Thinking out loud

It's a few minutes to Christmas and I'm deflated! I'm watching a little video clip of my niece and nephew looking dizzyingly cute and my eyes are filled with tears. I'm the sentimental type. The type that looks back and tries to remember exactly what I was doing at this time last year. I miss that life, I miss them. So it's Christmas in our own little flat this year. Had no time or the wherewithal to prepare something special. All I have is my tree. And I LOOOOOVE it! What a year it's been and I'm grateful for all the lessons, trials and triumphs. I just wish I could do Christmas with those crazies. The gadget obsessed one, the sofa sleeping one who is crazy about shopping, the busy body who couldn't care less about Christmas food, the one who talks too much and thinks she's American, the 12 year old with the mind of a middle-aged woman, the one who laughs till he drools and watches too much Top Gear, the sadza eating one who is also a formidable

Whilst pondering the fact that the world would end, I was really rather irritated. I got myself looking decent enough for the bridesmaid dress and spent weeks practicing our dances for the wedding, only for the world to end? On the day before no less! As our existence drew to a close, I wished I'd had answers to life's big philosophical questions like.... who let the dogs out? who shot the deputy? Why does the food ordered on the next table always look better than your own? How do the neighbors know exactly when to make noise? Where is Johnny Walker going? When will my family be altogether again... I guess I now have time to figure it all out xx

(image courtesy of BBC News) I read a heartwarming story about a man who was the only supporter of his team present at a Football match between his team Udinese against Sampdoria. Alone on the visitors stands, facing a crowd of Sampdoria fans. It's beautiful, poetic even! I watch my fair share of football. And have supported several teams FOR NO GOOD REASON! And if many football fans were honest enough to admit it, they'd realise that they couldn't explain why they support who they do and if they can it's no better than my own reasons. I was an Arsenal supporter, a serious regalia wearing, Emirates visiting type. Who could ramble stats in my sleep. It was only because it was my brother in law's team and perhaps deep down I wanted to impress him. I loved why he supported them too. Back in football's uglier days Arsenal was one of the few teams where black players were respected and represented. I supported Newcastle (and still do) because I looooove the

Doesn't the world end today? And I've left last night's chicken in the microwave, that's hardly appropriate for mankind's last day on earth. I wonder if all these people have even the faintest idea. I drove by a construction site where they were continuing work. Talk about a monumental waste of time! And how about the poster advertising that Black Coffee (South African house DJ and not the beverage!) will be performing in Harare this weekend? Sorry guys, Black Coffee will be indisposed and so will we. Little smithereens that we'll be when the earth explodes or however it is we're making our exit. That said I am going to work this morning. Far be it from me to have egg on my face, when all's at it should be tomorrow! But incase I'm wrong, happy Wednesday everyone!! Make it count , it could your last. xx

Have you noticed how there's so much sarcasm about true love. The media is at great pains to tell us that true love is a myth and that sex is all that matters. Why? It's baffling! I saw a couple today. Meeting at the airport after several weeks apart. The knowing smiles, the little whispers they shared. True love right there at Harare International Airport. They're really in love and it's true, pure and beautiful That is all....

....when we're dancing on the ceiling!!! I am watching the video to Lionel Richie's 1986 hit. I'm stunned. Can't figure out if it's supposed to be funny or whether it's just a bad case of trying too hard. Whatever it is, I'm glad it's not 1986 anymore! That is all!

After having conquered my fears and started blogging, the next big thing was to write something that would go to print. Me writing something worth printing? Hilarious! It still boggles my mind how God deposits things in us. An interest, a talent, a gift or dream. He goes there you go Rudo, you can cook; Rita, you can braid; Dee, you can go out of your way to serve; Ray, you can make people laugh and Penny, well, you can kinda write! Ever noticed when you choose to live out that dream or operate in your gift and conquer your fears the dreams get bigger and the courage needed to go out there and do it is all that much more? Anyway I took a leap and have started writing for a magazine. You already know this BUT I finally found an online link! http://issuu.com/jasminemufaro/docs/jewel_11th_issue Click on the link, then on the issue's front page and as you read, encounter the dream that came true on page 54. What's your dream? What are you good at? Are you doing it? Now, I

Isn't life amazing??! There are just enough cringe-worthy moments to keep it interesting! Think about it..., •the moment you realise that the odd textured thing in your mouth is indeed a piece of hair, a very long one at that •the moment you drop the toilet roll down the loo, too big to flush. •the moment you let one rip when you're alone in the lift, only to be joined by hoards a moment after •the moment you realise that your episode of unjustifiable road rage was directed at a little old lady. Your mum's bible study partner no less •the moment you realise you accused someone of losing something that you actually have in your purse •how about calling the electrician in for something that just needed you to turn it on at the socket I could go on..........and I will! •forget not remembering the name of this friendly person you meet at the supermarket (who knows your name and that you lost your cat last week!) how about getting their name wrong and then having

