tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93689452024-03-13T15:41:27.399+13:00special kwriter, mother, runner, hapless gardener, maker of awesome roast potatoesSpecial Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.comBlogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-84789821232986383772013-10-27T20:28:00.001+13:002013-10-27T20:28:31.141+13:00When life gives you lemons<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidISvDaIrPjb3f0wD7cEyllAAcuLq-B9zdClTFIA9S_Nzdc_4WdMITdKpyQUgQU8rr9DMKeGAr8b7l7w3HFJKsbRgB-b7cd3sMBhFcJgBVezJj4JIJea353Hk8fVZQ2NGiERuEmA/s1600/2013_10_18_0982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidISvDaIrPjb3f0wD7cEyllAAcuLq-B9zdClTFIA9S_Nzdc_4WdMITdKpyQUgQU8rr9DMKeGAr8b7l7w3HFJKsbRgB-b7cd3sMBhFcJgBVezJj4JIJea353Hk8fVZQ2NGiERuEmA/s320/2013_10_18_0982.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I believe that anyone who enjoys making delicious food should have a lemon tree. Lemons are quite possibly my favourite fruit simply because they are one of the most versatile foods you'll find. They can be juiced, zested, preserved, squeezed, sliced into drinks, used in baking, dips, stuffings, sauces, meat dishes and salad dressings. They are an über-fruit in my book.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately I can't grow lemons to save my life. My poor, tatty, weather-beaten Meyer lemon is in the final stages of a long, slow death. I have long had a dream to say casually to Harper, hey can you go get a lemon from the tree, as I stand quaintly before the kitchen bench. It's not to be.<br />
<br />
But a friend has come to the rescue. She has an old tree that seems to have an endless supply, and she generously gave me a bag full. And in order to make the most of this bounty, I anticipate every meal I make from now until I can see the bottom of this bag, possibly sometime in mid 2014, will have some part of a lemon in it. I intend to use lemon in all it's glorious forms in as many ways as I can find. Right after I've had this gin and tonic.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjOnBaDZjR02-C-T0mYcF6pIBr_wzInTIZpb0PaKVkunhfC3nZfLX6uIljdIYtX3_gXcYL_1LgiBVcfYgceg87qm2EsHkhHyUyg6stzLwrOPF-m5MKICDXhNyUoRnm76nsg_5pQ/s1600/2013_10_19_0996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjOnBaDZjR02-C-T0mYcF6pIBr_wzInTIZpb0PaKVkunhfC3nZfLX6uIljdIYtX3_gXcYL_1LgiBVcfYgceg87qm2EsHkhHyUyg6stzLwrOPF-m5MKICDXhNyUoRnm76nsg_5pQ/s320/2013_10_19_0996.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
First up, it's in hummus. This is no ordinary, 'buy it in a punnet and it tastes a litte like blended up cardboard'. No sirree. The beauty of making your own hummus is you can adapt it to the way you want it; more garlic here, a little less lemon there, a bit of chilli and coriander, you do it the way you like. You can also - have mercy! - not even use tahini, and I don't because it costs a freaking fortune. I use peanut butter instead, a staple in our house for toast, sarnies and just eating by the sneaky spoonful. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhodpfeEqo5W-H_rlzYWK0S1t03V7DHILOL5nU6NyM_dwK4iB9dsKWFm_AAJkW4qj-wF_npKWliMbjAoTAybALRjkIJquRjLQCfs5O-O05Q4KsiQ1CXhpwDPt7oW1YBmBVMcHrig/s1600/2013_10_19_0999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhodpfeEqo5W-H_rlzYWK0S1t03V7DHILOL5nU6NyM_dwK4iB9dsKWFm_AAJkW4qj-wF_npKWliMbjAoTAybALRjkIJquRjLQCfs5O-O05Q4KsiQ1CXhpwDPt7oW1YBmBVMcHrig/s320/2013_10_19_0999.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's <a href="http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/peanut-butter-hummus" target="_blank">the recipe I used</a> - by the domestic goddess herself Nigella Lawson, but I add a bit of fresh coriander and some chilli flakes for extra oomph.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-43092085599333119272012-03-20T21:43:00.002+13:002012-03-20T21:43:28.866+13:00Where I've beenI've become a multi-blogger, writing about the garden here at Helston Heights for <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff</a>. If you haven't read it yet, it's called <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/woman-v-wild" target="_blank">Woman vs Wild</a> and is all about gardening. That doesn't mean I won't be blogging here anymore, - no - you'll still be able to get your fix of my blathering on about running, writing, crafting, parenting, DIY-ing, and overthinking. Watch this space.<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-83034906746563803062012-02-29T19:48:00.000+13:002012-02-29T19:48:13.778+13:00Autumn RedThe weather has just recently turned a touch autumnal. Where summer is bright blue sky and yellow daisies, and winter is a sea of black coats walking headlong into a southerly, autumn is the red of a ripe chilli pepper and a turning leaf. I'm noticing lots of red at the moment, especially in the tomato patch. Seems everyone's tomatoes are ripening slowly. The cherry tomatoes have been ripening steadily for a few weeks now, but the last remaining grosse lisse tomato plant has just the one ripe tomato shining up like a beacon from the green of the plant. It is the first time in three years of gardening that I've had a large size tomato ripen, which is, in this climate, and with <a href="http://www.kimberleyrothwell.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/tomato-emptiness.html" target="_blank">everything I've had to go through to keep these babies alive</a>, a bit of a miracle.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLH4y_J393TZ6xU4MwER5oByaqI7xZYimevDmoOM4HOTl07fcb5Gs6_nd6G8NSd617myWBu_-aVdazCAdWjraeiKTRxdTFqUwMqpGWIocRcolNbRB2Tz4fSDYZMnJU8b6qOubiA/s1600/Garden+Feb+2012+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLH4y_J393TZ6xU4MwER5oByaqI7xZYimevDmoOM4HOTl07fcb5Gs6_nd6G8NSd617myWBu_-aVdazCAdWjraeiKTRxdTFqUwMqpGWIocRcolNbRB2Tz4fSDYZMnJU8b6qOubiA/s320/Garden+Feb+2012+005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbxWpH-1ajylSTaY3JL8CVjwpwdauHevjkoexKkFizHQlyvAgSqHH4JN7Na4HrIkLr0BUCWRMi2FJzsWZQ3RSxHcRFRSkqdvKOmY1NPny5NIUmPzhoAyZzLykFZ-CRHsif45jXQ/s1600/Garden+Feb+2012+016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbxWpH-1ajylSTaY3JL8CVjwpwdauHevjkoexKkFizHQlyvAgSqHH4JN7Na4HrIkLr0BUCWRMi2FJzsWZQ3RSxHcRFRSkqdvKOmY1NPny5NIUmPzhoAyZzLykFZ-CRHsif45jXQ/s320/Garden+Feb+2012+016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEtvD6Wcta0P2ScLVpTATxA5D09G6DboeyGBLNYAfoEd5nzAUkl_kJ8J_tUHUNQFGXOXHqNDdkNR-u8ybO8KRJseXEdYPKBADyY8cxeSq-dMVEpHk4cWz6D-gMN7KidU3MaR9NQ/s1600/Garden+Feb+2012+015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEtvD6Wcta0P2ScLVpTATxA5D09G6DboeyGBLNYAfoEd5nzAUkl_kJ8J_tUHUNQFGXOXHqNDdkNR-u8ybO8KRJseXEdYPKBADyY8cxeSq-dMVEpHk4cWz6D-gMN7KidU3MaR9NQ/s320/Garden+Feb+2012+015.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Autumn makes me think of Tokoroa, and the start of hockey season. Hockey practice after school would end about 5pm, and I would walk home afterwards with it getting steadily darker, the sky big and wide and still. I was a dreamy teenager, kind of lost in some other place. I loved walking home and seeing the lights on in people's houses, seeing them going about their evening rituals. I wrote poems in my head as I walked. It was lovely to get home and find the fire on, I can hear the sound of my mother pulling the drapes closed across the patio door. The drapes were red. My cheeks, chilled by the crisp air, were red.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-19028527506094111212012-02-06T22:39:00.000+13:002012-02-06T22:39:33.994+13:00What a happy birthday looks like<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyiGuVLqEJaUazxbvsFZB1FXu7q7JO1wtSMW1AFjl8w32yWczUd2oqZ5Il81YcLSX6AFfqyH4aSVA_xHG3wEM87J804AvDjD-ddqL-psQsn6tgxsvn9dKYziamjM9Z62G9URmCA/s1600/Harper's+4th+birthday+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><br /><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyiGuVLqEJaUazxbvsFZB1FXu7q7JO1wtSMW1AFjl8w32yWczUd2oqZ5Il81YcLSX6AFfqyH4aSVA_xHG3wEM87J804AvDjD-ddqL-psQsn6tgxsvn9dKYziamjM9Z62G9URmCA/s400/Harper's+4th+birthday+003.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">H kicked off his 4th birthday with a present treasure hunt. His presents were all over the house with picture clues as to the location of the next present. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEUhPkiF63VtR1RFZSwvNOr43pmIMth099sLJjaNRfT6iRXYYS3oFqnK66zS3Q7hfBVxow2jn1TOeHP7dnQTcmE3nO8JaxPmr9mPwFQKBdUctE7M_69acU0XOkyQQg4Bp1dCr1Q/s1600/Harper's+4th+birthday+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEUhPkiF63VtR1RFZSwvNOr43pmIMth099sLJjaNRfT6iRXYYS3oFqnK66zS3Q7hfBVxow2jn1TOeHP7dnQTcmE3nO8JaxPmr9mPwFQKBdUctE7M_69acU0XOkyQQg4Bp1dCr1Q/s400/Harper's+4th+birthday+011.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I spent hours whipping up all sorts of kiwiana-style party treats. My first attempt at Rice Bubble Slice was not very successful. Lucky that onion dip is impossible to mess up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFlRDncPX-rh7H9UGis2VyHMgG1Kwsl0-tiNASNoJ45TAlNLY4Qgx6_xBmDo_8XUQlM0Z05V0oM0Cbn8oiNzb63VrAjZaUx6YoC6yCrR_KQcFpZrIWQBbsZ27ZeRDKpVIiJY1Bw/s1600/Harper's+4th+birthday+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFlRDncPX-rh7H9UGis2VyHMgG1Kwsl0-tiNASNoJ45TAlNLY4Qgx6_xBmDo_8XUQlM0Z05V0oM0Cbn8oiNzb63VrAjZaUx6YoC6yCrR_KQcFpZrIWQBbsZ27ZeRDKpVIiJY1Bw/s400/Harper's+4th+birthday+007.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The traditional Aunty Ange cake went down a treat. H couldn't decide what to wish for, and the letters on the candles were unreadable by the time he blew them out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHk2bYczM6RUdr4UTiu5cO6OtipSldDzjpIuCQzQIacckW5rWhduWLfG7ouv-q-dtZHOnoJXJO0eItqYxAp5MrsoO8B2QTrP5rKRhcx4-zTUJ7QQifNfg-vKJ1wV8PA9dM5RxuSw/s1600/HOlding+hands+with+Keya.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHk2bYczM6RUdr4UTiu5cO6OtipSldDzjpIuCQzQIacckW5rWhduWLfG7ouv-q-dtZHOnoJXJO0eItqYxAp5MrsoO8B2QTrP5rKRhcx4-zTUJ7QQifNfg-vKJ1wV8PA9dM5RxuSw/s400/HOlding+hands+with+Keya.JPG" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had no idea H was so popular with the ladies.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-47775284571153445422012-02-04T21:48:00.000+13:002012-02-04T21:48:28.948+13:00Four<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitnPgXMp3QovF4YFVql5o7ztAmaZ_vuOoUcIs_rOLkoD9HYTiZ3nPywFrk1KhFu6SGANtULZef25zkbF2A1zIluYXIZUCSDovyz2zjobuM0liyUEdM84SqaBMAMz13dYLzetARtg/s1600/Harper+Winter+2011+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitnPgXMp3QovF4YFVql5o7ztAmaZ_vuOoUcIs_rOLkoD9HYTiZ3nPywFrk1KhFu6SGANtULZef25zkbF2A1zIluYXIZUCSDovyz2zjobuM0liyUEdM84SqaBMAMz13dYLzetARtg/s400/Harper+Winter+2011+010.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
