Girl{y} Friday

Also just returned from a lovely girl{y} treat, actually outing. Thanks to a constant reminder of Heather Moore from http://www.skinnylaminx.com/ and Wendren from http://thewrendesign.com/ for sharing this http://www.kamersvol.com/ geskenke with us. Interesting how similar the Afrikaans is to the German, in this case. Eine Kammer voll Geschenke, a room full of gifts/ pressie's.


You will have to make this an outing {only 2 days left} with family and friends as it is about 60 km from Cape Town. It really is worth the trip, avoid those shopping malls and enjoy the wine valley and get all those pressie's/gifts , mostly handmade and local, sorted for the season ahead. Just some images to get you going, indoors was a bit of a challenge as it got a bit' squashy' for taking pictures...

Sorry, just couldn't resist this, cupcakes de luxe.

Just loved the way old furniture, like the hanging doors, were made use of for display.

Anything works as a fountain

Shop till you drop?

Window display or more like window shopping?

So many ideas every where

Time to rest, nostalgically.

Enjoy your weekend...

Check this out : The kites [my photo] were 'flying' for 24 hours, high between all the other news breakers: so cheerful even if they are so 'devilish'...

Thanks for choosing my image. {Amongst fierce competition}

More fish, seals and frogs, they all agree what an awesome place to be flying.

A very worried scuba diver sharing the same airwaves with crocodile.

Still the smiling devil at full length

Just when you thought the kids will fly the kites, no, they prefer to be flying themselves, cannot blame them.

It really was a nice day for flying; a kite. Even the very tiny kites, they such fun, check their website http://www.tinykite.com/ Very novel idea to send to people and as promotional items.

Hot off the press:

Images of the day from the weekends kite festival at Zandvlei / Muizenberg

General overview:

Squeeze tightly into the frame.

A serious series of string quartets.

Always chasing the poor little guys.

The devil with a smile {made me do it}

Still chasing little ones while holding onto the mountain

.

Seagulls are not worried one bit by these monsters.

Watch this space for more tomorrow as we awaken your inner child.

Happy Birthday Mutti.

Alles Gute zu Deinen Geburtstag.

Here tradition prevails: Mom always made sure before we had to dash off to school that on our birthdays she would arrange the table with presents [presies], flowers and a cake[unsalted butter] with all the appropriate lit candles on. Today I insist on the same tradition but unfortunately electronically. Wish you were here, Mom and all the very best on your Birthday!!

Winding down for the weekend with girl{y} Friday.

Lately there has been a lot of hype and talk about “High Tea”. The most magnificent place in Cape Town for this is the Mount Nelson Hotel also nicknamed ‘The Nelli’…really one of the few Victorian, colonial type buildings that can get away with the idea of a totally pink painted exterior; it just became such an important feature. http://www.mountnelson.co.za/web/ocap/afternoon_tea.jsp

I started rummaging through my own things to see if I would qualify for a tea party. It looks good on the linen side of things but to my horror of horrors not on the cutlery and nor on the crockery.

Remembering the much used, palest of pinks with grey border, tablecloth and napkins kept in an interesting plastic type folder; just love the detailed graphic illustration; given to me by my aunt from Germany.

This cup and saucer/plate {made some time ago by me} is in everyday use and will not be appropriate. Oh dear.

This dishtowel will conjure up some inspiration and so does Clementina’s blog.[check on my blog list]. Her latest work is really" heating up the pace". The white utilitarian work and those beakers with ancient plant detail are placing themselves on a ‘must have list’. What really sparked all this was her ‘double decker’ cake stands with those handles, what fun.

While I’ll get back to the drawing board, you must enjoy the weekend and don’t forget the kite festival at Zandvlei…

Dragging Thursday

For the past couple of days you've been "dragged" around the Cape Peninsula only to be "dragged" back to the starting point of Zandvlei where we end off with dragon boat racing that took place on that balmy Saturday.{see more details on link of : notes from the cape blog.}

The 'round about' tour is 65 km from our place and the diversity of fauna and flora will drag-on for more posts as we still have not captured the whales,baboons and all the mountainous fynbos walks...A tourist guide in disguise, no, just cant get enough of this beautiful part of the world.

Wacky Wednesday

Are you flirting ...eehm… with the camera? This ostrich was quite the male model: the red lips, the long eyelashes; all this for the female bird, its really strange. As if that’s not enough, the strutting and prancing around, {those legs I tell you, don’t get in the way of them} on the ostrich farm just outside Cape Point.

