Reflection On Life

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend with Auckland Anniversary.  I know I did, although like most holidays, they seem to go way too fast!!

This year we travelled north to visit family and friends and catch up on lost time.  This trip was so rewarding as we got to meet the latest addition to the family - at only 7 days old as well as the oldest in the family - at 90 years of age.

To me this trip was a reflection on life itself.  To hold a 7 day old baby knowing the opportunities ahead of them and pondering on what journey they will take in life - to enjoying sitting with your husbands 90 year old grandmother discussing the journey she has already taken, seeing her weep with joy as she holds her great great grandson and yet pondering how it must be to grow old.

I've often wondered this with my own grandmother (who is now 84 years old) and discussed with her over the past couple of years.  She is the last of her generation in her family, and the only grandparent I have left and I love her so dearly, but seeing her grow more and more frustrated with age saddens me.  She is definitely young at heart, but what the mind wants to do, the body doesn't agree.

Although growing old is a fact of life, I can't help but wonder how lonely it must be to have your love ones - husband, brothers, sisters, parents, friends, all those who you've grown with now passed on, leaving you to find a new life, new friends, new challenges to keep you going.  My nan says she is a very rich woman to have so much love in her family which keeps her going and it's fantastic to have such a matriarch like her. 

My grandmother - Elizabeth Paki Haggie (nee Turner) overlooking the Ponderosa

90 year old Lorna Hudson (nee McManus) with Haerenga Grant Ray Tukariri Abraham

I'm a great believer that your children are a reflection of you through their choices and journey in life.  I hope that if I am to reach the age of 84 or 90 years, I am able to reflect on my life with a feeling of success and happiness.

Have a great night people!!

Is New Better Than Old?

 Is new better than old?  That's a question I've been pondering for a while now.  Many people have the view that if you buy something new then it will last.  But will it?  I'm not sold on that philosophy at all.

A few weeks back I enjoyed lunch with my beautiful sister and she asked me to go to view some furniture in a pretty well known shop in town.  A shop I must admit - I LOVE LOVE LOVE! - as their products would definitely suit the homestead on the ponderosa. 

Excited we heading off, however within 5 minutes of arriving, I found my excitment quickly disappearing when the realisation hit me "I'm not paying $350 for that patio furniture, when I can produce something similar for a fraction of the price".  Much to my sisters disgust, she knew I was right and lucky for her that day she didn't see anything in the shop she really wanted, let alone needed.

I went home that afternoon inspired to produce something for the front veranda - A NEW PATIO SET.  Materials, two old chairs I picked up at the 2nd hand shop for $10 (in fact I recieved 4) and an old table that's been with me for at least 10 years.

I got to work sanding back the chairs and preparing them for a new coat of paint - BLACK. (Actually I was indecisive on the colour for at least 30 mins ... black or white or grey?  Aaaah it's only paint and when or if I get sick of the colour I can just simply change it).  

I am so pleased with the finished result and cost less than $40.  So is new better than old?  I'd like to say in this case, it's a bit of both ... what I had was old, but what I ended up with is something new.

Happy living guys.

The Chooks Get A Spring Clean

When I first entered into the idea of having chickens, the thought of cleaning their coop wasn't something I was too keen about.  So I set to finding out what's the best options to make both my life and the chickens life easier.  

Threw my conversations with family and friends who had chickens, I discovered most used hay to line the nesting boxes and coop and simply replaced it on a regular basis.

I learnt that some didn't line their coop at all and simply hosed it out on a regular basis.

Hell no, that seemed far too high maintenance for me.  I wanted something a lot easier than that, so when my husband's work colleague said sawdust was the answer, I thought let's look a little further into that.  It wasn't just the answer, it was more than I had ever expected, and the chickens just love it.

Not only does it keep the coop smelling nice, it keeps the chickens nice and insulated in the winter time. When it comes to cleaning up the chickens mess, I simply brush their bits into a dust pan and place it in the garden as fertiliser every day.  Takes less than a minute.

