Our Best Friends

Dogs.  Said to be mans best friend and to be honest on some days I agree and on others I don't.  We currently have two dogs.  One a beautiful pedigree golden labrador called PAL who is just over 14 year old with arthritis and JOSEPH, a cheeky fox terrier.  Both dogs we inherited from my parents and to cut a very long story short ... we offered to look after PAL one weekend and he hasn't gone home.  Five years later my parents inherit JOSEPH then four years after that my parents bring JOSEPH to the ponderosa and he hasn't gone home since.  


Good thing we like dogs :-)Although I know many people who don't like dogs and I can't see why not. I was bought up in a whanau who always had dogs and like everything, the dogs had a purpose, which in my whanau was hunting and protecting the house.


My grand parents had LOTS of dogs throughout the years with the first dog I remember being my nana pops sausage dog called CHEEKY.  He was beautiful and definitely cheeky.  After he died I remember my grandfather's dog which was a golden labrador called BEAUTY.  She was such a good dog, hunted well, good protector and loved children.  You knew she was a good hunter and did her job well because she lived so long she turned grey and eventually wondered away one day and never returned.  My grandfather told us that that's what animals do when they know they are going to die.  


Last week we thought that was exactly what PAL had done when we discovered he wasn't at home.  I had been home all day and he slept most of the day in the sun but by the time my daughter came home he had gone.  We were desperately driving around a 5 km radius to see if he had fallen into a ditch or something because we knew his arthritis wouldn't get him very far, however no success.  I rang both the Waikato District Council and the Hamilton City Council to see if they had picked him up, but without success.  Because labradors love water, I went to bed that night thinking he wondering into a drain somewhere and was stuck because his arthritis couldn't get him out.  Fair to say I didn't sleep well that night.


In the morning I discovered my daughter had announced on facebook our dog was missing and everyone was concerned about his wellbeing.  Our fears turned into relief when I received a called from the WDC saying they had found him.  Excited I got in the car  to go and pick him up, with thoughts of joy that he was safe, but that quickly disappeared when I got the bill for $340.  WTF???  


Since then PAL has cost another $70 when he was picked up at 10.30 pm .. and JOSEPH $60 when he was nabbed racing cars.  Keep telling yourself it's a good investment I kept saying.  


I don't like tying the dogs up 24/7 or 12/7 for that matter because like all animals, they aren't made to be tied up, but I thought we had to do something or they'll cost us a fortune.  Then I learnt a couple of neighbours had been broken into, so I reminded myself, it is a good investment PLUS they provide hours of entertainment with their strange ways, like rolling into something dead just after you've given them a bath.  Or playing with a honey bee and getting stung.  Or trying seeing them walk through the paddock and then collapse in the water and be contented to stay there forever.


Whatever the reason, our two dogs are the best and I can't wait to see what other adventures they take us on in the future :-)

JOSEPH after he decided to play with a honey bee

PAL deciding he wasn't going any further

Have a great night!!

Bosco vs The Sheilas - Round One

Living the good life is really starting to ramp up in terms of stocking the land with sustainable products for a healthier life.  It's nearly two weeks since the new additions arrived to the Ponderosa - 5 beautiful Hereford cows.  The idea is to raise them until they are at least 2 years old, sell some to make money and eat some to save money and "The Sheilas" have settled in quite well ... NOW.  

I say now because they arrived all squashed up on the back of my brothers tandem trailer after a 5 hour drive from Maropiu to Hamilton.  Yes, they arrived Clampett styles :-) towed behind Dad's Prado in the dark at 9 pm.  I could only imagine how traumatic that experience would have been for them, especially after my husband told me they had just come off their mothers.  Poor babies.  My husband placed them in the stock yards over night with some hay to try and settle them during the night, with the plan to move them into the paddock in the morning.

I awoke the next morning to the sound of "the sheilas" mooing and I remember thinking to myself how therapeutic it was, although looking back now I doubt that was the emotion they were trying to achieve.

