Friday 20 April 2012

The Simplist things in life.....

.....so we decided to have a BBQ, Darren, Marianna, myself & the boys but it was quite windy so we moved to my place. I had made some breadrolls and Darren made some rissoles outof, well we are not sure but it certainly wasn't mince!!!! Marianna bought some eggplant, rocket and an apple cucumber from her island garden. I supplied the onions and tomatoes and what did we get, the MOST amazing hamburgers stuffed full of tasty vegies!!! OMG you have NO idea how awesome they were. We sat there sighing and ooohing over a humble hamburger!! It was so funny really.

Last week three different ships came in, so we are still seeing the contents being unloaded as the port was just overwelmed with all the work, today we found cheese, block and sliced, sour cream, fresh cream and philly cheese, I was so excited I thought I might cry, I haven't seen these products since leaving home!!!! Mind you no vegies or white sugar to be found, oh well maybe Monday when we go up the island to the airport, there are a few good shops on the way.

The 10 chooks are doing well. They are all brown with varying degrees of white. There is only one with more white than brown and I have called her Matilda and she is my chook.....only cause I will definately recognise her!!!!!! I love sitting and watching them, they are so inquisative. I try and take them tit-bits at least 3 times a day so they get used to me and my white bucket, the idea being they'll come running when I want to lock them up because they'll know there is a treat in my bucket!! Good theory, await the practice!!!!

Well 3 sleeps till JJ, Mum & Jill arrive, we are all in varying degrees of excitment. Our first real visitors (sorry the DA does't cut it!) Meei and I have scrubbed and cleaned like women posessed. I am exhausted but in that really satisfied way! So with a full fridge and a full wine fridge I am ready to enjoy the next few weeks. I'll apologise in advance if I don't get online to update my blog!!!
To make the time pass on the weekend I am going to make some dips and meals and baking so I can really relax. It is so exciting to have some dairy products without having to make everything on a base of home made nautral yoghurt, I really won't know myself!!!

Until next time.....:0)

Tuesday 17 April 2012

The chooks arrive....

We took the plunge and drove all the way up the island (1 hour) to find the chook farm. Thank goodness we took Meei!!! It was a squash but lucky we did cause we would have gone the wrong way..

The chook/pig farm was really well run, clean pens and the chooks were all seperated by their age. Every age between one week and 8 weeks, of course the boys wanted the chicks!! No way, I am not waiting 18 weeks for eegs!! At least by getting the 8 week pullets we only have 10 weeks till they start to lay. Give them time to get used to 2 very enthusiastic boys!!! We bought home 6 but have decided while Darren is up at the airport n Thursday that he will get another 4. Decided we'll need at least 10 to give enough eggs for the 3 houses and 2 staff!!!


not a great photo but the girls settling in.........

till next time :0)

Sunday 15 April 2012

Busy, Busy week!!!!

What a busy, busy week!! JJ goes away and it it mayhem!! We took a run up to the airport to make sure an Aussie family with very sick kids got away ok. Then a spot of shopping on the way home. Not much about as everyone was awaiting the arrival of the boat!! We'll try again next Monday when we pick up JJ, Mum & Jill, nothing like breaking Mum & Jill into the shopping experiences of Kiribati!!

That evening the power keep tripping in the house, so Darren madly worked to change out the water pump that seemed to be the problem, before the impending darkness, only to discover that was not it!!! So with most of the house turned off at the fuse box I had a very quiet night with just Air Con, TV & lights. Not to bad considering.
Next morning the electricians from Kiribati Institue of Tafe arrived to go over the house to see what was causing the problems, and that is what it remains, a problem that no one can work out. Everything is working again - weird!

Darren has worked hard all week finishing 'his' part of our new beachside Maneaba! Last night we christened with drinks too many!!


Darren & Jack enjoying our view


Jack & Sam playing with the neighbours kids on the beach, the tide is heading out


Jack & Sam kicking back in their 'nest' whilst watching a dvd


Sam showing me how brekky ought to be eaten


I love the casual way he lolls about while on his phone (pretend of course!!)

Well that is it for now, next update should have photos of chooks! We are hoping to pick them up either Tuesday or thursday. And of course a busily exciting week getting ready for Mum, Jill & JJ - how EXCITING!!

Tuesday 10 April 2012

photos & stuff....

 Sam on his Eater hunt, it didn't take him long to work out to pick up the eggs and into his egg carton!





 How to wear off all that chocolate egg energy? Swimming!!! So exhasted they were in bed by 7pm!




