Long Time No See

In the past week I have met up with people I have not seen in forever and a decade.

Monday I was on site in Kathu for an audit. Turns out one of the auditors, Cara, is a girl I went to university with! I have not seen her in 10 years. And she has not changed one bit. We reminisced about the time we went to Oppikoppi together and talked about ex-mates and what they are up to today. It seems she’s kept better in touch than I have. LOL! And while we were auditing, we bumped into another girl we were at varsity with, Tanja. And she has changed even less! I swear you have to go to a small ass town in the middle of NOWHERE to meet up old mates.

On Wednesday I met up with Beth for a very nice Curry. I have not seen Beth since her baby Shower in November last year. How shocking is that? She’s now a yummy mummy to two adorable twin boys (Matt and Leo), and they are toddling quite close to their first birthday. It was so nice to catch up with Beth. I have missed her and even though we keep in touch through Facebook, it’s just not the same as sitting down face to face.

I’ve realised that I have not seen a number of friends for quite a while and there is no excuse for not seeing them. I have decided that when I get back from my holidays I will make a point of meeting for coffee / lunch / supper with all those lovely people. No more excuses! I cannot allow good friends to slip away because no effort has been made to keep in touch.

I'm going to have quite the social calendar!

The Inconceivable

I plead guilty

The inconceivable has happened.

A few months ago I was going on about how I felt that so many of my friends were pregnant. That I really wasn’t fond of babies and that I didn’t know how I was going to adjust to this new environment.

Well, it’s been a few months since that post and I have met the new arrivals.

Now I can’t say much about newborns (sorry Nads), but, I have to admit, that slightly older babies can be quite cute (as long as I can give them back to their parents. THAT much has not changed). But yes, you heard right. Babies. Can. Be. Cute.

There. I’ve said it. Cute.

Newborns I am still wary of. They don’t look quite “right”. After 2 or so months they start looking like mini-humans and I can start relating to them then. The personality starts poking through and they become more interactive. That’s fine with me. Mini-human versus mini-mini humanoid.

Now please don’t go shoving babies in my face every 5 seconds or I’ll scream at you. But, I am OK around them (when they are all gurgly and stuff. Wailing babies still make me want to bolt for the door).

Interesting fact: Babies in the first few months look more like their fathers than their mothers. This is because it enables the fathers to accept that the baby is theirs and not someone else’s (this came from way back in our early evolutionary days and stayed). Kinda nifty of Mother Nature, don’t you think? When I look at Dave and Wanja’s son Connor he is a mini Dave. Quite amazing!

So to my newly parental friends (and slightly older): I’m OK with your kids. I accept the responsibility of crazy Auntie (but DO NOT blame me for what your kid might learn through me).

As for me having kids of my own? HELL NO! Not yet anyway.

Rock bands, rock hard heroes and a public holiday dedicated to women

I’m over ten days late on this post, but better late than never. Clemma made me realise I hadn’t posted in a while and I need to catch up. Thank you Lady!

So 10 days ago South Africa celebrated National Women’s Day. And as a Fanatics member I got a FREE movie ticket on the day. Hehe! I love freebies! Of course freebies offered to women don’t right the fact that so many women today are still being persecuted and treated as lesser citizens. We still have a long way to go in that respect. I’m a feminist in the sense that women should be treated as equal to men; that we should not be persecuted; that we have the right to decide what we can or cannot do with our own bodies and that no religion or state can decide for us (that is the true meaning of being Pro Choice); that governments should ensure women get educated, get healthcare, are not abused, have the same legal rights as men, are protected from patriarchal bullshit and chauvinistic attitudes. Simple human rights really. Helen Moffett wrote a great article about how much we still to do to achieve this.

Anyway,  I trotted off to Hyde Park for a late afternoon tea and cake (hello Lemon Meringue pie) at Tasha's and finally got around to watching Dark Knight Rises. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt it finished the trilogy really well. I admit I figured out who the baddie actually was (no spoilers as there may be peeps out there who have not seen it yet). It kept that lovely darkness of the first two, though I don’t think any villain can compare to Heath Ledger’s Joker. Anne Hathaway was a very sexy and fun Catwoman; not sultry twisted Michelle Pfeiffer and thank goodness not cheesy Halle Berry, but an awesome character in her own right. That girl has some serious talent.

The night before I headed off with a workmate to watch Switchfoot live at Carnival City (if there ever was a hideous Casino, this one beats it hands on). It was a small concert, but quite intimate. At one stage the lead singer actually climbed off stage and walked through the crowd, shaking hands, giving out hugs. Now that’s not something you see very often. The opening act was Gangs of Ballet, a really good band from Durban. I heartily recommend them. I love discovering awesome local bands. I told my mate Clifford that in two years it must be his band, State Society, who will be opening for international rock bands (and I want backstage passes). The challenge is on!

On the subject of bands: I HAVE MY TICKETS FOR LINKIN PARK! WOOHOO! Can’t wait!

Peach Cafe

Saturday I was supposed to see an exhibition with Talita. As fate would have it, her car refused to start. So we decided instead that I would pick her up and we would go out for lunch.

Talita took me to a lovely place called Peach Café in Fourways. It’s a darling quaint venue slap bang in the middle of a peach farm which has survived the encroaching of townhouses. A bit of country in the city.

The café has recently opened and the owners are in the process of improving the place. You get to sit outside (or under a lapa like roof) in a very rustic set up, inclusive of geese honking in the background on their way to the pond.

The owners are two young chefs and you can imagine that the food is rather tasty. The menu is not extensive, but the flavours of the dishes you will get make up for it. I had a lovely ice tea, more like a granita (not too sweet, not too tart), a focaccia with pesto, charred cherry tomatoes, roast mushroom, buffalo mozzarella and rocket and a strawberry tartlet for desert. Talita had the mezze platter (mushroom pate Hello!) and the chocolate fondant with ice cream.  It was delicious! We had such a great time we didn’t notice how time flew by.

It really is a gorgeous little place, ideal for a Saturday or Sunday lunch, for a giggle of girls to get together, for families with kids (lots of place for spawnlings to run around), for a first date even. In early summer you can even go pick peaches and nectarines!

Peach Café is quite busy on a Sunday, so bookings are essentials. I recommend waiting 2 weeks until all the peach trees are in bloom for a truly gorgeous experience.

Peach Café

83 Selbourne Road, Fourways

www.camdeboofarm.co.za

011 704 3661