Show and Tell Friday – African Sand

Welcome to “Show and Tell Friday!” Do you have something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, or a treasured collection. Look around your closet if you have to share! Share photos and the story that goes with your special item.
Visit http://www.kellishouse.blogspot.com/ to see more participants!

South Africa is huge! It is 5 times bigger than Great Britain, and it is a beautiful country! From north to south, east to west we find all kinds of landscapes! Luxurious vegetation to semi-desert, mountain ranges to magnificent beaches.

Today, I am going to share some African Sand with you!

I have mentioned the Amphitheatre in the Drakensberg before! Well, to get to the little hotel we normally stay at, one has to go through an area called Qwaqwa! The drive through Qwaqwa is stunning. Little villages and homesteads all brightly painted with colourful murals. Children stand on the side of the road selling bottles of sand which they have so carefully made landscape designs in. This is one that we bought on our way home from Witsieshoek.


Coming back from the Drakensberg, (depending of course on the route you take) you can go past Sterkfontein Dam.
The Sterkfontein Dam is very popular with visitors to this area. Nearly 200 species of birds have been recorded at the reserve. There are a number of wonderful trails here hikers can enjoy fresh air, open veld (flat grasslands) as well as forested ravines. The wildlife is not huge, but one should be able to find the odd antelope. Local children take sand from the river and very gently mould and shape animals with the wet sand which they allow to dry before painting with paints made from the sand and coloured with natural ingredients. They are VERY fragile and break in a breath. Of course they cannot get wet, or they melt away like cotton candy. Stacey bought me this giraffe on her last trip to Champagne castle at Easter time. Isn’t he beautiful?

“Desert Rose” is the local name given to a rosette formation of sand chrystals. These rosettes occur when chrystals form in sandy, desert conditions. They are VERY rare and VERY fragile. Some of them are quite intricate and they cost of lot of money to buy! On his last trip to Namibia, P bought me this little one which I keep in my cabinet, along with the sand bottle and sandstone giraffe!

These are a little blurred, I just could not get them clearer :(

A little bit of Africa in sand! I think these are pretty special!

It's decided ...

... but it is a secret, so if you belong to "Cookout" - stop reading right now! Ha!

Having searched and searched for a recipe that's different, something that I don't think anyone else will choose! Having had P search for a recipe that just might take the prize .... I found just what I was looking for!

It's called "Pork Empanada"! It's a flat, two crust Galician Pie - famous because it can be served anywhere, anytime and there is no need for a special occasion! It's a festival food that greets the boats of returning fishermen and makes an EXCELLENT lunch box filler! It's good hot OR cold!

The main ingredients are boned pork loin, smoked gammon / ham and chorizo all wrapped up in a cornmeal dough! I am not going to share the recipe with you yet (I'll wait until I know it's successful and then I promise!), but here is a sneak preview!

What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday!

For More Wordless Wednesday contributions, go here!

Spanish Eyes!

Come on - I need your advice! It's our monthly cook-out on Saturday afternoon and I have been searching for a Spanish recipe that's different, but interesting. I can't possibly do chicken again and I know Cheryl is making (ssssh!sssssh! don't tell anyone paella) I thought about stuffed squid, but I think that might be a little fishy - Spanish style oxtail - mmmm nice, but we have had oxtail recently AND it was at Cheryl's house - they're hosting this session too! I really do want to make something different.


What about "Sopa Castellana" - Castilian Garlic Soup with chorizos and prosciutto ham! P can make a nice Spanish bread ... oh no! Soup is topped with poached eggs, that's not going to go down too well - with P anyhow! Now, I think a real harvesting tradition would be good! During a normal cooking and wine vacation in Spain, one spends the days picking grapes, learning how wine is made and having a traditional outdoor lunch with all the staff! Imagine, sitting under the vines, with the hot Spanish sun beating down, enjoying tapas and cold Spanish wine.

Catalan Seafood Stew with peppers, hazelnuts, clams and mussels, cod fillet - maybe that would be nice, and P can STILL make his Spanish bread! I think I've fpund my dish - unless you have a better idea ... I am wide open to suggestions!

Yeha for Birthdays!

