Pain de Beaucaire

I have graduated from Baguettes to Pain de Beaucaire, between the two was a Cibatta. Once again the recipe is from bredcetera.com. Here is Dennis shortly after I told him "No you have to let the loaves cool before you can eat them." As you can tell he is still pleased with the results.

A closeup the bread without the distraction of a 10 year old :)

Wood Gas Stove

The following stove was a great father and son project; however much more importantly, it is a way for Dennis to roast marshmallows that does not require me to fire up the barbie!

Making it required three cans, a can opener, and a means to punch small holes in the cans, I used an 8 penny nail and a hammer.  To fire it up put in a load of twigs and some fire starter on top.  The fire starter that I use is that clear gel hand-cleaner (it is 70% ethanol.)   The fire burns from the top down and generates smoke which is then mixed with air for a secondary burn.

This particular model works well I was able to get blue flame from the smoke for about five minutes in the middle of a 20 minute burn time.  (think of that twenty minutes of fire from hand full or two of twigs.)  I think I have a bit too much air coming into the internal can so for my next version I will put in a few less holes.

Okay so now some pictures, please forgive the quality, they were taken with camera on an old cell phone.

The top can is simply an offset for a pot.

The holes in the top of the can are so heated air can get into the gas.  When working properly it appears as if the flame is coming into the can via those holes.

Held the camera up-side-down to get a better picture :)

Twas a fun project ...

... and very satisfying for the pyromanic in me!

Beaujolais Nouveaux

Is pretty good this year.  I had a couple of glasses today as Wellington has the first official opening in the world.  We open up the bottles at noon today which co-insides with Beaujolais doing so at midnight.

In France they go to bed after tasting theirs; we drink the stock dry with wild boar sausages (you read that right - wild boar sausages.)  In France they open them in a cold damp cellar because it is better than being out doors in November; we do so outdoors and enjoy the glorious Wellington spring.

This is the second year in a row I have gone to this event.  Both times were great fun.

I was reminded today just how small Wellington is.  Last year I met some new people, this year I put names to familiar faces I had seen on the street.  It was fun to figure out where we had met, one was at the event last year.  The most interesting is someone I met through my father-in law.  This man worked at the 'Black Harp' the Irish bar in town (BTW they have the best Steak and Guinness Pies)  After he told me, I proceeded to tell him the story about taking my father-in-law who lives in Atlanta there and as I was going to say "and it turns out your bar tender had lived in Atlanta" he said "I lived in Atlanta for eight years!"  Yep it is a small town I live in here.  Oh by the way Don, Steve says "Hi."

It is amazing how much has changed in a year.  Last year I didn't even know where Woodward Street was located, that it ran between the two main roads in Wellington (Lampton Quay and The Terrace.)  This year I know my way around the city!  But what was most telling about my transition into a Wellintonian is that I put names to faces that I recognized from walking in the CBD!

Outward Bound

I'm going on an Outward Bound in November. After hearing about it from four different attendees, I thought, I'd like to do it.

I'll be going to the school at the top of the South Island for 21 days in November. I've passed my physical and paid my money. I still need to gather together gear, book my ferry ticket and do extra jogging and hiking.

My understanding is that we will spend half the time at the base and half time on outings. I'll get to sail, kayak, swim, run, hike, sleep solo under the stars, rock climb and do high ropes. It will be challenging physically, mentally and emotionally. I'm sure the spiritual element will be there too--I will be praying for help with the challenges!

I'm excited about it. It's a great motivator to get some extra exercise.

World of Wearable Art (aka WOW)

Last week and this week the World of Wearable Art show is on in Wellington. I got an inside look into the show last week. I was a volunteer dresser for one of the models. The show ran for 5 nights in a row so it was like having a part-time job.

http://www.worldofwearableart.com/home

People from all over the world design costumes and enter them into the show. Not all designs entered become part of the show. The show has different sections. The children's theme was "At the Bottom of the Garden." The South Pacific section was "Patterns of the Pacific." Open Section has no theme boundaries. The Illumination Section uses UV light to "Float, Fly, Flow." Creative Excellence section had to do with "folding." Other sections are "Magnificent Men" and Avant Garde. Designs are chosen for the show for each of the sections, then music and choreography, lighting, models and lots of cast and crew put together an incredible show. We will be seeing the show on Sunday, 4 October.

