Wedding slices

Ooooooh these turned out so much better than I could have hoped. All in preparation for the Bridal fair.

The Joys of living in Africa/ Australia - follow up.

After my last entry here, about living in Africa, I realise that there are similar problems in the rest of the world.
The difference is people are held accountable and made to correct their mistakes.

And we think the Eskom billing system is bad?

In March 1999 a man living in Kandos (near Mudgee in NSW, Australia) received a bill
for his as yet unused gas line stating that he owed $0.00. He ignored it and threw it away.
In April he received another bill and threw that one away too.. The following month the
gas company sent him a very nasty note stating that they were going to cancel his gas line
if he didn't send them $0.00 by return mail. He called them, talked to them, and they said
it was a computer error and they would take care of it.

The following month he decided that it was about time that he tried out the troublesome
gas line figuring that if there was usage on the account it would put an end to this ridicu-
lous predicament. However, when he went to use the gas, it had been cut off. He called
the gas company who apologised for the computer error once again and said that they
would take care of it. The next day he got a bill for $0.00 stating that payment was now
overdue. Assuming that having spoken to them the previous day the latest bill was yet
another mistake, he ignored it, trusting that the company would be as good as their word
and sort the problem out.

The next month he got a bill for $0.00. This bill also stated that he had 10 days to pay his
account or the company would have to take steps to recover the debt. Finally, giving in,
he thought he would beat the gas company at their own game and mailed them a cheque
for $0.00. The computer duly processed his account and returned a statement to the effect
that he now owed the gas company nothing at all.

A week later, the manager of the Mudgee branch of the Westpac Banking Corporation
called our hapless friend and asked him what he was doing writing cheque for $0.00. Af-
ter a lengthy explanation the bank manager replied that the $0.00 cheque had caused their
cheque processing software to fail. The bank could therefore not process ANY cheques
they had received from ANY of their customers that day because the cheque for $0.00 had
caused the computer to crash.

The following month the man received a letter from the gas company claiming that his
cheque had bounced and that he now owed them $0.00 and unless he sent a cheque by
return mail they would take immediate steps to recover the debt.

At this point, the man decided to file a debt harassment claim against the gas company. It
-took him nearly two hours to convince the clerks at the local courthouse that he was not

joking.

They subsequently helped him in the drafting of statements which were considered sub-
stantive evidence of the aggravation and difficulties he had been forced to endure during
this debacle.

The matter was heard in the Magistrate's Court in Mudgee and the outcome was this:

The gas company was ordered to:

[1] Imrnediately rectify their computerised accounts system or Show cause, within 10
days, why the matter should not be referred to a higher court for consideration under
Company Law.

[2] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by the man.

[3] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by all the Westpac clients whose cheques had
been bounced on the day our friend's had been processed.

[4] Pay the claimant's court costs; and

[5] Pay the claimant a total of $1500 per month for the 5 month period March to July inclusive as compensation for the aggravation they had caused their client to suffer.

 

Cupcakes

You would be forgiven for thinking that this was a real baked cupcake with a fondant icing rose. Sorry to disappoint. It is all soap.

I LOVE SOAP. It is so "flexible". You just need to understand it to know what it can do.

The Joys of living in Africa

I am very lucky to live in Africa, I do know this. But lately a few things have happened to make me question living here vs. living abroad.
I am loyal to my country but loyally can only get you so far, you need an infrastructure that works and a mass of people who are educated enough not to want to burn their schools down and who don't believe it is their right to have a job. I believe you have to work to get a job and then work to keep it.
I recently went to the post office to mail a parcel to a client of mine.Being the OC Virgo that I am it was double wrapped in brown paper, had all the necessary addresses - to and from, the tracking number, up arrows and so much more. It looked good enough to give away as a birthday gift! I am always quite careful that my clients get a nice looking parcel. I handed the parcel over, paid my money, and the lovely lady behind the counter scanned the tracking number, gave me a receipt and I went on my merry way.
5 days later I got a slip in the mail to say there was a parcel waiting for me. I was so excited because I was expecting my sister's Christmas present from London. And she always sends such nice gifts. Yes, I know what you are thinking... Christmas present, now! I think the snow and bad weather in December sent my pressie in the wrong direction. Anyway I digress. I rushed of to the post office only to find a very familiar looking parcel waiting for me... the parcel I had sent to my client 5 days previously!!! A huge gap in the centre of it where the clients address should have been.

The clients address was torn off and so the post office could only send it back to me as mine was still there. I was then asked to sign my slip of paper to acknowledge receipt of the parcel, which I refused to do. A heated argument then broke out because I entrusted them to mail my parcel not to me but to my client. If I had signed I would then have had to pay AGAIN to have the parcel resent.
Trying to investigate the matter leads me back to the education. point I raised earlier: how do you explain the logic of what happened to a person who does not understand you and who is illiterate? I got a blank stare and a lot of EEEHHH and EISH and many other things. Speaking to the manager did not get me much further so I re-addressed the parcel, wished it loads of luck and 7 days later it arrived. Thankfully!

One of the problems with Africa is a job is NOT awarded on merit, it is awarded on colour. Racist you cry. Yes you are right, but reverse racism it is. I hate to bring it up but it is a fact. Anyway in my opinion if you can't do the job then you shouldn't be in the job. Colour has nothing to do with it.

Wall of soap

I am having such fun personalising soaps for weddings. It is such a simple thing but really makes a difference
to a plain piece of soap.

M&P Jelly Roll

When I started making soap I only made Cold Process. A year after making my first CP batch I tried M & P and hated it. A year later I tried again and now I love it. It is a versatile, fun, easy way to make soap but without the fuss.
Today I am going to show you how make a scroll/jelly roll and then "insert" it in the middle of a round soap.

You will need:

• Clear Melt and Pour soap base and opaque/white base
• Liquid glycerine
• Microwave jugs
• Colour for your soap
• Fragrance/ Essential oil 
• Spoon to stir - I use a Chop stick
• Square brownie silicone mould 
• Round soap mould - I used a drain pipe
• Alcohol ( not for drinking) You want rubbing alcohol or similar to spray away bubbles

 

METHOD:
Part 1

1. Place you clear Melt and Pour into your microwave jug and melt in short 10-20 second bursts in the microwave
2. Put about 2 tsp of liquid glycerine into the soap base - this helps make it a little more pliable
3. Once it is all melted pour enough of the soap into the brownie mould to be about 0.5cm high
4. Spay the newly poured soap with alcohol
5. Let the soap sit for about 8-10 minutes. This is quite tricky as you don't want to leave the soap too long or it will be too hard and not long enough and it will be too soft. 
6. Once the soap is hard but flexible remove it from the mould and roll it up gently into a scroll. Tip - I place the soap "sheet" on a piece of paper and roll up the paper, then pull the paper out sideways.

Once you have rolled your soap let it sit for 1-2 hours until it is really nice and hard.

 

Part 2

1. Place your white/ opaque Melt and Pour into another microwave jug and melt in short bursts in the microwave.
2. When it is all melted add your colour, I added 2 drops pink and 1 drop blue to give me a lavender shade.
3. Add your fragrance or essential oils - I use between 1-2 % depending on how strong the oil is and how strong I want my soap to smell.
4. While the coloured soap is cooling, spray alcohol onto your scroll/ jelly roll and place it into the middle of your round mould. I used a down/drain pipe. 
5. Make sure your soap has cooled nicely and pour it into the mould making sure you have no air bubbles. Spray the soap with alcohol to remove any bubbles
6. Wait for the soap to cool. This time will vary but about 2 hours. 
7. Once cool remove from the mould and cut. I actually use the mould as a guide when I am cutting.