Blogs

Did you know you can eat magnolia petals? Nicola demonstrates two delicious (and pretty) ways to do so.

Spring is here, and with it comes many livestock considerations.

Nicola Galloway: Chocolate Almond Butter

Nicola makes her version of a decadent classic - chocolate spread.

Nicola Galloway shares her go-to porridge recipe, as well as a delicious grab-and-go breakfast snack

Rebecca reflects on the joys of her homestead life and learnings.

Zingy citrus flavours brighten winter days and this delicious slaw.

After a rubbish summer, Polly falls in love with winter all over again.

Rebecca Stewart reflects on how the need to have a full fridge falls away when growing to eat.

No coffee? No problem. Opt for one of these soothing winter concoctions instead.

The underrated fruit with an abundance of delicious uses.

Digging, peeling, crushing and boiling yacon for a year of syrup.

Zen has an explosive idea, while Polly festers with murderous intent.

Nicola makes the epitome of a cosy autumn dessert.

This modern tool adds a new string to the self-sufficient homesteader's bow.

This nourishing soup is packed with vegetables and pantry staples

A walk through her land during an autumn evening sees Rebecca Stewart reflect on the work and reward of many years.

With fresh produce prices higher than ever, is it time to return to good old sprouting?

Polly turns to gratitude when infected with a dose of the “comparisons”.

Rebecca Stewart: Finding silver linings in the summer that wasn’t

In a chaotic corner of the garden battered by a cyclonic south-easterly, Rebecca Stewart reflects on future possibilities.

“Stuff” moves in on Polly and Co, requiring a herculean effort (and a clipboard) to knock it into submission.

One dog is fun; two dogs are a nightmare, wails Polly.

When wet weather makes traditional hay making a drama, Rebecca Stewart finds making tree fodder hay a much more enjoyable process.

Make room in your calendar for nature’s sweetest treat.

Rebecca Stewart: Fragrance of life

One can not live off food alone. Beauty, too, is sustenance for the soul.

Lucy Corry looks back on the year's culinary highlights: best recipes, best at-home achievements, and Wellington's (arguably) best pastry.

The humble bumble is an adored (and necessary) friend in Rebecca's garden.

Polly shines her light on the cycle of life.

At least Lucy Corry gave the marathon-like task a good go.

Can’t face the kitchen? Lucy Corry knows the feeling.

Nature shows no mercy as it rips through Rebecca's homestead.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, and even master foodie Lucy Corry takes inspiration from her favourites.

October is New Zealand Cheese Month. Lucy Corry gets some tips on how to make the most of it.

The road leading to Rebecca Stewart's homestead is rocky, unpredictable, and full of stories.

Lucy claims she’ll eat anything — except what’s on this list.

Lucy Corry has firm opinions on the softness of butter.

With spring on the homestead, Rebecca Stewart welcomes the cycle of life.

The capital’s annual culinary festival might be over, but there are still plenty of reasons to love Wellington’s food scene.

Seven-year-old Zendo gets lessons in courage, caution and comeuppance.

Lucy Corry writes a love letter to kūmara.

Winter in Rebecca Stewart's off-grid bungalow means everyone's drawn to the crackling fireplace.

Lucy Corry's furry friend gets a feast fit for a king.

Polly attends to a relative. The truth can withstand any amount of scrutiny...

Lucy Corry questions the age-old practice of table etiquette.

It takes a village – until Rebecca Stewart suggests otherwise.

Gloomy winter days can make anyone uninspired in the kitchen. Lucy Corry shares five tips to getting your creativity (and appetite) back.

Lucy Corry navigates a nasty bout of Covid-19 and the loss of her strongest senses – her taste and smell.

Too many frozen gel packs are giving Lucy Corry chills.

When the to-do list grows, Rebecca Stewart turns to the world of secondhand – saving the planet one rescued tool at a time.

Anyone for Nun’s Toast? Lucy Corry shares some of her favourite secondhand cookbooks.

Lucy Corry's scored a pretty good gig — judging some of Aotearoa's best kai.

The beauty and hardship of self-sufficiency makes living off the land better than material wealth, writes Rebecca Stewart.

Chocolate eggs are all very well, but Lucy Corry prefers the real deal.

Despite vowing “never again”, Polly gets a puppy.

