Today is World Ranger Day

World Ranger Day commemorates rangers killed in the line of duty and celebrates the work rangers do to protect the worlds natural and cultural treasures.

Thank you to all the rangers who work so diligently and put their lives on the line everyday  to protect African wildlife, especially the rangers of African Parks, the boots on the ground at Akagera National Park in Rwanda, Majete Wildlife Reserve in Malawi, Liuwa Plain National Park and Bangweulu Wetlands in Zambia, Odzala-Kokoua National Park in Congo, Garamba National Park in the DRC, and Zakouma National Park in Chad.

our friend Jake

And to all the rangers who have been our guides on our personal African adventure, thank you!

To support the anti-poaching campaign in African Parks, donate now and choose anti-poaching as your preferred project.

Jewelry Making @ Studio 37A

our ad in NJ Living (in the lower right)

For a short time in one of my past lives, I was a jewelry designer and maker. A friend of mine, Jackie, and I owned a company called Chelsea Market Designs. We made earrings, necklaces and bracelets from pearls, precious metal beads and semi-precious stones and we used vintage rhinestone clasps and findings we unearthed at the many flea markets and antique stores we frequented.

We worked in a studio space (a spare bedroom) at her home in Bernardsville, NJ. It was near Pingry where our children were in school and we'd meet back at her house after car pool drop-off in the morning and make magic all day. We sold our creations at charity event boutiques and in home shows and we did pretty well.

The problem was we kept more than we sold. I can't really say we were profitable. In fact, it became a very expensive hobby and in the end, the partnership cnsciously uncoupled after a couple of years. I still have several pieces which I still love to wear (they are back in the US safely in storage with all my other jewelry.)
 

Studio 37A's Tammy

I had the chance to stroll down memory lane the other day and design and make another necklace for myself at Studio 37A, a design studio and boutique for jewelry and clothing in Craighall Park. Tammy Walker, the owner provided the beads, findings and wire, and the hands-on guidance ... as well as mimosa fixings, coffee, tea, shortbread and linzer cookies.

It was held in Tammy's home where she has a boutique in a spare room off the garden where she sells her creations by appointment only. Deja vu all over again.


 

the workspace

Tammy turned her kitchen into a design studio for our workshop. She had on display a couple of example pieces we could use as a guide or we could pick the beads that attracted us and just be creative.

So we did. All of our designs were very different and very personal. Just like us.

a work in progress

posing with our creations

I went with a long necklace design and used a center red coral branch with large blue and white delft beads. Red white and blue is not a common combination in South Africa. You can't buy it ... but I can make it.







Afterwards we had lunch at the Corner Cafe down the street from the studio where Tammy's husband is the head chef. I had been wanting to eat at this very popular bistro for quite some time and the food was delicious. In fact, the whole day was delicious!

To make an appointment with Tammy to see her jewelry and clothing boutique, you can call 082 447 6808.

To attend a workshop, I'm afraid you have to know Nicki.

Looking for love in all the wrong places

Found Sriracha sauce! I had been looking for it at Asian foods markets all over Joburg. Found no love anywhere.

But it is available at these fine stores in and around Cape Town in the Western Cape:

Black Market Foods
Neighbour Goods Market
Old Biscuit Mill
warren@blackmarketfoods.co.za

Helderview Kwikspar
4 Cyneroide Street
Somerset West

Hout Bay Superspar
Victoria Road
Hout Bay

Kwikspar on Kloof
26-28 Kloof Street
Gardens

Oakhurst Spar
Corner of Main & Dorman Road
Hout Bay

Obz Kwikspar
65 Station Road
Observatory

Old Oak Spar
Meerlust Street, Oak Glen
Bellville

Rosmead Superspar
67 Rosmead Avenue
Kenilworth

Royal Ascot Superspar
The Paddocks Shopping Centre
Milnerton

S.E Supermarket
52 Roodebloem Rd
Woodstock

Sea Point Spar
Regent Road
Sea Point

Seria’s Halaal Chicken Center
Hadjie Ebrahim Crescent
Rylands

Somerset Fine Food and Wine Kwikspar
Corner of Main & Huising Street
Somerset West

