Uses For Kiwifruit #1

Now I have the habit of just going a bit crazy at the vege shop.........I would love to go crazy in a garden but we live in a hostel house and they are a bit vege garden unfriendly.
Anywayz....I bought a bag of green Kiwifruit for $2. I just can't leave a bargain, but then we tend to not be able to eat through the amount I buy before it goes off.
So my new rule is...."Thou shalt not let any fresh fruit of vege rot in the bottom of ones pantry or fridge."
FIND A USE FOR IT!
Now eating a bag of kiwifruit would play havoc with ones digestive system as they are rather good as a laxative......so that wasn't an option......
I searched around on the internet for a recipe................and this is what I came up with

Kiwifruit Chutney Recipe

Ingredients
1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) Kiwifruit

2 bananas

3 onions

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 3 lemons

1 cup raisins

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons crystallized ginger (I used normal raw ginger root)

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup white vinegar

Instructions
Peel and slice the kiwifruit, chop the onions and bananas. Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and boil gently for about 1 hour until soft and thick. Stir frequently, cool, spoon into sterilized jars and seal.

Yum Yum Yum.............
It's FAB and my new favourite chutney (i'm a bit of a chutney lover!).
Easy, flavoursome and no nasty preservatives, flavour enhancers or colours.

Farewell Our English Friend

Last week we said Goodbye to our friend Ed.
He has been a Gap student here at the hostel where we live for the past year, working as an Assistant Master in exchange for board and opportunity to experience life in NZ!
We will miss having him around as he has definitely become part of the furniture.
Ed is back in the UK now and will start studying to be a PE teacher in September. He assures us that if life goes as he imagines now, he'll be back here when he's finished.
Our boys will miss him as Ed built a special relationship with them both.

You go get 'em Ed! Thanks for be part of life here at HBHS hostel, we look forward to seeing you back in a few years.

Wild Westie Winter Walk

Alliteration is sooo much fun!
It reminds me of one of the many Dr Suess stories my JK likes me to read.
You feel positively tongue-tied after the first half of the book!

ANYWAY..............
It is the school holidays here in NZ. It is a short break between Terms 2 and 3. Two weeks to be precise. AND I, being the wife of a school teacher, am blessed to have my hubby around for 2 weeks. We have been making the most of hanging out as a family. Doing all those little jobs that we both need to be there for etc etc.

Over the weekend we were very impulsive....Yes WITH 2 kids in tow.............
On Saturday we got up and by 8am had decided we would go for a visit to Auckland. So by 10am we were packed and in the car without any upheavals.
We checked out some cars, hubby went to visit his Aunty regarding his trip to Samoa at the end of the year.........oh the benefits of being a High School teacher.............NOOOO I'm not green with envy at all!!!
Anyway, I digress.........I spent a lovely 3 hours with Jess (from Oh My) and her 4 kids. I so enjoy hanging out with them!
Then we popped in and had dinner with my Dad (and my Sister and brother-in-law, who were visiting). We packed the kids back in the car at 7:30pm, blankies and all, and were home at 9pm.

NOW.........You'ld thing that would be it wouldn't ya!!

NO!! On Sunday morning, we chose to head off to Raglan as the weather was beautiful (and the surf was good....much to my hubby's glee) and I felt the need to be out in creation admiring God's handy work. So you may as well say, we did church at the beach.

It was glorious!! JK, LJ and I had fun exploring the beach and rocks while hubby dusted off his body boarding gear and spent 2 hours out in the winter water........brrrrrrrrr

Here are some of my FAV snap shots of the day....................

U.F.O's and Other Craftyness

Just in case you're wondering what the UFO stands for..........Unfinished Objects.......... haha if you didn't know....now you do!

Right I thought I might just blog all my works in progress ( some have more progress than others). It has a double purpose..

1. For me to SEE what I need to acheive before starting ANY other projects!!
2. To share my little success ( and I promised Jess from OH MY that I would take photos of what I have been up to).
   

Well here it is.....hmmmm where shall we start!

