Pretty Damn Fine

Shew. So much for a do nothing duvet-weekend! Well that did not happen ... it was a busy one. But a good one. Even tho my anxiety kicked in last night again as soon as I put my book down :(

Friday was awesome. Left work a little bit early to head to Joburg Zoo with The Trucker and his niece for a Moonlight Tour. Now as you may know, one of my favourite experiences was the Night Zoo in Singapore. So I was super keen to give the Joburg Zoo a whirl in the dark. I can't actually remember the last time I even went to Joburg Zoo, but I see they have a new Amazon Exhibit open, so I suspect we'll go in the next while.

Anyhoo. We had to get there by 17h15, which can be a little tricky in Friday afternoon so there was some waiting around while people arrived. And then we headed off on a tractor ride. First stop was the tigers. They have 2 on loan from Pretoria Zoo apparently, one of them is a white tiger who we got to see up nice and close (he was lying right next to the glass window). And then the camels who seemed to know the guides had apples and carrots for them.



And then we hopped back on and headed over to the lions. This was cool because usually they are pretty immobile when you see then and since it was just after sunset, the male was wandering around roaring. So awesome! Did you know you can sleep over at the zoo?

And then we went to the nocturnal animals. Which was pretty cool. Unfortunately I can't remember everything we saw, but the highlight for me was definitely the Porcupines! They have like 20 of them and they were all out and about and bristling at each other. And there was a cute little one. So cool and unusual to see. We saw Genets, Caracal, Red Panda, a cute little Fox-like creature with huge ears, BG the Honey Badger ... lots of cats.



After that they made us a bonfire and we got hot chocolate / coffee / tea and marshmallows to roast. What fun :) Should've taken some snacks for along the way, but the tour ends at about 8pm so we headed to Rocomama's for dinner afterwards.

Unfortunately that was crazy busy (we were 4th on the waiting list), so we ordered take-aways instead and headed home to eat.

On Saturday we had a bit of a lazy morning and then a bit of a rush to get to Puppy Training on time. Shew, that has improved so much! (I suspect because the next group of newbs started this week, so they can yell at someone else - haha). Pepper is doing so well and growing so much! Shew. Such a cute pupsicle. But photo-taking has slowed significantly ... it always does in winter.

And then after a late brunch at home, and a fairly relaxing afternoon, we headed to Mozambik at 4:30pm to meet up with one of The Trucker's friends to watch the rugby. Haha, and he is now dating a girl I did Boot Camp with. Small world.

After the rugby, we stayed at Mozambik for one of the SCM birthday's. I don't even remember the last time I went to this restaurant, it was shortly after it opened, I think? (Doesn't even seem to have gotten a mention on the blog, but I am pretty sure Varen and I tried it). After this experience, I'd definitely go back.

The Trucker and I shared 2 starters: a chorizo in creamy sweet chili sauce (a special), which was amazeballs. Seriously, I'd go back just for this! And their Prawn Bilene, also delish and more rich and creamy sauce! Which meant that by the time our main (Trinchado) arrived, I was pretty full. Luckily, The Trucker had only ordered one for us to share and he had to eat most of it. All this while sipping on R&Rs! Definitely a good evening and they handled our tables 25 (!) well.

And bizarrely, after that, we ended up at Red Room, dancing for a few hours. Haha, blast from the past.

On Sunday we slept in till 09h30! Bliss. I don't think we've got home after midnight in ages. Yes, clearly, old. And it's cold! Haha. Then we had breakfast at Doppio before going grocery shopping. The Trucker's cricket was canceled, so I dragged him jeans shopping with me. I am feeling super fat again (because I am) so need new jeans. But there are few things more soul destroying than clothes shopping when you feel like this. I generally end up depressed. But I did buy a pair ... even tho it didn't make me feel any better about myself :( Gym starts again today! #sigh

And then we had a relaxing afternoon around the house, okay he napped. And we tried to take Pepper for a walk, after hearing the thunder, we decided to leave earlier than planned, but it was pouring before we even go to the park!

