Thursday was a great day…
Christine and I set off from Amanzimtoti to visit Brett and Amor in Botha’s Hill. Our first obstacle happened as we hit the North Bound Highway where the wash away occurred. Two further road closures were encountered before we were able to speed up and get on our way. The rest of the trip was uneventful and it turned out that she had not been up the Botha Hill area for a number of years, so she enjoyed seeing the changes.
Amanzimtoti is known as the poorer of the two areas and we are constantly complaining about our shoddy street maintenance. But it is sad to say that even in the richer areas, Hillcrest, Assagay and Kloof, the roads are no better. In fact the road leading past the newish Hillcrest Private Hospital towards Hillcrest is really bad. The potholes that exist each time I travel that way are repaired, but much in the same way as they are done down here. No sooner than they are patched than new worse holes develop.
Our visit was truly enjoyable. The vegetable garden was once again full of seedlings that they had recently planted. The spinach, Kale, Rhubarb and Mustard plants were at a stage where they were picking and harvesting them for eating and, when too many for them to eat, they were being sold.
Amazingly it is the Mustard leaf, large like the Kale, that is the best seller. As soon as they take these plants out the gate to be sold, they are snapped up in no time. I wonder why I have never ever tried them in stir fries before. I broke a small section off the one growing leaf and tried it, it is pungent, but lovely to eat raw!
This is something that I am prone to do while walking around the garden each time. It has not always been a clever thing though. Once while being told about one particular plant I did the same thing – much to my surprise, it burnt my mouth badly and continued to do so for a long time. It was then that I was told that this had to be cooked first. So now, I ask before tasting!
They have converted a section of the existing workshop into a proper stable area. It houses the sheep, then goat and finally the pig. The smell of it, although nicely cleaned out each day, reminded me of my childhood visits to the dairy at Willow Park. A very natural but pungent smell that remains in my memory.
As usual we were given a lovely cup of coffee and I had baked a batch of All Bran and Yoghurt rusks which I took for the visit. After a good chat and catch up we were preparing to leave when Amor suggested that we call in at a Coffee Shop on the Old Main Road right next to the Total Garage.
The reason for this was not because we needed to stop for food, but she suggested that if we were interested, this particular shop sold a plastic bag full of mulch in which Oyster Mushrooms had previously been grown.
This was intriguing to us both, so we called in there.
The Mandala Coffee Cafe …
No wonder Amor was surprised that I had never seen this particular place when driving past it each time. But, being a windy, narrow road I usually have my eyes on the road ahead. However, I really should have noticed it. Bright blue, with huge painted Mandala’s on the walls and lovely hanging tie died wraps draped all along the perimeter fence. It is really hard to miss!
They serve a variety of very healthy meals, but as Christine and I were not hungry, we only asked about the mushroom bags, and tried to find out more about them.
As can be seen in the photo below, the mulch is kept in a very tight plastic bag, and is much like a bolster to hold. Fairly solid. The gent, who was very helpful, explained that once you get it home, it was a good idea to stand on it it break the consistency of the mulch inside. Once that is done, it is very easy to remove it from the bag and spread it around a shady area in the garden.
He took us around to the vegetable bed where he had spread some a short while before and it was interesting to see how the white, that was prevalent in the bag, was actually the spore from the old mushrooms that remained once the ripe mushrooms had been harvested and sold.
In the bed were two rather old, disheveled oyster mushrooms which he picked up to show us. The one was grey and the other a very vibrant yellow in colour. The cost of the bag was negligible, and the opportunity to actually see my own mushrooms appear in my garden, encouraged me to purchase a bag immediately. Christine did the same.
- Slice off the bottom stem. Slice off the stem of the mushrooms, which separates the individual caps.
- Saute 2 to 3 minutes in olive oil. Add a smashed garlic clove to infuse a bit of flavor.
- Add chopped herbs and lemon juice in the last 30 seconds. This brightens and lightens the flavor.
Home and what I did…
It is one thing to buy something and actually having an idea what to do with it, but this wasn’t the case with me. Our garden is really not conducive to level shady areas, and although it is in a rainy area, unfortunately the heat is unrelenting.
So I decided that the best spot to distribute the mulch would be above our braai vleis area, under the Delicious Monster plants. This is my little secret garden of sorts. I have had Petros put all my drift wood there and have also secured the orchids that I used to house on my open balcony there. This could have been an ideal spot, but already I can see that it isn’t going to be.
All the mulch that I distributed amongst the dried wood and roots, is still far too exposed to the sun than it should be. Perhaps if we had a sprinkler system in place there, it might have helped, but today I went down to see how it was doing.
The leaves that I had placed on top of the mulch have all blown off, leaving dry, almost brittle mulch. So unless we get a good bit of rain soon, this is going to be a waste of time. Christine was more fortunate, she had a level bed around a jojo tank to deposit hers into. It will be interesting to see whether she has better success.
