Haymaking

Thanks to a long fine summer we had no problems getting our hay done this year. In fact, the biggest problem is finding a contractor who wants to take on 'lifestyle blocks; - they are only ever a few acres and more fiddly than they are worth to get cutting and baling machines into, I think.

However, we finally found someone who made short work of the job... Here are some photos of the action...

one day it was cut...

 

 

 the next it was turned ...

 

 

then on the third day it was baled!

 

It is always a great feeling to see your hay baled ...

 
 

 

and in the shed - 42 bales of stock feed for winter!! And it's great how the neighbours all pitch in and we get the job done so much quicker...we did three blocks this year and all enjoyed a beer afterwards!!!

 

And continuing on with the theme of summer, here are a couple of photos of the beautiful lillies and gladiolis I grew this year.

 

 

 

 

 

Over The Moon

Yes, I am "Over The Moon"...well, more specifically I am AT Over The Moon...Dairy Co, that is! I started working for the Putaruru-based company on Feb 3rd as a 'Sales and Admin Support' person. I kind of have 3 strands to my job...first, I am an administrator for the NZ Cheese School which is a sister company to OTM and runs cheesemaking courses for DIY home cheese makers as well as professional courses for industry-based people. I take registrations and handle enquiries, set up the training room prior to a course, order supplies and generally promote the NZCS. See here  for the website.

The second part of my job is to provide support to the Sales Manager. I take phone and email orders from customers and help get our cheeses out into the public for consumption. Our cheeses only have a limited shelf life so we are always looking to move the cheese to prevent as much wastage as possible.

Finally, I spend one day a week in the deli. This is the retail part of the company and is a fantastic showcase for the beautiful cheeses. I spend Tuesdays in the deli, providing tastings of certain cheeses, selling the goodies on offer like macadamia brittle, chutneys and dressings from Peplers, fruit pastes and spreads, and Dundee cake and many other delectable delights! Plus, I have finally learnt how to make coffee!! yay, I am so stoked...I have always wanted to be a barista...OK, not properly trained but I can now knock out a decent flat white or latte...woohoo! Here is the link to the website for Over The Moon. 

I absolutely LOVE my new job...life is EXTREMELY busy now but I am so happy to be working. I love my varied workload, my work colleagues are great and it is great to feel productive and useful! My boss is amazing and very accommodating...I was even able to attend a one day course in my second week at work! I learnt how to  make a cheddar-style cheese and am now hooked. I want to learn how to  make other types but am now too busy working!!!!??? O h, the irony! :)

Anyway, here is a photo of some mozzarella I also got to make...and the resulting use of it.

 

Yum, a classic salad, and all from our garden or fair hand!

Mount Maunganui

During the summer school holidays, I found myself in Tauranga, more specifically at the Mount. Alone...without children...nothing to do...a beautiful day...all to myself!! Woohoo!!!!

I decided I would climb to the summit of Mt Maunganui as it was MANY years ago since I had last done that. In fact, I'm not 100% sure I have actually been to the top before...

 

There's my goal-the summit!

 

 

It's been a long, hot summer...

 

 

and there were lots of people enjoying the Mount.

 

 

The tracks were easy to walk and well maintained.

 

The views got better and better the higher up I got...

 

 

I had forgotten how much Mt Maunganui had grown over the years.

 

 

Yay, I made it to the top...

 

 

...it was a busy place to be!

 

 

There was a memorial but I didn't get to read it because there was a family picnicking right near it and I didn't want to  intrude! I felt awkward enough taking the photo!!

 

 

Back down...certainly easier than going up! But it was a fabulous walk and I met a couple of lovely people to chat with on the walk down which just made my day that much better.

I'm so glad I decided to do the walk rather than go shopping.

Family!

Oh, I just LOVE surprises!! And I got to be part of a really big one in January. My brother, Arthur, who moved to Canada last June, emailed me just before Christmas to tell me he had to come back to NZ for 6 weeks for work. He decided not to tell anyone except me so I made elaborate plans to get to Auckland Airport and pick him up. I told everyone that I had to pick up a penpal. (Well, I DO write to him-occasionally!)I left my younger two girls with their aunty and uncle in Pirongia and Caitlin and I left at 4am to drive to the airport to collect my "penpal"!! :) It was awesome to see him again and Caitlin got a HUGE surprise-well worth the early start to her day.

We then drove back to Pirongia and snuck Uncle Arthur into the house. Olivia and Briar were awake so we called them downstairs and they were happily surprised to see my 'penpal'!!
We actually had to get our younger brother out of bed (it was THAT early still!) but I managed to do it. Needless to say he was pretty speechless. So cool to see everyone so surprised!

After a couple of hours the girls and I drove to Taumarunui where Mum & Dad live. All the way down we were making plans on how to surprise them-it was so much fun trying to come up with a plan. Finally we decided to drop Arthur at the gate and he would knock on the front door while we were talking to Mum & Dad.

Hmmm, what is that saying...even the best laid plans...??  Yep, you guessed it...there was no one home!!! What??!! It was so funny...but luckily Dad was not far away so we got him in the house and sat down, then Arthur just walked in! I've never seen my Dad speechless before!!! Classic!

