Hello Autumn

The palette in the Mediterranean is shifting, here everything is returning to green and there is the hint of rain carried on the back of the wind at last. We greet the billowy cloudskapes with relief and welcome the changing of light and the freshness of breath. Revival from the slow days of heat and sun. 

Returning - 

~ had to take some time offline ~

 family, summer, visitors and most of all heat (here it pulls you into this sort of spell).

Happy to be back and beginning our fifth year in Malta... 

with that, some tiny snippets of some recent sewing, 

also am happy to say I took part in my first market post baby! 

Now to restart that etsy shop! 

GIUSEPPE AND THE GIRAFFE

After two weeks of joyous memory- making days with the four kiddos 

(think days upon days of sun and upper 90 degree heat) getting all the smalls dressed, sun-blocked and off to the beach or park or friends house on my own has been .. adventure-full. There are the reoccurring discussions on who gets to sit next to the baby, who gets to choose the first song in the car, and who gets to bring which favourite toy, lego, or random rock along with them. Someone always realises (only once we are up the long alley and all buckled up and cooking in the car that they have forgotten the most IMPORTANT (fill in the blank) bit of paper, special broken clock, random plastic container, moshi monster,football card or dead bug...yes many a golden moment there (Que crying teething baby). But seriously there have been laughs, tears, kitty emergencies and many many many bits of bickering  

But now blessed summer camp has begun and ohh to have a few glorious mornings alone - or rather with the little napper! 

Bliss. 

...

At long last I am beginning to sew again, hoping to reopen the etsy shop soon (end of August). 

So without further ado- a few pictures of the latest little Caper Collection toy- 

this is one for Giuseppe

 (there is a matching twin brother giraffe just like it a the newly opened 

lovely Prickly Pear shop in Rabat in Gozo). 

* Amid the forays to beaches and games of memory there has been a good deal of ice cream making and cold soup consuming. 

Recipes to come.  

Plum Cordial

On our merry way back from the sea side we stopped along the dusty road side to buy some fruit from an old farmer dangling his long gangly legs out the back of a truck.  Taking a break in the shade, he leaned out and gave us a large nearly toothless smile, then proceeded to convinced my husband to buy not two but three baskets of small plums. Seeing his large hardened hands, extremely gnarled with age, tilted the scales.  He looked somewhere between 70 and 200.

 So with plums on the mind I came up with this summer drink. 

Plum Cordial

500 grams ripe plums 

1 cup sugar

juice from half a lemon and half a orange

Wash and  place the plums in a cooking pot, fill with water just an inch above the plums and let boil for a good 15 min. Pour through a sieve and set aside the boiled plums, place the remaining liquid back in the pot, add the sugar and boil for 10 min, turn off the burner and add the juice of half a lemon and half a orange. Let cool and decant into a glass bottle. 

Once cool, serve over a glass of ice (an inch is what I use but pour to taste) fill the rest of the glass with sparkling water and add a slice of lime. 

* With the left over plums press through a fine strainer and use this slightly compote a top some good quality vanilla yogurt or heated over ice cream. If you like it sweeter add in a few tablespoons of the cordial. 

* I have not tried yet but I can imagine this to be equally refreshing with Gin or Vodka added. 

On my journey back from here 

(yes that other home away from home by the sea)

I was given two gorgeous cutting boards by a dear friend 

who must have guessed that spreads of feta, stuffed olives, peppered goats cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, bigilla and marinated octopus salad are all local nibbles that we bring out in time for the cocktail hour on an almost daily basis - especially in the summertime. 

These beautiful boards are handcrafted  

over at olive designs - www.olive-design.co.uk

if by chance you fancy one or two yourself go have a peek! 

Thank you  E and P for the lovely gifts!

Recently I have noticed bookended by brothers, my two daughters have quietly been growing in their closeness to each other as well as in their abilities. The little one in her focused attention to the 'homework' her older sister has 'asigned' and the elder in slipping off through the pages of a book. 

 Summer time reading is luscious, I am so happy to see her discovering this too!  

At the moment my Magpie is in the last chapter of 

and for myself...

I am slipping off to nurse happily with this book in my hand

 What about you? Any recommendations? 

Resurfacing

from weeks of fluttering about, sleepy eyed, with visitors and off visiting and generally happy 

but falling a bit behind (in everything). 

BUT 

 some little tiny creature is finally resting for more than two hours at a time now and I have plans! 

