All Sorts To Talk About Today .........

Thanks, everyone, for the comments on Saturday’s post. The day was a great success and the weather was, thankfully, warm enough for us to sit out on the veranda and enjoy our lunch.

Now, I was so busy that I forgot to take photo’s of the table settings, dessert etc – but I do have a few photos to share with you – ones that I remembered to take, that is !

Justin, as always, is a star and helped me so much I could not have done it without him – the photo above is of him, as we were just getting ready for everyone to arrive (& serve them snacks, below). Over the nearly 10 years we’ve worked together, Justin has helped me host 100’s of people and helps everything to run smoothly – setting the table, laying stuff out, checking on drinks, clearing up etc. He remains calm and is unflappable (whereas I like to shout, throw things in the air, take swipes at hubby if he gets in my way & generally, get in a bit of a tizz !) so we are a good team.


The friends on Sunday included both old and new as well as neighbours. The men mostly sat on one side and talked farming all day *boring* and then broke their monotonous conversation with talk about boats *yawn* and cars *double yawn* (with apologies to all my male readers !) whilst us ladies sat on the other side and gossiped about the latest Tanzanian expatriate scandal/s, child rearing, Tanzanite stones, bandit attacks and holiday’s !

Everyone enjoyed the food and it all went quite smoothly. I changed my main course at the last minute, and instead of serving the Chicken Broccoli Bake I made the Spicy Chicken Casserole instead (you can see that marinating above !) I added red & green peppers & drizzled fresh cream over the top (see photo below, of one of the 3 dishes) which I didn't do when I originally posted the recipe on the blog.

At around 8 pm that evening (yes, having guests stay on that late is quite typical of Sunday lunches here !) someone asked if they could go up to see the Guest Cottage, then someone else decided to come, then the kids all grabbed their torches and before I knew it, we were all (well lubricated with good South African red) staggering in the dark up to the cottage .... with excited dogs at our heels and hubby’s workshop askari looking at us in bewilderment as I gave everyone the grand tour ‘Kilimanjaro is over there – although you can’t see her now as it’s pitch black’ ….

Now on a completely different note, 3 great African blogs which I’d like to mention which I know that you'll all enjoy reading if you haven't found them already ….. first off, my *favourite* African blogger 'One Stoned Crow' is back and blogging from Namibia, so pop on over and say hello & welcome back & enjoy some of his magnificent photography.

My brother-in-law Chris (who is the reason this blog exists, as he suggested to me that I start one all that time ago !) has recently started a blog 'Mpumalanga Journal' about his farm & life in South Africa & memories of farming in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. Pop in and say hello and leave a comment if you like, as we all know what it’s like when we are just getting our blogs off the ground and how nice it is to have visitors from afar ;) and then my dear friend Jo, who I have met twice ‘in real life’ is back in the Sudan this week and blogging from there about all the exciting things she’s getting up to over there on her blog, 'Memorable Meanders'.

And .... welcome to all my new 'Followers' and thanks to everyone for all the comments and emails, too. Sorry I haven't had as much time lately to visit and comment on everyone's blogs but I hope to visit you all soon !

Mountains, Meringues & Magnificent Sunsets ....

Oh my goodness - it's Saturday already and this past week has just flown by ..... there were so many things I wanted to blog about, but they'll just have to wait for now as I buzz around crazily today, getting ready for a crowd of friends we have coming to the farm tomorrow for the day .... including children, there will be between 13 and 16 of us altogether & I am doing all the cooking for the lunch we hope to serve out on the veranda .... weather permitting. So, the photo above is what our house/garden looks like now that it's Winter ... and the photo below shows what I've been up to my eyeballs in so far today - meringue mix ! This is for part of the dessert I plan to serve .... which I'll put on the blog soon .....

And speaking of meringue .... and whipped white peaks .... here is a photo below of part of Mt. Kilimanjaro's icy snow cap - as viewed from our garden this week, too ..... (click to enlarge the photo for a better view).

Now, you know from past experience that I often forget to take photo's of the food and table settings etc when we have a crowd of guests over .... I hope I won't forget tomorrow, but just in case -this is what I'll be serving .... for pre meal snacks (a.k.a. 'bitings' here in Tanzania) I'll be making Cheese & Herb Twists, served with small wooden bowls of cheese, marinated olives and pickled onions .... then the main course will be (well I keep changing my mind on this one) probably 'Chicken & Broccoli Bake' with 'Oven Baked Carrots In Sherry & Honey' and Roast Potatoes and then for dessert I've made meringues and homemade fresh raspberry sauce which I'll serve with cream (no fresh cream to be had in the city this week, so tinned cream will just have to do !) .... afterwards, some nice Tanzanian tea and coffee and small pieces of Mum's Zimbabwean Fridge Cake (click on any of the above bold links to find where the recipe for each has appeared on my blog before).

