little things♥lately

"What day is it?" asked Pooh.
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favourite day," said Pooh.

~ A.A. Milne

Hello lovely readers...

The chilly Autumn sun is casting her golden morning light upon our little corner of the world.
There is a stillness in the air, broken only by the occasional rumble of an engine, and the cheerful twittering of the birds as they joyfully welcome the arrival of a brand new day.

Today should have been the second last day of our 21 day lockdown, but instead we face an additional two weeks of being confined to our homes...
As I am nursing an ear and throat infection, these quiet days at home are just what I need to regain my strength.

I thought I would stop in with a few pictures of the little things I have been enjoying lately. ♥
Our world may be all topsy turvey, but our home is a haven; a place of peace and calm in the midst of a turbulent sea...

I decided it was high time I pick up my knitting needles and begin working on a new project...
At the moment I am busy on a ribbed cowl in gorgeous grey yarn...
And when I need a little break from knitting, I have a rather gripping new book to read...
I came across A Light to My Path by historical and Biblical fiction author, Lynn Austin, in a second hand bookstore quite some time ago, and am currently 200 pages in to this beautifully written novel...
I would love to find the other books in this series.

My lovely baby spinach is growing quite prolifically, and we harvest leaves almost every evening for our salad...
I spent some time in the garden on Saturday just before I started feeling under the weather, so my plants are quite happy for the time being.
Dad and I need to find a moment to stake up the rambling pea plants, though...

A few weeks ago the sweet potatoes we had in our veggie basket started sending out little runners, so I cut them off, along with a small slice of the sweet potato, and popped them in some soil...
And here they are growing quite happily in my little garden.
We used to grow sweet potato on the farm and were always amazed at how easy they were maintain.

Our little ones have been spending hours playing out of doors...
The other day they were playing Zorro (they have been watching the 1957 Zorro series with Guy Williams), and have now moved on to some sort of camping game...sheets and blankets are daily hauled out to the front yard, and snacks are carried off in a basket to be munched in their tents.

We try to spend as much time outside as possible, and even had a family picnic in the front yard over the weekend.
Cooler weather is coming, so we are making the most of these moderate days.

How pretty these buds look amidst the greenery in this vase...

It has been wonderful spending time blessing our home lately, although, with nine people living here 24/7, things don't stay tidy for very long!  {{Smiles}}

 "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but those that bring simple pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string."
~ L.M. Montgomery

The girls found a little chameleon today...isn't he sweet?
I love chameleons and remember having so many in our garden when I was a child...at one stage there were even baby chameleons.

I just had to share a little peek of the birdy tea towels Mom and I have been sewing.
We have plenty more to sew (a friend gave us a big piece of waffle-weave fabric), but that will have to wait....this week we are planning a small high tea for Gabrielle who is celebrating her thirteenth birthday this coming Friday.

♥
 Well, sweet friends, may your day be lovely as you strive to choose joy and spend time cultivating a thankful heart.

I would love to hear what you have been up to lately...it always brightens my day to hear from my dear readers!

With love,
~ Kelly-Anne 

Fabric Pumpkin Delights

Hello sweet friends...♥

I am sipping a cup of hot coffee and indulging in a slice of homemade chocolate cake as I write this, feeling very cosy at home indeed.

"Home is the nicest word there is."

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder 

 

After starting my day with coffee and time with the Lord, I accomplished a 30-minute workout session.  Usually I go for a 45 minute power walk, but as I can't leave the house right now, a fun YouTube fitness session was a good alternative.  {{smiles}}

After completing my few household chores and getting myself done for the day,

I spent the rest of the morning in the comfort of my sewing room, listening to lovely, uplifting hymns, and playing with fabric scraps...

 

Every year with the arrival of Autumnal weather, I have wanted to make fabric pumpkins, but something else more important always popped up, and before I knew it, Winter had crept in and the time for fall decorating was over...

