These Friends Of Mine.

Well, this week has seen us struck down with an 'aul dose' as we say, four of us are at various stages of a stinker of a cold, and my ears pricked this morning as The Smallest headed out to school with a suspicious sniffling. It seems he will be the next to fall.
But next week is mid-term, thankfully, so I anticipate lots of lazy pyjama days, slow breakfasts, and maybe a walk or two, once we are all well. Though there has been a flurry of snow, and more to come, they say, so we shall see.

babaá - no.7 - Flame

Regular readers here know I love the seasons, I love weather of all kinds, and although, unusually for me, I am finding this winter particularly long, let me just ignore that and talk about something I love about winter, which is Winter Woolies! One of my great loves in life; all things knitted. It's the first thing I look for when browsing in shops.
With four children, we have gone through a lot of clothes, throughout their growing years especially, and I have found that it is often the hand knitted goodness that I fold away affectionately, into the box of Keepsakes, like tender memories I am afraid will disappear. And there they wait for the next child who will wear it, who will add their memories to it, as though knitted into the very fabric of it.
How many of you are lucky enough to have had items from your childhood to put on your own children, when the time came?
I love this weave of threads through our lives, the continuity, if we allow it.

babaá - shop

And so, this brings me to Something Lovely. Something new and lovely, and I hope, regular, here on Milkmoon. As I said in my last post, I am bringing back an old Milkmoon model of regular, themed posts, that somehow fell by the wayside over the last couple of years, but with a new spin on it.
To start, I have a lot of very talented family members, and friends, and I just can't help myself, I want to share their goodness and creativity with you. So, introducing a new tag, to sit side by side with my Something Lovely tag: These Friends Of Mine.

babaá - shop

Given the wintery weather we are having, I would like to begin with someone who, while is not officially my sister, is like a sister to me, whom I first met when she was the same age my daughter is now. She was 14, and I was 22, and unusually, in spite of the age difference, we became instant friends. And have remained so to this day.

Ciara and Marta
Dublin - 1993

Marta is now living back in her native Madrid, and has recently launched her children's knitwear label; babaá, and yes, you can immediately see one reason why we get on so well! These are definitely Keepsakes. Timeless, but quirky, with just the perfect balance of functionality. (Is there anything more wonderful than someone you love creating something, and it turns out that you genuinely love it?) You can read here what babaá is all about, and you will see exactly why this gorgeous knitwear is destined to become family heirlooms. And while you are there, take a peek in her shop, (there is a sale on) especially if you have any small people in your life who are growing up before your eyes, and you long to hold onto a little longer, and items like these are perfect memory making additions to your Keepsake Box.
And all these babaá photographs are by the exceptionally talented Clíona O'Flaherty, my lovely sister-in-law, who will also be featured here over the next while.

babaá - jumper no.4 - Coral

I am making my order for one for my Smallest, as we speak, because almost all his keepsakes already have a history to them, and I want to have one that begins with him.

Please Indulge Me A Moment Longer?

There will be real photos in the next post, I promise. But for now please indulge my latest penchant for such nostalgic images as these, as my devotion to all things Nostalgic is well known in these parts, and indulge I may. For another little while...

This littlest of mine, finally back on his feet after a whole week of poorliness, of broken nights, of coughing and fever. Always such relief, especially as I am always reminded of this time last year, something I would rather not do.
So between having a babe-in-arms again, and party preparations, it has been a quiet week here at Milkmoon the blog, which I hope to remedy this week.

Party celebrations I hear you ask? Yes! We've had another birthday here in the Milkmoon household. Our Only Girl is now twelve! A proper Tweenie, and her last year of it. And her birthday party was the most relaxing one I ever had the pleasure to host. All that was required of me was to provide food and cake for twenty (plus) children and they did the rest, including organising a Talent Contest which we had to judge. It was absolutely wonderful, the winner being an eight year old guest who got up and made up a song on the spot. A scurrilous tale that was hilarious and actually quite moving, and in the true bardic tradition named and shamed the rascal that broke his promise to her. As he sat there in the room. Marvelous. And yes, he saw the funny side!

So while they partied, we Mama's prattled, and enjoyed ourselves quite as much as the children did!