KNITTING

I knitted my first soaker in the round!!! The i-cord (also a new skill) is a bit thick and the leg cuffs need to be finished (I undid the one I did as it was a BIT small). I also discovered that size M is a bit on the tight side for my LJ. So this one will be given to someone who needs (and uses) them. I love the colour!! A bit girly for my boy but HEY it's underneath. If you want it or would use it.....drop me an email and i'll send it to you. kenzilandlauz AT gmail DOT com




So on that note I've started a size L...in a less girly colour........ Tekapo Wool by Ashford is my FAVOURITE! This one is Storm..........


I am also 1/3 the way through knitting a cardy/jacket for LJ from Tekapo Landscape. It's knitted as a whole piece.....very cool and i'm learning lots of little skills on the way. The colours look a bit wrong on the photo, it's a bit bluer than it looks.


KNITTING RELATED.....BUT MORE LIKE BEADS!

I made my first set of stitch markers for my fabulous friend Jess. I used art beads, celestial crystal cubes and little metal beads. I loved doing these. They are SO classy......well I think so!


SEWING.........BUT ALSO KNITTING RELATED

For my Mum's Birthday I made her a knitting needle Pouch thingee
I chose all NZ fabrics. It is almost finished it just needs 2 buttons and button loops added on the outside to hold it all together. I added French knots to the appliquéd panels on the cover for a bit of depth. I had fabulous fun making it and am quite happy with the result.
Mum loves it which is just what I hoped for.






So there you have it! I've been a busy gal!

And here are 2 photos of SUPPLIES for my future projects.
1) Hemp fabric for fitted nappies 2) More wool for a hat for JK and another soaker and.....

Post Script

I should be in bed!!!
I just returned from a MOPS committee meetings and was doing a quick catchup on a few blogging friends.......................................
I just need to say, I am so EXCITED.......our new camera arrived today!!!!!!!!
So you may indeed see some new photos in the next few weeks!!

pps. My little LJ waved for the first time today and said "es" for 'yes' and "bo' for book and there is a yet undescribed sound for JK. WOW! don't they just change sooooo quickly, where has my little bubba gone! But it does so warm my heart to witness these amazing learning curves........I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Nighteee Night

Comparisons and other such murmurings

I was just pondering today upon the way we, as parents and as a society, seem to be in a constant state of comparing ourselves, our children, our lifestyles, our skills etc etc with others.
I considered the fact that comparing oneself to another can be quite damaging to one's stability as a 'whole person' because whose 'ideals' are we comparing ourselves (or others) to?

I remember reading a portion of Brendan Manning's book "Abba's Child", he explained how our need to compare ourselves to some arbitrary worldly standard (basically being far to worried what everyone else thinks of us) causes us much grieve and insecurity. He goes on to say that if we were only worried about whether we are right in the sight of God and concerned about what he thinks and where we belong than so much of this insecurity will be a thing of the past.

Now there is a point to all this :-) .................
I often have people say to me, "oh your boys look so alike" OR "he's just like his brother". And then I have my own self-talk where i compare my child to someone else's child or some standard that isn't really founded in much. AND then there's the "baby olympics" that goes on amongst friends and acquaintances.........

So as I was pondering these things I went back through some photos and found some "similar age" photos of our boys to see whether they really look alike. This is what I found................. (JK (born 2004) on Left, LJ (born 2006) on Right)


On Their Birth Day




3 Months Old





8 Months Old




And I concede they are similar!!
But I work hard not to fall into the trap of comparing them (not saying that I won't!), they are their own little people with their own God given talents and gifts and personality. And I have been inspired by Rach from Intricate Simplicity to foster my children's interests and provide them opportunities to explore their little groove in life.

I think I might have written this blog for my own benefit :-)
But feel free to join in with my rambling thoughts.

Celebrate the uniqueness in your own life and then in those around you. Together we bring different colour, texture and depth to the painting of life. OH how bland it would be if we were all the same or too similar.

Funny.........

This a fave piece of Rowan Atkinson....................