The neighbours

I have suddenly found myself with two little visitors each evening when I get home from work. Two little girls who adore animals and beg to come on my daily evening walk around the farm with the dogs. A broken home with a mother who is about to be remarried to a man they dislike, makes for a sad tale. And so they "kuier" each evening, escaping their world to run with Juno, brush the knots from Oscar's fur and cuddle Sage.

Duvet Day and Biscotti

Yesterday I spent the day next to my fan. Today I am under the duvet enjoying the summer rain and mist outside as the dogs and cat vie for a space on my lap.

It's the perfect day to attempt my first batch of biscotti. Considering I had to improvise with some of the ingredients that I never had in the cupboard, I think they turned out pretty well. If you enjoy coconut, you will enjoy these.

Recipe
125 g Flour
115 g castor sugar
1tsp baking powder
1Tbsp Cocoa
50 g shredded coconut
50 g flaked almonds
1tsp ginger
2 eggs beaten

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Beat the eggs and add to the mixture. I used dough hooks to mix the dough but your hands are a good substitute if you don't have these.
Mix thoroughly.
Divide the dough into two portions, then roll each portion into a log about 4cm wide.
Place each log on a baking tray, leaving enough space between for expansion.
Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Reduce oven to 14o degrees.
Using a sharp knife, cut each log into thin slices. Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, turning the biscotti halfway through cooking.
Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

2013 looks like a year for adventure. My new job, which I love, requires that I travel. A lot! This week I head to the Lesotho highlands for two weeks. March sees me making my way to Tete, Mozambique. I am not sure what April has in store for me but I am sure something exciting will come along. But, before I fill this blog with stories from 2013 I thought I would share a few photo's from 2012, a year full of change.

A few photo's from my home :)

Playing with light

365 Projects

A week or so ago my brother told me about this idea where you challenge yourself to take a photo a day for a year. I was complaining that I hadn't taken any pictures in weeks. At first I doubted that I would want to make such a commitment but then I went onto 365project.org website and felt inspired by the idea of having a photo journal that would document my life for the course of a year.

It is surprisingly difficult to pick one photo to represent the day. So, I thought I would add a few of the photo's that didn't make "the cut". The other photos can be viewed at http://365project.org/tarrynm/365

Pure Bliss

Shongololo

Sunset

Bobby

Kalk Bay Meanderings

On Saturday we headed down to Kalk Bay for some good old fashioned fish and chips and a wonder along the pier to look at the fishing boats. Here are a few photo's.