Tomorrow you turn four. Four years sounds very serious. Not quite serious enough for school, but not frivolous like a three year old. My mother, your Nana, always tells me about how she and my father walked around the rose garden the morning I was born. And then I arrived with a holler at 3.20pm, in time for afternoon tea. Before you were born I would roll my eyes and groan something teenage-y whenever I heard this story; oh Mum, you're embarassing me. But I get it now. I get it because every year on the 4th of February I do the same thing. I tell you about how your dad and I went and had a last supper, well, it was lunch, at Ernesto's. We ate hash browns and eggs and hollandaise. I went to the chemist and bought the last of the supplies I thought I would need to look after a little baby. We went home and packed those few last things in my red suitcase, which is now your suitcase, and then at 5pm we went to the hospital. It was a dull overcast day, a little windy. As we came down the hill to Newtown, Christy Moore was playing on the stereo, a song I'd been teasing your dad about. I asked him how he felt. Scared, he said. When we got the hospital, <a href="http://www.kimberleyrothwell.blogspot.co.nz/2008/03/six-weeks.html" target="_blank">your dad took photos of me</a> beside the sign at the hospital, with my suitcase and my bump where you were. I knew I wouldn't have the bump next time I stood in the carpark. The same Christy Moore song was on the stereo when we brought you home two days later.</div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQuTKiDH7iLPQ-PAO22_2ApFp2x0ek1GLyAJc49RrkJZpvXZMiVp01H5FKZmZVL32jYwxLYYWPllJ8_djG-i8_KGPUkcaAfwTpZBIO0WkIEo7sYEFcwnsYCt_8gC5vPPPPq90aw/s1600/IMG_1488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQuTKiDH7iLPQ-PAO22_2ApFp2x0ek1GLyAJc49RrkJZpvXZMiVp01H5FKZmZVL32jYwxLYYWPllJ8_djG-i8_KGPUkcaAfwTpZBIO0WkIEo7sYEFcwnsYCt_8gC5vPPPPq90aw/s320/IMG_1488.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So it's six hours until you are four. Tomorrow when you wake up you'll come into your mum and dad's room and clamber in between us. There will most probably be a tickle fight. I will look at you and see every day since the day you were born, and when you're five, I'll get nostalgic about it.<br /><div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-12218786322107066642012-01-31T21:21:00.000+13:002012-01-31T21:21:28.991+13:002011 - The year in review<div>
<strong>What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?</strong> Where to start. There were so many firsts this year I'm bound to miss something out. </div>
1. Went to <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/international/5237815/Vancouvers-sensational-geography">Vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/international/5575161/Whistler-while-you-walk">Whistler</a> and a tiny snippet of coastal <a href="http://kimberleyrothwell.blogspot.com/2011/06/more-canada-action-feet-not-included.html">British Columbia</a>; that trip saw many firsts, like having a <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/international/5418091/BCs-coastal-playground">migraine while sea-kayaking</a>, flying first class, encountering a baby bear, going shopping for maple syrup at 10pm with an old Kiwi friend in a suburban supermarket, and eating all sorts of amazing new foods like Arctic char, clamato juice and raw buffalo.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrn0KI6N3ChR35P9CY_efJtB2J5Fn2Lk2EGswXiVYQJlR3Nw_2vSMnqhb66ZljoGxujpIURyXywf68b012p3G-ZWxk-Z2bA8nk9MxAFPTlMcfRurZMhvNeP11nSo_1yqePf4bjA/s1600/kayaking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrn0KI6N3ChR35P9CY_efJtB2J5Fn2Lk2EGswXiVYQJlR3Nw_2vSMnqhb66ZljoGxujpIURyXywf68b012p3G-ZWxk-Z2bA8nk9MxAFPTlMcfRurZMhvNeP11nSo_1yqePf4bjA/s400/kayaking.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
2. On the home front, <a href="http://kimberleyrothwell.blogspot.com/2011/06/kitchen-miracle.html">I painted my own kitchen </a>and <a href="http://kimberleyrothwell.blogspot.com/2011/04/craft-brag.html">made a blanket out of crochet</a>.<br />
3. Became a runner. I joined a women's running group, ran up hills I never thought were possible, entered a running race, got injured and had my first MRI.<br />
4. Hung out with my cousins James and Morgan.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQhr-5gVFxGbuZNajgP5o3RpokcJgSLTUhrxjEtDy2jzg3JUQIS4PTZXq1wK0y0-UQ-NVcxL6ctRgL2xIikuzUjjJBttmrgyEXN8J7pXNwJKG8ipVlfrQDVC6CUbuT0ZOsrakBA/s1600/IMG_9646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQhr-5gVFxGbuZNajgP5o3RpokcJgSLTUhrxjEtDy2jzg3JUQIS4PTZXq1wK0y0-UQ-NVcxL6ctRgL2xIikuzUjjJBttmrgyEXN8J7pXNwJKG8ipVlfrQDVC6CUbuT0ZOsrakBA/s400/IMG_9646.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>What countries did you visit?</b> Canada; land of Mounties, salmon and maple syrup from the supermarket.<br />
<br />
<strong>What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?</strong> That elusive Canon award.<br />
<strong>What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?</strong> February 22, 12.51pm. The day of the <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/photos/">Christchurch Earthquake</a>.<br />
<strong>What was your biggest achievement of the year?</strong> Writing the <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5589119/Facebook-tells-story-of-Christchurch-earthquake-victims-life">Elsa</a> story.<br />
<strong>What was your biggest failure?</strong> Not finishing <a href="http://kimberleyrothwell.blogspot.com/2011/09/adventures-in-central-north-island.html">my first 10km </a>because of a pesky migraine.<br />
<strong>Did you suffer illness or injury?</strong> I had nine migraines this year, which is more than I've had in the decade. They were often at inopportune times. I have learnt to get over my panic when a migraine comes on now. I also had the aforementioned running injury.<br />
<strong>What was the best thing you bought?</strong> My mountie tin.<br />
<strong>Whose behaviour merited celebration?</strong> Those volunteers who dug people out, patched them up, shared facilities, raised money, and donated anything they had.<br />
<strong>Where did most of your money go?</strong> Gardening and secret brunches at Cafe Thyme next door to the garden centre.<br />
<strong>What did you get really, really, really excited about?</strong> <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/5835697/True-grit-wins-the-day-for-relieved-All-Blacks">The final of the RWC</a>. Running up Mt Vic. <a href="http://www.kimberleyrothwell.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/why-living-in-jville-is-better-than.html" target="_blank">Snow in my front yard</a> - for three days.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcgALfd_z0dKlV7KxvojKD9VoveOEDNiKnbsZ4kScnFl35EryaPjtM1I9NyQEOpTOBe5Tl1sCbkBc4zPiQX-Q4GsJpZpt3GSmgZBJ4UPJou9Rq0WCBZKc21xjiavPhwrh72sROA/s1600/Snow+Aug+2011+024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcgALfd_z0dKlV7KxvojKD9VoveOEDNiKnbsZ4kScnFl35EryaPjtM1I9NyQEOpTOBe5Tl1sCbkBc4zPiQX-Q4GsJpZpt3GSmgZBJ4UPJou9Rq0WCBZKc21xjiavPhwrh72sROA/s320/Snow+Aug+2011+024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<strong>What song will always remind you of 2011?</strong> The national anthem, sung with an ever changing lineup of lyrics by H R Graham. Who knew "in the bonzo love" and "God of masons" were the words? And the rainbow song, which Harper learnt from his beloved Nana.<br />
<div>
<strong>What do you wish you'd done more of?</strong> Had more haircuts. I'm wearing a blankie of hair on my head right now.</div>
<div>
<strong>Did you fall in love in 2011?</strong> Neh. I thought I would love the chooks, but they're a <a href="http://kimberleyrothwell.blogspot.com/2011/10/truth-about-chickens.html">pain in the butt</a>.</div>
<div>
<strong>What did you want and get?</strong> Chooks. Revising that decision.</div>
<div>
<strong>What did you want and not get?</strong> A thriving raspberry patch. A Canon award. A medal for finishing a running race.</div>
<div>
To see 2010's wrap up, see <a href="http://kimberleyrothwell.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-wrap-on-2010.html">here</a>.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-25071841060729301372012-01-29T20:16:00.000+13:002012-01-29T20:16:02.458+13:00I will not complain about the weather this year<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJc30oXW_r8FWlOk4C2S6VaicgLqPKoWObb6XArcDo48wiJkwGp_QiGjL88J2eEEuRgadhZx6Eh4EjTdmWEG_mGeHJOMdGRN5FCN4YVULHQ8AOomvS2isVHJIoCfyek9ueRkR5eg/s1600/wind+wellington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJc30oXW_r8FWlOk4C2S6VaicgLqPKoWObb6XArcDo48wiJkwGp_QiGjL88J2eEEuRgadhZx6Eh4EjTdmWEG_mGeHJOMdGRN5FCN4YVULHQ8AOomvS2isVHJIoCfyek9ueRkR5eg/s400/wind+wellington.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image by flickr user dmmd303</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/capital-life/6111069/How-windy-is-Wellington-really" target="_blank">Wellington is windy</a>. The wind's direction and strength play an integral part in this city's life. It determines whether or not a sailing on the ferry to or from the South Island is a good day out, or a dangerous and deadly <a href="http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/wellington-region/3/2" target="_blank">event</a>. It determines whether sitting outside on a sunny day is a lovely way to pass time, or will involve being hit in the head with flying objects. It might even determine whether you can walk or not. <br />
The wind also plays a big part in the mood of our city's residents. It's pretty usual for the year to go a little something like this:<br />