I wasn't there to experience them being moved as Ness and I went off to take care of another job I do in the winter time - netball.  Whilst we were finishing up for the morning, Ness received a text from her husband Bung who I can only imagine was excited by the fresh air and experience of being on some land.  The text read "Better buy a nice bottle of wine on the way home".  Giggling to herself Ness told me "something must have happened" and read the text out to me.  I wandered off engrossed in finishing my netball jobs for the day when Ness popped up and said "oh no ... Bosco (their Boxer puppy which is the size of a small cow), was so excited he chased "the sheilas" and made two of them bolt through the electric fence.  The boys (our husbands) had to round them up from the neighbours property and put them back into the paddock".  I commented that my husband must've been livid.

To be honest, I didn't quite register the significance of what had happened until we got home and the boys explained it to us.  They had to repair the neighbours fence from the damage it had caused.  Fair to say my husband was not very happy, but he got over it pretty quickly and poor old Bosco was securely tied up on the verandah wondering what was happening, especially since our two dogs - PAL and JOSEPH were casually roaming the land.  Little did Bosco know, their introduction to cows was a little more traumatic, each happening on separate occasions many years ago.  Its kind of like an initiation to farming life when our dogs wonder the land and think "oooo whats that big friendly looking beast?  I'll wander over there and show my authority" ... only to be kicked profusely by a mother protecting their babies.  Fair to say our dogs do not enter the paddocks when we visit the Maropiu farm anymore and stay well away from any cow .. NO EXCEPTIONS!!

I wandered over to the paddock fence to see if the sheilas were okay and watched them roaming on the perimeter of the paddock.  Day two, and still traumatised by their move to the Ponderosa.  Poor things.  

Later that day we joked about the events of the morning and I have a vivid image of the boys wondering excitedly over to the stock yards, forgetting that Bosco was even more excited trying to enjoy the fresh air and 9 acres to run around in. (I think he takes after his owner Bung)  5 cows (animals Bosco had never experienced) was something new to play with ... in fact he was that excited, the electric fence couldn't hold him back either - but like I said, he is the size of a small cow :-)  I'm not sure which animal I felt more sorry for - The Sheila's or Bosco?

It took 4 days for the sheilas to settle in and feel safe to wander close to the fence for us to talk to them.  The girls have named them after the One Direction group ... which to be honest is fitting considering the cows look more masculine than the boys in the singing group.  Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry and Louis

They seem extremely fascinated with "the gals" or chooks and most mornings I awake to see them all grazing in the paddock together.     Aaaaah, this is the life alright.  

We are so pleased with The Sheila's that I've asked my dad to bring two more from the farm in Maropiu to join them this weekend.  That should be interesting to see how they integrate with The Sheilas ... plus Bosco is due to come back down this weekend too so we'll have to be extra careful so that we don't have the same episode we had a few weeks back ... although that would be funny :-)

The Sheilas - Believe it or not, they have just come off their mothers

Bosco ... in his fierce hunting environment of the North Shore in Auckland

Have a great evening people.

Homemade Magic Face Cream

I am a avid supporter of Natural remedies - now.  I say now, because in the past it was only natural to go to your local GP or doctor when you weren't feeling well and trusted their advice and the medicine they would prescribe for you.  Of course, back then, you had a very intimate relationship with your local doctor - not in a sense that you were getting down and dirty with them, but more in a sense that you trusted them with your life, therefore needed to feel comfortable with them at all times.  

The other side of the coin at that time was the fact that the yucky bugs weren't as destructive as the ones nowadays therefore going to the doctors wasn't something that happened a lot.  In fact, natural remedies was something built firmly into family life because we descend from forefathers that didn't have the luxuries of a local GP readily accessible.

I have been enjoying reading the book "A Home Companion - My year of living like my grandmother" by Wendyl Nissen.  In essence it's purely about her life when she decides to be self-sufficent for a year.  I thought it interesting when she writes about her experience with the medical experts of the world regarding her breast infection and after over two years of trying everything and anything they diagnosed, their advise was simply "It's not life threatening, is difficult to treat, therefore you will just have to live with it".  Her answer was to resort to natural therapy, and after experimenting with turmeric root, the infection cleared up within a week and has not returned.

It instantly reminded me of my experience as a young mother with baby twins, one of which was struggling to settle and sleep more than 2 hours straight. After numerous visits to the doctors, being given many different medicines that didn't work then being told "your baby has colic, and you just have to live with it".  I too resorted to a naturopath.  Their diagnosis?  My baby's skull was not growing fast enough, therefore was having major regular headaches.  The cure?  6 x 5 minute cranials.  After the first cranial, my baby slept for 10 hours straight and after the 6th cranial, she was sleeping for 8 hours at night.  From that point onwards, I have been open about my skepticism of main stream medicine and have no issues recommending natural therapy.  

