To Blog or Not to Blog

I enjoy the start of a new year and welcome it as a time to take stock, declutter and start afresh. This year I am taking stock of this blog which, according to the statistics, seems to have far more readers than I imagine. It has certainly served its initial purpose from seven years ago when I wanted a space to flex my writing muscles, blog about positive SA stories and other issues that interested me. 

After I completed my creative writing MA, I did a small revamp of the header and changed the content to reflect more of my current interests in South African history and its legacies. Since becoming immersed in further studies, I don't seem to have the time to keep the blog updated as regularly as I would like. This is my first post since October - eish!  That was just before a trip to the USA and my first Thanksgiving with all the trimmings.

Our Canadian hosts had welcomed us as well as foreign students, their Canadian neighbours and a Lebanese/Ghanaian/Japanese friend. So out of a party of 15 or 16, there were only two Americans, but Venezuelans, an Indian, a Romanian, and someone from the Dominican Republic ... it was my favourite kind of gathering, sitting around the table, sharing food and stories from all over the world, with people of all ages and cultures.

The turkey had been soaked in brine for four days in preparation, our host had planned it down to the last detail but happily extended her table to fit in more. The Venezuelans brought starters, and we had an Indian and Romanian dessert.

Our host with her magnificent bird

A cornucopia of goodness - company, food and conversation

                   

The festivities were preceded by a walk in the cold, bright, fresh air.

So, I started out this blog wondering if I should suspend my irregular writing habits but I seem to have taken stock (which is what writing helps me do) and perhaps this isn't the last you will hear from me. Wishing you love, peace and understanding for the year ahead.

The place to improve the world is first in one's own head and heart and hands. 

- Robert M. Pirsig

Lavender, Travel Stamps and a Potjie: Part 1

Lavender Biscuits

The smell of biscuits and freshly-cut lavender is floating all around. These are smells I associate with holidays. I have just been baking batches of lavender biscuits and have also preparing little bags of lavender to give to friends as "happy holiday" presents.  It's a little tradition I started the first year we moved into our house.

Lavender bushes have always lined the pathway leading up to our front door. They have survived drought and at one time were almost the only plants left in our garden because of water restrictions. I love that it looks so delicate and pretty yet can be so hardy and withstand such adverse conditions. I love how the scent fills the air when we trim the bushes or after the rains. I love walking in through the gate with my arms outstretched so that I brush up against it and release the aroma as I walk in. Ever since I did the aromatherapy course it has become my signature - the colour, the oil and the smell. You'll usually find bunches of it in jugs and vases all over the house.

Lavender is pretty much the aspirin of aromatherapy - used for pain and comfort. It is calming, soothing and balancing.  It has been used for thousands of years for healing and cleaning (in fact, "lavare" means to wash in Latin). Charles VI of France apparently used to sit on pillows stuffed with lavender, bunches of lavender were used to scrub floors and the oil was used to clean furniture (remember lavender floor polish?).

St Hildegarde of Bingen recommended lavender for "maintaining a pure character" and in North Africa, women planted lavender to guard against ill-treatment by their husbands. My favourite anecdote, though is about Rene Gattefosse, a famous French scholar and pharmacist. After a suffering a burn in his lab, he plunged his hand into a bottle of neat lavender, the nearest liquid he could find. He was amazed at how quickly his hand healed and this led him to greater research about essential oils  and their properties. He experimented with different oils on soldiers during WWI and became known as the father of modern aromatherapy.

On my bucket list is a visit to the lavender fields of Provence in late summer - I have a mental image of row upon row of lavender and can imagine the scent that must fill the air on  a hot summer's day! See here for more pics. So now you have some idea of what the lavender on my blog-header is all about. I'll explain the potjiekos and travel in subsequent blogs. 

Here is the recipe for my lavender biscuits:

100g castor sugar
200g butter
300g flour
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of lavender flowers

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the flowers. Sift the flour and salt and mix to make a dough.
Refrigerate the dough for one and a half hours then roll out and cut with cookie cutters.
Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with castor sugar.
Bake at 150-160 deg C for 15-20 minutes.

Happy Holidays!