Fires and fungi

Sorry we've been gone a while. My phone line developed a fault so no phone or Internet for a whole week! I thought it had to be some kind of joke when BT informed me it would be 7 days.....but no, sure enough, true to their word it was indeed a whole week of no contact with the virtual world. BT didn't choose the most convenient week to develop a fault on the line, but hey ho, not much I could do about that. Actually the time of being 'uncontactable' was quite nice. No computer distraction, no Facebook!!!
So we're back with some rather fun happenings to report from life on the 'wyld' side.

Firstly there was the wonderful time for lighting a fire in the grate. I held out until the temperature really dropped until I gave in. As I now have officially the lowest income ever, I figured I should hang in there as long as possible so as to make the most of our supply of well chopped and dry logs. I don't have much left to chop now from last Winter. Shame really, I rather like the buzz you get from swinging an axe on a cold day. Nothing like warming up in order to create beautifully chopped logs to warm you again. there is the old saying that chopping wood warms you twice, once when you chop and again when you burn. It provides a really good workout too!

As we waited for so long and with so much anticipation for this wonderful act, I figured I should in true 'me style', mark the occasion with some sort of 'fire lighting ceremony'. I know, I am now officially admitting to being different from the rest!
With the log basket loaded, kindling stacked and a good supply of old newspapers (not forgetting the marshmallows), we were ready! Small boy built the first attempt (always the pyromaniac). Ummm he seems to have lost the knack, there is a distinct knack to fire lighting, it is rarely an act of luck!
Anyway, with dry wood it was going in no time! Arrr the sheer delight of seeing those flames flicker and feeling the warmth radiating towards us. I couldn't resist spreading my sheepskin in front of it.....(we can all dream!).

Talking of fires, mine and several other families gathered in some Millennium woodland recently for a fire, cook out and general social event. It poured with rain but us hardy folk (or are we just plain mad??) continued to party and were not deterred by our sodden hair and clothes. No one batted an eyelid when an old metal stretcher was brought out to lay across the burning embers to cook the sausages on. I do love my friends :-) The fact that we all have such similar thoughts on life and a natural spark of creativity!

Last Saturday I organised a fungi foray in a local BBOWT reserve near my home. I invited a really knowledgeable chappy along that I have got to know over recent years, who knows a lot about living out doors and surviving in the wild. Could you survive without modern conveniences? I honestly think that simple living is definitely the way forwards. (Won't get depressing here). With my Internet and phone line down, this was not the best week to be organising such an event, but we all got there in the end (some of us having to abandon our cars before the car park as the road to the reserve was seriously in need of attention and without having a car that transforms to a boat like 'Chitty' there was no way we were risking it!).
Armed with baskets and flasks of hot soup we ventured into the woods for our adventure, and what an adventure it was too! I had been a little worried that the cold weather might have snapped too soon and killed off the forest delights, but no, that was not to be the case. Suddenly our eyes were ignited by the masses of different kids of fungi that lined the forest floor. If you knew what you were looking for you could seriously feast for free here!

Now foraging is not easy business as I quickly learned. There are indeed a host of very attractive beauties growing out there but if you are not 100% sure of what you are gathering then you could make a nasty (potentially fatal) mistake. Many mushrooms are in fact deadly poisonous. I went along armed with two lovely colourful books borrowed from the library, but I have to say I wasn't all that impressed with them. Although they gave good descriptions they weren't terribly clear and didn't leave me 100% confident.
Our guide was good and rather funny too, he made me chuckle as he flopped down (quite literally) to the ground to get a really good close look at each specimen. He seemed really knowledgeable, but again if he wasn't certain he didn't take any risks.

Jelly ears - these cans be found growing on rotting wood and can be eaten raw. I think they look rather like 'mouse' ears. The texture was...unusual!

The kids had a wonderful time playing in natures playground and we adults returned to the car park with a basket overflowing with about five types of edible mushrooms to fry up and savour.
My honest thoughts on the taste.......they tasted like the forest floor! Perhaps next time I'll wash them!!

Autumn delights

I've been pottering about some what recently and just don't seem to have made the time to share our journey - sorry!

So much has been happening, life changes so quickly sometimes. One minute you think you know where things are going, the next it's all change and off in a completely different direction.
Within the last couple of weeks I've got a job! I know it's been ten months now that I have lived my very frugal life and got by without the need for much of an income. Life is funny, it was in the Summer that the children and I were discussing the future, they talked about wanting animals (more animals), ponies, dogs, cats, a pig (well that was my suggestion)....well this is all good and fair says she, but we have enough pets for now and don't have the space to keep any more, I shall have to meet a farmer......'Ooooh', they say...the next minute they are trying to fix me up with the next farmer to cross our path...highly embarrassing!!!
Anyway, several months later I have a job as a companion to a lovely farmer, local to me. This is not as the children and I had discussed (no to romance), but we will be on the farm often which should work out well for all. Male company for small boy, space (well we don't exactly lack that), and animals, machines, farming....we are starting this week, just six hours a week but it's a start and should keep the wolf from the door, not that he'd get anywhere near ours with the toys, bikes and doll's prams in the way!

