With all the rain we've been having, our garden is like a mini swamp at the moment. Jake's been hating not being able to get outdoors to sort out his plants and to keep things in check. We've had moles too, so the garden needs quite a bit of attention, especially his new veggie patch. Plus, with all this water, weeding is essential, but we just haven't been able to get out there for ages and ages. There was a slight break yesterday and while it's still pretty cold, we were finally able to get out for a bit. Jake put his wellies on and loved hopping from puddle (or pool) to puddle. The deeper the better - he almost flooded his boots in one.

Anyway, the weekend is upon us once again and after a very busy week, I'm looking forward to an exceptionally quiet weekend. Besides a wedding celebration at a club in town tonight, I've got nothing else planned. Jake's spending the night with Jacques' folks tonight, so I'm free to enjoy myself and hopefully catch up on a bit of extra sleep tomorrow morning. We might go see Space Chimps, which came out on circuit today and Jake's dying to see it and we'll probably go see the air show that's on, on Sunday. It's so nice to be able to say "what should we do today" for a change.

'scuze the wall that needs a coat of paint (summer's coming apparently!).

Jake's first healthy raddish. He loves picking his fruit and veg...

Checking out his carrot seedlings Despite the rotten weather, we've still got hints of spring in the garden...

Lots of love XXX

new link...

I've just added a new link to the list of blogs I like to check out. It's called "Clever Girl Goes Blog". Just one of those random sights that I happened upon. It's owned by a Californian girl, Tia. She's an aspiring writer, but in the mean time is a hairdresser. Her latest post is titled "If women are from Venus, then men must be from whichever planet encourages farting in public". Check it out. It's light-hearted and funny...

Sue xxx

Seize the moment...

Life has a funny way of panning itself out. Just when you think that everything's working in your favour (for a change) something goes wrong and it all falls apart again. I've leant through the years that life's not about waiting for next year, next month, next week or even tomorrow. Life's about today and doing what makes you happy for each and every moment of each day you're blessed with. We just don't know what lies around the next corner and life's far too short to let precious moments pass us by. Sure, life is busy and we all have responsibilities, some of us more then others, but sometimes it's just good to just break out of the box. To not conform to that which is expected of us. To put ourselves on the line at the risk of ridicule and laughter. To take a chance at happiness. To love to the depths of our souls at the risk of heartache.

Two things have made me put this post up today, I've been meaning to for a while. First, an old family friend whom I don't know all that well, died this morning and it got me thinking about all the above again. Second, I recieved an e-mail from another friend with the following thought-provoking Instructions for Life: -

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson

3. Follow the three R's - Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.

7. When you realise you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmostphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Most of these "rules" are common sense to most of us, others get you thinking about love and life in general.

Anyway, seizing the moment, I just wanted to say that I know lots of you, my fellow bloggers, have plenty of personal hurdles to overcome at the moment. I love you all lots, each in your own special way. You are all amazing women and you deserve the best that life has to offer. Take time to enjoy the small things that we often don't give a second thought to. Sometimes when things are really bumpy, it's good to take note of the things you're grateful for. And remember, when you're down at your lowest, things can only get better.

Lots of love,

Sue XXX

A quiet day at work...

Today's one of those days - I'm feeling uninspired. I've got nothing to do! Well, that's not entirely true; I guess I could find something to do. I have overseas payments to draft for the end of the month, salaries to prepare, cheques to write out, money to collect (yuck - any excuse to get out of that!), clients to phone back, letters to post, insurance claims to sort out. I'm feeling more then a little demotivated and unexcited about any of it. My mind is drifting to who knows where...

We had some super weather over the weekend, Saturday was a gorgeous day - 26 degrees sunshine! Perfect for the wedding I went to in my little red & black polka dot sleeveless dress, which Jake told me made me look like Mini Mouse. I'm still not sure whether that was his idea of a compliment, but judging from his current Disney obsession, I'm guessing (hoping?) it was a compliment. The wedding was great and both Simon and Sam were very emotional. Simon (who works with me) specifically - he really battled his way through his vows and speech. It was very sweet and just proved how deeply they feel about one another. Sam's family are unorthodox Jews and incorporated some traditional glass breaking and dancing into the evenings events. Despite my own Jewish features (specifically my nose - thanks to my Jewish paternal great great grandmother), I'd never been to a Jewish wedding before and it was tons of fun. Plus, there was a lot of good red wine flowing, which left me suffering with a headache until about 6pm yesterday evening... It was SO worth it though, I had tons of fun!!!

I must confess, I'm always a little freaked out about going to weddings on my own. Yes, I know it's weird and I know there are normally quite a few other singles at these events, all of whom are probably feeling pretty similar to me, but there's just something about having a good friend with you at a wedding. Someone in your corner to tell you that you look nice and smell pretty; someone to walk with you to the bar; someone to hold your tissues for you - just in case; someone to dance with and laugh with; someone's eye to catch across the crowded room. The majority of my my guy friends are either married, or live far away. Besides, no woman would appreciate their husband/partner going with another woman to a wedding - no matter how tight the friendship. So I go alone and I'm learning to enjoy that (granted, with a glass of wine in hand). I'm slowly starting to learn how to fit into that 'singles' category again, though it's taken more then a little while. And no, I'm not out on the prowl - I'm just learning to enjoy my own company!!

