21 years and a couple of days ago

21 years ago you arrived cautiously, a bonny baby, eager for every challenge.

A record 6 weeks in the naming –  but I think we nailed it…you are every bit both Annabela and Annie.

The baby Annie got down and dirty-  playing with the chickens, sharing their food –hours spent in the garden.

Intrigued with textures and taste, I was always prying the odd bug out of your future vegetarian mouth.

Done with that, as a child you were a feisty princess, an ethereal fairy and a fantastic hostess –

Your tea parties extravagant with flowers, mud cakes and murky tea, teddies, barbies and dolls all dressed in their finest.

In between, you figured out and beat the adult house record at Klotski and patiently built the highest block towers ever seen....everyone tip toeing for hours.

Few will believe you refused to go to school, and we're talking Waldorf pre-school....

 The following year with the realisation of the inevitable, you set your mind and bravely went forth to conquer –  very shortly the drawers were bulging with diplomas….. if only we got to keep the silver!

A whirl of drama, dancing, public speaking, debating, 'head girling' and art….basically anything the rest of us would run screaming from- you tackled it all with grace, tenacity and integrity beyond your years.

Art…such soulful drawings – top mark in the province and you didn’t choose Art, nor law for that matter, much bewilderment all around, but you had other horizons to discover.

You don’t choose the obvious and definitely never the easiest, your paths will probably be as diverse as you are talented -

Just know that we couldn't be more proud of the woman you have become.

I'm a little bit broken

happy picture to keep me calm and serene

These things happen, my usual modis operandi is to ignore stuff - things have a way of disappearing or fixing themselves.

Two months down the line.....very itchy rash everywhere- still here- eyes still not mine, fingers definitely not- I have hard as rock longish nails which I've never had- quite nice... but my hands are broken, they say 'mechanics hands'- except my mechanic has lovely hands. Other stuff comes and goes- Breathlessness, some nausea, fatigue - but now I have lost my voice.... The art teacher kindly tells me this is sexy, but I have it on good authority I sound like a chipmunk.

Now my doc says it's time for more tests and maybe a referral- if you know me, this is not good, nor me- so you understand, I had my babies at home in the bath- ain't nobody gonna cut me up at home!

New plan- I'm clearly going to have to own this mess I've become.  

On observation, it seems to react to stress- I know, really?? 

I've thrived on stress since my first job at the newspaper- it was a challenge to beat the 3 pm deadline chute as it shot off to the 4th floor works dept- I'd arrive breathless but triumphant. Then onto catering and/with 3 kids- pftt... a walk in the park.

I suspect as my grandmother would have said- my chickens have come home to roost, and they're looking like they flew from Siberia.

It's time to say no, when I would have said yes and time to walk a little slower.

It's also time to conjure up my 6 year old self, picture me, pig tails and all, my grandparents explaining that tomorrow we're going to the doctor and he's going to burn with dry ice that nasty wart by my toes all gone...burn, freeze, toes...and an active imagination....it didn't take long to decide that when I woke up that wart would be gone all by itself- and it was.

So dear 'whatever is wrong with me', I acknowledge you, I understand where you are coming from, I embrace what you are telling me and I've taken it to heart. Thank you for the nails and the kilos I've lost, I'll keep those if I may?

But unless you are going to reveal the lottery numbers in my rash, I am respectfully and kindly telling you it's time to piss off.

Brewers Co-op Woodstock

A bunch of guys and one lady have got together to form the Brewers Co-op in Albert Road, Woodstock,

 our buddy Daniel being one of them, so last Thursday we popped down to do some serious tasting- 

I quietly, and a bit bashfully arrived as a non beer drinker, but was quickly lured by all the sparkling honey hues.... by the end of the evening I had tasted several really delicious beers, knew a bit more about the different processes- everyone is very passionate- and had a favourite in the cider.

You can catch one of their free beer Thursdays (they await their licence) tomorrow from 6 pm-don't worry about the rain and the cold, there's always a big crowd of kindred souls and plenty of beer.

Woodstock drive-by

A Prince Albert wake at a labyrinth

On a clear day you can see forever-

follow the dusty road for 37kms exactly from the Weltevreden turnoff,

pass a Fig farm- next time-

you'll soon come to the signpost.

