What's in The Mother's mailbag - 2011
Mailbag from issue 49 - Nov/Dec 2011
A very belated thank you for sending out The Nurtured Family booklet so quickly. It made an insightful read that I wished I could have seen Veronika give in person. I just wanted to say thank you for inspiring our family to live a more nurtured life ~ we’ll be putting your tips into practice, and smiling with the new light of each day. All the very best to you all, Katie Saunders
We love The Mother magazine!!! Actually, my husband had subscribed to it for a long time before I met him, and knew much about natural parenting, raw food, etc. Bless him forever! We were blessed in May this year with a child, our first: a baby girl. With kind regards, Marie & Graeme Randall
I love my bi-monthly doses of inspiration and can’t foresee a time when I won’t! Here’s to the next fabulous issue. Love, Amanda
Thank you for sending out the books so quickly, they are both a real joy. I love cooking, and, like you, struggle to follow recipes, but have really enjoyed yours. The first one saw Surya and I eagerly collecting nettles from our garden for the soup; both girls loved it, and ate the whole potful! The thoughts and wisdom you share about the breath, our food and our culture are so wise and true, and the pictures are great. It in itself is a nourishing read! So much more than a cookbook.
The Nurtured Family booklet is really inspiring; such a lovely way to bring together the threads to nurture family. I particularly liked what you wrote about the Sun. It has always felt wrong to me to keep Surya out of the Sun and to use Sun lotion when she so loves to be naked outside. It was so enlightening for me to read your thoughts on this, so thank you. This is definitely a book I will pass around my friends.
Clare, Cumbria
I wanted to write and thank you for the camp, and to let you know that all the hard work you and your family put into it is appreciated by me. I feel very lucky that myself and Ayla could be a part of it and amongst other lovely families for a few days in such a tranquil place. Ayla and I had a wonderful time, and it was lovely talking to like-minded mothers and fathers. One of my best memories will be of a circle of us learning to knit, and also all breastfeeding children at the same time ~ multitasking at its best! It struck me then how good it felt to be in the company of mothers who share the same values.
Your words and The Mother magazine have been a continuous inspiration and support for me throughout pregnancy and motherhood so far, and will continue to be, as I find the right path for Ayla and I.
My family are all enjoying your great recipes from The Mystic Cookfire as I work my way through. I’m really enjoying developing a store cupboard of ingredients, and discovering more tasty vegan meals. I get my organic veg box for the week, see what’s in it, and then go straight to The Mystic Cookfire either for inspiration or to follow a recipe exactly. At this moment, a blueberry cheesecake is chilling in the fridge ~ and it will be enjoyed by veggies and non-veggies alike, so thank you. I hope to see you sometime soon.
With love, Heather, Cumbria.
We wanted to write to thank you all for a wonderful camp. I’m so glad we could come this year. It was such a wonderful experience. Even Joe, who you know was a little unsure, really did enjoy himself! The boys had a great time too. Benjamin particularly would be happy to spend all his days roaming the fields! I hope you know how much we appreciate all the hard work you put into camp and the magazine. It means so much to me and that means it matters to the boys too! You are all an inspiration to us. Bethany and Eliza, it was lovely to spend time with you and be reminded of how lucky we are to have sisters ;-) Lots of love, Emily, Joe, William and Benjamin.
Wanted to say thank you for your book The Nurtured Family. We had our first weekend away with our full Moon circle and completely indulged on your list of how to nurture. We made sure we had at least one thing or activity to nurture each point. Lots of laughter, love and confidence. A great weekend with goddess, inspired by a beautiful booklet. Unschooling is going very well, so so so easy and smooth, we absolutely love it! Lots of love and sunshine, Cath, Western Australia
Dear Veronika,
I have just ordered your beautiful book The Mystic Cookfire online at Starflower Press. My friend, who subscribes to The Mother magazine, has lent me the book and it has put me into such a lovely inner space... I am very, very grateful. I have MS and food is a big part of my healing process. I’m a passionate cook and it’s lovely to feel inspired to be more aware, meditative and loving when I cook. I was going to photocopy some recipes and quickly realised that I needed to copy the whole book! It will be wonderful to have my own copy. Its energy is already permeating my life. Thank you so much for the inspiration, love and yumminess. May the good energy you send out into the world be returned to you manyfold. In joy and gratitude, Jitindriya
I was hoping to meet with other like-minded families in my area. I was wondering if you could please add a note for anyone in the Colchester/Chelmsford/Halstead/Maldon areas of Essex who’d be interested in meeting up, to contact me at hakeberc@yahoo.co.uk Rebekah Collins
I have a subscription to your magazine and am from California. I wanted to say that both my husband (who is British) and I love your magazine. When it comes in the post we are so excited to see the new articles and share the magazine ~ thank you.
