Wild Swimming - book review

Oh my God, I wish I'd gotten this book sooner.

The book is printed on high quality magazine type paper, in full colour. All the pages are full of jaw-dropping gorgeous photos of magical hidden swimming holes...really beautiful photography..

The author and his friends personally tested all these places. There are very clear directions on how to get there, the nearest postcode, grid location, the nearest train stations etc. The water quality is graded so we know how clean the water is going to be. This book also tells us how far and how hard to walking is from the nearest car park. Some are difficult walks, for the hikers and keen walkers. Some are near and easy, great for families like us. there are descriptions about the places, the history behind swimming in these places, recommendations on good pubs and shops near to it.

There are mouth watering photographs of all the places, inspiring us to swim in the wild. Even for the places that I know I can't go ( some are so hidden, you'll have to walk in difficult terrain for an hour, but of course these are the most beautiful and unspoiled) it feels wonderful just to read about it and look at the photos. The author gives clear descriptions, with the wisdom of the local. You know how these hidden places usually we can only find if we live there and know the local area? He even categorise the swimming holes into catagories like - best for families, best for picnics, best for jumping/diving, best for camping, best for water tubing, best for skinny dipping etc. Also, they are divided into regions with clear maps so you can choose which ones are nearest to you. It sets me daydreaming all day ;)

Those of you in the UK, and love the water (even if you don't you will surely feel inspired to anyway), please get this book. Thats all i have to say!

no i am not paid to do this review ;)

p/s: we're going on another wild swimming adventure tomorrow, yay!

Mia's growing...( and growing girls always need new dresses, right ? )

This week has been a really big week for Mia. First she started understanding what 'sit down' means. No, it's not just my imagination. Every time someone says 'Mia, sit down please', she slowly pause and sat her cute little bum down. That little genius. Then we'll clap and cheered and told her what a clever girl she is for sitting and she'll give us that proud smiley face. Even when we're telling her off ' Mia, don't go kacau Along...sit down please' She'll frown and cry but will still sit her bum down. Good girl, Mia..I'll put up a video next time.

Today was especially a big growing day for Mia. She started crawling properly for the first time! finally got the hands and knees coordination right. Terus laju jer crawl all over the place...and then terus nak start cruising! must be feeling pretty confident today. She tried to pull herself up on furniture...nak jalan dah ke anak Mommy ni...

aaannnd, her first tooth came out today too! still tiny and barely visible, but it's there! no wonder she's been so irritable lately, poor baby...

That's a lot of accomplishment in one day. Mommy's proud of you Mia!

But baby, can you stay little for a bit longer honey?

p/s: Photos are of Mia's new summer dress. Fabric from that lovely voile again. Oh i must get more of it...this dress is really simple to make. Just rectangles, and elastic for the top and waist of the bodice. And then I made a simple gathered skirt for myself to match. I hope you're not sick of the matchy-matchy yet...(maybe just one more next week?)

Wild Swimming

I've been craving for a swim at a river or a lake for the longest time. I bought this awesome book - Wild Swimming. I need to do a review of this book in a separate entry. Well after reading that book, we chose a place to go last weekend. It's about 1.5 hours drive from our house.

Isn't is just gorgeous? It's a small river, with crystal clear water.

It's right by the side of this English Heritage ruins. .

I told you there'll be mother-daughter matchy-matchy this weekend. My top is a tunic length shirt dress. Love that fabric, so drapey and flowy..

It was secluded, a hidden gem...if you google the place, there's no mention of any swimming in this river...

A lot of kids climbed on this rope and swing, but only my husband actually dove in the water. Cool! oh wait, one guy fell of and hit the side and then dropped in the water in all his clothes..hehe..that was quite funny..

The water is ice cold! But it's really wonderful to be in the cold water...i felt so connected to nature...We were so surprised that Mia actually wanted to get in there. Normally she would scream her lungs out...but I guess she got really curious and excited seeing me in the water with Adam and he practically tried to jump out of my husband's hands to get in the water..