Autumn: at the first southerly, complain about winter coming<br />
Winter: complain about how cold and windy it is as another 'icy blast' rolls through town<br />
Spring: get hopes up of a good summer coming, but complain about November northerlies<br />
Summer: complain about the summer that never came while holding down the barbecue in a northerly<br />
It's fair to say that I do a lot of this complaining. The wind plays a big part in my life, though in subtle ways. My choice of vegetables and fruit to grow is largely determined by the
wind, or at least that's the reason I give for never, ever growing
runner beans. All my crops stay close to the ground. I won't grow
climbing peas, and even dwarf peas get staked. I wear my hair long, with no fringe, so that I can tie it back and not have it in my face. I check Metservice for wind strength and direction more than for sun and rain. I choose to walk home a particular way because other routes are windier.<br />
But this year, I will not complain about the wind. Instead, I will focus on all the ways wind enriches my life.<br />
Wind is a cheap gym. Trying running against a gale force northerly. It's resistance and cooling all at once.<br />
Wind has a purifying effect. The air here is always clean. I don't have to worry about airing out the house, because you open a window for ten minutes and voila, airing is done. Washing takes less time to dry in the wind.<br />
Wind is dramatic. It howls at windows. A good southerly is like a kid dancing, making all the trees and curtains and things that aren't tied down dance with it. It whips up the harbour in different directions. It sends clouds racing over hills, it makes magnificent sunsets.<br />
Wind means no-one in this town can use an umbrella. I really dislike umbrellas. Or more accurately, I really hate being poked in the eye by the ends of an umbrella's spoke. I love to see umbrellas that have been sucked inside out by the wind stuffed into rubbish bins.<br />
Wind makes landing at the airport <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_LaAkAyoz0" target="_blank">a newsworthy event</a>, though I've had far worse landings in Auckland.<br />
If you live in Auckland or Reefton or somewhere not windy, you don't appreciate the beauty of a truly still evening like those of us who are used to being buffetted. Those still evenings when the cicadas are sizzling and people are out walking their dogs are jewels; when leaves stay on the ground, when the water coming out of your watering can goes on the plants you are aiming it at. Those times are times to sit, to watch, to admire bees bravely going about their business.<br />
I know lots of people who couldn't live here because of our weather. Sometimes I have thought of moving somewhere less active. But there are so many great things about this place, that the wind is a small price to pay for it. I come around that corner on SH1 where the harbour bursts out to meet you, I see the city huddled into it and the ingenious ways people have created a place to live and be here, and I know this will always be home. <br />
<br />
'It's true you can't live here by chance, you have to do and be, not simply watch or even describe. This is the city of action, the world headquarters of the verb.' - Lauris Edmond<div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-54454368150156206662012-01-20T20:27:00.004+13:002012-01-20T20:46:55.201+13:00Summer road trip: homeward bound<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_jd4YTnNgMXqNO-s1Qe8NOsoOWwnx0oFoL5_icsE0RNXLpRufTL3rivvMRUI1ynvwUOJMtl1dTeqz6yVbKXY2YeHFWN0kTKTO1CUSQtcTL-Vfu6-At-5TTUw_PB8HNAn3Q-P_g/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+225.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699615032488293986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_jd4YTnNgMXqNO-s1Qe8NOsoOWwnx0oFoL5_icsE0RNXLpRufTL3rivvMRUI1ynvwUOJMtl1dTeqz6yVbKXY2YeHFWN0kTKTO1CUSQtcTL-Vfu6-At-5TTUw_PB8HNAn3Q-P_g/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+225.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75pkrhticf_Pk3j5NegROftj7SORM9CqH3hjq4-BnrQ2bVkV1zy6oSSKglcleSQdifzOBoueG4vi4y2GsanT5ulWojep-n0TyYvjWponUYvanApRTMOnjB1aWbqqQ-DuaW1KXWg/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+252.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699616597093453570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75pkrhticf_Pk3j5NegROftj7SORM9CqH3hjq4-BnrQ2bVkV1zy6oSSKglcleSQdifzOBoueG4vi4y2GsanT5ulWojep-n0TyYvjWponUYvanApRTMOnjB1aWbqqQ-DuaW1KXWg/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+252.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiTWFbsY8QitesxOGLfXMmVH6p1SATXIg1_Y1scAiRIe1-WJYk1_zGgdk45zXSABbxE_XPKSrpi94kmu0aE8INEVb8bhDOvScF2b1jREYFxVLWDNZ-2Zuz-443lY_dMyk2D_BFQ/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+268.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699614247669439394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiTWFbsY8QitesxOGLfXMmVH6p1SATXIg1_Y1scAiRIe1-WJYk1_zGgdk45zXSABbxE_XPKSrpi94kmu0aE8INEVb8bhDOvScF2b1jREYFxVLWDNZ-2Zuz-443lY_dMyk2D_BFQ/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+268.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96TD6S0EWoQPQ20MwJx5Ca2DkCuQYuDi7iiPVQPQTEj-1Lu1G2Uo1WuqDF8Ts-WSdQ5UrXRDbawowrXugy0F-iXIqOpg1S8UfqpVVyAZDl2JsCl2xZ2C_SVfGRapT7soAXJV0Cg/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+269.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699614257196008322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96TD6S0EWoQPQ20MwJx5Ca2DkCuQYuDi7iiPVQPQTEj-1Lu1G2Uo1WuqDF8Ts-WSdQ5UrXRDbawowrXugy0F-iXIqOpg1S8UfqpVVyAZDl2JsCl2xZ2C_SVfGRapT7soAXJV0Cg/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+269.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpRdkHC-dBaY6yTbjZP5xLsDXw8MiDJ5AmFeJBEFZL2b7oYCRDCIxgmKZfUghRWoLXPoPWwOdYz-W6UJo0MBJvVR-MqBsCL8ZFn9uq5SoSDuDLYOwFWJ4LAfIoPnIcTc8gpS79Q/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+293.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699615027501250194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpRdkHC-dBaY6yTbjZP5xLsDXw8MiDJ5AmFeJBEFZL2b7oYCRDCIxgmKZfUghRWoLXPoPWwOdYz-W6UJo0MBJvVR-MqBsCL8ZFn9uq5SoSDuDLYOwFWJ4LAfIoPnIcTc8gpS79Q/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+293.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycD_K1XYgrAt5kchF8w_CObdN4QjU1p02K4H0m4lF3AV2fBseOYSwHlzS7zu9UBOpvJ4G-7HPI0bBXMYrqQDqFFSwVi3LDDc_hbGblLBqY3c9gP0_ZD9U6ctFEK0X_lAiq_Rfuw/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+294.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699614227957134306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycD_K1XYgrAt5kchF8w_CObdN4QjU1p02K4H0m4lF3AV2fBseOYSwHlzS7zu9UBOpvJ4G-7HPI0bBXMYrqQDqFFSwVi3LDDc_hbGblLBqY3c9gP0_ZD9U6ctFEK0X_lAiq_Rfuw/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+294.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURmfQCw-kvBi3cnUtvWc1CRd9HbVx_lEgc_Z1HGOCapBuZn2J1hNsIr3iT-8Q5PTlTEqBHv0O7snAF6gXsSCb_Y8RqbUbIQeSgsAZp8aUFcvmfPp7LUPgDNhCM_stwJt31doSBw/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+312.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699614249152175314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURmfQCw-kvBi3cnUtvWc1CRd9HbVx_lEgc_Z1HGOCapBuZn2J1hNsIr3iT-8Q5PTlTEqBHv0O7snAF6gXsSCb_Y8RqbUbIQeSgsAZp8aUFcvmfPp7LUPgDNhCM_stwJt31doSBw/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+312.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvHqEJuxTYqqpHk052Qzs8VFuoh_5RHF-VPJ1TYjpSkb1DCpNicuDMq4G6VANmUElzqjcGdIV9zpx3iuyvgz2_6XA-cIEqTFVxj0M2OXdWWdszYVaZxZIxZ8k3q4Pl1B0JXeahA/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+320.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699614226110996690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvHqEJuxTYqqpHk052Qzs8VFuoh_5RHF-VPJ1TYjpSkb1DCpNicuDMq4G6VANmUElzqjcGdIV9zpx3iuyvgz2_6XA-cIEqTFVxj0M2OXdWWdszYVaZxZIxZ8k3q4Pl1B0JXeahA/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+320.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-57829959621977316302012-01-18T20:32:00.012+13:002012-01-18T21:54:41.050+13:00Tomato emptiness<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTD2Cs2eAnORObjOr5ODHYhEt6ka2kcqtCtalB2emkG9XWoPh3srJuRx1lJPqJi9NHips0jlY4CmF_ityB0yJ65Y_mk98Ecq8X1Qb8aNnVRcw2_3jU2HBiuKx3TwDUi_pTbTbzTQ/s1600/Planting+tomatoes+Oct+2011+003.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698889752774083922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTD2Cs2eAnORObjOr5ODHYhEt6ka2kcqtCtalB2emkG9XWoPh3srJuRx1lJPqJi9NHips0jlY4CmF_ityB0yJ65Y_mk98Ecq8X1Qb8aNnVRcw2_3jU2HBiuKx3TwDUi_pTbTbzTQ/s400/Planting+tomatoes+Oct+2011+003.jpg" /></a> <br /><div><br /><div>If you choose to grow tomatoes in Wellington, with our chilly spring, our gale force winds and our clay soil, you are in for a hard, heart breaking road. This is the third year I've tried to grow tomatoes, the other two times have been utter failure. </div><br /><div>This year, armed with a great deal more gardening knowledge, I have managed to coddle a few plants that I've raised from seed. I started with 14 plants - 7 cherry toms and 7 grosse lisse, back in August. I kept them inside and loving watered them, then transplanted them into larger pots and fed them with homemade liquid seaweed. </div><br /><div>Over two weeks I hardened them off; taking them out onto the patio before work so they could adjust to the outside world, and tucking them in the house at night when I got home. My dedication was amazing, if I do say so myself.<br /></div><br /><div>A week after Labour Weekend I planted them out in a plot we cleared in the flower garden, a nice sheltered spot with all day sun at the front of the house. The plot had been nurtured with seaweed and compost. I ground up pumice to aid soil drainage. I sowed calendula, borage and phacelia around to attract bees. So far, so good. So good I gave away five sturdy young plants. </div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3tNWpw2jPjHLcQVOPN0ArhyphenhyphenmoGj7NLFBDmE_-S1WJEkhyq_nC4Khh6lb31wXf-p7tvy6xMm0Z9y9lAiUw9SArD7exGAbrpiLqliwfrzjWibzxO5BNbBVva7Tu5Tq3tRDTSFmLHA/s1600/Planting+tomatoes+Oct+2011+001.