vampires in the fynbos

I spent the morning on the slopes of the Helderberg mountain. I knew things were looking up when the guy at the gate let me in without paying...(woohoo!who says nothing's for free?!)...and it just got better.

Everything was covered in heavy, glittering dew from the rainfall the day before. It sparkled.

I spent ages (bum-in-air-mode, but the place was empty so I didn't have to worry about blinding the unsuspecting public as they rounded the corner) trying to capture the light.
It looked like tiny fairy lights were strung everywhere!

 

 

 

 

I sat myself down on a bench in the sun and just soaked it all up.

The fish eagles call, the drone of an aeroplane, the faint cry of children playing down at the pond...and the pungent smell of fynbos.

Then I climbed into a sarmie (a South African sandwich not someone into molesting oriental boys   *g*)  and read.

Yep. Undead and Unwed . 

The funniest vampchic lit I've read in ages. Seriously.
Betsy, the prophesied Queen of the Vampires, is hi-la-rious.

Vampires in the fynbos. Another day in paradise.

More pics to follow in flickr.

Elis Regina & Tom Jobim- Waters of March

shhh...don't tell anyone

I am a morning person. Unabashedly.
And by the looks of things there aren't too many of us around.
Or perhaps they were watching the cricket.

It's good this way though. It feels like being in on a very big secret...shhh...don't tell anyone but it's....beautiful on the beach at six in the morning. 

  

Ben Harper- 'Morning Yearning'

Merry Merry!!

I'm chillin' with the kitties .....very merry after having climbed into a bottle of Amarula that was actually meant to be a gift for some person who will remain nameless! (Don't worry, they will be receiving a gift...just not that one)

Tomorrow I drive to the family in Cape Town. We'll be drinking champagne cocktails, doing a leg of lamb in the Weber (with a gammon in the oven) and will probably play a few rounds of Mario Kart.

Perfect.

Peace, happiness and lots of love everyone!

ETA- Whoops! Forgot to take this post off draft (blame it on the Amarula)...almost 24 hrs later and it's all over bar wading through the left overs and taking another peek at some truly excellent pressies.

The very yummy (almost surprisingly so) Pointsettia cocktail. Note the kitchen sink in the background with dishcloth and Sunlight liquid....we were so enthralled by our cocktail we forgot to stage it properly...

There. 

Impressed?

Try it sometime. The Triple Sec gives it the sweetness with a citrusy zing and the cranberry juice balances that with a touch of sour. And then you top it up with champagne. Yum.

Hope yours was a jolly merry Christmas.

 

all that i want

 So. A week of my holidays has passed and what have I done with my time?

I've read. Tons.

 

I've tried not to eat too much shit..and largely failed.

 

I've shopped.

And I made some bags.

 

  

  

It's been good. : )

 You see paw pads, I see chocolate coated raisins. 

And, lastly, two little bits of festive spirit.

The first is the most chilled out and gorgeous rendition of Silent Night I've ever heard. Mahalia Jackson remixed by King Kooba.

The Weepies' All That I Want...

..and what is it that makes you scream?

 

This morning I was inspired by Jocelyn's post to try and do some macro shots and thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and do some sewing at the same time. Hey, I've managed driving a car while shooting, this should have been a piece of cake. Should have been.

So while the kitties slept, I quickly packed out the gorgeous material I'd bought ages ago and set out the pattern pieces for some tote bags. I love the way these swatches look together. My swatch admiration did not last long.

What the hell was I thinking? I swear they have some kind of radar. This is the look I have come to fear...

 

...see the wild glint in her eye? It's Minnie in fucking kamikaze mode.

 

Here's another face that has me casting a quick panicked glance around the room.  She looks like one of those demons in Supernatural when, up until a second ago, they looked completely normal and then all of a sudden their eyes go totally black. God, I should have named her Ruby.

 

 

I managed to cut out my pattern pieces but by then I'd had enough.

 

This project is going to take longer than expected.

And while we're on the subject of the little shits fuckers...damage count is now:

• One floor lamp (sob)
• One glass
• Two picture frames
• One cushion (snivel)
• and a lounge that looks like a ...well, like a couple of demon kitties just escaped through the Devil's Gate...man, I'm missing that show
  

things we like

my new summer dress

fresh laundry

christmas hats

christmas trees

my new bead bracelet

my suede chair

ohyesss...we lurve my suede chair

 

 *sigh*

little shits

more eM'neM in flickr

super eggnog ....and mario

 

"The only problem with eggnog is that it warms you up..."

This is probably why it's not part of the Christmas tradition for those of us living South of the equator. But it has become a tradition in our little family..and yesterday was Eggnog Day. When the temperature in Cape Town was in the mid 30's (Celsius).

As you've perhaps noticed, our recipe comes from the web. Someone called Cyril who, no doubt, takes his eggnog's warmth-inducing ingredients very seriously.

God bless the web. 

And God bless Cyril for his boozy nog. 

In two hics the tree was up.

Lights hung and strung. 

(Me, cleverly avoiding this little adapter nightmare by staying behind the lens)

  

 

And all were bathed in the warmth and glow of the Christmas season.

Then we played Mario Kart on the Nintendo Wii ;-P

Of which there will be no photographs because they're hellishly unflattering.

Thank you Steve and Meri for perfecting the art of eggnogery, for bringing the Wii and being such strong supporters of Eggnog Day.

*hugs*

summersong

It's that time of the year again.
The sitting-on-the-desk-smiling-benevolently-at-all-things time of the year. This year we took the Superhero theme a bit further and made puppets and put on a puppet show. We had a Superhero (Oxidor, pictured above) who's weakness is smelly socks. All his nemesis has to do is take off his shoes and poor Oxidor has to make a run for it.
If I were to create a Superhero it would be one who's weakness is smelly breath. If there's one thing that has me recoiling from a nine year old faster than anything else it's bad breath ....what the hell are kids eating these days? I swear it gets worse every year.

Back to the puppets....do not for one second believe any real sewing took place. When needles were eventually threaded (and you only have to look at the pics to know this took a very.... Very...Long time) the buttons were 'knotted' in place..and if this didn't work we used glue. I must say, the little buggers showed perseverance though. Knotting buttons onto a little sock isn't easy.

So tomorrow is the second last day of school and the same old feeling is here. Memories of long lazy days on Fish Hoek beach, braai smoke lingering over the neighbourhood, the sweet smell of the hydrangeas under my bedroom window in the evening,  shopping for Christmas presents in Cavendish square ...decorating the tree. So..ok, hardly any of those things are a part of my holiday experience these days....still, the essence remains.
It's break up day on Friday.
And it feels good.