Winter travels

Last month we took a crazy family trip to blighty to visit friends and family, I also squeezed in 4 meetings and some Christmas shopping, and to finish off we crammed in an overnight stop in Venice - phew!!!!

I have decided to split our adventures up into small bite size pieces rather than overwhelm this blog with too much blurb and endless snapshots.

So to kick-off the story of our little holiday, firstly we had to organise a house-sitter to look after our ancient buck-tooth lurcher Leo and our two teenage kittens Romulus and Remus, thankfully we have a wonderful friend who was able to simply take our place for 8 days and I have to say that I think the animals were delighted and totally spoilt. The forecasts for the UK were hideous and we really didn't think we would make it at all as we watched all the airports close and rail networks grind to a halt, but somehow we did manage to make it to London, to the only airstrip that was open on a very snowy and very cold Thursday morning. The idea of this trip was for our kids to see more of the UK as they had never visited the capital or travelled much before we moved to Italy. So we made it to London and managed to take in the following sights: The London Eye, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Lots of snow and ice, Christmas lights, Harrods, Kings Road, Westminster Abbey, Eros, Tower of London, The Thames, Speedboats, Open top buses in the snow, Black Cabs - and many more lovely things all from our cosy if somewhat packed bus!!!!

After our mad trip into London, the kids and Gary went to The Natural History Museum which was wonderful and I met them there later (bad mummy working). My mobile broke and I couldn't contact my client to say I was late (not great) and I couldn't contact DH to arrange to meet, all in all I was very stressed charging across London in the snow, heart racing, dry mouthed and heavy hearted wishing I was with my clan. Eventually we managed to find each other under a huge dinosaur skeleton and I slowly calmed down and managed to enjoy some time with my tribe. TT loved the moving dinosaur and Archie kind of just put up with her crazy unflinching enthusiasm. The boy was pretty overwhelmed by London, the tubes, the traffic and the amount of people - he is sensitive and I knew this might prove a challenge, TT however wasn't phased, just became more stubborn.

After a long, long day in London which was stunning, all the historical buildings frosted with snow we hopped on a coach (thank god I booked a coach as the trains were all cancelled) and watched the snow get heavier and heavier as we trundled slowly but surely to the West Country.

We eventually got to Great Grandma's late at night and enjoyed shop bought salad and roast chicken with big glasses of wine. Memories of my night at GG's will be: Tea and Biscuits, The Radio Times, Itchy Wool blankets, Ice, Frost, Children’s TV, Archie's Asthma kicking in, time well spent with my 85 year old Grandma. A good start to our English escapades.

In the moment

Sometimes I feel an absolute certainty that things are simply just meant to be.  Yeseterday I was fighting to finish some overdue work projects whilst TT watched a film, the house was a mess and dinner was a long way off, I was cross and stressed.  Then from nowhere, TT fell ill within 1 hour she was sick and had a high temperature.  So I was totally forced to abandon work, the house, the supper and had to become 100% Mummy.  This was meant to be I am sure as it put me back on track and helped me realign want is truly important.  I sat with the girl curled up on the sofa (with a bowl) I soothed her and calmed her, which in turned calmed me, I slowed my breathing and felt my heartbeat slowing to a normal rate again, I simply let go of everything and remained in the moment with the girl - where I should have been all along.  Later when she was sleeping under a warm blanket by the woodburner I finished by work with a calm mind, I made a pumpkin risotto slowly and with care and had a small tidy up - everything that needed to be done was done, most importantly they were done consciously with thought and not in a frenzied Friday night panic.  So I am grateful for the interuption and the kick up the bum, the girl is recovering though still poorly, and I am once more on track emotionally!

Food - the good the bad and the fattening

Food – I seem to have lost my flow, my naturalness in the kitchen, maybe the dark days and non stop rain are causing me to feel lacking in a desire to venture to the veg plot but all in all I feel adrift. I normally plan weekly menus, plot days for baking, soup making and general tinkering, but right now the kitchen is a little daunting. Even food shopping is putting me off, I normally dive head first into the open air markets sniffing, prodding and sampling local produce, but suddenly I am at a loss. 

Our eating habits are complex and sometimes hard work. I am gluten free and dilly dally around vegan, veggi diets often darting into pure raw here and there. But then, a Tuscan wild boar sausage somehow ends up on my plate hidden among the mashed potatoes and baked leeks, I woof it down then wish I hadn’t. My DH however is a meat man and would be very happy with all manner of carnivorous fair, he also loves bread and so I make breads and cakes I can’t eat and am happy to see them devoured. I buy meat occasionally that I rarely eat and create vegi meals that everyone else tolerates, just.
So here I am adrift in a sea of uncertainty wanting to simplify cooking and shopping but needing to still create yummy meals that I enjoy making and my family love eating – all on a wafer thin budget. After all I live in Tuscany the land of cheese, bread, cured meat and wine, maybe I will find my cooking mojo again soon. Any helpful ideas or encouragement are warmly welcomed x

TT helping gather olies (rolling in the nets)

cousins this summer

nb:  My copy of the green parent and the book 'eat pray love' have just landed on my desking - maybe the inspiration I need!!

