Moonrise

With four boys we have had plenty of fun out of our caravan. We have Christened it the party caravan and spent many (generally wet this year) weekends enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Cairngorms. There is everything we need, walking, cycling, swimming and dam building , at the Glen More camp site where we leave it for the season. The beautiful Loch Morlich offers endless fun for the boys.

Portraits

I am always on the quest for the perfect picture of my four boys. So tricky when each has his own plan of how to hijack the moment. Some of my favourites from Provence.

Swimming

Swimming is such fun. Eddie started the week fully equipped with every floatation devise we could find. By the end of two weeks he could swim a length. What a luxury to cool off in the pool which used a ground source pump to maintain a temperature of 30 degrees. Bliss.

Eating in Provence

One of the joys of living in France is eating on the shaded terrace, under the lush green leaves of vines and fig trees. We went to several markets in Salernes, Contignac, Aups, and Villecroze and indulged in Moules, juicy prawns, artichokes, vine tomatoes that had only seen the back of a truck not an aeroplane. Delicious, with that, an iced apperitife of dubonnet or a chilled glass of wine and we were set up for the day.

Provence 2010

What a fantastic holiday we have had in Tourtour, Provence in a house called Gardure. The children have developed gills and webbed feet. Eddie swam unaided for the first time and Harry who rarely enjoyed a bath was jumping in like a frog. My favourite occupation, when not sunbathing was taking underwater photos.

riding on the beach

The children's faces lit up with pleasure as soon as the sat perched upon their allotted beasts of burden.They all became still and calm somehow knowing that their emotions were passed onto their pony. Off they walked, even number 4 sat atop Rocky, a slightly grumpy tiny little pony, grins fixed and hands gripping on tightly, swaying to their stride. The boys all slid off their ponies at the end full of chatter about the experience and a few demands of regular horse riding lessons to be deflected. They found no problem walking afterwards, unlike us girls, who after two and a half hours were walking, or running in some of our cases, like we were still astride the fat bellies of our horses.

Tea time

Yet another treasure, found this time on the bottom shelf at the Red Cross Shop. It is the perfect centre piece for afternoon tea and big enough to produce vast quantities of refreshing tea. Essential in this fabulous hot weather. Having drunk Earl Grey tea for many years, I set out on a quest to expand my tea drinking horizons. I have settled upon an organic Clipper tea. Perfect for my new teapot.

miniature gardens

I love all things miniature. When given the task of providing an activity for 36 cub scouts, the thought of producing some miniature gardens was too great. They did really well making some very inventive gardens with play mobile props.Don't you just love play mobile.

Unseasonal weather

My poor baby plants are suffering terribly with the weather. The hail was lashing down and we could all see our breath it was so cold. It is hard to believe it is May, the sun has real warmth in it, but it can't compete with snow and hail from Siberia. They are receiving a two pronged attack from the weather and the rabbit. Who with his single tooth and hardened gums is having a go at mushing up some of the seedlings. He has developed the most amazing escape tactics, to remove himself from his run and enter the far more appealing vegetable plot, rather like Peter rabbit did. He had better be careful not to end up in a pie.

GWI

Last year in a bid to harness our creative longings, a group of us foundered the Guerilla Woman's Institute. A small group of friends who met regularly to try out new ideas and share a common interest in crafting. We have knitted, crocheted, printed, experimented with needle point, stitched felt to make lamp shades, made mosaic frames and waded through large bags of smelly sheep's wool preparing it for felting. It has opened our eyes to fresh skills and offered companionship at the same time. Many projects lie unfinished and every day I strive to complete, or move towards finishing some of these. My to do list only gets longer, never shorter.........

The very best thing about Sundays are roast dinners. I must confess I enjoy browsing the papers, although seldom thoroughly. I am partial to a cup of coffee and a croissant, preferably in a sunny peaceful room, hard to find. The prospect of a day without timetable takes the edge off any stress, the four boys all day to myself balance that one out. But from a dogs point of view a roast dinner on a Sunday is the icing on the cake, particularly if it has a bone.

fire making

There are few things as satisfying as a fire. The boys helped me build one and poked it all day to keep it going. It became the pivotal point in the day. We all weeded, planted and organised the veggie garden. The ash from the fire was dug into the potato plot, the sticks and waste burnt on the fire and four rather dirty little boys were kept very happy. The poor rabbit was less so, not for having ended up on the spit but due to unwanted attention from no.4 son. He has a rather controlling nature, I can't think where he has got that from. He has been leading our dog round by the collar, giving a twist every now and again to ensure obedience. Anyway, the rabbit caught his eye and due to the lack of collar, took him by the ears and lead him round the garden. The dog exhausted himself by working himself into a frenzy over the smaller mammals in our garden, he would have happily joined in and taken the rabbit by the ears. It was most satisfying tidying up the garden and pulling up those big old dandelions. We planted beetroot, salad, carrots,beans of various types, onions and leeks. No. 3 son popped all the tatties in, as punishment for ruining another afternoon for the neighbours with his incessant screaming, just trying to be heard I'm sure! Only a mountain to climb tomorrow, of grass cutting and pulling out fifty year old heathers.

Describing Harry

He swung his arms, pointing the elbows out at right angles. Everything he did was accompanied by a song. A high, sweet voice, tuneful and happy, but a simple lyric. "All the choo choos off" repeated until the chore was accomplished. The train controller watched carefully as the trains were pushed gently through the tunnel. Attending to each wheel lovingly, as they wound their way round the corner. His furry companion, sat crossed legged looking out longingly at the birds. A gentle lick, a sigh and he settled down resting his head, but eyes alert and following the trains every move. A slow blink. The texture of the wheels was cool and smooth on his cheeks, as he ran them up and down. The reassurance of their predictable nature, soothing.

Reflection

I enjoy being constantly busy. I beat myself up worrying about not achieving enough. I force myself to rush from one job to the next, to justify being at home, rather than working. I do get a kick from ticking off the list. It is the endless list of tasks that keeps me turning from cleaning the bathrooms to wiping the dogs backside, no joke. But it is easy to forget that standing still is just as valuable. Reflection is an under rated way to spend your time. Having found a tasty Danish designed seat and stool in the local charity shop, I took the time to sit in it and enjoy a few moments. I was soon joined by no.1 son, who was off school sick. We sat and chatted about the kind of things that pass through a ten year olds mind. I stopped and saw the world through his eyes for a while, and it was refreshing and educating. It made me stop and think about the way he sees me and what I ask of the boys. Time well worth spending. I've booked that ten minute slot for tomorrow in my new chair. Here it is........

Wellies

Another morning like so many other. I woke up with Harry my smallest of the four boys, in bed sleeping peacefully. My waking disturbed him and he opened his eyes and immediately lifted the covers to look beneath. " Where's my wellies?" he asked. I lay back for some time trying to imagine the dream he had just emerged from and wondered, at how simple life is aged 2!