A homemade accordion book on Childhood Magic

The other day, I posted a tutorial I found on making a homemade book for children. I wanted to share another post I read on Childhood Magic, which is my one of my favorite blogs for inspirational art and craft ideas for kids. It is a beautiful blog. The picture above is from the blog post and shows one of the beautiful designs they crafted.

Check out their post on handmade accordion books here.

Something else to get the creative juices flowing!

Inexpensive (and quite nice!) laundry bags

Ok, so I'm not a big fan of plastic. I think there's way too much of it around and I much prefer natural materials.

However.

I have been living with my parents for a month now and felt a need to have a laundry bin that wasn't, well, a plastic carrier bag and something that could be easily stored or even taken to India (if I should decide to return soon!). I've also needed something inexpensive (as my budget is rather limited at present) and waterproof or washable as I tend to put Leela's soak cloths from accidents and spills in the laundry bin, as well as the odd damp washable nappy.

I went to Ikea a few weeks back and even their cheapest laundry bin was around £5 (not bad, but not what I was after)....

Then today... inspiration...

Enter... the Wilko recycling bag laundry bags!

Yes, they are plastic (and meant for another purpose, which I can overlook!), but they are really sturdy (so I think I'll get a good few years use out of them), fold flat, stand up properly on the floor, have handles for carrying them to the washing machine, and even have a neat velcro strip at the top of each bag, so if you have a few bags in a line, you can connect them to each other for added stability. I chose one of each colour so I can separate whites and colours. And the best part?... £1.50 each.

I am feeling rather smug.

Oh and Leela thought they made an excellent place to read.

(and yes, I stayed with her at all times!)

Tasty looking quiche... yum

This recipe is dying for me to try it out.... Have a look! It's from this lovely blog.

A homemade book

Desiree of So Fawned recently reminded me of a website I once explored and have now returned to reading. It is a mine of information on all kinds of things, from building yurts to making natural swimming pools to organic gardening tips to things you should put in an emergency survival kit should a disaster hit your area. Wowser.

But this little project, although not half as exciting (!) has got me interested and I'd love to try this with Leela. It comes from an article entitled 'Six Fun Toys You Can Make at Home' and is written by Aly Van Dyke. I fancy having a go at this great book idea, which is aimed at 21 month old toddlers:


"Children may start to string words together once they have about 50 words in their vocabulary, or by around 18 months. However, their sentences will usually be missing certain parts of speech, such as adjectives and some verbs. There are plenty of ways to help your child expand and remember his or her vocabulary, though the best way is usually practice. Talk with your baby all the time. Repeat what he or she says and say things the way things should be said (PAT uses the example of when your child says, “Daddy work,” you say, “Yes, Daddy went to work”). The following activity will help your child expand upon the words he or she has already learned by turning the words into phrases.

Word Book

• 4 Ziploc bags (sandwich size)
• 4 pieces of construction paper cut to Ziploc bag size.
• Glue or double sided tape
• Scissors
• Old magazine
• Stapler or sewing machine
• Tape (if stapler is used)
• Marker

1. Sew or staple four Ziploc bags together at closed ends (if stapler is used, put tape over exposed staples).
2. Make a list of eight words the child knows.
3. Look for pictures of those activities or objects in magazines and cut the pictures out.
4. Glue (or use double sided tape) to attach one picture on each side of the four pieces of construction paper.
5. Write the word the child can say under the pictures and add one or two other words to it. (PAT uses the example of writing “big cat” or “the cat is sleeping” for a picture of a cat.)
6. Slip the sheets into the bags and close securely.

Hold the book so your child can see the photos and look at the different pages of the book. Talk about each of the pictures and occasionally ask him or her to point to something in the picture. PAT says this book will help your child associate words with pictures and learn to formulate sentences, and suggests that the book should be read several times a week."

I'm not sure who PAT is, but is sounds she sounds like someone in the know ;)

I've been trying to think up 8 words that Leela knows how to say confidently. Let me see... baby, ball, teddy, bird, Nanna, Bam (as in Bampa - her grandad), Mummy, Dada, Humba (cow), boo (dog), more (water), down, out, there, pee pee, bus, no... I'm not sure if these will be usable so we'll see if she learns some more whilst I'm gathering materials...

I'll be sure to post up some pictures once I've given it a go!

Her favorite dress

Today Leela wore her favorite dress. And yes, I mean favorite. She had it on pretty much all day and whenever I changed her for something, well, a bit more practical for splashing in puddles say, she INSISTED I put her back in it afterwards. She has never had a favorite item of clothing before, so this is pretty special.

