a few pictures from the 1st post of 2013!!

 

Meei and Kaitlyn learning to weave floor mats

 

 

with the demise of Big Red over the christmas break, a new one had to turn up sooner rather than later!!!

 

the new maneaba, is a great place to meet drink and be merry.....

 

the husks from the moi-mot (green oconut) being buried below high tide mark, there it will sit for 3 months then we'll seperate the fibres and either spin twine or use it on the veggie beds as mulch! Either way James (gardener) & Johnny (maintainence man) did a good job, but the tide did beat them in the end!!!



Australia Day doings

 

 

Again it has been too long since my last post. You can blame the Australian High Commissioner for that as I was thrown into helping his wife, Denise cater for the formal Australia Day dinner. 375 people were invited and we catered for close to 250 people!! Our menu was quite ambitious for none of the i-kiribati women had any experience with catering for such a large number (indeed I don’t either!) or cooking western style food!!

My biggest contribution was 54 Pavlovas, which I had never successfully made one but with a little help from Donna Hay, an oven thermometer and a wooden spoon (to crack open the door of the oven!) I achieved it. I also churned out 12 dampers and spent the rest of my week heavily supervising the i-kiribati women on how to make mini meat pies, sausage rolls, snags with caramelised onions, beef and fish sliders, beer can chicken, beer battered fish and our scrummy dessert Mango and Passionfruit Aussie Mess!!

 

 

Pavs in the 'cool room' awaiting being turned into a Mango and Passionfruit Aussie Mess.

 

Denise, Kristy and some of the i-kiribati staff helping to prepare the feast!! Including 12 dampers

The night went well and I think enjoyed by most. It is not every day one gets to say they cooked for the president, but indeed I did and he sent me his compliments!!!

 So the whole of last week was a blur, poor Kristy talk about being thrown in at the deep end, she helped every step of the way and must be wondering what she has come too!!!

So the veggie garden and everything else got terribly neglected and yesterday I picked all the ripe tomatoes and capsicums, what an amount and that is only half of what is on the bushes!!

 The island has again run out of rice and flour and we see the i-kiribati lined up each day at any shop that still has some to buy a 2 pound limit. Thank goodness we are not big rice eaters. The rest of the food stores on the island are very low and our little garden and freezers are keeping us going. A ship was due in yesterday but it hasn’t been sighted yet....

 The kids are all having a ball together. We finished the school holidays with fish and chips in the maneaba with Pavlova for dessert. The kids, indeed the adults too all gobbled up their beer battered tuna in record time! School has started back in the compound, Jack is still waiting for his material from Katherine, School of Air so we are concentrating on some reading and writing and games. Kaitlyn and Gemma having most of their material have started in earnest. The kids meet after lunch to resume their playing and we don’t see much of them!!

With the excesses of Australia Day and being home again over I have taken up a six week exercise and clean eating challenge. Up at 6am for the 1^st of the day’s 2 exercise routines I am already exhausted so had a short power nap. I am sure my energy will increase as my body gets back into the swing of clean eating and adjusts to the smart cardio I am doing......if not it’ll be a long six weeks!!!

Ti a bo

Jodie

Gracious, the 1st post of 2013!!!!

Gracious I can't believe it is mid-January already, we have been home two weeks and so much has happened in that time.

We got home to the normal neglect so I spent a busy few days making repairs and replanting the veggie garden. The tomatoes and capsicum have survived, nothing was going to kill those suckers!! They are huge!!! Still plenty of tomatoes and capsicums on the plants so as there was not a scarrick of fresh fruit (due to the ship being delayed by cyclone Evan) or veg to be found on the island it was nice to have them.

Darren was on the wind down and the new family due t arrive four days after we got home. So much to do before they arrived.

Arrive they did in due course and we all braved the 0545 am start to go and greet them at the airport. Scott, Kristy, Kaitlyn and Gemma arrived safely and we are happy to report are so far enjoying the island and the compound.

I have hardly seen my boys since they arrived, the four kids spend their days running amok outside, either swimming, collecting hermit crabs, playing hide-and-seek or tag on the bikes and scooters. My boys are certainly exhausted by night time!!! It is lovely to see.

We hosted a farewell/ welcome botaake in the new maneabe for about 50 people last Saturday. Kristy pitched in and we outdid ourselves with a menu that disappeared like 'soapsuds down a gully trap!' Meei and her daughter cooked what was needed, served and cleaned up (a happy arrangement for me!) About 10 kids ran about and swam and had a generally good time, once the play equipment is in they will be begging their parents to come for a play date methinks!!

