Where is paradise?

Jay is coming home soon. He has been away for five weeks, working in Sardinia. It might sound exotic and exciting. Like paradise. Mediterranean, ohh so wonderful! But for Jay paradise is somewhere else.

He had an evening off, one of the few ones in weeks, and I asked: "So what did you do on your evening off?". He laughed and said: "Nothing. I stayed in, watched the three boring Italian channels on the TV and went to sleep early." So much for being exotic and exciting, Sardinia.

For Jay Sardinia is a hot kitchen, some trips to the local market or to the shops to buy food. Late nights of cleaning up and a few hours of sleep in the apartment he shares with another staff member. This year he didn't even bring his swimming shorts... Last year he never got a chance to get into the beautiful azul blue Mediterranean water and he thought it wouldn't be much different this year.

I tend to forget how hard he is working when he is away. That he does it for us. And that he hates being away and counts the days more intense than we do here at home. In fact home is the exotic and exciting place to be. Here we pick fruits and berries, we bake and make things in the kitchen, we spend hours on end at the pool, we go on excursions to parks, playgrounds, museums and animal parks. We eat dinner together, we watch movies, we hurt ourselves and there are dramas, blood drenched knees and deep cuts on toes and fingers. And there are tons of ice cream and laughter. Sun kissed hair and skin. Water fights and sleep overs. Late evenings and adventures. Shows in the garden, scooter races on the street. Arguments and action, everyday constantly.

Yes, Sardinia might sound nice in some peoples ears and it does in mine too (as I easy forget how lucky I am being here with the kids that are drivig me nuts!!!), but after talking to my wonderful hard working husband I realise that paradise is right here. So welcome home soon my love, to paradise. And to all you other men who does the same thing for our families and wifes (I know a number of you...), I really really think you are all amazing. Sacrifying so much for your loved ones. I hope your wives understand and appreciate you working so hard for them. I do. Bless you all.

Crookneck yellow squash

Thank God Jay is coming home on Sunday because now things are getting extremely busy in the vegetable garden. Pweeeuuuhhh!

It is one thing to pick Green Beans and Mange Tout, harvest a Carrot or two for dinner but now the Crookneck Yellow Squash is starting to explode aswell and, yeah, I don't know... What do you do with handfulls of Squash?

They are beautiful! To peak in underneath the big leaves is like entering a jungle full of flowers and baby squash growing. I picked my first three Crookneck Yellow Squash today. I better start flicking though all of Jay's cook books to find recipes on how to cook this colorful vegetable. I am inspired. Maybe we will be two cooks in the house in the future (Yes, Jay is a cook and a damn good one, and he cooks ALL the time. But maybe things will change around here now...)

Antiques or not - I couldn't tell... and I don't care.

I am going crazy for the flea markets in this country. There are so many and they are most of the time "real". With real I mean they are like a room full of "junk" piled up on top of each other and it is like paradise for me.

I am not that much into antiques or special interior pieces. I could probably not tell a piece of antique from a new produce if I was put to the test. What I like is to walk around and touch, lift, turn and feel things. I usually get carried away at first and pick up things in every corner (hats, handbags, toys - always toys for the kids - baskets, dolls, pretty coffée cups... that I never will drink coffée from as I don't drink coffée, hmmm...) and then I put them back when I settle my mind a bit and think "Where can I have this piece? Do I really need this thing? Can I fix it up?". Because that is the thing. I don't want to end up with a home full of "stuff" because I don't like to have a lot of clutter around.

So I am NOT a schooled treasure finder. I am simply me. I don't care about showing off, I care about function. I care about what I think is beautiful, like an old fashion coffée cup with hand painted flowrs on... I care about making my home cozy and comfortable and that is what I am looking for when I go treasure hunting. What are you looking for?

Jewellery box - done!

I am finished! And I love the new look of my jewellery box. I will give it to my daughter Nelly to have her pretty shells and jewellery in.

The pictures below shows the jewellery box before and during the make over. I sanded it, took it apart, painted it light light pink, dressed the drawers with pink polka dotted adhesive paper and decorated it with my daughters glitter glue... Isn't it pretty.

Five great things today

Its been a rainy day today. And that equals restless kids inside the house... So I have to remind myself of five great things that happened today.