Lucy Corry may be a fantastic cook, but that doesn't mean she's a natural at other kitchen tasks.

Bottling the last of the harvest is no easy task when the goal is a year’s supply of sauces, tomatoes and plum wine.

As a food writer, it's Lucy Corry's job to describe flavours to readers, but there is one fruit to which she can never do justice.

Lucy Corry's husband has got a shiny vice, and it's her goal to dim its shimmer in their household.

Polly Greeks has a run-in with a good rooster gone bad.

Our new columnist, who lives on a six-hectare block in King Country, makes it her daily mission to live as self-sufficient as possible. A can-do attitude is a necessity, writes Rebecca.

Lucy Corry hits the jackpot with the king of herbs — and adds it to vinegar, butter and just about everything she eats.

Lynda Hallinan gets a right-to-life lecture about pest control.

Some of our fondest memories of loved ones come from the flavours they serve us, says Lucy Corry.

Lucy Corry revisits her time abroad in France — where mornings were blissfully free of school lunch preparation.

Lucy is kicking off 2022 with a list of culinary intentions — not rigid resolutions.

Lynda Hallinan learns that companion planting doesn't always go to plan.

Ah 2021, a year of unpredictability — at least Lucy Corry has had consistently great food to lean on.

The secret to getting out of a pandemic-induced rut? Revel in the joy of dilly-dallying, says Lynda Hallinan.

Great expectations for Christmas are out-of-date — instead approach the holiday with lower standards, says Lucy Corry.

Lucy Corry's not one to swoon over a fine china cabinet, but that doesn't mean she's going to drink out of an ugly mug.

After three months in lockdown, Lynda Hallinan surveys her half-finished DIY projects.

Lucy Corry ponders why couples' supermarket trips are romanticised, rather than despised (just a little).

Baking is certainly not a slice of cake and all foodies fall short sometimes, says Lucy Corry.

Lynda Hallinan tries to focus on the little pleasures of her spring garden during lockdown.

Polly and the children get positively broody, but news in the valley isn’t all good.

Say cheese to springtime nibbles and grab the golden chance to grate your own, says Lucy Corry.

It's the little (and slightly guilty) things like eating chocolate over your laptop that get you through life, says Lucy Corry.

As a lifelong bibliophile with bad habits, Lynda Hallinan pays her debts to the local library.

From spaghetti in a can to letting egg yolks go to waste — Lucy Corry acts as judge in the court of taste.

Don't let your taste buds suffer in lockdown and instead enjoy the best of the Waiarapa (from a distance), says Lucy Corry.

Lucy Corry dishes out gold medals to those who keeps us fed – from market gardeners to nut butter producers.

It takes sheer luck get a cat that looks like a unicorn and purrs like a Tesla.

A freezer full of leftovers is the equivalent to money gaining interest in the bank, says Lucy Corry.

Can’t see the woods for the trees? Here’s how to find meditative pleasure in giving midwinter hugs to towering trunks.

Lucy ponders the much-debated approaches to combatting winter ills — from wholesome tonics to intoxicating tipples.

Lynda Hallinan plays cat and mouse with a family of unwelcome houseguests.

To read a cookbook in bed, says Lucy Corry, is to surrender to inaction and read for pure pleasure.

Polly muses over the lessons learnt when life doesn’t go to plan.

Forget oil heaters or fireplaces — Lucy Corry heats up with spice.

Lynda Hallinan dusts off her pinny and treats herself to a batch of homemade cinnamon oysters.

Birthday cakes taste just as good with a less-is-more approach, says Lucy Corry.

Family traditions are all well and good, but some — like overripe fruit — can fester and rot.

A startling confession from Lucy Corry — she just doesn’t enjoy lunch.

When it comes to the perfect plate of savoury eggs, writes Lynda Hallinan, fresh isn't always best.

Lucy Corry encounters a historical figure in the world of cutlery.

Sage is a handy herb but Lynda Hallinan has a hard time keeping it alive.

A food writer meets her greatest enemy — the dirty kitchen cupboard.

Lucy, who once skipped a party in order to perfect her hot cross bun dough, shares her most successful recipes and tips ahead of Good Friday.

Polly’s brood gets clucky over new chooks.

An ardent gardener loses her patience and weaves a little magic with garden prunings.

Lucy Corry heals her heartbreak with an off-site garden adventure.

