A Weekend of Planes, Parties and Play-Dates in Joburg

This last weekend, was one of the first times that I've looked forward to going to Joburg - probably because I no longer live there and it was for a special occasion and Frosty was coming with me! But still, it was lovely to actually look forward to flying to Joburg.

My cousin, having recently celebrated a milestone birthday, managed to organise a weekend to have a family party that allowed not only most of the South African contingent to get together to celebrate, but we also had my aunt and uncle out from Australia who were also able to partake in the celebrations! 

It was such a treat to stay with a different cousin and her adorable son (who, for a two and a half year old, has a vocabulary that almost rivals mine), along with my folks, and then to spend a day catching up with all of the different family members, extended family members and family members who aren't blood-relatives, but who looked after me so well while I was in Benoni. 

Since most of my cousins are older than me, there were kids galore at the party. I was battling to remember all the names (and I'm related), but I got there in the end. At the next family gathering, Frosty (and probably my dad) are getting tested on all the cousin-kids, I think if they start swotting now they might pass! 

On Sunday we spent the day with a dear friend of both Frosty and myself. Tea at her house, lunch at a market and then, a few hours before we flew back to Cape Town, we spent some time at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens which was absolutely stunning! There were people with a telescope pointed at the nest of a breeding pair of Verreaux's Eagles (Black Eagles) that is situated alongside the waterfall. We took a peek through the telescope before following the geological path which took us on a lovely walk.

All in all it was a great weekend away and such a treat to be able to catch up with family and friends from afar.

Waterfall at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens.
Who would have thought that we would find a waterfall
in the middle of Joburg? It's definitely worth a visit if you
haven't been before!

Basil Growing Tips

The weather has been warming up recently, which has been wonderful! To celebrate the start of summer, I decided to start my herb garden again and also plant a few flowers so that my veranda will look happy and colourful (hopefully relatively soon!)

Basil is one of my favourite herbs to use and it's relatively easy to grow. Over winter, my basil died and I was pretty sad. I've since found out that most people generally re-plant their basil in spring every year (what a relief that it wasn't my black thumb green fingers that killed them!). A few weeks ago, I went and got myself a tray of six basil seedlings as well as a packet of basil seeds.

I planted my seedlings in last summer's basil window box. Then I used some leftover seedling trays, filled them up with leftover soil and put a few basil seeds in each pocket. I watered my basil seedlings and basil seeds in the seed trays and I was recently able to pick my own basil for use in some of my dishes!

I wouldn't say I'm an expert in growing basil, but I am pretty happy with my basil so far, so I thought I would put together some beginner tips on how to grow basil:

• To make it easy for yourself, buy basil seedlings and re-plant them into a container (or your herb garden). If you prefer to use seeds - I would suggest you plant seeds around mid-September. (I planted my seeds at the same time as my seedlings - mid October. But I think mid-September, or as soon as it starts getting warmer, would probably be the best time to plant).
• Make sure your basil plants are in a place where they will receive lot of sun. Basil likes the sun, and as long as they have enough water, they'll be happy.
• Water your basil plants regularly - I usually water them on a daily or every other day basis. As long as when you poke your finger into the soil, the soil feel damp, you'll be OK.
• Leave the bottom leaves and pick leaves from the top, often! This promotes growth and the new leaves, so I've heard, are meant to be sweeter and better tasting. It also stops your basil growing crazy tall, which, if you have limited space like me, is a winner!

Good luck with your basil growing!