There is alot of money in medicine therefore the more the doctors prescribe, then more money the drug companies are making. There is also a lot of money in cosmetics and most businesses are about making money, I began to think what actually goes into my face cream, or moisturisers and whether they are actually good for me.

I performed the ole "Mcdonalds cheeseburger test".  I placed my face cream on the window sill without a lid for over 2 weeks.  If it contained more natural products than chemicals then it would start to grow it's own community of living organisms.  Result?  It looked just the same as it normally does, just like the McD's cheeseburger.

I was pleased to see Wendyl Nissen had a recipe within her book in which she called it "Magic Face Cream" so I decided to give it a go.  It's a little strange because it generally was like making a salad dressing with some essential oil (I used vanilla but you can use pretty much any fragrance you want), but in saying that it was fairly quick and easy to make.  After the first application I was pleasantly surprised at how soft my skin felt. My husband even gave it go, although he said he didn't notice any difference, but it smelt nice which is a bonus :-)

4 ingredients of 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 3 teaspoons of cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of water and about 3 drops of essential oil.  That's it!!! Store it in the fridge and give it a good shake before applying it.

Have a great night!!!

Are You Nuts!!!!

I've always wanted to have nut trees, but I've always been put off  by people saying they can take anywhere from 3 to 10 years to produce their fruit ... or should I say nuts.  Although there is a 3 to 10 years statement in there somewhere, I usually focus on the 10 years, think that's crazy, then completely tune right out of the idea, until of course I'm at the local supermarket and see how much I have to pay for my walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds for my homemade granola.  It's then, that I remember my idea of wanting my own nut trees and hear the 10 years again and again ... and again.

You can only imagine how excited I was when roaming the Ponderosa with the old owners just prior to moving in, when I spotted the walnut tree.  In fact I was that excited I think I screamed "IS THAT A WALNUT TREE?  Julie (the past owner) said "oh yes, that's a walnut tree and has produced a lovely crop for us every year".  And on that reply I proceeded to talk about how I've always wanted to have my own nut trees and how excited I was that I don't have to wait for the dreaded 10 years, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla!!!

Fair to say Julie was a little puzzled by my dribble drabble and there was a small silence before she proceeded to say "well if that makes you happy, you'll be pleased to know on the other side of this paddock is a line of hazelnut trees".  To cut a very long story short I nearly pee'd my pants at hearing those words :-)

I was told that hazelnut and walnut trees can be harvested in autumn so out came my handy dandy scriptures "The Tui NZ Fruit Garden" book to confirm this.  Late summer to early autumn was the timing for the hazelnuts it said, so off I went with my husband one afternoon in late March (early autumn) to gauge how the nuts were developing, both without any understanding of what to expect.  My excitement turned to disappointment very quickly when I learnt that we were too late.  The row of hazelnut trees had already produced their crop and the wild critters of the land had feasted on the lot :-( .. "Oh well" said my husband, "we will need to take note for next year and come over the check on a regular basis".  "Grrrrr!!!!", he was right, but the thought of me having to shop at the supermarket for the next 12 months for my hazelnuts was a little hard to swallow.

The walnut tree is much closer to the homestead and is grown with one side in the paddock and the other in the home garden. I was determined to ensure we had some type of harvest off this tree.  Mid to late autumn was the harvesting timing from the "Tui Scriptures" and when one nut drops, all nuts should be harvested. So one day when I had finished taking cuttings from my camellias, roses and lavender plants, and during a visit from my parents we sat under the walnut tree discussing life's stories over a nice cup of tea when my mother (who just so happens to LOVE LOVE LOVE nuts) said "you're walnuts can be harvested, they have fallen off the tree".  With that note, my husband picked up the nuts that had fallen into the garden side, I peeled them ... and my mother attempted to crack some open to have a taste.  They tasted delicious!!! (even when my mother has no talent what so ever in ensuring the nut comes out whole).  Once we had finished that lot of nuts, we concluded they needed to be dried out before shelling them further.  We still needed to pick up the nuts from the other side of the tree (paddock side) and I thought, I'll get that done tomorrow as daylight was drawing to a close.