Lynda Hallinan perfects the art of the lockdown liquid lunch.

Lucy Corry offers a cure for those with an addiction to mindless scrolling through social media.

Before the tanks run dry in summer, this land-lover raids her cottage-style picking garden for buds, blooms and seedheads to hang in her dried-flower hut.

Lucy Corry pens a love letter to one of her great loves in life — ice cream.

Lynda Hallinan gets all her ducks in a row and bakes her grandma's favourite cake.

Polly and co welcome — with love — a large slab of concrete to their off-grid idyll.

The magic of baches is in their ability to show you the beauty of the small things in life, says Lucy Corry.

Lynda Hallinan reflects on a summer spent "wasting time" doing jigsaw puzzles.

Lucy Corry reminisces on her gastronomical habits of the past in preparation for the future.

Lynda Hallinan’s free-range chickens come home to roost in a chook house inspired by the Wild West.

From budget eats to keeping it local, the best way to remember 2020 is through good food, says Lucy Corry.

As the year draws to a close, Lynda Hallinan asks her children what the future – and Santa – may bring for them.

Christmas is a scenic marathon, says Lucy Corry, not a sprinting race.

An apple a day keeps Lynda Hallinan's parental guilt at bay.

Polly considers the anatomy of her marriage.

Nostalgia tastes good but her mum's Christmas cake tastes better, says Lucy Corry.

Lynda Hallinan gets off the grass and gets behind the wheel of a ride-on mower for the first time.

The tablecloth has a magical ability to add just enough polish to maintain the façade of normality, says Lucy Corry.

Lynda Hallinan shares the less-than-glamorous reality behind a photoshoot for NZ Life & Leisure, one involving cantankerous chooks and reluctant roosters.

Lucy has seen her fair share of kitchens, some more a cupboard than culinary retreat. She reflects on the best and the worst ahead of moving house — and kitchen.

Life without cheese is no way to live. And if lockdown limits its supply, thou shall make it from scratch, says Lucy Corry.

Polly needs a few breathers when teaching her daughter to ride a bike.

Lynda Hallinan measures the year's progress in song lines and kūmara vines.

Been eating at home of late? Lucy offers an etiquette cheat-sheet for those venturing out of the kitchen.

After wobbling in posh-but-painful shoes, Lynda turns to dainty and delicate flowers in her spring garden.

Why would anyone willingly opt for one meal instead of two? Lucy takes a controversial stance on a weekend favourite.

Lynda Hallinan turns half-eaten jars of jam into spring cocktails (worth cleaning out a fridge for).

Does New Zealand make the world's best peanut butter? Lucy Corry takes on Aotearoa's best while sharing some tips and tricks for homemade nut butters.

Lynda Hallinan abandons high fashion for home comforts during lockdown 2.0.

Suspicious of pristine Insta-worthy kitchens, Lucy reveals the shabby kitchenware that makes a regular appearance in her day-to-day cooking.

Lynda Hallinan reckons it's time to start a match-making service for celibate cows, solitary sheep, chaste chooks, frisky fillies and other lonely farm animals.

Has the world gone mad with its plastic-clad fruit and pre-grated carrots? It's complicated, says Lucy Corry.

Lynda Hallinan fears for her children's musical tastes.

Lucy breaks down the essentials of a good toasted sandwich.

Lucy Corry picks a controversial winner in her search for New Zealand's most delicious and dunkable cookie.

Life whizzes past when James and Polly build a flying fox.

Polly is left scratching her head when her children catch an unwanted bug during lockdown.

As the alert level 4 lockdown deadline loomed, Lynda Hallinan hastily followed her father's footsteps into the woolshed.

Buddhists might describe the lockdown as a bardo state, a time of being in between, writes Polly Greeks.

Lucy takes her mind off the lockdown with her delicious homemade marshmallow Easter eggs.

One would expect Polly, lover of gloriously empty days, would embrace a mandatory lockdown. But like a wild animal caught in confinement, she can't stop pacing.

Worried about running out of bread? Step away from the supermarket and make your own, suggests Lucy Corry.

Polly’s off-grid life hasn’t been good for the wrinkles. Turns out, trees are excellent teachers on ageing well.

As the world panic-buys and self-isolates, Lucy Corry switches on her oven in an effort to spread the love.