Talking about living frugally, I have just finished reading 'How to be free' by Tom Hodgkinson. Have you ever wondered why you live to work? Yes it's true most people these days do seem to live to work. I find that quite scary and I (even in my current situation) wasn't about to compromise my life of freedom to join the majority. It's worth a read if you ever want out of the rat race folks! I got so hooked I ended up reading his guide to idle parenting too....I think I am there already, but good to read and re-inspire!

With the weather changing so rapidly I've been starting to snuggle and embrace to weather and changing seasons. I have held off on lighting that fire still although there is a bag of marshmallows calling to me from the bread bin that are tempting and awaiting the opportunity to be eaten, once toasted of course!

Then there are Winter projects that I'm starting to think about. I am yet to make small boy a quilt for his bed which I have been meaning to do for years. So yesterday I was in the area of my most favourite fabric shop in the world (Mason's in Abingdon) and became tempted to the extent to having to purchase the fabric. I want to create something 'boylike' and blue (I know.....), so went for various shirt fabrics, all cotton. Just a quarter of a metre of each should be enough for the front and an old white sheet for the backing. If there are enough offcuts, they'll do for the outer boarder. Ooooh I do get excited when I have a new project up my sleeve. I'll hand sew this one, it will take hours but there is something really rather satisfying about completing a quilt project by hand and the lovely thing is I can just take out little bits to sew when I have a spare moment. Waiting for the girls ballet class, the swimming lessons, waiting for dinner to cook....busy hands! :-))

My lovely grandparents have had a glut of tomatoes....I do so love it when people have an abundance of items that they are happy to share. People get fed up with stuff, especially when they have been eating for weeks. 'Thank you'! Mmmm now what to do with them......thinking tomato ketchup, pasta/pizza sauce, chutney...oh the options are endless. More for the 'store stump', goodie goodie I do love being creative!

Talking of vegetables, I have just discovered a loooovvvely farm shop near by that sells mainly homegrown organic vegetables. Well what a delight! I do usually buy all my veges from a national box scheme and have done for years, but having stuff growing right on your doorstep has to be better surely. And unlike the box scheme, I am able to go into the shop and choose exactly what I want. Last week I got rather carried away and purchased all this..........for £20....of course this further fuels up my creativity as I feel the serious need not allow any bit of my spend to go to waste nor to perish in the bottom of my fridge. Those green/yellow peppers were soooo delicious!!

I've been thinking about drying herbs and wild plants for use during the Winter months but haven't as yet been out to gather much. I have dried some yarrow and collected quite a bundle of lime flowers at the end of the Summer (how amazing they smelt). I did  manage to bring in a large amount of my lavender and have had that drying for weeks now in my study/utility room window. Often when I am sitting and waiting for photos to upload, I'll pull off some of the dried flower heads. Makes the room smell simply divine. I sense the need to make some lavender bags here, perhaps I might make them for Christmas presents? Talking of which, it's that time of year already. Time to think about and actually start making some little gifts to give to family and friends. It happens every year...I have these great plans to make all my gifts so that I can give something a little unique and special, but my oh my do I regret my decision every time. It's not the giving that's the problem, it's the time (or lack of). No one should ever feel that they have been short-changed by a home made gift. Sooo much time, dedication and commitment goes into the production of them. There is always a mad rush to be witnessed on Christmas eve in my house, stitching, sticking etc to get the jobs done.
Last year due to events most people got handed a bottle of my home brewed wine! Ummmm probably enough said about that one!!!!!

Had to share this one......as I was going through the pictures stored on my camera I did have to literally 'laugh out loud'. Small boy has been loose with the snapper and oh my.....the pictures he has taken. A bottom, another bottom, further bottoms and yet more bottoms, then the front of girls and yet more.....and then this! Pretty good this one....sorry the bottoms will have to remain out of sight for now!!

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'Experience you cannot learn'

'Experience you cannot learn....'

