'Today is a beautiful day and You are a beautiful person so SMILE! Arohanui ♡'

Day 5

I'm finally getting used to waking up early again. It's like missing Capoeira for a week; you get out the habit and you pay for it when you eventually get back to training with pain for days after! I'm also getting used to doing 4 odd hours of manual labour a day, instead of using my brain. It's a nice change and you feel a different kind of tired. A change is as good as a holiday so they say, and this change has meant less migraines. A success story in itself.

Another welcome change is the weather. Today was one layer warm sunshine and so I was outside all day. I helped build a gigantic bonfire in the paddock with the orchard prunings, it went about 10 feet high and apparently that nothing because the ones in the barn get 3 times that. I got covered in mud, also from Dice and Baa baa jumping up on me. Then I did some weeding in the garden, not my favourite task; I like gardening better when I can eat the fruits of labour!

After that, I treated myself with a trip to the beach to make the most of the sunshine while I can. You who know me well, know that I love beaches. Sand in my toes, water and sunshine, because who goes to the beach unless it's sunny. I also discovered the nicest restaurant, The Drift Cafe. Although I only had a fejoia juice, the specials I overheard the waitress say sounded delicious. In the dining area, they had glass vases hanging from the ceiling with fresh flowers in them. If I was having a birthday party in NZ, I would have it there. The sink in the toilet was a bucket and the mirror had written at the top: 'Today is a beautiful day and You are a beautiful person so SMILE! Arohanui ♡'. The last word translates roughly from Maori to English as Big Love.