I went to bed happy that we had harvested some of our walnuts and wondered how many nuts we would need to harvest the next day.  I awoke the next morning discussing the harvest with my husband as we prepared our breakfast.  On a nice sunny morning, we take our breakfast out onto the verandah that overlooks our paddocks and you can see the walnut tree as well.  The sun is always welcoming and I could sit and watch the view for hours as it's quite relaxing and therapeutic.  On this particular sunny morning however, we discovered the neighbouring farmer had placed his cows in our paddock early that morning and the cows were eating all the walnuts on the ground :-(

I was gutted!!!  Gutted that we weren't able to gauge the full crop from the walnut tree, but happy that we had at least harvested some nuts the day prior.  

Learning's from this experience?  We need to ensure that the cows and critters don't get next years crop.

Our hazelnut trees

Our walnut tree - paddock side

Our walnut tree, ... garden side

Some our our harvest from the walnut tree

Have a great day!!!

If At First You Don't Succeed, Try And Try Again

It's common sense isn't it?  I mean we are bought into this world to take risks and test ourselves on our own abilities in life.  That's how we learn, how we progress isn't it?  Maybe so, or maybe it's the fact it's nearly midnight and I thinking to myself as I type this, that it's a little too deep for this time of the night.


Yes ... so .... I wanted to share with you my latest creations I decided to test over the past week.  The first is what I call my Retro Rose Cake.  I saw something similar on a blog I Am Baker and thought I'd give it go. Unfortunately the frosting was too wet and because my visitors were arriving within 15 mins of me finishing it, I had to improvise with black in white sprinkles :-(  In saying this, I love how the colour came out but I have learnt from this mistake and will ensure next time it comes out PERFECT!!!!

A work in progress for sure ... I call it my Retro Rose Cake

My second creation is a Chocolate Ruffle Cake which was a lot more successful than the Retro Rose Cake.  I made this for Sharianne Rangitaawa's 20th birthday.  It was a surprise from her mother Dora.


I decided to try a new frosting recipe I found on a blog called Let Them Eat Cake!!  The recipe was so quick and easy I was really amazed with the results.  In fact, the recipe called for Dutch Cocoa to not only give it a rich flavour, but the dark chocolate colour too.  Unfortunately I used the last of the dutch cocoa in the cake itself, so I decided to use my budget out of the box cocoa instead .. end result ... colour was brilliant .. flavour was awesome!!!!


I have tried the ruffled effect before on a couple of other cakes, so I knew what to expect.  What surprised me was just how beautiful the finished product was.  

Unfortunately I need to work on my photography skills because this is the best photo I got before it was taken away to be devoured by Dora, Sharianne and the rest of the whanau.  Learning from this cake ... get better photo's :-)


Have a great night!!

The Olive Grove

Olive Grove - A small group of olive trees.

The past week has been hectic for me and my whanau therefore many jobs are needed to be completed around the Ponderosa - one of which is planting the olive grove.  

I was gifted an olive tree as a house warming present from our good friends Viv and Kev and I knew that one plant would be the beginning of the olive grove.  The olive type they gave was 'ASCOLANO' and the standard tag that came with it from mitre 10 stated it was a reliable heavy cropper that produces a good table olive with a delicate flavour.  Great I thought, I just need to find the right place for it because I knew my husband would be reminding me constantly that I need to find a home for it.

I took the placement of this tree seriously, therefore after a few weeks I decided that I wanted the tree to go in the back paddock by the chook coop.   Mainly so that it didn't impede on any of our views, had easy access to cultivate the crop, plus provide some shelter for "the gals".  The soil is pretty good there with the exception of the pine trees being thirsty.

After studying my trusty book "Tui - The NZ Fruit Garden" (which my beautiful mother gave when I moved into the Ponderosa) it stated olive trees will tolerate the most unfavourable conditions including prevailing winds, but needed good drainage so I thought, yip ... by the chook coop it is.  I just need a few more trees to accompany this lone tree.

So off to mitre 10 we went to get a few more trees.  5 more in fact - another two ASCOLANO, 1 x FRANTOIO, 1 X PENDOLINO and 1 x LECCINO.  We chose the other types because the mighty tag stated they were good cropping trees for making oil and if planted together would produce better.  I am a little sceptical about these tags, but it's a learning exercise that only time will tell I suppose ... and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from.

