Health, South Africa
Susan Colby
Accentuating the Positive

With the Russian madman causing mayhem in the world, I am really trying to maintain a positive outlook.

The war news is dominating and it’s difficult to avoid. But am very aware of how my mental health can affect my physical health, so I am attempting (and so far succeeding) to limit my news watching/viewing. I look at just enough to get a very superficial overview but even that is more than I want. I feel so sad for all the people affected by this megalomaniac!

Accentuating the Positive
Health, South Africa
Susan Colby
Chemo is Doing its Thing

Time flies by, even the chemo treatments. Yesterday was #5 of the planned 6. The results of my blood tests continue to be good. The cancer marker went from 301 to 187 this week. But not low enough to move on to the next stage. Dr. McCleave said they want to see it at around 30 which is quite a long way yet.

Chemo is Doing its Thing
Susan Colby
There’s Hot, and Then There’s HOT

When I came back to South Africa in 2019, I naturally gravitated to where I was born and grew up. And actually ended up in the what we used to call the village of Kloof. (It’s no longer a village!) Kloof is about 18 miles/29km from Durban and just on 1600ft/500km above sea level, giving the area a more moderate climate than Durban, usually being a good 10F less which was the case when I took Rodney to the park this afternoon. Plus less humid.

There’s Hot, and Then There’s HOT
Health, South Africa
Susan Colby
Chemo #4 Done, 2 to Go

The fourth treatment went as planned. Mick came with me so he was able to meet my doctor. It’s always good to have another set of ears in a consultation but this one was very straightforward because everything is going so well.

Chemo #4 Done, 2 to Go
South Africa
Susan Colby
A Massive Immune Booster

November 16 last year is the fateful day I got the definitive news that changed my life.

By then I ‘d been in hospital for 8 days going through tests and everything else that goes along with a cancer diagnosis. I’d just had laparoscopic surgery for a biopsy and the GYN/surgeon came to visit me after I had very gently been given the diagnosis. He’s a lovely man and from reading his bio, a pretty religious one as well. He said to me as he sat at my bedside, “Have you considered end of life?”

A Massive Immune Booster

cider

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Tauranga Farmers Market

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What's on I LOVE Farmers Markets and love to visit them wherever I am. It's a great way to get a feel of  'local' and they give me a real sense of 'place.' Most areas have markets - some areas of the world there are so many that they have them just about every day of the week. Visiting a market is one of the easiest and least expensive way to enjoy the local area without breaking the bank. Everyone has to eat, so why not do your shopping at your local market and make it an adventure! Here in New Zealand, the Tauranga Farmer's Market is every Saturday, all year and is held on the local primary school grounds. What a wonderful market it is! A real community affair with farmers and vendors coming from all over the Bay of Plenty area. And they don't call it Bay of Plenty for nothing. This area is so fertile, just about everything grows. And the market has a very good representation of the abundance in this area.

Naturally, I was keeping my eyes open for story ideas and local presents to take back with me. There was so much there, I was almost overwhelmed!

For instance, Macadamia Liqueur, anyone?  This stuff is absolutely heavenly! Smooth and silky, slips down very easily. The plus for me was they have the little mini bottles so I can take a couple with me. The market is full of the traditional market ware - seasonal vegetables, flowers, plants, cheeses, local and organic meats, prepared food stands with amazing baked goods. And there was a great food demo going on presented by Peter Blakeway, a well-known New Zealand cookbook author who prepared some wonderful-looking scallops! Everything he used in the recipes was available at the market, that day.

Then there was all the tasting to do! Delicious Kiwi cider, as good as any I have had anywhere! Lots of fruit wines and wonderful cheeses. We even tasted local olive oils, pressed by a local farmer who uses biodynamic farming methods.

