The Delight of an Unexpected Date

One of the things that Tom and I had placed on our to-do list for Lusaka was a visit out to SugarBush Farm. Several months ago, after attending church in Lusaka we took a Sunday drive--what a concept!--and discovered this little farm which hosts a leather shop and cafe. Since we had already had lunch at the time of our discovery, we weren't in the mood to eat, but just wandered around and took in the beautiful scenery and looked at the handmade leather goods.

When we knew we were going to be in Lusaka for a few days this month, we thought it would be wonderful to visit again and perhaps have lunch. But, as our list of important things to do got longer, Sugarbush Farm was pushed farther and farther down until at one point we simply laughed and mimed it dying as it fell off entirely.

Then, providence struck in the form of a lost bag at the airport. Suddenly, with all our important work done, we had the gift of an extra day in Lusaka.

After a quiet morning at the hotel where Tom got a much needed sleep-in, and I spent a couple hours working to the soundtrack of a Psych episode, we drove out of town on a rare and special DATE.

Sugarbush Farm has winding lanes that take you past corrals with horses and beautiful trees. We looked for the Irish Wolfhound type dog we'd seen last time but he was no where to be found. It's the kind of property that says it has been around, seen a lot and stood the test of time. It's not something you see everyday in this relatively new country, and so it is always a delight. It carries a type of restfulness with it, if that makes any sense.


 Then we arrived at the main attraction: A farmhouse converted into a cafe and a shop called Jackal and Hide.

Out back there is a large garden which provides produce for the cafe and sometimes even for sale, though this time it looked a bit overgrown--probably due to the heavy rains we've been having.

We wandered through the leather shop for a while. I need to replace my stolen wallet, but while there were many beautiful things, I didn't find exactly what I was looking for. That's OK! The hunt is half the fun.

Afterward, we settled on the wide porch to enjoy lunch. And here is when it got really exciting for me. The menu looked legitimate! It featured dishes that made it easy to forget we were sitting in the backwoods of Zambia--including Louisiana Crayfish with a Remoulade. A remoulade! In Zambia?? For real??

Tom chose the crayfish and I settled on a pasta dish with crispy bacon and fresh herbs because I wanted to see what the garden produced. And boy, was I glad I did! The pasta turned out to be homemade! I've never seen homemade pasta in Zambia (other than in my own kitchen, that is) and it was amazing!

We relaxed and enjoyed the cool breeze for a time, before heading back to the city. 

It's moments like this that I remember that All Things Work Together For Good. A forced delay in our plans gave us the gift of a Special Date. 

P.S. Poor Tom didn't enjoy the day quite as much as I did due to the fact that, knowing he needed a good night sleep, I gave him a sedative (2 in fact) the night before, which did in fact allow him to sleep really well, but which also meant he wandered around in a fog all day and all he could think about was crawling back into bed. Poor man! ha ha

Exactly Three Years Ago: Pause Life for a Moment (a guest post I did)