Mother of Men

Before I had children I was a person. I had brain power and often could be found doing nothing in particular staring into the middle-distance.

At this point in my life I was receiving an “education” at university in philosophy and sociology. Oh what fun we had, dissecting the nuances of human behaviour. How we knew it all. Racism, fascism, sexism, islamophobia, homophobia, the sociology of disability and gender and human right laws juxtaposed with ideas that we weren’t really here and we were all brains in vats. And you wonder why I’m nuts? It was a course requirement!

Anyway. It was a commonly accepted truism that gender is fashioned out of the norms of socialisation. Gender was constructed and enforced. The big clever scientist men had shown us this. Grrr. Bad society! Bad society, who made sure the big White Man got his, and who bolstered his ruling class ideology with force against women, wogs and marginalised gyspies alike. Down with socialisation and rah rah rah to those pulling down the wall from the inside.

Etc etc.

And then I had kids and three years of work was ripped to buggery and flushed down the loo.

I no more constructed my boys’ behaviour than I created the testosterone that runs through their veins. And it never ceases to amaze, yes amaze me when without prompting they pull boy behaviour readily out of the bag.

So far - they have conquered wheelies and are attempting maneuvers with ramps on their bikes, and are trying to kill me with death-defying stunts on skateboards.

The need to go faster, higher, bigger, badder, better than every other male in the world universe, ever, constantly drives them onwards… and upwards… conquering themselves and the space around them.

And I just whimper behind my girly hands and thank God for crash helmets…

Hoping for more skateboard-friendly weather - Jumah mubarak and enjoy your weekend!

xx

Recipe: Cherry Clafoutis… kinda

A recipe ever-so slightly adapted from the inimitable Alicia, initially a cherry clafoutis, Qalballah-style.

I opted for different kinds of berries than just cherries (although cherries were used), because uh, I’m not made of money. And I pitted the cherries, because uh, I don’t like toddler choking hazards in food. Call me fussy. To counter-balance the removal of pits I added almond flavouring…. shh… my family never knew…

Ingredients

1/2 cup of plain flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon almond flavour
(1 teaspoon orange flavour - optional)

Method

1. Whisk all the ingredients together to make batter and pour over berries in a shallow oven proof dish.

2. Bake for 40 mins at 375*F/ 190*C/ Gas5

3. Sprinkle with icing sugar, or serve with whipped cream or ice cream!

Enjoy with a cold glass of Elderflower cordial, or do as Diane does and enjoy an iced cold coffee. Seriously - it’s like crack

No Earth Mother

I’ve never really been an earth mother. Unless you count the fact that I’m from Earth and I’m a mother…

But for a while now, especially since the birth of my second child, I have heard the calling of the ways of our ancestors - I have felt the need within me to be connected to the land, the life-giving earth; I have felt keenly the responsibility of vice-regency and of giving my children their birthright that modern living seems intent on robbing them of: that of being human and working the land and being upright men connected to the land, those around them and their Lord.

Nourishment on the physical and spiritual level.

I am not an earth mother yet the facts seem to dictate a response: modern “life” is not only meaningless, it is unhealthy. And, moreover, it is untenable and unsustainable. We are hurtling at full velocity towards a precipice and the wise amongst us are screaming “stop! I want to get off” whilst the rest of humanity, doped up on TV and musak and other recreational sedatives, skip happily towards doom.

Western people are disconnected with the earth, and perhaps it is no coincidence that they are also deeply disconnected with God too. There does seem to be some correlation between increased wealth and agnosticism.

And is it really surprising that this confusion, this deep ignorance of who we are and what we were put here for filters down to the individual level - that we no longer even know how to feed our families or ourselves with nourishing food? Is it a coincidence that obesity is the dis-ease of modern man? It is a symbol of so many subtler truths - we do not know how to be healthy on any level.

Modern man have infantilised themselves progressively over generations until we have gotten to the point of needing website like this to tell us how to boil potatoes.

It has often struck me as obvious that were any catastrophe to strike the West that our main problem would be that we would not have basic survival skills - not medical skills or anything like that, but simply finding food, cooking food, heating a home that didn’t come from the grid etc. and basic skills like that. Just basic skills. We are a people who live on grid and live like children waiting for their next hand outs.

On so many levels we are living lives that are precarious; one puff of wind and our house of cards will collapse.

No where is this more obvious than at our present time with spiraling fuel costs and food costs. Our subsidised living is working against us, because we have so buffeted ourselves from Reality that we now no longer know how to live with it when it forces itself upon us.

Who these can light a fire from scratch? Who can spin fibre? Who can make clothes and blankets for warmth? Who can til the soil and grow food? Who can make a homestead instead of simply a well designed living space?

Picnicing as I do with the babes I am often struck mute by powerful scenes of nature around me; it seems as though I am looking at a Book with verses clearly written, yet I myself can not read the words as I do not know how to decipher the symbols.

