Celebrate every moment

Our time on this earth is sacred, and we should celebrate every moment.

We cook and complain that it's a waste of time, when we should be pouring our love into making that food. 

We work and believe it's a divine curse, when we should be using our skills to bring pleasure and to spread the energy of the Mother. 

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Honest-to-goodness South African home-made Apricot Jam! Made by my dear friend Elizabeth  

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Camera Kodak EasyShare C195

 

Vintages - A niche to dream in

"Plain shelves filled with good editions in good bindings are more truly decorative than ornate bookcases lined with tawdry books."
- Edith Wharton, 1902

Adults love inviting nooks just as children do; such spaces seem protective, made for the imagination. A place apart, where you can gather notes, thoughts and plans. It's simply the idea of a silence in one's self that allows one to think or to feel. Creating a corner where that silence can happen - even in the busiest of households - calls for beauty like the shelf above.

Setting up a reading nook or dreaming niche for yourself is as exciting as building a new house! Lovingly storing your favourite books and stationery in one place where you can relax with a cup of coffee, snuggling under a warm throw, is one of life's blissful pleasures.

Reading is one of the great pleasures of life and an important part of nurturing our soul, gaining knowledge and finding pleasure in fiction. As such, we must make special time for ourselves to pursue our pleasures and make it high on our list of priorities.

Whether you are lucky enough to have a library filled with books and comfortable couches or choose to use a bay window area, filled with light, or a special corner in your bedroom, your reading nook will be YOUR private hide-out where no-one is allowed in except by invitation.

Your first consideration should be a comfortable chair or chaise lounge embellished with all the luxuries like cushions and throws. A coffee or side table will come in handy for a reading lamp, tea pot, some fresh flowers, reading glasses and some extra books.

Incorporating some shelves or a bookshelf for storage of your books and favourite collections is next on the list. Be creative and innovative with your bookshelf - fill blank spaces on the shelves with candles (in case the electricity goes off!) and some of your favourite photo frames. Fill a vintage jug with some pens and pencils for making notes and have a dictionary at hand for reference.

Some extras like a footstool and magazine rack always come in handy and a soft rug underfoot adds a luxurious touch. Also give some attention to the wall colour - find a soothing theme and hang some of your favourite paintings and artwork as a finishing touch.

A corner in the living room used as a reading nook.

A bookshelf and a comfortable chair on one side of the dining room denotes this as someone's dream corner.

Storage for some favourite books

A perfect reading nook

- image from decor8

So settle in with a creamy cup of coffee, your favourite book or your daily journal and enjoy the simple pleasures of life - don't get to the end of your life and find that you have just lived the length of it. You want to have lived the width of it as well.

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Green Tip #4 - Entrance feature

 (Image scsnned from a magazine)

Garden tools displayed at the back door make a nice arrangement as well as being on hand and quickly accessible.

There is nothing worse for me than, when I'm wandering through the garden and I see a branch or two that just needs a quick pruning, to have to go all the way to the garden shed, find the key, unlock the door, and fetch the pruning shears.

Why not just keep it all close and handy and at the same time make a beautiful feature at the back door? An old vintage coat rack with pegs makes an ideal place to keep you most used tools within easy reach, - even a piece of wood with nails hammered in will do the job.

Enjoy your ease and comfort and add a pretty feature to your entrance at the same time! 

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Detox and renew

Detox and renew with these simple ingredients we all have at home

In the bad old days, saying that you've been detoxing would mean that you were having water, a few grapes and a headache on the side. But times have changed. Follow this simple regime and show the world the new you in just one week.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

Declare one day every week detox day. Boost your mind, body and soul by eating only veggies and fruit and drinking boiled water. 

If this sounds too austere, try this deluxe version:

8am: Kickstart your day with a fruit smoothie

11am: Snack on rye bread with avo and lemon juice

1pm: Fill up with lightly steamed courgettes, baby cabbage, broccoli and a bowl of cooked wild brown rice

3pm: Have a cup of ginger and honey tea

6pm: Reward yourself with a glass of organic wine

7pm: Dine on delicious greens with slivers of smoked salmon, raw nuts and a generous helping of fat-free cottage cheese

AVOCADO FACE MASK

This mask promotes a firmer, more youthful skin tone. It softens and smoothes the skin while enhancing poor circulation. 