So, I hope that everyone will enjoy the day and that it is warm and sunny (else we'll be eating inside, instead). Yesterday was one of our coldest days yet, with such thick mist I couldn't see past the bottom of the garden until lunch time when the sun came out. To make up for the misty, grey morning though, we had another magnificent sunset. The staff were just leaving (it was a late day for them as we have so much work to do before Sunday) and looked at me oddly when I threw my arms in the air and shouted from the veranda 'See ! This is why I live in Tanzania ! Look at that - just look at that !' as they gave me odd looks (and the dogs got excited and started barking at my heels) as I ran inside to get my camera and started snapping away ..... because I wanted to share the beautiful sunset with you too, below ...........

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone - and I'll be back on Monday with a recipe for that yummy Raspberry Sauce ........

A School Trip To The Farm .....

A couple of months ago, we had our daughter's school visit the farm for a day trip. Each term they have a different theme, and this term's theme was 'Professions' and they came out to the farm for the day to learn about farming as a profession. There were 22 children and 6 adults (parents and teachers) who all came out to the farm in a convoy of about 5 vehicles. Our daughter was terribly excited as she got to show all her friends where she lives !

They arrived mid morning, and after snacks and drinks and a bit of time to stretch their legs & run around our garden after the 1 1/2 hour car journey, we loaded them all up onto a trailer attached to one of the tractors (with parents and teachers on the back to make sure that none of them tried any funny tricks !) and off we went to show them the farm.

Hubby drove the tractor, & I sat in front with him in the cab with our baby son in one hand ..... and my camera in the other ! The photo below shows the kids in a field of beans which we stopped to show them. These beans are the 'baked bean' variety ........


We also stopped in a field of wheat to show them that and teach them all about it ..... look at them all clamouring to have a better look at the wheat seed my husband is showing them - just soooo cute !

After our trip around the farm, we had a quick tour of the workshop and equipment before everyone came back to the farmhouse for a light lunch underneath the shady fig tree at the bottom of our garden. I had set tables up for the food & drinks (Cheese & Tomato and Egg Mayonnaise Sandwiches, carrot and cucumber sticks and Apple juice), and big picnic blankets for the kids to sit on.

After lunch I served pink iced cupcakes which I'd made - the kids really enjoyed these ! (Believe it or not, I was so busy I forgot to take even a single photo of any of the food I made/served - so you'll just have to take my word for it !)



So, a fun day was had by all ! (If you'd like to read about a school camping trip which was held on the farm earlier this year, you can click here.)

Simon And A Dog Named Buster (or is that .... 'Pasta' ?!)

Simon & the abandoned dog Buster (also known as 'Pasta' !) who he loved & fed back to health over 5 years ago - you rarely see them apart !

Simon is a true gem of a person, a simple man who's richness lies within - he could teach a few people a thing or two about the true meaning of life and happiness and I only wish that there were more people like him in this world !

Buster and Simon are inseparable, and Buster accompanies Simon to work each day

I thought that it was about time that I introduced you to Simon – our askari (security guard) who has worked for my husband and I for the past 8 years – he moved to this farm with us from the old one in early 2005 and is an absolute gem. He is one of those *rare* & special people, with an incredible & colourful past (shhhhh …. some of it I cannot tell ;) and an amazing outlook on life.

I think I have waited so long to tell you about him, because his story is a long one – heck, I could even start a whole blog JUST about Simon, there is just so much to tell about him !

Simon is a complete and utter animal lover and call me judgemental if you will, but I firmly believe in the saying ‘A man’s soul can be judged by the way in which he treats his dog’.

Simon is wise, strict, loyal and has a great sense of humour – oh, and did I also mention that he is a complete eccentric ?! Which is probably one of the reasons why I like him so much ;) ha ha … He also plays the harmonica at sunset each day, but is limited to ‘Silent Night’ & ‘Jingle Bells’ … which is great during the month of December, and not so great during the other 11 months of the year ! (His old harmonica broke one day, and I made the mistake of buying him an ‘upgraded’ harmonica when I was in the UK a few years ago – oops ! But you know what ? I did it because I know how much joy it brings him, his harmonica is one of his only little ‘luxuries’ in life).