Polly embraces an honest discussion about periods.

Lucy decides to end her love affair with paper towels in the name of the environment.

Polly considers the controversial use of the local water supply as the Far North experiences its driest summer yet.

Ryvita and cream cheese, anyone? Lucy Corry attempts to swap her snacking ways for single-serving, homemade meals.

Polly ponders life and death after bumping into Dave, an electrician and the victim of a nasty shock.

Chef Michael Van de Elzen is turning his summer harvest into something special.

Even city dwellers can forage for edible finds with a few rudimentary guidelines to keep the tummy happy and the neighbours sweet, says Lucy Corry

Polly had long feared of a life built around routine. But just as seasons change and mountains rise, she realises that routines are a natural phase in life.

Lucy proposes an end to lake-sized lattes and tower-high ice creams — to all the gargantuan portions plaguing New Zealand cafés and restaurants.

Polly attempts to look on the bright side after a series of sour events occur at home – and across the Tasman Sea.

Polly considers the seasonal magic of the Far-North while avoiding the consumer extravagance of Christmas traditions.

Jim reflects on his late mum as he encounters the trickiest parenting topic in the book.

A big-city visit causes Polly to question the family's isolated lifestyle - if only for a moment.

Jim comes to terms with his eldest daughter finishing high school.

The early arrival of summer in the Far North is a delight, reflects Polly, so long as it doesn't outstay its welcome.

A family friend's death reminds Jim of his mum's open door policy.

A posh poodle learns to embrace the wild, carefree outdoors in an extended stay with Polly.

The toughest part of parenting isn't sleepless nights or the terrible twos, reflects Jim. It's learning to let go.

Polly uses her cunning tongue – one of the many languages taught in her household – to get her mum's travel insurance paid out.

Jim juggles fatherhood with the 4-hour time difference at the Rugby World Cup.

Polly is deeply touched by the power of people when her mum goes missing in Spain.

Lynda insists on keeping her lambs as pets, even as they (predictably) wreak havoc on her home.

Jim discovers that misplacing belongings is hereditary.

Polly and co take their revenge on rampaging rabbits.

Jim's daughters get increasingly inventive for tapping into the Bank of Mum and Dad.

Polly quickly gets distracted while attempting to write her second book at a writer's retreat.

When his daughter struggles to read a traditional clock, Jim reflects on how time never stands still with technology.

An explosive moment makes Polly reflect on the enterprising wilderness women in the Far North.

Jim reflects on his regrets and achievements while in Hawaii for his 50th birthday.

Our guest blogger Poppy Vink shares what she’s learned starting a veggie patch from scratch and how her budding garden has helped with her mental health.

Polly searches for the recipe for success when she gives soap making another shot.

Jim defends the English language as his youngest muddles it up with acronyms and alternative meanings.

Polly reconnects with land and life after losing cellphone coverage.

As Jim helps his daughter rearrange her room, he recalls the territorial bedroom wars of his past.

In an effort to beat a never-ending cold, Polly embraces an extreme athlete's chilly bathing method.

The story of an old farm dog reminds Jim that there is nothing worse as a parent than not noticing when your child is truly sick.

Polly and co return to the rumpty caravan (and former tiny home), this time to test out their DIY fireplace.

Why does life sometimes make being active more difficult than it should be? asks sports-lover Jim.

It's clothes-swap time again. As Polly bids farewell to unwanted garments, she reflects on the snowballing effect of modern fashion habits.

Jim cruises down memory lane, recalling his Miami Vice-esque ball ensemble as his daughters get ready for school ball.

Jim is in a fizz over soft drinks.

Some predict Earth's imminent doom while optimists remain eternally hopeful. As a mum, Polly wonders where she should stand.

Jim reflects on his accident-prone past as his two daughters head to the operating theatre in the same week.

Polly's seven-year-old daughter gets a lesson on relationships after she steals an innocent kiss from an exciting new visitor.

In the age of Netflix and infinite TV choices, it's Dancing with the Stars which makes Jim's family gather around the TV.

Polly makes an uncomfortable personal discovery when she enlists the help of voluntary workers from overseas.

It was a bout of homesickness that prompted Malawi-born New Zealander Ashia Ismail-Singer to start her blog.

Jim Kayes debates which Easter treat is the best and gets hopping mad over his family's egg choices.

