snapshots

I managed to take a few very quick shots of some small purses I made before the Christmas Market, thought I would share them with you all. 

If I manage before the baby arrives, I will finally update my etsy shop.... 

its been quiet and empty since my year of teaching History!

Shame. 

Christmas cheer

Friday arrives and finds us baking the first batch of cookies (gingerbread), also of seasonal significance you  find bubbling on the stove top, Imbuljuta (the Maltese chocolate chestnut soup) a sweet soup with cinnamon, tangerine peel, cloves and allspice...mmm the smell is heavenly. 

Christmas cards to write, mistletoe to hang and stockings to finish embroidering... yes, Christmas is in the air, may your weekend be filled with seasonal cheer. 

Stamps!

Its been a loooong time since I have put to use my carving tools, was so fun to do a few stamps for Christmas, (initially I made them to print on gift bags for the Market) but it also functioned as a fun rainy day project, to get the kids and I into the Christmas mood.
Complete with cheesy Christmas music and thick Italian hot chocolate!

They began just after they came back from Saturday sports club thus the lovely orange atire!

Catching a breath

Last weekend I participated in my first Christmas Market,
and I so enjoyed the experience! A tad tiring as I was on my feet for nearly 10 hours (being 7 months pregnant) but great to speak with people, network with other artists and to sell my handmade pieces. Foolishly I did not have the chance (was busy preparing right up to the end) to take photos of most of my work so I will include a few shots here, as well as some photos of the event taken by Denise Scicluna at the Patches Christmas Market which took place in the old Market in Valletta last Sunday. 

A part of my stall is featured on the right 

Food 

Live Music

Lastly a not so clear photo of myself and my stall

Thank You

There is something wonderful about receiving an unexpected parcel in the mail.  Today a special thank you to A. whose package arrived and whose tea and cookies I have been savouring. 

What a very nice surprise!!! 

I do believe that friendships, be they old or new, are one of the grandest treasures in life.

They can brighten the darkest of days, they can inspire, encourage, support or just make us burst out with laughter. Yes, good friendships surely are one of the finer things in life. 

May you (those Americans among you) be enjoying the company of family and friends on this Thanksgiving holiday. 

Chestnut

Just when things in the little miracle street house 

were getting calm and semi predictable 

the resident whale decided she could not pass a certain crying scruffy kitten spotted in the doorway of an old house. So with wind howling, rain threatening, three smalls encircling her ( their bickering and complaints temporarily silenced in mutual looks of pleading) the whale mama decided to heave all the bags onto one arm and gently scoop up the tiny dirty fluff ball and waddle through the maze of alleys towards home.

Resident cat of the house, 

wily trouble maker that he is was not so amused or charmed. Whale mama's husband being abroad in the land of the reindeer, had a little surprise as he returned, luckily with his first gesture of scooping fluff ball into his arms,  the whale mama and smalls were relieved. She can stay. Sigh, our family continues to grow. Washed and taken to the vet, she is soft and nice smelling now and is already feeling at home, chasing after shoelaces and purring on shoulders as we make our morning coffee. 

* It has come to our attention that little fluff adores roasted chestnuts - so that is what we have decided to call her. 

6 years ago

in an old house, in a tiny village surrounded by olive trees 

on a small island in the sea 

you were born

my daughter 

Happy birthday 

 my brown eyed girl, 

my magpie

my middle child

my fellow scorpion

my collector

my drawer of fairies and rainbows 

my dear heart. 

Reflection

Graceless is the pregnant woman

The title for this post came to me as I walked out of a pleasant interview, 

not a job exactly but volunteering for an organization that I believe does great work here on the island. 

Somehow in the brief span of half an hour I managed to spill some of the water from my water bottle before it reached my mouth.  tip my purse off a chair while sitting in a quiet waiting room(contents including all sorts of random kid things like crayons, toy cars, a chunky plastic kids ring ..all spilling across the floor, (keep in mind it is difficult to lean down nonchalantly when you have a basketball shaped belly). Then while in the presence of the head of the organization, a  calm and cool smiling lawyer, I went to lean on the arm rest with that look of interest as I was listening and missed it, making a very awkward dip towards the floor- I must have blushed crimson. Yes clumsy is the way I feel and my very very limited wardrobe now that the weather has shifted does not help. Nor the lumbering pace I seem to have acquired. When did I start to huff and puff carrying the laundry up to the roof!? 

