My last two days have been a bit more interesting that those before them, mostly because my homesickness lifted marginally which made me actually want to go out. After I had written to you on Wednesday evening, Gabrielle came home and asked if I wanted to make some glass beads! Of course I did! She showed me her garage workshop where she had all the different coloured glass, the tools and the blowtorch attached to her desk. As I try and describe it I really wish I had taken some pictures. First, I was taught how to make a basic bead, by heating up to glass rod slowly so it doesn't crack, then heating up the mandrel, then almost wrapping the melted glass onto the bead release (away from you, just incase). Melted glass has a really strange viscosity to work with, almost like honey. After getting a pretty good bead, I was shown how to make different patterns on the bead using stringers (thinner glass rods). I made one with dots, one with dragged swirls, and a couple of other ones. All in all, it was really fun, and Gabrielle is so talented, I watched her make a little sheep, it was perfect. The next night, I made most of my beads into jewellery with Gabrielle's regular beads.
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| Purple and Blue Dots |
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| Blue with Orange Bumps |
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| Purple Base Bead with Bubbles |
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| Heart Shaped Bead |
Yesterday I fully intended on being in the CBD early to meet Selina for lunch, but that didn't work out. I ended up getting on the train about 1pm and got into CBD at 1.30pm, too late for lunch but enough time for Selina to pop out for a ciggy to see me and give me a little tour. She took me up to the cable car, which I was going to ride, but decided to have some lunch first. Found a little cafe and sat and read The Lost Symbol whilst having a hot chocolate and a wrap, it was a nice day to just sit and read.
I took a scenic wander back through Wellington to the train station, and to my disappointment they wouldn't give me a student fare this time. Anyway, I decided not to tackle the hill but instead pay the $2 to get the bus. Lazy? Probably, but that hill was not my friend. I spent 2 hours back at the house doing some work, which I was there for, sorting fastenings into packs whilst listening to Harry Potter.
When Gabrielle and Dan came home, Gabrielle said she was making some cheese to go into dinner, (Yes, making some cheese, from scratch!) and asked if I wanted to help. It's a funny thing cheese making... getting the milk to the right temperature, adding the enzymes (the same enzymes that are in a calves stomach, by the way), straining it through the cheese cloth and then boiling the curds in the whey, and finally putting it in brine. It was very strange to see the liquid milk turn to solid cheese before your eyes. Very strange indeed. It was halloumi that we made, to go in the curry for dinner, and it was lovely and squeaky (the sign of a good halloumi, apparently!) Last night being my last night with Gabrielle and Dan, Gabrielle and I sat around making jewellery and just chatting. I tried to get an early night due to my 6am start this morning (ew.) but of course that didn't happen... oh well. The 6am start, on the other hand, did happen, so I was packed, breakfasted and ready to go by 7am. The ferry is starting to move now, it's a 3 hour ferry journey so I'm going to lurk around on Facebook and see if I can catch anyone from home.
Here's some fun stuff for you;
(Source: thedailywh.at)
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