Five happy moments

It has been a stressful few weeks what with the elbow, and I am not completely out of the woods yet... but my Mum arrived yesterday which means the Smalls have a new focus. I thought it would be good for me to have a one off go at the 52 weeks of happy that so many lovely bloggers do.

 

For those who don't know, you pick usually four things that have made you happy over the last week, share them and be thankful. Since I am bending the rules by not taking part every week, I am also going to bend the rules and have five things...

 

Preparations for Tiny Boy's birthday party tomorrow - these bad boys are cooling down in anticipation of icing.

 



Post! The ship brought this little lot along with my Mum, and it is awaiting the ritual opening once we are all together tonight.

Tiny Boy picked me some flowers for the table and I cracked and jumped on the succulent band wagon. No longer is my table unadorned.

No blooming use for drying washing, but we are in the throws of a severe drought and I am trying to feel good about every soggy drop.

A sneaky peek of the tarn project...

What have been the happy moments in your week?

xx

Why a pile of old t-shirts is very exciting.



So, a few weeks ago I read this post by Jules over at Little Woollie and followed her link to this tutorial, and I was smitten. I needed to make tarn (t-shirt yarn) at the earliest opportunity!

 

I took myself down to our one and only charity shop, at the lovely Sally Army, and picked out all the t-shirts and vest tops I could find that were in silly little sizes that won't sell, or had little marks or holes. (As a regular visitor I am quite familiar with their stock and know what has been hanging about for a while).

 

For the princely sum of £5 I brought home a fantastic colour explosion.

Following the instructions in the tutorial I cut each t-shirt into 1 inch strips like a weird sea creature,

Then cut the remaining portion on the diagonal to form one continuous strip.

See, we have fancy diagrams here at stitches and seeds! I then stretched out the strips from each end and wound them into balls of loveliness.

Interestingly, I hadn't noticed that some of the t-shirts were plain stocking stitch which curls to form a cord, and some were very narrow rib which stays ribbon-like.

I almost just wanted to keep them like that. Balls of tarn in a bowl - they are soooo beautiful!

But I didn't, I started to make... but you will have to wait until next time to see what I did with them.

xx

Zero to Five

Happy birthday Tiny Boy!

xx

Pay it forward progress

 

Hurrah for big needles and gorgeous yarn!

xx

A walk and a natter

Hello there,

 

I took a load of snaps of Longwood House, the place Napoleon lived when he was exiled here, but I am not really in the mood to chat about a dead bloke and his taste in interior décor. I have failed to upload photo's of anything else recently so I thought we might take a little walk around Napoleon's garden and have a natter.

 



WARNING: Moaning and whingey post approaching...

I am finding things a bit tricky at the moment. J's broken elbow is a pain in the, well, elbow. Metaphorically and literally. He was given some stronger pain killers today but still is pretty much confined to sitting very still.

It is not just that I have to do all the things he would normally do, as well as the things that I would normally do, but I have to do extra things too - he can't butter his toast or cut up his food, and he is very sore and wary of being bounced by a Small.

The Smalls are also testing the boundaries, with me and with each other. They seem to be fighting constantly.

And all around, entropy is creeping up on me. The piles are growing, the mess is multiplying and the grime is gathering.

Reading books are unread, homework is last minute and packed lunches are unimaginative.

I have no idea how single Mums cope, let alone working single Mums. Running a household and bringing up a family is most definitely a job for two.

I did draw the line today though - broken arm, or no broken arm, removing the dead bird from the shed was still his job.

 

 

Lovely people keep saying to me: Let me know if I can do anything... 

 

But sadly none of them is a willing and eager house-elf, which is of course, what I really want.

ALL CLEAR: Moaning over.

It is a very strange garden - lots of formal, single species planting gone slightly wild.

Lovely specimens.

Gorgeous features.

But in need of a bit of TLC.

I know the feeling.

xx

Sharing the flax-weaving love

My Dad arrived in St Helena for a month, with a plan. A plan to see and do as much as he possibly could in the time available. One of the things he wanted to do was to have a go at flax weaving. 

 

We started small with an arum lily, then a little vase (neither of which I remembered to photograph), then we moved onto the main event: a shopping basket.

I had attempted one before but had not been very pleased with the handle. It just isn't strong enough to take any weight.

We ummed and urred while he made the basket, discussing various approaches. We looked at other baskets made from other materials and considered half remembered baskets that we has seen once somewhere.

When it came to it, we arrived at a solution almost by accident, but I think it will work.

I say 'I think' because we finally finished it the night before he left, and there was no time to dry it and see what would happen then. You see, the fibres shrink as they dry which can change everything... Since Dad doesn't get to Capetown until tomorrow, and home to Cornwall until Saturday, I haven't been able to ask him how it has turned out.

xx

Slow Living May 2013

Well, the beginning of June (and the end of May) have been a mad and crazy place to be. My Dad has been staying with us for most of May, and 3/4 of the way in J broke his elbow playing football and has been backwards and forwards to the hospital like a yoyo since. It certainly has not been a slow month, but it has made me determined to slow down a bit in June...

 

I am linking up as usual with these lovely peeps:

 

Nourish

 

My Dad needs a gluten free diet so I have had to think a bit harder about meals this month. I did invest in some gluten free pasta and attempted some bread (not a success). I made some scones which were ok, some slightly weird cup cakes and a lot of flapjack. An extra mouth to feed does not sound much but some days it seemed like I had only just finished clearing up from one meal before I had to start on the next.

 

Prepare

 

I'm afraid I have nothing here. It was a hand to mouth sort of month.

 

Grow

I have given up on vegetables completely now. A few herbs are doing ok but the fruit fly has obliterated everything else. Actually, that is not entirely true. I have some unlikely looking leeks in a flower tub which may turn out ok. I have decided flowers is the way to go and have gathered a few plants and sewn some seeds. I must do a post about them soon.

Green

Nothing new here either.

Reduce

We have been having a rather longer summer here than anyone bargained for, and as a result the island has a rather serious water shortage. I have been saving my washing up water for the plants and we have chivvied the powers-that-be into finally fixing the shower. Of course, the last couple of days have been wet and windy so no need to water the plants, but we need a few weeks of rain to refill the reservoirs.

Create

Well, as you can see I finally got some photos taken of the summer shirt I made. I am very please with the placket (I do think that is a lovely word) but I am a little disappointed with the pattern. It is a little short in the back and was so wide when finished that I had to take two big tucks in it. I measured myself very carefully and followed the pattern to the letter. I still like wearing it though which is the main thing, and I love the loooooong sleeves!

I also made my lovely patchwork blanket and lots of crocheted bits for a charity event.

Discover

Well, the patchwork blanket was a voyage of discovery! I also read an amazing book which opened my eyes a little to the Middle East - it was Blood and Sand by Frank Gardener. He was a BBC correspondent working in Riyadh when he was shot repeatedly in the back. The book describes his relationship with the region and his recovery and readjustment after his ordeal. It sounds really depressing, but actually it is just the opposite: interesting and full of hope.

Enhance

The lady who has taught me the flax weaving asked me to take part in a charity event this month. I was to go along and make some things to be auctioned off. I ended up acting as auctioneer to a tough crowd but enjoyed being part of a truly 'saint' event. I'll try and do a whole post about it soon. I took loads of pics but I have no idea how they turned out since I haven't even looked at them!

Enjoy

I really enjoyed having my Dad here, and we did some really fun sight-seeing, had nice meals out, and it was lovely seeing the Smalls spending lots of time with him. I enjoyed being part of St Helena Day very much indeed. The broken elbow and all that goes with it is less fun but that's how it is sometimes.

How was May for you?

xx