Yes, pregnant women (at least in my case)- nearing the last months do many silly things like bump their belly into chairs, desks, people... not realizing just how far their circumference has grown.

*
May your Monday mornings be starting out swiftly with speed and grace, like a bird in flight
and not like a whale in shallow water.

Ode to November

1-11-11

Lovely date no?

Ode to the start of November, 

here in Malta she has arrived with heavy winds, rain and very dark thundering skies. 

The kind of day to sip tea, stay inside, play music, read, paint, write. 

I recently came across this artist's work and had to share-  Duy Huynh... 

I  like the mood of his paintings, the rich colours and mysterious melancholy  feel.

What do you think?

Little button turns four

Four years ago little Ms. Destructo came out into the world,

 and our lives have never been the same since! 

So glad to have this little ball of energy and noise in our midst! 

Happy Birthday my little one. 

With her papa day one

Sewing

Trying my hand at making dolls, this is Esme part of a new series.  

Christmas Artisan Market on the horizon! 

Ode to boxes

Have I confessed before my love of boxes?

No? Well I admit it now then.

With that in mind let me share this site-

Box and Needle

 sigh... lovely creations don't you think?

(a 'magnet box' to hold pens on the refrigerator)

Wish I could read Japanese. 

Then, maybe just maybe for my birthday next month I would order one! 

Monday Morning Muffins and Music

Good morning, 

Monday again hmmm, 

after a storm filled weekend here we welcome the quiet peace 

(quiet is relative, here I mean it is the usual sounds of dogs barking, roosters crowing, bread sellers honking, church bells chiming).  Inside the house some slow music is playing (Madeleine Peroux) laundry is turning and muffins are baking.

almond and plum muffins

Inspired by a simple French children's cake, 

(I added a few things and came up with this recipe with satisfying results). 

1 cup yogurt

 1 and a 1/2  cups brown sugar (more if you like a sweeter muffin)

2 eggs

2 Tbs milk

1/2 cup oil or butter

grated zest from half an orange

(separately mix together the dry)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup ground almonds

1 cup white flour

11/2  tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

mix lightly together and place in muffin tray, 

thinly slice two plums and place slices on top of each muffin, 

bake at 180 C / 350 F  for 15-20 min

Weary Blues

and a little something new (music wise) Mille Lykke....Next Time Around 

Rummien

Thank you to the sweet friend who gave me some pomegranates from her garden yesterday, 

besotted with their rosy understated beauty I could not help but try to capture it in a photo. 

Later this week I will be making one of my favourite salads of the season 

(here is the recipe).

Back to weekend walks (in place of beaches), 

the land mostly barren looking now, bar the cacti and Harruba trees (carob) (pictured below).  

Past old farm houses and fig trees. 

Pomegranates heavy on their tree branches, nearly ripe and ready to fall. 

A new school year slowly begins, gusty winds pulling darker clouds across the horizon,
thundering hints at a new season starting, for myself a welcomed change from the constant sun. 

A time to bundle up, bake and get back to some sewing. 

No history teaching this year, but a welcomed calm before a new babe. 

Hope your weekends have been restful and cozy.

**These photos have not been altered in any way and were taken on an ipod
and an iphone, not my usual little canon! I was surprised at how clear they came out!

** For those of you in Malta, this is a nice mellow walk behind Salmun Palace. 

Slipping off to Seville

I was very lucky 

(this time round) 

my husband invited me along 

to a conference he was attending in Spain. 

My in-laws were willing to look after the smalls, so it was five days of bliss, 

long walks, late uninterrupted dinners, museums, cafes, concerts and talks. 

Almost like the days of traveling pre-children, only now we appreciate these romantic moments alone 

so much more. 

Of course we missed the children, but they were in good hands and had a lovely time 

with their grandparents (whom they had missed after our time in the states). 

It will probably will be some years till we get the chance again..so I am glad we went.

It was my first time to Seville (and Malaga) and I loved it!

* * *

a few photos from our trip