And with the earlier part of the week lovely and sunny, being home was a pleasure, and as we have our annual Solstice Party coming up, as well as some visitors from Paris in July, we've been snatching any spare moment we can to try and actually finish a number of housey things that have been on a very, very long finger indeed.

And I promise in the next few weeks I will have some long-overdue house pictures to share. Almost a year late, I know, but gradually becoming a real possibility.

And in the meantime, have a wonderful and beautiful week!

(I think I may just have to make this Nostalgia post thing a regular here...)

The Smallest-From Afar.

Of course, I did get it somewhat wrong. It was to be my sixth and tenth post, but as Gigi posted her fifth and eleventh I think this may be okay!

~*~

18/10/07.

After school we picked up some friends and stopped at the beach for a quick run. E couldn't keep up. It's so hard being the little one! Of course B doesn't count, coz he's a baby. Poor E!

~*~

Oh my heart! He hasn't changed all that much but I now realise he is himself quite a bit more considerate about waiting for B these days. Most of the time anyway. How they learn!

So, I'm not sure who would like to be tagged and I'm reluctant to pass on tags uninvited, but please do let me know if you'd like to do it and I'll include a link to your blog here. Please do!

And in the meantime, head on over to 'a moon, worn as if it had been a shell' to Elizabeth,
and to 'a shelter from the storm', to MissKris who have both been tagged! 

Quiet Things From Afar.

A couple of weeks back I was tagged by the gorgeous Gigi over at The Magpie's Fancy. It's a sweet and simple tag which asks you re-post your fifth and tenth post. I love looking back and seeing how slightly, hmm, aimless, or maybe unfocused Milkmoon was! I didn't really know what or why I was blogging, and I suppose it took time to become what it is today. And I've no doubt it will continue to grow and change and develop as time goes on.

So without further ado: 

~*~

11/10/07.
No car today. It's so nice when you HAVE to walk. Except I forgot my camera... So here's some quiet things from our quiet day.


E drawing a portrait of baby B. The sound of his marker scratches the page. The quiet of concentration.



The evening sun slants in our bedroom window. Baby breathing in my ear.



The kitchen door, waiting for Jay to come in from work.

~*~

I'll post my tenth post tomorrow and pass on the tags. Let me know if you'd like to be included!

We Couldn't Help Ourselves!

First of all, thank you all so much for you're sweet words on the previous post! It was truly wonderful to get each and every one of your comments, and so many too!

And now, it's that time of year again!

(I forgot my camera, so please forgive the slightly dodgy iPhone photos!)

It's such a rare treat here in Ireland to leave the house at 7.30 am and for the temperature to be a lovely 17ºC, or to walk out of the cinema at 11pm at night into a balmy 22ºC. Really. It is rare. And all the more to be celebrated when it does happen.

So even though I am up to my eyes, as they say, and have a list of a million and one things to be doing, when we get weather like this it really is a case of dropping everything and heading off down the coast to maybe this beautiful beach, or another, and embracing the sun while it's here.

I do hope the sun is shining wherever you are, and your weekend is shaping up to be a wonderful one.

And if it is, then do what we did and take some time out. That list of things-to-do will still be there when you get back, won't it? It's not going anywhere without you!

Have a splendid Sunday!

Summer's In Bloom.

We've had some glorious weather, followed by grim. The start to a very Irish summer, by all accounts. And it is true that we do talk an awful lot about the weather, but that's because it is just so changeable! In one day you can have hail, rain and shine. Like today.

It is heartening to see everything bursting to life around us, and some days have been truly glorious. Every year I promise myself I will start a garden and every year it becomes 'next year', yet again. Ours is a wilderness, and some day I will tame it. Someday.

But it is wonderful to have family and friends who do garden, like my parents who really and truly do make the most of their little plot. It's so lovely for the children to spend a couple of happy hours planting and watering, knowing the day will come very soon when they will be sent out to snip and pull for their dinner.

And isn't summer all about hanging out with friends, having picnics and going places? Well, we have been striving to do just that, in spite of the fact that it's not actually the holidays yet, but after all, we have to grab the sunny days when they arrive on our doorstep!

And there's nothing quite like an ice-cream sundae for a gaggle of kids on a sunny day.