This river is popular for fishing crayfish. It looks like crab mix with lobster. Adam panggil crab...dia suka sgt...

Adam 'swimming' sampai biru2 mulut dia..

Great family time! more summer seizing next weekend hopefully...

Mia's pinafore

More summer sewing for Mia. Here's a pinafore, using the same pattern as this one. I like this pattern, easy to follow and sews up pretty quick. And pinafores are easy to layer up next season. The fabric, is cotton voile from Anna Maria's Little Folks collection. This is the best garment fabric I've come across yet. It's thin and yet has a high thread count, really soft, silky and drapes beautifully. It has a little sheen and sews up like butter. What more can you ask from a fabric, right?

I made a matching top for myself. Oh yeah, you're gonna see some cheesy mommy daughter matchy-matchy this weekend.

Mia @ 6 months

Mia turned 6 months yesterday! How is she doing?

- She just started to sit by herself. A little wobbly but she looked cute anyways :)

- She's learning to crawl. She just can't wait to catch up with Adam.

- Mommy is her best friend.

- Daddy is her personal clown.

- Adam is her idol.

- She looks exactly like her big bro at the same age.

- She started eating and is thrilled that she can now join us at mealtimes.

- She had her first viral infection a few days ago and got over it pretty quickly. When she was ill and fussy, the only things that could calm her down are Mommy's milk and a massage.

- She is well-loved by everyone, especially her big brother Adam. He takes very good care of her.

Happy half-birthday Adik! We love you so much!

The trip to the (weird) beach

the parents' perspective:

Summer is nearing its end so soon, and I am determined to soak every last minute of it. To that end, we planned a trip to the beach yesterday and really looked forward to it. We packed up the bags the night before, got up really early, cooked yummy food for a picnic and woke the kids early to take the train.

When we got there, there were practically no one around. Wait, where is the water?? Is this it? is this the beach?? It was 10am, the sky was dark and gloomy, it was cold and the wind was blowing. There was no white sandy beaches, just lots of pebbles mixed with some coarse sand.

and THERE IS NO WATER! the sea was so far up (air surut) that we can hardly see it.

We had the sinking feeling that we might have made a terrible mistake coming here.

Adam's perspective:

He had no expectation of the day whatsoever. He didn't know he was going to the beach. When he woke up that morning all sleepy, he was told he was going on the train and so he jumped up and got dressed very quickly because trains are his favourite things in the world. He had the most fun riding on the train, watching other trains and cows and boats along the way.

The next thing he knew, he was at the beach! Lots of pebbles to play with, sand, sea shells, crabs, and sea weed.

He couldn't wait to get his clothes changed so he can have a dip in the paddling pool.

He was so happy. He kept saying ' So nice! So nice!'. He was having the best day ever.

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I decided at that moment to adopt Adam's positive attitude. No more sulking, it's time to let my child take the lead and see the beach through his eyes.

And suddenly I realised, it is beautiful.

I went wherever Adam wanted to go and played with whatever Adam wanted to play with. I squealed with excitement whenever we found a seaweed or a pretty pebble.

We went 'swimming' in the paddling pool. It is a shallow pool to hold the seawater when the tide is away. We went digging in the sand and collected small pebbles.

My husband took care of Mia and put her to nap on this gorgeous vintage throw that I've been looking forward to use.

Mia had her first taste of solid food (banana). Her six months birthday was 3 days away.

Ok, so the beach wasn't as beautiful as the white sandy beaches in Malaysia, but rather than waiting for that perfect beach holiday to enjoy ourselves, it was so wonderful to be fully present and appreciative of the simplest beauty that surrounds us...

thank you Adam...

Sewing for him

How come I rarely sew for my boys?hmm...i don't know, i find sewing for boys rather challenging..anyway, here's my recent attempt;

3/4 pants made with curduroy. Pattern is a simple Burdastyle pants, i added some pockets and belt loops. I ran into a problem with the fabric though..tends to tear at the seam...hmm...no wonder that curduroy was cheaper than usual..

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!