For an idea of what the costumes are like, go to the website above and look at the tab of the award winners. The models in the photos are not those in the show, the photos are from the program which was printed up back in June.

As a dresser, I got to see costumes up close. Some other perks were: a ticket to the show, a program, and a T-shirt. Oh, I can't forget the cast and crew party coming up Sunday night.

Certainly costumes entered were wearable. However, my inside look showed that they weren't necessarily comfortable. One dress, Queen Adelaide" required 4 people to get it on the model because it was so heavy.

More to come next week after we see the show.

Playing hooky with Dennis

Today Dennis and I took some time for good old fashioned male bonding as Chris is at a home schooling conference in Palmerson North.  Our time together actually started last night when Chris went to an Art Party at our church.  Somehow Dennis and I managed to feed ourselves and then we played computer games for the rest of the evening.

This morning we ended up rolling out of bed around 8:30am and after tending to the normal morning routine we planned our day ... as only boys can ... by a game of paper-scissors-rock which I won by producing a paper to cover Dennis' rock.

So according to the rules of the day I choose our first activity which was fishing.  Dennis eagerly agreed to accompany me to the fishing spot.  Which for today I changed from our normal.  We went to the Seatoun Pier which is strangely enough located in Seatoun.  The morning consisted of me baiting hooks while Dennis tangled fishing line.  My line was the first to hook a fish which gave me an excellent fight.  In fact more than once I thought the line was going to break.  I eventually prevailed and was able to land a 8" Gurnard which was quite lovely to look at.  While Dennis and I were staring at the fish and I was being reminded of the fact that I did not bring the appropriate gear to take a fish home with us, Dennis pole started to wiggle and he had his turn to land a fish.

After Dennis got the fish out of the water, but before it was on land he had a problem with his fishing tackle.  I looked over to see Dennis reeling in the fish as fast as he could and the fish just keeping above the water.  His line was a tangled mess down by the reel and was slipping off as fast as he could pull it back.  I came over and helped Dennis, together we got the fish on the pier.  Dennis caught a Spotty about six inches long.

Dennis later commented that we both had caught appropriate size fishes.  Right after we released these fish and got our hooks back in the water the weather changed as only it can do in Wellington.  It was warm and sunny with a cool breeze and suddenly the wind picked up dark clouds rolled in and we were cold.  Dennis kept on fishing whilst I cleaned up our tackle.

We left and it was Dennis turn to choose the next activity.  Which he did within 10 minutes.  Dennis and I took an indirect route home via Moa Point road which brought us though Wahine Memoral park and then by some tidal pools.  Dennis saw the pools and declared our next bit of fun was to play in (I said around) the pools.  So we stopped and spent about a half hour crawling on the rocks in a very rugged section of New Zealand.

After Dennis was too cold to throw another rock into the water we headed off to the car and to lunch.   We had Fish and Chips in Island Bay (town not the water) and went to the Island Bay Butcher where I picked up some Italian Sausages that look just amazing!

Then it was my turn to choose what to do for fun.  I choose to go to the top of Mount Victoria.  This would have been hotly contensted by Dennis as he did not consider it all too fun.  However I was driving - he actually suggested that I let him drive to get out of going.  It took a while to find Alexandra Road which is the way to the summit.

When we were at the top Dennis was not overly keen on getting out of the car so I coaxed him out by yelling "last one to touch the totem-pole is a rotten egg" as I left the car.  Dennis is always game for a race so he jumped out of the car after me and raced to the totem-pole.  Needless to say he was the first to touch the pole (it was fairly far away and up the hill.)  I never touched the pole myself so I tried to convince Dennis that he was the "last" one to touch it therefore he is the rotten egg.  That did not go over too well.

The views were amazing from up top Mount Vic.  Wow.

Back in the car it was Dennis turn to choose what to do for fun.  He asked to drive back to the house where we played a game of soccer in the back yard.  I am pleased to say that I won 10-9 which was mostly because Dennis fell down during a crucial play (my winning goal.)