 

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Tauranga Farmers Market Primary School Arundel Street Trixie Allen, Market Manager 07 5525278

Harbourside Macadamias  402 Matahui Road Katikati New Zealand Phone : +64 7 552 0718 Fax : +64 7 552 0718 Mobile : +64 27 552 0718 Email:   info@harboursidemacadamias.com

Ocider 50 Oikimoke Road, Te Puna Tauranga New Zealand Phone: 07 552 4558 Email: info@ocider.co.nz

Katikati Frantoio Limited Bert van Heuckelum 117 Lindemann Road RD1 Katikati, 3177 New Zealand Phone 07 549 1467 Email:info@olive-oils.co.nz

Peter Blakeway 027 571 2518 Email:peter@peterblakeway.com

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Gin Tasting in Roche Harbor

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Another fun jaunt! This one for an article for the summer issue of  Harbors Magazine. This time, I took the Kingston ferry over to Edmonds. The Kenmore Air Base on Lake Washington is just 15 or so minutes from there. I thought I was going directly to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island, but I was shuttled (by seaplane) to Lake Union. The short flight, about 10 minutes was very cool though and I had a young woman pilot! I was the only one on board, too but chose to not fly right seat as the windows in the back are bigger! Even though it was a misty day, the view was spectacular! At Lake Union I changed planes to the bigger Otter that seats 11 people. I flew right seat which is always a kick, especially taking off and landing!

 

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The flight is less than an hour and we came in from the west with the marina laid out below. OK - so this is where the money is! Roche Harbor Marina puts Newport Beach, California to shame. These boats are big and well maintained, and you can tell they are used as boats, not party platforms.

But I wasn't there to look at boats!

Hawk Pingree, one of the owners of the San Juan Island Distillery and Westcott Bay Cider picked me up outside the lovely old Roche Harbor Lime & Cement Works building that sits right on the dock. He was driving a cute little blue Mini with the license plate Distiller - so I couldn't miss him. Of course, I could have walked but it was a little drippy so appreciated the ride.

The next couple of hours was very educational and I learned a lot about cider making and distilling spirits! The ultimate goal behind the distillery is to produce Calvados, the lovely apple brandy popular in France. But that takes at least three years to mature, so Suzy and Hawk decided to produce something that takes a lot less time - gin! And what makes their gin so special is that they forage for the botanicals to make their gins. Things like rose hips, orris root, madrone bark and local juniper berries. They brew small batches in their Portuguese pot still and vary the ingredients, depending on the season. The also brew a wide range of othe spirits including Apple Eau de Vie, Blackberry Brandy and cocktails like Red Sky at Night, a popular one with the yachties, which is a clever blend of Spy Hop Gin, Lavender and Wild Rose Liqueur and Westcott Bay Cider Syrup.

Westcott Bay Cider bucks the flavoring trend and produces three wonderful ciders - Traditional Very Dry, Traditional Dry and Traditional Medium Sweet - all of which have clean, clear flavors.

Spy Hop GinEven though it was a gray day and at times, rather drizzly, there was a steady flow of visitors ready to taste test all the wares! And as I considered myself a visitor, I taste tested right along with them! And I was so impressed! I'm a gin lover so when we got to the gin tasting... well, I broke down and bought a bottle of Salish Juniper Spy Hop Gin! It's distilled using wild roses, blackberries, lavender and madrone bark with local tiny juniper berries. This is the most amazing gin - sip it neat - I cannot imagine diluting it or adding anything to it, the flavor is just so special.

Time ran out and Hawk took me back to the harbor and I watched my ride materialize over the water and gently land in the harbor among all the boat, then taxi to the dock. We loaded up and made the return flight back to Lake Union and then to the Kenmore base.

I was home by 8 pm, still light outside and well informed about cider brewing and gin distilling - and wondering how difficult it would be to set up a still in the garage! Hmmm... let's see... Sand Spit Gin, Bridgehaven Brew....

San Juan Island Distillery and Westcott Bay Cider 12 Anderson Lane, Roche Harbor 360 378-2606