Underlying this deep connection to the world around me is the knowledge that all Man needs, more than air to breathe, is a path to his Lord; by living within the bounds of nature and being connected to the land and each other this seems to be a conduit for a Greater Power to work through us. And it is at such times where I see how we, modern people, have severed this connection and how through the severing of one strand all the others unravel along with it.

We build high walls so we feel no wind; roofs so we forget the rain; heaters so we forget the seasons and we light up the city to blot out the stars, and if, by some chance, any last subtle stirring of our inner self remains we drown it out with music and TV and drugs. Yes modern man can be defined by their need to sever and disconnect, to forget, forget, forget until the need to remember comes as a painful shock.

I am no earth mother but the facts demand a response. Muslims are those who offer dhikr - remembrance - we are people who accept truth wherever it is found and who seek to live in balance, the middle people of a middle way neither too extreme at either end of any spectrum. Modern life is too extreme and it cannot be sustained. It will burn itself out and it will use humanity as the fuel fodder for that fire.

But I dream of a different world; a world of wholesome living. Nothing major - just the ability to grow and cook my own food. I dream of living in tune with the seasons; to know the nuances of the animal and plant kingdoms and to leave the world a better place than when I arrived.

I hope that my children, my delicate flowers, can find their path among this madness of forgetfulness and that whatever knowledge they gain that is based, firmly, in the world around them, connecting them to the earth, each other and their Lord. Information that does not connect, however high and worthy, is at best meaningless and at very worst, a source of severance. I pray that the knowledge my children gain is a knowledge which increases their connection with the universe rather than severing them from it.

And I am no Earth Mother but I hope that by taking small steps in the direction that I dream about that the reality will unfold naturally. If a man is on the right path, all he needs to do is keep walking to reach his goal.

My first step? Securing some land on which we can grow some food. Maybe not this year, as we have left it just too late, but working towards it? For next year and beyond? Yes, that’s one small step, hopefully in the right direction.

Small Things

They do say ’small things amuse small minds’, and perhaps that’s true. I’m not claiming to be a very deep person and small things truly do make me happy… a flower brought to me by one of my babes, a smile of a child, a lightening of my load even by the weight of a straw - little things mean a lot.

The latest thing? This cheap, plastic, vintage (thrifted) ring (that’s a lot of adjectives!). I have no idea why, but it puts a smile on my face.

Yeah, you’re right; it does look like a cracker toy.

But I’m OK with that. Whatever it’s origins it makes me smile.

And as a bonus? It makes a pretty neat knuckle-duster… the bruises look just like Cath Kidston fabric

Uh, maybe only I find things like that funny … I hope the small things in your life make you just as happy.

xx

Friday Night’s Alright

I spent Friday Night cleaning out my craft shelves.

Get out more? Uh? Really? That doesn’t do it for you? Who’da thunk it?

But me - I had a ball.

I enjoyed taking everything down, folding it all back up and placing it gently and lovingly back into it’s home.

Yes I am sad, I think we established that already. Move on.

The real joy? Finding fabric I’d forgotten about! And also some WIPs that had managed to escape. Need to tie those monkeys down lest they get itchy feet again…

I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening… oh sure, you all might want to go partying til the wee hours and call that fun, but me? Give me of pretty fabric anytime and I’m one happy puppy.

Sad… yes, yes. But true.

*Contented Sigh*

Picnics

I love picnics. I think perhaps you all know that. I even manage to find an excuse to picnic in winter. Yes I am slightly deranged. It comes mainly through child-rearing. ANYWAY. For me nothing says ‘Summer’ more than picnics and lounging on a blanket knowing enough snacks are at hand for a long afternoon of none-stop play.

A bit of blue sky, a gentle breeze perhaps. Pretty flowers are always nice and birdsong? That would be good. Iced tea and Elderflower cordial? - uh, pretty mandatory, I’d say…

But best of all? The sound of my children laughing and playing, carefree, imbibing the sounds and sights of summer; imbibing the stuff of good memories.

Hoping for some good picnic weather this weekend *fingers crossed*! However you enjoy yourself I hope your little ones are the happiest of all.

Enjoy your weekend!

Nothin’ much

A day filled with lots of nothing in particular. Babes making me lots of “tea” and I have a big pile of wool to crochet. Muffin making with squishy strawberries from yesterday. Easy living.

How about you? What you been doing today?

A little bit of summer, early

Hope you are enjoying some sun. More over on Islamic Homeschool.

Sew Mama Sew

It just happened.

The dog ate it.

The tyre fell off.

It was an accident.

OK, there is no excuse for buying more material. I just did it out of sheer lust.

I’m going to hell, aren’t I?

*Sigh* I hope there’s plenty of fabric stores down there….

Oh but look! Shiny thing!

My new WIPs!!

A lot of linen love going on right now.

Which reminds me… I need some more linen….

Hell… I know I know…

Home Appreciation Day

It’s here! It’s finally arrived!