Grief is as much about loss as it is an expression of love, reflects Polly Greeks.

Giving kids cash for spending money is now an antiquated tradition in the age of EFTPOS, reflects Jim Kayes.

James and Polly breathe life into an old Oxford that’s more companion than caravan.

In the days following the Christchurch mosque attacks, Jim Kayes reflects on the power of hope and the Spirit of New Zealand.

Let the bullet-holes blasted through the fabric of New Zealand society on Friday be a call to lovingly take the hands of strangers.

School-life balance becomes seemingly impossible for Jim's daughter when she comes home with five hours of homework.

A fish-fuelled weekend has Polly dreaming of how to write the perfect advert for the off-grid lifestyle.

As Jim nervously lets his daughter loose in Six60's 50,000-person deep crowd, he recalls his own gig mischief as a teen.

While teaching her kids about the plight of threatened kauri, Polly hopes to propagate passion for the environment that will last a lifetime.

When Jim's daughter gets a boyfriend, he hopes her beau is as unromantic as he used to be.

Polly declares that fortune favours those who follow winding dirt roads over sun-scorched hills and people who keep abreast of their moles.

Put your sunblock on, says Jim. Forget it, say his daughters.

When her seven-year-old expresses foul-mouthed fury, Polly reviews events in her own life that should have provoked absolute outrage but left her confusingly silent.

While camping in Mangawhai, Jim is envious of his mate's luxurious tent set-up which includes a bar leaner and Nespresso coffee machine.

The family’s plan for electricity is jeopardized by a dangerous thought.

Krystal Sayer doesn’t let her sustainable intentions fly out the window with Santa’s reindeer.

Jim reflects on present etiquette — is it okay to shake the presents under the Christmas tree?

Polly plays doctor after four-year-old Zen’s latest misadventure — an unfortunate incident with a packet of crayons and a staple.

Jim gets trapped in the grey area between playful adventure and cotton wool parenting.

Polly digs deep to make sense of a world that keeps spinning despite the family’s ongoing efforts to slow it.

Jim struggles to stay silent while sitting  in the backseat during his daughter's driving test.

Polly and the family take a spiritual journey to Cape Reinga.

As exam season looms, Jim's eldest threatens to take a three-year-long gap year.

Polly and James are on nursing duties as the kids battle a nasty bug, but in the backyard Bugs Bunny has been at play.

Jim, surrounded by pranksters, takes a fall.

Polly and family discover ornithological treasures at wildlife sanctuary Tiritiri Matangi.

Jim is banned from buying certain items on his daughters' behalf.

Natural bunny behaviour gives rise to far broader learnings than Polly had bargained for.

Jim Kayes' weed eater is broken, and he can't handle it.

Wheelchair-bound Zendo discovers a new dance routine.

Guest blogger Elien Lewis doesn't let a shady garden stop her from producing a bounty of produce.

Jim comes down with the flu and has a hard time receiving any sympathy from his family.

Polly knows trouble is afoot when rambunctious three-year-old Zendo is suddenly silent.

As Jim celebrates his 49th year, he reflects on how birthdays tend to matter less when you are older,  that is, unless you have children.

Never a day goes by without Laura MacDonald's toddler eating dirt. But that doesn't stop her living the good life on her rural property in Te Akau.

Jim suffers in silence when his daughters go phone-free for a week.

Training young minds to think creatively is the best schooling possible – and Polly leaves no stone (or leaf) unturned in her mission.

Jim's daughter adopts a 'squeaky wheel' strategy to get a new car,  while he reflects on the Ford Falcon that got away.

Our Far North blogger Polly gazes into the Matariki sky to see if the future is clear and bright or if it's a little hazier for struggling Northland families.

Jim Kayes is egged on by a 12-year-old and gives a terrifying ride in Rotorua a swing.

Polly and the kids delight in things that go whistle and scrape in the night while Pax the dog quivers in the corner.

When Jim's daughters say he is getting forgetful in his old age, he takes it to heart.

Polly ponders the 'olden days' of her 1970s childhood and how her own children are growing up in different times.

Jim's cringey efforts to use the latest lingo provide amusement to his teenage daughters.

When a pig ventures close to home, six-year-old Vita discovers country living cuts a short track from food source to the table. *Warning this post contains a graphic photo some readers may find disturbing.*

Gender bias has no place in the Kayes’ household – and Jim is happy to don a pinny or even a frock when the occasion merits.

