21 years ago today....

at Uncle Paul's xmas party in Groot Constantia

She was lovingly delivered into our waiting arms....her name.. well, it followed a few weeks later-
names are like that.

What kind of a child would she turn out to be?

Fearless, compassionate and kind....

Just walking, barely running, she would throw herself with wild abandon into the sea, over and over again- could she see her future?

Keurbooms beach

Visiting a pet shop, she'd choose the oldest, ugliest and mangiest guinea pigs-
'Are you sure?', they'd ask, bewildered. Yes, she was very sure.

Animals everywhere- Tracy, the untrainable Beagle (she spent years trying), chickens that slept inside on top of the grandfather clock, ducks that patrolled our back door and wouldn't allow us to enter and the horses....

collecting Tracy from the kennels

those dangerous ducks

Oh the horses! from Campese, her hobby horse, (yes, that's right-don't ask us how or why, but her horse was named after the great Australian rugby player) and the parties, years of horse parties with magnificently painted horse cakes, bless her dad, the 'art teacher'.

with Campese

Resourceful, tenacious and a little bit stubborn...

With no horse to call her own,  she found one in the neighbourhood and rode daily.
Lessons and tack- either she found them or they found her.

with Pony

Boyfriends, boundaries, schoolbooks and still horses- all the while deciding her future.

Then she's 18 and its full circle, once again ready to throw herself with wild abandon into the sea, only this time I can't hold her back.

Brave....

Literally just finished school and she's acquired all by herself,  with hardly any money-  a few papers, a passport and a passage to cross the infinitely large Atlantic ocean in a tiny catamaran to a future unknown.

at the harbour before her crossing

Hardworking, loyal, and generous....

Life on a magnificent yacht, exotic and affluent destinations, the places she describes - I see in my dreams.
and the parties....we'll say no more!

the Adela in Portofino

Happily, she's returning home for a visit in November,  lately when she arrives at the airport there's a definite cosmopolitan aura about her,  this time she's bringing home a young man.

Happy 21st dearest Carrie- we couldn't be more proud.

A fine day on the Sea Point promenade

A week of fresh, crisp and deliciously warm winter days drew us to the beachfront, today's choice Sea Point promenade, I was eager to see Kevin Brand's 'White horse' sculptures.

I love the inspiration behind these 5 white horse sculptures- the story goes in July 1966 the SS South African Seafarer ran aground  50 metres off the Mouille Point lighthouse, thankfully all crew and passengers were rescued.
On the ship was a large consignment of White Horse Whisky, free with the whisky was a plastic toy white horse. The following days the beach was scattered with little plastic white horses who were riding in on the crests of the huge Atlantic Ocean white horses- what a beautiful picture.

 

I was relieved to see that Marieke Prinsloo- Rowe's fabulous 'Walking the Road' sculptures were still there- several sculptures telling the delightful story of a little girl and a dragonfly.

A slow walk back to the lighthouse in time to catch the serene sunset, our senses sated by nature- the beauty of  the ancient rocks, the unpredictable sea, the colourful sunset and the rising full moon.

Peanut Butter cookies

The kids baked a double batch of peanut butter cookies last night- well actually my daughter did, my son's participation was in the eating.

Yummy peanut buttery smells permeated the house-so very comforting.

We've experimented with size and get a great result with these little bite -sized ones, plus you can pop a couple in your mouth and then convince yourself a few more would still be acceptable!

Thank you to the South American's for the peanuts and the Americans for the genius of peanut butter......

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

120g Margarine

120 g Crunchy peanut butter

125ml castor sugar

1 egg- 1 ml salt

350 ml self raising flour

Cream the margarine and the peanut butter, add the egg, beat happily, add salt and flour and have some fun making those little balls.....don't forget to lick the bowl afterwards........180 degrees- 8 minutes.

Twinkle twinkle little party lights

A fun and frenzied few days preparing for the 'art teachers' party on Saturday evening, a bit of scrubbing and cleaning...sadly happily ours is not the kind of cottage that stays in 'show house' condition for more than a few hours.