Flowers, flowers galore in the vegie garden, flowers on the sqaush, zuchinni, new ones on the cucumber and tomatoes!!! So I decided it was time to plant some more into egg cartons and this time I have used a surplus of 'tonge depressors' to write in permenant ink what the seed is!!!! (I am sure Kiribati hospital and clinic could put the tonge depressors to a better use but oh well!! I am so excited about my vegies, I am feeling a real sense of achievement with all that green and the flowers, now to just get some pollination happening and we might get some vegies, woohoo.

JJ is in Honiara and all is well his end. I managed to break the pool filter (well it was already broken and has a temporary pump rigged up while we wait for the proper water pumps to be air-freighted in) Was so mad cause I lost alot of water and even more filling it up with tank water but thankfully the heavens opened up last night with our first storm with thunder and lightening and the tanks are now all full again.

A new family that arrived one month ago with two kids aged 7 & 9 years found themselves with very sick children over Easter, so bad they have been in Kiribati hospital, not a place you want to be, so we have spent a few days trying to help them out, taking up food and any drugs we can spare. The hospital can not provide meals, beds, linen or any comforts really, the toilets are over full and animals wander through the ward. As the kids are getting worse (Arky collapsed with high fever on his way here to stay with me while big sister was on fluid therapy!) I encouraged them very strongly to ring their medical insurance and get out. With only 3 flights out a week they have got on tomorrows flight to Brisbane so we are going up to the airport to farewell them then drop in to all the various shops on the way home, an exciting prospect believe me!!!!!! It does remind me however of our isolation and how lucky we are to be in a compound with good fresh water and flushing toilets and 'normal' sanitation unlike the villages that our friends are residing in. We are also incredibly lucky because defence will charter a flight to medivac us out if I deem it necessary.

Right on that note I am off to put these boys to bed so I can realax with a movie before having an early night, till next time......xoxoxoxo

Sunday 8 April 2012

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to you all. Well our Easter weekend has been much busier than anticipated! Mum & Dad Williams you will be happy to know that JJ did not eat meat on Good Friday and actually ate some tinned Salmon! The fishing comp was on Saturday and off course I got a huge amount of fresh Wahoo & Yellow-finned Tuna (too late for Good Friday!! But good for next week!!)

We had a busy day on Good Friday with JJ finishing up jobs before he flighs out tomorrow for two weeks. The chicken coop i finished and the vegie garden is completely fenced off with chicken wire and lattice so I can still get in to potter. The vegie garden continues to flower (only male thus far!) and the zuchinni plants look huge and strong and now have flower buds too! I transplanted tomatoes and beans from their seedling cups and all look well. I thinned out squash but the moved ones are looking very sad, anyway I am disappointed but as this is a new caper i am still learning, it is all trial and error!!!!!

On Saturday we hosted a BBQ at our Maneaba by the pool. All our compound residents attended and our fabulous friend from the NZ High Commission. It was so great to see the kids frolicking in our crystal clear pool (most of the adults took a dip too!) The food and conversation was fab and time for weigh-in came about all to soon. We all adjourned to the "Captain's Bar" to watch the weighing in of fish from the days fishing comp. Some of the fish were HUGE!!! Hence the large amount now freezing in my freezer and since JJ is away fish is definately on the menu!!

Today the Easter Bunny delegated his duties to the "Easter Crab" and boy what a good job he did!! Jack woke at 6am eager for his eggs. Thank goodness for Mum & Dad Williams eggs delivered whole a few weeks ago or there would have been many tears!!!! So 'EB' left two kinder surprises each for the boys and then at 9am we went downstairs for an Easter hunt with the NZ High Comm kids. I don't think I have seen so much chocolate in such a small area - wow!! Sam cottoned on to the idea of a hunt and had a lovely time placing eggs in his egg carton, very cute to watch (with his shoes on back to front too!) The kids had a ball and while parents enjoyed a coffee up stairs the kids hoovered chocolate at a great rate of knots, not sure where Sam's stash was but I think he gobbled up at least 12 eggs!!

Considering the chocolate intake Sam slept for a few hours, woke and ate lunch and we all spent a lovely afternoon at the pool. A lovely way to finish a great day (not to mention allowing the kids to burn of all that sugar energy!!)

JJ is off tomorrow for 2 weeks and returns with Mum and Jill in tow - -how EXCITING, so we shall be spending the next weeks busy in preperation

Happy Easter.........