Feeling sad

The last thing I want is for this blog to become too gloomy but just lately things have worn me down.  TT has once again gone into meltdown about getting dressed and ready for school.  Kicking shouting etc, this morning we were late again (10 days now) and I went to see her teacher to ask if she is OK at school, he seems to think not and I now have a meeting with him on Thursday - god I hope my Italian is up to it.

She seems to like school though, tells us it is fun, and loves her homework and fun projects they are doing, but this would make sense of the whole 'nightmare' of getting her into the car.

I am trying so hard to remain calm but it is v. hard to do when everything is crunching to a halt and my nerves are wrangling.  So now I am going to head to school and let her play in the park with her friends and watch her interact to see how she seems to be emotionally.  Tonight we will curl up in front of the fire and read and play and hope that tomorrow will be a better day.

Sometimes I wish I could teach them at home, but I think they would miss the interaction with Italian kids, and their language skills would go to pot.  This way we have the best of both worlds I hope, part time school and long long holidays.

I long to switch of my brain for a while though and just have a few days without 'tempers fraying' and tears and tantrums (all of ours) flying.

Plans this week - leek soup, homemade ciabatta, gluten free muffins, olive picking, dog walking, cinema and lots and lots of reading by the fire. x 

The camera is on its way home from the menders so this blog should soon be full of autumn colour again.

Tears, tantrums and sock issues

I am so, so weary. This morning spiralled out of control again when Tabby refused to get dressed, changed her clothes twice, refused tights, leggings and socks. Picked socks, said they annoyed her removed socks, screamed at us threw stuff around the house, screamed more, put socks on inside out, puts boots on, said they annoyed her, took them and socks off, screamed more about the seams in the socks. Cried, shouted and kicked us both, took off her dress and insited on putting it back on backwards. Just as they were going out the door she took shoes, socks and dress off and refused to put them on. I swapped the socks for the smoothest I could find and tried to put them on her, she kicked me hard in the ribs and I smacked her - I wish I could rewind the clock!. I didn’t intend to but she was uttery out of control and I burst into tears again!! She was carried kicking and screaming into the car, they got to school 1/2 hour late as usual.  Every morning is like this, every day starts with total chaos and then I feel crap for hours and hours. 

There are two issues here think. Tabby wants to be in control of everything, she also has a massive temper issue, we are trying to calm her and listen and give her freedom to choose are clothes etc, this doesn’t seem to help though.

2nd issue, she genuinely hates socks and tights. I bought three pairs of soft smooth tights on Saturday and have had to cut the feet off as she can’t cope with the seams on the toes. She will then only where 1 or 2 pairs of socks which to me seem the same in feel to all her others!  Can anyone help on the anger issues and the sock problems. Does anyone know of seamless tights or socks?

A kind Mummy on the GP forum just sent me these links which are great and on close inspection I was very very interested to read about Tactile Defenciveness.  Also having calmed down myself, maybe she is simply saying listen to me these socks do REALLY bother me.  So tonight I will sit with her and make a 'comfy' sock box and put only things that she is hapy with in the box, maybe this will work.  I have ordered some socks from the Sensory Smart site but do not know how long the post will take to arive here in Italy.

http://www.sensory-smart.com/


http://www.eczemaclothing.com/Department/Cotton+Socks+Tights/Childrens+Socks/

http://www.seamlesssocksuk.co.uk/girls socks.html

In the shed

Great Grandma's 85th birthday cake!

GG, TT and AA

Siena

Siena

Siena

New old desk for TT

Typical TT

Fiery Friend - awaiting installation

homework on the new old desk

I have finally succumbed to working in the shed again as my laptop is a bugger and won't upload images which is a real pain in the neck... any ideas as to why it won't upload are most welcome.


This last week has been chaotic to say the least, with children visiting friends, work meetings, hospital appointments, helping people move house and re-arranging our home to accommodate lots of lovely unwanted bits and bobs including an ancient sewing machine with foot tread (pics to come).  On the home front things are coming together slowly, the house is wonderfully messy and in need of a serious clean but the children are full of autumnal excitement, Halloween seems to be a big thing for a 10 year old!  We are hopeful that more work is coming our way here in Italy as this is where I really want to be,. not flitting to the UK every month.


The week ahead looks like this:   Olive picking, Olive picking, Olive picking, making Halloween biscuits, tidying, cleaning, working, Olive picking, Olive picking, working.