Tai Ping Chinese Restaurant and Take Away
Corner of Dean and Wilkinson Streets
Newlands

Vergelegen Kwikspar
3 Schapenberg Rd, Vergelegen
Somerset West

Hoping they will eventually distribute it in Joburg, but in the meantime, I am happy to know Cape Town has my back once I run out of the two bottles Vince included in my USA CARE package stash.

Nelson Mandela Tribute Quilts

Genesis quilt I pieced from squares illustrated by my CCD class

I used to be a big quilter. I took a quilting class after my first son was born in order to learn how to make baby quilts for each of their cribs. I made one with bears on it for Alex's crib whose nursery had a teddy bears' picnic theme and a Peter Rabbit crib quilt for Nick to match his Beatrix Potter nursery theme.

I really liked the fact that I could express myself artistically and craft something extremely personal for the receiver ... and also have it be of practical use and possibly a future heirloom. I painstakingly cut and hand-pieced and quilted dozens and dozens of quilts, pillows and wall hangings during that time. No machine! But it was truly a labor of love.

I went on to make two quilt bedspreads for the bedroom my sons shared at our summer beach house made up of squares with cranberry red Sailing Ships on navy blue wavy oceans and alternating sand-colored squares with quilted anchors. The quilts were each embroidered with the sentiment "Sons are the anchor of a mother's life."

For our bedroom at the beach house, I made a lap quilt with an Ocean Wave pattern in periwinkle blue and all white squares with quilted shells. I made more quilts for myself, my nephew and nieces, friends and my children's school teachers and I even organized a quilting bee with friends and relatives to make a Baby Blocks quilt to present to my sister for her daughter's baby shower.

The fabric I used was very important to me and probably started me off on my obsession with pattern and material. I made four throw pillows using the actual material from the Laura Ashley bridesmaids dresses my sister and I wore for my brother's wedding and the bridesmaid dress my sister wore in my wedding. I even used the white pique Laura Ashley material from my wedding dress as the backing! I added the names and dates of our weddings and the passage we all used in our readings from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. I  gave one each to my sister, my brother and my parents as presents for their wedding anniversaries.

One of my prized possessions is the friendship quilt I made with five friends from my Mother's Group, the moms in the first playgroup for my son Alex. We each made six squares with a pattern that represented the maker and we exchanged them with each other. In the end, each of us came away with a friendship quilt of our own with six different squares representing the uniqueness of the moms in our Mother's Group.

And of course I have already blogged about the making of my tee shirt memory quilt.

So when my friend Cathy posted a notice on Facebook about the International Quilt Convention coming to Emperor's Palace, I had to check out the website to see what it was all about. Along with the usual quilting workshops and competitions, I read the convention was showcasing an exhibition of quilts in honor of Nelson Mandela.

Lead From The Back (USA), Barbara Ann McCraw

Called "Conscience of the Human Spirit:The Life of Nelson Mandela," the exhibition would be displaying 80 tribute quilts made by artists from South Africa and the USA. The project's curator Dr. Marsha MacDowell and her husband, Dr. C. Kurt Dewhurst, Professors at Michigan State University and Directors of the Michigan State University Museum quilt collection and online Quilt Index, would be there to give a talk on the display and to sell their accompanying exhibition catalog which was hot off the press. Okay, I'm in.

The international exhibit was organized to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Mandela’s election as South Africa’s president, and it was the first - and possibly the only - time all 80 quilts (50 made by American quilters and 30 by South African quilters) would be together in one room on display. After the convention, the American quilts will tour the US and the South African quilts will tour this country. There is a hope they will all reunite in a museum someday such as the one at Michigan State, but there are no firm plans as of yet.

