Random thoughts

Fabulous beach walk in the winter sunshine today, but so disappointing to come home with two full carrier bags full of plastic rubbish from the beach. Next time I'll take a grabber tool and more bags. We definitely left the beach in a better state than we found it.

#plasticfreejuly I got my first Buckybox from Homegrown this week, the fruit and veggies are so fresh and delicious, I've just hopped online to repeat my order weekly. It's all delivered in a wooden crate, with things like mushrooms and yams packaged in paper bags. I also ordered the baby spinach and it looks like it's in a compostable bag, I'll need to check that one. So good to have fresh, seasonal fruit and veg with none of the plastic.   https://store.homegrown.kiwi/homegrown

In the spirit of reducing plastic this month I've made a couple of great discoveries. A local (NZ) meat and milk provider, that I've been using for a couple of years on account of them selling milk in glass bottles which they collect and reuse, has started selling their meat in compostable packaging. Their meat also just happens to be mighty tasty and they deliver to your doorstep. A great way to reduce 5 or 6 plastic meat trays and associated cling wrap each week. This company are also great to deal with online https://eketahunacountrymeats.co.nz/  

5 lunch boxes to fill, 5 mouths hungry for breakfast, dinner for 5 being planned. 5 people's laundry needs sorting. What a blessing to have a family and to have the means to feed them. My recent work with budget clients makes me glad to be in a secure financial position.

Back to the blog again. A new phone means I have access on the go once more, so I'll try and post a bit more often.

It's been a while since I posted, mainly because we've been in the throes of moving country. We arrived in New Zealand on 5th November 2015 after 10 years living in Singapore.  So far this has been a great move for our family and everyone is settling well. We are still looking for a job but that will come in time. I'm not sure if it's the climate, or the fact that we're on more of a budget than usual, but I've really got into making stuff at home. I've been trying to master a few new skills and I'm enjoying the process. So what have I been making? Food Viili - a yoghurt like culture that's high in probiotics from Scandinavia, it ferments at room temperature and turns milk into viili in 24 hours. Delicious in smoothies and ice blocks (that's kiwi for ice lolly) Kombucha - I've been dabbling with this on and off since I was 19, but this is a very successful scoby and tastes delicious. Also high in probiotics. Sourdough - our neighbour kindl

So disappointed, decided on a morning out at Jurong water park only to find that the lazy river, slides and wave pool are all closed. Never mind, we'll head to the science centre instead.

Super heroes party at church tomorrow night, Pippa is going as Harry Potter. Much excitement in our house today.