However, as we currently find ourselves in strict lockdown in our corner of the world, suddenly I have some time to do a little leisure sewing.  {{smiles}}

 

 You can find the free pattern I used for these sweet fabric pumpkins by clicking here. ♥

I can't remember when last I sewed for the sheer pleasure of it, or made something frivolous for myself...it was such fun!  

And I am so pleased with how these little pumpkins came out...they are going to look so sweet in my room.

I made two small pumpkins and one medium...and of course, one had to be completely pink...I just couldn't help myself!  {{Smiles}} 

 ^Stay tuned for a recipe for a homemade red (rooibos cappuccino coming soon! ♥)

This week I decided I would be au pair to my mom, seeing as I am unable to work (if you didn't already know, I au pair for a sweet homeschooling family who have five young children) during this 21 day lockdown. 

Yesterday we made felt owls with the little ones after they had completed their schoolwork.

It is lovely to see them enjoying some sewing too! ♥

  ^ Rebekah (10) with her little owl.

^Sofia (8) proudly holding her felt owl.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am endeavoring to stay busy over the next few weeks.  

And there is plenty that needs doing around the house and in the garden!

"Home is a shelter from storms - all sorts of storms."

~ William J. Bennet

 

And I am enjoying the time with my family immensely...  It is wonderful to have hours devoid of any distraction to have family devotions, sing hymns and spiritual songs, and pray that we and our fellow Believers would be strong and remain faithful to Christ in this trial.

I would like to encourage you to use this time wisely and for the glory of God.  

 Let us strive to form healthy new habits and daily seek the Lord for wisdom and guidance.

 

How are you keeping yourselves busy during lockdown?

Have you sewed fabric pumpkins before?

Blessings for the week ahead!
Oh, and happy last day of March! ♥

Kelly-Anne 

~  The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.  Psalm 29:11 ~

in my world today

 Greetings, dear readers.

Today I am enjoying a rare day off from work, as the family I au pair for, are away for the weekend. 

 With Autumn having now officially arrived in the Southern Hemisphere, I have been in the mood for a bit of deep cleaning and organizing, starting with my bedroom...

This morning I cleaned the windows, washed my curtains and bedding and gave everything a good dust and tidy up.  

 

Earlier today we got several boxes of fresh, export quality figs in, so 

this weekend will see me in the kitchen making delicious fig jam...

  

and hopefully I will be able to get stuck into the garden somewhere along the line too...

The peas are now all up, the sweet potatoes have been planted, and lettuce is popping up everywhere, after we left our summer crop to go to seed.

I want to plant some Swiss Chard and another crop of carrots and kale...it is definitely getting cooler, so I need to hurry. 

^Brassica seedlings almost ready to be transplanted into the garden.

 ^Lush radish seedlings...won't be long till we harvest these little beauties!

I also have some lovely grey tracksuit fabric waiting to be made into a new tracksuit for Caleb.  

My mom and sisters sorted our fabrics and patterns this week, and we are all feeling quite inspired to do more sewing this Autumn. 

In fact, as I sit writing this, Nancy is listening to opera music full blast while working at the sewing machine whipping up a little French-inspired dress for Gabrielle.

And now I must show you what our little ones have been up to...

 ^Dress up was the game of choice today and even Caleb wanted to join in the fun.

 ^Caleb's flowerpot hat is hilarious...and so is his face.

  

 ^Sofia looking quite elegant.

^Our lovely Rebekah.

I hope that each of you have a lovely, peaceful weekend.

I would love to hear what you are keeping yourselves busy with!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne 

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in my world ~ november

 "Everyone should regularly have themselves overwhelmed by nature."

~ George Harrison

 ^Look how deep the stream is after all the rain we have had the past week!

^The little ones playing "Pooh sticks"

 

 ^The perfect imaginary airplane!

^Our two young explorers, Rebekah (10) and Sofia (8).

^I love taking photographs at the railway track!

^And it is always wonderful on an overcast day…makes for a dramatic backdrop!

 ^The three littles – Sofia, Rebekah and Caleb.