Use once or twice a week. Increase the quantities and find a quiet, relaxing place and apply to entire body or parts of it. All the ingredients will wash out of your towel.

This recipe is enough for one application and can be stored in the fridge for 2 days.

You'll need: 1 peeled and mashed avocado, 10 ml olive oil, 1 tsp honey, blended together.

Sip on a green tea and apple ice cooler as you sit back and relax.

SALT BODY SCRUB

The scrub eliminates impurities and dead skin cells. It combats poor circulation and enhances cellular renewal. Immediately after the treatment you'll experience a feeling of well-being and alertness. It helps the body detox while enhancing the absorption of any products you use afterwards. 

Use once or twice a week on dry or damp skin. Rinse with warm water. It's a great exfoliating treatment before applying self-tanning product, but don't use over a freshly shaved or waxed area.

This recipe is enough for 2 applications and will expire in 4 weeks.

You'll need: 100 ml sea salt, 70 ml olive oil, 10 ml dried mint, blended well. 

Pour yourself a melon and fresh ginger juice with lime zest.

SEAWEED BODY MASK

This luxurious mask deep-cleanses the skin while nourishing and conditioning it, giving it a healthy glow. It combats poor circulation and enhances cellular renewal while restoring skin tone and promoting smooth, supple skin.

It has a rich moisturising effect on the skin, while promoting a feeling of well-being and balance.

Use once or twice a week. Apply to the entire body or just the parts you feel need a bit of pampering.

This recipe is enough for 1 application, and will keep for 4 days in the fridge.

You'll need:

1 cup finely sliced seaweed,

5 ml olive oil,

5 ml finely grated ginger,

mixed into a paste.

Harvest your seaweed from the ocean or find some at a health store or seafood market. You can also mix powdered kelp with salt/sea water.

Treat yourself to some detox iced lollies while the scrub works its magic.

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Green tip #3 - Coarse Salt

Add coarse salt in water before bathing . It will relax you and remove all toxins.

Bath Salts have many benefits:

Salts, when added to bath water, change the chemical balance of the water. This change makes it so that less water is absorbed into the skin, reducing the "pruning" effect that prolonged exposure to fresh water can have on your skin.

High concentrations of salts increase the specific gravity of the water and increase buoyancy which makes the body feel lighter in the bath. Flotation therapy has extremely high concentrations of salts in the water.

A Coarse Salt Bath can not only soften dirt and supply salt and minerals in your body, but also lose weight. The reason of this weight loss way is that coarse salt has the effect of sweating, and can speed up the metabolism of the skin, remove the waste in your body, so Coarse Salt Bath can not only help lose your weight, but also can make your skin tender and tight.

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Vintages - Chintzware

HEART-CATCHING CHINTZWARE - For avid collectors of Chintz-ware, the flowered pottery with old-fashioned airs, the joy is in the hunt, tracking down wayward pieces that have all the innocent charm of a wild flower meadow.

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Leonard Grimwade's Royal Winton Chintzware is considered the finest and he sought patterns everywhere. He even stopped ladies in the street so he could copy the designs from their pinafores.

One of my Royal Winton Chintzware Biscuit trays - Pattern "Julia"

"Julia", "Florence", "Sweet Nancy", "Summertime", "Sunshine", "Maytime" - the names given Chintz-ware patterns are as blithe and fresh as their clustering blossoms. Yet, often collectors must go by hunch to find out the history of a piece they discover, for the marks on the bottom, if there are any, don't always reveal its origin. Take the patterns of Royal Winton, for example, perhaps the most avidly sought by collectors today.

Royal Winton's "Cranstone" pattern, with roses echoing roses. A brass wire net over the top of the vase catches the stems and arrays he blossoms. Some Chintz-ware flower vases have perforated lids instead. The amount of precise work involved in covering entire pieces with transfer patterns is probably one of the reasons that efforts to revive old patterns have usually failed.

