Sharing some of what Boo has been up too

 One of the most amazing things is watching your kids grow into adults. As a homeschooler, the burden/privilege  of bringing children through this transition seems especially poignant. 

I love how different they all are. I love how unique their personalities are and how they are each blossoming in their own ways.

It seems Boo has been writing songs since she was about nine years old. She recorded her first song "Somewhere a Melody" at 13 and since then she has been working solidly on her music (alongside exams). 

She has a YouTube account where she posts videos and a spotify where her songs can be downloaded and listened to. You can find them by clicking the link here.

If you can, please support her by subscribing to her channel. 

She writes and produces everything herself in her bedroom. She also produces her own music videos. She works so hard. I'm so proud of her.

Here is one of her songs that was played a couple of months back on BBC radio as part of the BBC introducing program.

 

 Here is a song that her sister Matilda wrote that a couple of weeks back.

 And here is a cover she recently made (and produced the video for) of Fleetwood Mac's Everywhere.

 

Motherhood Stages - Screen Fasts and A New Shop

Hi lovely friends. I hope all is well with you.

It’s been a while since I wrote here. A lot has been going on for us. Having older teenage children and a sweet grandchild means lots of driving around. We live in the countryside, which is lovely, but it’s a long way from town and as there is only one daily bus out to town, the girls rely on Tani and I for lifts to their various activities.

 I love having teenagers. There have certainly been moments of intensity and emotionally stressful moments to navigate but watching the girls grow into young women is an incredible journey I feel honoured to be on. 

I’m not going to lie. I often look back through the baby albums and even early blog posts through tears. Sometimes, the grief of knowing that for health reasons  I’m unlikely to have another baby of my own is overwhelming. The time seems to have literally flowed through my fingers. I can’t believe my children are almost grown. And all but two of them are now taller than me! Surely that shouldn’t be! 

I miss little ones snuggling and story times and even waking during the quiet of the night to gaze at the wonder of my own newborn baby. But there is a season for everything. And every season has its hardships and joys, it’s lessons and it’s dreams. 

I went on a screen fast during lent this past year. I just needed time alone to process, to pray and to heal.

This past year has been difficult. I’ve had health problems and my Daddy passed away in September after being ill for several months. My lovely Mama is very frail now and needs a lot of care. 

I thought I would struggle with my screen fast. I’ve done screen fasts before snd struggled but by God’s Grace, this time, I found it pretty easy.

I was able to rest and process, read and pray. I went to visit the blessed sacrament and let tears fall.

Then God put it in my heart to write a story. Every day pen in hand is sit and write and the words just flowed out. Those words became a book.

Then the inspiration for landscape shawls came to me inspired by paintings I’d been working on quietly in the summer house after my Father passed. I began to knit and paint and all this creativity that had been pent up inside came out of me. It was so healing. I could almost here my Daddy say ‘ go on you paint Suze.’ He bought me my first set of oil paints when I was 13. I remember that drizzly, cosy Autumn day looking through antique shops, the smell of incense from the little art gallery like it was yesterday.  I also remember when he took me to Monet’s water Lily garden in France because I lived Monet, like he did. Seeing those water lilies glimmer under the bridge I knew so well from my Father’s books was one of the most magical experiences.

I like to think of my paintings as impressionist watercolour landscapes.

So, I have opened a shop which you can find here:

https://www.etsy.com/plainpearlart

I am working on a website. 

I also have a shop Instagram which you can find here: 

http://Instagram.com/plainpearlart

I’ve started a shop YouTube channel:

https://youtube.com/user/sailingbystarlight

I know I haven’t been posting here much. I am planning on posting weekly again.

I do post regularly at my Faith blog here: 

http://onthewaytothegarden.blogspot.com

And I occasionally upload at This YouTube channel too:

https://youtube.com/channel/UC1AHlOUK3lHHHVB4DhV22DQ

Sending lots of love to all who read this blog.I pray you have a beautiful day.

