Autumness

Autumn, it is my favourite, the Season comes in slowly and i just find the colours of Autumn beautiful. A real delight of deep blends and ever changing into something new and crisp. 

When lying in bed we look out onto trees and it makes my heart skip to watch them change, delighting in them over every Season, the growing of Spring, the joy of Summer burst, the leaving of Autumn and the frost of Winter. It's ever changing just like the month of Autumn.

With that brings clarity, Autumn is a time when i begin to retreat, this year has felt a 'retreated' year, however a lot is happening in the Austin household right now and it feels fitting with the Autumnal season. With that i have been getting my Autumn on and doing lots of enjoyable seasonal embracing. 

We got back from our holidays and instantly chutney and jam making was on the cards. Our neighbour had given us a Rhubarb crown when we first moved in, this had been down the bottom of the garden but it wasn't doing much, so i moved it into a pot and placed it at the top of the garden, it went wild and lovely red rhubarb stalks began sprouting everywhere, every time i went out i eeked with smiles at the tasty jam it was going to turn into. 

I had made rhubarb jam last year and failed miserably so i waited for Sam's Auntie to come and stay and she helped me. Finding my faithful Marguerite Patten book from the pantry we delved in. This book is great and was a Christmas gift from my Mum and Ron a few years ago, it's basically the main book i use and there are so many variations of simple jams and chutneys, it's an old trusty. Strangely when Sam's Auntie showed me her book she used it was an older version of this one, coincidence? that just proved how trusty it was. 

We threw all the ingredients in and watched it bubble up nicely, waiting for it to get to the correct temperature then doing some special test on a plate to see if it had set. I havent took any pictures of the making of it as our kitchen is not the dream (next year, eek) but for now it's about the descriptions. My thermometer doesn't reach the exact temp and i think this is what happened last year, i over boiled it. woops! Anyway this year i didn't and i got a nice haul of jam, i have already given some out, smashed one, doh and enjoying the tastes myself, toast and rhubarb jam with a steamy cup of tea, yes please.

I also made some chutneys, i do this every year them give them out at Christmas for gifts to friends and family for cheese and nibbles over the festive period. This year i made apple and elderberry, both hauled from the garden and blackberry bramble, hauled from our local golf course, i also made some spicy apple, my favourite, it has mixed spice in and is so Christmassy, sadly i cheated with this and used some left over apples bought from the shop. 

I have been crafting also, i decided my mantel needed a new garland as the Spring one went into Summer. I had decided i wanted to make an Autumnal leaf garland so started looking through my many craft books and found some lovely little ideas in this one. 

It has a number of gorgeous crochet and knit leaves and flowers in and the designs are simple and easy to follow. I have lots of acorns dotted around the house so made the decision i wasn't going to have acorns in the garland, however i knew i wanted oak leaves in and maple leaves, then some normal leaves. The garland has been up and down and taken on a number of different designs. Firstly i just made the leaves as they were, however then decided they were too dark and didn't give me the excited heart beat i wanted. I then decided to outline them...

However when i outline them, they kind of lost their shape, so down they came again and i decided to attempt to make the stem/veins of the leaf, aha, this is when i started to smile and feel that burst of yes, this is what i wanted. 

I have to admit it's not exactly what i wanted and some of the leafs don't look how i hoped however it will do and it's been complimented lots so i think i maybe need to stop being my worst critic and enjoy this bit of Autumn. 

Up or down, i am still deciding if it should just hang or be pulled up in the middle, hmm. 

I also made a little pumpkin hat for a friend at work who left to have her little girl this week. I forgot to take a photo but have stolen this of her blog 2mermaidz where Sarah writes about the lifes and adventures of her and her girl gang. 

Pumpkin season came upon us and we decided to rummage the pumkin piles in the supermarket for the best green one's, as they have the most flavour i am told. We found two good sizes and decided to put one in the porch for Halloween and eat up the 2nd.

My favourite curry is pumpkin curry, i remember days in Burma and Sri Lanka when i ate it at every possible opportunity and just knew i needed those tastes in my mouth again. Sam set himself away and boy he didn't disappoint. We looked through our many cook books and found a recipe however the ingredients were too wild so he looked online and found this one http://www.mysrilankanrecipe.com/roasted-coconut-pumpkin-curry/ ~ we enjoyed it so much we had it again on the Saturday. 

We were so happy to have pumpkin in our mouths again we have decided to build a patch in the garden to attempt to grow some for next year. This excites me muchly. 

We have been out as much as possible, enjoying some of our favourite spots - mostly the woods in Autumn, the light and colour is gorgeous and there are so many good smells for Socksy. 

