Weekly Winners :

A mix of photos this week .... as I seem to do every week :) !


From autumn shades in a fruit basket ..

... to two Grey Louries against a dark stormy sky one evening ..

.. to more autumn colours of one of the plectranthus plants in my garden ...

... "er, excuse me ... don't photograph us beautiful creatures from underneath (thro' windows).."

... "that's better ... from above .. but I'm keeping my beedy eye on you .. " (see the little black dot of his right eye!!)

.. and from triangles on wings ...

.. to circles ...

.. GO Bradley .. GO ...

.. how l..o..w can you go ?...

... " not fair .. I can't do it like that :( "

Promise ... no influence here !!! ... Yesterday, I was sitting in the garden while the boys were playing .. Bradley plonked himself on one of the logs and sat in the meditating pose ...

me .. "what are you doing?

Brad ... meditating

me .. where did you learn that?

Brad .. Master Yoda !!

me .. who is Master Yoda?

Brad .. He's in Star Wars .. meditating makes him strong !"

What can I say ... go Bradley go ... !! or should I say .. om .. om ... om !!

... and bless his little socks .. Connor tried too .. :) !!

For more Weekly Winners go to Lotus' blog here

Nice is nice !!

Hubby still away ... Elaine and I had lunch yesterday .. somewhere different ... Nice on 4th, Parkhurst, an old suburb of Johannesburg. Old houses bought by younger people bringing a vibe back ... this street used to be full of antique shops .. now 'hip and happening' restaurants and coffee shops have taken over ... still one or two antique shops .. but other very interesting places ..

.. a definite re-visit !! There are contemporary decor and design studios and all sorts of foodie places .. 'I love Cup Cake ' is one them ... really really need to pop into that place !!! It was closed by the time we left ..

Anyway .. back to 'Nice' which was ever so nice ... such friendly service .. makes you want to go back again .. and again ..

Menu on blackboards .. kitchen behind counter ... which stocked the most delicious looking desserts/cakes which Elaine was eyeing-but-didn't-have-space-for-any! Next time!

..decor old and funky ..

.. table decor .. simple ..

.. food ... oh sooo delectable !! Elaine had a chicken, avo, parmesan panini drizzled with a tasty balsamic dressing ... I had a salmon, avo and tomato relish salad. To drink, E had fresh watermelon juice and me ... chilled Fat Bastard Chardonney !!

Old books scattered about .. this one was on the sideboard which caught my eye having a large rose on the cover .... 'I recognise that style of painting roses ..



... I have placemats at home with same ' .. !!!!!

Must take hubby there ...

Weekly Winners : Birthdays and more ...

Gosh .. it's been a busy weekend and only now have the chance to put these up ... !!!! (Monday)

Reflecting on the past week ....

... which started with my birthday on Sunday .... was spoilt by my children .... hubby gave me this exquisite 'Carrol Boyes' candle holder .... isn't he gorgeous .. holding up the 'world' with those strong hands ...

... we then flew down to Cape Town ... (actually we flew SAA but couldn't resist taking a photo of this Kulula plane taxiing down the runway - all their planes have funky paintwork and advertising) ....

Soothing sounds of a harp wafted around the foyer of the hotel ....

.. which is not far from the V&A Waterfront ... our hotel is just off the photo to the right ..

... Victoria and Alfred Waterfront - named after Queen Victoria and her second son, Prince Alfred who started construction of the harbour in 1860 ...



.. and forms part of ... the tourist/shops/foodies part of the harbour ... with beautiful Table Mountain as it's backdrop ...

.. and where the statues of Nobel Peace Prize Winners ... from left to right ... Chief Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mr F.W. de Klerk, and Mr Nelson Mandela .... stand proud ..

... anyone for ice cream ? .... quick .. it's melting in the heat !!!

... ooooh yesss .... a cool 'dude' seal ...

.. as the sun sets, the sunset cruises return to port ...

Whilst hubby was at the conference, I spent some family time in Somerset West ....

.. and while Kathy went to beading ... exquisite jewellery she makes too !! I am in awe !!! ...

.. anyway .. while she went to beading .. I spent some time with my Mum. She is looking well although very thin. She knew me. Always breaks my heart when I say goodbye ... she may not know me next time ..

Hubby joined us for a superb meal at 'Daniella's restaurant' (she is one of the manager's there) .... 96 Winery Road, in Stellenbosch .. Kathy, Ian, Daniella, me and hubby

... ooooh lookie here ... exciting stuff on their menu ... !!!! ...

... and an intriguing box on the mantel ... !!!

Not a moment to waste ... wine tasting at Asara ... mm .. mmm !!! all excellent wines !!

... and delicious Tapas with more family ... oh yummy .. yes .. very yummmm ..


... overlooking the lake and Stellenbosch Mountains ... (I've been there before with Ian and Kathy and taken photos .. so if it looks familiar to some bloggers .. it is !!!) But just had to share it with hubby, Cheryl and Bob (who had not been there yet) ..

Coffee with a view .... at the Twelve Apostles Hotel

.. and a seagull ..

Au revoir ... 'til we meet again ..

Back home ...

... on Saturday was Connor's 3rd birthday party .... and all our three children were there ... in the same spot .... at the same time .... we all live here .. but it's very rare that they are altogether at the same time .... photo opportunity !!!!

Happy Birthday Connor !!!!

Fun waterslide for all the littlies ... and some biggies!!! Jeanette has more photos ... check them out ... they are far nicer than mine could ever be ... !!!

More Weekly Winners are on Lotus' blog

This week's photos ...

Hi ...

... nothing nicer than starting off the week with a glass ... or two ... of ice cold bubbly ...

.. to celebrate Elaine's new car ...

Fresh eggs in an old ... very old ... really really old bowl ... it belonged to my Granny .. passed down to my Mum ... now I have it !!! I have inherited odd stuff .. a few family heirlooms here and there .... but mainly odd stuff like this !!!!

... and no .. says this Ibis ... the eggs are not mine !!! ....

... definitely NOT !!!!

Chuff ..... chufff .... chufffffff ...

.... wheeeeeee ....

... chuffer ... chufffer ... chufffff .....

... whooowhooooo ... a tunnel ahead ...

... boys and their toys ...... strewn everywhere ... this is a normal afternoon in my house !

"Wat you doin' .. Bwaderly ...?"

... sticking stickers on the train ... and the tunnel ..

... and on all the eyes !!!!

A glass of wine? ... I think we need it after all that ....

.. mm .. mmmm ... this is/was a good one!!! I had forgotten I had it in my basket of wines .. well, one of the baskets of wines .... discovered it right at the bottom, covered in dust ... we really need a proper wine rack, I think !!!

Avondale Bio-Logic and Organic Wines in Paarl, Western Cape ... I only picked it up off the shelf (obviously a long time ago!) because of the name .. as children, we used to live in a suburb called Avondale, Salisbury (now Harare) and my younger brother and I went to Avondale School .... way back when !!! All that was in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and has absolutely nothing to do with Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa !!!!

Hubby and I are flying off to the Cape tomorrow (which happens to be my birthday!) for a few days !!! ... 'bye for now