I am really loving doing these weekly wrap up posts - I am not entirely sure why I look forward to doing them so much, but I do - and that's good enough for me lol. This week was a lot more chilled than last week. Jude and I have been alone as Dave has been in Zimbabwe doing the sound and lighting for an international conference there. It would have been amazing to join him, but the puppy would have posed a little bit of a problem. The place he is staying at looks amazing though!
Jude was not complaining though as he got to sleep with mommy all week haha! We were just giggling the other night because we don't know where the heck that teeny weeny little puppy disappeared to because he has literally just quadrupled in size lol. No, really... this is what we brought home...
and this is what we have now...
and this is in just over two months LOL!!
No specific highlights this week, just some one on one quality time with my little man. I did not get my eggs benedict fix - for some reason I was craving a croissant and nothing beats a bacon and scrambled egg croissant and as Jude had both Monday and Tuesday off from school, we headed out to breakfast.
Summer is well on it's way here in Cape Town, so I used the extra days off to get stuck into the garden and some wine obviously haha! It was starting to resemble something out the movie "The Secret Garden" or "Great Expectations" lol! It is always so rewarding to work in the garden - and whilst our garden is pretty small it is without question my little sanctuary - especially in the evenings.
We stay in a gated community and just over a year ago, the body corp had the garden fences replaced. Me being me, I nabbed a few of the fences and convinced David that we could turn them into decking for the back half of the garden. Naturally, I was met with a relative amount of resistance lol but anything would have beaten the "dead space" that was there at the time. So - the fence decking went ahead and it actually turned out really well because it afforded a completely separate space for the braai on the raised section and our outdoor dining table has a lot more space around it now. We have not been outside much in the evenings lately as it simply has not been warm enough yet, but here is a snap shot from last Summer of our "fence decking" haha!
No massive breakthroughs in the kitchen this week either - in fact, it is starting to sound like a really lazy week apart from the garden efforts lol. We ate a whole lot of pasta and salad and not much else haha! - I suppose I am not really complaining, because I have long since been saying that I cannot wait for the Winter season to end so we can start eating a little "lighter"...
As for my week ON the blockchain, I got really stuck into my INKtober mandala - which I am absolutely LOVING doing! The rest of my content was pretty reflective and whilst I am not entirely sure where the inspiration came from, my mind gravitated toward life "in the now". Oh, and before I get to those posts - I wanted to make mention of last night... I was actually in bed already (it was already 1am) but I caught wind of the "pimp your post" show starting in THE RAMBLE SERVER which is hosted by 
I have never joined it before and whilst the name is relatively self-explanatory, I was not really paying attention and went and added myself to the queue to speak about a post which I thought deserved some attention. Well, lol - I was suddenly "up" and I was like "say what now?!" hahaha - I was really caught with my pants down - well actually I didn't have... nevermind hahaha!!! I had to scramble downstairs and put my laptop back on because I had my son and the puppy in bed with me so I could not very well speak there lol. I am RATHER shy actually and I HATE "public speaking", so I really threw myself into the deep end on that one, but I will say that despite the fact that I felt like a deer in headlights and that I had been run over by a bus this morning for getting to bed after 2am, it was TOTALLY worth it! It was a GREAT show, loads of lively convo - great content shared and just a really nice vibe! - So, if you are like the hermit that I am and have not checked it out - I suggest you do. :) As for my personal activity... here goes:
Deliciously Sticky Pork Kassler Chops with Salsa Salad Fried Basmati Rice - #showcase-sunday
Every now and then I get a bee in my bonnet for pork Kassler chops, but I get really tired of serving it with the same tired sides, plus I always have to consider sides that my little man will enjoy. The entire plate turned out fabulously, and all the flavours complimented one another perfectly. The chops are incredibly simple to do...
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The WONDERLAND of your SOUL!
Are our bodies merely vessels comprised of skin and bone with which we “randomly” roam, or are they symbolic representations of our soul? I am inclined to lean toward the latter. Yes, we leave it all behind when we “depart” but does that make our physical / materialistic expression / demonstration during our “living years” any less worth-filled? - I don’t think so.
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The Prompted Mandala - #inktober (Days 9 - 15)
I have been having so much fun creating this mandala for INKtober. When I started it, I really didn't take much time to consider just how big it would be at the end of the day lol - I was just like oh, I am going to do a mandala - awesome! and grabbed one of Jude's old school nature study books, a ball point pen and started drawing. haha For those that missed my first post (Days 1 - 8)... here is a little bit of background as to the what and why...
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Lost Life Skills...
Educating your children is not just about what gets taught at school. In fact, I think that in many respects, the subjects and subject matter that is taught in the classroom is probably of the least value when it comes to practical implementation in “real life”. I mean I can honestly not think of ONE single solitary occasion in my 39 years of living, where I have needed any knowledge on algebra… Now, I do understand that this is a broad generalization, but you catch my drift.
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Cultivating Compassion...
We live in a world – a very different world – A world where children and people in general are rambling around with so many darn “problems”, you would think that we would all realise the absolutely dire need for more compassion, respect, and general acceptance in society - but sadly this does not seem to be the case. Sometimes, people truly can be so very unkind to others, often not even considering the consequences and damage that their glibly delivered words may have on the recipient.
As for all the other amazing peeps on the Steem network, I came across a few gems this week which I will share with you now - if the post curation period has expired by the time you read them then please consider checking out some of that authors other content.
Life skills
When I was a kid, I was innately curious. I wanted to learn how to do basic household chores like washing the dishes, helping prepare the food, cleaning the house, doing ordinary things. But my mom would always tell me that I am inefficient and too young.She felt the need for me to focus more on my studies because, she thought that it would really help me on with my life.
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How it feels to be on trending page....
For the last 2 days, I was in a dilemma whether I should write this post or not. Because, whatever I have seen, I feel fear, afraid now before writing anything. I wish I could express my fear with you guys, it's really weird.
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When I Grow Up
I’m still doing that thing I’ve been telling you I’m doing at the beginning of each of my past several articles. I’m clearing out notes in my notepad by telling you about them instead of just writing them down and then never doing anything with it.
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Homeschooling With Teenagers
Before we launch deeply into what it means to change with the tides of our children, let's take a brief moment of silence for the days of finger paints, never having enough Elmer's glue, singing the ABC's and praying that your kids will be able to read well enough to pass a driver's ed test one day. Then take a deep breath of appreciation.
It has been a relaxed, but really great week! And not to boast or anything ;) but I am looking forward to another four day weekend... so CHEERS to that!!!! Here's wishing you all a fantabulous weekend, whatever you get up to! See you all on Sunday! - Or maybe tomorrow, if I am bored and decide to write LOL :)
LOVE YOU ALL LONG TIME!
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Until next time...
Much Love from Cape Town, South Africa xxx
Jaynielea
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