Skimming Stones | Sula's Blog | Sula1968 A South African poet, potter and mother

If it weren’t for blogging I would not have discovered one of the coolest kids outings in Jo’burg.  Thank you Dianne for commenting on my post about the Stellenbosch Toy Museum and enriching my children’s childhood.  If you are a parent living in Jo’burg a visit to RSME (Rand Society of Model Engineers) is beyond a must, particularly if you …

The ingredients for this Chocolate Marbled Black Cherry  cheesecake are expensive but it’s worth the cost for the reward of a very special treat.  An added bonus is that the recipe is egg free which means that my egg allergic son can eat it (provided that egg free biscuits are used in the crumb base). Before you start, please note …

One thing which has really troubled me since Fjord started Gr 4 last year, is the spine wrecking weight of his school bag.  Since they started moving from class to class children end up carrying every single school book around all day and the time table seldom allows even 1 book to stay home.  The school does allow a box …

If I want to lure my daughter Domi around for a visit, Malva pudding is excellent bait to draw her here.  Last night she visited with her husband Duncan and they both love this recipe. MALVA PUDDING (serves 8) INGREDIENTS 1 Cup (250 ml) sugar 1 egg 1 Tbs (15 ml) apricot jam 1 Cup flour 1 tsp bicarbonate soda …

There are many ways to write this story. It could be sermonized or psychoanalyzed. It could be told with the aggressive, indignant tone of Eusebias McKaiser (but for maximum effect the perpetrators would have had to be white). It could be dressed in clever language. I cannot use a broken little boy as a metaphor and will simply state what …

I love trying new recipes.  This time the Curried Chickpea salad in Pick ‘n Pay’s Fresh Living Jan/Feb 17 magazine appealed.  However being me I made a few changes.  3 Tbs curry powder seemed a huge amount, 1 tsp of mild and spicy curry powder was absolutely adequate.  I didn’t like the idea of raw baby marrows so cooked them …

My children have done their fair share toward turning me grey.  Nagging them to eat.  Breaking up fights over nothing.  Despairing that they can turn a room to a nuclear fall out zone in 0.3 seconds.  Those parenting moments can age one considerably.  On the flip side among innumerable joys, they present opportunities to play.  They tear dust covers from forgotten …

  As towns go, Knysna stands heads and shoulders above others, but it’s still a town, during peak season it is a crowded busy town.  Traffic jams can make visitors feel like they’re back in rush hour traffic.  In choosing Nieu Wherry Meadow as our accommodation, Cliff secured a space with access to forests, rivers and beaches without the mayhem of Knysna …

Tsitsikamma in the Eastern Cape is about more than trees and sneaky elephants.  Storms River Mouth exudes a spirit of adventure, from rocks and caves befitting a famous 5 adventure to Tolkeinesque forest where trees breathe magic.  This is an unspoiled parallel universe hidden in nature’s skirt folds.  Thrill seekers hike with paddles to kayak on the river.  I wasn’t even brave …

This evening Somerset West is eerie, the air is so thick with smoke you can taste it.  Unrelenting wind blows ash and grit into your eyes.  Tonight is our last night before heading home, right now I would prefer to be anywhere other than here.  I spent the day with my eldest son Heath, we played Putt Putt in Strand …

Majestic giant mammals draw visitors to Addo Elephant Park, yet like Elephants who never forget, what my children will remember most is mice and Red-necked francolins (we called them bush chickens).  At Spekboom tented camp we stayed in tents 4 & 5.  Tent 5 was fantastic, the game fence is about 1 m from the tent with a good view …

Like a child stepping from reality to imagination, a part of me is always looking for escape, seeking a path to secret spaces.  Cradock in the Eastern Cape unlocked a wormhole in time, leading to a place of anti-pace.  Buildings made to last, stand firm while the world around them fragments and re-groups in ever changing structures. Away from the …

I’m not the only one who likes likes to play in the kitchen,  when Cliff finds the time to cook or bake what he makes is generally pretty awesome.  Now and then he makes corn dogs which are great kids food (and we enjoy them too).  Here is his recipe. Dad and Fjord’s corn dogs (makes approx 28) 1 cup …

Our chicks are about 2 months old now.  They are so tame and sweet the Black Australorp Angel looks like a hen and Lucky looks like it may become a rooster.  Does anyone know a bit about chickens and chicks who can confirm this?  We’re pretty much just going by the size of the comb.  Actually we were told that …

I can never begin to say how proud I am of my mother.  Not only has she been the best mother but she is a marvelous creative spirit.  Sadly her artistic genes did not make it into my DNA but she taught me to look at the world differently.  When we are in a vast expanse of space she will …