Another try for world peace

 There will be no peace while Man pursues his own interests at the expense of his fellow man.
 While there is no compassion for the oppressed, the abused, the bullied; while there is rejection of those who dare to be different, who refuse to conform to society's straitjacket and who are prepared to stand up and be counted; while there is judgment and fingerpointing, superiority and sneering, intolerance and selfishness, greed and hatred, Mankind will fall further and further into the abyss of fear.
 The only way to climb out is by understanding that we all come from one source and that we are all aspects of each other.  To hurt another is to hurt yourself. Do you feel good at the expense of another's feelings about himself?  When your interaction with people brings you only good feelings, you will realise that fear has no power over you.  The way in which you react to every situation will dictate the result, and the only result that you would seek would be one that makes you feel best about yourself.
 Everything you say and do is a statement to the world of who you are. By making a conscious decision to strive only for an outcome of the greatest sense of happiness, you will have discovered the way to a life where you are responsible for your own happiness and can live without fear.
  Without fear, there is no aggression.
  Without aggression, there is no war.
  Without war, there is peace.
Peace = harmony = togetherness = unity = oneness.  We are all one.

Just before the dawn

It rained in the night. I knew it would. It was all part of my cunning plan - complain about no rain, and Murphy's Law will sort it out. Daytime temperatures have dropped to below 20 degrees and so any amount of rain is now beneficial; the soil is still damp at the end of the day in the shady parts of the garden.
At the crack of dawn, or maybe a little before, I was informed by He Who Can Fix Anything that I was required to accompany him to work (a complicated car shuffle) and so I splashed some cold water on my face, dressed in yesterday's clothes again and traipsed downstairs with a flask cup of coffee at 6.20. He of course had showered, dressed and had breakfast, which is why I didn't have time to. You may well ask.
The sky was only beginning to lighten in the east and traffic was almost non-existent as we headed onto Chapman's Peak Drive. A clear run on a damp road with the fresh smell of recently fallen rain made for a great start to the day. The sea was grey and shiny as a mirror, the sky cloud-covered with a peep of light here and there. In the harbour, despite the early hour, vendors were starting to peel back the tarpaulins, hoping for a good day's trade despite the cooler weather. It was by no means cold; in fact it could be described as a perfect autumn day in Cape Town.

As I drove back along Chapman's Peak Drive, the clouds were parting and a tinge of pink had started to touch the highest, contrasting softly with the pale blue of the lightening sky. The smell of burnt vegetation was enhanced by the dampness as I passed the devastated slopes on either side of the road. The gentle rain was perfect for the process of renewal and regrowth and it won't be many days before the earth reveals what is hidden beneath and lushness returns.
I stopped a number of times on the drive to enjoy the silence and the views that one never seems to tire of. There is no doubt that the hour before dawn is the best part of the day.

Still no rain

Another week without rain. The high pressure over the Atlantic has stayed late this year and El Nino is building up wherever it is that it happens. Horticulturists advise us that this bodes ill for rainfall here in the Western Cape. We have had about 5 or 6 years of good rains and have become spoiled by the abundance of water for our gardens, but now even the groundwater levels have dropped and only a trickle comes out of the hosepipe when I turn on the pump. So back to municipal water at iniquitous cost. I continue to plant waterwise and it's just the pots and lawns that need regular watering. I am seriously considering digging up the lawns - depends on what transpires over the next winter and summer with the rain.
Large exotic trees play a part in parching the ground, sucking up vast amounts to feed their rampant growth, when the natural flora of the Cape has a propensity towards low-growing shrubs - very sensible when you consider the frequently gale-force winds that blow back and forth across the Peninsula. There are numerous examples of exotics such as Norfolk pines, gum trees and fast-growing smaller species that have given up the battle to grow skywards and have bent with the wind to grow almost parallel to the ground. They make great pointers as to where not to buy a property if you want to escape the wind and are probably an estate agent's curse.
Speaking of which, I remember many years ago, the house next door was on show (again) and I popped over out of curiosity to see the inside. I inadvertently got chatting with some prospective and really keen buyers, idly mentioning the baboons that regularly raided our houses. They scurried out of there without putting pen to paper - I was definitely an estate agent's curse that day!

