The Gruffalo... at Garden World

The story of The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson has long been a favourite story to share in our house.  Little Man often chooses it to be read at bedtime and Little Lady usually casually joins us - just for a cuddle of course because she feels she is too old for such a story now - although I firmly believe you're never too old for the Gruffalo!!

I've loved the gentle nature and rhythm of this author's writing for some time and would choose any of her stories to read to my children at the end of the day.  Whilst I was looking at information in putting this post together I was interested to read that the book has won many awards, including the Nestle Smarties prize and the Blue Peter Award for the Best Book to Read Aloud - and in 2009 was voted the UK's favourite bedtime story!  That really demonstrates how much it's LoVED by so many children and parents alike!

This winter there was a wonderful Gruffalo exhibition at the entrance to the local Garden Centre and it felt magically appropriate to share here. The display managed to encapture the simple beauty of this book and in my opinion, the adults enjoyed it just as much as the children.

Of course the story starts with a mouse who takes a stroll through the deep, dark wood...

...then the fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good...

In the story, as the mouse walked further through the wood the Owl saw the mouse...

The Owl was fantastic in that children (or adults alike) could push a button to start some 'animatronics' - the Owl moved its wings and its head and continued to tell the story in the most wonderfully gentle manner.  All that witnessed it were completely spell bound.

As he continued on his journey, the mouse turned down an offer from the snake to have tea in his log pile house...

...because after all, the mouse was having a feast with the Gruffalo!

During peak times the Gruffalo was able to stroll around (with help from a staff member of course) and this enormous cuddly lay in a den to rest once it had done enough walking!  

Billy's first World Book day dress up outfit was a homemade Gruffalo costume - which I failed to get a picture of that morning.  I remembered it when writing this post and I asked him to put it on again - so obligingly, he did.  I'm glad I've got the opportunity to picture the gorgeousness of my Gruffalo.  It is a tad small for him now but I think he still looks cute.

I remember he decided on the Gruffalo very late - I cut up an old throw from the lounge and used some felt, a purple towel, buttons and funky foam to add the full characteristics on a zero budget!!  Such a lovely memory.  I don't think I shall ever out grow the story or 'give up' the book!

Do you have a favourite character that pulls at your heart strings...or prompts memories of quiet, snuggles with loved ones?  I just wish I could freeze my littlies in time as they are growing so fast.  I must make a conscious effort to be fully present in each moment and savour each precious passing of their childhood.  In so doing I'll be sure to make memories to last a lifetime.

J9 x

World Book Day 2014

Yesterday saw the children participating in World Book Day by dressing once again as a character from a favourite book.  Little Lady knew instantly which book she wanted to take in - 'Fairy Dust' about a fairy called "Star" from a series of books by the author Gwyneth Rees, which she has thoroughly enjoyed.

I picked up a very frilly skirt from the charity shop that was perfect for Star (the one on the left) and made some silver cardboard stars to go on her bunches which combined with some fairy wings from the dress up box and some other pink clothes from her drawers made her costume nice and easy!

Little Man however was much less decided.  His first instinct was Horrid Henry - but both his bestie's were already going in their 'proper' Henry costumes so he decided against that.  Options of monsters, crocodiles, dinosaurs were mulled over (in fact a pin board was created with this in mind) until an astronaut and space book were selected.  I looked at this on pinterest and thought that any little boy - especially my little boy, would LoVE this.  So I set about making him a jet pack inspired by the original image I found.  I added a circuit board type front so that he could control his jet pack!

It also helped to balance out the weight across his body and it felt more securely held in place.  I'll take a picture of him wearing it and share it with you another time!

The project was finished late the night before the big day...  At six AM the next morning, Little Man entered my bedroom and quietly asked if he could not wear his jet pack.  He didn't want it to get damaged throughout the day and was worried someone would break it...  Despite many reassurances that I could make another or we could mend any damage, his mind was made up.

So Batman from our dress up box was selected and his favourite book of Lego Batman was the accompanying text.