I do not know when this happened or indeed how, but Miss P has suddenly become assertive...far more so then me! She is eleven, soon to be twelve....what has happened to the sweet little girl I had who just did as she was asked without question? This pre-teen is suddenly putting me in my place, organising me, preaching things I know little about....How can that be?
Today things started when I asked Miss P to remove her spindle and wool from the kitchen worktop to her bedroom. Well, I was not prepared for the response I got. 'Why should we spin wool for Helen anyway, we dyed the wool, you're carding it, and SHE gets the finished jumper! It's not fair!!!!! I quit'. 'Me too' replies The little lady. Goodness me, you could have knocked me down with a feather. I could not argue accept to point out that she was gaining valuable spinning skills and helping one of my friends. My my!!
Then there was the maths exercise, long multiplication. It's been a while since I've had to use such skills but I am prepared to try and help her. Miss P became stuck on a question and I tried to answer it. Three times I tried until I finally got it right (how bad is that?!!), 'you see' she says, I am better then you, I am better then the teacher. So I'm probably not behind after all!' Oh help!!!
Don't get me wrong, sometimes this assertiveness works in my favour, like the other day when I was trying to order some underwear on line. I couldn't seem to proceed and finish my order....'You haven't typed in your size...', Oh no, so I haven't. And here, now as I am typing all of my spelling errors are being pointed out....I have spell check!!!! (Wry smile from Miss P)!!!
It's all good really and I am grateful that she is developing such skills that will be useful, it's just going to take a bit of getting used to.
What would happen if I said 'I quit?'

Here's a recipe for energy bars....I feel the need for them!

5 oz butter
6 oz brown sugar
5oz peanut butter
3oz honey
8oz porridge oats
zest of one orange and one lemon
6oz mixed fruit
6oz mixed seeds/nuts

Melt butter, honey and sugar in a saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Transfer into a rectangular baking tin (mines probably 30cm x 20 cm), flatten and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Allow to cool before cutting into squares or slices.

'Mummy I don't suppose anyone will want to make those, look you've burnt them! You shouldn't have mixed the honey and raisins together as the raisins always burn......' arrrrhhhh!!!!!!

Embracing the change

'It is important that there is something sacred in the human life'....this is the quote on the Yogi tea bag I am just using.
I've just snuck in from the garden to indulge myself with a slice of delicious Green and Blacks chocolate that I have sneakily hidden at the side of the provisions cupboard. Could that be the sacred thing in my life? I think it's certainly one of them right now!
What a funny time of the year this is. I can honestly say I feel a little unsettled right now, it could be the fact that the Summer is at an end and Autumn is most definitely here (I feel quite in denial at that). It could be that I have a lot on at the moment, commitments with the children, deadlines to meet, snippets of work trickling in, home ed lessons to plan etc etc I'm not sure. Take today for instance, we were supposed to be going to London to visit the Museum of London to compliment our project on the history of Britain. I can honestly say that I have been stressing about this trip for the past couple of weeks. London just isn't the place for me. Don't get me wrong, I actually do like it when I get there but I feel completely the 'Country Mouse' when I go. It seems that everyone is in a rush and I am left dodging the traffic. With three children in tow, it's always quite stressful negotiating the tube and making sure that everything is just so. Anyway, as it happens, I couldn't find anyone to look after my little Jenny dog, and the thought of leaving the poor little hound at home all day alone and potentially crossing her legs if in need of a pee, was unthinkable. So first thing this morning I made the decision not to go. Then the phone rang and one of our lovely friends asked if Miss P would like to go with her. Miss P of course did want to go so a quick dash to the station and on the train she hopped. Another lovely friend was at the station too running his delightful coffee bar and he very kindly gave the little people an early morning hot choc.......Then what to do? A little old lady from our previous village had invited us over, we were going to cancel due to our trip to London, but as plans changed we were able to go ahead and visit. She suffers with a sore hip at the moment so an afternoon helping out fixing a drawer, tidying a cupboard and fixing the door handle followed, much to her delight! I do love the gratitude you get when you help someone out.
My life is never predictable!
This afternoon was spent in the garden. I chopped up the remaining wood (well some of it) and stacked it neatly in preparation of the Winter when we shall be lighting our lovely fire and then life in front of the hearth begins. I was holding out on the heating and fire lighting until 1st October, but that date has now passed and we are not too cold as yet, so shall keep things as they are and add extra layers until I can hold out no longer. The Winter is long and I do wish to feel the benefit of the heating when I shall need it most. I suspect this house is going to be some what chilly to say the least, but I am prepared, thermal vests and snugly blankets at the ready!

Whilst I was busy swinging the axe, the Little Lady took it upon herself to rescue the terracotta flower pots in firing range of my flying logs, and she set up her own so-say garden centre. What a shame no-one was around to visit. Small boy, pruned the bushes....huummmm!

We tried to light a bonfire with all the prunings from the weekend and as I came inside the flames were looking good billowing out of the top of my washing machine drum which I salvaged for a fire pit. However, it seems to have rapidly diminished since Small boy intervened, not sure what happened there, perhaps he dampened it in a boy sort of way!
I am very excited right now, my first ever magazine article is due to be published very soon. It's one of a series I have been asked to write for a natural parenting magazine called 'The Mother'. I stumbled upon this wonderful magazine/parenting companion when I was on holiday in Wales about eight years ago. It was around the time I was umming and arrhhhing about educating Miss P 'otherwise'. The articles are on the Montessori method and implimenting it at home. I've had to re-read through all of my books and notes which has been a really good exercise. Perhaps the cooler months and that time by the hearth can be my time to scribble away!
Check it out www.themothermagazine.co.uk :-) Does that make me a writer? lol xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ed note: I've just pushed the button, it's freezing!!!

