A Letter from Jamie

Kia ora e te whānauIts been week of extremes in Taranaki.  Ranging from beautiful, unseasonably warm days with our majestic maunga in full view, to torrential, unstoppable rain and flooding.  The streams we have on stie are mostly gentle trickles around the site.  Yet...

A Letter from Jamie

Kia ora dear whānauWarmest greetings to you from all at Taranaki Retreat We’ve experienced e-newsletter overload in recent times, and the constant stream (sometimes from the most extraordinary places!) has made us a little reluctant to add yet another one! ...

“Me time”

Quite often we make a lot of time for others. And that’s wonderful – as you are a caring friend, an emphatic partner, a loving parent, a supportive colleague, a customer- or patient-focused professional.We are listening to joyful, funny, exciting, sad or...

Brookies

Do you think food can make you happy? I think so. But have you ever been to “dessert heaven”?During my childhood I loved when mum was doing some baking – my sister and I used to be there just in time to make sure we won’t miss out on some cookie dough or cake batter.I...

A Letter from Jamie

Kotahihanga – It ain’t easy, reaching out​Kia ora, e te Whānau,Always been the strong one? Find it massively awkward to ask for support? Are you caring for others? Sometimes it feels like a juggling act!  Sometimes the hardest thing going can be putting up...

“I’m not creative.”

Something I hear very often.It is often followed by a story about an art teacher or another influencing adult saying something that stopped us in our tracks.  We could have been drawing away totally happy, and then that thunderbolt comes in and cuts us to the core. ...