The widespread use of these designs, and the absence of accurate records, give that extra edge of mystery to today's pursuit of Chintzware. Many pieces have 'Royal Winton' on the back stamp, along with the name of the pattern and the country it was exported to, but some older ones were numbered, not named. If there is no stamp, it may or may not be Royal Winton - you can't tell.

If it says "England", not "Made in England" on the back, it was made before 1920.

Another collectors' favourite - a Royal Winton stacking teapot in forget-me-not-scattered "Julia". An ode to efficiency, the teapot, sugar bowl, creamer and lid all fit together as one.

A prized breakfast or bedside set in Royal Winton's "Welbeck" pattern. To aid hurrying housemaids, the pudgy teapot, teacup, sugar bowl, creamer and toast rack all fit, snug and secure, into indentations in the octagonal tray.
Pics from a 1970's 'Victoria' magazine

For all the nostalgic charm that makes Chintzware at home with Victoriana, the most collectible period is form the late 1920's, characterised by the daintiness of the floral patterns, to the 1960's. In the 1940's, the colours became increasingly vibrant and became scarce during the war, but afterwards it was revived, probably because it was so bright and cheerful.

Not only are the designs heart-catching, but Chintzware's pleasingly idiosyncratic shapes and uses also ensnare collectors.

If you close your eyes, you can almost smell the flowers!

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The bliss of Lavender

Said to bring protection to the household if planted at the front gate, Lavender has long been a favourite in the garden, in herb lore, and in the medicine chest. Its Latin origin “lavare” to wash, bears testimony not only to it’s refreshing smell but also to antiseptic qualities.

Much fuss is made in some books about ensuring that only the flower of English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is used as a healing herb but in this (as in many things), I follow Yvette van Wyk, one of our best-know South African gurus on herbs. Yvette suggests that all major species, including the French (Lavandula dentata) are fine, and that all aerial parts are usable.

Image from Pinterest

Lavender is perhaps best known as a headache cure. (Always remember of course that the cause of a headache should be investigated especially if headaches persist. Many headaches are simply the result of mild dehydration, and can thus be best dealt with by drinking a tall glass of clean water. Other common causes of headaches are constipation, neck tension, allergens, and bad lighting.)

Lavender is particularly effective as a relief from tension headaches. Make a strong cup of lavender tea (officially called an infusion. Sip the tea, and inhale. Lavender is also fantastic for insomnia. Drink a cup of tea just before bedtime, or sleep with a sprig between your pillow and pillowcase. Also good for calming the nerves, lifting the spirits, and curing sore throats (gargle with a warm infusion) and bad breath (due not only to its sweet smell but also its antiseptic qualities).

As an antiseptic, I find the essential oil the most convenient and never travel without it. (It is imperative to use organic essential oils, as there are no pesticide or fungicide residues. The distillation process is also done slowly, with as little heat and pressure as possible. This ensures the therapeutic value of the oil.) It is mild enough to be used straight on the skin if necessary and is great for insect bites and small injuries. Ideally it should be combined with warm water to clean out grazes, small cuts, and the like, and can also be used like this as a gargle (add about 5 drops to a glass of warm water). Apply a drop to each temple for headache relief.

Image from Pinterest

Lavender oil is one of the best treatments for minor burns. (Apply only after the burn has cooled.) Add a few drops of essential oil to the bath to relieve tension, and to take the sting out of sunburn. Lavender is one of the essential oils that is mild enough to be safe for children. From 'Biophile Magazine' http://biophile.co.za/health/herbs-for-everyday-ailments

LAVENDER LINEN WATER
Mix 100 drops (5 ml) of lavender essential oil and 5 drops of peppermint essential oil with ¼ cup vodka. (Use the good stuff. You can buy 50 ml "nip" bottle of high test at the liquor store. It will be enough.) Stir into 3 cups of distilled, spring or well water. It will turn cloudy, but it won't stain cloth. Store in a glass container and shake before using. Add a quarter cup to rinse water with your bed linens for a comforting scent that will soothe you to sleep. Recipe from 'Homestead.com' 

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Vintages - A brush with Silver

 Cutlery for daily use

I'm an avid collector of antique glass and silver accessories and am always on the lookout for anything with a silver handle, tableware, sewing tools, buttonhooks, powder jars, salts, trays, mirrors and brushes, even ink wells and handbags. I have a special weakness for silver cutlery with bone handles, which I use for everyday use. They do require slightly more care than stainless steel which can just be thrown into the kitchen sink, but the little effort is worth the pleasure.

