New Year, New Me!

With New Years resolutions flying around like wildfire, I thought that I would take this opportunity to let you know my resolutions for the year ahead.

Over the years I have had the tendency to make and break resolutions without a bat of the eyelid, but I am hoping that this year will be better, and there is one very simple reason for that. I am not going to be specific. I am not going to say that I am going to lose 10kg, or even 5kg, because as soon as I put on a gram I will decide that the resolution has been broken anyway, so might as well go nuts! And so, instead of giving myself specific goals to focus on, I am going to focus my attention on areas in my life that could do with improvement. Which areas would those be in particular?

Family
Health
Photography
Writing

During 2012, I found myself feeling very disconnected from my FAMILY. I have found that it is all too easy to become out of touch with even those who mean the most to you when you are half a country away. Grahamstown in particular is so out of the way that it is not as easy as just hopping on a plane to be with those that you love. This meant that 2012 was a year of huge regrets when it comes to my family. I missed the birth of beautiful Zach, and have yet to meet him. I missed seeing my American cousins when they were visiting and my American aunt on both occasions that she came down. I missed birthdays and anniversaries, happiness and sadness. But my biggest regret of 2012 is that I didn't get to say goodbye to my Biba, my grandfather, who has always meant so much to me. The loss of my mother's parents hit hard while I was in Korea, but the loss of Biba hit harder because I was so close, but still couldn't be with my family when it meant the most. 2013 is going to be different. I am determined to spend more time with my family over the coming year, starting with a trip up to Cape Town as soon as I can manage it (potentially March).

Weight has always been a problem for me. I bounce up and down like you wouldn't believe. I lose weight in a heartbeat and put it back on just as quickly. When I was in Korea, I lost 10kg in the period of just over a month. Upon my return, I put it back on almost as quickly. I don't want my new years resolution to revolve around weight loss or gain. Instead, I want to focus on HEALTH during 2013. In my mind, being healthy is far more important than being thin, and while I don't think that the two go hand-in-hand (being healthy for me has never meant being skinny), I do hope that improving my health will improve my weight. And physical health is not all that I am aiming for here either. I am also hoping to get over the fears that inhibit my mental health - my phobias of spiders and needles - so that I can leave a fuller, more generally healthy life and lifestyle without fear. My phobia of needles significantly affects my health in particular, as I need to go for regular blood tests and the fear is preventing me from keeping my health in check.

2012 was a great year for my PHOTOGRAPHY. I started getting regular clients and I set myself up with a studio. I realised that each month, I was getting at least one paid gig, and I even got a booking for October 2013 a year in advance. My main aim for 2013 is to keep it up and get it better and busier! More clients! I want to be able to get a steady income from my photography, and I want gear gear gear. One of the aims is going to be a 52 week project (one a day for a 365 project ended up being a bit too much for me to handle after all, so hopefully one a week will be manageable) and another will be to start putting away some money each month  to put towards new gear.

In 2011, I completed the mammoth task of finishing NaNoWriMo! It was a great feeling typing the last of the 50 000 words and knowing that I had accomplished what I had set out to do in one short month. 2012 was not a year for WRITING. I slacked on my blogs, and writing took a sidestep to make space for photography and work. This is going to be the year for writing once again. I have an idea for a story, and I really want to make it work. I do, in fact, have about 10 uncompleted ideas lined up and ready for me to work on, but I am both a procrastinator and easily distracted, which does not make for successful writing. I need to focus my time on these projects to make sure that they get done and get that sense of accomplishment back.

So bring on 2013, the year of FOCUS!!

November: Part 1

If someone were to ask me to describe my last few weeks (go ahead… ASK!) the first word that comes to mind would be RIDICULOUS. And I do not mean that in a bad way. It has been ridiculously busy, but also ridiculously fun, exciting and simply breathtaking. So much so, that I do not have the breathe to explain it all in one post.

How about we start from the beginning? The first weekend of November was an incredibly busy one, but in the best way possible. The Saturday was spent taking photos for the Rhodes Chamber Choir (the people who have kept my photography going throughout the year) in my studio. I really enjoy spending time with people in my studio, so it made for a fun afternoon with lots of laughter. The photos were being taken for adverts that will be used to find new choir members next year, and they had a mugshot theme. This meant a lot of fun for the people involved, and a lot of post-production to make the white background seem a little more like a police station. You can check out the results on my photography blog.

Sunday saw more time spent with my camera as Lwando and his girlfriend, Nonkosazana, who was down from East London for the weekend. A new challenge faced me as I have never had a couple session in my studio, and found it a lot more difficult to co-ordinate while trying to stop the shadows from the lighting getting in the way. After half an hour in the studio, and around 40 photographs to work with, it was out into the sunshine as we made our way to the Botanical Gardens. It was the perfect day to walk around, and I took them to the spots that I am used to being the small bamboo jungle, the romantic pond and the river. From being hyper-aware of the camera in the beginning, the two started relaxing more, posing easier and just have fun. Have a look at the photos that came out of the session on my photography blog.

With the weekend out of the way, it was back to work for a slightly shorter week than normal. Grant’s dad and stepmom came down on Wednesday in preparation for our roadtrip on Thursday, and they came bearing many a gift. Having just moved into a new house in Johannesburg, they had a lot of extra bits and bobs that they didn’t need any more and decided to bring down to their incredibly grateful (step-)son and his girlfriend! This included an extra fridge, a gas braai and a tortoise named Tommy, Grant’s childhood pet.

The new house in Johannesburg doesn’t have a big garden (hardly any garden at all, in fact), so it was decided that Tommy would be far happier in our backyard nomming on the fruit as it falls (because we are entirely useless at picking it) and having a Puddims to play with. For the first few days, Tommy was entirely unimpressed with his new situation, hissing and spitting and threatening to chew on any hand that got near him (though for a toothless animal, his beak certainly does pack a punch). But he seems to have come around to it with the help of some tomatoes, apples, strawberries and cuttlefish. He is undergoing an entirely new diet regiment consisting of less veggies and fruit, because apparently tortoises struggle to process sugar, but more hay. Which he seems entirely unimpressed with. But we keep trying regardless!

The view of Robberg Beach in Plett.

The view of Knysna Quays.

Grant and I jetted off on Thursday, leaving Jono to look after the new addition to our family, and made our way to George for a long weekend away, stopping off in Plett for a night on the way to visit family friends and just rest considering that Grant and I only managed to leave Grahamstown close to 6pm. The Plett leg of the trip was very short and not particularly eventful, being only one night, but from there Sharon and I made our way to Knysna for the day on Friday while the boys carried on to George for their first day of golf. Knysna meant shopping and time spent by the seaside, which was greatly appreciated by me, and it was a lovely, relaxing day spent wandering from shop to shop, without buying too much to Grant’s relief.

Sunrise from one of our balconies. To the far right, you can see our lounge and further in our bedroom.

From Knysna, Sharon and I slowly made our way to the hotel in George and, oh my, what a hotel. The Hyatt Regency in George is absolutely stunning, and Grant and I were incredibly, incredibly lucky because Grant’s dad decided that, because it was Grant’s birthday weekend, we would get the bigger suite. Which just happened to be the presidential one!! The hostess seemed just as shocked as I was, but managed to keep her composure for long enough to hand me the key to the room and keep herself from gawking as Sharon and I made our way to the elevator. When I returned with Grant later in the evening though, we caught her whispering to a colleague and pointing in our direction, which we found to be hilarious rather than offensive. We were just as surprised as she was at the luxury we had been provided.

Sun setting over the Hyatt Regency.

The room itself was bigger than our entirely three bedroomed, two bathroomed house. With a lavish lounge, an office area (as part of the lounge), a dining room, a kitchen, two bathrooms, a giant bedroom and three balconies (all with amazing views, of course), we were set to never have to leave the room again. But then, there were others things to coax us out and convince us that we were still in the real world with shopping downstairs, an infinity pool, a spa and the Ernie Els designed Oubaai golf course all being part of the resort. Grant and Rob made full use of the golf course, while Sharon and I perused the shops and the local area, stopping into Heralds Bay for lunch on Saturday and sitting by the pool with the boys for the rest of the afternoon. The breakfast that the hotel provided was also phenomenal and out of this world, but unfortunately I only got to make use of the restaurant for the breakfasts. On Saturday evening I started feeling completely out of it, losing feeling in my arm and feeling disoriented and nauseous. After taking a few pills, I was out like a light and only managed to wake up for a few minutes to grab a bite of the divine grilled chicken that had been ordered from room service as part of the dinner. I got told the next morning how the meals that Grant, Rob and Sharon had ordered (also through room service) came on silver platters. The next morning, we were slow to wake and reluctant to leave, but were out of the hotel and back on the road by midday, stopping briefly to grab a token or two and some lunch on the way back to Grahamstown.

The view on the way back into Grahamstown

And thus ends part one of November thus far. Watch this space for part 2.

2012

2012 has arrived! Every year at this time, I make resolutions. They usually involve losing weight, taking up hobbies and spending more time doing the things that I love with the people that I love. But I also know myself, and I know that a week after I write up those resolutions, they fall to the wayside. This year, I have decided that I am not going to write resolutions, but I am instead just going to write down what I hope the year 2012 will be like in general.

2012 will be a year for photography. I have been a bit lax of recent with not picking up my camera and taking it out for a spin, but I am thinking of doing yet another 365 project, and considering that I did take photos yesterday and that today is only the second day of the month, it is definitely a possibility. However, even if I don't end up doing a project, I still want this to be the year where I really get my ass into gear in terms of my photography. I am launching a website which I have big ideas for, I am building a studio in my garage and I am sincerely hoping that I can get a business going on the side by December next year. Why December specifically? Well, because I went for walks around the botanical gardens a few times last month and every single time I went, there were at least 3-5 weddings going on and photographs being taken in the gardens. Next year, I want to be one of those photographers.

2012 will be a year for fitness. Yes, I say it every single year, that I am going to buck up and get healthy. And I am not exactly off to a good start, since New Year's Eve was a drinking binge fest which needed to be smoothed over yesterday by breakfast at Spur (not particularly healthy). But, I have taken up squash and want to do that at least three times a week, and have resolved to join the gym this year, since I recently found out that ex-Rhodents can join for the same price as students if they get an alumni card. Healthy eating is something that is going to come slowly to me, since it is not just myself that I would be cooking for, and cooking in itself is not something that I have the energy to do often. But at least I want to get moving and get exercising.

2012 will be a year for writing. Writing has definitely taken a sideline over the last few years. Though my job last year involved a lot of communication with clients and writing newsletters and writing brochures and such things, this year there is going to be less of that. Well, still communication with clients, but definitely less newsletters and such since I am no longer the Communications Agent at the company, but have been promoted to the Accounts Manager (or a title along those lines). But I do not intend to let that stop me. I won Nanowrimo last year and am hoping to try it again, but in the meantime I am going to keep blogging and am thinking of writing up some articles for the local newspaper occasionally just to get back into the journalistic style of writing.

2012 will be a year for fun. I was a bit of a downer in 2011. I hardly ever went out, I hardly ever did anything fun or exciting. I think that I was in a bit of a slump, but no more! I am going to make 2012 the year for fun and partying and enjoyment. I want at least one more of those before my big 2-5 in 2013. And, after all, 2013 may never come (according to the Mayans) so I might as well live it up while I can. ;) I am the only person to blame for my lack of fun in 2011. I complained and moaned about not having friends when my friends were right in front of me and when there was a town full of people going out on a nightly basis that I could have become friendly with. I know that this is not going to be easy, but Kath and Emma, if you are reading this, I expect support and assistance and for you guys to drag me out of the house more often, because I know that if it were up to me, I would just be curled up in bed with pjs and a book every single night.

And finally, most of all, 2012 will be a year of awesomeness. I know it. I sense it. Let's make it so.

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!

November Life

So as many of you may have noticed, I have been quite quiet recently. This is because, as I suspected would happen, I have been crazy busy! But, there are a couple of aspects to this busyness that I had not expected.

So Lara, what have you been doing?

There have been three things taking up most of my time over the last month. The most obvious one is work, and the less obvious are writing and photography. I have stuck to my NaNoWriMo plans, and am 33240 words into my novel. I still have 8 days left to write, and I think that I can make it if I buck up and start writing a little more than 2000 words each day. Which is totally possible, considering that I got to 25k by the 10^th of the month and have just been slacking since then.

In terms of photography, I have been participating in a mentorship programme as the mentee. My mentor is a Photography professor in the States, and I have been chatting with him over Skype 3 days of the week. I am given assignments to do and am learning how to use PhotoShop, and the experience has been great (Sausi, my tutor, is AWESOME), but it is also extremely tiring and leaves little time for other things, like writing.

Oh, and I have been packing. Not as much as I should be since I have had other things taking up my time on the weekends that I plan to pack (things like photo shoots or trips to PE or no packing tape being in the house). But there are a good number of boxes taking up the area under the stairs and we intend to move a lot of them to the new house this weekend. The move really is around the corner and it is uber-exciting, especially since I GET A PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO IN MY GARAGE! Plus, two giant gardens, plus a house-warming party where people bring gifts and things. Can you tell how excited I am? I don’t think you can. SQUEE!!!!!!!!!!

What have you been reading?

Oh yeah, I haven’t given up on reading completely. Though most of my books have, at this point, been packed into boxes, I left one out for my reading pleasure, and that one is the book that I recently received from Loot – “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ” by Jose Saramago. I first heard of the book when I was doing my post-grad diploma and have been intrigued and wanting to read it since then. Unfortunately, it is not the most popular of Saramago’s work and has proved difficult to come across. But I found it on Loot and ordered it a couple of weeks ago. It arrived last week and I have been reading it (slowly but surely) since. It is definitely interesting, but not the easiest read. I will let you know what I think of it when I’ve finished, which will not be this month considering everything else that is going on.

What have you been watching?

Not very much – one movie and a couple of series when I am going to bed at night. The movie that I watched was Easy A, which I LOVED and will be writing a review of later this week (probably). The series that I have been watching are Dollhouse (I didn’t get into it when it started, but am loving it now) Misfits (during my lunch breaks at work – another review around the corner) and Castle (uber-awesome!)

What about that uber-awesome cat of yours with the incredibly lame name?

Oy! No being mean to Puddims L He’ll totally kick your ass! He is a superhero after all! He has been saving me from 8-legged monsters left, right and centre, occasionally jumping on my head at 4am to do so and attempting to do the same to Grant (though I stopped him). He is also LOVING the boxes that are around the house and thinks that they are there just for him. I think he is not going to be such a happy kitty in 9 days time, however, when he finds himself in unfamiliar surroundings. But there will be boxes (and spiders I’m sure) to keep him company, so he will survive.

And so my life over the last few weeks has pretty much been explained. What’s going on in your lives?

Old Ladies and Why They Are Annoying

I feel the need to point out to Jodie Stokes that I have a serious writing streak going this week, and it is all because of her. Of course, she may find none of my posts entertaining in the slightest, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is the fourth blog that I am writing in 3 days. Go me!

So, what is today's topic then? Well, I was thinking along the lines of old ladies. Most specifically how I love them despite their annoying tendencies. Even more specifically, those living in Cross Street.

This morning, I was sitting at work. Doing, well, work of course. What else would I be doing at work? Play games you suggest? Pfft... clearly you don't know me at all. Or know me all too well ;). Anyway, there I was, working, when a phonecall comes in. Usually there is a scurry for the phones, a race to get there first so that the  call can count towards our call count at the end of the week, winning us a box of chocolates/cookies depending on what's on offer. Unfortunately, this one didn't get through to my line, and Gary answered it, only to pass it through to me. Leaving me one count short for this week. Thanks Gary!!

Anyway, I digress. On the other end of the line was Marion. Marion was one of my neighbours in Cross Street, and is also a client of my company's, so of course she always tends to contact me at work instead of calling me on my cell. No matter. I answered and we chatted for a few minutes before she asked me if I could do her a favour. Could I come over to take a picture of the scarecrow that she had built with friends whose department was imminent. How much would I charge? Knowing that this would be a 5 minute job and not being too concerned about charging for a quick shoot for an old friend, I told her that I would do it for free and would shoot down there during my lunch hour.

Lunch time came, and off I went to the familiar courtyard that was essentially my garden for two years. I knew that Marion would be there, but I also suspected that some of my other old neighbours might be hanging around, and I wasn't disappointed. Hillary was standing by the watch the quick shoot as well and have a chat while I worked my magic. This is where the slightly annoying bit comes in, because while younger people may realise that you have a job to get back to and things that need to be done and are in a slight rush to get going, old ladies tend to forget this fact in lieu of catching up. And so we chatted about me and my job and my house and my boyfriend and my cat and my parents and my car and Michael, one of my former housemates. Michael, of course, was one of the subjects of discussion that they were most interested in. While I was friendly with the ladies next door when I stayed in Cross Street, Michael was their saviour, constantly offering to cook, garden and offer company, and the lack of Michael in their lives seems to have had an adverse effect. They miss him terribly and wanted to know all about everything that is happening in his life. As he is currently living with my parents, I was the go-to-girl for knowledge, and unfortunately did not have much of it to give, since I myself have not heard from Michael in a long while. Michael, if you are reading this, you need to tell people that you are alive!

Once I had managed to get a few shots, I was ready to head off when Marion stopped me in my tracks. "Can you help me with something else?" Sure, I thought. As long as it's quick. See, another one of the ladies on Cross Street, Rosemary, who I do not know quite as well as she was not one of the neighbours in my courtyard, recently inherited a laptop. She came into the office about a month ago and one of my colleagues, Andrew, helped her set up a Gmail account to receive emails and installed Firefox on her machine. He made it really easy for her, adding a link to Gmail at the top of her browser and showing her that all she needed to do was click it and she would get her emails. Apparently this was too much for Rosemary, and she couldn't handle the complication, so had decided to give up on this email idea altogether. Marion didn't want this to happen, so she passed Rosemary's machine on to me and asked me to do something about it. Something. Anything. She didn't specify what aside from suggesting perhaps adding another email address to her account, a solution that was in fact no solution at all. What really needed to be done was to setup Microsoft Outlook on Rosemary's machine and have it pop up as soon as she opens her computer. That would be ideal. Of course, Microsoft Outlook is a lot harder to use than Gmail, but at least Marion knows how to use it, so we will have to see what happens.

And so, I have now setup a laptop with Microsoft Outlook, a task that took a lot longer than the expected favour of a few photos. But that is possibly the most annoying thing about old ladies - it is so darned difficult to say no to them! It feels like it should be a crime!! And so, I endure endless conversation and favours that take ages in order to please these women that I call friends. And you know what, it feels a lot more rewarding because they are insanely grateful for it. As opposed to most of the clients that I help over the phone.

Perhaps I should start working at an old age home teaching the elderly how to use computers. Or take photographs. Or write. I like this idea! Any takers?

Cooking Up a Crumble

It has been a long while since I last posted here, but I thought that I had better do so today before I lose out.

You see, I have a friend in Cape Town whose name is Tandy. I believe that she is a wonderful cook, though I have never tasted any of her cooking, because she has a food blog with recipes that make my mouth water. Her blog is called Lavender and Lime and can be found here.

In any case, Tandy is running a baking competition where the winner will get a cassis rectangular bake set from Le Creuset. For those of you who don't know what Le Creuset is, I don't particularly blame you. Until a few years ago, I had no idea! And then I went to see Julie & Julia, a wonderful movie that follows the life of Julia Child and Julie Powell's attempts a recreating her recipes. It turns out that Julia Child was a big fan of Le Creuset bakeware. And so are a number of other people that I know of, including Tandy and Lynne, another family friend. So when I heard about the giveaway, I knew that I would have to get involved. Sure, it wasn't likely that I would win the prize, but I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass me by!

The competition involved baking something and, not being particularly good at baking myself or having very much experience with it, I decided to go for something simple to start off with. Grant suggested Apple Crumble, since it is one of his favourite desserts. So, apple crumble it was to be! I scoured my cookbooks for a recipe, and when they failed me, I went online and found one that I liked the sound of. With the recipe scrawled down, off I went to the shops to get the ingredients for it:

FILLING
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

CRUMBLE
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup coconut
1 tbs ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup melted butter
Apple juice
2 tbs vanilla essence

EXTRAS
Whipped cream

You may notice one gaping whole in this list of ingredients, and that is apples. That is because buying apples for Grant is a very difficult process - he only likes Granny Smiths, and that seems to be the one kind that the Grahamstown Pick n Pay never seems to stock. So, instead of buying apples and boiling them down myself only to have Grant upset with me, I chose to get a can of apples to replace it with, and Grant was thrilled with my decision. So, I used a large tin of canned apples instead of the 7 apples that the recipe recommended. If you are going to do the apples yourself, make sure to set aside the juice that comes from out of them for later.

Once your apples (canned or stewed/boiled/however you like to do them) are ready, combine the castor sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon, mix well and toss through the apples. Place the apple mix evenly in a medium casserole dish and set it aside for later.



To start the crumble, combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, coconut, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.





Now you can start to melt the butter, and this is where I started to deviate from the recipe slightly on the advice of some comments that I had found on the recipe. The recipe recommended a 2/3 cup of butter, but some people recommended using only 1/3 butter and mixing in the leftover apple juice. Not having made the apples myself, I bought some apple juice and added a swig of it to the butter once it was melted. Also add the vanilla essence to the butter and apple juice and mix them together.

Add the butter mix to the dry ingredients and mix well. The recipe recommended a fork, but I found using my hands to be a lot quicker and easier. Ensure that all of the ingredients are moist and the mixture has a crumbly texture.





Spread the crumble evenly over the apple mixture and bake in a preheated oven at 180'C for 30-40 minutes or until the crumble is slightly browned.





We chose to serve the crumble with whipped cream, but it can also be served with ice cream or custard. One person even suggested putting Nestle Treat over the top, an idea that I found intriguing, but which Grant quickly vetoed. I will have to try it another time.




Either way, the dessert went down an absolute treat. The friends that came over for dinner on the night that I made it did nothing but wow over it, each of them having seconds (even our neighbour's son who hardly ate any dinner at all). So if that isn't a success, I don't know what is.



I made a second one a couple of nights later, as we had tons of extra ingredients, and I followed the recipe exactly the second time - using a 2/3 cup of butter and no apple juice, and I definitely think that the apple juice was an improvement on the recipe. I highly recommend it. Unfortunately, all of the photos were taken at night in a badly lit kitchen and are examples of the non-juice version. However you make it, ENJOY!

All dogs should go to heaven (or Uitsig)

One of the dogs waiting to be adopted at the Uitsig Animal Rescue Centre

"Why are you going so slowly?"
The car is moving at what feels like less than a kilometre an hour and the combination of dust penetrating our lungs and the sun beating down on our heads is giving me a bit of a headache, making me rather glad when Jayne pipes up from the backseat.
"Because I don't want to ruin my car!"
A hollow echo can be heard as Ash says this, reiterating her point. This is certainly not a pleasant road to drive along, and the dilapidated houses that we passed a little earlier didn't really help my impression of the area.
This place is going to be a total dump, I think to myself, but keep the thoughts silent. The rescue centre means so much to Ash and Jayne that I don't want to ruin the trip before we can even get there.
We turn onto another road, less rocky this time around but covered in far more dust that flies into the air as we drive through it and tickles the back of my throat making me want to cough. I am wondering when this hell will end when we round a corner and come face to face with a gated farm with a sign reading Uitsig Animal Rescue Centre.

We open the gate with a little difficulty and suddenly find ourselves surrounded by dogs, all running free and all excited to see us, greeting us as though we are old friends rather than strangers to them. Compared to the last animal shelter that I visited, this place is like heaven on earth - instead of concrete cellblocks, there is plenty of space here for the healthy dogs to run around. Chicken wire separates some of the dogs from the others - the anti-social and the not so well off (which make up a large number of the dogs that come in) - but even these can hardly be called small. Regardless of where the hounds are situated, they are guaranteed to be much happier than where they were before they arrived at Uitsig - most of the dogs are brought in from abusive or neglectful homes or are found wandering the streets. Though none of them can speak, the stories of abuse are written all over their bodies - in the amputated leg of one dog, in the backing away of another as soon as any human comes close to it, and probably most noticably in the mange that plagues so many skins and coats.

Ash calls me over to introduce me to her puppy, Sunny Snapper, who she rescued off a traffic circle near her work. With too many pets to handle at home already, she can't keep Sunny herself, but insists on visiting him on at least a weekly basis and checking up to make sure that things are running smoothly. They always are. Ash and I decide to take Sunny and his sister on a walk, and I make my way through the farm towards the gate, holding onto the dog that I decide to name Mashi (short for mashisoyo which means delicious in Korean - my own personal joke), so that the other dogs can't attack her. She is smaller than the rest and can't defend herself properly, but she shivers in my hands, uncomfortable and untrusting of the human hands holding her. She seems to warm to me as we walk though, and by the end, as we return to the compound and I need to pick her up again, she isn't nearly as nervous.

After our walk, I decide that it is time for me to check out the other part of the shelter - the cattery. The cattery is separated into two areas: one with the younger cats and kittens, many of whom appear to have some form of snuffles, and the other with the older and wiser cats. As I step into the room of kittens, I hear the tiniest of meows and look down to find a grey and white one practically standing on my feet. Soon a couple more come closer, their curiosity getting the better of them, and I give them some attention before making my way to the next room - if I stay with the kittens too long, I won't be able to resist taking one home! As I walk towards the second cattery, the kitties see me coming and start storming the door, about twenty of them wailing for my attention and begging me to take them home. They swarm me as I step through and I can't take another step for fear of standing on one of their tails. I wander through the room, taking in all of their beauty before tearing myself away and returning to the real world.

It is time to go, and Ash, Janey and I all pile into the car without any joy - all of us wish we could stay there forever or, at the very least, take all of these wonderful animals home with us. But we can't. That would be taking away the opportunity for others to find the pet of their dreams, because I can almost guarantee that if you go to Uitsig looking for a pet, you will fall in love with at least one.

More than just a burger

Candy-floss-pink and white flamingos, a pale-pink piano and top hats in every colour imaginable (including more pink, of course) greet us on entrance into Beefcakes.

“Table for two, please.”

“Take your pick.”

I look around the empty fifties-style diner, hidden amongst the tirade of buildings on Green Point's Main road, taking in the bar complete with stripper figurine, the staircase leading down to the club below and all of the empty light grey couches. I pick one for the two of us to sit at. On Saturday it had almost been impossible to find a seat, but in the middle of the week we have our run of the place, being the only customers and all. On one hand it's a bad thing – who wants to come to an empty restaurant? On the other, I know what it was like being the only straight girl in a bar full of gay guys, and it can be a little overwhelming. Beefcakes doesn't only refer to the burgers, after all.

We hardly have time to take in the disco-balls that cover the ceiling before our waiter sidles over.

“Good afternoon,” he gushes, filled with the kind of enthusiasm that made me feel exhausted. “I'm Dwayne. Can I get you a drink?”

I consider getting myself a watermelon Cosmo, remembering how good it tasted the last time, but reminding myself that A. it is the middle of the day and B. I might be driving home, I opt out.

“Just a Coke, please.”

He sidles on back to the bar and we take the chance to scan our menus and decide on something to eat. What will it be today? I flick past the 'Bugger the Burger' section and look at the burger selections. What about a 'Buffy the Hamburger Slayer'? 'Chilli on the Willy'? Maybe a 'Beach Boy Burger' will hit the spot. Eventually I decide on the 'Greek God' burger, but now I have to decide on what kind of meat I want – each of the burgers can come with a beef, chicken, lamb or ostrich patty. By the time Dwayne has returned, I have decided on the recommended lamb (realising that it will go best with the tzatziki on the burger), a combination of salad and fries on the side. I sit back to relax with my ice cold Coke in it's truly diner-style glass and a fresh breeze from the open window rustles my hair – the perfect way to spend a sunny day while still being indoors.

As we wait for our burgers to arrive, we let our eyes wander, taking in everything from the decorations to the wallpaper to the rest of the menu.

“Look at this dessert,” Mike announces, pointing out the Strawberry Seduction – strawberries with a combination of vodka, black pepper and cream to dip them in.

“Vodka and black pepper?” If I could have raised a single eyebrow, I would have. “And anyway, I doubt we'll have room for dessert.”

“I think it'd be divine. And I always leave room for dessert,” he says with the air of a food critic, “even if it means not finishing my main.”

We're interrupted as Dwayne bustles back over with our burgers in hand and places mine in front of me. The smell of garlic fills my nostrils and I involuntarily lick my lips before digging in. I carefully watch Mike as he does the same and, as his eye meets mine, I know we are both thinking the same thing.

“It was a goner from the first bite,” I say minutes later, looking longingly at my empty plate and wishing there was more. Not that there's any room for it, of course, but I could always find space for a meal like that! Mike nods his head in agreement, his earlier idea of not finishing his main forfeited as his plate is as clean as my own.

But that won't stop us from sharing a dessert. It won't be the strawberries, sadly, as now is no time for vodka. We opt for the chocolate brownie instead, at Dwayne's suggestion. When it arrives, Mike can hardly wait to dig in, and just about does as I snap some shots. Once I join him, it's gone within seconds.

As Mike pays the bill, I take a final look around, capturing some more of the decorations on my digital film, and then it's time to go. With one final look at the original-esque Coca Cola poster on the wall, we are out.

“Take a shot of the building,” Mike insists. “Just to remember.”

I catch Dwayne grinning in the distance as I snap the final shot.

I don't need to take the shot to remember. I'm sure I will be back all too soon.

Cooking

Anyone who has come into contact with me over the last year or so would be shocked to hear me say this, but I love cooking. That is not to say that I am very good at it, nor is it to say that I do it often. But on the occasion that I do, I absolutely love it!

