Just under 700km...........................

Yesterday Mike and I travelled just under 700km to be transport for 24 weaned baby goats!

They are funny wee things, one escapee loved the tails on my cardi and the button on my pants pocket !!!

But before we picked these up we headed to the farm in Te Kuiti for some quick stock work and then after a coffee, our first stop was at 3Teak in Te Kuiti-some really lovely goodies there but can't show as what I brought is a gift for our KHS xmas decoration swap-but I can say I would love it myself! Then lunch on the run and off to Matangi to pick up our companions.  Then as we headed home there was one STOP which was the whole reason I went on the trip, Mike took me to 'Thread bear Cottage' in Te Awamutu. (address as some have emailed and asked- 91 Arapuni Road).  I got to meet the lovely Julie.  What a gorgeous wee shop, beautiful gardens and gorgeous house! I so want your place Julie!!!!  Of course I had to buy a few things....................

I have to say the potpourri is to die for, the farm ute we were travelling in smelled gorgeous! (not sure what Mike and the boy's are going to think! I loved it!) I have made a list for future buys.  Thanks Julie, for a wonderful visit, although it was a quick visit I loved it and I have to tell everyone I met her beautiful Mr Wolf she writes about (her dog) he is gorgeous but he is HUGE !  The photos do not do him justice (he is about 80kg I think she said!)
Well I am off as I am 3days past unpacking my Christmas stuff to decorate the house, I had planned to have it all done by today, but due to my day away yesterday and a few days of mayhem i am late!!!
Enjoy your day, Michelle.

 

Threadbear Cottage

This gorgeous stocking came from 'Threadbear Cottage' in Te Awamutu near Hamilton.  Claire brought one of these (different from mine) when she went to Auckland a few weeks ago and showed us at our last KHS meeting.............fell in love with hers and wanted one of my own, so off to the internet I went.  I found Julie she has a blog which is just wonderful,( do pay a visit it is really worth the read. )Made contact and this arrived in the mail this morning!  Along with this..........

not the horse but this most gorgeous smelling pot pourri - made by Julie herself !  (This is going on my list of to buy with every order.) Do check her out and I can't wait to visit her shop next time I am going to Hamilton.
Have a great Thursday, Michelle.

Just a binding to go.....

Picked this up this morning, I dropped this off to Bev a few weeks ago and said do something christmasy.  She has done an all over snow flake, it is very cute.

  Mum has offered to sew the binding on, so off to Urenui this will go on Wednesday.  Have a great week, Michelle.

Poor man's jam....

Every family has one, an Aunty who is an amazing cook!  On Mikes side it is his Aunty Daphne, amazing cook, the most yummiest laming tons, peach pie and sultana buns - these three she is famous for!  And some day soon I will give you the recipe for her peach pie !  But today I made 'Poor man's jam' which is another recipe I have from her.  Now it is 20 years since I have tried to make this jam and that is  NOT because it is hard to make but disaster struck 20 years ago !  The story goes like this.................................................
a new bride trying to impress her new hubbie, got this recipe, followed it to the letter and then because it didn't have a time for the jam to boil rang her mother to ask......................got yaking..............forgot why she rang....................55 minutes later still talking......................remembered.............."Mum, how long do you boil jam for?" .............answer 15 minutes...............DAM !!!!!
Anyway it looked fine, so I bottled it, labeled and sat it on the bench in the kitchen, very proud of ones self.   Next morning we come home from the cow shed for breakfast and hubbie wants to try my jam............very excited I hand him a jar and wait for the praise of what a great jam maker I have married..................not to be......................he almost broke his wrist as he tried to put the knife into the jar!   After alot of laugher I took a jar outside and broke the jar onto the concrete and there before me was a perfect mould of the jar-but it was the jam, it was the toughest toffee I have ever come across.  but there is a good side to this, I made the jam today and it is perfect !   It is a raspberry jam made with kiwi fruit not raspberries.  Kiwi fruit at the moment in Taranaki is only $1.49 per kilo, so is very cheap to make at the moment.

Poor man's jam

6lb (2.7kg) Kiwi fruit
5 1/2 (2.5kg) Sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
270 mls Raspberry thriftee concentrate

Peel and cut up kiwi fruit, add to pot.  Aslo add lemon juice and raspberry concentrate.  Put on low heat until soft.  Then mash.  Then add sugar and boil till set.  I have found that time to be 15-20 minutes.  I have mine as a rolling boil.  Then bottle.

This made me 14 jars.  Hontestly it tastes like raspberry jam-unless you tell them that it is made with kiwi fruit they will think it is 100% raspberry.

Good luck with the recipe, Michelle.

This is another finish for my son Ben, this is his wood working project for the year at school.  It's a TV cabinet.  It is beautiful with rimu and mac and the handles (picked by mum) are very cool also.

Enjoy your Thursday, Michelle.

For the birds

This was the theme for this months KHS meeting which was at Claire's on Monday.  As usual, yummy food and fabulous company.  All the food was recipes that Claire found on Pinterest - so she called us her 'pinny pigs' instead of her guinea pigs - yep she is funny!!!!!!! We started with a spicy dip with home made bread, then a yummy quiche with cucumber salad in a jar , apple juice and finished off with a yummy date loaf.  Could hardly drive home I was so full!

Now the projects where just great, at the top is Nicky's birdcage, which the photo does not do it justice, then Michelle's cups with a nest in them, very, very cute, then Claire made a key holder which doubled as a present for Nicky as it is her birthday month, it has beautiful blue birds and is very pretty and lastly mine, I made a bird house into a Christmas gingerbread house.   We had a great day and even planed our themes for next year ! Organised I know!!  Claire also had 2 rooms to show us and what transformations - but I forgot to take a photo of her bedroom, but below is the new spare room, it is truly gorgeous !!

I must away and go feed my calves, have a great Wednesday, Michelle.

We had a 'Scary visitor'

Halloween is not really that big here in NZ, but I loved our 'scary little visitors' this year!  Master 9 arrived on our door step to scar us - and lets be honest those eye brows are pretty scary!!!!! This was the art work of mum (who has a new calling if big, no massive eye brows come back into fashion! LETS HOPE NOT!!!)  And then Dad brought down little miss 4, who was a scary lion (tail and all )but who is too cute to be scary!  But Dad had the scariest mask of all............just joking (sorry G) We think orange hair could be an option! But maybe not the hat!!

Thanks neighbours for an entertaining night!  And I hope some of those lollies got home for mum and big sister?
Michelle