Creating a pool paradise
Last year we looked after a friend’s house for a month. This required living on site, feeding the cat, brushing the dog and exercising the pool. We exercised the pool twice a day and at the end of our time there we had serious pool envy, which has never gone ...
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Miniature planting
I’m not sure if it’s because I’m tall and have been since I was about 14 years old, that I’m attracted to short things. I always liked the short boys at school and I still like little things. I’ve coveted a miniature donkey for years and have recently discovered a ... More
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Sandra Kaminski's magical Christmas
Floral artist Sandra Kaminski is virtually my neighbour (she lives two streets away) and I’ve loved entering the magical world this passionate woman inhabits. Sandra’s creative eye can see the decorative potential in almost anything and since meeting her I have been looking at the most mundane objects with new ... More
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Growing a sustainable garden
Honey Anderson’s gorgeous, old-fashioned garden on the Canterbury Plains holds the secret to self-sustainability Ask Honey Anderson to explain what gardening is all about and she has a very simple answer “making soil and sticking stuff in it”. Bowling green lawns, razor- sharp edges, prize roses and a complete absence ... More
The young Christchurch promotions model determined to walk again after tragically losing her legs in the February earthquake is still coping with the ongoing complications ... More
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Over the Teacups
My four-year-old grandson was at the supermarket with his mother when he exclaimed, “You’re buying something, Mummy, auntie is buying something – I want to buy something!” Mum replied, “You have to be big, have a wife, have a job, then you can buy things.” He replied, “I have a wife – Maia,” meaning his four-year-old friend. Mum said, “What about a job?” Master Four replied, “My job is having a wife!”
Robyn, Whangarei
Water you want?
I was in the car and asking Master Three what he wanted for Christmas. He said he was going to ask Santa for a water pistol. “And Nanny,” he added, “I’m going to ask for some water for our paddling pool.” Now that could be interesting!
Julie, by email
Bee gone
Master Three had his first bee sting recently. The incident broke his heart, but after many cuddles he came right. Later he said, “I never want to see another bee again. I don’t like bees any more, I only like flies.”
Gaileen, by email
Fraud with worry
My daughter warned me that “old people are being taken for a ride,” and that I shouldn’t engage in conversation with phone sales people. To this, Master Five piped up, “Nana can’t go on that ride, she’s old.”
Joseph’s Nana, Hamilton
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