Wild food foraging

It's that time of year again when true to myself, I love to take advantage of the wonderful amount of FREE food that is growing within our midst. For many years now in late Summer, early Autumn, I can be found in country lanes rooting around in the bushes collecting wonderful things to eat. There is soooo much out there to be picked and munched if you know what you are looking for. For those who haven't given foraging a go before, my advice is 'start small'. Learn about just three or four things that are growing out there. Learn to identify them and how to use them in a variety of ways. With food prices on the rise, it won't be long before you're hooked!
So here we go, what were we looking for on this occasion? Ooooh well I don't know if I should share.......well OK, but only because I have been out now and gathered!
Well we were looking for hazelnuts, acorns, blackberries, sloes and elderberries.
Hazelnuts (or cobnuts as they are often known) grow on the hazel tree. For many years hazel has been cop iced to make all manner of wonderful things. Nowadays, if you go into old woodland, you can see how the hazel is growing from many points. I often feel as if it's crying out to me 'please cut us, you know you want to weave a fence'.....I would love to of course but time doesn't permit right now....one day!
There were a few odd nuts on the floor and lots of broken shells. Ummmm beaten by the squirrels!

Sloes are few and far between this year. Strong winds back the in Spring saw to that and blew away the blossom from the blackthorn. Sloes are deep purple/black blobs that look quite like blueberries. Don't be so eager to taste as with blueberries though as they are really sour! They are however, exceptionally good for popping into a bottle of gin to make sloe gin. It takes a few months to mature but yum yum, worth the wait. I've picked a good punnet full and popped them in the freezer to soften the skins. Traditionally you would pick after the first frost but as there are so few out there this year, I thought I had better get-in-there before there were non left! Of course I wont drink it all to myself.....oh no, it's lovely to share, (only with very special people of course)!

Blackberries can be found in hedgerows and on country lanes. Best not to pick them from alongside a busy road as you won't be wanting to eat them when they are covered with car fumes! Blackberries rarely make it home in our family, they always tend to be eaten straight from the bush. Watch out for the thorns though!
Incidental, our stick insects eat bramble as their staple diet and really do enjoy it. We do have rather more stick insects then we need. I am happy to give some away should anyone wish to own some.

Next we were on the hunt for elderberries....the elder bush is amazing! The flowers can be made into the most delicious cordial in the Spring or champagne if you prefer. You can also deep fry the flowers and make fritters (although I haven't tried these yet). If you collect the flowers and dry them, they are great infused in hot water to aid relief from winter colds and other respiratory ailments. In Autumn, the elder bush gifts us with bunches of incredible deep red berries (they look black). They can be made into the most amazing syrup, again great for relieving coughs and colds. I'll tell you how to make it later on!

Walking and foraging can provide hours of entertainment. Children love to be out in nature and you'll be amazed at the things you spot along the way and the conversations you'll have, not to mention the adventures. I am so grateful everyday that nature is literally on my doorstep.
Friday's adventure was more of an accident.....we had been circling a field in search of all the pickings that I mentioned, I was casually minding my own business reaching out for some tasty looking blackberries when  Jenny dog had other ideas of adventure. She took off in pursuit of a pheasant  and rather then drop my basket of carefully gather sloes or indeed to let go of the lead for fear of losing the dog in the woods (I've been fool to that game before), I fell straight down onto my knees on the fields edge, right where the large stones lie. Oooh eeee (not exactly what I said at that moment), my my I realise that I no longer bounce and that falling actually hurts now. (Refusing to acknowledge that I am getting older!). Anyway, I lay on the grass like a dying ant with legs in the air for a good ten minutes trying to deal with the pain and I ripped my favourite skinny jeans (:-(((
Foraging has its occupational hazards like everything else!!

Here's the Elderberry Cordial recipe that I promised you:

Pick a good pan full of plump elderberries. Use a fork to remove the berries from the stalks, wash the berries, then place into a pan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
Strain the berries to rid yourself of the stalks and keep the juice (I use a piece of old net curtain for this job, try not to waste any liquid). Add 1lb of sugar, 10 cloves and the juice of a lemon to every pint of liquid that you have, you can also add a chunk of fresh ginger. Boil it again hard for ten minutes and simmer for a further 20 minutes. Allow to cool and then strain once again.
Bottle the liquid in sterilised bottles or jars.

We drink this with hot water in the Winter months and it's delicious! Can also be taken from a spoon neat if you have a cold, cough or sore throat.

That's further stock in the 'Store stump', all ready for the Winter!
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Just get on with it......