Most people here have askari’s – they are basically your eyes and ears and you usually have both day time & night time askari. They patrol your property, open the gate for you when you drive in and out, welcome guests who come to visit you & let you know when they arrive, light the boiler for the hot water for your house, warn you of any impending ‘danger’ .. like ‘Mama, the elephant are back on the farm today’ or ‘Mama, the dogs have jumped over the fence & are chasing the tractor’ or ‘Mama, the gardener is sleeping underneath the avocado tree at the bottom of the garden’ … you get the picture ! They may or may not be armed and of course, if anyone tries to break in to your property they are supposed to protect you & raise the alarm.

It’s not that we need 24 hour protection, I think it’s more like a tradition here (most business and shops in the local towns and cities employ askari, too) and it is also a way to provide more people with employment and an income.

Your askari are basically your eyes and your ears, and there are 2 things I have come to realise after working with them for over 12 years now -:

- All askari sleep on duty from time-to-time (no matter what they tell you !)

- Your askari know all your secrets, & know lots of personal things which go on in your life – whether you think they do, or not (like how many nights ‘bwana’ was made to sleep on the veranda with the dogs in our pre married, pre children days when living in the city of Arusha & he came home at 3 am in the morning after being out on a ‘boys night’ ….ha !)

Simon first started out as a farm askari when we were running an 11 000 acre (no, that is not a typo !) farm in a very remote part of Tanzania. Hubby came home one day & said to me ‘I’ve found a guy who I think will make a good askari. I asked him to start work at 5 pm, but he said he would have to make it 6 pm as 5 pm is when he feeds his chickens & settles them down IN HIS HOUSE for the night ! Well, I knew then and there that Simon and I would get along just fine !

A few weeks later, hubby was called out in the middle of the night as someone was trying to steal diesel (which is more valuable than gold here in Africa) up at the workshop. Simon had caught the culprit and was in full camouflage gear … complete with painted face, tree branches attached to his hat & leopard crawling along the floor. Over the years he continued to do this out in the farm fields at night etc – catching people siphoning diesel out of the combines parked in the fields at night … always in full camouflage and always leopard crawling, working alone and catching the thieves one by one.

When we moved to this farm, there was no question that Simon was going to let us go without him. We left him on the old farm and a few weeks later he arrived at the new farm (with all his chickens in a huge box beside him !), saying that he’d transferred himself here and which house at staff quarters would be his ? When hubby explained that the farm already employed it’s own askari, Simon simply said ‘Oh well, then I’ll just have to become your house askari, then’. And so he did !

Simon and Justin (who you can read about over here) have a ‘love hate’ relationship. Justin was devastated a few years ago, when he popped back to the house at around 10 pm one night as he needed to urgently tell me something, and Simon refused to let him in the main gate ‘Because Bwana said that I must let NO ONE into the garden after dark’ and proceeded to point a gun at his chest ! (Goodness, it took me a while to smooth THAT one over !) Oh my, I could write another blog all about the Simon & Justin love/hate thing as they are always accusing each other of things – but when the chips are down, they stick together and put on a united front.

When we first moved to this farm, I found a hungry, sickly dog living off the rubbish dumps on the brink of starvation. Imagine my shock to learn that the dog had belonged to the previous farm manager here, who had simply left him behind when he moved. I was LIVID …. especially since the previous farm manager was a self proclaimed devout Christian and had left farming so that he could focus on his religion full time – and sorry, in my book that is NO way to treat a dog, and at the very least you should 'practice what you preach' ! (Said manager returned to visit us several years later and I gave him a piece of my mind about the dog – in front of a dinner table full of guests - as hubby kicked me under the table whilst almost choking on his food he was so embarrassed at my little outburst/lecture– but I have never been one to keep my mouth shut !)

Anyway, the dog’s name was Buster and we took him under our wing and fed and loved him back to what he is today, and Simon decided that he would ‘adopt’ Buster & although I help him with medicine, some food etc Buster lives with him and is cared for by him and comes to work with him every day and now – over 5 years later – is as happy and healthy as can be and the two of them are inseparable. Simon has never been able to get the name ‘Buster’ though, so he calls him ‘Pasta’ and I’ve had several people talking to me about ‘that sweet dog Pasta who belongs to your askari, Simon’ and I always have a little chuckle at that !

