Reflections in, on and round about…with a lot of cooking on the side
I am having difficulty working out how long I've been making my own pasta. It definitely dates back to before we moved to McGregor - and that's going on eight years now. The motivation for buying a pasta machine was simple: the fresh pasta I had eaten just simply tasted better than the dried stuff. … Continue reading Wholesome home made pasta
Imagine - can you - a new world? It's incomprehensible that less than a hundred days ago, no-one had heard of the Novel Corona virus now known as Covid-19. Corona is no longer just Selma's favourite beer. It represents the biggest threat to the world's population since the Black Death (plague) and, potentially, the Spanish … Continue reading A re-imagining: life after this Corona
Today we started day fifteen of what is now at least a thirty-five day lock down. I want to be sure of my facts.... Although the prospect of having to stay at home, is less than thrilling, I do think that looking at the evidence, it's the right thing to do. I will write more … Continue reading Comforting Creamy Parsley Fish Pie
Mid 2019, blogpal @traciyork shared a selection of family photos from her childhood. It set us chatting about how photos like those reflect the essence of the period through the fashions: furniture, clothing and, of course hair. It made me contemplate the very few photographs I have of myself as a young adult in the … Continue reading Those hair(y) days…into the 90s…
The other day, I mentioned my love-hate relationship with the social media. Just yesterday, I not so tongue-in-cheek suggested that the Internet is one of my lock down essentials. The social media have come to permeate every part of our lives and, in the main, especially now, it's good. And not good. I did add, … Continue reading Bullies: Virtual hiding in plain sight
In the last two weeks I have written two long and very serious pieces about how people and the world are responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. I will write another - to keep a promise. The first was ahead of the lock down. Half way there? South Africa is halfway through the period initially set … Continue reading Lockdown survivors’ guide
Not only is the weather turning, but because we're locked in thanks to Covid-19, we're looking for comfort food. I shared these ideas way back in 2014. I was reminded about them the other day, when there was a "debate" on the merits (or otherwise) of macaroni cheese. There's an even split between love and … Continue reading Variations on a theme: mac & cheese three ways
Chop. Chop. Chop. It's a Sunday and it's day two, no three, of South Africa's 21 day lock down. We're all obliged to stay at home so that we neither share or acquire the now not-so-novel virus that virus that's causing Covid-19. Then I have a brainwave: certain folk have been suggesting that I have … Continue reading Jammin’ with chillies: A reprise
In the early 1990's, after living in Johannesburg for eight years, I moved to Queenstown, a small farming town the Eastern Cape. It's probably best known for its schools (my ex-husband-to-be was a teacher), and sheep. Mostly for wool. I had no job and although I'd trained to teach, hadn't. I didn't want to. The … Continue reading Living alone, gigs and working from home: lessons for lock down
May 2016 was an interesting and busy month. Not just in what was then my day job, but also doing something that was a first for me. During March, one Saturday morning, minding my stall, as is my wont, Treasurer of a local committee passed by and made small talk with The Husband. Probably about … Continue reading Humming with Hummus