Merry Happy And All That Jazz!!

  By Angel | December 24, 2012 - 07:00 | , ,
5 Comments

I love Christmas. The decorations, the songs, the family, the holiday, the giving, the sharing, the memories.

Our big Christmas tree in the living room – all tinsel and round baubles with some candy canes inbetween

Christmas has always been a big event in my family, on both my mom’s and dad’s side. A time spent with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. We’d alternate and spend one year with my dad’s family and the following year with my mom’s family.
When I remember my childhood Christmases I think of slip-n-slides, horse riding, swimming in farm dams, motorbike riding, milking cows, hiking in the White Umfolozi gorge and roadtrips. I think of padkos, putting on concerts, waking up too early for the grown ups, Boney-M records, playing board games with my cousins, mountains of gifts under the tree and waiting (not so) patiently for whichever grampa we were visiting to wake up and hand out gifts. I remember having to take a pee next to a 2 lane highway on a trip to the coast. I remember my dad meticulously packing the car for six of us, and the boot on the van popping open, spilling our luggage across an intersection halfway to our destination. I remember our cars breaking down and I remember my daddy darling driving us halfway because he was working extra shifts, and being driven the rest of the way by our grandad with our dad then joining us in time for presents. I remember special Christmas parties with my Ouma and just her grandchildren, with her taking us to the snake park and the zoo and the ballet and pantomimes. And traditional Christmas turkey dinner with all the trimmings. And paper crowns and crackers. And nuts still in their shells.
And how strange it was the first time my parents and siblings went on holiday without me!
And creating our own traditions.

This year I even have a small tree in my kitchen!

You know, I spent more than ten years working for a company that didn’t allow its operational staff to take leave during its busiest business season, and I was down in the dumps for at least a month every year because I could never get over the feeling that I was missing out. I musta been a bitch to work with…
But oh how things have changed…
This will be my 7th Christmas holiday in a row, and the 6th Christmas spent with my darling Glugster. We don’t go overboard with Christmas gifts, but we do spend a lot of time with family and friends and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I hope that my knucklehead will one day have good memories of his Christmases.

 

My mommy & daddy darling’s Christmas tree – with some decorations older than I am and handled by several generations of our family!

My all time favourite Christmas song sung by ol’ blue eyes himself… I expect you to sing along y’hear!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Music composed by Hugh Martin, lyrics by Ralph Blane

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now.

Onward And, Um, Sideways?

  By Angel | December 17, 2012 - 08:00 | , ,
4 Comments

I really need to make a plan for the new year for my business… Seeing my results for the full year has kinda brought my mood down. I suppose I should have waited till January so I could at least enjoy my Christmas without worrying about next year. Ah well.

I started the year very confidently. I actually managed to reduce my prices a little at the beginning of 2012, I set up an email newsletter with a special offer on it for subscribers, and I made sure my blog and Facebook page were regularly updated. I had work throughout 2012, and I have five wedding orders and a birthday cake for 2013 already.
BUT!
My competition has more than quadrupled in the last year without the same increase in the number of customers. In fact, because things like sugarpaste and decorations are increasingly easily available in supermarkets, more and more people are doing their own baking.
Businesses who used to order from me for special events are having their staff bake for them (I expressed my opinion on that subject here) and every supermarket now sells pretty cupcakes in nifty packages of 6, for easily half of what I charge- but I can’t buy my ingredients in the kind of bulk these people do!

I also lose at least an order a week because I won’t do any kind of cake or cupcake theme that may infringe on copyright (Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, CBeebies, Nickelodeon, and so on). I know most people have no problem with it, but I’m not  prepared to take that risk.

And sadly, for me, the kind of sugar art I am good at doesn’t come cheap, and few people are prepared to pay for it.

I have continued to experiment with recipes and flavours, and I currently have more than forty five cupcake flavours on my price list (not counting cakes and cookies) with more than ten different kinds of icing, and the choices for secret centres and cupcake fillings are almost endless! And most of my flavours are available in a gluten-free option and I can cater for egg and dairy allergies or dietary restrictions too.
This isn’t enough though.

I really don’t want to have to start working, full time or half time. Whilst it would certainly help to have a steady income, I have been able to spend the last two and a half years putting far more attention on the causes that are important to me, namely ADHD awareness and SA Guide-dogs. Working anywhere but at home means I can’t do that like I have been. And baking is my happy place. Seriously! If I don’t get to bake anything for more than a couple of days I start having withdrawal symptoms!

So I will be spending my holiday working on a plan… Or five.

