"Gudrid the Cattle Farmer..."

After watching 8 episodes of the 'Vikings' series from the History channel, some how or other I have this faint feeling I may just have a wee bit of Viking blood running through these here veins of mine.... If yelling and roaring like a banshee and adoring dressing up as a bear or a wolf is any indication..? Perhaps? But wait... when one puts her name into a "What is your Viking name" generator on the interweb and comes up with "Gudrid the Cattle Farmer"? please.... That wouldn't even scare a rabbit in a tiger's costume....  but my sissa's name, "Arnora the Skull-Cleaver"? Now that's impressive indeed.... the hairs are standing up on my arms.... a name that nightmares are made of... Sissa, you are unbelievable! A long, long, long time ago, when the concept of being a qualified early childhood teacher was but a speck in the ginormity of this grand universe, I was gifted the name of "Maaori Viking" by a Luxemburgian Lumberjack... & if i recall correctly, this was due to the act of stirring up a great fire, with a great length of driftwood, in a great fire pit, ontop of a great hill in Paakaraka, with locks plaited to either side of my head....(I miss that land)... WHAT IS YOUR VIKING NAME? I dare you to investigate.....

Now to the 101 deeds in 1001 days? any progress? why yes I do believe soooo.....

But NO: 14 - Keep the worm farm alive... I dearly do doubt it at this point in time. Poor wee beggars. There is a possibility that I have overfed them, but I will deliver my worm farm to that of the kindergartens worm farm and will endeavour to reinstate it somewhere else down the line.... now if it were cattle, the inner Viking, Gudrid, would have it all under control!

NO: 4 - Conjure up a Taihape Ukulele Orchestra. Done and dusted! Grand sheila's meeting once a week, who are daring to open up their musicalness to play as a group of 9 - a roopu.... and many more turn up due to word-of-mouth! I may just have to put a cap on the numbers as its beautifully bewildering, but more to come on that front I promise... although lets just say, I aint never heard such a blessed ukulele rendition of Nancy Sinatra's "These boots were made for walking" in my whole life as a redheaded wahine.... shivers up the spine people, shivers up the spine....

The West Cork Ukulele Orchestra in the middle of Winter - Most delightful time of the year!

NO: 90 - Master Backgammon .... Indeed! After upcycling a very old board that was left behind in an op-shop, I am hooked (Line and sinker).. and able to kick some right Royal booty! I do wonder if the Queen plays? hmmmm.........

& NO: 39 - Plant "No Dig" gardens.... With piles of straw, poo and saturated newspaper, I am now on to my 2nd "No Dig" garden - with the first being full of chard and lettuce, and a blueberry tree.. A blueberry tree I hear you say? Why yes indeed.. Blueberries grow on trees.... I'm really not too sure if I have ever thought of how blueberries grow but if I did I would guess on a vine or maybe not  because they are a little like currants and cranberries yes? and don't they grow on bushes? But wherever any berries of any sort grow, I must say I do enjoy eating them. Visit the Greenhaus garden (click) on the outskirts of Taihape - blessed land full of all types of trees, vege seedlings, rabbits, chooks.. & classically, you name it & I bet Vanessa and Toby will have it....

And on a chilly note of winter.. I do believe it is gladly around the corner, and I am glad it is.. A break from the blinding sun and a time to put your hermit shoes on... and a time when you gladly wrap up in the natural fibres of wool - Glad, glad, glad! If not, your mad.... Now, "are you ready boots? Start walking......."

Maaori words of the week: 

Takurua hūpē nui

- winter, when your nose runs.. 

(hūpē = snot...)

Ticking off a few tricks during the holidays indeed......

N0 43: Get a zip put into my Dr Marten boot - done and dusted, and the grumpy shoe repairer man was overcome with laughter (& I'm thinking it was the first ever time he has laughed in his WHOLE life because afterwards his face seemed to ache - how do you think I feel after a whole year of non-stop laughter?) as I leapt about his shop with the greatest of joy at FINALLY being able to put my boot on my left foot without breaking any bones because it was tooo tight about the ankle - Oh Lordy Lord!

But.... I must now suss out the $65 to do the other boot.... You wouldn't notice unless you had your very own scrutinizing shoes on but the right boot tends to not be one that you can just whip on as you run out the door - & yes, that is what I do on a daily basis - run out the door! Really? And now to teach the Taihape Ukulele Orchestra "These boots are made for Walking" - Nancy Sinatra....

