Leaf Bruise #1

Aww, it's Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays Day in New Zealand. In fact, this fancy day will be over in 3 hours and three minutes. Guess what?! 2012 is six days away in these lands. I'm in awe again of this concept of yearly, monthly, daily, hourly, minutely, secondly, nanosecondly time we humans have created over the many long years.

I'm in complete awe of hands too. Really, I can sit forever and think about the great complexity of hands and what a single hand is able to do. I'm so grateful to have two.

I'm in complete awe of the universe, too...and how it relates to infinity. Yeah, the concept of infinity is truly fascinating stuff. Our time on planet Earth really is miniscule compared to the very idea of infinity, to me. Makes me really wonder if writing on this here blog on my little piece of human created technology really matters in the whole scheme of the universe. What a strange land we have created on Earth. Sometimes I just don't get it. I really don't. Don't need to, either. It's all G.

Hm. Moving on to something more entertaining for blogland. I got my first leaf bruise ever! Oh my gosh y'all...it was my first ever for real, full dosage endo (spelling?) too - flipping.. more like flyyyyying over the handlebars! I actually thought it was fun. Then I landed. I was in one piece. whew. Then I had to stand up. Adrenaline rushing was flowing through me, so still no pain. But. My super new fancy 6 times worn bike shorts have an even newer hole in them. just one teardrop from my eye. they are only a pair of shorts, afterall. In the whole scheme of life - and the universe, not a big deal. My flatmate has a sewing machine - so just a little fabric surgery.

Both the hands I'm so grateful for still work, too :)

You can see in the pic that the leaf is bigger than my hand.

K, so my advice of the day. Take it a little easier going down a not very well maintained, super rutted trail for the first time. ok? Don't fly full speed ahead via mtn bike if you don't have a freakin' clue what's around the next corner.

That bruise wasn't caused by a leaf, by the way. It resembles one. A purple one.

No two trails are the same. Just like snowflakes.

Speaking of which, they don't exist here this time of year. December months on calendars are decorated with strawberries (no joke) and pohutakawas (a red fluffly looking flower similar to the very lovely ohia in the hawaiian bush - pic at top of this blog entry). They are both red and green. get it?? Just like Christmas colors.

Mele Kalikimaka to all my beautiful family and friends!

Did you know?

Did you know that 2012 is almost here? Yeah, it is. Like, just 2 weeks away...oh-em-gee!

Hm. This weather actually feels like Christmas-time (as in winter in Hawaii). We did have a half-day of glorious SUNSHINE yesterday :) :) :) That gets triple smiles after days of dreary clouds fillled with rain ready to be dumped.

This is a poppy flower (like in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy falls asleep without reason in that red, flower-covered field - maybe she was gluten intolerant?) before it blooms. See the wet stuff on top? That's remnants of rain.

But who wants to hear me complain about the rain? We had some fun Christmas festivities at BJ's house yesterday (where I live). BJ has movie night nearly every Friday and this week was Christmas week. Dinner is beforehand and everyone is meant to bring a dish that ties in with the movie (or whatever they want, really). Sometimes a movie's theme isn't so food friendly. Anyway, last night's theme was Christmas Dinner.

The movie of the night a very musical version of "Scrooge" from the 1970's - wow, talk about special effects! Albert Finney was Ebinezer (Did you know that this is the same guy as the old guy in "Big Fish" and Daddy Warbucks in "Annie"). I didn't know that. But IMDB did.

We had a Secret Santa gift exchange (the kind where you can steal gifts) - I won Christmas themed cookie cutters - yeah! KF and I will have to back gdcsyeb-free cookies on our trip.

GDCSYEB-free stands for Gluten, dairy, corn, soy, yeast, eggs, bell pepper-free - I bet you didn't know that. These are the things that I KNOW 100% for sure give me negative reactions when I ingest them :( :( :( triple sad face for that.

But back to :) :) :) triple happy face (cause happy is more fun than sad)...I made gdcsyeb-free brownies yesterday - did you even know such a thing existed?! I didn't. But now I do.

Recipe is from BJ's cookbook which is also from Healthy Food Guide http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/recipes/2007/june/chocolate-brownie

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened apple purée/sauce
1/3 cup cocoa
3/4 cup self-raising gluten free flour (or self-raising flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup (70g) walnuts, chopped

Mix together and bake at 175*c (347*F) for 25-30 minutes in greased brownie size pans (usually the square ones?)