Coming back in the house it is my turn to choose the fun activity.  I selected writing this blog entry.  Dennis has been sitting next to me the whole time (30 minutes or so) suggesting phrases to include in the narrative.  He very interested in describing the fishing correctly and displayed patience (and a bit of nagging) as I kept on writing about our day.

Now it is Dennis turn to select something fun to do.  He is requesting video games.  Which I think as this is a special situation I will let him have 30 minutes of mid-week screen time ... he will be a happy camper.

Tom (& Dennis)

Gone fishing

Took some time this afternoon to go fishing with Dennis.  I had made a few calls and can get some paperwork done this evening after he goes to bed so asked him for an hour then we went.

Chris wanted to go with us, not to go fishing but to go shopping.  She figured while we were out on the pier wresting with a spotty or two she could be browsing through the various shops on Jackson Street.

The drive to Petone was beautiful; the sky was clear, the mountains were a stark contrast to the sky and the water was alive with white caps as the southerly was blowing hard.  Dennis and I left the car at the pier to start our fishing adventure.  As soon as we walked through the gate to the pier we could feel the full force of that southerly blowing in our face!

Truth is we did not last until the end of the pier.  About 50 feet (16 meters) onto the pier Dennis put on his coat.  Another 100' (32 meters) he said he was too cold and wanted to turn back.  Thank God for cell phones.  By the time we got to the end of the pier we could see Chris coming to retrieve us.

It was a short fishing trip.  (Much to my relief)  And I am sure there will be more!

Holiday (Vacation) Reflections

Re. Dennis Theme - Whitewater World is a park with lots of water slides located in the Gold Coast. Luna Park is an old-fashioned 1930s style amusement park in Sydney.

I noticed that my packing list had some new terminology in it. I have taken on the kiwi terms jandals for flip flop sandals and togs for swimsuits. The term holiday is used for vacation.

We have been back home about a week now. The break from routine was welcomed. The top thing I wanted to do was to go to the Great Barrier Reef. We did that day two of the trip. We were picked up by a bus and then rode a big boat out to the reef. It was an overcast and windy day. The charter company has their own pontoon island which had snorkeling area marked. Tom and I snorkeled and Dennis went on one of the glass bottom boats. It was pretty cool to see the fish and corals in their home environment. Being nearsighted and without my glasses snorkeling, I didn't notice as much as Tom and Dennis. Near the end of the time on the "island" Dennis got more interested in snorkeling. We wore blue anti-stinger suits as an extra layer of protection.

When visiting our friends in Sydney, we decided that Australia is the land of "suits." The blue suits were for snorkeling. When surfing people wear wet suits. At the beach people wear rash tops or high SPF suits to protect from the sun. When we climbed the bridge we got to wear a special blue grey suit, so we would blend in with the bridge and so that we could attach hats, glasses and gear to it.

I did a couple of things that were up high. One was riding the cable car over the rain forest in Cairns. It was a three part ride with two breaks to walk on boardwalks in the rain forest. We ended in a small town called Kuranda. I enjoyed browsing the shops. We returned on a scenic rail tour. It was a pleasant day out.

You've seen the photos. I actually climbed the bridge in Sydney. I admitted to being nervous and so I got to be first climbing. One steep section, when I could see through the stairs, I had to breathe deep and just keep going. The guide told me afterwards that that was the worst part for those of us with height issues. She was right. However, the parts where we walked over steel mesh, I did not look down. Other climbers took this approach too. We were physically attached to the bridge the whole time. A roller mechanism was attached to our belts. It was like having an umbilical cord. Afterwards, we fondly admired the bridge and were glad the attachment was now emotional rather than physical.

I bought myself a piece of aboriginal art for a souvenir. I have to get it framed and then it will be a colorful addition to our lounge. Dennis would have liked to get a didgeridoo which is a long wooden musical instrument. Tom got around that one by saying we couldn't bring wood back into NZ. Dennis does just fine making noise without the assistance of a didgeridoo.