Samantha Peel
I just wanted to drop you a quick email to thank you so much for sending and signing my copy of The Mystic Cookfire. Each week my family and I do a whole week’s cooking from a chosen cookbook, so we are working our way through your yummy recipes nicely. I’ve also recently subscribed to The Mother magazine and find it both refreshing and reassuring to know that there are others out there willing to trust their nurturing instincts in raising their children. It has been a great support to me recently as we’re experiencing some particularly taxing toddler behaviour with our little one, and, as my husband is working hard to build his own business, it has fallen to me to do a lot of the parenting. Many thanks and warm wishes, Alex
We can not thank you enough for the inspirational books and The Mother magazine. It’s always one of those special days for everyone when The Mother arrives at our doorstep. Much love, joy and happiness in these beautiful Autumn days, Kirsten
Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into The Mother. I love the inspiration it offers me (as well as an excuse for a sit down and cup of Chai) when it comes through the door every couple of months. Can I also thank you for The Mystic Cookfire. I am finding lots of wonderful recipes in there to satisfy this closet vegan! Love and blessings, Claire
Your book The Birthkeepers arrived about a week before Joni J was born, and it totally inspired me. I read the stories over and over and determined to have a fear-free and empowered birth. I photocopied some of the beautiful drawings of the strong and peaceful women, and stuck them on the wall around my vision board, which I gazed at for several hours on the birthing day! I know the book really helped me overcome my fear of pain; fear of not being in control. The birth was truly empowering, and I am very grateful. Lel
Mailbag from issue 48 - Sept/Oct 2011
My daughter is 13 today, and we’ll be celebrating with your vegetable korma cooked out in the garden on the camping stove! We skimmed through the book and that meal jumped out at us. There are some fabulous soup recipes I’m looking forward to trying. Meal plan will be easily sorted for the week. Thank you ~ Sarina
Two TM readers are setting up an alternative parenting group for parents and children in Maryport, West Cumbria. We’re setting up this group to provide a safe, supportive and nourishing group for mothers and fathers who have chosen to parent in an alternative way. If you’re interested in natural birthing, full-term breastfeeding, natural health care, responsive parenting, spiritual aspects of mothering, The Continuum Concept, Steiner/Waldorf education and more, then please get in touch. Our vision is to set up a Steiner-inspired playgroup with creative activities; speakers; family yoga sessions; a place for children to play freely with natural toys and spend time in Nature. If you’d like to get involved, please get in touch with Clare or Hatti for more information: Clare 07906 188345 clarevictoriacooper@yahoo.co.uk
Hatti 01900 816695 07786 327318
harrietburt@ymail.com
Dear Veronika, Paul and family,
Thank you greatly for the books I bought from you at the recent Nurtured Family conference. Such beautiful and heart-warming words, it’s been a real gift to read them. I’ve almost finished Life Without School now, and this morning was reading Paul’s account of his experience as Father Christmas. It brought a smile to my face and has prompted me to share something that happened to us a few years ago. Visiting Santa has never been something we’ve done with our brood, but this particular year we were invited along by friends. Before we knew it we found ourselves standing in line in a Somerset grotto with two of our children. It hadn’t even occurred to us to forewarn them, so when we were ushered in and they were greeted with ‘Hello children, and what would you like for Christmas?’ Santa was met with an awkward silence and two bemused stares. After a long pause, Flora, then 10, said: ‘Er, I think I’d like it to snow, please.’ And after an even longer wait six-year-old Gabriel added: ’I’d like world peace.’ The look on Father Christmas’s face was priceless; but when he replied: ‘Eh? Wouldn’t you prefer a pony and a Nintendo?’ I all but shrieked, ‘No thank you Santa’, as my husband hastily ushered us all out. Now if it had only been Paul in the red suit…! Thanks once again for your inspiring publications, and I look forward to meeting you all at camp.
Big love, Ali Fitzpatrick xxx
...I’m looking forward to The Mystic Cookfire...and am, as always, being inspired by the new TM issue ~ it really awakens/reminds me of The Mother part of myself. Many greetings to you and your family, and have a nice and warm rest of the Summer days!
Jelena, Croatia
I just wanted to thank you for the last issue (46) of TM, as two articles in particular were very timely for me. I was trying to make a decision whether our daughter should continue in September two mornings in a nursery. We have already decided to home educate, but she was going along as it is in a beautiful setting on a farm. However, she is never enthusiastic about going, and often says that she doesn’t want to go and doesn’t want me to leave her. I was a bit torn though as they tell me how much she loves it once she is there and I have gone. But it has never felt right leaving her (after two terms), and in Georgina’s unschooling column she talked about walking away. I always enjoy reading about their unschooling life, but her words in this article helped me have the confidence to listen to my heart, and to know that feeling so empty when I have left her is natural. As ever, TM helps you to have the confidence to listen to your instincts. Also, I loved the article about painting in Steiner schools. At the same time as trying to make this decision, I found out about a home-ed group which gets together once a week to do Steiner-inspired watercolour painting! So I went along to the group, after having read the article, with a good understanding of what it is about. So we will start with this group after the Summer, run by some lovely and like-minded mums.
So with the help from these articles, I came to the decision that she won’t be returning to nursery in September, and that we’ll continue our journey together at home as a family with the new baby (now eight months and growing beautifully on my milk with just a few tastes of fruit and veg; another example of gaining confidence to do this by being inspired by TM! And SO enjoying feeding her, despite her frequent night wakings).
Sorry to waffle on but just wanted to thank all who contribute to TM, and to send a hug to you and your family. I hope The Mother never ends!
With much love, Katie
Arrived home from our camping trip to find The Mystic Cookfire had arrived. Wow! What a book! It is so much more than a cookbook ~ a book certainly of love and nourishment, too. I read it cover to cover straight away, and so far we have tried Mystic Sauce with pasta, vegetable korma, chilli con mystic, and Croatian cabbage salad. Planning on Bethany’s curried cauliflower soup today! Thank you so much for this wonderful book. I would love to read all your books ~ I imagine them to be so inspiring. Do you have a library system to read and return? Not sure if you would, just a thought. With warmest blessings, Sarah
Ed’s note: A catalogue record for all of our books is available from the British Library, which means that every library in the country is able to buy and stock a copy. Just ask them. If you need to know the ISBN number for any of the books, drop us an email.
Dear Veronika and Paul,
Thank you again for your lovely talks at Haslemere Museum. It was such a wonderful day! The girls wanted to thank you so made some cards for you. Thank you for all your hard work!! We are ever so inspired by all your love, support and advice.