Buster was sick a while ago and was at the vet’s for a few days & Simon was beside himself, the staff were teasing him and saying ‘You don’t have a wife old man, that is your problem – how can you miss a dog ?!’ Simon does have a few children and his youngest, a daughter, we have helped with school fees and things over the years and Simon has been eternally grateful to us.

Simon now does a lot of work for my husband on the farm in a more senior position (he is in charge of issuing diesel, for example and also oversees the farm chemical/insecticide stocks) & generally bosses all the other staff around and catches anyone caught stealing.

He has more than proved his worth over the years & he is just such a character, the things he says and does often have me in tears (of laughter or frustration, or both !) and I could honestly write a whole blog about him. But one thing’s for sure …. he is one of those rare gems one finds in life, a really wise man with a heart of gold - and my life is all the more richer for knowing him. (Even with 12 months of ‘Jingle Bells’ each year !)

Sorry - No Water Today ... Or Tomorrow.

We had to use bottled water for bathing in .....

You’d honestly think that with all the recent rains we’ve been having, that we would have an endless supply of water at the moment, wouldn’t you ? But that is not the case. We have elephant on the farm again, who’ve broken through our water pipes (water runs through these pipes – off Kilimanjaro mountain – to our farm) and coupled with this, so much silt/mud has run into the pipes with all the torrential rain, that many of them have become completely blocked.

Aside from the bottled water, this was the only water we had in the house for 2 days !

So, we were without water at the house for 2 days this week whilst the pipes were being very s-l-o-w-l-y (‘oh let’s stop for a tea break now and a lunch break an hour later, there’s no hurry’) repaired. Hubby was off the farm for a day so no one was here to ‘chase up’ on the repair work, either. So things were delayed even further. And I threw my toys out of the cot - or should I say, I threw an adult tantrum. (In grand style too, I may add.)

Yes – I ranted and raved and threw things (random tins of baked beans, and recipe books) .... I know this must sound terrible, but there’s only so much a girl can take you know, and I am DONE with roughing it in Africa. I have lived (when we ran camps here many years ago) with no food, no water, no electricity, no money, no roads out and – often – no hope (all - mostly - at different times though, of course !) and I refuse to do without any of these things now that we have children. I simply refuse. (Because I reckon that I’ve more than paid my dues to Life In Africa !)

The lack of water reminded me of my days spent living in the Tarangire area of Tanzania - where we had to dig for water from the dry Tarangire river bed .... and transport it carefully back to camp

So … on the first waterless day, I was patient. I calmly boiled pots of bottled water on the stove for the kid’s (and our) baths. Afterwards, I scooped the dirty bath water into the toilet cisterns to flush the loo’s. I made a great game of brushing teeth with a bottle of water with our daughter. On the second day …. with my temper wearing a bit thin upon waking up to the sound of air coming out of the taps once again … and upon hearing that it was a ‘major job’ and that ‘there may not be any water for another day or so’ I threatened …. to take the kids and book into a hotel in the city ….. and still no water ….. ‘Go up the mountain’ I said to my husband ‘And see what they are doing for yourself, because it’s taking too damn long’ but hubby assured me he had it under control ‘and I have an urgent problem with a planter on the farm at the moment which I need to attend to’ … so I told him to get his priorities right. And threatened divorce (‘I’m going to find myself a nice husband who works a 9 to 5 job in a European city in the 1st world somewhere’).

And threw a few more things at him for good measure.

And still, there was no water.

The water had to be carried uphill before being placed in the back of the vehicle - to avoid spilling even a single precious drop !

So I decided to hit him where it hurts a man the most (well, um … one of the places). His stomach. He came home for lunch, famished. Only to find a bare kitchen table. ‘Sorry’ I said ‘No water. No food. I can’t possibly be expected to cook with no water, keep the kitchen clean, wash dishes etc.’ (I had given the kids lunch a bit earlier, unknown to him !) He stormed off, and about an hour later I heard the water slowly trickling into the cisterns and through the taps. Ah ! Bliss ! Hubby had finally realised that the situation was dire and had got into his vehicle, driven up the mountain as far as he could go, walked the rest of the way on foot, and got to the root of the problem.

