My Shining Reflection #atozchallenge

This is the post where we reflect on the happenings of the 2015 A to Z Blog Challenge.

I woke up far too late in this challenge.  I decided literally the day before the challenge was to begin, to take part.  I was number 1098 on the list!

It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but I knew my decision was the right one.  I knew what I was getting myself into because I've done the A to Z Blog Challenge 4 times previously.  It's hard work and if you don't plan and schedule posts, it becomes extremely stressful, especially being a working mum with a very busy life.

I had to write posts at night after the kids had gone to bed.  Being creative after 9pm at night is hard for me.  I'm not a night owl, I'm an early-to-bed gal so I took strain because I didn't get as much sleep as I used to. 

I never really thought why I took up the challenge at first, because I hadn't been blogging for months on end and I had no intentions of starting it up again.  I stumbled on Alex's blog and the list to sign up for the A to Z Blog challenge.  This was the day before the challenge started, what was I thinking?!?!

It was only on the 3rd of May that it became clear to me why things had happened this way.

Today, on the 3rd of May, I went to the A to Z Blog Challenge website to find the linky for the Reflections post.  I read the post about Tina, the sunflowers and her passing.  I was shocked at first.  This was the first time I'd heard about Tina's passing. 

This was also the first time, I'd realised that this year's challenge was dedicated to Tina's passing and the sunflower post touched my heart.  I slowly read about the planting of the sunflowers, it blooming on Day #1 of the challenge and how things unfolded.  This story both warmed my heart and made me sad, because this is how I found out about Tina, but then it hit me.  I suddenly realised why I'd signed up in the first place.

RIP Tina.  My A to Z Blog Challenge was for you and I didn't even realise it until today.  My nostalgia theme was so appropriate and I'm glad to have been a part of this Challenge!  There always is a deeper meaning for getting involved in something like this - even if you don't realise it initially

Here's the stats:  I only gained 5 new followers, but I'm putting that down to the fact that I didn't have enough time to visit and comments as many blogs as I wanted.  I am now following 10 new blogs thanks to the challenge.

an incredibly significant challenge.   

Nifty Nanny. Oy vey!

Remember that Nanny named Fran who spoke through her nose and laughed like a hyena on acid?  Yeah, I loved that TV show too. 

I thought Fran was hysterical with her grumpy Yiddish grandmother, Nanny's short skirts, colourful wardrobe, big hair and opaque tights.  Oh she was soooo 90s and such a quirky character.  I loved that she sometimes looked directly into the camera when delivering one her of snappy sarcastic one-liners.  I love her Mum, who had even bigger hair than Fran, that was forever shovelling food in her face and that she believed Barbara Streisand walked on water.

I must admit the kids were annoying and so was Maxwell, but I enjoyed the butler's gags.  Nile and Fran always ganged up on CeeCee, ripping her apart and playing daft jokes on her.

Who was your favourite character in The Nanny?

Todays music is 90s boy band 'N SYNC.  Certainly not my favourite boy band, but they were extremely popular in the 90s.

Happy Listening.

Zol or Zamalek?

And this be the end of The 2014 April A to Z Blog Challenge.  I can't believe I got through it.  I visited over 150 blogs and commented on a good few of them.  

A brilliant and successful event that was well-organised by all and sundry.  Well, done Ninjalex.

Zol [pronounced zol] A South African homemade cigarette rolled with old newspaper or rizlas (likely marijuana-filled) joint (equivalent to American "doobie"), spliff, joint

Usage : Give us a toke on your zol, man

 

Yebo, Yoh

Yebo [pronounced yeah-boe] means Yes in Zulu.   It also has the meaning of "Hello" as a reply to Sawubona, which means "greetings" in Zulu.  South Africans use this one all the time, I know I do, especially with my kids.



Usage : Under our constitution you don't have to be chicken about politically jokes.  Yebo, Nandos. 

 In the early 90s the Vodacom mobile network used this word in a lot of their "yebo gogo" commercials. Some of them were incredibly entertaining.



 

Xhosa is Just a Click Away

We are heading down the home stretch on the April A to Z Blog Challenge this week.  Only three letters left, Plonkers.

Today's letter is X, which is always a difficult one.  

My Southafricanism for today is :

Xhosa is on of the official languages of South Africa.  Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said with a rising or falling or high or low intonation. One of the most distinctive features of the language is the prominence of click consonants; the word "Xhosa" begins with a click.

Former President Nelson Mandela was a Xhosa speaker. 

This unique language is best described in song by the talented Miriam Makeba performing The Click Song or Qongqothwane.

