Sunday Busy Sunday…

It’s been another busy day and another busy weekend all-round. I went down the South Coast today with Pat and Ros to check out Cracker Bay and talk about the wedding photos. I have to say, I’m not any more confident about the photography than I was when I got into the car. It’s going to be an interesting one hey, but I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m just going to have to go with the flow and wing it on the day.

It’s a nice venue, although the furniture in the B&B is a little… er… eclectic. They seem to have collected items from every era of the past century and kinda mixed and (not really all that successfully) matched pieces to get a kind of hotelly (Ya, I know it’s not a word) environment. That said, I think that their wedding is going to be lovely.

On the way to Cracker Bay we stopped for lunch at a place called Jaxx. Actually, Jaxx was a little further on from Cracker Bay, but still close. Lunch was awesome, and if you ever find yourself driving down the coast be sure to stop there. Ros had the line fish, Pat had prawns and I had the Camembert Chicken. Gosh it was delicious. Cooked perfectly and served with just the right amount of perfectly cooked vegetables and chips (French fries).

After a long, but good day, I got home and quickly popped to the shops with mom to buy a few more mushrooms and parmesan cheese. I made mushroom risotto for supper. It’s the first time that I’ve made risotto and feel that I had got it right. Normally my risottos end up being gloopy, blobby messes of grossness, but today I just seemed to get the combination of everything right and it was creamy and delicious.

And that, as they say, is that.
Hope everyone else had a good weekend too!

Quick Catch Up

Hello Fluff

It seems my blog is turning into a Dear Fluff Diary. How are you doing? I’m a tired chicken today. Work has been insane this week (and it’s only Tuesday). I was here until 8:00pm last night, but at least I managed to get all the work done that I needed to. As a result though, I’m waiting on people today, so I thought I’d pop you a quick... er... post?

Jayson and I have semi-solidified our weekend away. He’s going to book his tickets in July and when he does I’ll book the accommodation. It will be nice to get away to the Midlands for a weekend, and September is still cool enough to enjoy the drive in the countryside. I wish he didn’t live in JHB. It’s just so damn far away.

Did you see all the jewellery pictures I posted on Facebook? I was a busy chicken over the weekend. My grandfather has bought me something called a “Handy Helper” which is similar to the one below. I couldn’t find a picture of the exact one that I have. Mine also has a magnifying glass. It’s awesome because I can clamp strings of chain between the two little arms and then I don’t have to hang onto the chain when I’m looping charms on it.

I’m tired, so my brain isn’t really functioning at its fullest capacity today. I think it’s going to be an early night for me tonight, especially because I have dancing tomorrow. We’re learning a new dance called Rosa Maria, and although it’s not exceptionally complex it’s still new and I need to focus on it. It’s actually a lovely dance... very sexy :P

My office is like a train station today, so even if I were busy I’m not sure how much work I would get done. Gina is archiving and throwing out old work, so the guys are up and down carting boxes away. It’s more than a little chaotic. My bosses are away at an important meeting in JHB... I hope it all goes well.

I want to start reading a new book this evening. I read about 6, one after the other but haven’t picked up a book since I finished my last one about 3 weeks ago. I have a set of 3 at home that I haven’t even looked at so perhaps they’re the next ones on my list. Emma was meant to start a book club, but with everything that’s been going on with her dad, she’s just a little snowed under. I feel so sorry for my poor friend.

Today is grandpa’s 15 minutes of fame day. I told you he’s going to be in a movie didn’t I? Well, he’s apparently going to be “a member of the board” ... As in, board of directors. They’re putting him in a suit and all. He’s also going to be in a bank scene. I’m actually wondering how it’s going because I haven’t heard anything from him as yet, and he had to be at the Protea Hotel in Umhlanga at 9am. I think I best call mom.

Anyways my friend, I best get going. Have a great day!
Love you lots!
xxx

Fluffy my fluff :)

Oh Fluffy my Fluffy... what a frustrating day.
I've moved myself away from my desk because I'm on wireless at my desk and through a series of (unfortunate) events, which are too long and frustrating to explain, the wireless isn't working properly. So now I'm just outside of my office virtually in front of the toilet because there is a network cable that connects directly to the ADSL there. The positive is that I have decent net access, but the negative is the noise which I find incredibly distracting. Even though we're upstairs, the noise from downstairs in the studio travels up the stairs right to me. I am now drowning my brain cells in music.

But anyways, let me not complain about one week of difficulties.