Tenpin on Thursday …
Oh how I enjoy the interaction between all the ages and types of people who play during the Thursday evening League. It really doesn’t make any difference if you are old or young, as long as you try and do your best.
I have always had a yearning to play as well as I can, at what ever sport I have taken part in, but have seldom been one of the best. In a way I can see why this is. I don’t have the ability to berate myself when I don’t perform perfectly.
This week I played against one of the top players in the Club. His name is on all the score boards for getting 300 points in a game! But it was surprising to see how hard he is on himself even when getting a strike, he didn’t feel the delivery was well played.
Thank goodness he harbored no animosity towards others, like me, who only managed to get three skittles down on one occasion, however he certainly sets himself high standards and it must be very hard to have this drive inside him.
I was very happy when, at the end of the evening, I was approached by Judy, a lovely player who had won the prize of a bottle of Robertson Red Rose Wine at the previous weeks draw. She does not drink and apparently, my score was one point less than hers with my huge handicap, and she kindly kept the bottle for me! I do drink, so that was a super surprise and a lovely gesture indeed.
My Sunday surprise…
Priscilla and I enjoy going out to eat over the weekend and we had decided on the Saturday night to do just that on Sunday. Initially we thought that we would go to Lords and Legends, but I suggested that we support Giselle who has the Halfway Restaurant situated on the Amanzimtoti Golf Course. The view from there is lovely, looking out onto the course, sand dunes in the distance, and no loud music that is par for the course at Lords.
Well, that is where we went. It is about 9 km from home, along Kingsway, and it turned out to be a super suggestion. We were given a choice of three starters, 3 mains and 3 deserts from the menu. I chose Chicken salad with sweet chili sauce, then crumbed pork medallions with baby roast potatoes, green beans, carrots (and savoury rice which I don’t eat) and my desert was a pancake, filled with cream and fresh strawberries and ice cream. Priscilla had pickled fish as her starter, same main as mine, and she finished off with poached pears in a sauce with nuts.
All this for R110.00. I highly recommend this venue for anyone wanting a good wholesome meal. There is a bar on site and we tried a wine called Sun Kissed. This was also very good.
After this fantastic meal we went through to the foyer where Giselle keeps a large chest freezer in which she stocks all her left over, or freshly made food. I love buying the Roast Beef. She puts about 8 good slices of cooked roast beef into an aluminum container, then fills it with gravy from the roast. When I need to, I defrost the container, remove 2 slices and a little gravy and add it to my vegetables. The container lasts me for 3 meals and costs R50.
Lasagna is another of my favourites, as are her curries, pulled pork and Coronation Chicken. I have supported her for 18 years now, and am so grateful that she is still selling to the public, although it is a little further to travel.
Now to get to the surprise part of Sunday!
After paying for my take away food and while waiting for Priscilla to pay for her lot, I suddenly felt quite peculiar. For one thing, I started to sweat copiously. This is something that I never ever do. I made my way back into the dining hall and sat myself down at the high bar type table, put my coat onto the table in front of me and put my head down onto my arms.
By this time I knew without a doubt that there was something really wrong. I remember telling Priscilla, who had joined me by this time, that I should actually be lying down, and that was all I remember.
To cut to the chase, it turned out that I had suffered a seizure and caused a lot of worry to many people. I, myself, knew nothing about this fortunately. However, after a fair amount of time I started to come round. The very first thing I asked was, “did I have a seizure” and at that time was told no.
I was put onto cushions on the floor and with my back to the empty dining room, I just went to sleep. When I eventually awoke I was able to confirm to myself that it was indeed a seizure, as I had wet myself during the attack. Fortunately, being seated and secure against the table, I was not able to thrash around, but because of this position, I was also apparently, battling to breathe.
Priscilla learnt what “a dead weight” felt like, as she had to jump off her bar stool and catch me as I started to slide off it at the start of the seizure. Fortunately, Mark, a Medical Scientist, I believe, was on hand and he gave her the support and help she needed.
An ambulance and paramedics were called, but as I have had seizures 25 years ago, I was able to send the ambulance away. The paramedic from Netcare, was truly lovely. She took my vitals and discovered that I was very hypotensive with my blood pressure being much too low. She asked if I felt I needed to go to hospital, but I declined the offer, and at this stage, Mark felt he could leave me in her hands and said goodbye.
The way all the people came to help me was amazing and very humbling.
And so, this past week has been a little like a roller coaster ride, the high’s and low’s of life. There is an uncertainty as to what the future will be like, but if truth be told, none of us know what awaits us. It is the NOW that is important.
New and older animals …
The two following videos are of the animals that Brett and Amor have at present. How wonderful to be able to live an authentic life filled with what means so much to them.