Birthday blessings

Another birthday has come and gone, celebrated as always on the public holiday they instituted specially to honour me (only kidding, Freedom Day here in South Africa, just a coincidence, but I feel my birthday is more of an occasion to celebrate these days). It started most auspiciously with a message to join special friends for breakfast at a very early hour up the road at the coffee shop we frequent. What a lovely time I had, more so because it was unexpected, and the company as always was a hoot.
I had risen early to put the leg of lamb in the oven - it's a 7-hour recipe and needed to be ready by 1pm - and so all food preparation had been done. The family, Mom, Dad, sisters, etc. were bringing various other bits of the meal and I had ordered a large lemon meringue pie from another restaurant on my favourites list. This had been collected yesterday, and regrettably, only a few slices remained to feast upon today, the family having tucked in rather too liberally last night. Another one had to be collected and that too was fallen upon like vultures at a kill. So a success, I would say.
Lunch was a veritable feast and we all ate too much, as always. The dishwasher ran three times to sort out the washing up. I could not live without it. After a brief rest, we took ourselves down to the rocks to burn 100 calories and lounged like rock rabbits in the at the foot of the lighthouse, enjoying the Atlantic rollers tumbling over the rocks and the odd brave surfer riding some impressive swells. I clambered down the rocky bank to the ledges where piles of fresh kelp, recently torn from its anchorage, lay tangled and glistening in the late afternoon sun. This is ideal for chopping up and digging into the soil around the lemon tree, which will bear many lemons for your trouble. I dragged a medium sized piece all the way home - great exercise for all the muscles and hopefully burning off more than 100 calories!
An overwhelming number of good wishes from friends far and near were the cherry on the top of a really delightful day, so thank you, one and all!

Three sisters relaxing like dassies in the sun

 

Human rats and ratty rats

Here in the sleepy little seaside village I live in, life continues to be fairly uneventful, except for the person who had her door kicked in by three men who stole her iPad and then ran down the road after the getaway car that was making a getaway without them. How low on the ladder of evolution do you have to be to find that a worthwhile way of making a living? The mind boggles. While they continue with their mean little lives, the birds nevertheless continue to chirrup in the boughs, the waves crash and tumble on the rocks, and the sun's setting rays cast magnificent light on the puffy little clouds set high above in the wide blue yonder.

 

Some small excitement was provided last night by the scrabbling of a rat in the roof. Judging by the noise, it is about the size of a cat. It seems that rats in the roof is a common thing if you live near the sea and this is the second time I have heard one. The first was apparently caught by Biggles, as after I found the corpse in the kitchen, there were no more nocturnal scamperings. There is much debate about what the most humane way of catching and dispensing with a rat is. I am happy to go the Rattex route as it is efficient and unlikely that the rat will become prey for an owl. Another alternative is to put Mango and Biggles into the roof next time I hear the rat and hope that their hunting instinct comes to the fore. They certainly have no problem catching nearly every bird that passes through this garden. I wonder if they will fall through the ceiling? Updates will follow.

Great planet; pity about its people

Another fabulous day in Cape Town - sea glossy as a mirror, the odd wave breaking with a crack along the rocky shoreline, smoke from yet another wildfire providing ideal conditions for a spectacular sunset, and summery temperatures in the upper 20s.
Driving over the fire-blackened mountains via Ou Kaapse Weg, I spotted a protea bush among the skeletal remnants of 20 years' growth that had decided not to give up - each branch had sprouted new leaves along its entire length, something I have never seen happen on a protea, and it was so uplifting to see that nature overcomes all adversity in a cycle of constant renewal.

At a time when one has to question whether Man serves any useful purpose on this planet, and the atrocities perpetrated by the human race not only among themselves, but also against the flora and fauna of this world, it is comforting to know that when we have long since disappeared from this beautiful blue dot hurtling through the universe in an insignificant spiral arm of a lesser galaxy, that which knows not how to hate and destroy will remain as evidence that peace and love will endure forever.

The hanging gardens grow!

The hanging vegetable garden is growing apace. Regular picking of cos lettuce, rocket, origanum and soon spinach is taking place and we no longer have to rely on a pillow pack of well-handled limp lettuce from a retailer to provide us with a crisp and nutritious base for a meal. The containers require no maintenance and very little watering as they are under shade cloth, and I don't have to break my back bending or even worry with weeds as the compost is weed free. Butterflies can still cause havoc if they lay eggs, but I will keep a close watch for chomp marks. Snails definitely won't make the climb up the central pole, along the crossbar and down the strings - hopefully an observant bird would spot them on the journey - as it seems a bridge too far for a slow mover.

