A flurry of flowers ....

... but first a quince from the 'flowering quince' ... need to find out whether this fruit is edible ... it must be .. surely ? ...

Now for the flowers ...

My dear bloggie friends .... remember my dilemna about my hydrangeas before Spring ... when I wasn't sure whether to pull them out and start again as they are very very old ... nearly 30 years old to be exact !!!!!!!

Well, I didn't ... and they have flourished!!! I might add here ... the one in the middle is taller than I am !! .. and I am of average height ! I tried to get Bradley and Connor to stand in front of them but Connor wanted to carry on with our 'frog hunting' which we were occupied with ... that's why I had camera-in-hand .. to 'take photo of fwog, Grwanny' .... but we couldn't find one and the one that croaks when we are out of sight .. didn't croak when the boys were there !! - even though we whispered ... !!

The beautiful flowers change from their greenish-yellowish colour ...

.. to deep shades of blue .... I need to add the 'magic stuff' to change the colours to the deep bluey-purples ...

Also have a pink one which starts off also greenish-yellowish ....

... and changes ...

... and changes ...

.. until it's a soft pink ...

A little bit nibbled is this pink geranium ....

... and can't take photos in my garden without adding the Margaret Robert's lavender ...

... and now ... especially today ... have added the Sylvia Rose ....

... beautiful ... full of character ... just like my Mum (Sylvia)

This is my last entry for a week while I visit my Mum and family in the Cape ..

This is how I will always remember my Mum ... always had to pose for photos ... and always amongst flowers in gardens ..

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

Skywatch Friday :

Flying above the clouds .. with the moon and a new day dawning ...

Peek-a-boo sunshine !!

No Skywatch next week for me .. I am flying down to the Cape to spend time with my Mum and family ... but in the meantime ... there are more skies linked to Skywatch ..

Wordless Wednesday :

Vergelegen Wine Estate - Somerset West, Cape, South Africa

For more Wordless Wednesday's go here and here

Whizzing through County Tipperary ..

... with rolling green hills .... forests ...

... and dry stone walling separating fields, large and small ....

... the magnificent Rock of Cashel stands majestically on it's rocky outcrop ...

... as it's done for centuries ... From the 4th or 5th Century it was the seat of the King of Munster, whose kingdom extended over much of southern Ireland ...

... until in 1101 it was handed over to the Church

The 28m (92ft) Round Tower is the oldest and tallest building on the rock, enabling inhabitants to scour the surrounding plains for potential attackers

It started raining while hubby and I were there, so our stroll around the grounds had to be more than a stroll !! ...

... and raindrops fell on our camera lenses !!

We found shelter inside the Cormac's Chapel with it's Romanesque carvings over the doors ...

... and then walked across to the Museum which is housed in the Vicar's Choral (the peaked roofed building on the left of the third photo) ... where there is a small but interesting display of artifacts from the early centuries .. . like this Cashel bell from the 9th Century ... which stands about 40 cm tall ..

Below is the original St Patrick's Cross, a copy of which stands outside in the elements at the original spot where this one stood until 1987) St Patrick is said to have visited Cashel in 450

Oh .. why bother !

The annual fee for our mailbox comes at this time of the year and there is always an increase ...
... it's not normally large but at least there is a discount if one pays early .. which I usually do ...

The other day, on opening the account .. in large letters ... it reads thus ...


... yay .. a saving .. especially at this time of the year when there's the usual Christmas goodies to buy ... any saving is welcome ...

... but this is ridiculous ... !!!!!!!

I paid it on Friday and .......Woo .. Hoo ... I got a whole R2.00 discount !!!! It's not even going to buy a loaf of bread !!!

Weekly Winners : 15 - 21 Nov

Jeanette had Connor's 'artwork' of magnets as her first photo .... so I'll do the same ...

... his handprint on the window !!!

A week today ... I shall be in Somerset West visiting my Mum ... a kind-of-a reunion ... a happy and sad one ...

... a happy one .... my eldest brother, Richard and his wife Pauline, are coming for a holiday to celebrate their birthdays (P's 60th! and his birthday a few days later) ...

... having moved to England from Zimbabwe about 8 years ago, this will be their first visit back ... ...... they have never been to the Cape .. ever!! I am going to meet up with them there and we will all invade Ian (my younger brother) and his wife .. so that we can all visit our Mum together ...

.... the sad one .... she is in Frail Care now .. ... we all need to go ...

My Mum loved flowers ... she would have loved the smell of those gardenias (above)

.. the tiny miniature white agapanthus bursting open ...

... pretty shades of pinks of the daisy bushes ...

... reaching up to the cloudy sky wishing the sun would shine ....

... and the smell of lavender. I used to always put a bowl of lavender in her room when Mum came for a visit ...

... just to add ... some leaves from a ground cover under the garden bench she used to love to sit on ...

... which has a stoney ditch close by ...

What's this ... with it's pretty colours ...

.. and reflecting dish ...


... and blue glass with handpainted patterns? ... a Hubbly Bubbly - made in Egypt

Do you see the chocolate eclairs in the background? ... just had to make them for C before she goes back to Colombia !!!!!!

For more Weekly Winners visit Lotus' sarcasticmom