rooibos tea | Diary of an Adventurous Retiree

Here are my answers to this week’s interesting questions from Cee

List some of your favorites types of teas

I am addicted to coffee. But I try not to drink too much so actually I drink more cups of tea than coffee. Anne over at Something over Tea has encouraged me to be more adventurous in my choices from time to time – but I tend to stick to a South African favourite – Rooibos Tea (Red Bush Tea) It is made from the needle like leaves of a bush that grows in Cedarberg mountains of the Western Cape. In most South African homes when you are offered a cuppa you’re asked your preference – Rooibos or Ceylon? It is not a true tea but you brew it in the same way as you would Ceylon tea. I like it black with a slice of lemon.

A cup of chai

All about Rooibos

Rooibos is believed to have many healing properties and it is often fed to colicky babies. It is also an ingredient in some South African skin care products.

A variation on my Rooibos may include Chai or lemon and mint flavoured. I also like cranberry flavoured. Green Tea is possibly the only other tea I drink. I never touch Ceylon tea.

If you had to describe your day as a traffic sign, what would it be?

I really couldn’t think of a good road sign to describe me so chose this as sometimes I’m so confused!

What are a couple of things could people do for you on a really bad day that would really help you?

My first reaction would be – Leave me alone. I don’t often have bad days but a few weeks ago I was feeling emotional and was actually in tears thinking about my aunt who was dying. My phone pinged and it was my best friend texting me from England. “Do you want to Skype?” We hadn’t Skyped in months. How did she know I needed her? She said I’d just popped into her head and she felt she had to call me. It was just what I needed.

Irregardless of your physical fitness, coordination or agility: If you could be an athlete what would do do? Remember this is SYW, dreaming is always allowed

I love watching gymnastics and ice skating and that would be my dream skill if I had my life over.

Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up

It’s almost a year since my hubby had his double bypass in Italy. I am grateful that he is now in excellent health. So much so that he suggested another trip abroad – this time to Thailand and today we booked! We will be setting off on 5 August. How cool is it to be retired!

I am looking forward to preparing for the planned trip.

I was surprised to wake up after my husband this morning. But then it was almost 8 o’clock! He was up, sitting in the Laz-y-boy reading – most unlike him. It was still raining!

“Right now,” I said, “I have this craving for croissants – and I need to get out – I have cabin fever!” So we woke our sleepy daughter and made our way to l’Agulhas where I was sure I would find said delicacy at a little coffee/gift shop called Potpourri. “It is such a miserable day that nobody will be there and we can indulge in a good cup of coffee too.”” How wrong I was. Everybody at the southern tip of Africa was sick of the rain and felt the need to get out for air so we could barely get a parking spot let alone a table for three. I bought a few things I wanted from the gift part of the shop and we headed out to The Southern Most Restaurant and pub to see if they could be more accommodating. After checking their menu and finding only egg and bacon we decided to return to Potpourri and wait for a table. Luck was with us – in the five minutes we were gone a parking spot right outside was available and a tiny table for three was free. Service was instant but no croissants on the menu! I settled for Lemon Meringue while E had an English breakfast and Lolz French toast and bacon. She was annoyed when there was no green tea – I had told her that I was quite sure it was the sort of place that would have it – so she had to settle for Rooibos. I was well satisfied with the hot, strong and black filter coffee and Earl said the Cappuccino was excellent.

I am not usually the sort to have cake for breakfast but I just did not feel like eggs today! The weather called for indulgence and boy did I enjoy it.

We decided that there was little point in spending another night just so we could fight the traffic home on Monday. So we packed up and left a midday and enjoyed a pleasant, unstressed trip home. The weather in Cape Town is somewhat less stormy but I think that might change tomorrow.