beach finds

When treasure means fossils, sea smoothed bone, a spoon, the delicate beauty of a hawk's feather and a whale* tooth...

*we're open to correction on the whale tooth identification, in fact Mide thought it would definitely be better if this was a dinosaur tooth but hey, let's be realistic here. Not pictured: the dead jellyfish and several crabs claws, legs and bodies which we all agreed were best left on the beach.

Captive voice

During the summer holidays we went to Guth Gafa (meaning captive voice) held at Headfort House in Kells. It's an independent documentary film festival showing films from all around the world on a wide variety of subjects. Although it's been on the go for a number of years the festival has the feel of something low key and gentle. There was food, music, cakes and coffee but obviously the focus are the films themselves. We split up - Kevin took the the younger boys to see The Eagle Huntress while Hugo and I watched The Island and the Whales in the ornate surroundings of the Adam room. It was fun seeing the boys' eyes open to the possibilities of differently led lives, lives not shaped by western conventions and expectations. We saw a little flash of another world and it provoked a lot of excitement and wonder in all of us. It's important to remind ourselves that there are other ways of doing things, other ways of being and that the world is full of possibilities.

Antrim Coast holidays

We're not long back from two weeks of coastal living with the sea on our doorstep and sunshine almost everyday. There were days of adventure and days of lolling around with not much going on - a good blend, I'd say. Highlights were crossing  the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge (ironically that's all my nightmares right there- heights, falling, crowds but still I loved it) and the stunning cliff walk on Rathlin Island which we followed with a well deserved Prosecco and lunch at the Manor House. We also stomped over familiar ground revisiting the walled garden at Glenarm Castle, the beach at Cushendun and Dunluce Castle, as well as going to some new places in Belfast - the Titanic Experience and the Zoo. 

And now we are home, back to blackberries and berry laden hedgerows, the call of rooks and crows and apples ripening on our four small trees. Somehow Autumn seems to be here - but thankfully there are still a few more days of holiday left before school and routine take over again.

last week

Last week the two younger boys (and myself) attended a creative writing and Lego making summer camp. It was held in our local library each morning. We learnt how to plan and write a story and then, using Lego figures and an amazing app (Lego Story Visualizer), transform them into a comic strip with proper backgrounds and speech bubbles and all the wham! whizz! bam! and sock! you can handle.

Mide did some quite detailed drawings of his character - Spaceman Skiff who fights with aliens and space pirates. And then ideas were transformed into comics...

William wrote about a gang of baddies, led by the aptly named 'Slasher', who were determined to envelop the city in a toxic gas cloud... It makes me so happy to see them engaged in such a creative way and also work alongside one another which doesn't always happen. Mide overcame his massive anxiety at experiencing new things and decided it was worth giving it a go and William had two of his favourite things right there - Lego and writing - so he was delighted. Thank goodness for the library!

winning too

It is so damp and grey that I light the candles before we eat. The steady drip, drip, drip of the rain is the soundtrack to the evening. We light the fire and set up a board game in the sitting room. The boys choose Trivial Pursuit. It's the family edition which makes it easier for their diverse age ranges and Mide and I play as a team. It sounds relatively simple to play a game together but for us it's not. Autism makes it hard to understand turn taking, it makes the unpredictability of the role of the dice agony, it makes not knowing the answer to a question tricky to acknowledge and guessing the answer just plain awful. However having said all that Mide managed well and actually enjoyed it! So much work, patience, understanding has gone in to getting him to this place ~ the first time he has played a family game with us all the way through to the end without having a tantrum or leaving the room in anger. Also, he happened to win. And slowly I feel that we are winning too.

end of May

The simple pleasure of walking in the field, just after cutting but before baling. Just insects, birdsong and the sound of moving through grass. 

And then a couple of days later the grass has been baled and we walk through the field in the evening sun. Dogs and children run free and golden light is all around us.

End of May.

fire and fog

These are the days of fire and fog. The skies burn at sunrise and sunset, with crisp blues in between. Some days there's fog. We climbed Lough Crew enveloped in a grey shroud, frightening each other with ghostly tales of the witch who lives there and pretending to be lost on the lonely hills. But mostly we've stayed at home, curling up in front of the fire enjoying the books and presents that came with Christmas and reminding ourselves that spring isn't so very far away and that the forecasts for snow might be wrong...

here and there

Here: where the fields were lit by golden light and walking brought peace among the bustle of Christmas. Our focus is on quiet traditions, the things that bring us joy each year ~ the carol service, meeting friends, drinking port by the fire while reading the Christmas issue of Country Life, icing the cake and making Plum Duff for Christmas morning breakfast.

There: we brought the boys to the Planetarium in Armagh to find out about the Christmas Star. It was a magical cosmic journey back in time to unravel the mystery of exactly what the Magi followed to that stable and, as the sun set over the cathedrals we left the city to go northwards to the sea. 

December days

A month of low light levels and candles, Christmas cake for breakfast and homemade door wreaths. I'm trying hard not to get caught in the bustle of it all. We are busy, yes, but making time too for fireside reading, making cards and gifts, seeing friends and, as we recently acquired a projector and screen, planning for Christmas movie nights with the boys...

first day

First day of December. The car windscreen is completely iced.  Freezing fog is lifting slowly from the fields and lake. I say to the boys perhaps we should have an adventure one morning and walk to the school bus. Back home I light the fire, put my porridge on the stove and decide to make a cake with the fresh eggs my friend gave me yesterday. Her chickens are still laying. I heat the water for coffee and use some of it to boil an egg. Egg and buttered toast - one of the most comforting foods. The advent calendar I made three years ago has been strung up in the dining room. The pouches are filled with gold foiled chocolate coins. One for each of the boys. William says homemade is best. Homemade is best. I nod.  In fact home is best.

sloe sunday

A proper frosted morning. The dogs and I crunched our way through our morning walk and the air hung still and cold. After breakfast we decided this had to be the perfect day to pick sloes for sloe gin. Tradition has it that you pick them after a good hard frost and we knew up the lane there were plenty - the first time in at least two, maybe three years. A bit of extreme sloe picking was in order. We piled into the Landrover and bumped our way through mud and puddles to the overgrown part of the lane, where the spiny blackthorn waited. And there in bright sunshine we picked the dusted purple fruits until one of our party declared he couldn't feel his toes in his wellies anymore and he'd really rather be at home...

...so home we came to defrost by the fire and weigh out the sugar for the sloe gin to come.