I have done and seen some amazing things. I have lived in a war zone and communes, seen the Northern Lights, swum with dolphins in Indonesia, and danced to dawn at festivals. These days, my adventures are of a simpler … Read More
I have been thinking about starting a feature called ‘Things mama’s find in strange places’. Seems to me there’s a book or an art exhibition in the odd things we find in strange places. Yup, this is what I found … Read More
I have gotten out of the habit of taking my flash camera around with me. This is both good and bad. Good because it means I hide behind it less and am more in the moment rather than thinking … Read More
Remember these cute little critters? Yeah, well they’re not cute anymore. The rest of the ducklings we fostered for Bird Rescue grew up, found homes or swam down the stream into the wilds but not these two. Nope. Tiny and … Read More
My favourite shoes this summer. I had been eyeing some Saltwater sandals online but they were way too much money for me to justify buying them. The next day I was at a school fair and there was a pair, … Read More
It’s that time of the year again! If visiting other people’s gardens is your idea of a good time, take a friend along to the Heroic Garden Festival. You’ll have access to 22 fabulous gardens all over Auckland on the … Read More
Gah! Is anyone else struggling to get back into the work headspace? I love my work too. I feel for those who don’t have that motivation. Some consolation is cracking open the new diary. The lovely Julia from Do Good … Read More
Each year I choose a community service or theme of activism to focus on for the year. Last year I was feeling overwhelmed and needed to put all my energy into finding more work, juggling multiple contracts and keeping my … Read More
I feel so grateful. I started the day doing a huge pile of dishes remembering good times with friends and have spent much of the day in the garden, walking, playing on the land and harvesting. Look at the yellow … Read More
Seasons greetings lovelies. Whether Christmas, Yule, Solstice or Kwanzaa is your thing, I hope these days are full of all the good things for you. It’s a hard time for many. On Christmas morning we were walking the dog and … Read More
I have been a contributor to Extracurricular magazine for years. The latest issue has just landed. It’s always a joy to sit down with a cup of tea and see it all in print. I will miss it. Yes, because … Read More
In praise of stuff. A comment on the culture of a clutter free life: Someone walked into my house and said ‘my, you have a lot of stuff’, like it’s a bad thing. Again. You’d think there were piles of … Read More
After a month out of action because of a back injury, I am back in the garden. It’s such a big part of our lives, this pottering in the garden thing. The growing our own food, tracking the seasons by … Read More
What a week it’s been. We have so far to go, we humans. I have a lot to say about the US elections and the outcome. Others will say the same things more eloquently than me tonight. The hardest part … Read More
We’re in the first of the warm spring days. Last weekend was the official start to planting out the garden with summer crops but my greens garden has been going off all winter and it’s still going. I planted celery, … Read More
It was the morning after friends had slept over at ours. I had promised to make the boys a ‘training course’ so despite the post-flood sogginess I created a series of activities to do around the property. It ended with … Read More
Jed has wanted to foster ducklings to help out the local bird rescue centre for years. Our new house has a stream running past the front door, a big garden and a fenced off area (for when they get a … Read More
How fabulous are these jocks?! There are three pairs, but one pair went on straight away and you know, it didn’t seem right to take ’em off to take a photo. Ahem. This colourful lot arrived in my mailbox last … Read More