Dr. MacDowell described the history of American quilting and in particular its place as a voice for social justice and change. She spoke about the difficulty many women artists faced in being accepted as serious visual artists by society in the past. 

Like pottery and basket weaving, quilting began as a practical woman's craft and slowly and silently began to evolve as an expression of the maker's vision, values, passions, and ideals. Most quilters were traditionally women. But once places like the American Museum of Folk Art in New York began to recognize quilting as an art, the practicality of it took a back seat to the creativity and expression it allowed. Quilts were now made by artists, men included.

Dr. MacDowell recognized particular quilts for their political and social justice statements. Like the anti-slavery and women's vote-themed quilts made in the USA in the 19th and early 20th centuries. She even spoke of the alternative philosophy of an early 20th century KKK-themed quilt currently in a private collection in rural Michigan signed by all the then members of the local clan!

In South Africa there is also a rich history of quilting. It's methods of construction were brought to the continent by the early English, Dutch and German settlers. The native people began to use this practical medium as an expression of their yearning for freedom. 

It was one quilt in particular that attracted Dr. MacDowell's attention, the so-called "subversive bedspread" of Winnie Mandela. When the bedspread was confiscated by the government upon Winnie's arrest, Helen Suzman, an early white anti-apartheid advocate (and the first female MP in South African history), had a copy of the quilt made in the US and oversaw its signing by 30 US Congressman before presenting it to Winnie Mandela in a show of one of the first acts of American support for the struggle. Imagine a quilt having that kind of power of persuasion!

Another example was the Women's Prison Quilt made by South African Barbara Hogan while she served seven years for treason in the Women's Prison in Pretoria. She persuaded her jailers to give her material and sewing implements to help her pass the time while in prison and she used contemporary newspaper and correspondence as patterns for her paper pieced quilt which serves as an ad hoc chronicle of history. She even had an envelope of paper pieces she had not assembled yet because she was caught off guard when they suddenly released her from prison in 1990. The quilt is now part of the collection at the Michigan State Museum.

Dr. MacDowell then took us on a tour of the exhibit and gave us further insight into some of the quilts on display and the quilters. One of my favorite quotes by Dr. MacDowell was her statement that "women are not afraid to use their sewing needles to prick the social consciousness." Brilliant!

 

Hester Viles and Catalyst for Change

One of the South African quilt makers was there and she spoke about her entry as well as one she coordinated with the Intuthuko Embroidery Group, 23 informally trained artists who have a booth at the Finders Keepers Market in Rosebank on Sundays. I will have to check them out!

Trials, Tribulations, and Temporary Lodgings of Nelson Mandela (USA), Valerie Pratt Poitier

Education (SA), Enid Viljoen

Who will Carry On? (USA), Leni Levenson Wiener,

Sunshine and Shadow (SA), Celia de Villiers and Talking Beads

 

I have a feeling my quilting career is not quite as over as I previously thought. I will probably make at least one more quilt using remnants of all the fabulous material and fabrics I have acquired while living here in South Africa. Another personal memory quilt.

For more information about the quilts in the exhibition and the world of quilting, check out Michigan State University's Quilt Index, a freely accessible virtual repository of images and stories of quilts and quiltmakers from distributed public and private collections around the world, including many from South Africa.

Save the Date for The Global March for Elephants & Rhinos

The Global March for Elephants & Rhinos, a world-wide event on October 4, will be starting in Joburg at Innes Free Park in Sandton at 11:00 am.

To find out about the march in your city, check out the website Global March for Elephants & Rhinos, and follow them on Facebook for updates.

See ya there, Joburg!

a moment of zen

There is a simple yet graceful thatch-roofed farmhouse in the residential area of Orchards in Johannesburg where Mohandas Gandhi lived from 1908 to 1909. The house was built in 1907 by Gandhi’s close friend, the German architect Hermann Kallenbach, and it is now a respite in the middle of the bustling city. Within these walls, the future Mahatma created and developed his philosophy of passive resistance, Satyagraha in sanskrit, a pacifist method of protest that he employed in India to lead the country to independence.

