Once upon a time, long long ago, I was a vegetarian. For eight years. But my dad always reckoned it was a “phase”, and maybe he was right, because it didn’t last. After reading “Eat Right for your Type” and suffering with never-ending allergies, which I blamed on my felines at the time, I realised I wasn’t feeling great and maybe it was my diet. After slowly adding fish, followed by other meat, back into my diet I was like a new person, and I never looked back. As much as I wish I could give it up again altogether, I just can’t quite do it. And being a South African married to a South African does mean that meat is pretty much always on the menu.
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Blog
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Gaucho – a sneak peak!
[stunning decor] -
NOT all its cracked up to be
Unless you live in a cave you probably heard about, or even experienced, the Blackberry outage this week, which lasted a couple of days in some places.
I have a Blackberry, and yes I have to admit that I am rather addicted to it, and felt like I was missing a limb during this outage (although it was somewhat liberating not feeling like I constantly needed to check my emails). I am a recent convert to the madness however, have been using BB for just over a year after inheriting Stu’s old one when he got a new one from work. And trust me, before I had one of my own I HATED them! And now I am one of those people who is always fiddling with my phone! Ooops.
[source: rimarkable.com]
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where is home?
We just got home from a two week trip…ah…home. Yes that sentence, although confusing, is technically correct. This is the eternal problem when you are living as an expat outside of your home country. It gets very confusing when you are visiting said country and then talk about home when you mean the new place you are living, but everyone you are talking to assumes you mean your original home country. Or home-home as we would probably say in South Africa. And so it goes. Even I get confused in the end.
So where is home? Well the old saying goes “home is where the heart is” but in my case I have to say “home is where the cats are”! And so for the meantime it is Dubai. And it was great to get home and see the little monsters, and sleep in my own bed. We spent a few manic days in Johannesburg as we always do, rushing around trying to see everyone and do all the admin type things you can only do at home. And then we escaped to a small town just outside Kruger National Park, and vegged. Ate and drank way to much and caught up on sleep and reading. Heaven.
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Eid Mubarak
Today, the 30th of August, has been declared the start of Eid Ul Fitr here in the UAE. The new moon was sighted last night.
Congratulations to all of you that have completed a successful fast. It’s been tough this year with the summer heat. Well done!
EID MUBARAK! عيد مبارك
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the “O” word
I was devastated when the organic shop that I discovered in April last year closed it’s doors barely 3 months after I found it. I still get upset thinking about it. Yes yes, you still can get organic meat and vegetables here, the Organic Cafe has a good selection of vegetables (as long as you get there on the delivery day) and the supermarkets have some here and there. But mostly they are imported and I hate having to buy an organic onion that has been flown half-way around the world. In my book I would rather buy something produced a little closer even if it isn’t organic. It is an ongoing debate I have with myself – organic vs carbon footprint.
Woe is me.
[missing those lovely markets in Paris]
However all (hope) is not lost – we have (some) options again. First is the very popular bumble box which has been going a few months now, down at the Garden Center in Al Quoz, on a saturday. A choice of two mixed seasonal boxes, one large and one small, that you collect once a week. Fab. And now a second option. Well, from next month (September) technically. It’s called Ripe.
Hmmmmm, reading the website now it kinda looks like the Bumble Box is becoming Ripe. Same place, same price. Ok, seems it’s still only one option.
Still, it’s better than nothing. 🙂