This week I had one of those Golden Thread enlightenment moments where I realized how all of my past lives relate to each other. It’s the Celtic thread at the root which ties them all together.

I detest Rosemary. I recently discovered that an old Appalachian folk tale involves planting Rosemary by the door to keep away witches. It certainly would have worked with me! When we bought this house it had several Rosemary bushes. I’ve dug them all up.

  
In researching this folklore I also read about the fact that Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Appalachia were settled by Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 1700s. Many of these were Gypsies and some of these Gypsies merged and married into the original Cherokee people who were residing in that area, the Tsalagi. The magic and folklore from the Celtic Gypsies and the Tsalagi blended into it’s own local branch of magic. A dialect and brew of old wives tales, folklore, colloquialisms and Magic still evident in some areas of the South.

My knowledge of my own blood line only goes back as far as a blend of Cherokee and generic Georgia/Tennessee hillbilly. I don’t know what country my family originally emigrated from, but I have always had an affinity for the Celts. My first husband is Welsh, my second husband is Scottish. My older children have welsh names. 

My heart was broken when Norm changed jobs and we left Northern Ireland, I loved it there. It felt like home. I didn’t see my future there long term however. I knew that wasn’t my destiny. It was just part of my soul history and therefore felt familiar.
Many years later when I had past life regression and remembered the wedding and marriage Norm and I had in the turn of this century, I had felt that the Estate I remembered my parents owned in that life was located in Ireland. 
I’ve had ancestors send me messages via multiple mediums that I’m a healer, that I’m not fulfilling my destiny as a healer. This was validated by the experiences from when I trained in sports therapy and I could feel things in my patients bodies that no one else felt. Small lesions in their tissue, they felt so large to me and I could clear these areas easily. I found it easy to get great results. My teacher could not feel the things I felt, but the patient validated my findings.

In the Appalachian areas the local healers were called Witch Doctors. There was no negative connotation to these roles or to their names. In Africa, where my heart feels most at home they also call their native healers Witch Doctors. 
We all come full circle, the Universe might just take a few cycles to get us there. 
It brought me comfort and a feeling that I glimpsed something deeply embedded in my destiny.

Last Sunday we had Roast Chicken for dinner. I made fondant sweet potatoes, and mushrooms and as I had a big container of zucchini, I both grilled some zucchini and also cooked some with sliced mushrooms and cream to make a sort of sauce. 

  

Monday morning the sunrise was so stunning! But as always this red sky heralded some frenetic weather. 

  

Monday night after work I fried some tender Beef Fillet steaks, mushrooms, steamed gem squash and broccoli with lemon. It was delicious. The steaks were marinated and room temperature when I cooked them and they were ever so tender.

  

Tuesday I got away from work on time as we had Book Club in Constantia at Mel’s house. Everyone met at my house and drove through in Dawn’s car to Mel’s. We had a lovely dinner of chicken, kale and couscous and as we celebrated Mel’s birthday I wasn’t sticking with Banting as I had a huge piece of rich chocolate cake. Oh well. YOLO. 

That night I was so hot as I was in boots and a sweater but we were having a Berg wind which means it is unnaturally hot. 

We were all wondering about one of the women who is missing book club at the moment due to her son’s extra murals lifts times conflicting. We had heard about a local woman who was rushed to hospital for picking mushrooms in the forest and mistakenly eating a toxic one. Her kids didn’t eat the mushrooms luckily and rushed to get her help. Our friend picks and eats forest mushrooms and we worried it was her but later I checked and found out that she is fine, I hope the real victim has no lasting damage. I will stick to mushrooms purchased at the shop! 

Recently there was news that many of the kidnapped girls and women held in the Sambisa forest were freed by Boko Haram but the news is all fuzzy, depending on which source it seems to differ. Some of the victims were part of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign in Nigeria. I can’t bear to think what these girls’ lives have been like. 

We had a bit of good news closer to home this week re Norm’s recent redundancy, he was paid his insolvency pay which we were not expecting due to the company’s bankruptcy, so that was a fab little bonus! 

