Tired legs at the mosi last week.

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"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Anya: pensive; she writes the lyrics to her favourite songs and calls them poems.

The main reason why I decided to create this space was photography.  I am totally fascinated by good photography and could spend hours pouring over beautiful images.  Personally, I am nowhere near taking great pictures and have a lot to learn and to improve upon.  But I've never been without a camera, even as a child when I was showed the basics by my father who also shares this passion.  To this day, one of my treasured possessions is his old Canon analogue camera which takes such soft images.  I still get a warm feeling when I load it with film. 

I've decided to join in on The 52 Project after admiring Jodi's beautiful pictures for a long time.  I love the idea of documenting the children in this way, learning and experimenting more with photography and having a collection of favourite personal photographs by the end of 2015. 

*Happy New Year*

    

Christmas time

 

 

 

In a week we will be spending Christmas at my mum's house in England.  We are so ready for the break; the children need a school holiday and we're all looking forward to seeing my family.  Here, the house has been in Christmas mode for a couple of weeks.  I'm not a huge fan of Christmas but I do enjoy the month of December.  I like to make this period special for the kids; I'm pretty sure they'll remember our traditions and moments spent together rather than which presents they received.  I'm also hopefully creating special memories for myself to look back on later in life.

Truthfully, last Christmas was a blur.  I was doing a job which involved many hours away from home and I had only one day's holiday.  It was a stressful and emotional time.  I had recently lost both grandmothers and I remember trying to hold it together for the family's sake.  My mum had wrapped up and sent an old ring found in my grandmother's house; she knew I would not only appreciate having it but that also I needed it at that time.  Actually it hasn't left my finger for a year.  So this Christmas will definitely be different, there will much more family time, rest and s l o w days.  I hope you too have an enjoyable and cosy Christmas with loved ones.  Joyeux Noël!

The week end

 

In the steps of Guy de Maupassant

 

Le château de Miromesnil, Tourville-sur-Arques

Calme

Savouring the calm before the storm of December.  Feeling inspired by this post, I'm all for a slow Christmas.

Pictures from the last few days.  Corners of our new living space, lovely wooden buttons for the next woollens, toasty Menorcan slippers and a poorly Joseph snuggled on the sofa.

Gingerbread men

My mum often says that my family revolves around food.  No sooner have we left the table, we are wondering what's to eat at the next meal.  I seem to spend a lot of the weekend in the kitchen, making more elaborate meals than during the week.  Woe betide me though if I dare make a dessert without Anya.  She loves to bake and hates not to be involved.  We decided to make Gingerbread men as soon we'll be supplying little sachets of them for the school Christmas market and offering them as gifts to friends that we will see over December.  Growing up in England, Gingerbread men were always a treat from the bakery.  Now I bake them every year as the festive season approaches, filling the kitchen with wonderful, seasonal aromas of ginger and cinnamon.  Next on my list, mugs of warm, spiced mulled wine..