They got half an hour or so to catch up then Mum arrived home from town. Arthur was just sitting comfortably in the living room and in walked Mum. First of all she didn't see him as she had seen our car and was expecting to se the girls and I, which she did. She was so busy saying hello to us all that it took her quite a few minutes to notice Arthur sitting there! Her reaction was priceless-we all got a good laugh, thanks Mum :)

I absolutely enjoyed bringing such a fantastic surprise to so many people and hope they forgave me for keeping such a big secret. You have NO IDEA how many times I nearly let it slip!!

Here are some photos of our family together again...

Arthur, Jeanette, Vaughan

 

Arthur, Vaughan

 

Mum & Dad

 

The Pengelly clan

 

It was great spending time with you again, Arthur...thanks, Dawn for sending him back for a while!

Camping Time

Yeah, I know...what the heck am I doing blogging about January...in April??!! Lets just say, the first quarter of this year certainly got away on me. I started a new job and things got very crazy...but I want to try and put a few entries here on this blog in (sort of) the correct order. So, here we go...

January each year sees us down at Whakamaru, about 20mins from Tokoroa. We camp in a reserve on the edge of Lake Whakamaru with a couple of other families. We all really look forward to it and have such a great time. Jeff travels most days back to the shop but still feels like he gets a holiday. It is a beautiful spot and I can spend hours just sitting looking at the scenery.

 

 Isn't that just the most gorgeous view??

This view is taken from a kayak on the other side of the lake from our campsite. You can see it is a popular spot-there were several other families camping alongside us this year.

 

This is our dining area...

 

...and a beautiful view makes doing the dishes slightly less of a chore!

This year we were fortunate enough to have Arthur (my brother) join us for a few days. It was fabulous to spend time with him and to show him where we spend our holidays each year.

 

And apparently I had to have my photo taken! Here I am in the lean-to on the front of our tent, preparing one of the numerous meals we eat-the fresh air certainly whets everyone's appetite!

 

 

 

Sometimes we get sick of washing in the cold water of the lake so these two conned me into boiling tons of water and making them a tarpaulin 'bath'. Actually it was a great time waster-they spent ages in it. I just had to top it up with warm water every now and then.

 

We were very lucky with the weather this year and only had a couple of showers of rain over two weeks. However, we did get a lot of cloudy days and then the wind got up for the last day with white caps springing up all over the lake. So, no boating, skiing, paddle boarding or kayaking done in that weather. 
 

 

And then this branch (which looked much bigger ) fell from one of the pine trees in the reserve, missing Caitlin's tent by inches, and so the decision was made to pack up a day early this year and head home. Over the years we have seen pine cones drop nearby but this was really close...and large!!

  

 

So, that is camping for 2014. Every year we say we are going to come back down before the end of summer but we never seem to find the time. However, I am glad to say that this year we did manage to make a day trip out one Saturday in March and enjoy the beautiful spot that is our slice of paradise. See ya in 2015, Lake Whakamaru!!

Splash Planet!!

With the girls on school holidays but Dad having to work, my Mum and I decided we would take the girls on a short trip to Hastings and spend the day at Splash Planet.
We set off on Sunday morning and arrived in Hastings with rain and wind the order of the day :(

Luckily there is plenty to do in and around Napier and Hastings. We visited a chocolate factory (YUM) and had lunch in Hastings before driving back to Napier (10 mins away). We spent the afternoon visiting the National Aquarium.

This was the art work on the wall in the main foyer-NOT the way they displayed all the fish in the aquarium! :)

 
Then we hopped on a 'tourist' bus and spent an hour being shown the sights of Napier's Marine Parade and suburb of Ahuriri.

 

We even spotted a very special boat!

 

 

Then it was up to the lookout to see the views-the Port of Napier was a bustling place with tonnes of logs waiting to be shipped. There was also a cruise ship in port while we were there.

 

 

There were sweeping vistas of the coastline which were a little dulled by the weather but still very impressive to see.

We also visited the MTG which is a new attraction in Napier comprising of museum, theatre and gallery so indulged in a little 'culture' for an hour or so. The bottom floor is dedicated to the Napier Earthquake and was a sobering exhibition!

 

 

Monday was the highlight of the trip-a visit to Splash Planet! This water park  is absolutely amazing-so clean and tidy and absolutely filled with activities and rides to keep everyone happy. I floated happily round and round on the 'Never Ending River' (very much my speed!) while the girls were kept busy on the hydro slides, bumper boats, kayaks and flying fox. The weather played its part and we enjoyed a lovely few sunny hours before having to drive back home.

 

Thanks, Nana, for suggesting the trip - we all had a great time!

Christmas Parade

OK...so I am a little behind in my blogging :(
I shall be posting a few entries in the next week or so in an effort to catch everyone up with what we have been up to! Here goes...



Tokoroa Christmas Parade is held on the first weekend in December and is a highlight for the community. Crowds line both sides of the street to watch the parade.
 
 

Floats are many and varied from business vehicles with a bit of tinsel added to them to logging trucks, specially cleaned and polished to organisations and community groups with all-out effort put into their float in the hopes of winning a cash prize for their group. Below is a traditional Maori waka.

This year the Girl Guides (and Brownies) decided on a "Gingerbread House" theme for their float. Many hours were spent creating decorations.

 

Finally the day came to put it all together. It looked so colourful and bright.

 

 Lots of excited girls were proud to parade through the main street of Tokoroa on their beautiful float. And guess who won first prize??!! Yay for the Girl Guides!!

Of course, no Christmas Parade is complete without Santa! Merry Christmas!!