Struan Farm

A Hedge Grows in Piopio

No, not a tree in Brooklyn but rather a hedge in Piopio. Laurus Nobilus to be exact, commonly called Bay Leaf, purchased from Wallis Nursery down in Mosgiel (South Island). The plants were delivered and dropped at Struan Farm's gate.

I was going to plant them two weekends ago, but John started issuing such precise instructions (measurements down to millimeters) that I knew it was best for him to plant them. I can recognize a no-win situation!

Fifty in all, planted on either side of our main front entrance. And "we" managed to get them in right before a nice heavy rain, so they should settle in nicely.  Next weekend it's the tulips!

Postcard from Fiji

I recently celebrated a birthday (not a biggie) and a wedding anniversary (a reasonable milestone) on the same day in late April. John decided to take me along on a business trip to Fiji to mark these events a few days after the fact.

We don't really do resorts well, John and I, but it was a relaxing time at the Radisson Blu Resort Fiji Denarau Island. One quickly learns that "Bula" means "hello," while "Vinaka" means "thank you." 

We visited nearby Port Denarau for a change of scenery from the row of resort hotels, but the most interesting thing we did from my vantage point was to go into the market in Nadi, where all sorts of produce, fish, Indian spices and kava are sold. Not many tourists seem to venture there (I seemed to attract quite a bit of attention walking around), it's really where the locals shop. But vendors were quite happy to tell us about what they were selling, and what things were used for in cooking. 

I'm leading off with the requisite palm tree/beach shot, since as you'll see that really wasn't what captured my eye during our visit!

In addition to the ragged shag carpet above, what was amusing about this was that there were no seat belts in the taxi, nor in most we rode in!

The above is "kava," which is sold in a separate, darkened room at the back of the market, by men only. When John and I walked into this area it had an illicit feel to it for some reason. Kava is used throughout the Pacific Islands for its numbing, relaxing effect. Apparently some medical research is uncovering potential benefit in the treatment of cancer. While a vendor suggested we try some (what's a visit to Fiji if you don't try kava?!), we took a pass!

Me, Pegged

I guess we all have friends, or perhaps a special friend or three, who know us really well. For me (luckily) one of those persons is my spouse. But there are a few more people out there in various corners of the world who know me pretty darn well, still. Even if we're now half a world away from one another and not in touch on a day to day basis.

I was reminded of this last week when I had a birthday. It wasn't a biggie. But my friend Laura sent a box with a gift or two from Pasadena. Since I wasn't sure John was going to be at home that day, and I might be feeling sorry for myself about that, I saved Laura's gifts to open on my birthday.

 

The book is "Literary Knits" by Nikol Lohr, which has knitting patterns inspired by great books such as "Wuthering Heights," "Anna Karenina," "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," "Little Women," "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," "Pride and Prejudice," "The Lord of the Rings," "One Hundred Years of Solitude," "A Room with a View," "Jane Eyre," "The Sun Also Rises," and "The Great Gatsy," to name just a few! Alot of great bases are covered there. The Pie Crust Bags are by "Mrs. Anderson's Baking." (The latter are used to roll out pastry to size, look to be quite handy, I can't wait to try them!)

I LOVE these gifts. More importantly (and perhaps sentimentally) to me, they reflect the fact that Laura came across them and thought of me and my quirky interests (knitting, literature and pie baking!). This is someone who knows me well and took the time to ship these gifts around the world despite her busy life. 

Birthdays are about remembering these things, especially the important people who've clearly got you pegged and take the time to remind you of that.

Breakfast with the Ladies, Fully Dressed

It was good to have the ladies, now embellished to varying degrees, around the breakfast table at Struan Farm once again. Vivian, Nellie, Tatum, Piper and Amy. All original knitted/felted hat designs by Lisa Cruse.

You may recall that during her visit in March before the Embellishment Workshops at Struan Farm Lisa helped me felt (full) and shape them. The ladies then finished drying in the sun porch at the Homestead. It was fun to enjoy my muesli in their presence:

They tell me they're much happier fully dressed!