Big plans..........the jam jar embargo.. I have about 100 empty jars waiting to be filled with Passata however our tomatoes were a disaster this year and my jam jar stock is out of control.  I therefore plan to hide them from Gary so he thinks the problem has simply vanished!!  then magically I will feel them with yummy things at regular intervals such as jam, fruit in syrup, dried herbs etc.  I desperately need to get my pantry/kitchen cupboards inline as they are currently a miss mash of disordered clutter.


Big News... The wood burner is here and waiting the approval from our landlord, a long term loan from a friend this fiery friend will transform our lives, we just need the landylord to install it (not a simple task).


Big Dreams.. We may have found some land to share with friends where we can build a 'recycled' home here in the hills of Tuscany.


Here are few recent pics of our life here in Italy x

Autumn review

Well it's been so long since I have felt like blogging, I suppose mostly because my laptop will not upload images anymore, no idea why. Therefore to blog in pictures I need to go to the shed (office)and when it is cold or the children are home I don't feel the urge.

However, today the sun is shining through the autumn clouds and I have venture to the shed to work and catch up with blogging, both for fun and work.

 

 

  

  

The last few weeks have been manic and may days I have felt totally exhausted and out of control on many levels; work, home, kids, house, garden, nature, diet, everything has been out of sync which I find upsetting. But now I feel a little more grounded and that a gentle rhythm is flowing though our lives again. The children are now a school part time which is better for everyone as we are sharing more experiences and getting to understand more what they are studying a school. Tabby is learning to write and read in Italian so we have been exploring the countryside with a pen a paper and writing down the names of things like strada (road) Alberi (trees Gatti(cats), in all honesty I think I am learning the most out of being with the kids, especially on the Italian front. So we are trying to be outside more too, the veg patch is sad and neglected and we have had issues with bugs and blight this year, one triumph though is our marvellous melanzane, wonderful griddled with salt and olive oil! This weekend is looking busy but in a nice homely way, tomorrow will be homework, cleaning, baking and gardening, Sunday lunch at friends then a trip to see our visiting Great Grandma who flies to Italy tomorrow, today is hr 85th birthday, I think I may bake her a girly style cake with sprinkles and icing.

This post is in danger of becoming a war and piece style feature so I will try and make a brief summary of life in the Tuscan Hills as it is now:

Home: scruffy, needs cleaning, would like to paint wild climbing flowers on the walls in TT's room and de-clutter every other room. We are re-arranging things to help us stay warm this winter and plan to sleep downstairs in front of the fire when it turns too cold upstairs. Sounds divine, warm duvet, glass of wine, dozing chidren, crackling fire, agghh.

Garden: Looking healthy but very wild, my little formal garden at the front looks set to be a happy jumble of herbs and flowers in the spring. Would ike to get lots of bulbs in very soon ready for spring. The Veg patch is crazy and looks like a field of weeds which in fact it is. Though we are so excited about our leeks and pumpkins which are strong and handsome.

Hearth: Made amazing honey and raisin bread this week that the children love, the perfect loaf after 30 years of practice!!!! Baked potatoes in the oven for lunch and homemade baked beans. Hope to make a few more crumbles and cakes tomorrow. Enjoyed the most amazing 'Crema di Limoncello' last weekend when some lovely friends came for lunch. Monia had made this fantastic booze from 97% alcohol, lemons, sugar and cream - it was utterly gorgeous but I felt like I had had me knee joints removed and replaced with jelly after 2 glasses.

Custard - we have been gorging on Brids custard and gluten free crumble since I found a tin in a small shop in town (we can't normally find this here in Tuscany)

Family - Ups and downs, lots of emotional outbursts flying around our home lately. The boy is 10 now and quite grumpy at times, also still has hideously shy moments, he is fine at Rugby and school but introduce him to a new person and he can barely speak, let alone look them in the eye, it cripples him socially sometimes and I so wish I could feed him a plate of confidence and a big dollop of enthusiasm. The girl is quite simply barking mad, wonderful to watch, she loves learning and is overflowing with interest in the outside world, animals, plants and nature. Though she has to some how calm down her temper as she lashes out at her brother for no reason - all normal fun and games. I struggle to understand why they can’t be nice to each other, I was an only child who grew up watching the Waltons and thought siblings enjoyed each others company (apparently a ludicrous ideal according to my DH).

The good stuff: The kittens are now big bruisers who love catching praying mantis, lizards and voles yet still cry desperately for food, they are lovely to watch and still play together when not cruising the neighbourhood looking for love! The old hound is well and truly off his rocker and paces the house all the time, why, we don't know, he seems happy and eats well but his sight is bad an so is his breath, but we love him so!

I really hope to keep myself on an even keel this winter and have promised myself time for meditation, yoga and long walks in the woods, early nights and lots of healthy eating, time for family and friends. I will not let work and finances overshadow my life and will try very hard to see the positive in all things, most importantly we are all healthy at the moment and the sun is shining, I can hear the gentle crunching and rustling as leaves fall to the ground outside my shed door – what a beautiful noise xxxxx