We may be eating fantastic food, but boy are we working for it! I do not say this in a complaining way because it actually feels really good to have a task to do and then reap the benefits of it afterwards. The morning began easy enough as Ryan and I got to do something I have always wanted to do...APPLE PICKING! There were two trees that we had to collect apples from. I got all of the low ones, and Ryan got to use this nifty extend-a stick to get the high ones. After this, there was a coffee break and then the manual labour began. In preparation for winter, Martin wanted to build a wood wall near the house. We had to use a flat tired wheelbarrow and one of the first wagons ever built to haul wood from the top of the house, down the hill to the back door. Martin skilfully laid out the base and we began stacking. This continued until lunch, was followed by another coffee and chocolate break, and then more stacking.

Unlike Ryan, my task yesterday changed late afternoon. First I had to collect rose petals which I then set up for drying...they will be made into tea later. Then, I headed for the kitchen as I was in charge of cooking dinner for Martin, Eliane and their neighbours (8.5 people in total). I used all fresh veg from their garden to make a giant stew in a tagine. This was my first time using a tagine (a traditional Moroccan cooker) and I am impressed...I want one. You just throw everything in and let it be...no need to add water or anything.

Late in the afternoon Ryan and I got to go with Andreas (neighbour) to his organic garden down the road. Andreas showed us all of his crops and explained what was in season, past season, and still growing. He is VERY knowledgeable and we will be spending a lot more time with him in the upcoming weeks. Ryan and I got to harvest some crops to bring home with us for cooking this week. Fennel, zucchini, leeks, pumpkin, herbs and greens are a few of the items I have to work with. When we returned from Andrea's garden it was time for dinner and some more conversation with our new friends. It was an early night because we were exhausted from the day's work (especially Ryan).

Today is only half over and while Ryan spent the morning stacking more wood, I got to be in the kitchen again...whoot! This time I was preparing rosehips. These red berried from the rose plant were boiled until soft, and then I had to squeeze the juice from them. I used their grandma's press which was basically a big crank to separate the juice and flesh from the seeds. I still don't know what we are doing with the prepared mush but Eliane said it will be saved for a rainy day. My arm is hurting quite a bit from the crank but at least I'm not hauling bricks and wood hehe.