I thought I'd grown out of tiny birthday parties, now that I am no longer a mummy of a teeny person! Well, I was invited to little Sienna's first birthday party on Saturday afternoon. Can I tell you how sweet these tiny people were?

Although it's deep into Autumn here, it was such a hot day! The winter sun beat down on the jumping castle! Candice had to get out the sunblock for Sienna and her little friends. It was so sweet. The theme for the party was Winnie the Pooh and all the children had just turned 1, or were turning 1! I loved to watch them interact with each other, still learning social skills! The jumping castle was a huge hit, and because there weren't any big children jumping about, the littlies really had fun - waving their arms up and down to get themselves to bounce!

I love this face! Was concentrating on which side of the parcel she should start ripping of the paper!

"Loads and loads of presents Aunty Jan! And how I love the xylophone you bought for me!"

Yeah!

Friday!

It's Friday, and it's "Show & Tell" day ... and I have not prepared anything! But do pop past http://www.kellishouse.blogspot.com/ and have a look at her collection of old stuffed toys! I especially love the Winnie-the-Pooh!

Hey! Hey! It's Friday! YEHA!

I guess you could say that this is a happy face?

I was thinking about Mother's Day which was not so long ago and went looking for some photographs of a Mother duck, which really fascinated me!

Look how gently Mother Duck feeds her little duckling! We watched, fascinated. I so love the beads of water on her back ...

... and the bubbles in the water!

Have a lovely week-end!

Chickens and Rabbits!

Our presentation the other night was held at the Broadacres Shopping centre near Fourways! What a delightful centre - definitely a place to take Niunia shopping when she comes to Jozi again! The shops were so pretty and such an unusual variety - a place to do real shopping, not the kind you HAVE to do, but the "I definitely don't need this but LOVE it" kind of shopping - the kind of shopping I love!

We had coffee at "The Mugg & Bean"! Well, easter bunnies and chickens were all over the show! And so tame! Why, we even had Henny Penny sitting on the back of a chair, joining in our conversation!

Look at her feathers! They were beautiful and looked as though they had been painted on especially for the occasion!

Such a lovely place to take children - must remember that when Rob and the girls come over again! Sinead would LOVE it!

Prehistoric Africa - an interesting thought!

What do we know about our human origins? Did humankind just SUDDENLY appear almost 250 000 years ago? Hmmm! In 1947 the skull remains of a human were found in South Africa and nicknamed Mrs Ples(after Plesianthropus – meaning almost human!) Mrs Ples is believed to be the distant relative of all humans. Although the skull is small, she definitely stood upright, like humans! She is believed to be between 2.5 and 2.8 million years old! She is housed at the Cradle of Humankind near Krugersdorp.

I have never really wondered about all of this, but I HAVE enjoyed reading about and listening to stories about the ancient Egyptians! I remember being fascinated, as a little girl, by archeologists digging away and dusting the bones / artifacts with brushes. When I was invited to a talk last night about discovering the oldest man-made structures on earth IN SOUTH AFRICA I can’t say that I was all the excited about going! Cindy organized the evening and Stacey came with us! Was I pleasantly surprised?

Michael Tellinger, scientist and explorer, had me captured! When I first saw photographs of “Adam’s Calendar” (a man made structure built in the Waterval Boven area) I thought of Stonehenge – in fact it has been called the “African Stonehenge”. He talked about the Zimbabwe ruins (I have been there - a story for another day!) about the hawk head sculptures very prevalent in Zimbabwe, the pyramids, and the winged disk of the Sumerians – is there a missing link and where is the real Cradle of Humankind?

This is estimated to be the oldest man-made structure on earth and it is around 75 000 years old. Reminded me of Stonehenge!

These ancient ruins are found all over our country and we were always taught that they were cattle kraals! Well , after listening to Michael last night - I don't think so!

I am going to watch this with interest. I have joined the interest group and hope to receive regular articles and updates from Michael on latest discoveries. I look forward to another visit to the Eastern Transvaal, where I can look at these places with new eyes!

Guru!

Oh how I wish I was an IT guru!  Having a meeting just now about the implemenatation of my new payment system.  I become so "bamboozled" with stuff, and I don't really know where I'm going!  Important to remember, thorough testing, no rushing of process ... I hope I can make myself understood without sounding like a half wit!