The Trucker walked her the block home in the rain, which she loved. And she doesn't seem at all phased by the thunder, which is good :)

Gypsy and Pepper are playing so nicely these days. Pepper still annoys Gyps sometimes, but mostly they are pretty cute rough-and-tumbling together :)

For dinner I made a Chipolata Paella and heated up some gluhwein. Damn. The Paella is so easy (which I love in a recipe!) and yummy. They said the recipe made 4 portions, but we got 6 large portions from it.

Pretty superb for a weekend, actually :)

Foodie!

Shew. TGIF! It has been a busy week. And my mood has lifted ... although I am still in desperate need of a day to do nothing. I've scheduled this for Sunday. I have no plans to get out of my pajamas - haha!

But yes, back to the past week. Work has been busier than ever lately and this week has been no different. Thankfully that is going thru an "up" phase, regardless of the anxiety I have been feeling lately (that seems to have stopped too, but it may have to do with going out, so no time to feel anxious once in bed as we just go straight to sleep, exhausted! Haha).

Monday night was the usual at home. Well, except that I still had my Domestic Goddess hat on from the weekend and had planned some homemade bread with soup (not homemade, from Woolies) for a perfect Wintery dinner.



I had been eyeing a recipe I'd seen on Yuppie Chef for Homemade Cheddar Loaf with Pancetta. It is super easy to make, although a little on the expensive side because of the pancetta. And then I heated the soup in the microwave to time everything perfectly. But I'd bought the bigger 1.2kg Tomato soup from Woolies ... which proceeded to topple over in the microwave. And unfortunately we didn't notice till a little while later o_0 Well that was fun :/ I popped out to buy a replacement, thank goodness for Engen Woolies nearby! I had my heart set on that soup. While The Trucker cleaned the micro.

We couldn't close the door for the rest of the evening without shorting the whole house, but it seems okay now. Fun and games o_0 The bread was super filling, yoh! But so tasty. Yum.

And on Tuesday I decided to skip SCM Dinner due to evening plans from Wednesday to Saturday!

On Wednesday I went to a MXit event at Urban Tree for work. Shewee, but that venue is gorgeous! And apparently it was catered by Fresh Foods. Oh wow but the food was superb!

And after work, a few of us went thru to visit @ironyandgum. Yoh. But the traffic going to the East. I nearly cried. It took us about an hour & half ... and we left work before 16h30. That said, once the traffic debacle was over, it was such an awesome girls evening with wine and pizza and chatting. So what I needed!

Last night we went for dinner in Bryanston with some friends who'd heard about a new spot (owned by a guy who was a few years behind The Trucker at the same school) called LBV.

Wow, what a great little find! They change their menu every three months (so we'll be going back in August) and the food was superb.

We took the Raka Spliced from our Cape Roadtrip since they are waiting on their liquor license and started by sharing the Fig and Camembert Spring Rolls. These were delish. Next time I'd like to try the Squid Heads, but I knew The Trucker wasn't going to share that with me :/ And I was saving room for dessert.

For mains I couldn't decide. I had originally thought of the Lamb Shank Pie, but it comes on the bone. So that put me off. 2 people at our table had it tho and apparently it was very good. My favourites of the evening were definitely my Lamb Gnocchi and The Trucker's Fillet.

The Gnocchi just melted in my mouth. It was superb! And the flavours and presentation of The Trucker's fillet. Divine.



Unfortunately the dessert didn't blow us away nearly as much as the mains & starters, but we tried the Creme Brulee and Chocolate Fondant. The Creme Brulee was quite different, it certainly didn't look anything like I was expecting. Which can sometimes be a little disappointing, when you think you know what you're getting. I liked the Chocolate Fondant, but they needed to be sent back to be re-cooked a little. I didn't mind mine at all with more sauce and less cake.

I did get to try their Deep Fried Basil Leaves (which are served with one of their other dessert). So interesting. And what a great palette cleanser!

