La Rentree

Did you know that the French (and the Italians) have a word for this time of year? La Rentree (il rientro) is the autumnal time for going back to school. In these countries it's more than just the return to school. Often it's the return to work after the extended summer holiday (that they still seem to have for 2 weeks in August in Italy where every man woman and child seems to go on holiday and everything closes!).

I think it's a good word to describe this time of year. BigR returned to school on Monday (with labelled uniform!) and we start to settle into that autumn routine. It's a time for birthdays and for plans. And for stationery of course. It's a time when I feel relentlessly positive, a fresh start, a new moment. even the darkening evenings don't squash my perky mood

I'm more than ready for Autumn. We had a really good summer but this Autumn feels like a new year. LittleR is much better and things can continue in more of an even keel. 

I've been making plans:

• things to do (places to go - I want to see the poppy exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park)
• things I'd like to do in the house (including sorting through the epic number of toys and actually getting some out of the house, probably under the cloak of darkness), 
• things I'd like to make (food and crafty stuff)
• things which need to be done (replace a window - ugh!)

So my newest plan is to make a shawl for myself and knitted dolls for the girls from a most excellent book by Jane Bull. 

I've bought the wool for all the projects....and am itching to get going. 

However...

I've already gotten in a knot with the biggest Titus skein. I'm also totally confused by the pattern. Turn the work 90 degrees clockwise and knit into itself? Might as well be in gibberish! Ah well I'll get there eventually. It's a good job Autumn and Winter last a long time!

New routines and rituals

You know how it is. Those activities you just have to do before you can settle to something else. Like tidying up before revising for an exam. Or finishing the ironing/cleaning the loo/scooping out plugholes before you make yet another visit to the hospital. Or just having a quick coffee before you get on with anything. I've been thinking about routines and rituals. I've written about it before and seen others writing about it recently. How the ebb and flow of life subtly changes and you develop new routines and habits.

:: I'm still a slave to a coffee. I love our bean to cup machine. It gets used multiple times a day and make the most delicious coffee. I have to have a very specific mug. My favoured Orla Kiely mug met an untimely demise at the hands of LittleR, so I'm currently on the look out for a new one. I'm liking the look of this one.

:: Since the onset of "the illness" my hands have never been more sore and cracked. Actually, that's not true. My hands were just as dry when both girls were born and I was hand washing multiple times a day. So my newest ritual is remembering to apply hand cream. You would think this would be easy...sore hands, oh yes apply cream. But no. I have to be very mindful to do this. I have some lovely cream and some prescribed cream neither of which are near me when I think ooh apply cream. Maybe I should string it round my neck?

:: Our latest (unwanted) routine is Early Rising. The littlest has taken to whining very early in the morning (somewhere between 5.15 and 5.40). I have no idea what's waking her. She doesn't want to get up but doesn't want to stay in bed. I have to go in and pat her, where after she might consider being quiet for another 15 or so minutes. Or not. It's very boring when you're sleeping badly enough as it is. Hard going on the ABO when he's been on lates too. We're thinking about a gro clock (although that had limited success with BigR!) and thicker curtains (to cover the blackout blind!).

:: My favourite new ritual is watering the plants.  I'm expecting we'll be spending a lot of time at home this summer with plenty of it in the garden. So we've bought some new garden furniture and are making plans to grow 'stuff'. I'm working on the flower beds now. I sowed some cornflower seeds last week and they're just starting to sprout...I'm very excited. We've planted some peas (now proper plants!), beans (just poking through) and strawberries (bought with flowers on for best possible chance of success!) and I'm hoping to get a tub of carrots and radishes going. Never had much luck in previous years with carrots of radishes but you can try again can't you? The biggest thing is getting outside to water them but it's easier now as the girls are both a little more independent in playing in the garden, I can tend to the plants - before havoc ensues! And if the plants survive balls, hula hoops and enthusiasm from the smallest!

:: A ritual I'm hoping to get back is making. I don't feel I've been very creative the last few weeks. I've been seeing others' efforts and feeling the need again. So I've dusted off my sewing machine and ordered some new bobbins and needles. The skirts (I've mentioned before) for the girls are top of the list. I've been looking through my recipe books (getting excited to see Nigel Slater is writing a 3rd volume of  Kitchen Diaries) and want to make some new things to eat. Just recently I made a (very delicious) pistachio cake adapted from a Fay Ripley recipe and some coleslaw. I was amazed how much tastier it was without the raw onion. I'm also keen to make an embroidery for my friend's baby girl. So, I have plans  - now I just need some motivation to get started!

