Wine anyone?

Welcome to Nagambie! Population abooooout 1500.... it's tiny.

It has an IGA, a bank, 3 pubs, a post office, a beautiful lake and that's about it!

I have started work as a cellar hand at Tahbilk Winery and I have to say, even though its 12 hours a  day, 6 days a week, so far I'm really enjoying it. Despite being utterly exhausted, feeling aches in places I didn't know I had and probably won't be drinking wine for a couple of months! 

Here is a quick snap of what they call the 'New Cellar'. It was excavated in 1875 (and sits next to the 'Old Cellar', which was done in 1862). We aren't doing any work down here yet but I am looking forward to it.

 The part of the winery I am working in is a little less glamorous but equally as interesting!

 I can't remember how many tanks there are exactly... but roughly about 75 i think.
Who knew so much went into wine making! Not me!! 

My job is to FLOT the tanks!

this means hooking up the machine below to the tanks, pushing a heap of buttons in a certain order and adding the many secret ingredients that make the wine taste so winey :) It takes a couple of hours per tank and when it's done everything has to be cleaned down with caustic, acid and water.

I am now known as the FLOT girl, and this is my baby...

Look out boys, these are my smoking hot work boots on day one... (thanks Mum!)

these are my not so smoking hot work boots and slightly manly looking legs on day four!!

My job today (as there were no tanks to flot) was to pump red wine into barrels (after pumping the water out of them, power washing them and turning them)

 

 which resulted in my now manly looking hands.... :/ .....

  Although getting covered in red wine (mostly because I accidently over filled a barrel and it came raining out the top.... ALL over me! I'm trying out a new 'red wine hair treatment'.... results to follow) I did enjoy this job today. It took me about 10 hours but found it quite relaxing :) 

Now all I have to do is get used to those long hours and wait for a day off to soak in a bath for about 3 hours!!

Rabbit Duty!

I have spent the past couple of weeks lazing in the sun, reading my book and feeling very relaxed!

It has been lovely! 

 Mum is away on a lovely holiday at the moment so Aunty Bernie and I are on rabbit watch!

Mel’s rabbit Spike it a cute ball of fluff is who is quite happy to snooze in his cage all day. However we occasionally let him out and he leaps and bounds around the backyard like he’s auditioning for the nut cracker!

He loves it! 

 

Today he was Houdini!

I let him out, sat down to read my book in the sunshine, all very nice, but after a little while realised I hadn’t seen him in a good 10 minutes.

The little bugger had burrowed his way under the fence and into the next door neighbours yard.

SO, after trying to shoo him back under the fence with a mop (after knocking on the next doors neighbours door and realising they weren’t home) he hid himself under their wheelbarrow and wasn’t about to move any time soon. (spot the rabbit.....!)

In perfect timing Eliza returned home from school and I decided to send her over there!! (she got the tall genes, so it only seemed fair she put them to good use!)

So she climbed over the fence, sat on the next door neighbours hot water system, I passed her a step ladder which unfortunately could’ve done with an extra step because it collapsed on her attempt to come down off the hot water system, leaving her dangling from the neighbours gutter before falling into their yard!

I, like the good sister I am, nearly wet myself laughing!

After some persuasion and promise of some fresh vegetables to munch on, Eliza caught Spike and handed him back . Then returned over the fence a little more gracefully!

Don’t worry Mel, he’s safe and sound and I’m working on filling in that hole he dug ;)

I guess the grass IS always greener!