So[!]

Indigo

2dayi — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:18:21 +0000

So[!] SAND and all it’s variants has always been my favourite colour. My clothes are mostly sand, white, black and grey. Lately i have been silk screen printing quite a bit, black on sand colour material. Yawnnn, but there is method to my madness. This morning we woke up to a overcast windy day, just as we thought summer has arrived. The first thing I saw was my beloveds eyes. His eyes are amazing, they change with the weather, his mood, state of the heart, sometimes even with his bank balance, but always they are blue and today it is Indigo blue. Just then it dawned on me, i’m not so scared of colours, i actually like a colour other than sand – BLUE, and have been wearing it for years. Jeans are classified as INDIGO blue.

We have nothing blue in our house, everything is shades of white and sand, with hints of red, actually not only a hint, we have one very red wall in the lounge, but today i am going to change that and print something in blue, indigo blue!

in·di·go

n. pl. in·di·gos or in·di·goes

Any of various shrubs or herbs of the genus Indigofera in the pea family, having odd-pinnate leaves and usually red or purple flowers in axillary racemes.

A blue dye obtained from these plants or produced synthetically.

Any of several related plants, especially those of the genera Amorpha orBaptisia.

The hue of that portion of the visible spectrum lying between blue and violet, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 420 to 450 nanometers; a dark blue to grayish purple blue.

Now that i know i am not scared of blue, i will start exploring other colours as well.

September

2dayi — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:23:19 +0000

So[!] It’s been more than a month since a added something to the blog, but in my defence September was somewhat of a crazy month.
On the veranda the Wisteria Blue Moon started blooming and has left us in awe everyday with its beauty. We sadly had to say farewell to

our beloved Bouvier Rogan. Voel the Parrot flew away from the coo-coos nest twice this month. We had a glorious weekend in a little

coastal town call Gourits. Discovering new plants. Had a Ostrich egg breakfast. We celebrated a friends 40th birthday with one of the

longest lunches – to be exact 12 hours. We discovered a mole in the pool, saved him and now he is thanking us everyday with a little

mountain in the garden. We spend the National Braai day with dear friends from the past with again a lengthy lunch discovering old music

and joint interests. Seems long lunches is back, must be that summer feeling we are all experiencing.

The boys had a redwine and cigar morning on the stoep. All in all we’ve been blessed with some sunny warm days,

but yet it is not wholeheartedly summer yet.

So until my next entry i will just leave you with photo memories of this past month.

pizza blanco & the easiest pizza dough in the world | Everybody Likes Sandwiches

2dayi — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:00:11 +0000

pizza blanco & the easiest pizza dough in the world

Despite claims otherwise, people still see homemade pizza as time-consuming and tedious. Nothing can be further from the truth. It’s easy, it’s delicious and it’s a skill that can win friends and influence people. For those of you who are converted, you might find what I’m about to post as blasphemous: a no-rise pizza dough. Yes, this dough requires no waiting around, no kneading…just mix it, press it and bake it. This really is the easiest pizza dough to make in the whole world. Nearly as easy as picking up already baked & bland pizza crusts from the grocery store and almost as easy as picking up the phone and dialing for take-out. This is a must-try pizza dough.

I make it often and I top it with whatever I’ve got around the kitchen. It has never failed me and the recipe is so simple, I can quote it from memory. On nights when I just want to flop into a couch and order in some take-out, I know I can do better. It helps that I live in Vancouver where restaurant/take-out pizza is a disaster served in a cardboard box. I can make something way better than the expensive, tasteless stuff that gets delivered to my door. This crust is perfect for busy weeknights when you want an easy meal that will make everyone happy. What can I say, it’s a crowd-pleaser and it tastes great.

The first time I made this dough, I just created a simple pizza blanco….herbs, cheese, olive oil. I wanted to taste the crust and see if it was up to par. It was. Try it out like I did or make a pizza with your favorite toppings.

the easiest pizza dough in the world
1 packet of yeast
1 c warm water
2 1/2 c flour
1 t honey
1 t salt
2 T olive oil
2 T fresh rosemary, chopped (optional)
cornmeal

pizza blanco toppings:
2 T olive oil
grated cheese (parmesan, cheddar, mozzerella or whatever you have on hand)
1 t fleur du sel (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, add in the yeast and warm water and stir until the yeast dissolves. Add the flour, salt, honey, rosemary (if using), and olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon vigorously until combined. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle cornmeal onto a walled baking sheet and press dough into it until thin. Spread olive oil over top, sprinkle with grated cheese and scatter a light sprinkle of fleur du sel over top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until pizza crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.