1. My landlord, Madame Debonneville (80+ but strong and young), helped me to plant new things in the garden as I have ripped out the Mange Tout (Sweet peas) and some head lettuce that were attacked by bugs. Thank you so much as I don't know anything about gardening.

2. The rain attacked in an instant and we had to run out in the "Niagara fall" and fetch all the toys, pillows and blankets that the kids play hut was made of in seconds. Good fun, good co-operation. Everyone got wet but the rain was warm and very nice. It made us all smile with rain drops falling down from our heads.

3. I managed to find time to dress the two small drawers of my Jewellery box with some pretty adhesive paper and it looks really pretty.

4. During a rain break I went on a bicycle ride with Luca and Emmy. We stopped for a snack (cookie) after five minutes and then we headed back home as Luca lost interest. But it was nice to sit there on a bench by the road, all three of us looking out over the fields.

5. Linn made a crumble cherry pie after dinner. Absolutely fab-fantastic! Will share the recipe and pics tomorrow. I now have to get myself a second helping... before the kids eat it all!

Ciao!

How to make yogurt ice cream with cherries

Another delicious recipe including cherries. Once again, recipe found by Linn on the Internet. Yum!

Cherry Yogurt Ice cream

You will need (4-6 portions)
2 egg yolks
50 ml icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla powder
1oo ml full cream
200 ml natural yogurt
150-200 ml cherries

How to make it
1. Whisk egg yolks, vanilla and icing sugar hard

2. Add the cherries

3. Whisk cream hard and mix in to egg and cherry mixture.

4. Freeze for minimum 4 hours

5. Let soften in fridge for 10 minutes before serving.

Green beans

Green beans, thin beans, big beans here.
Beans all around us and everywhere.
Up beans and down beans
and curly and round beans.
Beans in the front and beans to the right.
Do you love green beans, lets have a bite.
Fat beans and long beans
thin beans and strong beans.
Lady in blue jeans
counting her green beans...
How many beans do you see it seems?
I am still counting my great green beans...

How to make cherry syrup

On a sunny and hot summer day it is very refreshing with fruity and cold homemade Cherry syrup. (Recipe found by Linn Magnfält on the Internet and then we modified it a little bit.)

PS My water pitcher bargain looks so great with the homemade Cherry syrup, don't you think?

CHERRY SYRUP

You will need (makes approx. 1 litre):
1 litre cherries
300 ml water
300 ml sugar
1/2 tsp sodium benzoate (preservatives)

How to make it:
1. Wash cherries throughly and put in big pot with the water. Bring to boil, and let cook covered for about 15 minutes on medium heat.

2. Press cherries against the side of the pot to take care of ALL the juice.

3. Drain in a collander with a thin cotton fabric (I used an old sheet that I cut up) and let stand for about 30 minutes to let all the juice come through.

4. Clean the pot and pour back the cherry juice. Bring to boil and stir in the sugar. Stir until completely disolved.

5. Take pot off the stove and skim off the juice. Pour juice in a cup and mix in the preservatives and then mix it back into the ready syrup.

6. Pour into clean and warm glass bottles. Close them and let the syrup cool. Store syrup in a cold place.



Tips and advice
• The syrup holds well for a few weeks without preservatives.
• If making a double the recipe be careful with the sugar and add only 100 ml extra of sugar or less.
• To get a slightly fuller/sweeter/twisty flavour of the syrup add 500 grams of raspberries and the juice from one lemon during the process.

Cherries, cherries, cherries!

What a cherry year! We have tons of cherries this year. You can also buy them in the store for about 7 or 8 dollars a kilo, but I have probably about 100 kilos for free outside my house on the fields...

I have to admit that I myself have not picked that many, but Linn (my live in babysitter) and the kids have picked buckets of it throughout the last couple of weeks. And you can only eat SOOOOOO many... It is hard to stop once you've started but there are many other things you can do with cherries than just eat them as they are. So, for the next few days I will share a few things you can do with cherries as I am probably not the only one having tons of cherries to take care of.

Why I didn't blog yesterday

Had some wine with my fantastic neighbors. One glass of Rosé quickly turned in to a few... Time flies when you are laughing and sharing fun stories. Oooops. 9.30 pm already. Got to get kids in bed (laughing and playing with neighbors kids upstairs including 2-year old)!!! And once at home I crashed hard with my spinning head (not so used to the alcohol anymore... the spinning part starts very early...) and my lovely 5 year old son next to me in bed. "You come and sleep in Mama's bed now when Papa is away. I need company, love. Hold my hand sweet heart." Sssssnnnnnoooore!

