A topic of another guests of our B&B, who booked from Tennessee in United States. Asami planned this NZ trip as a birthday present for her mother, Hiroko, who lived in Japan. From Tennessee, via Saitama (Japan) to pick up her Mum, and all the way to Wanaka, such a long distance! Welcome, welcome, welcome!
I got a request of cooking class for the 2nd night dinner. We did a preparation of the dessert in the 2nd morning, it's Pavlova of course as a Kiwi traditional dessert.
After they came back from town in the early evening, we started the cooking demonstration class. For the 90 minutes, I introduced some from dinner menu of the night.
In conformity to tonight's wine... *Rack of lamb, herb & cheese crumbs & home-made mint sauce *Caramelized roast winter vegetables *Grilled Portabello mushroom, with vegetables and 2-kinds of cheese.
Starting with explanation of ingredients, I talked about the story of NZ dish. We also enjoyed our information exchange of Japanese circumstances and state of Tennessee. The chattering made our cooking more fun!!
I thought they felt cold more because they came suddenly from the summer Northern Hemisphere. Also the Inversion Layer over Wanaka for those days !! But it was cleared at their leaving... They should come again in warm season!!
A story which comes back before ski season. When it is the middle of May, a tourist season is once over, and, as for B&B of my home, the bookings breaks off until the ski season starts (at the end of June). Unusually some guests came this year at this time.
Sachiko, from Yamanashi Japan, stayed here at the day of the turning point of her life. At the time of the reservation, I got an enquiry from her about visiting some local wineries for tasting and purchase of wine. As the off season, most wineries close public tasting, then I asked for a local friend who was running a winery. Kindly she accepted our visit and private tasting.
An amazing cellar cave-like !! Such a wonderful place that is a warehouse for the storage, the aging of the wine !! I could hear breathing of the wine in the quiet space. It was kept room temperature of 13 degrees Celsius throughout the year. I felt it was a bit warm when we came in from the cold outside.
The outside scenery was fresh, it was so cold though. 寒い日でしたが、外の景色もまた新鮮！
Because I had a cooking class (which I go for the locals) on the night, Sachiko participated. After the class ended, fisnished clean-up, it became a chat time with her... and then I got that she was going to have her 40th birthday in another couple of hours !!
Here came Renon (my daughter) back home for school holiday. 娘のレノンが冬休みで帰宅し、また賑やかな日々となりました！ ******************************************************************************************** We attended "Te Kakano" group who has own community-based native plant nursery. It was on Saturday the 5th.
まず初日の昨日（土曜日）は、 一緒に『テ・カカノ』 （植樹ボランティア活動）に 参加しました。
Millenium Track (Roys Bay West Stage 4/5) this time. 143 trees were planted there by 19 of local people.
”A town is beautiful because a beautiful person lives." This words, that I heard from my friend， moved my heart and became the driving force to participate in this volunteer group.
小さいときから（小さいくせに）羊羹好きという、まれな嗜好のレノン。 アイスクリームやチョコレートより、ダントツで羊羹なんです。 今日のおやつはクマラで作った芋羊羹・・・ペロリ。 Afternoon tea: a Japanese sweet called "Imo-yokan", which I made from red Kumara. One of Renon's favourite sweets. Decorated with sweetened chestnut.
***************************************************************************************** Dinner: Nuka-zuke (rice-bran-pickles) vegetables of carrot, celery, white turnip, mushroom, and brussels sprout.
Renon was so excited to see her father who appeared in the screen suddenly !!! (He introduced "Cinema Paradiso" in the Japanese TV program as a local reporter.)
I got a request of cooking class for the 
In conformity to tonight's wine...
お食事の後のデザート・タイム： 
夏の北半球から、いきなり冬の
The tasting, 
"Happy birthday" 
We attended sometimes before.
October 2013 (2013年10月）
Afternoon tea:
Nuka-zuke (rice-bran-pickles) vegetables
