I always sleep so well ..

... at Ian and Kathy's in Somerset West !!!!! :)

When my Mum first went into the Old Aged Home several years ago, my visits consisted of spending the entire day with her .. taking her to teas, coffees, lunches ... more teas, coffees, lunches .... at many of the picturesque wine estates, gardens, beaches, tea\coffee rooms all in that area of the Cape. I used to go back to their house exhausted ... chat until wee hours .. then fall into bed at night ... and sleeeeeppp !!! I was always exhausted ... mainly mentally !!!

Now that my Mum can no longer go 'out and about' and my visits to her can only last a maximum of an hour at a time .... the rest of my time is spent ... not lazing on my brother's fine deck overlooking the entire False Bay ... no ... no ... no !!!!

I am kept very busy !!!! :) I love it actually !!!

Last week, I was only there for one night and two days .... Kathy and I seem to be on the go the whole time ... had a tyre repaired at the 'tyre repair place', tried to sort a stove that wouldn't fit into their apartment which is occupied by a tenant .... no matter what .. it just wouldn't fit ! ... so we had to take it back .... do exchanges etc ... etc ... :) In the middle of getting a quick bite to eat ... nooo leisurely lunch with a glass of wine here !! ... her phone rang and we were off again ... to do another errand !!! :) :)

I visited Mum while Kathy went to a 'beading session'. As we had to share her car, I dropped her off at her friends home .. and what a beautiful home !!!! .. perched on the side of a mountain with views forever .. or so they said ... could only see smoke that day, unfortunately, as there were devastating mountain fires in the Franschhoek region.

When I got back to collect her, I stayed for a cup of tea and marvelled once again at the intricate detail that goes into beading !! I sat with a group of 'beaders' the last time I was there and was totally mesmerised by the exquisite jewellery they were threading together ...

Kathy's friend, S, pulled out some boxes for me to peek inside ... Christmas decorations which adorned her entire Christmas tree over the Festive Season ... oh wow ... they are amazing !!!

Little teeny tiny angels, stars, and even little Christmas crackers ..

... snow flakes that twinkle held against the light .... can imagine them with all the Christmas lights on a tree .... twinkling and sparkling ... !!!

A box filled with Christmas ballies covered in intricately beaded designs which dangled and caught the light like tiny chandeliers ...


Christmas ballies ... with air inside .. no filling .. just air ... made entirely of shiny beads ... and I might add ... perfectly round !!!!

Little wreaths and danglies ...


.. different sizes of angels with pretty wings and skirts ... one was all frilly ... (it's the way the beads are put together that makes the frills, I was told !!!) ... absolutely fascinating !!!

.. and look at this fine chap .... sparklingly perfectly round body and head !!! ... keeping warm with scarf and fancy hat ... love his 'carrot' nose !!!! There are even tassles at the end of his scarf!!

Oh .. these are clever ladies indeed !!!! Thank you, S, for the tea and an insight into your amazing craft!!

Now ... off to make a cake for Connor's birthday !!!! He has asked me to make a 'Granny's Speciality' ... !! Can't believe he's three already .. seems like the other day he was in NICU after his birth !!!

Skywatch Friday :

From the base of Table Mountain - side view, showing the cable car housing and the restaurant ...

Cape Town, South Africa

... to the top !!! This walkway is just to the right of the restaurant ....

For more spectacular skies around the world visit Skywatch

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)

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!