I had to find a super dark chocolate (as in 85% cacao) cause with anything less there is milk and soy (an emulsifier!). Mmm mm good. The result is above the recipe...doesn't it look super moist, delicious, and super unhealthy? It all the above except super unhealthy - maybe halfway unhealthy. If you need a deceivingly healthy dessert for the holidays - give this a shot!

The photos below are just a few more super-macro love from BJ's garden.

The crapilio weather has prevented me from playing outside much, but we've had fun guests braving the weather (because they are in the middle of their tour and have no choice). I will soon post about our recent Warmshowers guests www.warmshowers.org. Warmshowers is essentially like Couchsurfing.com but speficially for touring cyclists. You can either sign up to be a host or touring cyclist (and change whenever you go home or leave for a tour) and put you status as such on your profile...it's pretty cool...and a great way to meet fellow tourists, who are a fun bunch.

Til next time!

Market Day #1

Wow, I must admit, I get an adrenaline rush selling my things.

Yesterday was market day #1. Technically it was my second market, but last weekend's Soundshell Market and turned out to be a nothing really (for everyone - not just me, thank goodness) because the weather was horrendous. Even though I didn't sell much last weekend, I still dubbed it a success because it got me prepared for what to expect yestarday... the Hot Lakes Craft Market put on by RAVE, the Rotorua Arts Village http://www.rave.org.nz/ . It was a super success in my book and for more ways than just selling a bunch of earrings.

Check out my table! Good young BOB, my trusty bike and the chilled Me were happy and ready to sell! (Mind you, I have a fleece underneath my weatherproof jacket, pants and toe covered shoes - with wool socks...it's the equivalent of June 11th on the Northern Hemisphere...roughly the same latitude as Lexington, VA - why must I be sooo cold?!!)

I played a super fun(?) game with the wind, too. It would so kindly, and unexpectedly knock over my earring hangers (which are dolphin-topped cd holders I picked up for cheap at Salvation Army!). Then I'd hang them all up again as fast as possible and so cleverly guess when it would show it's presence again to knock over my things. Challenging game for sure. Kept me busy.

I met lots of great people, too. The one I'm most excited about is Pa (short for Patatonga). He's one of the main people in charge of the art shop in the RAVE complex. The shop is essentially a co-op. He invited me to sell my things in the shop! YES! I can work in the shop as well and receive a discount on the commision I must give for what sells.

I also met some other artsy people...two local ladies and a Japanese girl who is very drawn to Africa (she teaches African dance in Japan) and makes dreamcatchers. They invited me to share a booth at another market in town.

And one of those ladies says I can very likely work at the same place she is a cook. (I'm not getting my hopes up yet for that but am keeping my fingers crossed - should know by Tuesday). I can also share the same booth space as these ladies at the next Soundshell Market (our fees will be $8 each instead of $30). Perfect.

I also bartered with a lady some earrings for the beautiful, dyed, handmade, grass boquet at the top of this page.

Sell stuff, meet people, barter, get a job...what a productive day at the market! (minus the FREEZING part).

And on a side note, after 6 days of no dairy, my body has FINALLY ridded itself of the problem stuff (I'm convinced it's casein rather that lactose). My clarity is back, sinus pressure -and that awful smell are gone, and I just feel pleasant and light and fresh and happy again (instead of feeling like a 140 pound balloon is stuffed inside my skull blowing ever so slowly yet causing enough pressure that maybe it'll explode at any moment). Dairy, never again. Ever.

Fannie happy!

A Great Mystery...Solved!

(I promise I'll have pretty pictures up again. Soon :)

For years, I've been dealing with this horrid smell in my nose and/or sinuses. It's too gross for me to describe on this here public blog. But it was bad. The smell itself always surfaced when I'd go swimming. I just thought it was H2O up my nose.

Turns out it IS H2O up my nose AND...

Drumrolls, please...

Dairy!

So, I've made this gluten crunch goodness 3x in a week. I've also been pool swimming 4x in the last week = H2O up my nose. This horrid stench has also made a not so pleasant comeback in well over a year.

It all makes sense.

I rarely ever, as in pretty much never, ate dairy this last jaunt in Hawaii. I always used rice or almond milk with my coffee...and before that, when I was eating dairy, I was still clueless about my gluten intolerance that I was really too fatigued to swim anyway. (I was unable to swim for nearly 4 months do to such extreme fatigue halfway out to the flag at 200 meters from shore that I was seriously afraid I would drown - only an incredibly weak breast stroke would get me back to shore completely exhausted).