I follow two blogs which i love and have been inspired to embrace the seasons more through the crafts and creations on their posts - go enjoy Lucy at Attic24 and Gillian at Tales from a happy house and marvel in their wonders and delights. 

2016 – A year of unexpected.

2016, a time of crafting, reflection and thing’s not always going the way we planned, however other things came about that were unexpected and we made a year that could have been tiresome into something just as beautiful.

Jan 2016 

We had different plans for 2016, we bought a house and that became our focus, spending the money we had to decorate it the best we could, we got creative with colour, wallpaper, tiles and boldness and made a house into our home. 

March 2016

The Hens came home, then they multiplied. We always knew we wanted our hens back, it was a jolt in us moving as the rented flat wouldn't allow us to have them, so when we started to be settled i spoke to Jill, a friend who was looking after them in Rothbury, she was moving and looking to re-home them so it worked a treat, Spring came and they arrived on the back of a truck, one had sadly passed due to a sore foot but Maisy and Mavis joined us again, these two have moved all over the UK, i was pleased to see them back where they belong. We decided to purchase a few more hens, so went for two hybrid layers and another two bantams. The coop got bigger and after a few teething problems they all become a flock and enjoyed being together. Sadly we lost Maisy just before Christmas, she must have been around 6 so had good innings for a hen, Sam found her passed at the back of the coop, with her mate Mavis (aka Tina Turner) watching over her. We have a new hen coming in the next week from my Aunty, Nicola the black rock, hopefully the girls will accept her and there wont be too much bullying.

Spring/Summer 2016

We took many a walk out in the country and coast, enjoying the Northumberland air, we took trips to some old haunts but also some new.

August 2016

We then decided to take a trip to Sri Lanka, however just before going we purchased Betty, we had always decided we wanted a campervan project, however didn't expect this to happen until 2017, an opportunity presented itself though and it was too good to miss, so a few days before flying we headed to Sheffield to pick her up and bring her home.

We took our travelling toes off again mid August, not thinking we would have the opportunity to this year, we found cheap flights and decided what the hell, why not. We booked 3wks off work and decided to explore a this enchanting country (i hope to write a blog about Sri Lanka, so watch this space). Sri Lanka was beautiful, really laid back and chilled out, tasty food, the most beautiful beaches and sights that were awe inspiring, my highlights were climbing Sigiriya and all the beaches, lots of relax, book reading, life planning and silliness with my love. 

October 2016

We came back to England and decided it was time for us to become 3, it wasn't happening any other way so why not this way. The decision to get a dog did not come lightly, i have wanted a dog for years however its just never felt right, my love of pugs moved and Sammy suggested we take home a retired greyhound, it's a dog i didn't know a lot about however Socks is perfect for us. Socks loves a good walk, but also a good rest, she is affectionate and loves a cuddle and her nature is just to die for. We have made many good decisions this year, but this one was one definitely beats the rest, we visited http://www.northumberlandgreyhoundrescue.org.uk/ up in Steele, luckily for us we had already seen Socks online and she was still there when we went to meet the dogs, from the moment we saw her we knew she was our girl. A few weeks later, home she came and we haven't looked back.

At the end of October i became an Aunty, my brother and his fiancee had a baby boy called Miles, blessing us with his gorgeous smile, cute face and delicious baby smell. I got my craft on and made him a mobile, i went down the safari animal play and got creative with my miniature knitted world books. 

November 2016

Winter came with a mix of feelings, we thought we would be ending the year with different news but sadly it hasn't happened for us yet, lots of tests and appointments and investigations so some good news and bad over the winter months, i will write about this more when the time comes but for now it is filled with a mix bag of emotions.

December 2016

December came with a new project in tow, something i am going to blog further about but i had decided to bring a living advent window to my local community, lots of planning, preparation and organising and the project came together, each day a new window was reveled in the community displaying an advent/Christmas/winter theme. On the 24 December, all 24 windows were open and the full advent trail could commence. The project was great with amazing participation, here's a sneak of our window, each window would have a short description with it so people could learn the story behind the design.

 Our window was based on my snowy walks with our wonderful greyhound. 

2017

2017 starts with difficulties but i have developed a mantra 'believe in the hope' to push me through any negatives that maybe trying to flood my mind. I have an operation coming up next week and i plan to stay as positive as i can, i have incredible support around me and being in the arms of those souls keeps me going on this challenging but wonderful journey called life. 

ps - here's to more blogging, its my constant, please feel free to leave comments, i love hearing folks feedback and stories. 

Claire x

Hello to 2015.