Enjoy it - its catchy.

 

You Want Some Cheese with that Wine?

Every lass loves a glass of wine, right?

Well, South Africa has the best wines and the most awesome wine routes.  

The most famous of all - The Stellenbosch Wine Route was founded in 1971 and has been promoting its members for more than 30 years. Today the new Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Routes represent more than 200 wine and grape producers within the boundaries of the Stellenbosch Wine of Origin classification. 

You may start at any cellar of your choice and include as many as you like (hic) Daily wine tasting, cellar tours and sales are offered at most cellars and many of these have restaurant and picnic facilities (more hiccing and gigglin'). 

Get out yer credit cards, because wine can be purchased at the cellar door. Your purchases of any given quantity can be delivered locally or internationally. We have been preparing for your visit for more than 320 years! 

Visit the Stellenbosch Wine Route and experience the finest wines (it's wine o'clock all day long there), warm hospitality and memorable moments. 

The Greek philosopher Plato remarked : 'Nothing more excellent or valuable than wine has even been granted by the gods to man'.

Usage:  Tea gives me something to do until its acceptable to drink wine.

 

B flat below middle C

Vuvuzela [pronounced voo-voo-zella]  A long plastic trumpets blown by South African fans at football games, which are being talked up as the 12th man of the host team because they have the effect of deafening their opponents.

South Africans may be a conservative and reserved nation, but when it comes to supporting their favourite sports, they turn into instant hooligans.  And Hooligans with a really loud plastic trumpet, can become quite a fekkin' pain in the arse.  

In some countries the vuvuzela is banned because of its noise levels.  Nine English Premier League clubs have banned the device, they say due to health and safety reasons, I think its just coz its fucking annoying.

But its dead fun to play when you've had a few drinks to frighten your friends and neighbours!

Usage :  I thought I heard an angry swarm of bumblebees, but it was only the sound of vuvuzelas playing at the World Cup.

Yeah, the vuvuzela has been compared to the porn star, Jenna Jameson - plastic, horny and makes a hell of a noise whilst blowing.





 

Takkie Tsotsie To Die For

 "Takkies" (pronounced tack–ees) has two different meanings a rubber-soled canvas sports shoe or a vehicle's tyre.  

So you know that pair of gleaming white, Nike or Adidas running shoes that you don for that soccer game with friends? South Africans simply call them takkies. We keep them super white, enabling us to keep them for years on end. 

Incidentally, they’re a rather popular piece of treasure for thieves. Forget your wallet stuffed with cash and credit cards.  The tsotsis (thieves) will want your takkies first.

Usage : Check out the fat takkies on that motorbike!

Spinach Sarmies and Sausage Sorbet on the Side, Sies!

The A To Z Blog Challenge is plodding along swimmingly.
  

Sies [pronounced, cease] is an Afrikaans Southafricanism meaning an exclamation of something disgusting and vile.  

Similar to "Yuk!" or "Phew" as a response to something vulgar said like "how could you?".  The English South African version is "Sis", which means the same thing. 

If it is directed at a person you 

use it to express your displeasure and disgust towards that person, which basically means "shame on you".

Usage :  "Your feet stink like week-old rotting maggots.  Sies!"

or

"Sis, your April Fools joke made John feel like shite!"

Rooibos Tea at the Robot

We are heading downhill of the A to Z Blog Challenge and today we'll be chatting about something that is a big part of South African culture.

Rooibos [pronounced roy-bos] (Redbush) Tea.  The leaves are used to make an herbal tea called Rooibos

My kids grew up on this stuff because it contains no caffeine and low tannin levels. They called it "juice" until they were about two years old.  It has great health and nutritional benefits and assists with nervous tension, allergies and digestive problems.

The second Southafricanism I am going to talk about is The Robot.  

In South Africa, when we talk about a robot, we don't mean a wee metallic man who moves with a couple of taps from a remote control, we mean a set of traffic lights.  The etymology of the word derives from a description of early traffic lights as robot policemen, which then got truncated with time.

In South Africa you “jump” the robot, rather than go through it.

Usage: Jump the robot and take a short [first] left.

Potjiekos

Potjiekos [pronounced poi-key-kos] literally translated "small pot food", is a stew prepared outdoors over an open fire. It is traditionally cooked in a pot-bellied, round, cast iron, three-legged pot, the potjie, descended from the Dutch oven brought from the Netherlands to South Africa in the 17th century.

Potjie Pot is layered with meat and vegetables.  The lids is secured and left to simmer slowly.  The traditional potjie is never stirred, which makes it different from a regular stew.  Sometimes beer or wine is added to give the sauce a wee sparkle.