I've always wanted to lose weight. Even when I was as thin as a rake, I'd stand in front of the mirror, tugging away at the barely there bits of flab around my hips or tummy wishing it away. I wasn't serious then because I had no weight to lose! Sadly I cannot say the same now. Boy is there weight to be lost!! Ever since starting university I have steadily piled on the LBs and with every upheaval, every heartbreak, every stressful situation and every happy event I have eaten and steadily morphed into a girl that looks nothing like the girl I see in my mind!! Thanks to McDonald's sausage and egg mcmuffins (with cheese!), M&S chocolate tray bake, KFC hot wings, fish and chips, LIDL cook at home ribs, Haribos, paprika flavoured lays crisps, chocolate digestives, Nandos chicken with the requisite fries, coleslaw, spicey rice and sweet potato mash, cocktail sausages, vol-au-vents of any kind, Sainsburys quiche, crispy rolls with lashings of butter, M&S non-alcoholi

It's the 23rd of October and all I can do is smile. I'm grateful for my life and hopeful for the future. This year I've wished for many things. But some of the biggest things have been that I would be a better and more reliable friend, sister, aunt, daughter and wife. That there would be more gratitude than grumbling on my lips. That I would say more meaningful and helpful things and that I would stop crying about EVERYTHING! As I said it's a wish, bear with me through my transformation! I found a wonderful verse in the bible that has been my wish for everyone. I've put it in almost every birthday card I've written this year and it's also my prayer for myself. It goes 'I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health - that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul' 3 John. I just opened my journal to check that I'd written it out correctly and stumbled on a note my husband left there wishing me well for toda

In my time of blog silence the stuff that we shipped from England finally arrived. It was such a team effort from my family and friends who helped me pack, to the kind people at Space Station Self Storage, who always seemed to be open when we needed extra tape or bubble wrap! And of course the company we used to get the things here. After having waited this long for our things, it was more than a little weird seeing those boxes with my handwriting on them; being lowered from the back of a truck. I certainly did not want to open them. I am a do it all at once kinda girl. For instance when I decided to watch Mad Men, it was two full days and four seasons all at once. When I got my kindle, it took me a couple of hours to fill it with books. When I carry stuff out of the car I would rather resemble a circus act (think woman walking tightrope, with everything from a monkey and a flat screen tv balanced on her chin!) than make several trips. I have since opened a few of the boxes. The fi

Hi there all you kind enough to be interested in my blog people!! (Victor particularly!) Im sorry! It's been too long since I have updated the blog but I have been a little busy, far too hot for my own good (Zimbabwean summer is well and truly here!) and to be honest a little bit lazy. Since I last posted, several interesting things have happened and I will tell you all about them in good time. I am at this very moment counting down to the next power cut and trying to figure out how I will complete my long to do list after the electricity cuts off. The joys of home! The real joys of being home are plucking, fresh, sweet strawberries from my mum's garden everyday. the beautiful weather (the heat is a little uncomfortable but it beats the cold anyday, I think!!) watching the chickens walking around the garden the beautiful carpet of jacaranda flowers on the grass and, the maputi and freezits that await me when I get off this laptop! Have a great day wherever you are and I

I laughed reading a news article about the dilemma that men in Taiwan find themselves in. To sit or not to sit. While having a wee. I could not believe it. According to a Taiwanese minister, sitting on the toilet like women do, creates a cleaner environment. Seriously! Local governments are actually going to put up notices in public places suggesting that men to sit down. Turns out 30% of men in Japan sit down and there’s a serious political style campaign in Sweden to advocate for sitting down. Why sit down? No pee puddles = a cleaner and fresher smelling toilet! While I am all for toilets that smell of roses, this whole thing just made me realise that being in a developed country means that people have the luxury to worry and spend time and money on things that, in the greater scheme of things, don’t actually matter! In Taiwan, gents care to take a (toilet) seat? In the rest of the world approximately 2.6 billion people have nowhere to go to the toilet. That’s not ‘Oh crumbs! They d

I love reading books. There is nothing I enjoy more than immersing myself in a narrative and finding myself emotionally invested and thinking of the characters’ lives long after I have put the book away. I enjoy the process of discovery and I take pleasure in how much I learn about myself during the process. I am obsessive about most things I do. And reading is no different. I will not read just anything. I have a long list of books that I must read and I read and re-read book reviews before I give a book a chance. It’s probably why I am petrified of writing a book of my own (who will want t read it?). But there have been books that I have just bumped into and I have loved. Jeffery Nyarota’s , Against the Grain was one such book and it was after reading it that I set myself the task of reading as many Zimbabwean books as possible, particularly books with some of some sort of political commentary. Since setting myself that task, other books have got in the way. Women in Love, The Help,

