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A few months ago I finally finished a project of mine. Well, actually it was a few projects that got finished. Firstly our shed got spouting. That was a few years in the making. But the thing that fuelled it all was wanting to install a water tank and hand pump for the garden and play.

We have some very good family friends, the sort that turn up a day early for your wedding and just get stuck in sewing 18 table clothes and peeling and preparing huge amounts of vegetables without being asked. Then on the day they look after loads of other bits that you didn't even think of like making the church look nice. The legendary sort.

Meet Elka, the new Hoopla Kids mannequin. At least, this is what she was made for. It appears Ella has other ideas about what to do with her. In the space of a few hours these are just a few of her adventures . . .

Given we are well stocked in blueberries at the moment we have set a challenge to a few who have come through our door:

Choose a recipe and create something using fresh blueberries to share.

They were then sent away with a tub of blueberries for their delight. No deadlines.

My first instalment was blueberry muffins. A classic, not actually intended for the challenge but one that fitted the criteria.

've decided it's time I had a mannequin as part of my stall at the Wellington Underground Market. I've searched trade me and google and found a few but they don't come cheap so I decided to make one myself.

One of the joys of being a piano tuner is that we have collected up a few nice bits a machinery which come in handy for all sorts of things. For example how about a recycled rimu clothes rack?

So I got out my roll of brown paper. I asked Ella for her help but she was too busy making muffins with duplo in our half built porch. But as soon as Sammy had obliged she was in wanting her space on the paper. I drew around both of them.

Hand made right here in our workshop by me from timber from our house renovation. Hoopla Kids does clothes racks a little differently from other stores and stalls. A natural feel.

It's so good that our kids think it's ice cream. It may not be revolutionary to some but it sure is a hit in our house.

Freeze some fruit - pineapple, banana, berries. Something else. Experiment. Make sure you peel the bananas first. And ideally freeze the fruit in small to medium sized pieces.

About 5 mins before you want ice cream take the fruit out of the freezer.

Then just put it in your food processor and blend until smooth. Banana makes it creamy.

It's a little less solid than normal ice cream but the batch we had this evening was almost fluffy and creamy. Yum!

PS. This is a great use of all those half eaten bananas that kids sometimes create. I keep a bag in the freezer for throwing any non damaged bits into for baking or ice cream.

Another note on shopping a little differently . . . This time by bike.

Normally I would take the car. But last week I took Mundo. And yes, I had the kids on board as well.

I went for only a few things . . . But it never does quite work out. By the end of the shop even I was starting to have my doubts about everything fitting on the bike. But, somehow it always works out.

I can highly recommend a family outing to go blueberry picking. It's great for all ages.

As Andrew and I picked the kids joined in as well but somehow their bucket never got many in it. Samuel was quick to master his newly developed skill of picking straight from the bush and became familiar with the difference between blue and green instantly! Best of all the kids were safely contained by the bird netting that we were picking underneath. It was a worry free and relaxed family adventure.

We went to visit Jo from Blueberry Art on his organic blueberry farm in Levin. PYO berries for $10/kg or pop into the shop to buy them fresh or frozen for a little more. They are superbly delicious and very tasty. Well worth the drive from Wellington. Take a chilly bin along to bring them home in of you have one and don't forget your sun hat, sunblock and water. It's much hotter in Levin than it is in Wellington!

Models showing the very practical picking buckets - we headed in under the nets in the background

Andrew picking - the white above is the net

Into the bucket? Or into my mouth?

Little Pickers

Mmmmm

More

Blueberries on the bushes

Ella sporting her DUNS Sweden sunhat (watch out for new styles arriving next month) while picking berries

Attention to detail

The end result

Late last year I had a glut of parsley in my vege garden. It was big and bushy and starting to go to seed and it was time for it to go to the compost heap. But before pulling it all out I wanted to rescue as much as I could and put it to good use.

I pulled out one of my favourite cookbooks 'River Cottage Everyday' to find Hugh's wonderful parsley and pumpkin seed pesto recipe and set to work.

After a few batches of pumpkin seed I threw in some walnuts.

This recipe has become quite a favourite in our house and the pumpkin seed version is perfect for sharing with kids in early childhood education as its nut free.

My friend Michelle from Munch thought it was so good she shared the recipe in her recent blog post.

Parsley and Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Prep time: 5 mins
Total time: 5 mins

Makes: 1-2 cups

Ingredients

75g shelled walnuts/pumpkin seeds
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
50g parsley leaves
175 ml rapeseed or extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
Sea salt & ground pepper to taste
50g Parmesan cheese, grated

Method

Put the nuts/seeds, parsley garlic and lemon juice in a food processor and give it a good blitz.

With the food processor going pour in the oil until you reach your preferred consistency.

Pour into a bowl and add the cheese and season to taste. It will keep in the fridge in a jar, covered in olive oil for a couple of weeks or alternatively it can be frozen for use at a later date. If freezing add the cheese and seasoning once defrosted.

Shopping a little differently . . . One of a few notes.

A few years ago I had some inspiration to change the way our family shops for food. I can't remember where the idea came from but it was along the lines of eating local and not being at the supermarket every few days. What started as a challenge for a few months became a habit that still continues today.

The original goal was that we would not go to the supermarket between monthly shops. We bought fresh produce from the local market each Saturday, meat from the local butcher and coffee from the roasters. The exception to the rule was milk - for this we could enter the supermarket.

We wrote out a list: How much flour did we need to bake bread for everyone for the month? How many tins of tomatoes would we need? How much chocolate was allowed? How much cereal would we eat? Rice, pasta, tuna, cheese, butter . . . And most importantly how many rolls of toilet paper we would go through.

People used to look at us and wonder how many we were feeding as we wandered the supermarket with 3 bags of cornflakes, 2 bags of ricies, 2 boxes of wheatbix and some all bran (I was pregnant at the time with a craving for cereal!) not to mention the 36 rolls of toilet paper!

It was quite fun. It saved us time not going to the supermarket as often and encouraged us to use what we had left in the cupboards. And there was only once chance a month for extra things that weren't on the list to somehow end up in the trolley.

When we ran out of Wheatbix and toilet paper I knew it was time to go shopping again. Sometimes we lasted six weeks.

These days we aren't quite as strict on ourselves, although it would do us good to be. But I still do our big shop once every 4 - 6 weeks. And now I know roughly what we need to last us and when it's gone it's gone. There will be something else to eat.

We stumbled upon by accident the Flexi tub bath.

At bath time the tubs get rounded up (usually the washing emptied out) and placed in our bath. They are a really practical and easy bath solution. In each 40 litre tub we put 25 - 30 litres of water.

Having two tubs also provides a bit of extra fun. How about pumping water between them? Sharing bubbles? Or simply hoarding all the toys from your sibling!

Try reclining in the tub, feet on one side and head on the other. The joys of a flexible tub.

Great for the child that likes to sit and play and keep warm in a deeper bath. Or for a child that just won't sit down, standing holding the sides as they practice their new found skill.

Or the classic Eureka discovery.

On warm days I fill the baths and carry them outside to the deck for the kids to splash and play in. Now I'm dreaming of an outside warm tap!

Our kids have a great time in the tubs and it saves us loads of shower or big bath water.