Cut to the Bone by Jefferson Bass

In this long-awaited prequel to his New York Times bestselling series, Jefferson Bass turns the clock back to reveal the Body Farm's creation-and Dr. Bill Brockton's deadly duel with a serial killer

In the summer of 1992, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and Tennessee Senator Albert Gore begin their long-shot campaign to win the White House. In the sweltering hills of Knoxville at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Bill Brockton, the bright, ambitious young head of the Anthropology Department, launches an unusual-some would call it macabre-research facility, unlike any other in existence. Brockton is determined to revolutionize the study of forensics to help law enforcement better solve crime. But his plans are derailed by a chilling murder that leaves the scientist reeling from a sense of déjà vu. Followed by another. And then another: bodies that bear eerie resemblances to cases from Brockton's past.

The police chalk up the first corpse to coincidence. But as the body count rises, the victims' fatal injuries grow more and more distinctive-a spiral of death that holds dark implications for Brockton himself. If the killer isn't found quickly, the death toll could be staggering. And the list of victims could include Brockton . . . and everyone he holds dear.

This was quite interesting to read, although quite strange. No Miranda. But interesting to get an idea of how the Body Farm started. It did feel a bit weird tho, the flow of the storyline. It felt like it took a long time to "set the scene", the build up, and after that it all came together very quickly.

Although I didn't mind too much, I do think that might be why it took me much longer to read than the Body Farm novels usually do. It wasn't my favourite in the series.

* This book is part of the Body Farm series: Carved in Bone (2006), Flesh and Bone (2007), The Devil's Bones (2008), Bones of Betrayal (2009), The Bone Thief (2010), The Bone Yard (2011), ~Madonna and Corpse (2012), The Inquisitor's Key (2012), ~Jordan's Stormy Banks (2013), Cut to the Bone (2013)

Hibernation

Hmmmm. Such juxtapositions ... yesterday afternoon felt perfect. Seriously. Today, feels like a heavy weight. I seem to be suffering from a bout of evening anxiety. I think I need a day off to do nothing ...

But, aside from how I feel right now, my weekend was awesome. For a few days, at least, my blue funk was gone. On Friday I was gonna skip the Pepper Pup's walkies ... but she was having none of that. Haha. So off we went.

In the evening, The Trucker came home and we just had a quiet night in with a bottle of Rickety Bridge's Foundation Stone. One of my faves.

We watched a fair amount of series this weekend. Hibernation in full swing. Finished Orange is the new Black (s02 - that's what happens when all the episodes are available in one go!) and Game of Thrones (s04 - *spoiler alert* I swear if they'd let Tyrion die I wouldn't watch another season!).

On Saturday morning The Trucker got us croissants and then we headed off to puppy training. This week was MUCH better :) I think the fact that Pepper had been before and was now fully used to her collar and fixed lead and the fact that she's been walking on it for a whole week now. But that said, there are still the extremists there o_0 This week I got told off for letting Pepper climb onto my lap while I was sitting on the ground.

Now I get that she needs some discipline and we're teaching her that playtime is dictated by when we want to play, not when she demands it ... and she isn't allowed on the couch. But if I come and sit on the floor, that's the signal that it's play time and I love her bounding onto my lap. Silly people. I adore cuddling my pupsicle. Anyhoo ... pinch of salt and all that.

And she didn't bite anyone this week (and no one bit her) although the annoying Pit Bull owner kept pointing her out telling anyone who would listen that she was the dog who'd bit someone the last week. You know the sort of person I'm talking about. I try to avoid them when we're there.

But yes, otherwise she's doing super well :) Still not 100% on this whole potty training thing tho. And her and Gypsy are doing well. They play together and they take turns harassing each other ... and we've started letting Pepper "meet" the bunnies. Which means I sit there with her on her retractable lead while the bunnies run about. She's been okay so far. We are a long way off letting her loose around them!

On Saturday we popped out for an early sushi dinner at Yamazaki and came home to realise that Gypsy had, yet again, been locked in the bunny hutch for a few hours (it's a problem when I put them away in the dark and she's a black cat o_0) Haha. Luckily everyone is unscathed. She is such a gentle girl. We're very lucky :)

And on Sunday, I was up putting a curry in the slow cooker before we went grocery shopping. And then The Trucker went to cricket while I had 6 girl-friends over for lunch. Was a superb afternoon and so lovely to catch up. And the food was delish too.

