SMALL BLESSINGS

Its the small things that count.  We have tables in the  Wairarapa trains now and the seating has   been  reconfigured to give more leg room. an hour and a half  on a train is a long time so well done to state owned  Kiwirail for making these changes. Every carriage is full o public servants and for many of them the time on the train is spent  working. So there is an economic benefit in creating workspaces for  them. Its really a good example of a “whole of government “ approach….

HAYESY HAY DAY

Today we baled and stacked 300 bales of hay. It was a bit of a family affair, Mum always at the ready with a cuppa and a scone,  Dad,76 with one kidney and some dodgy pipe work happy to get on an ancient Fergy tractor and haul it around the paddock that has some tight corners. We started the job yesterday in 29 degrees - today was  aslightly cooler but sticky 27 degrees uncomfortable.

And then there is the Rock who has a passion for doing things the old way which means using old stuff. Some of it 30 - 50 years old. We had our moments - the Holland Baler busted its boiler a couple of times but the Rock , as he almost always does , fixed it. And the Hay conveyor chewed bales for a while till we worked out a bulging guiding rod was the culprit  it was fixed in a paddock moment with the most intricate of tools  - a sledgehammer. Two bangs and dang if it didn't slide the bales up like butter. 

Son Matthew joined us for the last round of the paddock so there were three generations of Campbells outstanding in their field. It also meant the oldest skited to the youngest by ripping round the paddock  only to be sworn at to slow down. Dad might want to do a lot of things at his age but apparently driving a  62 bedford truck scooping up hay sedately is not one of them. 

The bales were neatly stacked in our shed  - almost all of them - a mate took about 60 straight from the paddock for her stock. 

As I sit here typing this , Im still feeling the scratch of a lonely grass wand on my slightly less ample arse  but  no one stirs. 

Asleep they are  -  dreaming of big bales and noisy machines, dust and a very tidy stack, a cleansing shower  and the smell of Mums fresh scones and my strawberry preserves from the house and a cold beer.   

SCAREDY FLOYD

Poor Floyd didnt take the news that I had gained a few pounds in Christchurch particularly well.....

SNOW FUN LEAVING THIS

Home for the weekend - as you can see Floyd was very pleased to se us and we both enjoyed the view of our place while we were out for a stroll.

GRAMMAR ON THE HIGH ROAD

Floyd and I went for a stroll round the neighbourhood today. the sun was shining and we set off at a good pace. After about an hour it got dam cold so we headed back and it was then that we spied this sign which would indicate that someone has some shortcomings in the spelling department.

We also spied this lovely villa with splendid views across the valley.

Floyd also has a new light saddle which now means he isn't bucking at all - which , when you are 51 is a little disconcerting. The comfy saddle cost us $95 and is a real bargain.

FLOYD LOSES LUNCH TO THE WIND

Its been blowing a gale out in the Wairarapa - not the day to be riding a horse - and besides poor old Floyd had enough trouble tucking into lunch today. We  put the hay down one end of the paddock but it blew down the other end against  the fence and a forlorn  Floyd had to pick it out of the fence in the driving rain. so far we haven't lost any trees and there have only been a few random thunder plumps.

MURDER AND CARNAGE ON THE FARM

It was an ugly sight -even in the dark. We arrived home to dozens of deaths - carcasses strewn over a big patch in the paddock with evil abandon. Our 3 bloody cows got out of their paddock and ate all the beetroot, brussel sprouts, cabbages, broccoli, cauli and then had the temerity to frolick in the strawberry patch.

After they had their fill they went for a wander down the road for about a mile until some kind farmer shoved them in a paddock. After all that - when we found them, the buggers had the nerve to trot up to the fence and bawl to be fed . One wonders if they didnt do it as a protest for the steer on the left n the pic being all cut up in the freezer. In fact his mince was the base for tonights lovely bolognaise.

The upside is we have two new black as pitch lambs and the Mad Rooters blood runs thick in their veins - the down side is they are both rams who will be named - Frenchie and Rack.

Whose fault that the cows got out?? We aren't telling - other than to say I will get a new rotary hoed garden...

Never a dull day in the country..

SMOKED BUMPKIN PUMPKIN SOUP

We grew a selection of pumpkins last summer. This was the biggest  - it was a whopper, but it was a the only pumpkin to be produced on the vine.  We had a range of pumpkins but this is undoubtedly the best.

