The joy!

I am officially on......

Wishing each and everyone a blessed festive Season! Be safe and take care. Until 2014!

Today...

... I feel like a 50 year old.
... MUST get Christmas tree up.
... SO frustrated with airlines.
... I feel like a 50 year old.

Get it? Yeah, it's been a long year, but annual leave is starting on the 13th and will last for FOUR weeks.

And... My parents will be spending Christmas on the farm!

CAN.NOT.WAIT.

And then, totally random:

In my next life (if there is one) I want to come back as Bliksem, our Boerboel.  

Spot the Tree Frog

Is this not adorable.
Spotted on one of the rose bushes.

Pathetic, I know!

It's been more than a month. Yes, I know. It's been busy.

I've lost a friend and a neighbor last month, been on leave, had a puppy and, and, and. It just never rains, it pours.

So on Sunday, we did another road trip, just to rewind a bit. Barrydale, on the R62, is one of our favourite places. Lovely little art and book shops and amazing restaurants!

Just a short  drive from us.

Through the Tradouws Pass.

Love this place. You need to stop there. Good food.

Love the sigh in the background :) 

Awesome day.

Margaret Thatcher se moer...

... MY MA is 'n ystervrou.

Dit het ek net weer hierdie naweek gesien. (Ja, ek was gelukkig genoeg om BEIDE my ouers vir die naweek te kon entertain.)

Sy was laasweek vrot van die koors en glad nie lekker, maar het aangedring sy is fine. Ek was seker ek sou hulle nie sien nie, maar op die ou einde het die tweetjies hier aangekom.

My ma se wange het gelyk soos Ouma Dora s'n as sy 'n brandy saam met antie Henn gedrink het. (Van die koors en nie van drank nie hoor!) En tussen die koue lappies, die warm gloede en die toe bors, worry sy steeds oor ander mense en dat almal net okay en gelukkig moet wees.

Ek haal my hoed af ma.

Love you lots!

Ma en Bliksem

En net soveel dank aan my pa, wat my ma deur dik en dun bystaan. Pa is 'n juweel. Love you lots too.

Snip snip.

Needed a change!

Before

After

After

Happy weekend!

And another trip to nowhere...

... or so we thought!

On Sunday, the farmer was in one of his explore moods again. He decided to drive to Riversdale, and then turn right towards Klipfontein, where his cousin bought a farm in the middle of nowhere. We eventually found the farm, but the gates were locked, so we decided to keep on driving. And guess where we ended up? Stilbaai! Also known as the Bay of the Sleeping Beauty, about 340 km from Cape Town on the N2. Truly a picturesque coastal town.

Only, we did not drive along the N2, but all the way along the Goukou river to where it meets the Indian Ocean on the Southern Cape coast of South Afric. Following a small dirt road!

Some pictures:

What have I done?

Canola field

Hmm, looking better.

Wow!

A MUST!

Love!

Almost there!

The Estuary - Pic courtesy of http://www.stilbaaitourism.co.za/

Enjoy!

Today...

... apologizing again for the lack of posts. It's never raining, it's pouring. 
... Had a week off blissful leave last week
... Wish we had the Cape Town rain. It's SO dry here.
... last week saw 1 year of no smoking - Very chuffed.
... Bella had ONE pup last week. So, so cute - Keeping me busy.

Road Trip!

Can't remember if I told you that the farmer loves exploring...

Well, he loves exploring and this past Sunday, we drove about 210 km (round trip) through Riversdale, the Garcia Pass and en route to Ladismith, to go and check out the village of Vanwyksdorp.

Small is an understatement. The "town" has no tar roads, 2 shops and only one bottle store.

Some pictures:

The Garcia Pass - About 15km out of Riversdale still in the Southern Cape

Turn right to Vanwyksdorp - in the Little Karoo

Poor donkey's. 

We  are here...

Bottle store - translates in English as Tabacco Bag Bottle Store.

The church

Loved this bell. Probably the highlight of my trip.

Hmmm... Wonder where he will be taking me next?

Have a good week!

Huff and puff.

So, in other news...

I bought the farmer this cute little bellows (blaasbalkie) from a very friendly guy in Albertinia in the Western Cape.

He loves it, and it works like magic.

If you ever wonder what to get a man that has it all, this may just be the answer.

Contact Tiny @ 082 9682700 - Cost: R 150 excl. postage - You can even add your own words. Delivery takes about 1 week.

