curious people

we had such fun wandering amongst the curious of people and could not resist having a turn ourselves ...






... medieval uniforms ..






... trying ever so hard being a cross and moody Henry the 8th




.. lucky chimney sweeps



... ahh the days of invention



... giggle hugged by a giant of dubious persuasion




all in all a perfect ending overlooking the Portsmouth harbour lit up for the festive season after enjoying their Victorian Christmas Fair ....

Milliande & Maya
xxx

Welcome Ronnie Smoocher

.... bluish .. wide-eyed ...incredibly curious ... and ohh soo cuddly ... meet Ronnie Smoocher ... newest member of our family ...









- he is a gorgeous cross of a snow bengal blue mother and a black and white moggy father ...

- he loves catnip, snuggles on a warm lap and that extra long tempting feather on a string ...:)

M&m

snow delight

It is not often that we get THAT much now here at home , so it us a true delight to enjoy every last flake of it ...





managed to get Papa home in time for sledding and a good snowball fight


whee .. the one and only minuscule hill in the area is used to it's fullest effect :)


yippee .. go on ... faster



... yep ... and I have the bruises to prove it :)



... come on little racer .... just one more go Mama ...


... joyful cheeks





... stuck your Tongue out for a lick :)



.. ohh and my little studio in a little winter wonderland :)

...M&m

snowflakes

Waking up to a sight if White has a peculiar effect each time anew ... such clarity ... such crispness ... such joy in babes eyes ...







and what a beautiful start to open the first door of the advent calendar





- could not resist walking through the garden taking a few snaps













... the man is staying in London, last year we got snowed in and no
access to the main roads from our little country lane ... off to cook some warming soup ... hmm curried sweetpotato soup sounds just about perfect :)

Milliande & Maya

Clomanders

Clomanders - homemade Christmas decorations

Ingredients for making Clomanders ( cloves and mandarins )

- soft mandarins
- cloves
- cinnamon sticks
- wire
- a fir twig










- cut the mandarins on 4 sides
- 2 small (not too deep cuts next to each other )




- in the uncut gaps pierce cloves in a row




- through the soft middle on one side pierce a piece of wire to come through near the middle if the other side



- wire wrap a piece of cinnamon stick with the looped wire ... then pierce through again to meet the wire at the beginning ( make sure to cut a long enough piece of wire )




- attach a little twig of a fir tree by looping the wire around it before connecting both ends by twisting





- voila ... sweet smelling Clomanders for the festive season



.... our Clomanders drying out in front if the fire

advent table decoration

... there has always been something special about the advent in me... the beginning of a time of reflection... family connection and a celebration of beautiful things hidden in the loss off apparent beauty ...

The making of the advent table decoration ... the gathering of evergreens, leftover berries , the winding of the holly with a sprig of Holly.. the lighting of the first candle with a glow of anticipation ... a family tradition long honoured and passed down today ...




off to gather some evergreens




and a few rosehip berries




filling a basket with some soil




adding 4 pillar candles

arranging some spruce twigs




adding some ivy leaves




weaving in some Holly and a centre bowl of quartz crystals




lighting the first candle of advent

...
Milliande

catch a fish , he said

An invitation to follow the illusion, extended by a young man who supervises the pattern pod in the science museum ... " Try and catch a fish " , he said , " It is late in the day and they will all be tired " ...




First tentatively ...



then with gusto and the whole body Maya leapt about in the floor chasing lifelike images of swimming goldfish .. every time she touched the floor the " water rippled" ... an illusion in and off itself as one could feel nothing else but the hard floor ... yet the eyes perceived swimming fish, and watery ripples ..

At first we thought there must be a touch sensor underneath the image that reacted to pressure and in turn make the water ripple ..


It took us a little while to observe that even without touch and by merely interrupting the projection of the light flow ... the water rippled and the fish swam into the opposite direction .

The suggestion , to catch a fish, had led us down a perceived path, easily, blindly, predictably followed ... and we could have stopped there, if not the nagging thoughts " What if " and " How come " had made their presence known..

Today I am grateful that we are homeschooling and have the luxury of time, time to throw our whole body into a curious investigation

M&m

10 .. double digits

My babe is 10 ... 10 whole years of fun and frolics, shared joy and laughter ... an incredible journey of growth , remembrance and love, sheer unconditional love ..




started by the stroke of midnight underneath big Ben ...



.. til early morning happy birthday cakes in bed








motion ... always in motion from the tiniest toe to the quiver of a hair ....