Thought for the day

To all my very rich and dear friends, a happy Thursday:)

Love
Est xxx

What a novel idea!

With the introduction of cell phones, mobile phones and smart phones and the reduction of actual talking to get your message across, as opposed to texting your communication using the least amount of characters necessary, (lol;), the humble telephone box has pretty much reached the point of obsolescence - but not in some British villages where they are being reduced, reused and recycled in a very special and unique way.

Check out this book exchange. What an incredibly beautiful idea - it makes my heart glad. I hope this idea rolls out to NZ in the near future.




Maybe I should set one up in Ohoka...

Now, just have to find a phone box...

Love
Est xxx

Notes from the garden

Sorry for the very tardy blog post, I have been very busy in the garden (yes, and the dog did eat my homework;), and 'busy' does not mean sitting out in the sun reading my book, no sirree!  Weeding, planting, spraying, hedging (I do like the hedge trimmer, and cutting the hedges nice and straight so appeals to the virgoan perfectionist in me) and just general time sitting around worrying that I should be doing more gardening, has been taking up a lot of my energy.  

Yesterday Alex covered up all the strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants and gooseberries with netting so that the birds don't eat all our crops this season.  Actually, he has wrapped them up so well I am not sure how we are going to eat all our crops this season, but I didn't like to say that, it all looks so neat and tidy and he was so proud of himself;)

Last week we ate our own carrots and rhubarb and asparagus from the garden.  They are all perrenial* vegetables which means that they come back every year (who knew?) so we take no credit for this veggie growing but it does sounds like we have done something special when I say that first line doesn't it?

I have to show you something.  This is a photograph of an asparagus growing!!!  Well, you could have knocked me over with an asparagus.  I haven't been this surprised since I realised pineapples grow on the ground. Have you ever seen anything like it?  Straight up out of the ground!  It just appeared one day.  There it was, boom, out of nowhere.  And, the best thing is that when you cut them off at the bottom, the next day, you go out and there is another one!  Just like that.  

You learn something new every day don't you?  I don't know about you, but I have a lot to learn - maybe I should start learning two things a day, just to keep up.

We have finally invested in a ride on mower.  It is a Husqvarna Rider with a 42 inch cutting deck at the front, unique articulated steering, optional mulching plug, headlights so Alex can mow in the dark, and most importantly, it is ORANGE.

Go Naomi!

Love

Est xxx

*I have been learning a lot of new terms and phrases since moving to the country, like perrenial, herbaceous, propogating,.....sheep....  It is a whole new dictionary for us townies types.

Go directly to jail, do not receive $200

With Christchurch becoming the foremost city in the world for demolition training in the building industry, it is nice to find unexpected things filling the gaps to make the sadness a little happier.

I was walking in our local town Kaiapoi the other day and came across this...




And my favourite, which I haven't seen in person yet, but spotted in the newspaper. I love the section heading, 'city beautification'.




And the silver monopoly piece is a crane!

Completely inspired! How wonderful to have talented artists involved in the rebuild, it makes you excited about the future:)

Love
Est xxx

I'll be doing chicken shapes next!

I know, I know, two blogs in one day again!!

But I had to share, I know you would want to know that, just now...

..my hedges went from this...





...to this...




..with this...




...and it was....bliss!!!!


Love
Est xxx

New life

It's all happening at Chez Skinner (actually our house name is Mayfield, but we haven't really used it yet...maybe we should do though, it is rather lovely) and every day we are realising just how lovely it is to be living in the country. This morning a rabbit hopped past our window, it was just like Watership Down - but without the sad bits.

Ducklings in the paddock, just noticed them yesterday, the ducks live at the front of the house, in the ditches (for want of a better word) that go along the side of the road, which are full of water at present. There are pukekos up the road too, and I love pukekos.







Sheep doing what they do best (after eating grass), standing around pondering the unusually strange behaviour of human beings.

We have experienced four lambs being born in our paddocks since we arrived, and they are beautiful to see - they really do prance.




And, in the words of the wonderful William Wordsworth:

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils

Perfect!




Love
Est xxx