We visited Satyagraha House for a tour, some lunch and a moment of zen in the gardens where Gandhi's presence is still quite palpable.

"My life is my message."

Maybe it is the monochromatic colour palate of the furnishings in linen and wood. Or maybe it is the inscribed bronze "sculptures" on many of the walls with Gandhi's thoughts and principles. Or the linen wall hangings in the rondavel printed with the tenets of satyagraha on them. Or all of the above. The entire space just exudes harmony.

It was a warm sunny day for our visit so we were able to practice yoga and meditation in the garden on the grass instead of as planned in the two indoor rondavels which frame the farmhouse on either side of the entry veranda. Even the winter magnolias were blooming for us!

inside one of the rondavel rooms

After our yoga session, I decided to ponder the tenets of Gandhi's philosophy while everyone else meditated. (I am not very good at meditating.) I wanted to see how many of them I am employing in my new minimalist philosophy to life after New York. The tenets are non-violence, self-discipline, truth, non-possession, equal respect of all religions, fearlessness, non-stealing, physical labor, control of the palate, duty towards neighbours, and remove untouchability (which I think would equate to non-prejudice). I think I fare pretty well except for the control of the palate part. Pretty sure that means no wine! (I am Italian after all. One can only go minimalist so far!)



 

our yoga instructor, Yasmin

one with nature in the garden

touring the veranda dining room

photo by Yolanda Macias-Cottrell

Our lunch was vegetarian - a rice dish, salad and an African creamed spinach. No alcohol. Dessert was a creamy and delicious melktart a la mode. But the highlight of lunch was the fresh juice. I can't remember the entire recipe that Mohamed recited to us - pawpaw, orange, apple, carrot, pineapple - but I do remember they also added cucumber to it which gave it a nice light undertone. So refreshing!

photo by Stephanie Tural

 
You can have your own moment of zen at Satyagraha House. A whole night of it in fact. The house is also a bed and breakfast. There are several well-appointed rooms which were added to the property for quests. You can arrange for yoga and massage too. Namaste.


 

Christmas in July with Lou & Serge

This year the charity of choice for the annual Christmas in July celebrations in Parkhurst is Lou and Serge's favorite cause, the Sandton and Eastern Metro SPCA.

The Sandton SPCA will be posted along the 4th Avenue strip where they will be collecting any donations of food, blankets, toys and other goodies that people (and their doggies) would like to bring along for the four legged residents at their shelter. There will also be friendly volunteers and staff from the Sandton SPCA who will be on hand to share more information on what the SPCA does and how people wanting to get involved can do so.

we came for the gluhwein ... and the SPCA

In exchange, you will be treated to sherry, port, wine and gluhwein whilst enjoying a festive atmosphere complete with Christmas lights, candles and even the odd bonfire!

Merry Christmas in July, dog-lovers!

Aubergine

A view into the kitchen - where magic is made

Vince's blue wildebeest main course!

Aubergine is a gastronomic haven in the central Gardens section of Cape Town set in the former 1830 home of the first Chief Justice of the original Cape Colony. Opened in 1996, owner-chef Harald Bresselschmidt has won many awards for his sophisticated menus featuring local and seasonal ingredients and the restaurant has been included on the San Pellegrino Top Restaurants of The World list.






Aubergine is also known for its incredible and extensive wine list and knowledgeable sommelier. In fact, the World of Fine Wines just named its wine list one of the 100 World's Best. Their international offerings are impressive, but we like to go to restaurants like Aubergine to sample the flagship South African wines they pair with dinner for our future estate visits when we need to replenish our own home cellar.

For our next foray into the Cape winelands ...

