The things on my Table...

Jake is a bit of a hoarder.  Come to think of it, I might be a bit too.  I think I was far worse when I was a kid than I am now.  I hate things lying around; I like clean tidy surfaces.  It doesn't happen often, but I like it when I get the house organised and neat.  There's something very satisfying about walking into a clean house.

My garden, on the other hand, is a complete mess.  I wish I knew where to begin, or how to do the things that need to be done.  Jake and I have decided that we're going to start working on it little bit by little bit and maybe one day we'll have something that we can sit in and enjoy for hours.  In the mean time, we have our stoep or little patio if you prefer.  There's a plastic table and chairs set out there, althoug the table is so full of clutter, you can hardly see the table for all the junk.  It's generally Jake's place for dumping things that he's not allowed to keep inside.  And mine, for that matter.  One day, it will be clean and tidy and we will be able to sit outdoors and enjoy our dinner on warm summer evenings.  One day.

For now though, it makes for quite interesting photos.  So, these are some of the things that you're likely to find on my garden table at this very moment.

Shells... these are strung together on wire in the shape of a heart.  I'm planning to hang this on the wall outside.  My mom and dad bought this for me somewhere up the West Coast.  Simple and sweet and I love them... 

My orchids are doing really well out on the stoep too.  I had three stems of blooms on this one this year.  My other one seemed to be dying off at one point and the leaves turned dark purple, but it seems to have revived itself and I have all my fingers crossed that if blossoms again next year.  I love my orchids, they make me happy... 

*** Thank you to anonymous for correcting me... my flowers are fucshias, not freesias.  I do actually know what freesias are, they smell gorgeous, but apparently just suffered minor-freesia-amnesia while typing this post...***

 Just before Christmas time (shocking), I bought 4 little freesia seedlings.  I had no idea what their flowers would look like, simply picked 4 with different names.  The first has blossomed and it's GORGEOUS.  We have the sand and hanging baskets to replant them, but just haven't had the time.  They grow nicely on our stoep anyway...

 The flower on the right dropped off shortly after I took these photos...

A shark's jaw.  This once belonged to a ±6m long Mako shark and I've been to shy to post pictures of it, in fear of offending someone.  I work for a marine electronics company though.  We sell electronics to fishing companies and one of these companies has shark fishing rights.  Our sales guy managed to get this jaw for Jake.  It was partially cleaned and we've done a lot more work on it.  We just need to dust it off now and give it a coat of lacquer and it'll be done.  With all it's teeth in tact, this is one of Jake's most prized possessions, along with a small crocodile skull that he bought with his own money while we were in the Kruger last year.  He can't wait to take it to school to show it off again (he took it in last year when it was still a bit smelly, it's much better now)...

 Beans.  Jake de-shelled some beans he grew at my parents house and left the beans outside on the table.  When I water the orchids and freesias, the water runs out from the bottom of the pots and collects in the middle of the table.  The beans were starting to wrinkle in these pictures (taken on Tuesday) and have since split open to produce little roots.  Jake is thrilled...

 Almonds.  Jake stole these nuts from my mom's cupboard a couple of weeks ago.  He's had great fun trying to get inside the shells to eat the nuts.  So much easier to buy them de-shelled, but it keeps him busy.  And they make pretty pictures...

 Venus Fly Trap.  This little plant has been incredibly successful on our stoep.  We've had a few in the past (Jake requested his first for Christmas when he was just 3, but called a "penis fly trap" back in those days), but they've never done very well indoors and all died within a couple of months.  Jake got this from a friend for his birthday last year and it's growing beautifully.  Jake does catch flies to feed it from time to time, when he feels like it's not doing it's job properly...

 Leftover dinner... 

Hanging baskets.  These have been sitting on the table since I bought the freesias in December.  Disgusting, I might have to pot these today, just so I feel better.  After cricket, homework, swimming, shopping and dinner...

 A spark plug.  Jake picks up the weirdest things on the way to school in the mornings, when we're lucky enough to have time to walk...

 

 Pretty stones and a boxer charm.  These are in one of the orchid pots.  The boxer Jake picked up somewhere and it reminds him of Danie's dog, Laila...

 Roots.  OK, these are a given, since there are plants growing on the table, but just make for a fun picture...

 A spider's nest.  I'm sure there are plenty more underneath the table and chairs, but I'm not looking.  We seem to have quite a few black widows around, which Jake loves and I'm petrified of.  This one was tiny though, so he can stay...

 A marble.  Again, Jake's obsession with picking things up.  I'm in there too.  And my orchids.  And my roof... 

 And that's my table in pictures.  I do need to sort it out sometime, but I'm not in any rush, there's too much happening on there.

Sue X