And that is why I didn't blog yesterday.

Great gifts from great friends

I have this wonderful Canadian family living on the corner of my street and in just a few days they won't be there anymore. I'm sad, devestated... They will leave a big empty spot inside of me as we have been like one big family for the last year. Our relationship has been one of a kind and I don't think I will ever find good people like them as neighbors again... We have enjoyed an endless amount of spontanious simple dinners (Its great to have dinner with friends on a week day. It kinda brings some spice to everyday living doesn't it?), day trips and most of all just this everyday checking in. Like "Hi, I'm going shopping in France, shall I pick something up for you?" or "Can you pick up my kid at school because I got an appointment with the dentist today?" or "Borrow my car if you need now when yours is at the mechanics." and so on. You get it. Everyday for noe year I have seen them, my kids run down to their place and walk in and out just like they do at home, and their kids are the same in my house. (Big sigh.............)

The Giroux family is leaving on Monday to move back to Canada after a year long teacher exchange program. They are now packing up, cleaning up and sorting out their belongings. And they have left some great furniture for me and I am so pleased! It is bitter sweet of course... But I am so excited aswell! The furniture will always have a sentimental value for me and remind me about all the good times we have had. That makes them even more precious. And I can't wait to put my hands on them to shape them up a bit.

The big wooden coffin will be a storage box to put toys, helmets and other play stuff inside ( I will probably dress it with a nice fabric inside...). The chairs I will shapen up with some pretty seating pads and have outside in the garden and the low table will become a great play table for the kids once I have thrown some paint on it. I really love the round little side table. I have been throwing eyes on that one for months I have to admit. Maybe I will paint it or just keep it worn and shabby as it is. I haven't decided yet. And this is not all. They also handed over a book shelf and a couple of bed side tables...

To the Giroux family - I got a piece of you right here in my heart forever and now I also have a piece of you all in my home. Love you, will miss you but we will meet again. Be so sure!

Project "Jewellery box - Part I"

Tricky word, jewellery... In the States most people spell it jewelry but I prefer the UK version - jewellery.

I have painted my flea market bargain "The jewellery box" in the lightest pink (kinda like raspberry milkshake - with lots of milk - pink). It is coming out really pretty and I will also add some sparkly stones around the mirror frame and I thought I would decorate the drawers knobs with cute buttons to add some "glam" to the pretty little piece. By the end of the week it should be ready to pose for my blog in its new "outfit". Things go slow in my world as I constantly get interupted by hugry, thirsty, bored or hurt kids that need attention... One step at the time - one step closer to finishing my project. (Photo: This is what the jewellery box look like right now.)

Busy season!

I am soooo busy. Every day I have tons to do and I seem to get NOTHING done (although I do plenty and do things all the time...). Our garden is growing out of proportion and Jay is not here to help me. I am weeding, harvesting, watering, cutting, trimming, bug chasing. And like that is not enough, it is berry and fruit season. Cherrys all over the place, raspberry fields packed with my favorite berry, wild strawberries in every ditch. I bet I have picked 20 kilos of cherrys already and there is more to be picked. Me and the kids eat cherrys for breakfast, lunch and dinner... later I will share some stuff you can do with cherries. I've done lots.

So today I got almost nothing done as the weather was so nice that I just had to take the kids to the pool in Aubonne. I really want to finish my little "make over" project that I have started but today just wasn't a good day for it. Maybe tomorrow. We'll see. It was kinda nice though to just hang out with the kids in the sun I have to admit. And the kids were very happy. Which makes me a good Mom right? I can't complain, life is good. (Photo: Nelly in her sun hat)


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Family day in France = buying a sun hat!

Today we took the ferry from Nyon to Yvoire, a French little town on the other side of the Lake Leman. We brought pic-nic, walked through town and went "Oooohhh!" and "Aaaahhh" about all the cute souvenir shops and cafées... Next time I go I will go with my Mother in law (Jennifer, you will go "Ooooh my God" a thousand times and loooove it!).

Anyway, we had Mövenpick ice cream, the kids jumped in the lake in their underware and I bought myself a hat! Very cute sun hat. There was this fabulous hat store, Chapeaux à Gogo, just when you got there and I think everyone visiting the island bought themselves a hat. That shop must make a fortune... A great tips for anyone in a touristy spot. Open up a hat shop!
























