Miss you too

View on the drive back from work

Dear Lula,

Sorry you are kind of lost at the moment.  It's good you aren't afraid to admit it.  That's better than wasting time doing what you think you should be doing just because of expectations.  I am jealous that you are going back home and that you will get to spend time with Natalie and the rest of the family in Miami. 

My latest office remodel

I must admit that I miss traveling with you as well.  Like you said it is nice to have someone to get excited about the big things and also the little stupid things that we like so much... like endless bakeries and odd foods.  I have made a really great group of friends here but it is not the same.  I can't wait to see everyone at Christmas.

As far as my life here in Nelson, everything is going well.  I am still working on the vineyards and I am still drinking lots of wine.  I wish I could send some home but apparently US customs won't allow it.  I am researching to find a loop hole.  My friends and I have started a dinner club.  About twice a week we all get together and one person cooks and someone else is in charge of dessert, or pudding as they say here.  And dinner is called tea. Plus they have morning and afternoon tea, all of which are referred to as tea time.  Needless to say, I get confused as to what meal we are actually having at the time or if someone is just offering me a glass of tea.  Well, back to the point, our dinner club is a lot of fun. Last week my Samoan friend John made some traditional Samoan food.  This week Bara made her traditional food from the Czech Republic.  All of it was delicious.  I am going to attempt some Cuban food for my turn.  Top all the food off with endless bottles of good wine and lots of laughs and that sums up one of our nights. 

Me with the first fish of the day

My good friend Nick and his sister with their first catch

Our secluded picnic spot... not bad huh?

Setting up the feast

Last weekend I went on a bit of a road trip with my friends up to Golden Bay.  They wanted to show me the area, which was beautiful, and also take me Salmon fishing.  Ok so it wasn't really fishing.  We went to a salmon farm and caught fish out of their stocked pond.  Not especially challenging... but the fish were kept in crystal clear spring water and they smoked them fresh for us.  We also took one of them raw.  We drove over to a secluded beach and had a picnic with our fresh smoked salmon with goat cheese on bread and we had the raw salmon as sashimi.  SOOO so good.  Oh and of course we had a nice bottle of local Riesling to go with it.  After our picnic they took me up to Waikoropupu springs.  They are considered the clearest fresh water springs in the world.  It was by far the clearest water I have ever seen.  Plus there was wild watercress growing everywhere.  I wanted to pick some but it wasn't allowed in the park.  My friends took me to their secret watercress spot on the way home and we picked a bag of it. 

One of the streams flowing from the springs

pathway through the springs

This water is probably 7 to 9 feet deep and you can see straight to the bottom

Our watercress mission

So that is life in Nelson.  I wish you could be here.  I am sad I missed the banana peel slide.  I would have enjoyed laughing at you.  You would have enjoyed laughing at me when I was in my boss's car driving home and had just finished eating an apple.  I went to throw it out of the window and accidentally hit the top of the window frame with my hand and the apple came flying back at me and hit me in the face, bounced off and landed in my lap.... yeah my boss was impressed.  He threatened to stop supplying me with wine since it seemed that I already had a hard enough time functioning sober.  Well, I only have about three weeks left here before I go to meet Sofi in Sydney.  I can't wait.  I am definitely coming back to New Zealand to travel around a bit more though.

Love and miss you,

Tita