I had the honor recently of photographing new baby Ochre Rain. Healthy second son of the wonderful couple who create Drishti Candles here in Bellingen. Thankyou beauties for inviting me in to capture this precious moment xx
We {read I} have been making regular batches of buckwheat pancakes. mm mmm
i’ve written about the origin of my recipe from lovely gluten free blog what baby{and boy} ate; here…
and other pancakey berry adventures here…
for my non measure recipe; I use about 1 and a 1/2 cups of raw organic buckwheat and soak it in the blender overnight
in the morning add 2 eggs and some extra water and whizz it up smooth
cook in coconut oil
I have better success if I heat the cast iron pan very well first and keep it well oiled. they take a little longer than wheat flour pancakes to cook. be patient, it’s worth it!!
Buckwheat is one of my favorite gluten free seeds for porridge {soak overnight with almonds, currants, quinoa and nuts, simmer about 15 minutes in the morning} and pancakes. I have done some sprouting of them but find the slimy tendency in this humid climate off putting!
a good protein source apparently and easily digestible for most tummies.
a nice buckwheat quote…
“The properties of buckwheat are: Neutral thermal nature; sweet flavor; cleans and strengthens the intestines and improves appetite..” According to Paul Pitchford in Healing with Whole Foods (1993)
notice the jar of rapadura sugar? this has lately replaced the maple syrup bottle while stocks are out. it’s been a good experiment to see that Lily can now self moderate a teaspoon sprinkle of sugar on her pancakes. Yay! it has paid off, all that strict mama monitoring of sugar … now i can relax abit about it and know she knows i know she knows; how to self regulate sugar intake and feel good in her body! luckily Cedar copies her…
what do you do with buckwheat?
oh my!! berries are sooo delightful! i sure am looking forward to another summer in Tasmania….
The following Book list is comprised of chapter books which we have enjoyed as read alouds and autonomous reads since Lily was 7, and some for the future. They are presented in no particular order so don’t worry if you can’t decode my book list progression. Enjoy, share with your kids and everyone’s children. Reading is a lifetime enjoyment and a precious skill.
Please mail me your favorites if they don’t appear here!
Little House on the Prairie series (particularly Little House in the Big Woods) Laura Ingalls
Farmer Boy also by Laura Ingalls
Enid Blyton Books
the children of cherry tree farm
Astrid Lindgren books
Ronia the robbers daughter (older children)
Australian authors {I would love more Australian books if you know any}
Kingdom of silk series-glenda millard(i have read first only so far, older kids10+)
the secret world of Wombats-jackie French
a cat called penguin -Holly Webb
Isabel Wyatt books
The seven year old wonder book-Isabel Wyatt
the eight year old legend book -Isabel Wyatt
the book of fairy princes-Isabel Wyatt
King Beetle tamer-Isabel Wyatt
other Waldorf type stories
The last little cat-Meindert DeJong
The tales of Tiptoes Lightle-Reg Down
The Voices of Nature-Anne Spotts
The secret Pet-Shelley Davidow
a mixed bag…
The worst witch series-Jill Murphy
Cloudberry castle series {grounded ballet adventures in an old castle}
mr Popper’s penguins {book immensely more fantastic than the film} i have my mama’s worn beautiful loved copy of this to cherish.
the secret garden-Frances Hodgson Burnett oh my what a delightful tale. though i still skip the early dramatic part of everyone dying of cholera in India and begin as she is travelling to her new home.
The Little Princess-Frances Hodgson Burnett
anne of green gables {older children}
Little women-Louisa May Alcott {older readers]
Unlikely friendships -Jennifer S Holland
Roald Dahl books
Charlie and the Chocolate factory
Little Fur series-Isobelle Carmody {older readers}
The Growly books -Phillip and Erin Ulrich brilliant first book (begin) (favorite! awaiting release of book two!)
