Post Script #2

I've caught Kate's Bug !!!

What possess me to clean and tidy after 7:30pm???

All day I've been feeling highly unmotivated and sluggish.......then hit the evening and KAAAZAAMM!! I'm revitalized and ready to roll!!!

It's dumb really........I should be sitting with my feet up with a hot drink and doing some knitting or other enjoyable activity instead I have sorted out the laundry and the hot water cupboard. Sorted all my 'homeschooling' resources into some semblance of order and HIFFED a large amount of junk and have a bag ready to go to the opp shop. Looking much better might I add....I just need to find a thrifted curtain or large piece of material to hang in front of the shelves in the Laundry.

Soooo.............what shall I do next time I get one of these moments of inspiration????
I think the cupboard under the stairs (aka...dumping ground) and the unused hallway leading from one of our 3 entrances to our house (aka...dumping ground #2). OH and I'ld like to rearrange the kitchen cupboards so things are once again where I expect them to be, not 3 doors down..........
Oh and then there's the..........................................................................

STOP!! No More I say!!!

That's plenty to keep me busy for a while.

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....................