Ten Things :: February

:: February has been the month I've been suffering from inertia. A feeling I should be doing something but not knowing quite what that something should be and as such not doing very much at all...at work and at home...until I suddenly think about it or write it all down and realise I've just not been doing anything particularly blogworthy in the ta-dah finished object sense of the word but have actually had a really full month.

:: In February, I finally, finally unravelled the delicious ball of malabrigo sock yarn. It's actually a lovely striping green colour, not that you can see that here. It was definitely a labour of love (with much swearing). I'm planning to make this hat with it, but in the usual way, I now have another project on the go. That project being a scarf for the ABO. I've chosen a simple pattern, mistake rib stitch and thank goodness for that as I've already had to frog back and restart. Maybe that's why it's called mistake rib stitch? The yarn is a beautiful charcoal grey but doesn't look quite right here, i'll blame the electric lighting, Anyway, seems to be going OK...for now

:: February has been the month I've been making bread. Quite a bit in the breadmaker (just a regular white loaf) but also pizza (since discovering that using semolina on the baking tray stops it sticking!!) and this challah. It's a traditional recipe with egg and honey meaning it's really light and tasty.
I was somewhat surprised that the loaf rose to fill the entire baking tray...

:: February was the month of rainy afternoon TV viewing. We watched 'Frozen' (again...and again), 'Cinderella' and 'Room on the Broom' and the girls' favourite....'Four in a Bed' (the show where B&B owners stay in each others' businesses and rate them). They're both really taken with the idea of checking for dust in the bedrooms and giving marks out of ten for the facilities. hopefully they won;'t be looking too hard for the dust here!!

:: February is Christmas all over again. Or that's what the Christmas cactus is thinking.

:: February is actually July. I found roses flowering in the garden! The weather just has no idea.

:: February was the month when my very good friend L, gave birth to her second child. A girl this time round. I'm so excited to meet her. I'm also thinking of what to make for her. When her son was born, I did an embroidery, maybe I will again.

:: February meant that it was half term. BigR had a great week. A couple of 'Daddy days' whilst I worked and LittleR was at nursery. Then some family days out, long walks and a trip to Yorkshire Wildlife Park and ate a picnic outside without our coats! 

:: February was the month of trying a new cake. I (with BigR's help) made an almond, orange and cardamom cake that Jen suggested on her blog. I didn't have a blood orange so just went with a regular one. Yummy.

:: February has been the garden planning month. What to plant, what jobs need doing. We definitely need to make the gate to the garden more secure as the Littlest is planning her escape at any opportunity. The ABO dug up  a dead rose today...you wouldn't believe the roots on those plants! We bought a wendy house for the girls; it's already been put to good use. It's very cosy. I might take up residence if I get badly marked for the facilities in the next game of 'Four in a Bed'.

Monday Happies

I

Once again I’m joining in with the very lovely Gillian.

I’ve finally cast on some new knitting. This time it’s a hat for me. I received the pattern and the wool as a gift last Christmas and then, of course, by the time I’d finished the dog for LittleR it was way too warm to even consider making a hat for winter. It’s an easy knit and is coming along apace. So much so I can already see the finishing line. Maybe I should’ve taken another picture of progress so far? Although it may be too warm for a hat. Although I’ve dredged the boots out of the wardrobe, I’ve actually been coatless today. Outside. In Leeds. At the end of October. The weather is unseasonably warm.

I used a birthday voucher for a trip to Bettys Cookery School last week. It was brilliant. Not only did I make some delicious dishes to take home I was well fed and watered during the day with lots of Betty’s cakes and biscuits. It was a smaller course than normal and I chose the ‘One Pot Wonders’ day – although there were so many tempting courses to choose from. I thought it would be better to try out some things I might actually cook again rather than a patisserie day or elegant entertaining – both brilliant but the former is too much faff for a school day and the latter unlikely to happen until my children leave home.

We ate like Kings for the next 3 days as the ABO and I tucked into; Lancashire hotpot, Steak and Mushroom Pudding (thanks to an IG cry out Sue saved me from a steaming faux pas) and a chicken, chorizo and bean stew. There were also Autumn fruit charlottes. And we didn’t have 2 each. With ice-cream on the same night. No not at all.

