Okay, clearly there are quite a few differences and I look like some kind of Bride of Dracula who has overdone the botox. But I've been staying down at my Mum's on the farm in Hurunui for the last few days and the first night I was here I saw a pile of green velvet curtains in a washing basket in the corner of the lounge (sadly Mum doesn't usually have green velvet curtains casually heaped about the house; they're from one of the houses on the farm that's had a change of tenants). So naturally I had to take the opportunity to do my best Scarlett O'Hara impression (from the scene in which she makes Mammy turn the green curtains of Tara into a dress for her visit to Rhett in prison) and have a photo to share with the world. My Mum wasn't at all phased when I put curtains on and told her to take a photo of me pouting like a smug fish; however, my sister sat on the couch saying, 'You are such a freak. Mum, why is she doing this?' so due to my resident heckler I didn't have time to study the original Scarlett image closely, hence I'm missing the whole lifting of the skirt action. But you get the idea.
I have had a really nice few days down here in the middle of nowhere. I haven't achieved much knitting but I have been going for brisk country walks every morning and eating delicious things which seem to balance each other out quite nicely. This photo is a bit of a cheat because I didn't take it, I was still in bed. It's pretty cool all the same.
The frost was still going strong when I got up though, so I did take this one:
On Friday Mum and I went to the Mud House Winery cafe for lunch. We stopped off first at the Rainbow Food Shop in Waikari, where every Friday they have fresh handmade bread.
And pinwheels with cinnamon and coconut and jam...
And good old fashioned branding:
Where the Rainbow Food Shop is very unassuming, The Mud House is very picturesque:
The best part about it though was the amazing Beef Bourguignon pie (have I mentioned before that I LOVE food?)
Look at the cute 'B'!
I haven't just been eating though; I made some pretty average scones, some pretty good muffins, leeks in white sauce that were not appreciated by the fussy eaters that consumed them (although my notoriously fussy sister did concede, 'Yeah, they're pretty good') and I believe I have managed to perfect the art of poached eggs, finally.
Seen here with avacado on toast. Good enough to serve at Euro I reckon. And yup, those are the same free range eggs that came from the Rainbow Food Shop carton. YUM.
It hasn't all been about food though. We won the Fire Brigade raffle at the Star and Garter Hotel in Waikari, which included gourmet grocery items such as 2 minute noodles and a tin of sardines, topped off with a concrete toadstool for the garden. All the excitement got a bit too much for this little boy though, who fell alseep against his Dad's legs after eating his Friday night fish and chips.
Last night Mum and I went into Christchurch for dinner and to see a documentary in the New Zealand International Film Festival. I was really glad it was on while I was down here because it was one of the films I had wanted to see but had missed the screenings of in Wellington. It's called Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work and it was definitely worth it. That woman is amazing. 77 years old, she's a workaholic in a gruelling industry who will never be satisfied with or accept what she has achieved. She's very insecure which partly explains why she has allowed herself to become so frozen by plastic surgery and botox in an effort to stay looking young and why she's so desperate not to be forgotten that she'll do anything if it keeps her face in the public eye. But in spite of her insecurity she's also tough as nails and incredibly determined. She's still got some pretty shocking content in her comedy-wise and the clips from her hey day when she was appearing regularly on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson illustrate that there is so much more to her than the red carpet commentaries and interviews I knew her for before seeing the documentary. She was a leader in terms of female comedy and her longevity is testament to her tirelessly putting in the effort required to stay alive in show business. She's pretty amazing that's for sure.
Finally, this afternoon I got to visit Stephanie who I met through uni and who now has two very cute twin boys who are also very well behaved. She has been sewing them cute little pyjama pants and knitted them a really awesome hooded vest (apparently called a 'gilet'). Which makes me think I'm neglecting my knitting terribly as I'm not running around after twins!
So really, I'm going to have to go back to Wellington for a rest and to get some knitting done.
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