Mary mary quite contrary

how does your garden grow....


The past 2 weeks have been much more insightful rather than eventful, so I find sharing personal thoughts a little more challenging.

Stem, Bush Walk, Wanui Reserve

Mushrooms, Bush Walk, Wanui Reserve

Spring Flowers, Bush Walk, Wanui Reserve

Weather in Raglan is finally warming...ahhh summer time again :D  I've got a job at a little cafe and it's a rather nice way to meet locals and make friends.  My nannying position with the family has turned into a 3 day a week thing, but I'm rather fond of little Anabelle, so it's quite good.  Over the weekend while the sun was really shining Leanna and I took a two person kayak with Anabelle over to a place called pancake rocks.  It's quite a row across and up the harbor and it felt so good to be out on the water.  It gets its name from the way the large flat rocks form and stack on top of each other creating islands of rock where maybe a tree grows on top.  Real cool looking, we explored a remote beach with black sands, and some little caves as well.  The water at high tide in the harbor rolls so slow and smooth and the view from the kayak is surreal.  One direction you have Pancake Rocks, the other mountains and pastored land, behind us was town, and to the left the Ocean.  Even baby Anabelle was put to ease, we all paddled along and enjoyed fresh warm air, feeling the summer time rolling in.   (There are tons of pictures, but not on my camera so one of these days I will upload for viewing. ) We also took advantage of Mr. Sun by planting an herb garden outside of the house.  We got basil, mint, lemon mint, rosemary, dill, chives, corriander, and perhaps a few others, should be real nice for cooking with soon.

 Anabelle helping us garden

 Blackbird on garden fence

 Nugget and Belle

 Nugget

 Nugget & Belle

Speaking of cooking it's become a small obsession.  Although I've always enjoyed cooking some, having access to tons of good produce and herbs, and also meat (Leanna's step father owns a cattle farm), plus lots and lots of time to do whatever I want with, I find myself experimenting daily in the kitchen.  I've done a lemon, ginger, garlic roasted chicken,  a beet, mandarin, and almond salad,  Meat pie, which is basically a beef vegetable stew poured into and covered by pastry crust (yum!) Corned Beef and Cabbage, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies,  Pickled some carrots, garlic, asparagus, cucumbers, and onions.  Then for my two favorite homemade treats........ bloody mary mix completely from scratch as there is no such thing as a good bloody mary in NZ, ANNNNND gluten free muffins made with the left over pulp from juicing.  Sounds weird, but pretty sure I've created a baking masterpiece.  Goes to show that not all baking has to be full of sugars and flowers to taste good.  Juicing is sort of part of this cooking habit that the family has also taken on.  We use everything from beets, to apples, ginger, garlic, carrots, and celery.  And all that weird stuff that fills your juicer makes an amazing healthy snack... who knew?!  If you actually read this blog and are interested in any of those concoctions, let me know Jmae016@yahoo.com I'd be happy to share.  * Book to Read Barbara Kingsolver- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

 Meat & Pastry Pie

 pickled veg, bloody mix, pulp muffins

As part of this insightful period I am training for a 16 mile mini marathon, which we will run in Tongariro National Park on January 26th.  The training has been good: runs, jogs, cross training with bike rides, yoga, kayak, surf, and even zumba, gives me motivation not to mention solid daily work outs.  You want to run a marathon or just need some tips to get going, again let me know, laugh as you may if you had asked me a year ago if this is something I would have ever tried to do I may have said perhaps, but being honest there is no way in hell.  It's not too hard once you break it down into a daily thing.

Also, there are a ton of really exciting things happening with friends & family back home.  With wedding planning, and engagements, to new babies, new jobs, and figuring out your life long dreams,  I want to say congratulations!  It is real hard being a million miles away, I want to give you a hug, tell you that I love you <3  Keep on keeping on.  As much fun as it is out here, I wish you that much more wherever you are.

Cheers

Change.Is.Good

"It is one

thing

to welcome change

and another thing to

fully

embrace it."

-christine caine

What do you call a goat that lip-syncs?

Today. Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Billy-Vanilli

Peanut is a goat who lives across the street on the hillside of a mans house, today he decided to say hi to me, so I snapped a picture.  I think he liked it because then he started sauntering around the road and posing for me.  Meet Peanut:

Hard to see, but Peanut is sliding face first down hill. Show Off

Waitomo Caves Abseil, Raft, Climb

I was born a rambling man, trying to make a living doing the best I can

Friday, October 12, 2012

I am still just seeing, barely scraping ideas of it.   There is a lot of alone time, which is real hard, but i think it's good.  I’ve spent money quickly, don't really know where it goes, but i think once it's gone that will be a good thing as well.  You don’t need things or possessions that is one thing i have learned extremely well.  And by possessions I don’t mean ipods,  7 outfits, makeup, books, I mean you don’t really need anything besides some good water, and food, and your health, your health is very very important.  The travel/ get out of your own little tiny life world is fucking amazing, people from all over the world with the same spirit and same mentality, but with different looks, language, and up-bringing.  Everyone is themselves and only themselves and in some sort of weird community all help each other and have a sort of understanding because you are all out doing the same damn wanderings. That’s pretty cool.  I know this too is easier said then done, just live, do what makes you happy. JUST LIVE. I ate a cheese and bread sandwich after caving the other day and let me tell you it was the best cheese and bread I may have ever had (for those of you who don’t know, I don’t eat lots of dairy or lots of bread) Everything that i'd done that day was so mind blowing, physically and mentally that it made eating a simple piece of bread wrapped around cheese perfect.  We were sopping wet, freezing cold, and a little grimy.  After peeling off layers of overall wetsuits, cutoff, holey sweats, horribly nasty socks, zipped up jackets, sweaty helmets, gum boots, and harnesses. Bread and cheese was like ice cream in a hot tub after a 5 hour work out. 

Try to let go of a state of catching up.  Try to just be.  Cheer up, smile, go for a walk, and let it all in.  The reason I can say this so easily now and only after one month is because I have met people who literally have nothing.  They started to “travel” just like me.  With a home and comfort zone behind them, they had bags packed and were doing fine.  And then they stayed too long or ran out of money, some people even had everything stolen.  Still somehow they managed, they are still here.  They sold what was left, they found work, hitched, borrowed, and it works.  It really does work.  These people are not “bums, or hippies, or gypsies” they are just people living breathing, moving from day in and day out, and they are some of the happiest, most beautiful, insightful people I have ever met.

So keep smiling, and never stop moving your feet.

HAPPY ONE MONTH NEW ZEALAND!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

“It’s not about the things you check off your to do list, or about accomplishing everything you may have wanted, it’s the time you take to enjoy what is being done…..” ~ hot tub French dude, Raglan NZ

HAPPY ONE MONTH NEW ZEALAND!!!!!!!!!!

Day Trips are a must, especially when they turn into night trips

Sunday, October 7, 2012

“Life is what is happening when you are busy making plans.”

 

Alban, Radim, Eliza Road trip to Kawhia

                                                  

Gray cold and windy

Cloudy skies

Life is what was happening all weekend. 

Raglan moves slow, yet time here seems to go by so quickly.   Joined a small yoga group taught by Ani, she is a beautiful soul, and the class is great.  Also, taking on some extra curricular working out, circuit training class with Lisa (kicked my ass) and some daily runs. 

Saturday evening Sally, Johnny, Eliza, Radim, Alban, Filippa, and I drove to Kawhia.  Supposedly this is where “hot water pools” are found.  It was of course wet and rainy spring day, so after searching the cold and windy beach for these “hot pools” with no luck, we found some local fish n’ chips and had a car picnic.  This might not sound fun, but squashed together eating greasy ass food with people you’ve just spent maybe a total 36 hours with is quite funny, even more humerous is the 4 of us who actually decided “camping” was a good idea.  Saying farewell to friends, the rest of us drove back to the beach and again searched for the “hot pools,” again no luck.   Soooo setting up camp-per Van with wine, chocolate, and a deck of cards we waited out the night.  Waking up super cramped again we searched, and searched, dug in the sand, felt the ground, drown in cold waves, and found nothing. 

