Unusual day

Hello leap day.  Hello you with your unusualness and rareness and 'see you only once every 4 year'-ness.  I woke up this morning thinking about how I'm a rule follower.  Maybe today is a day to do something unusual and outside of my ordinariness and my rule-follower reliable ways.  Maybe just 1 thing that is out of character for me.  Maybe today.

I am in beautiful Cape Town for a few days.  When I arrived yesterday, a cold front was expected to hit the Cape.

This is the 'table cloth' on Table Mountain; it just drapes the top edge of the mountain

and then the cold front arrived; this is the view from my hotel room last night

the same view this morning - beautifully clear

my gorgeous huge room at the Vineyard Hotel in Pinelands

what?  oh nothing... just my shoe collection for a short 3 day trip to Cape Town.  LOL!!  I took less shoes on a 3 week trip to Italy!

Go have yourself an unusual leap day.

Word art

Years ago, I did a mini workshop with Stephanie Ackerman when she visited South Africa.  I spent last Sunday afternoon on the patio while my home was on show.  I doodled and played and made some word art.  And then I added some pretty scrapbooking paper to the opposite pages.  I like this.  Maybe I'll add some colour to the words. 

Inspired by Stephanie.

Weekend in review

Gadget girl  |  I bought an iPad on Friday.  I was so excited to hook up and get going, but the sim card was only enabled on Monday morning.  Bummer

New home  |  I arranged to visit my 'new home' in Boskruin on Saturday morning to check out cupboard space and make notes of a few things that need to be done

The 'sold' sign makes me so happy - that's my new home!  Sold to ME!  Yeah - silly I know, but I don't often buy property. So it's kinda a big deal for me

Dassies in the park across the road from my new home.  I look forward to meeting them.  Estrelita feeds them fruit and spaghetti

I met the current owner, Estrelita.  It was lovely to chat to her.  I am so looking forward to living in her (my) home, and I've promised that I'll take good care of it.  She is sad to be leaving but they are downsizing in preparation for retirement

I look forward to many happy hours on this deep covered patio, protected from the sun and the rain.  I'm sure I'll share many meals with family and friends in this lovely space

the pathway leading to the front door

this study will become my new scrap room

Brunch with my sister  |  after spending time at my new home (I plan to move somewhere around mid-May), my gorgeous sister Caron and I went for brunch at Lifestyle Garden Center

Dinner Date  |  I had my hair trimmed on Saturday afternoon, and then had dinner with friends Cathy, Pat and Marlene.  Cathy made delicious mexican food and cheesecake for dinner

Show home  |  my home was on show on Sunday from 1 - 5pm, and we had 15 couples visiting - that's apparently a very good turnout!  One lady came back twice.  I'm hoping to get a signed offer quite soon, and at the price that I want.  In order to make my home look less cluttered and more spacious, I confess that I hid things under the beds and in the cupboards.  My home looked gorgeous and clutter free - wish that I could live like that all the time!  As the first customer arrived, Miss Ruby strolled in with a huge lizard dangling out of her mouth - maybe trying to scare off the buyers?

Most of the potential buyers loved my shaded patio and garden area

I filled my home with roses and flowers, it always makes a home look pretty

Food blog

Number 7 on my list of 47 things to do before I turn 48 is to try some new recipes.  So this week I tried Spicy Chicken Jambalaya from the "what's for dinner" website

Ingredients

• 10 millilitre Robertsons Louisiana Cajun Spice
• 410 gram Chopped tomatoes
• 1 Knorr Chicken Stock Pot
• 15 millilitre Cooking oil
• 1 Onion, finely diced
• 1 Red pepper, sliced
• 1 Green pepper, sliced
• 4 Rashers streaky back bacon, chopped
• 400 gram Chicken fillet, cut into strips
• 750 millilitre water
• 1½ cup White rice

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pot and cook the onion until soft but with no colour.
2. Add the red and green pepper and fry until tender then add the bacon and fry for a further 5 minutes until the bacon is cooked.
3. Add the chicken strips and brown well then stir in the Robertsons Louisiana Cajun spice and allow to cook for 1 minute to release the aroma and flavour.
4. Stir in the rice then add the water, KNORR Chicken Stock Pot and the tinned tomatoes.
5. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and allow to simmer covered for about 30 minutes until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally.

Chopped onions sizzling away

chopping delicious smoked bacon which was made by my brother Robbie and his wife Tonia.  That Louisiana Cajun Spice is awesome stuff!!

Bacon, onion and chicken browning in the pan

Chopped tomatoes

and we wait for 30 minutes...


My verdict : I would rate this meal probably 5 out of 10.  I loved the rice and that Robertson's Louisiana Cajun spice is awesome stuff.  But is was too tomatoey (yes - that is a word) for me - I don't like tomatoes.  I'll definitely try it again but with some adjustments, maybe add some peas and corn or mushrooms, much less tomato, and add the chicken closer to the end of the cooking time.  Be warned that it makes a monster portion : they say it serves 4 - they probably mean 4 big bodybuilders or teenagers that haven't eaten in a long while.