I just assumed the smell was from gluten...but I've not had gluten since the Milo incident about a month ago. But I pretty much dropped dairy before I dropped gluten. And have only consumed relatively large quantities of it in this ginger crunch.

In the last 24 hours without dairy, the smell and sinus pressure is slowly going away. This discovery, to rid mynose of this smell FOREVER, is enough for me to never, ever, ever want to consume anything dairy again.

So while it's been an unpleasant week smell-wise, I'm grateful for the experience because now I know. For sure.

Gluten Free = Happy Me!

Mmmmmm-so-yummy! Try this: Gluten Free Ginger Crunch. This tasty dessert can easily be made vegan as well by substituting the butter with any vege oil blended spread (like Earth Balance or Smart Balance - or your fave). I would do this but have yet to find a butter alternative that lacks soy. I have far more issues with soy than dairy. Bonaynay knows. If you know of a lovely buttery goodness alternative lacking soy, let me know. Dairy just gives me flatulance.

Lucky you. :)

OK now, moving on to something more appetizing. Ginger Crunch. From my observations, this is a New Zealand thing. I only say this because I've not tasted it anywhere else. It's really good. I've included the conversions from NZ measurings to USA's preferances - as you will notice, some of the conversions are weird numbers - just round up or down. You'll figure it out. I believe in you! So here's the recipe! Enjoy!

Gluten Free Ginger Crunch

Ingredients

Base
125g butter, softened (.55 cup)
1/2 cup White Sugar
1 1/2 cups Healthries Simple wheat & gluten free Baking mix (or any blend of gluten free flour that you enjoy or is available to you).
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
1-2 teaspoon ground ginger

Ginger Icing
75g butter (.33 cup)
1 cup Icing Sugar (confectioner/powdered sugar)
2 tablespoons Golden Syrup (Corn Syrup will do... or an alternative if you know one for those against corn sugar stuff)
3 teaspoons ground ginger

Method/Directions

Base

1) Preheat oven to 190*C (375 *F)
2) Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (with an egg beater sort of blender)
3) Sift flour, baking powder and ginger together.
4) Mix into creamed mixture. Press dough into a greased 20 x 30 cm baking pan (~ 8x12 inch, or a 10x10 inch pan would do)
5) Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.
6) Pour ginger icing over base while hot and cut into squares before it gets cold.

Ginger Icing
In a small saucepan combine butter, icing sugar (powdered sugar), golden syrup (corn syrup) and ginger. Heat until butter is melted, stirring constantly.

Ok just an fyi - the ginger icing is super sweet. I'm not sure if it's really that sweet or if my tastebuds that taste the the sugary sweet treats are ultra sensitive since my cane sugar intake levels have drastically declined in the last year (not necessarily by willpower but rather a pained gut). Long story short, I made this yesterday (third time in the past week) but this time I drizzled half the amount of icing on top and it's just the right amount (for me).

Sometimes I think I add too many (paranthesis).

Moving on. See that tab at the top right corner of this here blog, labeled "home"? For those who are interested in a gluten intolerance experience (mine), that tab will soon be labeled "Gluten Free Me" - or something along those lines. I found out just over a year ago that my seemingly random and sporadic symptoms - many of which I had no idea were even symptoms but rather "that's just the way I am" sort of thing - were actually all caused by a single microscopic protein composite found in wheat and other grassy grains...aka the big G, aka gluten.

A small sampling of my random and sporadic symptoms: extreme fatigue, "brain fog," excersize induced asthma, bloating (water retention), insomnia, concentration difficulty (ADD style), increased anxiety, Reynauld's Syndrome (discoloration/numbness in toes due to poor circulation in cold places), tingly fingers, the big D up to 5x a day, loss of appetite, loss of balance, inability to feel thirst...there's WAAAAY more.

And to clarify, not all these happened at once...it was such a gradual process that my 'normal' had slowly changed so much that I forgot what it was to feel well, healthy and just plain good...my normal was to feel like crap. ok, I can go on and on and on about this, so I will leave it for that tab at the top right corner and if you have interest to learn more about gluten intolerance, please come back and check it out. My quality of life has been improved so drastically and all the above symptoms that I had attributed to stress, being busy, etc. have completely disappeared as long as I don't ingest gluten. nuts, huh?

