The last week has been extremely busy and stressful (it feels like things do always go wrong in threes!) so I’ve tried to treasure the peaceful moments that allow us to do things together that don’t demand too much of us 🙂
This week, I have been in the mood to cook a lot. My daughter helped me to make some basic soda bread. It’s handy if you don’t have time for dough to rise. It just contains four ingredients and she liked helping to stir them in. It worked out really soft in the inside so I’d definitely make it again 🙂
My daughter has got into doing an adult colouring book I gave her. It helps her to sit for much longer and to focus on the small details. Sometimes I think when you treat a kid to something they think is only for adults they think they have got something special 🙂 I like having colouring sessions at the table together too.
We used some of the left over fruit images from the girls’ fruit collage to cut out and make pictures. The girls love cutting and sticking anything and coming up with their own designs 🙂 It reminds me a bit of découpage I remember doing as a kid. That focused kind of paper craft really makes your mind go quiet. I made myself a homemade vanilla latte. I love the Monin syrups. They make it taste identical to a coffee shop coffee but it is much more economical 🙂 I love the fact that in the summer you can sit outside with your coffee and pretend you’re on a terrace abroad, or even just at an outdoor table at a cafe.
My daughter and I started a basket weaving kit she got for her birthday. I’m sometimes put off craft kits because they can be too advanced for their age group and the adult (me) ends up making it alone, but this one was perfect. Once she got started, she was able to do most of it without help. She made a little rainbow basket and gave it to her sister as a present 🙂 My daughter was off sick for a couple of days, but she doesn’t like resting, so she made things at the table instead. I gave her some air drying clay and she made a cat face to match one she’d made before.
The girls have been into drawing pictures with chalk in the garden and practising Hopscotch. I love sitting outside in the sunshine after dinner and getting them to play old fashioned games like that and skipping, etc.
While the kids were at school, I started to reread Cat’s Cradle and made myself some coffee and homemade toast 🙂 I love soda bread with loads of butter and jam. It’s such a comforting thing to eat and I appreciate the pleasure of eating alone on the rare occasion I get to do it now 🙂
This weekend, we had some friends over and my friend brought me some beautiful peonies 🙂 It was well-timed because the last handpicked flowers we had in a vase had wilted. It just brightened up the kitchen and our day 🙂 I made some banana bread with my daughter in the morning and we cut up some cadbury’s fudge and put it inside because we had no other chocolate. It seemed to work well 🙂
We had some homemade pizza in the garden and after they left, we did a craft from the girls’ art box. It involved graphite paper and tracing. They had to trace images on top of the graphite paper to leave a print underneath. They made a few on paper and then designed their own to transfer onto little wooden decorations. When they had finished them, we added string so they can be hung up in their bedroom 🙂 It was such a therapeutic activity and a good way to wind down after the excitement of seeing friends.
Afterwards, we went for a walk to the park in the beautiful sunshine. There were some pink flowers on the Greenway with a lovely scent and the greenery has really sprouted. It was the hottest day we’ve had in a while and it felt like we could have been in a playground abroad 🙂
We spent our evening in my neighbour’s garden having drinks and a chat. It’s lovely sitting outside in the evening sunshine with friends and pretending you’re on holiday even if you are only feet from your front door 🙂
The Funky Thrifter 