Life has taken quite a turn for me of recent months being alone with three young children to care for and no 'soul mate' adult to share the workload and bounce ideas off, to talk things through with, or to give a cuddle to. Many things have needed to be done around the house that have been quite out of my comfort zone, they haven't been things I have ever thought of doing before. For example, I've had to clear my home and move to a smaller property which involved sorting through 'tool's' and deciding what I think I might need and what can be sold or given away, I've had to move big items by myself using sack trucks and trailers. Care of the lawn was never one of my jobs until now, then there's the DIY around the house, erecting shelves, painting etc etc. The washing machine broke down recently and refused to pump out water, the cigarette lighter on the car didn't work which meant I couldn't use my in-car charger to charge my phones whilst away and yesterday the bonnet catch on my little car had come off and needed fixing back on. Now in my previous life, I didn't have to deal with any of these things. My soul mate of 19 years did all of these things willingly as part of our unity together. But what happens when one of you is no longer there? In my case I simply don't have the money to be paying people to do these things for me and to rely on others makes you a) feel like a nag because you have to keep asking them to do the job and b) doesn't usually result in the job being done when you need it to be. So what do you do? Well part of me is often tempted to take a self pitying attitude and curl up and cry at the prospect and I have done just that on several occasions, but in all honesty that doesn't get the job done either. So I have taken the positive step to embrace each challenge as it comes my way and to just 'Get on with it myself'. Often this decision is no easy feat and can be quite a physical challenge, but I can tell you that the feeling of worth and achievement that you feel when your task is fulfilled is incredible.
So I do cut the lawn, I have single handedly moved my dishwasher and loaded it onto my trailer, learnt to hitch and tow the trailer (working on reversing it!), learnt to use a drill and to put up shelves, changed a fuse on the car, fixed the washing machine, decorated a room and learnt to chop wood.
Of course I do worry about becoming so ferociously independent that I shall remain single for the rest of my life.....no, I think that damsel is still in there when she needs to be!!!
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The Country Show

The last couple of weeks in the life of us Country folk have revolved around 'village show time'. It's that time of year when the vege growers amongst us harvest our lovingly nurtured veges and put them on show for all to see.
Tim and I started living in the country some twelve or so years ago. Back then we managed to some how blag a little thatched cottage in one of the prettiest villages in Oxfordshire for a measly rent of £100 per month. The cottage was derelict! Yes I know madness I hear you all say, as did our friends back then. It wasn't exactly the Ritz, neither was it the type of pad that most of our friends dreamt of, but to us it was wonderful! In the early days we didn't have a bathroom as such, (well there was a room containing a disconnected shower), but no loo and no hand basin. The kitchen was more of a narrow corridor with only cold running water, no built in modern kitchen, just the sink. But we loved it! We spent about £1000 renovating the place so that we cold live in it (that included buying a wood burning stove), we stripped the wall of old plaster and pulled in a  few ceilings (there were only a few). We made a huge mess really!
It remained primitive to today's standard but the love of the peace and tranquillity were the driving force behind all of this and it was really fine. After all, people many years ago lived perfectly well with very little in the way of 'stuff' and they were perfectly happy.
Anyway, I have digressed.....upon moving to the village we naturally decided to take part in all the events that occurred locally, as most of the villagers also did. One of those events happened to be the village show. Well of course we went along (not really knowing what we were letting ourselves in for), people had actually grown vegetables and taken the time to clean them and display them beautifully for all to see in huge marquees. They also showed their beautiful crafts and home made produce. We took it all in with very open minds until it came to the presentations of the awards. AWARDS??? Yes, they even got awarded money, certificates and cups for their efforts....well you can imagine....two city folk watching people win sums of money for carrots!!!! And how serious these folks were about their efforts too. 'Well' we both said 'If they can do it, so can we....' Oh dear....what were we thinking?
Neither of us had the first idea about anything to do with growing vegetables. Both of our parents had dabbled a little when we were young but nothing to really be proud of. So that next year we set to work and we did grow things. We admired the vege patches of others whenever we were out walking. I do remember being slightly unimpressed by all the straight lines and thought that we would grow ours in zigzags! (Umm silly idea! Hoeing is so much easier when your rows are straight....). No wonder the neighbour kept telling us 'You're learning....'.
We did enter that next year and for many years to follow, in fact this year is the first year that we didn't enter a thing. It's terribly competitive you know. People keep serious watch over their prize crops for weeks before, selecting their pumpkins, ear marking beans, ripening tomatoes ooooh tomatoes!!!!
On the morning of the show you have to arrive early with your produce all carefully tucked  in a safe receptacle (for the women that's a basket with a  handle, the men tend to take their wheelbarrows), you pick up your class cards and take your entry over to the appropriate place in the marquee. Then with great care you carefully position your item or items on the tables with a sneaky look either side at the work of your fellow competitors. Yes, I am sure some swapping or nudging of others items does go on. Then it's off to display the next item. A couple of years ago I was laying out my treasured items, which incidentally one prepares in the days (night in my case) before the show, when a neighbour asked Tim if he could help him bring in his prize pumpkin. The chaps wife offered to mind our children whilst he did so. I continued what I was doing with great care and attention then happened to look across the marquee to see small boy feasting on a tomato that someone had just laid out.....! Arrrrrr agast!!!!! Pants!!!!! I swiftly flew over (quite literally) and looked mortified at the five remaining beauties (the only exhibits on the table). Wondering what on earth to do I noted the entrants number and proceeded to tell the organisers of the terrible thing that had happened (sniggering as I retell this story). They obviously shared my concern and through professional eyes (lips bitten), they told me who had exhibited the precious pearls. It was only the head gardeners wife from the neighbouring village! I took the bull by the horns and walked up to her to explain the situation. 'I am so sorry but my son has just taken one of your tomatoes'  Pause......'Well, I want it back'......'Ummm, you can't, he's eaten it'. Huff, puff, uurrrrr. Well let's just say she won first prize that year for her five lovely tomatoes, the judge commented that 'they were obviously extremely tasty!' Small boy became quite a star that year.
Then there was the year that we displayed four courgettes with flowers on (as it indicated in the brochure), I felt sure that I would win as mine were jolly good examples, but no, someone else won, someone whose courgettes didn't have flowers on at all!
That same year one of our friends entered his longest runner bean (two beans cut in half and joined with tin foil)....oh it all happens!
The seriousness of that particular show was there in her glory but there was some light hearted fun as well. In later years when we moved to another village and took up the same challenge, I entered the 'Flowerless beauty' class. Previously I had entered all manner of displays of lovely green foliage from the hedgerows in the village and our garden. I did the same this particular year only to discover that the new village had specially allotted booths for each exhibit in the class for each individual. Well I was mortified to discover that everyone else had purchased beautiful exotic foliage from florists whilst I (as usual) had opted for hedge pickings....the embarrassment of it all. I checked that no one was looking, dumped my entry and made a swift exit. No prizes there!

