Well Oh My Winter Sun

Here

..............I am exceedingly delighted to be here in front of this open fire, with two feet, red sock clad, soaking in the warming glow of flames and embers and all things imaginably warming in winter weather. I am happy, I have a lightness and a sense of arrival tonight. A gentle flicker of gold fills my heart as I recount and recall these last few weeks. I can rest now, I can be here in my new home.

I love it, in fact I may be in Love with it. These walls, so old and stony and sure, are holding me as kindly as any warm blooded fella could. And when that winter sun shines and silvers up the lake, reflecting light through every pane of glass, the fire crackles to let me know we are here together.

Today was the first day I could paint, having finished unpacking and being almost done with all the other bits and bobs associated with moving all and sundry.  

We have adjusted to being here. It was a trying few weeks, to move before Christmas. I would never move in winter again, I can quite see why its not usual. I learned the hard way, and I think it added twice the stress to it all. But we rose to it, and its done.

We had a quiet Christmas, just unpacking enough to get us through. Our old potted Christmas tree from Tristan and Jenny came back to us to bejewel another year and Christmas eve my sister came, and we made a ginger bread house( my first attempt).
We decided it was more like some of the run down cabins we saw in the Appalachians, it had a rustic feel to it rather then the cleaner lined scandinavian style; ) It was delicious all the same, and we made it gluten free too. The eating of it seemed about the most moorish thing in the whole holiday, but we had help.

Little M has found her new places to play outside and in, making a little house under the stairs with a sheepskin and silks and her little pots and pans, I would live there too if I was her size and a new fountain to run around too.
I haven't taken many photos yet of here, but this is one of her watching out at two crows, dating she said, sitting on the wall and kissing beaks.

She has a great space for play here and to keep her toys, and we can have animals too, which we have both pined for a while, as much as we love our Patches and Nutmeg( guinea pigs).
We have sent out our wishes with shiny pennies in ponds on starry nights And turning three times under new moons, for a puppy to come and join us. I am trying to hold off till Spring, till I can have a breather before the next big event, but little M's enthusiasm is bound to bring some little bright thing into our lives before we know it.

.......................Its big here and has a kind of grandeur about it, but at the same time holds this old barn feel to it, it keeps its modesty and has lots of depth. I saw possibilities here for my art and my life to take steps forwards and expand a little, like wings that needed to stretch out. I can live, work and show my art here.
I will open the studio from equinox to equinox, and have 'visitors welcome' written on my gate and we shall see what comes. I have missed online here, this space, and the lovely friends I have met and the tracking of their logs. I wore Milla's medicine pouch almost through the whole month of moving. Her beautiful dreamcatcher hangs over my bed easing my dreams to the lighter side even under the stress of it all............

...........For Now I prepare in these Winter sun days ...

........................and nights where that sun comes through fire on wood, from trees that stretched up and took that sun in. They bless me with their warmth, toasting my toes and helping me remember the way things are.

Winter Sun Moments

We made a trip to Fanore, a tiny village on the west coast a few weeks before we moved. We stayed in a place looking over the sea for two nights. We played on the beach and watched the resident dolphin play with the surfers and visited a bird of prey education centre.
We were also just opposite the grave yard where the poet, philosopher, teacher John O'Donohue was buried. He is a mighty inspiration to me. His writing transports and transforms and holds you and your heart, it breathes you in, and you breathe it too. I met him once when I was about 12 years ago and never forgot him, He had peaceful shiny eyes like none I had ever seen, and I wanted to know more about that. He died just a couple of years ago, he was just 53 and in Paris.
Me and M visited his grave, and sat there a while while the morning sun shone out to the islands bright and clear, and around us too, warming us just enough so that the sea air didn't bite our noses.

Good night and thank you dear reader.

More Art and Heart soon ...... perhaps even some prints to sell, I wont give too much away just yet
xx

E

Little M goes to market

Little M has the fine ability of making her dreams come true!

I try to help where I can. When she wishes for castles and ponies I do stop for a moment in time, and wonder could I, how? 

Some good people in my life taught me to think big. Think in the style of miracles!!!!

