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 !!!

I felt a little sad ...

... when hubby and I visited this vast warehouse called Just Africa at Hartbeespoort Dam over the New Year's weekend ...

.. and saw all the animal skins made up as furniture items, rugs etc and then just the 'simple' skins lying on the floor for sale ... mainly to tourists who visit our beautiful country. Apparently the Zebra skin is the favourite ...

The skins were piled high in places ...

... some with visible bullet holes .. as in this Springbok skin (those small dotted dents)

Now .. this made me even sadder ... the taxidermist area ... :(

(I'm not sure why there are two bears there ... we do not have bears in this part of the world! )

... the leopard brought tears to my eyes ...

Then we went onto a huge African art, curio and artefacts warehouse ...

... with stalls overflowing with goods ...

... including colourful beadwork ...

... ostrich eggs ...

... and interesting woodwork... loved these candle holders!!!

I know there has to be culling of over-populated animals but seeing all those skins, stuffed animals and heads saddened me

If we take the road ahead ...

... or peek through the window ...

... or go down the path ...

... and cool down by the bubbling water ..

... and kiss the 'Kissi kissi stones' !!! ...

... she won't look ... I promise !

... he may take a peek ...

... and he will crow in the morning ....


... and if we ascend in the cable car ..


... we'll be on top of Table Mountain in the beautiful Cape of Southern Africa ..


... where mountains touch the clouds ...


..and grapes grow in abundance ..


... and elephants hide in bushes ...


... and sunshine reflects in water 'balls' (got a little lost for words here !) :)


.... and peacocks show off their striking colours ...


.. while we nibble on a tasty salad ..


.. and sip a glass of wine overlooking the Franshoek Valley ...

.. or watch the sun setting over Somerset West

Be sure to come with me again and I shall show you more of this most beautiful part of South Africa

Must add here ... this was FUN .. driving along the country roads .. with the top down .. Thelma and Louise (Kathy and I) -without the scarf floating behind !!

Places of interest shown in this post ... Uva Mira, Boschendal, and La Petite Ferme wine estates, The Twelve Apostles Hotel,

and the first photo is at Kogelberg Nature Reserve .. go to http://capenature.org.za/ ... click on Nature Reserves, then click on Overberg, then Kogelberg Nature Reserve .. phew!

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