quinces

As I mentioned yesterday in my 52 portrait post, a basket of quinces has made me aware of the change in the seasons.

The days are shorter. The evenings and mornings cooler. The light is golden. I have mentioned before our love of this season. In our family it is a time of birthdays, including Rob's. Our wedding anniversary is coming up; three years have flown by. It is also now the time of year we will remember bringing home two tiny wee babies to care for. Thursday marks the twins first year at the hut.

Half of the quinces are in the process of becoming quince jelly. The girls seem fascinated with the remaining fruit in the basket, their downy skin, their heady smell, their strange taste - yes they nibbled them raw. I love to watch their fascination with new foods.

I have a quiet day at the hut with the girls and then tomorrow I return to work after a break. Not sure I'm looking forward to it!

13/52

Maggie: her pixie face. A baby of contrasts. Recently swinging between funny, laughing clown to growling rage-filled, frustrated baby in seconds. Her new teeth are proving useful for eating. Today she stood up from squatting without anything to hold onto. We all clapped her achievement, Elisabeth included, and her face broke into the proudest smile.
Elisabeth: nothing heralds the start of autumn to me as much as the sweet and distinctive perfume of ripe quinces. These are from a friend's tree, Rob is using them to make quince jelly, a favourite conserve at the hut. 

Her little hands here remind me of her father; this link between generations is particularly poignant to me this week as Rob's own father passed away last Sunday. We farewelled him on Thursday, with a celebration of his life with family and friends. I took this photo of him with Nigella in 2009 walking amongst the vineyard he planted 30 years earlier. Vale Graham.


Joining in with Jodi's 52 portrait project at her blog Practising Simplicity. Can you believe we are a quarter of the way through the year?

12/52

Maggie: Sleepy face and bed hair, contemplating life and bananas at breakfast.
Elisabeth: I captured a whole range of emotions while Elisabeth nonchalantly hung off the play pen, this was my favourite. (I usually share a few more of the photos on my Instagram feed: hazelnigella).

Joining in every week with Jodi's 52 portrait project on her blog Practising Simplicity.

11/52

Maggie: Not content with just reading, Maggie likes to practise her yoga at the same time.
Elisabeth: A slightly more conventional way to read books. In the last few weeks both girls have started to turn the pages of board books themselves and point at the pictures, rather than sit passively or try to eat the books.

Thanks to our blog friend, Ally, who gave us the Baby's catalogue, this week's new book to read. It even has a set of twins!

Joining in with Jodi's 52 portrait project at Practising Simplicity.

10/52

Firstly, thank you to all of you who have left comments on my previous post about whether to wean the girls. I have read them all (and the Instagram comments) and am trying to find the time to reply to each one. I really appreciated the time you took to share your stories, and found myself nodding along with many of you and your experiences. Sincerely, I value and admire each of you and think of you as my mother's group!




Maggie: Yesterday we got up early, and headed into Hobart for breakfast at a favourite bakery (the girls enjoyed their fruit brioche and my breakfast panini immensely), and then had a wander around Salamanca market for the first time. We visited a stall that has beautiful second hand children's clothing, and found the girls a sweet pink rosebud dress each. Once home the girls got to try them on, and this led to helping their Papa unpack the dishwasher. Something about the sun coming through the window and the reflective dishwasher made me grab the camera. I love Maggie's expression above, she often gives you a measuring gaze, I wonder what she is thinking?
Elisabeth: She loves standing at the edge of the dishwasher. She is so sturdy in her standing. Her first steps can't be far away, surely.

Joining in with Jodi's 52 portrait project at Practising Simplicity.