Spring is on its way!

  The days are getting warmer

and longer,

Freesias run amok in the front garden.

Spring must be coming!

And while I feel sadness that the cosy

winter days are numbered,

and with them my most energetic season,

I can't help feeling 

excited at the change in the air.

Wednesday on my own

 Laura is back at school today,

after a couple of days off with a bad headache.

Free to leave home once more,

I raced to the shops this morning

to buy some much-needed groceries.

Dealing with multiple diets is adding up.

High grocery bills and lots of foods 

to fit into the pantry and fridge.

And then I raced home, threw on my dance clothes

and rushed to ballet.

Where I was presented with a dress.

Looks like we really will be dancing 

in the end-of-year concert!

Yikes!

(except we will be removing those blue sequins,

in case you're interested ..)

Food for everyone

Yesterday was a big baking day.

Peanut cookies for me.

Based on my Gran's peanut biscuit recipe,

but with GF flour and DF margarine.

Realising that my body is not coping 

with leaving starches and sugar just yet.

But treating myself with the peanuts.

Orange cupcakes for Emily and her friends

who came over to work on an assignment.

Thank goodness they all have normal diets!

Grain-free Gingerbread Cookies for Laura.

Made with almonds, honey, and coconut oil.

They reminded me of the old Honey Snaps

we could buy when I was young.

First batch: a little overdone around the edges (above) 

but otherwise ok, 

although they look nothing like Kersten's.

Probably our oven ...

Second batch:  I pressed out one big cookie 

and cut it into square before baking - better.

Third batch: round cookies again.  

I was distracted by something in the mail

and they burnt to a crisp, smoke everywhere.

There goes a packet of almond meal ...

By the time Emily's friends arrived at 2.45pm

I was a nervous wreck.

But at least we all had some yummy baking to enjoy.

Lightening up

For a long time 

we had at the back door 

a speaker and a boot cupboard.

The boot cupboard made for good storage

of gumboots and thongs,

and I had handpainted and stenciled it,

but it made getting out the back door 

with a load of washing tricky,

and I never like the look of 

two pieces of furniture 

right up next to each other, especially when 

both have knick-knacks and lamps on them!

So a few weeks ago I decided

that enough was enough,

and I moved the boot cupboard to the verandah,

and lightened up on the accessories.

Aaaahhhh...  much better.

It's complicated ...

Life in the last month or so has been difficult ...

... again ...

More sickness,

More diet changes,

More parenting challenges

More days stuck at home

- or rushing frantically from place to place,

catching up on errands after all the home days.

As I said in this post,

Laura has been diagnosed as very sensitive to gluten,

and has been on a gluten-free diet for 6-7 weeks now.

And yet we are not seeing improvements in her symptoms

(headaches, visual disturbance, nausea).

Now the doctor tells us that other foods 

can cross-react with gluten,

and so for 2-3 months we also have to 

remove some other foods from the diet:

Milk, corn, rice, yeast, oats, millet, (and coffee).

So my latest challenge 

is to figure out exactly what is left 

for a slightly fussy teenager to eat,

keeping in mind her braces, also, 

and also I'm trying to keep sugar to a minimum.

And then to cross-reference that with the other diets

in the family and see if we can come up with any matches

at any time, 

to save me making 3-4 separate dishes.

On top of all that, 

we've bought a Thermomix,

which is perfect timing, as it turns out.

I'm very grateful for it, 

but it does come with a learning curve of it's own.

* * *

It's no picnic, let me tell you.

Menu-planning and research has become 

an all-consuming activity.

But I think I'm over the hurdle now,

and am slowly getting my head around it all.

Today Laura is home with a headache,

and has just enjoyed 

a banana icecream for morning tea,

(made in the thermie, 

with one frozen banana and nothing else!)

and coconut pancakes with 

pears and maple syrup for lunch.

Much cooking has been done,

but there's been no time for photo shoots!

So instead, please enjoy these lovely tulips

that Tanya gave me a few weeks back,

as I did, during some dark days.

And a tutu too

First day en pointe

Laura has recently achieved a long-held dream

and gone en pointe,

spending much time at home in her pointe shoes

She bought herself a practice tutu on ebay

and it arrived in the holidays,

adding her to ballet-related happiness.

Here she tries the little-known and under-utilised

 ironing en pointe routine.

I guess that's one way of getting her 

to do her chores ...

* * *

And since we three girls are now 

all studying ballet

perhaps we could all frock up

and glissade, jete and pas de chat

our way through the housework?

(Of course, I'd have to pick up my ballet

game a bit to manage that ...

and the girls would have to pick up 

their housework game ...)

Winter Holidays

Sunshine in the craft room

after a wet miserable end of term;

an op-shopped fluro jacket,

one of many good finds;

some new clothes;

a little stamping;

a picnic in the sunshine

- almost too warm;

Laura sets new standards for picnic wear;

... and amused us with poses 

Emily in her this-year's-favourite beanie;

girls to movies with friends

(much more social activity than usual these holidays)

 a sleepover each, one here and one away;

a family ten pin bowling outing;

and a lovely short holiday at the mountains 

with extended family

very relaxed

with lots of sitting and reading and chatting

and a little walking

- just chilly enough;

and then home again for a few more slow days.

***

They weren't perfect holidays, 

we had some moments ...

and times when I had only one girl at home

and "nothing to do",

but the two weeks went slowly

and we enjoyed the change of pace.

It was good to get away with family

and to have a change of scene

in the second week.

 ***

School has started again 

and we are easing back into it,

tomorrow will be our first busy day of the term, 

and I think by tomorrow night I will be 

looking forward to the next holidays.