Simple Pleasures

I think people can be divided into two categories, those who thrive on interaction with others, and those who get exhausted by it after a while. I'm definitely the latter. I like people for a couple of hours, and then I want to go and hide in the bath with a good book. I think its why I found school hard, you have to be around hundreds of people all day long, and there isnt much energy left for learning after that.

The best job I ever had was being a gardener, I could have my mp3 player on all day and just get on with my daily taks. At the same time, I worked in a fabric shop, and it was tiring talking to customers all day long. My husband could always tell which job I'd been to that day. If I was energized but calm, it was gardening, if I was exhausted and grumpy, it was the shop.

So now I get to be at home with H a lot. I love it! I've gradually come up with a routine so I get my housework done quickly (one room per day). It just makes me really happy doing quite mundane things like hanging H's nappies out to dry in the sun. Or rearranging the food cupboards. I think I was meant to be a housewife! Then in the afternoon we go for a walk or I do an hour of crocheting. I do go to baby groups and things, but sometimes its just lovely to just have time at home.

So my simple pleasures are:

   

Nappies drying in the sunshine

     

Organic veggies from the farmers market

  

and baking. Yum!

Raspberry Gin

Hi, and welcome to my journal. I've been meaning to keep a journal for years, as a record of things I've made, but to be honest I find it all a bit daunting, like how will I ever have the time to update it regularly? But now I am on maternity leave, I've got a bit more time, not only to make stuff, but to keep a blog too! I'm enjoying my first ever summer of not having to go to work, and trying to make the most of this special time. My baby was born in April, he's already huge, and nearly 5 months old. I made him lots of cardigans when I was pregnant, but I wasnt expecting him to be so big, so now they are nearly all too small for him. So I made a couple more for the autumn...

I've been enjoying my garden too, its small, untidy but quite productive! Yesterday I made raspberry gin from our 'autumn bliss' raspberries.

 

Raspberry Gin

You will need:

1 bottle of gin

about 300g raspberries

white sugar

an empty screw top wine /gin bottle (you'll end up with 2 bottles full of gin)

measuring jug

Pour the gin into the jug, then divide the raspberries between the two bottles, to about a third of the way up. Top up with sugar to about another third of the way up, then pour in the gin. Shake every day for 5 days, then leave for 3 months. It should be ready by Christmas.

Enjoy!