I cracked open a bottle of the Walker Bay Sauvignon Blanc that I'd bought on our Cape Roadtrip. Seriously, this is the only white wine I've found that I actually like!

And then The Trucker arrived home injured and napped and took a mustard bath so there was no walk for Peps in the afternoon. But there was left over curry for dinner for us!



See how much quieter our lives are post-puppy ... haha. Maybe it's just winter?

In other news, I know I've been very quiet on here about the whole Project Get Pregnant 2014. There's nothing to report yet. We are currently oh-for-two and I guess I haven't mentioned it for that very reason, there's nothing to tell. Which in itself isn't yet significant either. So yeah, everything is plodding along as normal. I won't lie, I was sorta hoping to be one of those one-hit-wonder stories, but we've missed the boat on that. And then on the flip side I still kinda look at is as shew, one more month before life as we know it is changed forever. Plus every month off contraceptives helps figure out my natural cycle ...

Although, I won't lie, I do kinda just wish it would happen so it's not this niggly thing at the back of my mind. Although I'm determined not to become too fussed until we've been trying for at least 6 months. This month I am using those ovulation sticks tho ... so we'll see how that works out for us. For the last 2 months I've just been using a little calendar "predictor" on my phone. But since that hasn't resulted in anything we thought we'd get a little more specific about finding out.

You know, in case you were wondering where we were at with all that.

Really

Shew, this has not felt like the 4-day week I was hoping for. I seriously thought yesterday was Friday. You can imagine how disappointed I was this morning when the alarm went off.

And our life these days has definitely quietened. It's cold out and life in general revolves around Pepper.

I took her out for our after-work walk on Tuesday afternoon and she was amazing! I think all those trips to Golden Harvest on the weekend worked wonders! We did the entire length of our block and even ran a bit!

But on Wednesday, the wheels fell off a bit. I am blaming garbage day ... too many distractions and people and smells for her. Because yesterday was fantastic again!

I did try a new strategy tho, after Googling why she comes home more hyper than ever after her walk instead of exhausted. And it seems to have worked. Hard to say after one time, but I'll try a little more.

And we had a friend and her 5yr old son over for dinner on Tuesday evening. That of course caused chaos because she had someone to play with and rile her up all evening when she is usually passed out between 6:30 and 7!

Other than that I'm not really sure if my mood has improved or not this week ... I think it has lightened a bit, but I'm no where near ecstatic. Trudging thru. I think it's the cold dark wintery weather. Bring on the solstice!

Long Weekend Blues

Harumph. We had a much needed long weekend. But I'm still in a blue mood :( I mean it was this weird combination of a good and busy weekend, but still feeling like I was just going thru the motions of life. I think I need a duvet day. A day all to myself. Actually, I have no idea what I need o_0

So yeah, being a 3 day weekend, it was all kinds of busy and relaxed. On Friday evening I headed home, The Trucker had a cricket game (sounds like madness, playing in the dark & cold ... I suspect he won't be doing it again any time soon). I was sposed to have a friend come over, but she bailed, which I didn't mind too much.

Took Pepper out for her after-work walk on Friday too. And then hung out at home, watching The Returned, waiting for The Trucker to come home with pizza.

On Saturday, we were up fairly early ... no sleeping in with a little pup! The Trucker had taken her for her 2nd round of vaccinations on Friday so we took her to her first Puppy Training class. Yoh.

But seriously. It was hectic. She is 2 weeks behind some of the others as this was her first class, and the last chance to join the 12 week course. So she had no idea what was potting. And those ladies are ruthless. One of them bit my dog back! I don't have the stomach for being so disciplinary. I got yelled at for looking at Pepper. And for saying she was exhausted / overwhelmed (it was a lot for her in one hour!), which apparently she wasn't. Anyway. We both survived.

