Early autumn is a perfect time to live on Heybeliada. School is about to start and the summer population are streaming back to their more convenient Istanbul residences. I love the sound of suitcases on wheels retreating down the street. Apartments are being scrubbed ready to be shut away till the hired help return to scrub them again, ready for their occupants next summer. Very soon, we will have both quiet and weather that is warm, but not over-whelming. As soon as there is a little rain the park will be green again. The colder it gets the deeper the camaraderie between those who are here all year becomes.
Finally after spending the last six months between three countries, and having a house full of guests during August, we are having a few days of only four of us before the term-time routines begin again. It is bliss to dawdle with the two littlest while Ville is at work. Neve is nearly six months old and has had her first food this week, so my days of nourishing a baby entirely myself are over. Its a moment to reflect how lucky I have been that all three children have been born in undramatic home births, have fed and grown well and are healthy and thriving.
In a week or two the garden will yield more grapes than could be eaten by our entire building. I breastfeed Neve watching heavy quince bobbing on the branches outside the window. I feel mellow and fruitful.
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gosh, life there sounds so idyllic!!! i love hearing about it. can I ask what brought you to such an amazing place? anyway the photos are lovely, all so cosy and relaxed, glad to see you enjoying the family time!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate. I loved seeing your daughter in your wedding dress. What a lovely moment. I am here in Istanbul because I fell in love with Ville (after meeting him at a conference in the UK) and he already had a son who lived in Istanbul. I moved here with my son so that we could do proper shared parenting and his son lives with us Thursday to Sunday. We moved to this Island rather than the city itself because I was coming from a farm and Ville had the brilliant idea of commuting from Heybeliada so that we could have some real green to roam in. Life has been far from idyllic but the location is incredible and, mostly, I love it. Having to pay for schools for the two older boys (Ruskin in England) has meant that we have lived fairly frugally and have little comfort at home, and though we are glad to do it, it can take its toll. But things are creeping forwards and everyone is flourishing....and documenting it is such a good reminder of how perfect some moments are.
ReplyDeleteI can almost hear your daughter's giggles as your son bounces on the bed. Wonderful!
ReplyDelete3 cheers for September. Julia you have such a beautiful way of putting what many of us must be feeling. Sometimes it is refreshing to go back to a routine again. And yes, let us be thankful for the way the births have gone and the way you could feed and nourish them so well.Day to day care and management of a family on a tight budget is often challenging, so moments like you captured with your camera are beautiful and precious. Memories are made of that when life has moved on to another situation or difficulty. Cherished memories! Love to you all!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tarnya. I know that these images will be so precious in years to come but I wouldn't mind managing to create something as beautiful as yours one day!
ReplyDeleteMum, thank you. Looking at these pictures I felt really moved at how many of the toys and clothes came from you and Faffa and Fammo. The seahorse that lights up is such a firm favourite with both of them and I will never forget how you suddenly wanted to get it right before I left England with a newborn Neve. I know that it must be hard not to have them closer.
Your babies are beautiful. I love the routine of autumn too, I guess because in the states the new school year starts at the end of summer and routines start again.
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