Rachel will miss you...

Even though Ruth got up so late she did have a little nap while Hannah napped after lunch. They were both up by 2:30 though, so I decided it would be a good day for a walk. We don't know how often we will get to walk this road again. So we will get in as many walks as we can. I think things may get a bit busy with all the packing, but we also just needed the fresh air.
Even though we have not visited the horse often over the last 2 years, Rachel will still miss him. She had a nice chat with him today and plans to have a long visit with him before we leave.

Packing, biltong and cold

By the end of the weekend we already had 10 boxes packed. Here I had sorted through some old papers and Hannah had a dance on them before they got burnt.
The weekend also saw the production of a kg of biltong. This time we decided to go with small strips and I added quite a bit more of corriander at the drying stage. We like dry biltong sticks so we are very happy with the results. I do the prep work and Brendon decides when to take them out the dehydrator.
It's a pity I did not take a photo on the day the temperature in the bedrooms at 1pm was only 5.8. But it is generally under 10. I was so encouraged though to hear the stats for this winter. The last time NZ has been as cold as it was for May this year was in 1950, and the last time June was this cold was 1970. So at least now we know why we have been struggling so much more this winter than last. It really has been a much colder one.

Poor little finger

On Sunday I noticed that Ruth has another swollen finger. So it seems we are just swapping one are for another at this stage and the medication is not helping. We only have 2 of the 4 herbal products so far, but we also know that the natural medicines can take a little longer to get working. We are hoping to have the other 2 products early next week and we are praying that they will help.

We also decided today that we need to officially look for other accommodation. It it just too cold in this house. So when I went to collect Rachel from the Brownie pick up point, I mentioned it to the others Mom's who were there. Immediately the one lady said "there is an advert in today's school newsletter". So when she got home she called me with the details (we do get the school newsletter in our mail but only on the Friday). I called and left a message this evening and we are praying that the Lord would make things clear and if it is His will, that He would provide us with a warm place to move to.

A walk with Rachel

When we got back yesterday and Ruth told Rachel about feeding the horse some apples Rachel was so disappointed that she had not joined us. So today she definitely felt well enough to join us for a walk. And can you believe the apples on that tree. It's the only tree in the road that still has apples on. The horse as eaten all that he can reach so was very excited about us visiting again so that we could give him some more.

Hannah enjoyed being "up close"
As did Ruth. She insisted we should also bring him a carrot but let Mom actually give it to him. She did give him a pat though.

And Rachel gave him a wonderful long pat. She was talking softly to him all the time and I could see he was far more relaxed with her. She so enjoyed this.

Then we stopped by the cows on the way back. It's so fun to see them run over when they see you. Hoping you have some food.

Rachel found some grass to give them and although they were very excited about that - they were not willing to take it out of her hand.

And just look at how quickly they have eaten those oats down. Yesterday it was so high it was up to their tummies and now it's just a thin layer of green.

I was so thankful for these two days of lovely clear and warmer weather so that we could enjoy getting out to experience the joys of nature just down our road.

What a lovely walk

A friend had encouraged me to get out walking with the girls and so today I took Ruth and Hannah for a walk down the road. Rachel is still not completely well, so she stayed home. What a lovely walk we had. The sheep on the rolling hills was just beautiful. And it was not really that cold out either. It was a beautiful clear day and I think it was warmer outside than in our bedrooms.
The cows were also great as they came over to us as soon as we got close. We went a bit further and gave the horse a few apples too (photos taken on tomorrows walk with more details).
We also got to chat about so many things. This was the apple tree we got most of our hundreds of apples off a few months ago. Quite a change. So it was fun to talk to Ruth about the different seasons and all the fun things involved in that.

