Hello again!

I know it's been quite some time since I posted anything, but I thought I'd just add a bit about where I am and what I'm up to. I've been quite busy for the last two years working as a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher in Aberdeen, Scotland. I took on a degree course last year also which was quite stressful, but now I am fully qualified, more experienced and quite enjoying the work I'm doing. Our boys are going to the Kindergarten group next door and they wave and give me kisses when they see me. I've been learning lots about teaching and from the children themselves, and it's been a wonderful gift to be able to work with this age range and in the Steiner ethos.
My crafty-ness has been a bit on hold. I've started spinning though and I find it very exciting. I still don't know what I'll do with the yarn I'm spinning, since I'm not much of a knitter....
I've also been on a bit of a raw food craze. I had phnemonia a year and a half ago and bronchitis on and off for years and I thought I'd try raw food to heal it. It was quite amazing, I was so enthusiastic about anything raw and I felt wonderful! I've calmed down a bit, but am still happily drinking green smoothies and eating mostly raw veggies. The cakes and raw sweets are what did it for me though, so I still make them too.

anyhow, I'll see if I can be more present here too.
cheers!

a lovely london biscut blog

the sewing basket and knitting forks

So my sister started a blog, and she is a bit of a writer and does make you feel like you're in London. Just thought I'd share ( http://yourownmadeleine.tumblr.com/). We've been very busy recently, trying to find a house up here in the north, also a new job for me has taken a bit of getting used to for everyone. I've gotten into the swing of things and I do think it'll be a wonderful position, and I finally feel confident calling myself a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher. We went to a conference in Edinbough a few weeks ago which was inspiring. But I'd really rather keep to crafty/artsy things here in this space... I do have a little show going up over Easter and I've been painting a bit, patterns mostly inpire me now. I'll put something up when I get a foto. And the boys are endlessly creative, we've been making all sorts of things, wooly lambs, Damiano made a lovely boy puppet (though I did most of the sewing!), and felted flower fairies and gnomes (sewing is very crooked, but it does hold together!). But again, I don't have pictures. They've been doing lots of puppet shows for us, mostly stories illustrated with characters and cloth that just go on and on and on... But they are lovely and so sweet.

Time to rest and dream. best to all.

Yellow Iris and drawings

Yellow Iris

The boys have started covering the walls with their artwork, I wonder if this would go over well in a gallery?

Orchids in winter

A garden center we visited a few weeks ago was giving away some orchids, so we took a few, well actually we took five! Now we have one in almost every room and I'm learning how to care for them, which isn't that easy. The last one I had in Pisa died rather quickly... But they do brighten the house a bit and bring some beauty to it! Now I've started painting them too and I'll post a photo when I find my camera again, which seems to have gone missing momentarily.

Sledding

Out for some sledding down sheep hill. It's been great fun, but today the snow is starting to melt and it's quite sad, feels almost like spring is about to arrive, but personally I'm still wishing for a bit more snow and wintery weather. It's been cold, but you get used to it, and it's just beautiful with all the snow, though it has been a bit difficult getting the boys to kindergarten and getting around in general.

a scottish winter...

So we've finally moved up to Scotland and are settling in. It's mighty cold up here and gets dark quite early, but hopefully it's the worst of it and it will only get better in time. There's been snow on the ground since before Christmas which makes it feel wintry. I'm setting up my studio and sketching the boys a bit which is nice...

avocado smoothies...

So we just got back from our trip to Langkawi and Bali, and it's amazing how it disolves so quickly, how quickly you forget about lying on the beach and wading through the water. At least we have some photos to help us remember. There were many beaches and pools and dinners out. Lots of exotic fruit to try (some very strange smelly ones!) and small and large animals to see: monkeys, iguanas, flying lemurs, geckos, enormous spiders, sharks! The boys had a great time and we relaxed which we needed. Oh, and probably all of these photos are Matteo's....