Christmas Letter

2007 is almost gone and wow how fast it has been.
I look back over our blog for the short time we’ve kept it. I’ve also been looking back over our photos too…must be the time for it.

From Megan:
I’ve been having a whale of a time learning so much from Ara about children and about myself.
We started off our outings for this year with - Waipu Mainly Music – which is a group of parents about 20-30 of us with babies of all ages dancing too kids music. There I meet Frances and baby Grady who have become great friends.
Grady is a month older than Ara and they are sooo alike its funny. Frances persuaded me to get into Playcentre, which I dived into but really did not like at first and felt a bit stressed with all the things that were happening. Then Frances suggested I change days…wow what a difference. I don’t think Ara has really noticed other children up until the last month or two but she has really loved the whole experience. I think next year I’ll start looking into my course work as well now that I’m settled into the routine of it all.
Also I’ve meet Jane and Beth from Ruakaka from Mainly Music as well. Jane is another attachment parent and La Leche Mother that I click really well with. So with these two wonderful friends I feel like I’ve stepped out into the world of Mumma-hood and the community.
Almost every day Ara and I go down to see Nana and Grandpa. At the moment her favorite thing to do is take the cat (Dennis) for a ride in a little toy tractor (thank you Jack for the loan, Ara is keeping an eye on your cows for you while you’re away).
We are a regular sight in town walking to the four square or down to feed the ducks. Many people comment how well Ara sits in her “rucksack” (sling) and hands over my card for any purchases we need. (I worry some day she’ll make off with my wallet, as she knows what to do.)

From Dave:
Its amazing how fast Ara is growing up – this year we’ve gone from crawling, to walking to running to talking to dancing and riding a tricycle! We are going to get her a bike seat that can be attached to a mountain bike, and a baby helmet so we can take her for bike rides. Her favourite food is probably still cheese. She tells me when to have a cup of tea, when to put on music to dance to, when to go outside for walk. She knows what she wants to wear, (and what she doesn’t want!) Her hair is getting long (we don’t really want to cut it short) but she pulls out hair ties & clips as soon as we put them in, so her hair is a bit wild. She’s picking up new words quickly – this week its “Ara’s” (a statement of fact, not a question!), which she enjoys using frequently to reinforce her ownership claim over all things. She’s a strong willed little girl who knows her mind. She’s also a bit of a bully at times & doesn’t take any crap, even from considerably larger boys who she wont hesitate to shove out of the way to get to her favourite toy. However, she can also be very kind & considerate. She loves taking me out to the garden to find berries & eat them. We often try to take some back for Mum, but they usually get eaten before we get back to the house! She loves play-doh, and finger painting.

I’ve had my ups & downs with work this year, but have now settled into a more regular work pattern now with some longer-term projects stacked up. I’m in Auckland every week or two to see clients and usually stay with Elly & Gotham.

Our fur baby – Griffin - is still pounding round the house and property and he loves being with Ara too…and I’m sure if he could type he’d write a little as well but for now he’ll just say

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
We can’t wait to see you all, so please keep safe and know that there is lots of love from us to you.
Dave, Megan, Ara and Griffin.

I'm so Dizzy

Ara is dancing a lot to the wiggles (which is not so bad as another CD we have...I think Dave has hidden it for a while)

Where there is smoke there is a controlled fire

This time we were not so bold/crazy/stupid?

We did not set half our property alight and have a six month pregnant Megan running round with buckets of water.

You could not see great billows of smoke from miles away (as Roy will tell you the story of coming over the Brenderwins seeing masses of smoke...and saying yup that's the Bartlett's).

All very well prepared this time. Dave sprayed off a small patch (not the whole paddock). We had weed eater, mower and buckets ready...ok ok some of them had holes in but they still had a little water in.

We planned for the morning with the wind being low.

So you can see by the photos....Ron's place did not get "licked" with 4m high flames this time.

It went so well. The right shape and everything.

Its quiet exciting now seeing a few more paths taking shape...yes more mowing but I'll get there....speaking of mowing I am sooooo behind but I'm lucky as Dad has just brought a scrub cutter and now we can really catch up.

The best Breakfast EVER

Dave went out with Jack and Anita...and brought back Fish (see the previous post for recipe) and some scallops.

How lucky am I!!!!

Dave just gives them a quick cook with some butter and garlic....and then melt in the mouth. We've got them here with sauce and some eggs...just to make sure we're having breakfast.

Fish - Indian style

1 onion
3 teaspoons salt
1 kg white fish
1-tablespoon besan (ground chickpea flour)
1-tablespoon rice flour
½ teaspoon cumin
1-teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Vegetable oil
1 green chili, finely chopped
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, finely chopped

Slice the onion very thinly and sprinkle with a teaspoon (maybe a little more) of the salt.
Make sure the salt has covered the onion thoroughly and set to one side.

Wash the fish in cold water and pat dry with a paper kitchen towel.
Cut each fillet into six pieces (bite sized) and sprinkle with the rest of the salt.
Put these to one side also.

Mix together the chickpea flour, rice flour, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne and a sprinkle of salt. Make a smooth batter by adding 5 tablespoons of water and mixing well. (We often need more of the water or ingredients to make a good batter but just experiment)

Drop in the fish and make sure they are completely covered.
Heat about 8 cm of the vegetable oil in a large deep fryer.
Deep fry the batter coated fish in the oil for about 5 minutes when they should be golden brown.
Place the fish as they are cooked on a serving dish in a pre-heated oven (that has the onion on it). When all the fish are cooked sprinkle with the chopped green chili, garam masala and fresh coriander.

We make a yogurt dip with ground cumin, whole cumin salt and a little coriander.

Serve on rice.