And, truth be told, she's been a lot better since we made a few changes. We got her a crate (The Trucker borrowed one from his ex-girlf) so she's been using that since Friday. With mixed results. Her bed doesn't fit properly, but we got her a new warm fluffy blanket so I think she's happier. She's certainly handling things better, it has been so hard listening to her howl / cry ... but the potty training is going better!

She is learning to sit before she gets fed. And she is being less rough when she plays.

We took her on 2 nice big walks (we skipped Saturday afternoon due to the morning's training) at Golden Harvest. Shew, such a cutie and really getting the hang of it! I am sure the training will get better, for both of us!

On Saturday afternoon, I headed to Tasha's in Rosebank to meet up with @nadia_ass. It has been sooo long. And my word, her boy has gotten big since the last time I saw her. Lunch was good and it was nice to catch up. Haha, and boy did we laugh about the similarities between puppies and toddlers o_0

In the evening we headed to 310 Sustainable Eatery for dinner with CollegeInstructor. Was super upset that they didn't have the ostrich, again! But I tried their fillet & gnocchi which I really enjoyed. And this time I had their butternut fritters. Not quite The Foundry, but delish!

The boys had the milk tart for dessert. I was way too full, but it was okay ... wouldn't order it again.



On Sunday we had no real plans. We finally hung the prints I got for my birthday last year from the #SCMDinner crowd. I had them framed a week ago. They look awesome! Now I really must find a freaking mirror for that room and it will be complete.

In the evening we'd invited friends over. They're heading to Bermuda in September, to see their son (who we stayed with) ... and brought us the very annoying (for us, not them) news that you no longer need a visa for Bermuda (based on certain conditions, like having a US Visa). Urgh!

But, The Trucker made a superb Chicken Curry for us. Wa-ay more complicated than usual ... but that was because we were trying to get something up near restaurant-grade. I find the curries I have at the restaurants taste so completely different than the ones we make at home. We must find the secret! This involved marinading and baking the chicken separately. And definitely some different ingredients. Fenugreek (unfortunately we couldn't find the leaves, just variations of the seeds at the Indian store in Northgate) and ground cashews (for thickening, which works really well!). It was delish, and I'm super glad we bought some of those Naan breads from Woolies too. Won't be an every day thing, far too much effort ;) Haha.

Monday was more like a normal Sunday.We made crumpets for breakfast at home and snoozed in the sunlight after another early puppy-morning ... then we headed off to do the week's grocery shopping. I made myself Ostrich Soup (trying the new Venison mince) and we bought some awesome new Sistema tupperwares for lunch this week (they're expensive, but no more so than the other clip-lid stuff PnP had on offer).

The afternoon involved more relaxing, watching the new season of Orange is the New Black and Motive.

And that was about our whole weekend ... And now it's back to work. Which I am super not thrilled about, which is weird cause I'm on a fabulous project at the moment and it's been going really well lately. But I just have that dread feeling in my stomach. You know like where you feel like you've forgotten something. Something major, but you can NOT think what it is. Yeah, that. Hate it.

Another Week

Ah, Friday. And the Friday before a long weekend, even better.

It's been a weird week ... the puppy has been nick-named Monster. Haha. She is lovely tho, but gets hyper and bites EVERYTHING. Which is tricky when you're trying to brush your teeth or make dinner ... but yeah, we're getting there. She did sleep thru the night last night too :)

And I started taking her for walkies every afternoon when I get home. It's amazing how quickly she is getting the hang of it.

On Monday she absolutely sucked at it and I think were were gone for less than 10 minutes. I'm just taking her out side the complex and walking along the side of the complex, along the road. We have a wide grassy pavement, which is nice.

But on Monday she stopped every time a car went passed and just didn't understand that we were walking here. On Tuesday she did a little better, until we got to a part of the (brick) wall which had another dog behind it, barking. This messed with her mind completely.

On Wednesday we did both lengths and she ran with me, definitely getting the hang of this and loving it ... although coming home completely hyper. I missed last night, sadly (trying to get her into a routine) cause I went to visit my friend who had her baby almost 4 weeks ago. It's been quite hectic since the baby was 10 weeks early so is still at the hospital.