It was good fun trying on hats.
























There were hundreds of hats to pick from.
























This door captured my eye. Great color! And a great little shop with home produced jams and syrups etc.
























Ice cream break on the rocky dock = happy kids!

Our first green beans Amore!

I am so proud to show our first little harvest of green beans. This picture is for husband Jay who is working like a dog in Sardinia and missing out on all the fantastic vegetables that now are growing in his garden. For you Amore. They tasted better than any green bean I have ever tasted. Of course. And there will be plenty of them for you when you come back home I hope... Miss you.

Tea boxes and other treasures found

I found a new flea market in Etoy, only 10 minutes from where I live. The old lady had lots of good stuff there. check out my latest bargains.

















From left: Tea boxes (3$ each), cookie tin box (4$), beautiful fruit bowl on foot (5$) gorgious water pitcher (5$). I really love the oval yellow little box with roses on. I will fill it with Swiss chocolate from the chocolate factory for special occassions I think...

The pretty jewlery box with the mirror I found at my Brocante (flea market in French) in St George. The owner gave it to me for 10$ as it had a little crack in it. I will fix it up with some glue and new paint and it will be adorable for eaither me or my oldest girl Nelly... Haven't decided yet who's gonna have the pleasure of having it... Follow my blog the next few days to see what it will look like when it has gone through my make over. I have to pick a color for it... hmm. White, light green, pink or blue like the sky?

Water fight at 40! Be a child for a moment...

Sometimes I surprise myself. The kids were having a water fight on the street and I watched it from our garden, snapping pictures with a big grin on my face. They had so much fun. Screaming, laughing, running around pouring buckets of water on each other in delight. I felt envious. When did I have THAT much CRAZY fun last time? And suddenly I found myself in the middle of it. Something inside of me just told me to step out there, to grab a bucket of water and pour it over the neighbor's girl and that was it! All the kids against The Mom! For 15 minutes I went back to being a child. What a release to let go of responsible behaviour and control for a moment and just be a kid. I was soaking wet from the top of my head til my toes but I laughed harder than I have done in a long time and I never wanted the moment to end. And the kids? I think they loved the fact that I entered the game. Maybe I even turned in to be The Coolest Mom on the block, who knows? At least I felt like it. Ohhh what a great feeling to know I still got a child tucked in inside of me, I am so NOT a boring parent and grown up. I AM the coolest Mom on earth.

There is a cat in the carrots!

Our vegetable garden is producing like crazy and it is a very special experience to pick your green peas, carrots and potatoes for dinner, clean them in the fountain, cook them to perfection... I know where these vegetables comes from, that they are fresh as fresh can be, no transportation, no poison bug sprays, no hormones or funny business. Just good dirt, lots of love and care (mainly from Jay who is the caregiver of the garden but now when he is abroad I am faced with the challange of taking care of harvest and to try to NOT kill the plants before he gets back in August...) Dinner has never tasted better... Yum! Delicious!



















































But hey! What is that? Something is moving in the vegetable garden where the carrots grow. A mouse? No it is a cat! It is Charlie. Finding some shade underneath the carrot leaves. Crazy cat...

I need to create!

I want to restore furniture, make my own quilts, put details on my own clothes, knit my own socks, make gorgeous needle point decorations, pillows, aprons.... I want to create!!! I NEED to create!!! And right now my 19 year old au pair from Sweden is pushing me to start a blog (and I am starting it right now!) about my lovely life in the country (as she thinks it is absolutely fantastic in every aspect...) and I am surfing blogs to see what this "blogging" thing is all about... And I found this one:

http://barij.typepad.com

 

Absolutely fantastic! I just have to make a quilt like that for Nelly's bed. I just 
have to learn how to do these things! And by the way, my first quilting project will be to make something out of the St Croix fabrics that Mother-in-law sent to Jay a while ago. As they are so precious to him (childhood memories from growing up in the Caribbean...) it would be a pleasure to be able to put them up on the wall as a piece of art instead of having them folded up in the linen closet.


PS I am so full of inspiration I don't know what to do with myself... Got to get myself a sewing machine. Right now! And find a great fabric store. And start my project on restoring my latest flea market steal, three old chairs with padded seats that needs to be taken care of. For only 7 bucks...