 But sometimes its a little overwhelming being Mom and looking ahead at all that needs providing for. More often then not though something wonderful comes along to make it all seem easier and give madeleine exactly what she wants: )

We went to the farmers market in early September as we do almost every sunday, the creature of habit that I am. And the kindly Cheese mongers namely, The flying cheese brigade, told us a children's market was coming up and asked would Madeleine like to have her very own stall for a day. Would we what!!!!!"Yes", we said straight away. 

Little M has dreamed of being a stall holder and has asked me numerous times could she, and when, and what could she sell. And then the list of all the things she would like to sell, And the excitement grows. That and to be a musician on the streets has been her leading aspiration of these last months, bringing stars in her eyes, shining up at me with pleas.

The enthusiasm became far more heightened this summer. When making elderflower cordial with our lovely friends in June.

M and her little friend, seeing the amount we were producing and just how yummy it was, quite literally had dollar signs in their eyes as they planned a cordial selling stall on the edge of the street here in the village. And what about the profits??? They decided it would be puppies that they buy with all the money they made: )

 She invited her friend to join her and with some help from Moms and Grandad, it all came true.

Here she is, on that very morning, dressed for the part and feeling like a big girl, another theme running with us these days.

And here is their stall!

We made a lot of cookies!!! mainly ginger bread men and stars, which were a great seller, and flapjacks. Little M is gluten intolerant so everything we made was GF. I am giving you my gluten free secret recipes at the end of this post. I have really just been waiting to share them: )

My dad also got on board with us, making toffee with the girls full to the brim with cashew nuts! and providing beautiful organic eggs from his chickens, and some jams he had made.

M's friend brought the most wonderful little bundles of kindling for the fire, tied up with string, they are parked there in front of the stall in her little red trailer. Some heather bundles too, other edible delights and some old toys and books. M had been adamant that she was not parting with any of hers.

It really was so amazing to see them live out this play, that they had had. To see them making it real, with their little till and counting their money. They charged all kinds of prices, Madeleine sold a stone from the woods for €3.50 to a little boy, who just loved it, and totally saw what she saw in it. I tried not in interfere too much, but when she was charging €10.50 for jam, I intervened a little.

There were all sorts of other fun things for children there, including a very funny clown, who had us all in fits of giggles.

Here they are on their break from commerce, whale watching apparently. Though its hard to find whales in lake water, they were quite sure about it.

What a wonderful memory for them, and for us Moms too. And we were were welcomed with open arms from the market. For our girls to have an experience like that so young is really something special.

Other things happening here soon, are Feile Eile  , a festival for childrens with lots of workshops and events and music that is going on over the next three weekends!

And the 26th of October is the second Festival of Lights , we wont be missing that. 

Ok so here is a great recipes for delicious gluten free cookies that work beautifully. I have also made them dairy free and they have worked a treat.

Gingerbread men and stars or whatever shapes take your fancy!

we make these at all time of year adjusting shape an decoration for the season. At Halloween , we make headless gingerbread man; )

2 cups of all purpose gluten free flour

1 cup of rice flour

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ginger( you can add a bit more if you like them more spicy)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp xanthum gum ( this will make a real difference)

1/2 cup of butter or dairy free margarine

1/2 cup of raw cane sugar

1/3 cup of mollasses

2/3 cup of honey

i large egg

You can use any decorations you like. We use chocolate chips and raisins and jellies too sometimes, depending on the occasion that is in it. It works very well, to press your choc chips or jellies into the cookies when they are hot out of the oven, be gentle about it. As they cool they will be stuck on.

*With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy and add the egg and molasses and honey, In a separate bowl sift the flour and all dry ingredients. 

* Add your dry mix gradually into the wet, mixing all the time until everything is well combined. You should have an aromatic bowl of gorgeous dough now, but before you think of rolling out, it really needs to be refrigerated a while, at least for two hours or over night.

* when you are ready to roll out, you can preheat your over first to 350F 180 C. Line your baking trays.

divide your dough in two, and roll out on a floured surface, cut out and place on sheets.

*Bake in the middle of the oven, they bake so quickly, but that will depend a little on how think you make them, its going to be between 8-12 minutes. They are done when they are barely beginning to brown.

*When you take them from the oven, I find it best to leave them on the baking tray a minute before moving them. Then once a little firmer, you can remove and cool.

Thats my first ever recipe on here. I hadn't imagined that, but here you go. I do hope you enjoy these. They are so delicious, Little M adores these. 

Thank you dear reader xxx E