Quake-therapy...

Despite the quake, the autumn harvest continues. In a time of sadness and uncertainty, when routines are disrupted and the familiar changes shape, it is reassuring to do something concrete and creative. Here is tomato sauce (I swear you could smell it bubbling away all over Governors Bay!), quince jelly (the first quinces to fall from my tree), a garden gathering (tomatoes, courgettes, corn, eggs, peppers, gourds...) and muesli. Not posed - this is just as they ended up on the bench. The sunflowers in the background are also from my garden. The white rooster belonged to my special Governors Bay friend Gloria. He too is a sign of hope.


While I grow tomatoes I don't produce sufficient to splurge on sauce. The sauce tomatoes came from the relocated Lyttelton Farmers Market. With Lyttelton on its knees following the quake, the market moved to the Mt Pleasant Community Centre. I thought it important to support the stall holders who were willing to turn out in difficult circumstances and so Claire and I bumped our way down Ferry Road and tried to buy at least one item from each stall. A usually reserved German (?) lady who sells lovely vegetables and from whom I always buy the most beautiful capsicums, was almost in tears as she recounted her drive into the city - obviously her first experience of the damage.


Down the road, 16-year old Libby is making batches of cupcakes. Often there will be a knock on my door and there will be beautiful Libby with a delicious cupcake. That is part of her therapy I'm guessing. To end with a smile, here is a cupcake Libby gave me some time back...