that woman. I have been robbed of my mother by this cruel disease. I am grieving for the loss of her whilst she is still alive and it's like a slow torture because I know that when the end comes to give her peace, I will grieve all over again at her passing.
After a difficult start, I decided to improve the day by posting my Homestart Mum a Mother's Day card from me to her. As I've said previously she's doing a fine job in difficult circumstances and I believe that people all benefit from being praised for their efforts. Hopefully she liked it.
My beautiful children cooked me a wonderful meal and had fun doing it too. I had roasted vegetable tart with home made coleslaw and potato salad, followed by chocolate chilli fondants served with ice cream and a rich chocolate sauce. The table was beautifully laid with flowers and candles and there was a lovely bottle of wine to go with the meal. It was a beautiful end to what had started out as an emotionally draining day...

Or so I thought...
.....unfortunately I am very sad to say that the foxes got Rosemary and Marigold last night. They snuck in in the dark and stole them away. I am very sad as I loved my two cheeky feathered ladies. It has been pretty horrendous going down to their run this morning and not being greeted by their funny little noises. I will get some more chickens, but not quite yet. There's some grieving still to be done.

So as you can see, a real emotional roller-coaster of a day. I feel utterly exhausted this morning. Not helped by an iPad update which blocked me from accessing my blog! 40 frustrating minutes later, I finally managed to regain access. As you can imagine, my patience was a little strained this morning, so I may not have been as lady like as I can be!!

Now I'm going to take a very deep breath, put on my pinny, plug in some loud music and clean. It will be suitably therapeutic I'm sure and cheaper than counselling, alcohol or drugs!

GF Vegan spiced pumpkin and sultana cake with cinnamon frosting

A long title for what turned out to be little (or large) mouthfuls of heaven!! I found some recipes on they internet - merged and adapted a few so here's my adapted recipe -

It's on foil because my eldest was taking a slice for her night shift. As you can see the topping is a little thin, but still very tasty. 

2 cupfuls of pumpkin puree (I used a 400g tin of pumpkin puree because I had one)
1 cupful of vegan margarine (non vegans could use butter or stork)
1 1/2 cupfuls of sugar ( any variety would do I guess. I used granulated)
4 eggs ( I used vegan egg replacer of course)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp mixed spice
2 cupfuls GF self raising flour (or normal of you're not a coeliac!)
2 tsp GF baking powder
2 cups sultanas (I guess you could leave these out, but they added extra depth)

Whisk the pumpkin and spread together, beat in the sugar and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Carefully add the dry ingredients until everything is well incorporated. Stir in the sultanas.
Pour the mixture into a greased lined cake tin. I used a deep 20cm square tin.
Pop in a pre heated oven at 180c for about an hour. Test with a skewer. I left. I've to cook for the hour then popped it back in the oven after I had turned the heat off for another 20 mins.
Once the cake is totally cooled, add the frosting...

For the frosting:-
2 cups icing sugar
A few drops vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup vegan spread (or butter etc)
A few drops almond milk (or dairy alternative or even water)

Mix all of the ingredients together and then pop in the fridge whilst the cake is baking. I didn't leave mine long enough and it was rather runny - delicious still but too runny!!

This cake is beautifully spiced, moist, filling, moreish ....... I think you get the picture :)