5 Days later...

I never got to finish my initial post, so I’m carrying on from here...
Tonight is dancing class, so I’ve got a bit of time before I have to get ready and head to that. There is so much that I want to tell you.

I’ll start with Emma. You know my friend Emma? Her dad has been diagnosed with terminal melanoma and the doctors reckon that with chemo he should have a month to live. He’s been fighting cancer for the past 15 years and has been in remission 3 times, but this time its back with a vengeance. Her parents have sold their house and are moving in with her and Darryl, but it’s still so sad. She’s putting on such a brave face, because that is just the way she is, but her heart must be breaking inside. I want to hug her and tell her that it’s actually ok for her not to be a soldier and ok for her not to be everyone’s rock.

On the home front mom is doing ok. The medication that she’s on (so very many pills) seems to be helping and she’s looking a lot better than she was. I told you that she has high cholesterol, has high blood pressure and that she’s highly anaemic didn’t I? Well, she’s got several pills for everything, that she has to take regularly, but at least she’s doing much better.

Grandpa sold his Pajero and bought a 1998 Toyota Camry. Ya, I don’t know why either...
I don’t know the whole story, but I think he might end up in some local movie. Basically, about two weeks ago... just after the highland gathering, so that was about two weeks ago, he and my uncle Alan went to Gateway to... I actually don’t know what they did there, but I think it had something to do with being extras in a movie. Anyways, they called grandpa back and apparently want him to be part of whatever it is that they’re doing. It could be a movie, it could be a tv advert, I really don’t know... When I get more information I’ll let you know. Mom called me today to tell me, but she was giggling so hard on the phone that I could barely understand her. She thinks it’s a riot.

Jayson has decided that he’s coming to visit, so we’re going to go away for a weekend to the Midlands. Ya, I’m still figuring this one out hey... He’s really sweet, awesome, funny, intelligent and wonderful, but it doesn’t change the fact that he lives in JHB... JHB. Apart from the fact that it's so far away, it's JHB. If it were CT or even the Eastern Cape I'd be ok with the idea, but JHB. Oh Fluffy.

Work is insanely busy at the moment. I’ve got 3 big projects on the go and I’m not sure whether I’m Arthur or Martha at the moment, but I’m enjoying it all at least. I have two really good bosses, which in this day and age is rare. I’m still not quite sure how I lucked out with this job... although, that said, remember my first week when I wanted to run away? I’m glad I stuck it out... Was the best decision I’ve made in two years.

Well, I suppose I better get going. I need to change and sort some stuff out before heading to dancing.
You are looking beautiful by the way. Your FB profile picture is exquisite. I miss you so much...

Love you lots my beautiful friend.
xxx

Tuesday Ramblings...

I don’t know about you, but this has been a loooong week, and it’s only Tuesday! Ok, well... the weekend was nice. Saturday was the Feria as you know, and the weekend was nice although we didn’t do very much. On Sunday I took mom and grandpa to Illovo Nursery for tea and scones. Well, grandpa had a choc-fudge sundae and mom and I had scones. After tea we went shopping at PnP in Winkle. We bought a pack of oxtail, which I put on to cook when we got home. Actually, I was plagued by the most epic headache all of Sunday, so I took meds, put the meat on and then slept for two hours until 5. Then got up, added carrots and chunks of baby marrow and went back to bed for another hour until dinner was ready. The oxtail stew was awesome though. It’s not often that I cook something as epically delicious as that these days.

This week has been completely batty. I’m trying to get 20 things done, but only seem to be getting around 85% of them done. I think I’m just trying to do too many things at once and so am accomplishing nothing... I need to make a list and get through it one item at a time.

I’ve completely lost the ability to function in the evenings. I get home, have dinner and end up mindlessly hacking away at monsters in FF XII whilst smsing Jayson. I wish he lived closer to me. He’s just such a nice guy, and he’s my age... AND I told him that if he wants to be a bachelor for the rest of his life he must go away and leave me alone, because I’m tired of going out with men who have no interest in sticking around for the marriage part. To my complete surprise, he’s stuck around... Granted, it is easier to stick around because he’s a million miles away (ok, small exaggeration), but still... he stuck around. I’ll keep you updated as we go along.

Work is crazy, as always... but I’m still enjoying it, even though I’m struggling to get through the things that I need to on a day to day basis. Two of the girls in my office have resigned. One is going overseas and I’m not sure what the other one is going to do, but this means that life could get even busier for me. I don’t know yet though, and am not going to worry about it until it happens.

