• Sign on the Line!

    Today is THE day. Its CONTRACT day!!! Finalllllly, after what feels like months of waiting, the Contract for our Farm has now been signed by all parties. Wheeeheeeee!!!! As of 9am, the sellers have signed, and we are on our merry way to getting this unconditional, and settled. (or as our American friends would say: “we are in escrow“) By this time next month, we should be done and dusted and have started the exciting and slightly daunting journey, of turning the shed into our next home. WE CANT WAIT!!!!

  • Our First Working Bee.

    A rare Sunday of no appointments, so today we popped on some work clothes, grabbed the garden gloves, mower, whipper-snipper and packed up our thermos, some coffee, a few munchies, some milk, and our cups, and stuck it all in the ute (whos name is Zane incase you’re wondering!) and headed out to ‘the Farm’ do a bit of a cleanup. We’ve had quite a bit of steady rain over the last few weeks, and we wanted to check out whether or not any of it was coming in under any of the door of the shed. While we have been away on holidays the grass has grown a lot, as…

  • 4000 Housing Ideas

      Our shed (okay, so its not actually ours yet, but that’s irrelevant. Conceive, Believe, Receive!!) – anyway – on with the show! As I was saying….Our Shed used to be the machinery shed for the house that’s now on a separate block. Its a huge [to us] 7.5m x 9m colorbond shed, with 3 roller doors at the front, and an access door at the side. Inside is just one big open expanse, however a wobbly mezzanine of sorts has previously been put in for storage, which is about 2m x 2m. At the moment, the shed is about 1/3 full of ‘stuff‘ that belongs to the previous owners,…

  • A Slow Crawl.

    As you’ve read, it started back in about April, when we went and had a proper look at the block, did a whole lot of talking and working-out stuff, and some more talking – and then finally made an offer. We were nervous about making an offer, as we pretty much had no savings left from the last few years of having had various kids come back home – so we didn’t want to make an offer, then find out we couldn’t get a loan! It would have been rather embarrassing, especially for a real estate agent, and when the sellers are ‘well known about town’ types… 😐 Anyways –…

  • And so it began!

    Welcome to the inception of Strigidae Farm. Firstly, a little bit of background. We are Suzey & Sarah – married, Mummas of 7, working outside the home as a Sales Executive and a Nurse/Manager, we’re Grand-Mummas to 3 and we are in our 50s! When we first moved up to the Tablelands, we wanted to get some land but at the time five of our seven kids were still in school, and we decided that for the time being, we needed to be living in town so that the kids would have easy access to schools, part time jobs, activities and their friends. Well, its now twelve years that we’ve…

  • Lake Tekapo & Beyond.

    We packed up our car, and our enlarged family (!), and headed for Tekapo. The drive is about 4hrs, taking it easy, and we stopped on the way for a cuppa and a bite to eat. The closer we got to Tekapo, the thicker the snow on the mountains became, and by the time we arrived, mid afternoon, it’s was really quite cold and windy. We settled into our room, at the same place we’d stayed last time (we tend to be creatures of habit once we find something we like!), and then went for a wander around town, and got some supplies at the grocery store. We decided an…

  • Love is in the air….

    I’ve haven’t been writing, cos I’ve been a lil caught up with my showing my beautiful new girlfriend the sights of the South Island. Ahhhh – that got your attention didn’t it!! Let me back up a bit… I went for a visit to the container mall with the Parentals the other day, and was enjoying the sights, sounds and smells – when suddenly the Parentals when rushing across the alley-way, oohing and ahhhing all the way. They dragged each other into one of the shops, and I popped my head out of the tall Mummas bag to see what was going on. I scanned around, then suddenly across the…

  • Coooollld!

    So, last night it was -4°. Right now, mid-afternoon, it’s 3°. The night air is already coming in – and it’s supposed be to colder tonight than it was last night. We’re huddled up on the couch, watching bad television, and being sooks today! 🙂

  • A lotta drivin’s been done!

    Its been a busy week, and we’ve driven a long way. We stayed two days in Wellington – a city we really quite like. Went for huge walks around the port, piers, marinas and waterways, and again went in the cable-car, and visited the Te Papa Museum. The museum is such a huge place, over many different levels – and even if it wasn’t ever-changing, there is so much to see that you could never accomplish it in a full day. But we spent an enjoyable couple of hours there, then walked back to our unit. Cold, exhausted, but happy. The ferry across the Strait between the North and South…

  • OMG!!!!

    Ya should a been there!! That’s all I can say – YA SHOULDA BEEN THERE!!! Today was almost the most fun I’ve had all trip! The Parentals decided it was a great day for a walk. Now me, I’m not into walking so much, but I do soooo like site-seeing, so I snuck into the tall Mummas bag once again, and off we went. First stop – and this was the best part – was at the cable car, up the hill, to look over Wellington. The Parentals went up last time they came here, and enjoyed it so much they wanted to do it again. I missed out last…