He much prefers information books of all varieties as opposed to the novels that his sister prefers.  An interesting but very noticeable difference between them.  I know my sister successfully encouraged her boys to continue reading through using comics and annuals instead of story books after a certain age - any reading is good after all!

I've made all his other costumes for World Book day so far and so felt a little reticent that we had succumbed to such a character but to be honest, when he ran around the playground with his cape flying in the wind behind him I couldn't help but smile.  It was completely big Boyness.

The jet pack has been worn around the house this morning before school and will undoubtedly have some good play value too - so everyone's a winner!  I hope you had some positive experiences of World Book day wherever you are.  If you are interested last year's World Book day post is here.

Have a good weekend lovely readers - we're off to stay with my mum for the weekend.  Hectic but happy. It looks like sunshine too so maybe a trip to the sea could be in order!  Fingers crossed!
J9 x

Drum Roll Please...

The time has come to announce the winner of my Grow Your Blog Giveaway!  I have been delighted to be part of this fabulous Bloggy party and look forward to getting to know all the new readers of my blog.

Here's a little reminder about the things that were included in the Giveaway - 

a jolly little bundle I think you agree!!

Well, many of you did as I had a good number of entries and so I tried to do something more official than pulling names out of a hat like I have done to announce previous Giveaway Winners.  I entered 35 names into the List Randomizer (although some of this number were double entries as a result of comments on the original GYB post and the Giveaway post meaning those people were entitled to two entries).

So without further delay, the selected number is:

List Randomizer

There were 35 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Sowing Stitches

Sorry I couldn't get this to appear as a funky widget - I had to do a straight copy and paste after many failed attempts to edit HTML (certainly not a strength)!

The winner is the creative Carol of Sowing Stitches.  Carol has a lovely blog which I have discovered through the GYB party so it is very evident that the party has been successful in introducing us to a wonderful diversity of Blogs! 

Congratulations Carol - I shall send you an email very shortly!

Apologies to all for my absence from Blogland recently.  Both littlies have been very poorly and off school.  Once they recovered, I went down with the nasty germs so time management has not been in my favour!!  Hope to catch up with you all over the next week!! 

J9 x

Date Day: Clifton

On Wednesday - after the school run, the Hubby and I managed to 'escape' for some quality time together.  Time to just catch up and chat over a casual coffee outside our normal four walls.  It was a much needed breather considering the speed of change and his crazy workload at present.

Once the children were safely deposited at school we decided to head towards Bristol into Clifton Village via the stunning Clifton Suspension Bridge.  The weather was hideous - it has rained every day since I posted about the Somerset floods here and the situation is set to get worse as two more storms hit the south coast of England this weekend.

First port of call was the Boston Tea Room - a lovely coffee shop with an eclectic vintage / industrial style decor.  A place to warm up while the storm raged outside.  As the winds blew, I savoured the textures of the wooden surfaces...

...and supped a lovely creamy cappuccino...

...whilst watching the rain pour down outside and trickle down the windows.

We really couldn't stay out in the weather for long - to put it in context the wind was so bad that the Clifton Bridge was closed after we'd used it in one direction - the first occasion it has been closed in 150 years.  The attached video actually shows the huge suspension bridge moving in the wind!

Whilst in the village we popped into a few independent shops selling artisan makes and tempting homeware - we also window shopped in the glorious Victorian Arcade which was visually stunning.

 A quirky gorilla hung from the end of the ceiling arch which made me smile - despite the age of the original building the space really did suit him.

Prices in the 'homey' boutique shops were beyond our budget but it was very enjoyable to look.  I was inspired by colour combinations in different pieces of art that were displayed and found my creative senses were sparked by the shapes and textures on show.  I'd lost some motivation recently on the crafty front and this visit has revitalised my creative mind.  Plus I struck lucky in a charity shop - a Marks & Spencer fairisle style jumper for a bargainous £3!  The historical passage of time demonstrated in the architecture of this area is very inspiring too but I especially loved the frontage of this building - grey and red - who knew?!