Cutlery close-up

Vintage and antique accessories add a special touch to any room, no matter what your décor. Glass and silver on crisp white linen looks great on a table for a special dinner party or celebration, together with flowers in any vintage or antique vase.

A sketch of Hydrangeas on my dinner table arranged in my vintage Hollands pewter pitcher from the mid-1950's.

Out of my collection - A Fish knife on Cut glass knife rest - Sheffield 1899

Amid the cruets and crystal on a formal table, every proper Victorian hostess would have set out - to the right of each place - a gleaming knife rest: an artful little bar that handily propped up knives to keep the tablecloth spotless. Rendered in such rich materials as cut glass, silver and bone, rests came in a wonderful array of elegant and whimsical shapes. Whether newly minted or antique (now the province of collectors round the world), these charming accessories can still ad a note of festivity to any well-appointed table.

Some of my silver collection displayed on Cut glass knife rests. The knife on the left is a Silver Wedding cake knife - Sheffield 1921, all in daily use.

Dressers or vanity tables are another great place to use and display your silver and glass collection. Today's vanity tables, though less elaborate than those of a century ago, can be just as appealing - especially when enhanced by cosmetic brushes with antique silver handles that not only recall a luxurious era, but also impart a soft glow to the complexion.

At the turn of the century, a vanity table always included an assortment of jars, or cabochons for holding creams and salves, as well as hair, make-up and clothes brushes.

A fan-shaped brush is especially good for applying blush and highlighting cheek-bones. When you hold any of these brushes in your hand, you experience a sense of continuity and permanence - a link to the past.

My guestroom Vanity

Hallmarked Silver and Blue enamel brush set

Silver Hallmarked hand mirror - next to it is an antique Silver chain mail mesh purse (unlined) dating from the Edwardian era c1908. Specially for those evenings when you don't have pockets and don't want to carry a purse! It's just big enough for an ID and a lipstick and a couple of R100 notes.

Close-up of chain mail mesh purse

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Spring and Peach blossom bath oil

It's almost the end of August and spring is in the air! It's been a couple of weeks now that my almost 20-year old peach tree has been threatening to blossom and this week it happened! I was afraid we might get a cold spell (not that it can't still happen!) and that her buds would be killed. 

Did you know that peach blossoms are edible? The flavour isn’t very strong; the petals are sweet, and taste like nectar. The flavour has been likened to almonds.

 

Peach blossoms are used for adding colour and flavour to dishes. Scatter pink peach blossoms onto a salad or soup or use as a garnish for a dessert. Peach blossoms can also add colour to drinks or punches. Pluck the petals from the base of the flower because the rest of the flower can be rather tough.

Peach Blossom bath oil

This time of the year is when I make my own Peach Blossom Bath Oil. Using an essential base oil like Almond oil, I pour it into a clean Nescafé instant coffee bottle (because it has a wide mouth), add a couple of handfuls of peach blossom petals, screw the lid on tightly and leave it for about a week. I then pour it carefully into a pretty bottle (I have a great collection of those!), careful not to disturb the peach blossoms as they tend to break up and make the oil look murky. Once in the new bottle, just for good measure and for prettiness, I add a couple of fresh petals and voila! your own peach blossom bath oil!

Some interesting facts on peach trees :

- The blossoms of the Peach tree are pale to dark pink in color and have five petals.

- The Peach blossom appears before the Peach leaves.

- The delicate pink Peach blossoms may be large and showy, but sometimes are quite small.

