You’ve undoubtedly heard of Peter Rabbit™, Beatrix Potter’s mischievously loveable bunny who took the world by storm in the 1900s.  But did you know about New Zealand’s very own Peter Rabbit™ connection? Possibly not, because Peter’s House has been a special secret in Garston for a long time now.  Once upon a time, a rabbit … The post A Tale of Two Secrets: Peter Rabbit’s Garston Hideaway appeared first on Time of my life ..read more

Welcome Rocks Gardens owes its existence to a VERY lucky break: “If I hadn’t stopped here, a day later I’d have been locked down in a Queenstown hostel for six weeks.”  Have you ever noticed how, sometimes, split-second decisions have far-reaching consequences? Tiny choices can lead to life-changing events — and you never know when … The post Building Welcome Rock Gardens: Brendan Lopez appeared first on Time of my life ..read more

The Piha surf is pounding; wind and rain are sweeping across the black sand. Usually, only the surfers brave this weather — but today there’s one, lone photographer, hunched into her jacket.  She’s waiting. Any moment now there’ll be a break in the weather. That’s when she’ll whip out her Sony A7SII camera and get … The post Daisy Thor-Poet: Change-making With Tinted Productions appeared first on Time of my life ..read more

Whenever I want to know about Garston’s history, I go straight to Peter Naylor and Noel McMillan.  These two farmers were born and bred in Garston and have lived here all their lives. And both men are passionate in their own ways about preserving our history.  Peter has albums filled with photos of farming life … The post Preserving Garston History appeared first on Time of my life ..read more

Want to add more vegetables into your diet? Me too! A chowder is a thick soup, usually containing seafood or corn. This particular sweetcorn chowder makes a very tasty, winter-warming dish. In his book, The 4 Pillar Plan,  Dr. Rangan Chatterjee talks about aiming to eat a rainbow of vegetables every day. It’s a fun … The post Sweetcorn Chowder: A Winter-Warming Soup appeared first on Time of my life ..read more

Well, hasn’t it been a crazy few months?  When you sang Auld Lang Syne in 2019 could you even have guessed what 2020 had in store? While New Zealand locked down and hospitals geared up, the food industry went into essential service mode.  Supermarkets did a fantastic job of keeping us fed at the service … The post Locking Down For Harvest On The Farm appeared first on Time of my life ..read more

Soap. It’s become the new gold in supermarkets since COVID 19 turned our world upside down.  In recent years we’ve been bombarded with advertisements for soap alternatives. There are all sorts of fancy hand sanitisers, wet wipes, and sprays on the market.  But it turns out that good, old-fashioned soap is the key to washing … The post Experiments In The Art and Science of Soap: appeared first on Time of my life ..read more

Russell Glendinning was a giant of a man in Northern Southland. I think you’d be hard-put to find anyone as passionate and dedicated to trains and community as the man known to many as Mr Kingston Flyer. A Crowd Gathers In Garston On February 22nd a crowd gathered near the little railway shed on the … The post Remembering Russell Glendinning appeared first on Time of my life ..read more

Two things that Scott Worthington and Welcome Rock’s Tom O’Brien stand for – Community and Challenge. They’re building both in The Revenant Ultra Adventure Run. “I love the outdoors and I love a challenge. And I love people that love a challenge. It’s really important in my heart and in my wife’s heart to recognise … The post Behind the Scenes: The Revenant Community appeared first on Time of my life ..read more

Whether you’re gluten-free or not, many people tend to eat too much wheat in a day. Some days you even end up eating wheat in some form at every meal. Because I’m actively trying to eat a wide variety of food — and especially increase my vegetable and protein intake —  I love to eat … The post Tasty Veggie Bread appeared first on Time of my life ..read more