There is always a BUT to great news and mine will always be I just wish everyone was here with us in this safe, beautiful and generous place. Maybe in another lifetime xxx
All this exercise seems to make me look bigger!!
We have a great mirror at work that takes ten pounds off me but sadly, I can't take that with me all over the place can I and the camera never lies.
So lots of walking swimming and doing exercise dvds doesn't seem to be helping me much.
Could it be that I made Dorset apple cake (but only have one small peice a day) and have just made some bread too - I normally don't eat any! - is creeping the pounds back on or maybe it is aroma based.
Maybe just the smell of things adds pounds? I'm sticking to that theory at the mo and not blaming it on my appetite!
In the photo below you can see all the camper vans along the canal. People come here from all over the place to fish for the 'escaped' salmon and trout that are in the man-made hydro canals, think this one drains Ohau to Benmore lakes and is part of the huge hydro system that dominates this area and carries all that crystal clear azure blue water down to the sea and makes 25% of the countrys' energy at the same time.
Lake Pukaki is where we started off and is where you drive up to Mount Cook. The road we traveled goes west through Twizel (we missed out beautiful Lake Ohau this time, went last year) then past the salmon farm where the canals drain Ohau into Benmore and so on to west of the small mountain range down to Omarama where we turned to follow the lakes and rivers. The map just makes more sense of where we were, Cromwell is west of Omarama.
Anyway, we spent a few hours exploring this new area for us, watching the world go by and dawdling our way through the region and on to the little village of Kurow where we were staying the night at the Western B&B, population a mere 300 or so. It is a very old builidng for NZ, 1861 and is a charming place out in the middle of the country surrounded by farmers fields. Click here http://www.westernhouse.co.nz if you want a closer look! It is owned by Hazel and John Gibbs who were originally from Somerset and have been here 7 years but you wouldn't know it from their accents, they don't sound like they ever left England and it was so nice to hear. They were so pleased to hear we lived 'next door' in Dorset and of course, Hazel and I chatted away for hours over the next two days, she is so nice.
Oamaru used to be a very busy seaport and a bustling town but it's sadly one of those ones along this coast that has 'died' a little but they are trying to revitalise it. It has some great Victorian buildings which they are making a great feature of and putting in lots of shops and restaurants there to attract people. I would call that area of town charming, think that does it justice. (Think the photo below shows you what I mean)
Yesterday Derek spent most of the day finishing off the tiles in the bathroom. Our plumber who is doing the loos seems to be on holiday at the moment so we can't get the floor done until he can take them out. All a little frustrating but no great problem, everything works and nothing leaks so that is a bonus and I have mats on the floor so we are not walking on floorboards.
This weekend I have done lots of cooking and made Pumpkin soup and bread for lunch. We've had quite a few pumpkins so it is lucky that we like this soup and there is now ten lots in the freezer. The bread is a 'Busy Persons' bread from Annabel Langbein and was so quick and easy to do and tastes great. It proves in the oven so no need to wait for ages for it to rise and no need to do lots of kneeding either. Link here http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/14548/busy-peoples-bread and thanks for the recipe Annabel.
Last night we watched a NZ Masterchef Masterclass so I am doing one of the recipes from there for dinner, a middle eastern chicken recipe that Ray did and looked great on the tv. It has to marinade for a few hours or overnight then is supposed to be cooked with veggies in a pressure cooker but as I don't have one (I did have one 30 years ago and on its' first outing I managed to blow the top off it and have rice pudding all over the ceiling - always a bit wary of it after that and not my fav 'go to' item in the kitchen cupboard!). You can do it in a casserole dish in the oven though so think that is the best way for me.
We are just about to have lunch and are going for a long walk after that as we are finishing off one of the loaves (earlier recipe makes two) with strong cheddar cheese and homemade peach chutney.
I like Sundays.
TTFN everyone, love each other lots and big hugs to everyone. Hope you enjoyed your party Ella xxxxx