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Filed in: breads, pizza & sandwiches, low fat, vegetarian
Tags: cheese, easily vegan, easy, honey, quick, quick dough, rosemary

via everybodylikessandwiches.com

From now on we will be eating pizza’s everyday! If something has honey in it it must be healthy. This is the easiest pizza dough recipe i have come across.

Green Style: Vintage Muffin Pans as Mini Planters

2dayi — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:29:53 +0000

Green Style: Vintage Muffin Pans as Mini Planters

We’ve seen vintage cast iron pans used as office organizers before, and here’s another take on that: muffin pans as mini planters! We love it, especially for succulents. These lovely pictures and vintage pans come courtesy of Etsy seller ethanollie. What do you think?

via re-nest.com

Can’t wait for summer, this is a great idea! Nice as a birthday present as well.

House photos at last!

2dayi — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:56:25 +0000

I have promised to post pictures of the new house now for ages. My dear friend and most loyal blog follower [H] sends me email reminding me of such promise almost every week.

We can’t wait for summer, this is a summer house par exe lance. Although we have enjoyed the winter here as well, we’ve enjoyed many nights in front of the fireplace.

As this was a guesthouse before we have to leave the warm cosy lounge and brave the cold when we go to bed, but that has not bothered us at all. We are just loving this “we are on a permanent holiday” feeling!

Talking about holidays, we went on a real holiday as well. More about this later!

So[!] here goes.

Well Said!

2dayi — Mon, 24 May 2010 08:45:02 +0000

Fight against abortion…………….say NO!!

Eyjafjallajokull

2dayi — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:38:01 +0000

We finally moved, but we’ll still be around.

We didn’t go far just 2km down!

The boxes are gone, we’ve cleaned up the mess.

We’d like to give you our new address.

Even with all my googling and reading about moving, we could have never prepared ourselves for this experience.

It’s been 34 days since i last posted. Me, the supposed multitasking person just had no time to sit down, and update the blog.

[So!]

We were supposed to move on the 18th of April.

Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think that the words, vulcano, eruption, Island, Eyjafjallajokull, would have an impact on our move down in South Africa. We’ll it did.

The occupants and owners of our new house were heading back to Germany. We’ll need i say more. Flights within, to, and from Europe were cancelled. According to my Google sources, Eyjafjallajokull created the highest level of air travel disruption since the Second World War, and we were slap bang in the middle of this disruption.

I always believe things happens for a reason, and this time round i know the reason, we were’nt even halfway through the packing, and the 10 day disruption in flights were exactly the time we needed.

I could’nt understand why everybody who came to visit in the weeks before the move, would turned their eyes upwards when i said, we are almost done packing, only a couple of boxes more to go.

Now i know. We had more stuff than we thought, the house was bigger than we thought and we have collected more stuff over the past 9 years than we thought.

You know the saying: “A friend is someone you call to help you move. A best friend is someone you call to help you move… a body.”By this time it felt to me as if we were just moving the body around the house, and so my M & M friends to the rescue. The G was on a serious deadline at the office and also had to go out of town the weekend before the move. I was like a loose canon shooting in all directions and not hitting anything. Like true friends they just pitched up and started packing, with Katrien, our housekeeper, keeping us all filled to the brim with coffee and sandwiches. I will forever be in debt to them.

We couldn’t change the moving date, Eyjafjallajokull wasn’t going to turn the tables in our favor any day soon, and with the backlog of flights we weren’t sure when we would be able to get the keys to the new house. We had no choice but to camp in the old house until we could take occupation of the new house.

[So!] we kept a bed, a fridge, and had take aways everyday.

Luckily everything was going into storage. Ye right.

When you plan a move you tend to just see the big stuff, couch, bed, fridge, TV etc etc. Oh no, don’t be fooled. There is much more to the contents of a house than the big stuff. It’s the small stuff, the stuff in the cupboards, under the beds, in the garage, the attic, the storage room. The birthday cards you’ve kept since you were born, the 500 magazines you’ve collected over the years, bolts and nuts, ropes and swimming pool pipes. Garden utensils and the tyre’s i was going to make a potato garden with, just like they explained in the magazines.

