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How to Survive a Lawsuit
It happens. You’re going along in life, minding your own business; perhaps a few months ago you quit your job in frustration, or there was that tradesman who did work you weren’t happy with. You go to your mailbox and suddenly your heart sinks. There’s a letter in there threatening legal action, or, even worse,…
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Endings and Beginnings
The best-laid plans o’ mice an’ menGang aft agley. Robert Burns, in To a Mouse That, I am sure, describes many of our experiences this last year, notably dominated by attempts to control the spread of a certain (alleged) Coronavirus. We of course had a short, sharp lockdown for four weeks in our autumn, with…
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Our Waipu Goats
Hello Readers! It’s a beautiful day here on the Kiwi Homestead. As we’ve almost finished settling into our new home I thought I might take this opportunity to share with you our new herd. As part of our long term goals, we set out to find only rare breed or heritage animals for our farm. …
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Happy New Year!
…and a much belated Merry Christmas. The Kiwi Homesteaders hope all of you had an enjoyable and relaxing Christmas season, and could remember those things and people that are most important. New Zealand is on summer holidays, after the insanity that is the month of December. The country virtually shuts down by degrees, and most…
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Cresting Heartbreak Hill
Since I was about 18, I’ve been a keen runner for training and exercise, though seldom for any competitive purposes. But at times I’ve trained with other people, and in particular on a visit to a friend and fellow runner, T., who was doing a postdoc in Boston, Massachusetts, he introduced me to the concept…
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Raising Turkeys (and assorted birds)
This week on KiwiHomesteading; The challenge of raising turkeys When the Mad Scientist and I decided to move to Canterbury we were very interested in finding a place where we could become self-sufficient and build a sustainable life. We started small by raising chickens in the city and growing a veggie patch. We always knew…
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It’s a beautiful world
The equinox has just passed us by, and in true Canterbury style the nor’wester is back, like an old friend. The birds are happy with the warmth, though, and laying in earnest, and the house continues to make rapid progress. It’s said that the windows and doors were supposed to go in today. Last night,…
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Still alive.
Winter is not an easy time of year for the Kiwi Homesteaders. The coughs and colds come out in force, with three kids in kindergarten. We’ve also been house-sitting for Starfish’s parents, and that has at times felt like a mission, with maintenance items coming out of the woodwork and a lot of floor space…
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Don’t worry!
It is, “Situation normal, completely crazy,” at the Kiwi Homestead right now. I don’t believe we’re called upon to practice Zen-like detachment, though. This world is real, the battle lines are real, and we’re in the thick of it. Starfish fell a month or so ago and hurt her leg. By God’s mercy it wasn’t…
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One Crazy Drive
Hello, again my dear readers! At last, I bring to you our tale of the journey over the mountains to the West Coast of New Zealand. We had bought two chicken coops on Trade Me, and they were for collection by the buyer. The Mad Scientist got up bright and early, and nipped down the…