I really love Totnes

And more lovely, lovely Totnes.

There's a castle!

And more wildflowers.

A fantastic array of rooftops.

The River Dart.

Lunch... with the most awesome cafe latte at....

the lovely Fat Lemons cafe and

A Basketry festival at Dartington Estate where we made

a rather fantastic willow crown for Little Miss O.

I love Totnes

Little Miss O and I are currently touring the UK visiting friends, and we are currently in the amazing town of Totnes.  I want to live here!  I really, really want to live here.  I have even picked out a house.  Hm - winning lottery ticket, here I come.  Over the next few days, I will show you some of Totnes' fantasticness.

The main drag through the town centre

Amazing mushroom and tofu bourguignon at Willow.  So much flavour.  So creamy.  And vegan!

Pretty wildflowers on the table at Willow.

One of the many atmospheric side streets.

Samsara Part 13 - baby clothes to burp cloths to eye make up removers

...in which things pass through states of existence...

Once upon a time, these were hand me down baby clothes that were not really useful, so I turned them into burp cloths etc. for Little Miss O.  She is a little less drooly and spewy these days, so now they are all nice and clean and waiting for new roles.  Soooo...

Woohoo!  Rocket science!  I turned some into eye make-up remover pads.  Cut them in circles, zigzagged the edges.

I know.  Genius.

Creative exPLOSion!

We got busy today Chez les O (no - not that kind of busy.  Not yet today at least.  Eww.)  Anyway....

We made cookies (proudly stamped by Little Miss O) to use up some of the ingredients that are going to be out of date soon...and passed some on to the neighbours.

I finished a dress for Little Miss O.  My first attempt at a Japanese pattern (not from a book - tried those before) and I decided that whilst using a pattern I couldn't read, it would be a good time to do pattern altering as well - not putting in sleeves this time.  Big mistake.  It's a bit wonky, if the truth be told, but hell.... it's wearable.

Finally, Little Miss O and I worked on some cards to send out in May using cereal boxes, old wrapping paper and cards and other salvaged bits and pieces...and the sewing machine.  Looks so much nicer than using glue...and is less toxic.  AND...doesn't create any garbage. OK - a few teeny bits of thread.

Happy days.  

こどもの日

Little Miss O had a pretty good kids' day today.  Cute cakes, sushi, a trip to the park and a bath with iris leaves.  How sweet is that koi cake?  Erm - I had to eat it for her - eggs and all that, but it was lovely to look at, I guess.  Tasted pretty good too.  I am so glad that we are starting to pay more attention to Japanese traditions.

Recently at else seven central

It may seem that I have been very quiet on the creative front of late, but au contraire, friends.  I have been locked in the else seven cave hammering away at gifts and so on for friends we are going to visit in the UK soon.

I made some funky pants for my friend's son for his birthday.  Oh Japanese fabric - I love you.

...and here is a sample of some of the gifts I made for my friends.  I used vintage kimono and obis to make useful household items like coasters, potholders, tea cosies and place mats.  I think they turned out quite well.  I don't usually wrap things in plastic, but for this instance, I want them to be protected in my bag, and to look smart when I give them to my friends (wrapping paper would more likely rip and tear in my bag, I think).

...and Little Miss O chose some cute vintage Japanese fabric sourced at various flea markets for her sunglasses and camera cases.  

No matter how many times I do it, it is still extreeeemely satisfying to take a a piece of fabric (especially one that I have got secondhand) and turn it into something that can be used or worn or given.

Now, i am going to let Little Miss O choose some fabric from my stash to make a cute dress.

What's cookin', good-lookin'?

Hm.  Does not look so appetising.  Oh - tangent - how much do I love pics of food in old 60s and 70s cookbooks.  Woah.  So gross.  Everything is always kind of brown and sloppy and shiny or greasy looking and a bit neon.  Fantastic.

Anyway - we had some leftover rice that I did not want to waste, so I experimented with making some allergy-free rice pudding for Little Miss O.

2 1/2 cups of soy milk
Leftover white rice - maybe 1 1/2 cups, I guess
8 tablespoons of water with 4 teaspoons of Orgran egg replacer mixed in (no sponsorship here, that stuff is just the schiz, and I use it heaps).
1/3 cup white sugar
About a teaspoon of vanilla essence - I just poured it into the cap of the bottle - it was a full cap.
A good shaking of cinnamon - again about a teaspoon.

First - mix the egg replacer with the water.
Second - beat the egg replacer in with the caster sugar
Third - Add the soy milk, cinnamon, vanilla.
Fourth - stir in the rice

Pour into greased ramekins or greased small ovenproof dishes and place in a large roasting dish.  Fill the roasting dish with boiling water until about half way up the small dishes.  Place in a pre-heated oven
at 180 degrees celsius.  Cook for about 50 minutes or until the top looks nice and set and a bit browned.

After it has cooled a little, eat as is or with some chopped fresh fruit - particularly berries.

Variations - I think I would like to try it with some sultanas in it or with some coconut or putting the berries in before cooking in the oven.  Let me know if you try any different flavours.

YUM.