Blanka, Mel, Honey and Angelina xxx
I just wanted to write a quick e-mail to say a huge thank you for your book, Life Without School. I have 3 boys of 6, 4 and 16 months, and we decided to home educate from an early age. However, as my oldest and now my middle son have reached ‘school’ age, new choices and decisions have appeared, which sometimes make me worry about whether we’ve made the right choice for them, or if I, as a mother, am ‘doing enough’ to help their education. Like many parents setting out on this journey I’m sure, we’ve had one or two (very) brief forays into more formal learning, which have always ended in head-in-my-hands despair, and vows of never again! Your book has been so reassuring to me, that despite many many comments about ‘so what do you do?’ and ‘how do you teach them?’ and ‘do you follow the curriculum?’ I now feel I can hold my head high and say: ‘well, not a lot actually’, ‘I don’t’, and emphatically ‘NO!’ So many of your snapshots into everyday life rang true to me, like being woken at 6am with way too much enthusiasm, and the 5 million questions on the 10 minute journey to the shops! Also, I received the book on the very day that I’d been given a hard time by the doctor for not vaccinating my youngest son, whom he’d (mistakenly) diagnosed with mumps...so very refreshing to come home to as well! Once again, many thanks, I had intended the book for my holiday reading (four weeks touring the south west in our lovely old van!), but of course, I’ve now read it before we even leave! Please keep up all your wonderful, inspirational writing, it’s so good to know there are other people out there who share our views and feelings about child rearing and learning.
With thanks and lots of love, Sam and James Dickenson, with help (and probably profound relief at no more formal stuff!) from Isaac, Arthur and Rufus xx
Thankyou for my copy of The Mystic Cookfire. I have been meaning to write since I received it; anyway, better late than never. I really love it. The recipes are delicious, and so easy to put together. I like all the extra information, and words of wisdom throughout. It’s so full of love. Sara’s illustrations are also lovely.
Thanks again, Love, Jane
My name is Elizabet, and I have been recently introduced to your AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS and INSPIRING magazine! I was seven months pregnant with our first child then, and I was lucky enough to meet this beautiful soul who gave me a bag full of back issues of The Mother, saying: ‘I wish I had known about this magazine when I had my son 7 years ago...’ My husband and I have since been ‘eating’ each of the issues, loving and getting inspired by them. We are relieved to realise that we’re not ‘alone’ in our choices for natural pregnancy, birth and parenting. Our beautiful baby girl was born in the water on the 7th June 2011, in our home in Lyme Regis. We’re loving being Jasmin’s parents, and in a way feeling part of The Mother community... So finally I decided to get a subscription, and reading about the back issues on the website, I’d love to get the last issue, Jan/Feb 2011, as there were a few articles on breastfeeding and one about birth in Brazil (I am Brazilian) that really interest me. Thank you so much for making this all possible!
Love, Liz
Hi Veronika! I’m a future freebirther, pregnant with my first baby, and have just finished your amazing book The Birthkeepers. It was, by far, the most inspiring beautiful book on pregnancy and childbirth that I have ever read. As a student midwife (in a very medicalised midwifery state), your book has also made me question even the most “hands-off” midwifery...although the questions were already there for some time now. Anyway, thank you for your beautiful contribution to conscious birth. Peace and many blessings to you.
♥ ~ Melissa-Marie Marks
I wanted to say thank you to Eliza for her wonderful recipes. I’ve been making these for some time, and they’re always delicious, and many become things I cook again and again (had spinach, chickpea and potato stew TM42 tonight ~ fab, my three year and one year old always lap it up, as does my decidedly non-veggie husband!). More than this though, cooking these marvellous dishes has given me the confidence to follow my heart, and I have recently become vegan. I feel that you have inspired and supported me to live authentically by your example. And I know that vegan food is completely delicious, and I have lots of recipes to whip up for doubtful friends and relatives! There are so many things in this magazine that have helped me in my journey ~ I first heard about lotus birth here and knew I would do this with my second child. I’m in the process of writing up his glorious birth story. I will send it in when completed. I chose not to vaccinate, and it’s wonderful to read so many supportive articles from like-minded people.
With thanks and love, Lucy xx
I enclose/attach photos for Welcome Earthside. I also wanted to add a note to you and The Mother community. We are just emerging from the fug of the first few weeks of caring for our newest arrival, Emmi-Jean. I have a comfortable and settled feeling that our family is now complete. This sense brings with it a kind of continual closure as we do lots of things for the ‘last time’ (e.g. last time to enjoy pregnancy, last time to prepare for a wonderful birth), which I can see will be ongoing. A kind of continual acknowledgment of, and gratitude to, familial milestones as they pass and we leave them behind to focus on new adventures ahead. As we prepared for Emmi-Jean’s birth, I was extremely conscious of the role that you, Veronika, the other contributors to The Mother magazine (especially those brave enough to share their beautiful birth stories), and the wider Mother community, have played in enabling us as a family to create the best environment for two fantastic births. I’m lucky to have many other people in my life who have also supported us to achieve our peaceful home births, but I wanted to write to you to acknowledge The Mother community as a whole. By offering alternative stories, the magazine has really helped us to question the dominant, taken-for-granted, ‘truth’ about birth and parenting, and has enabled us to feel confident about thinking independently (if one can ever think independently!) about the choices we want to make. I definitely held on to some of your contributors’ birth stories during my births, and really had a sense of standing on the shoulders of some incredible women, not just through the generations in my own family, but through the family of The Mother magazine. I found The Birthkeepers really inspiring and helpful throughout my pregnancy with Emmi-Jean, and The Drinks Are On Me supported me in the choices I wanted to make around breastfeeding my children (I’m now beginning my ‘tandem nursing’ journey!). It has been really important to myself and my partner to know that there’s a community of parents out there supporting and contributing to The Mother magazine. This is especially important on days when we’re feeling alone with the choices we make if they differ from our families’, the ‘other’ parenting magazines’/TV programmes,’ the health system, and mainstream views about how parenting ‘should’ be done. I’m looking forward to the continued support I get from The Mother community through the pages of its magazine, but I wanted to send a note of gratitude particularly in relation to our amazing birthing experiences.