N0 51: Help Kyle & Shellie restore their Teepee... Done! We harvested 12 new bamboo poles from a secret spot in Taranaki with a saber saw (I WANT ONE!), of which seems rather gentle compared to a meaty ole chainsaw... The bamboo was as thick as thieves and i've come to the conclusion that cats shit in bamboo groves to deter folk from harvesting it (the bamboo that is). On our journey home to Waitoriki with a dozen very large and long bamboo poles stropped to the roof of the van, I could smell cat shit... and it wasnt until I got home to Taihape that I discovered a whole heap of cat shit stuck on the side of my steel cap boots that I had stashed in the back of my wagon at the end of the bamboo harvest day - Raaaargh! & I innocently believed the cat shit fumes were just lingering up my nostrils!? Anyhow, the teepee was erected with the fancy new poles and the skin was heavily sprayed with "Wet and Forget".... I will post an updated pikitia of the teepee in mid May, until then here is one when it was last erected in the summer of 2007/2008:

....and N0 82: Pay for a strangers coffee.. Well, I didn't exactly do that but whilst on a coffee/op shop mihana yesterday with Mrs Wilton in Taihape, I ventured inside to order a soy flat white in a tulip cup (as you do) and the lovely front-of-house lady put a mark on my coffee card - alas it was not my coffee card but a 'Paula Bentley's' coffee card... The lovely front-of-house lady said she would then mark my actual card but I declined, which then meant that Paula Bentley's very next coffee purchase would be a free one according to her lovely coffee card! Surprised? do believe she will be.....Thankful? Best she be, because I know I would be... When passing through the lovely township of Taihape, call in to the SoulFood Cafe - you may just recieve that much-coveted free coffee......

Bengalese of the week:

 " আমার সম্পর্কে এবং কফি ডাল এবং গাজর মত হয় "

 - Me and coffee are like peas and carrots.

101 mihana's in 1001 days...

N0 60: "Fall in Love". 

One wonders how specific one is meant to be?

Hmmmm..........

I must admit on the very next day after creating this list,

 I travelled to Whanganui and opened 3 late birthday presents....

and...

I fell in love!

No. 1 - with a deep red velvet handbag

&; No. 2 - with a "Love Everybody" painting 

that was lovingly made for me by mama Denita Tizard.... 

She tried to hide a photograph of this painting by posting it on her blog.....

Click here to understand our mission 

with this particular painting.... http://denitatizard.blogspot.co.nz/

But anyhow... to fall in love? I must reassess my specificness...

101 Mihana's in 1001 days

Right... it has been a very long time indeed and I've only just realized how much I adore the treats of writing and also the tricks to accomplishing a mihana (mission) - not just a New Years resolution mihana but the challenge of 101 mihana's in 1001 days.... yus, I am about to obliterate my procrastinating shoes... Denita Tizard - have you not told me about this sort of trick before? http://dayzeroproject.com/

The Mihana:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. That's roughly 143 weeks, 
32.8 months and 2.74 years... roughly...

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic.

Why 1001 days? 
Many people have created lists in the past - simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a grand period of time  - more grander than a year. 1001 days allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing certain tasks such as overseas trips....

The Start Date: January 22nd 2013.

The End Date: October 20th 2015.

Those goals struck out have gladly, and lovingly, been accomplished...

April
Hmmmm...... Folllowing is my list, not in order of preference or in the order that I will whip them out but in the order that they leap into my head (and  I've started with a couple of tricks that I previously wanted to conquer this year and have been proudly successful in nutting out!)... Yup...