This year we decided not to display anything at all, not to help, in fact not to go to the show at all...this year we stepped up a notch and checked out the show in Moreton in the Marsh. This particular show is similar but on a much grander scale. Oh me, oh my, they had the usual veges etc but they also had cows and sheep, chickens and ducks and dancing diggers!!!! Small boy was in his element! The little lady and Miss P watched the whole show too.  Dads and boys alike stood in awe of these giant machines as they drove around the arena to music. I just stood back with Jenny dog and let the show go on, she was more interested in the ice creams from the distracted children!
Jenny dog had her moment of fun too. She rather likes Terrier racing, quite a whizz she is. The little yappy terriers are put in crates six at a time and then the front of the cages/traps are lifted and the eager hounds race across the field in pursuit of (in this case) a mop tied to a loop of cord. Jenny dog got into the final and came third, a yellow rossett!

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Life without school

It's that time of year again when most parents breathe a sigh of relief that they have survived the Summer unscathed by the presence of their children for the duration of the holiday period. I have to say I certainly feel like that! The rush to buy the new school shoes is over as is the sudden panic of 'they've grown over the Summer and their uniform doesn't fit!' However, unlike the majority of parents out there I continue to enjoy the full time company of my children as they don't go to school at all......in a moment of madness (many think) some six or so years ago, I dared to question the system and decided (much to the disapproval of many of my family and friends) to do it myself. I decided back then, when Miss P was only four, that we could cover everything that was covered in school (and more) in just an hour or so a day, and then we could have a huge amount of free time in which to play!

 The little lady and small boy creating a post box. We had to use it all day!


I developed a huge thirst for the subject and did masses of research, I joined a group and 'the rest is history' so they say. Some six years down the line and now three children and we're still doing it! I have to say it's such a relief NOT to have to rush the children up in the morning and scream at them for an hour and a half to get ready, we just potter about and wake when we're ready and oh, dream away......it's like the holidays all year round!
The thing that most people ask about is their friends.....Miss P had thought about going to secondary school as of now and someone commented 'Oh that will be lovely, you'll make some friends at last!' What??? Oh if only they knew. We honestly have soooo many friends and really good friends too (REALLY good friends), I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. My children are always having lunch dates and sleepovers and sleepovers and more sleepovers and more lunch dates, it's really quite unreal. And me too, I have many many lovely lovely mummy and daddy friends. I always dreamt of having a house full of children with noise and chaos. They may not all be my children but I feel I know them all so well they could be.
One thing that is really different about the world of home education is the respect and acceptance we have for one another. We have escaped the competition (psssst, what reading level is......on?). I was as guilty of that as the next person, we can't help it. But it's so lovely to be free from all that.
So what do we do all day? Well sometimes it seems like not much at all, but when you look closely you'll discover that small boy discovered a toad had moved into the garden and has laid eggs (that's life cycles covered with questions and answers rolling and dealt with), Miss P creates a puppet and writes a play for it to star in and the little lady learns how to apply make up (really badly)! All in a days work. They have freedom to create and to research and to learn the things that interest them at the moment their interest is ignited. I do sometimes set lessons too but always with much scope for further investigation by themselves. Workbooks occasionally creep in too (do you know how dull and boring they are?).