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698889749510854274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3tNWpw2jPjHLcQVOPN0ArhyphenhyphenmoGj7NLFBDmE_-S1WJEkhyq_nC4Khh6lb31wXf-p7tvy6xMm0Z9y9lAiUw9SArD7exGAbrpiLqliwfrzjWibzxO5BNbBVva7Tu5Tq3tRDTSFmLHA/s400/Planting+tomatoes+Oct+2011+001.jpg" /></a> <br /><div align="left"><em>Harper helps plant out the tomatoes amongst the lavender in our flower garden</em></div><br /><div align="left"><em></em></div><br /><div>On planting out day, I lost one when it fell off the back of the car where they had been sunbathing. I was down to eight plants. I staked those tomatoes from the get-go, so that any pesky northerlies in November wouldn't snap them. Not long after planting out, they began to turn purple. I learned, from scouring the internet, that they weren't able to draw phosphorus from the soil because it was too chilly for them. I lost two plants completely, the others I coddled and nursed and talked to and fed with blood and bone, comfrey tea and more homemade liquid seaweed. They survived the cold spring. And guerilla attacks by the chooks who loved to scratch around in the soil near them.</div>Before going on holiday at Christmas, I mulched the plants, I crushed up egg shells and sprinkled them round the roots, and fed with seaweed. The plants looked lush and strong and were fruiting.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnsqCzklJ1tZxLGgXYmHHZIvVNvRo-HbTz2M8GQ6GlXvZ3ZV-F-m12zu6wlqOEByZvwUir3heS3JpwmZJaPdYSWOVbgMip6XpuXmsZILJaA0Mk3vejP0bsbjXPBcBIhxK2eEf3Gg/s1600/Garden+Jan+2012+003.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698882843571617394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnsqCzklJ1tZxLGgXYmHHZIvVNvRo-HbTz2M8GQ6GlXvZ3ZV-F-m12zu6wlqOEByZvwUir3heS3JpwmZJaPdYSWOVbgMip6XpuXmsZILJaA0Mk3vejP0bsbjXPBcBIhxK2eEf3Gg/s400/Garden+Jan+2012+003.jpg" /></a> <em>First fruit, just before Christmas<br /></em><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVgSdirZkwB9-o3Xi4fhP4e8Sjcm7R3MImaZYwqb3MybrDU0wTKXyaBA495_tLWr3HQKn1XuXWY03wfbsqsFN6aFZCTnD0CjDb4r97QK8YCnL5jRpfPqQQJ4_EAw_z_ycGp-hww/s1600/Garden+Jan+2012+002.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698882834361880434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVgSdirZkwB9-o3Xi4fhP4e8Sjcm7R3MImaZYwqb3MybrDU0wTKXyaBA495_tLWr3HQKn1XuXWY03wfbsqsFN6aFZCTnD0CjDb4r97QK8YCnL5jRpfPqQQJ4_EAw_z_ycGp-hww/s400/Garden+Jan+2012+002.jpg" /></a> <em>Pre-holiday tomato patch, with basil, phacelia, borage and calendula</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><div>By the time we got back from holiday in early January fat fruit were forming, the phacelia was getting so big I had to pull it out, but then I discovered black sections on the tomato stems, brown splotches on the leaves and some of the fruit on the one grosse lisse I had left was brown and ugly. Turns out it has early blight. I lost one more plant before I even identified what the problem was. </div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvUQZGt0dDxNw93VHmC6jl4V7L5YpAeQW38yREsuQFe9biilbgKFzwtT5n7kd-lnk8_ROWP3CtBHQDFJdZOLR8XWAAQDYZto0lBp_R3hHnPtxI-SQ6X5rDxL1GPN17elA8kFwJw/s1600/Garden+Jan+2012+008.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698882865363254642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvUQZGt0dDxNw93VHmC6jl4V7L5YpAeQW38yREsuQFe9biilbgKFzwtT5n7kd-lnk8_ROWP3CtBHQDFJdZOLR8XWAAQDYZto0lBp_R3hHnPtxI-SQ6X5rDxL1GPN17elA8kFwJw/s400/Garden+Jan+2012+008.jpg" /></a> <em>Early blight - dark stems, brown patches on leaves, dark smudges on fruit </em></div><br /><div><em><br /></em><br /><div>Today, I resorted to spraying with copper oxychloride, but I think it's pretty dire. I'm tempted to pull the whole lot out and admit defeat. And maybe if I hadn't been so optimistic about how I cheated the weather and guerilla chooks, then this wouldn't feel so bad. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNfWvhrGD0Ry9tIBVJM9iKQAX1yZuYNI9WyP0vKGLPswqDFlBn0rZWo1PBCnb7ayxjIK4nnI1633bML57A7m9_r3D40IZAULqim0eTP0dKHHah7_8WbFYyqT6Mc1vnebod_tw2Q/s1600/Garden+Jan+2012+009.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698882858715076882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNfWvhrGD0Ry9tIBVJM9iKQAX1yZuYNI9WyP0vKGLPswqDFlBn0rZWo1PBCnb7ayxjIK4nnI1633bML57A7m9_r3D40IZAULqim0eTP0dKHHah7_8WbFYyqT6Mc1vnebod_tw2Q/s400/Garden+Jan+2012+009.jpg" /></a><em>Please ripen before the blight gets you!<br /></em><br /><br /><div>Perhaps I'm just not destined to grow tomatoes. </div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-48568083155451928122012-01-13T20:32:00.005+13:002012-01-13T20:43:54.901+13:00We are now vampire proof<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAVatq1F897wziSr_lGuwXV34zo4khO7LOVeq1yL4pLHRfR23tgW3NV52lmJVcs-fZWzBYwn1nTMUMdTm_HYN_DguSNrs-jJDlc7aViTH7e73Sx6DjOeQsLKjA-9GGY1Yyp4l1Q/s1600/Garden+Jan+2012+009.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697017223410035938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAVatq1F897wziSr_lGuwXV34zo4khO7LOVeq1yL4pLHRfR23tgW3NV52lmJVcs-fZWzBYwn1nTMUMdTm_HYN_DguSNrs-jJDlc7aViTH7e73Sx6DjOeQsLKjA-9GGY1Yyp4l1Q/s400/Garden+Jan+2012+009.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92i2xjmxu-vYw6c_AozSVwjlK3BZFzznFznDILVno6qhIneH53IkdWUBkFPE_y3SF4vD9SADwTm-obKFO1H-ObaExjFrwwEb8ox9mJLp7fl_TilQgzwjhR0WGbm1BdchehPtxLQ/s1600/Garden+Jan+2012+014.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697017247086814642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92i2xjmxu-vYw6c_AozSVwjlK3BZFzznFznDILVno6qhIneH53IkdWUBkFPE_y3SF4vD9SADwTm-obKFO1H-ObaExjFrwwEb8ox9mJLp7fl_TilQgzwjhR0WGbm1BdchehPtxLQ/s400/Garden+Jan+2012+014.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4e3ksOgXvUEK8kiibntazCo763IokWVHpM5autjG8lw2liaETYa46-n61QxES9-KmxhYACwdVuIi2NHqanHAG8OgfgucTHX6IpC222J4YJNhIrWxLCDaq2Kz-6T9QD7hizpNNGQ/s1600/Garden+Jan+2012+013.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697017234814427058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4e3ksOgXvUEK8kiibntazCo763IokWVHpM5autjG8lw2liaETYa46-n61QxES9-KmxhYACwdVuIi2NHqanHAG8OgfgucTHX6IpC222J4YJNhIrWxLCDaq2Kz-6T9QD7hizpNNGQ/s400/Garden+Jan+2012+013.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>My trusty assistant was on hand to harvest our 14 bulbs of garlic. They've been in the ground since the shortest day, June 21, and according to garden lore, should be harvested on the longest day, December 21. I decided to leave them in the ground a touch longer, until the first leaves started to die off. I dug them up with my new garden fork which melts the soil like butter. Oh, the bliss of a new garden fork. </div><br /><br /><div>I also have shallots in there, and I've left them in a bit longer to get bigger and fatter. H got a bit excited though, and pulled one out. </div><br /><br /><div>The next step is leaving them to dry. If we could be assured of a couple of days of sunshine, I would have left them out on the soil, but we're enduring some four-seasons-in-oneday weather, so they are tied up in the shed to dry off. I can't wait to plat them and hang them in my kitchen. This is definitely a crop I will grow again next year. </div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-74495355151721039802012-01-12T21:16:00.011+13:002012-01-19T21:11:44.527+13:00Summer road trip: part three<strong></strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfa08pNBNrKG98XQpnTSSomiDwhLQQIrTv8PGESWSoq5izpYN0OK4mtFOUajS34W1LapBOn04jPJw1YB4ecG8ToKgn2ZVdfLOMV5Rjgr3uag889SZPyM4P4cRO3Z0Q_-t687VDEg/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+139.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699239425871251266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfa08pNBNrKG98XQpnTSSomiDwhLQQIrTv8PGESWSoq5izpYN0OK4mtFOUajS34W1LapBOn04jPJw1YB4ecG8ToKgn2ZVdfLOMV5Rjgr3uag889SZPyM4P4cRO3Z0Q_-t687VDEg/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+139.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3z55ts207_NRHi6y12sa7QdFUEN8f0AAKyNjik44reqc-t2qA7CQo3ElttnHe_wIP2DIx8Vtvy9DegYfk-AiN3ANNgXyy8t2z8jjyjhycVMdV3-aG1GJrDOJ1BBYsVcrHidUOEg/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+143.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699242090570037090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3z55ts207_NRHi6y12sa7QdFUEN8f0AAKyNjik44reqc-t2qA7CQo3ElttnHe_wIP2DIx8Vtvy9DegYfk-AiN3ANNgXyy8t2z8jjyjhycVMdV3-aG1GJrDOJ1BBYsVcrHidUOEg/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+143.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAMM9P10232lfkR3tB5Uf-4h9L0sBrMtbvy3bVlyZupONyExTlnnbiYnL3Fj_NgwxrjVeFeP5_3Am7kwu6Tq4Emc3Kvwi7JU0CRLdihhchywV7G7MGPHu2n6hgeTz2lCbqsqG0w/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+151.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699242088204945490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAMM9P10232lfkR3tB5Uf-4h9L0sBrMtbvy3bVlyZupONyExTlnnbiYnL3Fj_NgwxrjVeFeP5_3Am7kwu6Tq4Emc3Kvwi7JU0CRLdihhchywV7G7MGPHu2n6hgeTz2lCbqsqG0w/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+151.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_iWR06uSe-OXOywcn126Ejm1mmkbZGrhNZOb8vSHTjMVwkrBm1ZWVQjso3IhA0FScXtrT4pgVNWkwfZTvVkgh3zmzL6GZY9B9ry7m6ksaXsM8-nsv-ywWxuxTaAqihFzqr_gnQ/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+165.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699239451658299602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_iWR06uSe-OXOywcn126Ejm1mmkbZGrhNZOb8vSHTjMVwkrBm1ZWVQjso3IhA0FScXtrT4pgVNWkwfZTvVkgh3zmzL6GZY9B9ry7m6ksaXsM8-nsv-ywWxuxTaAqihFzqr_gnQ/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+165.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmfVxKudWd7gflRlw4KoMQFUOpSwSGXnk2zGyTwiUnUVZ09jZUir0XgB4ILfNcraXUGf2WoF1mbNRG0f__R36iO__H1mok6xbVJ2F__Hjr0LoXgwaaGmtAGh5alMBo88VDIWREA/s1600/newplymouth+5.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696663104254806258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmfVxKudWd7gflRlw4KoMQFUOpSwSGXnk2zGyTwiUnUVZ09jZUir0XgB4ILfNcraXUGf2WoF1mbNRG0f__R36iO__H1mok6xbVJ2F__Hjr0LoXgwaaGmtAGh5alMBo88VDIWREA/s400/newplymouth+5.