Quietly busy

Busy few weeks over here, but nice and quiet if you understand. It's been so flippin' cold, we have rarely ventured outside, other than play-dates and HE activities.

We've had some lovely friends to visit and play and eat and be merry.

We've had lots of reading and studious-type activity.

And painting over here

Some of my old books I have dug out of my folks' bookshelves for the Big Pixie to read. I do so love the original Ladybird books and seem to have passed on that love to the Pixies. One likes to read and be read to. The other likes to just carry them around. And lick them sometimes. Nice.

One of our ongoing projects is Classical Music. The Big Pixie has a passion for music in any form, but loves the classical compositions. I'd like to think my playing classical piano to her in the womb helped, but maybe that's wishful thinking!

This book and CD is fab and highly-recommended and I have pinched it regularly from their work room for my car CD player :)

I can smell Spring in the air a little more each week. That gorgeous man of mine has been preparing our veggie patch in anticipation of this cold weather feckin' off and being replaced with some warm days

I know, it looks like a burial site for the latest person to piss me off, but this is where our new patch will be. Hopefully going to empty the compost bin (more like a wormery) in the next few weeks to reveal a nitrogen-rich fertilizer (fingers crossed) from all the hen poop we have composted.

Then I can get on with resurrecting my herb garden, that the Winter King has taken (actually, it's just my bad gardenmanship that's buggered them up).

Rubes - I have some feverfew for you honey.

What jobs have you all been managing to get out of the way?

Abel and Cole feature

My recycled coaster was today featured on Abel and Cole's newsletter - cool eh? I used the string that ties the boxes together and crocheted a wee coaster for my cuppa :)

Tinctures at the ready

Elderberry tincture ready and rocking. Wheezles and sneezles...attack at your peril.

(Note to self: make elderberry vodka when we harvest the elderberries. Bloody delicious stuff.)

A little Reiki love :)

A lovely day today, minus my beautiful pixies.

I have been truly poorly this last week so my lovely mammy offered to have the ladies for the day.

And my kind friend Gavin came over for the day where we shared some Reiki.

We started with a top-up attunement to strengthen the energy - I am Gavin's Reiki Master, so we are really used to working with each other. Then we had a lovely lunch provided by the hennies - fried egg sandwiches. Awesome!

Then we gave Reiki treatments to each other. I always see lots of colours and floaty things during Reiki treatments, and the atmosphere was so peaceful. I'm also incredibly grateful to have friends like Gavin to help when I need it. And blessed to have access to the gift of healing.

I am sooooooo relaxed this evening, but my mind is sharpened and I feel less  like hiding in the black hole that has been hovering over me this week. My anxiety levels have been simply vile and I am waiting for a magical potion from the herbalist and have a homeopath appointment next week. Hopefully the combination of all this will boost me :)

And of course, lots more self-treatment with Reiki I think. Healing has to start from within, and I am responsible for that. 

Namasté, lovely ones xxx

Fairies, food and infusions

A busy few days, darting here and there with the Pixies for play-dates and fun. And also trying to save money, so reducing petrol usage and cutting back on the food budget.

We have done two shops - one from the supermarket and one at Abel and Cole and are making do with that, rather than nipping out to the shop for 'little bits' (you know the ones - you go in for milk, and spend £30 without realising). Running the food stock that low is quite scary actually, but ingenious what one can concoct with a jar of olives for a lunch-time snack.

Having 5 hennies in the garden also helps with meals - fritatta, boiled egg chucky dip-dip, omelette, pancakes, cakey...lots of meal options that are healthy and free.

We also go through a ton of spuds too - oven potato wedges are a favourite: par-boiled and sprinkled with rock salt and paprika and coconut oil, lidded and shaken around like crazy, then oven-baked for 40 minutes. Perfect with ketchup :)

I have also replaced the sugar in our cakey/cooking with honey, for the most. Our home-popped popcorn in coconut oil especially tastes amazing with sticky organic honey drizzled over it and both the Little and Big Pixie are delighted to munch through a bowl or two.

We've been crafting foam fairies - a lovely gift from a lovely friend for the Big Pixie. They are suspended from the light in the Pixies' play room and look very cute.

I've also been drinking plenty of infusions, mostly nettle, but skullcap and calendula too. I infuse overnight (the jam jar is mighty effective for this) so to extract the maximum benefit from the herbs. I know this nettle looks like pond slurry, but it tastes much better.