(Thanks Nikhil and Sana!)

Happy..happy...happy birthday!

Today (Ok, technically yesterday as it's after midnight!) was my Aunt's birthday, so Leela and I went to surprise her with chocolates and cupcakes. I love birthdays!

Pretty cupcakes

"Happy Birthday to yoooooo"

Hurray!!

Leela really made us giggle because she was making some pretty good attempts at singing the Happy Birthday song, long after we finished. She was doing a pretty good job of it and managed "happy...happy...bur...bur...happy....ooooo", which she repeated, off and on, for the next hour or so! Very sweet.

And the other thing that tickled us (and astonished us) was what she did when she saw the birthday candles:

In this picture you can see Leela folding her hands together in the traditional 'Namaste' greeting used in India. I was wondering for a moment why she was doing it to the cakes. Then it dawned on me. Now, don't get me wrong, Leela's dad and I are Buddhist but we don't believe in 'making'children any religion at all and believe faith is down to individual choices when a child is old enough to make such choices. Of course, we will guide her in our faith as this is what we are, but we never force or overly encourage her to to be a part of anything overtly Buddhist, as such. But when I saw Leela folding her hands here, it melted my heart. I realised that she had been watching her father lighting candles on his Buddhist shrine and saluting the shrine with folded hands. Both my Aunt and I were stunned that she had remembered such a simple, yet beautiful gesture. She hasn't seen her Dad in over a month and I know she didn't witness this very often. She always finds ways to amaze me.

Why a Path to Simplicity?

 My current knitting project - bright and cheerful!

I feel it might be worth saying a little more about why I decided to call this blog 'A Path to Simplicity'. So here goes.

I found it a little tricky trying to decide on a name for my blog. I've been reading blogs since maybe December 2009, and before that it hadn't really crossed my mind to even do that, let alone have my own. It seemed something... well... maybe a little self-indulgent to me at the time and I had no idea that I would be enjoying the blogging world even half as much as I do now. It's great to be a part of a community of like-minded people, even if it is most often a virtual community. I simply love the generosity out there, of people sharing ideas, thoughts and inspiration for others to enjoy and discuss. Well, I wanted to be a fuller part of it and wanted to offer to all those who might be interested a glimpse of my life, how I'm trying to live a good and happy one, the changes that I'm going through and my thoughts and inspirations along the way. So here I am.

As I mentioned in my first ever post, I have been interested in simple, sustainable living for a long time and over the years I have been learning more about it and how I can make such changes in my life. Before I moved to live in India, I had made some changes, such as running a van on biodiesel made from recycled cooking oil, using only environmentally friendly household products, gardening organically and so on. These were pretty simple steps that I could take, but I wanted more. I also spent a year living in a Buddhist community with environmentally conscious people, where we bought food and cooked communally, had chickens, sorted out and took all our recycling to the local recycling centre, grew some fruit and veggies... Again, it was good being in such a great place where I learnt a lot and I value that time greatly.

Surprisingly though, living in India was certainly a challenge when it came to sustainable living. I found it pretty tricky finding ecologically sound household or personal hygiene products, had no option but to have electricity powered by the local dirty coal-fired power stations, had little access to any truly organic veg or fruit (so much of India's produce is smothered in chemicals or is imported, which I tried very much to avoid), and had few opportunities to grow my own. Never-the-less, I have started working with local farmers, trying to help them become organic, and that is starting to pick up speed. That's something I'm pretty proud of at least, but still wish I could do more.

But now I'm back in the UK, at least for the time being, and who knows where I'll be going next. I may return to India, but I may resettle here. The coming months will help me to decide that.

So that's where I am at. I'm on a path. At the moment, the view ahead is a little overgrown and needs some pruning before I see where it's taking me. But what I know is that I am starting to become ever more serious about the need for a simple, wholesome life for my family, one where wholesome cooking, crafting, learning practical life skills, such as sewing, knitting, woodwork, gathering and cooking with wild foods, and learning to be more self-reliant become my focus.

Right now I feel privileged for a few reasons. I feel privileged that I have a new opportunity to start afresh as when I moved to India, I gave away or sold probably 95% of my belongings. I have a clean palate onto which I can bring in elements that are in line with my new approach to life. I feel privileged to be able to do this, to have the chance to change, as so many people have much more complexity and physical baggage to consider such a life change. I know I have created these conditions through various (tough) decisions I have made over the past few years, but I still feel fortunate that I can still make these decisions. I used to be afraid of taking such plunges. Maybe I should still be. And maybe I am... maybe. But it's good to have some fear there I guess, as it's great to have challenges. They help us grow. I've learnt that a lot over the past few years.

