KITCHEN THERAPY

{feet up image from a/w 2004 jigsaw catalogue}

thank you.

your lovely comments gave me a lift this week and a reminder of the warmth and friendship that i've found in this space that seems so small to me and yet so very big when i look at where each visitor hails from. i know i have a very special new focus in my life but if i can keep creative and make a little journal post here and there i think i'll be getting the balance in some way.

and so it's friday. another week whizzes past and each day i'm noticing the change in the light and closing the curtains a moment earlier. it's hard to believe that the clocks will change in another seven days and by then i will have left my job and started my new one as full time homemaker. i am really looking forward to trying to bring a bit of order to each room in our nest...and as a messy person believe me it is going to mean a bit of overtime!

today i've baked and listened to radio four. berkley buns {as seen in the gigibird kitchen} and the archers to be precise. i recommend both highly...very english country living! any recipe that involves mixed spice and ginger has me at the ingredients list. i still have plans for tinned pumpkin too {once i find some} and have a lot of bookmarks for amazing looking treats found on websites across the pond. pumpkin and hazelnut clafoutis anyone?

tonight i'm going to bake butternut squash in a nigel slater stylee. i've enjoyed his tv series {which you can watch again in uk} not because i feel particularly enlightened by anything he has made but just in the gentle way he has made me remember what to cook for supper. i was getting into a dangerous game of mashed-potato-again-tonight-dear...not such a bad thing for an irishman...but felt i'd lost the way a bit with our home food.

a plated-up photo no doubt will follow later...a post just isn't a post without a visual!

BLOGGING BLOCK

the truth of the matter is that i just can't seem to blog lately. pretty obvious if you stop by here with any frequency. so this is hardly a comeback post...more of an i'm not sure why i can't post kind of post.

and as much as i delighted in the arrival of october and all things autumnal i'm not embracing it in quite the way i'd hoped. inspiration seems to be all around me...tapping me on the shoulder...but i just can't grab a hold and go with it. and sometimes it worries me...i could do with getting into first gear folks!

i have been reading blogs and books and magazines and almost feeling overwhelmed with all the good things out there. then i start to write up a post and i feel weirdly self-conscious...what's that all about? see...i'm on the verge of deleting this one because who wants to read about my doubts? but i suppose the reason i'm going with this one is it's really for me to be able to draw a kind of virtual line under them.

and more important than any niggles tonight is that i am managing to grow our little baby with success...and that keeps me more than very happy. especially as i can play the kick me over here now game! just one week left in my job at the post office and then i'll be home full time...and that may just be the green light i'm waiting on to move forward.

FALL PHOTOS

taken in my parents' garden

TEAR SHEET TUESDAY :: 010

spiced squash and coconut soup {from waitrose food illustrated october 2007} teamed with who might just be the most fabulous headband makers in the world aka tour de force {from junior magazine august 2009} i think october could well see me inspired by both...currently on the pin board to remind me!

NOUVEAU

{photo of a couple of new display mats for autumn finds and little vases}

it's time for a new banner and some colour changes here. i always enjoy a little rearrangement...whether it's moving furniture round in the sitting room or tweeking the blog it's that instant satisfaction thing of taking a fresh look at an old space and feeling like i want to be there more.

good in this case because my poor blog has been rather neglected over the summer. autumn is a new leaf however!

i have just picked up c from the airport after waving goodbye him off to ireland on saturday. this left me free to travel new country roads to find miss pickering for a delightfully sunny sunday lunch and natter at oundle mill. i spent the rest of my weekend alone surrounded by fabric projects in front of the telly pausing for the odd nap and snacks of jam on toast by the fire. took a trip to the library and wrote out my months notice for the post office...this time in october i'll be gearing up for my last day at work there.

and finally some new {to me} blog reads...
tiny happy
sweet fine day
for what is chatteris?
heart of light
buttons magee
dee beale
katie did

TIME FOR A VEST

well i have attempted a something from the old patterns i bought last week and it's turned out quite nicely. with a few of my friends about to have baby girls i thought the vest was a good shape to try out. this one is violet jersey with a bias binding cut from a favourite print bought online at purl a few years ago. something about it reminds me of the kind of thing worn by a doll i had called almond tea {from my strawberry shortcake collection...i shall write more on this childhood obsession another day}

and it's vests all round here. autumn winds are blowing like mad out there and hairstyles are hard to hold on to. the feather duvet is back on the bed and i foresee porridge back on the breakfast menu any day now. the stove has been lit every night this week and with all the wood chopping done at the weekend by ciaran and my folks we should have enough to keep us warm right through to spring.

in other wednesday news...we are off to see jon allen tonight in cambridge. baby's 2nd concert and i'm sure none of us will be disappointed with the beardy guitar man with the gravelly voice. love this song. my brother worked on one of his recent videos so i'm hoping for a good seat!

TINY PATTERNS

first of all i'd like to say a big thank you for all those lovely comments following our news last time. my heart swelled with each one that came through...lots of you had been there for me through the harder days and so i really am thrilled to bring you up to date with our story.

and all's going really well. we had our 20 week scan and our little babe is still dancing away in there! after all the ups and downs that led us to this wonderful place i don't think i was quite prepared for the worries that i'd still find myself feeling. but the joys that we're experiencing already together are even better than i could ever have imagined.

so i'm about ready to get into making mode {playing catch up to my mum who has been on a knit-a-thon for weeks already!} and i just bought a batch of vintage patterns on ebay. i have so many little bits of fabric that i think will be just right for tiny things to wear. the patterns are used but they've been looked after so well and it's actually quite nice having all the pieces cut and ready to pin! they just arrived today so i'll be back with a show and tell soon.

wishing everyone a super weekend! our plans include chopping wood and a big family sunday lunch for my grandma's 80th birthday. the air has turned to autumn here but we still have the bright sunshine...perfect september weather! Xx