Polly and the family escape the forest mud by visiting the South Island.

This week Jim is taunted by a chocolate treat in the cupboard

Left in sole charge of the children and the land, Polly connects with the wildness within.

As his eldest turns 16, Jim remembers when she was just a wee bub and how fast they grow up.

This week, Polly feels illuminated when investigating solar power.

After being mocked on-air for his hit-and-miss fashion , Jim gets some clothing coaching from his girls

Tensions with a neighbour force Polly to learn lessons from the land.

Jim Kayes sings along with Ed Sheeran but draws the line at Mamma Mia.

While townies flock to the campgrounds to get away from it all, for bush baby Polly the holiday park is a chance to reconnect.

This week Jim learns that if you need a job done right, do it yourself.

All it takes is a different point of view to see wild pigs and whole grains from a new perspective.

This week, Jim gets caught telling a few porkies.

The sensual joys of bucolic living include hardened soles and far better olfactory resilience.

This week Jim, is like, totally, worried about vocabulary and grammar.

This week, storm horizons have Polly pondering about the world her children will grow up in.

In Jim Kayes' blog this week - he’s not surprised by the ingenuity of an injured daughter.

This week, Polly and James' to-do list reaches critical mass.

In Jim Kayes' blog this week - the family debates whether to downsize their next pooch.

A seaside town is brought to a standstill after a drowning.

This week he takes losing at cards with good grace and a pile of soft cushions.

This week Jim reflects on the trouble with telling the truth.

This week Polly learns rabbits can climb fences and enjoys her quiet summer mornings - thanks to the ducks.

This week Jim ducks below the crossfire of sibling rivalries.

This week Polly's fishy tale all ends in smoke.

This week Jim suffers from a wounded ego when he lags behind his daughters on the sports field.

‘Valve’ becomes an offensive word when Polly and co suffer plumbing problems.

This week Jim is on strike to help improve his daughters’ usefulness around the house.

This week Jim sends a daughter out to work - and not only for the money.

The children are fascinated by the sight of inky falling insects, while a spot of foraging nearly sends James to meet his maker.

Polly comes face-to-face with Brutus, the local boar, and the Far North version of the Boogeyman.

This week Jim ponders different ways of grieving and wonders, yet-again, if those daughters aren’t a step ahead of him.

Polly's children learn about life and death in the animal kingdom.

It's the end of an era as Jim Kayes prepares to cut the cord to the land line.

This week, Polly finds manners put grease in social cogs while attending a children's birthday party.

This week the sky falls in after a slip on the rocks.

The family visit the local marae, and reap the mother of all harvests.

This week Jim finds novel ways to humiliate his daughters.

The Pekin ducks are ruffling feathers again at Polly's mudbrick homestead.

This week Jim realises he’s been left behind - again.

This week, when life gets scary, Polly goes on a witch hunt.

This week Jim blames the girls for a bad case of musical infection.

Polly tests an alternative parenting method on for size

Jim turns from hero to zero when channeling his mother's parenting style.

Polly  channels Crumpy and Scotty when she braves flood waters in a Hilux - and becomes a true bush woman in the process.

Jim Kayes finds himself cast in the role of coach, but can he hold court in the world of school netball?

James hogs the limelight when he goes on the hunt for a pig and Polly wisely stays at home.

This week Jim Kayes teaches his daughter how to drive, and lives to tell the tale.

As the debate over the country’s polluted waterways heats up, Polly Greeks writes a love letter to Aotearoa’s rivers and streams.

Jim Kayes has been a journalist for 25 years. He survived growing up with four sisters and is now married with two daughters. Despite this, he thinks he's in charge.

In which Polly trades in foreign treasure-hunting for a more sedate seeking of materials and finds it just as rewarding.

Polly turns to a whale when time rushes by.

The land is proving to be a natural classroom in more ways than one for Polly and her family.

Polly finds traveling with kids a less-than-relaxing experience.

This week, Polly defends her ducks from a date with  the casserole pot.

Polly gets wet feet during the storm and discovers she has to reap what she sows.

Lazy summer days? Huh. For Polly and family the warmer months are too busy spent making hay while the sun shines.