We bought the plants from the woman who sells herbs, pumpkins and tomato plants at the Wairarapa car boot market in Masterton on a Sunday.  We will buy this pumpkin again. It beats my other favourite pumpkin variety the kumi kumi, hands down. Despite the lack of quanity  being the only one - it makes up for it in taste and texture - it really is a  fabulous tasting pumpkin - sweet and juicy  - very similar to an orange kumara. Roasting it intensifies the flavour and adds a lovely richness.  

We roasted it in olive oil, golden syrup (as we didnt have any dark honey) and smoked salt which we combined and applied as a paste.   

The Smoked salt is one of our favourite ingredients. It really brings out the flavour of this pumpkin 

So our soup recipe is 

• The roast pumpkin mashed 
• A sweated onion
• Sage leaves fried till crispy,
• Hazelnuts fried in olive oil till brown 
• chicken stock (  we used our own) to get the consistency you want 
•  good Parmesan cheese
•  creme fraiche 
• cumin 
• Cayenne pepper 

Combine the pumpkin, onion and the stock, puree. Season. 

Serve with dollop of creme fraiche topped with parmesan, hazelnuts and  crumbled sage leaves. 

ITS A COUNTRY KINDA MORNING

For Floyd

SHUDDER THE THOUGHT

We have been enjoying getting back in the saddle after an hiatus of about a decade.

Our new horse Floyd is very entertaining - Some horses lack for personality - not Floyd.

We have gone for some nice rides and Floyd takes a great interest in his surroundings.

We have been for a couple of gallops along the road as well.

It seems we are not the only big chick who rides a horse - Here is a blog devoted to fat chicks who ride horses!

Anyway we have been giggling all afteroon. Our mate the Irish Lass enquired politely how our body bits were coping with riding.

We explained that despite the ample padding on our derriere, that our arse bones were frikking sore and that was a source of great mystery to us.

She explained that, in her opinion, my arse was acting the same way buildings did in the Christchurch earthquake.

That the up and down movements caused a ripple effect of ginormous energy sideways and that meant that the fat was shuddering over my bones...

Yup - my pelvis is the epicentre of all that quaking cellulite I'm sure.

The other odd fascination I have is how we sit on our frilly bits yet after a ride they are still frilly despite the pounding they get after a sitting trot!

We got a mirror out just to check ( in the interests of medical research) and did a before and after and lo and behold apart from a slight plumping all is normal even after an hour in the saddle.

Who needs labiaplasty?

All those worried about how their frilly bits look need to do is head along to the nearest riding school for a half hour sitting trot.

Ah the wonders of the human body.

GOOD FOOD SPOILT BY BAD SERVICE

We had a bit of a tiki tour yesterday - down the the West side of Lake Ferry and then finishing up at the Lake Ferry Hotel. Now the last time we were there was about 2 Christmases ago. We waited for an hour for service then. When the food arrived it was good - really good pub grub. Fish and Chips, burgers and flounders.

It was obvious 2 years ago that the place was quickly overwhelmed when there were too many people.

So fast forward 2 years. There was just two of us. The Restaurant was pretty full as was the bar. But as we arrived at 1pm , we could see that quite a few people were leaving.

So the Rock sat down at a vacated table and we did the ordering.

We asked for some garlic bread, just in case the service was a bit slow. And fish and chips and a beef pie. We orderd the "Lake Ferry Sauvignon" - the only wine they had by the glass and a ginger beer.

And we sat down and waited, and waited and waited. After about half an hour we asked if our food would be anytime soon an were told it would be 10 minutes- it was 20.

We never saw the garlic bread and we never saw a waitress to clean down the table. While we were not hugely grumpy - others in the restaurant were.

When the food arrived we had a giggle. the beef pies came out first.. to about 3 different tables then the fish and chips - five minutes later to the same three tables.

the fish, John Dory was very fresh. The green salad was over oiled and the chips a bit on the limp side.

The Rock liked his pie but said it was just a nice pie.

Now we asked for a refund on our garlic bread and as we explained we had never seen it a bloke from the next door table was also asking for a refund as well. And another table had not received the food it had ordered either.

So why should we worry about a popular end of the road restaurant? Simple - we have a Rugby World Cup coming - and those who visit our shores wont just stay in the cities - they will have a look see in all manner of places. Lake Ferry is well known. It is trading on the fact that it is the last place you can get a sit down feed after a good long car ride. Overseas visitors will head there.