You all rock. Love, Sooz
Mailbag from issue 47 - July/Aug 2011
Please can you help me with a book I’m writing on holistic approaches to recovery after birth trauma? If you’re a mother or the partner of someone who experienced a traumatic delivery of your baby, I’d love to hear from you. Please share your stories and experiences, including details of the postnatal care you received, and what, if anything, has helped you to recover. All information will be completely confidential, and interviews can be conducted by email at your convenience. If you would be prepared to help me, please email a quick note with your contact details to: sara@bran.net and I’ll get right back to you and explain more. Thank you.
Sara Bran, TM columnist and homeopath.
Dear Veronika, Eliza, Bethany and Paul,
Just a note to say thank you for the amazing book Life Without School. I home school both my girls, and you have lifted my soul with your inspiring articles. I feel free to stand alone and be true to my heart, and help my children follow their passion and instincts. This has always been a desire, but you seem to have helped break the spell cast by my own (horrid) schooling experiences. And thank you for the personal note in the book. Such a magic touch that makes the book all the more special. I have shared the title and a quote on my local HE forum, and Facebook will see a link when I log on. My eldest daughter is looking forward to reading the book when I have finished. It will be beautiful for her to explore the experiences of others.
Thanks just does not say enough. Kindest regards,
Dawn Waterhouse
www.dawnwaterhouse.co.uk
Homeopathy, Diet and Nutrition, Vaccination Support and Workshops
Thank you so much for the booklet of your talk (The Nurtured Family). It’s a beautiful reminder of all that is positive, wholesome and uplifting. It’s actually about living the Love that we ARE in truth. It’s effectively about raising our vibration, and thereby that of the whole family, and indeed the collective beyond. Wow! Infinite Blessings, Love and Light, Janet
Thank you for sending issue 44 so promptly. I loved reading it (boy, it’s nice to read views about parenting which chime with my own, something that is surprisingly rare, and I did not think I was THAT radical!). Thanks again.
Kind regards, Jess
Dear Paul and Veronika,
Thank you for the latest Mother magazine. It’s food for my soul. And please, tell Eliza that her aubergine and lentil bake from the previous issue was absolutely delicious! I even have a friend who right now has that copy just to photocopy the recipe.
Stacey Howard-Clarke, New Zealand
Hi Veronika,
I was lucky enough to win a copy of your new book, The Mystic Cookfire, on Facebook a few weeks ago. My daughters and I eagerly look forward to trying out Eliza’s Soul Food in each issue of The Mother. I can’t wait to sample some of your recipes. Many thanks.
Best regards, Jilly
Dear Veronika,
Thanks for your good wishes to welcome our new son, Ruben, via Facebook. It was very kind of you to remember us. I have attached a photo and would be honoured if you could include it in your next Welcome Earthside page.
We were inspired to have a home birth and a lotus birth after our time at The Mother camp in 2009, and this was further reinforced by reading the fab book Gentle Birth Gentle Mothering. I was lucky to have the opportunity to go and hear Dr. Sarah Buckley talk at a training day for doulas in Edinburgh just the week before Ruben was born. When Ruben didn’t breathe for 3 minutes after his birth, and the midwives were phoning for an ambulance, I was the only one who was perfectly calm as I just knew with his cord attached he was fine, and trusted my instincts and wouldn’t allow them to cut his cord to take him away. We then, unfortunately, had to transfer to hospital five hours after his birth as his breathing remained really fast; and again I was able to trust my instincts that he didn’t need tests and IV antibiotics, and just kept him on my chest, where his breathing regulated 36 hours later. I have to thank the inspiration I have got from The Mother magazine and camp for being able to stand up for Ruben’s rights against the advice of NHS protocols. Hospital was the last place I wanted to be and be questioned about his lotus birth, but actually, while the doctors were sceptical the midwives were fascinated, and all came to look and speak to me about it; so maybe it was meant to be after all to challenge the mainstream views.
I also really enjoyed your Lighting the Way editorial.
Lots of love, Lisa San Jose xxx
I just wanted to thank you again! Two and a half years ago, I talked to you regarding baby sleep, and it worked!! And this time, when history was repeating itself, just a few helpful hints from your talk did the trick! The girls and us love the blessings bowl and our little prayer which we have before storytime, and then early bedtime, well that’s about 8.15pm! We love the little ritual we have as a family. Thank you!!!
Love, Blanka x
I want to thank you for all your guidance, inspiration and knowledge you have, over the years, patiently instilled in me. Sometimes I wonder what sort of mother I would have become without meeting you, and The Mother, so early on in my journey. Thank you so much, Veronika, for everything. If I start listing I know I’ll forget some important points. You have influenced me so much. You’re such a beautiful person. I feel honoured and blessed to have met you. We enjoy so many of your recipes (I can’t wait for the book!!) in our everyday life; so many beautiful moments with our family; so much love and gratitude for simplicity.
From the Continuum Concept to natural hygiene; full-term breastfeeding; co-sleeping; nurturing; respect; trust in Nature and in ourselves; lotus birth; play…the list is endless. You have helped me to become the mother I needed to be, and it’s so good to know that if I have any question on anything I can ask you, and get ideas where to look. This is so amazing! I wish you a beautiful sunny Spring, the first one in your new house. I would so much have loved to come to The Mother camp. How beautiful this place looks! Stunning! But you know, a hot shower makes it too comfy for me ;-)
Thank you. Cath, Western Australia
I can’t do without The Mother. It’s a real blessing for me and my four beautiful children, affirming our life of respect together in our bus in the swamp! I have every issue, and love to see the photos of sturdy children whose birth photos I saw years ago. Thanks for the gift your magazine is.
Love, Willow. New Zealand
What a fantastic latest issue ~ thank you! I picked it up to read for five minutes and was still there two hours later, reading articles to my children and husband, talking it all through. You give us so much food for thought in TM. We all enjoy it so much. And how marvellous to have more from Jean Liedloff ~ such a brilliant insight and so inspiring. Our home is definitely more peaceful and full of trust because of her work and vision.