Tomorrow I move in with a family, Dan, Leanna, and baby Annabelle.  I will be taking care of Annabelle on Tuesdays and Thursdays and staying at their house.  Also, going caving in Waitomo and Black water rafting. J J J

Wow, how fast Raglan takes you in.

international food festivals

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Rain Rain Go Away Come Again Another Day.  I’ve been rained out of camp, not just a little rain, but windstorm rain, every night that took away my spirit from my peaceful days.  So I packed camp and headed back to Raglan Backpackers.  Traveling is expensive and living in a backpackers, albeit the great experience, gets pricey.  Remember I told you about the Suze though, one of the owners, well her other is a man named Tim.  They run the backpackers together, and they live just 5 or kilometers away, there is a thing called “working for accommodation” that is quite a simple idea, and works very well in New Zealand.  Unfortunately, work at the backpackers this time of year is slim, so Tim went out of his way to find me enough odd jobs around their home, and the backpackers to allow me to board for the week.  

Beautiful people in this place Raglan.

Potluck in the making

Preparing Dishes

Full plates of well just about everything

And feast

Pizza dough rising

Toppings added

Cooking

Sally and Jessica Home Made Pies

"When Connected with Others we Become Better People"

Insights and Rainbows

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Waking up with the roosters I strolled to an early morning yoga class held in a second floor studio with glass doors looking out over the Tasman Sea.  My soul is warming.  Made breakfast, read some book, walked… and then napped on the beach. 

*Always tell the truth, even when it hurts real bad

*Just ask, the response might surprise you

*Don’t care what other people think

*Treat the disease not the symptoms

*Find a healthy balance between optimism and reality

*Make decisions!

*Show Gratitude!

The book I just finished, The Last Lecture, (thank you Becky J.) got the best of me today, so I had to add some of his “truths” to my blog.

Read them, read them again, ok now live them

and random happy pictures, to go along with random happy blogs

Taken at Bridal Veil Falls.

THIS is where my heart fell into the sky

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Raglan- West Coast North Island-

Driving into a town never felt so instantly right, at 10 a.m. on Saturday it did.  The town is called Raglan and my car passed some kind of invisible barrier as I entered that will not let me leave. 

A couple hours after arriving a person I’d emailed on Couch Surfers website contacted me to meet for lunch.  Alex is a Marine Scientist from France.  He has been in Raglan for 6 years and took some time off work to show me around town.  The local spot for Coffee, Raglan Roast, is down a little alley between shops where people meet for a chat or game of backgammon (I could get used to this life). Last night was spent at Raglan Backpackers, the warmest spot I’ve ever randomly walked into.   Welcomed by Suze one of the owners she showed me my shared room, the hot tub, kitchen, lounge, and all the free things they offer to guests kayaks, paddle boards, fishing rods, sports equipment and of course the rentals windsurfing, surfboards, and wetsuits.  In one evening I’d met friends, I will always remember as part of this trip.  This morning, a little sadly, I checked out to try my hand camping at Sol Scape.    Before leaving though, I rented a board and suit, taking the hostel car to Ngnaranui beach to surf.  The surf wasn’t great, but it was worth a try, the water was  freezing, so it was hard to feel my feet enough to find the board.  Can’t wait to get back out. 

 
 

 Sol Scape is a neat little eco retreat with cabooses and mud huts as rooms.  Their goal is a youth hostel with focuses on sustainable living, gardening, and an “eco” environment.  My camp is a little space up on a hill in front of the cow fields, one of the cows came about 6 inches while I was setting up, apparently they are very curious animals.   With another amazing New Zealand Sunset, the sky turned black to open up to a million bright starts and a full moon.