We, the people

South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, and our constitution is now 15 years old.  We the people is an initiative to encourage South African citizens to read, understand, embrace and support our constitution.  I confess ... I have attempted many times in the past to read our 118 page constitution, but have never finished this very lengthy document.  Well, there is now a summary on the attached link.  Go get it.  Go read it.  And then spread the word to your family and friends.

Partners : With support from the U.S. Diplomatic Mission to South Africa

I am Proudly South African

Why Love Our Constitution?

Top 10 Reasons to Love Our Constitution

1. It protects you. If it were not for the constitution, you could be arrested for almost anything. You might not realise it, but each and every day you are free in ways that were unimaginable 25 years ago.
2. Our children’s rights are the best in the world.The section on children in our constitution has higher standards than the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
3. It’s practical. Imagine if one group decided on which rights everyone else got to have? There’s no other way to cope in a diverse society where everyone has a different idea about the way we should live.
4. It’s fair. Everyone has the right to practice their own culture, religion and traditions as long as these don’t violate the rights of others.
5. It’s advanced. It includes rights that aren’t mentioned in other constitutions, like children and the environment. Our constitution is studied around the world because it’s considered so advanced.
6. It gives us freedom. We can tell jokes about anything we like – in many countries, you can be jailed for insulting the president or the king.
7. It’s accessible. Nobody enjoys more rights just because they’re rich and powerful. We’re all equal before the law.
8. It carries legal weight. If you think your rights are being violated, you have several options listed here. That’s the point of We The People: to educate you – because if you don’t know what your rights are, you can’t stand up for them.
9. Votes are more powerful than tanks.The army does not have the power to change the government because our constitution regards the votes of ordinary people as the most important deciding factor.
10. It represents the people of South Africa at our best. We all know we don’t always achieve the standards spelled out in the constitution, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to reach them

Layout to share

This is the second layout that was part of the charity scrap day last Saturday.  It was designed as a single layout which I converted into a double layout

And a few more photos of the Scrap Addicts and Nolene (Lynn's sister).  I'm struggling to upload photos when I blog remotely.  Hopefully my new iPad will make things easier (I still need to go shopping for my iPad)

Leonie and I

Leonie and Linda

Lynette

Nolene

Lynn and I

Embracing change

My gardener ("Admire" is his name) has cleaned out and freshened up my little garden, ready for show day on Sunday.  I've agreed to have a mini show day from 1 to 4pm, and I will stay at home to make sure that my kitties are fine.  Bella will hide all afternoon, and if anyone touches Ruby, I may need to snap their fingers!

                      Before                                                 After

                  Before                                              After

After

And gorgeous Rock Roses went into the pots

I'm not enjoying having strangers traipsing through my home, but it is the price to pay for wanting to sell my home quite quickly.  My kitties are also a little bit freaked out at the sight of so many strangers.  Change is uncomfortable and unsettling.  The easy thing to do would be to accept things as they are and to call off the sale and stay in my home.

On the day that I was afraid and scared about making an offer on the new property, Joel Osteen sent out this message of encouragement...

Embracing Change

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland”

(Isaiah 43:19, NIV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Change is one of the most difficult things for people to face; however, change is inevitable. In fact, Mark Twain once said, “The only person who likes change is a wet baby.” One reason people don’t like change is because they get comfortable with where they are in life. They get used to their friends, job or the place they live. And even if it’s not perfect, they accept it simply because it’s familiar. However, when we are not willing to change, we get stuck in life holding on to what God did in the past instead of growing and moving forward into what God wants to do in the future. Today, I encourage you to be open to the new things God has in store for you. Always remember that just because God has blessed you where you are doesn’t mean you can just sit back and settle there. God wants to do something new in you and through you. He wants to see you grow, prosper and flourish. Get ready and keep your heart focused on Him. Embrace change and see the blessing God has in store for you!

After reading this message of hope and encouragement, I confidently signed the offer to purchase.  Now I just need to keep going through the discomfort of selling, packing and moving. 

I hope that you are encouraged if you are similarly facing big changes in your life.

Weekend in review

It was a gorgeously slow and creative weekend for me, just what I needed.  I attended a charity scrapbooking event on Saturday with the Scrap Addicts, and Lynn's sister Nolene joined us.  We had a lovely day scrapping and chatting - one of my top 10 things to do.  

Nolene, Lynn, Leonie, Linda, and I, and Lynette is in front

This is the layout that we did - great for outdoor and travel photos

And then I spent time tidying up a bit on Sunday - I'm hoping to sell my home soon without putting it on show.  My offer on my new home (maybe..?) has been accepted, so I have 90 days to sell my existing home.  I bought some pretty flowers to revive my garden which has recently been attacked by termites, mole crickets and the scorching heat of the past few months.

And now it's Monday morning...my least favourite day of the week.  Have a great week everyone!