Melanie Crocker-Hulse
I’ve been really enjoying the last two books I’ve bought from you: The Drinks are on Me and The Birthkeepers, as well as your fantastic magazine. With my second baby due to arrive any day now, they have been such a source of inspiration for me. I feel so ‘skilled up’, in control, peaceful and very excited about our birth, which is completely different from my first daughter’s arrival. I seem to be walking around with The Mother emblazoned on my brain, and a comforting feeling that comes with being a part of the community of like-minded, forward thinkers that you’ve created a platform for. At the risk of sounding overly emotional, your work has simply transformed me.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Tessa
Thank you so much for sending Life without School to us so quickly. I finished reading it a couple of hours ago, and want to thank all four of you for sharing a tantalising insight into living by learning. Our daughters are aged 3 and 1, and when asked, we’ve always explained, a little shyly, that we’re considering homeschooling. Any doubts I may have had about life without school have been erased by reading your book, and I step forwards revelling in all the promise of being with my girls every day, and sharing in our discoveries. This afternoon, while on a walk, we were introduced to a family (2 children on horseback, 3 on bikes!). Our friend introduced our daughters to the mother, whose first question was “Have you put their names down for the school yet?”. It was with a calm sense of glad certainty that I was able to answer that we’ll be homeschooling (yippee!). Her reaction was interesting. She pointed at her eldest daughter and said “She would have been awful at that because she used to think other children her own age were terrible”, and then pointing at her other daughter “She would have probably loved it because she’s really social”. I can foresee some revealing conversations will be up for grabs with this topic as the girls get older! There were a few lines towards the end of your chapter that I may have to memorise about your girls being part of the world...
I enjoyed all the recipes, and I really enjoyed reading the girls’ chapters (a big reason I chose to read the book), and I’m inspired to read more on gardening by the Moon, and the Enneagram personality chart. Thank you!
Warm wishes, Michelle
I wanted to thank you Veronika for the wonderful advice I found in your book Stretch Marks. It was invaluable for our homebirth and since for my breastfeeding. How I have forgotten so much even after three babies already. Our family is now complete.
Thanks again, Belinda x
The Mystic Cookfire
HOT OFF THE PRESS!
I’ve just come in from shopping to find The Mystic Cookfire on the kitchen table. First impressions: very exciting! Beautiful pictures, and thank you so much for the inscription. Tonight is ‘Yummy Pizza Night’ (our family version of pizza, named by our son), but I shall certainly be reading your book from cover to cover for inspiration from now on.
Love and best wishes, Jane
Have not been able to put down your absolutely amazing The Mystic Cookfire. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It is truly inspirational, and it was like a big comfort blanket swept over me. I feel so nourished by it. At first, I just didn’t know where to start with the recipe exploration, but where else than to start at the very beginning. Looking forward to the journey.
Bless you and yours
Love, Claire xx, Ireland
Hi Veronika
I just wanted to say how nice it was to meet you yesterday at the Nurtured Family, Nurtured Earth conference. I greatly enjoyed your talk ~ a true mother, being able to continue over all the noise of the children coming in and out! I also wanted to thank you for The Mystic Cookfire, which I bought from you yesterday ~ OMG, what great recipes… I began reading the chapters before the recipes, and love all the info you have included. It makes it so personal. I, too, cook like you. I kinda follow a recipe, but usually end up adapting it because I don’t have all the ingredients; and flicking through your recipes I felt they were a guide which you could follow or change if you like. I have to make a special mention of the desserts though. They all sound so yummy and so easy to make! I’ve already devoured a rice pudding, which was amazing, and the ginger cake is waiting for me to slice as I type. Thank you again.
Lots of love, Vicky
On Facebook:
The book is fab, and tucked into my backpack. I will be sharing it wherever I go. Massive hugs, and much love.
Nikki, New Zealand
Well that’s a first... Crying while reading a recipe book!
Thank you, Veronika, for your inspirational words! Petra
Thank you so much for your super inspiring talk. Also, your fabulous new cookbook. I whipped up two of the recipes within minutes of walking through the door last night, for our ‘sponsored child cake sale’ today.
Many sold, and some left for tea! Kim xx
It’s arrived. Oh my, so much more than I ever imagined. What a wonderful sharing. ‘When’ you come to supper here, it will indeed be written in, food splattered, and much loved.
Thank you. Samantha xxx
Wohoo! I’ve just received the book. It’s lovely! Bigger than I imagined, which is a bonus! I can’t wait to start cooking ;-)
Sandra xxx
Thank you for the lovely book. It’s going to provide lots of inspiration to a not very confident cook.
Michelle
Thank you so much :) Beautiful book. Much love,
Heidi xxxx
The Mystic Cookfire is here!! It’s beautiful ♥ I can’t wait to start cooking. Thank you so much for sharing your foody knowledge.
Kathryn xxx
Visit Facebook: An oath of delicious networking
Time: Tuesday, June 7 at 1:00pm ~ October 6 at 1:00pm
Location: Tummies everywhere!
Created by: Sara Simon, Veronika Robinson
“I, ________________, do solemnly swear that the recipes for any future yummy foods that I supply for cake sales, LLL meetings, coffee mornings and dinner parties will be taken from The Mystic Cookfire and shamelessly flaunted as such.”
Vikki: Bought this lovely book on Saturday, and have already made rice pudding, ginger bread, two soups, a dressing, a potato dish, and have been influenced by it when making other meals ~ it’s such a good cookbook. If you don’t have all the ingredients, you can improvise ~ it’s my kind of recipe book. Just waiting for an occasion to make the caramel sauce.... but maybe I don’t need one.