With only ten containers in operation and room for at least twenty-five more, the prospects of self-sufficiency in the greens department are looking good. That is, if the baboons don't make a reappearance after an absence of nearly three years. Then I can kiss a vegetable garden goodbye.

I planted two grenadillas and a fig tree (talk about encouraging the return of the baboons!) nearby, as this corner of the garden has never been used in thirty years and is sunny and sheltered - perfect for fruit and veg growing. If my attempts at market gardening are again thwarted by baboons, I will give up. I will scatter random seeds of meadow flowers and abandon that corner to its own devices! 

Two Oceans Toastmasters - a great place to be

Tonight was the Division Contest for the annual Toastmasters International Speech and Evaluation Contest, where both the contestants from my club, Two Oceans, were the winners of the two categories. Another fine achievement from these talented individuals who give so much of themselves and their time to mentor and encourage anyone who seeks to improve their public speaking via Toastmasters. They now head for the national finals in Jo'burg and hopefully the next round overseas. 

Being there in a supportive capacity was, as always, both fulfilling and educational. There is always something useful to be learned from listening to others speak when you are not required (or allowed) to respond. Learning to be a listener is just as valuable as learning to communicate, as most people listen to others only to the extent that they are waiting to add their bit to the conversation, or even take it over completely, something I am sure you have all had the misfortune to experience. To pay attention by listening to the speaker without comment or reply is a sign of respect for what that person is trying to convey, and an important part of the Toastmasters journey is evaluation of speeches. It can be very daunting to comment on a speech - first of all, you will have to have listened extremely attentively, while assessing various aspects such as whether you understood the thread, whether you could identify the introduction, body and conclusion, or simply noticed particularly good use of vocabulary and body language. It is daunting because we seldom listen well enough to be able to assess what we are hearing, let alone give meaningful and encouraging feedback to the speaker. The skills learned by evaluating speeches are a master class in empathy, understanding, upliftment and diplomacy, and can be applied to every aspect of our lives. An even more important aspect is the receiving of an evaluation - learning to take the good with the bad in the way of criticism of a speech in which you have bared your soul to your audience.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Toastmasters to anyone who wishes to hone their communication skills, and can say from personal experience that there is something tremendously satisfying in raising a laugh from an audience.

Tidal extremes

It really looked as though the plug had been pulled out and all the water drained from the sea yesterday, thanks to a new moon low tide. The bay that is usually filled with tumbling breakers and many surfers and bodyboarders was inhabited by rocks covered in sprawling seaweed, and people could wade across from one side to the other without getting their knees wet. It was a great opportunity for picking black mussels, as these should never be harvested from an area above the low tide mark, and I'm sure many mussel potjies were enjoyed yesterday.

By way of comparison, here are some high tide photos from other days:

A pocket of paradise

Today is one of those autumn days for which Cape Town is famous. Blue skies stretch from horizon to horizon, the sea sparkles with myriad glittering diamonds and mountain slopes are burnished in the late afternoon sunshine.
Down on the rocks, families pick limpets and mussels for a meal, competing with pairs of oystercatchers for the same morsel. Egrets and ibises wade in the shallows and cormorants dart after small fish in the stillness of the bay.

It's rugby season now and the beaches, lawns and rocks are almost deserted. This is a sign that this weather is not unusual, and it is still hot enough to want to seek shelter from the sun - there is no dragging the average South African male away from the game, no matter the weather. Later the braai fires will be lit and there will be celebration or criticism of the referee, depending on the outcome of the game, and another perfect evening will come to an end around the fire as the sunset turns the sky from blue to orange, pink to indigo and finally a blanket of star-spangled sky to remind us of the dying embers of summer.