Fairies In The Garden. Erm…

  By Angel | December 15, 2012 - 21:52 | ,
4 Comments

I have a friend who searches gardens for fairies with her little girl, and whenever she talks about it it reminds me of the times my son has come home with a mantis  or a spider or a frog or a snake…
The frogs were always happily croaking in his hands and he never got bitten by anything. He learned to identify snakes and spiders from a young age so he was pretty good at naming them and knowing what to avoid, and he always put the creatures back where he found them, unharmed.

Today I was trimming the long grass around the baby (6 year old) lemon tree in my garden that is FINALLY growing new branches after being transplanted two years ago, and I found a big caterpillar in the grass (the bigger, darker one)! Then  I found another one in my little lemon tree! I don’t know how long they’d been there but they were big, and they each exactly matched the colour green I’d found them on!
I immediately called for my knucklehead so we could move them and we spent a good 20 minutes examining and photographing them. I wish my photos were better because they were really beautiful.

I think they’re the same kind of caterpillar as their patterns are the same…

The pattern on their back consists of almost sparkly blue rings with yellow dots in them!

Even the pattern on their sides has flecks of blue in it!

And when they get a fright they have these bright red orange feelers that pop out on their heads (in the picture they’re only half out)!

So there you have it. Not fairies as such… But my son and I do love finding things in our garden. We moved them to a tree and a couple of hours later they were gone. I’m hoping they moved on and didn’t get eaten… Sorry wormies…

Does anyone know what kind of caterpillars these are?

On Feminine Hygiene Products…

  By Angel | December 14, 2012 - 13:26 |
7 Comments

This post is a little unusual for me because I LOATHE discussing anything to do with the female reproductive cycle or menstruation or any such thing out loud, and I grew up in a family where no discussion topic is taboo. If I have to mention it I use the tried and trusted “Aunty Flo is here”.
But writing about it I can do.

My biggest bug-bear about what is available on the market is the price! IMHO, things like bread, milk, and feminine products should be subsidised by the government. Its not like women can go without pads or tampons, or make their own using crafty links they find on Pinterest, for crying out loud.
There are other options like the Mia Cup or the MPower*, but they aren’t available in supermarkets and they are the kind of thing I think may be good to try, but never actually get around to buying…

As for tampons…? There’s no way a woman would have designed any such thing. Nuff said.

What drives me BATshit when it comes to shopping for sanitary pads (which I loathe, but need) is that it is imPOSSible to find ANYthing that doesn’t have wings or a scent! I don’t want my crotch to smell like ANYthing, let alone a bunch of forking flowers!!
And wings!!??! What the fork is it with the wings!??!
And I don’t know who’s body these things are supposed to be shaped like because it sure as shit isn’t my body! And don’t panic- I am not going to go into detail about just how NOT like my body these things are shaped.

Please people.
Please.
Don’t fill movie screens with adverts for this stuff, its not like I’m going to pop out and pick some up while I’m on a date.
Put it in black and white, non-descript boxes, with a clear, short name on it so that should my husband have to get some for me, he doesn’t have to cringe when he puts it on the till**.

*now there’s a name that sticks in my craw
**I will be very surprised if any men are buying the lumo-coloured Camel cigarette boxes that are out now

You Can Support The Sandton SPCA!

  By Angel | December 13, 2012 - 14:53 |
Comments Off

Fine art photographer Emma O’Brien has recently dedicated her time and talent to shooting the 2013 Sandton SPCA calendar.

Containing 14 gorgeous cats and dogs, this is the second consecutive year that Emma has shot the calendar, with the goal of raising funds for the Sandton SPCA. Last year, the 2012 calendar raised over R100 000, and the 2013 calendar aims to top that in an effort to deal with the steadily increasing influx of orphaned and abandoned animals.

As a portrait photographer, Emma is well versed in the art of “shooting” animals. “The trick to getting good animal photos is patience, timing and making funny noises to get their attention.  Sometimes it pays to just wait for the animals to settle down and get used to me before attempting to take photos. At the end of the day, the key is speed, and I have to be fast to ensure that I capture the interactions,” says O’Brien.

The Sandton SPCA calendars are for sale at R100 each from the Sandton SPCA, or telephonically on 011 444 7730. With printing costs sponsored by Mercuria and Full Stop Café, photography by Emma O’Brien and layout by Cre8tive Worx, 100 % of the proceeds from the calendar are donated to the Sandton SPCA.

For more information, visit Emma’s website, find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

*this is a “donated” post (for lack of a better word), and the photos were used with permission