packages, pancakes, pantry & the perpetual quilt...

Ahhh just a few of my favourite things this week. It started with the arrival of this beautiful package on Monday from Donna Flower - now not a complete surprise, I mean I had ordered the fabric, but wowee when it arrived and I opened up such a fabulous assortment of vintage loveliness, well I could hardly contain myself!! I got a couple of her scrap packs of childrens vintage material, and I bought what can only be described as THE most amazing piece of linen (french) I've ever seen or felt in my life. It was a mangle cloth in its former life, and is aged at between 80 and 150 years old. Amazing. I had intended using it to make cafe style curtains in my kitchen (another work in progress) but now I don't want to put a scissors anywhere near it...a bit of a conundrum.....

Another fun bit of post I received with this knitting pattern that I had ordered from School House Press. Its Elizabeth Zimmermans BSJ ( Baby Surprise Jacket) which I had seen on one of the other blogs that I follow. As I'm only a knitting novice (I've made a yellow scarf!! Oh and a neck cowl for Ciarán) I thought it looked simple enough even for me, and the best thing about the pattern is that on the front is the original pattern by Elizabeth herself originally printed in 1968 and then follows a more modern version of the same pattern, plus an older child and adult version. So I should have enough to keep me knitting away....now to learn to read a pattern....

Tuesday was also Pancake Tuesday. This day used to fill me with so much happiness when I was younger, as I remember running home from school/work on pancake Tuesday eve, to my mam's house where on the table greeting me was a giant (well it was giant to me when I was small) oval silver platter piled high with hot skinny rolled pancakes waiting to be devoured by all of us with lemon and sugar! And we did devour them. You'd want at least 5, get through about 3 before thinking you would burst, then keep the rest for lunch the next day. The thing I've noticed now that I'm a mama myself, is that you don't have to wait for this one day of the year to eat pancakes, but once you know how to make them, you can have them any day you like! Although it does takeaway from the specialness of that particular Tuesday! But for us as a family, Saturday is pancake day - every Saturday. I make them for our tea and they are much loved! I'll share with you my recipe if you like....

120g plain flour, pinch of salt, 1 egg, 250mls milk, 2 tablespoons of oil (helps them not to stick) and a dash or 2 of cinnamon because we love it! Whisk until its all bubbly and then pour in the pan - I use the spray oil to cook them but pancakes are traditionally cooked in butter. Very yummy, this recipe makes about 7 or 8 good side plate sized pancakes! Enjoy. 

Wow this is a long post, ok to finish I've two other things that have made me happy this week, firstly the building and completion of my very own pantry - yippee- I've been waiting a long time for this and to finally see it with its lovely ceiling to floor shelving, plus a door that you can hide away the mess that no doubt it will become especially with my two lovely boys who are only dying to put things on those empty shelves, is making me giddy with excitement. I ponder the lovely store I hope to have inside it. So looking forward to my jam and chutney making season, and of course the elderflower cordial making seasons so I'll have a place worthy of their effort. 

And finally this.....

my perpetual quilt - aptly named because I've been 'finishing' it forever. I started this when I was pregnant for the first time - yeah, almost 4 years this has been on the go, and last night I finished it, I thought I was going to end up bringing it with me wherever I went, you see because thats what happens, you bring it places thinking you'll get time to finish it, when really you just end up with it in your craft bag bringing it to lots of places! So here it is. And I've grown a bit fond of the oul thing!!!

le meas

x

flask in a field!

Flask in a field was born a couple of years ago, when yearning for some place we could go together as a family on a Sunday, it occurred to us that it was right there in front of us all along. A field! In fact lots of fields! So packing up a flask and some biscuits and a blanket we headed off to a field. We chose the field we had our cows in, so set up amidst them. And it was just perfect, far enough away to feel like we were 'out', yet so familiar that we could mess amongst the little crevices and climb the rocks and hang out with our bovine pals - whose names happen to be Bertha and Roisin, with Brambles and Easter their gorgeous calves respectively! They tended to wander over after having their fill of hay just to see what we had in our basket! So every Sunday,with the exception of dodgy weather, we set out for our picnic! And when 3 became 4, Ro took to these trips gladly - i mean, who doesn't love licking sea snails in the grass...YIKES!!! And thats the history!
So today we had our first flask in a field of 2012, we would have had it sooner but due to some fairly yukky weather and a growing bump that made me want to just stay home, feet up drinking tea, it got put on hold! So today was it. And since it was such a glorious day, we visited the ladies (that would be the cows...ahem) and took ourselves off to the outskirts of the island so we could hang out by the sea and we had tea and pancakes with syrup and games of chasing (well actually the boys and puppies had games of chasing, mammy sat drinking said tea, taking pictures and generally overseeing...you know, important stuff in its own right :) !!!) and digging, climbling and knocking barnacles from the rocks to bring home to the ducks. Ah yes, a flask in a field brings out the simple pleasures in life......

Hope you had a glorious day wherever you are!