Winter’s well and truly here and how I battle to get up on these dark mornings! Many moons ago a friend of mine hated getting up in the morning, whatever the season was and always wanted that extra half hour in bed. So she came up with her master plan and actually set her alarm clock (yes, we used those then) to wake her up a few hours before she needed to get up, just so she could put it off, re-set it and go back to sleep. I thought she was crazy, but hey, it worked for her.
Looking on the brighter side, June 21, the shortest day has gone and we can now look forward to longer daylight hours little by little and of course spring.
New on the shelf
Woolworths have two delicious sweet treats, Heat and Eat Chelsea Buns (R39.99) and Heat and Eat Cinnamon Buns (R49.99) both with a sauce you just pour over and bake. This weekend I’ll definitely be giving the Cinnamon Buns a try.
Citrus fruits are plentiful now and also at Woolworths, you can try their Lemongold lemons. For a tray of six it costs R42.99. Ideal for those hot lemony drinks and also perfect for a tangy filling in lemon meringue pie.
Pick n Pay have launched their Fresh living magazine now available in braille – making it the first supermarket in South Africa to offer this to its customers.
Loyal customer Jennine Britz contacted Pick n Pay last year and offered her braille translation services in order to share her favourite magazine with the visually-impaired community of South Africa. Classified as blind, Jennine Britz worked closely with Pick n Pay and the free-living team to develop a sample copy and make the braille edition of fresh living a reality. The May issue of fresh living was piloted in braille with 250 visually-impaired customers, and following a very positive response, will officially be trialed for two months in selected stores across the country. You’ll be able to find the June freshliving braille edition locally at Southgate, Bedfordview, Lenasia and it can be picked up at the Customer Care Desk. It’s also going to be available in-house at the Johannesburg Society for the Blind. The freshliving braille edition will be trialed in selected Pick n Pay stores and centres for the blind nationally for June and July and may be expanded based on customer feedback.
Sales galore
I see there are lots of sales in clothing stores with great buys on boots, coats and jackets, as well as other winter stock. If you are thinking of buying any of these items, now will be a good time and you’ll save quite a bit of money.
Gardening tasks for June
If you haven’t already done so, now is certainly the time to cover plants and shrubs which don’t like frost. We often get some very frosty mornings in Johannesburg over the next two months, especially if you live close to water. Visit your local garden centre and ask for advice on what to purchase to cover your plants, etc.
You can also do a little pruning back now, and tidying up. Most trees will be shedding their leaves unless evergreen, use your leaves for mulching the garden beds.
Hanging baskets can make a beautiful show and are ideal for townhouse gardens where space is often limited. Pansies, petunia, lobelia and viola will do well in sunny spots. However, remember to water every day as they will soon dry out.
Relaxing in the garden
With our beautiful warm winter days, now is ideal to spend some time sitting in the garden. Often it can actually be warmer sitting outside than indoors. Make a mug of coffee, grab a book or magazine and while away an hour. If you prefer relaxing in the late afternoon sun, make up a jug of glühwein. I’ve checked out many recipes and my own is so simple and apparently, it does taste quite good.
Recipe
One bottle of dry red wine, nothing expensive (I actually use a box dry red wine, it’s perfect and not expensive)
100ml brandy
100ml fresh orange juice
Two tablespoons of brown sugar or honey
Orange and lemon slices
Cinnamon sticks
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat, don’t boil. Simmer for about half an hour so all the flavours can mix.
Serve and enjoy.
That’s it for this week. Shop till you drop!
Julie
