Lest We Forget
Image Details: ‘Lest We Forget’ by macspite, via Flickr Today is Remembrance Sunday, which isn’t anywhere near as big an occasion in SA as it is in the UK. I have some great memories of selling poppies as a teenager. Getting to the Legion as soon as the doors were open so we could get...
The Brits’ first Braai!
Image Details: ‘Braai’ by hyper7pro, via Flickr So after a couple of months of training in this central part of South African social culture, it was time for the Brits to have a bash at braaing. Braai is the Afrikaans word for ‘barbecue’ or ‘grill’ and, unlike the amateurish attempts made the minute there is...
Big me up, buttercup…
It’s been a while since I started a blog post with a song lyric. And I actually have a strong dislike for the overplayed ‘build me up, buttercup’, which was cool for a while, but now it’s my cue to exit the dance floor in search of a fresh G&T. Not that I actually go...
Wildlife at the new gaff Part 2: Reptilian Minions
Image Details: ‘Basilisk’ by asra_valorshon, via Flickr I covered the slightly furrier residents at Shinybees Huis in Wildlife at the new gaff Part 1, and the non furry Gary and Barry, the geckos that shared the Babybee’s room. Well I have some sad news to report vis-à-vis Gaz and Baz. They are MIA, presumed KIA,...
Book Review: Cath Kidston’s ‘Sew’
‘Sew’ isn’t a newly released title, it has been around for almost two years now. It has taken me quite some time to actually get around to making the bag that came free with it, which I started a couple of weeks ago as a warm up for my new sewing class. This inspired me...
Afrikaant!
Image Details: ‘The Afrikaans Language Monument’ by teachandlearn, via Flickr Following the recent theme of not strictly craft related posts, this one is about my attempts at learning Afrikaans. Or Afrikaant, as I prefer to call it at the moment! I am using ‘Teach Yourself Complete Afrikaans’ by Lydia McDermott, which is available as a...
So far sew good!
Image Details: ‘Singer Vintage’ by Jeremy Brooks, via Flickr. I’ve had my very own sewing machine for about 7 years now. It was a Christmas present, and grand ideas though I might have had about being able to do all my own alterations because I am that tricky height whereby I am too tall for...
Knitting Perfectionists Anonymous
Image Details: The T-shirt, by pladys, via Flickr CAVEAT: Not my T-Shirt/assets! Ok, so it doesn’t quite have the same ring as Alcoholics Anonymous, but I think there are other people out there (yes, you, I’m talking to you, don’t look at the floor feeling a bit uncomfortable, you know who you are) who are...
Guest Blog Post: Building the Cosmac ELF
Image Details: ‘darelfii’ by airship, via Flickr Given the overwhelming success of the Unnycount, Mr Shinybees has been busy beavering away in the Shinybees skunkworks on a new project that I am struggling to even vaguely connect with knitting. I am reliably informed that the electronic connections utilise a process known as wire wrapping, which...
Wildlife at the new gaff: Part 1
Image Details: ‘Warthog Sign’ by puseetee, via Flickr I thought it was time to share some pictures from our new gaff in SA. I am not very technically competent when it comes to taking photographs, although Mr Shinybees fancies himself as a bit of a photographer. Well, he takes about 200 photos in one go...
The Spirit of Christmas
Image Details: ‘christmas tree explosion (day 9 of 365) EXPLORED!!!’ by stephenvance, via Flickr I know, I know, I can’t believe I am writing a blog post about the ‘C’ word either. In September. It hasn’t even been Hallowe’en yet, not that it makes much difference to the retail industry, who are already trying to...