Weekly Winners : 17 - 24 April

Monday : Had a very busy day yesterday ... houseful of family !!! .. and wasn't able to finish putting up my Weekly Winners .. not that there are many photos .... 'cos ... the week started with lovely warm blue skies ...


... and then the wind blew ... scattering more leaves around the garden and pool ...


.. then the rain came ... and stayed ... and stayed

.... lovely weather for a good glass of Pinotage from Doolhof Wine Estates in Wellington ... "A burst of chocolate/mocha aromas, rich black cherries, coffee and almonds" .. now how can you resist ? !!! ... especially with an alluring label like this one ..


A week's worth of photos wouldn't be the same without one of our gorgeous grandchildren even though he is one tooth less !!

For more Weekly Winners visit Lotus' blog

"Raindrops on roses .."

.. and whiskers on kittens ... "....

No kittens .. no whiskers ... only raindrops on roses ...

.. same rose .. different angle ..

... another angle ..

.. and another ...

An opening bud ....

... from a different angle ..

A tighter bud ...


.. from a different angle ..

.. one more bud .. all from the one rose bush : Queen Elizabeth

I planted a 'Queen Elizabeth' rose bush in my garden 30 years ago .. as time passed, trees grew, the shade changed and I eventually had to take out the original roses. This is a 'newish' bush - it's in it's second season ... flourishing nicely ...

Have two rose bushes (name unknown) with these red tight-open flowers ...

... they show up orangey in photo but they're red .. believe me !!! The first bush was grown from a cutting brought from the grounds of the complex where my Mum and Dad lived for a while ... I then grew another bush from another cutting .. successfully !!! Transplanted both bushes two years ago and they are now also flourishing !!

Bradley ... deep in thought ... 'what are you doing .. ?'

"... 'ta daa' .... a tower .. nearly as tall as my brother ..."

Not much photographic variety for my contributions to Weekly Winners ...

... sooo ... I'll add the wine I've been drinking this week .. from the Lourensford Wine Estate on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountains, Somerset West .. which I happen to have a photo of ... taken during my December trip last year ..

Their flagship cab/shiraz blend ... "black cherry, hint tobacco, classy feel and flavours with supportive oak for fine-grained dry finish" !!! It's rather yummy ... !! Photo taken yesterday .. on my garden bench !!

For more Weekly Winners visit Lotus .. sarcasticmom.com

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