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiyVeebGmnDrN8ubUsK1DMXXlPp3Nhg7MRXOE4O5InHHo99XodJOJBWoCGQBzeRnHqC77n7zJ1HPtVlFDP-3xAa_QzvO1_IQA7MyIiwthAoefYLFwjsOj31tbHHw6hHHqCmPileQ/s1600/newplymouth+6.JPG"></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP0nbyHnBJaMjaQ1CaKTPxdEAAUBVXrd6n72xDkTwpct_iiN37aEzb_Wj8prYCnAGBVw1H_CXNv2acgiJFLQ-C7Twn7_jY758Tb2p-w5JpF2a0KBro-rXxa__dArslIhhT4btAw/s1600/newplymouth+7.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696662095068453378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP0nbyHnBJaMjaQ1CaKTPxdEAAUBVXrd6n72xDkTwpct_iiN37aEzb_Wj8prYCnAGBVw1H_CXNv2acgiJFLQ-C7Twn7_jY758Tb2p-w5JpF2a0KBro-rXxa__dArslIhhT4btAw/s400/newplymouth+7.JPG" /></a> <br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43S6o9oYdR0A3iq1MbQdn_tZaeTXPSA53YPVLWzFZlt-UbfO3hhMC1CUuZrYC4MCnfaPxOI1BJgkCxJ1IOM4UCW2QBXtZdWAbgAYLykZKhH5nddmbMcSBq5-hKoXmT3EAGYMecg/s1600/newplymouth+8.JPG"></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWMRCn5Uisoy9b7-IkkKgr3NLxjmiTn3thglNGKZY8YR_3Kxo7N8cKbUojesOhxWWjgaKSY6KHiA1EobPEd1L_Z-c3xSor2tPm6jCJyNIyVx9BY8YXjc7r-KA1s3aHi4KT8Wz0Q/s1600/newplymouth+10.JPG"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU41ETr5OQ228VrOL2Wzyo8zKE8w0MzxlHk38xxxQsZE0Kj-6xhZiI845lFDZVwtMSnzjkvRUJDTWJZWxQIg9MqQD92sHHC-3C59bR8f4MbnJLRaYK6EUFlRu4x1wpiQV93Dr5Sw/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+199.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699242099784129762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU41ETr5OQ228VrOL2Wzyo8zKE8w0MzxlHk38xxxQsZE0Kj-6xhZiI845lFDZVwtMSnzjkvRUJDTWJZWxQIg9MqQD92sHHC-3C59bR8f4MbnJLRaYK6EUFlRu4x1wpiQV93Dr5Sw/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+199.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXyhk_PCkCOshrP6cmbo20i27AhRLQj4vKzcH1418YgVNKQoRt25PAXLOeGUQptR1EVHTPFgpcfsNjuUxBg4XMNtedhDROx0s-0gkBCEVQCrdOzpu2f6P0f0mu6JasirWjMDZ4Q/s1600/newplymouth+9.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696660223024096498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXyhk_PCkCOshrP6cmbo20i27AhRLQj4vKzcH1418YgVNKQoRt25PAXLOeGUQptR1EVHTPFgpcfsNjuUxBg4XMNtedhDROx0s-0gkBCEVQCrdOzpu2f6P0f0mu6JasirWjMDZ4Q/s400/newplymouth+9.JPG" /></a><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-34522197626203752212012-01-12T20:37:00.011+13:002012-01-13T12:20:59.332+13:00Summer road trip: part two<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHZ023vunBMFANIkTecLoltBxejkXsgWXD6b3APd8_ZRZzPH7FqPSa5pulob57CV3gmQTATMbzBIwCDkifSSQKNgSObh1zGuMoXm-IwTrEVPWKidPdrxwiBkmvIVb4C3ghfzhlw/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+089.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696655180057954066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHZ023vunBMFANIkTecLoltBxejkXsgWXD6b3APd8_ZRZzPH7FqPSa5pulob57CV3gmQTATMbzBIwCDkifSSQKNgSObh1zGuMoXm-IwTrEVPWKidPdrxwiBkmvIVb4C3ghfzhlw/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+089.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy277DwRJl6eveckW-Dzm3zlNzzlvhMOqlRnVtJvN3P26ACCSFzV7yzRMsjssGdpkjO0vNsKJfNqphu-3FRb2YIxuS8uUogPe8KWNulolsPRdhJZEC1ftQdd9JgT-I8sSqT_Fs0g/s1600/auckland+1.JPG"></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mfI2tKPOUzDFEHf6bWqJfYOaanYc7Zo3R_McWvIhvyyJPgh7sBiCqK230eljBAB_sXg59xtyLAZ5RkmDAH8IBxL7ZzL9CjMad-KOr6fBcqp8tQ-W52I2LILI-X4qHNe6t0-A7Q/s1600/auckland+2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696654276611933570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mfI2tKPOUzDFEHf6bWqJfYOaanYc7Zo3R_McWvIhvyyJPgh7sBiCqK230eljBAB_sXg59xtyLAZ5RkmDAH8IBxL7ZzL9CjMad-KOr6fBcqp8tQ-W52I2LILI-X4qHNe6t0-A7Q/s400/auckland+2.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfRGRNpUj4tuyPr0TNHA0H1TSGZJDQZhWrR-dfLjSknDgM-_IJpcWYzQDi9wHWPsT0LrHnCzld-38FkiaHwRLb56MLk_QFt9I44BWJ4oOvMruWE_MaOWWXlsfTnDeKnSntvZnOQ/s1600/auckland+3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696653731419979746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfRGRNpUj4tuyPr0TNHA0H1TSGZJDQZhWrR-dfLjSknDgM-_IJpcWYzQDi9wHWPsT0LrHnCzld-38FkiaHwRLb56MLk_QFt9I44BWJ4oOvMruWE_MaOWWXlsfTnDeKnSntvZnOQ/s400/auckland+3.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0rN9YkqGVaVIVs6ODbncdN3BBv7ECDkxRkOHF9_WbyHppLQ6ELzWod7QzTk2OnhgIlCI4VVd1h2lGYG7pQozemXEe6LOUmokxGGO7x4vOk_UxgNYzxa8wI6xiPetjuJ3mlcD1w/s1600/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+105.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696655719634060418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0rN9YkqGVaVIVs6ODbncdN3BBv7ECDkxRkOHF9_WbyHppLQ6ELzWod7QzTk2OnhgIlCI4VVd1h2lGYG7pQozemXEe6LOUmokxGGO7x4vOk_UxgNYzxa8wI6xiPetjuJ3mlcD1w/s400/Christmas+%2526+Summer+holiday+2011-2+105.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lttncMtcJhhDyDheSNsQsmc8aYL2LZeFWFMM5elPGl9tlsJrarHN9Hx4K1pJgGBnK_1a4E7nxbX_jebuo8W3w1bDDsfLjMsPTtSXFJASP7ALM3-Rn0uAxPHqi2ZUrwdDljuc4g/s1600/auckland+5.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696652854676256882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lttncMtcJhhDyDheSNsQsmc8aYL2LZeFWFMM5elPGl9tlsJrarHN9Hx4K1pJgGBnK_1a4E7nxbX_jebuo8W3w1bDDsfLjMsPTtSXFJASP7ALM3-Rn0uAxPHqi2ZUrwdDljuc4g/s400/auckland+5.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-26727789775665686982012-01-12T20:20:00.008+13:002012-01-12T20:52:10.234+13:00Summer road trip: part one<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFxWqf6oGagqaJ5LruBPoSR2mdHILoZBdZ4bPWUqimwuSss1MsX1kUizRx1vcWaXAgKsi09CRBxajWPDMUs48yny6cFEn3xGZJ7f7E7N0xiQdugv4G_tORL9_5ddXQhfJKiAKiQ/s1600/road+trip+1-1.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696647481924711186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFxWqf6oGagqaJ5LruBPoSR2mdHILoZBdZ4bPWUqimwuSss1MsX1kUizRx1vcWaXAgKsi09CRBxajWPDMUs48yny6cFEn3xGZJ7f7E7N0xiQdugv4G_tORL9_5ddXQhfJKiAKiQ/s400/road+trip+1-1.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5Uy5jbYu5FQkkP4XDivHKmKY1s1KtGuKEoasJatmDRLl_I2HIej7LOwd0kAnfWGO-J8Qk48TqhhyWEBLuIOH181Norq-I4IWor0TSjiHDz1EackK9NVf1AYTeInpmqqfA3JJKg/s1600/road+trip+1-3.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696649221405016754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5Uy5jbYu5FQkkP4XDivHKmKY1s1KtGuKEoasJatmDRLl_I2HIej7LOwd0kAnfWGO-J8Qk48TqhhyWEBLuIOH181Norq-I4IWor0TSjiHDz1EackK9NVf1AYTeInpmqqfA3JJKg/s400/road+trip+1-3.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMku2YJZmYqaJlPqjMnVTAxlHq3CamMKVwWcZL_ps_mNMOXFCG1NIOCCIqCCg9iO2pxmZjxRhIbAjIVbkue7217VLHU7_6y3RIMZ_siZYrzur2Aw0Em2vvdXzrxRaQ7vgByVJjQ/s1600/road+trip+1-4.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696648649822799074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMku2YJZmYqaJlPqjMnVTAxlHq3CamMKVwWcZL_ps_mNMOXFCG1NIOCCIqCCg9iO2pxmZjxRhIbAjIVbkue7217VLHU7_6y3RIMZ_siZYrzur2Aw0Em2vvdXzrxRaQ7vgByVJjQ/s400/road+trip+1-4.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCimsgYWneq2AiDmzQPvgtfxSjpPrOSZFqwlW8UEf9LZj9ZhalIS2oKwxmPEPD6JYTR4-zm0sScveGAzYlvCKhbykaoX3yzlTtSteSSgO2DjeQHgg6rOskPiOGhqHajHY-g1Q2Q/s1600/road+trip+1-5.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696648065710994802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCimsgYWneq2AiDmzQPvgtfxSjpPrOSZFqwlW8UEf9LZj9ZhalIS2oKwxmPEPD6JYTR4-zm0sScveGAzYlvCKhbykaoX3yzlTtSteSSgO2DjeQHgg6rOskPiOGhqHajHY-g1Q2Q/s400/road+trip+1-5.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqgq2bOxFMNS4g4aYIzgBVH86cxPuPIkWvtbbLYn2lkjwH4lr8zaQa34X7kFe0CL4JVIY7n2_QCWIQ5zxUeqw8p9ZUpEkC6RnXOaV3mRqWM7jLdl4010jJGzisIOMgkZZuLEOmw/s1600/road+trip+1-2.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696649610486248706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqgq2bOxFMNS4g4aYIzgBVH86cxPuPIkWvtbbLYn2lkjwH4lr8zaQa34X7kFe0CL4JVIY7n2_QCWIQ5zxUeqw8p9ZUpEkC6RnXOaV3mRqWM7jLdl4010jJGzisIOMgkZZuLEOmw/s400/road+trip+1-2.JPG" /></a> </div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-35266031188235252382011-12-21T20:43:00.005+13:002011-12-21T21:05:32.848+13:00Spud-o-rama<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcs5zRGLKYSzmmxDViPnRI_isR-uYK1ok4u4YLzhF8fEZK_IQuAjgpyXii9U2kIrNKvCi_9XI7lwn5LMxmklb9DcVTj_NhgMXbIUakFRjjx1dVKRj-cwWX0gANSaOoB7aHTi37A/s1600/Potato+harvest+Dec+2011+005.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688486272047602386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcs5zRGLKYSzmmxDViPnRI_isR-uYK1ok4u4YLzhF8fEZK_IQuAjgpyXii9U2kIrNKvCi_9XI7lwn5LMxmklb9DcVTj_NhgMXbIUakFRjjx1dVKRj-cwWX0gANSaOoB7aHTi37A/s400/Potato+harvest+Dec+2011+005.jpg" /></a>This is my potato patch. On the left, five jersey benne plants. On the right, five agria plants. I planted seed potatoes in September with lots of seaweed and some wood ash. The yellow flowers are just some chysanthemums that grow like weeds all over the place. <br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyAQr0-OYReJyB6AhJBEAKoTGroWUAW11ku8KOAI9SjgCf-d5ukq2bAhd4XvVsBPTMKN8NmEnAhI74BBDs4x3O748ICgs5tdQ3XyOvKreEkUY8R2ux5neYTpGs_blouZq2gqXag/s1600/Potato+harvest+Dec+2011+008.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688486283388687650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyAQr0-OYReJyB6AhJBEAKoTGroWUAW11ku8KOAI9SjgCf-d5ukq2bAhd4XvVsBPTMKN8NmEnAhI74BBDs4x3O748ICgs5tdQ3XyOvKreEkUY8R2ux5neYTpGs_blouZq2gqXag/s400/Potato+harvest+Dec+2011+008.jpg" /></a>In NZ, jersey bennes are the traditional boiling spud of Christmas, though I don't reckon it's Christmas without roast potatoes. However, I thought it would be fun to try growing them just because I could. We're off to Auckland for Christmas so I thought now would be a good time to harvest the jersey bennes and eat them before we leave. My trusty assistant was on hand with a trowel.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lt-aOQ0GAT5Rj8pTB99LxF8H-BOyqt4yFOZMcdNFd4e5tlw-iwiYAZaMfO9MyVPKO-fpFhVxuc7YLESMOLOARdLmfP2WIwmnS8Ii8hfRViAQ6Ta2P-jSWdWKBrtqiXzQCtOPhw/s1600/Potato+harvest+Dec+2011+009.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688486292015091922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lt-aOQ0GAT5Rj8pTB99LxF8H-BOyqt4yFOZMcdNFd4e5tlw-iwiYAZaMfO9MyVPKO-fpFhVxuc7YLESMOLOARdLmfP2WIwmnS8Ii8hfRViAQ6Ta2P-jSWdWKBrtqiXzQCtOPhw/s400/Potato+harvest+Dec+2011+009.jpg" /></a> And what do you know? A spud!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5MkVD4BH-HvxFsWiqOjXgJwQS5LTf8C3_MeZB_XLXDLr4J9zs30ju2zLKjVhcjw4COecnT9glrAGU_LE0V8knlV54Q_m7yH5yLf15Du8MdO6kKwdbyeN-xSAYREnPRyzv0WIfg/s1600/Potato+harvest+Dec+2011+011.