Sara Simon: Call me biased if you will, but actually, these are my kind of recipes. I’m not into meal planning and having a precise shopping list (I’m influenced too much by offers and seasonal bargains!), but almost all of these have only one (or no) main fresh ingredient that may not always be in the fridge anyway... which means I can always find something really tasty to make with what I have, or when there’s a load of cut-price mushrooms/peppers/broccoli/whatever. It’s the frugal/lazy/time-challenged cook’s dream!! This one’s staying on the worktop.
Sarah-Jane: I have had the book since Sunday and have made something from it every day since!
Heidi: Every household should have this book on their shelf...actually it may be my crimbo pressies sorted already ;) x
Oooo it’s here, oooo I love it ~ you’re so quick at hot-legging it to the post office. Thanks ever so much. Fay xxx
I love your cookbook. The marshmallow brownies baked easily and quickly this evening. One of the many things I love about the book is that I can read down the list of ingredients without having to veganise the recipe. It’s so refreshing. Thank you.
Love and best wishes, Jane
Mailbag from issue 46 - May/June 2011
Hello, Just received the latest copy. Thank you so much! I always hear the sound of it thudding onto the mat, and get this little rush ~ like ‘Of course! It must be The Mother Magazine’! This time, as my daughter and I opened it, the cover actually made me gasp. How beautiful! It brought tears to my eyes as the joy just streamed out of the picture, and it reminded me of my son’s birth, as he was also coated in vernix and born in water; and it just brought back that memory so strongly, all in a microsecond. No wonder I gasped. Have not finished exploring the inside yet, but wanted to let you know how much of an effect the cover (and associated article) had on me. Beautiful and empowering!
Love and blessings, Lucy Jane Murphy
Just got my latest copy and can’t wait to read it ~ what a lovely cover photo.
Lots of love, Heather
The magazine has arrived, wonderful for me this month as I am due to give birth again in August, so I’m very much enjoying the read!
Ruth
I must say thank you for your wonderful book, The Birthkeepers. It was pivotal in empowering my freebirth, and I found the affirmations incredibly helpful as well as the chapter on the ‘birth fire’. Of course, all the wonderful birth stories were immensely valuable too, and I read them many times over.
Love, Anna x
I am very much enjoying your book The Drinks Are On Me, along with your article in this edition of The Mother (TM44). You have put into words many of the things I haven’t managed to about the start of my breastfeeding journey. My daughter is now 9 months and is still enjoying almost exclusive breastfeeding, with tastes of fruit and veg when she wants to join in with us. It’s always nice to hear I’m not doing anything ‘wrong’. Sarah
Dear Veronika....out of a sudden memory that I could access something of The Mother on the Internet, I have just had a dose of that long-ago bliss that I remember from when I was a subscriber both when we were in England and then back home here in New Zealand, until Cindy was unable to distribute anymore...and I just wanted to write and again say thank you. Thank you for carrying on, and thank you for sharing. Maybe again someday I will be able to resubscribe, but at the moment with my partner studying, and I at home with our four young ones, our budget just doesn’t extend to it....ahhhhhh But for all those years you, as editor, have provided me with such strength in my choices of mothering, and I realised that if insignificant people like myself never told you that, you may not realise what an impact you have made on mine and many of my friends’ lives.
In thanks, Elwyn Clements
Ed’s note: No mother is insignificant. Thank you so much for your kind words. Please accept a gift subscription for one year kindly donated by one of our regular subscribers. Enjoy.
Dear Veronika,
Thank you very much for the mentoring session. It was really helpful talking to you about different issues I’m having with Ayla at the moment. The Lullaby (Essie Jain) CD is lovely, and we play it every night. It was very reassuring to talk things over with you. I’m trying to make the house darker and quieter in the evenings as I know that will help Ayla settle better. It was lovely meeting you, Paul, Bethany and Eliza, and one cat! I could have stayed there all day. I have found The Mother so helpful since I was introduced to it while pregnant, by Sandra in my local Herbalist shop. It was such a relief to read something informative and enjoyable. It helps me keep on the right track, giving me permission to live my life how I want to live it.
The Mother also feels like a community to me as I can feel very alone sometimes in my opinion on things. I have finished reading Life Without School ~ thank you ~ very enjoyable, and I now understand more about unschooling and I can now see it as a choice for Ayla when the time comes. Thank you for giving so much of yourselves. I’m really looking forward to camp and meeting you again.
Lots of love from Heather. xxx
P.S. The chocolate cupcake was yummy, and I can’t wait for the cookbook!
Hi Veronika,
just received my first-ever copy of The Mother magazine, and am just nodding my head all the way through the bits I have read ...wish I could start all over and have my children now! Best of wishes for your continued happy family life.
Love, Helen
Thank you for the latest issue ~ uplifting, encouraging and inspiring as always. I sat in the sunshine by a stream to read some of it today, and have been in a sort of cocoon of peace and gratitude since.
Melanie
Dear Paul,
I received my latest Mother yesterday, and it was wonderful to read through. (As you may have gathered, my husband bought my subscription last year as a birthday present, and I’m now continuing it.) The strength of emotion I feel when reading The Mother is almost overwhelming at times. After having read Veronika’s post on The Mother blog, maybe the emotion I was feeling yesterday had something to do with the Moon, but I know I always feel uplifted after reading Veronika’s posts no matter what stage in her cycle the Moon is!
With love and best wishes to all at The Mother, Jane
Dearest Veronika,
How lovely to receive TM once again and to read about your inspirational lives! I, like so many others, find that it comes through the door just when I need it most. Just like a mother ~ sometimes gentle, sometimes challenging, always embodying the truth, and always loving. I know you do astrology charts. Is that just for children or do you do adult ones, too?
Love and blessings, Kalyani
Ed’s note: I do phone or face-to-face astrology consultations (Eden Valley, Cumbria) for adults and children. They can be booked on The Mother magazine website.
