new curtains for the bedroom

hopefully these 'aubergine' coloured lined cotton curtains will make it a little darker in the mornings, so emm might sleep a little longer! i B&Q'd it for these curtains, after trawling some curtain shops and getting depressed by the choice of dowdy beiges, old fashioned florals and tacky taffetas and deciding to wait for ikea to come to ireland! looking for storage boxes i accidentally wandered into the curtain isle in the big hardware retailer, and low and behold, decent prints and lovely coloured plains! i chose the purple for us, to go with the 'tarnished bronze' bedstead, and for emm's room i chose 'hot pink'! it'll be gorgeous with her aqua walls and white woodwork.

our room will need painting, the 'buttermilk' walls are scratched and grubby, and really don't go with my decadent luxurious bronze and purple colour scheme! i still had the bedlinen and dark purple cushions (dunnes). i'm thinking a plain off white for most walls, like the 'shimmering' we used in the kitchen/dining area, and a soft warm purple for one feature wall, (have a sample of crown's 'warm velvet armagnac' and shade cards for dulux 'mellow heather' and 'twilight cinders'. or would that be purple overload? hm, is there a contrasting colour for purple?

i hope i'll be able to get this room finished without going to 'boudoir' like, i do like simple lines and contemporary design... but i also like pattern and colour, i wouldn't mind some embroidered cushions... i'd like an interesting bedside lamp (and a different ceiling lamp, too!). yeah, then i'd also like nicer bedside tables (once emm has moved into her own room), a painting or print, i should keep a book just for my room ideas so i stay focused and can be let loose at flea markets and car boot sales without buying lots of uninspired junk!

another sling

i made another one, using lightweight cotton that i've been saving and looking at for ages (and a cream coloured sheet from 'penneys' for lining), i thought i might like a lighter coloured sling for the summer. i'm not so sure now about the print, it's probably a bit too small for wearing? does it look dowdy? M likes it, she is fascinated by the tiny flowers and circles..

painting the fireplace

before (yesterday morning)

some of our break times:
raspberry mascarpone cupcakes
smoked salmon and cream cheese on brown bread

roasted red pepper and carrot soup

the finished product, this afternoon!
weiss, passend zu den fussleisten und Tuer, und irgendwann gibt's dann auch mal ein buecherregal! i really like it, it brightens up the room and is lovely agains the light grey wall

No. 92 lamb

we had this today, it's really delicious!

No. 92 LAMB
(this was number 92 on the menu of a restaurant i used to work in as a student, the owner was iranian, so i suppose it's a persian dish! it's lamb with rice, green beans, a cold yoghurt sauce and a light salsa.

buy lamb shanks (or other cheap stewing lamb on the bone) at your local butcher, get him to split them for you. simmer for about 5 hours in salted water (we added carrot, celeriac, leek, onion, so we got a great lamb stock out of it, which we can use for stew another time). the meat should just fall off the bone!

fry cooked basmati rice and green beans in olive oil and butter, with some dill and parsley, salt and pepper. (the dill and parsley mix makes it so delicious)

for the yoghurt sauce mix 2 parts yoghurt with 1 part mayonnaise, season with salt, pepper, a bit of lemon juice and herbs (e.g. mint)

for the salsa chop onion, cucumber and tomato, add salt, pepper, mint and lemon juice. (you only need a small amount of this salsa)

i like to keep the 4 parts seperate on the plate, otherwise the sauce will cool down your meat and rice too quickly.

money saving tip: instead of buying dried mint from the herb section, get mint tea bags! much cheaper! or, grow mint in your garden, it grows like a weed!!

5 months already!!

Our little M is 5 months old already! I couldn't even tell you how many weeks she is exactly, it's that many!! (Life definitely gets in the way of posting) We've even started to think about weaning and have decided to give Baby Led Weaning (also referred to as BLW) a go. Looking forward to it, but a bit apprehensive of the mess, although apparently feeding Purees isn't all clean and tidy either i hear...

I'm looking forward to seeing what she'll make of broccoli. She's licking and chewing and sucking everything she can get her hands on. Her terry bibs are a favourite, and my knuckles, too! Imagine the fun she'd have with the texture of broccoli floret, and the taste!!

We're gonna stick with the breastfeeding for another while, it's become so easy since we've come off the nipple shields, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it now! Can't imagine wanting to stop and start her on formula at 6 months. Have gotten quite attached to the new Cup size, too, it would be a pity to loose it already!! I can only recommend it to anybody, the initial hard work pays off soon, and the longer you stick with it the more you get 'your money's worth'! losing the baby weight has been a breeze, i was back to pre pregnancy weight after about 14 weeks, and am now skinnier than in years!! I hope I won't get too many odd comments from friends and family if I don't stop at 6 months...

guinness and chocolate cupcakes

i baked guinness and chocolate buns today, they turned out lovely! i made some vanilla creme frosting to go with them, german style, which involves custard powder, milk, sugar, butter and icing sugar and makes for a lovely light but buttery topping. i'm not a hundred percent sure if it's ideal for the very rich chocolate buns, maybe a dark chocolate glaze would be better? maybe i plain buns would be better suited to the buttercreme?

either way, tomorrow morning i'm planning to ice the buns and bring them along to the mammies and babies coffee morning. the girls and babas are a lovely bunch and we have great chats, but the surroundings are grim (the local pub, smelling of shake'n'vac, selling instant coffee and tea) so i think some little cakes with sweet icing and sprinkles will lighten things up a little! if i have time i'll take a picture!

i interpreted several chocolate and guinness cake recipes (nigella has one, delia too) and made up my own version. recipes are such a mine field, all the different measurements, and the fact that to my german palate a lot of american and english baking tastes too sweet, so i often mess with sugar amounts. i think the difference is that in germany we eat cakes in the afternoon, several hours after lunch as a seperate meal, you'd have a big piece of cake, or two, with some coffee, whereas in a lot of other countries cakes are dessert, a small sweet treat directly after the meal.

don't get me wrong, germans have desserts, too, but they tend to be served in little glass bowls: custard and fruit, pudding and cream, yoghurt, ice cream... mmmh, i must write a post about all my favourite desserts from home, we had dessert with every dinner (lunch)!

Neil Gaiman

Today we went to see the brilliant Neil Gaiman reading and signing, and Amanda Palmer singing in Chapters at five! Well, that was the idea, unfortunately the crowd was quite big, and no microphones used, so we couldn't actually see or hear anything, and as i had the buggy with me there was no trying to shuffle for a better space, either. When it came to queueing for signing, which snaked around the whole back section of the shop, i was however ushered to the front of the queue, courtesy of my little babe! I got a book signed for my friend, and he also signed m's fabric picture book! Hm, can't let her drool on it anymore now!



Afterwards my friend A and I went for some fish and chips and tea in Benny's, and then it was home for me and M. A went back and got another book signed at 20 past nine! Over 3 hours of reading and signing, respect! I wonder how many people were there...

M behaved so well, sleeping all the way into town, quietly taking in the sights and sounds in the book shop, she got a little grumpy around 6 so i fed her (in the fantasy/science fiction section, very quiet with everybody trying to catch a glimpse at the reading) and she fell asleep soon after, sleeping most of the way home, too! Back in the house she was full of giggles and smiles!

another sling picture

this is the pouch sling i made for my husband, i think it came out a little too short, and it's not even washed yet! although it's not on quite right, either, it's a little twisted. i think the westfalen fabric works really well for guys, this is a woven stripe coordinated with a matching check. m isn't quite used to being in a sling, yet, after 2 or 3 minutes she was trying to stand up to get out! if the weather's still nice when the rugby's over, maybe i can convince the daddy to go for a little walk with us, to try out the sling properly, maybe in the cradle hold.

