It takes a village!

WORLD OF SCONES Once a month while growing up, my parents would bundle us up in the bus or taxi and chart us off to our grandparents for lunch and afternoon tea,just for the day. Afternoon tea was without fail, coconut donuts, scones and Hungarian jam tart.  You got a piece of each and you had to finish it all.  As I grew up it became my monthly torture. It took years of my adult live to rediscover that I actually like scones again. But it was mostly because I discovered a world of different types of scones. Yes, there is, I kid you not. There's sweet or savoury; filled or plain; round, square or triangle; Irish, British ......the list is endless. I had only ever eaten the plain round ones filled with jam and here was a whole world of scones. Some I tried were fantastic, others were best loved by their own creators . But rushing to work in the early crisp winter mornings in Pretoria, I used to pass by an African mama who made the most wonde...

END OF PART 1 For many of us who had planned our lockdown grocery shopping, we would be reaching the leftovers  stage right about now. We've cooked and baked, fried and braaied. Learnt how to sauté, flambé and other fancy french terms.  Yes, we could make it on Masterchef or so we thought we wanted.  Turns out this cooking for a living gig is not for everyone. Coming up with innovative ways to serve basic foods is an  exhausting and thankless job.  You've just served your masterpiece which was scoffed down in under 10 min. "That was great, mum.  What's for supper?"  Aaarg!  One of the big lessons for most of us during this lockdown should be that we, households waste a mountain of food. For example, food that needs to go into the bin, gets a special place in my freezer.  I hate maggots in my bin.  So come Bin Pickup Day, I take out my frozen heap of food waste, dump the unrecognizable blob into the black bag and leave it ...

WE ARE THE WORLD I don't envy our President.  He has had to make some really tough decisions and face pretty harsh criticism in these 30 days.  Yes, the majority of us understand and applaud his decision regardless of the mammoth task it seems,yet there are those of us who can't seem to think beyond themselves! These people can't move beyond thinking about only themselves, they have an "I" mentality.  I need.... I want.... I have.... I must have I, I, I,... They roam the streets, flout the lockdown and don't give a damn about anyone but themselves.  "Stay at home!" I want to shout out my window.  It's fine if they don't want to live, but don't they care about bringing the virus home to their loved ones or spreading it more so to others who have genuine reasons for being out. And buying a 2L Coke is NOT a valid reason. Yet if there is at least one lesson we take away from this Covid-19 pandemic, it is that the world do...

I'M MISSING MY HOT WINGS I've always liked vegetables and red meat but everything else is a blahh taste for me.  And don't get me started on chicken! The smell of chicken, cooked and raw makes me nauseous.  I feel like hurling the moment that pong hits my nostrils yet hot-wings are my cryptonite. If I was Superman, the villain would just have to wave a good hot wing in front of me to render me compliant, and yes there is such a thing as a bad hot wing. Now what's really weird about this, is that I can't stand the taste of anything else on the menu at Chicken Licken or KFC.  I shallow-breathe when I'm near or in their establishments so why do I love their wings?  No clue.  Equally perplexing is that once I've gotten to the 4th or 5th wing, I start to get that hurling sensation again and the taste just goes out the window- so, yes 5 hot wings are my limit. And now with the lockdown, if you're like my kids (or me), the hot-wing craving ad...

OUR DEFINITION OF SECURITY Our view of security has been threatened.  Every thing that makes us feel safe and secure: jobs, money and big business has all been turned on it's head. Our security blankets have been yanked away, leaving us feeling disconnected and unnerved.  Unsure of where or how we fit in, people have formed 3 very interesting groups. Group 1- those who are embracing the time this lockdown has provided to get closer as a family, participating in activities and learning to work as a team, moms are trying new recipes with their kids while dads are showing their offspring how to fix and maintain their property, they're tackling their to-do list with passion and fun. Awesome! Group 2 - those who have decided there is no lockdown, trying to carry on as normal, and are baffled by police presence, the shop closures and the annoyance of their neighbors . Beware of these guys.  They're probably going to contract the virus and play pass it on. Group...

BUT SCHOOLS ARE OUT WORKING TOGETHER  Yesterday was supposed to be back-to-school day for my little monsters but the lockdown has put a damper on not just their plans but mine as well.  I've had to rethink all the work that I had scheduled.  My to-do list seemed to have gotten longer until I realised : 1. there are less clothes in the laundry, ergo less washing, less water and less ironing 2. there is less food wastage because in my house, you eat all your food until it's finished and I don't care how many mealtimes it takes to do it! Which I cant do with uneaten lunchboxes. 3. once the kids know the schedule, in between the fussing and bickering, everything gets done.  4. My to-do list has more hands to help me 5. We all get to sit down at mealtimes and talk to each other 6. I have help to do those things I've been putting off So here are a few tips to get everything done (and get some learning in as well) while the kids are at home. Check out my ED...