Sequia/Drought

      Asi de seco ha estado mi cerebro todos estos meses. Bastante ironico, teniendo en cuenta la cantidad de agua que ha caido esta primavera aqui en Galicia...!

 Pero con el calor ha llegado la inspiracion y las ideas empiezan a fluir.

         Tampoco he estado parada del todo, ahi va un resumen de los ultimos tres meses:

Celebramos el cumple de Mattias con una tarta sorpresa
copiada de aqui
We celebrated Mattias birthday with a Pinata cake
based on this one

Este es Bimbo, el gato de Mattias

This is Bimbo, Matti's cat

Spring Fairy

Antes/Before

     

Despues/After

De museos en Madrid

Mattias hizo de Mudito en el festival de fin de curso

Mattias played Dopey in school 

Cousiñas / Bits and bobs

    Con niños en casa, los cajones, estanterias y cajas nunca parecen suficientes para guardar el monton de trastos que va creciendo y avanzando, como la lava, hasta alcanzar primero las sillas y despues el suelo. Bueno, sin niños tambien ocurre esto...

    Siempre estoy buscando cajas y recipientes alternativos a los normales de plastico, y las cajitas de madera en las que vienen las fresas me encantan. Con un poco de pintura y un papel bonito pueden servir para guardar los materiales de las manualidades o la plastilina.

    With children at home, drawers, shelves and boxes are never enough to keep all the junk that grows and moves like lava reaching first chairs and then the floor. Well, this happens without children too...

      I'm allways looking for alternative containers to the usual plastic ones, and I love the little wooden boxes for strawberries. With a coat of paint and a cute paper they are ideal to keep some craft materials or the Play-Doh.

Corazon de barro / Clay heart

   Otra utilidad para los corazones de barro perfumados, colgarlos y que sirvan de ambientador. En un espacio abierto no desprenden tanto olor pero quedan bonitos...

    Another use for the perfumed clay hearts, hanging as air fresheners. They don't smell so much in an open space but they look cute...

Estanteria / Bookshelf

   Tenia ganas de hacerle a Mattias una estanteria para exponer sus creaciones de Lego y cuando encontre esta cajas blancas pense que podriamos utilizarlas para exhibiciones temporales de pequeños objetos, ademas el fondo se puede cambiar mostrando nuevos diseños y dibujos. 

   I really wanted to make some bookshelves for Mattias where he could put his Lego creations and when I found these three white boxes I thought we could use them por temporary exibitions of small objects, in addition the background can be changed showcasing new designs and drawings.

Taburete / Stool

    Este  taburete-escalera estaba ya muy viejo. Antes se usaba en la cocina pero ahora ademas sirve de ayuda para subirse a la litera. Lo retapice con un papel adhesivo estilo patchwork y ha quedado muy alegre.

    This ladder-stool looked really old. It was mainly used in the kitchen but now we use it to get to the bunk bed more easily. I covered it with a patchwork contact paper and it looks very nice.

Madera y lana / Wood and wool

Con un poco de lana he adornado este simple dispensador de pañuelos de madera. La combinacion de estos dos materiales naturales me parece calida y reconfortante, justo lo que mi organismo necesita estos dias.

I've dressed this tissue holder with a bit of wool. I think that the combination of these two raw materials is cozy and heartwarming, just what my body needs nowadays.

nieve / snow

    Por fin ha nevado! no pudimos ir al colegio pero pasamos todo el dia jugando con la nieve.

    Hay algo magico acerca de la nieve que nos hace sonreir a todos, sera la luz que desprende? lo ilumina todo como si de repente saliese el sol, o que parece confeti bailando en el aire como si se celebrase una gran fiesta? a mi me encanta el silencio, la nieve amortigua el sonido, tanto que puedes oirla tocar el suelo con delicadeza. 

     Recibimos la nieve con ilusion porque, al menos donde vivimos, es una novedad y nieva en contadas ocasiones.

     Finally it snowed! we couldn't go to school but we spent all day playing with the snow. 

     There is something magic about it, maybe the white light it brings? everything looks so bright!, or maybe that it looks like confetti dancing in the air in a very big party? I love the silence, sounds are dampened by snow and you can almost hear the flakes falling softly on the ground.

      We welcome the snow with excitement because, at least where we live, it doesn't fall very often.

                  

      

Cortacesped ecologico / Ecofriendly lawnmower

Nuestros vecinos tienen un cortacésped ecológico y nos lo han prestado para el jardín. ademas de cortar la hierba abona el terreno y a que es mona?

Our neighbours own an ecofriendly lawnmower and they brought her to our garden, cuts the grass and fertilises the soil and she is so cute!

Country flavours

       I love living in a village, you can find all sorts of goodies on your doorstep (literally!), apples, plums, figs, fresh eggs and of course the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and herbs we watched grow from seeds to plants. 

From this :

To this :

one year

          A year ago I was sad because I was coming back to my parents home and my dad wasn't there... I was leaving my life in bustling London for a much quieter existence in a small town in northern Spain, dragging with me a four year old and a very generous husband, but I was satisfied and happy I was going to spend time with my mum and she was going to enjoy her grandson every day... So many breakfasts, baths, games, stories, laughs...

    A year ago I was told my mum had an aggressive type of cancer and my world was turned upside down. After six months full of horror and sadness She is not here now, He is not here now... I sleep on their bed, sit on their chairs, use their towels, their plates, water their plants...this house is all it's left from them, perfumed scarves, handwritten notes, hairs on hairbrushes, things that won't let me forget, I like to imagine they are still here, can you feel "hugged" by a house? I do.

 

       It's a strange feeling to be an only child and loose both your parents, like you are left behind, abandoned, alone, even if there are cousins and aunties I love with all my heart.Of course I knew this would happen one day, and I've been preparing myself for it since I was old enough to realise that my parents were not young when they had me, but guess what, I was not ready! What a waste of time and energy!

     Now it's time to get up and walk again, slowly. It's time to Choose Joy and the house is going to help me, it means new projects, a lot of paint, and hopefully a lot of sewing and crafting! So one day, when we are not here, our son can sit on my chair and water his dad's plants and feel "hugged" whenever he wants.