And a handbag charm I made for my new Cath Kidston bag my sister bought me.

So that's where we're up to at The Green Journals - how about you? Are you feeling frugal or free-flowing in the cash department??

Finding our Rhythm

A lovely day yesterday of just 'being'. Our Pixies went to Grandma and Grandad's house for the day, so we go time to breathe, eat out and talk together. No questions like "Why have you got hairs down there?" or little ladies clawing at my top for mammy milk. Of course we missed them like crazy but it's always good to have breathing space.

And reflect on things in general. I think it's that dark time of year, where light is slowly creeping forwards, but still shrouded in too much darkness to make too many changes. Either that, or I'm just a lazy arse and can't be bothered. I sooooo want Spring to arrive now. I have garden plans :)

I think we need to find our rhythm again. After the Chrisumerism holidays, it is taking a HUGE amount of motivation to even get up in the morning. The Husband has been off work for 2 weeks, and as we're self-employed, it's all good (aside from no work = no pennies). We are lying in bed, mincing the mornings away, albeit having a snuggly, jolly time doing so, but still...

Baking our bread for the day is a nice way to start, and we make Porridgies for our baggin' (mid-morning/mid-afternoon/any-time-the-hell-you-like snacks). It's a Katie Morag thing! 

And freshly-ground coffee helps too :)

I also made some beeswax modelling clay a while back, but it was a little bit too stiff for small fingers, so I had a bit of a mammy craft session and fashioned it into a Goddess figure. The Big Pixie said the figure is "...just an old lady with her belly hanging down and boobies out." Although her boobs really do look too pert, I rather like her and have popped her on the season hearth.

I haven't done any healing for ages, aside from the children, but am due to meet with one of my Reiki students later this month, so hopefully this will spur me on to do some self-healing: I have lots of areas to work on :)

Catching up

I have been a busy girl this last few months, with lots of projects on the go. I have been playing with my friends too, and having craft sessions where we made felted balls for our Yule Tree.

I am learning the recorder and doing a project on the moon with my mummy.

We are doing lots of baking too.

I have been crafting too. My friend L bought me a flower kit, and I made a hair band.

I love it!

I hope to keep sharing my activities with you all!

xxx

Lotions and Potions

Taking care of Number 11 on my list: herbs and potions and lotions.

In a bid to make my own products, I have ‘fashioned’ a hair texturizer for The Curly Girl. Spotting a fabulous one on the John Masters website (and cringing at its price tag) I wanged in (see – new blog; same phraseology) some witchery ingredients and blended together. The results are a sexy-smelling pot (thank you Spiezia for your pretty reusable jars) of waxy-sheeny stuff. Perfect for my curly-haired tinker.

Also, an eye serum, nappy oil (for the poopy-infused bums in our house) and cleansing oil followed.

My elderberry tincture should be ready for decanting soon, so it shall be bottled and available for all manner of wheezles and sneezles.

I need another order for stock-up of dandelion, burdock, nettle and violet leaf. Fill up my witchy cupboard a little more ;)

xxx

New Year: New Blog

I have decided to leave The Green Queen for a winter of hibernation and start afresh somewhere new. The Green Journals is my new home for now. I do hope you'll grab a cuppa and some obligatory cakey, pull up a cosy chair and come join me!

xxx

New Year: New Me

Aims for this year:

1. To finally send off my manuscript.

2. Start a new blog ✓

3. Increase the growing capacity of our garden.

4. Have more structure in our home-education life. Too much autonomy does NOT always work for our family :(

5. Spend less time online.

6. Try to reduce/eradicate our supermarket usage (in our house, obviously - I can't take on the world. Or can I?...)

7. Re-learn the acoustic guitar. Seriously, how hard can it be?

8. Play more classical piano.

9. Think about advertising for more freelance work. My brain is getting tired.

10.  Make more time for ME. Yes, that's right, I shall be selfish and demand small amounts of time on my OWN :)

11.  Stock up on my herbs and potions cupboard. It's looking a little bear! bare. And prepare my herbs better before next winter sets in, so they don't end up dead and mangy. 

12.  Maintain this journal. For an entire year. Feck, that's a LOT of cakey to get through whilst writing.

Stick with me!

Claire xx