At a time when travel bans and giant walls place severe strain on international relations, Polly reflects on the kind hospitality she received in the Middle East.

In Polly Greek's blog this week: when a Pekin duck goes missing, James goes on stoat-catching duty.

Young boys run wild on Polly's  family camping trip.

Polly debates whether to boycott Christmas and celebrate the Summer Solstice instead.

Polly joins 'Team Duck' when her chickens send her on an egg hunt.

A walk in the forest with the kids proves hard work for Polly.

Polly laments the communal bed while a new DIY feature window brings some unexpected lessons – and just a little pain.

As the mudbrick  house construction progresses, Polly finds some workers are more help than others.

A Hungarian couch surfer's crazy music brings back memories for Polly Greeks.

There are two types of suitcase packers in this world, writes Polly Greeks, the  Johnny-Go-Lightlies and the Just-In-Case packers.

A new wwoof-er demonstrates his unfamiliarity with wholefoods and a spiral staircase sends the family’s spirits to heaven.

The big city beckons for a Kaitaia local, but sometimes the hitting the jackpot comes with a price.

An all-liquid diet brings Polly to breaking point.

What do you do on a rainy day when you live off-the-grid? Make cider vinegar!

The demise of a local coincides with the near-death of the family’s bathroom plumbing.

Polly tries giving up sugar, but thankfully follows reason.

Why all-terrain roller skates are no match for a goat track in the Far North.

This week Polly Greeks discovers the perils of a compost toilet.

In the first of her fortnightly blogs,  NZ Life & Leisure columnist Polly Greeks shares an update of life in her mudbrick off-the-grid home in the Far North.

A batch of mud-brick batter

Mud, muck and madness … the family ditch the churn of house building and find peace (and perspective) on an unpeopled Pacific beach.

When it all feels a bit hard

James and Polly hear the gasp of the Grim Reaper but swiftly shut him up.

Sowing a kauri legacy

Kauri, puriri, totara and rimu – these are the leafy sentinals standing guard over the Greeks family. And, in return, the family is taking just as much care of them.

An ode to laundry

A gypsy arrives bearing trinkets, spinning yarns and sorely lamenting the fact the kitchen is now indoors.

Kiwis in the kitchen

When nocturnal noises interrupt Polly and James’ sleep, it could mean unexpected visitors of anything from iconic wildlife to decidedly dubious characters.

Ruffling feathers

Polly and James welcome a major upgrade to their culinary arrangements with the arrival of an indoor kitchen and a flock of chooks.

Hunting and gathering for our mud-brick home

Polly and James feel there’s a bit of magic involved in their hunt for building materials.

Gone with the wind

House construction becomes frustrating with unsolicited input from a three-year-old and a devil wind.

Raising a bush baby

Polly ponders the joys of raising babes in the bush

A beginner’s guide to bush fashion

Polly comes to the conclusion that although bush wardrobes owe nothing to fashion, friendships are more desirable than clothes.

Less than willing woofers

The ww part of wwoof is not always obvious.

Showers and cling film

With the arrival of hot water and some imaginative use of cling film, the level of luxury in life off the grid moves up a notch

A shaggy dog story

The newest addition to the family generates a case of puppy love.

Beware the posse of pillaging pigs

The idea of a gift economy works well in a weekend café but is not so welcome when garden pests help themselves

Meeting the neighbours

Although not exactly living next door, James and Polly’s new friends are models of neighbourliness.

Welcome to the Lighthouse

Polly and James bask in the (mostly) golden silence of their surroundings and become involved in a community venture run as a gift economy.

Preparing for guests – in an off-grid house

Polly and James welcome visitors to their one-roomed mud-brick house although cooking in their open-air kitchen is still something of a challenge

A roof at last!

At last there’s a roof over their heads and Polly and James hunt for recycled treasure tales from a rumpty carava

From Versailles to the mud-brick house

Polly and James’ mud-brick house in the bush begins to take shape with assistance from a Frenchman who helped restore the Palace of Versailles.

The definition of “rumpty”

Life in the off-grid remoteness of the Northland bush suddenly blossoms with social conviviality and the good cheer of neighbours.

A newborn in a caravan

Mason bees, mice and a new baby… there’s no room for them all in an off-the-grid existence

The start of a new adventure

It sounded so romantic… living in off-grid self-sufficiency in the country... but then it rained… and rained