1. Clear lungs of tobacco for forever.
2. Learn to draw people's faces so it actually resembles them. 2013
3. Talk someone into teaching me how to use a chainsaw - its just like a lawnmower yes?
4. Conjure up a Taihape Ukulele Orchestra. 5/13
5. Complete a "photo of the year" trick - Started January 2013, completed Dec 2013.
6. Fly in a plane. April 2014, July 2014 & April 2015.
7. Dance on a roof in the rain.
8. Master the art of bread making.
9. Travel with a caravan on the back of my wagon.
10. Throw gumboots at the Taihape Gumboot day.
11. Plant an orchard of fruit trees  August 2013.
12. Plant a wild area for tamariki to leap about in.
13. Clear out my storage unit and give most of it to the Op shop September 2013.
14. Keep the worm farm alive.
15. Ride a flying fox.
16. Buy a print of the 1950 painting "The Green Lady" by Vladimir Tretchikoff. November 2013.
17. Leap about in a puddle. April 2015.
18. Teach a four yr old to play the ukulele.
19. Buy a wooden box drum.
20. Paint a Scottish mural..
21. Bake a Rainbow cake.
22. Write in this here blog at least once a week for three months solid.
23. Clear up any debt.
24. Learn to play barre chords. 2014.
25. Write at least 3 sassy blues tunes.
26. Graduate with a Bachelor in ECE October 2013.
27. Reshape my chicken wing arms.
28. Learn how to do a fishtail braid.  4/13
29. Hike in the Ruahine Ranges.
30. Take a grand photograph of my whaanau.
31. Sew leather patches on the elbows of my cardigans.
32. Make snow angels. July 2013.
33. Drink 3 litres of water a day for two months.
34. Teach kapahaka to the tamariki. 2015.
35. Get my very first tattoo. March 2015
36. Find out my blood type. September 2015.
37. Make a hanging clothes dryer frame August 2013.
38. Chuck out or donate clothes I do not ever wear. Ongoing.
39. Plant 'No Dig' gardens full of vege's and herbs.  5/13
40. Read all of George R.R martin's books November 2013. 
41. Make toasted muesli more often then not. Best to use coconut oil and honey.
42. Horse trekking at River Valley with Jewel Violet.
43. Get a zip put in my Dr Marten Boot  - 4/13 Its parfait, but now I should do the other one....
44. Paint on teeshirts with bleach.
45. Karaoke until the sun comes up?
46. Host a Mad Hatter's Tea Party. October 2014.
47. Sell Kimono's at the market.
48. Master cider making 2013.
49. Make my own deodorant. 2015.
50. Collate kindergarten recipes and publish - a fundraiser?
51. Help Kyle and Shellie restore their teepee. 04/13... Spray and walk away!
52. Have my dreadlocks professionally tightened just once!
53. Celebrate Matariki. July 2014.
54. Star gaze at the Ward Observatory in Whanganui. May 2014.
55. Hand sew something on canvas.
56. Sort my Europe photographs and make a coffee table book.
57. Make cheese from scratch.
58. Keep my office space under control November 2013.
59. Recycle all paper from my office space November 2013.
60.  Fall in love. 04/13.. But maybe I need to be more specific?
61. Encourage someone else to write a 101 list. December 2015.
62. Cover my lounge floor in sheepskins.
63. Visit Aotearoa's Stone Henge. February 2014.
64. Play a solo ukulele gig.
65. Be a Guerilla Gardener.
66. Buy a pasta machine (October 2013) and make beetroot pasta.
67. Do 30 random acts of kindness and don't let on.
68. Wear lipstick for one whole day!? September 2013.
69. Write a set of poems 2013
70. Spend a white christmas in New York.
71. Record an album of original children's songs on the ukulele.
72. Build an earth oven/kiln.
73. Stay in a yurt.
74. Sleep under the stars.
75. Drink 3 ltrs water everyday for two months.
76. Visit my nan once a month 2013.
77. Watch an outdoor movie.
78. Partake in a flashmob.
79. Make 5 different playlists and send them to unsuspecting characters.
80. Swim outdoors in the winter.
81. Give birth.
82. Pay for a strangers coffee. 04/05/13
83. Refurnish a piece of furniture. A wooden telephone seat/table recovered with an old favourite skirt of mine.
84. Get my full license.
85. Spend a whole day Op shopping.
86. Fix a cracked friendship.
87. Make at least one leather bag.
88. Road Trip with the girly pearls to somewhere none of us have ever been.
89. Gather kaimoana.
90. Master Backgammon. 5/13
91. Fill frames with prints of Mt Taranaki, and hang.
92. Have a girly weekend with my mama and sissa.
93. Write a children's story.
94. Brew beer. December 2014.
95. Get stuck in the mud at a music festival. April 2015.
96. Crochet a peggy square blanket.
97. Have chickens in the back yard. March 2014.
98. Mend someone elses socks.
99. Decoupage a musical instrument.
100. Take a good vitamin everyday for one month.
101. Be professionally fitted for bras.

Holy toletto! That was a mihana in its ownself..... All locked, loaded and ready to roll! A child told me today  "Paula Ann , you rock the party".... Thankyouness indeed little pop!