An Autumn Story

An annual re-posting of this Autumn story and play that I wrote with Boo's help many moons ago.
It can be printed out and read or used as a script for a play or peg doll puppet show.
The girls loved it when they were little. Enjoy :)

 

The Elfin Tree

Characters

  

Narrator

Elf

Squirrel

Fawn

Rose Hip Fairy

Primula Fairy

Script

Narrator:  Once upon a grassy meadow, Little Elf noticed a small sapling growing in the glade by the big woods. 

It looked just like the other trees only smaller. She was intrigued! 

She thought she might plant it in her own garden to see how big it would grow.   

Maybe it would it grow as big and tall as the trees that grew in the woodland beyond.

After she had planted it, she felt very proud of herself indeed. 

Every week through the hot summer, Little Elf watered the tree so it wouldn’t get thirsty.

One day after a good many weeks had passed, Little Elf came to water the tree again but when she looked at it she dropped her watering can and the water spilled all over the grass.

Elf:  What has happened?

Narrator: The tree’s leaves were red, gold, orange and brown. Not fresh and green as they had always been!

Elf: “My poor little tree, maybe I am not feeding you well, maybe you are sick”

Narrator: Little Little Elf started to cry. She went to Primula the Spring Fairy and said...

Elf: "Primula Fairy, please help me. Something awful has happened to my tree. The leaves were green but now they are red, yellow and brown.
Am I not feeding it well?"

Primula Fairy:  "See how my yellow petals have turned to seed. All things change with the Autumn breeze! Come now Elf don’t you cry. Go and ask Squirrel she’ll know better than I."

Narrator: So Little Elf went to Squirrel's tree house to ask her. But she was busy collecting nuts, and not in the mood for answering questions. So Little Elf  decided to ask Fawn.

Elf: "Fawn, please help me. Something awful has happened to my tree. The leaves were green but now they are red, yellow and brown.
Am I not feeding it well?"

Fawn: "My spots are fading fast you see, all things change with the Autumn breeze. Come now Elf don’t you cry. Go and ask Rose Hip the Autumn Fairy, she’ll know better than I."

Narrator:  So Little Elf ran back passed Fawn, then passed Squirrel, then passed Primula Fairy until finally she found Rose Hip the Autumn Fairy.

Elf:  "Rose Hip Fawn, please help me. Something awful has happened to my tree. The leaves were green but now they are red, yellow and brown.
Am I not feeding it well?"

Narrator: Rose Hip turned to Little Elf with a gentle smile and said...

Rose Hip: "Of course you are feeding it well. 
The season is changing that is all. 
Time flows like the trickling stream that runs through the Big Woods. 

When it was Spring the leaves were green, but now it is Autumn. 
The leaves change colour and eventually fall to the ground. 

It will soon be winter and your tree will be bare but don’t cry because Mother Nature knows what she is doing. Your tree isn't sick, it's just sleeping.

After Winter it will be spring once again.
For Spring always follows Winter.

In Spring you'll see new baby leaves and blossom budding on the tips of its branches.

 Narrator: Little Elf was very grateful and was also very happy. In fact she was so happy she had a party and invited all of her friends to come!
They danced and sang until tea time.
Every animal brought something from the autumn harvest: sunflower seeds, barley bread, sweet corn, ripe plums, apples, hazelnuts and elderberry tea!
They all had a lovely time, eating, drinking and dancing around the golden, shimmering tree.

Elf: I love my tree

Narrator:  Little Elf, snuggled up in a cosy nest of moss at it's roots.

The End.

Tutorial: {Making Peg Doll Angels}

Hat and Gloves {Yarn Along}

Last night I finished my hat and sewed up the seams on my second glove.

Either my tension was a bit off or my head is unusually small because the hat is a little loose.
I think I might gather the back seam and sew it a little tighter.

Saying that, I do like the pattern very much. I like the garter stitch edge and the artisan/casual look as my daughter describes it :)

I used Sirdar Divine Yarn in Lucia for both the hat and gloves.
The hat was made using  this Ravelry pattern.
The gloves were made using a pattern from Erica Knight's Classic Collection.

 

Joining Frontier Dreams and Yarn Along

Herbal Salves, Oils, Baths and Balms {Otherwise known as Potionmaking}

 

 Over the last few weeks we have been doing what my children refer to as "potion making."

