The Festive Table

The Festive Table.

CHRISTMAS 2007 IN GAUTENG

After a blistering hot Xmas Eve, everyone was quite relieved to wake up to an overcast Christmas day and cooler weather in general. The same overcast day in Kloof, Durban would not necessarily have meant cooler weather. The high humidity did not make an overcast day cooler but even muggier and one’s skin always had a moist tinge to it. We just love the warm Dry weather here in the Big Smoke.

Having spent our very first lazy Christmas morning in our new home, we took the road to Northcliff (20 minutes away) to spend Christmas day with our god children Duane, Kyle and their parents Belinda and Carel. Belinda’s parents, her brother, Carel’s brother and uncle Peter also shared Christmas 2007 lunch with us. Belinda and Carel put forward a sumptuous spread and as usual everyone exceeded their limits. Me and Belinda were the only ones enjoying red wine and shared a bottle.

As you can see the ‘official’ photographer was also on duty to ensure that Christmas Day 2007 is captured for future generations to ponder over.

It is nice to have Conroy around for a change. We are still sorting out little house issues here and there. The pool (more a splash bath) has also been inaugurated with quite a few dips by its new owners. A water polo ball has been acquired and we love frolicking in the water with it. Conroy has also setup the gym room for us with weights, exercise floor mats and pilates balls and is busy working out a pilates program which we plan to do alternatively to going to gym for cardio.

We transferred our membership from Kloof to Broadacres Virgin Active and have been to gym quite a few times now. Some of you might recall how I use to complain about the shocking condition of the Kloof Virgin Active’s equipment. Literally ‘shocking’ … no working air conditioning, the treadmills, etc use to shock you severely. It had the oldest equipment which was all rusted. I use to hate to go the gym in Kloof. It is such a welcome change to visit Broadacres Virgin Active with state of the art equipment and such friendly and helpful personnel. It has its own health restaurant, the ladies are impeccable and clean. There are even totally free hot spot internet stations as well as a speed box for Discovery medical claims. AND the air conditioning WORKS!!!

So you see … its not all doom and gloom relocating to Gauteng … there are some advantages!

Here’s wishing you all a joyful, healthy and successful 2008!!!

- Singing off in a festive spirit

The 2007 Xmas Bunch

The 2007 Xmas Bunch.

Belinda & her Mom

Belinda & her Mom.

Mr/Mrs Chameleon

Mr/Mrs Chameleon.

Duane & Kyle

Duane & Kyle.

Carel, Duane, Belinda & Kyle

Carel, Duane, Belinda & Kyle.

PICKFORDS SCRAPPED

PICKFORDS.

You have read the scoop, you've seen the photos ... here it is all scrapped.

I did this layout with quite a bit of resentment whelming up inside of me ... just the thought of Pickfords makes our blood literally boil. In any case, this layout together with the journaling which is in a pocket behind the two landscape photos at the top right of the layout, will be a good warning for future generations to come.

Regrets aside ... our house has now at last become our home ... Jan (an interior decorator) came around yesterday and after a solid six hours all the paintings, wall plates, frames scrapping layouts, etc. was put on the walls. Now it really feels like our home. I still cannot believe how terribly neat he went about the job, no fuss, no mess and the most important of all ... no dust. Thank you so much Jan and Justus his assistant. Great Job Done!!!!

Jan is coming around just after Xmas again to put up all the additional bathroom fittings (3 bathrooms' stuff) as well as our new washing line which I purchased at Builders Warehouse just around the corner of us. I have never been in such a huge Builders Warehouse before - one can literally find anything in this massive store and there are assistants stationed at about every isle to help out customers. I must say generally so far all the shop assistants up here are very friendly and helpful ... quite a welcome surprise after experiencing very unfriendly service in most of KZN's shops.

If I don't see or speak to you all before Xmas ... here's wishing you all a happy and relaxing Xmas with your family and friends.

- Picking at Pickfords Signing Off

FRUIT-SQUARES: THE RAW MIX

FRUIT-SQUARES.

SPRINGBOK MOM'S FRUIT SQUARES

SQUARES2.