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688486299025780770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5MkVD4BH-HvxFsWiqOjXgJwQS5LTf8C3_MeZB_XLXDLr4J9zs30ju2zLKjVhcjw4COecnT9glrAGU_LE0V8knlV54Q_m7yH5yLf15Du8MdO6kKwdbyeN-xSAYREnPRyzv0WIfg/s400/Potato+harvest+Dec+2011+011.jpg" /></a> They kept coming out of the ground like pearls in the soil. Like finding more Christmas presents under the tree.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicaH8qI_XQQ2Qmq8deBRtunkE0oNR8QhJ9FlpINJBj-CSlnf5tIspzb1R0Fq0G3J5hDZ7rO4TvnxxGXXpm2fvHO3uOmfAY8zKosinEqrZ0gui3OiyxaQ7yiVcfRdeIFzrORUEJA/s1600/Potato+harvest+Dec+2011+013.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688486317669858642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicaH8qI_XQQ2Qmq8deBRtunkE0oNR8QhJ9FlpINJBj-CSlnf5tIspzb1R0Fq0G3J5hDZ7rO4TvnxxGXXpm2fvHO3uOmfAY8zKosinEqrZ0gui3OiyxaQ7yiVcfRdeIFzrORUEJA/s400/Potato+harvest+Dec+2011+013.jpg" /></a> In the end we harvested just over 3kg of spuds. The most one plant had was nine potatoes. </div><br /><div>I'm so used to having leeks that look like spring onions, lettuces that bolt, tomatoes that never ripen and carrots that look like baby fingers that this haul of treasure has me absolutely stoked. </div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-92159706656029084232011-12-15T16:19:00.005+13:002011-12-15T16:37:11.135+13:00Sweet baby cheeses<div>In November I made my first ever cheesecake. I had thought it would be as tricky as rocket science but it turned out to be a sinch, especially as you can buy cheesecake filling ready made. </div><br /><div>So I made another one. This one is adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe, and rounded out a gorgeous meal of salads and barbecued sausages and haloumi with my fellow featurettes and feature-fellas.</div><br /><div>It looked like this:</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HIAZsIm6YUuB1AT7rFhnC4Y6ncgWVY0UOFu7cdaKNKnCFoEQRRwlBY3R0jCG-h2yG_xaAuWpJFBWI6YgCtdia1vYV-7XIXuB7XYdekYazCqk_wsVcWi_JZgkWhOSLXXowx-QbQ/s1600/sweet+baby+cheeses"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686190142556640434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HIAZsIm6YUuB1AT7rFhnC4Y6ncgWVY0UOFu7cdaKNKnCFoEQRRwlBY3R0jCG-h2yG_xaAuWpJFBWI6YgCtdia1vYV-7XIXuB7XYdekYazCqk_wsVcWi_JZgkWhOSLXXowx-QbQ/s400/sweet+baby+cheeses" border="0" /></a> Here's how I did it.<br />I took 500g of frozen berries out of the freezer and let them thaw.<br />I took a packet of wine biscuits and 150g of melted butter and whizzed them together in the food processor until the biscuits were fine crumbs and the butter was worked through it.<br />I took a 23cm springform pan, greased it with butter, and spooned the biscuit butter mix into it, then smoothed it down to form the base. I put that in the fridge for an hour.<br />Then I got a mixing bowl and added 500g of cream cheese, about 150g of creme fraiche, a splash of vanilla essence, 120g caster sugar, the zest and juice of a lemon and whisked the blazes out of it until it was all creamy and velvety and could be eaten straight off the whisk.<br />When the base had set in the fridge, I spooned the cheesy filling onto it and popped it back in the fridge.<br />Just before serving, I took the frozen berries and 100g of caster sugar and warmed them on the stove so the sugar was melted through it. I slathered that on top.<br />So, so good.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-65212374064669440412011-12-02T13:33:00.008+13:002011-12-02T13:49:57.518+13:00Five for FridayCousins, the love story, continues. Harper and Sweeney like to:<br /><br />Get trolleyed togther<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKKy_8oxxIM3Om7kvJDX4xG7ZkodqUrl-chrobTm_SZ0u8Uf7l2FlGgjIW_AEeJZJ8QoZ46hLFHRQ03rg3RpdhqRhSgp3WsqYbWTLJWwSc7Hqa4TFfIDYaTfH5oxqI1pqBcgoNg/s1600/Trolley+boys.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681326149311786210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKKy_8oxxIM3Om7kvJDX4xG7ZkodqUrl-chrobTm_SZ0u8Uf7l2FlGgjIW_AEeJZJ8QoZ46hLFHRQ03rg3RpdhqRhSgp3WsqYbWTLJWwSc7Hqa4TFfIDYaTfH5oxqI1pqBcgoNg/s400/Trolley+boys.JPG" /></a><br />Hang out with even more cousins<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaeGiUgdj1IsEEOfPSglduNRSaZXmBJkG3D3nqHEA9MvO8xIVuPnPv3UdsfcFU_xaeJJ6QiiU7PpUWAoyzakHTmLKGuvj1GJ4WNSEXRUdVa8W8G5wPuuUyq9KY2nQC9tTtWSNNA/s1600/Sweeney%252C+Tongs%252C+Harper.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681326003300908546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaeGiUgdj1IsEEOfPSglduNRSaZXmBJkG3D3nqHEA9MvO8xIVuPnPv3UdsfcFU_xaeJJ6QiiU7PpUWAoyzakHTmLKGuvj1GJ4WNSEXRUdVa8W8G5wPuuUyq9KY2nQC9tTtWSNNA/s400/Sweeney%252C+Tongs%252C+Harper.jpg" /></a><br />Make food while being watched by freaky dolls<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41lbBHlNciF1l4fyrhUJb5-BOCzk0zVMYfnzJuxneGxNCSyz1wVgHpnx8WXDkB9bFwEtoSQidCvwPUS5BotD59XAlFX7Lfg6vsEokG8g0mE_DlP_MMPhvb-hR6UrxB3gC_6N7UA/s1600/boys+dec+2009.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681324764721005154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41lbBHlNciF1l4fyrhUJb5-BOCzk0zVMYfnzJuxneGxNCSyz1wVgHpnx8WXDkB9bFwEtoSQidCvwPUS5BotD59XAlFX7Lfg6vsEokG8g0mE_DlP_MMPhvb-hR6UrxB3gC_6N7UA/s400/boys+dec+2009.bmp" /></a><br />Hang out in malls<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDW42uF3S_ZZ9rPY3NZMkL9VOuO9hFr-vr_dRZZ1pyTQVBqWHswHRXSwkwPAq3I_k1J4lUEiiZxkdvuYGcZkJn7suCkELScYUqDOxIugRfHkSkRS767tzPpDBbV7suARs_-UUFBA/s1600/Mall+boys.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681324497888382002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDW42uF3S_ZZ9rPY3NZMkL9VOuO9hFr-vr_dRZZ1pyTQVBqWHswHRXSwkwPAq3I_k1J4lUEiiZxkdvuYGcZkJn7suCkELScYUqDOxIugRfHkSkRS767tzPpDBbV7suARs_-UUFBA/s400/Mall+boys.JPG" /></a> Play air guitar in their pyjamas<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSzsdwX9FBmPlbLOhDAut8IdvhNnhAdF4yakoeFZ2_V9aFhyphenhyphenNzuzROAgNp4ELNRiQ-Q3usacGgt9c4R_X-yz1xMGerF5iZeP6S2xhyphenhyphenakiP-FjSs1KASg1yAwv4u_EHGDImSLsuw/s1600/IMG_2339.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681323664228375170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSzsdwX9FBmPlbLOhDAut8IdvhNnhAdF4yakoeFZ2_V9aFhyphenhyphenNzuzROAgNp4ELNRiQ-Q3usacGgt9c4R_X-yz1xMGerF5iZeP6S2xhyphenhyphenakiP-FjSs1KASg1yAwv4u_EHGDImSLsuw/s400/IMG_2339.JPG" /></a> </div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-26431022832526557862011-11-21T20:15:00.006+13:002011-11-22T09:45:06.728+13:00RothfestIt was my Dad's 70th birthday this month, and to celebrate, my Rothwell uncles and aunts and most of my cousins came over from Australia. It's the first time most of us have been together for more than a decade.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HCJq8vJDQX2O8Efb1gBYEAMu15mo6y9mfVwi9t1XDf6Ze-qi1Ui9YXprddbUv95Znv_YEgK8K78jvFPwQXII73heufvsdLzuwPayMLlj6EhtYSdav8jXSQDpkJTkV87-Dsd2HA/s1600/IMG_9702.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 267px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677347607379638050" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HCJq8vJDQX2O8Efb1gBYEAMu15mo6y9mfVwi9t1XDf6Ze-qi1Ui9YXprddbUv95Znv_YEgK8K78jvFPwQXII73heufvsdLzuwPayMLlj6EhtYSdav8jXSQDpkJTkV87-Dsd2HA/s400/IMG_9702.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxPF1CRSh7RC5YfiGIeVMGyTLAZ6hKTqIVy-TJxWzN6okic3sKDO5cMs7ccYUxVsEjkJCyu6aR_qg1yYT1JW56lj-w7iJ3YJfLXlRxOGm0yGNBZEpzlZelFiy0TRlYHmUmVosTw/s1600/IMG_9769.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 267px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677347600234446146" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxPF1CRSh7RC5YfiGIeVMGyTLAZ6hKTqIVy-TJxWzN6okic3sKDO5cMs7ccYUxVsEjkJCyu6aR_qg1yYT1JW56lj-w7iJ3YJfLXlRxOGm0yGNBZEpzlZelFiy0TRlYHmUmVosTw/s400/IMG_9769.JPG" border="0" /></a> It's great to have family. Even if they think your accent is funny. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-25069336020016849532011-11-11T16:49:00.003+13:002011-11-11T17:08:38.400+13:00Five for Friday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnwbnuH_nEqjw0wUqx3dvAKM464pM1XRmDfXBepnPHpzr_E3cs4XEdkZEpWwZrbT_XFxyrDJvTPYv_5cOxqsRQ3JJc7XrNyji_LhmVV-DsXs5dCJKZVQX-WYjONW-jD7r224ynw/s1600/6332347736_68a0c2731b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnwbnuH_nEqjw0wUqx3dvAKM464pM1XRmDfXBepnPHpzr_E3cs4XEdkZEpWwZrbT_XFxyrDJvTPYv_5cOxqsRQ3JJc7XrNyji_LhmVV-DsXs5dCJKZVQX-WYjONW-jD7r224ynw/s400/6332347736_68a0c2731b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673584969799431442" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPv7cPx-MrSoSeJGgWjN68WdfdkpOZBRDMTbWhHkV62u2LmgGgaHjVNdygLj-No4hs4C_6x6Q2FSxQYKfsngkNOvS4W2MzBSE-f_5wQv2piKOc_HdIF35DQehUqpwoczFyvH_wqQ/s1600/5916914058_8a6d2369f1_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPv7cPx-MrSoSeJGgWjN68WdfdkpOZBRDMTbWhHkV62u2LmgGgaHjVNdygLj-No4hs4C_6x6Q2FSxQYKfsngkNOvS4W2MzBSE-f_5wQv2piKOc_HdIF35DQehUqpwoczFyvH_wqQ/s400/5916914058_8a6d2369f1_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673584968012454530" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBOWR3ALo873Z2-OleEtM1xl24LlLSMy9tdyuWfuZcsYXb2b4tb_Fuhjmi4q0h1NmmKZ_AjSAHe3TqlBcEZwIGWcetA0-cgc0W0uxUqdbr_6vcXdhp2PQlxXgqe95VpsQcA97ZQ/s1600/4773512458_3a57c5976c.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBOWR3ALo873Z2-OleEtM1xl24LlLSMy9tdyuWfuZcsYXb2b4tb_Fuhjmi4q0h1NmmKZ_AjSAHe3TqlBcEZwIGWcetA0-cgc0W0uxUqdbr_6vcXdhp2PQlxXgqe95VpsQcA97ZQ/s400/4773512458_3a57c5976c.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673584963371324402" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9M5eEV6-L38CtBtT_ra8xF4QRVmSZZUssHD15Fm8fwQwlBW9F_jhYpxB_r6P-U-D4A62vIbo02BXJh-XzcK_RDIMk2viboczRUk7G0AeM_RFobFqEi_ABrxW3ARs0_d5el1e6g/s1600/4556433276_bd2a461563_b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9M5eEV6-L38CtBtT_ra8xF4QRVmSZZUssHD15Fm8fwQwlBW9F_jhYpxB_r6P-U-D4A62vIbo02BXJh-XzcK_RDIMk2viboczRUk7G0AeM_RFobFqEi_ABrxW3ARs0_d5el1e6g/s400/4556433276_bd2a461563_b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673584962114729650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFx1hDnI7MNulR0akYBk-QYAUf9pe8b_-HJONcCIvPqBi9jooDdnzvn-zxN-N7vBCbesSWkjCZOIopPTMJ9wfsFTX23Mh8b4xzEjr2rjxgZgDmc09UtIQd9ya6KFBUBQqIGcojBw/s1600/5889222605_c319328b1d.