These trees where a lovely example of ever greens and those that are not. Ruth then asked if those where apples on the trees. I told her they were pine cones. I asked what we did with pine cones and she said "put them in the fire". We use pine cones to start the fire, so it was good to know she knew what I was talking about even though she could not see them clearly.
On our way back Bob had just moved the electric fence on this field. The farmers will only open up a few meters of the field at a time (otherwise the sheep will just eat it all). So you can see the far left was two days ago and the ground is just mud. Yesterdays there is a little bit of green left, but on the right is how it starts off. It is a very common site at this time of year to see the sheep all down one long line of a field, eating the grass (and in this case it's oats) that have been opened up for them.

A close up shot just to show you how high it is. Right up to their tummies.

Girls Bedroom

So now that we have the toy boxes for under the bed, it was time to rearrange the girls room so that Hannah could move in. Here Ruth is helping me measure to see if the bookshelf will fit there.
Although we have already bought a second bunk bed for that spot, Hannah is not ready for a bed yet (and we don't have the mattresses yet). So for now her cot is in the room and she can first learn to share the room with them before we put her in a big bed.
The older girls were so excited about Hannah moving in with them and Hannah was very excited about the change too. When she was ready for her afternoon nap Rachel asked her "where is your bed?" and she came straight to the "Girls room" and was very excited to climb in.
The bunk bed used to be pushed down to that corner but we have tried to keep the beds as far from the window as possible. That mirrored chest of draws used to be where Hannah's cot now is. So the bedroom looks really nice and neat and the girls are excited about the change.

Garden and dogs

Brendon and I got stuck into the garden today. The ground was so nice and soft that the weeding was really easy.
We were still busy when the little two woke from their naps, so they came out to join us.
We actually managed to get this whole bed done (which included pulling a LOT of grass out as well as weeds). We had often gotten started on either side but never got through the whole bed. I think what helped today was that we also decided to pull out the many many bulbs that were in the bed. They must have been in there for so many years, they had spread and were just making it so much more difficult to get the bed cleaned out. So we won't have the bulbs flowering again, but there are so many roses and it will be nice to keep the bed clear now.

Then we headed over to feed our neighbours dogs. They are away for the weekend and their daughter and husband have a busy weekend and so they asked us instead. We were so glad they did as they have helped us so much it was nice to finally get to do something for them.

I know it will be quite an adjustment for our non-NZ friends to see dogs in cages like this. But with the farms here it is quite a familiar sight for us.

We also let them out for a nice run around. Although Ruth does like the dogs, she does NOT like getting licked. So she asked Dad to put her on the gate.

One of the dogs still managed to jump up and lick her bottom, so she decided the trailer would be a better and "safer" spot. The dogs are just so excited that she felt a bit nervous with all their energy.

And then Pearl (the black one) decided she wanted to go look for Bob. She ran off and would not come back. She is his oldest dog and I think she really missed him. Brendon tried and tried to get her back but eventually we could not even find her. Bob's son-in-law said not to worry, that she would find her way home. She spent the night out and our other neighbour found her in the morning and brought her over (she had spent the night in his shed).
We were so relieved when we saw her again. And she got meat on Sunday night but did NOT get let out for a run. She had more than enough on Saturday.

Sat 9 May

Brendon worked for a few hours this morning and it was such a beautifully clear day that Ruth said she wanted to walk to meet Dad. So I bundled the little two up in the pram (on their warm sheep skins) and off we went.
We left a bit before he left the farm and we almost got to the bottom of the road by the time he arrived. Ruth had so been looking forward to getting to "Mason's Flats" (the intersection at the end of our road) that Dad turned round and met us there (probably only 200m). Rachel decided to walk instead of ride her bike, so it was a great accomplishment for her to have walked 3km.

Fri 8 May

I am counting our blessings on these cold days....
We can have the fire going all day,
have been given free wood to keep it going,
it dries my washing supa quick,
it heats our hot water,
I heated our dinner on it the other day,
and well,
it's just so nice to have a fire. :-)

Bits and pieces

While in town for Rachel's birthday we bought some berries to add to our morning juice. So we either have strawberries, blackberries, raspberries or cranberries. Hannah finished her 1/2 glass this morning and wanted some more so she had some of mine. And yes, I drink from that (500ml). So it includes apples, carrots, silver beet (spinach), banana and berries. Rachel much prefers it with the banana and berries.