Thank you so much Sheila for this absolutely delicious/divine FRUIT SQUARES recipe. This is definitely going to become a big favourite of the Fourie household.

Don't waste time, with Xmas round the corner this is a must. It is so quick and easy ... a 'one bowl' recipe. Hardly any washing up to do.

I used Sugarbird's mixed fruit in a box (has got cherries in it as well). The one box equals two cups of fruit.

As Sheila says:
"These are divine, I take no responsibility if you eat them all at once!!!!! They are great for Xmas sprinkle with some icing sugar when cool.
ENJOY"

Here's the recipe:

2 cups selfraising flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup oats
1 cup coconut
2 cups mixed fruit (dates,cherries work too)
2 eggs
1 tsp.almond ess.
250 grms melted margarine (BUTTER)

Mix all ingredients together and press into greased baking dish.
Bake at 180 c until golden brown (25-35 mins.)
Cut while still warm.

- Tuty Fruity Signing Off

GUESS HOW MANY DOORS & WIN .... !!!

DOOR.

As all you Doing Lifers know by now ... we have relocated to Fourways, Gauteng, South Africa. Our new home's doors and window frames are all made of solid wood. Especially the doors have caused us numerous headaches. Some doors' hinges were not properly bolted into their wooden frames and others do not open and close properly. Wood has got a life of its own and with the abnormal rainy weather we are currently experiencing, the wood swells and during sunny weather it contracts again. A carpenter has been on site quite a few times attempting to sort out all the doors. Some have been taken off their hinges and planed and others have just been adjusted at the hinges. Those which have been planed now requires some varnishing touch-up by a painter.

QUESTION:
Guess how many internal and external doors our new home have. Your guess should include the patio doors and garage door.

If your guess is spot on you stand a chance to win a scrapbooking hamper to the value of R500. So put your procrastination aside and POST A COMMENT to this entry containing your guess AS WELL AS YOUR NAME AND SURNAME so that we know whose receiving the prize. Ensure that your guess is not the same as the previous competitors'.

The WINNER will be announced during Doing Life's Scrap Day at Makaranga Garden Lodge on 19 JANUARY 2008.

PS: NOTHING VENTURED ... NOTHING GAINED ....

TELKOM

.

TELKOM … ARE THEY PASSING THE BUCK?

Since our move-in on 26 November 2007, we had THREE visits from Telkom officials … and no telephone as yet. The first visit took place round about 28 November when an official of Telkom arrived and we were so excited about having a telephone so soon … but the excitement was short lived when the Telkom official explained that he was only doing a preliminary investigation.

He asked us to indicate where we would like to have telephone points in the house … and upon opening op these points he discovered that there were no telephone wiring within these points. We expected that they will pull their wires through the already existing ducting in the roof, but no such luck. Conroy was handed a big roll of Telkom wiring cable and were bluntly informed that Telkom does not get into clients’ roofs anymore and that we should get an electrician to do their wiring for them … now I ask you Doing Lifers … would you not seriously label this as ‘PASSING THE BUCK’.

Being seriously anxious in getting a Telkom line asap … Doing Life’s Online Shoppe needs to continue business as usual … we did not let any grass grow under our feet and got our builder’s, Pappachristos’ electrician to do Telkom’s wiring for them. This was done the next day. So for nearly three weeks now we have 4 open plug points with Telkom i.e. the Fourie’s wiring dangling out of them, awaiting Telkom’s installation.

Round about 4 December 2007 the same Telkom technician arrived along with a sub-contractor i.e. Mike, which was briefed from where to where Telkom has to draw their lines. A few days later Mike and his team arrived to pull through the wires. During the operation our intercom buzzed with Mike on the other side requesting my presence. We walked down to the corner of our street where I was shown the point where they hit a blockage whilst pulling through their wiring. Once again Telkom stood back and ‘PASSED THE BUCK’ to their client. I was firmly informed that Telkom does not dig within secure estates. So once again the ball is in our court. The blockage was pinpointed as being right under a resident’s landscaping which was done right onto the verge of the street. So now we have to get permission from the resident to dig up their landscaping find Telkom’s piping and fix their piping … oh yes, we were also requested to build a little brick enclosure around Telkom’s piping to protect their piping for them … in effect put in a manhole for them. Only once this is done will Telkom be willing to return to site and pull through their wires.

