We are moving!

This is mine. Not only is it mine. It is ours. It is Flip and I's first house. That we bought. Together!

We have signed the papers earlier this month, but I wasn't sure whether I wanted to post about the house yet, as I was (still am) not a fan of how the house is painted and didn't want to blog about it until I got all the colours under control. And as you can see, the stupid lazy-ass municipality didn't want to do maintenance in the region, so they decided to tar everyone's pavements. I hate this! It's so morbid and ugly and..and I need everything to be green, not black damn it. With respect to The Rolling Stones.

However, I will remain positive! This not only gives me free reign to let loose on my creative side and go crazy with my mad inherited gardening skills and creative ideas, but also a number of blog posts to come up in the new year of befores and afters as I make over our new house into a dream home! Who's with me?

I'm planning to break up the tar in the front, if the municipality gives me the permission, and create a gorgeous, lush garden with lavender, agapanthus, crawlers, ground covers, a few lollipop trees and a heck load of grass! As for the colours I want to paint the house and walls, I will keep that under wraps for now.

Pros of the house is pretty much everything! Including a lovely view over the city, as it was built on a hill (as you can detect from the slope of the wall). We are moving in at the end of January and in the meantime I am forcing all my loved ones to buy me vouchers for paint or decorating stores for my birthday, which is this Saturday.

No, it's not vain, it's smart!

(PS: I stepped on a bee yesterday running around in my mom's garden. It still hurts like hell.)

The other day I found this video through a link on facebook that was shared by a blogger that she found on another blogger's blog.

It's amazing!

I couldn't help but share it with you all. Only question is, how did they stop themselves from eating all those jellybeans? Maybe the answer lies in the 'How they did it' video. Check it out!

The amazing thing is that this project took over two years to complete, the patience! There is a lesson in there for us all. And over 228 000 jellybeans were used. The temptation! Good thing I wasn't on set. This may have resulted in 'death-by-jellybean'. Either that, or I would have been on a sugar rush for two years.

Tori Amos in South Africa

"Let's just pretend that we are all sitting in my lounge, just having a good evening. I'll take some requests, I got them here. And even if I don't play them tonight, I'll play them another night," she said.

The crowd reacted with cheers, perhaps a few tears were shed by the most die-hard fans. Tori Amos was in South Africa and I was there.

"I wrote this song for a friend of mine some years ago, when he was having a pretty rough time. That's when you know who your real friends are, when you're not popping champagne bottles and not making people's face pretty anymore. That's when you know who the cunts are, and there's a lot of them. There is some good one's too," she laughed as she started playing Taxi Ride on her piano.

Amos, who effortlessly switched between keyboard and piano, wowed the crowd with old favourites such as Bells For Her, where she ambidextrously played both piano and keyboard, Virginia and Cloud sleeping on my Tongue.

The intimacy of the concert delighted all senses, gripping the eyes in spectacular backdrops accompanied by the harmonic wailing of Amos's vocal prowess. The crowd was often stunned into silence, her voice transcending and whispering. Anticipation.

She still managed to surprise the listener, with little foxes slipping into her well known lyrics, mostly in the form of curse words. The crowd cheered in delight, every single time she cursed.

The esoteric singer never ceases to amaze. She uses normally perceived imperfections, the things our voice teachers always warns us against, such as swallowing and breathing heavily in her act. This wasn't on my bucket list, but it sure as hell should be!

"Almost sugar-free" granadilla and berry slush

It is hot! I haven't really felt the heat, as I am stuck in the office most of the time, and in there I wear a nice thick jacket. In short, it is bloody cold with the aircon! But for those odd days that I am not in the office, oh let's call it weekends, I need something to cool me down.

Enter Pick 'n Pay's idea! It is almost ridiculously healthy as it is almost sugar free! Perfect for those weight watchers, like me. Yay fruit! Yay summer! You can use almost any fruit that is in season, but avoid fruit that oxidises, such as apples and pears.

Ingredients:

250 ml artificial sweetener
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750 ml water
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500 grams mixed frozen berries
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250ml granadilla pulp
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Method to the healthy madness:

• Heat sweetener and water in a saucepan to dissolve. Cool.
• Blitz berries until smooth. Stir berries and granadilla through syrup.
• Place in a shallow container and freeze.
• Mash every hour to break up ice crystal until it forms a slushy mixture.
• Serve immediately in glasses with straws or tall spoons.

Enjoy!

For kids, use some extra fun straws, like the ones showed above.

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