While the treefellers ...

... are sawing, cracking and felling old branches and trunks of these once-magnificent conifers in my garden .... and making me very nervous watching branches hurtling down on my plants, garden wall, neighbours garden ...... (ooh she's not going to be too happy when she gets home from work - but they do promise to tidy up the whole area!)



.. thought I would post of few photos of the World of Wine tasting we went to yesterday.

It's held over a weekend once a year at a nearby shopping centre for us 'up-country folk' to get a taste of different wines ... seeing as we are nowhere close to any wine estates!

There are various venues around Gauteng that hold wine tastings at this time of year and this one at the World Wear shopping centre is held, not only to attract people to the wine tastings but also to attract people to the centre

There were some good wines ... some nice wines ... some plonk ... some music whilst we wandered from table to table ....

We didn't go for the purpose of purchasing any, as most are available in all the bottle stores and retail outlets selling wines, but it's nice to taste wines that on the shelves that you're not too sure about. Appealing and eye catching labels with an enticing 'story' at the back of the bottle is all very well until the bottle is bought, opened ... and it's awful ... such a waste of money.

But we came away with two bottles -

Seven Oaks 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz which was awarded "Best kept Secret" by Swiss International Air Lines in 2006 and "Young Winemaker of the Year" by The Diners Club in 2006. Seven Oaks winery in the Breede River Valley was established in 2003. There is a website www.sevenoaks.co.za but it's not coming up on my laptop.

Black Pearl Oro 2007 Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon - the winemaker, Mary Lou, chatted to us .. how could we not buy her wine!! The family run winery is in Paarl - family originating from New England.

Update on my trees - one completely down ... busy on the second one!

Weekly Winners : 23 - 29 August

"Hello ... my name is Erin ....

"I spent last Sunday with my Grwanny and Grwampa while my mommy and daddy went to play golf. We had a lovely day celebrating their friend's birthday who is visiting from a long, long way away ... over the sea ... and she is missing her little girl and her family ... so my Grwanny and Grwampa gave her presents ...


... and my Grwanny made a huge castle-chocolate-eclair cake - I helped put on the candles ..

"All the grown-ups had a 'cool drink' which their other friend, C, made because it's made from 'stuff' that came all the way from Peru (that's where C comes from!) ... it's called Coctel de Algarrobina ...

... they said it was very, very, very yummy ...

... but my cousins - Bradley and Connor - and I also had yummy stuff - chocolate eclairs!!!

I wasn't going to share with them .... they shouldn't have eaten theirs first!

Look at the pretty flowers my Grwanny had in the house .. !!

They had such a nice smell ...

"I see a birdie looking down at my Grwanny .. she thinks it's a chaffinch but she's not really sure ..

... doesn't he look very proud with his chest puffed up ... ?

"There are lots of pretty Spring flowers in my Grwanny's garden ..

.. this one is called Scilla natalensis (Blue Squill) ...


... with the little blue flowers starting to open ..

.. but the best is the Flowering Plum (Prunus x blireiana) ...

... covered with delicate pink flowers ...

"He he he ... peek-a-boo .... I see you! That's my cousin Connor .. he's funny ... I like to play with him ...

Thanks for dropping by ... bye for now ...

Love from Erin x x x "

P.S. Note from Grwanny -

My Wine-of-the-Week is this one - Allesverloren Shiraz from 'the oldest wine estate in the Swartland' in the Cape. Mmm mmm .. oh yes ... this was nice ... will definitely buy it again .. lip-smackingly good!!

For more Weekly Winners go to Lotus' - sarcasticmom.com

Jackie's friend ...

... came to visit today!

He's a miniature doberman who lives down the road ... and who is so small and thin, he hops through the gate ...



... and comes to play!!

Robbie sometimes chases him away .. or sometimes, like today ... lets him stay to play ..

Jackie and her friend whizz around the garden ....


... and usually Robbie joins in ...

.. and then he goes ..

Apologies for the blurry photos - they dash around very fast !!!

Skywatch Friday : "I see the moon ..

... and the moon sees me" .... through the spring blossoms of the Flowering Plum (prunus x blireiana)...

Hello ... another little bird watching me while I take photos of the blue sky - I think he's a Chaffinch .. not my usual visitor .. even though they're common (according to the bird book!)


We had beautiful blue skies and then the wind blew ...

"Alas, a black cloud hid the sun, large raindrops fill the sky,
'Put up my hood,' cried Minny Car, 'pile in if you'd keep dry."
"The lightning flashed, the thunder rolled, as if that weren't enough,
A gale force wind began to blow, and blew the hood right off"

Forgive me, had to add that - I used to read this little book called Minny Car the Midget Motor by Sam Fair - to Elaine .. it was one of her favourites and I knew it by heart .. could tell the story even though I was falling asleep! It's now embedded in my memory box!!! (It's actually Carl's book given to him when he was about 2 so it's over 30 years old!) ...

...anyway ... lightening flashed, thunder rolled ... and then it was gone ... blue skies again!!




For more spectacular skies around the world ... visit the Skywatch link

Wordless Wednesday :

For more Wordless Wednesday photographs, like these bucket fulls of proteas ... go HERE

Birthday celebration .. far from home!

M celebrated her birthday yesterday. Our three South American friends, who are out here on business, came on Sunday for a braain/bbq but as it was the day before M's birthday, we decided to make it special ... she's so far from home and her own family, her beautiful young daughter and friends

THE PREZZIE : ... and it wasn't anything African!

She said once, that she's never had a tea set and only when she gets married will she have one. Romantic .. tea for two ...! I said that she didn't need to be married to set a small tray of tea. I do it all the time when hubby's away .. and he does it when I'm away visiting my Mum! Soooo ... I bought her a tea set. I walked the malls and shops to try and find something African on it .. no luck .. so it's a plain one. Someone take note - there's a market for African designed tea sets ... I can't be the only one looking for one!!!!

Now she has to buy a bigger suitcase to take it home ....!

THE FLOWER : We also bought her the King Protea - our national flower. Also can fit in her suitcase as proteas dry well and can be kept for years! Ummm ... not sure about customs etc !

THE DRINKS : C made us cocktails - Coctel de Algarrobina - ooooh ...yumm! A Peruvian cocktail made with Peruvian Pisco, condensed milk, eggs, lots and lots of crushed ice and Algarrobina honey/syrup ..

Yummm!! Cooool .... refreshing .... very very morish ....... not to have tooooo many ...otherwise concentration levels of being a hostess-to-all-including-littlies goes out the window!!! AND we/I end up with very very red cheeks!!!!

THE CAKE : A castle of chocolate eclairs !! Oh my .. couldn't get it in a beautiful circle piled up right to the top with one perched high in the centre ... you know ... like they do in the cooking programmes and pictured in cooking books ....

NO WORRIES : it was devoured!!

.. by all ... ...

Weekly Winners : 16 - 22 August 2009

I love this time of the year ...

... when little buds burst into new growth ...

... with shiny new green leaves ...

.. and white flowering quince open ...

... and embrace the warm sunshine ...


... when flowers start blooming like the brilliant orange 'Black Eyed Susan' ...

... the lilacs of the viola, complete with tiny insect ...

... the blues of the Vinca (Periwinkle) ...

... more lilacs of the dainty Primulas....

... and oranges and yellows of the Clivia ...

... and white agapanthus - new in my garden this year! Used to have several whites in the garden but they've died off over the years ... decided it was time for another ...

No more flowers today .. just biscuits for the boys ...

... yumm ... fresh ... melt in your mouth ..... mmm ....mmm ....

For more Weekly Winners visit Lotus at sarcasticmom.com