And opposite that building was the most stunning vintage ambulance.  OOooh. Such loveliness!

Despite the weather, it was nice to get some grown up time together - we've not managed it in a while and it was good to prioritise us over the [never-ending] list of jobs!  We celebrate Valentine's as a family day - to celebrate LoVE generally so it was also good to mark Us as a couple too.  We reaffirmed our wish to spend a date day together every month and I am already looking forward to the next.

I will announce the winner of my GYB giveaway in the next few days.  Little Man is off school with a sick bug and the coming week is Half Term here in England so I will undoubtedly have even less time online than normal but I shall endeavour to catch up with Blogland when I can!

Hoping you are feeling some LoVE in your part of the world,
J9 x

Natures Harvest & Sustainable Preserves

With the return of the house to a new normal, I've found myself with a little more time on my hands.  After the initial rush of tackling the clutter post Christmas - and rushing to get homemade birthday presents finished for friends - the lull in activity did come.

In large part it was welcome - a little rest is good for the soul after all.  But since my accident, I do struggle with a need to be 'productive'- especially once the chores are done and the children are at school, it sometimes feels as if my role as stay at home mum is defunct.  To combat this I set myself tasks to do which support the family and our more frugal way of life.  One of those things is to make jams, jellies and chutney from the fruit that was harvested from our apple trees... and berry picking which happened this past autumn. 


























I did add some jars of chutney I'd made already to the homemade hampers I gave as Christmas gifts to family.  I also froze some fruit I didn't have time to use in the autumn and last week made more chutney to enjoy over the coming months with cold meats and cheese using recipes I'd not tried before.  They'll mature in around 3 months and hopefully taste lovely then!

Another way to satisfy this need in me is to grow a little produce in our veg patch - it comprises a small raised bed and over the past years we've had good success with courgettes and dwarf French beans.  These are ideal for chutneys and work wonderfully as additional vegetables in homemade meals (while fresh).  2013 was no exception with 27 courgettes being collected from a very small space.  I would love to have an allotment but my physical health just doesn't allow this although I enjoy selecting what we will try to grow each spring in our little space.

My parents were my tutors in this way of life.  I'm the only person I know that preserves in my 'real / non blog' world - so many of my friends say they enjoy the results but don't have the time.  My Father had a truly inspiring garden.  As a family of 5, we lived off it throughout the spring, summer and autumn.  Colanders of strawberries, raspberries, loganberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants, rows of potatoes, runner beans, swede, onions - simple, sustainable vegetables and fruit - plus chickens for eggs.

Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of my late father leaning on his fork tending his crops after work.  It would have been his birthday yesterday and it left me reflective on all the things that he imparted that still live on in me and my family.

Plus vivid memories of my mother stirring her huge preserving pan filled with jam or hanging a pillow case from a nail in an out-house to strain bramble fruit through to make jelly preserves.  She still does this now and is an amazing preserve maker - her preserving pan is older than I am and has had much use!

As a child in my home village, we'd also get more fruit from neighbours who didn't want to waste their 'glut' or didn't like the look of their windfalls.  Windfalls are great for jamming - it just takes time to peel and cut out the bruises.  With the Harvest Festival at the local chapel, there was the following harvest auction, where we'd buy boxes of home grown produce for pennies to go towards the chapel roof or some other community project.  Now that produce gets used by Food Banks and it's no longer possible to capitalise on - but they are such happy memories.  So much opportunity for chutney, jams and jellies plus a whole number of pudding and baking opportunities!

The cycle continues as my children enjoy foraging for blackberries and picking apples from the trees during late Autumn.  We go blackberry picking around the fields of two of my friend's farms and usually have a good haul - enough for jamming and lots for apple and blackberry crumble!!

If I can provide an element of such inspiration, understanding of sustainable living and simple joy to my children I feel sure that I will be doing something worthwhile...  There is something immensely rewarding to yield a crop from something that has minimal negative impacts on the environment and is essentially Free.  And during this period in time where cost-effective home making is beginning to be more valued again by more families, I wholeheartedly choose this simple path. 

It is sustainable for our body, mind and soul.  I shall be proud to pass this on to my children and create new memories based on this way of life.  Memories of picking apples on daddy's shoulders and mummy stirring her preserving pot.

The natural rhythm of these Simple Things and the cycle of it all is a real JoY.

Thanks for reading and welcome to all my new followers.  Remember there is still time to enter my giveaway here - just drop me a comment on that post before the 13th!

Enjoy your week whatever you're doing, J9 x

Today I'm...

::  Relieved that the hubby has been redeployed.  This means he still has a job although he is being moved to a very different role.  Sadly, it is a backwards move meaning markedly less money each month.  But nevertheless, we are grateful for him to have the security of a job.  Hopefully less money will mean less stress in the workplace and here's hoping we'll return to an improved work life balance!  We're going to go with the flow and see what happens...

 

 

 ::  Trying to embrace these moments, roll with life and focus on family.  So many changes happening here at present.  Desperately trying to see the positive and improve what I can affect.  Focusing on nurturing my family, planning meals on a monthly rather than weekly basis to ensure that our diet is homemade, nutritious, varied and inventive all within a tight budget!  Thank goodness for Aldi!

::  Re-establishing my love of reading.  Finally making the time to read more widely than craft and cookery books thanks to some novels on loan from my Sis.

::  Loving my decoupage knobs.  I finished these this week - there are four knobs on my dresser which I've painted and all of them have been decoupaged with these Cath Kidston tissues.  They look rather cute against the Aged White background.

::  Laughing at the photo-booth images of our family at the bro in law's recent wedding.  (We've ordered these from the company but haven't received them yet hence the watermark appearing on these copies).

 

 

::  Smelling the fragrance of my hyacinths (which have been in flower for a good week) which provide so much happiness - smelling gorgeous!!

::  Looking forward to a weekend where there is NoTHinG at all in the diary (excepting a football match for the boys on Sunday).  Pure Bliss - and a real rarity at present so I will fully PJ it up!!  Instead of smelling the roses - I'm smelling the daffodils and heady hyacinths!

::  Wishing you well for the weekend ahead.  Take care and enjoy whatever you may be doing,
J9 x

My GYB Giveaway!

As promised dear readers, this is a blog post in homage to my Gifty Giveaway!  I had an enjoyable time yesterday having a mooch around a store to select the items to compile in this parcel of goodiness.  My mission was to try to find some pretty things; something not too big, not too heavy, something that won't be an issue at customs (I had considered some pretty scissors) something that may appeal to the readers of this blog.  Hmmm... lots to think about!

I settled on some items that may help with general tasks at home - all with one thing in common.  I think they are very Pretty!!

Included in the giveaway is:

A pretty floral pen, a red spotty retracting tape measure, a little jar of buttons, a lovely little clipboard, pad and pen, a couple of pretty envelopes and floral stickers and some muffin cases.

Ah yes, that's a nice little selection.  ANYONE is welcome to join in and if you win you'll have this parcel winging its way to your part of the world. 

Simply leave me a comment below before 13th February 2014. 

Winners will be announced on 15th February (or if time fails me as close after that date as possible!)

Follow along if you'd like but no pressure!  This giveaway is open to anyone who leaves a comment on this blog post OR on the Grow Your Blog post - whether you have a blog or not.  It is also open to those living in the UK or overseas.  Those that have left a comment on the GYB post and on this post will be entered into the draw twice.

Good luck!!  Welcome to my new followers and readers who have found me through the Grow Your Blog party.  I'm gradually making my way back to those bloggers who have visited me - I will pop back it's just my time online is sporadic at best!!  I hope you'll come back and visit my bit of cyber space soon!  Happy Weekend folks!

J9 x