Focus

"The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen's accusation, and they shook their fists in rage. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God's right hand. And he told them, "Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand!" Then they put their hands over their ears, and drowning out his voice with their shouts, they rushed at him. They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. The official witnesses took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And he fell to his knees, shouting, "Lord, don't charge them with this sin!" And with that, he died." -- Acts 7:54-60, NLT

When God leads me to the same scripture through multiple channels in the same week I take notice. What is God saying? I believe He is saying, "keep your FOCUS" -- No matter what others are doing or saying; no matter what difficulties are "shaking their fists in rage"; no matter who is casting stones, be filled with the Holy Spirit and keep your gaze toward heaven. In fact Stephen hardly noticed the shouts of the crowd because he only had eyes for God, whom he saw in all his glory with Jesus standing at his side" (v. 55, The Message).

Today's prayer: "God, help me keep my focus. Let me see your glory. Amen."

To Give

In that past three days, I've realised something I've always heard and known but never truly understood. Not completely.

But this for sure, sometimes it feels equally if not even more exhilarating to be giving than to be receiving.

The joy I gained from giving joy to the one I love has been something irreplaceable.

And no matter where I'll be in life, whether if this will go sour and sweeter, I'll take this as my learning footnote to living a happier journey.

Love. Just give love. Nothing else.

I over did it (again)

1) When will I learn NOT to volunteer to be the special party snack person?

2) When will I learn not to do the baking the same day the cleaning people WERE here?

3) When will I learn that ONE kind of cookie would have been just fine?

4) When will I learn that I could secretly do the decorating at night, after the kids have gone down, and then SURPRISE them, instead of involve them?

That last part sounds so unlike me. I mean, isn’t that the point of doing projects like this…to see the joy in your children’s faces and feel their excitement? And it was fun, and it was messy, and I am running on fumes.

2nd Annual Halloween Party!

Black Tuesday is behind us, and now it's back to business at The Bruery! 

This Saturday, we’ll be holding our 2^nd annual Halloween party at the Tasting Room beginning at 4 pm.  Come prepared to enjoy a spooky setting, some diabolical drinks, and a gaggle of ghoulish games.  And yes, I do speak that way on a regular basis.      

 We even picked up a 140 lb pumpkin, and you can expect that to be carved and filled with a bewitching beer for your enjoyment.  Patrick and Travis even have a little something special brewing this week for the big night that we’ll be serving if you’re adventurous enough to try it.

 You’ll have your shot at winning our annual costume contest by coming up with the coolest, creepiest, funniest, most creative get-up you can conjure up!  We’ll be dressing up too, so you’ll get to see your favorite Bruery staff members all dolled up for the second time this week. 

 Finally, bottles of White Oak went on sale during Black Tuesday so you’ll be able to purchase those for the first time at the Tasting Room this weekend.

We're really looking forward to it, and hope to see you there!

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who made Black Tuesday a success. We had a lot of stressed out fun and hopefully you all had a good time as well, despite the long line. Hopefully next year will be even better.

The Bruery - Black Tuesday from benjamin weiss on Vimeo.

Crossing from North Island to South Island

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of Wellington here.

People visit the capital of New Zealand, Wellington, for two reason.

One is to claim that they've been to the capital of New Zealand.

Second is to cross over to and from the South Island(or North Island).




I found out there are only two common ways to cross between the two islands in NZ. First is, obviously, to fly. The other, more commonly used by locals and the adventure seeker, is to take a ferry.
(Third of course is to swim).




Few reasons. It's cheaper, well, kind of. If you don't manage to get promo fare of the flights, then it only makes sense to take ferry (I boarded the Bluebridge). Priced at NZD50 per way per person.

Or when you want to bring your car over to the South Island.


moving house applies too





Then there's the adventurous side of me where I just wanted to experience crossing the Cook Strait and to observe the Marlborough Sounds with my own eyes.





Marlborough Sounds are all the island and bay extensions from the tip of South Island



It finally got windy on the last day


I have to be honest here. When I decided I was to board a ferry to the South Island, I thought I was going to be stuck on a dodgy ferry with little comfort for few hours before finally arriving in civilization again.

Little did I expect that I was going to be welcomed with a full facilitated lounge!







Equipped with snack bars in every corner of the ship. Beers, chips, sandwich, hot food, you name it.




Cafes with dining tables.







Sit in movie theater.




Or get a beer and head up to the upper deck to enjoy some chilly wind.







From where I could see the harbour of Wellington which I was about to leave behind.




Soon, the ferry slowly roared its engine and left its port, leaving the town of Wellington in the dust.










While the view of mainland grew more and more distant.




Soon it would getting cold.




So I decided to head inside and grab a two seater sofa by myself in the lounge and slept. I had three hours ahead of me.








zzz...


When I woke up, we (the ferry) were engulfed amongst the Marlborough Sounds.





wide angle


It was quite beautiful really. But it was also too cold to be standing outside for too long.




Soon Picton harbour was coming into view.




Picton is a small port town in New Zealand that plays the important role of acting as the connecting hub from Picton (South) to Wellington (North) or vice versa.

There are, however, few activities worth exploring here. Tourists often travel south to the wine country for some wine trails trekking and tasting, or mountain bike around some of the gorgeous mountain treks in this region, or take a cruise out to the Marlborough Sounds to capture the beauty of Cook Strait.


parking


At a corner, yachts were abundance.




I wasn't going to be stop by Picton for long, but to know that I've finally arrived at the second island of New Zealand... enticed me!





Southern Island. Here I come.

Toting lunch into the city

As I mentioned in a post a couple weeks ago, we’ve figured out ways of saving here and there. Both my husband and I feel thankful for what we have and feel like it is only natural to be prudent given the state of economic affairs. That paired with the fact that I tend to cook large quantities of food led him to pack up a lunch each day. Or rather, I place an extra serving into a Tupperware for him to tote into the big, bad city. It wasn’t something we set out to do, it just sort of happened and then he realized the quality was much better than the salad bar joints he was frequenting, and he noticed how much less cash he was blowing through weekly. Well, now the expectation is that lunch will be sitting in the fridge waiting. I am sure he would tell you that some days are better than others. I think he’ll be psyched for tomorrow’s lunch.

Pork Tenderloin with Urban Accents Athenian Herb Dry Glaze + Butternut Squash + Baby Zucchini…roasted everything in a 425 oven. Minimal prep, excellent meal. In lower Fairfield County, I’ve picked up Urban Accents’ Dry Glazes at Walter Stewart’s and Whole Foods/Westport. But I’ve linked them above so you can search them out near you too. They are excellent to keep in your pantry for a night when you’d like a nice meal, but aren’t feeling like spending a lot of time at the stove! This is one of those products I wished I’d thought of!