There was only one thing I wouldn't repeat. One night we stayed in a little trailer in a holiday park. The stove was gas and the flames were a bit wild. The sheets weren't soft. Tom was sick with a nasty cold virus and I was just starting to get it too.

Petone Winter Carnival

We fought the typical Wellington crowds yesterday at the Petone Carnival. That is we ended up parking a block away from our meeting location! The hardships of living in Wellington.

At 11:00am we met our friends Andrew, Cheryl and their children Jacklyn, Rachael, and Megan for a day full of adventure. The first few hours of which were at the fair.

Petone is the far north community on Port Nicholson Harbour (wellington harbor) It took us 15 minutes to drive there from the house (including time to find parking!)

Pretty much a typical carnival, a few rides geared towards younger kids. (Dennis loved them.) Overpriced food and the ubiquitous Wellington coffee merchants. In this case I counted four traveling coffee vendors all of which made premium coffees.

The fair started at 11:00am and continued until after 7:00pm. In addition to rides, foods and other vendors there was chalk drawing, petting zoo, costume contest fireworks, sculpture and a few beach fires - more about those later.

The costume contents was coupled with a polar plunge. Yes contestants had to run down the beach into the water and go swimming. This was greeted with typical kiwi enthusiasm to dressing up with many folks just itching to go for a plunge in their costumes.

The beach sculptures were quite interesting with many teams building a wooden something or another to show case their favorite group. However with everything kiwi there is a twist. These sculptures were to be burnt just before the fireworks. Wonderful beach fires. The best sculpture by far was the driftwood guy. He had a nice collection of drift wood dogs watching him build a driftwood horse. It was a hunting theme afterall! I went up and stuck up a conversation with him. He loves building these things and goes from event to event. He had no problems seeing his creation going up in flames - says he enjoys watching the children's reaction to the fire. And you do get to see the children's reaction to the fire. In a typical kiwi fashion the burnings took place with everyone bunched up around the platforms. They burned them one at a time and we just went down the beach in a crowd. I was about 15' away from the fires myself and the kids were all lined up on the rope with their faces aglow.

After the burning the fireworks! Let me tell you they were excellent! Fifteen minutes worth all very close right off the end of the pier. They surprised everyone with a few water based explosions. A simple array of flares coming out of the water. As these were nearer, and did not go as high they had a different feel than the typical fireworks a nice touch. You can read all about them here http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0907/S00274.htm

I like the picture I took of the driftwood guy with his half finished creation. It shows Wellington in the distance quite well. Click on it go get a bigger view. And here is a link to his details in case you ever want a driftwood creation for your yard :) http://www.myspace.com/driftwoodguy

All Blacks!

We went to the All Blacks game at a friend's house yesterday.  Andrew (of halloween and Stanley Cup fame) has a standing invite for us to see major video events.  

We arrived around 7:00pm and managed to get the food and drinks out in time for the 7:35 kick off.  The only thing good about the game was the All Blacks winning 27-6.  They played very poorly (all the stats were for the Italians) and after the game I found that the Italians are a tier two team which should have been soundly beat by at least 50 points!

That led to an interesting education about the All Blacks and Rugby in general.  There are only about a half dozen teams which are reasonable contenders for the Rugby world cup.  With three that are at the top - All Blacks, Australia, and South Africa.  The rest of them well they are like Italy and best described as practice fodder.

Blueberries!

Like most things in Wellington we know someone who knows someone. In this case a coworker at the Ministry of Health lives near an Organic You Pick Blue Berry farm. As it was close to the end of the year we were given the opportunity to pick at a discount. So we went!


The farm is at the far north end of the Hutt Valley. Hang a left when you are just at the top of the valley and they are on the left about five miles. Turns out the blue berry bushes are right on the Akatarwa river which means we had to meander by the river for about 10 minutes before we got to the field. Poor us. There are no houses down by the river, with the only evidence of humanity being a house up on the bluff.

When we got to the Blueberry fields they were all under a netting. So I really could not see anything until we found the door. And this is what I was saw ...

As to picking the blueberries. Well what could be better? We ate too many picked way to many for our budget and had a great time. And we met another co-worker there, one I particulary like, so it was great time.