How happy do I look in this photo ? He he .... with no water on tap whilst we were building the camp, I had to bath, wash my hair and shave my legs in (dirty) river water out of a bucket

Which is what he should have done 2 days previously. But anyway. We have water now, (and hubby has food !) and that’s the main thing.

Who says us woman are hard to please, ‘eh ?!

School Run

I get up at 5 am (a real killer !) ... padding around the house with a torch (flashlight) as the generator is not yet on & there is no electricity for another hour or so .... put the kettle on and feed the cats. Take the ice packs out of the freezer and put them into the coolerboxes. Check school bag, sports kit, music stuff - whatever lessons my daughter has that day and that all is there. Take our breakfast out of the fridge (packed the night before, to eat on the road) aswell as my daughter's school lunch and snacks. Put everything in the dining room, ready for us to leave. (Can you see who's hiding under the dining room table ? I only saw him when I downloaded this photo !) Take coffee through to hubby and wake him up. Get myself dressed and do my make-up and hair, then wake my daughter up with some tea.

Just before 7 am, everyone is bundled into the car .... thermal mugs of tea/coffee at the ready - and we're off. As hubby drives I give my daughter breakfast in the car - usually cereal, yogurt, fruit and perhaps a boiled egg. The kids then both usually fall asleep !

At around 8.15 am we turn off the main tar road and on to the (very, shockingly, horrendously bumpy) school dirt road .... I wake my daughter up if she is still sleeping .... we dodge pedestrians and people on their way to market with bunches of bananas on their heads .... as this road also leads to small local farms where many bananas are grown.

We finally arrive at the school .... a privately owned/run school in a converted house, on the edge of a small coffee 'shamba' (farm). I get my daughter out, smarten her up and neaten her hair ... and take her in to school. Say hi to the teachers and to other Mum's and Dad's dropping their kids off - many of whom are friends of ours we've known since we first moved here over 12 years ago - when we were all unmarried and childless still ! I catch up on a little gossip, too .....

Then head on another half hour or so into the city, where I have a day of shopping ahead. Banking, chemist, dry goods, butchery, bakery, fruit and vegetables - and grab a quick bite to eat at one of our favourite restaurants for lunch - before making it through the (constant !) traffic to fetch our daughter from school .........

We arrive back home just after 4 pm usually. (5 pm if there are extra mural activites that day). It's a long day. Everything is unpacked from the car and into my store/pantry .... my daughter peeking in the boxes to see what treats I've bought for her .... and I often have a little helper (pictured) who kneels and helps us to 'unpack' the boxes - with the vegetables being a favourite !

Oh - and look who's also always there to help with the unpacking ! He waits to see what special cat treats and meat I've brought home .... of course I always have a little something special for him .....

So - that's what a school run is like for me in my part of the world. We do this twice a week but hubby does many of the trips whilst I stay on the farm with the baby, as he is usually in the city for work related stuff (collecting chemicals, seed, spares etc) anyway - and trips like this, twice weekly, are quite tiring - especially with a baby in tow !

A Visitor From Afar .... Who Can It Be ?

The farm house has been a hive of activity this past week, as we prepare for my mother-in-law's arrival

There’s great excitement in our house at the moment, because in a mere 2 days time, my mother-in-law is arriving from the UK for a 3 week visit ! (She last came to visit us here in 2008, and you can read all about that in my blog post “Zimbabwe Farm Memories ….. And Tears”).

I’m close to my mother-in-law, she is an amazing lady and has survived many hard knocks in her life. She was also a farmer’s wife and mother to a young family growing up in remote Africa, so can relate a lot to my life here today. It will also be the first time that she’s met her new grandson, and she can’t wait !

Shopping in the UK is an absolute treat as there is still so much which we can’t get here easily … I am also a complete and utter self-confessed Ebay addict but can only satisfy my addiction when we have someone from the UK coming to visit, so I have been shopping up a storm these past few weeks and my mother-in-law is bringing all my online shopping over with her ….

The last time she was here, we took her to a tented camp deep in the Tanzanian bush and this time, we’re taking her to the beautiful Tanzanian coast. We’ve also got quite a few other things planned during her stay and I will, of course, blog about them so that you can all see what we’ve been up to – but for now, I really must dash as I have soooo much to do still, before she arrives !

Last Weekend ......