- Peach trees (Prunus persica) grow 15-25 feet high. Their slender leaves have toothed edges.

- Peach trees start to bear fruit at 3 to 4 years old, reaching a peak at about 12 years.

- Peach trees are native to China and have been cultivated there for over 2500 years.

- Peach blossoms are in the same genus as plums, cherries, apricots and almonds.

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Marigolds and tea

Many of us have Marigolds in our gardens. From the small, miniature variety to the large Tagetas erecta, they are well-known for their habit of spreading all over the garden as their prolific seeds are blown by the wind, spread by birds and inadvertently by the gardener herself as they are cleared out once they die off as winter approaches. I myself am a great Marigold-lover as they are so useful to fill empty spots in the garden, growing in just about any type of soil. But did you know that Marigolds or, the official name Tagetes, makes a great cup of tea?

By drinking marigold (calendula officinalis) tea you can treat gastric ulcer and infections of mouth and throat and improve digestion by stimulation of bile production and also helps to cure menstrual cramps, liver disease and constipation. Marigold has also anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic properties. Marigold is mainly used externally to treat bruises, wounds, eczema, skin disorders, haemorrhoids and burns.
Resource

I just made myself a pot this morning, so here's the recipe : 

Marigold Tea Recipe:
To prepare Marigold Tea, boil 1 liter of water.
Then, put 1 or 2 teaspoons of the plant and allow it to infuse for 10 minutes.

Drinking Calendula tea 2 or 3 times a day works as a body cleanser. It acts as a detox, protects your liver, gall bladder and other internal organs from long-term failure or damage. It is also noted for reducing sore throat and fever associated with common cold and other infections. Also, it aids the body in absorbing food, particularly fatty food items. Calendula tea, if consumed after you eat, can prevent symptoms of heartburn as well.

Against bile disorders, drink at moderate temperature 2 to 3 cups a day, and it can also used in dressings, bandages and compresses. The specific species Tagetes erecta has been used for 100′s of years for traditional and herbal medicine. In Modern times, this plant is used for the yellow die you can create from it.

Some of the ailments Tagetes erecta helps with are apparently kidney issues, muscular pain, ulcers and wounds but can also help with earache. For external purposes the leaves are used on boils and carbuncles.

The most important part of the plant is what it does for your eyes. Lutein is the main ingredient of the plant and that is very good for your eyes. The lutein acts as an antioxidant and protects the eyes against cell damage. Lutein filters some of the sun’s damaging rays. Lutein can be found in your eye’s macular region but you only get lutein from the food you consume.
Lutein info from Wikipedia 

Evolution Magazine proclaims the health benefits of Marigolds as such :

Rich in Vitamins and Minerals
The major advantage of consuming Calendula tea is basically the nutritional elements present in it. Marigold contains lots of beta carotene, a nutrient present in carrots. Beta-carotene can boost the body’s defense mechanism, cut down the risks of some forms of cancer, and helps prevent rheumatoid arthritis as well as other bone-joint inflammations. In short, you’ll get almost the equivalent beta-carotene from drinking this tea that you can from consuming carrots, in addition to a rich dosage of vitamin-A to boot. Calendula tea also consists of other sugars and oils that, along with beta-carotene, can help improve your immune system greatly.

Prevents gastrointestinal problems
Calendula tea is usually beneficial to those struggling with gastrointestinal problems. Calendula can shield the linings of the intestines and stomach by suppressing the prostaglandin-E1 (PGE). Also, it can help limit the negative impacts related to gastritis, stomach cancer and peptic ulcer.

Promotes healthy skin
As mentioned above, Calendula contains carotenoids, which serve as antioxidants that enhance healthier skin. This tea could be applied externally by using a piece of cloth to alleviate several skin problems like bug bites, rashes, scrapes and minor cuts. This tea can be utilized to give your skin a healthier look and many people state that it can help reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles.

Women’s health
Another fantastic benefit to consuming Calendula tea is the fact that it controls menstrual periods in females. During these periods, drinking Calendula tea can relieve pains related to abdominal cramps also it can lessen the incidence of menopausal flashes, headaches, and nausea or vomiting. For people who’re struggling with menstrual problems, Calendula tea can help alleviate and reduce the pain and other uncomfortable symptoms.

