February Five

Our family. New Year 1013

2013 is well underway. It took me a while to 'drop into' this new year, but I was forced into it when school returned and various groups started again.

1.
The grandchildren are back at school and have settled into their new classrooms and classes, all enjoying their teachers and activities. The school year means my Janna Daycare on Wednesdays is operating again with 'the three'.
This will be my last term with the older two as they'll be off to school next term. I'm trying to introduce a little more structure to the day; an effort to encourage Stefan and Isabel to sit down for an organised length of time to learn something. They're still getting used to the idea. We've only had two days so far, so there's plenty of room for improvement.

The original three: Breahn, Lyndon and Tyler

 I've had three grandies every Wednesday for almost six years, so dropping down to one will take some adjusting on  my part.

Stefan and Isabel - three months old cousins

Seven months old

Three years old

Three years old

 
These two have been an absolute delight for almost five years, so I'm going to miss their Wednesday visits.

Four and a half years old

Four years old

Johnathon - the youngest

However, move on I must! Johnathon and I will have some great adventures.







2.
I have my lovely new enclosed vege garden producing a copious amount of produce, without having  it destroyed by birds, rabbits, cats, dogs, white butterflies or possums.

I did become a little worried about whether bumble bees could get through the mesh when my scarlet runner beans began dropping their flowers with no sign of beans. I tried hand pollinating (what a task) then, when Hans found a bumble bee nest and brought home a queen and two workers, I thought my problems were solved - but no! Those bees just disappeared!

One day some time later I heard a buzzing while I was working near the beans. Bumble bees had reappeared - yes!

My hanging basket project grew to six baskets with various plants brightening the deck and blocking Hans's view from his office.
My first basket, spectacular as it was, passed its best, but others have grown well; the success story being the tumbling tomatoes which just keep on producing little tomatoes, enough for a few each day.
The Aladin cucumbers I tried in a basket were another success. The strawberries didn't work at all well, so now have petunias flowering profusely amongst them.

I'm delighted with my Blueberries (in big pots) this season, too. After having two years with no fruit, I planted lobelia around the stems to attract the bees - and it worked. I'm harvesting blueberries every day. The grandies just love to help pick and eat them.

My daughter-in-law, Cherise, gave me some acid-free tomato plants, for my birthday last September, which I planted in pots on the deck - frost free. They took ages to get going in our cool temperatures, but in this present heat they are ripening beautifully.

The deck plants and baskets demand a lot of water so it's a daily task to keep them moist.

3.
I'm back at Oropi School doing a few hours as Librarian; training student librarians, running quizzes, processing new books, learning more about the library computer programme, helping kids and keeping the library tidy. I love it.

We start CRE (Christian Religious Education) in school on 26th February. I'm looking forward to that as I enjoy sharing Jesus and his values with the children. The CRE curriculum closely follows, and sometimes supplements, the values programme run by the school.
I am still involved on the regional CEC (Churches Education Commission) team as treasurer, a role I really enjoy.

4.
My writing is still happening, and involvement in writing groups continues.
The NZ Christian Writers Guild is planning a 30th Anniversary celebration on March 23rd at Cornerstone north of Auckland. It promises to be a great day.
Our Tauranga Christian Writers group met for the first time this year on 21st February; a great turn-out.
The Tauranga Children's Writers has begun as well. During the holidays we joined Art in the Park at Mount Maunganui to sell our books, a moderately successful exercise.

Jean, Lois and I at Art in Park.

I joined a writers' co-operative, Oceanbooks, in Tauranga last year and have been down the publishing path with them, resulting in the pending launch of my children's Easy Read book, Dam Disaster, on 22nd March.




5.
On the farm. Hans is flat out 'polishing' the water supply, fences, gates etc readying the deer farm for lease to a dairy farmer for grazing from June.
He will no longer be a deer or cattle farmer, although we will still have a few sheep and goats.
It seems he will be no less busy as he plans to do contract fencing and maintenance, and feed out winter silage for Gavin.

Looking over the Little Gully

Besides the farm work, Hans has been busy planning land development on our Changepoint church's property. The progress over the last five years has been spectacular, with a small core team of dedicated gardeners and workers.

Well, that's five points for February - enough I think!

Jan