 Fishing the canal with fishing line and garden canes. Who needs fancy equipment? We caught fish!


So as I write small boy is in bed no doubt dreaming about his toad or tree climbing session or perhaps the next wild adventure he is going to have, the little lady is complaining about a rash she has developed this afternoon, probably where she has been rambling in her knickers and vest through the undergrowth of the garden and Miss P, well she's probably talking 'sticks' or creating more Stardolls to sell to her willing friends. (The latter two are at a wonderful friends having yet another sleepover). Me? Well I'm on line creating this blog in the hope that one day I'll create some kind of business enterprise. Dreaming again!!!
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Roughing it!

Arrr ooooh ummm.......
It's taken almost a week to get back into the swing of everyday living following our third camping expedition this year.
We started off back in April with a glamping trip to Dorset in one of those truly fabulouso large canvas tents with wooden floorboards, 3 divine bedrooms, vintage everythings and a flush loo! July took us to Suffolk to share a super dooper week at our annual home educators Summer festival with lots of lovely friends. On that occasion we resided in our lovely 'bell tent' with cool canvas walls and all the mod comping cons.
Well this last trip was to North Devon and we roughed it! Well not completely, we did take a tent (rather old and fragile) and a cooker, plus camp beds etc, but nothing posh, just the very essential basics. That's all you need. I do love the freedom and liberation that comes with having very little, it airs the creative side of my soul and gives me a jolly good rest from the clutter and chaos of life in the real world. Dreaming again!!!!!!

 This was to be a beach holiday of sorts, not sunbathing and surfing but sandcastles and rock pools. It was  a little overcast on this particular day but all had a jolly good time!

 Ripples in the sand......

 The perfect view!

 All patriotic even in the harbour...

 Small boy climbs a very steep ladder to show me a starfish he has found...he ended up rescuing many :-)

 A ship wreck., the perfect place to become pirates!

 My crochet cushion cover that gained lots of attention and has actually been finished!

 Jenny dog came too, soaking up the warmth of the sand and the sea air!

Pretty boats in the harbour with the tide out. Much interest resulted.

We spent a week camping in a farmers field with no entertainment or commercialism on site, only loos and showers. The North Devon coast provided much entertainment for little money should you wish. It was exactly what we needed. We visited the pretty little village of Clovelly with its donkeys and cobbled streets, the cliff railway in Linton, the old harbour in Ilfracombe and many bays along the way. The children collected jewels on the beach, how many of us remember doing that? Such fun times are lost these days for many. There are still priceless adventures to be had if only you look and remember.....xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mud for the soul.....

It's that lovely time of year again......harvest, the period of time when we can all be thankful that the sun has shined and that the rain has fallen in adequate amounts to produce the crops that will be cut, dried and stored to last us through the year to come. I suppose living in the country I am more aware of this period of time then those who do not see, hear and smell it on an annual basis. You only have to drive out of town on a dry day to see the dust clouds rising and the farmers hard at work. It must be tough being a farmer at this time of year (or farmer's wife even), to have to work day and night without much of a break to get the work done. Do we give a thought to this at all when we consume our daily bread or munch our cereal products? I suspect not. The supermarket has detached us from having much awareness of our food. How many of us know what foods are in season and where foods are grown? It's all there and available for us to buy without much thought.

Tuesday we heard the roaring of the combine in the fields and just had to take a hike to find it and experience for ourselves the climax of the farmers year. We do it every year and it does have a certain excitement about it. The farmers wait until we've had a dry period and then work like mad to get the crop in.

The whole process is really well planned. The combine drives up and down the field until his hold is full then a tractor and corn cart run along side, at which point a long arm moves sideways from the combine and deposits its load into the cart. The cart then drives off to empty its load in large bays where it will be stored and then dried in huge driers and then stored again for use throughout the year.
I love it!!!
On this occasion barley was being harvested, I haven't noticed oats near to us but the wheat is still out there so harvest is still in the early days.

Life in the country is always so exciting, so much to see and do and always ever changing with the seasons and the weather. Our walk back from the field was packed with entertainment too.
Firstly there was the 'treasure field'.......

Look at all those precious gems left behind in times past but rich in interest and fuel for the imagination of young and old alike. There is a lot of broken pottery and old bones in one field. It was probably used as an old bottle dump before rubbish collection. We've found quite a few of these dumping grounds in our time and they are all packed with interesting things.
Then there was the joys of the common puddle....!