They say the Marigold is a good rain doctor also! If the flowers are closed in the early morning, it will rain that day. When picking the flowers, you should only pick in the bright sunshine and in the middle of the day.

(Disclaimer: It should not be used if there is hypersensitivity or allergy to Calendula. It should not be taken during pregnancy and breastfeeding because its effects are unknown. It is not to be used in open skin and eye irritations. Interactions with other drugs have not been described, although due to the presence of mucilage, there could be a potential risk of delay or decreasing the oral absorption of other active principles.)

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Monday - what a day!

I have quite an impressive "to do" list right now and was able to mark a few off today; do the filing, buy some compost, paint a little table white, sort out my walk-in dressing room, clean and pack all the kitchen utensils and taking pics for this post. What a day and a great start to this week, it feels like Wednesday already and it's only Monday!

Pic for filing

Pic for compost

Pic for little white table

Pics wic

Pic of kitchen utensils holder

August is when the first sign of spring arrives in the garden. Fresh shoots start emerging and your garden starts readying itself in anticipation of the coming months. My Monkey-tail cactus is already sporting her first flower, very early in the season.

The weather is changing from the cool of late winter to warmer days and nights. It's been a short winter this year and not as cold as it usually is here. I have the feeling it will be a long hot summer.

A little extra help and encouragement such as a layer of mulch and fertiliser will not go amiss and is a perfect way to prepare your garden for the burst of growth and activity that will erupt throughout the spring months. But there is still a wrist of frost, especially here where I live, so I won't be cutting all the dead stuff until I'm quite sure that it has really warmed up.

August is a great time to plant spring and summer annuals :

Pansies
Petunias
Lobelias
Dianthus (sweet William)
Begonias
Gazanias
Alyssum
Calibrachoa (million bells)

Indigenous plants are always in fashion because they save water, grow well in our environment, are fast growing and colorful. These are just a few that you can get from your local garden centre:

Vygies
Osteospermums
Nemesias
Diascias
Gazanias

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Cucumber salad

With warmer days looming just around the corner here in South Africa, it's time to put all those lovely cucumers you've planted to use! The benefits of cucumbers are legendary (you can read more here in a previous post) and they are so easy to prepare. So here's a lovely quick and easy cucumber salad to spice up your life.

1 cucumber
10 black olives
2tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 spring onions
½ lemon
½ fresh red chilli
5 or 6 sprigs of fresh mint

Run a fork down the length of the cucumber all around it, then halve and quarter it lengthways and cut the quarters across into 1cm (½in) chunks. Put them into a mixing bowl and set aside.

Drain 10 black olives, squeeze out their stones, and tear them into another bowl. Pour over 2tbsp balsamic vinegar and push down on the olives, so the vinegar starts pulling out their saltiness. Trim and finely slice 3 spring onions, then add to the olives.

Drizzle 4tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and the juice of ½ a lemon into the olive mixture and stir really well.

De-seed and finely slice ½ a red chilli and add to the bowl of cucumber. Pick the leaves from the sprigs of mint, finely slice them and add to the cucumber. Pour over the dressing, toss quickly, drizzle over a little more extra virgin olive oil and take to the table and enjoy!

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Birds and bliss

Nobody else knows your reason for being. You do. Your bliss guides you to it. When you follow your bliss, when you follow your path to joy, your conversation is of joy, your feelings are of joy — you're right on the path of that which you intended when you came forth into this physical body.
--- Abraham-Hicks

Birds... those lovely little creatures that just brighten up any day, no matter how cold. Without any complaints they just go about their business, finding food for the family, basking in the sun on a bare branch, singing soft melodies that gladden the heart.

Having the birds in my garden visiting my various bird feeders makes me feel so special. Makes me feel alive with purpose. Brings a smile to my face and makes me feel grateful to be part of Mother Nature who surrounds us and takes care of all her siblings, me and you included.

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