So this is my path. My family's path. But it is just one path. There are many other ways towards this kind of life, but this is where I'm going. And even though it's a little uncertain right now, I'm enjoying trying to scramble forward to see just where it is I'm going to be. I'm certainly finding an enormous amount of inspiration out there in the blogging world and hope to engage a lot more fully with these amazing people over the coming months. One such person is Rhonda, who writes here at one of my favorite blogs, "down---to---earth". Today she wrote a fantastic piece about "Getting the simple life" and I hope talk more about that over the next few days.

And now I'm going to curl up in bed with Leela and my new book - Attached at the Heart arrived today! Happy days!

For the love of books...

Oh how I love getting new books. There's nothing quite like it for me. I especially enjoy reading books about positive parenting and alternative, sustainable lifestyles. Since Leela entered my life, I've also loved looking out for positive and inspiring books for her library too.

At the moment, her favorite books are:

Each Breath a Smile, a truly beautiful book inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, who is a huge inspiration of mine. I actually bought this book many years ago, not realising it was a children's book, but was so moved by it, I decided to keep it for my children, whenever they would come! I'm so happy seeing how much Leela loves it now...
There's a Cow in the Cabbage Patch. Simple, rhyming and lovely!
The Bear in the Cave. Again, simple and with a deeper meaning than may meet the eye.

I'm rather excited though as soon Leela will have her own copies of the following books:

The Lorax by Dr Seuss - essential eco-baby reading!!
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, which I must admit I've never read but have heard a lot of good things about it

...and I even decided to go mad and add to my own library! Here are three books I'm eager to get into, which are heading my way as I type...

Attached at the Heart: 8 Proven Parenting Principles for Raising Connected and Compassionate Children by Barbara Nicholson and Lysa Parker. I can't wait to read this. I've already read and loved Bill and Martha Sears' The Attachment Parenting Book, so this will help me read even more about the parenting style that I've naturally adopted with Leela.
The Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff, which came highly recommended to me by the founders of Sadhana Forest in Tamil Nadu, India. Leela and I volunteered there for 3 weeks earlier this year and it was truly inspiring to be around so many unschooling families. I'm so excited about reading this book...
The Diaper-Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh. I have been EC-ing with Leela and it's working great so far, but I've read next to nothing on the subject! Weird, huh?! So I thought I'd read up and find out more...

So over the next week or so I'm going to be eagerly awaiting the postman!

The Story of Stuff

Please watch this:

The Story of Stuff

And tonight's movie is...

...Juno!

I've seen good reviews, so let's see... I seem to have a weakness for pregnancy related things! I simply loved carrying Leela.

Chai Time

Just over a month ago, Leela and I came to the UK after living out in India for 2 years, on and off. Whilst there, I picked up quite a few tasty recipes and, well, habits too! My little 'sinful' habit that I indulge in whenever I need a virtual 'hug' is a nice cup of sweet Chai (Indian spiced tea). In Indian homes it's offered to all guests and is pretty compulsory drinking. It is, however, drunk in tiny cups, rather like expresso cups, as it is so rich (and if you're visiting many homes, which can easily happen in India, you only want a small cup in each house!). My version here is still rich but maybe a bit less so than true Maharashtran chai (which really puts hair on your chest).

As I'm nursing my sore throat today, I thought it was high time for Chai... so in celebration of chai, here's my recipe:

For one medium sized (English-sized) mug of chai, you'll need:

Standard teabag or two (or tea leaves/powder)
2 cardamom pods
Fresh root ginger (a small piece, around 2cm long)
Milk (I use full cream)
Sugar (or other sweetening agent)
Tea strainer

All the ingredients together

Some people add cinnamon to their chai, but I tend to leave it out as it can make it rather too rich for my taste. If you do like cinnamon, try adding a small piece of cinnamon bark to the pot, maybe 3cm long.

Ok, so to start slice up the fresh ginger into thin slices. You can peel it thinly and add it like that to the saucepan, or mash it in a pestle and mortar too which gives a stronger taste. Add more or less ginger, to your taste (you'll know after a few attempts).

Next, it's time to open up the cardamom pods. One tip I learnt in India was to bang the pods on the worktop to open them. To do this, simply hold them by the point of the pod:

Top pic - see the 'point', bottom pic - holding it ready to bash it

...then whack it on the worktop. It'll open up and you can pick the seeds out to add to the pot (I also add the skin as I guess it must hold some of the flavour of the seeds). Again, for a stronger taste, you can crush the seeds up in a pestle and mortar before adding.

