MY BRIGHTLY SHINING HALO

Positively blinding, I tell you. Another long outstanding task done and dusted. Literally. My intricately carved Chinese chest stands in my entrance hall, and therefore close to the front door. Now Cape Town is notoriously windy, so every time the door is opened, more dust blows in, and nestles cozily around the aforementioned intricate carving, all those little notches, frets, folds and…

View On WordPress

(JAP) VALENTINE’S DAY

*JAP:  Just a paragraph to keep my blog ticking over, whilst I’m busy with longer writing projects. My very first Valentine’s Day  card was floral, pink and blue, and covered in glitter.  I knew who it was from : Love – Sven, was a bit of a giveaway! Sven was a pimply Swedish schoolboy, in the Sixth Form, at nearby Milton Boys School. His family were friendly with my BFF’s family, also Swedish…

View On WordPress

HARDWIRED

This is a post about natural instinct, those hardwired drives, common to all living beings. In this instance a young mother dove, determined to hatch and raise chicks; my cat, very interested in a baby bird snack; and me, the observer and photographer. Not an easy combination. Gingi, got really fed up with house arrest, just before the chicks left the next. The photos were all taken from inside…

View On WordPress

CHERRIES

Oh how I love cherries! Until a couple of years ago, they were seldom seen in the shops. Now all the major chains stock them, but at a price that puts them into the Treat category. In fact, that wording appears on the FLM brand I buy in the slogan Tempting Lil’ Treats . Printed on every packet, and so true! The cherry season is  short, about 6 weeks, mid November through to end December. I make…

View On WordPress

       TETRIS, ANYONE ?

So this 13 yr old kid in the US,   Willis  Gibson beat the AI that runs Tetris! Amazing! Human beats AI. Well done!   But, on the other hand , should I be worried about the future of the human race?  An evolving 13 year-old brain into a super-computer ?  Be fascinating to see a brain scan of this kid’s brain. What would we find? An enlarged primary motor cortex?  Or a jungle of new synapses?  Or…

View On WordPress

THE LAST CRUMBS OF CHRISTMAS

My pic shows chocolate coloured crumbs plus a fragment of … what?  A patterned biscuit? Yes, my friends, there it is. The final mouthful of my particular Christmas favourite: a Speculaas biscuit. They only appear in our shops around Christmas time, and if/when I spot a packet, I buy it with indecent haste, ignoring the sugar content and the price. The biscuits are imported from Holland, and…

View On WordPress

SALUTARY JANUARY HOUSEKEEPING

So here we are, a brand new year, filled with promise, potential and already flagging resolutions. Oh go on, admit it, you know you’re thinking: why ever did I resolve to …..   fill in the blank. Lose weight? Give up wine? Chocolate? Eating altogether? Binge watching TV  … the choices are endless. I did commit to doing something daily  for the month of January. So far, Day 20 and forging on. No,…

View On WordPress

      A VERY SENIOR MOMENT

   Readers: I confess to a very Senior Moment. The consequence wasn’t life threatening, but it was very smelly! I forgot I’d turned the stove on, continued with other lunch preps, until the most dreadful smell wafted my way. I had  forgotten about the broccoli. It wasn’t well-cooked, or caramelised, to use a trendy cooking term. Baldly stated: it was burnt. I had to quarantine the pot in my…

View On WordPress

          BLOGANUARY

     I am filled with admiration for the industrious bloggers who have taken up WordPress’ annual challenge. As a writing practice for lazy or under-motivated bloggers, the challenge is  a great kick starter for the new year, no doubt about it.  A blog post a day, for a month?  Ummm … no …. Not for me. But it sounds easy doesn’t it? There doesn’t appear to be  any restriction on length, and WP…

View On WordPress

LIFE’S LITTLE MYSTERIES Ever had an itchy elbow? Of all odd places, but itchy as hell. Little raised bumps. Not red, hot itchy bumps.   So not a mozzie bite, I’m  familiar with those. A passing flea? Donated by the ever-generous cat? Unlikely,  because he’s not scratching constantly. I give up. Officially classified as One Of Life’s Little Mysteries. Here’s another OOLLM. There I was, blearily…

View On WordPress

HAPPY LEFTOVERS!

I should make this more often. What is it? you ask. Remnants of a giant Ciabatta toasted cheese sandwich, transformed into French toast.  Nothing could be easier. On Thursday I landed up at my favourite Seaside Village shopping centre, just as loadshedding (i.e. a rolling blackout) hit us. I needed food.  What to do? A couple of the coffee shops were closed because they did not own a generator…

View On WordPress

OUR OLD POSTAL CODES BOOK

Visiting the massive stationery shop on the diary hunt, raised mixed feelings.  On the one hand I enjoyed seeing the vast array of  diaries, art supplies and stationery items, but on the other hand, a feeling of great sadness that  buying notelets, writing paper, and other items related to letter writing, is no longer an option, because the South African Post Office has all but collapsed. I no…

View On WordPress

HERE’S HOPING !

Today I bought a new diary for 2024. Yes, I know we’re still staggering towards the end of November 2023, and the New Year lies another month away, but if I wait until the end of December, I will land up diary-less. Or, I will be cursing because the few remaining items will either be wildly expensive, or pixie-size pocket style. I need a sturdy, large format, hard covered book. I can hear you…

View On WordPress

SLOW MOTION SNOW/FAST FORWARD  MADAGASCAR   ©by  A M Smith

As most of you know, occasionally I publish some of my fiction. I wrote this short fiction piece way back in 2015, so it will probably be new to most of my current followers. Cape Town is experiencing a really cold winter this year, so the settings in the story are very appropriate for the season. And, P.S., even if the story isn’t your cup of tea, at least I’m not droning on about Tofu. There’s…

View On WordPress

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Let me introduce you to an old standby from my past: say Hello! To Elderly Pie. There was a time in my life, in the early 1970s, when life was a mammoth challenge.  There I was, a young, single mother with two hungry schoolgirls to feed, and very little money. Women earned a pittance. In those years in Rhodesia, the slogan “Equal pay for Equal Work” was never heard, and on the rare occasion,…

View On WordPress

COOK’S CHEAT SHEET TO WINTER COMFORT FOOD

Dying for something hot, tasty and probably on the Verboten list? Do you crave a sweet, milky, warm winter pudding but Eskom is about to cut off your power,  so you can’t use your oven – ‘bye bye vision of bread and butter pudding,  buttery, golden crusty  on a cold winter night. But: here’s a short cut to a quick, easy substitute. . All you need is Couscous,  Ideal Milk or cream, or even boxed…

View On WordPress

TOWNSHIP THABO TOURS THE TANKWA

by A M SMITH © [FICTION] As Followers will know, I occasionally post some of my Fiction on my blog. This longish story had its genesis in 2017, and is a composite  story that I created from my U3A writing groups’ stories based on a photo article on the Karoo appearing in The Big Issue. I have permission from the writers to  continue using the story, under my name. Enjoy! TOWNSHIP THABO TOURS…

View On WordPress