Anyway, thanks Simon & Sam for a super-duper evening (how delicious was that cake??). You guys are so well suited and you both looked so beautiful and so happy (besides when Simon was sobbing, but we all know they were tears of happiness... Right?) on Saturday. I wish you guys a lifetime of love and every single ounce of happiness possible. Thanks for having me there to share the day with you, I wouldn't have missed it for anything! Enjoy your honeymoon up the Garden Route!

XXX

A trip down memory lane...

This week has been BUSY! Although, we had a relatively quiet weekend, which was divine for a change. The weather's been terrible and we've had really heavy rains, along with some icy temperatures over the last few days. Last week Thursday, though, was a perfect day and Jake and I took a drive through to visit our friends at Buitenverwachting. It's still a very difficult outing for me, but we always have tons of fun when we get there. It still feels so much like home and it's all still so familiar, even though there are a few changes every time we visit. To me, it's still the most beautiful place on earth and I'd give anything to be living there again. Jake also loves it there, he loves wondering around the vineyards and I always feel like this is a very special place for him & I to share. It's quite a surreal feeling being there with him and imagining how life should've been. Anyway, I've made my mind up! This summer I'm going to take complete advantage of the picnics they do at Buitenverwachting and Jake & I are going to be regulars on the farm again! It can only get easier the more we visit. Here are some pics from our last trip.

Heaven's Door...

The entrance to the farm... The front of the manor house... Jake getting to know some of the new farm dogs... This is Charlie. He looks surprisingly like our Rhodesian Ridgeback, Amber. Jake took a particular liking to friendly, young Charlie... They were playing on the picnic site, infront of the old manor house... Smile! What a clown. He doesn't get this from me... Still no smile, but it's better then eyes squeezed shut! Throwing sticks for Charlie - see how much he looks like my princess? Jake thought it hysterical that Charlie had his privates on display... The vineyards. Our house was just over this hill and to the right. Pretty, hey? Looking in the opposite direction... Running to the cellar. Jake's latest is that he wants to pick the grapes growing on our old vine at home, put them in his grape squasher and make me some wine. That boy knows the way to his mother's heart... A barrel just in the entrance to the cellar. It was just the message I needed. Quite deep for a bunch of burly men, don't you think... Jake getting up to mischief in the vat cellar... More scenes from the farm...

Saturday past was a friend's birthday and we went out to the most gorgeous nursery on the other side of Durbanville. Jake had an absolute ball and the weather was good again. The nursery also has a bit of a farm-type thing going, so the kids went on a tractor ride, had horse rides, fed the chickens, pigs and sheep and collected farm fresh chicken's eggs. Jake also managed to sneak in to watch them milking their cow, which was quite an education for him.

This is Danielle, the birthday girl... Feeding the horses... Chasing chickens & pigs... Jake looks so big in this photo. I can't believe he's so grown up already... Yes, incase you were wondering, his shoes were a disaster after all the mud and farm muck. He even thought they were gross - check his face. He really got into the swing of things a bit later and by the time we left, he was muddy almost all the way up to his knees... Helping to milk the pregnant cow... The view from the "dairy"... This is Jake's favourite photo of the day...

And lastly, here are a few pictures of the heavy rains we've had between Sunday and today. Our house is built alongside a nature reserve, which was previously a swamp. They've installed drainage, which has caused some changes to the enviroment, but has meant that our gardens don't flood up any more. Anyway, it's rained so much, that our garden is once again flooded like it used to be back in the old days...

I took this picture this morning after 10 minutes worth of rainfall. I wasn't going outside, just took the photo from the stoep at work. The road outside is flooded almost up to the top of the pavement... This was yesterday morning outside our house. That river running infront of our driveway is more then a meter wide. Jake's sitting at the front window, waving goodbye to me...

Other then that, got dinner club tonight with the girls - we're off to Ginga & Shoga. It should be really nice, I've been dying to get there. We've also got most of our group coming tonight, so it really will be a good party. Wendy's joining us too, so it'll be good to have one last catch up before her and Lily go back to the UK. Tomorrow night, I'm out to movies with another friend and then we'll be back on a downward spiral to the next weekend.

Lots of love,

Sue xxx

As usual, the weekend came and went in nothing but a blur. Dinner with Jacki on Friday night was awesome and we bumped into so many people we knew at Maestro's. Jacki's boyfriend had been playing golf at the club next door, so he met us for a quick drink; Veronica, Wendy and their respective husbands sat at the table next to us and my sister also landed up there having dinner with friends. It was really festive and since I wasn't driving, I took advantage of the fine wine on the table -Buiten Blanc, I'm a very biased wine drinker!