Another flightless bird: the penguin

Can you imagine the conversation here? To me it sounds like:” What do you mean I can’t go to the event tonight?”
“Well, we have to wait for your tuxedo to grow back on..”
While the third one thinks its better to leave at this point and check the waters at boulders near Simonstown.

“What’s with all the fuss?”

Seriously though all jokes aside, the African jackass penguins are on the endangered list as vulnerable. There is something we can do to help if you check on http://www.sanccob.co.za

Lets not have another extinct species on our hands.

Choosy Tuesday

A glimpse of Namibia; perhaps? This landrover "found" its place next to the aloes in a parking lot in Simonstown at the yacht harbour. By the looks of things it has gone through a lot and won't be able to move another inch. In the background another mode of transport {boats} but parked in dry docks at the harbour.

Walking up from the parking area to the main road of Simonstown, seems like soled feet are a "requested" mode of movement. Signs for bicycles don't seem to feature as a choice around here, despite the "millions" of cyclist making use of this scenic route around the south peninsula.

Main Road of Simonstown with thankfully various old architecture intact. This is also where the railway line ends, last stop before the wild, blue yonder. So much to choose from; { well just the mode of transport for now}. More in depth look at Simonstown at a later stage...

Moody blue Monday?

This really remains one of the most beautiful spots shortly before the Cape Point area and shortly after Simonstown. It was one of those perfect balmy settings that hundreds of visitors pass by en route to Cape Point. {the ones that are stuck on tour buses}

The imagination can really run amok between all these boulders and personally I think this inspired the low rise hipsters...

More blues and climbing about...

Oops where did the time go? Girl {y} Friday is here and on the way out, so just a little something.

These lovely little cards I found at a church fest in Malmesbury, http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionswc/swartland-attractions.htm [out of all places]. This happens when 'dearest' plays accordion at strange gatherings.

I just love the way the typical items found in country places have been placed and the gentle light stirring up nostalgic emotions.

Simple and effective and so charming to use along with gifts etc.

And the flower of this day; the one und only King Protea. The image has been fiddled with and would love to see aspects of this in a repetitive pattern for upholstery or something.

Capetonians, enjoy the onslaught of some warmth this weekend...nice weekend everyone...

It's time to pay attention to growing some seasonal food.

Budding soldiers, beans, vulnerable to the onslaught of snails, worms, moles and salt-laden South Easter winds.

Bursting radishes, finding strength in numbers.

Promises of tomatoes.

Underglaze painted on rim of plate waiting for the cherry tomatoes.

Budding leaves of custard apple tree, south Easter winds above, hang in there...It's really an incredible fruit: http://www.custardapple.com.au/

But wait we do have something to harvest.

Strong Swiss chard leaves beaming with antioxidants and it's companion is leeks.

Not too shabby, grew very quickly from the flowers of the previous post.{ lol.}

So for desert we have a harvest of strawberries for two,

a dash of organic vanilla powder

a spritz of rosewater

a twirl of honey

finely chopped fresh mint

and a grind of sugar crystals with chocolate from Melissa's

mmm, absolutely decadent...

with beaming pride of all the vitamins and minerals that make it in our garden to our experimental kitchen...

Girl{y} Friday, time to chill and enjoy the finer things in life. You must agree that a garden should have its special areas just to recharge and rekindle your vital senses even if it is just for 5 minutes. We have created such a spot and it also helps to have a stimulating view from the kitchen sink.

I nicknamed this area Antoni Gaudi meets miniature Fontana di Trevi. The affects of travels before and after.

Had to have my hands in some of the tiles {creating & painting} and funnily enough my dearest put the puzzle pieces together and realized that it is immense therapeutic fun. Here I declare myself defeated because mosaics, like puzzles are not my strengths.

All in the detail of the tiles

Decided to try my hand again with ‘shooting’ running water and realized this ‘happy snapper’ camera: Sony DSC-H2 can ‘paint’.

The play of the 2 thin copper pipes splattering the small trickly amount of water onto a tiled background really lend itself well for all these strange abstracts.

So if anyone would like a Gaudi/Trevi fountain commissioned, leave your name and number at the tone and the keys to your Italian villa and the Ferrari…Okay so the cappuccino is ice-cold and the birds stole the biscotti….nice weekend everybody.