the fruits of my labour

New growth:

Preparing to sow:

Spring cleaning (with newspaper and vinegar and water in a recycled Windex spray bottle):

It is amazing how much better windows and what’s on either side of them look when you clean them. I find it’s one of the easiest chores to forget about it, but I’m always really pleased when I’ve done it. And it certainly helps to have an enthusiastic assistant.

I’m really inspired to give the house a good clean this spring and my ongoing decluttering efforts have doubled. I even gave away a big pile of uni text books I’d been hanging onto for no good reason. I’m not sure why I get the urge to do a deep clean in spring. I don’t think it’s just because it’s the traditional thing to do. I suspect it may have something to do with the extra and stronger sunshine showing up all the dust and dirt.

***

Along with a change in seasons, we’ve had a change in sleeping arrangements. At almost eight months, Isobel had finally grown out of her bassinette. So we moved her into a cot and out of our room and into Elliott’s room. Now Elliott and Isobel’s room. She didn’t seem overly impressed with the move, and it was fairly bittersweet for me. Sad to no longer have her by my side, but it feels great to be able to read and talk before drifting off to sleep again. Isobel seems to be slowly getting used to the much bigger bed and the different room and roommate, and as usual, Elliott’s been a real trouper, despite the interruptions to his sleep.

Homemade Danish pastries for Father’s Day breakfast. I had barely eaten any Danish pastries, let alone made them, until a few months ago when I first attempted the recipe in Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking. I’ve since made them three times, I think, and each time I have been very happy with the results. This method uses a food processor and despite a lot of rolling out and folding, not to mention a bit of forethought (you can’t really make these on a whim, unless you’ve previously had the forethought to freeze some prepared dough), they are quite easy. Some of my rolling and folding was pretty dodgy, but I don’t think anyone could tell after they’d puffed up in the oven and been smothered in clear and sugar glazes. The recipe gives you enough dough to make twelve pastries, so I filled six with apricot jam (as requested by Chris) and filled the other six with an almond mixture, as suggested by Nigella. Both were delicious, and the praise I received for them alone was enough to make the effort worthwhile. I’ll be making them again soon, I think.

Of course, after all that butter-laden pastry, there was plenty of fuel to burn, so it was outside for some backyard soccer:

And later, some cuddles on the couch:

It was a beautiful family day, capped off by roast beef with Yorkshire puddings, rice pudding and once the kids were in bed, a new game (Father’s Day present).

Famous last words. By me, to my doctor, about three weeks ago. I’d gone for a check-up, because I never get sick and I think it’s the responsible thing to do now I’m a mother and getting on in years. A few days later I came down with a cough/cold/flu thing that has clung to me like it’s life depended on it. Which I guess it does. I’ve had a sore throat and an annoying (to me and others) cough, and practically no voice for a week and a half. And in that time Elliott got an ear infection as a result of his cold and Isobel caught the cold and scared us a bit with a high fever. Not much fun. They’re both well now, though, and I think I’m on the mend.

As I’m breastfeeding, this was about all I could use to relieve my symptoms. I think the honey and lemon gave me a psychological boost more than anything. Which is not to be sneezed at. Pardon the pun.

So, I haven’t been doing a lot in the way of cooking and crafting, apart from working very slowly on a small sewing project that’s nearly finished and which I hope to report on soon. I feel a burst of productivity coming to make up for the past couple of weeks. Look out, world!

And we’ll be looking out for tonight’s lunar eclipse, if cloud and rain don’t obscure it. I’m hoping we can show Elliott the partial eclipse before he goes to bed. I’m also preparing myself for the fact that he probably won’t get our explanation of it at all and/or that he won’t be that interested. Oh well, we’ll just have to wait for the next one, in 2011.

Wow. I can’t believe Isobel came into the world a whole six months ago. I swear they were the fastest six months of my life. I hope the next six are a bit slower, and that we can savour them more. Isobel has been a relatively easy baby, very placid and undemanding (almost to a fault). She has settled into our family very nicely and we’re all excited to watch her grow and change. Elliott loves having her around. Hopefully, for the most part, it will always be that way.

Happy first six months, Isobel! We hope it’s been at least as good for you as it has been for us.