Erika is a skilled potter with her artwork displayed throughout the beautiful property…
If Beck gets his hands on some of these unique pottery pieces, we may be spending our time using Erika’s pottery wheel learning how to duplicate masterfully created one-off pieces. Let’s hope not.
The house is cozy and warm, and timing is impeccable. It started raining the day we moved in, and it’s been raining for three days straight. Fortunately we decked the kids out in fresh and fancy gumboots just before we came up here. We wanted to fit in with the rest of the New Zealand farmers. We let the kids choose the style, and I’m not sure they’ll blend in that well, but at least they’ll keep their feet dry and warm. In New Zealand, gumboots replace jandals when your toes get too cold and damp. Like jandals, that doesn’t mean, you can’t wear them with shorts out to dinner.
Here’s Quinne in her new zapatos…
Tell me Beck won’t fit in with the rest of the farmers…
The amazing thing is that he can turn around and casually jive with the GQ crowd without skipping a beat. He makes farming look fashionable…
Beck is happy to be out of the caravan where he can stretch out in front of the fire with a good book.
So are the rest of us. It’s amazing how good a mattress can feel after sleeping on wonky cushions for four months. Little things like washing the dishes in a full size sink seem decadently luxurious.
Andy and Erika offered us the fruits of their abundant veggie garden and fruit trees, and we happily obliged them.
All they’ve asked us to do is feed the cat and the chooks. Chores like feeding the chooks and collecting eggs are more like a special treat to Quinne than a task. Only one egg – since we checked a few hours ago. That’s all right; we’ll wait for them to lay another.
Bye for now, and we’ll be sure to lock the gate so the chooks don’t escape.
4 comments:
Thanks for the update. Makes one want to buy a piece of ground big enough for chooks, at least. We're making our veggie patch bigger with directions a la Katie who attended a workshop in SA. Dig a metre deep hole, fill with soil, compost material, cardboard, old fabric - in fact anything that will decompose without having toxins in it - layer till it fills up and leave for a year. She, and members of the gardening club starting digging and after going about 8inches deep, decided that we should have a raised bed, so now we need to build up the sides and do the filling when we have it. Our soil is just to stoney and hard to go deep down. Nick is so impatient to plant things that he bought tomato seeds, and I stopped him just in time from planting them. BUT today we bought a mini hot house, so he can put pots in that with the seeds to germinate in a protected mini hothouse. In the meantime, when it's time, I'll continue planting things in my established 2M X 18 inches veggie patch - square foot gardening.
Great to talk to you this morning - I'm so excited for you guys and can't wait to get to NZ to see you. Don't know how long it'll take to save enough pennies, but I'll get going with the jar!
Tons of love, mum
Chooks don't take much room. They need tending though. Maybe you can bring them with you when you come visit us. Hide them in your carry-on.
Love,
O
My goodness - even we had to have a look on the map to see where you guys ended up - will have to take two weeks leave to get there!! - Looks great and have been following your travels - all seems well and don't the kids look great - must be a blast for the kids. Have been to the South Island with my sister for 10 days and all is back to normal again.
Lots of love to all and a big hug for the kids.
A & CF, there are quiet cheap flights into Nelson from Auckland. Lookout for deals, and we'll keep the spare bed made for you.
Best regards,
Oliver
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