My biggest piece of advice, listen to your body...heartburn, inexplicable fatigue, IBS, anxiety, constant sinus problems, etc - these are all ways out bodies are trying to communicate that were eating something it doesn't break down and digest very well. Maybe it's gluten...or soy...or strawberries...or rice...or peas...or dairy. Could be anything really. That's the pain in the butt part - trying to figure out what it is...but if medications or other treatments don't seem to be working - try and see if you can pinpoint the food. I no longer eat gluten, of course, but I've discovered other food issues and pretty much stay away from soy, bell pepper, dairy (except when I make/eat ginger crunch), yeast, quinoa, and eggs because they cause a range of not so great symptoms as well.

Yeah, for sure eliminating these foods seems like such an inconvenience but, for me, the inconvenience outweighs the extreme positive changes in my life. It's up to you to decided what quality of life means to you because it is different for everyone, that's for sure. Definitely one of those subjective/arbitrary/matter of opinion concepts :)

Here's to happy guts!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? ...what?

I'd say not too much has been going on in the last several days, but really, how can not too much be going on when your just into your first month of living in a new country?

Everyday is a new one, right. Lots to learn. I had been so focused on employment that I forgot to enjoy life for a moment. I can certainly do both. So, my focus right now is to get ready for these craft markets that I have signed up for and hope those go well and that one of the many places I've given a resume to will get back to me soon. And in the mean time, I will drop on an application a day. If nothing reasonable comes up in the next 10 days, then I will go pick fruit somewhere. which is A-ok. I am hopeful, though.

I've been swimming three times this week - that's right, 3x. It's been so glorious to be in H20 again. Practice with the local tri club is at an early 6am, in a large 50 meter outside pool and it's winter weather right now - Hawaii style. Meaning I'm FREEZING with the temperature reading 20 degrees C = ~70 degrees F. Pool is heated :) Oh my gosh, it was so WEIRD swimming WITH people in a pool. And having some level of instruction...in kiwi english. Just the presence of others improved my swimming right away, I think. Then we had to do these sets of 100 meters all out. The last time I swam with my heartrate so high and jell-o-esque arms was probably in high school swim practice. But really, I didn't know what I was doing back then. And I still don't.

These practice and this pool are totally taking me back to my childhood swimming with the Maple Ridge neighborhood summer swim league...I think mostly because I froze my butt off in the early mornings as well. I remember one relay race, I was supposed to swim breast stroke and I dove into the pool and swam freestyle all out. Bursted into tears when we were done cause the team got disqualified, of course. Oops.

I went mountian biking in my backyard Whakarewarewa Forest with Byrdie and three of her friends (all guys and really good - and Byrdie is super good, too). It was soo great. I think I improved 152%. These tracks, aka trails, are so long and varied and fun and it's like everything I've learned can be applied more effieciently to these longer courses. Everything is just clicking so nicely. Again, like the swimming, being in the presence of other people - especially people who have no idea of my skill level, really brings my skill level to another level - maybe a subconscious desire to not keep people waiting...(?)

Byrdie got new curtains put in and the installer gave her all the extra fabric. In less than 24 hrs, she made 8 matching seat cusions, and two tablecloths. Inspiring. Byrdie's house is like an inspiration box - as is her way of living. worthy of it's own post. soon soon.

It's funny all the inspiration around me. I love all these childhood memories and feelings as well that are coming back to me that had seemed to be gone and lost forever. I forgot how much I was in awe of the concept of volcanos and would watch them on the news with pure interest and joy. Now, I'm surrounded my underground thermal energy.

It's like magic having a childhood joy being reawakened.

I was making an earring yesterday, haha, and my strangest memory yet - I got a flashback to that guy and Roger Rabbit sitting in the movie theatre hiding from the bad guys...remember?? yeah, that was weird. I just checked - that movie came out in 1988...oooh my that was a looong time ago.

ok, a yummy GF dessert recipe coming soon! best if you like ginger :) can be made un-gf too for those it doesn't bother.

En Zed Vocab Lesson

Move to new Zealand from the USA and you are likely to understand the language...that's because they speak english here! You 'll feel right at home. Haha, jk. Aside from the different accent you are for sure gonna be reminded daily that you are in a foreign land because of the strange new words...yes English is spoken here, but there is a bit of language learning involved as well- perhaps simply and extension of English? Nah, it's a completely different english language :)

Ok, let me explain.