Next, add the milk. For this tea, that means pretty much a whole mug of milk, so measure it by the size of your mug. Then add the sugar to the pot. Now, in India tea is drunk SWEET. I developed a taste for it, so if you want it 'authentic', try adding 3 teaspoons of sugar (for one mug... ). Feel free to try other sweeteners if that's your choice. I haven't tried honey, but I imagine it might change the taste of the chai quite a lot, but see how it is for you. You can always omit sweeteners completely, but that takes away all the fun (and enjoyment!) for me!

Then it's time for the tea to be added. At the moment I don't have any loose leaf tea, which I'd normally use, so I use 2 teabags instead. However, to ensure the tea develops a nice brown colour, I rip them open at the corner and tip the powder into the pan. That seems to work best as it can circulate properly in the milk. Otherwise, if you have loose-leaf black tea (such as English Breakfast), then simply add 2 or 3 heaped teaspoons to the pan instead.

Finally, add a small amount of water (maybe a quarter of a mug) to the mixture. This will lighten it up a bit, because this is quite a 'dense' tea.

Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring it frequently. When it reaches the boil, allow it to 'boil up' the sides of the pan. If you're using a gas stove, you may find the tea 'hisses' as it boils up. This is good as it warms the sides of the pan up before pouring (otherwise it can hiss and spit everywhere when you're trying to pour it, which can be a pain).

Boiling the chai up the sides of the pan - let it get to the top (but not over it as I always do...oops)

Reduce the heat of the stove to low/medium and allow the chai to simmer for 5 minutes or more until a nice brown colour develops.

Look for a nice rich brown colour coming... then it's nearly ready

...and when it reaches your desired strength, pour it out into your cup through a tea strainer and enjoy!

A hug in a cup!

Oh and if you're wondering about the wrinkly 'skin' that can form on top, don't worry. That's a good thing. You can either fling it off or eat it along with the tea. When I first complained about it, my Indian husband reassured me that it's the 'best bit'! Well, each to their own!

Carnival Day

Yesterday, our village celebrated its annual carnival. It was nice to be out in the sunshine and breeze to enjoy time with family. I'm not sure Leela really knew what to make of it all, but she seemed to enjoy things!

 Pointing to the BollySorrywood Float

Let's go to the fair!

BOUNCE! Cousin Trinity

I want to bounce...

Watching the fun...

The girls (Leela and her cousin Trinity) played in the park, ate cupcakes, won prizes... then to top it off, I thought a trip to the beach would be the perfect ending...

Cool and windy but SO much fun!

So with soggy, sandy clothes, big grins and handfuls of shells and pine cones, we headed home for warmth. I'm nursing a sore throat today, which could be from all the squealing in the water, so I think I'll comfort myself with some chai later... mmm!

What a lovely, lovely day.

Welcome!

Dear friends,

Welcome to my blog. I hope you stay a while and visit often!

Please let me introduce myself a little, before I begin.

I'm a mum of an 18 month old little girl called Leela. I practice attachment parenting with her, and this, along with many other aspects of my life, is one of the things I'll be writing about here.

I have a background as an ecologist and finished my PhD (after a hard slog!) in 2005. But afterwards, even though I loved working in this arena and am still passionate about conservation, I veered off in other directions. One such direction was towards permaculture, simple living and sustainability.

In 2008, I moved to live in India with my husband. Over the last 2 years, I've been living there most of the time, and was blessed with Leela in January 2009. I wasn't brave enough to give birth in India (!) so she arrived in Carmarthen, South Wales, in the UK, in the same hospital in which I was born 30 years ago. Right now, Leela and I have returned to live near to Carmarthen with my parents until we come up with a cunning plan from here onwards. Hence... this new blog to illustrate the changes we will be going through!

You see, I am passionate about many things, but I guess the main things that get me excited are these things:

* Attachment and natural parenting, which to me is parenting with love, fun and compassion
* Finding ways to live as simply as possible, which I also like to think of as frugal living (in a very positive way)
* Learning new practical skills, such as knitting, sewing, making clothes, woodwork, cooking, organic gardening, soapmaking...and so on - all things that feel wholesome and useful
* The natural world and all its wonders
* Yoga, meditation and Buddhism (although I'm a very open Buddhist and love exploring and celebrating all the world's faiths and religions)
* Watching good movies and reading good books
* Photography, especially of my family and beautiful scenes

So this is just a little clue as to the things I'd like to share with you here. I hope you enjoy the journey too!

See you again soon...