I’ve already recreated the Lancashire hotpot – well what I mean is as is often my way I’ve changed it completely but just used the potato topping with what I had in the freezer!! This time it was a hotpot with beef and veggies in the pot.

All this savoury cooking has meant I’ve needed some sweet treats to go with it. The ABO saw an interview with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall somewhere and was hankering after some of his ultra choc brownies (available in his new book). I resisted the book for about a week (I loved Everyday veg but wasn’t so keen on Three Good Things) but it has some interesting recipes in it and lots that can be adapted or are specifically for various ‘free’ diets (e.g. gluten free). 

The recipe for these brownies is gluten free but my supermarket didn’t have any rice flour or gluten free flour and as that isn’t a necessity in our house I just used regular flour. It didn’t seem to make a difference to the outcome. They were (please note use of past tense) very, very chocolatey. The recipe is available online here. 

The garden continues to surprise me. There are still roses about to bloom.

The blueberry leaves have turned the most gorgeous red.

And the chillies continue to ripen (until LittleR picks them and attempt to chop on one…fortunately she stopped before she bit into it!).

I’ve been browsing some seed catalogues and bulb seller websites and getting totally carried away.

Although I’m not usually a fan of the actual day (or the days after) the clocks change (one of my children thinks 4am is a newly acceptable time to put the lights on!), I’m trying to embrace it this year with more coffee opportunities and extra time awake to chat to BigR and read or knit especially as the ABO is on an early shift. Hopefully normal (by that I mean post 5am!) service will be resumed shortly.

Friday happies on a Friday

I can hardly believe it is Friday already this week. The time (especially as I’ve been off work) has just been zipping by. It’s been a couple of weeks of change not only in the season, there’s definitely more than a sniff of autumn in the air but also changes for us. BigR started school and turned 5. I survived a children’s party and the immense pressure of pass the parcel (who knew it was sooooo stressful? Making sure every child had a turn, making sure it wasn’t my child that ‘won’ the big prize – or maybe that’s just me?!). I also survived another bout of sickness which led to an extra couple of days off work for me to care for LittleR (she was fine but there was a 48 hour exclusion period after illness so she couldn’t go to nursery!). We’ve been switching things round at home too. Clearing a few things out – this time of year really appeals to my getting organised side. We’ve changed BigRs room a little bit by giving her a big girl bed and some new wardrobes now the old furniture doesn’t fit in the room (they’re still to be delivered and then built!). We’ve made upstairs a bit more play friendly by moving some toys into LittleRs room so it’s more of a play room for the girls too. I’m feeling exceptionally smug about my pinterest find for Barbie type dolls....it’s stopped me stepping on them. Of course, it could be they just have too many toys....

So in no particular order and joining in with Gillian, here are my happies.

The garden

I’ve been loving being outside. The ABO has been on lates so I’ve been doing the school pick up (still not quite used to that) and we’ve been having an hour in the garden before tea. It’s really helped to ensure a good night’s sleep for everyone! LittleR cannot get enough of being outside. Someone just has to mention the word garden and she’s off to get her shoes. She really cannot get enough of it.

We seem to have quite a few sunflower buds appearing. I thought they’d flower a lot earlier who knew they’d be perfect in September?

 I’m enjoying the second flurry of flowers my clematis are having. The deep red one was bought as it has the same name as LittleR (there’s also a heuchera in the garden with BigR’s name - no one is left out) and the purple one appeared in a flower pot of sweet peas my Dad gave me a few years ago. Can you see the green beetle in the purple one? I wonder if he thought he was shielded by the flower centre? Not sure what he is or if he’s a danger to my clematis but I was struck at the colour contrast.

We’ve had great success with our blueberries. I was a little bit quick off the mark and offered one to BigR about 3 weeks ago which she declared disgusting. An extra few weeks of ripening and they are delicious.

I’m also very pleased with the success of our pepper. It’s not very big but is turning a beautiful red colour. I wonder when it’ll be best to pick?

School

BigR is loving school. She didn’t cry. I didn’t cry. I ate biscuits and wondered about the house being quiet.

One thing I am amused by is the magic portal of the school bag. BigR comes home and messages are imparted via the magic portal. I am amazed by the sheer number of letters she has had already. Also, it has magical properties. She brings home a wonderful creation (or some tat – for example she may have brought home a 12 egg egg box filled with pom poms and wool cuttings and still wet pva glue) which we consider as decoration in various places in the house before LittleR grabs it and attempts to inhale the contents thereby it makes its way back into the magic portal not to be seen again.

