Skywatch Friday : Sky in a bubble

Not rain droplets but from watering my garden ...

Winters on the Highveld are extremely dry ... dry air, dry 'veld' (grassland and bush), dry ground, dry skin, dry lips ... dry ... dry ... dry .....


... and gardens need to be watered on a regular basis during the warmest part of the day ... if it's too late in the afternoon then the frost hits the plants ... too early and the hosepipe is frozen .. so midday is best !!!
For more beautiful skies from around the world visit Skywatch here

We are there ....

... we have reached the main chamber of the Catedral de Sal (Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira, near Bogota, Colombia)

This photo is taken on the same balcony as the statue of the salt angel. Note the salt at the foot of the photo. If you look carefully, just above the salt and below the 'circle' you can see the front pews ..


.. 'Creation of Adam' by Michelangelo in that circle ...


A Nativity scene against one of the side walls .. (all statues are again, made from salt)

Salt deposits on the walls ...

Ooops .. sorry .. can't remember what this is and looking up websites hasn't helped me either! I think it's the altar .. need hubby to confirm

... and the last photo is taken from the front looking back over the pews. Look carefully (again!) .... you will people standing between the pews .. and further back in the blue lit area is the balcony on which the salt angel is situated to the right-hand side

I 'googled' it and found many websites and couldn't decide which to use for a link. The Wikipedia one is factual and so is the one HERE. There is a short video on the National Geographical website and can be seen if you 'google' "salt cathedral colombia" then go down to the "National Geographic video.

Isn't it just the most amazing place!!! I would absolutely love to see it for myself - maybe one day ... not likely .. but I can always hope ... and dream ... and wish ...... ..... ...... !!

Let's keep walking ..

... down the tunnel that leads to the Catedral de Sal de Zipaquira ...

... passing deposits of salt on the walls ....



Not sure what these are for ... these large dome shapes which reflect blue light ... I think hubby said that that is what they are for .. to reflect light ... but I could be wrong

Still quite a way to go ... the cross at the end is HUGE ... there is Mr T in the red T-shirt ...

Statues are built from salt pillars ...

A chamber dedicated to the miners who lost their lives ...

One of several smaller chambers leading off the main tunnel ...

.. looking back into the tunnels ....

Tomorrow ... we will be in the main Cathedral ....

Catedral de Sal de Zipaquira ...

... is an hours drive from Bogota in Colombia.

That's where my hubby is at the moment .. in Bogota ... on a business trip but whilst there he will be attending the wedding of our friend, Mr T to the love of his life, P - and I am soooo sad that I won't be there to share their very special day :( I have not met his bride-to-be but when he is with us, he always speaks of her with a twinkle in his eye ... he is such a romantic !!! She is lucky to have such a wonderful man in her life ... he always says that he is the lucky one .. to have found such a wonderful soulmate to share his life!

Soooo .. I thought it I would share this truely amazing place which my hubby was taken to by Mr T on one of his visits to Colombia .... it's a Cathedral built in the depth of a salt mine! I shall split it up into three posts .. one or two photos do not do it justice

Because my hubby is not here to explain each photograph (and I hadn't written underneath each one when they were loaded onto the computer - silly me!) .. I will post them in the order that he took them as he went down the tunnel ...

As the tunnel descends, 14 stations of the cross are passed en route to the Cathedral

A large stone-carved cross en route ..

and a cross carved out of a stone wall .. large enough for an adult to stand inside the bottom portion ..

This is a free-standing stone cross on a balcony area which overlooks the tunnel leading to the Cathedral ..

Info in brief - Years before the underground Church was constructed, miners had built a sanctuary. "In 1950 the construction of the Salt Cathedral had begun, which was inaugurated in 1954. However, as it was carved inside an active mine, structural problems and safety concerns led the authorities to shut down the sanctuary in 1990.

In 1991 the construction of a new Cathedral was undertaken 200ft below the older one. The new Cathedral was inaugurated in 1995." "It has no bishop and therefore no official status as a cathedral in Catholicism."

Watch this space ------ next post we go deeper down the tunnel and closer to the Cathedral !!!!

Weekly Winners : 19 - 25 July

What have we today, for our Weekly Winners ?...

... ummm ... let's see ....

we have the odd rose ... singled out from a bunch I bought for the vase ...

... the purples/mauves/lilacs of the lavender flower ... (Connor would call it a "power") !

... and the dainty Alysum embracing the winter sunshine ...

We have little feet stomping through the leaves ...

... and galloping around the garden ...

We have chocolate covered little fingers creating a masterpiece ...

... for hubby to share with his grandchildren ... blowing out the candles is a team effort!

.. and altogether .... 1 2 3 .... blow !

We have our pretty little Erin having fun with bubbles ....

... and then cuddling while 'Lainey reads ....

... and warming up noses on a cold winter's night

And then we have a smiley face on hubby's suitcase to cheer him up as he packs for another business trip overseas ... which he never looks forward to the long haul across the seas ..

So ... am on my own today and will go out into the garden where the fairies and elves ...

... and mushrooms ... smile and peep through their winter leaf blankets ....

.. and we can all enjoy this beautiful sunny warmish winter's day!

Usually link to Lotus' Weekly Winners - but it's not there today!

Skywatch Friday :

A cold front sweeping along the coastline of Kwa Zulu Natal (Ballito - north of Durban) ...


The weather on this coastline is usually magnificent at this time of year - that's why we always took our family holidays in June/July and always to the coast of Kwa Zulu Natal. This photo was taken a few years ago at Ballito. The temperature drops a bit but nothing like ours - up on the Highveld ...

... it's freezing here today!! Blue skies at the moment but freezing!!

For more magnificent skies around the world go to Skywatch

Wordless Wednesday : Littlest cousins

For more Wordless Wednesday contributions go HERE

She wanted to change someone's life so she chose me ..

I am gullible ... a little bit ... I do admit that.

When strangers ask me something I will reply, either with a nod and smile, if I think they are 'cagey' looking or I will have a quick word or two with them. My hubby gets rather annoyed but that's me!!

Sooo ... yesterday when I sat down at one of my regular coffee haunts in our local shopping centre ... I was freezing .. it was pretty nippy/icy/freezing outside yesterday and I really really needed a cup of hot cappuccino and I was feeling a little peckish. This particular haunt-of-mine serves their cappuccino with a tiny biscuit - some of these haunts-of-mine do .. some of them don't. I sat where I sat because I didn't want the cold breeze on my back .. so I sat against the one wall .. all cosy and warm cradling my cup to warm up my hands.

Now ... before I carry on .. I DO NOT MIND sitting by myself having coffee!!! I actually love it! I have spent years having children/teenagers and these last few years ... babies in pushchairs demanding bottles, biscuits, being read to/played with/sung to .... with me! Maybe I am strange .. but I do not mind sitting on my own!!!

Sooo ... the couple next to me obviously thought I needed to be chatted to .... she said so!

She tapped me on the shoulder. Clutching my handbag (we live in a high-crime city remember!) I turned to look at this lovely young smiling couple. "Could I have a few moments of your time" she asked. Now, how could I not - I am stuck there, sitting having my coffee right next to them!! I thought ... selling something, religious chatter, getting me to join their networking business etc! Introducing themselves they said they thought I looked lonely and needed company for a few minutes! On the contrary, I LOVE the quiet 'me' time! Anyway, I let them chatter away about how they had been on a course .. a life changing course where their inner most feelings, anger, what makes them happy, sad etc had come to the fore and they, she (L) in particular, wanted to share all her excitement with somebody ... other than her husband.

I told them that both my hubby and eldest daughter, with their respective companies, went on team building 'things' where they spent a day or so digging deep into their inner most feelings and sharing them with workmates!! Not the kind of thing you want your workmates to hear about!!!! Work team building 'things' are supposed to be fun, aren't they? They both came home completely drained!! Where's the fun in that?

After a few minutes, she said our meeting was meant to be ... fate .. that I sat down there for a reason. I said it was because I was cold and if you sit anywhere else you sit in a draught! Maybe so, she said, but I was drawn to the warmth they were wanting to share!

Anyway ... she was bubbling ... hoping to change my life completely! Couldn't wait to finish my cappuccino, pay the bill ... and yes, I still had my purse and cell phone in my handbag ... and leave them to enjoy each other's company with all their inner most feelings out in the open ... leaving them with lifted spirits ready to face challenges of life!

Big group hug first! Then off I went ... smiling ! She was good .. she did change my life .. I was walking along ... smiling!! :) :) :)

The art of icing a birthday cake for Grandpa!

.... as passed down by "my Gwanny" ...

.. "first you have to lick the icing off the whizzing thing .....


" ... then you have to squish the smarties on .. like this ....

" ... then you get the little silver ballies .. and also squish them on like this ...

" ... you see ... it's very precise ...

" .... then you have to lick your hands and fingers ...

".... before you carry on ... using the other hand also helps ...

" ooops ... you need to take the icing off everything-that-gets-icing-on-it ...

"... and once you've used up all the smarties and the little silver ballies ....

" ... per...fect !! ..... all done!"

Weekly Winners : 12 - 18 July

"Oranges ...

.. and lemons ...

.. say the bells of St Clements ..."

Old leather ...

... on the handle of my granny's heat-diffuser ...

Another old wooden handle ...

... on my grandmother's long-floppy-knife-thingy used for flipping crumpets/flapjacks ...

Teeny tiny clogs .. a prezzie from my gym instructor to thank me for giving a yoga class while she was away ...


... a rather untidy weaver's nest twined onto bare winter branches ..

.. tightly packed seeds of the Silver Birch waiting for the spring winds to scatter them about ...

A jumble of bits that was or will be a train ...

.. and brightly coloured stacking cups ..

... are all my photos for Weekly Winners !!

No wine and no littlies today !!! :(

Plenty of littlies next time ... it was my hubby's birthday yesterday (he shares his birthday with Nelson Mandela (!) ) and we had a happy day today with our three grandchildren !

For more Weekly Winners go to Lotus' blog

Skywatch Friday : Keeping to the blues ...

When a cold front hits the Southern African Cape ... .....

..at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town with Table Mountain completely shrouded with cloud ...



... it usually travels up the country ... and several times during our winters .. deposits snow on the highest peaks in the Drakensberg, Kwa Zulu Natal ....

... these are taken a few winters ago in the Northern Drakensberg ... the photo has the Amphitheatre in the distance sprinkled with snow ... (hubby and Elaine) ...

... and then the cold front -usually -sweeps right up to the Highveld ... (where we are - Johannesburg) ... and normally we have cold, cloudy, dreary days for a bit ... then the sun comes out and we are left with blue skies .. icy cold .. but at least the sun shines .... and is still shining (these pics were taken yesterday in our garden) ...

Welcome, warm sunshine and blue skies - a backdrop for the white 'Iceberg' before the roses get the 'chop' ... pruning time ! ...

... and sun-kissed lemons on our laden-with-lemons tree ... ... umm .. I'm thinking lemon meringue pie again .. ?! ..

Even the little birdies think summer is on it's way - a weaver made his nest the other day and is trying to entice the females to have a look ... no 'go' so far !! Well, would you ? ... it's a little untidy ... !!!!!!

I see more blue skies in this award winning red wine bottle !! It has also recently received a Gold Medal at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2009 .... and I have to say it is yummmmmy !!

Raka Biography Shiraz 2007

Raka winery is in Kleinrivier near Standford - in the Walker Bay area of the Western Cape.

Have you been there Cheryl and Bob? Note to you both - it's an excellent wine .. worth a trip to the wine tasting ?? !!

For more spectacular skies have a look at Skywatch

Wordless Wednesday : Come with me

For more Wordless Wednesday contributions go HERE

Hubby's been there too ...

A few years ago my hubby, on a business trip, went to Elmina in Ghana and visited the slave castle where President Obama and his family have been to recently.

There must be tons of websites with the story but here are two :

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/ - written one of the journalists who visited the slave castle before the President's visit ..... and http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/ - mainly photos of the President's visit.

My hubby was very deeply moved by his visit ....

... built, in 1482 by the Portuguese, it was the first trading post on the Gulf of Guinea and then was used for slave trading

Inside the mens dungeons where hundreds of men were crammed together for several months waiting for the slave ships to arrive ... hubby says there is still a sickly stench in there ..

'Door of no return' ... slaves passed though this door to waiting slave ships ..

WE love you .. M !!

Have been thinking of my friend, M who hubby and I bumped into yesterday. She felt totally rejected!

She makes the most exquisite dolly and teddy bear clothes! Putting all her passion for sewing into these beautiful little outfits and then sits for hours on end at Saturday markets .. sometimes making a little profit and sometimes not.

There is another lady/cow (wish I knew how to the words with lines crossing them out - Firefly I need your help!) ... anyway this other person also makes dolly clothes and causes such a scene when M sets up her stall at the same market. It has caused a lot of conflict - which I think is childish and stupid .... and over the weekend, M was told to pack up all the little-exquisite-clothes-for-dollies-and-teddies and leave the market!

She did so ... in tears! :(

WE love you, M !!!!

Weekly Winners : 5 - 11 July

"Hello, it's me ... 'gain ....



"What dat" I asked my Gwanny ...

"A bird-feeder, she said, made by her friend, R ... nice, hey ?

"... and when I look through a circle, I can count "dee circles" !!!

"My Gwanny said that my cousin Erin came to play the other day but I went with my Mummy and Daddy ... and 'Bladely' to a 'nic nic' /concert so we didn't see her. My Gwanny took lots of photos of Erin ... here she is hugging her 'baby .... ahhh coot" ...

"... and here is Erin drawing with our chalks ... 'Bladely' and 'me' saw all her drawings when we went to Gwanny's house on Monday ...

"Lainey was teaching Erin how to twirl like a ballerina ....

" ... clever Erin ... pointing her toes too!

" Gwanny made lemon meringue pie for 'puddin' ... Gwanny gave some to 'Bladely' on Monday but he said it's 'not nice ... yuk' ! It was 'all gone' when I got to Gwanny's house so 'there was 'none left for me to try! - the grown-ups ate it all ... so maybe it's a grown-up pudding!

"My Gwanny's friend had her 50th birthday the other day ... this is the pretty present she gave her ... Gwanny added some roses (the last before she does the pruning)

"There were floating candles on the tables at the party ...

".... and the birthday cake was a pretty Barbie cake ... (Barbie's are miniature ladies ... with 'boobies' !!) (for those who haven't seen Jeanette's blog post on the picnic/Johnny Clegg concert at Emmarentia Dam .. that's where Connor met Barbie for the first time!!)

" This is Lainey and her two closest friends (R and C) ... they have been friends since they started high school ....

... and here are their mommies - M, S (the birthday girl!) and my Gwanny ...

Here is 'Bladely's' friend, S - they have also been friends since they were born!!! Lainey's friend C is little S's big sister!! (yes ... there is huge gap!)


"Gwanny just had to add this photo .... it's the birthday girl with her twin brother !

Twins turn 50!

"That's all folks ....

Lots of love .... Connor :) x x x mwah! mwah! mwah!

For more Weekly Winners go to Lotus' sarcasticmom.com

Skywatch Friday : Washday blues

After quite a few miserable cloudy and really really cold days ... the sky cleared and the sun came out .... still cold but there's nothing like sunshine to put a smile on your face !! (my grandson, Bradley!)

... and then, later, the moon came out ... round and bright ...

.. perfect for sitting down with a good red !!! ....

See the sky reflected in the bottle of Steenberg Merlot? (yummy, by the way, Daniella - many thanks!)

For more spectacular skies from around the world go to Skywatch

Counting clothes pegs .....

up to ten ... ended up with "lots pegs" !!

Space for one more here ....

...and another one here ...

All done!!

Wordless Wednesday : Oops!

For more contributions to Wordless Wednesday go HERE

Dancing with Lainey

Carl, Nicole and our little two year old granddaughter Erin, came for the day on Sunday. Because of their work commitments over weekends, we all have to find a mutual day when everyone can be together! It's not that easy and unfortunately (for us) Jeanette and family went to the Johnny Clegg picnic with friends.




Erin would have loved to have played with Bradley and Connor but she had fun anyway ... dancing with Lainey ....

Jumps in 1st position (note her little hands!) Isn't she just the cutest!!

.... and above ... twirling with Lainey!

Erin has always walked on her tippy toes ... a natural dancer/gymnast (added that for Mommy!) :) in the making?!

Erin is tall for her age. She's going to grow up into a beautiful, tall young lady ... .... am so proud to be her Granny!!

Weekly Winners : 28 June - 4 July

Brrrr ..... heavy frost on the ground ....



.. and sitting prettily on origanum

"Lemon tree, very pretty ....

and the lemon flower is sweet ...

But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat ... "

Playing with boxes ... and string ...

Look Granny ... I'm a tortoise ...

Now ... what would a Weekly Winners be without a 'Granny's Speciality' cake ...

Who could it be for .... I wonder ?

... and what does it say ?....

A belated Happy Birthday .. Jeanette !!!

I had the flu last weekend so a belated birthday cake to our '30 something' daughter !!! Hope it was enjoyed by all ... !!!

Now .. this is my latest fridge magnet ... oh sooooo true ... so true !! :)

For more Weekly Winners go to Lotus' awe inspiring photos as well as everyone else's who contribute - and happy 4th July to all my American blogger friends!

Skywatch Friday : Wishing I was there ...

Sunrise over the sea at Ballito, Kwa Zulu Natal.


We have, for the past 20 odd years, gone on holiday at this time of the year to Ballito. It's always so nice to get far from this icy cold Highveld winter for at least two weeks - warms up the bones in the body and gives one extra energy to face the rest of winter.

Hubby and I decided last year, to go to England ... summer there too .. so our bones were warmed by the English summer .. and we had glorious days whilst there with no rain at all!

This year, Elaine has started work (yay!) so we are not bound by school/varsity holidays anymore!! Something of a phenomenon ... amazing after more than 30 years of ALWAYS having to go on holiday with cars filled with parents, and sometimes grandparents squished between excited children whizzing along the highways. Stopping at our customery 'pit-stops' for a quick bite to eat and toilet stops before heading to our destination of warm sun, sand, sea and relaxation!

But this year, hubby and I are going to Ireland in late September .. no warm sun, sand and sea but a fascinating trip, I'm sure!!

Arrgghh! What makes us really mad is that we decided to make our bookings at that time because we were told that Elaine's graduation would be 'sometime in September'. A definite date STILL hasn't been finalised but are now told it may be in early October ... just when we are away!!! How could they do that! It's Elaine's graduation, for heaven's sake, and we needed to be here! She is graduating with cum laude for her Honours in Marketing!!! What an achievement ... and we may not even be here!! :( very sad mommy here!

Anyway - enjoy the sunrise over Ballito .. they really are spectacular. And for more spectacular skies around the world visit Skywatch

Wordless Wednesday :

For more Wordless Wednesday contributions go HERE