What a day to pick for Home Appreciation Day. Ai. Oh well, let’s ignore the dirty dishes, unbrushed hair and smelly parts of the house shall we? Yes? Oh good. And if I collapse halfway through due to sleep deprivation I hope you will be generous enough to swiftly gloss over the little social faux pas? You will? Oh, thankyou. You are a good blog buddies. So lets get this over and done with begin:

In no particular order…

Nick nacks. No paddy whacks, though. Little passing bits of beauty make me happy and I put them on this shelf.

These cushions right now

Freshly hoovered carpets… Ahhh!

Rainbow stacker - love rainbows

Some yet-to-be-framed (for six years) images on my walls…

Teacups. I’m very fussy over teacups. I love tea and if the cup isn’t right the tea doesn’t taste as good. I go through waves of in-favour cups. This is my current fave…

My garden - it makes me stupidly happy when everything is lush…

My new garden chair. Happy happy.

Pyrex and pretty crockery.

In my new chair, with a pretty cup full of strong English tea in the garden. Sigh

Viewing this

The light in the house. Alhamdulillah we get good light.

Breathe-taking silhouettes at sunset

These curtains my mum gave me.

Beautiful Qur’anic calligraphic verses on the wall…

Doilies…

Patchwork and Denyse Schmidt fabric… sigh

This print makes me stupidly happy. It has everything I love - patchwork, vintage doilies and tea.

Wooden spools. There is no logical reason for this making me happy. But they do

My work space and these shelves. As messy as they are… in fact the messier they get the happier I am because I know I will get to spend time tidying and arranging it again. Slurp!

Praying salah on this rug

Flowers from my babes

Hey, you know what? Putting that together has made me really warm inside - I’m so lucky. I love my family, home and kids! Masha’allah!!

So how about you? Anyone out there appreciating their home today? Comment below so I can have a peak please!

Love and peace to you and yours,
Q
xx

Perfect weather for midgets

A lot of washing on the line (drying weather - real drying weather *sigh*), busying doing a whole load of nothing. The grass is growing, the flowers open, the birds have hatched chicks are frantically feeding.

Easy.

Hope the rest of your weekend is smooth and worry free!

Getting crochet

OK anything beyond a straight line and a square is simply beyond me right about now, but given those parameters? I’m really digging crochet now.

Which is why I’m totally bummed out that I have to wait til Monday for more yarn…

Baby blankets. No, I’m not.

Quilt WIP

Actions, they say, are rewarded by their intentions.

I hope this is so. My intentions always far exceed my capabilities anyhow. This is one small example. A lap-quilt which I have been meaning to make for a while, for someone I love to make them happy whenever they see it - not for the quality of work-woman-ship but for the fact that they meant so much to me that I took the effort. I really hope that comes through loud and clear, because it did not unfold exactly as I had hoped, but then, I am sometimes too harsh on myself…

More pictures when it’s completed insha’allah. Need wadding - in fact, maybe a good day to goto the market…

Have a happy Jumah/Friday. Keep snapping your piccies for Home Appreciation Day!

xx

Home Appreciation Day - wanna play??

OK I’ve had enough about moaning about the smallness of my home. It’s terribly ungrateful (even though I’d take a bigger house in the perfect location in a hot minute!). So I thought I’d try to see it with fresh eyes, and I thought it might be fun for us all to do the same! I love seeing other peoples’ homes - I find it inspirational to see how we all make use of the space we have - big or small.

I am taking pictures of the things in my home that I like looking at and on Monday insha’allah I will post them here. If anyone wants to do the same then post on your blog on Monday too and leave a comment here so we can all appreciate our homes together! Sound good? It doesn’t have to be picture perfect - just images of things you love in your home.

If that doesn’t float your boat you can always join Corner’s of My Home Flickr group and add them there.

A bit of this, a bit of that…

I’m managing to write posts without saying anything these days. How did that happen?

Well a little round-up then.

After returning from our adventures Up North I hit a low. This place is the diametric opposite of everything that is up there: here is an ugly city with arid people and little or no natural beauty. I have no family here. I am lonely.

The possibility of moving homeward is an ever-present recurring theme played out in the back of mind. A lot. I leave that with Allah and try to content myself with destiny rather than being ungrateful. But home? Miss it. A lot.

Then this happened

And all of a sudden the gloves are off and new avenues are opening up for my little man. Studies, dhikr, jumah masha’allah. The newest tradition in our little family was initiated…

He declares he loves the prayer mat I made. And that’s sweet of him to say so.

Done a little bit of thrifting since coming back. Not too much but happily hugging these finds:

That’s over three yards of vintage cotton fabric for £1. To find anything for a £1 these days is just incredible…

Been fussing over the house trying to make it more homely rather than wishing it away. Made the cushions you saw the other day.

And really not too much else. Trying as ever to live the moment and give my children goodness throughout the day. Both inner and outer.

So that’s me. What you been up to??