the toy attached to the sling is a 'tigerente' (tiger duck), a janosch character.

slings, christening and baby weight

it's from www.gorgeousbaby.ca, and i'm very happy with it! lovely soft fabric, good fit (i measured according to the website), and m seems to like it, too!

it's great for breastfeeding, i'm planning to go to the parent and baby cinema on tuesday, i think i'll bring it for that, it gives good support.





i made a pouch sling for p, too, it's nowhere near as nice as, and much simpler than the bought one, i sewed it this evening and can't wait to try it out! a reinforced curved seam is quite hard to do,, especially when the curve already looks a bit wobbly! but i used nice westfalen-fabric, so it's definitely man-friendly, and all cotton. unfortunately i can't remember if i pre washed the fabric, i kind of think i mightn't have... must remember to only wash it cold or it won't fit!!

we had the christening last week, a mad day, 23 adults and 9 children in the tiny house! a bit of a squeeze but all had fun, and the food went down well, my mum and i cooked all day saturday, and my neighbour made lovely desserts. anybody in north dublin, get your desserts from her! her cakes are divine! there was a merengue roll, a swiss roll with mandarins, a cheese cake and a banoffi, yum!

all the work cleaning, tidying, cooking, and 8 visitors from home shifted the last 2 kilos of the baby weight that were still hanging on! considering that i don't diet and eat whatever i like, including chocolate, that's not bad! i can't say my figure is the same as before, there's definitely a bit of soft belly jelly that seems to be here to stay, but at least most of my jeans and all of my tops fit again. oh, did i mention i'm loosing my hair! the post pregnancy molting has definitely started :-( and i have so little to start with...

i'm getting used to motherhood and am enjoying myself here, while i'm off work there's lots of time for cuddles and giggles with my little angel, and while i'm not doing half the things i thought i might be doing on maternity leave, i'm enjoying pottering around, and finally having a car so i can go for walks on the beach and for trips to the shopping centre for a browse and a latte, and to buy 'exotic' vegetables like fennel, which i couldn't get here in the village... i kind of expected to be really bored and dieing to get back to work, but that's not the case at all! it'll be hard to go back in autumn!

flame headed tulips

my bunch of tulips on their second last day!

a florist opened up in our tiny village, so, always willing to support local business, i got a big bunch of these in the perfect warm orangey red. they've been putting a smile on my face for a week, but now they've lost their petals and have to go...wouldn't you just love a walk through a whole field of these on a sunny day!

pushchairs

buggies used to be so simple! see that one above, circa 1977? i look quite confident pushing my little sis around!

my friend cath and i went to go for a walk on the beach yesterday, with m in tow. c was picking me up in her car, so instead of the pram i was bringing the carseat-buggy combo. as my husband had the buggy i usually use, a quite old but lightweight model, in the car with him, i got the other one, slightly newer but heavier, (another 'present' not put to use yet) collapsed as it was, and put it into c's boot. in skerries we parked and then proceeded to uncollapse the buggy! how embarassing! two grown women fighting with a piece of equipment on the sidewalk! for at least 15 minutes we were pushing all the buttons, unhooking clasps, pulling, pushing, kicking... to no avail! looking at each other in disbelief, at not being able to unfold a pushchair! in the end we packed it into the boot again, and went for a hot chocolate, carrying the baby in the carseat...

of course it took my husband all of 2 minutes to get the hang of it at home, all that was needed was a little pull and shake! like an umbrella! and i usually pride myself on not being intimidated by any piece of technology! i've heard of pregnancy brain, but is there a condition called breastfeeding brain??

scanning old photographs

i'm having great fun (and frustration) scanning old photographs on an old scanner. the software on it is very spartanic, no remembering settings or file locations, and i can only run it 'as administrator' ... (the driver is not really meant for my version of windows, and not approved and possibly a little dodgy)

the fun comes into it when i look at images on screen! this one should be summer 1976, sunday afternoon coffee, i think it's the day of my little sister's christening, that's why my aunt's there, and the good china is out even though we're in the kitchen. on screen little things that i don't really see when i look at a photo in the album jump out at me, expressions on peoples faces, the cute coffee pot on the counter, and the printed glass on the table. i also love the pattern on the high chair!

