Coddled Eggs

Coddled Eggs

Thursday 31 March 2016



The Easter Fairy



What a wonderful Easter it has been .
The sky above us was a blaze of sound and speed as warbirds raced and chased across the sky.
It was a spectacular show and that was only what we saw from the kitchen window.





Young Tas though did not want to go to the extravaganza with her Mum Dad and Brother so opted to create flower fairies.
With the penstemon bloom and the seed of the Verbascum giganteum  a little fairy was born.
Then it was time to paint the little easter eggs. It was a wonderful feeling watching all the care and attention Tasmin was putting into these little egg decorations.

As a child my Mother painted boiled eggs for us .I always chose the eggs with a mountain scene whilst my brother chose donald duck.I don't remember the others choosing but I do remember the intricate little paintings.
I also remember wishing that one day we could have chocolate eggs wrapped in foil and boxed in a special  easter box.
How grateful I am now that Mum was so creative.


Mum would paint the boiled eggs for us for Easter.

It was such a nice Easter weekend with lots and lots of visitors and guests .
I have not attended church of any kind for many many years and do not miss it. I see Easter as a celebration of Spring yet here in the Southern most part of the world Easter falls in Autumn .
My mother never believed in the new testament or in Jesus but had a strong faith in the old testament , I think as I have gotten older I veer more towards that belief.
However in saying that I still find it a joy to hide eggs in the garden and have family gather to celebrate. 

I think we need to do some deep soul searching about what's important in our lives and renew our spirit and our spiritual thinking, whether it's through faith-based religion or just through loving nature or helping your fellow man. Louie Schwartzberg

Sunday 13 March 2016

                       We are all winners

It was such a wonderful surprise to go to the show and see the prizes that the children had won.
All of their hard work has paid off.
I am already planning our next show...
Next year we will start earlier ,we will grow perfect blooms paint pictures make cards and bake .......it was so so much fun.
For me it was so much lovelier seeing the little faces as they received their prizes and prize money to boot.

All but Matilda Betty ( who has been keeping away from Mr Leo with the chicken pops) have collected their prizes. What a special moment that will be  when i give her two certificates. I can see it now THAT HUGE GRIN and little brother Oscar wanting to join in the fun.

  Soul is very happy with his certificate.

Yes The biggest pumpkin    (head)

Matilda with two prizes...

A very proud Maia


and even I got a First and Third for my paintings...

After all the prizes were handed out it was time for kids to  settle back and take in a movie on Opa and Oma's 3d TV .

and time for oma to make yummy toast with Wanaka prize winning bread 'The peoples bread.

and then pick the remaining nectarines and a flower or two and another day is done in The van Riel home.



Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night. Hal Borland

An addendum
Matilda got to collect her prize and stay the night at Opa and Oma's because she just wasn't feeling one hundred percent.
Movies and a bed on the couch .........
BLISS






The Miners Cottage 




















Happy blissful quiet days to reflect ....Come stay with me...

Tuesday 8 March 2016

                          The Autumn ...."show down"
Autumn always spells a busy time for Wanaka .
It starts with the Wanaka Ironman challenge, then there's the Motatapu  race (which incidentally had a second place getter of none other than Mr Adam  Jaques our Nephew.)
After the Motatapu there's the A and P show and then there is The Warbirds Over Wanaka.
Sprinkled in between are events to celebrate the festival of colour. Events such as the Wanaka Autumn arts school .

There is so much to get involved with and there is always great excitement about the A and P show.

First  Agricultural  and Pastoral Show  ....14 December 1843

This year The grandchildren will be entering the decorative categories and will also  enter the giant pumpkin competition.
Today I had the little ones making their entries .I was so impressed with little Mr Soul who just got on with the task.
He did admit to being sick of ripping up paper but all in all I commend him for his patience and for getting the job done ....and done well.


Souls covered flowerpot He is so impressed and keeps saying he will give it to his big sister Ocean.

Matilda was equally thrilled with her pot,

Maia is now a school girl so her category was to decorate a tin and what a lovely job she made.

Tasmin worked away making her vege creature


Then Maia and Matilda raided as much colour as they could find left in my garden and made their saucer gardens.



The finishing touches go on the pots with Soul loving the gluey feeling albeit a bit frustrating as the little embellishments stuck to his fingers and in his hair .

Leo was the one that surprised us all .He made an awesome saucer garden with lots of thought.Wow Leo

At the end of two hours they  had completed the tasks .I asked who felt happy with what they made and all of them raised their arm in the air.
At the end of the day That happiness is what really matters.