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFx1hDnI7MNulR0akYBk-QYAUf9pe8b_-HJONcCIvPqBi9jooDdnzvn-zxN-N7vBCbesSWkjCZOIopPTMJ9wfsFTX23Mh8b4xzEjr2rjxgZgDmc09UtIQd9ya6KFBUBQqIGcojBw/s400/5889222605_c319328b1d.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673584959030019426" border="0" /></a>Pure genius from <a href="http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com">passiveaggressivenotes.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-60987351615477457012011-10-30T20:58:00.005+13:002011-10-30T21:36:56.853+13:00The Truth About Chickens<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURk9PrR2xzmeX6gvaKE5LfosUZMPQX8Aj0v7sZfSmWcHVB5F7i0bZh_cTh9H05ZoexgSdk1EjHV7lNS8cSvrfiZg3SXfphZjJ9f59ttCJDbynmNtupz1WjZ_8dPz5OYpaHbd7Tw/s1600/October+2011+015.jpg"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669198622411602978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURk9PrR2xzmeX6gvaKE5LfosUZMPQX8Aj0v7sZfSmWcHVB5F7i0bZh_cTh9H05ZoexgSdk1EjHV7lNS8cSvrfiZg3SXfphZjJ9f59ttCJDbynmNtupz1WjZ_8dPz5OYpaHbd7Tw/s400/October+2011+015.jpg" /></em></a><em> It's not pretty, but it's chook proof<br /></em><br /><br /><div>So Ginger, McNulty and Lemmy have been resident at Helston Heights for five weeks. And what a five weeks it's been. Before I got chickens, people told me:</div><br /><div>- chooks love to eat wandering willie and will devour it</div><br /><div>- the eggs are amazing</div><br /><div>- chook poo is great for the compost</div><br /><div>- that having a chicken tractor would mean we could move the coop around the section where the chooks could scratch up the ground and work over the garden beds.</div><br /><div>Sounded ideal - we have an overwhelming swathe of wandering willie and I wanted to get the rid it without resorting to Roundup. So we got chooks. We love the supply of eggs, their gentle clucks in the morning. I love watching them on a sunny Sunday afternoon walking as a group around the backyard, pecking at the grass, dust bathing in the sun. And I'm a gardener, so I think chook poo is gold. However, there have been many moments in the last five weeks where I've fallen deeply, deeply out of love with the chickens. </div><br /><div>First of all, let me dispel some myths about chooks:</div><br /><div>- yes, they love wandering willie <em>leaves</em>. But they'll ignore the stems. Which, if you are trying to get rid of wandering willie, is the most important bit to eradicate.</div><br /><div>- they will dig over sections of the garden, but only bits they like. Unless you erect Fort Knox over your garden beds, say goodbye to your lettuces, but not your weeds.</div><br /><div>Twice now, we've rigged up fences that we thought were impenetrable only to have the chickens perfect the science of teleportation and appear outside their run. They have:</div><br /><div>- dug up my garlic bed (I managed to get there in time, I bet the neighbours thought me running across the yard yelling at Ginger was hilarious)</div><br /><div>- pecked apart a blueberry bush</div><br /><div>- eaten my lettuce crop</div><br /><div>- dug up the tomatoes I coddled and planted out last weekend (I was able to save them, I think)</div><br /><div>So if you are thinking about getting chooks and have a vege or fruit garden, don't even think about having them free range. Building a run should be the first thing you do for them. And don't expect chickens to be a magic bullet in the garden. </div><br /><div>Lucky for the girls they're laying like chickens possessed.</div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-83450245357606794072011-10-25T21:40:00.004+13:002011-10-25T21:57:50.684+13:00A long weekendAt the weekend, we watched with hands over our eyes as St Piri flubbed a few kicks at the final of the RWC.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUFrvEY2acE1t9NpZMyqIUODoPD-zGi3C7DSCucg72FWEJNtLWS89O9VNc2bf-gwjqUnoXtXtyPlrwrct5M9tzdQfeGpJxpZQDBOPKSUuRMTQzY5cdxRA6trM2wf7K8xAkd4ZCQ/s1600/Rugby+World+Cup+001.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667348091928653378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUFrvEY2acE1t9NpZMyqIUODoPD-zGi3C7DSCucg72FWEJNtLWS89O9VNc2bf-gwjqUnoXtXtyPlrwrct5M9tzdQfeGpJxpZQDBOPKSUuRMTQzY5cdxRA6trM2wf7K8xAkd4ZCQ/s400/Rugby+World+Cup+001.jpg" /></a>But in the end, the All Blacks won by one point. I'm still a bit deaf in one ear from all the yelling.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpbCO3TEZgZQdhGZR2zbqkJJu18ZbYi7pWCFD2kdFqe2KrKFnFYVc3uY-aMjjW4J5LIZhzboHN_b7_F5bE9lGActlLfLMswP4EJ970NkVdzKbIhvd4oMJgRIcWllDHo3fCDkIfQ/s1600/Rugby+World+Cup+008.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667348099541225810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpbCO3TEZgZQdhGZR2zbqkJJu18ZbYi7pWCFD2kdFqe2KrKFnFYVc3uY-aMjjW4J5LIZhzboHN_b7_F5bE9lGActlLfLMswP4EJ970NkVdzKbIhvd4oMJgRIcWllDHo3fCDkIfQ/s400/Rugby+World+Cup+008.jpg" /></a>The next day, we went to the Wairarapa and visited our pals Al and Rose at <a href="http://thecrateoutdoors.blogspot.com/">The Crate Outdoors</a>.<br />Then we rode a new bike trail.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1EYWTRXkgMgp-vnvGbmrvcCggXuNEUrMKyLWw5xMYj1yryihKSxSndETVn63_oUc6i-DM1u1BlVk9vh3P4R2wshlJC4A9CnrST8aq5LWOo7ICp_Wg0ZRQ-H-B02oqhPU_oOKrA/s1600/rail+trail+006.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667348083819600290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1EYWTRXkgMgp-vnvGbmrvcCggXuNEUrMKyLWw5xMYj1yryihKSxSndETVn63_oUc6i-DM1u1BlVk9vh3P4R2wshlJC4A9CnrST8aq5LWOo7ICp_Wg0ZRQ-H-B02oqhPU_oOKrA/s400/rail+trail+006.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4hMhtM9i9cwPndfHJwbbS3Eihof1cP0vue2TetKbT9mhgUuVG7xwO2j0ZID9lhDLr3koatLaV6RkIpMp1uLUm5UOIr16nycwQUVpgWDs2JLMas3UwyI6kg_VzbwFH_TO1TT1Tg/s1600/Wairarapa+Oct+2011+002.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667348079000629378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4hMhtM9i9cwPndfHJwbbS3Eihof1cP0vue2TetKbT9mhgUuVG7xwO2j0ZID9lhDLr3koatLaV6RkIpMp1uLUm5UOIr16nycwQUVpgWDs2JLMas3UwyI6kg_VzbwFH_TO1TT1Tg/s400/Wairarapa+Oct+2011+002.jpg" /></a> The End.</div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-77814249222931856912011-10-23T15:14:00.006+13:002011-10-23T16:00:14.965+13:00I love France, but not that much<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzeGukcegSjdcMxFF38BXXvOagsKj6sFTRjKCDf83bPHqBzzm_LVQ81ZzKDb_xLD8-AjIT3Su6nsCI3TDOIDHo4rD_TWjvsjNmrTZX6m0DaD0RrKMsf3Lsa93y6EPEmIZFPHeMA/s1600/Vendage.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 253px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666506991308918274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzeGukcegSjdcMxFF38BXXvOagsKj6sFTRjKCDf83bPHqBzzm_LVQ81ZzKDb_xLD8-AjIT3Su6nsCI3TDOIDHo4rD_TWjvsjNmrTZX6m0DaD0RrKMsf3Lsa93y6EPEmIZFPHeMA/s400/Vendage.JPG" /></a> <br /><div>Been thinking a bit this week about the <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5835642/Pollsters-tipping-All-Blacks-to-win-final">France/All Blacks showdown on tonight</a>, in which the winner of the Rugby WC will be determined. If it were any other country in the final with France I would be supporting Les Bleus to the hilt. But it's not. </div><br /><div>If we were all, say, a series of doors waiting to be opened; our memories, experiences and loves behind each one of them, then behind one of my doors would be France. I've been there on four different occasions, each one a revelation. The last time I went there I spent three months in an old campervan on my own, wandering aimlessly from village to town to city, discovering that while some of the cliches of French life exist, it's also possible to find badly dressed women, to find supermarkets full of processed food, to hear that beautiful language used to discuss such unglamorous subjects as banking and parking tickets, (gonflage, the place at a petrol station where you pump up your tyres remains my favourite French word), and drink wine that can only be described as utter crap. I also saw no trace of that supposedly Gallic trait, arrogance. Instead I found friendliness, curiosity and an ordinariness - much like you find in New Zealand.</div><br /><div>On that last trip, nine years ago, I worked for a week picking grapes on a <a href="http://www.hdv.fr/">vineyard in Burgundy</a>. My French being also pretty rubbish, I barely spoke to a soul. But those who knew I was Neo Zelandaise, not a deaf mute as one girl thought - or worse, English - tried to engage with me and teach me some French words. Moutarde, panier, sang, caisse croute, porteur; some words were learnt out in the vines, autumn sun turning the scene golden, others over the daily long lunch of five courses and wine, then a sleep in the sun. The village church bells signalled lunch time. Hearing people talk was like my high school French lessons come to life. It was all too beautiful. Except when it rained.</div><br /><div>So France, though I love that you brought us gratin Dauphinoise, the croque monsieur, Champagne, Matthieu Kassovitz, wrapped sugarcubes, broiche and Le Tour, I am hoping that tonight you'll forgive me my lapsed nationalism. Go the All Blacks!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-18211459212938142032011-10-14T12:18:00.006+13:002011-10-14T16:57:18.048+13:00Indulged<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwaD51Qct5AVfi4DHHY172rGsQxcI0vtk5YyNPvQ9DXNebzsgps1ubXbn-iiigWi2JhmAy-ZktQAP5VkL3KoSenHhGci9pG-p606MMS25HhGCwSZfQ0iNmTlwMDFxE54T2IbAILg/s1600/Canada+138.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663123894694781026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 105px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwaD51Qct5AVfi4DHHY172rGsQxcI0vtk5YyNPvQ9DXNebzsgps1ubXbn-iiigWi2JhmAy-ZktQAP5VkL3KoSenHhGci9pG-p606MMS25HhGCwSZfQ0iNmTlwMDFxE54T2IbAILg/s400/Canada+138.jpg" border="0" /></a>One of my tasks as a feature writer is to come up with interesting people to profile in various set pieces we have in our magazines. One of these set pieces is Indulge, in which we ask people about their indulgences, what they can't live without, and how they spent their weekends. A lot of people answer the same things; red wine, chocolate, 'my family' and coffee come up again and again. Sometimes you get one that's a real corker, like tomorrow's one in which I talked to <a href="http://newragsmarket.blogspot.com/">New Rags</a> market founder Abbie McCall about her love of retro chairs. I have often wondered if I would make a good Indulge subject. What do you think?