6 days to go

6 days, 2 hours, 1 minute until Splashy Fen 2007 starts.

In exactly a week, I shall be nursing a severe hangover. And I can't wait…

zero 7

I am ALL over Zero & at the moment, a direct link to my Jose Gonzalez obsession. I didn't know too much about their history so I did a little googling. A duo from the UK, Wiki describes them as a british version of Air, debut album Simple Things verywidely acclaimed, their music has featured on many soundtracks from Roswell, CSI and House to the movie Garden State.
I have the latest one, The Garden, which has just been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Electronic/Dance Album category. Jose does vocals on a couple tracks, there is even a new take on Crosses. Give it a listen if you get the chance…

the tube

My television has been my companion during the last few weeks, having said goodbye to my usual friend, the old glass o' wino. The TV situation actually isn't all that bad at the moment. My show to end all shows, LOST, returned a few weeks ago. Don't even get me started on Prison Break. Where those men so hot last season? Shitballs.
Sadly SABC 3 is a bit of a no-go area until the cricket has disappeared over the wide blue yonder. Perhaps Top Billing will use this opportunity to sort themselves out. That show has really turned into a a bit of a joke hasn't it? At least they have stopped hosting each episode in a faux tuscan mansion. And Margaret Gardiners voice… easy on the Marlboros lady. And we can't forget Zuraida, who takes the embarrassment to a global level.


I am loving the Series channel, it has done a huge turnaround since it started. From sad reruns to Project Runway, American Idol, Men in Trees (tonight 7.30pm), Janice Dickinson… Series channel is HOT.

things that get me through the weekend

veg breyani with basmati rice and paneer :: treble crochet :: driving at full speed :: spring cleaning :: jake gyllenhaal and jared leto on etv :: brekkie at green with envy :: napping with my hondtjie

things to make and do

More fun stuff to add to my resolutions…

• Learn to work an espresso machine and make killer decaf soy lattes.

• Crochet. Everyone is doing it. Ripple blankets and granny squares. Something else to do with my hands besides hold a glass of wine.

florida road

We went traipsing around Florida Road earlier in the week. So strange to be out of the office in daylight hours… They usually don't let us animals out of our cages. I took some graffiti pics. The End.

things that get me through the weekend

sleeping in :: long leisurely drives around durban, wearing in my engine :: relaxing in the sun with my puppy :: freshly ironed cotton sheets :: cranberry and litchi concentrate :: hotdogs :: homemade smoked salmon pasta

stormy stormy night

A friend of a emailed me some pics his friend took of the storm last night… Worth checking out, pretty damn good for point-and-shoot.

This kinda stuff blows me away. I took 235 pics to get these 12 and they still dont even come close to the magnitude and power of last nights lightening storm. From about half 10pm til half 1am the sky was alight. I assume most of you were sleeping... I've never seen, not even in Gauteng or the FreeState, a lightening storm like this. Countless times, streaks of lightening fingered out across the sky under and through the clouds. The longest I saw stretched from out at sea, across the bluff and over the airport. All I wanted was ONE shot of a multiple strike but I didnt get one... no matter, I got these. They're not National Geographic quality! But I did my best with my old tripod and Andre's little CyberShot and thought I'd share them...

Just goes to show what is possible even with the most simple equipment…

fray bentos

So its a pie. In a tin. The british really know about or two about cuisine don't they? The pie-in-a-tin novelty has been going for some time now, my parents bringing a couple back each time they visited my sister in London. Firstly, you can never go wrong with puff pastry, and I love the idea of something that sits in the grocery cupboard like a treasure waiting to be discovered. I brought one back when I was there in June and have been waiting for the right time to crack it open. Okay, so the meat is a bit scarce and unusual tasting, but on the whole a pretty clever idea I think. And thrifty. I so could been one of those housewives in the war, cooking with powdered egg.
The only unfortunate thing is that whilst snapping away at my freshly baked pie, I missed the first 5 minutes of LOST. But I will remain calm. The universe shall provide. Failing that, there is my sisters PVR.

lost

Season 3. Tonight at 8pm.

