I wish I could tell my Mum...

..that the beautiful bride in this photo has recently made contact with my cousin through Rhodesian's Worldwide ... she used to work for the accounting company his Dad and my Dad used to own in Bulawayo. The company still exists today ...with our family name, but sadly no members of the family are there anymore.


She asked after our families remembering the two little boys at her wedding being the sons of one of the partners ... and also the little flower girl on the left of photo.

That's me !!! aged 5 .. in 1957 !!

It was the one and only time I have ever been a flower girl or bridesmaid and it was on the occasion of her wedding. The wedding reception was held in our beautiful garden ...

It was the one and only time I have ever been a flower girl .. or bridesmaid .. and the wedding reception was held in our garden of our beautiful home, Craigo, in Bulawayo. Our home .. built by my paternal grandfather. The photograph below is in a collage of my child/growing-up photos which my Mum put together years ago and hangs on the wall .. right in front of me as I am typing this ...

From my Mum's photograph album, where I found the wedding photo, on the same page, was this photo of me with my cousins, in the middle and my eldest brother on the right - I grew up with boys ! ... no sisters and no girl cousins close by! I always had beautifully made dresses .. all made by my Mum


I wish I could tell my Mum that this beautiful bride has made contact after so many years ... and she and her husband are well ...

It's my Mum's birthday today !!

My thoughts have been with her all day .. hoping she is having a good day today! The last time I visited her at the Old Aged Home in Somerset West, she wasn't having a good day and she didn't know me :(

Nostalgia time : I looked at old photos that were scanned onto CD's at the time they were developed into printed photographs (our photographic shop I used to print my photos had that service .... when digital photographs became more popular than the printed form)

I get very upset when I see my Mum as she is now but will always remember her as she was - a sparkling personality living life to the fullest, enjoying every moment of whatever she did, never sitting still for a minute .. always on the go ... always busy ...

I came across these photos taken in March 2004 when Bradley was learning to crawl, with my Mum, who had come for a holiday from Zimbabwe, giving him lots of encouragement ...

I remember this moment (below) ... Bradley had been touching his toes and my Mum was showing him that she could touch hers too ...

A happy .. and healthy time .. Mum with her grandchildren (Jeanette, Carl and Elaine) and great grandchild ... (2004)

I'm going back in time here - a previous visit from Mum (she came as often as she could!) ... this one, below, was taken in 2003 ... four generations ..

... and lastly, earlier in that year when Mum met her first great grandchild, Bradley ... a special moment ...

Happy Birthday Mummy ... I love and miss you lots

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 ...

Wordless Wednesday : Visiting Mum

Thanks Kathy for taking these special photos

Click on HERE to see more Wordless Wednesday's ...

I'm back ...

... from a fantastic weekend in the Cape.

While hubby and Mr T went about their business, I stayed with Ian and Kathy (my brother and sister in law) in Somerset West and visited my Mum. It's always so heartbreaking to walk into the Home seeing all the little old folk sitting in the comfy chairs in and around the lounges, some nodding off to sleep, others chatting (saying the odd word to each other is more like it), and others staring into the other world we cannot see ...

My Mum now doesn't go downstairs anymore but sits in the frail care lounge .. she was there .. asleep .. but woke when I approached her. It took her a few seconds to gather her thoughts .. she was pleased to see me but time means nothing as it was as if I had been there the day before. Very difficult to 'chat' now - I have to shout in her ear with only a few words at a time ... it was wonderful spending time with her again ... she's frailer and thinner than she was 8 weeks ago, but she's still our beautiful Mum



I then spent a couple of hours with Kathy at her beading class - what an experience! Kathy makes incredibly beautiful jewellery with beads, threaded intricately into twists and patterns, creating necklaces, rings, bangles etc. I watched the group of ladies being guided by an amazingly talented 'beader' who has written several books on beading, Heather Laithwaite - fascinating stuff!!!

You buy the 'kit' which has all the beads you need for the particular piece and follow the instructions. Sounds and looks terribly complicated but I believe once you get the hang of it, like a crochet/knitting pattern, it becomes easier ..


... this beautiful piece of jewellery is what the above work-in-progress will eventually look like ...


I will do a post on the beading as it's requires more than just a few words and two photos!!

And .... then it was onto the wines, wine estates and wine tasting ... as many as we could fit into a day and half ... !!!!!

The countryside was beautiful with autumn shades in the vineyards ...

I will do a post on each wine estate but in the meantime here's a 'taste' ...

The first one we popped into was Kanonkop ...

... then we drove to Meerlust .. which seemed to be quite run down and we wondered if we were in the right place ...