The pictures below have been gathered over the last couple of years of  herbal adventuring.

We gather and Identify herbs from our little herb patch before putting into posies to dry 
upside down in a cool, dark cupboard.

Once dry we made jars of Chamomile and Mint tea to store.

Camomile is good for soothing tummies and has naturally calming properties.

Mint is invigorating and a perfect mid morning pick me up.

We infused some olive oil with Sage, Lemon balm and Rosemary by heating it slowly with the herb before bottling. This oil can be used for cooking with or combined with other ingredients such as Beeswax, Shea butter, Coconut oil and Essential oil to make therapeutic balms, and salves.

Here is our Rosemary infused Olive Oil. 

 Rosemary is shrouded in history and folklore. From ancient Greece through the European Middle Ages, rosemary was thought to possess the power to protect against evil spirits. Sprigs were placed under pillows or burned as incense to ward off evil demons and prevent bad dreams.

Rosemary is a rich source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds thought to help boost the immune system and improve blood circulation. 
However, it is wise to avoid if pregnant as high doses have been linked to miscarriage.

We made Lavender oil by covering our dried lavender with 80% proof white vodka and sealing it for 6 weeks in  a cool, dark drawer. It was stirred daily and after six weeks we removed the lid and covered the jar with muslin. This allowed the excess liquid to evaporate. It took about a week for the smell of alcohol to dissipate leaving the concentrated plant extract and oil. You must use alcohol that is at least 80% proof for this but not methylated spirits. Vodka works very well. 
As you can imagine this little concoction is for external use only!

Beautiful debris.

Bottling.

A few drops of this Lavender oil can be added to baths or bath salts to soothe fractious nerves and aid restful sleep.

Soon it will be time for sloes again! Last year we made sloe gin. You must pierce each and every sloe berry so that they can infuse with the liquor and large quantities of sugar. We've found that sloe gin makes a very well received Christmas gift and a welcome, warming tipple for Winter visitors.
We use the recipe from An Illustrated Country Year.

We managed to dry Rose petals as well as Lavender.

Rose petals have natural anti-inflammatory and antibacterial proprieties which make them good for acne prone skin.
If you crush rose petals between your fingers you can feel the natural, fragrant oils seep out. These oils are naturally moisturizing and slightly astringent so they work to both hydrate and tone.

The scent of Rose is deeply nostalgic. Indeed, the petals are a staple in Ayurvedic medicine to detoxify and calm.

 

The dried flowers were mixed in layers of Epsom salt, sprinklings of bicarbonate of soda and our homemade lemon balm and lavender oils for warming scented Winter baths.

We also blended some of the dried rose petals in and mixed them to a paste with a couple of tablespoons of cold pressed olive oil and some Bergamot essential oil. Mixing the paste with a couple of cups of Epsom salts makes a lovely, fragrant body scrub.

Epsom Salts are a wonderful, natural source of Magnesium and can help balance the PH. Salts can also help soothe muscular aches and pains.

To make a Winter Salve perfect for chapped hands, feet and lips, we carefully melted some Beeswax using a wax burner. We shredded our wax but will probably use pellets next time as the shredded wax took ages to melt.


We mixed in some Shea Butter and Coconut Oil until we achieved a soft consistency and the balm became a soft buttery colour.

 Then we added a couple of tablespoon of Lemon Balm infused Olive oil. And some drops of essential oil.

 Lemon Balm was dedicated to the goddess Diana, and used medicinally by the Greeks some 2,000 years ago. 

Research has shown that the plant contains polyphenols which can help to sooth cold sores. At least part of this effect is due to antiviral properties of caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid, which are contained in lemon balm. This makes it perfect for use in salves and balms. 

The bright lemony yellow foliage is also very pretty and fragrant in the garden.

This page has lots of wonderful information on the properties and uses of herbs.

And Here is a wonderful resource of Herbs and their properties.

(Discalimer) Herbs are powerful.  Please consult a local herbalist for any contraindications before making and using herbal remedies.