Other than that, we are getting more sociable again. Haha. We had @Sascha_with_a_C over for dinner on Tuesday evening. The Trucker made the Quick Low-Carb Gammon Steak with Tender-Stem Broccoli, Garlic & Cream that I'd made last week. Superb! And I got some lovely belated flowers for my birthday. What an awesome evening.

Last night we had The Trucker's niece over to stay (who we are taking to this Moonlight Tour of the Joburg Zoo in a few weeks, I can not wait. Sounds like such fun!) but The Trucker also had to go to a Body Corporate meeting. Which we are fuming about :/

They basically said we can't do our Patio renovations, which caused a large discussion about my other Unit with the amazing patio, and how the guy before me cut corners and didn't get proper approval and just went ahead (he was dating the Chairman of the BC, I gather). Very annoyed. Getting some input from The Trucker's architect because "they'd love to approve it but ..." so let's get all those "buts" cleared up for them. And he was all ready to start building today & tomorrow. Damn.

Super annoying. And they picked some paint colours for approval and one lady has her heart set on Terracotta o_0 (cue massive eye roll) We have an awesome neutral colour at the moment, I wish they'd just stick with that! Damn I hope no one votes for the terracotta. Yuck.

25 April: Nature's Valley to Addo Elephant Park

We had another fairly early morning ... leaving before our hosts even woke up. But we had a long drive to Addo ahead and I wanted a quick visit to the Nature's Valley beach before we left. And there were also lunch-time rolls that needed to be made!

The Nature's Valley beach reminded me of Scarborough, actually. We just popped out the car, had a look, didn't even get our feet sandy, and got back on the road again. Passed some awesome Wind Turbines around Humansdorp and saved a tortoise crossing the road after PE :) All this and we managed to arrive at Addo before we could even check into our chalet!

So, anyway, we booked ourselves a Sunset Game Drive for later and went on a self-drive around the park until we could get our keys.

We didn't see much, much like why we completely understood why they called the Kgalagadi the Gemsbok National Park, we joked this should've been the Kudu National Park! Haha.

Plus, there is a helicopter flying around. Suspect this might be why all the big game is hiding. On our way home we found out why, after about a half hour of hanging around watching and waiting. They are darting Buffalo. We found out from the guide on our Sunset Drive that they capture and auction off TB-Free Buffalo around this time of year. Interesting.


And, then we finally got our keys ... our chalet is lovely. I think this is the best SAN Park I've been to! Compared to our Kruger Park SAN Parks' experience, this is AMAZEBALLS. There is a freaking Cattle Baron here. And we were so worried about my birthday dinner tomorrow. Haha.



We had a bit of a snooze to recover from the long day of driving before joining up with the rest of the people on our Sunset Game Drive, which wasn't that great. We still haven't really seen any Ellies (except in the distance, which no longer cuts it for me).

After we got back, we had a lovely little braai at our chalet for dinner.

The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs

33,000 PAGES
44 MILLION WORDS
10 BILLION YEARS OF HISTORY
1 OBSESSED MAN

Part memoir and part education (or lack thereof), The Know-It-All chronicles NPR contributor A.J. Jacobs's hilarious, enlightening, and seemingly impossible quest to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z.

To fill the ever-widening gaps in his Ivy League education, A.J. Jacobs sets for himself the daunting task of reading all thirty-two volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His wife, Julie, tells him it's a waste of time, his friends believe he is losing his mind, and his father, a brilliant attorney who had once attempted the same feat and quit somewhere around Borneo, is encouraging but unconvinced.

With self-deprecating wit and a disarming frankness, The Know-It-All recounts the unexpected and comically disruptive effects Operation Encyclopedia has on every part of Jacobs's life -- from his newly minted marriage to his complicated relationship with his father and the rest of his charmingly eccentric New York family to his day job as an editor at Esquire. Jacobs's project tests the outer limits of his stamina and forces him to explore the real meaning of intelligence as he endeavors to join Mensa, win a spot on Jeopardy!, and absorb 33,000 pages of learning. On his journey he stumbles upon some of the strangest, funniest, and most profound facts about every topic under the sun, all while battling fatigue, ridicule, and the paralyzing fear that attends his first real-life responsibility -- the impending birth of his first child.