At the moment we are at stalemate asking ourselves the following questions:

* Are we going to dig up someone else’s landscaping who took the risk of landscaping a verge under which general services are running?

* Are we going to fix Telkom’s pipes which have been damaged by someone else?

* Should Telkom not maintain their services themselves?

* Are we going to incur costs to fix Telkom’s property for the benefit of ourselves as well as two other houses being built between ourselves and Telkom’s manhole who will in future benefit from our costs incurred? I don’t think so ….

* Should we not play the waiting game and utilize Telkom’s competitors due to become active in 2008.



In summary, thus far we have started Telkom’s implementation for them at our own discomfort and expense and for which we are going to pay endless months’ of rent to Telkom. Weird isn’t it.

…. Another Chapter to follow ….

- Touching Tomorrow ... Out of Reach ... signing off

RUSKS

.

KINROSS’ NOVICE CHEF
[Buttermilk Rusks]

It’s quite obvious … yours truly has got a little more free time on hands … resulting in the Fourie household enjoying some homespun baking … its only rusks ... at least it is a start. I am enjoying our new Defy Double eye level oven … one of many great assets our new home has to offer. It has been 16 years since I had the joy of a spacious oven. The oven was officially inaugurated with these sumptuous buttermilk rusks. I have been baking these since childhood and it is truly a tried and tested recipe. Here it is … if some of you would like to put it to the test.

Recipe for Buttermilk Rusks

Ingredients:

(1 cup = 200ml)

[A]
10 cups Self Raising Flower
2 cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
[Mix everything together]

[B]
2 Eggs
500ml Buttermilk
[Mix well]

[C]
500g Butter (250g butter + 250g margarine)

Method:

* Rub C into A
* Add B to A&C mixture
* Spoon mixture into three average sized bread baking tins
* Bake one hour at 180 deg Celsius
* Allow to cool and cut rusk shapes as desired
* Dry in oven overnight at 100 deg Celsius

Health Version

* Replace 10 cups of Self-Raising Flower with:
5 cups Self-Raising Flower, 5 Cups Nutty Wheet, 10 teaspoons Baking Powder.
* Add some raisins and/or mixed fruit and/or chopped nuts.
* Follow Method as above.

- Industrious Chef Signing Off

 

 

