Timing is everything. The smallest millisecond can alter the course of a life.

It’s almost as if the universe has an expected daily target for how long I spend in traffic. And 15 minutes can make a world of difference. Thursday I decided I was going to leave by 7 and I was at my desk in 45 minutes. It takes about 10 minutes from the time I park to walk across the foreshore, dodging the homeless, the other workers and the crazy Cape Town drivers, 2 life risking crosswalks and waiting for 2 different lifts. Cape Town is a colorful city and you never know what you might see. 

But then when I left work at 5 it took an hour and a half to get back home. 20 min vs 80?? It’s insane. And Cape Town is all on a hill. Waiting in traffic can be vertical. Other than the foreshore, which was reclaimed from Table Bay. It’s flat. However the position of the sea, the skyscrapers and the mountain create crazy wind tunnels.

It’s been a busy week.

Sunday I baked a pork loin in low carb sauce. I made zucchini fritters and fried cabbage to go with it. It was a nice combination. 

I also made a Banting lasagna for Monday. It was delicious! I used the Real Meal Revolution recipe.

  
It turned out a bit soupy as I added too much stock, but it was still yummy.

  
There was enough for me to have some for lunch the next day. I’m always happier taking a small portion of something I cook myself.

On Tuesday I rushed home to shower and fancy up as that evening Retha and I attended an Xtraordinary Women event. 

  
We have been a part of this group for years, but neither of us are as involved as we used to be. It was lovely to see all the familiar faces. 

It was great hearing Sonja Kruse speak about her travels.

It was held at the CPUT campus Granger Bay Hotel School. Such a stunning venue.

  
There was a buffet so perfect for Banting. There were baked chicken breasts, beef stroganoff and veggies on a buffet. I just avoided the rice and I was fine.

The following day after work I went to David for Body Reactivation. I have been having some real anger outbursts and feel irritable and even aggressive. It is maybe menopause related, hormonal, or I’m just a irritable young woman who has turned into an even grumpier middle aged woman. Or it’s being Virgo. Who knows. Anyway, we worked a lot on that suppressed anger. I felt like this when I went in.

  
Well, not like a man. Just with my spine all collapsed. Unless the hormones affecting me are testosterone and then maybe that’s Freudian that I picked that pic! Ha!

I came out feeling like this.

  
Straight and light and regenerated. And female. ;D

I got home late so I needed a quickly prepared dinner. I had some chicken which needed to be eaten. So I put the chicken breasts in a casserole dish, piled on a packet of baby spinach, topped that with sliced mushrooms and then poured on a mix of half a tub of marscapone mixed with chicken broth. I baked it for 45 minutes – half the time covered with foil. I sliced a block of mozzarella and topped it for an additional 15 minutes. 

  

I served it with cauliflower mash. It was delish and the chicken is so tender when cooked like this.

 

Uni campus protests have been going on here all over the country.  Every day we hear about sewage poured in halls, art destroyed, people beaten at sports events, the list goes on. Meanwhile, to those trying to get an education it’s a challenge.

Thursday Caitlin and I made the chorizo, spinach and egg dish again. I had Parmesan out and so I grated a bit on the chorizo. Don’t do that. It made it stick badly. Oops.

It was still tasty. The spinach just went a weird texture. 

  
I had a few zucchini which needed to be eaten so I sliced them, tossed in olive oil and put on a baking tray. I loved them.

On Friday we went to the bank and paid off our mortgage. Norm had money sitting in the bank in the UK and the 23:1 exchange rate meant we would be mad not to bring that cash in as the interest rate increase and the SA economy hurtling towards junk status makes me uneasy.

We decided to go out for dinner to celebrate as Caitlin was out with friends and Lily is in George for a wedding this weekend. We went to Pescarne just 5 minutes from us in Hout Bay village. It was brightly lit up, full and looked really vibey.

We got a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, Professor Black from the Warwick estate.

  
We tried to keep carbs and sugar low, so for starters we shared the halloumi at R59,

  
and the Springbok Carpaccio, serving described on the menu as ‘rocket, parmesan, balsamic reduction, olive oil for R59.

  
I was disappointed that the halloumi was breaded and fried as it is lovely simply grilled and it is not Banting if fried in veg oil and breadcrumbs. It was also incredibly salty. But it was tasty, it just could have been better.

The carpaccio was only ok, primarily due to the ‘Parmesan’. I’ve never had commercially prepared ‘parmesan’ like that with carpaccio, it should be slivers of nice fresh REAL Parmesan cheese not dumped preservative laden stuff from a shaker. 

For my main I fancied prawns. I ordered the 12 Queen Prawns at R149. I opted for veggies as my side. 

  
Norm went for the fillet steak, 350g at R179 and wow what a steak! 

  
The service was impeccable. The mains were both exactly what we wanted. We had a great night.

  
We didn’t have a late night as Saturday was a busy day. Pixie was seeing the Chiro so I had to be in Noordhoek at 9.30 a.m. And then I came home, made breakfast and got ready. Caitlin, Norm and I headed to Cape Farmhouse Rocks in Scarborough about 1.30 as the concert was supposed to start at 2 and we wanted a seat under cover. 

We went via Chapmans Peak Drive.

  
We came into Scarborough just after 2.

     The Cape Farmhouse venue is a cool old farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere. They put on concerts in the summer. Families and pets all arrive, kids roaming round in the grounds, dogs trotting along after them. We arrived and the place was quiet, but that meant we got a seat at the front, a cooler of wine and an ice bucket quickly.
  
We messed round being silly waiting.

  
And waiting.

  

The bands were late starting, it was well after 3 before they got going.
First up was Mr Cat and Jackal. I enjoyed them, they were quite theatrical. They had a cool, eclectic, vaguely ska meets folk sound.

   
The dude stage left played so many instruments. Lots! The singer also played accordion as well as guitar.

 They were followed by The Rudimentals. They were brilliant. I danced myself silly to their music. They play reggae and ska. They get national radio airplay.

  
The last band up was Grassy Spark a local band from Cape Town suburb Grassy Park. They are very cool. A high energy ska sound.

  

Everyone was up dancing and it was such a fun day.

  

There is always a cool mix of people there.

We took the coast route home via Misty Cliff and the Cape Point coast.

    
 

  
The sun was setting en route.

   
 
Such a gorgeous drive.

We stopped for dinner at Spiro’s on our way for takeaways. I feasted on ribs and halloumi (neither breaded nor salty). 

We slept late today. My darling made me a late brekkie.

  
I’m lying round watching trash telly. Later I’m making dinner but for now I’m catching up on some much needed rest! All in all I’ve had a fabulous weekend.

I hope you have!