Don’t know when I’ve been so blue

If you recognise that line as the first of Don’t it Make My Brown Eyes Blue by Crystal Gayle, I salute you. If not, give it a listen one day and if you ever met my late mum, picture her belting it out full of self-belief and pure enjoyment with hands firmly clasped together behind her back.

I’m not blue… I’m absolutely heartbroken. I’ve lost a piece of myself and it makes me cry all the time. When it gets too much I drink some wine (ok, loads) and do some singing with my sister, brother and our friends. We stick on the Sound of Music soundtrack and have a rave. For a few hours my heart doesn’t hurt as much.

Singing is a truly pleasurable thing to do and shouldn’t be underestimated as a form of therapy and release. My mum sang things she could have simply said just to make any situation a little happier. Morning cups of tea had a song, as did getting in a taxi to the airport on our way to holiday, cooking, going to bed, bath time, all the mundane tasks had a tune and a rhyme.

I’m going to sing to Clover as much as I can just to make up for all the songs my mum won’t sing to her. Trying to describe Clover’s ‘Suenanna’ to her when she inevitably asks one day will be some challenge and I think about it all the time. I can start by cooking her something exotic then serve it up with a song perhaps.

So to my mum, I’ll keep singing just like you and I’ll do my best to do it with all the love and entertainment value that I never truly appreciated until you were gone.

To my friends, if you think of her, tell me. If you think of me, tell me. Memories we all hold of her are just as comforting the first or hundredth time we share them.

Silk Dyed Easter Eggs

What a beautiful idea.

Chagrinnamon Toast

Using silk to dye Easter eggs is my favorite way of decorating them.  The brighter the colors, the better.  You can use old ties, scarves, skirts, shirts, whatever.  Just make sure the fabric is 100% silk.  I can’t lie.  I often look in charity shops throughout the year for good patterns or color schemes to buy on the cheap and keep for Easter.  I found there were only so many times I could raid my husband’s tie drawer.

 

Here is what you need:

-white eggs (I like to use duck eggs)

-white vinegar

-rubber bands

-a large pot

-silk and white cotton fabric

 

Here is what you do:

If using ties, unpick them and remove the lining.  I save the linings for later use.

 

Next, cut the fabric into strips large enough to wrap around your eggs.  Be sure to make as much of the fabric touch the shell as…

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