We’ve started building a Roman Temple. It will be the familiar shape of a band rotunda but made from barn posts and rustic timber to look as if it has been built by gnomes in the woods. As usual I have the great ideas and Alex has to work out how to turn them into reality. We started by concreting in the huge posts to form a hexagon and then Alex built the floor joists in a star pattern for stability. The next step will be to lay down the floor and then work out how to cap it off with a dome. Alex says he will weld a steel frame, which hopefully I can show you in a couple of months.
I think to punish me Alex decided it was time to clean out the big pond. It has a plastic liner and so doesn't drain and 'breath' so it had gotten rather green and slimy. I was treated to the overwhelming aroma of ripe taleggio as I swept the last bit of sludge from the bottom. I repotted the waterlilies and got some pond weed which hopefully once potted up and added to the bottom of the pond will filter and oxygenate the water. The goal is to add fish but we have to create the right environment first.
I was looking through some old photos the other day and I found these of the villa in the early stages of construction, around 2003 I think. It was a pleasant surprise, these were the only photos we took for some strange reason and we thought we had lost them. The concrete slabs keep the steel frame from twisting. It’s a little over engineered but we were glad of that during the 2010 and 2011 quakes. Originally we wanted to buy an old property, but we couldn't find anything suitable at the time. Plan B was to move an old villa onto the site but the size we wanted and the logistics just made it impossible for us. We've ended up with a hybrid of NZ villa, Italian villa, and modern conveniences. A good compromise I think.
The area beyond the wheelbarrow is now the garden. When we bought the property it was almost a bare paddock so we’ve planted the garden and all the trees bar the eucalyptus you can see in the background (top right). We started pretty much with a blank canvas. There are so many things we would have done differently in hindsight but we learn as we go and it's actually not looking too shabby now.
Daniela’s shop Bombo is now officially open and I have been making some mirrors to add to her eclectic mix of vintage, revamped, and new homewares. Some are made from old mirror glass and others are stenciled with mirror finish paint on picture frame glass. The surrounds are plaster and air-dry clay with the techniques used being very similar to decorating a cake. These are available to purchase at Bombo on the boardwalk at The Tannery.
I’ll let Daniela describe Bombo in her own words:
"Our aim at Bombo is to provide an almost one-stop lifestyle shop grounded in an ethos of sustainability, ethics, and rusticity without sacrificing luxury or indulgence. Our product range is influenced by the quintessential Edwardian department store, with strong references to the Baroque and Gothic Victorian bohemian aesthetics. All of our products are sourced from either ethical and sustainable manufacturers, or by rejuvenating and re-purposing vintage items. "
The website is up now www.bombo.co.nz/ and you can also find them on Facebook www.facebook.com/bomboltd/
I’ll be back at the market the second week of February - I have a wedding cake to deliver on the first Friday. The tea parties have been popular so I haven’t really had a break as such but it will be good to be back and see all the market regulars again.
Meanwhile back in the kitchen… my sister in law commissioned a Monet cake. She is an artist and loves his waterlily paintings. I hope I did them justice.
Plus a couple more flower cakes from this month
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