The Know-It-All is an ingenious, mightily entertaining memoir of one man's intellect, neuroses, and obsessions, and a struggle between the all-consuming quest for factual knowledge and the undeniable gift of hard-won wisdom.

So I think I saw this book on Good Reads when I added all my blog book reviews earlier this year and, having read and enjoyed his Year of Living Biblically, this sounded like a good follow-up. Well, to be precise prequel since this book was written before that one.

And, I loved this. It took me quite some time to read, but I definitely enjoyed every minute of it :) He's got such a great colloquial style. And it also definitely has some laugh out loud moments! I would definitely recommend this book.

24 April: Plettenberg Bay to Nature's Valley

We got up at a fairly leisurely hour and had a quick breakfast at home before we headed to Robbery Beach for a walk on the sand. It's gorgeous and surprisingly quiet. Super please to see some blue sky after yesterday's grey clouds!



After our walk, we headed to a little farmstall stop we'd passed before Plett called, The Heath, because The Trucker insisted that the Cheeseman was not to be missed!

We browsed thru all the little stores and decided to get some coffee / hot chocolate. And this is round about when I lost my sense of humour. The Trucker's colleagues haven't actually gone a day without calling him / needing something from him. And I kind of understand that when you sit in an office it's a lot more obvious that you're on holiday than when you run all sorts of businesses and have most of your dealings with people via telephone. But still.

I sat at the table all alone for probably half an hour ... I do try to understand that when he's not there he's not making money and if it take a phone call to keep things ticking, then it must be done. Things can't simple grind to a halt because we are on holiday. But it is really freaking difficult to do. Not least because a holiday should be a time when he can also get away from the stresses of day-to-day life and really, it just was not happening!

Note to self: It only qualifies as a holiday if The Trucker has no cell-signal. Haha. But I cheered up pretty quickly since I decided that once he was off the phone, we should head back into Plett and browse all the little shops there.

And, he wasn't off his phone long, but at least I had plenty to keep me occupied (which I don't mind ... but I hate feeling like, if only I'd know, I'd have brought my book along!). And I bought myself an awesome new skirt :)

Later we headed thru to The Lookout Deck for lunch where we were meeting some friends, who were holiday-ing in their family cottage in Nature's Valley nearby. What a great lunch, bring on those Strawberry Daquiri's! And I had a Pint 'o Prawns for lunch :) Superb.



When we eventually headed back home, we had a relaxing afternoon, lazing and reading. And then after a little back-and-forth we packed up our stuff and decided that instead of spending our second night in Plett as planned, we'd spend the night with our friends in Nature's Valley, which I never even knew existed before.

It is a gorgeous drive and I highly recommend you drive it before the sun sets!

Walkies

OMG I am too too cold this morning. My new spot in the office feels like the set of Frozen o_0

The Trucker has already messaged me about how awful he felt leaving little Miss Pepper outside when he left this morning. Luckily Gypsy gets to stay inside where it is warm ... poor girlie.

I am certainly missing working from home, where my alarm goes off a whole hour later! And home has a heater and all the clothes I could possibly need. #sigh Oh well.

On Friday we had a chilly night in. So The Trucker went off to get us some Indian take-out (yum, Chicken Mahknie) while I heated up some Woolies Gluhwein on the stove (handy that I had a bottle left from last year, but dammit I completely forgot to buy more yesterday!). It was superb. And we finished watching Vikings S02.

On Saturday we both headed out, me to a Blog Girls brunch at Papachinos with @Arkwife, @louisabouwer, @RebbecaHumphry and @RubyLetters. Another amazing morning swapping news and stories and just hanging out :)

And when I got home, wow. The Trucker had gotten new compost for the garden, had mowed the lawn AND had cleaned the bunny hutch. No one has ever cleaned the bunny hutch for me before. In fact this was actually the second "it must be love" thing I noticed he did in the last few days. On Thursday night, when he cooked dinner, he made as much polenta as he did last time because although it was far too much for the two of us to finish, I told him how much the birds had loved it ... and he hates the birds. But I love feeding them and having them in the garden. So he did it anyway. I am hoping to lure some loeries in ... I know they like pap.

