Basket Case

Since I put a cushion into my hand basket Trixie is spending all her time there!

Player

Ian and John were in town this week, house- and dog-sitting. I went over there tonight for dinner and dvd, but we couldn't figure out how to work the fancy entertainment system. So we had to come back to my place to watch the movie, A Single Man. Very good!

Supermarket

Today was one of those on-the-go-non-stop days: very busy day at work, followed by errands and grocery shopping on the way home. And then chores and laundry at home.

GYF

I check into Go Fug Yourself daily for some of the funniest writing on the net.

Yellow

A couple of my new succulents are flowering already. This yellow one is just adorable isn't it? [Guest photographer: Michele]

Terrabyte

My new baby! I spent the morning copying photos and files, doing blog backups and sorting our music and movies onto my 1.5T hard-drive.

Butlers

What a lazy public holiday! No Heritage Day braai for me... I potted around at home, then Michele came over and we ordered pizza and watched a silly movie. As usual we got our favourite combination of bacon, feta, garlic, peppadews and pesto from Butlers. Yum-yum!

Semi-precious

And my collection grows!

Eggs for Supper

I made one of my favourite quick and easy suppers tonight: cabbage stir-fried with loads of chilli and a splash of soy, topped with fried eggs. It's not a pretty dish, but it is delicious.

Mongongo + Marula

I'm using this new 'secret of African beauty' hand cream. I like the scent.

Abundance

A flower pic from yesterday, taken in the Caledon Wild Flower Garden. Back at work today, but wishing I was still on holiday!

Marine Estuary

De Mond Nature Reserve is a little piece of heaven. More pics here.

Strandlopers

Walking barefoot on a deserted beach is bliss! Sterna Trail, with Ian, John and Dorothy.

Southernmost Tip

I visited Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of the African continent, for the first time today. It was bleak. Didn't stay long... a freezing-cold howling gale was blowing. Brr!

Bokkie

Dorothy and I spent the day walking at Salmonsdam Nature Reserve. It was wonderful! Seeing this little guy, on the rocks above the waterfall, was one of the highlights. More here.

Overberg Dam

On holiday on a farm near Stanford... stormy skies, just before sunset.

The Life

In my next life I would like to come back as a cat.

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast

One of the few TV shows I watch regularly is good old Survivor. Michele and Dorothy joined me for a walk on the mountain after work and then we had a light supper while we watched this evening's episode. Good fun.

Handyman

My friend Iain came over this afternoon to do a couple more last jobs in my garden. The garden revamp is almost all complete and I'm so happy with how it's turned out. Thanks Iain! The plants are already growing vigorously and looking very green. Now that the garden is done I wonder what my next project should be...

A Baboon Ate Our Picnic!

Today we were having a picnic lunch on the grassy lawn right next to our car at Olifantsbos, Cape Point. It was lovely... until a baboon came along! It was a lone male and fortunately he wasn't at all aggressive. Of course we just moved aside and let him help himself. He finished off everything we hadn't eaten: a boiled eggs, some cherry tomatoes, a couple of naartjies and half a packet of crackers which he ate one by one, as relaxed as can be.

The Last Souper

Michele wanted to make her famous mushroom soup one last time this winter so she invited the gang around to her place for supper this evening. It was a fun night and the weather was perfect for some delicious hot soup.

Roses

More birthday flowers that I am enjoying this week: these lovely red roses with a pink centre.

Strawbs and Cream

It's strawberry time again! Aafke gave me a punnet and I've been enjoying them with a drizzle of the cream-mixture leftover from my Tres Leches birthday cake. Delicious.

The 500s

My mom has a great little recipe book called 500 Cookies. The other day she mentioned that she'd found a similar one called 500 Salads. When I went to look for it today at my local book-store I found others too... I ended buying 500 Salads, 500 Soups, 500 Casseroles and 500 Asian Dishes. They are really cute little volumes and not expensive at a little over R100 each. I look forward to trying out some new recipes soon.

Yuppiechef

I got a gift voucher for my new favourite online shopping website, yuppiechef. There is lots to choose from and I can't decide what I want most! Maybe some baking equipment... Maybe a new pot... Maybe a really good knife....

Pincushions

I got two bunches of beautiful pincushion proteas yesterday. They are magnificent!

Birthday Spread

A dozen friends came over to my place this afternoon to celebrate my birthday, with tea and a table overflowing with delicious treats, both sweet and savoury. Yum!

Baking Tins

I love, love, love baking tins and trays (actually all kitchen equipment). This selection came out the cupboard this afternoon as I began the baking for tomorrow's tea party.

Smash Hit Musical

I went to see Mamma Mia! at Artscape this evening. Although musical theatre usually isn't my thing I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It's very colourful and energetic and surprisingly funny... a very entertaining couple of hours after a long day.

Clickety Click

First thing I do at my desk at the start of a new month is pay my bills. Hoorah for internet banking!