Bought your wonderful books Life Without School and Stretch Marks... took them on holiday to Cornwall and could not put them down. They’re wonderful books, thanks so much. Looking forward to any new ones in the future.
Belinda, a big Mother fan xxx”
Loving every sentence of every book and every mag. Makes me feel connected to so many.
Caroline
I love Eliza’s recipes, and have tried a couple of them!
Thrisha xx
Just read your recent editorial. Your writing is so, so, so good. Clear, creative, inspirational and a gift to us all.
Thank you Veronika!
Love, Patrick
I particularly appreciated the article discussing the Steiner approach to children and music. It filled me in on a topic I’ve long been interested in, and helped me think through my discomfort with my 6 year old’s struggles with his school’s whole-class recorder teaching approach. (Yes, I know. Drop the school, drop that particular struggle ...)
Jo x
Here’s what our readers are saying on The Mother magazine Facebook fan page:
Mandy: It is here and wonderful, and sometimes the only sane voice in my life! Thankyou xxxxxx
Claire: Received last night and devoured at bedtime with my littlies on either side of me, sleeping peacefully! Thank you sooooo much for yet another inspiring issue...enjoy your sunshiny day
Julia: Received this morning, cried at the VBAC story over breakfast! Oh my soul! :) thankyou!!
Julie: Mine arrived yesterday, so now starting to slowly devour it (I like to pace myself.) Am so looking forward to meeting Veronika at last when she comes down to Surrey in June for a talk ~ she is just an inspirational, amazing woman.
Ruth: Already read, enjoyed and shared... you are all the very best... and your magazine glows passion, dedication and consciousness upward, spiralling into empowered expression of our potential...
Ashley: LOVE THE COVER.
Emily: Mine arrived too. The cover and the story are wonderful, makes me want to give birth again!
Sooz: It arrived on my birthday! Fantastic gift! Cover photo, beautiful. Can’t wait to read the story, but I have a weird rule about making sure I read cover to cover, not just the articles I’m instinctively attracted to... I think it’s next though.
Sooz: Loved, loved, loved Kathryn Los’ birth story. Inspiration for planning my second home birth in May... can’t wait!
Karen: I especially enjoyed Raising Sunflowers.
Dafni: Received and consumed with gratitude...a particularly great issue I think. I particularly loved and resonated with Raising Sunflowers, the fantastic application of mindefulness on parenting in Letting our Children Raise Us and the written from the heart Tale of Two Births. Also, fabulous cover and ecstatic birth story, and last but not least, I intend to make Eliza’s aubergine and lentil bake tomorrow. Will let you know how I got on...
Mailbag from issue 45 - Mar/Apr 2011
I just finished reading The Drinks Are On Me, and watching Extraordinary breastfeeding. I cannot tell you how encouraging it is, and how supported I felt. I truly believe in your work, and want to do whatever I can to support it, as well as breastfeeding and a holistic approach to family. I just subscribed to The Mother, and I’m so excited to get my first issue! Good luck with everything, and thank you for your voice!
Lexi, USA.
Dear Veronika, Thank you so much for my brilliant astrology consultation yesterday. My mind has been whirring since and I am definitely thinking a little bit differently about life.
Name withheld.
Afternoon Paul,
Well I have to say a huge thank you for posting my books and magazines so quickly. I am beyond thrilled. I’m literally like a child at Christmas flicking through the books and magazines so fast. I am so excited! To me these books, magazines are like a lifeline. I feel utterly relieved to be clutching information, support, and more knowledge on my chosen path. Bless you and your family for this gift. I’m going to see if we can come along to the camping holiday, sounds like a blast !
Much love, peace and respect, Victoria and baby Willow Sayah
I just wanted to let readers of The Mother in the South Cheshire/North Staffs area know about an attachment parenting group that I have started. We meet twice a month in a children’s centre in Crewe, Cheshire, and anyone who’s interested in any aspect of natural parenting is welcome to come along. We have a few slings that can be tried on, and also a library of books to loan. If you would like any more information or to come to a meeting, you can contact me:
Jacqui Edwards
jacquiedwards2006@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 01270 500953
I didn’t think I’d be writing to the Mailbag, but it feels right, as does reading The Mother, which I came across whilst searching for ‘Permaculture + baby’ on Google. I was pregnant and looking somewhere for hope. I didn’t feel in touch with what I was seeing around me with the medicalisation of birth and, to what seemed to me, an unconnected style of parenting. Thank you all for The Mother. I have had lingering smiles, tears and feelings of warmth after reading so many articles and snippets, as I’m sure you all do. On this journey, I’ve been reassured to have confidence in being a woman, hearing my instinct and my Self. Hugo now sits with me in his sling and we’re teaching each other. If there’s anyone in Guernsey who also reads The Mother then I’d love to meet up!
Thank you, Tara (wildguernsey@yahoo.co.uk).
Without pioneers of free thought like yourself, we would be stuck for evermore in the circles created by those who claim power and authority over the way we behave in (now) virtually every situation we’re likely to encounter in our lives. I feel privileged to have this new freedom, and am going to pursue it further, and spread the word as best I can!
Best wishes, Kate
Hi there, I followed a link or two and came upon your article in The Mother magazine about your home. Thank you so much. I resonated so much with what you say. I currently live in London in a (rented) flat. But I’ve been yearning for the countryside for too many years now. Now I’m feeling ‘that move’ is near! I loved your article and the description of your home, and yes, love and our essence are what make our home, home!
Much Love, Claire
Thank you for the Mood of the Fifth article. It’s just what I needed ~ would love more on Steiner’s ideas please (painting would be lovely).
Lizzie, TM facebook
Ed’s note: your wish is my command. Issue 46 will contain just such an article.
Brilliant issue ~ as usual the perfect articles for what is happening in my life at the moment! Thanks so much.
Love, Rosie
Hi Veronika.
