Makin' lunch....

Saturday's multicultural lunch, made to the tunes of........these guys.

::: Mulch and Magic :::

Knowing our lovely neighbours were having some large trees cut down from their yard this weekend I had discreetly mentioned my desire for some delicious mulch for my gardens.

Well it turns out the tree loppers mulched it all in the truck on their driveway and there was an absolute mountain! They didn't want to take it away with them surprisingly so when the phone rang with the offer of my mulch I replied with a loud and happy "yes!" as I ran out the door and down the road babe in arms and girl trailing behind to check it out and have a chat.

Between our two houses we only took a portion of what there was, the majority generously being for me. So very lucky and so very busy with all the hands we could muster to barrow and bucket it up the road.
Half shifted and half wonderful play mountain.

It now surrounds the cubby house and fills all gardens and just the vegetable paths.

And amazingly, look what popped up in the cubby square over the course of the afternoon. A perfect roost for a little bottom. The Faeries must have been about when we weren't looking......or was it "Bob"??

I've heard these things magically breed too......there will be more.....don't they just make you smile?

Holding trust and a bit of fun.....

Having fun teaching Mia some embroidery and button sewing last week bought to mind the importance of trust, patience and letting go of the need to bridle others creativity.
Mia's little machine has unfortunately now proved more a toy than a "creator" due to it's age and some damage and despite being given little tasks and offcuts to create her own masterpieces Mia is always watching longingly when I sew.
It was time to let go of the idea of waiting to get a "blunt" needle for her to create her own embroidery and just see how she would handle a normal one.

She didn't let the difficulty of every one's favourite part of sewing discourage her....threading the floss through that darn eye. She listened well and began with intent, with a very happy face and nimble little fingers and she watched as her needle created her very own stitches......My girl sewing. My heart warmed watching her sew, watching her think things through and see with pride as her embroidery flowered. I smiled to myself as her plans for her creation evolved as time went on. Who would it be a gift for....what is it a picture of...which coloured floss did she want to change to next?
I got to reduce my pile of cheap craft buttons.....Mia began her learning of a new skill....but most importantly I learnt to trust my girl more and allow the delight of her creative self to momentarily pervade my being.

::: Bitty Booties :::

There's a few new little souls around at the moment. I'm getting, sadly, clucky but will be enveloping, inhaling and satisfying myself with hopefully many tiny fresh cuddles that I am anxiously looking forward to soon.

In the meantime I made some Bitty Booties!
How adorably tiny they are..... of course I made them from this pattern by Heather Bailey.
Hmm should I add them to the flickr pool? They are all so lovely and creative aren't they?
And yep, that's where my first yoyo's went.

Girl's Night....

Mama and girl needed some alone time to reconnect and well, have some fun. So we went, the two of us, to our local show this Saturday night...We went for the noise and smells; lights and rides; dagwood dogs and fairy floss, but mostly for the fireworks..... because we both just love fireworks!

Pencil Wrap

Pencil Wrap
Originally uploaded by HomemadeRainbows

I've been wanting to make one of these for quite some time and seeing as I have begun my "handmade gifting" preparations for upcoming events and *eek* yes, Christmas, I did it. There are things of course I will tweek and perhaps be a bit more (god forbid) professional about when sewing any more but....I'm thinking it's quite funky.

Slow weekend....Slow food

Lunch, freshly selected from the garden. Black Russian tomatoes, beans, snow peas, shallots, wild rocket, lettuce, nasturtium and fresh laid eggs.

Throwing green treats to softly clucking chickens.

"Taste testing" sun warmed produce still growing in the garden.

Waiting eagerly for fresh homemade bread to bake....breathing in the warm yeasty aroma.

Deliciously pungent herb essence, sticky, thick and persistent on fingers from plucking.

Time, for sewing and creating; choosing colour and shape; feeling texture and working thread.

Sharing a custard apple in the sun...an indulgent and delectable tradition. A memory reignited of sharing the sweetness with my own Mum as a young girl too.

Yoyo's....

OK I have a confession.....
so maybe I'm a tad behind the masses....maybe I'm a bit uncool in the crafting world.....I even had to phone my Mum and ask what those "cute little round fabric things that gather in the middle" are called, so I could find a tutorial on how to make them.....I've never made Yoyo's before.
These are my first one's. I think I'm in love....but knowing me it's probably just an infatuation....I'll get over it.
Their simplicity leads me down the path of embarrassment. But their foolproof construction, prettiness and vintage appeal promptly surmounts any chagrin at having overlooked these small sweet wheels of fabric for so long and delivers me a steadfast grin instead.

Dreaming of Africa....

Well maybe more Marrakesh.
These gorgeous golden bulbs of sourness did not come from Morocco however but were amongst another bag full of naturally grown citrus goodness from Pottsville given to me on Sunday.
This is about my third or fourth bag this year and each time I keep promising to make some Moroccan preserved lemons....I can't keep putting them in my Corona's can I?

So I made some yesterday. I altered the instructions as my jars were only small and couldn't fit whole ones....especially of this girth. I just salted the quarters and threw in a few cloves and peppercorns (if I had cinnamon sticks in the pantry I would have added those as well and maybe a bay leaf) plus some extra juice and....squish and shake.
These should cure over about a month and last about 6 months...ready for spring and summer salads, olives and maybe a last minute warming indulgent winter tagine. I'll shake and turn them every day.

And still on my intercontinental kitchen journeying and again ending some procrastination on the subject I plucked some of my mint, which has been loving the overnight rain, while out picking peas for dinner this morning. It was time to actually make that Moroccan mint tea I love so much.

So into the teapot it went with some nice organic green tea, steaming water and sugar (I just kept it at a teaspoon...not tablespoons like those sweet toothed traditionalists love so much).

Mmmm I've just finished my first cup now.

I'm going to make some mint syrup that Sabrina has made on her blog next!

And when I can get my hands on lots more lemons I have bigger plans for them too.