.. we certainly were in the right place ... the wines were yummy!! ... all six of them ... !!!


We had arranged to meet family members for a lunch at Guardian Peak but we managed to squeeze in more tastings at Rust en Vrede ... oooh ... thank goodness we did ... very very nice!!


This is our 'wine-tasting-chappie' (I am sure they have a title but I am too tired to find out!) who did our tastings. We took our 21 year old niece, Daniella, with us, who is in the 'foodie' industry - she seemed to like the Rust en Vrede wines a lot .. !!! ;)


Lunch at Guardian Peak which is on the wine estate owned by the internationally known golfer, Ernie Els ... what a magnificent view while munching away at the very tasty food which came with wines-to-match! This is our family enjoying the wine, food and view ..


Beautiful, isn't it ... just like a painting ... that's Ernie Els wine estate ..

We couldn't handle anymore wine or food after that and went back to the hotel in Cape Town for a 'rest' !

The foyer in the Southern Sun Hotel at the Waterfront ...


.. with a huge bowl of proteas in the centre ...


... and for breakfast, among other scrumptious food .. there was yummy honey dripping from a honeycomb

We needed the dripping-honey-energy for yet another wine estate before heading off to the airport and we decided to go to Lourensford, in Somerset West. Very modern building where they do the wine tasting...

.. which can be done either pairing with nougat or just plain! I made the mistake of doing just plain wine, but Ian, Kathy and Daniella did the nougat one ... oh yummy!!! That's a MUST for my next visit, as is the coffee roastery and the cheesery which are also at Lourensford

Then it was homeward bound ... over False Bay with the Strand and Gordon's Bay in the distance ...

" Mum .... if I had three wishes ...

... I would give you a hug .... tell you that I love you ..... and spend the day with you ..... on Mother's Day

.. but you are far away and I can't speak to you on the phone. I will phone the sister-on-duty to send my love to you .... " "Miss you and love you lots ... "

Wishing all Mommies, Grannies, Great Grannies and Great Great Grannies a wonderful Mother's Day!

ps - in the photos are my Mum with her younger sister, and my brother and I with Mum on her 80th birthday (last year) - and of course the Sylvia rose

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

Mixed emotions today ...

I am feeling very sad ... I tried to speak to my Mum yesterday evening .. again. Haven't spoken to her for about 4 weeks now - I have had difficulty getting through to the sister's station or she's asleep and last Sunday she was 'having a bad day'. Phoned last night and the sister very very kindly told me "My dear, she just can't come to the phone anymore" in that Cape Coloured accent ..... the sisters and staff are always so kind and gentle. "She is too frail and can't hear, and gets herself into such a state" she said.


I told her that I will be visiting in three weeks time and she said she already knew that as my brother had been to see her during the day and told her ... but I said I will keep phoning her (the sister) to find out how my Mum was doing. "That's fine, my dear, we look forward to it"

Mum and I in 2005 when she became a resident of the Home ..



And ... now for the HAPPY stuff ... .. look where we went yesterday ....

A St Patrick's Day Festival was held over the weekend at Monte Casino and we went along yesterday. Got there early to avoid the crush of people ... Elaine and friends had been on Saturday evening and they had a blast! She said everyone was dressed up in their Irish greens and there were bands, pipers, dancers etc. ... so ...

... we decided to go along and have a look ....

... and a taste ..... of traditional cheeses ... and Irish salmon on "freshly baked brown 'my-mum's-secret-recipe-bread-spread-thickly-with-Irish-butter" ... he said ...straight from Cork !!! YUM!!

And as the crowds gathered ....


.. the Blarney Brothers played traditional jolly Irish songs to get the people clapping and stamping their feet !!!

Soooooo .. guess what we came home with .......

.... plans for a holiday to Ireland ... yippee !!!

Vergelegen ..... Mum .... and memories

If I had known ...

.. that I was starting a blog a few months ago, I would have taken lots more photos of Vergelegen Wine Estate on digital, during recent trips, rather than reproducing my 'snaps' to share! It's one of my favourite places in Somerset West at the foothills of the Hottentot Holland mountains (Western Cape) ...

Brief History .....

Vergelegen was granted ownership to Willem Adriaan van der Stel in 1700 when he became Governor by his father Governor Simon van der Stel on his retirement. "The younger van der Stel transformed the uncultivated land into a veritable paradise." "In 1917 the property was purchased by Sir Lionel Phillips for his wife Florence, who restored the old homestead, library and gardens."

