mamaUK

Growing mint

I love the smell of fresh mint, after a night of light rain. We have some that grows wild amongst the grass at the top of our garden, the unexpected fragrance makes you automatically inhale when you graze the leaves as you walk on by. I found the children's yellow spade abandoned in the old tin bath tub where they had been digging around amongst the potting soil that had been left there for mud play. The mint growing there is accidental, I don't remember planting it there. Maybe the children threw in some 'weeds' they pulled while playing last year and it has taken root.

Minimalising

(Summer's arrived)

For the past couple of weeks I've been overhauling our home again for the sake of simplicity. This simplicity journey is strange for me, the need to purge stuff from of our home seems to have come in fits and bursts over the past two years, perhaps longer. I've always been heading in the same direction though, towards less.  I feel like I'm on the final straight, in touching distant of having only things which are truly used and needed in our home. In the thick of it, decluttering can be all consuming, constantly assessing objects as I walk into different rooms, pulling open cupboards and drawers. I'm going through, quite literally, each and every object and stripping away more and more. A lot of stuff is going. Our home is becoming minimalist and with every object which goes out of the door, I can feel a lightening and a sense of order and calmness.  I can't wait to start organising (the few) things we have left and making new pretty spaces. Wish me luck!

Let's go fly a kite

Do you remember my nature play kit here? We went to a nature reserve on Sunday and the it was just windy enough to have fun flying a kite. It's a simple way to turn an ordinary walk into a fun-filled activity that children love!

Our greenhouse

I popped out to the greenhouse this morning while it was still dry outside. Stormy weather is meant to be coming in this afternoon across the UK. The wind has started to pick up already.

I took my camera with me so I could share with you what we are growing in the greenhouse this year: lettuce, courgettes, peppers, tomatoes, basil and rocket. The flowers in our garden were looking pretty too. I'll be putting tomatoes and cucumbers on my grocery shopping list this weekend so we can try the new lettuce that is ready for the girls to pick.

Alpine strawberries

I sent the girls outside to the garden to hunt for alpine strawberries. They have just come in from being blown around in the wind with a little handful of goodness each.

Juno magazine front cover!

(JUNO summer 2012)

Miss K was overjoyed to see herself on the front cover of the new summer issue of JUNO magazine ! 

About JUNO:
"JUNO is a magazine that aims to inspire and support families as they journey through the challenges of parenting. It shares fresh perspectives in this fast-paced technological world, creating a non-judgemental community for those who are keen to follow a more natural approach to family life. Regular columns and a wide range of features bring many voices to readers with beautiful images and illustrations to lift the soul."