I felt terribly guilty this week, when Little Lady came home from school in tears because not only had I not gone to her class picnic, but I had sent her to school in uniform instead of party dress as had been allowed for the day. She had been given a letter by her teacher […]
Because some of our work relates to the Olympics, our team was taken to Holden Point to view the Olympic Site. I visited this site a year ago and it is clear the work is moving along. It’s hard to tell from these pictures but right in the missdle of this picture is the new […]
I’ve always been a big fan of self-help books since I was a teenager, and one of the key things I have learned (apart from they all like to state the obvious) is that if take any action towards our goal, no matter how small the step, it can really motivate us to get out […]
After an unsettling few days and bad news, books have been my escape and a source of relief more than ever. The only problem was that I was struggling to really get into any book I picked up. I started and left sitting on my bedside table Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil […]
I came across in interesting concept in this article on Steve Pavlina’s excellent website. Its basic premise is that sometimes when we make an intention to change something in our life or get rid of a bad habit, we find the thought of the long trek ahead towards that change becoming concrete daunting. Pavlina’s idea […]
I recently acquired this set of punches, so thought I would try them out: If you are interested in buying these they will be on sale at the Action Algeria Charity Craft Fair on 31st May. Further details are here.
I started making this necklace some time ago and then decided I didn’t like it. A few days ago I found the box with the half-made necklace and beads and thought I’d finish it off. I enlisted some over-enthusiaitic kids to help me finish the strands and then used a large green glass bead to […]
Just wanted to say jazakh’Allah-khairun to all of the kind sisters who have left comments wishing me well with my announcement. Your dua’s are very precious to me as are your kind words (one sister asked why I had not just carried out a pregnancy test instead of waiting – I did, but the last […]
I thought it would be nice to make a change from Eid cards for some variety, so had a go at these. The patterned green paper used in the background of this card is from a brochure. I’ve saved all sorts of bits of nice paper from catalogues, brochures and packaging which I am working […]
Some people use their common sense, others learn things the hard way, guess which category I fall into? I have been struggling for a while with this pregnancy, but thought I would try and fast. I managed to fast through three previous pregnancies when the day was much shorter. I was desperate not to miss […]
I thought it would be nice to make a change from Eid cards for some variety, so had a go at these. The patterned green paper used in the background of this card is from a brochure. I’ve saved all sorts of bits of nice paper from catalogues, brochures and packaging which I am working […]
Little Lady and Little Man have been attending madrassah (Islamic school) for about a month now. They attend in the evenings after school for two hours to learn Quran. Initially we had a teacher come home and spend an hour with them but Alhamdulillah, he has moved to Madinah to study in the university there. […]
I mentioned a little while ago, that I needed to clear out my craft stash as it just seems to grow and grow. So a few weeks ago I had a clear-out and made up some packs. The packs contain card blanks and envelopes, backing papers, stickers and embellishments. There are three and if you […]
One of the things I wanted to do for a long time was learn Arabic so that I could understand the Quran in the language it was revealed and insh’Allah also benefit my children in this way. I started my maternity leave in October, a few weeks before a new Islamic Studies course started locally, […]
