Of Musical Chairs and Stiff Muscles

VintageHousewife Clock by the Glamour Girls

The mind works in mysterious ways. A few months ago I rearranged some of the furniture in my flat (yes, at the time of The Bookcase Incident) and on Thursday night inspiration set in once more. Of course! (My mind said apparently out of nowhere while I was relaxing on the couch.) All you need to do is to move this, and that and then you can switch the couch and the table around; giving you better light to work by while making sure that the neighbours can’t see you half asleep on the couch on Sunday afternoon watching a marathon of one of your favourite shows. (This I found out to my shock after going in search of some grass for Sir T. If you have a cat, you need not ask more. If you do not, you do not want the answer. Trust me.)

So, I did a few quick measurements (see, at least I was being practical – albeit by using the broom as temporary measuring tape) and started The Task. I thought it would take an hour, max. However, when I looked at my watch after I finished it was basically Friday. At least I only bumped my head once (against the samebookcase – which, I think, is either cursed or out to get me for moving it about so much).

But, I am happy to report that the New Look is definitely working better. There’s also more space for Sir T to play and he’s finding new and exciting ways in which he can ambush me from behind furniture early in the morning or when I’m carrying a mug of coffee. Mentally preparing for two days of stiff muscles may also have been a good idea, though. At least I got some exercise in between all the studying and writing… okay, and a marathon TV session. 

Braving a New Year (With music and much coffee)

Welcome to the first post for 2013! As always, the festive season has simply flown by and the New Year is well under way. Those first few days of the year are always a kind of “limbo” anyway – barely anyone is at the office, you’re still eating Christmas cookies and nearly all the dates you type or write down is wrong.

"Love and Coffee" by Luca Baroncini

After 2012 was such a rollercoaster of a year – with most of the downs being things I would never have guessed at to happen – I have decided not to put to paper a grand plan for the year. Indeed, Jon Acuff’s approach to resolutions for the year sounds a lot better way to approach the next twelve months.

I will say about the blog posts I have planned so far that there are a few surprises, more “other stuff” and musings. I’ll still post twice a week – perhaps more during some weeks. But, before I start with unnecessary ramblings, I would rather say  - hope you enjoyed Josh Groban’s new single! May your year be filled with many blessings, great reads, awesome music and much coffee!

Thank God for tea (and coffee)!

 “Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.” (Sydney Smith 1771 – 1845)

I recently picked up a book called A Movable Feast: Ten Millennia of Food Globalization by Kenneth F. Kiple at a warehouse book sale. That sale really was ‘overload’ even though I loved every minute of it. Piles of boxes stood at the door to the warehouse for you to take in with you. People were emerging from the inner labyrinth of books staggering under boxes filled to the brim, blinking in the bright daylight as if they forgot for a moment that there was a world outside which did not exist of isles and piles of books.

One thing that sales like these makes possible is for readers to easily – and quite cheaply – try out new genres, writers and basically anything that ‘looks interesting’. And if you end up not liking it? Well, you probably paid about R10 for it, so it’s much easier to part with at your local library. (I usually do this with books that I find are not quite in my taste – someone else is bound to like it and get some use out of it.) And The Movable Feast did look and sound interesting to me – how much do we really know about the history of the food we eat, after all?

Just a simple thing like my usual breakfast – muesli with yoghurt and coffee or tea with sugar and milk – turns into an exotic meal. The usage and spread of both tea and coffee (and the sugar that goes with it) is a fascinating read. (Though, I still prefer my coffee and tea with sugar and milk. Sugar I can still do without, but not the milk. No salt or butter for me, thank you, those are too exotic for my taste.)

On the days that I am unable to start with either a cup of tea or coffee, I always feel as if I’ve missed some important step in getting ready for work. And that nagging feeling will remain, leaving me to double check that I am not still wearing slippers, or forgot to brush my hair. I make my first cup at work while the computer is starting up and e-mail is loading. That way I can sit down, take a sip and focus my mind without any pesky coffee cravings drawing my attention away from the screen and towards the drawer where my stash of coffee and tea is kept.

And what better way to end a busy day than with a book and a mug of rooibos tea? 

The Rooibos plant