A new idea for kitchens

As a forerunner to his new business, my son has been rejuvenating my kitchen by sorting and repacking the cupboards and fridge. Maybe it's just me, but I find that anything that is above eye level tends to never be used, as it is out of sight and therefore out of mind. This applies equally to crockery and foodstuffs. The items at the back of the shelves also don't see the light of day too often.
Some of the more interesting things that were delved from the depths of the fridge were: a bottle of Amarula cream that has been in the fridge for maybe 10 years (I did know about that, but could never decide what to do with it - yes, I know, you're supposed to drink it!), a piece of gorgonzola cheese so old that it had mould growing on the mould (it was an ingredient of a sauce that was never made), half a cup of drippings from last winter's roast lamb, various jars of exotic ingredients from which only a teaspoon had been used and long expired, two dehydrated sticks of lemon grass (another recipe never made) and the dregs of salad dressings of days gone by.
On the top shelf of the pantry we found an opened tin of cocoa that expired in 2003. It was in perfect condition, and only a tablespoon or two had been used. Can cocoa go off? I asked this question on Facebook and was immediately told that an unfortunate expired cocoa event had occurred in a family in Italy, where they all became violently ill - one can only think that they must have stirred it with an oleander twig. What the discovery of the expired cocoa revealed is that the last time I made a chocolate cake was in 2003! Very little baking goes on in this house, so I suppose that's not unreasonable.
My conclusion from this exercise is that cupboards should line the kitchen walls from floor to ceiling, with a maximum depth of, say, two tins. There will then be no excuse for not seeing what you have in stock. Similarly, a cupboard of crockery three plates deep is just asking for trouble, with chipped edges and cracked cups as you manhandle the back plates over the front plates. The centre of the kitchen can be an island with all the working space around the appliances to make up for the extra floor space not taken up by cupboards. Do you think I'll start a kitchen revolution?

Tracking raptors

As you know, dear readers, I take many pictures of the raptors that settle in the old gum tree next door, and take great pleasure in observing these noble birds. They come to prey on the large flock of pigeons that I feed every day, ensuring a plentiful supply of food in an area where I can watch them from the comfort of my balcony. A cunning plot, I think, although I haven't mentioned this to He Who Can Fix Anything. He has made pets of two of the pigeons, Hoppy and Poppy, who have roosted in our eaves and bred on the roof for many years now. He feeds them in the garage, as they come inside looking for food if we are a bit late, and thinks that Mango and Biggles are their greatest threat. It will be a good thing, therefore, if they don't become the sparrowhawks' dinner.

Sighted on 28.2.15

I took a photo of this one two weeks ago and again yesterday, thinking that the ruffled feathers were an indication of an attack by another bird, and sent it off for identification (from the rings on its legs) to the people who capture and track these raptors. They were thrilled to get some feedback on their project, and identified it as one that had been fitted with a radio tracker on its back (hence the ruffled feathers) in August 2013. The tracker stopped working shortly after it was fitted and they suspect it is because it spends too much time in the shade - the solar cell has not charged. Plans are afoot to recapture it and sort out the problem - this sounds right up my street - I think I will see if I can be there and get to hold it!

Staying ahead

I would have been a completely useless cavewoman.
Unless I have had a hot shower and washed my hair first thing in the morning, I feel unprepared to leave my cave and expose myself to the outside world. I have the kind of hair that brings new meaning to the phrase 'bad hair day'. It is very fine, straight and has a different texture every day, depending on the wind direction and moisture content of the air. When the southeaster blows, my hair becomes electric and sticks to my head, except if I put a comb near it in an attempt to rearrange the knots. Then it sticks up at the ends. Sometimes it has more electricity than Eskom's power grid.
Those of you who have thick, wavy locks tumbling over your shoulders should never complain of a bad hair day. Your head is surrounded by a natural halo. You can hide behind an artfully arranged coiffure if you feel so inclined. You can keep your shoulders warm in winter. You can be in an advert for hair products. I have nothing to enhance the size of my head in relation to body size and sometimes feel totally out of proportion - a wig often comes to mind as a prospective means of balancing the perspective. The urge to wear long, flowing, feminine robes is somewhat tempered by the imbalance of a lack of locks.
Years of experience have taught me that no amount of mousse (not the chocolate variety), volumising shampoo, curlers, back-combing and blow-drying will provide body and bounce for longer than it takes to leave the salon. I just ask for a cursory wave of the hairdryer and leave it at that. A long line of hairdressers can attest to this sad truth.
Air travel is a nightmare, as the lack of facilities after a long flight means I look as though I have been pulled through a hedge backwards. If possible, I head straight for the Ladies' Room, where large handbasins and tall taps enable a quick shampoo and rinse, followed by a session under one of the hand driers that blow at hurricane force. In about 3 minutes I feel like new again, although I do sometimes get strange looks.
Perhaps a large selection of hats is the answer.

