Time to reclaim and update

I am back yes so it feels that way its been way too long. I have not been feeling very energetic of late . I have some baby news .YES I am pregnant after 6 1/2 years of trying we have been blessed. I am 18 weeks at present, it has been hard with all the vomiting and smells. Yesterday I received the news I have Gestational Diabetes (GD) in Pregnancy. At first I was concerned as i am generally a healthy person and now its just not my health its baby too. I have been invited to the Specialist GD clinic for tomorrow for an education , so I will have more news on that after tomorrow. A sister who also blog's had a simillar expierence and she wrote about it here . she experienced GD twice and managed to battle the odds mashaAllah. More updates as and when they happen inshaAllah ( God willing).

I am Back

It's actually been a few months , perhaps the longest blogger absence for me , I have a good reason and I bring good news.
Update will have to be in pictures



A lovely Thai meal that was cooked for me by an equally lovely sister in Islam and dear friend.
Ramandan came and went.............sadly I didn't gain what I had set out to and hoped. Some cakes shared in Ramandan Algerian of course.



My Eid cakes for friends and neighbours to share


Evening Eid meal as requested by the family ....was very nice i must add. Buryani with baby lamb, chicken tikka , salad and Natural yoghurt.

Flowers on a rainy day in September in my garden.

Hot cakes topped with banana and home made caramel sauce. Random treat.

my son got me this single flower its so pretty.

just before Ramandan update

I have been a bit poorly and totaly lost my daily mojo. Not in the least bit intrested to do anything. I hope I regain better days soon especially with Ramandan just a few days away inshaAllah. The school hols have been hard for the kids so far, with no break away planned due to lack of cash funds. They are lumped at home, I have told them, just makethe best of it and occupy yourselves. With my health not so good. I have not been able to take them out and about London Town. I did however invest in a big trampoline for the kids and its now set up in the garden, they love it. I myself have been out at least once per week so far,invited to lunch and even managed to host a lunch at mine with about 9 ladies. It was Italian food, I did not manage to take any pictures sorry.

Now with Ramandan only days away inshaAllah, the pace is changing slightly in the home. Goals are being openly dissuced and targets are being set. We are all aiming for a spirtual uplift and a good gain of good deeds inshaAllah.

I have not done no new crafting for some weeks now, I wanted this summer to be about finishing of WIP. Then I want to try some blankets in bright colours.

My oven is still broken, cakes have been off the menu for months now. I do miss baking and hope a new cooker is on the horizen soon inshaAllah.

Flowers in the garden this year

I did not go full on with the gardening this year, I didn't want the responsibility yo be honest. just some flowers to share.

My projects

Who remembers this post? Well its all finished

I am really pleased with how this project turned out , the quality yarn makes the difference but at a price!


other Items I have been busy with



Granny Square Cushion

Butterfly's I had made for me , then used them to make brooch's to sell at a charity bazaar to raise money for orphans.

cup cakes





This is the scarf finished knitted work , really you need to see it in real ife as a picture does no justice to its elegance.

Visiting an friend after 8 years

Today was an early start for me, I headed into Sussex to visit an old friend who came into my live 8 years ago and stopped for 2 years and then moved cities then countries. We remained in touch best we could, by telephone, email, shortly by face book. Every time we spoke it was like had never left each other for so long mashaAllah.

This lady came into my life when I was expecting my 3rd child, at a time when the rejection of my family was still very raw. At a time I longed for a true sisterhood, a friend that really cared. My dear friend filled this description and more mashaAllah.

I recall the happy days hanging out together at her flat, the endless cups of tea we drank, the social lunch's we organised for other sisters, the Islamic talks, the fundraising, the laughter and tears we shared will remain in my memory for time to come. The support this sister showed me when I gave birth to my daughter, she made sure I had an endless stream of visitors and cooked meals mashaAllah. She never let me feel the void of my family, its almost like she replaced it in other ways. She soon became my family. Then a chance came for here to make hijrah and off she went, we cried as we parted, exchanged gift and words of wisdom but her love never left my heart. So today after 8 years I headed out of London to visit her, I got the added bonus to meet her mother and sisters mashaAllah. She had talked about them so much during those years and now they were all here in the same room. Gentle and kind mashaAllah. We were treated to a special lunch on a lovely table presented just for us mashaAllah. It was lovely to meet my friend’s family and all her new additions, 3 new children who have inherited the very kind nature of their lovely mother mashaAllah.

We exchanged stories and descriptions of our host countries of hijrah (emigration). On another note the area of Sussex was a breath of fresh air for me compared to London, its greenery, cool breeze and village like feel. Roads seemed deserted compared to London's bumper to bumper traffic. We parted on the note ''when will we meet again?'' Holding back my tears I said I don't know another 8 years?
There was a resident henna artist and my daughter had her henna done.

Italian themed bread rolls

I really thought these rolls where already on here. A many a request I had a lot and realised they are not. These are my own recipe although I amsure someone somewhere else makes them too. As i use my eyes to measure, my own account of recpie writting maybe vauge, if you have any questions please ask in the comment section and I will by the will of Allah try to help you produce these yummy rolls. For me these are Italian themed hence the name.

I used half a bag of 1kg flour
1 jar of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, cut up the tomatoes in smaller strips. Add the tomatoes and olive oil to the flour.
1 bunch of fresh spinach washed and chopped.
1 tub of ricotta cheese
1 table spoon of yeast (I use instant)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon of oregano or you can use rosemary.

Now using warm water bind with hands togehter slowly adding the water at intervals , a little at a time. Now once it has formed into a ball, cover and leave to rise.

Once risen , knock back and kneed a little. Oil a tray and roll balls in your hands or any shape you want. Make one big plait or loaf shape if you wish. Place onto the tray with a little gap between each roll, brush with egg and sprinkle with pine nuts as I never had any I used sesame seeds.
Bake in a pre-heated oven until risen and golden (about 15 mins).

These rolls are great as a snack on thier own and with soups.

will post pictures soon inshaAllah.

why have I not been blogging?

I have not blogged for a long time, this has been due to a number of reasons.
1. My desk top has beenout of action
2. I felt the need to shy away as I feel privacy has become a concern
3. General busy life, work load ect
4. Have not been in the mood to much lately
5. Have a heep of pic's somewhere that need uploading to here

just to mention a few with the desk top all fixed by a lovely sister mashaAllah yesterday I will be back soon.

Its been too long , catch up in pictures

Spotted at the tube station , reads, A throne is only a bench covered in velvet.

My WIP ''Decopatch chair''

Crochet Rings


New Scarf WIP knitted.

A gift ,a sun flower

My herb garden

All things cake

Some new recent cakes I have made or were made for me will be back to update post soon but 'droll' over opps I mean enjoy the pictures for now!