raisinglittleshoots

Weekend Walk 8 September

September 8, 2013September 8, 2013by raisinglittleshootsLeave a Comment

No outdoor photos today – I left my camera at home!

A beautiful day for walking. The sky was bright blue this morning and there was a definite chill in the air. We left home late morning & the skies were steely grey and beautiful

The fruits are ripening out and about now. I got a haul of Haws which I plan to dry out for winter.

Gleaming jewel-like Elder berries

The Elder are destined for Elderberry Syrup.

I spent a happy, quiet time stripping the berries. I resisted the strong urge to listen to Radio 4 and spent the time thinking about how fruitful my own year has been and the seeds I wish to grow for the year ahead. We have faced large challenges as a family over the last year or two and I pondered how I have been changed by those experiences…

The activity of mindless, repeating activity does wonders for my wellbeing. No wonder I enjoy knitting so very much. Keeping my hands busy with an activity they just know how to do frees up my mind for pondering. It does the spirit good. Allows me to commune with God. Think through both big and little issues. Listen to my intuition…

The ingredients for the syrup all mixed and ready to stand overnight.

The Recipe comes from Glennie Kindred’s book ‘Letting In The Wild Edges’ which I could not recommend more. It is a fantastic book for those who love to be outdoors and celebrate the Wheel of the Year. Glennie also has the recipe for the syrup on her website. She writes; “Elderberry syrup is wonderful for chesty coughs and sore throats. It boosts the immune system and when taken at the first sign of a cold can prevent it from happening altogether!”

Celebrating, Family, Learning, Summer

( Not ) Back To School Traditions

September 5, 2013September 5, 2013by raisinglittleshootsLeave a Comment

Yesterday was our first day back at lessons since the Summer break.

As always, we had our traditions to follow:

The annual photo shoot

A new daily school verse

Help us to do the things we should,
To be to others kind and good;
In all we do, in work or play,
To grow more loving every day.

Rebecca Weston – 1890

Our morning was simple; more of an easing into the new end-of-Summer rhythm, than of serious school work.

We began to work on our individual ‘Wheel of the Year’ that we shall each be keeping

As always, we had Alphabet Soup for lunch. This was followed by a quick trip for the dentist for Rose, to check her over after The Accident.

Back home for our ‘Back to School’ tea party; Gingerbread biscuits and spiced apple juice (recipe below). The girls ate and I read some lovely, simple end of summer nature stories.

It was a good day….

Spiced Apple Juice

Pour 1 bottle of fresh apple juice into a pan.

Add about 5 whole cloves and a cinnamon stick.

Warm gently without allowing to simmer or boil.

Serve.

(We always add a little water to our juice)

Celebrating, Family, Summer

Birthday Celebrations

September 3, 2013September 3, 2013by raisinglittleshootsLeave a Comment

Yesterday was Rosie’s eighth birthday!

We began, as always, the night before by reading Happy Birthday to You! by Dr Seuss followed by tucking up the birthday girl in bed and after prayers saying the following verse:

When I have said my evening prayer,
And my clothes are folded over there,
And Mummy switches off the light,
I’ll still be seven years old tonight.

But, from the very break of day,
Before the children rise and play,
Before the greenness turns to gold,
Tomorrow, I’ll be eight years old.

Eight kisses when I wake.
Eight candles on my cake!

Then we shared our last hug together with Rose as a seven year old and said good night.

I was woken bright and early by my rather excited birthday girl wearing her birthday crown. (Both girls have their own, made from soft wool felt & embroidered with their initial.) We had eight big kisses & then set off downstairs…

: : Birthday Burst – the presents are placed in our living room and I cover the doorway with

wrapping paper. The girls love bursting through to get to their presents!

: : Birthday breakfast – a muffin with a numeral candle on top. We sing ‘Happy Birthday’

and the birthday girl blows it out. This is generally eaten whilst playing with new toys

and is followed by an easy-to-eat green smoothie.

: : Rosie appears to have formed her own tradition of visiting a local farm each birthday. They always have super staff and the girls and I really enjoy ourselves.

: : A tea party with family and friends.

: : Birthday Cake and wishes

Photos of birthday presents to follow….

Family

The Healing Basket

August 29, 2013August 30, 2013by raisinglittleshootsLeave a Comment

Tucked away in a little corner of our dining room lives our healing basket. Simple and dependable, the basket is our go to when someone is hurt.

I first read about keeping a healing basket in Seven Times The Sun. It is a lovely way to comfort a hurt child and give the care and acknowledgement they need.

Our basket contains

: : A little mug & Rescue Remedy

: : A bottle of dilute lavender oil for soothing massages

: : Dilute Tea Tree for keeping the midges away when we play in the garden or woods

: : Healing balm

: : Plasters

: : Our friendly ‘Healing Gnome’ who is always ready to give the injured party a sweet kiss

Family, Knitting, Spinning & Dyeing, Summer

The View From My Knitting…

August 28, 2013August 28, 2013by raisinglittleshoots2 Comments

The weekend past was a Bank Holiday and as such, hubby and I took every pain to enjoy the rest and slower pace.

The girls stayed with grandparents on Sunday night and on the Monday morning Hubby and I went walking. It was glorious! We sat for a while on a bench so I could add a few rows to something I am working on for Rosie’s birthday.