Scrabbling around

Fings just ain't wot they used to be.
Take Scrabble, for instance. When it first appeared on the scene, there were strict rules: English words, no abbreviations, slang or American spelling, no words that require hyphens or apostrophes, no proper names and no words designated as foreign. The inventor obviously had no idea how popular his game would become, nor how the rules would be manipulated to encompass practically anything that appears in the most comprehensive English dictionary available in the world today. As this contains many foreign words which have become acceptable in daily use, competitive Scrabblers have taken to gleaning maximum points through the use of such patently illegal words such as zeds, qi (easily 42 points for that one), ex, aqua, ho, ha and lox. 
The inclusion of these words implies the need to seek a crutch to prop up a weak vocabulary (in the opinion of purist Scrabblers) and makes for a less than pleasant game when competitive and purist meet. I have to say that I prefer the purist game, otherwise what is the fun of using up all the Us when you don't have the Q? You are almost guaranteed to find a loose I to accompany the Q for the aforementioned high score, thus displaying very little skill in the vocabulary arena, but a knowledge of Chinese.
Playing against a computer is even worse, as it will dig out every word in its extensive dictionary and there is nothing you can do to make it retract its letters. In this instance, two can play that game, and I have found it really easy to beat the computer by throwing in a couple of zeds and qis myself! It never says Invalid!
If we are to lower our standards (and that's what it's really about), then perhaps the object of the game should be to achieve a minimum score of, say, 300, failing which it will be your turn to unpack the dishwasher.

Lights out!

In South Africa we are currently contributing to saving the world by having our own version of Earth Hour. It's called loadshedding, something which in other countries would probably refer to bodily functions, but here it's provided by our illustrious electricity supply company, run by hopeless incompetents and supported by a hopelessly incompetent government, brought inexplicably into a position of power (if you'll excuse the pun) by (yes you've guessed it) hopeless incompetents. It entails treating us to regular two-hour sessions without electricity, during which time we can, depending on the time of day or night, carry on with our normal lives, but not do any ironing, or sit outside and look at the stars under perfect viewing conditions.
Alternatively, we might be inconvenienced by not being able to have a hot shower before work, cook dinner, have sufficient light to do homework by or even miss that vital game of footie on cable tv!
How we cope with our extra special earth hours is entirely dependent on our outlook. For some it is an infuriating inconvenience; for others, a time to commune with nature and recharge our batteries. I prefer the latter.
Rumour has it that while we languish in the gloom, other parts of Southern Africa are brightly illuminated with our compliments. One can only hope that this is used to the best possible advantage, such as education, running essential services to communities and general welfare. It would be too bad if it were wasted on presidential partying and other senseless acts of gaiety.
One mitigating factor is that these earth hours are staggered and we have the added fun of consulting a schedule for each day of the week to check whether we'll be in daylight or darkness. Social media has become a powerful platform to spread information and misinformation in this regard, with messages flashing back and forth as fast as fingers can key them in. Sometimes the anticipation is too much to bear - we count down to the scheduled time, candles at the ready, and the lights stay on. Loadshedding has been suspended until further notice. Sometimes we are even disappointed!

A little respite for the garden

Kommetjie lay under a blanket of fog from lunchtime yesterday until mid-morning today, while the rest of Cape Town probably saw sunshine. We relished the coolness, as did the garden, and an efficacious watering was undertaken. Diamond drops dangled from every leaf, enticing the sunbirds and Cape White Eyes to flit among the branches, sipping at the drips and shaking their feathers under the spray from the hose. The tightly furled buds of the hibiscus appear dusted with gold before opening into full-blown double blooms, a favourite of the sunbirds. No garden should be without these attractive shrubs if bird life is a priority. The red blooms are also greedily consumed by tortoises, who almost salivate!

My hanging garden of vegetables is growing apace, as are the granadilla plants. The heavy shade has gone from this part of the garden with the removal of large parts of the trees and there is now scope for some real landscaping of an area that has been ignored for the larger part of thirty years. My three score years and ten are nearly up, so I will have to plant fast-growing shrubs rather than lofty trees! The soil is almost white sand, with an oily texture that prevents water from soaking in and it all lies on the surface and evaporates or runs away into the neighbour's garden. Years of adding compost has made no difference, and it really is only good for growing onions and potatoes, but I think I will try a few fig trees now that the baboons haven't visited me for over two years. Looks like fruit will be safe again.