Now it's a popular tourist attraction with the Wine Tasting Centre, Octagonal Garden, Homestead, open for public viewing, guarded by two enormous Camphor laurels (Cinnamomum camphora) planted by Willem van der Stel in 1705 ... and they are enormous !! There is also a restaurant .. the 'Lady Phillips Restaurant' which serves the most delicious meals, and the Rose Terrace situated at the Rose Garden where they serve light lunches. It's only open in summer though as the Cape winters are pretty awful - rainy and cold! Picnic baskets are available and they have picnic tables scattered under huge trees. The Library built in 1816 is open for public viewing and well worth a wander through as is the main Homestead.

The Library

There have been recent devastating fires in the Somerset West area threatening the wine estates and farms, Vergelegen being one of them ... making me think that I need to share this beautiful place with you all, which was saved by dedicated fire fighters. ( Janet recently posted an entry on the brave fire fighters and volunteers). My brother in England hadn't known about the fires as he said it was never reported on any news bulletin .. I wonder if that's the case in other countries.

Vergelegen holds a few poignant memories for me ... that was the place my brother and his family took me for breakfast when we went to scatter our Dad's ashes on the side of a mountain .. we climbed up as far as we thought my Dad would love to forever watch the breathtaking view of False Bay (one of his favourite places) ....

When my Mum first went to the Old Aged Home in Somerset West in 2005 ... that's the first place I took her for an outing as she loves ... she really has\had a passion for gardens, gardening, flowers and floral art and Vergelegen has the most beautiful gardens. At the entrance area there is the White garden - all white flowers contrast with the green leaves with two ponds surrounded by the old Dutch gabled buildings. There are the vast Camphor trees at the entrance to the Homestead and beyond the trees is a large lawned area. In front of the Lady Phillips Restaurant there is a croquet lawn. Lovely to wander down the lawn surrounded by large trees and shrubs.

On the one side there is the camellia garden - quite a recent project with some shrubs being huge - obviously the older ones - and latetly lots and lots of new varieties have been planted. There are all colours and all sized flowers. Further down, beyond the lawn and shrubs the Lourensford River gushes through the grounds. Near the Picnic area there is a wetland project over which are wooden walkways for meandering.

Picnic area

Wetlands

Outside the Wine Tasting Centre is the Margaret Roberts Herb and Vegetable Gardens established in 1993. Walking to the centre to the wine tasting .. which is a must !!! ... the path leads through the herbs .. lavenders, rose geraniums etc.... so by the time you get to the wines you are nice and relaxed ready to enjoy every sip!!!!

Wine Tasting Centre

Whenever I took my Mum to Vergelegen, I could never do the 'wine thing' as it was not a good idea to mix wines with her medication (!) .. can you imagine the looks I would get bringing back to the Home this little old lady stumbling and slurring her words - with a broadest of grins on her face !!!!! . ... although I used to buy her a glass of wine with our lunch .. which she relished with every sip !! .. and why not .. medication or not .. one glass would do no harm!!

My rosey-cheeked Mum after sipping her wine at the Rose Terrace - 2005

We took a few friends on a wine tasting weekend last year and Vergelegen was one of the stops. Absolutely recommended!!

Now that my Mum's condition has worsened, I don't take her out anymore when I visit. I miss those days .. she used to love going 'out and about' and especially to Vergelegen because of the beautiful gardens. We would stroll down the lawns, meander through the trees and shrubs, stop to smell the roses ... in full bloom are a magnificent sight! ... wander along the edge of the river and along the wetlands wooden walkways ....


Photos taken 2005\6\7 ...

Mum with one of the large camellias ...

.. haven't spoken to Mum for a while now - she is battling to hear and I spend most of a phone call shouting down the phone to which she replies .. "I can't hear you ... are you there ..." and lately the sisters don't bring her to phone because she's always asleep when I phone. Waking her up makes are very disoriented so they leave her to sleep. I tried again yesterday afternoon, thinking the afternoon would be better. "No" she said, "I'm not going to wake her up - she's having a bad day today and waking her up will make it worse." Apparently she is going to have blood tests today as "she has blood under the skin". (All the nursing staff at the Home are Cape Coloureds and sometimes their English is a little strange!!!! ) Not sure what that's all about - I have asked my sister in law to find out. .... but .. I think I need to pop down to the Cape for a visit soon.


One of my favourite 'every day' wines is Mill Race .... but it's not on my frequently-visited-supermarket shelf very often ... :( ... so I have to make a special trip to a bottle store or go further afield ... the Cabernet Sauvignon's and Sauvignon Blanc's (dryish white) are superb and yummy as are their other wines ..




Oh yes - next door to Vergelegen is Morgenster - no gardens for strolling but the most magnificent view of the Hottentots Holland mountains and superb wines .. and olives .. well worth a visit too. I shall do a separate post on that!