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wanna walk through my day???
can’t promise it’s very interesting..but here’s what we did….
it was an early start this morning..as always 5.45 am…up and about in enough time to wake dh and the boys so they could get to the masjid in time for subh…they were out y 6.30am…so DD17 and I prayed together and made ourselves busy with adhkar, and then caught up on our knitting while we waited for the boys to get back.
7.15am and the porridge was put on to simmer, dd17 went back to bed for a lie down..and after dishing out steaming bowls of porridge to them men folk I retired with mine to the computer and caught up with what’s happening in the world… read some emails…caught up with a few blogs..made vague plans for the day….
by 8.30 the rest of the tribe were up and about…one of the older girls took care of remaining smally breakfasts..and I set to with a few house chores while dh and boys got their Jumuah showers going….DD18 and I tackled the mighty mountain of dry laundry that needed to be put away while Dd17 cleaned the sitting room and kitchen..then we got the boys out for Jumuah with the dh..and DD17 made us some cheese on toast for lunch while we waited for our guests to arrive..
Salat adh-dhur came and we prayed together.. Today was also a sunnah day for hijama so I gave my lovely sisters their treatment and then we had a lovely chat..and a cuppa….which filled the afternoon nicely masha’allah…
salat al-asr with DD17 and a sister who was still here, and then after saying our salam…the DD’s and I settled down to some knitting/crochet until maghrib..DD8 was busy updating her BLOG…yes the bug has spread to the younger members of the family..and I will eventually put them on the blog roll but I’ll be kind and give them a head start insha’allah..
After Maghrib DD17 and I headed upstaris to finish what was left of the laundry while DD18 warmed up leftovers and made fresh bread for dinner….with the laundry put awayand the girls fed…DD17 swept out my room for me and we waited for the boys to come home to get ready for karate at 7.30…once they were gone again we settled dd8 and dd(nearly)5 into bed….DD18 very kindly got on with making some chicken and fresh bread dough for the boys and dh for after karate..while I got the smallie to sleep….with DD17 knitting on the end of my bed and me knitting next to the smally as she fell asleep…at 10pm…DD17 and I woke up!!! and made it downstairs in enough time for the returning men folk…DD18 cooked the bread in the pan while I warmed up the chicken and served up dinner….and now??? DS12 is the last lingerer..dh and DD18 have gone to bed, as has DS10…DS12 is bombarding with tales of his day and DD17 is still knitting behind me while I savour my last cuppa of the day..before praying Isha
there you go a Friday in our lives…..what was yours like???
Today I watched on in awe as DD17 taught DD(nearly)5 how to cast on…. and I have to say they both did remarkably well…to watch siblings bond, and take pleasure in each others company is always a soul enriching experience masha’allah.
I almost typed up the recipe again and remembered that i did this way back in the summer….but they were covered with cheese and thyme….anyway…I pasted the recipeup here..they are delicious..and I’ve just discovered that if cut them in half and toast them next day for breakfast..slathering them with LOADS of butter..they’re reminiscent of english muffins…enjoy…and can I see your efforts please???
- 1 sachet of easy yeast or fast action yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 500 ml water or 250ml water and 250ml milk (I use milk and water)
- 750-1kg plain flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tbsp olive oil
sift the flour into a large bowl…it’s alot of flour so make sure you have a large enough container to work with.
add the yeast to the flour along with the salt and sugar, butter and oil and mix well
heat the milk and water till tepid and then make a well in the centre of the flour..adding enough of the milk and water to make a soft dough…you may need more or less wet than is given here as each flour tends to have a different absorpbancy. Knead the dough well for about 10 or 15 minutes, and it should remain soft but not sticky..if the dough does become too sticky then just add more flour…
form the dough into a ball and then coat the dough lightly with oil . place it in a large bowl and cover..I leave mine to rest for at least an hour in my wooden jifna with a large saucepan lid to cover it and keep it warm…
this dough will relax alot when left to rest so after it’s at least doubled in size reform it into a ball and then breakoff small lumps about the size of a tennis ball…although you can do them larger..I prefer to make smaller individual breads… I manage to get at least 12 loaves from this amount of dough masha’allah
flatten the balls slightly and then roll into rounds about the size of a side plate and leave to rest for another half an hour on a worktop..you should preferably cover with clean dry tea towels..although a freshly washed bedsheet works really well 
I preheat my oven to gasmark 8, but your ovens may vary..and then bake the bread a couple at a time for about 10 minutes..traditionally these breads should leave the oven pale and not browned too much..as you can see mine are light golden, but a teen was in charge of the baking this time!
you can experiment with toppings..my current favourite is olive oil and then grated cheese and oregano or thyme or you can just leave them plain
you can make a paste from lemon juice, olive oil, thyme and roasted sesame seeds which is deliciou
I’ve also used these breads as individual pizza bases…. and if you were at the last picnic we had..these were the breads you ate..have a go..they’re wonderful masha’allah
to be honest I’m not sure what else I’ve still got lurking on THAT to do list from yesterday..but I’m hoping that when i take a peek in a minute I can give a huge sigh of relief for having accomplished them all….
