And The Fairies Are Tired......

The wisdom of having our children's birthdays 90 minutes apart was questioned extensively last week and at the weekend! Two parties, two home made cakes on top of work and everything else felt like hard work. But their faces when they saw said cakes, the quiet seconds hush as candles are blown out, wishes are made and happy birthday sung in loud voices makes it all worthwhile.

My Mum always baked my brother and I's birthday cakes, from that very 70's chocolate button and mandarin cake (do you remember it?) to chocolate trains laden with sweeties and Hansel and Gretal houses - to the most magical, a fairy tale book complete with writing, from a Jane Asher book I think.

I treasure these memories, they made me feel special, secure and loved. I want to do the same for my two where I can. That's why I'm tired but happy this Sunday night - two wee children had really happy birthdays and that's worth any tiredness or stress in my book.

(My very talented friend made the sugar paste fairies, I just made their home! In my hand above is how they looked today - a little bit nibbled and very tired!)

Small Things

My other half was away all weekend and the kids and I, well despite my worries we managed just fine. He was having the first time away with his own brother for over a decade seeing Roger Waters 'The Wall'.   

That rather lovely owl pendant was a small gift for me from Portobello Road Market - somewhere we loved in the past together.

 And those words well I'm trying to remember them, they make you think don't they? 

Teacups

Look at these lovely teacup candles that my clever friend Nic made.  One is for me and the other a present - but they do look lovely together.  Nic first made these for her wedding and they looked beautiful at the evening reception, the light dancing through the fine bone china. 

I think it's just about time to start lighting candles again of an evening, what do you think? 

Loch Lomond

Grainy and dark, I know, I know - I won't ever win any competitions for the clarity of my images. But it's what they convey isn't it? A wet, warm late summer day by Loch Lomond. A family get together, last of the summer paddles, a whisper of a rainbow, a new dress and a house literally on the lochside.

A beautiful day to get you through the hard parts of the week.

(The dress is from Fritha at Tigerlilly Quinn. Her shop is full of lovely things take a look)

We are still here?

So we are still here, living life along with the changing seasons. The leaves are ever so quietly, dropping in stealth. I'm ok with that, Autumn is good - in fact it's brimful of my favourite colours, smells and tastes.

We have been in our woods a lot. Just 5 minutes can make all the difference. The children have now taken to saying 'Mummy we are soooooo lucky to have woods behind our house'. I like that, my parents garden was like a mini woods and I still can climb my own 'Magic Faraway Tree' and relive those memories (it seems much smaller now!).

Friends for lunch and some cooking - that fennel and orange salad is from The Simple Things magazine and is well worth seeking out and making. Beautiful to look at and to eat.

If you are in Glasgow visit Sparklehorse. A new bar restaurant in the old Dowanhill Bar premises. Super child friendly, lovely indie vibe, great artwork, food and beer. If the name alone didn't do it for me then the black walls and 'charity shop picture of the month' cemented it as a fave!

Wild Berries

Before we bought our house, when it was empty, we would park at the edge of the woods and walk along the path to peek in the open back door to the garden. I felt a prickle of magic then and don't think it has ever left me. Every day I'm thankful for that back door to the woods.

These last few days the children and I have been picking brambles and wild raspberries on every walk. I'm stowing away the brambles in bags in the freezer till I have enough for bramble jelly. 

Bramble jelly is the most wonderful of preserves, it's jewelled, almost black colour and amazing aromatic depth of flavour are like nothing else. Making my beloved jelly in the next few weeks will just about ease my sadness at Autumn's creeping fingers - I am not quite ready to give up summer yet!

Jack Monroe

Sometimes you just have to believe the hype. I first read about Jack Monroe a few months ago as she cascaded around the media in a whirl of positive spin. Straight away I loved her - everything she stood for; her politics, her cooking, her smart mouth. She had budget cooking nailed.

My Mum always used to say that she knew a recipe would be good when she could taste it as she read it. That's how I felt when I read her 'Creamy Salmon Pasta'. I was even more determined to cook it when she blogged that some were 'sniffy' about her methods and recipes, particularly so of a recipe that's main constituents are a jar of value fish paste and plain yoghurt. Now snobbery aside I could see how the recipe would work and the fact that you can enjoy a delicious salmon pasta dish for 27p a serving is nothing short of genius. But the proof is in the cooking and I made it for the family last night and I can say without a doubt it is delicious. Light and creamy, with a chilli kick, it disappeared from all the plates pronto.

Do yourself a favour and cook it, also check out Jack's blog. As well as having a great stack of family friendly recipes, she is a really good writer, able to put into eloquent words my (and many others) anger at the way things are going in this country of ours today. There is life crushing poverty out there. The are families like you and I using food banks every week. But there is hope for a new way forward, the blog is full of compassion, anger and a will to change things for the better. And it is a start to begin and to end with kindness.

As she quotes so perfectly in a blog post today these words by Jackie Oates - 

“May the kindness, that starts with you
Turn full circle, when it’s due.
And the flame that burns your heart,
Burn with love that holds us now we part.”