Wednesday evening I made baked Chicken breasts with spinach, mushrooms and coconut cream and to go with it I made roast butternut. 
 

The sauce was delicious.   

Thursday I had another workshop in Bellville so Nomtha and I drove through to the northern suburbs. We finished up about 4 so I came home and started dinner. I made pork fillet with mushrooms in a creamy sauce. To go with I made mashed cauliflower and to break the monotony of beigeness I added some bright avocado. I can’t bear a monochromatic plate of food. The pork was so tender and delicious.

This past Friday afternoon we went to Easy Life Kitchens to see the kitchen designs they have done for us. They showed us a few options and we gave feedback. We then chose the style of door we liked, the paint finish and colours, the floor plan design and handles. They then put together a complete design and we go back to get an actual quote. 

This is an example of the style I chose, a simple Shaker style with this exact handle. I am having a quote of a buttermilky cream colour and a very, very pale greyish blue. 

 

It will be so wonderful to have a functional beautiful kitchen. I don’t have enough cupboards, I have very little counter space and exactly 2 plugs. 

Now that I am cooking I need a better space to create. 

Friday evening the girls were both home so we finally watched the movie ‘Sisters’ with Tina Fey and Amy Peohler. It was very funny, we loved it. It is recommended for sure. 

  
We ordered takeaway pizza and I again had a non-Banting night and a normal pizza. 

We had a nice family night in and I was asleep soon after the movie.

I got up late Saturday morning and Norm brought me a frothy milky latte in bed in one of my new cups.

  
I loves me some Elvis. Eventually I got up and made some zucchini fritters,

  

some colorful peppers, onions and tomatoes,

  
and it was all rather yummy.

  
Saturday was a pajama day, I slobbed about with Lily watching the crime channel and old movies. We watched Now Add Honey with Portia de Rossi. It was not completely 100% dreadful but it had some rather dreadful moments. Don’t bother with that one. We also watched Daddy’s Home with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. We enjoyed this but we are big Will fans.

  
That evening we tried the new fish and chip shop we couldn’t get into last week. Yes I had both chips and mushy peas. The fish was thick, fresh and moist. The chips crispy and hand cut. A few of the mushy peas were still a bit hard, but all in all I would rate it 9 out of 10, we will definitely go back it was a much needed gap in Hout Bay main strip. 

The local Oceana Group owned factory was pumping out it’s poisons again on Saturday. We live in the most beautiful place on earth and the corrupt government allows various corporate entities to destroy it.

The other thing in the local news which is annoying me is that the South African Broadcasting Company has made a decision recently that they will play 90% local South African music. This is so narrow minded to me. The main station, 5FM had already decreased in quality in my opinion with their line up changes. I had already started listening to other stations during the childish, misogynistic and juvenile Roger Goode show during my drive home so I will have to find more non-parastatal stations or download more music. I just usually rely on the radio to expose me to new music, but I want my horizon to be wider than just the narrow borders of South Africa! 
I love SA but it has its challenges, I met a fellow American while queuing for lunch on Friday, we both moved here from LA in the 90’s. We agreed that SA gets under your skin. We also agreed that if it was perfect it would be too crowded, you just have to take the good with the bad in life. It is what allows you to see the highs, the roller coaster ride of coming up out of those lows. 

Sunday Norm and I got up and out after I had a bit of time to play with the dogs.

  
We went to The Riverway Cafe for breakfast.

  
We had scrambled eggs, crispy bacon and avocado with Banting bread. It was cooked perfectly. 

  
After we ate,  the waitress who served my friend Retha and I last week came over and told me we had short payed our bill by R100! I was mortified that she had to pay that herself! I was so pleased she came over to tell me. Bless her heart. 

I did think my bill was very cheap last week and even mentioned it in my blog! Anyway, I reimbursed her and we had a laugh about it. She said she knew I’d be back and it would be resolved. It’s nice to be a local in my lovely little village.