Darren's farewell was a sad one, the Williams' family are sad to see our lovely neighbour leave but like all Navy postings people move on......luckily we have a lovely family moving in.
   
       Thank you Darren for the good times ad being such a great neighbour and friend to us all!


Today Meei and Palrina showed the girls how to weave their own mats!! Poor Johnny and James were asked to supply palm fronds, moi-moto and then to add insult bury all the husks from the moi-moto in the beach below the high tide mark. (this is so we can separate the fibres to make lovely mulch for around the veggies plants. Unfortunately the ground is coral so they required a pick and mattock to dig the hole and the tide beat them in the end!!)

The girls had a lovely time weaving mats, I don't think they quite enjoyed the moi-moto like we do, maybe an acquired taste? Anyway more for us and the fridge is full. So the fridge is full of tomatoes, capsicum and eggs, the cooks seemed to be on steroids or something but are laying between 8-10 eggs a day!! Big Red mysteriously died while we were away so a new rooster has  moved in from next door! This one isn't being taken back, I am tagging him and won't give in. JJ tried to buy another at the hatchery but they no longer keep or sell roosters so our new, yet to be named, ring in will have to do!

I think everyone is happy to be home and back to familiar toys and beds. We had a wonderful time in Oz, plenty of good food, too much good wine and loads of quality time with family and friends, it of course went bye all to quickly but that is the nature of a good holiday methinks.

Sam is back to wearing nothing, Jack shorts and no shirt and I am spending an hour each night tottering about in high heels in preparation for the formal Australia Day dinner, that as a co-host I have been informed to frock up so I have taken the hint and am re-acquainting my feet with heels!!! I am also back in the gym (much to my body's disgust!) and on a healthy eating plan after over-indulging for too long (I think I have consumed alcohol every day since leaving Kiribati back in December, till now, I'm NOT an alcoholic?????!!)

I promise it won't be so long between posts, till then........

:0)

ps I can't download any photos, not sure why but will do do as soon as I can, cause I have some beauties!!!

Last blog before holidays........

 

It's been hectic here, getting ready for holidays in Australia. So much to do before we leave, so many direction to leave Meei, James & Johnny. The garden being the number one priority. Of course it is full of tomatoes, capsicum and bok choy.

The new veggie beds have been built and the frames so the veggies can grow up has been made, my old SES training came in handy with lashing the sticks together. Photos to follow. Just waiting on composted soil from the famers. Once full Meei has the planting plan sorted, so on our return we should see some rockmelon, watermelon, corn, carrots, cucumber & tomatos.

 

 

 

Sam loves to get a masage from Meei, especially before he has an afternoon nap, usually he falls asleep on the floor!!!

 

 

 

 

 

This week I made loads of Sweet & Savory shortcrust pastry and so turned it into quiches to freeze and friut pies. Meei, her boys and my boys had a fabulous afternoon tea eating friut pies with ice-cream - yummo!!

 

 

 

 

Our Rooster was 'reclaimed' by it's former owner, probably because he has doubled insize living with us & getting a regular meal!! So they wanted him back for Cock-Fighting. which is rife in Tarawa. So the girls lost their boys so we went to Tanai to get a new one and this is 'Red Rooster', he is huge, 36 weeks, never been outside of a concrete run and very tame. The girls and the boys love him.

 

 

 

 Our colourful salad today, home grown tomatos, capsicum & cucumber. The only interloper was the spanish onion - yummo with a bit of Balsamic drizzled over the top!!

Meei, James & Johnny are goint to have a lovely month with LOADS of fresh veggies and eggs to take home

Well that is it for this year, I probably won't get a chance to blog on holidays, so enjoy the festive season and stay safe.

With all our love and best wishes for 2013

Jodie, JJ, Jack & Sam xoxoxoxox



More veggies!!!!!!!!!

...again, I seemed to have been ages between blogs but honestly there is a time monster sucking all the days away!!!!!

 

the days seem like 'ground hog' but in the best possible sense!!

 

 

 

Here is our Chummy dog all drowsy after his 'visit' to the vet!! He had a lovely sleep on the lead overnight and was a very good boy not touching his sutures! Phew!!

 

 

Jack found the ice-cream cones, but there was no ice-cream!! Until yesterday so ice-creams all round and Sam is hopeless at eating one!! Every drip has to be wiped up and he waits while you are doing it so the next drip happens and so on, it is time consuming and messy, methinks cups are better !!

 



 

 

on the other hand, Jack is a pro at consuming a cone....(yes I know he needs a haircut!!)