Service of the woeful standard we experienced is not just bad for that establishment - its also bad for the rest of us. We are wanting the All Blacks to life their game after their last awful Rugby World Cup appearance but everyone else who offering a service to the tens of thousands of visitors will need to lift their game as well if we want them to go away with the best memories possible and a yearning to come again.

THE FLOYD CHRONICLES

For the last year or so, I have been hankering for a horse. We used to ride when we were young, show jumping, A and P shows, hunts and Mounted Rifle games (Agility tests designed by the cavalry.)

We had trick ponies that would kneel down on command and rear up just like the lone ranger, hunters, other peoples naughty ponies and stock horses. At any one time there were up to 14 horses on our property. Over the years we have ridden off and on as the opportunities came up. About ten years ago I started to ride with a good woman called Val - who had a superb ex race horse called Lovelock who had been very successful in his day. We rode on a place called Terawhiti station which takes up all the land from the south west corner of the north Island to just south of Makara. It was about  12,000 acres of  horse riding paradise. 

I was lucky enough to get on pretty well with the bloke, who ran the place at the time -Allan Hobbs. Hobbsy is a horseman's horseman. He is a ex rodeo rider and he breeds and breaks in damn good horses. 

I rode all sorts of horses that had been trained by Allan during the Terawhiti years. Val and I had many many great adventures riding the length and breadth of the station. 

So when decided it was time to get a horse I turned to Hobbsy who now lives up the Kapiti Coast. And he has found me a wee beauty. 

His name is Floyd. A splendid 12 year old gelding of about 14 hands - that makes him officially a pony. However while he is short in the leg he is big in the body. He has a bit of welsh and clydesdale in his history and he hails from up Gisborne way. 

He has even done a stint as a Riding for the disabled steed. 

He is not a slug , but is happy to wander along on a long rein - taking in the scenery. 

He likes - carrots apples and food in general. - He is a equine gourmand. 

He is a "good - doer" he will live on the smell of a lettuce leaf.

He comes when he is called and whinnies to let you know he is on his way. 

He is a gate master - knowing just where to stand so you can open them. 

He lifts his feet so you can check them.

And he is not fazed by barking dogs, mooing cows and silly sheep and alpacas. 

He is alert but far from panicked when crossing bridges.

But he has been shocked on an electric fence and wont go within cooee of them.

He is a good wee man and I think we are going to have some fine adventures.

WEEKEND CANT COME FAST ENOUGH - DIRT

NZ PINOT NOIR GOLD - WYCROFT

We blogged the other day about getting a lovely bottle of 2009  Wycroft Pinot Noir in exchange for a lend of our meat mincer so our mate could make some venison sausages ( we got some sausages as well).
We are well familiar with the delightful depth and sophistication of Wycroft wines so we were well pleased to acquire a bottle.
However ,we have just discovered the latest accolade this small but excellent vineyard has won. Wycroft is only found in the best restaurants as is befitting a pinot of quality. We love its plummy, chocolaty  richness and the decadence that comes from a hint of tobacco. It is a supremely good wine that  glows from the loving touch of its passionate vintners.  It has always been in the best of NZ Wine company and the latest award sees it again recognised as one of this country's premium pinot noirs and indeed the world.  

Specialist Wairarapa pinot noir maker Wycroft has been awarded one of only 18 gold medals globally in the 28^th annual London International Wine Challenge (IWC). Six kiwi pinot noirs scored gold – three from Central Otago, two from Marlborough, and Wycroft, from Matahiwi Rd, Masterton for its 2009 Wycroft Pinot Noir. With more than 25,000 wines entered the IWC is the world’s largest wine competition. The local pinot noir gold medals were shared with Australia and the United Stateswith one each, and France with 10. This is the second international gold medal from two entries for the boutique Wycroft label, the other being a Decanter award for the Wycroft 2006 Pinot Noir. Wycroft was established in 1998 and produces purely pinot noir in small quantities for high-end restaurants and mailing list clients. Its annual production averages around 250 dozen. 

We wont be drinking this bottle until we can find  an auspicious occasion to do it justice and congratulations must also go  to  Roaring Meg 2009 (Mt Difficulty, Central Otago); Elephant Hill 2009 (Central Otago); Valli Pinot Noir 2008 (Central Otago); The Society’s Exhibition Pinot Noir 2009 (Craggy Range, Central Otago); Nautilus Estate 2009 (Marlborough); Villa Maria Cellar Selection 2009 (Marlborough) which were also gold medal winners. 

