Almost midwinter again

Hello my friends,
Welcome back here.
It would take forever to try and fill you in.
I've neglected the vege garden because the house has gone up for sale. (reluctantly)
The fruit trees still provided over summer without any input from me. Yeee Ha for good groundwork!
I made sweet chilli sauce, tomato sauce and fejoia chutney, berry jam and pickled onions this autumn. The chooks have enjoyed liberation in the vege garden for several months and their population has exploded. I hope they have eaten all the grass grubs!
We shall probably eat a lot more chicken soup this winter.
Pumpkins also did well unattended
At the height of summer PJ and our neighbour made a delicious pudding mostly from our garden.

Lemon Meringue Pie with garden fruit salad

Magic of the tide

Yep that was me all wet suited up. What a blast, I think it was the best summer the kids and I have ever had.

All the darkness is gone. We found fun, joy, adventure and silliness. I found a little too much and wrecked my ankle on a rope swing. But hey it served to remind me my body is not 18 any more even if I feel that way.

I didn't garden or write or knit.
I got to know a whole other me, I remember her from very long ago and I like her alot!

Summer here

Amazing adventures, a different path.

Summer sleep ins

Doesn't feel much like summer at the moment because we have had so much rain, but the school holiday sleep ins are bliss.

The river is in flood and from the bridge I can see that our egg has been washed away.

My immune system has been battling bronchitis for a month now, I finally went to the Dr and got some antibiotics but am feeling really wiped out. Thank goodness the kids are really independent and my neighbourhood are really awesome. I've parented on my own for about 355 days this year, but thank GOD that so many wonderful people believe it takes a village to raise a child and when I need a little time out they are there for my children, with all their LOVE, generosity and compassion.
GOD BLESS MY AMAZING COMMUNITY AND MY EXTENDED FAMILY.
Thank you.

I joined the kiwi Christmas ornament swap this year, lovely ornaments have been arriving and are being added to our tree.

For my ornaments I turned to some felt, buttons, embroidery cotton, sticks, bells and beads to make little moreporks who are all hopefully perched on trees all over the country by now.

Historic places

Last week I got to visit a historic pa site with the kids. This Pa was a place where Maori stored their precious kumara to protect it from raids. I dont think alot of people here are aware of the history of our area, I'm really enjoying learning all I can about it.
The historic vibrations of this place are amazing.

Beautiful warm evenings invite adventrues, which are especially fun with a few extra kids and dogs.

We whizzed down the Mot river to give the dogs a run tonight, the birds overhead were making a horrendous racket! The red head and I looked down and he was about to stand on a nest! We took a quick pic and moved away, hopefully the birds will settle down again. We're not sure what kind of birds they are but we think they are the Black fronted tern.

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Stone throwing, splashes, family, friends, barking, laughing, teasing.............

Things all the good memories are made of.

Thinking of the West Coasters

Some of you will be aware that my kids Dad works in a mine in Reefton. Friends and family started texting me on Friday evening to ask if he was alright? News had just surfaced that there had been a big mine explosion on the West Coast. For a few minutes our family was feeling a bit shell shocked as their Dad wasn't answering. A wave of relief swept over everyone though when he did answer his phone, he was in shock too for his fellow miners involved in the explosion at Pike river.
Our families thoughts and prayers are with the miners, all their families and the entire West Coast community.

Garden goes rampant

Ok lets be honest, I haven't spent any time in my garden. God bless nature for doing it's own thing.

Nana's knitting aside

I love living in paradise:
visited the Ngarua caves today:

An easy walk through the beautiful local landscape, I should have listened more carefully to the guide so I could tell you all about it, but I was just drinking it all in.

The water from the cave comes out here at the Riwaka source. Freezing cold, fresh and pure.