I know I intended to knit…and I did….at least 3 rows of a shawly throw type thing…. so that was th
on first three rows done…. now it’s just the rest of the thing to get on with….
And i did manage to get on here and post pics so I know I’ve done that!
Ah bread recipe is indeed coming!!!
and I’m taking the hat to bed with me to at least cast on….so I just scrape through no???
Only thing that didn’t get done was the cleaning..but guests weresprung on me at the last minute and I had alot of cooking to do….that counts as a get out clause right???
Anyway as you can see from the photos…schooling played a big part of our week…we’re easing ourselves back in slowly at the moment…and as long as we get something done everyday mon-thurs then I feel like we’ve accomplished something….DS10 has started reading to me everyday..mainly because it’s the ONLY way I can get him to read…and DD(nearly)5 has just started wanting to write letters and numbers…
The teens are trudging through maths and biology in preparation for their final GCSE’s this year so weekdays can be a bit fraught for them…we only school mon-thurs..Friday is Jumuah and we spendthe day focusing on deen….and saturday and sunday are my days for recuperating….
I go into this week with no distinct plan in mind…I’m more than happy to just let it roll out and take it as it comes insah’allah
xxx
treat you to some pictures…if my demon phone didnt need charging at the most awkward moments!!!
Lots have been going on round here in the past week…schooling,crafting, cooking…mother slowly going roud the twist…children glorying in the sight of mother slowly going round the twist….what can I say??
On Friday I had a plan of action…now I have Sunday…and not alot to show for myself…
so….in order to salvage what is left of this weekend tomorrow insha’allah I WILL
*post the bread recipe for the very patient sisters who have been waiting for it
*put some pictures of our week up, to make the place look abit more …erm…pretty?
*resart the hat I knitted two thirds of then had to UNRAVEL because I dropped two stitches and couldn’t retrieve them
*do some work on the blanket I’m making
*Clean my house !!!!!!
simple goals I know but at this stage in the game simple is the ONLY way left to go
it’s been some kind of fortnight hasn’t it… I mean on top of everything else that life throws at you on a daily basis..I’ve been trying to help my children understand why Muslims are the most hated people on the earth and why no-one wants to stop the massacre of their little brothers and sisters..
I don’t believe in shielding them from this..they have to see whats going on..they have to know the reality…they also need to feel safe..like all children everywhere.
I lok at the children of gaza and try to imagine how many generations it might take before the pain is at least bearable…we can’t even begin to nderstand how traumatised they are…when I see those children in their kiffans i remeber seeing my own little boy in his, but knowing that at least his passng was peaceful…nt like this..the sight and sound of these poor grieving parents is so hard to bear….may it be a source of reward for themin this life and in the hereafter….ameen
I try not to feel guilty about going on with daily life when I hear cries of “where is the ummah?”.. but it’s true..where are we..why are we doing nothing??
to sustain intrest in normal everyday life at times like this?
How many of us feel like we should be doing something more than we are….how many of us feel that we have no right to go about our daily lives, carefree and relatively untroubled as they are when our brothers and sisters and their beautiful children endure suffering upon suffering?
Life has to continue, but how shaming for us as an ummah that we’ve let the situation come to this in the first place, ya Allah!!
Life and it’s daily routines do go on for those of us not having to endure these atrocities first hand, children need to be fed, homes tended and obligations fulfilled, but what bigger obligation than to free our brothers and sisters from their suffering…. I hope this ummah is never the same again after this, because if we are..it means we will let it happen again….
when you’re children say things like this in such a mature and heartfelt way…. I pray that the tears we are shedding push us to do better things for our ummah than we have done in the past….Oh allah, ya rahman ya rahim..forgive us for forgetting our resposibilities towards our brothers and sisters who are less fortunate and suffering oppression….Oh Allah, ease their suffering and raise the martyred to a noble station in the hereafter,ameen
We have sat and watched with grim foreboding, the pictures coming out of Ghaza today…let our brothers and sisters be in our dua…
May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala bless them with sabr, which I know they have a plentitude of anyway..may He raise the martyred to the highest level of Jannah and may he give the Muslims victory over their vile and inhuman opressors….ameen
This is nothing short of genocide, and still the world is content to watch on…
What can I say…we go about our daily business with sad hearts,feeling the pain of our brothers and sisters…seeing the fear in the eyes of the children..hearing their cries….
Our people are dying and nothing is being done…Muslim blood is cheap it seems