I have to have a bit of a moan about the traffic in the mornings though... It’s getting worse by the day! The other day it literally took me an hour and a half to get to work! From TOTI! For crying in a bucket... I’ve given up going via Spaghetti Junction and am now heading to Springfield park and coming up the back way. It just seemed to work out easier this morning and I managed to get to work on time.

That’s all I have time for right now I’m afraid.
I did find this article on BizCommunity... It made me giggle. It’s horribly wrong to giggle, but still... it is a funny typo.

x

Feria!

Last night was our Feria! It ended up being a wonderful evening, even though getting there was somewhat stressful. The roads in Durban, particularly around the new stadium are absolutely chaotic! Nevertheless, we got there in one piece. Katia and Justin joined mom, grandpa and I for dinner and little bit of entertainment in the form of Flamenco at Al Firenz in Durban North.

I didn’t end up taking any photographs, even though I took my camera along. Instead I ended up dancing with the girls and with Pam (our dancing teacher).

Dinner was really outstanding. The food at Al Firenz was exceptional and even my Gnocci, which is normally a heavy dish was light and beautiful. Katia had wild boar! I declined her offer of a taste, as it really isn’t my thing… I’m just not a wild meat kind of person. I’ve had it before and it’s just not my thing.

Mom had Penne Putanesca, grandpa had the fish of the day which he said was delicious and Justin had a Ravioli of sorts. It all looked good.

After much dancing and celebrating we ended up leaving at around 10ish… having arrived at 7. I’m surprised my mom lasted that long! But it was a fun evening and enjoyed by all.

F.R.I.D.A.Y... !!! :-)

Well, this long week is finally over. I wish I could show you what I’m working on, but it’s all behind subscriber logins, so I can’t. Today I had a complete brain fart moment and deleted an entire section’s worth of pages from our company website. Fortunately it was a new section that I had just created and was working on, but unfortunately I ended up losing most of the work that I had already done. There is no [CTRL]+Z when working with this kind of CMS. I could kick myself, and even my frantic call to Darren proved fruitless. He said that he could put back content on a page, but not an entire page... He did, however, manage to re-create my page structure... so at least that was one lot of work that I didn’t have to re-create. Still, I was a complete chop for deleting the pages. I just wasn’t thinking.

I have a new favourite quote... It’s from SPUD: Learning to Fly. I’ll hunt it down and post it.

Otherwise, this has just been one heck of a long week. My sinuses are causing headaches and making me feel miserable, but I’m plodding on.

Fluffy my friend, I miss you...

Emma's Birthday Picnic at Horizon's Gourmet Picnics :)

It’s May... already.

I can’t believe how this year is flying past. I wonder if the older you get the faster your life goes by? You’ll have to please excuse my writing... it’s “that special time of the month” and as a result I’ve taken a good number of very good pain killers today. Add to that a good number of anti-inflam’s and am contemplating taking more because my head is starting to kill me. Don’t worry; I won’t end up taking any more, mostly because I still need to get to Durban North for dancing class. Yes, that’s tonight.

This weekend is our Feria... expect photos of some sort fairly soon after.

Emma’s birthday in the Midlands was fantastic. We went to a place called Horizon’s Gourmet Picnics. It was 10 degrees outside, but we still sat around on blankets, covered ourselves in more blankets and had a fantastic day out. I think at one point it probably warmed up to about 15 degrees, but then proceeded to rain, so we made our way inside and had coffee and dessert. The food was quite good, although a little odd. They bring you all your food in one picnic basket, but provide you with a menu so that you can see how the courses work. The drinks were also fairly expensive, and we tended to drink more because it was so cold... so all in all I think that the day ended up costing me around R300. Which I suppose isn’t too bad considering that dinner with Darren often ended up costing more. And at least this way I got to see a good few of my old friends, like André and Raleen and Megan and Deon, whom I haven’t seen in ages.

Emma and Darryl have taken up Thai Chi. I’m so contemplating joining. It’s just down the road in Stamford Hill road. I don’t know if I’m going to because it’s R200 a month, but I just might. I’m still thinking about it.

Well, I took the plunge a couple weeks back and deleted Darren from my Facebook friends list. His status updates were killing my spirit, so I thought it best. He did sms me the other night, but purely out of boredom because his electricity was off. He hinted that he was going out with pretty and new people, so I asked him flat out if that was his way of telling me that he has a new girlfriend. He said he didn’t, but there were a few potentials that he wasn’t pursuing at the moment... Now I ask you, why did I need to know this? Couldn’t he have just sms’d someone else to begin with? Anyways, it’s going to be a long time before I don’t love him anymore, but I’m certainly well on my way...