One of the things I love the most about the internet is its ability to connect you to like minded people. Having the internet means I can reach out to people who are as weird as I am wherever they might be in the world! Granted it’s given the crazies a platform to join together in the most disheartening and shocking ways, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I am thinking more of the times where you have a question that no one else can answer. For instance I have a health concern and I wonder if I’m normal or dying from the world’s rarest condition. Or those times I’m playing the name game with the family and my brother in law insists that Bujumburistan is a country and the rest of us just can’t be sure! Or you hear a snippet of a song on an advert and you really want to buy it on iTunes and no one seems to know it. The internet gives me the assurance that someone out there in the world has had the same thoughts and I sigh knowing that I am not alone. It is the greatest human conditi

First I would like to thank everyone who has been following my blog and for all the kind comments on my writing. The truth is I love to write and I have never written for anyone but myself, my university lectureres and a few articles here and there. And much as I exude (or at least I think I do!) confidence and an air of being sure of myself, I really am petrified of what people will think of my writing. My writing appears relaxed but in reality it is tentative and mostly written down in my trusty journal first so as to edit and re-edit. All I'm saying is I worry what everyone will think and I am grateful that those of you who like my writing, like my writing! Thanks for following and encouraging me to write more. I've been quiet for about a month and on a quick perusal of my previous posts I realise that all of them are a month apart. It is not deliberate. I was hoping this whole blogging malarkey would be a little bit like writing in my journal and yet I still write in my jou

In April, my brother, his fiance and my beautiful niece and nephew came to visit us. It was the happiest and busiest I’ve been for a long time. Driving back from the airport after they’d left, I blinked back the tears. I hate saying goodbye! In a bid to calm myself I got my journal out and started to write. I do this often, put my feelings down on paper. It’s terribly cathartic!  As we drove down the dark streets, I was overcome by how much I love my family. Every single one of them! Unlike most families, my siblings and I have very different life experiences. We have the same mum and dad but I am much younger than them and I arrived almost in the post dad era! I’ll be honest when I first started thinking about writing a blog about family; it was going to be full of comical anecdotes and harsh characterisation of each of them. BUT this isn’t that at all. Like me they’re flawed, I’ve often rolled my eyes at them, they’ve made me cry and often I wonder how it’s possible that w

One thing that excited me the most about coming back to Zimbabwe was the chance to eat some good food. I have to say all the food I have eaten in the homes I have visited has been exceptional. Kudos to my mum for all the old school grub and the ridiculously large portions; she really is a woman after my own heart! I however also LOVE going out to eat and let it be known I’m not a food snob! I’ll eat at the grubby greasy spoon and enjoy it as much as the swanky eatery. I thought I’d give my opinion on a few of the places where I have eaten. Before I begin, I feel obligated to state that it is not my intention to be mean. As something of a cook myself, I know the sting of a harsh critic! As a fellow food critic, Anton Ego, in the Disney movie Ratatouille stated and I agree,   ‘ In many ways the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgement. We thrive on negative criticism which is fun to write

I’m writing this with slight urgency, there is no electricity and Toshi-apple (my laptop!) has been known to give up the ghost without warning!   Today I’m thinking about lessons learnt since coming home. I say today, I actually thought about these lessons on Monday but I have only just had a quiet moment to type them out now! 1.        Hold your tummy in while driving over potholes. It’s a kind of exercise, like power plates Benghazi style! 2.        Chicken slice over Chicken inn any day! It’s like KFC without the smell, more grease and utterly heavenly. 3.        The money is dirty and looks as though it will fall apart, but it works, GET OVER IT. 4.        Put all the sweets and pens you get as change in the supermarket into a box, they’ll be useful as birthday and Christmas gifts. 5.        Make no eye contact with the street traders; they’ll interpret it as an expression of interest. 6.        The stuff coming out of the tap is bad for your health; drink it at your p

When was the last time any of you went to Magaba? I was there yesterday. Right there in the thick of the bustling business district (!). It is amazing there. Thanks to one of my dearest friends for helping me see things I may never have seen. The place is a total paradox; it is poverty and economic self empowerment rolled into one. Granted, you’ll have to carry your handbag close to your body like a baby and deal with people trying to sell you things from the minute you walk in, but you haven’t lived until you have spent some time there. Everyone reminds you that they’re your brother or your husband’s brother, regular family! My friend and I go to the same workshop every time, buy the same thing every time and yet we come away with a new insight on life every time ! Yesterday’s insight was that (wo)man and rodent can actually live in harmony. Ain’t no beef there! The biggest rats you have ever seen looked down on us while we waited to collect our baking tins and cake boards from the

A good friend suggested that I start blogging, she knows me well. I've been blogging pretty much my whole life. Just not on a computer. I have loads of journals to show for it. Journaling is far less daunting though, thats because its just for me. But I agreed to start blogging because my husband and I have just made a big move. Big changes in my life and I want to share that with you all! So here's how this will work. I will think out loud and share it with you. I'll explore being back home and i'll share thoughts about random things. Hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I know i'll enjoy writing it.