I was so busy on Sunday that I forgot to take many photos ! However, I snapped a few photo's just before everyone arrived - this was the adult's lunch table set out on our veranda (the kids had a separate table just next to it)

Last weekend was a busy one on the farm. We had friends (from the city) out to stay - with children similar in age to our daughter - so that was great for her ! I planned special kiddies meals and snacks and had lots of activities lined up and things to keep them busy - it was great fun and kept them occupied so that I could get on with other 'important' things like .... catering .... for a Sunday lunch party for 11 friends last Sunday (plus 4 kids).

My stove is quite small, and as we run our house on generator/battery power, it is tricky keeping everything hot - so when I cater for a crowd, I usually do a big cold spread. On Sunday we started off under the big fig tree at the bottom of our garden - we moved couches/chairs down there and big cushions and a picninc rug, coolerboxes filled with beer, wine and soft drinks and snacks - biltong, fat free hummus with breadsticks and chips and dips.

The cold spread/main meal (which I served on the veranda) consisted of ham (on Saturday I cooked a joint I had in the freezer pre ordered before Christmas), cold chicken pieces in a sticky marinade, meatballs with a mustard dip, Greek salad, potato salad, coleslaw and smoked chicken & mango salad (the latter my own invention and no - I didn't take a photo to put the recipe on the blog ! Silly me !) .... then for pudding I served the good 'ol Malva Pudding & Custard, and a kid friendly jelly and evaporated milk whip delight topped with fresh fruit (and also forgot to take a photo of that !)

One of our guests was Vegan, so for her I made a separate salad and Thai style tofu and then for pudding I did her pineapple in a rum butter glaze on the stovetop- much to Justin's amusement as the alcohol in the pan flared up into magnificent blue flames which just would not go out & I acted as if this was NOT supposed to be happening & was desperate for him to help me put the fire out !

View of part of our garden as seen from the dining table above - I love the overgrown and not-quite-tidy feel it has at the moment after all the rain !

After lunch I served tea, coffee and a cheeseboard with local and imported cheeses and also a platter of chocolate fridgecake, cut in to tiny squares.

Then hubby came out with a tray of liquers, brandy, whisky etc ..... needless to say, everyone had a great time and the last guests left at 8 pm that night .... and promptly got stuck on the farm road in the mud (as it had rained quite hard during the latter part of the afternoon) .... our askari (guards) came running up to the house to tell us that they'd seen their car (Landrover) headlights on the road for ages so we figured they were in trouble & hubby said "Well what do you expect if you drive a Landrover ?!" (as he is a pro Landcruiser anti Landrover man and I am a Landrover Lover, so he always gets a dig in where he can ! I once crossed a raging river in a Landrover with water coming up over the floorboards/through the doors and the good 'ol Landy just kept going - so since that day - you can keep your Landcruisers !) Anyway, hubby went to help them and eventually they were all (merrily - as they had a coolbox filled with beer in the back !) on their way.

Maxie looked so pretty lying on the lush green grass with flower petals scattered all around her - at the time I took this photo, she was thinking "Mmmmm .... I wonder if there's a way I can steal that ham off the serving table when Mum's got her back turned ?!"

We have been to so many friend's houses for lunch over the past few months that I thought I would just invite everyone back to our place at once - also some friends we had not seen over the festive season as they/we were away - so it was a nice mix of old and new friends, city and farm friends and although it was a lot of work for me, I really enjoyed it ! (As odd as it sounds, I really enjoy cooking for a crowd and hosting a meal like this - it makes me feel all peaceful and happy inside, and I love cooking food for others to enjoy !)

I planned my 'menu' about a week beforehand, shopped for everything I needed in the city the Monday before, and slowly started cooking stuff up during the week. Justin and I set up most of the chairs, tables etc on Saturday so on Sunday it was just really putting the finishing touches, flowers on the table etc ....

So, don't ask me what I'm doing this weekend ! I'm relaxing as much as I can (hubby is working today !) .... catching up on homeschooling with my daughter as we are waaaay behind .... spending time outside in the garden ... as you can see by the photo's, it's looking really inviting lately .... and tomorrow we are off on a little trip somewhere for the day. Going to a really scenic part of the country - not too far from here - and picking up something special to bring back home. Where ? What ? Hey ? Well, you know how I like to keep you all in suspense .... so ..... more to follow soon ;) Have a great - and relaxing - weekend wherever you are as you read this !

**P.S. I know I should've been a good little blogger and added links to all the recipes/dishes I mentioned I'd served on Sunday in this post ..... but, honestly ? I'm feeling too lazy to do that ! If you want to find any of them, you can just search for them in the 'Search' box in the top left hand corner .... hope you don't mind ?!?

