Tag Archives: featured

From Arrowtown with love: Weekly gratitude #5

Winter in Arrowtown

Not having written a gratitude post a week hasn’t been due to the lack of people to be grateful for. We’re parked up in Arrowtown at the moment, a pretty place to be in winter. Because of low temperatures and short days, a lot of our activities revolve around food preparation and eating, so it was especially humbling to … Continue reading From Arrowtown with love: Weekly gratitude #5

Playing with less

While I was pondering what to write today, a post came up in my Facebook feed (seldom a helpful tool in getting things done) entitled “Why Fewer Toys Will Benefit Your Child”. I clicked on the link, skimmed through it in under 5 seconds, and clicked away again. I already know why. I didn’t need … Continue reading Playing with less

Weekly Gratitude #4

The last month has been unbelievably wonderful at times. It has honestly also been awful at times. When the boys have been screaming all day, and we’re worrying about getting enough design jobs in to keep us going, and it’s cold and wet, we ask ourselves, “Why are we doing this?”.  Looking back over the … Continue reading Weekly Gratitude #4

Being grateful in the age of housebussing

Kitchen storage

Yesterday we celebrated midwinter Christmas. A collection of all kinds of comfort food and punch filled our table, accompanied by Bing Crosby Christmas songs. Hannah brought up the idea of everyone sharing why they’re grateful for the other people in our family, and also for themselves. Elliott declined to comment. The hardest part of course is to … Continue reading Being grateful in the age of housebussing

Something I didn’t expect

There were all sorts of things I was looking forward to about living and travelling in a bus. Meeting new people in unexpected situations – inviting strangers in for a coffee, going to Playcentre in a town I don’t know, or being offered food just because we are there to receive it. I dreamed of … Continue reading Something I didn’t expect

Winter in the deep south

I’m writing this on an icy, blustery day in Invercargill – the southernmost city in New Zealand. The bus is being buffeted and I hear an occasional hiss as a stray raindrop makes its way down the chimney. The fire has been blazing all morning, so the bus is toasty, but I have to keep … Continue reading Winter in the deep south

There’s light in the darkness

Into the wild

So here we are, truly on the road, with our bus, ready as ever, all packed up and roaring! We had a great couple of days catching up with family in Christchurch, and our first day on the road was appropriately filled with action and drama: The metal flap door (heavy) almost dropped onto Hannah’s … Continue reading There’s light in the darkness

Picking berries for the winter

Elliott and cranberries

Considering it’s autumn and we’re still not on the road, the kids are helping in picking berries for the winter. Leaves, berries, forest paths, turtles (?), bliss. Not that this has ANYTHING to do with the bus WHATSOEVER, so here we go with Part II of the recent month update package:   Shower and loo Jonathan … Continue reading Picking berries for the winter

Little crackers

Easter sleepover

It’s Easter! And we’re still here.. Working around the clock though and feuern aus allen Rohren to get to the finish line; hence the lack of posts. I can assure you that lots has happened in the last four weeks, and that an end is in sight. We’ve started sorting out some belongings and will start … Continue reading Little crackers

As time goes by

Office space!

No, this is not a tribute post to Casablanca. (That would be weird.) We are still here As time goes by, we’re still in Hanmer working on the bus. I have a feeling that the end is nigh though. Here’s to show you what has happened in the last while, walls, office space, half a kitchen, … Continue reading As time goes by

Weekly gratitude #3: Len and Maree

This week we’re gearing up to put the kitchen and plumbing in. I’ve been hanging out for this since Len and Maree Earl (parents of another school friend, Emma) called to ask if we needed any kitchen cabinetry. When they bought their 1930s house (now the nicest B&B in Hanmer Springs) the original rimu kitchen … Continue reading Weekly gratitude #3: Len and Maree

Weekly Gratitudes

A lovely book I’ve owned for a while, The Creative Family, recommends making gratitude a regular part of our days as a way to fill our creative cups. Although I totally agree with the concept (in fact, there’s more than enough research linking happiness and gratitude – this guy reckons sending 5 emails will do … Continue reading Weekly Gratitudes

Say my name, say my name

grosse-freiheit

Hello there, lots of progress has been made since the last post, but before we get into the nitty and gritty of things, pretty before/after pictures and such, a little explanation about the name of the bus and blog first. All house buses in New Zealand have names, some clever, most of them cheesy, so … Continue reading Say my name, say my name