Saturday morning, Jake and I lazed. I NEVER get the chance to, but the weather was revolting and I just couldn't face getting dressed. We watched cartoons on TV until about 11am (considering he's up at 7, that's a lot of cartoons), slobbed off the couch to make a milk tart and eventually got dressed. We took a drive through to Sea Point with my parents to check out the water and to enjoy our freshly made milk tart over a flask of hot coffee. Cape Town was battered by one of the worst storms we've had in something like 7 years (I've heard conflicting stories here, so sorry for being vague - I also heard it's the worst since 1991. Either way, it's been rough). Besides being freezing cold due to snow on the mountains surrounding the Cape, the wind has been blowing at gale force (no where near like New Orleans, but still pretty harsh for us). We've also had hail and some serious rainfalls and our dams must be bursting for the first time in YEARS. Added to the harsh weather, it was also spring tides on Saturday, hence our trip to the beach. The sea was like a washing machine and the waves were ginormous(tons of photos below). It was quite something to see, tho it was really good to get in the car to the warm coffee after standing outside getting some pictures though. I've just been chatting to a client up along the west coast (I work for a marine electronics company, so deal with massive fishing companies a lot) and he was telling me about how badly his boats were damaged in the weekend's storm. Just from being bashed up along the quayside, one of their tugs has about R200,000.00 damage! He had some guys on the water, who've been going to sea for 30+ years, that said they've never seen the sea like it was on Saturday. Hectic! I'm such a land-girl, my feet belong on solid ground. Although, if anyone ever offers to take me on a cruise, I wouldn't hesitate!!

Woodbridge Island. The tidal lagoon flooded it's banks, wetting the homes alongside...

View from Three Anchor Bay Parking area...

View towards Sea Point from Three Anchor Bay...

View back towards Three Anchor Bay from Rocklands Beach, Sea Point...

The first lot of photos were taken from the parking area jutting out on the left. The view was way better from Rocklands...

My dad grew up in Sea Point and we spent many summer days playing on Rocklands Beach. It's here where, as a toddler, I learnt how cute I was and how to use this cuteness my advantage - I used to go around looking in other beach-goers bags for food. When they offered sandwiches, I used to pass them on to my parents. All other yummy bits were scoffed on the spot...

Would you believe that there were still people out jogging? Really.

I love watching the foam, it kinda moves in slow motion...

Looks like snow...

And for those of you that are interested, while I was in the area, I managed to get a few shots of the new Green Point stadium, which is being constructed for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. How they plan to have it ready in time, is a mystery...

Saturday night was the hen night, which was quite a thing. I was driving and the weather was so bad that I just wasn't taking any chances on the road. My book club friends (it's one of them getting married) are a tad wild and being stone cold sober amongst them all left me feeling like a fly on the wall. Sometimes that's a good thing though. They had bare butt butlers serving us drinks and providing us with some serious entertainment. They were heaps fun and game for anything - the girls even managed to get one to lift his apron... Personally, I could hardly bring myself to look at either of them without wanting to offer up my jersey - they must've been freezing. And I'd rather pay my child to stay at home then endure that kind of abuse!!

Sunday morning was Mamma Mia, which was even better the second time around. The scenery just chokes me up. Coming out though, some idiot decided to park directly behind me and exit his car while I was in the process of reversing. I did check my mirrors, honest, but just didn't see him. I felt like a complete ass and by the time I got out my car, girl that I am, I was already in tears. I exchanged details with the extremely gentle, sweet idiot and cried all the way home. Fortunately, my parents were in the centre, so answered my call for help quite quickly. We had a kid's birthday party on Sunday afternoon (Pia's son, Adam) and went to her house instead of her mom's house, which was on the other side of the world. So, besides Mamma Mia (which also made me cry again, by the way), Sunday was not a good day for me!! I think the whole episode made me feel a bit useless. I don't like dealing with this kind of thing - people always mess a woman on her own around. Insurances are a nightmare, as are panel beaters. As much as I say that life's simple without a man, they do have their uses sometimes. Thanks for helping out, Dad!

This week has been OK so far, the damage to my car wasn't too bad and it'll be going in next week for repairs. Jake & I both spent the day at home yesterday. We've had colds and Jake was up most of the night coughing his heart out on Monday night. Besides being exhausted, I woke up with a really sore throat and decided that I have sick leave for a reason. We watched TV and snoozed all day, it was great. We're both feeling much better today!

Oh, probably the most exciting news this week - my sister went for her first scan on Monday. Jo's been quite concerned about this scan, I guess you just want to make sure that the baby's safe & sound. Both her and Paul were very excited and the doctor was very happy with the baby - said it's perfectly healthy! I think Jo's very relieved and she was so excited when she stopped by to show off their first snaps. This just makes everything so real for them.

Not much other news, life's good and the sun's been out a bit today, so my mood's up again! Hope everyone's well, going to check up on all my blogs now too!!

Lots of love,

Sue