Rain, Cuddly Cats .... & Warm Spiced Gingerbread

It's been raining again .... every day, in fact - I love the rain ... and the damp, misty coolness which it brings .... the view above was taken from our bedroom window this morning ....

Below, you'll see the rain from our front veranda ..... the last time it rained this much was almost 2 years ago - you can read about it over here (& see a similar photo to the one below - note how both the grass and the bougainvillea have grown !)

The stepping stones leading to/from our front door do not look too inviting today ... unless you're 5 years old of course, and Mummy lets you put on your raincoat and gumboots and take your butterfly umbrella out to play ........... (click on 'gumboots' to read a funny & heartwarming African farm story !)

My darling Ollie (my extra 'special' rescue cat - although he doesn't feature on the blog that much ... he's rather shy, you see) finds a cozy corner to cuddle in ......

As does 'That Tessa Cat' .... cuddling with my son on his 'baby gym' below .... you can see all the other baby places Tessa loves to snuggle in over here. (I swear, she thinks she's a human baby with whiskers & fur !)

And .... what better way to warm up on a cool rainy day than with a nice, warm slice of freshly baked spiced Gingerbread (you can see when I last baked it - and who I baked it for - and find the recipe in my post over here) .... it filled the house with the smell of Christmas as it baked .... mmmmmm ......

I'm off to put the kettle on now, am making myself a nice cuppa tea to enjoy with the Gingerbread ..... 2 weeks to go until Christmas ..... I can't wait ;)

My Weekend In A Nutshell ......

Have been busily preparing the old farm house for yet another Christmas .... dusting off the boxed Christmas decorations, draping the tinsel and decorating the tree ...... above is our front door ..... the brass bells tinkle delightfully whenever it is opened/closed ....

Decorating the tree with my daughter yesterday afternoon was great fun ..... baby son sat & watched us from afar .... next year he'll be old enough to join in the fun !

Nelson, our resident Handyman, worked all day yesterday (above) fitting new kitchen countertops for me (the old ones were looking decidedly tatty !) .... look out for the new counter tops in food shots being featured in upcoming recipes on the blog - ha ! (They're an odd grey colour, but all that were available in the city so it was either grey - or nothing at all).

The view from our veranda this afternoon ..... so green ! It's been raining on & off all day today, too. Off to bath the kids now and then hubby and I will be settling down to a light supper of Leek & Potato Soup (recipe to follow soon) and watching a bit of telly ..... hope you're having a lovely Sunday wherever you are in the world as you read this :)

A Busy Week So Far ......

Having fun baking with my 4 year old in the kitchen (above) whilst the baby sleeps ...............

Trying out a new Tanzanian treat .....savoury banana chips (did someone say 'Pringle' ?!) & getting into the 'festive' spirit with a bagpipe playing man in a kilt (click to enlarge photo below !)

Stopping to watch a small family of giraffe crossing our 'driveway' on the school run ...... (and trying to tell my - slightly doubtful - daughter that passing giraffe on the way to school is most certainly not the 'norm' for most children !)

Stopping off for lunch at our favourite Chinese restaurant in the big city ........... ('Sweet & Sour Chicken' & Vegetable Noodles for me, thanks !)

Watching a herd of wildebeest ambling along the border of the farm as the sun sets behind them ....


And relaxing on the veranda at the end of yet another day .... watching the sun set over Mt. Meru ..........

And if I thought this week was busy ... phew .... well next week there's even more happening. But more about that soon !

My Favourite Winter Things .......

It's the last day of Winter here in Africa tomorrow .... as the 01st of September marks the first day of Spring for us ! Winter is my most favourite season, so today I thought I'd share with you some of my most favourite Winter 'things' .... starting above with (of course !) a nice hot pot of tea, enjoyed out on our veranda during the warm midday hours ..........

Wonderful books at my bedside .... to curl up with and pass away those cold evening hours before drifting off to sleep .................

Succulent ruby red strawberries ............ only available here in Winter, and my absolute all-time favourite fruit .......

Cuddly cats and my favourite snuggly blanket ... all the way from Scotland ..............

A roaring, cozy fire that sedates me with it's lazy warmth ........................

And at the end of the day - a luxuriously long, hot bubblebath - by candlelight, of course.

Mmmmmm ................ now I'll have to start thinking about what my favourite Spring things are .....