I have, actually, sort of found someone new... but that’s too complicated to explain now. I like this man... really like him. He’s 31 (I think... around there), and he’s solid and down-to-earth... but he lives in JHB... hence the complicated part. Ag ya, I don’t know where it will go... if anywhere at all, but who knows.

Anyways, I must sign off here... I’ve got to get changed for dancing.

x

Dinner is on Friday, with Chris

We’re going to Pizza Pazza in Kloof, and although I’ve never eaten there, Katia says it’s the best Italian restaurant she’s come across in Durban.

I’m looking forward to dinner as he is always good company. So does 2 dates (well, almost 3) mean that we’re dating? Yes? No? Maybe?

We shall see...

Jason Grimaldi, SWARM and an African lady

The title of this post pretty much sums up my weekend thus far. It’s been an interesting one, filled with good times, fond memories and even a smidgen of drama.

Last night started out somewhat challenging with the electricity going off in my neighbourhood from about 6:30pm. This was extremely problematic as no electricity meant no concert. Thankfully someone hired a generator and the concert kicked in at about 7:30pm.

Talk about a blast from the past. Those of us who grew up in Amanzimtoti, Warner Beach and the immediate surrounds, in the 90’s, will remember the band SWARM consisting of the Roscoe brothers Dean and Michael, Grant van der Linda and Jason Grimaldi. Jason moved on to the UK with his wife Sian (pronounced: sh-ah-hn) and has been making music over there. The remaining members of SWARM, including one new member, who’s name I don’t know, formed a new reggae style band called Manuvah to Land. Their music style is very far removed from the old garage-band, grunge style of the original SWARM, but it was still easy-listening, enjoyable stuff. Another good band also played, but I missed their name as I was hunting frantically for Maxine and her hubby Lionel. Eventually I caught up with them and we had a fantastic evening.

I have to say though that Jason hasn’t changed at all in the 15 years since high school.

I managed to hunt down this YouTube video of him singing Sweet Home Alabama, which he played at the concert. He has a wonderful raspy, whiskey-worn voice that is easy and enjoyable to listen to.



At the concert they were selling R50 cd’s made up of a bunch of local bands which is actually pretty good. The money for the cd is going towards a cancer fund. The only damper on the evening was a fight that broke out between two drunken idiots… But this is Toti, and it wouldn’t be Toti without a fight or two. Fortunately it was contained within minutes and no one was seriously hurt.

We eventually got home at about 12:30, and I managed to hop into bed around 12:45. Please note that this is a somewhat miraculous time for me as I NEVER manage to stay awake that late these days.

This morning Maxine and I were up with the birds and on our way to Yours Forever Craft Studio at the Heritage Market in Hillcrest. What a fantastic morning. I had decided on a painting of sorts and Maxine ended up doing a mosaic pot stand, which was initially going to be for her mom for Mother’s day, however, she liked it so much that she’s opted to keep it.

I am extremely pleased with the way my painting came out. I know she’s not perfectly in proportion, and my lines aren’t perfect, however, I really don’t care. I haven’t painted a thing (fabric painting does not count as it really is paint-by-numbers) since high school so for me this was quite an accomplishment. I’ve bought another two canvasses and am going to paint the other two to match the first, and hang them as a set. I just need to decide on the images that I’m going to paint. I’m thinking that perhaps the middle painting is going to be something like African mud huts with pots and animals and the third is going to be a woman carrying a pot on her head. I’m not 100% sure yet though, so I’ll give it some more thought and take it from there.

Tomorrow I need to figure out what I am going to do for Emma for her birthday. I don’t know as yet and it’s concerning because her birthday is in a couple of weeks time, which means that I don’t have a lot of time to get something done. I’m leaning towards mosaic candle holders, but I will think about it properly tomorrow and make a decision.

And that’s been my weekend so far.

The weekend as planned…

Well, so far the weekend is shaping up nicely.

Friday evening I’m heading down to Lords & Legends with Maxine & Lionel to watch Swarm… Yes, the local boys from way-back-when.

Jason Grimaldi is visiting from the UK and for one night only they’re putting on a show. Should be an interesting one.

Saturday is painting day. Maxine and I are going to Yours Forever in Hillcrest. That’s pretty much an all-morning thing. I have no idea what I’m doing in the afternoon though… And Sunday is still a mystery. Will take it as it comes.