MASTERTON FOODIE DAY

We had a great day today  - it started at the Masterton Farmers Market where we  bought some lovely Paulownia Rose and Pinot Gris and some Kingsmeade cheese . We wandered around the market which is small but perfectly formed , sipping on a luscious latte from Machiatto. There are fresh organic veges, fish, meat, pies and pasteries, breads, pickles, fat juicy rasberries from the Wee Red Barn, wine, beer, olive oil and preserves from Martinborough Manner.

Today we bought a head of celeriac which must qualify as one of the most ugly veges but we have made a remoulade and its lovely and fresh - a tasty memory of summer past.

We were at the market by 9am - and it was quiet enough to be able to talk to a couple of the stall holders.
The bloke from Kindsmeade is a quiet charmer and soon we had strolled off with 4 different cheeses. We have a cheese and pickle tasting at work on Monday so had promised to bring some Kingsmeade cheeses and some of our homemade pickles- if they last that long! We also had a chat with Vaughan Paul who owns Paulownia. One thing we like about small vineyards is the passion the owners have for the product.

Vaughan loves his wine and loves people loving it just as much.

We also met Farmgeek who is a tweeter as well. He runs the market. Today we also learnt that the market does have an EFTPOS.. That could be a major threat to our bank balance!

We will  be asking Farmgeek who the musicians were at the Market today  - two lovely blokes were crooning our sort of tunes - country .  Makes a girls heart sing does that sort of music..

We also bought some quiveringly fresh  liver and a bit of nice  sweet smokey bacon and had liver and bacon on our return home.

When we we got home we were inspired to make a few things. So first up was a lovely  Focaccia bread which turned out really well. Then it was a big pot of vege broth to keep us going at work - with a ginormous carrot added from our garden and a bone from one of our recently slaughtered lambs to give the soup some character.

Then we harvested our horseradish - its powerful stuff and we cant wait to try it out with a bit of fish.

As we sip our Paulownia  Pinot Gris, which is not too fruity  and has a surprising amount of depth and character -  we are thinking it will be lovely with our remoulade.

If you are over in the Wairarapa or stuck for something to do the Masterton market is well worth a visit.

SOMEWHERE OVER THE MOONBOW

We thought we were seeing things tonight but no we were lucky enough to see something truly beautiful. There was a full moon and clear skies to the east and a stormy  bank of clouds over the Tararuas at about 6.40 this evening - it was past dusk. So there must have been enough light off the big ol' moon to create a rainbow to the west. Im a dork with a very good camera and I have only fiddled a little bit with this image ( its actually a lot darker outside that it appears here). Anyway its bloody cool to see such beautiful and fairly rare natural phenomenon - a Moonbow - in our own back yard. Ya gotta love living under the clear skies of rural New Zealand

THE VERY DARK BLONDE

Kent Baddeley sent Busted a recipe for all the mushrooms she has on her block. Should keep her entertained!

PROMISCUOUS CHOOKS AND HOWDY DOODY

Well for some reason sex seems to be the topic of the month, with the Darren Hughes affair, and the mad rooter and Charlie Sheen all dominating the headlines.

Well now we have a promiscuous chook. We bought a chook with ten little chickie babes on Trademe. But it appears we have purchased a hen hussy. It is obvious there are many fathers involved. Now it appears that she is a good mother, but we are wondering that when we finally purchase a rooster - will he keep her satisfied or will she go walk about in search of more cocks to to satisfy her laying lust.

The good thing is the Department of Rangitumau Hen Housing CEO - The Rock, has built our chooks a Hen Hilton.

Fancy as - it is. Boards, perches, dust, light, air, boxes and an acre to run around in.

We are hoping that our chooks do not end up feeling dependant on our wheaty welfare handouts and accomodation suppliments.

We would prefer that they find the main bulk of food themselves with us giving them a top up.

However we will provide free room and board during egg laying and egg hatching.

And then we might forgive them their hen hussiness.

We dont want socialist chooks who have a sense of entitlement but instead we want hens who are self sufficient.

And if they are really good we will get our chookies a decent cock. A big self important rampant Red rooster Cock called Howdy Doody.

