Living Off the Grid #3: And now a few words about other appliances.

This post begins with... toast! Have you ever survived for months without it? I did, in the days when I lived in residence at the University of Cape Town. When I returned to Johannesburg in the vacs, it was such a treat to have toast again.

So, although there was no electric toaster in our New Zealand dwelling, we did manage. And here's what our 'appliance' looked like:

You place this perforated tin thingy over the gas flame, rest the piece of bread in the bottom ridge, turn it over when it's suitably toasted, and voila!

We had wonderful organic bread while we were away. We got it on a Friday at the weekly open-air market held by our grandsons' local Waldorf school. But the first week, my instructions weren't specific and I discovered there were several types of loaves on offer. Having bought a few, I thought of asking the grandsons which to buy. They replied, 'the one with the yellow label'. So I went back to the young guy who was selling so I could exchange them. He was amused because I'd bought all the kinds except the one with the yellow label!

The other appliances we were missing were washer and dryer. Usually the family takes the laundry to the local laundrette for wash and fold. But I decided to save a few bucks by going there to do it myself. Not such a hardship when the beach was only a five minute walk away. Here's a photo, taken in the evening, so imagine more sunshine! In the background you can glimpse Mount Maunganui which has a sacred significance for the local Maoris and is a popular tourist attraction too.

p.s. the bread we bought each week was called 'Maunganui gold'.