I am well aware we are in May now, so saying hello isn't that new but wow so much has happened and so many decisions were made that I wanted to share a few with you all.

I made a few NY Resolutions and so far things seem to be working out.

• Starting 2 business - Yoga and Counselling.

The Yoga side of this has actually become more developed, which at first I found a challenge as that wasn't the plan and I wanted my energy to be more focused on developing a women's only counselling service, however with funding the way it is I wasn't getting anywhere and have decided to work privately at home with 1-2 women a week which is a nice balance with my employed part of the week. I am still managing to connect with women, offer my skills but work in an empowerment way which was the prime focus, its not about how many I work with, working with 1-2 women allows my full energy to be present, so although things haven't worked how first imagined I guess that's business and I feel its working right for how it should be right now.

Yogabud is booming, I use Tuesday as my 'yoga day' and work with 3 women privately during the day and then teach a class on an evening in Gosforth. I carried out my first workshop this weekend which I hope to do every 6-8wks, the workshop sold out and was really successful, with a lot of great feedback coming back from it.

• Start a new job as a Children's Counsellor

I honestly have to pinch myself at times at how lucky I feel, I have literally walked into a perfect role, I work 3 days a week as a Children's Counsellor for children impacted by sexual and domestic violence. The role is challenging, heart breaking and difficult but I love the balance of being there 3 days and then have two days to do my own thing, yoga, create, learn. I work in an integrative way and bring in a lot of play therapeutic style which is incredible when working with children. I am 5 months into the role and already have planned my next training to go further in the role.

• Learn how to look after houseplants.

I decided when away I wanted to become more green fingered, so far so good, orchids are blooming, streptocarpus are flowering, spider plants are reproducing, its just the sneaky aloe vera that I haven't got to grips with yet.

• Use my day off on Fridays to be more creative.

So this hasn't happened as much as recently I have been back and forth to London, however now Sam is residing in the North I feel this is definitely a plan that will start soon, the knitting needles have been clicking on other nights though and lots of baby projects for friends in place.

• Spend more time exploring Northumberland.

This I have definitely been doing, beach walks at Newton by the Sea, walking Hadrian's Wall, exploring castles and going out to Kielder, I purchased two walking books with some Christmas money so lots more planned for 2015.

Crafting Creations

Since a young age I have dipped in and out of wanting to learn new skills especially in the

art of craft, I never received my knitting brownie badge, started projects that were never completed (apart from a home sweet home cross stitch I made for my Mum one Christmas). Choose food technology instead of textiles at school and showed a materialistic view of ‘why make my own clothes when I can buy them’ never fully realising the technique and creative need of learning such specialised crafts. The saddest part is I never realised how fun it can be and the sense of admiration when a project is completed, it’s been such a great year of learning my own inner skills and sharing skills with friends at the monthly craft night I put on. 

Sam bought me a sewing machine for Christmas and i attended a cushion making course with the lovely sewoverit  http://sewoverit.co.uk/ as blogged about before the course was amazing at giving me the confidence I needed to take my machine out and not feel it was a scary monster, since then I have made an additional two cushions and was rather proud of my skills. 

I decided a few months back I wanted a bag for my polaroid camera Sam bought me, whilst I was browsing through the internet I came across this super cute blog where this girl had an adorable fabric bag, with this and my new sewing machine in my mind I decided to challenge myself to make a drawstring bag, i found this blog http://thecreativeplace.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/tuesday-tutorial-drawstring-bag.html?m=1 with instructions and with a little change to the measurements and a trip to my local fabric shop I managed to stitch up a super cute bag. I was really pleased with my efforts and since then have made a number of bags for my different odd shape camera’s and as gifts for friends (with odd shape camera’s too). 

Polaroid Joy

 

Fleck's Diana

Katy's Mini Diana

Craft night has also been going well, we decided instead of just having an open craft night we would focus on different projects, we decided on pinhole camera’s for this month. The camera ended up not being as difficult as I first thought and we all managed to make a camera, smiling proudly at the end. I hope to use the camera over Summer and get some delightful sunshine shots.

Pinhole Camera

Knitted blanket.

My knitting has been coming on leaps and bounds and my blanket is finished also and is ready for the festival season. With that done I had some amazing point 9 super chunky yarn I really wanted to knit up and found a perfect bobble hat pattern, my first go at a pattern and it went really well, the hat knitted up perfectly and will be added to the festival bag to keep my head snug when adventuring at night.  With my hat knitted and proudly showing off about it I landed myself with another two hats to knit for two good friends, with all our Glastonbury hats complete were ready for the fun to begin. 

 Blanket being tried and tested.

Nicholson hat

 Such amazing yarn - colinette point9