After a number of weeks contemplating where to establish the olive grove and numerous glasses of red wine I am very happy with the end result. I can visualise the trees providing nice structure once they are established.

I've always wanted to plant olive trees, ultimately to make olive oil, however I haven't had the land to bring this want into fruition.....UNTIL NOW :-)  Thanks Viv and Kev for the inspiration to kick start the olive grove.

My husband and our beloved dog PAL finishing planting the trees

The gifted tree ... with our cheeky dog JOSEPH in the background

Our Olive Grove .... Small, but with big plans!!!!

Have a great day!!

My Homemade Limoncello

This week I decided to bottle my two batches of limoncello that have been brewing for at least 6 months.  Yes that's right - 6 months, and between me and you, I am very excited about it!!  Why, because the alcohol that I have used was gifted to me by two different set of very good friends.  The first is from Rewa and Pia Harre and is brewed from grape skins and the second is from Bung and Ness Williams from Auckland, although the brew actually came from Bung's brother in Canterbury using a special recipe.

I haven't really been this excited about bottling a batch since I was asked by Bung and Ness to make a special batch for their beautiful wedding at Mantells.  Just quietly though, I was more nervous than excited after Ness told me they were going to hand out a glass to everyone at the end of the night as the last toast and the reality hit that everyone was going to have glass. Eeekkk, what if it didn't turn out right!!!  

I believe everything you enjoy doing should be done with love, so the results turn into a positive outcome.  Fair to say, I put a lot of love into that batch and I was so pleased hearing the wonderful comments at the wedding once the final toast was made.

Limoncello was my very first liqueur that I decided to try out.  The idea initially started when I was watching a travelling program which involved Italy and it stated that Limoncello was very simple to make. All you need is lemons, alcohol (the higher percentage the better - the program stated 80% alcohol) and sugar syrup and time to wait for the two step brewing process to get the finished product.  Of course I thought wouldn’t it be great to make and give out to all my friends as a xmas gift.  

They were definitely right. It was simple to make but the brewing took some time to get the right results but well worth the wait with all my friends giving me rave reviews.  Of course it’s not easy to get 80% alcohol in New Zealand unless you find someone who brews their own, so my first couple of batches were made with good quality vodka (which wasn’t too bad considering it diluted the alcohol content which resulted in a lot more happier people in the morning).

The longer you brew the liqueur the better the taste so if you’re pressed for time, this recipe isn’t for you I’m afraid, but trust me when I say it’s all well worth the wait.  There is one recipe out there though which my good friend Viv makes which takes a day or so to brew and I believe less than a day to for her and her wonderful husband Kev to drink :-)

If you don’t like a sweet liqueur then simply add less sugar syrup to the recipe and it MUST be stored in the freezer.  Don't worry though, this is where the high alcohol content ensures the liquid doesn't freeze, it only keeps it chilled for ready use.

Since my first batch and my first lot of Xmas gifts to my friends and family, I have continued to make this wonderful liqueur and I hear it doesn't last very long at all once it's given out.  

So here's the finished product :-)  plus what each step looks like.  I started a new batch on the weekend so you can see the difference in colour as the brew is allowed to do it's thing after time.

Lemon Skins Brewing - This is my new batch I started this weekend

After the Sugar Syrup has had time to brew - Time to filter and bottle.

Filtering process - I use coffee filters

Finished Product plus new brew - Bottles on right are using spirits from Bung and Ness, while middle bottles are from Rewa and Pia.

The idea of a nice glass of chilled limoncello on a summers evening or as a after dinner treat with some good company really appeals to me.  In fact that's exactly what we did last night.  Simply delicious!!!

Have a great day

Food - The Essence Of Life

Baking is something I have grown up with all my life.  In fact food itself has always been an important part of our family life, not because you need it to survive, but more the fact that it  brings people together, creates happiness and laughter, strengthens relationships or simply produces treasured memories. 