 

^We always enjoy our walks in the forest…

 ~

Outside my window…

The world outside is dark and rain is threatening.  I had hoped to take little one for her walk, but we will have to wait till the weather clears…

It would seem that winter is not quite finished with us yet with the past two weeks being cold and rainy…

In my cup…

Rooibos citrus tea.  I have started drinking more herbal and fruit teas so as to reduce my caffeine intake…  I think I am starting to acquire a taste for tea and enjoy trying out new flavours.

Around the house…

This past month saw us shifting rooms around so that both Nancy and I now have our own space, which has enabled me to do a lot more sewing in the evenings and early mornings.  I do miss having my younger sister, Gabrielle, in the room with me, though.

Reading…

Last week I shared that one of my goals for this year was to read more and how I have more than achieved what I set out to accomplish. 

Recently I finished reading Twenty Years After (the sequel to The Three Musketeers) and Bonnie Dundee by Rosemary Sutcliff, as well as Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell.

I picked up The Yearling again and am slowly but surely getting through it.  Although I do think it a wonderful story and really well written, I confess that I am dragging my heels through this book.  I am hoping to start Jo’s Boys this week….

Listening to…

Celtic Woman just released their lovely new Christmas album, The Magic of Christmas.  I know I said I was going to wait till December to start listening to Christmas music…but oh well…I simply couldn’t resist!  {{smiles}}

Thankful for…

It may be almost summertime, but the weather is still pretty cool during the day, and the nights cold.

I love this in between weather and enjoy being able to spend as much time as possible out of doors.  I still walk for about an hour every day with the little girl in my care - soon it will be too hot to do this and I will have to see about squeezing in a walk before work or in the evenings…

From the kitchen…

It is preserving time in our home and I have been spending many a happy hour in the kitchen pickling, preserving and bottling.  So far I have made pickled onions, beetroot relish, tomato chilli jam and strawberry jam.  Soon apricots will be coming in and I can’t wait to start making apricot jam and chutney.

I am expecting a good harvest of cucumbers (I planted so many this year) and would very much like to make my own gherkins with the new cucumbers.

Creating…

As I mentioned last week, I have been spending all my free time in my sewing room.  I am feeling pretty confident about being finished in time for this year’s gift market if I can just keep up this pace.  I also had an order come in (Thank you, Lord), so I need to fit this in somewhere along the line too.  {{smiles}}

In the garden…

My little garden is growing quite prolifically at the moment…  Soon we will be harvesting cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.  The squash has just begun to flower and we haven’t bought any lettuce, spinach or herbs in a long while.  Of course, with limited space, one can only grow so much.  I like to squeeze as much in as possible and use up whatever containers I have on hand.

Out and about…

With the weeks being so busy, I haven’t been out and about all that much.

We did spend a Saturday visiting the open gardens in our area, though, which you can hop over and read about here.

Watching…

Some evenings our family gather to watch an episode of Little Men, a series inspired by the writings of Louisa May Alcott.  Despite being quite old, it is well acted and a series we all enjoy watching.

One of my favourite things…

In the evenings once the little ones have gone to bed, Mom and I make some chamomile tea and sit together for a few minutes before bed…I always love winding down my day in this way.

Dreaming of…

There is a good chance my dearest friend will be visiting this December.  We haven’t seen each other in almost two years as her family moved back to the States…  We are both praying that this trip to South Africa will work out for her family.

My dad comes home for a three-week holiday in January, so we are starting to count down to his arrival. 

I am hoping…

That the weather will play along for the camping trip we have planned for this weekend coming.  There will be around fourteen of us going (friends, and friends of friends), so it should be great fun and I know we will make a lot of wonderful memories!

Quiet moments…

My favourite time of the day has always been early morning when the world is only just awakening.  I love to take my coffee outside and sit for a few minutes savouring the quiet while I sip my morning cuppa.  Of course, with little ones in the house who also happen to be early risers, what little peace there is (we live in a very busy part of town) can sometimes be shattered!

Well, sweet readers.  I would love to hear what is going on in your part of the world this November…

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne

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