Goodbye Wednesday night, hello couch.

smacked

I have just finished reading Smacked. What a story. How thin is the line between social drinking and drug taking to being a drug addict on the streets of Hillbrow. Melinda Ferguson was educated and talented, had 2 kids, a husband, a home and lost everything to heroin and crack cocaine. She was in and out of rehab and did some terrible things before she was lucky enough get the opportunity to clean up her life. This story has a happy ending, but sadly there many, many more who's story will end more tragically.

This book really makes you look inside yourself. That could happen to ANY one of us. She talks of the characteristics of being an adult child of an alcoholic: Yes, yes, all of the above. It could have been any one of us who fell into the trap…

She ends her story with this quote,

We shall cease from exploration
and the end of our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time

T.S. Eliot

What an amazing lesson to learn, I just hope there are easier ways to get there.

euphoria - davenport road

After the uneventful Anti-Crime March I headed off to Euphoria in Davenport Road. I had heard that Earth Mother Organics had expanded and the restaurant had a new owner. This has to be one of the biggest organic shops in Durban, they have everything you can think of. Aduki beans to baby formula to dog shampoo to tea to dried fruit.


I got some lemon basil, coriander and rye bread from there fresh produce market. The nicest bunch of coriander I've seen in a while.


I love the shop as well, I could do some serious damage to my credit card. They have these really cool, bright screenprinted tablecloths with old skool logos on. Nice handmade jewellery too… There is also a pretty good second had bookstore inside. Shit, really my kinda place.


I finished off with some lunch from the organic café, the menu is quite small as they are just starting out, I had the lentil burger pita. Oh my word, it was HUGE! And delicious, of course I ate the whole thing. There was loads of salady bits inside and a avo/yoghurt 'mayo'. They also do fresh fruit and veg juices. If you haven't been there yet, go spend some money and then have lunch, I can't think of nicer people to support.

heck no, we won't go

So I rather reluctantly went to the Anti-Crime March on Saturday. I caught a dose of the ol' durban last minute indifference. But I had promised to meet a friend there and so off I went. Okay, so I didn't ACTUALLY march, I was doing a bit of shopping around town and they started without me. And by the time I caught up they were already at City Hall. All 30 of them. More police than protesters. It was so embarrassing I could only laugh, but it's serious food for thought. Maybe crime isn't really a problem, and the few people who showed up are a distinct minority. I am at least lucky enough to have not been directly affected by violent crime. But I was there. I'm not sure what went wrong, did people know about it? The driver of the taxi that dropped me off at City Hall had no idea there even was a march, and he thought the police were protesting. It was a busy saturday and town was full of thousands of people, doing other things. In fact, there was in impromptu street mime around the corner that had gathered a larger crowd than the march.
I shake my head in disbelief. I don't want to hear another complaint about what is wrong with this country, all I can say is take a look in the mirror, cos if YOU aren't bothered, why should the government bother? My friend insisted that we HAD done a good thing and it would make a difference. I had to laugh. He reminded me of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it was people mass demonstrating on the streets that triggered the transformation. I guess they were lucky enough to have citizens who cared, and wanted to make a change. Instead of just sitting around and complaining about it.

do you like my bag, baby?

How gorge is this bag? Its one of those plastic woven style bags that fleamarket peops and refugees use. I got it a PEP stores for R15.99! I love a bargain. The black and white damask pattern is very now. I think I will use to store junk or linen. Also handy for excess baggage.

PEP STORES, PEP STORES, YOU PAY LESS AT PEP!

book club #2 - roma revolving

This week was our 2nd book club, Maria kindly arranged it at the Roma Revolving. It was the first time I had ever been there, but I have to recommend it. The decor and service can be a bit shabby, but the views of Durban are spectacular. It was so unusual to see the city from such a different view point.

