Had a bit of a late night last night, what with getting carried away with the heating capabilities of the electric blanket, discovering the mattress is a lot firmer on the other side (maybe it is one of those one-sided mattresses?) and thus the pillow was too low, and then there was the caramelised onion which was delicious going down, but which kept sending messages that required frequent application of hot water to bring up the associated wind ... Oh well, I guess I won't be eating onion in the evening again.

Then because of the frequent sips of hot water it was necessary to bounce of out bed at 5 to make it to the loo in time and so I just stayed up - lit the fire and busied myself baking a cake for quilting. Today's effort was an apple teacake which fortunately did not require milk as i forgot to buy any yesterday and only had sufficient for my weetbix and coffee. It was very well received - so much so that I have been asked for a repeat performance on that one. And the Walnut Bread I made last week (or was it the week before?). Good to see I have not completely lost my touch as it is many years since i did much in the way of baking. Not since I was skiving off exam preparation while at Uni in my 30s, lol.

Once the kitchen is better established I will work on some of the more exotic cakes and see how well they are received.

Quilting was fun today, and i have made considerable inroads into the first of four pockets for the bag I am making. Only one head of grain to embroider now and i can move onto the next one. But tomorrow I will be raiding the scrap box and running up endless log cabin blocks that will be converted into pot-holders for our stall at the Spring Fair next month. With all the calico I have bought, I can make the 'business' side out of that, and include loops in the binding as I sew it on. Will aim for 2 dozen, but if there are fewer than that, then that is fine too.

Quite a nice day today, despite the chilly start. Tomorrow I will be taking my flannel sheets with me and hanging them on the clothesline in the yard of the place where we meet so I can get them dry. I will also be getting shorn as I will see the hairdresser at 2ish, and go home from there I think.

Will try to whip up a walnut bread tomorrow morning for our meeting and hopefully it will be a little more successful than the last one which suffered the indignities that only a silicon cake tin can impose. This time it will be a in proper loaf tin!

Eeek! Just looked at the forecast - snow to 300 metres. Hope you are back home in sunny queensland Herbie!

Weather failed to permit today. Despite it being a lovely sunny day, the galeforce icy winds rather put a dampener on any enthusiasm for outdoor pursuits.

So I rummaged in the shipping container for amusement and undid several cartons. As a result I have now been reunited with much of my scarf collection, my shoes, a handbag I had forgotten I owned, a nice woven cane shopping basket, and endless bits of kitchenalia (though sadly not my hand-held mixer, my saucepans or my casserole dishes). There are still a couple more boxes marked for the kitchen, so I continue to live in hope.

In addition, I discovered some cosmetics, a nice little wooden box and some hardware. Interesting cross-section of life overall. The kitchen stuff has all be stuffed willnilly into the pantry cupboards from whence it will be unpacked via the dishwasher when that is commissioned (and I have upper level cupboards for things like glasses and crockery) and the rest stowed in the bedroom for want of anywhere else to put it so it is out of the way.

I also stripped the bed as one of the discoveries was the cords for the electric blankets (and my bedside clock radio, at last). So cotton sheets went on today, despite the forecast for zero tonight) as I know I can warm the bed up preparatory to me climbing in. How exciting is that?!

After cutting some more wood for the fire (much wanted today - it has been quite chilly with the wind whistling through the gaps), I wandered into town for a few bits and bobs and called into the op shop on spec.

I discovered one of those great plaid dressing gowns (you know the sort -they go with plaid slippers and old men wear them) in green plaid, with plain green cuffs and collar. It was missing its cord, but they had managed to rustle up a bright golden yellow one which is presently sitting in some coffee so that it blends a little better with the gown.

Also a nice functional green blazer cardigan with pockets that will be a great addition to the wardrobe.It is interesting how your garment requirements change when you are no longer travelling to and from work. I would have had no use for a cardigan at all while commuting as the office was always the same temperature, the train was heated (most days) and the walk to and from home warranted heavier overcoats than are strictly necessary these days.

And a knitting needle box. One of the old-fashioned sort that has holes in the lid to tell you what size needles you are using. Very handy as most gauges these days only apply to metric needles and many of my patterns pre-date metric by some time.

For dinner tonight I am planning a repeat of last night's meal as it was delish - steak with coarsely mashed potato and carrot and some steamed cabbage leaves from the garden. All the cabbages have bolted, so I am just picking off leaves, and waiting for the seed-heads to form. This particular cabbage has dark green leaves with pinkish edges and is sweet and lovely - not at all like the grey sludgy stuff that you get at the supermarket, so I am very keen to save the seeds for future use.

Dog, cats, chooks and all are staying huddled in shelter today - way too windy for four-footed (or two-footed) folk to be about.

The mysterious chainsaw turns out to have been a whipper snipper that was in active use in the yard of her over the road this morning (her who was a great pains to rush over and tell Rita that she had been woken by me yelling at them, to ensure she was not held responsible ...).

I on the other hand was busy down the back (when I took a folding chair to try out various options for siting a bench seat some day) getting rid of some of the mountains of rubbish the chooks have unearthed in their excavations of their recently vacated run. I now have a tank-ring that is rapidly accumulating a pile of metal waste (for one single trip to the tip with that lot) and have rid myself of several tonne of rotting timber, stashed potentially usable timber on one of the several piles i have for that purpose, and discovered that there is a surprising number of bricks to be had semi-buried in the soil down there. One group may warrant more careful excavation in case they turn out to be the remains of something interesting.

There are several coils of quite heavy gauge fencing wire (plain) that I can not bear to part with , but can not think of any possible use for as I can not bend it without significant pressure, so if anyone out there wants it (or can think of something I can use it for), just let me know. Otherwise, once the clearup is finished, it too will be going to the tip.

The last of the wood that failed to get stacked from my last load of firewood has now been stashed in the shed, with a view to it drying out prior to use, and another load has been cut for tonight. The fire is still going during the day, but basically just gets a bit of wood thrown at it when it looks as if it is about to go out (for boiling the kettle, cooking lunch etc). This is appears to be holding the roof down (and the additional coils of fencing wire, bits of car and so forth that are also up there, threatening to fall on my head when the last cross-member of timber rots through).

And I started the job of digging up the tap-rooted weeds in the spot where I plan to plant the onions. It is a bit of a thankless task, as every time I sit back congratulating myself I have finished it, I discover that a new generation of weeds has sprung up while i have been working. So the weeds that have been dug are in a black plastic bag to rot down before they go on the compost heap and I am beginning to eye off innocent packing cartons with a view to disembowelling them, soaking them in the bathtub in the back yard, and then just piling some of the left-over garden soil on top, and planting onto that. The present challenge is to find a photo that gives me a clue as to where the sewer pipes are, as they seem to have disappeared under the matted growth, and i would prefer not to stick the gardening fork through them.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will continue the thankless task of clearing out the chook run and digging the onion bed (and the corn/pumpkin bed while i am about it. This latter to be dug over, left to itself for a while, then dug over once again before planting - basically to keep the weeds under control. It is the floor of the previous chook run (back in the days when I only had three chooks) so a relatively smallish are, but rich in nitrogen, one assumes from the vigorous crop of stinging nettles currently thriving there ...

Well, every tree I own is now fully fenced off from chooks and geese, so apart from the tamarix which died as a result of chooks scratching around its roots and geese eating its branches, I am safe and sound and ready to face the spring growth (I hope). The chooks have taken a bit of getting used to their hatch, especially Rastus who, being somewhat taller than the girls, has to stoop to use it. There is little evidence of the geese making many inroads into the lush growth on their new yard, but the growth in the yard they have vacated is impressive.

Last night my slumbers were disturbed by a group of people wandering up the main street with a chainsaw that they were starting, revving and stopping with monotonous regularity. I got sick of it eventually, so went to the front door and yelled at them to stop. Got a mouthful back so just yelled - NOW or I call the police. They meekly went silently on their way. Irritating sort of thing to happen, but there you go.

The gooseberry cuttings, which have been throwing out roots and leaves with gay abandon, are now potted up, in anticipation of the brassica beds being cleared in time to plant them out properly later this Spring. I am stripping any side-shoots at present so as to standardise them as this is a weeping variety that happily roots anywhere.

So apart from that, and a couple of loads of washing, that is about it for the day.

I was sitting on the back doorstep though, and had a thought that a bench down below the raised beds would be a nice addition to the yard - somewhere to sit and enjoy the view and to watch the chookies as they go about their business. Will have to ponder ways and means to achieve that one.

The geese have moved into their new accommodation on the other half of the orchard. The fence is up all around the perimeter, but there is still work to be done fencing off the individual fruit trees. The chooks spent much of the day in there also, but i have provided a semi-gooseproof barrier, permeable to chooks that will allow them to access their roost and their nesting areas. I have also provided a nest alternative in the new run. The geese have the option of using a 44 gallon drum on its side, and filled with wood-shavings if they feel the need for shelter, but so far I have never seen them seeking protection whatever the weather. They also have a dish of water, but no access to their wading pool which is embedded in the ground in the other half of the orchard.

With the rain we have been having (not much, but consistent) the grass on the other half of the orchard should recover rapidly and by the time they have eaten their way down where they are, they can be returned for another go in their old stamping grounds.

