wishing you a very kiwi xmas

this year the citizens of the rara republic threw tradition out the window.
we celebrated the solstice with wine and food with friends and family( -there was plenty to be celebrated!)
and after the sun set on the longest day it felt like the summer really began. long, warm days, covered in sun-screen and sand. we packed oursleves into the car and traversed the hills to camp out on another beach for a couple of days over xmas. we made decorations and hung them on a nearby tree (so santa knew where to leave the stash, of course!). and, as opposed to 'traditional' christmas images of snowy landscapes, we woke on christmas morning to the sound of surf breaking on the beach... we sat in the shade of the decorated tree while we opened presents and then (after coffee) went to the beach for a bit of a swim and some kite-flying.
we liked this new tradition so much that we're thinking of doing it again next year!
hohoho
xxx

yaourt!!!

we love papa's yoghurt!

home handyman

it looks like we could do with a bit of paint here

this'll do nicely

'op, it looks like i may have missed a bit

come dance with me

after a year of dreaming we're ready to dine and dance outdoors


you are welcome

nor'west

the hot wind sears the plains as it makes its way to the sea. gusting at over 40km/h it bends trees in its wake.
today is not a good day for a fine hairdo
this morning, while i had other things to do, i was once again in the garden. i could see my beans dancing with the wind; soft ballet coreographed by nature's whimsy... me, i was wandering about, string poking out of my pockets like a true peasant, trying to secure everything to anything in the vain hope that i might save something.
and it's not just the beans that dance. in the wings the apples play their part, swaying somewhat violently with every new gust.

monty's surprise lost 7 apples.

to others, 7 is not necessarily a magic number. it's only significance is that on the scale of this year's harvest it was a part of the majority. and, as far as fables go, it was worth a week's accomodation for a doctor outside of the republic.
when you translate your apples into real terms, it's a whole new story, eh?!

but, busy is as busy was, we were. in the garden. after countless voyages to the beach to get sand i finally got to start laying the bricks that many hands cleaned last week.
inside the house it's painting season again; walls, ceiling, window, trousers and shirts given a fresh coat of paint in the old office in preparation for new guests.

and otherwise, other than the occasional bout of madness brought about by the wind, all is well in the republic.

xx
mama b

rainy days at the beach

it's raining. it's grey. we're indoors surfing the internet, not out watching waves.
but it's not all bad, the internet is like a giant library without smelly old men looking over your shoulder. and just now the research subject of choice is cheese-making.

i got a book of instructions on cheese making for my birthday a coupla months back and interest has been recently rekindled since we've managed to find a local source of raw milk.

(i say local, but it does come from a town almost 100km from here... but being as we're part of a network of 100 folk i guess it's 1km a piece, so it's not all that bad)

so, local(ish) raw organic milk. just as you remembered it from when you were a kid. when milk came in bottles and was delivered daily to your gate. what happened to that? full fat milk. is the world so fat obsessed that we had to abolish it entirely for the lack of adult-abled choice? or, as my dad suggested, it's just merely the milk companies getting fatter on the proceeds of milk by-products as they ride the trend for lo-fat and deliver lo-quality products.

lo-fat my arse.

so, local(ish) raw organic milk. that, sitting in the bottle, is actually coloured cream. where the cream sat on the top looks almost the colour of butter (admittedly, sick butter; or butter from non-grass-fed-cows..). that p describes, poetically, as unctuous. (you might have to queue your french accent to grasp the thickness of the description of the milk)

and when, mixed with the yoghurt culture, it makes something so devine, so fresh, so, so...
it is so good that i had it without honey.
nude yoghurt.

so, local(ish) raw organic milk. soon to be local(ish) raw oraganic cheese. being as we've just ordered ourselves a thermometer and stuff and, given the right evening with appropriate amounts of wine, and friends, and moon slinking over the horizon, and cultures (not just the yoghurty variety) we should be able to, according to research, go :
voilà! fromage! fabriqué dans la rara republic

xx
mama b
apprentice fromagère
(i'll post photos, but you might just have to come round for a cheese tasting workshop!)