What to do when you feel like you don't belong?

Today I received a text message on my phone saying I could get 20% discount on my purchases from New Look if I gave them a particular code at the checkout.  So I took myself and my bubba off into town, him in his pushchair and headed to New Look to see if I could scout out a few bargains. I haven't actually shopped in New Look for probably a few years, but didn't think I was so past it that it wasn't a shop for me.  Top Shop maybe, but not New Look.  How wrong was I?  Not only was it patently clear that the staff rarely came across a shopper with a baby in tow (lots of faffing in the changing rooms), but the clothes were most certainly targeted at a younger age group that my own!  Seriously, unless you enjoy wearing leggings and a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off, there was nothing in that shop for you.

I meandered around town for about half an hour after this and left feeling a strong sense that I didn't belong.  Talking on the phone to my sister later I said that it wasn't that I felt too old but just that I wasn't part of that world any more.  I had very little desire to buy anything, in fact the only thing I saw that I was even remotely interested in buying I decided I could make myself.

Is it just me or do you sometimes feel like you aren't part of this world?
Sometimes I think I just want to pack it all in, sell the house and buy a shack or mobile home or something with a little bit of land, grow my own veg, have a goat and not worry about the rest of the world, just my own little patch with my husband and baby where I don't have to constantly compare my body to those of the over stuffed teenagers tat are forced in front of out faces every time we open a magazine or see a billboard, where I don't have to think about the latest trends in fashion, or the newest age defying face cream.

Do you ever feel like you want to reject the modern day world?  How do you satisfy this longing when you really can't escape the life you have to live?

Things I am learning

Hi all,
I am so busy it is ridiculous, and not in the sense of having numerous social occasions and lots of important things to do, but in the sense that I have a baby who won't be put down, so I can't get anything done! I am afraid blogging has taken a back seat.  I miss it!
Finally I have five mins to sit down and write something, but it's going to be short and sweet I am afraid, so here are a few bullet points of things I have learnt over the past few weeks, and some photos of life:

1. Being a mum is hard (more in this in the future I feel),

2. Women are amazing (also more on this in the future undoubtedly),

3. Babies change quickly,

4. When I leave this earth I don't want people to say "oh didn't she have a clean house" I want them to say "wasn't she a great mother/wife/friend",

5.To enjoy every moment, not to worry about the future, God has that covered.

Silchester Roman Ruins

On Sunday Paul and I went to Silcester Roman ruins, I have written about it before here.  It is a fantastic place to go for a walk and it is the first time we have been there with Orren.  It was a lovely sunny evening and we really enjoyed wondering around the perimeter of the Roman town.  It is so amazing to think that there really was a thriving city there thousands of years ago, it really is hard to believe when all that is left now is a wall and a field.
What stuck me most was how such a powerful and wealth society could totally collapse with almost no trace within a few thousand years.  In fact every powerful society has collapsed if you think about it.  I wonder how long ours will last?

 Detail of original Roman wall

 View at the top of the wall

View of the medieval church that dates back to the 12th Century AD

 Road that runs through the centre of "town"

Timed photo with Orren in the Moby wrap, forward facing now!

One of two entrances into the "town"

My hot husband!

Hope you are all having a great week.

Making Elderflower Cordial and Elderflower Champagne

Now is the time to get out and pick some elderflowers on a hot dry day if you want to make some elderflower cordial or elderflower champagne.  I made some a few days ago, already drinking the cordial and will have some lovely elderflower champagne in a couple of weeks. Don't forget to only pick elderflowers from trees that are away from roads.
Here are some simple recipes to follow:

Elderflower cordial (Adapted from a recipe in "The Selfsufficient-ish Bible by Andy and Dave Hamilton):

25 flower heads,
1.5kg (3lbs) sugar,
2 pints of water boiling water,
The juice of 2 1/2 lemons and the grated zest of 1 lemon,
1 cinnamon stick.

Place layers of flowers and sugar in a bowl or pan, pour over boiling water, add lemon juice and zest, ad cinnamon stick and leave overnight.
Next day, strain through a muslin and pour into sterilised bottles. Will keep for a few months in a cool place, once opened will last or about a week.

Elderflower Champagne (Adapted from a recipe in The new complete book of self-sufficiency by John Seymour):

15 flower heads,
1 1/2 lbs (0.7 kg) sugar,
4 litres of water,
Juice and zest of one lemon,
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar.

Put the flowers in a bowl and add lemon juice and zest, add the sugar, vinegar and 4 litres of water.  leave for 24 hours then strain through a muslin and poor into sterilised bottles.  Leave for two weeks, drink before it is 3 weeks old.

Birthday!

So it was my birthday yesterday, I now can no longer class myself as beign in my mid-twenties, (although I was pushing it last year!) Now I am 29!  Eeeek!
Here are some pics from my big day: