This week I have a menu that saw us by the braai 6 out of the 7 evenings. Links to various recipes are available and quite a few by Jan Braai. I see that his website was revamped this week so go and take a look!
The highlight for me in this menu is the Moroccan chicken pie. A lifetime ago the Engineer and I (when young and free and able to stay awake later than 8pm) had a date at a cooking school. This specific evening was Moroccan themed, and I think that is probably what kindled my love for Moroccan food as well. On the menu that night was a Moroccan chicken pie, very different from the traditional South African version. It is a blend of beautiful flavours. Try it, you will not be sorry. I was even so impressed with this one that I remembered to take some photographs.
Sunday evenings we like to start a fire in the late afternoon and keep the Sunday night blues at bay.
This particular Sunday was no different. Joining us by the fireside were my in-laws. On the menu was snoek – something we have not had in a while.
After a lovely meal, the Engineer (who is not a complainer) quietly asked me in the kitchen, how do you get a fishbone unstuck from your throat. I literally wanted to strangle him. I already have two three-year-olds who I have to cut things up for. I very carefully took out all the fish bones from their plates… I did not know that I had to do it for the adult as well.
I remembered something about bread and cottonwool and we tried that but the problem persistently stuck.
So at 20h30 on a Sunday evening he went to a 24-hour medical centre, where the locum inspected the problem and informed him that a) he could not see anything, and b) he did not have the right tools.
So the Engineer came home and slept the sleep of the undisturbed while I kept checking if he was in fact sleeping.
Monday morning rolled around and I issued him with the number of my ENT – miracle worker on my speed dial who would definitely have the right tools. The patient still wanted to make arrangements for a later appointment due to meetings and other responsible grown up things, but the doc9 said no, he needed to come in immediately.
After having a camera through his nose into his throat and inspecting the culprit the Engineer was informed that unfortunately, although he can see it he cannot reach it, and Johan would have to be admitted and put under for a two-minute procedure. The good doctor was also only available at 17h30. The receptionist, however, told the patient that he needed to hurry up and get admitted because he needed to go for his COVID test first. So an ordinary day got quite weird. COVID meant that I could not go with him to hospital and the Lilliputians meant that I could not pick him up on Monday night (unless I stuck us all in the car for a late-night outing). So he came home and got his Kindle and Ubered to the hospital.
He was finally pushed into the theater a little after 18h00 and anesthesia being what it is only sent through proof of life around 20h30. Together with the following information that the foreign object was not a fishbone. It was a bristle from the steel brush that we use to clean the grid. More importantly, my father in law’s brush because dinner was with them.
So… this is a thing. In December a friend of ours from Canada told us that you could not even buy these brushes in Canada because the bristles got stuck in people’s intestines. You can read an article about this here. And even locally they published about the hidden danger.
So with all this excitement and the preparation of soft food this week, I completely forgot about my special publication for National Braai Day. This will follow soon. I promise!
Today I want to share a teeny tiny post on something that I think it just a beautiful idea. Last week I chatted about my plan for Inktober2020 and also my DIY zentangle tiles… I did, however, have to find the perfect paper and as it goes (clickity click goes the mouse) I came across the concept of artist trading cards.
Is this not a beautiful plan. A tiny personalised gift… or even a collection of these as a feature in your house. A swarm of little miniature paintings. A quick search in Google brought up this Pinterest page. The featured image of this post also shows round die cut tiles, themed as part of a collection.
Isn’t it gorgeous? Just think how annoyingly chuffed I am going to be if I get this right!?!
Here is something I tried about 100 years ago, but I am thinking I will end up with a few friends for this little guy.
So as with all new finds, I have plans. Many many plans. I am inspired and excited, which always breeds hectic online shopping carts, but I am standing strong!
If you want to get started you can purchase cards on Loot here. I am trying to refer you with a fancy URL parameter, but I am not sure that my URL parameter adding skills can be put on my CV just yet. They have options with various colours like black for collages or assorted greys.
Let me know if you are attempting anything for #Inktober2020 or even #InktoberTangles2020? Goodness, I have never hashtagged anything in my life. It is clearly never too late to start.
Zentangles, doodles, and how to know that the difference is zendoodles
When you type “bullet journal” into Google or Pinterest you get many beautiful images of people with fantastic weekly spreads and lovely water-colour paint ideas. All the things that you want to do and do not have the artistic inclination for. (And with “you” I mean “me”). The groups that I follow put me to shame towards the end of every month with their beautiful monthly layouts and water trackers that look like something you want to frame. Tutorials are available for doodle icons and fairy gardens and castles… yes, there was another Pinterest rabbit hole that lead me down a path of artistic inferiority.
The linking clickety click did however lead to the discovery of the term Zentangles®, a form of art therapy that entails creating art by repeating patterns.
My fascination with paisley and mandala’s resonated beautifully with this idea, together with me feeling guilty if I just sit and watch Netflix. So I started trying my hand at a few repetitive patterns of my own.
The difference between tangling and doodling
So apparently when you doodle, you draw as an afterthought. This will typically happen in a lecture if you find your mind wandering, or while on the phone. A tangle however, is something that happens when you are only focused on the artwork. It supposedly relaxes you as a form of focused distraction. So, what was I then doing while sitting in front of the TV? Apparently it was… wait for it… zendoodling… which is a combination.
When I started out different ink drawings my first attempts were Mandala’s… and yes, these, too, have a home in this crazy circus… Zendala’s.
Inktober
I have chatted previously about the Whatsapp group that I belong to that share creative endevours. Since 2018 someone in this group has posted a little artistic every day. Even if it was just to inform everyone about a stationery sale. My friend who started this group suggested that some of us join the Inktober challenge. For the first time ever I am going to try it. She shared the official Inktober prompts which you can find here. I have however wandered off again and decided to look for a zentangle oriented prompt list, which I located here.
And while looking for this… I found out that zentangles should be done on tiles. Which are actually just squares or circles of paper. Of course, something that can be bought on Amazon. All clicks lead there after all. So the first suggestion is this one. I have found recommendations for these tiles on various forums as well. For now, I am not buying any tiles, even if I have my eye on these round die-cut ones. There are even fancy storage file pages like these. Who knew, a whole new world has opened up for me!
The DIY route
So as I am attempting my first ever Inktober on a budget, and have blown that budget on pens and markers and other beautiful things from Brush and Canvas, I am opting to cut my own tiles and store them in a cheap photo album.
Please make suggestions on tile sizes and shapes in the comments and follow this board on Pinterest if you want to be part of my nightly scribbles.
Again a lot of carbs… what can I say? Also a lot of bacon. The pulled pork braaibroodjie was very experimental, but I cooked the pork in my slow cooker and the Lilliputians also had it with pasta the next day for their lunch. Fantastic leftover food! And yes, Friday night came from two different boxes in my freezer… do not judge! I at least made a salad too.