<br /><br /><div><strong>My indulgence is:</strong> Time by myself. I've spent a lot of time by myself in my life - sometimes too much time. But it's the one thing I crave when the noise of the world, work and home clogs up my brain. I need time to daydream. I was thinking the other day about one afternoon when I was temping in London at a lawyer's office. I had the glamorous task of photocopying pages of exhibits for a trial. The office was somewhere in a leafy part of London I had never been before, and it being summer, was gloriously warm and light after work. I walked to the tube station through streets I'd never seen before, and when I got to the tube, I just kept on walking, all the way home to Earlsfield. I loved the idea that I had no place to be and could just take my time.<br />When I do get time by myself, I like to op shop, or sit in a cafe with the paper and a cuppa. Running is one way I get to have time by myself. I have little mantras I chant to myself to get me up hills or to last the distance. I find it really hard when someone in jogsquad wants to chat while we're running - I love having someone to run with, but I can't do that and talk too.<br />Sometimes the only time I really have to daydream is <a href="http://kimberleyrothwell.blogspot.com/2011/10/morning-train.html">on the train</a>. Everyone around me has they're ipods plugged into their heads, or has a book or is playing on their phone. I like to stare out the window. The harbour puts on a display each morning I find hard to resist.<br /><strong>I can't get by without:</strong> a cup of tea within the first ten minutes of waking. Nothing tastes as good, as cleansing, as refreshing as that first cup of tea. I spend the rest of the day trying to make tea feels as good in my mouth. It's like a junkie trying to chase that first high.<br /><strong>At the weekends I</strong>: am concerned first and foremost with getting my laundry done on a Saturday morning. Then it's off to the toy library to take back toys and get new ones, and I usually have to bribe Harper to leave the toy library with the prospect of a fluffy at the mall. The rest of the weekend is a melange of chores, cooking, gardening, visiting people, and going to the dump shop, all of which is done at Harper-speed or not at all depending on his mood. I often feel tireder on a Sunday night than I do on a Friday night.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Photo: A rare bit of by-myself-time at Madeira Park, British Columbia, late on a spring evening</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-46817592260277741032011-10-12T19:46:00.004+13:002011-10-12T20:04:52.106+13:00Fingers crossed<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZMvvkhvgu5qWyc_fZHzMOqc19iUbVQjHUMynCuivDWtksriTe_kmTBkIpeDbeuzYN_8RJ6xc9BSINZMS3mew6Lyl1Xsy4HrG6zQeDZgThCZgvqlVCRKdc1ydehKDD5fVhK3JH_A/s1600/October+2011+017.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662496635368801554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZMvvkhvgu5qWyc_fZHzMOqc19iUbVQjHUMynCuivDWtksriTe_kmTBkIpeDbeuzYN_8RJ6xc9BSINZMS3mew6Lyl1Xsy4HrG6zQeDZgThCZgvqlVCRKdc1ydehKDD5fVhK3JH_A/s400/October+2011+017.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz-KDxkRAyFQ7E5rlVMLx4Ix8y98LcspMBw9cPlmGWN2XW8AB9nFxg2pxFnwMYZQM5G4MRzYJCogaVgzfYZr1h6VdQHtnhDmO-U78iP2kKC2qWYRFZmKIzesVESQQk7MJj66f9HQ/s1600/October+2011+015.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662496632900342722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz-KDxkRAyFQ7E5rlVMLx4Ix8y98LcspMBw9cPlmGWN2XW8AB9nFxg2pxFnwMYZQM5G4MRzYJCogaVgzfYZr1h6VdQHtnhDmO-U78iP2kKC2qWYRFZmKIzesVESQQk7MJj66f9HQ/s400/October+2011+015.jpg" /></a> <br /><div>I have high hopes for this year's lot of tomato plants. Last year, I attempted to grow some from seed and had them in a plastic growhouse that heated up like the surface of the sun on hot afternoons and the little seedlings fried. The year before that, I bought six Early Girl plants. Five of them died from mysterious causes, and the one that survived produced fruit but none of it ripened. </div><br /><div>This year is going to be different. I've got about eight grosse lisse and four sweet 100 toms that I have nurtured, possibly more than I did my own baby, from seed. They are all still alive, and sit on the windowsill in our lounge. They've survived being pricked out and repotted and now all I have to do is harden them off by putting them outside during the day and in again at night time before I finally transplant them to their new home in the front flower garden on Labour Weekend. </div><br /><div>There is just something about home grown tomatoes. I love walking around the garden at Postie's parents place in Auckland pinching out the laterals, the smell of tomato plants on my fingers. The smell is absolutely divine, and like cut grass, really evokes summer for me. </div><br /><div>So please pray for the health of my tomato plants. I am hoping that they will escape disease, survive the wind, evade pests and not smell good to the chooks. </div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-9783393387156871092011-10-10T20:07:00.002+13:002011-10-10T20:18:32.370+13:00Morning trainEven commuting can be beautiful:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMSNp88hCGjq160bJcrpOeTt2z9c5ud8-H5dLkc285zky87gAxfMqmdhhRhr7tYGc2C5lWZ_h-Ut6MToC-7czsq5P2UFl2e32yf3BeL_8IYIok5_EC1n5DK1Um1u1HwMbQXZz-w/s1600/October+2011+008.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661758678068837442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMSNp88hCGjq160bJcrpOeTt2z9c5ud8-H5dLkc285zky87gAxfMqmdhhRhr7tYGc2C5lWZ_h-Ut6MToC-7czsq5P2UFl2e32yf3BeL_8IYIok5_EC1n5DK1Um1u1HwMbQXZz-w/s400/October+2011+008.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcMLyJgwUeXgQ-upJwXK1ZoU1lXe9M2zuvilOnjymCAK0fZhzDlwP8h5RRHKrEY-mt-wXnltXR0WjOad8yIB6lUggIENtMWpR1ThXYBtYKtRgy5rI9Wrq-aZAIkh8o4CcJM-agg/s1600/October+2011+011.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661758677004451922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcMLyJgwUeXgQ-upJwXK1ZoU1lXe9M2zuvilOnjymCAK0fZhzDlwP8h5RRHKrEY-mt-wXnltXR0WjOad8yIB6lUggIENtMWpR1ThXYBtYKtRgy5rI9Wrq-aZAIkh8o4CcJM-agg/s400/October+2011+011.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvPpLAADc2A2QaESQ9BlGtWiBShZSovywzuGKue8Dih5PJgKcsADam37w_tWBA9uBt19kHloEemdC3jODmguNadV6VNLBHZmJmp6icqVjSvTH52Pi34v7BS8y6UdWZudDkWWkqQ/s1600/October+2011+010.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661758670712057362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvPpLAADc2A2QaESQ9BlGtWiBShZSovywzuGKue8Dih5PJgKcsADam37w_tWBA9uBt19kHloEemdC3jODmguNadV6VNLBHZmJmp6icqVjSvTH52Pi34v7BS8y6UdWZudDkWWkqQ/s400/October+2011+010.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbB23gB7VvNyIIeL0cwFma8EoZzoccwBvLHsMcMPj5aRXoNEkS-BmxBr_yS0aFdjwfk41OZ8Nqt5oWfG3ECrz1w28ThphAa13orLeTuL57XsMNAJeEsb8OwU2Cqk6cV2EL0bp-g/s1600/October+2011+013.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661758669172125346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbB23gB7VvNyIIeL0cwFma8EoZzoccwBvLHsMcMPj5aRXoNEkS-BmxBr_yS0aFdjwfk41OZ8Nqt5oWfG3ECrz1w28ThphAa13orLeTuL57XsMNAJeEsb8OwU2Cqk6cV2EL0bp-g/s400/October+2011+013.jpg" /></a>Yes, I wear my running shoes with stockings. </div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9368945.post-56302021319230264272011-10-04T19:58:00.003+13:002011-10-04T20:04:45.196+13:00Baking dayHow to make banana muffins, by Harper<br />First, mash your banana:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRlqoDQrdYUViFQnb5Q7oeGImePYa8JRkOMlzJol7z0l_8B9bWc-MTiYVOJS6ALlF2adg4tWApnitF9zlwyTbY_WD7AJW80dvYM9g5WqjXJGa2rja1epyyqLmoYZOZerxX7B_r8g/s1600/October+2011+002.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659528617671583250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRlqoDQrdYUViFQnb5Q7oeGImePYa8JRkOMlzJol7z0l_8B9bWc-MTiYVOJS6ALlF2adg4tWApnitF9zlwyTbY_WD7AJW80dvYM9g5WqjXJGa2rja1epyyqLmoYZOZerxX7B_r8g/s400/October+2011+002.jpg" /></a> Then get your tools. Mix up the ingredients until you get them on your face:<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBXWpv3XWd1-dtq4Pt1wKz_oCqHHNfdLKMDxiUOEor03rvo63TwaxGMavQaYPMvAvU-oxKZp9BQRnJ0BnEzbL3yvx9hak0eqYyYoVTP_Tc6RE4evDyOn3PO-NMkyETQmLhllp3A/s1600/October+2011+006.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659528620760822738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBXWpv3XWd1-dtq4Pt1wKz_oCqHHNfdLKMDxiUOEor03rvo63TwaxGMavQaYPMvAvU-oxKZp9BQRnJ0BnEzbL3yvx9hak0eqYyYoVTP_Tc6RE4evDyOn3PO-NMkyETQmLhllp3A/s400/October+2011+006.jpg" /></a> And spoon the delicious mixture into the muffin tin:<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoc9VYlwQmrhKBFQCeMKNn55ygFMyJNEtNMfvXW_cGQ5pMEwznaoiWkavowRcxkjrhJRQa5Sz-l2VZnx6vc4A_I45sZG5F2-S5cDObh9WmNMJ23xPCndIJPVq5enVE9JjDtLidIA/s1600/October+2011+003.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659528627668320114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoc9VYlwQmrhKBFQCeMKNn55ygFMyJNEtNMfvXW_cGQ5pMEwznaoiWkavowRcxkjrhJRQa5Sz-l2VZnx6vc4A_I45sZG5F2-S5cDObh9WmNMJ23xPCndIJPVq5enVE9JjDtLidIA/s400/October+2011+003.jpg" /></a> Voila, tasty muffins:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcOL-RWEO2vUBHYwMGAStfV4c4QSIheNiphJopCEAmS0SKrVCzRZm1SwAGd5RaWZsRo09icLjLs4rmxMXIpE24-QjPT6UHBO5TTBI-EAX4oghVe_q0Y_Xp9I89U7R6Tui3Bq-eA/s1600/October+2011+007.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659528630098014322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcOL-RWEO2vUBHYwMGAStfV4c4QSIheNiphJopCEAmS0SKrVCzRZm1SwAGd5RaWZsRo09icLjLs4rmxMXIpE24-QjPT6UHBO5TTBI-EAX4oghVe_q0Y_Xp9I89U7R6Tui3Bq-eA/s400/October+2011+007.jpg" /></a> </div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Subscribe to Special K</div>Special Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08547508795263653183noreply@blogger.com0