You think?

Enough is enough!

Maybe if I put it out there, there will be more motivation on this side...

Since I quit smoking, I have gained a whopping 10 kg's. NONE of my clothing fits anymore. I have decided that enough is enough. So, I have started eating healthier, I walk twice a day and I get the crap shocked out of me on a daily basis!

Hold thumbs. And if you have a fool proof diet, PLEASE SEND it to me!

The dreaded Muscle Stimulator / shocking machine!

Ta ta for now!

And in other news...

The neighbour's dog bit the farmer on Friday. Weird thing is, he has been warning ME about this dog every time we go there.

Four stitches and a tetanus injection later, he is okay, but sore with an infection in the wounds.

The lesson of the day? An animal is an animal is an animal. They are unpredictable.

BUT, the above CAN be avoided if your pet:
1. Get's enough attention and love.
2. Get's enough food - A hungry animal is an aggressive animal.
3. Knows who the leader of his pack is - that is YOU, the owner.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Time.

Time flies.
There is not enough time in a day.
To run out of time.

All of the above. So, a lot has happened since my last post:

A dear friend of mine passed away last week. RIP Gerhard xx

We have recently became aware of two different types of Kingfisher around the house. This is the Malachite Kingfisher, but the Brown-hooded also comes for a visit. Birdwatchers paradise!

Miem, our Manager in the dairy became a mother again at 41! Baby Zanele was born last week and weighed a healthy 3.1kg. Her father Basjan, who also works here, named her aptly. Zanele in Xhosa means "the last one" or "enough".

And with that, my time has run out again! See you in Wonderland.

Crabs

Who thought there would be crabs in a farm dam... Crabs are for the sea right? Wrong.

The farmer "fished" this out of a semi empty dam.

Enjoy your weekend!

War with a Cock.

I am not a bird person. At all. So when this little prick of a cock started attacking me, I initially thought it funny. But now I can't walk to the dairy or the barn without being stalked and pecked at... It's sounds funny, but believe me, when a cock comes at you with all his might, it's pee-in-your-pants-worthy. Okay, maybe not for a man, but for an ex city girl it was quite a shock. Did not know that chickens attacked people... So now I walk around armed. I'm ready for the bugger! The WAR IS ON.

Don't know which one it is. There's 13 of them!!

My weapon of choice.

Just too busy.

It's been a hectic few weeks since my last post.

One of my best friends parents were attacked inside their house. Her father fought in hospital for 2 weeks, but unfortunately did not make it. He passed away on Tuesday. 82 years old. Was still in perfect health before that senseless attack. It makes me sick to my stomach. It's not right to live in fear. This is not right.

We lost our 6 month old Bessie puppy because of "bloat". I am still devastated. 

Some good news is that the farmer and I have been smoke free for 8 months now. Work is as busy as it gets.

May you have a great weekend.

There was no space for him on the bakkie, but he made space! Diezel being Diezel.

Road trip

The farmer loves taking back roads and exploring little towns and settlements close by. So last weekend was no exception. He drove via Riversdale on farm roads  to a little town called Herbertsdale.

Now, if you google Herbertsdale, this is what you get: 

Herbertsdale is a settlement in Eden District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa.Village east of the Gourits River, in the Langtou Valley, 56 km north-west of Mossel Bay. It was established in 1865 on the farm Hemel-rood and named after James Benton Herbert, who owned part of this farm.

On route, we drove past TWO wine farms ( http://www.jakkalsvlei.co.za/ and Die Poort Wines ) and the town is so small, if you look down for 3 seconds, you'll miss it. The local farm workers still travel by horse cart and there is just a general dealer in town. Here you can buy from fish to renting a video! Beautiful. 

Here are some photo's of the trip:

I love snapping old ruins.

Herbertsdale in the distance

The general dealer: Called Bakgat Algemene Handelaar :)

Every town has a church. 

Lama's on a farm

They'll get there soon enough!!

Enjoy your long weekend en safe travels!

Moerse pumpkins.

Last night we quickly popped in at the annual "Moerse pampoen" competition of our little town. (Moerse pampoen roughly translates to huge pumpkin.)

Here are some photo's. The winner weighed in at just over 380 kg's! The winner walked away with a R5000 prize and if he's lucky enough to win at the finals in Durbanville, he will get another R15 000! Next year I'm planting one for sure!

Some of the entries

The winner and runner-ups.

Have a great weekend!