Contact the Elderly

Have you seen any of Contact the Elderly's posters? You know, the one that says "Take Harry and Sally to tea"? I have, for some time. And all the while I really wanted to sign up as a volunteer but just never got round to it. Until this year that is.

Because we are lucky enough to have a ground floor loo, we were able to sign up as volunteers to host a tea party twice a year for a group of elderly people who would otherwise be lonely and isolated. If you don't have the right facilities at home to host a party, you can also sign up as a volunteer driver, you'll then go and pick up an elderly person once a month and drive them to a tea party, hosted by someone like me.

All too easily nowadays, elderly people just get forgotten about. And yet, they hold some precious nuggets of history that will disappear when they do, stories and memories which deserve to be heard. When my grandmother passed away, my biggest regret was not to have asked her to tell me more of her stories or repeat the ones she told us again and again so we'd never forget them. Whenever an elderly relative goes to the other side, I'm of course very saddened by their departure but I also can't help but mourn that little bit of history that goes with them. Events too insignificant to make it into the history books yet to me (and them), they all matter, they all contribute to our collective memory in some way.

I've always wanted to give those elderly people who have no one left a bit a of a good time, put a smile on their face for a few hours maybe days afterwards. No one should grow old lonely. But most importantly, I want our daughter to grow up respecting her elders and appreciating their contribution to the world we live in. I think that was the key incentive for me to finally sign us up as volunteers.

For my husband, there was another incentive. As a keen baker, it gives him the opportunity to bake all sorts of treats without the disadvantage of piling on the pounds by having to eat it all ourselves. It's also a great way to get impartial feedback on his skills, elderly people aren't afraid to tell it like it is!

Here's the selection we had on offer at the latest tea party: lemon macaroons, red velvet cupcakes, Battenberg and boterkoek (a Dutch specialty).

The parties have been such fun, I wish we could host them more often. If you have the means or the time, I urge you to sign up as a volunteer, it's really worthwhile.

Handcrafted by DeaLuna on Facebook

If I'd been a tad less busy and a whole lot more organised, I'd be selling my wares at Christmas fayres this winter. But I left it all too late and the holiday season seems to have sprung up on me out of nowhere.

So instead of dragging my lovingly handmade goodies from market to market, I've decided to make the most of social media and set up shop on Facebook.

If you like what I make, please go and have a look at the page, and most importantly, like it and share it!

Overnight headband

I think it's fair to say I love dressing up my daughter. And for a ten months old, she's already amassed an impressive collection of accessories, mainly shoes and headgear.

A lot of it has been bought or received but I've also taken great pleasure in stitching, crocheting and knitting hats and headbands for my baby girl. I think mainly because I haven't really got the time for big projects anymore and hats and headbands are so quick to make.

My latest creation was improvised one evening and finished by the next morning. With the festive season coming up, I wanted a red knitted headband to keep her little ears warm. I raided my stash and set to work but kept things really simple: one straight piece of knitting for the headband. Then for the bow, I started with the same width, decreased gradually towards the centre then increased gradually to get back to the starting width. Finally I knitted a tiny rectangle which I used to finish the bow and tie it to the headband. Add a big button and... doesn't she look glamorous?

Quickie bats

Okay, I'm obviously catching up and this is a properly belated post!

This year, I couldn't be bothered to carve a pumpkin for halloween, I simply had too much going on and I find hollowing the thing really tedious. I cheated and put a few halloween lanterns in the window. But then I thought it looked a bit bare and I felt I had to make a little something so I improvised with bits and bobs from my stash.

I found some polystyrene balls, bamboo skewers, black felt and a few sewing pins and decided to turn them into bats. Hubby and I learnt a lesson that day, don't spray paint polystyrene, the paint creates a chemical reaction that makes the polystyrene melt! I used a permanent marker instead to turn them black. Then I cut the felt into batwings, glued the wings to the skewers then pricked the skewers in the balls. Add a couple of red pins for the eyes, et voilà, a pair of bats, quick and easy!

Okay, they're not my most refined piece of crafting but hanging in the window, in the glow of the halloween lanterns, they looked pretty effective.

Goodbye Miss Marple, hello Merlin

My beloved and gorgeous cat, Miss Marple, passed away just short of her 15th birthday in May. She was diagnosed with kidney failure and slipped away all in a matter of days. We had to make the heartbreaking decision of having her put down, something that still haunts me today.

Miss Marple really was my first baby. We went through so much together. She entered my life when I was at uni and accompanied me on the weekly train journey between my student flat and my parent's house. She relocated from Belgium to the UK with me and moved houses another 5 times in the years that followed. We fell in love with my now husband together. She went through all my ups and downs and in the years I was travelling a lot for work, she made my house a home, a place to come back to.

Miss Marple was loved by many, from the many housemates we shared our lives with to the friends who looked after her in my absence, not to mention my husband for whom she'd put on a full seduction show every day he was home.

She didn't take very well to having a baby entering her life and for that, I'll always feel a little guilty. She was a truly beautiful creature with a lovely temperament and a fantastic character. I'd hoped we had a few more years together but I guess it was time for her to go. I miss her every day and it was very hard to let another kitty enter my life.

But as Nimue, my daughter, is growing up, we noticed how much she was attracted to cats when we went to my family or to friends with felines at home. We decided she really needed a cat of her own to grow up with and Bristol and Wales Cat Rescue were organising a re-homing show at the end of September so... Enter Merlin!

Merlin is an "older" kitten, she's all black and very very soft and fluffy. She settled into our home without any problem and is steadily making her way into our hearts. She's mischievous, cuddly and oh so patient with our daughter!

The two of them became best buds in a matter of minutes. It is adorable to see the smile on my daughter's face when she sees the cat enter the room. It is lovely watching them play or cause mischief together. Miss Marple was a lovely cat, but the truth is she would never have bonded with Nimue in this way. Let's just say Merlin entered our lives at the right time and I really hope she and Nimue have many years of camaraderie ahead of them.

Goodbye Miss Marple, you are missed and will be missed for a long time. Welcome Merlin, you are a lovely kitty and we will provide you with the best home possible.

Oh, and a big thank you to Bristol and Wales Cat Rescue and their fosterers for all the amazing work they do.

Bear with me, I'm catching up!

Life has completely taken over these past few months and I haven't had much time to post. I'm going to try and bring everything up to date so bear with me while I catch up.