Some book club facts:
• books, when assembled in large quantities, are VERY heavy
• we are unofficially called 'the eight non-blondes'
• deep fried goats cheese is an excellent choice
• charrou-misu is my new favourite dessert
• I'm not a Limoncello fan
• murals with odd decapitated 'thumbs' are very distracting

It was such a fun evening, and I even managed to get propositioned. Yeah, the geezer who owns the joint gave me his card, and a wink. A girl's gotta keep her options open… perhaps one day all those velvet drapes will be MINE!

City Guides

Wallpaper* City Guides are my inspiration. I want to visit each and every city that they have dedicated a guide to. 2 down, 58 to go. Donations welcome.

fly hello kitty

I was checking the Wallpaper* Annual Design Awards and a taiwanese airline have introduced 2 dedicated Hello Kitty themed jets on their Japan flights. Everything on the flight is Hello Kitty themed, everything. So camp, I love it! You gotta check out the website, its such a hoot. AND they are fully booked months in advance. Laughing all the the way to the Tokyo Stock Exchange…

prison break

Okey. So the second season of Prison Break starts tonight. The thing is I kinda lost track of the last season. I THINK they escaped, but I don't know details. Know I'm a bit hestitant to watch tonight without having fully understood what has already gone down.
Sort of like high school maths, I didn't pay attention this one important lesson in Mr Aulds class and it ruined my algebra forever, I had to drop to standard grade. I don't wanna be a standard grade fan. But I guess its too late she cried.

afro coffee

I saw some of this stuff at the shop at Moyo in Zoo Lake just before christmas. Really hot design, love the afro-guy. They do herbal teas, coffee and make all sorts of things from some of their cool fabric. There also seems to be a cafe in Cape Town. Nice. Must check it out when next in the Mutha City.

chick stuff

Friday after work we headed off to Kerry's place around the corner after she very kindly invited Cal and I for dinner. Mpume joined us too at the last minute. I cannot believe what a beautiful home she has. She gutted it and refinished everything before she moved in and it looks SO slick. The finishes are really amazing and all the rooms are so serene, I had an incredible urge to go home and tidy up. Who knows when I will ever sort myself out a beautiful home.
Anyway we had a lovely evening chatting about our wrecked love lives and how men have messed us up. At one point we thought that we might seem a bit a sad, sitting around on a friday night talking about our issues. But we decided that its way better than being in a relationship with a total dick just because we are afraid of being alone. Definitely.


Saturday was the hottest day of 2007 and Lil Debs' Baby Shower. Carmy and I headed up the hill and set up for the shenanigans. We decided that we are far too civilised for doing the embarrassing dress up thing. Shes having a baby as it is, why should we make things worse than they have to be? We all had good fun guessing her 'girth' with most of us totally overestimating. Katie made her yummy biltong and marmite muffins, and Carms brought some homemade hummus… Needless to say, we all overate until we felt sick. Good times…

say a little prayer

My niece, Lily Rose, was born very prem (24 weeks) nearly 2 years ago. She has grown up to be a healthy little lady and has been given the all clear from the doctors. Except for one thing. She has just been diagnosed with Persistent Ductus Arteriosus, which is quite common in premature babies. Basically it means that some blood pumps the wrong way which puts strain on the heart. She will be undergoing a procedure soon to rectify it and I ask that you all keep her in your thoughts that she can overcome this last hurdle.

you thai? me thai too!

As a reward for some late hours this past week, the boss got us some Bangkok Wok for lunch. Mmm good. I had a Tom Yum soup and everyone else went for a noodley thing. And then Magnums for dessert…

fade to gray

Okey dokey. I've exposed everyone to joys of navy blue, but now its time to start moving towards our winter wardrobes. I was in the UK over christmas and was just loving the fashion. It helps that EVERYONE is so cool - rich, poor, young, old - they all know whats the shit. I got a cute gray handbag with a bow on the side for £1!
How do I summarise? Grey, grey, grey. All over. I'm loving it! Gray smock tops, smock dresses, bows on everything, slouchy boots, ankle boots (yes, and they are HOT). Thick black mascara'd eyes. Leggings. Yes, leggings. There are other colours too, dark purple, bottle green, mustard yellow. Hot.
I can't wait…