We have a number of friends and family going to hajj this year as well as one of my lovely neighbours, so we have been busy with seeing them off. I love to listen to friends talking about their hajj preparations and all of their plans and hopes for this journey of a lifetime. I send […]
We are now two weeks out of Ramadan and well into summer. Most of Ramadan was characterised by cool, rainy days here in London, including some significant torrential rain and thunderstorms. It turned out to be quite a blessing during the long June days of fasting. Now that we are out of Ramadan, London is […]
A work colleague had asked me to do some repairs for her and once I had my beads out of the box, the creative spirit, or maybe just greed for some new jewellery, awakened.This long necklace was inspired by my leopard print scarf The necklace alternates between sandtone chips, moonstone chips and black glass crystals. […]
I received two interesting comments yesterday that made me think. The first was from one of my husband’s “auntie” – a lady who calls him her son and who he helps out on occasion with chores and DIY. She sees me as her daughter-in-law; because we all need more than one mum-in-law…. She came to […]
I have been meaning to post, but haven’t been able to get anywhere near my computer in the last few days, also the kids have broken the little ariel thing off the modem box so it works when it feels like it.Have had the most ridiculous weekend:Took the kids out to return their library books […]
Eid Mubarak, Eidan Saeedan, Happy Eid everyone. For those performing Hajj – Hajj Mubarak and Hajj Mabroor inshallah. I wish I had the time to put up something from my Hajj diary, maybe next year inshallah. I hope everyone has had the chance to make the most of these 10 days and I hope everyone […]
Because I was so busy on Sunday with cooking for guests, I bossed the boys into having a nap (i.e. lie down and don’t you dare get up!). When both the boys are sleeping, this usually means that Little Lady get’s to do something that the boys disrupt her with – play with her bead […]
This Eid ul Adha has been the first without my husband since we have been married, so I took charge and roped everyone in to get our preparations underway. I printed off my decorations a few days earlier, I asked the boys to create a balloon arch and I had everyone’s clothes ironed and hung […]
After a long wait, we finally got round to Little Man’s first day at nursery yesterday, and what a pleasure (most of it was). He spent the whole day asking if it was time to go yet (he was given a place in the afternoon nursery) and I spent the whole day black-mailing him: “If […]
I spent yesterday evening hanging out with my sisters, talking, laughing, eating and nagging kids. As it was World Chocolate Day, we bought some of our fave chocs to share. I’m not sure who’s idea it was to hold World Chocolate Day during July, but chocolate and hot weather are not the best mix. We […]
Assalam-alaikam, The newest issue of Aaila (formerly Mum and Muslim) is out today with lots of fascinating articles. This issue my contribution includes: Experience and Confidence as a Muslimah Working Mother As a Muslim and as a working parent, there are a number of challenges that one is likely to face. These can include colleagues’ […]
This morning I had a nice much-needed lie-in – if that’s what you can call sleeping to 8am before hubby, knowing I am incapable of saying no, asked if I wanted to go to the boot market. We ended up at Dunton and Barleylands again. The drive there was blissful, with mustard fields that were […]
It’s very in vogue now to say that we won’t smack our children; this is probably a good thing. In the UK there have been attempts by various groups to bring laws into effect that ban smacking, although they have been defeated by the Peers in the House of Lords. My parents and grandparents grew […]
In this selection of short stories Proulx (pronounced Pru according to Wiki – it’s been bugging me) offers just the kind of prose that I can lose myself in. Clear, colourful, yet to the point. This book feels like an ode to the huntin’ fishin’ shootin’ men and women of the Old West, casting a […]