One of the things that I missed over my year in Korea was being able to cook. Sure, I had a mini-kitchen decked out with pots, pans and a hub of two stove tops; sure, there was a grocery store or three up the road from my house; but cooking for one just isn't the same as cooking for others. When it came down to it, ordering in or eating out was just so much easier and, in the end, so much cheaper as I never ended up eating the leftovers that I ended up with after cooking for myself.

One of the first things I requested for when I came home was a home-cooked meal. Of course, I never got it, but that doesn't take anything away from the point that I am trying to make – a hard-earned meal that has been cooked through blood, sweat and tears just tastes so much better than something that requires as little effort as phoning the pizza-place and reciting your address and phone number.

Now that I am home with a world of cooking-equipment and groceries at my fingers, I am already contemplating all the meals that I am looking forward to cooking. In fact, I have put together a list made from my recently acquired cookbooks (click here to see it). I highly doubt that I will cook all of these dishes over the next year, as I only intend to do the cooking about twice a week and will not always want something so rich or so expensive, but I do intend to get through the list over the next few years. So check it out and if you see something that you would like to try, let me know – maybe I will make it the next time you visit!

So my question for you today is twofold: which of those recipes do you most want to try and what is your favourite recipe?

Time for a Treat?

Treat Cafe in Hertex design studio
Durbanville
Cape Town

“They're so pretty!”

Deep brown sugar smothered upon decadent chocolate cake; buttery icing sitting atop another spotted with dark poppy seeds. speckled eggs sprinkled across a third cake oozing spice and another beside it bleeding red. It took all I had not to just whip out my camera right then and there.

“Can I help you?” I gave the woman beside me the briefest of up-and-downs, taking in her lime-green and black striped shirt and wondering where she might have gotten it. This was our waitress? I thought she was a customer.

“Do you have a table for two?”

Looking around the room at the tables filled with women sipping cappuccinos and sharing gossip, it didn't seem likely. Evidently Treat is a popular place for the middle-aged gossipy women of Durbanville, but our waitress didn't skip a beat.

“There's one at the front of house if you don't mind sitting there.”

We weren't there to socialise anyway.

“That will be perfect.”

We were quickly shown to our seats - a table, a good way away from the rest of the cafe, that I had thought was part of the display when I'd walked in. Hidden amidst the comfortable-looking couches and the swabs of patterned material that lined the wall of Hertex design studio, placed directly beneath a chandelier that looked like something out of a hotel, we sat ourselves down and waited for our menus. I took advantage of the first few minutes to grab my camera, as I am prone to do, and shoot away. But when, a few minutes later, I sat down again, we still had no menus.

“Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.”

We'd been seated for a good five minutes longer before the waitress remembered us.

“Are you ready to order?”

“No. We need menus.”

“Oh.” A flush of pink came over her cheeks and she rushed back to the cafe entrance to fetch us some. We didn't have a problem with her service again.

Looking at the menu, I couldn't help but wonder how much everything was going to cost. When a 170ml can of apple iced tea cost R17, I wasn't holding out too much hope for a cheap meal. But that wasn't going to stop me. I was a girl on a mission.

The food arrived quickly, beautifully presented, and we dug in only to discover that there was nothing special to it. Not bad, but nothing to go out of your way for either. But then, this wasn't a restaurant, not somewhere you would go for a lunch – this was a cafe, a place for tea and cake, and the cake was what had brought us here in the first place. Those beautiful cakes that had wowed me at the start. Nevermind the mediocre lunch, it could be overlooked as long as the cakes tasted as good as they looked.

We ate as much of the lunch as we could, neither of us cleaning our plates, and prepared ourselves for the glory that was awaiting us. What would it be? Chocolate? Lemon meringue? Red velvet? No, no. We decided to share two slices so that we could get a taste of each – the intriguingly decorated cinnamon cake and my favourite lemon-poppy. Minutes later, the slices were placed before us and we held our forks in awe before finally digging in. There was a moment's silence as we chewed. Revered silence perhaps?

“Does yours taste like butter?”

I nodded in agreement, the taste filling my mouth and suffocating any other. Our first impression didn't improve over the next few bitefuls. Eventually we gave up on the cakes, not finishing them either and decided to pay and leave before we could be disappointed by anything else.

“That will be R165.”

I fished around in my wallet for some cash and walked quickly through the beautifully decorated cafe to the exit. I couldn't get there quick enough.