 

Here at the labyrinth on the farm we gathered-

it rained as we cried,

 it cleared as we remembered

 and in the end the sun warmed our shared grief.

Walking a labyrinth was a new experience for me, 1 km in and out,

it felt profound and spiritual- 

horses, dogs, friends, strangers: all coming, going, connecting, passing.

 

On the way back-

an adventurous skaapie grazing happily on a different side of the fence, just like Gary.

Blah Blah Bar and Ferdinando's pizza

I promise I didn't try and keep this a secret, you know I love to share...we just needed a few more visits to make sure I had the best pictures of  Blah Blah Bar 

Now a quick glance at the pictures and you'll see just what kind of wonderful this place is-

But if you need words- it's trendy, but casual in a cool artsy kind of way -

Erdmann Contemporary is upstairs.

 Regular live music downstairs, just keep an eye on their facebook page. 

It's a perfect party venue, not too big, a bit edgy, sort of like a home party in an alternative rich person's Victorian house.

and in the back.......Pizza!

I know- can this place get any better?

It's also not just any pizza, it's that pizza that I've been promising to tell you about, it's Ferdinando's pizza,

I really can't describe this little pizza kitchen to you- take a look and you'll see- but I can tell you how it makes you feel- warm and happy.

That's Ferdinando there on the floor looking for a treat.

What kind of rock star proprietor thought of all this you ask? 

 

Ja, ja- say no more, he was born to it.

I'll finish with some stunning 'drive-by's' taken by the art teacher on our way there

A life well lived

If I think of Gary, it's his laugh and those devilishly twinkly eyes first, even after his strokes, he'd charade us into remembering an incident in the past and laugh heartily - delighting in the memory.

And boy, are there a lot of memories- an adventurer at heart, fear and consequence...please....pfftt...that was for us mere mortals - you don't believe me?

Going way back, how about his 'make it or break it' drive to Sun City, a lot of cash was involved and yes, you guessed it, he placed it all on Red - no half measures, he was an all or nothing kind of guy- and yes, Black came in.

I hear the click, clack, clunk of the backgammon board, Fanie and Gary laughing, playing late into the night.

Then there were the poker evenings- you can tell a lot about a person by the way they play poker.

 He won with delight, lost with grace, rarely sat out - even with a bad hand, enjoyed a good bluff- especially if it was on him, loved to go all in and always gave you a chance to win back your money- a good poker player is a rare find.

He loved hang -gliding, not always successfully- poor Lisa!
 Adored nature, one weekend, combining both at either Beaverlac or Porterville, Gary's- 'let's go for a little walk', turned out...well, as you can see below.....fortunately I wasn't a first time mother.

Passionate about horses, to watch him with his horses on the farm in Prince Albert was almost religious.

He wrote well and with humour, he would have had a great blog- Gulliver's Travels a favourite of his, Siouxsie and the Banshees his best CD at our house- good whisky a necessity.

 So many more tales, schemes and adventures to reminisce - but one thing I know- 

your friends are all better people for having known you.

Al Bairre and Shortstraw at Kirstenbosch

To spread a picnic blanket on the lawns of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens on a summer Sunday evening, to sit, sprawl, stand or dance, drink in hand ...this is Cape Town  - is an exceptional experience.

It doesn't matter if you're there for the music, the gardens, the people  - ( so many beautiful people, where do they all come from- no really? )  - it's the combination and then you look up at the mountain and *sigh* - a very deep and satisfied *sigh* and happily pour another glass of wine.

Long ago as young mothers with first, then 2nd and yes, some of us 3rd children, we would get together weekly,  mainly for our sanity, often in Kirstenbosch under the big tree. 

This last Sunday one of  those little tots took to that stage with a bunch of his friends and owned it.
They played with such joy and exuberance-
 We loved them, Cape Town loved them!

After Al Bairre came Shortstraw, another fabulous Indie rock band - by the end of the evening everyone was on their feet...even those who were having trouble finding their feet.

Bless you dear Kyle for giving us moms a perfectly plausible excuse to jump up and down, sing, shout and cheer like our teenage selves would have done.