UNEXPECTED SQUATTERS IN FERNRIDGE ESTATE - Saturday, 8 December 2007 None of the residents of Fernridge Estate expected squatters to appear from nowhere on their doorstep … but unfortunately it is a reality and to make matters worse, it is happening right on ‘top’ of the Fourie residence. Here’s a snapshot of our main bedroom, situated upstairs – still in its preliminary stages. As you can see, the vertical blinds are installed, but the curtain rods are awaiting their curtains. Apart from the curtain rods waiting in anticipation, the door’s glass panel is also desperate for its roman blind to be fitted, hence it being covered with a black rubbish bag setting the ‘squatter camp’ ambience at the Fourie residence. At least this measure saves the very closely situated neighbours from witnessing streakers. Michelle, you probably recognise my ‘Forty Something’ teddy bear had been promoted from the Blue Room security guard to the ‘squattish’ bedroom guard. Slowly but surely matters on the relative long snag/to-do list are being ticked off. The Satellite Dish has been installed after about 4 hours of serious cable routing which had to be negotiated from the upstairs balcony to the downstairs lounge. At least I had some DSTV company from Tuesday this week and the evenings were less lonely with Conroy being away for more than a week. After Burgess Plumbers nearly destroyed the cupboard under the washing up basins in the scullery in which the taps were situated for the dishwasher and the washing machine and being showed away from our property by Conroy, a LG technician arrived promptly on Monday and connected the two machines in a flash and very professionally. However, there were still some scullery snags. The plug behind the dishwasher did not work and we still had to use a lead to run both machines. The one cupboard door under the washing-up basins also were not properly attached to its hinges and just fell out of the cupboard. So we still had a one door cupboard. Fortunately the builder, Papachristos is resident in Fernridge Estate and is building one or two more houses in the estate. Papachristos has a very friendly and soft demeanor, and is most helpful. He sent the carpenter who did all the cupboards in the house to come and fix this door in a jiffy. The electrician and his assistant also arrived and fixed the plug behind the dishwasher – so no need for the lead anymore. At least the scullery has become more presentable and workable. He also sent another carpenter who did all the doors in the house to come and fix numerous doors which were not opening and closing properly. We are awaiting the plumber to come and properly set and silicone the wash basins and bath in our en suite as well as install a hand shower at the bath. Telkom had visited our property three times, but no sight of a telephone yet. Firstly, they refused to get into the roof and summonsed us to get an electrician to properly wire telephone cables from the roof to the various points we wanted telephones at. Then they sent out a sub-contractor to do a pre-investigation for pulling wires from the main Telkom station to the manhole at our property. Then a few days later the same sub-contractor arrived to actually start pulling the wires through to our manhole, but came running knocking on our door to show me the ‘huge problem’ they have encountered whilst pulling the wires through. There was a blockage about half way between our manhole and another manhole they are pulling the cables from. The spot where the blockage was, was pinpointed exactly and it was right underneath a resident’s serious landscaped gardens. Telkom once again refused to dig and fix the blockage. I got hold of Papachristos who kindly spoke to the owners of the landscaped garden and asked them to remove their landscaped plants and sleepers so that digging can assume. So to date we are awaiting the landscaping to be removed so that we can get Telkom to come and fix THEIR problem. So it seems like Telkom telephones are becoming a serious expensive luxury which we will only be fortunate to have in the New Year. Perhaps wireless Vodacom routers or IBurst networking could become a cheaper a more viable option than Telkom. I have managed to find a domestic named Rachel who started yesterday. We still need to find each other, but it looks promising. Another Rose, will be hard to come by … Thanks again for all our friends and family who have phoned to hear how we were settling in and unselfishly offered their assistance whenever we needed help. It is was great to hear your voices and know that help is on hand. On the scrapping front, I have managed to create and complete my first layout in my new studio. Unfortunately I cannot reveal this layout – it will be sold in kit form inclusive of a new exclusive Doing Life template at my Scrapping Day at Makaranga. So remember to look out for the ‘Desireable Landscaping’ Kit on 19 January 2008. I still have to purchase a decorative fluorescent light fitting which the electrician has agreed to install in my new studio. The down lighters does not provide sufficient lighting. - Fernridge Squatter Signing Off

