and while we're not renovating

oh, don't get me wrong- it's not all hard work renovating, gardening, building chicken homes and the likes. we've still got plenty of time for loving, for sharing, for nourishing, and for lying about on couches having wee snoozes... (that's if it's chilly out)

cos if it's sunny...... we've got our mates over!!! KERSPLASH!!!



(wouldn't it be great if i could attach a mystery icon here and a bucket of water would arrive ;) )

xxx
mama b (snooze support, photographer and wearer of soggy trousers)

growing|expanding

the republic would like to welcome and honour our newests citizens: sunnie and chèr, and simonette and garfunkella- chickens extarodinaire. s&c are shaver hens, rescued from a farm and a fate worse than cat biscuits; s&g are little black silkies, just on the roost and cute as all heck. they are a little too little still for our catghetto neighbourhood so we've built them a firstclass 5* luxury house. sunnie and chèr, in thanks for the freedom and plentiful love respect and vegescraps have given us this beautiful feast: mercikapaithanks!

and on the peace front, our first tree, the olive lovingly gifted to me for my birthday, is starting to fruit! ok, so it's no commercial crop but we cheer those babies on daily! olives! of our very own!!

and here's c, once again, supervising work in progress, his hammer ever-ready. this time the boys (papa and grandad) were stripping wallpaper using almost sweat alone... why not renovate in the summer?

we've not decided if, forever carrying his 'security' hammer if he's going to be a future carpenter or perhaps was a former viking goddette.

and finally, there's nothing like the greengreen of corn on the grow. oh our lovely silty soil is so nutrient rich that this team of future fingerlicking gorgeous barbecue treats are galloping away. like nobodies business.

xxx
mama b (gardener/carpenter/faerie)

kitchen storms (aka dance of the seven teatowels)

woo baby

bathilicious

there is no button for attaching sound:
i am singing
singing while i bathe.
and i can do it whenever i want.
have i ever expressed the joys of running hot water?
have you ever wondered how underrated hot water is?
check out that shiny tool: by the miracles of not so modern modern technology i can lift that lever and woohoo, steamy, cleansing hot (or cold, take your pick) water arrives into my bath. inside the house. whenever i want.

when

ever

i

want


xx
(shiny) mama b

summersun

i love that smell
you know, when the rain hits the hot concrete and gathers on top of the parched earth. after days and days of relentless sunshine and hot winds the southerly arrives in the rara republic with an attitude somewhat reminiscent of a child experimenting in a kitchen- random acts of clashing pots and pan lids of thunder...
a neighbour pops her head over the fence 'i've just heard from my friend down south- rain, hail. it's on its way'. we were prepared.
a good weather head knows the story- the dance of the gardener. sunshine, cooling nor'easterly- busy; building up, nor'wester, hot hot evaporative violent wind, lashing out, breaking branches. and then, this wind meets the sou'westerly change: the crescendo is reached. the sky now tells the story with colours, the cloud maker gets creative- deep grey almost black apocolyptic clouds.
tis not a good day to be a fisherman.
these summer storms are the bane of the gardener.

3 days into this calender year saw the citizenry up, as dawn cracked, and off to the beach, ready to beat the heat. yesterday was too hot for doing anything other than lounging about in the shade, or looking for a breeze and a book. we paddled in our paddling pool and otherwise sweated, rather pleased with ourselves that these days we're not as boozy as we used to be and don't have to try and recover from our newyears hangovers in the heat.

still makiing progress, p painted and sanded and built compost bins. me, i'm happy in the knowledge that i can have a bath now whenever i fancy

whenever i fancy.

so, newyears was spent with good friends and toasted with bubbles atop the sanddunes, looking out to where the world begins. we hope yours was similar.
xxx
b

remember when

i was just having one of those moments.
reminiscing.
back to a time 'before'.....
i had to go a way back but i found a time before i discovered the road. i had always dreamt about it, don't get me wrong; ever since i discovered i was born in england and had travelled round europe i felt a need to go back, to re-explore (aged 4 i made this self-declaration). and i was just trying to think of my first trip. was it the one where i went to australia and met up with my girlfriend kirst? we did a road trip up to sydney where we met another girlfriend vaness and partied out for new years...
no. not then.
was it when i went to bali with my ma for my 21st?
no. not then.
all aboard to australia with my folks when i was 16?
crumbs.
i remember a time when the 4 of us (my bro, me, my ma and pa) all packed into their old MGTD (two seater, me and my bro in the luggage bit, the luggage- my dad's old scout pack, strapped to the spare wheel, strapped to the petrol tank) hit the road, off for the weekend to go and hang out with other like minded folk and camp in an old shearing shed (tis a kiwi thing- where sheep have new hair-dos) for the weekend... aged 9. i learnt to ride a motorbike this weekend.
with adventures like those it was no wonder i was going to spend some 12 odd years exploring.
but the little details, you know the bits that pop to mind when you're hanging the washing on the line- like waiting for a bus in malaysia where the busticket selling dude tells you that, yes, there will be a bus. this afternoon. some time. and you have to be patient with that.
or when you're seaching a particular colour ( saharan sunset) or a particular flavour ( green mangoes and chilli and sugar on the train- how do i do that at home??)

but do you remember a time before blogs?
before email?
before travelling with a single piece of plastic that will suffice for funds worldwide?

i looked at calix and realised he will never not know these things. he'll only know mp3 and not records. mobile phones- video calling!! (man, that was the stuff of sci-fi) and all this fellow year of the rats, well, the future for them is unimaginable....

these days, i still imagine one day being on the road again; sometimes i even imagine going further than the shop!

but with plans for tree planting and future harvests and with memories as full as these i know i'm all stored up, like a squirrel, ready with stuff stored to nibble on, from time to time.

spare time

i've just noticed this button, a video whatsit
here's our beach visit the other arvo. when the wind is blowing in the good direction you can hear the beach, waiving, from our garden. no need for telly now!!
xxx
mama b tarantino (hehehe)