Rainy Saturday

Be sure to check out Brian's blog (link to the left) to see his latest feature--a slideshow of his top pictures of the week. Don't be fooled by his pretty pictures though, it's still hard work on the vineyard... except we are on our 3rd day off in a row (probably a few more still to come).

Yesterday we went to 2 wineries for tastings. Spy Valley and Cloudy Bay. It was fun. The ladies working were very friendly and we had a few nice chats in beautiful modern buildings with enormous fireplaces (it's winter here remember... a fireplace is a hot item for someone roughing it like we are!).

We also went to Blenheim for a few hours. We got library cards and checked out some books and then walked around for a while. I am pretty sure that I will need to reserve a copy of HP7 at one of the bookstores. We don't have to stay up til midnight... it comes to us at 11:01am the day before the U.S. We bought a bottle of highly rated wine which I then knocked off a bench at the Turkish cafe we chose for lunch. While picking it up I sliced my palm a little. Spilled milk is nothing... its spilled wine that is something to cry about! Lunch was hot and delicious and we got a box of cheap wine to mull one of these chilly nights.

Back at the vineyard we met Murray, the viticulturalist who came to assess the work done on the vineyard so far. There is still a lot of work to be done. He is a really cool guy. A feisty old man-- bushy white beard and great sense of humor. He may help us find some work in other vineyards around the country. He also informed us that this weather is nothing... it will get much colder. Damn.

It rained all night and this morning so Marj and Tadeu had a day off too. It is too wet to work in the vineyards when it has rained that much. The rain stopped around noon and now the sun is coming out occasionally to warm things up a bit.

Life is good. Tonight (well Friday night, which I think is about nowish) is an informal reunion of my high school class. Greetings to you all, and Cheers!