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PICKFORDS

PICKFORDS … Around the Corner Around the World - Thursday, 22 November to Monday, 26 November 2007 I know that quite a few Doing Lifers started to wonder whether the Fouries have survived their relocation to Gauteng … Yes, we are still kicking, but just just. Pickfords’ mini drop-off van arrived just after 9am on Thursday last week at Sandlea, off loading their packing trio (Frans, Maureen and Virginia) along with packaging material assigned to pack our worldly belongings. Things did not start off on a bright note. I wondered into the kitchen after monitoring the off-loading of all the packaging materials and discovered that Maureen had asked Rose a knife to unscrew her heavy duty craft knife. I got hot under the collar as I noticed that Rose has given her one of our cutlery set knives and Maureen has already bent the tip of the knife trying to unscrew a star headed screw. I gave her one of our own star screw drivers to do the job and just could not believe that Pickfords did not supply their workers with a basic tool kit instead of them utilising the clients’ tools. The Dining and Family rooms were first targeted with a vengeance by the trio. The first item packaged was a dining room chair. Yours truly stood around nervously verbalizing several caution warnings … realizing that our sentimental attachments to our belongings are not necessarily honoured by strangers. Thursday dragged along with me supervising with hawk eyes and Rose cleaning emptied furniture before they were wrapped. Our mini step ladder was also summonsed to assist the packers in reaching goods in top shelves of cupboards. Another example of Pickfords not supply their staff with basic equipment. Conroy arrived just before 8pm and I think we were both a bit touched seeing our furniture being boxed and wrapped and reality was suddenly hitting us. We went to Butchers’ Boys in Hillcrest for a sumptuous dinner trying to distance ourselves from what was happening back at home. The Trio arrived at 10am on Friday morning with additional packaging and started to target the blue room (which took two full days to pack) and the bedrooms. Once again the urge to distance ourselves from reality kicked in and we left for a late breakfast at Café Vanille just behind Woollies in Kloof. Unfortunately we were bombarded with a serious noise factor by builders removing a sink roof from an extension to the Café right next to where we were having brunch. With stress already running rampant amongst ourselves we were even more aggravated when no apologies were coming forth from management apart from on our departure we were told: ‘it seems like you really got the bum seats this morning …’. We returned home to some more packing chaos and tried to distance ourselves by hiding in the study, which we have requested to be packed last. The Trio left just before 5pm still having to pack the blue room (which was not even packed 50%), the study, kitchen, garage, servants’ quarters and main bedroom. We were quite worried about how much still had to be packed on the last day, Saturday when the Big Truck arrives. We stayed at the Goss B&B in Kloof Friday night … once again the distancing factor rank supreme … We had another lovely supper at La Pizza Pazza in Kloof accompanied by a bottle of red wine easing stressed muscles. After a very disappointing stay at the Goss House B&B i.e. the bath was never cleaned before our arrival (some hairs and dirt ring still evident) and the bar fridge very unstocked … not a chocolate in sight for the chocoholics … even though the bar fridge list stated chocolates. Conroy even searched every little bakkie which had a lid, in case a choccie may have been hidden. Breakfast was served with seriously old condiments … when we opened the jam bottle (yes, the jam is served in an old bottle as purchased from the shop) it kind of exploded … so old was the jam that it started fermenting. The salt and pepper was served in two little open bakkies … the salt grey with years of dust and rock hard. And one did not dare touch the tomato and other sauces. [Sorry Paula … did not mean to insult you.] The Goss House does have a beautiful serene setting with a relatively full natural stream running through the property and the ducks, geese, swans and huge koi fish mingling in the adjacent pond. It’s a pitty because the setting poses so much potential … if there were just some more personal touches from the owners. We arrived for the very last day on Saturday morning at our Kloof home awaiting the Big Truck’s arrival which was just after 10:30am (a bit late we thought to ourselves). Whilst the trio was still packing the remainder 40% of our home, additional packers were carrying out the already packed goods to be loaded on a trolley and taken to the truck stationed outside Sandlea’s main gate, in Coghill Avenue. Mid day we suddenly noticed numerous key furniture pieces being carried out and put on the tar outside the garage without having been carefully packaged and wrapped … it seemed like they were rushing the job … even furniture with glass and mirrors were not packaged at all and wheeled down to the truck and laid down on wet dirty grass and soil. This is the point where I probably lost it. Especially when our bedroom suite of 16 years, was just left to the elements in Coghill Avenue with rain eminent any moment. We insisted on every furniture piece being packaged properly and off course this pushed their time boundaries. The heavens opened at midday as well, resulting in everything going into slow motion. We again noticed that none of Pickfords’ workers had rain coats and were fetching and carrying goods to the truck a few 100 metres away getting soaking wet … this is not how you treat staff members. As if this was not enough, there was a serious hiccup with the collection of my car by the subcontractors who called to say that their trailer had a