Christmas lights and decorations aren’t a big thing in Joburg. A huge percentage of the city’s houses are behind high walls, and a huge percentage of the city’s residents leave town for the Christmas/summer holidays. So most Joburgers don’t bother with outdoor Christmas decorations, but I recently learned about a notable exception: Moray Drive in Bryanston.
Greylene the Suzuki Jimny Hits the Road
For those of you who didn’t see on social media already, I bought a car. Her name is Greylene and she is a 2022 [Suzuki Jimny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Jimny#:~:text=The%20Suzuki%20Jimny%20(Japanese%3A%20%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BA%E3%82%AD,Japanese%20automaker%20Suzuki%20since%201970.).

I have never been a “car person”. I have never thought much about cars and never understood why people spend such insanely large amounts of money, time, and brain space on cars. My previous car, Henrike – named for the very dear, now-departed friend who sold her to me – was a tiny, no-frills, 2007 Hyundai Atos, and she suited my needs perfectly for a decade.
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Visiting Dolobran, Joburg's Quirkiest Mansion
Last weekend Thorsten and I visited Dolobran, one of Joburg’s oldest, quirkiest, and most mysterious mansions, on a tour with the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation (JHF). Dolobran is unique among Joburg’s “Randlord” mansions (other examples of which include Villa Arcadia and the View) in that it’s privately owned, still occupied by descendants of the original owners, and almost never open to the public. Saturday’s tour was open only to JHF members and photography wasn’t allowed inside.
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Asian Food Explorations in Rivonia
I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for weeks but I kept getting distracted by other adventures: a dazzling community light festival, a 2-billion-year-old meteorite crater, and a Heritage Month tour of churches. Now I’m back on track and ready to tell you about my food explorations in Rivonia.