Clouds 'n birds

At last some small relief from the overwhelming heat here in Cape Town.  Some high thunderclouds are shielding us from the sun, which even at this time of year can inflict a serious sunburn. I doubt whether much rain will fall from these clouds as they are predicted to clear later and so we head towards the middle of April with no significant rain since about October last year.

The leaves on my creeper are just beginning to take on their beautiful hues of orange and red - autumn is officially here. The Arctic terns and swallows have left for warmer climes (although they may still be disappointed when they get there) and the rocks on the island are bare and silent without their presence, the skies no longer filled with their wheeling flocks. Even the flamingos are scarce at the moment.
Suddenly there is panic among the pigeons as the black sparrowhawk swoops in for breakfast, and forty birds scatter in all directions at a speed of about 60 kilometres an hour - no luck this morning though. He'll be back later.
Mango Kitty just ran through the house and onto the balcony. A post-hunting meow ensued and I went to investigate. Tiny feathers sticking out of the corners of her mouth revealed all, but fortunately the little double-collared sunbird escaped, as it was nowhere to be seen and Mango was looking very disgruntled, even more so after a good whack from me. She has caught this little bird three times now during its so far very short life and you would think it has learned a few lessons, but it seems to know no fear. Here is a pic of it the first time she caught it.

Kommetjie in pictures

Just looking through my many hundreds of photos of Kommetjie - this place is just so awesome (in the true meaning of the word!). How lucky am I to live here? Enjoy them - they don't need words.

Blowing away

The southeaster must be gusting at gale force today. We are now in April, five months beyond the time of the black southeasters here in Cape Town, but still they continue. This is a strange wind, as there is no customary tablecloth sweeping over Table Mountain, and here in Kommetjie, where often we don't feel the effects at all, the air is filled with debris from snapped twigs, bougainvillea bracts, dried grasses and anything else that hasn't been tied down. A sheet of PVC is banging against the side of the neighbour's house - I'm amazed it hasn't been shattered into a million pieces by now.
The heavy branches of the bougainvillea and Brazilian peppers that have beaten against the roof of our house for years have been removed and at least that potential for damage has gone, but the incessant gale is again stripping the soil of all moisture and most of the compost so laboriously added over time! Temperatures will remain in the high 20s for a few days, so relief is not on the way quite yet.
I'm still battling to get the DStv extra view system working, not through want of trying, but rather through the apparent lack of interest of any parties employed in that field to earn a living. When the problem is eventually solved, I will bore you with the details.
Some positive news is that I'm greatly enjoying my new Samsung tablet (Scrabble in particular) and the freedom of movement it allows. I'm learning to do all sorts of things on it - it seems the only thing it doesn't do is make coffee, but I have other sources of that! Actually, this blog is still being tapped out on the keyboard of my trusty little notebook, as, being a touch typist trained in the 70s, it is far quicker than trying to use two fingers on a touch screen. It's very satisfying to bash away on the keys with enthusiasm!
Looks like the satellite man is not going to turn up today after all. I will just get on with dinner then. Curses.

At last, a chance to relax!

A much better day - didn't do an awful lot, just watered the garden which is still threatening to die on me. The first forecast for rain is on the 15th, so if I don't apply the hose all will be lost. The leucadendrons are hanging in there and the restios too. The lawn isn't quite as crisp as last week, thanks to a little overnight drizzle on a few occasions, but one of the coprosmas is still vulnerable, its leaves curling in the heat to lessen the exposed surface. How clever plants are!
A large part of the day was taken up with braai-ing - nice thick lamb chops and a little boerewors accompanied by a simple egg salad, avocado and sweet potatoes. Followed by ice cream on a stick (the one that has chocolate and nuts around it) and a lie down on the bricks to watch the swallows and other birds playing on the thermals.
At sunset, the coals were stirred for some toasted sandwiches with cheese, tomato, chutney, onion, S&P - cooked to perfection by the braaimaster. Thought about family in England also enjoying the hottest day of the year so far in similar conditions, also braai-ing outside and in shorts for the first time in many months. Looking forward to the day when we can all do it together again, but not sure who will be visiting who! (Hint)
Back to the grind tomorrow for some, but school holidays so the traffic won't be that dire. I will be out and about doing exciting things, I hope.