We just hope that for the sake of our chicken breeding programme he doesn't turn out to be gay.

TRADEME , CHRISTCHURCH AND THE MAD ROOTER

We have been a bit like a ram in a paddock of ewes in the past few days - rogering Trademe with undisguised gusto because we reckon that Trade Me was taking advantage of little traders and sucking them dry.

It had to do with listing a mad rooter ram we needed to get rid of - a ram we thought would only fetch about $60 - but it was going to cost us $30 bucks if we sold him. We need to get rid of him because we have replaced him with a Wiltshire studdly muffin called Nigel.

So we blogged, tweeted and facebooked our outrage.

Today we got an answer and hopefully a solution - a category for pets and single farm animals.

We think thats a good option and we hope that Trademe follows it up.

Hi Busted,

I couldn’t squeeze this into 140 characters so had to resort to old-fashioned email. Rest assured, we’ve still got our mojo and our soul here at Trade Me. More than 750,000 Kiwis visit Trade Me each day and more than 250,000 items sold last week – both of these numbers are up on a year ago and up heaps on a few years ago. We’ve also been putting our recent mojo towards building a free site for people affected by the Chch earthquake, iPhone whizz-bang stuff, and a just launched today group-buying site.

You’re right we did increase our success fees a while back. They went up from 6.9% to 7.5% so that meant that on the sale of something for 50 bucks there was a 30-cent increase (to $3.75). That was the first time we’d increased the success fee since September 2008 and we reckon we still offer great value for money to put your items, be they buttons or sheepskin rugs, in front of a massive Kiwi audience.

In terms of livestock (of which your mad rooter is a supreme example), there was no recent fee increase on that front. To list a sheep it’s 29 bucks to list it until it sells – that might take an hour, a day, a week, a month or a year. There is no success fee. The livestock fees haven’t moved since November 2008 (way back when John Key got the top job, and the mad rooter was only a lamb, maybe...)

The livestock category is mostly used by people selling a flock of woolly beasts rather than just one ram. On that front, if you were selling a flock of sheep then $29 to list all your stock is pretty cheap. There’s overs and unders and we acknowledge the model is not perfect so we’re sorry about that. Perhaps we need a “pet lambs and mad rooters” category?

Anyway, we reckon you should relist the Mad Rooter – he might go for heaps more than 60 bucks – remember somebody paid $60,000 for a boulder last week. If you do, make sure you nominate the fecund fellow for a Chch charity auction slot on the homepage – we reckon he’d probably make the cut.

Cheers

Paul

So we have listed the Mad Rooter and a ticket - to BustedBlondes Veuve Clicquot party on Trademe and the lions share of the proceeds will go to the Christchurch earthquake fund. Yes the mad bitch Busted is back.

Party - on. Details soon.

And yes the proceeds of the party will go to Christchurch as well. We grew up in Southland and to all Southlanders of our vintage, Christchurch was the glamorous and sophisticated metropolitan centre of the South Island. And so it will be again.

TRADE WITHDRAWS OFFER ON MAD ROOTER SALE

Well bugger me days. So on one hand Trademe gets all conciliatory over the pricing of a listing to sell the Mad Rooter - now it appears they have had second thoughts.

We just received this email.

Hi ,

Thanks for contacting us.

After discussing this with other members of the Trade Me team it seems that this is is something that we are unable to do.

Again this is due to the fact that our listing fees are set at a specific rate that doesn't take into account the age or final sale price of the animal being sold.

There have been many members that have paid listing fee in order to sell one animal and as I mentioned earlier as there is no other category in which to sell this ram the $29 fee is still payable.

I am sorry that we weren't able to reach any alternative agreements on this issue.

If you have further questions regarding this issue please reply and we will answer your email as soon as possible.

Regards,

Hashim

Trade Me Support
http://www.trademe.co.nz

**************************************************

Our conversation so far:

Hi thanks! I knew you guys would see sense (or maybe sniff trouble :-)

I just want what I think is fair. So happy to pay the $10 listing and would appreciate paying the normal success fee rate which if he sells for $60 would be $7.5%.

Is that okay?

Would appreciate a quick answer as The Mad rooter is terrorising the new ram. I am very worried that if he keeps it up the new ram wont be able to perform!

So it seems someone made an offer that they were not entitled to.

So Trade me are a pack of price gouging bastards after all!.