It's been nearly a year since my last post, and I've decided to pool together the best photos taken over that time. It's been a different kind of life, wrapping up land and garden tasks and creating a new way of living without these activities in my life. The property has sold and I have brought several plants over to Golden Bay. I know with certainty that this won't be a year without home-grown tomatoes. It's bad enough to be without bees!
It was time to use my birthday voucher from Sam and Molly and get that long awaited ankle tattoo that I'd been promising myself for 20 years. Many of those years passed because I was undecided about what artwork I wanted. Of course, it had to be a vegetable, and I plumped for a curvy pea plant that could drape around my ankle. Kim from Dainty Garden Ink came up with the design and transferred it beautifully to my right ankle. I'm planning to go back to get some extra green.
My dad's birthday was November 21st, so I continued my usual remembrance with a walk on Pohara Beach. Coastal succulent flowers were cast into the sea as the sun was beginning its descent. Thinking of you dad. This beach is within easy cycling distance and Pohara has a couple of excellent cafes/bars. It's particularly serene out of season when there are only locals enjoying the scenery.
It's an absolute breeze to ride out anywhere on my new e-bike Goldilocks ('Goldie'). Sometimes she even comes to work with me! She's a Swiss make (Cilo) and I'm absolutely loving the thrill of bike-riding and feel like I'm re-visiting my childhood again. She fits neatly in the back of Qwerty, which was an unexpected bonus. When we're in need of a treat, Rachel and I can take a happy ride to a Pohara bar after work. Saddle-soreness is ongoing and can spoil longer trips. I'll do my best to harden my arse up whilst researching seats designed for women.
Christmas was spent with Billy chez Lucas and Laura and catching up with Sam and Molly and some Christchurch friends. Games kept us entertained and various drinks kept us appropriately lubricated.
Fruit from my last season on the block has been abundant. Magnificent strawberries and heaps of raspberries were scoffed on the go. Apples and pears were processed in a variety of ways - pressing for juice, fruit leathers, frozen for smoothies and of course, conversion into alcohol. Foraged elderberries and feijoas were also requisitioned. And I couldn't walk past free roadside peaches that are now frozen.
Apple juice was converted into cider and Apple Cider Vinegar (the first time I've made it with juice rather than chopped apples). Some nashi pears were juiced to make Nashi Perry and the rest fermented into curiously pink wine. Spread around the apartment are 10 litres of Pear and Ginger, 20 litres of Elderberry, 20 litres of red grape (from Rachel's block) and so much Feijoa wine that I'm in denial. An absolutely delish batch of Mead using the last of my Onamalutu honey has already been bottled.
Fortuitously, any wine that fails to reach an acceptable quality can be distilled. My new Air Still has finally been unpackaged and put to use multiple times. Rachel's first degree was in Chemistry, and she's fascinated by this aspect of distillation. I'm a lot more interested in the magic rather than the science, but I guess it's good to have a balance. We're both pretty excited to use the alcohol refractometer and there was space to set up a whole distilling cupboard in the bathroom. There's also a kitchen cupboard dedicated to wine and base-spirits-awaiting-botanicals, and the 20L demijohns reside in the laundry area. It's been a fairly steep distilling learning curve as there's lots to understand, but it's also a process that brings much joy (and spirit). Happily, we also have a distillation guru in the form of Molly, and of course we live behind a Gin Distillery so there's lots of support around. Rachel has just celebrated a 'special' birthday and got the Pro version of the Air Still, so we can double up production going forward.
I took Rachel out for a surprise birthday dinner at Nikau in Pohara as we were both working and on call that day. Gotta celebrate with cake of course. She headed for a Rarotonga adventure soon after (not jealous at all. At all.)
Health and Safety were absent the day I was cleaning a demi-john and it exploded. The resulting gash to my arm was quite impressive and Rachel bundled me off to Urgent Care to be stitched up. I found a creative way to shower while it had to be kept dry. It's healed well and I'm wondering if I can make artistic use of the scar with another tattoo.
Nuts have been big in my life too. The Onamalutu chestnuts were stunning and there wasn't enough time or energy to gather all the walnuts from the 4 mature trees on the Gin Palace property. We did gather plenty though, and many are still waiting to be shelled.
I'm still pinching myself with the good fortune of finding this Golden Bay job and its associated apartment perk. The apartment is plenty big for my bits 'n pieces, beautifully greened and sufficiently soothingly rural. The sunset was taken at the back of the apartment and is the view from the kitchen. The rainbow manifested at the front of the apartment above the huge lawn. Such a lovely place to enjoy.
Getting out and about in Golden Bay needs to be tucked into days when I'm off call, and alas there aren't too many of them. I took a day trip to Wharariki Beach (aka Microsoft beach) on a cloudy day. Wow, such a windswept beauty that I'll return to in Qwerty one day. Also a fabulous walk was the Pupu Hydro Walkway, near the amazing Waikoropupu Springs which I'll re-visit too.
I spent a few days 'nursing' Derryn after her knee surgery and we took a trip out to Picton. I'd nearly forgotten how much I like it there. It was one of the first NZ places that really captured my heart, so it was great to re-acquaint myself with its charms.
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo came to Auckland's Eden Park in February and Sam got 2 free tickets. Molly was keen and so was I - I'd never actually attended a Tattoo before. I flew up to Auckland and met Molly there. We stayed in a campervan that she was driving back to Christchurch, so no expensive accommodation needed. The Tattoo was fabulous, so many performers from all over the world. Great to spend time with Molly and Sam too.
I'll post the photos from my UK trip in June on a separate page and have finally decided the future of this blog - I'm saying 'goodbye' to it. And then 'hello' to a new blog to be called 'Adventures with Qwerty'. There are already a few outings to get started on, and I'm looking forward to many more NZ and beyond trips on the horizon.
Here's to many happy days ahead 😄🌞