The weather was one of those perfect fall days. Not too hot, not too cold. The sun was behind the clounds but no compliaing here. Just a light jacket and all were comforable. Here is a picture for you, makes me want to go buy a blueberry farm! (and figure out how to turn the photo clockwise 90 degrees!)

Played hookie today!

And took Dennis out fishing at Petone Wharf. He asked me yesterday if I would take him fishing and as there was not much on today I did so.

I started our expedition by buying some fishing tackle, what we had ended up on the sea bed at the end of our last trip. I have recently found a fishing store real close to the house so it was a quick stop on the way to Petone where I spent $25 on hooks, sinkers, and bait. Amazing how expensive that was. But it is all in the name of memories!

When we got there it took a while to setup Dennis new fishing pole, but we got him sorted and he was off fishing for spottys (google it if you are interested.) I fished for something larger. He caught three I caught nothing.

We met some great people on the wharf. Another father son combo was out, they must have hauled in a dozen fish. But there was no envy from me for I did not have to clean those fish! And I got some great fishing tips from them. We now know how to hold the rod when we fish for spottys, how much bait to put on the hooks and how to read the line. So it was a good day.

We also ran into another man who was fishing for something more substantial than Spottys and managed to pull up three real big Spottys. He gave them to us to take home, which delighted Dennis and annoyed me as I had more fish to clean. (I hate cleaning fish)

The cleaning went as well as those things do when you are cold, hunched over, and in your back yard with your kid splashing you with the hose. But we did get it done and have five good looking fish waiting to be cooked.

The worse part of the day was that I did not bring the camera!

Foxes, Mud and Water

Over the weekend we went to a church camp. Forest Lakes camp in Otaki, as there may be one or two of you who do not know NZ geography that well please let me explain. Otaki is along the west coast of NZ, about an hour north of Wellington. If that is not enough information click on the map on the far left, we market it (or will shortly for those who are very quick on following our updates.)

What always amazes me about New Zealand is how the average kiwi is willing to live on the edge compared to what I grew up with in America. In the past you have heard us talk about the 'flying fox.' A lovely contraption that you can find in almost every play park around the country. Well this camp was the same. They had a very very long flying fox. It required two people to operate it communicating via walkie talkie! The run was about a 500 yards (1/4 mile) and it went through a small woods, and out over the lake to an island connected via a short bridge.

There were two seats for the contraption, the adult at the recieving end would take the seat apart, give it to the child who would run it back to the start for the next kid to have their turn. The adults would talk via walkie talkie to time the release of the next kid. Amazing!

They did have a seat belt for those who rode the fox. I am not sure it would have done any good if they let go just dragged the rider through the water. I will let you judge for yourself by this next picture a closeup the contraption with a very unlikely rider!

There were quite a few ladies who rode the flying fox. Only one guy did so. Just for the record I want it to be known there is a weight limitation of 200lb. The only reason why I did not go on the flying fox, and I am sticking to that story!


There were plenty of other things to keep us busy while we were there. I think Dennis favorite was the mud slide. Apparently this is a normal thing at camps. A big water slide that empties into a pit of mud. A very big water slide I may add. I couldn't see the top from the pit but way up there somewhere was a line of kids just waiting for their turn to splash the adults at the bottom.








I suppose I should have turned that picture 90 degrees but I guess you get the idea.

Dennis just loved the time with the children from church. Even with how small the church is it is amazing how many people we do not know in the church, we were able to make a few more friends and in general had a good time.

South Island

We finally made a trip to the south island! We left on Thursday, 5 February and returned on Sunday, 8 February. Our car and the three of us went on the Interislander Ferry. Going there we were on the Arahura (Pathway to Dawn) and we returned on the Aratere (Quick Path). It was pretty cool driving the car on and off the ferry. Cars line up about an hour before the ferry is scheduled to leave. On Thursday it looked like a big tailgating party. So on the return we were ready for the wait with sandwiches, cider and ginger beer (ginger ale). Dennis made a friend on the return trip and enjoyed running around the boat.

We stayed at Echo Lodge Bed & Breakfast in Picton for one night. It is a lovely old house. The new proprietors have plans to do it up. We were very comfortable and well cared for by Sharon.