Several of the chooks worked out the barrier fairly promptly, but Rastus and the welsummers just walked back and forth on the other side for some time. I found that the slice of chocolate mud cake the hens were squabbling over provided sufficient incentive for them to work it out though.

I am planting nasturtiums on the mounds that are also fenced in which will presumably stabilise the soil a bit and provide a green mulch for the fruit trees.

Apart from that, cutting firewood in between squalls, and returning the library books pretty well filled my day.

It was an early start this morning - had to be on the road by 8 to get to the Dentist. As it was I arrived ridiculously early so popped into the supermarket for some loo paper, bread and some other basics, then over to Brumbies for brekkie - a raspberry muffin with a latte. Up to the dentist who couldn't find any excuses for immediate starts on new work (but recommended two teeth get attention before Christmas (like that is going to happen) and so home.

While at Eastlands I also strayed into the bookshop (always fatal) and found a book about raised bed gardening. Now i know you are all thinking - not another gardening book! - but this one appeals as it resolves the ongoing mental struggle i have been having with design of protective measures (frost-proofing, greenhouse options, shading in full summer etc) with some great designs that I will integrate into the beds as I install them. Will show you some photos as I progress.

Home from town, was barely out of my city clothes (and still in the bedroom pulling on my boots) when the Fimby ladies (and lad) pulled up out the front. They had been working on a garden up Inverlaken Road and popped in to visit. They were duly impressed with progress and grazed their way around the garden making appreciative noises. They have a friend who is a chef who is interested in, where possible, sourcing his veges from locally grown crops. They have taken a sample of my nettles with them (apparently he is heavily into nettle soup and present, and I have rather a lot of them right now) and if he is interested, he will give me a call. This is the kind of thing I would really like to be getting into with the garden (though clearly at present I don't have sufficient land planted to get the regular supplies a restaurant would require), but it will be good to have the contact for when I do. they also bought two dozen eggs off me - would have had more if I had had them to sell and went on their way rejoicing.

After they left, and I had realised that despite the black clouds to the south, the wind was a little milder today, I drove in the stakes for the fencing round the second chook run. They are all in place now and I managed to get half the wire fastened in place before the skies opened and the deluge fell (well, not really a deluge, but very damp and too wet to continue work).

So fed the chooks, collected the eggs and retired indoors for the day. Six eggs - good stuff.

When I turned on the computer i had finally received an email from someone in Christchurch. Her house has survived well - it is a fancy new technology place with polystyrene walls - but the aftershocks continue and some are over 5 on the scale.

Here is an excerpt from her email, so you can begin to picture what those poor people are going through:

...tuesday night/Wednesday morning was just horrendous from 11.30 onwards and all the prayer , meditation ,visualising that i could do not would not let me sleep.

It was like being on a boogie board in the sea and being thrashed around by the waves ... i held on to my mattress and have never been so terrified in my life.There were 9 earthquakes from just before midnight until 8 am and two were more than five on the richter scale!

I would never want any of you to have to get this terror and the flashbacks in to your memory bank. I have lost half a stone !

Yesterday mornings biggie spooked the city and I was lucky to have gone up to a friends new house bolted on to rock at the top of kennedys bush road and the three of us ( Friends names)were sitting in their bed giving thanks and laughing about how blessed we were that we had only had two biggies (we thought) during the night when we got catapulted in to the air by the up an down one as opposed to the rush rush hurling one s like trains coming at you at high speed. Then the next biggie escaped me as I was in the car driving back in to town. Praise the Lord.

Despite only being one degree last night it was a much colder night than the one before. The frost this morning was a lot heavier and I spent much of the night trying to work out where i had put the spare blanket, and rearranging the dog so he was lying along my back. The end result of that was he got ideas above his station and kept moving closer and closer so my morning I had about a quarter of the bed ...

Another lovely sunny day but a chilly wind up here. But since I spent much of the day at Teatree that was not really a problem. This quilting group meets in the shed of one of our ladies. It is a lovely timber shed set up with work tables, lighting, heating, an urn for tea and coffee - in short all you need. Outside is a nice table with a brolly and chairs for the smokers. But i sat out there all day soaking up the sun as it was sheltered and just beautiful.

Our hostess showed me over her home which is one of 'the properties' in the area - or was once upon a time. Now much reduced in acreage it is still a lovely rural location - but soon to be ruined by the introduction of a flyover for the bypass that will be just under the most pleasant spot in the garden. She is thinking of selling up and leaving she is so upset about the impact it will have on their enjoyment of their location. And I don't blame her.

Caroline and I left early basically because it was such a lovely day we got itchy fingers for our gardens, but the wind back here soon put paid to any ideas we might have had on that direction, so I stayed for a cuppa and came home, cut some wood, lit the fire and am hoping tonight is a little warmer, and tomorrow not too frosty as I have an early start for the dentist.