Just wanted to drop you a line after reading your latest editorial online. It came at such a perfect time for me, as I was losing patience with my son and feeling the need for time away from him. Then after digesting your words of great wisdom and inspiration, the ‘negative’ but very real feelings I was having seemed to wash away and I had a new perspective. Your writing has a habit of doing that to me. Thank you so much, and continue the fantastic and invaluable work.
Claude, Brazil
Dear Eliza,
Just a quick note to say how much we all enjoyed your delicious Moroccan recipe from the current TM. I made it tonight and the whole family tucked in ~ our two little ones particularly loved the Apricot Chickpeas! I think it’s going to be a new family favourite. We are very impressed and my son wants me to dig out some old issues so we can find some more of your recipes!
With Love, Jane and the rest of the Douglas family x
We’ve now received the wonderful Mother magazine! We didn’t know it was possible that such a magazine would exist! Thank you, thank you!
Love and light from Katka, David and Olivia
I adore The Mother magazine and only wish it was my own creation, you must be so proud.
Regards, Michelle Goddard
Just to let you know that I had a wonderful home birth again (second time), but this time I was so focused and in tune with my body, baby girl latched on shortly after birth, and big sister (3 years) got up just in time to see her new sister come into this world! It was perfect thanks to much inspiration from The Mother!
Light and love, Katie
Thank you both so much for the magazine. I almost have to fight my husband for it when it comes through my door! It’s a ray of light that we both look forward to.
Love, Rhiannon xxxx
Just wanted to say how nice it is to get a personal email for subscribing ~ I feel part of The Mother ‘family’ already (especially when I just came home to find my first issue waiting for me, too!). Also, a friend lent me a couple of past issues of TM (which is why I decided to subscribe), and I wonder if you could pass my thanks on to Eliza ~ the hearty potato, chickpea and spinach curry was a big success for our (not-so-traditional) Sunday lunch with friends at the weekend. The issues of TM that my friend lent me were so inspirational, not to mention well-written, well-referenced and often reassuring, I am really looking forward to reading more.
Thanks again, Alice
Son (6 months) enjoyed TM44 so much he ate some of it! Seems he can reach further than I thought... The truest form of baby-led weaning?!
Emily on TM Facebook fan page
Mailbag from issue 44 - Jan/Feb 2011
I read stories and mails of other systers, mums/wimmin who are deeply touched by your magazine... Over the years I have wondered: is it just the articles; the pictures? Noooo, it’s more. It’s your passionate, wisdom-keeper heart that is the medicine. I read other stuff, see other pics, read other stories from mums. But none of it has the depth and colour that I find in The Mother magazine. As your girls have matured, I feel their hearts also finding expression in the magazine, and Paul’s. I feel now your whole family dharma comes alive in these publications, and it’s one of the most powerful gifts pervading our whole planet right now. I feel so many wimmin are awakening to their power and to their beauty and alchemical magick.
Ruth
Hi Veronika
Yet another wonderful magazine...so very moving, too.
Thank you. Makes you stop and realise your own life and put things into perspective. Your blog is really cool. I went on it finally, and love the house pictures!
With love, Caroline
The Mother mag is the only thing keeping a single, working mother in the world she wants to be in,
Heidi xx
Dear Paul
Thank you very much for your email. I am so glad you are sending issue 43. It looks so good on the internet, and I was really hoping that I would receive that one first. Veronika’s editorials are always so beautifully and poetically written and inspiring. I have bought past issues before but this is the first time I am subscribing ~ because I saw for the first time that I could pay half-yearly which is financially better for me than a whole year at one ago. I am so looking forward to receiving your beautiful magazine. Thank you and Veronika for all the effort you make to produce it. And I hope you are very happy in your new home for a long, long time.
Kind regards, Anna
Hello Veronika,
My name is Kyra and I live in the North East of Brazil. I was born in Switzerland and brought up in New Zealand (Swiss father and Kiwi mother). I have two daughters, 7 years and 7 months. I am passionate about conscious parenting, and it has been something that has grown in me since the end of my teens. I discovered macrobiotics, my personal journey took me through a five-year phase of this before coming out of it with many ideas and tools for my future. Today I am passionate about natural health, pregnancy and childbirth, natural parenting and education.
I have a very very dear friend who gave me a subscription to your magazine, and I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to receive. I feel it’s a personal support, reanimates the passion for these subjects and has often been a “proof” in lively discussions about any one of these topics. So I would also (like many others) like to thank you for making your passion into a magazine of such quality that reaches so far and brings comfort and happiness to our lives.
THANKS!! Kyra
The Mother means so much to me ever since I bought the first two issues from The Fresh Network back in 2002. I remember reading those issues over and over. I’d found my Holy Grail. Thank you so much for all your hard work and belief in The Mother’s vision. I still devour each issue (I still have all of them) and am very excited to be getting all the ones I’ve missed. Reading The Mother feels like coming home to myself. She feels safe and nurturing and loving. She reminds me how painful it is when I forget to live from my heart. And she leads the way back home...
Thank you so much.
With much love, Julia
Thanks in no small part to The Birthkeepers I had a wonderful, gentle waterbirth of my son four months ago. He was also lotus born. Although I wasn’t alone, I was at home and felt in control and relaxed. It was truly ecstatic. Thank you for writing this book.
Lucy
Dear Veronika, I would just like to thank you for providing such an inspirational and thought-provoking magazine, and let you know that I have re-subscribed for the coming year. Your magazine truly provides necessary ‘support’ for the parenting path and I love the fact that you publish the work of writers with such diverse styles. This is, what I believe, makes your magazine quite unique. I have a two year old little boy and would love to meet up with some other Mother fans. So, if there are any other Mother readers nearby (I live in South East Essex) who would like to meet up for a chat, they are most welcome to get in touch with me, either via the forum. Thank you once again.
With very best wishes, Charlotte