and of course to me it's amazing how YOUNG everybody looks! i forgot how pretty my aunt was, and my uncle and 2nd cousin were mere boys!

my aunt is wearing a 'kittel' over her skirt and top, white for sundays, they were the 'modern' version of an apron, crackly polyester or 'perlon' sleeveless apron-dresses, and my mum and aunts and granny wore them almost all day every day, goes to show you how much of their day and week was seen as 'work', only for leaving the farm and in the evening the aprons came off.

i might post some more of these as i come across them. it's a pity all those seventies plastics haven't lasted, i'd love that high chair now for my little one!

black ice

(flickr spratmackrel)

i fell on my bum. so sore! i was walking (fast, as it was cold) to the bins, and on the concrete there was nothing, then on the paving - swoosh - wham. the shock reverberated (is that a word?) through my spine all the way to my head! couldn't breathe or get up at first, thank god my friend was there to help me up, she was already in her car pulling off.

i had bum back and headache on the first day, then only bum and backache, now only bum and lower back ache, and only when i get up or sit down or bend .

i was so lucky i wasn't carrying my baby at the time! i was very lucky not to get hurt any worse, too, as i was flat on my back. i should start a gratitude book, and this should be my first entry... i am grateful that i didn't get hurt badly, and that my friend was there to help me and that she stayed until i was sure i could get up and down the stairs and pick up and put down m.

i did make something!

 

ha, i have something to show after all, i just forgot (i forget a lot these days...) over christmas my mum made the tiny mittens to match the hat that i made before she was even born, and then i used the rest of the wool to make the little scarf/neckwarmer. a bit of mother daughter cooperation!

right now she's finishing my stripy crochet blanket (i started it, not anticipating the 3rd trimester tiredness. mama continued it while she was staying here to help me with m., after that i managed all of 3 rows, so i brought it home with me for christmas...)it's made with organic cotton, the pattern is random stripes

christmas surprise

we're back from germany today, pretty tired with a grumpy nearly 9 week old, but happy!!

we surprised my parents for christmas with a visit, which was great fun! we didn't think we'd make it home with getting a passport for our little one and everything, and told my parents so for weeks, but we did get everything sorted in time! we let my sister know and she picked us up from the airport on christmas eve, and put us up at her house for the afternoon, then in the evening she and her boyfriend went in to my parents, as they had planned, and told them to stay in the living room for a minute as they wanted to set up their present in the hall, then they went to the back door, let us in and told my parents they could come out now. the look on their faces was priceless! it was such a happy evening! they had been disappointed but understanding that we wouldn't be coming to germany this year... a lovely laid back week was spent, with the cousins getting to know each other (my 2 year old nephew was besotted with her, he licked her face!)

as i like to blog with photos, and have nothing much to show myself (except for a gorgeous daughter, but i'm not sure yet how i feel about posting lots of pictures of her on the blog... or how my husband feels about it... i probably won't, apart from the 1st day picture i already posted), here a picture of my mum's christmas pyramid ornament (these are traditionally pyramids of angels, and you use small candles to power the propeller that makes it go round, but mama puts hers onto the swedish stove that heats their living room (so hot... we were close to melting point!).



i love discovering little things i made years ago, that my mum still keeps, like this candle (old candle stumps sorted by colour, and poured into jam jars and similarly cheap containers, that can be broken off when the wax is hardened). this must be at least 20 years old, because i seem to still have considered stick on gold stars an essential!


or this salt dough sheep (i hadn't realised salt dough could keep so long! maybe i varnished it??)

the wool is made with a garlic press... mama displays it with her collection of christmas angels