 

so Daniel, the gardening guru from the Thaiwanese Technical Mission called on Thursday to see how our garden was going. He was very impressed!! He advised me on the nematodes that are killing my cucumbers, tomatoes and capsicum. So off we went on Friday to Tamaku to visit Daniel's farm!! It is awesome, they stuff they are growing and how they are doing it!!

So after being sent home with watermelon, golden rockmelons, some other friut thing and a belly full of sampled fruit & veg and an organic fertiliser this was my response....to build more garden beds and make frames to grow things on, mulch and dig, everyones helping, Meei and Sam are raking, James and Jonny moving bricks and Jack keeping the chooks out of the way!! Me I get to supervise it all.

 

Today we picked and ate a cucumber, 15 odd tomatoes and a capsicum. Loads more are ripening as we speak and it is very exciting to eat your own produce!!!

I love my gardens and my chooks!!!

 

 

Here Chummy is being 'loved' by two little boys and soon to double his admirers to 4!! We are looking forward to our new family moving in, I get daily questions on what they will be like and what 'girls' like to do and will they play 'star wars' and other boy games!! My lot are certainly impatient!!

 



 

Well we are on 'sleep' countdown to seeing everyone in Oz, Jack is very excited and we are all looking forward to a break with a wide variety of food to choose from!!!

I'l try for one more blog before we leave.....10 sleeps :0)

Ti a bo

Jodie

Our New Chicks!!!

 

 

.....so continuing on from the saga of the little black hen, I was woken by the chick, 'cheep, cheeping' in our house so I kept then chooks in and kept an eye on them, still no black hen by midday so as I went down to try and catch them they appeared at our front door, so at the moment they are insitu in a cardboard box alternating between the laundry and verandah!!! Out of 9 chicks only 4 remain - dogs :0( Of couse the boys love them to bits, things might change as they lose the chicky fluff!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

the new chook house is finally ready to go, Darren has designed and built the most fantastic feeders and the girls will move in tonight to their new home affectionately know as the

 

"Cluckingham Palace"

Poor old Chummy is so good with putting up with the boys, just waiting for the vet to de-sex him for us, but today the luckiest dog on Taeawa got a bath & frontline!!!

 

Sam has decided he is the best one to water my bananas!!

 

Yes!!! THe 1st tomatoes, not long till they ripen, I can't wait!!!

 

The 1st Capsicums, maybe another few weeks till they are ready

 

Bok Choy, we are eating loads and it is yummo!!!

 

the 1st Cucumber - yummo

 

 

 

With 4 weeks tomorrow to go till we fly out I think that Meei and James will have a wonderful December with loads of veggies to take home, bugger we'll miss it but intend to do some planting late November so we aren't ar off more veg when we return!!

 

Time is Flying.....

I am still wondering where time goes, maybe here on Tarawa so close to the equator it gets sucked away!!! Goodness it is nearly November & not long til we depart for Oz!

 

Not much has been occupying our time that isn't routine. The veggie garden, chooks and kids take up most of my day and a visit to the gym. I am how ever constantly saying to Meei, is it 4pm already????



 

 

Meei's daughter got married on the weekend and I did their cake as they are trying to save money. The only bakery on the island does pox cakes about $150 each so I volunteered!! So this is my version of a wedding cake. It says "Good luck on your wedding" Kotao & Janet!!!

 

 

 

Sam decided to get his brekky, crumble up his weetabix and prmptly spilt it all over the floor, her is my little mr independent cleaning up!! He gets so angry and frustrated when he can't get it done. Sam is toilet training at the moment and it is self lead. He is even taking himself off to the loo and we have to wait while he gets his stool, turns lights and fans on, pulls off his jocks, climbs laboriously up onto the set and sits, and sits and sits while rolling and unrolling the toilet roll.

Doesn't he get cross if we try to do something for him, pull up his jocks, peel his banana, it is so funny to watch him tell you off!!

 

 

Mummy and Jack reading in Jack's bed. Since aquiring "Reading Eggs" Jack's reading is going really well, he is sounding and identifying words. Here we are deep into a book about the environment that he chose himself at the library.

 

This hen lives next door but when the dogs chased her day old chicks into our yard she promptly flew over the fence and hearded them into our chook coop for the night, my girls were not impressed!! But the baby chicks are oh so very cute. She has 9 in total and we listen to them cheep, cheep, cheeping all day long as they live along our fence line - too cute. Jack would love to get his hands on them!!

The new chook house is a work in progress with a builder who takes "island time" very much to heart, so I don't bother hoping for a spedy build any more but have imformed him it must be up by mid november so I can get the girls settled in their new home well before we go away!! Photos to follow the moment it is up

ti a bo for now

xoxoxox