Then the food.... its always an honor to cook for friends and I loved every minute of it -  there were beans to be soaked and kilo's of pork belly to be bought, fresh fish to be found and many lemons to be picked for the ceviche, ricotta cheese and fesh fennel seeds for the meatballs, chickens to be poached that needed fresh herbs to be foraged, chorizo that is 'just right' to be sourced and triple chocolate brownies to be baked....not forgetting the pretty fragrant  flowers to be chosen......who would have thought it....and dare I actually say it- I embraced my 'inner Margaret Stewart'!

The time arrives- wonderful hours with fabulous friends, drinking, eating and laughing, its the stuff of real life.

'The art teacher' is happily overwhelmed with his well chosen gifts- trays of plants; delicious dark chocolates; olive oil & biltong; vodka, whisky, grappa and wine; candles and photographic prints, books and glossy art books, sharp knives and wonderfully original music compilations- what more could a man ask for?

The pathway to the cottage in the morning light- walk a bit further for a delightfully hedonistic display of half empty wine glasses and bottles, scraped plates, spent candles, abandoned shoes and overflowing ashtrays- it was a great party- thank you all.

Gary Van Wyk- Private Public

Gary Van Wyk's exhibition  Private Public opened last night at  Heidi's Photographers Gallery za.

When I say this charming young man is everyone's favourite photographer, I mean that quite literally,  you can see by the exhibition pictures, most of Cape Town turned out-  his enthusiasm and passion for photography is contagious.

the street when we left

the street when we arrived as  Oliver Hermanus gave his speech

Gary was mostly rooted to the spot with a steady stream of warm kisses and congratulatory hugs from hundreds of people.

you can tell which one is Gary

As I stood outside and chatted Chenin blanc in hand, it seemed that everyone had three or four favourite photographs, a few of the favourites overlapped, but mostly they were unique - he definitely had this exhibition nailed.

The photographs captured moments, private, spontaneous and decisive. Our friend Ilaria who is in the first photograph, waving a hello in a doorway wearing a beautiful billowing hat, says Gary is always taking pictures. eventually you don't realise he is and I'm guessing that's when the magic happens.

Heidi working her own magic

another talented photographer- Guy Tillim

Great evening, interesting people, by the time we left, the gallery was still overflowing, I'll have to go back for another look at those pictures.

 Heidi invited 'the art teacher' and some of our friends to exhibit under 'family portraits' on the back wall last night .......more pics to follow.

the drive home view from the Highway

Do these plants look tasty?

The nursery staff steered clear of me, they were used to the usual questions of sun or shade.

Evidently my problem is quite unique.... I have a dream of an english cottage rose garden, roses, lavender and pretty flowers in abundance, but this clashes dramatically with my seemingly idyllic reality of bunnies and guinea pigs hopping about the garden- hence my desperate question, do these plants look tasty?

There was only one way to tell, 1 bought both punnets and put them on the stoep-  as I suspected, the dianthus evidently sublimely tasty and the cornflowers not, okay...its a start.

They also have the same taste as myself in lavender- quite literally, they love the english, but the french and spanish they ignore, what's with that?!

Now here's the kicker....we have a garden full and half a rose garden full of nasturtiums- nobody eats them, they grow in wild abundance everywhere.

So far, I have 3 sticks that were english lavender, two unruly other lavenders, a few cornflower plants and some violets...any and all suggestions would be most welcome.

Why are they so cute?

New Hout Bay Harbour Market

The new Hout Bay Harbour Market was buzzing on Saturday morning, I parked far away and followed the masses- never has the harbour been this busy.
Opp the popular Fish and Chips on the rocks in an old warehouse, great for the winter, lovely cosy atmosphere.

A smithy from  Iron & Roses has set up shop, he has a constant audience. The traders are in the front - I found a gorgeous red farmed coral ring at Mint.
The food section with communal tables near the big fireplace at the back, loved the overall design, interesting lighting on ancient tree stumps and drum lights hang from the ceilings,  Zebra 'skin' on the floor.

Toured the food area twice, but apart from the Crayfish and fish braai I was disappointed, a quick look around and most of the people were eating the stir-fry, very yummy looking.
Other than that, the choices were limited -ciabatta rolls with sirloin, very expensive pancakes, sushi, quiches...just didn't cut it for me.

The market will be open on Friday evenings as well as Sundays- excited about Sundays.  Its still very new and I'm sure it'll grow quickly attracting some great additional stalls.

Climbed the dunes with the kids for a pretty beach pic.