Bringing in the Sheaves

So... actually, it was bales of hay, not sheaves of wheat. And also, it was only a couple of hours of the last few weeks that I was involved in said baling of hay. But I like my title, anyway.

I've been a bit out of blogging commission for a while (after my one paltry post) because I was gone for the holidays. Since I'm living alone right now in a very quiet and remote place, one of the local families took me in, and I've been staying with them for a couple of weeks. I have to say, they have spoiled me rotten. If I am ever home for the holidays again, I hope that I treat anyone who is visiting just as well as I was treated this year. It was really, really nice.

And now it's really summer and it's been warm and beautiful for a week or so. I was staying in a bach (like a vacation home, kind of, in NZ) for the last couple of days, and it had a beautiful view of Pahi bay, and this amazing garden with beautiful flowers and a lounge chair on a sunny deck, and cable television. Yeah, seriously. That's what my life has been like for the last few days. We won't talk about the horrible cats at the bach, though. My foot will never be the same.

And then, of course, there is the hay. This week the family that adopted me for Christmas is baling their hay fields and stacking it in the barn. I got to help on Monday. It was so fun! I mean, I'm probably not the most helpful participant, but still. I roll bales of hay across a field so that a machine can pick them up and load them onto the back of a truck. And then, when all the hay is stacked on the truck, I get to climb on top of it all and ride back to the barn, and then pretend to help Grant (the farmer) stack the hay in the barn, while actually just pushing and rolling the bales around until somebody stronger than me comes along and lifts it onto the stack. It's kind of itchy and dusty and really sweaty, but I like it. Maybe it just feels good to have something active to do.

Anyway, I think that pretty much catches up the last couple of weeks. I miss home a lot, but I've been so blown away by how much everyone has looked out for me and stuff. I am totally blessed.