Lesson #1 Egg laying clucking birds.

The owner of the house where I am staying has those little cluckity cluck cluck animals that lay eggs. And what do you call these birds? Well, you would say: I have to go out back to see if the chooks laid eggs yet.

Lesson #2 swim break

If you go to the beach, you don't want to forget the thing you swim in, or the slip on shoes that protect your feet from the hot hot hot sand. "ooooh, the sand is so hot, I better put on my jandals," and "this isn't a nude beach, so we better wear ours togs."

Lesson #3

Mmmm, I Love coffee. Most shops don't sell straight up drip coffee...although the local(?) Starbuck's does. Hmm. But French press style works just as well- if you've got one of these in your home, though, it's not a french press. Nope. You make coffee by plunging it with your plunger...that's right, the same name as the item we unclog our toilets with. Pleasant.

Ok, you're at any place that serves nondrip coffee- what on earth do you order???

*you want an americano? The espresso style most like drip coffee? Yeah you can order that, but it's also called a long black.

*straight up espresso- order a short black.

*flat white is like a mini latte.

*you don't want a skinny latte - or with skim milk. Instead, you'll order a trim latte with trim milk.

*cappaccino, latte, macchiato are more or less the same...

Lesson #4 how bout them roots?

Oh my goodness, I need to die my hair again cause the regrowth is as long as the Nile.

Bad example- but regrowth is roots from died hair. Makes sense. Roots do, too.

Lesson #5 the last letter.

How would you say the last letter of the alphabet? Or how would you spell ooze?

Ok, here goes: oh-oh-zed-eee

Yeah, the last letter of the alphabet is 'zed' not 'zee.' cool,huh?

Lesson #6

you tinkle on a bog, apparently. Not a toilet.

Lesson #7 in the kitchen

Haha...this learning moment strongly influenced my decision to peace out of my job.

Don't put the cup on the bench.

Haha...I guess you had to be there to find humor in that sentence. But that translates to: Don't put the mug on the countertop.

I was asking my ex-boss to hand me a mug. I pointed to it and said it again a few times. He's puzzled. Ding ding ding, lightbulb! He realizes I'm talking about the device to serve coffee drinks in...he states rather rudely "NO, it's a CUP! You're not in the US anymore, you're in New Zealand! You have to call it a CUP!" then he shakes his head in disgust at my ignorance and stupidity. Quite literally. K, buddy. I've got ZERO problem with calling this item a cup. None. But I have to have the knowledge to call it that first. Way to go for understanding of language barriers and cultural differences...

Lesson learned. And there were plenty of other rude and disrespectful situations, not just that.

Enough ranting. Moving on to our next lesson...bare with me, we're almost done.

Lesson #8

you need to grab some snackies or a soda, or maybe an ice cream at one of those super duper tiny grocery stores but not really grocery stores cause all they sell is junk food stores? It's a dairy versus a convenience store.

Hmm what else. Oh yeah, if you come here from the States, remember that the left side of the road is the right side of the road. So don't drive on the right side unless you're down with head on collision (and really, you shouldn't be).

That's a biggie.

Enough learning for the day. If you feel like learning more today, I'd suggest reading a book.

Aloha! (that's Hawaiian for 'hello' and 'goodbye'. :)

Motivation for Creation

Unfortunately my new job was a fail...it was too good to be true, as my mom so correctly put it. I can tolerate a lot of work place drama and crap, which there was plenty of, but I pretty much have zero tolerance for disrespect. So I quit. Less than a week after I started - never have I done this before. Ever. It felt weird for me to do that and just a bad bad situation overall. I even noticed the red flags, too and thought I'd be able to just deal with it for two months... But fortunately I value my own self worth quite a lot to realize it truly wasn't worth it. Nobody should put up with disrespect, imho...especially when it's in your face the entire shift.

But moving forward. This, of course, leaves me currently jobless but full of options again as well. I have spent the day applying for employment, though a bit more choosy this go around. I may have to pick up and move to a fruitpicking region...and that's all g. I'm looking more into the outdoor adventure tour and/or retail industry. Hoping the summer season around the corner will help.

Ooooooh, I also reserved a spot at an art market to sell (or try to) my earrings and bracelets. This is incredibly motivating. I may even try to draw a mandala or two as well. Motivation for creation, yeah!