Silly Sunday!

We had a stunning week-end! I went for my massage session on Saturday morning and it was probably the BEST back massage I have ever had. It was at Phree Edge and boy, did Giselle know what she was doing! I went home afterwards, and slept for practically the whole afternoon. I was so relaxed. She did say that I have a lot of knots in my back, so I am going to go back for another session ... what a pleasure!

We had a 60th birthday party on Saturday which was held at the Central Grill in Cedar Square. It was divine. The food, the company, the music - we had a really lovely evening!

Decided to go to the deep South for prawns yesterday! Rosettenville is an old suburb in the south of Johannesburg and is well-known for it's portuguese restaurants, having a huge Portuguese community! "Churrasqueria" is a typical Mediterranean restaurant where they serve the MOST divine prawns! Our favourite (Stacey and I share) an Aletenjano which is a chourico sausage "stew" in red wine, with garlic, green peppers, onions and olives served with crusty Portugues rolls - that's our starter - YUM! Then we share a kg of Queen prawns - grilled to perfection with garlic and lemon - all washed down with a lovely Sauvignon Blanc, and to end .... has to be Malatov! A custard, chocolate and marshamallo roll - to die for!

We heard on the radio that the highway was closed off due to a road block and so decided to go home through Johannesburg city centre! We have not been through town in YEARS and found it rather intersting - battered and dirty, but interesting nonetheless! I thought I would share some of the sights we saw ...

Driving through the streets of Johannesburg - Johannesburg, or E'Goli (city of gold) is the third largest city in Africa (after Cairo and Alexandria). Johannesburg is the financial and instustrial metropolis of South Africa. Unfortunately, the city centre, no longer beautiful but run down and neglected. Very few people go there anymore, prefering to shop in the suburbs or Sandton which is the new financial hub!

Turning into Rissik Street - home of the famous Rissik Street Post Office which is a national Monument, one of our oldest buildings

The Old Library - opposite the Post Office on Rissik Street - derelict, old and uncared for!

Driving out of Rosettenville towards town - I wouldn't have my hair done here!

Typical Taxi - see how overloaded it is?

Old Buildings - broken windows!

Now, we don't put in our own petrol (gas) in South Africa, we have petrol attendants who do it for us! This friendly young man put petrol in Philip's car in the heart of the city centre! He was only too happy to have his photograph taken! He thought we were tourists!

All in all an interesting afternoon!

Show & Tell Friday!

Welcome to “Show and Tell Friday!” Do you have something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewellery, or a treasured collection. Look around your closet if you have to share! Share photos and the story that goes with your special item. To find some more interesting “Show and Tell” stories, visit http://www.kellishouse.blogspot.com/

A fairy is a teeny, tiny being with wings, like butterfly wings, or dragonfly wings! They look like humans and are said to be magical! They move swiftly and can become invisible by blending into their surrounding, like the woods. They enjoy music and dancing and sipping honeyed tea in tiny acorn cups! They are skilled and they love to play tricks! They are so prevalent in mythical cultures that different societies have come up with different explanations as to the origin of these “little people”!

Ever since I was a little girl and having read ALL of Enid Blyton’s books, I have had a fascination with fairies. We have a fairy garden at home – a little place where children love to hide and look for signs of fairy life! They hang in all the trees and there is even a little fairy door in the trunk of an old palm tree! My kitchen, too, is home to little people! I have them peeping around all nooks and crannies! I even have an old bird caged, antique looking, with fairies dancing inside it!

Fairies in a little flower pot beside my cooking magazines!

These two little fairies were given to me as a gift from my friend Liz, who lives in Germany. She bought them there. I love the expression on their little faces as they watch in awe while we prepare delicious meals!

My "Garlic Goblin"

Niunia gave me this goblin, lounging on a beatiful mushroom! It is supposed to hang up, but the ceiling in my kitchen is too high - he would be lost! So I keep him on my counter and he takes care of the fresh tasty garlic, grown in our friends garden!

