Blogs

This week Jim Kayes teaches his daughter how to drive, and lives to tell the tale.

As the debate over the country’s polluted waterways heats up, Polly Greeks writes a love letter to Aotearoa’s rivers and streams.

Jim Kayes has been a journalist for 25 years. He survived growing up with four sisters and is now married with two daughters. Despite this, he thinks he's in charge.

In which Polly trades in foreign treasure-hunting for a more sedate seeking of materials and finds it just as rewarding.

Polly turns to a whale when time rushes by.

The land is proving to be a natural classroom in more ways than one for Polly and her family.

Polly finds traveling with kids a less-than-relaxing experience.

This week, Polly defends her ducks from a date with  the casserole pot.

Polly gets wet feet during the storm and discovers she has to reap what she sows.

Lazy summer days? Huh. For Polly and family the warmer months are too busy spent making hay while the sun shines.

At a time when travel bans and giant walls place severe strain on international relations, Polly reflects on the kind hospitality she received in the Middle East.

In Polly Greek's blog this week: when a Pekin duck goes missing, James goes on stoat-catching duty.

Young boys run wild on Polly's  family camping trip.

Polly debates whether to boycott Christmas and celebrate the Summer Solstice instead.

Polly joins 'Team Duck' when her chickens send her on an egg hunt.

A walk in the forest with the kids proves hard work for Polly.

Polly laments the communal bed while a new DIY feature window brings some unexpected lessons – and just a little pain.

As the mudbrick  house construction progresses, Polly finds some workers are more help than others.

A Hungarian couch surfer's crazy music brings back memories for Polly Greeks.

There are two types of suitcase packers in this world, writes Polly Greeks, the  Johnny-Go-Lightlies and the Just-In-Case packers.

A new wwoof-er demonstrates his unfamiliarity with wholefoods and a spiral staircase sends the family’s spirits to heaven.

The big city beckons for a Kaitaia local, but sometimes the hitting the jackpot comes with a price.

An all-liquid diet brings Polly to breaking point.

What do you do on a rainy day when you live off-the-grid? Make cider vinegar!

The demise of a local coincides with the near-death of the family’s bathroom plumbing.

Polly tries giving up sugar, but thankfully follows reason.

Why all-terrain roller skates are no match for a goat track in the Far North.

This week Polly Greeks discovers the perils of a compost toilet.

In the first of her fortnightly blogs,  NZ Life & Leisure columnist Polly Greeks shares an update of life in her mudbrick off-the-grid home in the Far North.

A batch of mud-brick batter

Mud, muck and madness … the family ditch the churn of house building and find peace (and perspective) on an unpeopled Pacific beach.

When it all feels a bit hard

James and Polly hear the gasp of the Grim Reaper but swiftly shut him up.

Sowing a kauri legacy

Kauri, puriri, totara and rimu – these are the leafy sentinals standing guard over the Greeks family. And, in return, the family is taking just as much care of them.

An ode to laundry

A gypsy arrives bearing trinkets, spinning yarns and sorely lamenting the fact the kitchen is now indoors.

Kiwis in the kitchen

When nocturnal noises interrupt Polly and James’ sleep, it could mean unexpected visitors of anything from iconic wildlife to decidedly dubious characters.