But my house has been rather quiet too this week, with My Only Girl off up in the far North of the country, Donegal to be exact, a Gaeltacht where they only (mostly) speak Irish. This is the child who doesn't even do sleepovers, and in spite of the fact that she is finding it hard being so far from home, is doing it all the same.
And The Eldest has been away a bit too, off up the coast working as an extra on a film, and I have to say all of this brings a feeling of being somewhat rushed along into the next phase where they are away, gone off living their lives and oh, please!! Just hang on a sec...

Let's just pause again, for a bit...and go at toddler pace? Because they are really good at slowing things down and making the most of those long hot summer days that are just around the corner!

And finally. This is what I saw out my window one morning. And yes I am loving my iPhone Best Camera app for tweaking photos and turning my reality into a dream...

The Slowing Of The Turning Wheel.

It's been one of those weeks, with a long weekend and extra days off school upon which the sun shines. Those weeks when the quiet days draw away from you and everything is business and action.Something new and different every day. And everyone seems energised by it.
Galvanised is the word I think.

And some days it's so hard to rush them, because as we fill with light and vigor, it seems too as though we are slowing down, distracted by beauty and the cosmos that is coming alive around us.

Likewise, in school there is a sense of the beginning of winding down towards the end of the year, with little plays and songs for the parents.

So on Saturday we found a fire for Beltane.

In a place of sublime beauty. 

A hilltop surrounded by a circle of gentle rolling hills, 360º view that changed from moment to moment.

A quiet gathering.

Then yesterday evening, at last they got to leave something out for The Tardy Fairies...

And oh! The excitement this morning...

If you look closely you will see they left behind a few items which we will treasure for them in case they ever need them again.

Red Dancing Shoes. A tiny scissors. A bottle of pink glitter gloop.

What on earth must THAT be for?

Now, today, The Eldest has turned 14.

And a sticky, tricky chrysalis it is proving to be, this business of teenagerism. Confusing and challenging, and so very hard sometimes. 

But he soldiers through it all, believing absolutely in the impermanence of hardship.

And the permanence of Love.

Summer Came Knocking At My Door And I Forgot To Answer...

It's Beltaine today. The first day of May. The first day of summer. And once more I am reminded that I am further out at sea then I was even a year ago...

It must be the stage that all the children are at right now, but I find myself feeling regret at all the things I did with the older two when they were little that I just don't seem to have the time or focus to do now with the younger two.

It's been too many years since we had a Maypole like this one. And last year we didn't even manage to leave out something for the fairies like the previous years. So this year I was organised, I was focused and determined, but then The Little One was on an unplanned sleepover, and being six he would be the driving force behind my desire to make sure we include this kind of magic in our year.

So it didn't happen again this year, and I am disappointed. But I reckon that the fairies that visit here are just like us, and their time-keeping leaves something to be desired. And maybe they might just be late.

So we will wait.

And I am hoping they come tonight. The Tardy Fairies. And I am hoping we get to a bonfire today, even though we won't get to the festival of the fires on the Hill of Uisneach.

And as a result of all this mental admonishing I have to decided I need to remind myself of how easy it is to include this sort of magical thinking in the everyday. And I have come up with a plan...

A Week Of Pictures.

A week of sunshine. And friends in abundance.
I hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as we did.

The Bear. 

He sometimes growls rather loudly.

But he gives the best Bear Hugs.

This is what I found in the garden.

'It's sunny,' she said. 'I just thought they'd look nice.'

My Only Girl.

Oz. 

He'll always find the sunniest spot.

And this week he was spoiled for choice!

Sometimes the simplest things are the funnest!

What is it about sunshine that inspires bunting?

At a little friends 1st Birthday Party.

I love when she PLAYS.

Proper make-believe.

Even though she is nearly twelve.

The Smallest.

His quiet murmurings drew me in.

At the party, he waited patiently for the 

'Troclate Stwawbewwy Butday Cake'.

The Eldest, with The Smallest.

My beating heart.

Tonight, as the sun went down they went back out into the garden with my camera.

Hilarious photos ensued. 

The Eldest took this of his sister.

I love it.

Volcano Sunset?

We have been having the most stunning evening skies.

I do wonder...