What is a kitchen without witches and wizards? I just love this wizard, given to me for my birthday by my little nieces. He reminds me of Dumbledore from the Harry Potter movies. He smiles down on all activity with his wizened eyes and little glasses! My witch is a happy witch! They say that when you have a witch in your kitchen, you will always have food in your cupboards! Well, there's been no shortage of food in our cupboards, that's for sure!! I bought her for myself having looked at her over and over again in the gift shop. She has raspberries and apples tied to her waste, and little bits of ribbon and cotton to sell! I love her rustic broomstick and her rosy, red cheeks! I think they make a handsome couple - don't you?

Bad Day!

You know how they talk about bad hair days? Well, I'm having a pretty good hair today! Got up early, it did exactly what I wanted it to do and I walked out of my house feeling quite confident and professional looking!

Wish I could say the same about the rest of my day! If I have another stupid phone call, or another person ask me a dumb question, I think I might just grab my bag and do some retail therapy - shopping! Now that sounds like a jolly good idea, only there's no time today - parcels to collect on my way home, dinner to cook (Stacey and mates going to comedy evening) got to feed them before they go ... I did promise and damn it all - I need an early night!

Why is it that some days sail by without a hitch and another day whatever you touch, whoever you speak to all seem to have taken "Stupid Pills" with their breakfast!

Roll on home time - I'm ready to throw in the towel today!

Party Time!

Time to share some photo's taken at Stacey's 21st, taken by Jeanette! I still can't believe it's all over and back to normal! I find myself biting my tongue when she tells me she's going out! LOL! It's a mind over matter thing. Suddenly I don't feel "entitled" to lay down the rules! She thinks it's hysterical, but does tell me anyhow!

Mardi Gras Masks on the tables!

The tables were stunning!

Welcoming drinks - champagne and sparkling grape juice!

Birthday Girl dressed in true Mardi Gras style!

Getting her key from Ringmaster P! Little Sinead did not leave her side!

Tons of cup cakes - they were divine!

Stacey and her cousins, Keelan, Claire, Erin and Sinead in front!

'Varsity Friends!

Nana, Stacey and me!

Party Time!

"How swift have flown to me, thy girlish times,

A woman grown beneath my heedless eyes!

In vain I rack my fancy to believe the almanac,

That speak thee twenty one!"

Charles Lamb

Special Job!

Down our passage I have a small antique table with my Mother's family Bible and some old poetry books which belonged to my Grandmother. Sinead loves to stand and look at the books with the old magnifying glass. My MIL asked whether I ever change the pages of the Bible.

"I don't! But somebody does, because ever now and again I see we're on a different Psalm!"

No-one admitted to turning the pages ....

until ... CAUGHT IN THE ACT!

How we love this little Angel!

Lovely Day and Presents!

Oh what a wonderful Mother's Day I had! And so many surprises!

We decided to go to Heia Safari who were having a Mother's Day special lunch! I have written about this venue before and I tell you, they didn't disappoint us! Bobby Louw (ex Bats and Dream Merchants) and Peter Taylor (ex Copperfield) entertained us with our favourite songs of the past (including hits from the 60's, 70's and 80's plus a bit of jazzy swing), while we sat back, relaxed and enjoyed some good company and a lovely lunch!

Talk about being spoilt! For the first time since we've been married, P bought me a Mother's Day gift - he always said " ... but you're not my Mother!" Of course I didn't expect anything and was quite surprised to be presented with the following .....

A lovely gift voucher from Phree Edge for a back and neck massage and an express manicure and pedicure! I am so looking forward to making the booking and going for a good relaxing session! Thank you P - I really loved that!

Stacey was so excited about giving me her present! She really has spoilt me! I LOVE tanzanites and she gave me a beautiful pair of tanzanite and diamond ear-rings for my birthday. Two Christmas' ago, she gave me a lovely little tanzanite and daimond pendant ... ... ...

... yesterday I got the ring! Oh how delighted I was! I am such a lucky Mum!

Stacey was very excited - she spent her birthday money! When she had her 21st, she was given a lot of money. She decided that some of it was going towards her overseas trip next year, and some would go towards a nice camera. Well, she bought it on Saturday - a Canon Digital EOS1000. It was on special and came with a tripod, 8 gigabyte memory card and a software package. She was delighted with it and took some lovely photographs on the week-end. Now it's time for a photographic course ... ...