Museums & Leonardo Da Vinci

We took a trip last week to Florence on the train, I was pretty excited about visiting the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum.  Let's just say my excitement was somewhat larger than the museum.  We did have fun though, it was very hot (40 degrees) and we just about made it through the day, we spent an hour in a lovely kids centre where they hold art and craft workshops - no workshop whilst we were there but the kids chilled out and actually played together which is a rarity.  I am trying to focus on the good things, the lovely shiny happy moments as there are many troubling things happening in our lives at the moment with very poorly relatives & friends and heavy work comittments.  Also I am so tired and feeling fat!  However, here are some reminders of our lovely day in Florence x

Medieval Festival Monteriggioni

Last weekend we enjoyed a trip to Monteriggioni where they had a Medieval Festival, it was such a lovely evening, kids a tad grumpy as overly hot but we had a great night x

New interests for the boy

My darling boy really is totally Rugby mad and really only loves sport so we are gently trying to expand his interests by using his love of sport to encourage reading, writing, photography, nutrition, social skills etc.  Firstly I have bought a few great Rugby books for kids, secondly I have got hold of a copy of this cookery book below, thirdly we have bought the boy a digital camera to take shots of games he goes to see, and also we have set him up with his own Rugby blog to record his activities.

My boy in his moment

Archie's cookbook by Rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio

So far he is really growing into doing other things, yesterday he wrote a long list of all the Rugby players he wants to interview, he is writing the questions he wants to ask them and hw write his first blog post last night. He has started a project book and has named it 'Rugby Geek' and Archie has written his blog in both English and Italian (bravo).  So I am proud of him enormously and really hope that over the summer he can expand on his love of sport to encompass other things too. x

Tonight we are having a special supper - just because, I am making, Mushroom crostini, Pea and Pancetta loaf, slow cooked red peppers and to finish a gluten free lemon tart adapted from said book above, there is also a bottle of extra dry prosecco on ice - fingers crossed for a lovely evening.

Here and there

So hard to concentrate on work projects in this heat, also knowing my little people are up in the house doing homey things without me is a soul cruncher for me.  I would so much rather be being Mummy and cooking, gardening, playing etc and the summer is whooshin by too fast.  In between a 6 hour stint at work I managed to fit in a little of these:

Barbie makeovers with TT
Bread Making whilst the house was sleeping
Garden tidying and Watering
Snakes and Ladders
Reading The Green Parent which arrived today
Massaging the kids before bed
Puzzle books with TT
Rugby blogging with AA
Set up my easle - hope to start to paint soon
Sorted sewing drawer - hope to start to sew again soon
Recipe planning - making a special family meal tomorrow, no reason just for the love of food and family

And finally a couple of glasses of wine and my current book 'Pure Bliss' by Gill Edwards - lovely reading.  Off to bed in very warm house, hoping for a big storm tomorrow to clear the air and re-fill our empty water tank!

Summer flowers and School show

Most of the the flower pics and the old hound photo where take by TT, which make them even more special to me x

Re-alignment and listening to the signs

Today I am finally in a clear head-space and feel I can blog again.  For a few months our lives have been spiralling in the overwhelming business of work and play.  Too many work projects not enough organisation on my part.  Many much loved guests but many things to do, cook, clean, washing etc.  So it seems that somewhere in the throng I lost myself a little, my individuality, the important and necessary parts of me where swept aside.  For weeks I stopped my Yoga, Read less, meditated rarely, barely noticed the plants and nature around me and found myself on autopilot.  However I am glad that nature and this world full of energy has its own subtle and down right obvious ways of making us re-align ourselves.

I have always believed in watching the signs around us, the little hints that things aren't quite right, but I must have simply stopped listening to my own intuition.  

This week however the signs where slap bang in front of me.  The broken down car, the blocked in car, the electricity stopping, the blocked drains, the poorly cat, the flooded towns, then finally the Asthma attack that put me in hospital.  So there, I have stopped, slowed down and sat and thought about how my family and particularly me have been slipping back into our old lifestyle with dramatic consequences.

We really have had the most wonderful early summer and having family and friends here is truly beautiful, the noise of children's chatter, little girls imaginary games, boys dive bombing in the pool, friends enjoying Tuscan food and Grandma relaxing in the sun, my Mum's birthday, some good wine and long sun kissed days, but now I must focus on myself within the home, and stop rushing around all over the place and neglecting health and simple comforts.

Over the last year too our diets have reverted back to my (pre-illness) days, meat dairy and wine, caffeine and sugar. Also chemicals have crept back into our home, slowly but terrifyingly we have ended up with noxious substances in cupboards and drawers.  For one year I was seriously careful about every substance we brought into our home but somewhere I just let go and gave in to the easy solution.  However, this could have literally killed me.  It seems the Asthma attack was caused by an allergy to fly spray, mosi spray or something the farmers are spraying on the vines around us or a combination of nasties in the air!!!! Scary stuff.  So a gentle and caring promise to all those around me and to myself, I will never again let our home become filled with these things again and will be bold enough to stick to this.  Keeping a healthy happy home and body is now totally at the top of my list.  

So I am now going to really settle back into a natural and gentle existence allowing room to breathe - literally.  I have a work trip away in Blighty this week but this will also give me the chance to write and make good plans for the summer and winter but for now I want to build more of the following back into my life:  Music, Painting, Crafts, Vegan Food, Reading, Walking, Sewing, Breadmaking and cooking.  Also quiet times with the children independently and helping TT with her English reading, although they have three months holiday it will pass quickly.  For now I have 2 children's parties to go to this weekend but will not rush or panic or overstretch myself, I will enjoy the drive through the woods, the sunflowers and poppies, I will soak up the views, enjoy the excitement of little girls unwrapping gifts and the sounds of young chaps with up and down voices playing rugby under the Tuscan umbrella pines, I will take a bag of books in the car and dip into cooking and gardening books - I will simply slip from one moment to the next x

Strange Things in the River

Yesterday went for a quick look around the market then decided to be very good and just walk by the river instead of buying stuff that was not intirely needed.  There in the river were the usual ducks and a rather striking Crane-like bird, but next to the feathered chaps was this guy!  A rather busy looking and very big rodenty thing, I think this is a Coypu or Nutria but can't be sure, he was rather handsome though as was the Fiat 500.

Another rather unstructured day around here though, managed to plant up more flowers and have pumpkins and pepper plants ready for the large veg patch, the small one by the house is getting full, but the purge on toys and general tidy up was halted when the girl bashed her finger badly and need Mummy for rest of the evening, poor thing was dressed as a knight and fighting the baddies with a her sword, the battle ended with a very badly bruised finger.  She will live to take on the baddies again though.

I am feeling really drained at the moment so am attempting a bit of a juice fast and I am really keen to try a liver cleanse but need to feel the time is right.  For this week though, cold and clean foods, water, water, water, fresh air and more sleep.