My mother’s mother’s mothers
How the women who came before me have shaped my life at The Outpost today. The story of my matrilineal line.
Albert (‘Snowie’) Charles Schaeffer (WW1 23/903)
Albert “Snowie” Charles Schaeffer served in World War 1, and returned home, broken.
Reevaluating the plan
The last blog of 2023. I’d like to start 2024 on a new page, so I’m taking a longer-than-usual break from the blog this summer.
A week away
I left the farm for a whole 8 days! I had so much fun! Here are some highlights.
The restorative things
Weirdly, life isn’t all about gardening. Sometimes you’ve gotta find some balance.
Three things my Dad taught me
This Father’s Day, I’m looking at the values I gained as my father’s daughter.
Sponge-top pudding
A comforting baked pudding that uses whatever fruit is in season. Simple enough for a weeknight.
Making Nana Retter’s Fruit Cake
Last Christmas I joined a long line of women who have made this cake. My great grandmother’s recipe, finally made.
Let’s go fly a kite
It’s taken nearly 3 years but I realised that all our space and wind make a fantastic combination for kite flying, so I bought a kite.
The Smith sister’s boarding houses
Part four of my hunt for details of the lives of my great-great aunts, the Smith sisters.
The three wives of John William Lewis
In attempting to work out where he came from, I uncovered the life story of my great great grandfather, John William Lewis.
Serendipity
I know we all joke we’re two-degrees of separation from anyone else in New Zealand. But Richard and I have closer links to the land we live on than we could have imagined.
Finding the ‘family stuff’
A sudden whim leads to an impressive collection of family history – and some new leads on the Smith sisters.
The death of Sarah Elizabeth Smith
After locating the graves of my spinster great-great grand aunts, I ordered the first death record to see what I can learn about their lives.
The spinster Smiths
Lately I’ve been working on my family history. This week I found my long-lost spinster aunts buried in Karori.
About Kat
Kat is a gardener and purrveyor of Kat's Nip. Most Sundays she writes about her life on her lifestyle block in Te Hiku (Far North), New Zealand.