Yeah, I'm feeling particularly spoilt. But then, he did sleep most of the afternoon :/ Oh, oh, but we did take Pepper out for her first walkies. He'd bought her a little (medium, at it's smallest setting ... and it still hangs loose, but it'll eventually fit :) ) harness and a zip lead. So although we can't take her around other dogs till her second vaccination (coming up on Friday), we just took her to get her used to the idea of it at a little field up the road. She loved it. She is too adorable!

We didn't do much else on Saturday, but we did go for an early sushi dinner at Yamada in Rivonia. So delish. And much better turn-around times than Yamazaki on a weekend. Plus it meant we could pop up to Saigon for a Vietnamese Coffee afterwards :)

Then on Sunday morning, we had a delish breakfast at home before The Trucker headed to cricket and I went to do the grocery shopping. And then I took Pepper Pup and we went to watch him play and let her have a run around. Lots of people there to play with her and tire her out and get her used to other people and kids. She had a ball :)

And, honestly, that was pretty much it. The bunnies are only getting to run when Pepper is in the house, so no improvement there. Her and Gypsy have their moments. But both are enjoying the heater, although Pepper likes to bark at it! I can't believe she has already discovered her voice.

More Pup

So, it's been a bit of a week here. I know I've been pretty quiet online, but that's because real life has been pretty busy.

I've been working from home all week (except yesterday), to let Pepper adjust to her new home. She's doing great :) She was falling asleep wherever but since Wednesday she's been actually going to her bed to snooze. Although it hasn't been easy, it turns out our complex had scheduled painters to come and start preparing the walls for some new paint. You won't actually believe how long this takes ... they've been here every day since Monday. But they've got a ton of guys working on it working their way around the complex. Apparently next week we pick colours ...

So, as you can imagine, it's been a lucky thing I've been home as we've had to have the whole garden and garage unlocked and had people traipsing in and out of here ... so it's been a rough week for potty training, since Pepper has been stuck inside a lot of the week.

Plus, they sprayed poison (which luckily I spotted since NO ONE bothered to mention it!) on Monday afternoon and after phoning the Paintcor guys (who were very helpful) kept both Gypsy and Pepper inside for almost 24hrs ... don't want Gypsy walking along the top of a wall getting it on her paws and then licking them o_0). Gypsy, who refuses to use a litter box anymore, was supremely unimpressed by morning and raced out the minute she saw a gap. But we washed her paws off when she came back inside.

Anyway, hopefully they'll finish on our unit today ... there's only a little more plastering to go. And, in exciting news, next week we're applying for approval to enclose our verandah and put a roof up (we're aiming for a similar outside area to my old place). I'm super excited :)

What else. Oh yes, some Blog Drama (which I'll tell you about another time ... letting it cool off a bit). But honestly, I was completely livid.

And Gypsy and Pepper are becoming more used to each other, nothing like friends yet (awe) but it hasn't quite been a week yet ... The Bunnies are a whole nother story. Pepper loves to chase them, which obviously completely freaks them out. And even tho I've been home, they have hardly been allowed out of the hutch this week because of all the workmen and the materials etc. And Pepper hoping to investigate what they are with her mouth o_0 Hopefully once she starts going for training we'll be able to reign her in around them and they'll settle into a similar avoidance as they have with Gypsy. #sigh I thought it would be easier cause she's so little. But, really, she just wants to play with and chew everything. Haha.

She is completely adorable.

What else? Oh yes, I channeled my inner Domestic Goddess again on Monday night and made @Jane_Ann62's Quick Low-Carb Gammon Steak with Tender-Stem Broccoli, Garlic & Cream. It was all kinds of delish! Yes, we'll make it again!



What else? I think that is pretty much it.