Reflecting back, I have great memories of regular Sunday lunches at my grandparents in Ngaruawahia.  With life being so busy during the week my grandfather made a special effort to ensure he brought together all of his family to share in the weeks adventures over a roast lunch. As a child, it wasn't just my grandfathers cooking I looked forward to (although he loved his cooking and made the best chowder in the world), but more about seeing my cousins once again to play another friendly game of league on the front lawn or whatever else we had planned to do that afternoon and see what eventuated from there.


Although those memories were created with a Sunday roast, I have many more over a simple plate of mince that my aunty used to be renown for.  Yip there was no one in the world who could whip up a pot of mince like my Aunty Raina and feed the millions who used to visit her and her whanau when they lived in Ngaruawahia.  Her house used to have a huge front lawn and as a child I would play for hours with my cousins.


As the family grew, everyone got older, my whanau continued to have regular dinners or lunch's where we all came together to share a meal and discuss the affairs of the world. It continued, even when parts of the family ventured to Australia to build a better life for themselves or when the older passed away.  Those get togethers have remained strong, and an integral part of my whanau.  In fact, just in the past week there have been 3 instances that occurred, whether it be planned or unplanned, a huge crowd or just a few people and all went away happy.


I have to be honest though, there is nothing in the world that beats the sound of children playing and people laughing.  It's that very reaction that I treasure.  That I love.  Knowing that although the stresses of life may be strong for some, for that moment, that event, those stresses are forgotten and people are happy.


Anyway, back to baking which was my original idea and although my latest creation was for a good friend Dora Lester - actually, that's a lie, it's for Dora's children as a gift to their father this weekend. Anyway I felt compelled to sway off the beaten track slightly.  I mean baking is food and there are many instances where I have baked a cake for one of the many get togethers.  


As a child, baking was my introduction to cooking and the very first thing I made was a chocolate cake.  Well, the One Egg Chocolate Sponge from the Edmonds Cookbook to be exact.  I was 7 when I first attempted that recipe and it has stayed with me all this time.  I do make it every now and again, however my regular chocolate cake comes from an old secret recipe that was passed onto me from my aunty.  Although she has passed away now, she used to make this cake in a 20cm size and freeze loads of it down for when we would visit or needed her chocolate cake fix.  My sister Tanya used to be addicted to this cake, so it wasn't a surprise if we would call into Tanya's for a visit and out would come a perfect chocolate cake with ganache dripping from it's top.


Dora's cake is my aunties chocolate cake recipe with cream cheese frosting and chocolate waves.  The picture really doesn't give it justice at all, and I really must invest in a camera of my own.  I'm sure my husband is getting slightly annoyed that I keep asking to use is iphone.

This cake is huge (13 inches x 4 inches) so there is a bit of work that went into it. So baking the cake on Wednesday night, then filling the 4 layers with the same cream cheese frosting the next morning.  In fact I started at 5.45 am yesterday morning for the filling and frosting and had to do a little karakia to ensure I had all the frosting ingredients.... eeeek!!.  Luckily I did and I'm happy with the finished result and I know Dora and her children were happy with it too :-)


Next week I'm doing another cake for the same family so thinking of that design will be an adventure for me this weekend.


Have a great day!!

Good Ole Agee Jars

There are two things that I am crazy about at the moment.  The first is Crown Lynn (thanks Ness) and the other is agee jars.  What’s agee jars for those not from New Zealand?  They are NZ’s equivalent to Mason Jars and I have loads … although I’m not sure I have quite as many as my good friend Ness.

Agee jars are vintage now a days, but I remember as a child being surrounded by them when mum or my aunty was preserving and helping them peel peaches with the old school peeler that was attached to the old table.  I’m sure most of the peaches didn’t’ make it into the pot as mum always used golden queen peaches - the best peaches in the world.  The smell of them simmering in the pot, pouring them into the sterilised agee jars, then sealing them with their screw lids and putting them in the cupboard for a rainy day.  They were good memories as a child and I’d like to think I have learnt from those experiences in preserving. I love to preserve but can’t find myself to give away my agee jars with my preserves so tend to make batches in a variety of old jars.  The agee jars stay with me, and the older jars go out to friends and family. 

Anyway back to the jars.  Yip they are vintage now a days, but were a dim a dozen so long ago.  Funny how you take things for granted when you are young and then when you get older see an art in something old and it's because of this that I started to collect them as time went on.  


