Halfpom

Mixed bag...

A bit of a mixed bag in today's post....  

This is a pic of the new (pink) platter I bought last weekend - it's going to compliment & lighten the formality of my blue & white dinner service which doesn't have platters anyway....I really love it and might have to get some more along the same theme - see I have my next one all picked out already....

 Also went to the Artscape theatre this past Sunday....I still want to call it the Nico but it hasn't been that for years....to see Pieter Tourien's new production of Grease - The Musical. It was fabulous....really enjoyed it...the acting, dancing, costumes & sets were all amazing. There wasn't a spare seat in the house which was encouraging. Do get there if you can. 

And lastly....a round of applause.....for the Department of Home Affairs. I applied for a renewal of my passport at Wynberg on the 12th of March and received a text on the 25th of March to say that it was ready for collection....2 WEEKS....that is impressive no matter which country you live in!!! I collected it yesterday, took me 5 minutes & yes, it was all correct. The building that houses the Wynberg Dept of Home Affairs might have seen better days but they certainly have a system going there - everyone was extremely helpful and knew exactly where to herd you next & it only took me 2 hours to apply for a passport & ID book from start to finish.....well done!!

Toilet humour...

Up the West Coast this weekend & came across this signage for ladies & gents facilities which made me smile....not terribly clear, I would say, especially if one is in a bit of a hurry....

Which reminds me of another one I spotted on my travels around Kwazulu Natal a year or two back - if my memory serves me correctly this one is at Rocktail Beach Camp....I'm thinking children would find this one a little difficult....

As you can see I'm easily amused & now that I have a digital camera nothing is too small or too insignificant to be recorded for posterity....I think I may have hit on the theme for my blog!

Sunday breakfast...

Weekends are the ideal time to meet up with friends and family.....everyone (including me) is just so darn busy during the week that we barely have time to breathe let alone anything else. But weekends are different..the clock seems to tick a bit more slowly and a bit of me time is on the cards. This weekend, while all the keen cyclists were gamely tackling the annual Argus Cycle Race our family sensibly met up at the newly refurbished Petits Fours in Bloubergstrand for a leisurely breakfast & a catch up...

Those classic photo's of Table Mountain that you see in all the coffee table picture books are always taken from this side of Table Bay...I took this photo outside the restaurant.....that ozony ocean smell is uniquely Capetonian...

 
On this particular morning we introduced the youngest member of the family to the joys of the cappuccino...only in his case, being 21 months old, it was a babyccino which is essentially a small cup of frothed milk with a bit of chocolate powder sprinkled on top....just so that he didn't feel left out...

Well, he was so pleased with himself you would have thought we'd given him a van load of toys & it kept him occupied for hours....what can I say, he's a natural.....don't you just love the bit of froth on the upper lip...

 
Loads of yummy looking cakes & pastries kept making their way from the kitchen to the counter behind us...you can either have them with coffee or to take away for tea later that afternoon if you are there for breakfast. The only downside to Petits Fours at the moment is that they don't do a good old English fried breakfast...but apparently that is being rectified (...feedback from customers is soooo important....well if you don't tell them, they'll never know, will they....) as a lot of men have been complaining about the lack of serious protein on the breakfast menu....a bit disappointing as I reaaaally wanted bacon & eggs. 

 

 

Hot as Hades.....

Just when we were starting to think the blindingly hot summer days of old had passed us by this year, along came the weekend.....boy, was it hot...I was in Paarl & it is always a good deal steamier there than in Cape Town...but 47 degrees C....that is just ridiculous....nothing for it but to..

 

But not before we had the most delightful lunch at Cotage Fromage - we had the harissa lamb, warm pitta bread, roasted brinjals, minted yoghurt, tzaziki and chilli oil - yum-yum-yum!! I've been there several times and never had a bad meal EVER. Their latte's are seriously good too. The restaurant is situated on Vrede en Lust wine estate and they also offer a wedding venue....my cousin got married here 2 years ago and even the food at the wedding was spectacular. I'm just sorry that I didn't have my camera with me to take a picture of the food....presentation was beautiful and sadly they don't seem to have much of a food gallery on their website. 

My friend, Colette, has excellent taste and it was a real treat to stay in her beautiful home this weekend - many thanks!

    
 
  

Today, Monday, is no better....this is what weatherman Pete is predicting..OMG...another scorcher.
    
 
 
  
  
 
 

It's raining.......granadillas

Or to the non-Saffers who read this blog......passionfruit! Last Sunday I was invited to lunch & my hosts were desperate to get rid of some of their surplus crop.....& I gratefully accepted.... having a recipe for passionfruit cordial that requires large numbers of the fruit! Their vine is about 3 years old and just keeps growing, growing & producing these luscious little fruit...

 Okay, so they don't look like much here but trust me..the more wrinkly and ugly they are on the outside, the better they are on the inside......there's a moral in there somewhere...Cut them open and their true beauty starts shining through....and the smell is just divine.....I think typepad need to work on a 'scratch & sniff' option for blogs so that you can get the true flavour of this post...

And here is the finished product - 4 bottles of passionfruit cordial made to Granny's recipe....de....licious!!!