The best thing of all, I only need to spring clean the coop once a year :-)  I simply get a trailer load of sawdust from the local sawmill, line the the coop with the amount needed (with the help of my husband).  I top the coop up when the floor layer and nesting boxes gets a little thin, then when I run out completely, I empty the coop completely.  I then, spray the coop (walls, floors, nesting boxes, the whole coop) completely with white vinegar, air it out for the rest of the afternoon (because it is extremely strong), then put everything all back together with a fresh layer of new sawdust.  That's it .. and the best thing about it, is it's low .. low ... LOW maintenance!!

The coop after being swept out and sprayed with vinegar

The other side of the coop.  The blue brush is what I use to sweep the messy bits up everyday

The coop lined with fresh sawdust.  The black lining is to stop the bits and pieces being absorbed into the timber

The other side of the coop.  All insulated and ready for the gals to nest

Happy living people!!

Turn Old Bottles Into New

Yet another opportunity presented itself when I needed a quick decor fix for another project.  It's fair to say I have a small collection of jars but not so many bottles ... so I set out to investigate what could be done.

First I started with my new favourite website - Pinterest to see what ideas other bloggers had pinned.  What I found was inspiring to say the least.

The big question was, do I paint the inside or the outside? as both provide a very different finish.  

My decision was to paint the inside so that the natural glass can still come through.  I used paint I already had - because this was a quick fix and used a silver tray I picked up at the local habitat shop for $1 (I have other ideas for that tray, but it served it's role well in this project).

I'm so happy with the results, that next time I'll try to add different colour to the paints to add a different dimension.

Have a great day people!!

New Additions

Meet the new additions to the family.  Calves ... yay!!!  Although we have plans for our 8 sheilas, my husband decided to add to the collection of beef ... all 5 of them.  

The idea with these 5 is not just about understanding what's required to farm calves, but to sell them as yearlings or older.

It's been an experience of feeding them twice a day with milk until they were slowly weened off to grass (although my husband did most of it).   

A very strange feeling of them sucking on your hands thinking it was the feeding time.

It was even funny weening them out of the shed to a paddock with electric fences.  Fair to say they were not happy at first, but with time they got very used to it.

They are now in the same paddock as the sheilas, but that has even taken time for all of them to get used to them.

Aaaahhhh, it's great looking out at the land to see them all getting bigger by the day.

This is Daisie enjoying the shelter

This is Mischief because she's always the first to explore.

From left to right - Herbie, Dopie, Biggie, Mischief and Daisie

Life on the ponderosa sure is great!!

Have a great night people.

Just Add Ice Cream

The Xmas period is always a time for sharing, reflecting on the year, taking that long deserved rest and especially spending time with friends and family.

The build up for xmas however can be stressful especially when you want to give something a little different to those who you love and tresure.

This year I decided to surprise my whanau with a wonderful gift idea.  For the kids I provided all the necessities needed to make an ice cream sundae ... all that was required from the recipient was the ice - cream.

For the adults, some homemade sweets, sugar scrubs, chutney and some other bits a bobs to help the adults feel loved and pampered. 

I discussed the idea with my husband and daughters and 3 days leading up to Xmas day, we set out putting everything together.

The end result was fantastic!!!!  As for the reactions to the gifts?  It was so much more than what I expected.

Gift wrapped cones, brandy baskets, sprinkles and even a couple of smores.

The adults gift.  Homemade sugar scrub, cookes, herbed salt, chocolates, hot chocolate and so much more

Beautifully gift wrapped with colourful ribbon

All lined up ready to be presented on xmas day to the whanau ...yes there were many more than whats in the photo

This was such a wonderful gift idea and I encourage anyone to give it a go.

Have a great night!!

Frangipani Cake

I was asked by a cousin to make a cake for a very special person.   Debrief was, German Chocolate Cake and her favourite flower is a frangipani.

Hmmm, german chocolate cake I can do, but I'd never made any edible frangipani flowers before ... ooooo a challenge!!!  So off I went to my favourite cake supplier to look for the tools I needed.

That night I set to moulding them and surprisingly they didn't take that long. I let them set over night and then got to painting them.  The end result I think turned out great!!!

I was so impressed with it and so were a few others.  I received a request for a similar cake for a small intimate wedding by another cousin and I'm so happy with how this cake turned out as well.

If you feel you want to give the frangipani cake a go, then I highly recommend it.  Go for it!!!

Have a great day people.