Rural Life

Well, it's been about a month since we posted anything- Sorry! We have been in the same place, house sitting on a farm. The jobs we have been doing include gardening, painting, and taking care of the seven working dogs.  Weslie has been working at the cafe, too. The weather has been frustrating, one day its sunny and warm (we went to play golf and wore shorts and short sleeves), and the very next day it's cold and rainy.  It's been raining on and off for the last few days here so we can't do much work outside. It'll be sunny for about 30 minutes, then rain for 30, etc. all day.  Not good for painting. Can't really complain though, because when the sun's out it's amazingly beautiful here. Totally different landscape than what we've got back home and we're enjoying it.

Our beautiful home for a month.

View from the house

having fun in downtown Waipawa! (that's pretty much the whole town behind Chris)

This is Bronte. She likes long walks, chasing bunnies, and taking flying leaps into the creek. She dislikes being on her leash.

making a pizza feast

Yum! Salami and cheese, Sweet chili chicken, apricot and brie, caramelized onion and mushroom, egg bacon and spinach!

My birthday dinner with everyone from work

Yummy Thai food- sizzling lamb dish for Chris-- we miss fajitas now.

$15 green fees and sunny days. The best.

on the four-wheeler

We're practically professional painters now!

Farmer Chris

I'm gonna assume that this is Vic and Alicia's reaction to Chris' magnificent beard.

My time at the cafe has been really great. I'm getting pretty good at making coffee the 'right way' now, and I'm really enjoying the baking and cooking that goes along with working here.  I'm going to keep a recipe book of all the things I'm learning so I can share the awesome food with people at home.  Yummy salads, wraps, sausage rolls, slices, cakes, homemade dressings and aoli.  

Puff pastry roasted veggie tart- balsamic maple glaze.

Lollie log- crushed malt biscuits, melted butter, sweetened condensed milk. Mix, stir in cut up marshmallows, roll into a log and press coconut flakes into the top. Chill and slice.  

Birthday muffin from Trin, at work

Opened up the cafe by myself, made blueberry muffins and cheese scones to start the day.

The large cup is almost 20 oz- I've gotten so used to the smaller sizes here that it just looks rediculous. (it also costs $7 and has four espresso shots)

I'll be sad to leave the cafe, but it's been a great learning experience for me and I'm going to find more barista jobs as we travel (hopefully). 

Next month we will be in Feilding, where Wes was an exchange student in 2003. We'll be house sitting for her host parents, but we will be making trips around the area while based there, starting Sept. 20.

We have been enjoying relaxing and earning some money, before summer comes and we're off to the South Island to travel a lot more.  But it's been nice staying in one spot for a while and meeting some local people. We've enjoyed our time here, but we leave in two weeks and it'll be good to move on and see the rest of the country. 

.