The girls returned in the afternoon and we spent a happy hour making jam from all the blackberries we have been collecting. We have bottles and bottles of the stuff now! I have an easy, pretty foolproof recipe that I use each year so that we have an abundance, all ready for making those Blackberry jam tarts for Michaelmas!

We also made fresh lemonade. This is so easy & delicious! I have included my recipe below.

As evening approached we all went for a lovely evening walk to the river. I sat and knitted while the girls played with hubby and walked a large tree trunk that spans the river. There was much screaming, laughing & the splashing of dogs!

We headed home to a fire in the garden and enjoyed a delicious dinner of lamb steaks and caramelised onions on crusty bread, ice cold lemonade and vanilla ice cream drizzled with warmed blackberry jam. We chatted for a while then the girls decided it was time for s’mores; which, I have to say are such a treat!

After a long hot day, the sun began to fade and we all began to grow tired; that lovely, physically spent and full-bellied sleepiness that follows a perfect summer day…

Lemonade

3 large lemons

100g sugar

1L of water

Halve the lemons & juice them. Add the rinds to a bowl, along with the sugar & drench with 1L of boiling water. Stir, cover with a clean tea towel & leave to cool. Once cooled, strain the lemons from the water and add the lemon juice. Serve chilled.

Celebrating, Knitting, Spinning & Dyeing

Birthday Crafting

August 21, 2013August 21, 2013by raisinglittleshootsLeave a Comment

We have a Very Important Birthday coming up soon – Rose will be eight years old!

There is a lot of secret crafting going on..

Do you remember the white yarn I recently showed you? Here it is all dyed up with used coffee grounds (along with some other knitting..)

The days are ticking by at a quite disconcerting speed (although I am sure Rose would disagree!) So each spare moment if filled with sewing, stuffing and knitting. Wish me luck!

Celebrating, Summer

The August Nature Table

August 20, 2013August 20, 2013by raisinglittleshoots8 Comments

Elianna has taken charge of the care and keeping of our nature table; clearing it up every month and adding the various flower fairies and gnomes that reflect the changing seasons.

Both girls delight in adding the treasures they find in our garden and on our walks.

The toadstools tend to make a year round appearance as we always seem to find fungus of one sort or another on our walks.

And our fairies form a magic circle….

Family, Nature, Summer

Weekend Walk – 18 August

August 18, 2013August 18, 2013by raisinglittleshoots1 Comment

Today was a bittersweet walk. We met with good friends and walked..

We came across a little fairy bath:

Naturally there was tree climbing

and a happy face

Mother nature at work in every direction

But then there was a bump – a big bump. Two little girls playing on the tree swing bumped heads. And then there were tears from both little girls. But my Rose did not stop. She could feel the wobble of her tooth & the metallic taste of the blood in her mouth.

She was terrified & I had to scoop up my child and take her home. After a gentle bath and many more tears we heard a knock at our front door. Our friends had called by to see how she was. And Rose’s face lit up once more. Her friend stayed for a sweet hour of play, which took Rose’s mind off the blood and the wobbling.

I am so thankful for such thoughtful friends who went out of their way and brought Love to my child.

And mud! oh, the mud!

Celebrating, Family, Summer

Fireside

August 17, 2013August 17, 2013by raisinglittleshootsLeave a Comment

Fire fascinates me….I could stare into the flickering, dancing flames for hours….

Fire transforms; it can both create and consume. Perhaps the fascination stems from a natural instinct to master & control it’s instability.

Necessary for our day to day living; but also it’s magic is brought into our celebrations. We have roaring fires at the Winter Solstice and Christmas time. A candle is lit as we say our morning verse before we begin our day’s work and who could say no to roasted marshmallows at the end of a long, sun-soaked day?

Four of the pre Christian festivals are fire festivals, testifying to the importance of fire in our ancestors lives; Imbolc, (the return of spring) Beltaine, (fertility festival) Lughnasadh (the beginning of the harvest) & Samhain (the end of the harvest, the beginning of winter). Bonfires were lit and feasting began…

The girls did plenty of feasting on roasted marshmallows and s’mores whilst daddy & I chatted. I took time to knit of course!

I love how fire has the ability to draw us together, to bring us close as a family. Sharing the warm summer evenings outdoors, or cuddled up beside the hearth on a chilled winter night.

Many of our ancestors believed in fire elementals…do you see our own fire fairy….?

Knitting, Spinning & Dyeing

A Little Spinning

August 13, 2013August 26, 2013by raisinglittleshoots2 Comments

Earlier in the year I did some dyeing with dandelions & cochineal.

On the quest to create the perfect sock yarn; (perfect for me is squishy, warm & hardwearing.) I am working with a blend of Blue Faced Leicester wool – lovely soft & strong, baby Alpaca for warmth & silk for strength.

I dyed the fibre in three batches – pure cochineal for a bright pink, half cochineal & half dandelion for a tender peach colour and mostly dandelion with a touch of cochineal for a pretty pearl shade.

The fibre was carded and was spun long-draw for a lovely cushy single, then three plyed for what i hope will be a long-lasting sock yarn for toasty toes!

Author: raisinglittleshoots

Weekend Walk 8 September

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( Not ) Back To School Traditions

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Birthday Celebrations

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The Healing Basket

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The View From My Knitting…

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Birthday Crafting

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The August Nature Table

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Weekend Walk – 18 August

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Fireside

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A Little Spinning

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