weekending

The figs are starting to ripen and I braved a thunder and lightening storm to pick this one over the weekend. I spied it from my kitchen window and was amazed by the size and had to get to it before the birds. I can tell you it was delicious and I shared it with a little one.

On Sunday we made our way to a free local concert, it was hot, crowded and fun. The kids shared some candy floss, it was definitely big enough to share. Like everything these days, the candy floss was "super sized". It was great to see so many families out and about enjoying a nice pocket of Summer weather, it seems a bit thin on the ground this year. That's not all bad though, it means that I've hardly had to water the garden! Fingers crossed for a small water bill then.

We've got a big week here with trips and mother help and the like and a very special birthday so this space might have to wait till next week.

pinned

Lemon and poppy seed pancakes for the recipe click here, the Pinterest ones look amazing, but I was sure mine although not as pretty, tasted just as delicious. Yum, yum, yummy!

(I never buy buttermilk especially for recipes that call for it like this one. I just add some white vinegar to the milk. How much vinegar I hear you ask? Well, it's not too accurate but until it starts to look curdled,  it's about 4 tablespoons to 2 cups of milk)

found

I've been sorting out a big cupboard that houses my fabric collection and some other crafty type stuff. I came across all sorts of thing I'd forgotten about. One such thing was this bit of crochet, it's this that I'd unravelled to make a cover for a jar to use as a vase. Obviously I'd never finished it and I was quite delighted to finally have found my 6.50mm crochet hook that I had all but given up hope of finding that was tucked up inside the jar.

While out in the garden today I also found this sunflower hiding underneath the bean wigwam so I put the two together on my kitchen table, unfinished crochet and all. It's a wee bit of sun on an otherwise stormy and grey day.

Happy weekend!

new ones

There seems to be a real baby boom on at the moment, both in the "real world" and "blogland" too! It means that my crochet hooks have been kept busy. I've made quite a few pairs of these booties, the pattern is from Etsy seller Mamachee and the pattern is her Buccaneer Booties. They work up really quickly and I've got several pairs waiting for their buttons to be sewn on. The above pair were made with some lovely homespun wool from my neighbour, a mix of merino and her angora rabbit fibre. They are really soft and cuddly! Perfect for some little feet. I made them around 3-6mth size to fit once the weather gets a bit cooler.

I also like to give something little to the new mums, I've made up some jars of homemade muesli with dehydrated strawberries and apricots. In those early days if I was up late I'd often have a bowl of muesli as a quick and easy snack. I've also dehydrated some apples sprinkled with a little cinnamon and sugar (that's why there are some "brown" bits on the apple slices) It's so important for feeding mums to have some snacks at hand!

away

While on a blogging break, we took a short holiday in the far north of the north island. In short the trip involved lots of beach going, some Tuatua collecting, ice creams at nearly every stop, first every car ferry ride and a trip to see Tane Mahuta, some fish and chips from here and a lovely cafe stop here. It was a very busy few days.

The cafe stop"Morrells Cafe" was particularly welcome after a long winding drive on a hot day. It was situated in Waimamakau and we are happy to recommend it to anyone, I mean look at those pancakes and coffees would you! It operates out of an old cheese factory and has a beautiful cottage type garden. I also spotted the father of this lovely blogger and I was seriously disappointed to hear we must have missed her by a matter of minutes! Just means we might have to call past again on our next trip and try our luck again.

loving

Happy Valentines day! We don't celebrate it much here, not like in America. I sometimes wish we did when I see all the cute ideas for class valentine gifts on Pinerest, like this one, or this. So in the absence of Valentines love here, I thought I'd share something I'm loving at the moment, this space in our lounge.

The one good thing about all the rain and cold weather over Christmas and the new year was all the time I spent crocheting! Some days that's all I did, aside from making meals for the family. It meant that I worked up this blanket/throw (the blue one on the couch) in a few short days. The pattern is Solas Caomh, which is Irish for "tender comfort". I found the pattern in a book in my local library called "The best of Interweave crochet". I really liked working on it and I was surprised how quickly it worked up (especially once I started reading the pattern, rather than just doing what I thought it said). You can find my ravelry notes here.

The framed images are all from blogging friends, from the top, left to right we have: A Kokeshi screen print by Lisa Stubbs, you can find her etsy shop here. Red shoes by Dee, that I was super lucky to win in a giveaway from her blog, little did she know just how much I love red and mary jane shoes!!! Next is the stunning portrait that Stella did of my little man and his woof. I can't even put into words how well she captured him and how much we all love it. Finally there is a gocco printed card by Melissa of tiny happy which I love for it's simplicity.

harvest

Most of the garden seemed to like the cooler and wet start to the Summer. We had lots and lots of berries! Most of which are taking up a lot of space in our small freezer, I feel a jam session coming on. It saved me watering the garden (I'm hoping for a small water bill). One crop didn't seem to like it much, my blackcurrants, the one in the picture is the one and only that survived this year, and I ended picking it too early and it was super tart and I didn't finish it.

Beans have been (as every year) the biggest hit far and above all the berries, as far as the kids are concerned.  I mainly planted "King of the blues" from Kings Seeds. A nice smooth runner bean that is a purple colour that turns green once cooked. Yum! Our favourite way of eating them is lightly boiled or steamed with a tiny bit of butter, a big squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt. I could eat them like that every day. But as you can see some just like to eat them out of the garden, rain, or sun. Just like last year.

slowly

I'm sorry it's been so long. I've been getting nice emails asking me if we are all alright and I thought that was a sign to make my way back into this space. I've been enjoying the relaxed summer atmosphere and just living!

Over the holiday time we've had a birthday and my little one has turned three. It's meant that last week he started a few mornings a week at a local preschool. It's the same one miss E went to and it's like I've never been away. I really loved the walk to preschool and almost mourned it once miss E started school last year and we found ourselves walking in a different direction. The walk to preschool takes in some special sights including spying on some local chickens hidden behind a fence, walking along the estuary looking at all the different birds, checking the tide level and then up a big (big in toddler terms) hill. I'm loving walking it again and sharing the sights with my little man. I'm also enjoying a few short hours of quiet in the house.

I've got lots to share so I'll make an effort to be back soon!

Happy weekend!