•  Stark-Conde Wines in Stellenbosch for their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon,

• The Winery of Good Hope near Somerset West for their 2005 Radford Dale Gravity blend, and

• Eagle's Cliff Wines - New Cape Wines in Worcester for their Diners' Club Signature winemaker of the year award winner, the 2011 Syrah-Tannat.

And while we are there, we will have to dine at the restaurant which was judged the Best Wine List in Africa and the Middle East, Rust en Vrede in Stellenbosch.

Fugard at the Fugard

The first time I heard the name "Athol Fugard" was in  the early 80's when I saw Danny Glover perform on Broadway in one of Fugard's most famous plays, Master Harold and the Boys. The play, banned from production in South Africa, won the Drama Desk Award that year for Outstanding New Play. It was my first real glimpse into South African politics and the cruelty of apartheid.


I would have been satisfied to just see a Fugard play in South Africa, ... but to see 82 year old Fugard himself at the Fugard Theatre on his triumphant return to the stage after an absence of 15 years in a play he wrote and directed? Home run!



Vince and I saw him in The Shadow of the Hummingbird, his latest and sold out production in Cape Town, straight from its sold out run at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. In the play, Fugard takes on the role of Oupa, a retired South African teacher living in self-imposed exile in Southern California, and is joined onstage by a young South African named Marviantoz Baker who plays his grandson, Boba.  Athol Fugard's writing  has moved from the political to the emotional. This is a play about love, as Fugard notes, “This is the most naked statement I have ever made about that mysterious emotion.”

Athol Fugard was born in 1932 in Middleburg, in the Karoo. He has written close to 40 plays, four books and several screenplays. Many of his works were turned into films, including Tsotsi, based on his 1980 novel, which won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. His writing spans the history of apartheid in South Africa through the first democratic elections and into present day post-apartheid South Africa.

In 1958, Fugard organised "a multiracial theatre for which he wrote, directed, and acted", writing and producing several plays for it in the area known as District Six in Cape Town. The 335-seater Fugard Theatre is located within the historic Sacks Futeran building in the same district, with the renovated Congregational Church Hall in Caledon Street as its entrance.

Although he stills travels extensively, as of 2013, he considers the Karoo village of Nieu-Bethesda as his permanent home.

they serve Athol Fugard's signature wine in the lobby

PS for pre-theatre dining we chose the Dias Tavern, right across the street from the Fugard Theatre ... great chicken peri peri and grilled baby calamari tubes. Bravos all around!

PPS The Shadow of the Hummingbird is coming to Joburg's Market Theatre in August.

Noon Gun

number of times the cannon has been fired 

At exactly 12:00 pm every day - except Sundays and public holidays - a large cannon on the top of Signal Mountain informs the city of Cape Town that it is high noon by firing off a very loud boom. This has been going on continuously for 200 years. The daily noon gun is not only Cape Town's oldest living tradition, but the guns used (there are two of them, just in case one of them fails) are two of the oldest in the world still in daily use.

the two guns (one is backup)

This tradition has managed, somehow, to survive a Dutch then a British colony, a resurgence of Dutch control, British expansion, the Anglo-Boer War, the rise and fall of apartheid and the subsequent new democracy, and it still can be used to set one’s watch. Today the actual firing is done electronically from The South African Astronomical Observatory and its accuracy comes from an atomic clock.

this man loads the gunpowder and igniter

As early as 1806, the Noon Day gun was used as a time signal for ships anchored in Table Bay and the cannon was fired from the Castle of Good Hope. It was moved in 1902 to its present position, where it overlooks Cape Town, the harbour and Table Bay.

first the gunpowder goes in ...

While the firing is done by remote, the loading is done by a man the old fashioned way. First he loads the gunpowder in the front and then about 5 minutes before firing, he drops in the electronic igniter.

then the igniter

Then cover your ears!

Noon ...

Our apartment in De Waterkant is in that colorful row in the lower right below those trees.

TAF 2014: Art and Cocktails

paintings, photos and prints

sound installations

light installations

video installations

cocktails

jazz