So there is good to come out of this ultra crappy situation, as there often is.

Not a fan of disrespect. So peace out, Ephesus.

Let's take a run, shall we?

Whakarewarewa Forest is in my temporary backyard, and for this I am grateful. I can enter the forest less than 1/2 a mile from my current residence. Enter it, and you are taken to another world. Much of the time, I half expect fairies to pop out and sprinkle fairy dust on my head. Maybe I will fly one day - one of my childhood desires. I wouldn't be surprised if this forest had healing qualities, too - especially since my achilles has been sore for the past several months and now it is no longer. Though, to be fair, I have avoided super steep, long inclines for a while (the cause of the bum achilles) and have been wearing a brace everytime I ride and run to allow blood circulation, which supposedly helps. I also think the ride from Auckland to here helped strangthen the tissue surrounding it...this is all speculation, of course...but it feels loads better and I don't have a shooting pain if I step the slightest bit off.

Onto the forest. The land is part of the forest service here and is actually used for logging. They only log a section at a time, though and large areas not being logged are used for recreation: mountain biking, horseback riding, running, walking, hiking, etc. According to http://www.redwoods.co.nz/history.php, the California Redwoods in the park were planted in 1901 due to much of the land being cleared beforehand for timber. Though the trees are young in comparison to their California relatives, they are still magnificent and awe-inspiring. If you haven't already, and you have a chance, definitely check out the Redwoods in California. One of my fave places ever.

All the pics are from one of my runs - I ended up being out for nearly two hours - though much of the time I was snapping away.




Yes, this plant is no longer living, but the leaves of the ferns create a beautiful pattern that I find quite inspiring. If you don't know already, I LOVE super-macro camera settings!












I still can't get over the massiveness and quantity of trees and plants and all the various shades of green.
















































Look who I ran into early on during my run. I'll have to name him because I'm sure we'll meet again...though he looks pretty aged and probably has a name already.





I have a cool panarama feature on my camera. I love how this photo illustrates that one side of the trail is more ferny type trees while the other side of the trail is mostly dominated by Redwoods.

Note for the future: for more efficient running, don't take the camera, Steph. Again, I am so grateful to have such a beautiful place to play. And I love how a walk in these woods is pure entertainment and costs nothing, like so many of the Earth's natural wonders.

Looking forward to the next run...thanks for joining me on this one!

Made in New Zealand

I've been making heaps of earrings while I've been in Rotorua. I'm hoping it can be a second job and/or a way to make a little extra income on the road. Plus, it's pure entertainment. Check these out - and critique if you please. Working on an Etsy page - perfect timing for the holiday season, huh? Enjoy!

My first made in New Zealand earrings - from a collection of handpicked shells found on the beaches of Tauranga while I stayed in Mt Maunganui.

Designed and made in Rotorua from seed beads and a necklace (round wood pieces) from an estate sale in Georgia.

Same as above, with copper colored wire, instead.

Shells from the same beach as the first set. Made in Rotorua.

Beads from a chain craft store in Georgia. Made in Rotorua.

I actually made these on the flight from Honolulu to Fiji...not in NZ. oops.

I designed the earrings below in Georgia before my thru-hike, but gave the first pair away. They remind me of a flower - upsidedown. The "petals are a plum color. Made In Rotorua.

The beads are actually seeds from a plant that grows near streams in Hawaii. Handpicked. They are very hard and glass-like. Beautiful. First set made in Hawaii, but I made these in Rotorua along with a bracelet in the same style.

Two sets of earrings and a bracelet with the same style of glass bead. I still have to figure out a simple and nice way to clasp the bracelet together.

I remade the earrings below here in Rotorua because I didn't like the original wiring method I used. The large beads are from a bead shop in Duncannon, PA that I picked up on my hike.

Beads from Brazil. First pair made in Hawaii...this is the second pair made here.

The longer set with the copper wire was made in Hawaii, the shorter set with the darker wire was made here in Rotorua - I've been inspired to make smaller earrings lately - trying to have a larger variety

Beads without a match, yet...but the matches will come. I tend to make/design earrings one at a time because I usually am on a roll. The first earring is the most time consuming and the second usually takes a fraction on the time to make than the first.

I love these - made them a couple days ago. They are green zebra-esque striped beads from a chain craft store somewhere.