breakdown at Mooiriver and it could take 4 to 5 hours to sort out. Fortunately, Conroy was around and he got on the phone and insisted that Pickfords sort this problem out. At first they made the problem our problem … forgetting that ‘the client is always right’ and you look after your client not matter what. A suggestion came up that someone’s uncle’s, brother’s, cousin would come and collect the car and drive it to Pickfords’ depot near Durban Airport. Conroy nearly blew a gasket … and could not believe what he heard … first of all the insurance wont pay out if this ‘far off relative’ crashes the car. In the end Conroy cancelled our lift to the airport and said that we will drive the car ourselves to Pickfords’ depot, but insisted on Pickfords transporting us to the airport from their depot. Whilst frantic packing was still taking place one of the packers asked Conroy whether he would assist them packaging glass shelves from one of our display cabinets. Can you believe the audacity … wasn’t this which we paid Pickfords a load of money for? While Conroy was on the phone revving up his stress levels even more, sorting out my car’s pickup, he sat down on the window sill in our bedroom and broke the fixed glass pane of the bay window. The window cracked all over, but fortunately he was not hurt. So another frantic call was made, this time to PG Glass to have the broken glass fixed before the new owners moved in. In the meantime we taped some black bags and Pickfords bubble wrap over the window pane to keep the still pouring rain at bay. Of course this gave the house a squatter camp ambience. As the very last goods i.e. the patio pot plants, were loaded Conroy took me by the arm and said I must come and walk with him around the house so that we could savour for the last time our beloved Kloof garden mentioning that we will probably not have such a nice garden in the near future. Both of us were quite emotional with shedding a tear or two. Kloof was a village where we to date probably had the nicest stay. I did not realize that Conroy was so attached to our Kloof home and had become quite sentimental … this he definitely inherited from his mum. We handed the house keys to Rose who was now officially the house’s keeper until the new owners, Peter and Janet Dirksen, moved in on Wednesday, 28 November 2007. We dropped Rose off at the bus stop and said our sad goodbyes. Then sped off to Pickford’s depot where we had to drop the car for pickup by a trailor en route to Fourways, Johannesburg. We were dropped at Durban airport at 5:55, just in time to book in for our 6:40pm flight to Johannesburg … which was miraculously on time. We slept at Conroy’s apartment Saturday night. We went for an early breakfast at our recently discovered favourite breakfast spot at Broadacres Spar’s Restaurant after which we went to our new Fernridge Estate home for the official handover of the keys by the builder and the estate agent. After handover we started cleaning the house from top to bottom, washing all the floors and cupboards which were seriously filthy with dust. My knees have never been as sore after washing quite a few square meters of flooring on all fours. My car arrived on its trailer Sunday afternoon and we both sighed in relief. We left the clean empty house just after 9pm to stay at Conroy’s Bryanston apartment. Pickfords’ truck arrived just after 9am on Monday, 26 November and off-loading took place in a lightning fast manner. I started to flap as it was expected from me to unpack everything in one day … that after three plus packers took 3 full days packing everything. Well, what could I do? I had a Pickfords helper assisting me and we started unpacking all the kitchen and dining room crockery. As the helper was unpacking there was later not enough space to put everything because I could not just stack everything into the cupboards. Fortunately we managed to unpack the whole of the kitchen and dining room in one day, with me finishing off just before 9pm that evening. Whilst off-loading, once again Pickfords helped themselves to Conroy’s tools in his tool box without asking - another situation where Pickfords’ should have supplied their staff with basic tools. In the process two of our table glass tops were shattered due to inferior packaging. Pickfords send two more helpers to assist for a few hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. On the whole we felt that we had a very unprofessional Pickfords experience and will definitely not recommend them to potential movers. The house is still in a state of stacked piles of goods, but at least the main bedroom, kitchen, dining room, family room and studio are in a manageable state. At the moment we are awaiting Telkom, the DSTV installation, the plumbers to connect the washing machine and dishwasher, the electrician to sort out problems, the alarm guy to finalise the alarm system, the curtain people to come and hang the curtains. Fortunately the wooden Venetian blinds (in all the windows) were installed on Monday and Tuesday, yes whilst Pickfords were offloading … so you can just imagine the chaos. We also still don’t have a fridge … we had to leave our old fridge of nearly 20 years for Rose as it did not fit in our new home. So we did go shopping for a new fridge, but the fridges that we want and will fit are all out of stock. So we still need to do some more fridge shopping. MacDonalds, Wimpy and numerous restaurants are making a fortune from us at the moment. It was our 23rd wedding anniversary today, 30 November 2007. We spent the day just chilling after 8 long days of packing and unpacking, etc. I will probably continue with some more unpacking and sorting out on Monday. A big thank you to all of you who have sms’d, emailed and phoned us to wish us everything of the best. Your thoughts and interest have helped keeping us going and motivated and made the move seemed more worthwhile. - Mover and Shaker Signing Off