Home Days

While John and Bella were at the supermarket, Angus helped me do some chores. I say "help" in the loosest possible sense of the word. He found the camera (which is never far away) and took about seventy photos of his feet and his reflection. They were hilarious. I love going through the camera when the kids' have been using it, seeing things through their eyes. And Angus caught me time-wasting on my phone when I should have been changing the bedding.

It's been a nice few days and I am really enjoying our half term break so far.  We often seem to go away to see family during this holiday and it's really nice to be home, pottering. A refreshing balance of time to myself and time as a family.

We have been to the park in the sunshine!!!  I know, I know. Those are ACTUAL shadows you can see on the ground from the ACTUAL sun. 

What a difference some sunny weather made. Everyone is happy!

John and I sat on the bench in the park and watched the kids and held hands, just because we could. In the sun. It was nice - freezing cold, but nice.

John cooked a pretty spectacular roast chicken (vegetarians - I apologise). He always roasts the meat on a pile of vegetables (a "trivet", I am told). When the meat is cooked and resting, he puts that pan back on the hob, adds flour, then some white wine and chicken stock and stirs it together. He simmers and reduces it then strains it all through a sieve into a jug. It makes the most amazing gravy. 

Ok, not a photogenic dinner but so good. And nothing smells better than a chicken roasting.

There has been quiet play and scenes of quiet activity; reading, colouring, Lego.

And there have been scenes of noisy, messy, jumping-on-beds kind of play.

There has been washing, so much washing. My laundry basket runneth over.

And that essential but largely unacknowledged skill: cushion arranging. Should it go here?

No, here.

On the mantle piece this week: a salt dough heart decoration.

There has been baking. Bella and I made a batch of sesame rolls from here. She was proud of her own roll, just for her, all her own work. No-one else could eat it. We've reached a lovely point now where she is actually helpful in the kitchen - reading out ingredients from recipes to me, using the scales, cracking eggs - without me being on tenterhooks the whole time, waiting for the chaos. My cooking companion.

(I need some new baking trays I think!)

We ate them yesterday with soup for lunch, and I heated one (ok, two) in the oven this morning and ate them covered in butter and strawberry jam for breakfast. 

There has been a little light crochet here and there, in between other things. I have completely fallen back in love with my blanket and am mainly working on that at the moment.

And the best, best thing has been this - milder temperatures and open windows. Blue skies! The promise of spring.