We tend to do our weekly shopping at Brixton markets. It's just so much more fun than the supermarket (and the kids love to go to Rosie's cafe for a hot chocolate afterwards as a treat http://www.rosiesdelicafe.com/about.html).
One of our favourite shops is Nour. It's a strange shop, stacked floor to ceiling with stuff: sacks of rice, bags of chickpeas, every spice you can think of and many you can't. There are huge bunches of parsley and mint and coriander (perfect for tickling little boys), fruits and veg dependent on the season and about 200 different chilli sauces. Nour is always full of customers so with two children, a scooter & a bike and my massive granny shopping trolley it can be hard to get round.
We were in there other day and the children wandered off, talking to the many staff I assumed. They were quiet which always makes me suspicious; generally they are up to mischief of some sort or another*. Today however there was no mischief, just kittens. Tiny, really tiny, bundles of fluff: white, black, grey, a spoldge of orange; four teeny scatchy, sniffy pink noses; a muddle of whiskers; all cuddled up together in cardboard box. The children were captivated; tentatively touching and stroking, as gentle as only a young child with a small animal can be.
New life: a miracle always, full of promise and excitement certainly. And also, the tenderness my normally rowdy, boisterous children showed with these kittens was a pure and instinctive display of the human desire to protect and nuture. A beautiful moment that left me silent too.
Only the promise of asking Daddy if we could take one home eventually lured them away. (We did ask, he said no!).
*silent mischief has included: feeding all the fishfood to the fish, turning the bath into a swimming pool and flooding the bathroom (the dining room ceiling still bears the brown stains where the water dripped through) and locking themselves in a cupboard!
Tuesday 22 September 2009
Monday 14 September 2009
The power of creation
At the risk of sounding like an apple pie mom, I make quilts.
Last week Frog was helping me to finish off a quilt that was a gift for friend's new baby. I say help in the loosest possible way; it usually takes the form of emptying out all my buttons, ribbons and scraps of fabrics.
This time though she decided to make her own quilt. She chose her fabrics and cut them to size, found some fleece to quilt with and sandwiched it together. She shoved me off the sewing machine and with her toes barely able to touch the peddle she did indeed make her own quilt.
The pleasure she had in making her quilt and the intense pride in her handiwork was truly an awe & wonder moment.
The power of creation: taking basic raw materials and making them into something beautiful, valuable and to be treasured is such a gift. It feels great when you say, "I made that!"
And now I really do sound like an apple pie mom!
Last week Frog was helping me to finish off a quilt that was a gift for friend's new baby. I say help in the loosest possible way; it usually takes the form of emptying out all my buttons, ribbons and scraps of fabrics.
This time though she decided to make her own quilt. She chose her fabrics and cut them to size, found some fleece to quilt with and sandwiched it together. She shoved me off the sewing machine and with her toes barely able to touch the peddle she did indeed make her own quilt.
The pleasure she had in making her quilt and the intense pride in her handiwork was truly an awe & wonder moment.
The power of creation: taking basic raw materials and making them into something beautiful, valuable and to be treasured is such a gift. It feels great when you say, "I made that!"
And now I really do sound like an apple pie mom!
Monday 7 September 2009
The magic of water parts 2 & 3
Part 2: The bank holiday weekend saw a visit to friends in Broadstairs. Hot weather, sun-kissed kids, a sandy beach with rock pools to explore: pure bliss. The five year olds couldn't be convinced to leave the water and body boarded 'til their lips turned blue. The toddlers collected sea weed, built castles and chased the waves.
The days passed with no arguments, no nagging and (almost) no TV - an awesome feat! Until Tuesday, when the sun went in, the mummies had a hangover and the tantrums returned. We made a hasty retreat back to the city before we over-stayed our welcome.
Part 3: Sunday was the last day of the school holidays. We'd planned a lazy day at home, preparing for school, but by about 10 in the morning everyone was scratching to go out. We decided on Labanese food for lunch and took a trip to Edgware Road. When full of hummus, baba ganoush and vine leaves, we strolled across the road to Hyde Park to take a look at the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. We'd not been before.
It's a brilliant memorial and a fantastic fountain. I clearly never knew Diana but I think she would have approved; a huge circle of laughing splashing kids dressed only in their pants and vests!
The unplanned wet vests and going home 'commando' only serve to make it more fun.
http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde_park/diana_memorial.cfm
The days passed with no arguments, no nagging and (almost) no TV - an awesome feat! Until Tuesday, when the sun went in, the mummies had a hangover and the tantrums returned. We made a hasty retreat back to the city before we over-stayed our welcome.
Part 3: Sunday was the last day of the school holidays. We'd planned a lazy day at home, preparing for school, but by about 10 in the morning everyone was scratching to go out. We decided on Labanese food for lunch and took a trip to Edgware Road. When full of hummus, baba ganoush and vine leaves, we strolled across the road to Hyde Park to take a look at the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. We'd not been before.
It's a brilliant memorial and a fantastic fountain. I clearly never knew Diana but I think she would have approved; a huge circle of laughing splashing kids dressed only in their pants and vests!
The unplanned wet vests and going home 'commando' only serve to make it more fun.
http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde_park/diana_memorial.cfm
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