K, I'll post some "made in Hawaii" and "made in Georgia" earrings soon and hopefully get the etsy page up and running, cause these are fairly tame compared to what I've mostly made in the past :)

Deja vu and missed tea parties...

I'm employed! YEAH!! and it's deja vu style at a middle eastern restaurant...called Cafe Ephesus. The owner is Turkish, though he has never been to Ephesus - a land of many, many, fascinating ruins that I really don't know too much about...even though I did go there once...back in my teenage youth. My hiring process was even deja vu - saw the 'now hiring" sign (same as pyramids), applied (same as pyramids), interview 34.58 seconds (just 5 min 34.58 seconds at pyramids), I get hired and work A LOT (just like pyramids)...

Wow, what a drastic difference - not only the eating out/waiting tables w/ no tips concept...but in management as well. This guy is all over the place, and I have to remind myself of the various factors invlolved (language barriers, cultural differences, etc) so I don't get upset and storm out. I've been sooo incredibly fortunate in the last two years to have such low key management. We often worked by ourselves at Pyramids and once the owner trusted you, it was very much an honor system sort of deal. We were expected to do a good job, and we did. I've got to remember that most managers/owners are a bit more nitpicky and even flat out rude and condescending to their employees at times. K, two months, Steph. You can do this! :/ hmm


K, onto more happy thoughts. My housing situation for the next two months seems to be panning out quite nicely. I met Byrdie through www.warmshowers.com - a couchsurfing sort of concept but strictly for cycling tourist. She has toured a whole lot and owns a house here that she very often opens up for tourists in New Zealand to stay while they are in Rotorua. Long story short, she has a small room connected to the dining room that she is letting me rent out for the next two months at a very reasonable rate. I lucked out cause renting a room in a house via the NZ version of craiglist - or even at a hostel - would have been 2-4x the amount that i am paying...I feel like I won the lottery.

Check out some of the tasty delights that Byrdie and her housemate Mishel (from Alaska - she was the first USA-ian I met after a week of being here) made for Byrdie's tea party. Sadly, I had to miss it because I had to work my brand new job on a busy night :( But I did help out as a little beforehand and I was in awe cause they whipped most of this up homemade style the morning of with a little prep work the night before... (I made the puffy pink merengue things below - well I dalloped them - and poured the fillings into the mini-quiches - ooooohh go me!)




Yummy!

Yes, smooth sailing this far. And Kate gets here in less than two months. Defintely getting the 'time flies' sort of feeling inside :) I've got to start planning which sort of routes we are going to take. We will be completely geared to go off-road - and we want to...but coming about these routes and getting from point A to point B will be much more varied and a bit harder to come by than an all out paved tour. I'll be expecting to take paved roads at some points...but it would be super cool if we didn't have to.

gotta peace out to work :( but I get to PLAY tomorrow! :)

Pics from the road...

Putting my BOB together at the airport. The flight was a little hope over the Pacific Ocean from Fiji. I'm still in awe that the airport has a place set aside to build your bike...and free computers with internet access...what?!


Leaving the airport - on my way to my warmshowers hosts just a few kilometres away for day 1.
Playing a conquer Europe with trains game with Belinda, Marcus, Liam and Roland...Belinda and Roland recently finished a 1.5 year tour on a tandem riding from Alaska to Patagonia! Wow!


Belinda snapped this pic of me officially heading off...to who knows where :)
My first home. Topopokanga Regional Park (the following three photos below).
I stayed in Katikati two nights after some gastro issues. hm. But the small town is dotted with murals - painted in the 90's and early 2000's to try and boost tourism. This is just one mural of probably 30 throughout the town. Apparently, it's working. A lot of people come to this town/area to find work picking fruit.
Beach just east of Katikati - shoreline covered with shells!

Ancient imprints? They looked pretty cool. These are platered (naturally) on some rocks at Mt. Mauranganui near the city of Tauranga.

Me on top of Mt Maunganui. Just to the left of this pic is where the giant oil spill occured not too long ago and there are still massive efforts to clean up the beaches. Swimming was not recommended and in fact, several of the less populated beached further south were closed entirely. So sad...this dependence of oil.



My first made in NZ earrings - and the shells were found on the very beach I made them on...cool, huh?
I am almost to Rotorua!


more pics to come...trying to keep in a theme-y...maybe "Super-Macro NZ" will be next!