Of course not all people understood my passion for these jars.  When I lived in Wiltshire, my sister Deanne was disgusted at all these jars I had collected and couldn’t see the need for them all.  “Do you really need all these jars?” she would say to me and in reply I would smile and say “Yes Deanne I do”.  "Yes but do you need all these different size jars?" she would add.  "Yes Deanne, I do"  I would reply.  One thing you must understand about my sister Deanne is that she likes the “minimalist look” therefore she likes to defrag and loathes clutter so when she sold her house and her and her whanau moved in with us, it took some adjusting, but that's topic for another blog.

Now I’m living at the Ponderosa, my agee jars are right at home in the old villa and some of the uses I have found for them is a must when you live in a house that has little to no storage - but I'm not complaining.  I’m all for recycling or using what you already have, so now I have a kitchen which is literally 10 times SMALLER than the one I used to have (including not having a draw for cutlery or utensils), I utilised my jars to hold my cutlery and these are just three of a few I have on my kitchen window.  Below is a combination of Agee Jam Jars and an Old Special Agee Jar.

Another recycled use for my jars is making a toothbrush holder for the bathroom because there is very little space in that room as well.  I spray painted the lid black, just in case one didn't turn out quite right, and simply placed the toothbrushes and toothpaste in the jar.  This looked great, but after a little time of getting settled, little things started appearing on the bathroom counter, so I decided to place another jar to house those objects.  I'm not 100% sold on the second jar as I'd like to convert a couple of my old crown lynn plates into a tiered storage for effect, but for now the jar works perfectly.

Another use I thought was great was a soap dispenser.  I saw this on a website and thought I'd like to give that a go.  So after spray painting the lids black (to go with the toothbrush holder) and using the old soap dispenser pumps we had ... here we have it.  It's dead easy to make and I think it look great!!  I now have 3 in the house thanks for my beautiful husband helping me here :-)  

I also used alot of my jars at my recent house warming party as a vase to hold flowers as I was going for the rustic look.  I filled the bottom of the jars with sand and placed candles on top and hung them or rested them on the tables.  I placed fairy lights in the trees and dangled some jars from the trees with some of the fairy lights in them as well.  I'm just so disappointed I didn't get photo's of how it was set up as it looked absolutely fabulous.  In fact alot of people who turned up to the event thought we were throwing a secret wedding or renewing our marriage vowels :-) Hopefully some of my friends out there will lend me a couple so I can share the story of the house warming on another blog.


The possibilities are endless when it comes to these jars and you don't have to be limited on storage or preserving.  You could spray paint them and used them as decor in your house.  You can make a chandelier (yes I've seen it done and it looks great), serve individual desserts in them for your kids birthday party, or salads on the go.  You can serve cocktails out of them at your next cocktail party.  You can even use the jam jars as wine glasses.  I have ideas of using a couple of my jars as lights on the side of the chicken coop as well. I just have to convince my husband it's a great idea.  


If you any of the agee jars or any type of jar for that matter, use your imagination.  It could be your best feature and save you on stress and money.

Pickled Celery, Spring Onion & Chilli Salad

It's definitely been awhile since I took any photo's of food that I have created and during such a wonderful Easter weekend at home pottering about and enjoying myself, I decided to try something new for an unprompted dinner with friends and whanau who visited.

I love celery when it's fresh and crunchy, but some of my friends aren't too keen on it at all.  I remember as a child eating celery sticks with peanut butter for an afternoon snack after school.  Hmmmmmm the memories!!!


This is dead easy to make and tastes FAB-U-LICIOUS!!  As long as you have a full head of celery, you can pretty much add any other vegetables and condiments as you'd like. 


I used celery, spring onions and chilli, all of which were either in my vegetable garden or in my fridge. You pickle the celery by adding equal parts of salt and sugar to the finely chopped celery, then mix it all together and let it do it's thing for about 30 mins.  After that time, make sure to squeeze all the liquid out of the celery before adding it to the rest of your ingredients (which should be in another bowl).


I place chopped chilli (seeds and all), finely chopped spring onions, toasted sesame seeds, salt & pepper and the dressing with the pickled celery.

Dressing is simple.  White vinegar and sugar in a pot and reduce to 1/4, without stirring.  Let cool then add to salad and toss. 


It took 30 mins to make and about 5 mins to devour for dinner.