I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day to tell the truth, it all seems a bit contrived.  I'm also getting really tired of being bombarded with pressure to buy constantly - every single event now seems to be an opportunity for retailers to convince us that we need to splash out money on totally inessential decorations.
Before I sound like a total killjoy, though, I must add that I do think it's lovely to celebrate occasions and I love an excuse to make pretty things and try out new ideas. So here are a few of my crafty ideas for Valentine's - they can be used as gifts or just to brighten up the home or to have fun with the kids. They can also be used as anytime crafts and adapted to your own tastes.



First up are some painted tins - I always have chalk paint in the house. It's incredibly versatile and can be used in so many ways (see my Chalk Paint Projects post for some inspiration).
I've been using the tins as part of my candle business but here they can be gift containers or plant pots or just use your imagination!

The cleaning of the tins involves a little bit of work, the labels have to be removed and the tins washed with soapy water and thoroughly dried. There is usually glue residue on the tin, sometimes it can be easy to remove, other times a good bit of white spirit is needed.

I had decided to do a lot more baking in the new year, partly because I think the sugar content is so much less if you make it yourself and also because I'm keen to find new egg free/nut free recipes that Izzy (and all of us) can enjoy.



The flapjacks I've made a number of times - oats are great for keeping blood pressure balanced and as I've been pursuing a 'healthy heart' diet, they are a good treat for me.

The recipe comes from Jamie Oliver's site and I picked it originally because it seemed to have less sugar than a lot of the other recipes I found, and having made them, I'm so glad I chose this one because it's incredibly easy and so delicious.

Ingredients are simply butter, sugar, golden syrup and oats - sugar, syrup and butter are melted together and then the oats added (click link for full details). It literally takes about 5/10 min to put together and then pop in the oven for 25 min. You can score lightly when it's still warm and then cut properly when cool.

Brilliant recipe for kids to try too as there's really nothing to it!






I hope you've enjoyed my recipe ideas - as always they are suitable for anyone with an egg allergy and you can substitute a dairy free alternative for the butter to adjust for dairy allergy.

My next post will be some Valentine's ideas so you may be seeing these biscuits again :)

Yesterday was a sad day for a family and for a community. We attended the funeral of a beautiful young woman who had started Secondary school the same year as my eldest daughter Síomha. She was one of the first friends Síomha made and came to our house on a number of occasions to have ‘cheese toasties’. Although friendships changed and I saw less of Sarah over the years, I had heard of her illness and hoped many times that all would be well. She had made an impression on me right from the start and, I know, from hearing memories recounted in the church, that I wasn’t the only person to be charmed by Sarah.
She was a bright and bubbly girl with the most lovely smile and it seems so brutal and cruel that she could be taken away so quickly.

It made me think and wonder at how we deal with grief and where it fits in our lives. No one is untouched by it although it’s certainly true that many people side step it for a longer period, only facing it in later life. Others have that crashing experience of loss far too soon and are left shocked and betrayed by a life where hope and future expectations are dulled and diminished.
I suppose it’s an experience that makes no sense – everything about our humanity leads us to survive, to progress. Death and loss are a cut off point, a reminder of how frail and powerless we really are. It can distort our view of ourselves and the world we live in, take away the illusion of comfort and safety and leave us stripped bare and alone.

Really we are ill equipped to deal with it, and in a society which increasingly glamourises 'perfection', the raw ugliness of grief has no real place.  So many lead much of their lives through social media, where things are polished and preened and posed to appear picture postcard 'real'. The tangled complexity of loss just doesn't fit in this scenario. And the isolation, geographical and otherwise, that people can feel in today's rushed society, is magnified a million times when something truly earth shattering happens to us.

I was reading a little about mourning and grief in different societies - the Victorians had strict and complex rules of etiquette around death, perhaps more a reflection of the repressed social times rather than a real expression of grief.  Nonetheless, it was acknowledged in a very real way.

I was also struck by the following account of mourning in Ethiopia, taken from Wikipedia:

'Ethiopia[edit]

I liked that fact that there is an organization with this role at its centre, that people know what to expect and that the community takes responsibility for the grieving individual, alleviating the burden of physical tasks and offering support and comfort.

Baressential Product Review



We have been friends with Kate and Andrew of Baressential for many years and have been using their gorgeous soaps since they began to make them. Not only are they made from natural ingredients and ethically produced, they smell incredible and look stunning too. Which isn't surprising really, given Kate's artistic background. Her eye for colour and beauty is evident in the vibrant, swirling hues of the soaps.

• Continual environmental improvement
• The prevention of pollution
• Using biodegradable materials
• Using timber from sustainably managed forests
• Minimising waste
• Using fair trade biodegradable, recycled and recyclable packaging

• Source where possible with minimum environmental footprint
• Source where possible from suppliers/ producers and workers who get fairly paid for their work
• Use organic whenever possible
• Use only pure therapeutic grade essential oils for scent
• Use only GM free ingredients
• Use only natural raw pure dried botanicals and minerals for colour
• Use only palm oil sourced from a http://www.rspo.org

The first product I tried was the Clarifying Rose Face Polish: