Family ties

A week of sadness ... being with our Mum ....

.. and laughter ...

... my brothers and I were together after 12 years !!!!!!

My eldest brother, Richard and his wife, Pauline are out here from England to visit our Mum and for a short holiday in the beautiful Cape. They are, at the moment, 'wandering' around the Garden Route and 'hoping to get lost' !!! ... they really, really, really don't want to go back ...

It was special ...

Asara Wine Estate ..

... which overlooks the Stellenbosch and Helderberg Mountains with the Jonkershoek Mountains in the background .....

.... was our lunch-stop on my way back to the airport on Sunday. Ian and Kathy had not experienced the Bistro and Tapas Bar of the Asara Wine Estate so we decided to make it our unwinding-from-emotional-weekend stop before I headed home again .... (note to Daniella - next time I come we'll do a wine tasting there! - we really, really have to!)

We drove up the long driveway ..... had to get Ian to stop the car to capture this breathtaking scene behind us! ... and didn't want to risk waiting until we were leaving in case we were pressed for time for my flight ... and we were!!

.. parked the car ...

.. strolled passed the vineyards ...

... and made our way through the entrance to the restaurants, wine centre, little shop etc. There is also a newly built hotel .... oooh must be sooo nice to stay there - looks superb!!

.. ... down the stairs into the courtyard ... that's the wine centre with the entrance to the wine tasting on the left .. Daniella, remember that.. (but not without me!) ... also note to hubby and Mr T ... this is one of our stops too .... next time ...

.. and to the right is a bell tower ...

... turned around .. wow ... breathtaking .. looking across to the Stellenbosch mountains ...

... definitely a photo opportunity with Ian and Kathy ...

... popped into the little shop where they sell beautiful household 'stuff' .... beautiful kitchen ware, cutlery, glassware ..... (this is an unusual - well, unusual for me anyway - wine decanter and ice bowl) ...

... as well as mouthwatering delicacies ....

... which got the taste buds yearning for something .. anything .. well, anything nice, of course ! ...

.. but not before we peek into the main restaurant ... ...

... another peek into a private dining room overlooking the mountains (bright outside so couldn't capture the best of both worlds) ...

... and then down the stairs ..... to the Bistro and Tapas Bar ...

.... passed alcoves with cameos ...

.... and were greeted with welcoming, smiling, friendly service and shown to our table on the patio overlooking the dam and mountains beyond .....



--- Kathy's photos ---

.... to be continued ....... ('cos there's more)

Spending time with Mum ...

... was very special this last weekend. It's a two hour flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. I have done this trip many times now since my Mum has been in the Home in Somerset West.

Mum and I

I always stay with Ian and Kathy (my younger brother and sister in law) who make me feel so welcome every time I descend on them! I am very grateful and appreciate it so much. It has given me the chance to spend as much time as I can with my Mum.

The above photo is a really nice one as Mum looks good there .... (and that's me and my 'little baby' brother!) Saturday was a good day for her. The sister on duty had told her that I was coming .... she had colour in her face and I was surprised how well she looked. She recognised me straight away and was so pleased to see me!!! Since my last visit in early December she has definitely deteriorated. Won't go into detail as it's really really hard to see a mother who was so full of life and vigour end up being trapped in her own body and mind.

She has Alzheimer's and Parkinsons now.

The sisters and nurses are caring and compassionate .... truly wonderful people. I took them a batch of homemade shortbread (my Mum's recipe - of course - handed down from my Granny) and they were delighted!

On Saturday afternoon, Mum wasn't as well as in the morning so I suggested we went for a little walk out of the front door for some fresh air. One of the nurses, Lungiswa, prepared my Mum for her little 'outing' and combed her hair gently and put on her glasses .. ready to go!!!

Off we 'shuffled' and out into the fresh air. She used to love going for walks around the Home - there is a lovely garden on the other side of the building with a lawn, flowers and benches ... but that was too far for us so we went out the front door. Beyond the gate behind my Mum (in the photo below) is a spectacular view of the Helderberg Mountain range which can been seen through the trees. She used to go out every day to look at the mountain - always appreciated everything around her.

I took a photo of her with the mountain in the background but it's not a very nice photo of my Mum and I don't want to share that one. It is exactly how she looks now and too sad to share - I am not even going to send it to my eldest brother in England.

It's very hard for her to look at anything except stare straight ahead and I tried several times to show her the little white flowers in the flower box. Eventually she did.

She always loved flowers .. was passionate about them ... and spent hours in her beautiful garden. Joined flower groups and did flower arranging and Ikabana. I often take artificial flowers when I visit so that she will always have fresh pretty flowers to look at. This time I took one single rose and sprayed it with a gentle smelling perfume.

She would have appreciated it if she 'had been normal' so that's why I took it. I had to hold it up right in front of her face for ages until she focused on it. "Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful" she said.

And so are you Mummy

Little green frogs.. air balloons and ....

Woke up this morning with another kiddies song in my head .. I am clearly around children too much !!!! ... this time ..

Little green frog, little green frog, where's your tail so small
I swim in the river, I swim in the river, I have no tail at all

kuwa kwack kwack, kuwa kwack kwack, kuwa kwack kwack

Little green frog, little green frog, where's your wing so small .......

Jeanette and my son, Carl, learnt the traditional nursery songs and traditional South African kiddies songs .. Elaine went to a playgroup run by a super young English girl who taught her some traditional and some songs and rhymes I had never heard before - (Elaine was 11 years younger than Carl !!) Now with my grandchildren, there are still more songs I had never heard before .. and there are so many of them!! I also love 'three little men in a flying saucer' and when that is on the CD in the car, I always hit the repeat button (and Bradley doesn't mind .. he knows it's one granny's favourites)... it's so cute!

Anyway, that's not what this is about !!! Wanted to chat about the lighter side of my visit to Somerset West. Flew from Lanseria Airport this time - never been there before - wow, it was like a country airport with none of the hustle and bustle of our major Johannesburg/O.R .Tambo!

Huge mural on the wall in the coffee shop

Departure lounge - note the lounge chairs (not the usual metal or plastic) and the friendly chap at the podium who takes the tickets I have also never come across anyone absolutely afraid of flying. There was a poor young girl, carrying a baby in a carry chair (4 months old maybe) and she ordered a double vodka at 8.15 in the morning! Mmm .. this is interesting .. I thought !! All sorts of things went through my mind until I realised she was afraid, really really afraid to get on "that thing outside" which is "put together with rivets, you know" !!!! She stood next to me while we waited to board and I suggested, very kindly, that she should try taking the herbal Rescue Remedy. She said it wasn't working and had been taking it for 2 days already! Hence the double vodka at 8.15 am !! Ooh but I wander how her flight went - she was seated near the back - and our flight was a little bumpy with a group of chaps seated all around the area where I was sitting laughing and joking amongst each other and to the air hostesses ... and every time the plane plunged into the air pockets they would raise their arms into the air and went .. weeeeeee!!! Poor girl !!

Had a lovely time with Ian and Kathy (my brother and sister in law) who are always SO kind - giving me the spare room in their house and ALWAYS lending me a car to drive. Ian then uses his motorbike to go to work. This time they were doing renovations so my accommodation was not up to scratch !!!! Had to shuffle around on dusty floors, share the only working bathroom which is in the flatlet attached to the house (my nephew stays there on weekends when he comes home from college in Cape Town). And the meals were 'cooked' and served in the lounge !! but the view makes up for all that - it's magnificent!

Taken in 2006 but the view hasn't changed - False Bay in the mist beyond the buildings

I was 'wined and dined' whilst visiting -mainly because of the disorder in the household! Kathy took me for lunch when I arrived, to a super little Italian place (forget the name) ... Kathy and the owner chatting away in Italian for a bit - my sister in law is Italian .. ! Met her again for lunch on another day at Coffee @ Twin Oaks where she was meeting up with an old friend. We spent a couple of hours chatting away in beautiful surroundings. Every day, of course, went to Imibala with Mum and Kathy joined us one morning too -

Imibala

Lots of local artworks and 'things' for sale, including a few animal skins

Ian and Kathy have taken me to the theatre on my previous visits and this time we went to see 'Rock me, Amadeus' at the Barnyard Theatre. Fantastic! It was really really good .. 'mind blowing' .. the music was very very loud, vibrating through the floor and tables and chairs - it was fantastic! Thoroughly enjoyed it!!

Had to add - Ian and Kathy chatting to their daughter Daniella, on Skype, who is doing a 6 months practical in Cork, Ireland (she does her studies at the Hotel School, Cape Town)
And then ... on my last night there, I christened the new bath!!!! The basin wasn't in yet and the shower wasn't ready but the bath was ... and what I surprise I got when I opened the bathroom door .. candles ... champagne ... and yes, I drank the whole lot !!!

Thank you for making me feel so special!