Check out those little ladies who thoroughly enjoyed stomping around and launching great dollops of mud at everyone. I had to get them to roll on the grass to coax the main of it off before coming inside, they also stripped off and hosed themselves down.
I was thinking about the modern child and how prim and proper we often expect them to be and then I felt really saddened by the whole thought. Why should it matter that they completely plaster themselves in thick oozy mud? Well it shouldn't, it's just us who feel slightly annoyed by the work involved in cleaning their clothes and the prospect of mud that may be tracked into our homes. So much can be learnt through such frolicking and it's fun too!
So go out there and let them play, join in yourselves....go on it's fun!!!!

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Schools out......when was it in?

The home has been a haven of activity today, so much going on, everybody busy all day, it's been wonderful!

I woke with a cold today, the first one in a very long time. Arrr where did that come from? I do not know....time to remember all of the natural ways to shift it. Mmmm the list is long:

*Garlic, works a treat as has antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties

*Echinacea, tastes gross so best taken with something flavoured

*Honey and lemon, hot of course, always hits the spot

but right now..... hot Ribena is what I desire!

Hope something works, rather hate not being able to taste my food and have managed to burn Small boys sausages at dinner as I couldn't smell them cooking (can't say that bothered me as I cannot stand the smell, although he was thoroughly disappointed!).

Began our creative day by making some lovely moisturising face cream. My face cream seems to have disappeared since our return from camping last week and the last little squeeze from an old tube that still hangs around, has just about dried up. Popping to the shop would of course be the easy option and solution here but wasn't to be the case today. No, the ingredients were there in a box under the bed so out they came and to work I began.

OK, to make one 60ml jar of lovely jubbly moisture cream you need:

About 100g of Apricot butter/Shea butter of cocoa butter (the latter two would need melting)

About 25ml Almond oil

30 (or so) drops of essential oil. I used lavender oil as it has healing properties.

Pop them all into a bowl and mix like mad until they have all creamed together. The mixture should resemble light fluffy, slightly frothed cream. Then spoon your mixture carefully into a jar...ta dah.....it's that easy!

All ready to use and lasts for 6 months too so lots of time for pampering xxxxxx

I created this recipe myself, but there are many other simple ones just waiting to be tried and tested in this little book........ 

'The holistic beauty book' by Star Khechara.

 **They are lovely to make for yourself but also to give as presents :-))) **

Meanwhile, Miss P worked away firstly at creating a bank (no credit available today) and secondly, creating paper dolls (her and her friends have a website somewhere on the World Wide Web - check out 'Stardolls' on google to find it!) 

Small boy washed the dishes following a baking blitz and excitedly announced that he had found BUBBLES in a bottle. I have to say I could see what he was excited about, they looked like jewels sparkling away in there. So glad that he notices the simple things in life that we often take for granted!

Then the 'little ladies' made magazines....such an industrious lot!

This afternoon my lovely sissy and her man came to join in the fun and we ambled off for a walk around the village pleasure garden. I could not believe that I hadn't mentioned it to them before. Well that was a well kept secret I'll say. We are so lucky to have such lovely adventurous places on our doorstep, so many beautiful things to see and explore....I'll share some of them with you.....

Reeds growing in the lake....

Thistles growing wild.......

An avenue of trees........

Sheer bliss........!

 

Beautiful I know, but even more lovely in real life.

Thanks for joining me xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A circus with a difference

Du dada! De dede....!
Into the big top and here we go........!

It's circus time again, an amazing and inspirational part of Summer for our family. But this is no ordinary circus, this is Gifford's Circus an exquisite arrangement of fabulously crafted, vintage inspired costumes and scenery, put to foot tapping/stomping musical finery. I have not come across anything like it, this family of entertainers are like no other I have seen before.
Several friends raved about Gifford's some years ago and I was put off by the cost of the tickets. It is not a cheap day out, however, it is one that it so spectacular that it is worth the cost by far.

This year the purse strings have been tugged more then ever and I made the decision that Gifford's needed a rest from my credit card payment for a season. However, when a dear friend offered to take Miss P as part of her daughters birthday present and after a brief viewing of the circus waggons passing me by one day, I changed my decision and booked away!

Isn't that just so beautiful! All of their caravans and waggons are painted in these colours and can be seen being towed from destination to destination in Oxfordshire during the Summer months.

 Somewhere not too deep within me is a person rather deeply drawn to costumes like these. I could almost see myself parading in such finery on a daily basis......yes, I sense your heads shaking, that's why it's only an 'almost'!

The acrobats were incredible this year as always!
But it's definitely the costumes, the smell of candyfloss, the old pipe organ and those beautiful waggons that do it for me.
What traditions keep Summer alive for you?
Enjoy! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx