Spring!

Spring is coming. You can feel a buzz in the air that wasn't there just a week ago, everyone is moving. We have enjoyed a full week (that's right WEEK!) of sunny nearly cloudless weather. Apparently this is unusual but even without all the nice weather you can tell that Spring is in the air.

We went to the market in Bury St. Edmunds today, which was quite fun to do. I haven't been to a market in ages and winter time markets just didn't stir any ambition to get out of the nice warm house. It was a fun time for the most part, Sophia still wanted to "go to the base" but she tolerated mom wandering in circles looking at all the good deals....the markets bring out the penny pincher in me!
We did quite nicely I think, everything in the picture was less than £20. I was on a real produce kick and couldn't resist all the "£1 bowls."

Sophia still got to go to base today as well...mom couldn't resist going to the garden center on a nice warm day. I decided to start a container garden, since we rent and I am not allowed to tear up the yard. Which is wise of our landlord because if I had things my way the whole yard would be one big garden. Until I have that option this will do nicely. For the moment all I could fit in the car was supplies for a small herb garden, some strawberries and tomatoes. I am still working on it and will be adding to and moving plants around to get the best grouping. I am quite pleased with it, hopefully it survives!

Hope everyone is feeling Spring like we are!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I am not Irish, at least not in any real sense, perhaps one of my many English ancestors had some Irish blood in them but that was so far back that it doesn't even count. However I can identify with Irish culture a great deal. I defiantly plan to make it there while we are still overseas.

So in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day I knitted a shamrock! I made it for my daughter to wear to school. She loves pink, and red, and sometimes brown if it has pink in it....but she doesn't have a stitch of green clothing. I found this unacceptable and so I found this pattern. She was quite happy with her "leaf."

Hope everyone has a fun St. Paddy's Day!

Valentine's Day Cookies

I don't get terribly excited about Valentine's Day but this year my mom sent me the coolest sprinkles in the world so I had to try them!
Along with some very cute heart cookie cutters.

I just made a sugar cookie dough and added a bunch of cocoa power, 2/3 of a cup of cocoa power...they are very chocolaty! Sophia could hardly wait until it was rolled out to start cutting out the hearts. She enjoyed that more than she has enjoyed the actual cookies!

I have a whole bag of just the plain chocolate cookies, I think they are better without frosting, but I don't really like frosting.


But without frosting how do you get to try out pretty sprinkles?!

Happy Valentine's Day!

First Day of School (sort of)

This week was Sophia's first week of school. We have been waiting and working for 6 months for her to get into school so this was a big week. She has surprised me, and the teachers, with how well she has done. She still needs a lot of individual instruction and guidance but once she gets the routine down I am sure she will need less. We are lucky that her teacher has worked with Autistic kids before and is familiar and understanding with all of her quirks. Ms. W. emailed me later on the first day to tell me how well she was doing and that she had even had a nap! (she hasn't taken a nap in almost 3 years) It's nice to have contact with the teacher if I need to, Sophia doesn't understand what I am asking when I ask her about her day so I don't get a lot of information from her....so it is great to have some communication.

We have her IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting on Tuesday so that should be another step toward getting her caught up a little bit with reguards to her social skills and coping skills. This has been a long time coming but I am quite glad that she is finally getting some help, and I am very hopeful that one day she will be able to cope and learn new things all on her own.

Our "First Day" picture. This was actually not her first day, it was supposed to be but there was a mix up with the taxi service and they never showed up on Monday morning. Fortunately they got it worked out quickly and she went to school on Tuesday. The picture was just too cute so I am still going to consider it as her "First Day" photo!

This is another one and you can see the new mittens that Momma made for her 2 days before she had to be to school. They turned out okay it was a quick project since she needed mittens rather than gloves for school. Once she gets better at putting on gloves by herself she may not need the mittens but I wanted one less thing for her (and me!) to worry about on her first day!

I will be posting more along the line of projects I think now that I only have to keep track of one kid during the day now. I hardly know what to do with myself!

Finally some proof that I have been busy with knitting projects!


This hat is for Katie...which Sophia so graciously volunteered to model! I may have to make one for her now since she really seems to like it.


A collection of the knits I have been putting off and starting periodically since December. I am down to just one sock, and one hat left to finish. My goal is to get these all done by Feb. and sent out. However my tendency to start new projects before my old ones are finished makes some projects go slower than planned!

Pumpkin Soup and the Great Pantry Purge of 2009!

What's cheap, delicious, and clears out my pantry? Pumpkin Soup!

We have been eating very frugally the last few months and that means a lot of soups! There isn't a lot in the way of fresh produce available this time of year so canned goods get used quite a bit. In this case I used one of the many cans of pumpkin I had picked up for Thanksgiving and never turned to pie.


To be honest I like the soup better anyways!
No recipe, just winging it with what I had on hand, but I have a list of ingredients...

1/2 an onion
garlic
2 grated carrots
dried thyme
large can on pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
4 cups of chicken stock (made from chicken base, as I have no room to store the real thing)
1 cup of light cream
pepper
salt
dash of cayenne

Sure was a nice break from tuna melts!

Update, plans and aspirations

It's been awhile since I have posted. I want to say that I have accomplished a lot in my absence from blogging but alas...it's not the case. We are just now peaking out from the chaos/clutter of Christmas and things are slowly getting back to business as usual.

I have a million plans for the new year. One of which is to try out my sewing machine that I got for Christmas! I managed to get it out of the box finally and have discovered that we need a transformer to run it. Since we are getting closer to getting a house on base (with dual voltage) I think it may stay in it's case until we get moved. However there are a lot of sewing related things to do besides sewing, like cutting squares for a blanket for the boy. I promise updates!



Still knitting as usual. I am almost done with my late Christmas presents for the ladies in my family. Two pairs of socks finished, two more pairs are halfway done, and one hat is nearing completion. Just waiting on some yarn for another hat and inspiration for 2 more hats. Just hope they get them all before Spring!

I am also writing a book. It's quite possible that no one will read it or that I won't get enough written or written well enough. However I have wanted to write a book for awhile...though the subject matter has always varied. The subject for this book involves things that may life is affected by daily. Raising a daughter who is on the Autistic Spectrum, living in harmony with nature, and obtaining true happiness. A lot for one book but I hope it will come together as I envision it. Mostly I just want to see if I can do it, there is no point in someday "hoping" to write a book someday, I just need to do it and see what happens.

We are going to be busy this month I predict, Sophia will be going to school the end of Jan., we will be preparing to move in the near future, and I have a million and one projects planned for myself. Also LOST is coming to television this month in the UK!! It will be a busy month.

I hope to post more often, God knows I try, I just don't know what will happen. So many possibilities and no guarantees!

Holiday Cookies!

A frenzy of Holiday baking! I love to bake for Christmas. I plan on making a coffee cake for tomorrow morning and some yummy eggnog!

These little gems are delicious! I wish I could take credit for it but the recipe is here. It is worth it to check it out, they are my new favorite!

I think I have used up most of my almond bark. I have been dipping whatever I can get my hands on! The kids especially like the graham crackers...they are really good at helping me decorate them as well!

Dreaming of a White Christmas (and almond bark)

I received a TON of almond bark this year from dear relatives...the Brits have no idea what it is and don't carry it at Tesco. I think however my family would like to stock the entire island with almond bark, since they sent me 12 pounds collectively!

I'm not complaining though since I love the stuff. Sure it tastes a million times better to have real chocolate but I don't care. By the time you get chocolate melted and tempered who has the energy to create anymore. It's different doing chocolate work at home, at least in my experience, and I have never had the kitchen space to do it properly...especially now!

So since its the holidays Sophia and I made snow men! Since there is no snow on the ground this will be a yummy substitute. Though the cookies may disappear as quickly as the real thing does!






On a side note I am starting to bake my own bread. Not fancy bread or anything difficult...but plain ol' white bread (though I am considering a wheat bread.) I am mostly doing this for my husband benefit, since he is the one who has to pick up sliced bread after working 12 hours. We will still be purchasing and eating sliced bread but hopefully this will help prevent daily grocery store trips!

We will see.....

Merry Christmas to me?

I have a pretty good idea what I got for Christmas and it's not boots. (It's even better I can't wait!) However I still want boots. The website is down at the moment so I have no choice but to ponder the decision for a few hours. I need to decide whether I have been good enough this year for these amazing, rugged, ass-kickin' boots.

What's funny is I think I like them mostly because I'm homesick. These are the kind of boots I would have cringed at as a teenager. We always got good quality, warm, sturdy boots as kids, and I never appreciated it until now. Man what I wouldn't give to be able to go shopping at the feed store!

Christmas is coming...

Our house is slowly getting into Christmas. We may not get all the way into Christmas as far as decorating is concerned, since there is no room in our tiny living space. We are hoping to get a small tree just for traditions sake but we will see.

Our stocking's are hung however...accented by our small Christmas card collection. I'm sure many people don't know where we live anymore. I can't even keep track these days!
The majority of our loot has arrived however. As you can see it has taken over my dining table since there is nowhere else for it to go. Also we are quite spoiled!

I made some of my famous fudge tonight...it's super easy and all kinds of delicious! I tweek it every year to make it different. One year I even tried to add marshmallows...which didn't work out since they were too soft to keep the fudge stable...but I like to experiment.

The recipe is pretty mistake proof...just don't over heat it!

1 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 9 oz bag of peanut butter chips
1 14oz can of sweet condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Grease a 8 inch cake pan. (I use glass) Melt chips and milk on low heat until melted. Add vanilla and remove from heat. Stir in nuts and cranberries. Pour into pan. Cover and chill.

You can add ANYTHING to this recipe....be creative!

Snow Day!

We had mixed reactions to the first snow day......

Sophia instantly went to go find her snow pants and hassled me until she had on all her necessary clothing! Then spent her time catching snow flakes, making snow balls, throwing snow in the air, and insisting I make her a snow man!

Sebastian cried.....and cried and cried! He hated is new warm coat, he didn't want to wear his hat, he was generally unhappy with the idea of getting all these clothes on to go outside. Why couldn't he wear his jacket and run out barefooted like he was accustomed?

Eventually we coaxed him outside after spending all the fun being mad at mom in the house. He insisted that Dora come along and wouldn't put anything on his head. He was unamused.

Eventually we were able to put the hood on at least...it was rather cold which was probably why he relented. Sophia gave him hugs and that seemed to cheer him up....and he even started laughing. He just needs to get used to his winter wardrobe and he will have a lot more fun playing in the snow!


As usual the morning ended with hot cocoa with a choice of marshmallows. We used our Christmas mugs because if it snows you can use Christmas mugs right?

We plan to go back out this afternoon....since more snow has fallen since we first went out. Unlike the kids momma has no winter wardrobe and was in desperate need of mittens and snow boots. So the play time was cut short because mom had to go in and somehow snow isn't fun unless mom plays too!

Here's to Snow Days!

The Acceptance of the Hat

About a month ago I started a hat for my darling boy. I finished it a day later. Now there is something about the boy you should know....he HATES new things! Somethings only take a few hours for him to like...others can take months. This hat took a month for him to wear but its super warm and super cute, totally worth it. And since his recent mishap with his hair cut (the boy got his head shaved) he is gonna need the extra warmth! So one new thing conquered...next up; Snow Boots.





Finished hat a month ago.........

Finished hat yesterday! He even put it on himself!



Getting ready to go outside in their two cute hats!

Beeswax Stocking Stuffers

I just bought this for my kids for Christmas. It's modeling beeswax! I remember playing with this stuff when I was little and it's the BEST. The colors don't mix together like clay, it never dries out, smells fabulous and makes your hands feel nice. Really whats not to like? I think it might have been a present for me more than the kids but really who isn't guilty of that sometimes?

Bella Luna Toys has some of the best stuff for kids. I can't wait until my kids get older and want to play with all the crafty stuff! They just have a bunch of good simple toys and games which is hard to find sometimes. I don't think kids need all the "gadgets" we give them....sometimes all they need is a good ball of wax. Sometimes that's what mommas' need too!

My New Knitting Accessory

Here's what I wanted......
And this is what I got.

I found an old Crown Royal bag to put my knitting in....it's perfect for my marathon sock making! Also I didn't even pay for the Crown...I think it was one of my siblings last Christmas. So I could have spent 20 bucks but I chose good ol' free! Of course if I loose this one I gotta go buy more liquor so it wouldn't save you much. However the Crown can make for some fun knitting!



This is my latest sock....it's a self-striping yarn which is amazing. I have never used any before but I love it. I don't know who gets to be the lucky person to get this sock for Christmas...but maybe I will keep them for myself!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! We had a nice relaxing/busy day today. I was under the impression that Halloween wasn't really celebrated here (the trick or treater's we have had speak otherwise!) so the plan was just to do our own thing this year. All in all a pretty fun day of making caramel apples, cleaning and carving a pumpkin, and roasting some delicious pumpkin seeds for "dinner."
Our pumpkin was supposed to have teeth but it didn't work out...I had too much "help."

Phia helped me wash and soak the seeds in salt water before we roasted them. Soaking them in salt water actually makes them perfectly salty without having to add more or end up with over salty seeds.

I added cayenne pepper and black pepper with some olive oil to coat and tossed them in the oven for about 15 min. My oven is terrible so don't ask me the temp. I just try not to burn stuff these days!


There were 6 but I didn't take a picture fast enough!
Yummy!! Also ouch....my teeth hurt these days when I bite into super sweet stuff like this. Totally worth it!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Box House

Today was a yucky cold rainy day. There was a short attempt to play in the rain but it was very cold and the kids came back inside almost immediately for hot chocolate. Fortunately we found some old boxes to make houses out of. It's amazing that a simple box that would otherwise be thrown away can provide hours of creative fun.