We live opposite her school. This is good for a whole number of reasons. However one downside was realised today. The ABO was sorting something in his car boot and she was outside (in a lesson) which resulted in lots of shouting ‘Hello Daddy!!’. We joked that she’d be asking where we were if the car was not on the drive when she was at school!!

Birthday

BigR was 5 on Monday. Five. Five. How did that happen?
We all survived the party and the present opening and all the grandparents visiting before school in the afternoon. She had a fabulous time. She loved her ‘Frozen’ party and her ‘Elsa cake’ (which even though I say so myself, was delicious, and yes I had the final slice!).

Elsa barely leaves her side now.

101 days :: 1-7

Day 1

• The ABO being back home…and now based locally!
• A new notebook
• LittleR feeding everyone soggy toast at breakfast time

Day 2

• Lunch with the ABO
• Big R retrieving a card for me from her nursery drawer

Day 3

• Being out in the garden…making headway on the weeding and enjoying the sunshine.
• Planting seeds (with muddy feet)

• BigR collecting my weeds into a large flower pot

Day 4

• Homemade and bought Mother’s Day cards and gifts
• Beautiful tulips and daffodils
• Chicken, lemon and thyme risotto…yum yum

Day 5

• R staying in bed until 5.55am! A result!!
• Coffee on the way to work
• The lighter evenings
• Primroses in huge pots at work

• Bird song - Mistle thrush/Field fare – looked like both these birds and couldn’t capture a picture, but seems to have fieldfare song on RSPB bird identifier but not convinced!

Day 6

• New books – including 100 knitted and crochet flowers…all the more reason to learn to crochet now!
• Sunshine after fog
• Handbag organiser…where have you been all my life?

 

• Ticking off long awaited jobs on my list

Day 7

• Sandwiches made for me - why do sandwiches made by someone else always taste better?
• Completing a piece of work!!

Small happinesses

It’s been a tiring day. Up at 4am with a child who had ‘finished their sleep’. I managed to convince her to go back to sleep (until 5.30am) but sadly I then just laid there, wide awake, waiting for her to get up again and for the morning to start (I used the time productively and got on with my book!). This evening could only be described as a parenting fail. Bedtime was a bit (ha!) of a disaster and she finally fell asleep (ran out of excuses?) around 8.30pm. So after a pretty exhausting day which included lots of walking in the rain, rushing and the horrors of ‘networking’ (shudder) I’m going to focus on things that have given me a little lift over the last week.

:: A new butter dish. Reduced in Waitrose I couldn’t resist it. I’ve coveted an Orla Kiely one but this one will do just as well in the interim...until my birthday. Actually can you ever have too many dishes? I could always use two butter dishes, one for unsalted and salted butter each. Easy.

 

:: Daffodils. I’ve barely been able to walk past the flowers in the supermarket. They cheer up the kitchen on a grey morning or on a sunny morning.

:: Just below the daffs...the dishwasher. Also a source of immense joy (sigh). 

:: One of our cacti is flowering. The buds open and close through the day and are longlasting. There are at least 4 buds on this one so we’ll see if they all open.

:: Lemon and lime curd – I cheated and used this recipe (halved) and the microwave. It’s zesty and sharp and delicious on plastic white bread!

 

:: Train travel with a coffee (black Americano) and a magazine. In this case the journey was short (25 minutes) to York for work. But that didn’t stop my purchases

 

:: Enjoying my job. Attending a conference. I don’t like ‘networking’. I find it hard and I’m not very good at it but I do like learning and listening to inspirational people and that’s what was good today. That and the coffee at the venue.

 

:: Walking through Leeds and York at opposite ends of the day, The weather was grey andA rainy. In fact it only seemed to rain when I needed to walk today! But it was time to think and photograph (poorly I know with my phone) ...before heading home.

 The library and town hall at 8am.

Clifford Tower at 4pm.

:: Planning days out in April...including a baby shower (where we’ll have afternoon tea) and a ‘date’ (getting babysitter!!) with the ABO.

 

:: Making lists and plans. A trip to Ikea is needed (we need a step stool...I have a bruise on my head and a broken pyrex bowl to prove it). Just how many totally necessary items will fall into my basket on the way round? I like the look of the Brakig collection....

:: Rev – possibly the funniest show on TV. As ever Olivia Colman is superb!