Open 7 days

This is one of the local cafes situated on the road next to the Grey River and they serve mostly vegan and vegetarian food - I haven't tried their coffees yet but maybe that's something for me to do at some point. I'm glad they can handle being open 7 days a week, as for me I'm working 6 days this week because work is expected to me so busy. I'm kind of sad that next week will my last week working in supermarket retail after doing it on and off over the years since I was 18 years old but it feels like it's time for something new.

I did however manage to harvest some broccoli out of my vegetable/herb garden but we gave it to a work colleague who has been generous in giving us free range eggs from his chickens every week. It's neat when you can swap food with other people isn't it?

Lastly it's not often I see my doctor but I have done so twice in the last 2 months. Once was to get the flu vaccine and the other was to get another type of vaccine. As many of you have been reading my posts you would've seen that Winter this year was not good - I was sick just about every week with a different bug each time and in the end I got quite run down and exhausted. The 2nd vaccine I got was one my doctor suggested which was a 3 in 1 consisting of whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. The 100 day cough that goes around here is part of the whooping cough so I'm hoping next year I will be alot more better off

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

 

Summer is still loading...

I know this photo looks like it's a nice warm sunny day and we have had a few but it feels very much like we still have Spring temperatures and that Summer is still loading. Last year nearly every single day was hot and dry but this year we've had regular rain and wind, something to do with the El Nino cycle. 

But the good news is that so far I've had 2 training sessions at my new job and although I am picking things up, I have learned that I can pour a good handle of beer. I'm one of those people that learns by doing...you can explain something to me but I connect the dots by putting it into practice. Sometimes if I want to accomplish something I will pick it up instantly and other times I nut it out until I've got it. 

I'm still working retail until the first week of January and the madness of Christmas is about to hit us. So far it's been pretty quiet but I'm expecting next week to be bonkers. I'll be glad when it's over.

Linking up with Weekend Reflections.
 

Night lights

I've been looking to see if Greymouth has any extra lights up in town or Christmas but so far this tree light hanging from a street light is all I've found. I might have to stop off a few more times on the way home from work at night in the next week to see if anymore have  been added. 

Linking up with Skywatch Friday, All Seasons and Tom's Signs.

The first church in Ikamatua

Last time we travelled out to Reefton I spotted this lovely little church on the way in Ikamatua. There apparently was one before this but it was replaced by the current one in my photos. Named St Patrick's Catholic Church it was built around 1911 and the land underneath it was donated by a local family named the O'Malleys. Out of this family came a Mercy Sister; Sister Mary Aloysius who entered Reefton Convent in 1895.

This church is part of the Sacred Heart Parish of Reefton and still has Sunday masses every week. 

Linking up with Through my lens, Tuesday Treasures, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

The cook's pantry

I had never been into this business until a couple of weeks ago when someone recommended, they sell home brew items, so B (being a home brewer was keen to visit). Most things I wasn't really interested in but I did find cans of stuffed Greek cabbage but tasted weird - I'm sure made fresh it's more authentic and some keto chocolate biscuits but apart from that most things were a bit over my budget.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Westport

 

Westport, which is about 90 minutes north of Greymouth is one of those old coal/mining towns as I've previously mentioned. I spotted this window display in one of the local businesses. I think I need to go back at some point and buy the black and white sign in the background and have a proper look around.

Linking up with Weekend Reflections and the Weekend Roundup.

Mobil

One from when it was Spring in Reefton and this is a town I really like, if it wasn't smack bang in the middle of nowhere I would've moved there. This was back when petrol prices had a brief discount on prices because everyone was affected by covid but a recently this came off and prices have soared. It's one of those old towns that originated because of gold mining.

Now a few months later Christmas is nearly here and I'll be glad when it's all over. I think working in retail on and off since I was 18 years old has given me a type of bah humbug attitude including hearing the same tunes on repeat along with 5 different covers of each song. I've been working a few hours here and there on my days off at my new job just to try and get some training in so that it won't be so "what the heck am I doing" when I finally do start in January.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday, All Seasons and Tom's Signs.