It was easy to move the big stuff, all done in a morning. Then we went back home and realized there was still a whole truck load of small stuff. We could have filled a skip with all the small stuff. That is when sentiment flew out the window and we started giving away, dumping and burning. What a great sense of freedom we achieved with this. We eventually de cluttered. No need to keep your 10th London underground ticket from 20 years ago. One is enough.
I still have the magazines but reduced it to 150. The G kept some old army paraphernalia. A couple of old love letters, traveling maps, baby shoes and all our photos. We now each have a memory box which we can unpack in front of the fireplace, laugh at our funny 80’s hairstyle, and go down memory lane.

Eventually 10 days later all flights were re-instated, we gave away the bed, sold the fridge, packed our clothes, dogs and bird in the car, and hit the road to our new abode.

Slip On Coasters

2dayi — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:13:33 +0000

via twigandthistle.com

How cool is this, “glassfootwarmers” for you wine glasses.

Posted via web from In the Nest of Madness

Filed under: 2023094

60 things to do during Earth Hour

2dayi — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:17:18 +0000

1. Start early. Switch off before the sun sets and soak up the twilight.

2. Go for a walk and see what the neighbours have switched off.

3. Or turn on all the lights in every room and see how long it takes before someone knocks on your door.

4. At which point, you can host an Earth Hour Party: BYO (beeswax!) candle and no plastic cups.

5. One word: Fondue! You get a great meal, no electricity required.

6. Chill your wine outside.

7. Hand-wash your delicates.

8. Harness the combined romance of candlelight and eco-chivalry to pop the question.

9. Dig out your clarinet, ocarina or guitar for an acoustic music night. Practise without looking at your hands.

10. Debate whether one hour can trigger social change.

11. Or just whistle in the dark.

12. Recite memorized poetry.

13. Avoid using anything that requires power. Including batteries.

14. Throw an indoor marshmallow roast (use shish-kebab skewers, mini-marshmallows and a tea light).

15. Go totally 18th-century and play charades by candlelight.

16. Look for stars in the darker night sky, or moon dance.

17. Read a book about the environment.

18. Tell ghost stories. Go down to the basement in a negligee to investigate dark spooky corners.

19. Build a fort out of cushions and blankets (don’t take candles inside!).

20. Bust out the Ouija board, host a séance.

21. Dig out your Dungeons and Dragons dice for an atmospheric apocalyptic game.

22. Don’t be lame and watch television. You’re only going to miss the Habs build a 4-0 lead over the Leafs.

23. Prove to yourself that, yes, you can go 60 minutes without updating your Facebook status.

24. Don’t forget fitness. Practise naked yoga.

25. Conserve water. Share a bath.

26. Or go to bed early. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

27. Consider getting some help if the results of No. 26 only took one minute.

28. Spin a globe to find your next holiday destination.

29. Introduce “Avant-garde Art in the Dark” hour (with a large drop sheet to catch spills).

30. Reject the idea, string yourself in Xmas lights, and walk around as a glowing sculpture.

Source: theglobeandmail.com

via nowpublic.com

Posted via web from In the Nest of Madness

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One day i’ll go camping

2dayi — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:19:18 +0000

via tankmnfg.com

I want one of these at the back and also the one in front. Dammit they are cute. For once cute stuff is made right here in Cape Town. Gonna get me one of those in the back one day, I’ll go travel the world.

Posted via web from In the Nest of Madness

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A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said:

‘Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 year. Old and I’m pregnant again. I don’t want kids so close together.

So the doctor said: ‘Ok and what do you want me to do?’

She said: ‘I want you to end my pregnancy, and I’m counting on your help with this.’

The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: ‘I think I have a better solution for your problem. It’s less dangerous for you too.’

She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.

Then he continued: ‘You see, in order for you not to have to take care 2 babies at the same time, let’s kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we’re going to kill one of them, it doesn’t matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms.

The lady was horrified and said: ‘No doctor! How terrible! It’s a crime to kill a child!
‘I agree’, the doctor replied. ’But you seemed to be ok with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution. The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point.

He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that’s already been born and one that’s still in the womb. The crime is the same!

If you agree, please forward. Together we can help save precious lives!

Learn from Yesterday, live for Today, hope for Tomorrow..

Posted via email from In the Nest of Madness