So many plans! One of them is to step back into the rhythm of blogging. 

Wish me luck!   

Sorry to have been away so long!

Gifts

We have been blessed with visitors from afar, my parents arrived in Malta a little over a week ago. They came just in time for Easter and for a spring trip to the smaller Maltese island of Gozo.

  Pepito and grandma                                                                                    Little D and her grandpa

It is a gift to see the bonds with grandparents forming and growing , memories in the making.... 

making grass angels

My parents left this morning, we were sad to see them go.

One of the hard parts of living 'overseas' is the distance of family.

my father and I

Snaps

Little D and Tano at Mistra Bay

On the sunny days round here you will find us dashing out to the countryside for a picnic , some flower picking, water colour painting and ball throwing keep the children busy as the absent minded professor and I get to lounge with the paper, fresh bread, Italian cheeses and fruit. 

Making sure that our wee dragon child gets some sun. 

 And if its raining, hailing blustery and cold (which it has been for a good deal of the last month)-

 Then you will find me trying to heat up the house (this Midwesterner sooooo misses central heating). 

Yesterday's treat was my first go at Ginger snaps- a personal favourite. Goes well with a steaming cup of chai which I have also been indulging in on a nearly daily basis (more on that later).

The cookies were a hit, the recipe I used can be found here.

My latest find has been the foodgawker app - great for inspiration and new recipes! 

lastly a captured shot of the resident small dragon- who has learned to smile!

Josh Ritter - Love is making its way back to you

This started my day off on the just the right sweet foot- (thank you Maria)

(click to watch the video)

May it bring some gentle humming into your day too.

* * * 

and this is what I am day dreaming (err... window shopping) 

about as I wait for the sunshine of spring days to arrive.

Stormy Seas by White Stuff

It's hard to believe that little Pepito is almost one month old! Somehow I still have not gotten back into the swing of things, I seem to be constantly stranded amid piles of laundry, and dishes, nursing the little one for what feels like hours on end and managing very little else. I had forgotten this stage... days passing in a whirr... the edges of day and night being very blurred. 

Snug in the buggy with his little bunny (thank you S!), 

these photos were taken by my friend Anne 

over at Cloudberry Images. 

* * * 

Thank you all for your sweet comments and emails after the last post ! 

Little arrival

On Wednesday evening baby Joseph was born.
He has transformed our little house like a new season, 

with new smells, sounds and the hushed winds of his loving siblings embracing him into their midsts. 

We are very happy and just a tad busy, 

so forgive me if I won't be posting for some time. 

***

Happy New Year!

We started the new year off with walks amid orange trees, gingerbread muffins(recipe below) then

some Tom Waits as the rains then fell. I made some long overdue clothing for the smalls' smalls; that being a coat and wool trousers for Foxy (debatable if it is a grey fox or a rat), little felt coat for little D's frog and a new dress and little coat for Magpie's sock monkey. 

Now time for some tea and that Songlines magazine I found in my stocking! 

(ahh yes made some new stockings this year!) 

see below

Gingerbread Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour

 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 cup molasses (mixed with 1 cup boiling water- let sit for half an hour)

Directions: Cream the vegetable shortening with the sugar then add the egg, separately mix all the dry ingredients and add alternatively with the molasses and water mixture.

Makes 18 (very moist) dark muffins, bake at180/350 for 15-18 min

Happy Holidays 

from our little home to yours.
Happy 2012

Time for New Beginnings. . . . . . . . . . . Taylor Addison, Blue Mountain Arts, 1989
"This is a time for reflection as well as celebration.
As you look back on the past year and all that has taken place in your life,
Remember each experience for the good that has come of it
    and for the knowledge you have gained.
Remember the efforts you have made and the goals you have reached.
Remember the love you have shared and the happiness you have brought.
Remember the laughter, the joy, the hard work, and the tears.
And as you reflect on the past year, also be thinking of the new one to come.
Because most importantly, this is a time of new beginnings
    and the celebration of life."

Hugo

More than two years ago we were given this book as a Christmas gift

This fall I finally felt like the children were big enough to appreciate it.

So bit by bit every evening we have been reading it. 

It is one of those books that is like a treasure.

and now... 

They have made it into a film! I take a breath in and hope that it is half as wonderful as the book.
This Christmas we are looking forward to watching it -  (trailer for Hugo here).

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.