You can see she enjoys it.

Ruth found my hat and pulled some funny faces to get everyone laughing...

And this is what you get when you say "open your eyes"...

Then she found my boots...

Dad spotted Hannah and Ruth enjoying some "reading" time...

If Hannah sees Rachel and Ruth having some carpet fun she is almost guaranteed to go and climb in and join the fun. And often it's a matter of throwing herself in. She is getting really rough and touch. She so loves her two big sisters....

Last week we cleared out the veggie garden (except for the silver beet which continues to provide for our morning juice). Bob again lent Brendon his digger which has made it much easier to do. So today Brendon just dug it up again (3rd time now). He hopes to get some compost to dig into it too. So this year we are ready for spring. :-)

So although we took Ruth's previous braids out yesterday morning, we only got to get her hair washed and done this afternoon. It took 2 1/2 hours to do (excluding the removal yesterday and the washing). Two Barnie DVDs and 30 braids later.....

I wanted to get a photo of the back so I asked Ruth to come and look at a little bump on the wall (that's what she is pointing at). She thinks these long braids are lots of fun and was swinging her head around enjoying them.

Apples and fun

Rachel was feeling much better today and headed out with Dad to pick some more apples. They came back with a big bag full. I quickly checked them (for worms) and counted them. 150 apples. 2 more months of free apples for juicing... :-)
This afternoon we headed outside for some fun. Dad had everyone laughing with the funny ways he would catch the Frisbee.
Rachel has gotten quite good at catching it on her hand or arm.

I picked a flower for Hannah to play with.

And one for Ruth. I had taken all the braids out this morning, so her hair is really wild.
Then the two of them had some fun together. It's so lovely to watch them playing together. Hannah has also started giving hugs and it's lovely to see her go up to Ruth and give her a big squeeze.

Little two

Hannah and Ruth enjoy the dried pineapple pieces I bought.

Ruth feeding Hannah.
Rachel had a tummy ache today so she did not join us on our regular afternoon walk. The girls are always so excited when Dad comes home but for a week or so Hannah has not had the best afternoons and is almost attached to my hip the whole time. So I get everyone ready and we start walking to meet Dad. We do have a big double pram, but it would be too big to lift onto the back of his ute. So we head out with smaller items so that we can quickly load up and get a ride back with him. Hannah seems to enjoy this as she will go up to the backpack during the day and try to climb in. Perhaps it's more that she is looking forward to Dad coming home. :-)

What a lot we got

While the girls slept this afternoon Brendon helped me with bottling some apples. He peeled so many for me (our peeler which cores and slices makes it a lot easier and you can get a LOT done quite quickly). So we got 7 big bottles of pieces done as well as 3 bottles of sauce. I then went to pick all the tomatoes. The plants are getting frost on them so we have decided to pick everything and then clear the bed. So even though some are really small we are sure they will ripen. I found another marrow too. :-)

Growing

Yesterday afternoon Rachel went to pick peas again. This must be the 3rd container full she has brought in and there are still more. They have grown really well this year.
So I got out into the garden after church this morning and harvested our corn and pumpkin. If you remember our poor corn had been eaten flat by sheep, so we were happy to just get something. And they were enough for Sunday dinner and were quite yummy. We were also happy with how the pumpkin's grew. We had only spotted around 4 of them, so when I found 15 we were all quite surprised.

And something else that is growing is little Hannah. I didn't think she would be up on the "learning tower" this soon. But she knew I was busy with her breakfast and I could not hold her and stir, so Dad helped her up onto the tower. I am again so thankful for this purchase - I would not be allowing her to stand on a chair.