Not a hugely fun day

Another day of riotous fun in our household. First we chopped a huge pile of branches into manageable pieces and packed them into the trailer. This included lengths of thick bougainvillea with the most vicious thorns you have  ever seen and we had to wear heavy duty leather gloves to avoid being shredded. I'm planning to lay some of them along the fence as a booby trap for unwelcome guests.
After taking that  lot to the dump, He Who Can Fix Anything  and Son removed the jetmaster from the lounge together with the chimney. It hasn't been used for years as the house doesn't get cold enough in winter, so you can imagine what a mess that made. Cleaned up, vacuumed, washed the floors, general housework, etc. Bet you're envying me my exciting day, hey? It's quite exciting to make some progress with redecorating and getting rid of the old to make way for the new.
Then it was time to cook lunch a delicious chicken curry!
And time to escape for a bit of r & r with the folks, sisters,  cousins, etc. It being Easter Sunday and all. So all was not lost and a fine relaxing afternoon rounded off a productive day.
I hope you had a superb Sunday and didn't have to do  anything that remotely resembled work! Another so-called holiday tomorrow but that is an unknown word for HWCFA. Ah well, we can live in hope.

Upgrading to a tablet - the good, the bad and the ugly.

After a technologically fraught day out the other day - I had no means of paying our staff wages and my phone battery had died so I was out of touch with the family - I took a big step forward (I suppose) and upgraded to a tablet, so that I never again have to look for wi-fi or struggle to read the small print on a tiny screen. This will allow me freedom to be out and about, gallivanting to my heart's delight, and still manage my commitments without having to stress about them. So today I spent two hours at the Vodacom shop setting up all the apps and passwords, bluetoothing away like a pro, and then spent the entire afternoon trying to set up my blog on the tablet. I did manage to do it once, by changing my email address and password to match the original blog setup, but the next time I wanted to open the site, it just didn't work. So lots of effort to go into that still. However, my trusty little notebook computer will do the job for now.
There is just one major drawback. I didn't really think deeply enough about the consequences of upgrading my primary phone number and as a result it is now linked to a 10" tablet! I have seen someone walking down the mall with one of these attached to her face, chatting away, and remember how stupid I thought she looked - now it seems as though I may be in the same boat! The logistics of coordinating all these devices are mind-boggling. I will have to see whether I can have my secondary number linked to the tablet and put my primary number back in the cell phone, and if this can't be done, I will have to send out a whole bunch of messages changing my number after some 15 years. I really don't want to do that. If anyone knows of an easy way to solve this, please let me know!
In the meantime, I'm enjoying the big screen and superfast internet. I've downloaded Sudoku, so I'll never be at a loss for something to do when queuing. The next will be Scrabble, although from what I've seen of the computer's contribution, some really dodgy words are used by it and I may have to cry foul!

A really fun day out!

Had such a fun and busy day today playing personal assistant to a couple of famous personalities who are so natural, normal, warm and down to earth, not to mention generous and extremely dedicated to their careers and commitments that it was only a pleasure to be able to lighten the load a little.
The morning was spent sourcing fabrics for garments to be made up by a local designer and took us to the lower reaches of Cape Town, Woodstock and Salt River. It took me back to the days of my extreme youth when Mother made all our clothes and we would go into town for the day and visit all the fabric wholesalers in huge old warehouses with unvarnished wooden floors, high ceilings and thousands of bales of material of every colour and texture. Once our purchases had been made, it was off to Cleghorn's department store in Adderley Street for a pink milkshake and a piece of cake in the tea lounge, where a piano player tinkled the ivories and catwalk models walked the ramp showing off the latest fashions to have arrived on our shores. The black wrought iron lifts were operated by (obviously) lift operators - going up! Ladies Underwear, Haberdashery, Shoes. Those were the days!
A dash into a gourmet deli in the Gardens yielded yummy lunch and a haunch of pork for the weekend roast.
The afternoon was taken up with a sortie into the yuppie areas of Cape Town with a visit to a wonderful jewellery store at the Cape Quarter (Free Range Jewels) who have the most marvellous collection of original craftsmanship. Then off to the Waterfront for a few basics, a stocking up of Nespresso capsules for me (my Christmas present supply has at last run out), posing for a few photographs with fans (not mine) and finishing off with mouthwatering sushi from Willoughby's.
I was chauffeur, selector, tour guide, navigator, parcel picker-upper (in the very best sense - making sure that nothing was left behind) and I had the most marvellous day in return! I look forward to doing it again soon.