Among the African tribal cultures these pots became known as "phutu" pots. The black cast-iron potjie has survived the test of time and is used extensively in Africa by almost all cultures. With the advent of electricity, the potjie was all but forgotten in South Africa, but some 30 years ago it enjoyed a huge revival, and today is as valued a cooking utensil as the pressure cooker and microwave oven. 

Pot bread is another South African favourite cooked in the flat version of the Potjie.  

Often this recipe is a beer bread, also called bush bread, which goes so well with potjiekos.  Freshly baked with a lovely layer of butter is absa lootly scruptious.

Finger licking good.

Hey Okes!

Southafricanisms is the topic and today's letter is O.


Oke, ou [prounounced oak or oh].  An informal  Southafricanism meaning a man, similar to "guy" or "bloke" or "dude" derived from "okie" the anglicized form of the Afrikaans word "outjie" or little chap.  The word "ou" can be used interchangeably.

Usage : You can never stay befuck with an oke you smoke nchangu with.

Credit Indieberries

Afrikaans, Nê

Today's Southafricanism is Nê

Nê [pronounced neh] informal exclamation. It means "Really?" or "is that so?" or "don't you agree?" or "izit?".   Often used dripping with sarcasm.



Used liberally by Afrikaans speakers for emphasis.  

Usage:  “I went to the shop, nê, and I bought some milk, nê, and then I came home, nê…

or  

"That bakkie checks out lekker, nê?"

#Mampoorlifechoices

We're half way, Plonkers!

Can you believe we made it this far?  Normally by now, during the A to Z Blog Challenge, I'm loosing momentum and some of my hair!  This year, I actually prepared and scheduled some of my posts in advance.  That's not cheating izit?  Naaah...

Today's letter is M, which means today's Southafricanism is 

Mampoer [pronounced mum-poo-er]. Mampoer is extremely potent brandy made from peaches or other fruit, similar to American moonshine.  It is often referred to as witblitz (White Lightening) or dooringdraad (barbed wire) because some of the mampoer bottles have barbed wire wrapped around them.  You should actually take heed of this warning.  It is there for a reason. Beware.

Mampoer is often masked by different fruity flavours, sometimes even chocolate, mint or toffee.  Even so, it still tastes like paint stripper and kicks like a fekkin' mule!

Not for the feint-hearted and could cause instant liver failure.
 

Local is Lekkerrrrrrrrrrr

Lekker [pronounced lekk-irr with a rolling r].  From the Afrikaans word for delicious.  Lekker means nice, cool, fun or tasty.

Lekker is a commonly used word in the Dutch language that is more similar to the word English word luscious than the word tasty. Lekker is used to denote something delicious or sweet, and is more commonly used by the under 30 crowd as a term for a woman having sex appeal.  Lekker, like luscious, has a sexual connotation. In South Africa, however, lekker has primarily been used in place of the English terms "cool" or "sweet," with a much more broad, less sexual, undertone.

Usage: “We had a lekker time last night.” 

or

"Hey I just found 100 bucks! Lekker man..."  

or 

"That chick in the bikini checks out lekker hey?"

 

Kwela is Kwaai

We are almost half-way through the A to Z Blog Challenge *going laaik a boeing*

Today's Southafricanism is:

Kwela [pronounced kw-eh-la].  A popular form of township music from the 1950s, based on the pennywhistle, a cheap and simple instrument taken up by street performers.  The term kwela

comes from the isiZulu for "get up", though in township slang it also referred to the police vans, the kwela-kwela.   It is said that the young men who played the pennywhistle on street corners also acted as lookouts to warn those drinking in illegal shebeens of the arrival of the cops.

Check out Lemmy Mabaso who was famous for this type of music.

Just-Now Jol

Happy Friday, Plonkers

Be Patient

South Africans have their own time and are famous for their more relaxed attitude to time and time management.  Laaik Shwaah, hey?

Today is the letter J for the A to Z Blog challenge and were are going to discuss the phrases, "Just-now" and "now-now".

These two Southafricanisms denote varying levels of urgency. 

Just-now means a bit later i.e shortly or in a bit, whereas now-now means a little more immediate.

Usage :  Are you coming to Jason's braai?  Sure, I'll be there just-now.

Phoning someone “now-now” is sooner than “now” or “just-now” but not as soon as “right now”. 

It may seem rather confusing at first, but we have brilliant safaris and people who do our fekkin' ironing.  Geezo, it's blerrie paradise.

Either adapt and learn, or just smile and wave, bru.