Saturday, 30 April 2016

A Tale of Disastrous Cakes at my House


After my catastrophic efforts to save money by baking birthday cakes instead of buying for family members  last year, I vowed to keep trying. Never say die, up girl and bake, right? Read here about what happened when I baked for my 2-year-old daughter, Rudairo, in November 2015.  .Well, it doesn't look like things are improving much this year. The pictures below tell the full horrific tale. 

 23 November 2015

This is the shameful cake I made for Rudairo when she turned 2. There was sweltering heat that November day, which I blame for the icing that melted like a burning candle. The real truth is I can't ice cakes. 

12 January 2016

I decided to bake a two-layered moist chocolate cake on the eve of my son Victor's birthday. He was turning 10. To make up for the icing challenges, I bought ready-made icing,  and slept well assured that nothing could go wrong this time. 

I woke up to find he had dug a hole in the centre from top to base

Determined not to fail this time around, I dashed to the shops to buy cupcakes to do some patchwork. Unfortunately I could not find chocolate ones and had to make do with vanilla ones. 

After filling up the hole, I iced the cake and sprinkled hundreds and thousands on top. No-one could have guessed what lay beneath the icing. Can't help thinking that's exactly the same way people present themselves in life - masquerading as people they are not, putting layers of icing on their real personalities. Sobering thought. 

We placed the candles and joyously sang "Happy Birthday to You  Vicky", and he blew his candles. So we can safely say I iced and aced it haha!

You can never hide the truth forever. After cutting, the true colours Cyndie Lauper  sang about started showing J


9 February 2016

I had my husband's cake professionally made at Bakers Corner, Matsapha. The joint is known far and wide for making very good cakes. I decided against baking at home because we were having a dinner party and I did not want to embarrass myself and have the guests feel sorry for me and say, "At least you tried, shame!" I sent a whatsapp message requesting a Manchester United cake. I was quite relaxed because, come on, these were professionals who baked and delivered cakes everyday. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing!


Before loading the cake in the car, I decided to just peek to ensure it was really his. Lo and behold, they had made an Arsenal cake. He would have choked on it. I had to sit for some 15 minutes while they superimposed the Manchester United  logo


I think God is trying to tell me something. We should not be eating cake in our house. I'm trying to lose weight and sugar is my biggest downfall. It can't surely be a coincidence that all efforts at cakes are such epic fails? Next birthday in the house is in August. Let's wait and see! I think God is telling me, "Child, eat apples on birthdays. Your waistline will thank you!"

Art pieces at Catembe Gallery Hotel



I was intrigued by the art pieces below, which I found at the Catembe Gallery Hotel. I didn't ask for explanations or who made them,but I just took notice. 












These pictures were at Maputo Hotel. Simple, yet quite nice. I'm inspired to frame pictures that only I took to decorate my home.

A taste of Maputo Waters and its Bluebottle Jellyfish





A view of the port while we were on a ferry taking us to Catembe


Ferries are a very popular mode of transport in Maputo. All these people were either getting of or trying to get on one


I took this picture at the Catembe Gallery Hotel

Unfortunately I could not get a better picture of  that yellow ferry because my baby was clingy

I had a nightmarish experience after being stung by a Portuguese man 'o war otherwise known as the bluebottle jellyfish. I would have wept if my children had not been around. I don't remember ever being in so much agony before. It felt like I had been seared by a hot wire. I thought i had been bitten by a snake. All I could think to say when I left that place was, "You heartless beach!" 

The bluebottle jellyfish. How so dead and harmless it looks, yet so unbelievably evil L

That stringy thing is like a thin thread and when it got onto my skin it felt like it wanted to penetrate the skin. I think if you left it on it would penetrate, but you won't because the pain is so  incredibly intense.

I was left with what looked like burn marks on my arms. And there was an intense burning sensation. 

Two days after the marks turned red


The legacy of the jellyfish a month later. Looks like I will have scars to show when, in 20 years time, I tell my grandchildren about the day I got stung by the bluebottle jellyfish 



The water in Maputo is quite murky. In other places I heard it was clear.