Friday morning we headed for Nelson. We elected to take the longer route towards Blenheim. The shorter route along the Queen Charlotte sounds is very curvy and we weren't in the mood for car sickness! Around Blenheim are lots of vineyards; this is the Marlborough wine area. When we arrived in Nelson we grabbed a picnic lunch and headed for Tahunanui Beach.

After lunch, we checked in at the Nelson City Holiday Park. We stayed in a kitchen unit and brought our own linens. The bed was very comfortable; I was thrilled since this is budget accommodation. We got our room set up; Dennis jumped on the trampoline.

We didn't have enough beach time so we checked out Rabbit Island. It is connected to the mainland by a short causeway surrounded by salt marsh. (Reminded us of Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia.) The beach here was just lovely. All three of us swam and let the waves rolling in splash us. We saw horse trailers and horses since a section of the beach is designated for them.

Tom barbecued burgers for dinner. Dennis made friends and ran around the park and jumped on the trampoline.

Saturday morning we went to the Nelson outdoor market. Here we bought a head massager, cherries, 1 kg. jar of peanut butter, a wool scarf, lavender soap and a sun hat. We had a picnic lunch at Queens Gardens. The ducks kept hoping for a hand out from us.

Then we toured the WOW and Antique Car Museum. WOW stands for World of Wearable Art. WOW is an annual show that started in Nelson and is now held in Wellington. People from all over the world design costumes for this show. The costumes go on real people, with choreography, music and lighting to create the show. We got a flavor of the show seeing the costumes and video clips of past shows. Tom and I plan to go to the next one in September.

We took Dennis to a Fun Park where he spent an hour going up and down a hydro slide. He also got to ride in a bumper boat. We thought three activities were enough for one day, so we went back to the holiday park.

Dennis made friends with a new neighbor boy. They invited Dennis to go across the road to play some soccer. At the park were some young men towing one another on a mountain board or roller skis behind a van. Dennis and his friend got to try it out too. While there were were serenaded by two older men, one playing the accordion and one a harmonica. When they finished a song, we clapped for them.

In the evenings Tom read to me from A Labyrinth of Waterways by W. Frank Ponder. It is about the pioneers of the Marlborough sounds. I pulled out a map and a magnifier to find the places talked about in the book. The return drive to Picton had new meaning after we had read about theses places and the first settlers.

Sunday came too soon. We ate our Sultana Bran (raisin), repacked the car and headed back towards Picton. Unfortunately we didn't see any open vineyards so we went into Blenheim for lunch. A cafe along the river with a fountain appealed to me. We sat outside and had delicious meals and coffees.

Back in Picton we had plenty of time before we needed to check in for the ferry. I shopped in town while the boys went to the park. Picton has a beautiful playground and park along the harbor. One section has a mini sailboat pond and railroad run by the Lions Club. Dennis got to put a boat in the pond and ride the train. Next to this is a mini golf and merry go round. The three of us played mini golf. Dennis wanted to go for a swim. We went to the beach where Dennis swam out to a raft. He wanted to warm up, so he did that in the kiddie wading pool in the middle of the park. Tom and I stayed cool in the shade of a gazebo. After a few hours it was time to queue up for the ferry.

Makara Walkway

On Monday the 5th, Dennis and I joined four others to explore the Makara walkway. Makara is on the west coast looking out at the Tasman Sea. The prevailing winds are northwest and it was blustery. The hike was challenging; here they call it tramping. First we climbed uphill and tried to avoid getting too much sheep droppings on our boots. Next we went downhill and completed the circular route by returning along the beach. The beach was stony and we would sink down a bit with each step. A section of large jagged boulders also kept the heart pumping.

At some tidal pools we stopped and found crabs, starfish and limpets. Dennis enjoyed finding interesting sticks and dragging them along. Above Dennis is holding a little starfish.

After being out tramping about 3 hours, all of us were tired. We climbed into our cars and headed home. Dennis and I treated ourselves to slushies. Following a refreshing shower, I put my feet up for the rest of the day. I also resolved to buy some cushion insoles for my boots.

Yes, I took the gorgeous scenic photo on the right.