Some titles I’ve been recommended or want to check out next are
Mrs Pepperpot series
Milly Molly Mandy ( my childhood but can’t clearly remember)
The owl who was afraid of the dark
Elsa Beskow books {lovely illustrations and good for pre-chapter book readers}
well did you click on any links? i painstakingly made a lot!! so much spare time obviously!! (LOL)
I confess I don’t mind abridged versions of some of the classics. It can make them more appealing and digestible for newer readers who may then later want to read the originals. I also unashamedly occasionally edit as I read aloud. sometimes to keep it appropriate or sometimes to make it easier to understand for the listener.
when i say older readers i am thinking 12+ but you should discern for your own children. Lily is still sensitive so we still avoid more suspenseful books. nurturing that precious childhood bubble by carefully editing the books she reads; while I still can. that is why you will not see a lot of mainstream popular books on my list currently.
I buy books from good bookstores when i can find one. Many Waldorf Steiner supply stores have books also, or natural toy stores. I also buy online from The Book Depository, Floris books or Amazon.
The more that you read
the more you will know
the more that you learn
the more places you’ll go
Dr Seuss
ps you wouldn’t believe how long this blog has taken me! I told myself I couldnt post it without lots of beautiful photographs with all those lovely moments of bed, couch, outside, toilet, haircutting, garden, bus, hammock glimpses of reading nooks,but here it is.
simple and packed with ideas just in time for Christmas!!
peace and reading
this moment
a fridayish ritual
a simple moment to cherish from my week.
ps invest in a dwarf hammer! it brings a lot of productive joy to the children to be able to do real work. same weight as adult hammer but short handle from hardware stores.
Here are some long promised coconut palm weaving processes
first The Dilly Bag
and next The Fruit Bowl or Calabash
the beautiful serpent like weave on the headband was taught after my teacher had been with some weavers from Vanuatu. The ladies wear them for dancing and ceremony and he also said they make the flowers below and stitch them around the band. how beautiful and if you chance to see the vibrant green against some unruly dark curls you will see the island regality! Lily made plenty of these to sell in Port Douglas market and to give to friends. we all ended up using them to keep our hair back.
and for the advanced lesson, The Taro basket/backpack in New Guinea style as far as I know.
ok that was fun! now i will scramble my brain and make a double size Taro Basket! {it took hours upon hours} but the result is magnificent and brings a lot of amusement! What an achievement. thankyou to my teacher Aaron. i hope we have many more days weaving at the beautiful Davies Creek! Aaron related to me the islanders can whip one of these up so quickly make straps, sling it on for taro harvesting and when done, toss it into the forest once more! I would love to go there one day for weaving…
here you can see the creation of a few days. Note the coconut palm mat which it’s all modelled on… not my work. something to aspire to next year! on the front right is a square bottomed basket. see if you can work that one out!! 
Weaving coconut palm brings me a lot of splendid happiness!
and now the large Taro basket looks golden and strong in it’s dry form some months later.
what are you weaving into your life at the moment? would you like to do a Coconut Palm Weaving Workshop with me next year in Queensland?
this moment
a fridayish ritual
one special photograph from my week
a simple sweet moment to cherish
joining with soulemama and many others around the world
I have just visited soulemama’s site for the first time in a few months, and it is still inspiring to see all the knitting she fits into her days! i am going to cast on, well something, when i am finished up here!! i also really enjoyed the piece about cooking with her son.
happy friday people
Lily captured this family portrait, but she could not make the two children fairies sit still for the image!!
I really love this one. What a sweet reflection of our family. The ripples in the water are a delicate touch.
Xx
right now
Delighting in the unique beauty of wild flowers Jesse brought home from market yesterday. A sweet gift before his departure for some gigs up north.
Geraldton wax
Waratah
Protea
Banksia
Striking Beauty from the bushes. None of them shrinking violets or wallflowers
X
A few additions to L’illustrations
A friend gifted lily an insect drawing book which guided the dragonfly.
spring is in the air
tra la la laaa
tra la la laaa
butterflies are fluttering
little birds are si i ing iiiing
spring is in the air
tra la la laaa
tra la la laaa
~~~~
RosaLindenTree 
