Corky is...

3 today!  Happy birthday to my gorgeous, mischievous, busy, talkative, affectionate, train crazy, sweet little nephew, Corky!!!  It feels like Corky (aka Connor) has always been part of our lives.  I almost can't remember a time when he wasn't around and yet, he's only been here for 3 short years.  He has crept into our hearts in the most beautiful way and his cheeky smile can light up a room.  He loves everything about Thomas the Tank and we all have train names, which he uses often.  I am Duck, Jake is Duncan, Danie's Cranky (a crane), Jo is Henry, Paul is the most random Neville, my mom is Thomas and my dad Percy and Connor is Gordon.  When asked to show off his cross face, Corky turns his nose up and wrinkles his forehead, just as Gordon does when he's upset.

Jo (and Paul) threw "Gordon" a Thomas party again this year.  He had one last year, but with a Edward cake (train number 2).  This year, he had a Henry cake (number 3 train) and perhaps next year he'll have a Gordon train (number 4 train).  Jo really went all out and their home was transformed into a Thomas heaven...

 They even had this cool board for the kids to pose behind as the engine driver.  Jake's sadly starting to feel silly about doing things like this, but I managed to get him to pose for one snap before the other kids arrived.  They grow up far too fast...

 Of course, Bianca was there too.  She's a total party queen and loved every moment of the action.  And there was a lot of action.  My dad in his metro sexual shirt.  Very hip...

 The gorgeous table - what I wouldn't give to be a kid again...

 Princess Bi, getting in on the action...

 I don't know where Joanne got this jumping castle from, but it was amazing...

 Corky and his cake.  I don't think he felt much like smiling, this was the best I could get out of him.  I guess it's all pretty overwhelming for a little guy... 

 Telling Jake which piece he's going to eat.  These two have such a love/hate relationship at the moment.  They are always so excited to see each other, but it invariably ends up with a fight with Jake teasing Connor, or Connor not wanting Jake to play with his toys.  Then, when it's home time again, they don't want to part and Connor cries if Jake goes off without giving him a hug and a kiss on his forehead... 

 Candle time...

 Corky the Engine Driver...

 Hey, who invited these two clowns???  (by the way, the corner's not missing, the wall's in the sun)...

 The whole jumping castle and all the protective mommies watching that their monsters are playing fair...

 Ag no!  You again... 

 Jake and Danie normally manage to get Connor to strike a funny pose for the camera.  Like this...

 Or this, which isn't his cross train face, by the way...

 Back inside and out of the wind, Princess Bi had made her way across to the now deserted kids party table, to feast on their left-overs.  Nobody saw her getting there, we only saw her standing on her own, pigging out.  Hey, Bianca, here's a lesson you're going to have to learn early in life: A moment on the lips, forever on the hips.  Be warned...

 OK, if you smile at me like that with a jelly tot in your mouth, you can eat it all, I'll love you even if you have huge hips one day (but please try not to have)....

 mmm-nommm-nommm... what did you say...

 Connor partied till he couldn't any more.  By the time we left, he was so tired, he was just completely past humour.  I'm sure he slept really well on Saturday night...

I have other things to post about, but today's not the day to be serious.  Today's a day for celebrating a very special little man's birthday.  Happy birthday Connor!

Love Sue X

Harvest time...

I have been promising Jake and promising Jake that I'll take him to Buitenverwachting to go and help with their harvest, so with a little more than 2 weeks left to their harvest, we've finally made it down to the farm a couple of times to take part in their busy season.  Our first visit was rained out and during our second visit, they were harvesting on another farm.  This time, despite the public holiday, the pickers were out in force.  They had two big blocks of chardonnay to get in before they could go home and enjoy the rest of the day off with their families, so they were working fast and it was great for Jake to see them rushing through the vines, picking with such speed.  There are so many new faces on the farm and yet, amongst the harvesters, there are so many who recognised Jake and I and who came to say hi.  One even told Jake that she could just see that he was Jacques' son.  They made him feel really special and you could just see his chest growing with each hello.  I think he likes to know that they still remember his dad and he likes to be somebody important on the farm.

Anyway, he was handed some pruning shears and set to work.  This young guy (I didn't get his name), took the time to show Jake how to go about picking the bunches of grapes.  He was Jake's teacher and Jake enjoyed working quietly beside him...

 It's generally pretty festive in the vineyard, especially when they're working fast and I always enjoy watching them working.  They weren't too happy yesterday though and the two groups of workers were arguing a little with each other over the crates they use to collect grapes.  You see, in the cellar, they were pressing whole bunches of grapes, because the quality was so good.  The cellar work is slower than the vineyard work, so the empty were being held up in the cellar.  Jake thought their arguing was funny though... 

    See my precious boy working hard over there. He just made himself at home. Part of the team...

Look at him go!  He got the hang of it pretty quickly, not that it takes much brain power.  It does take quite a bit of physical skill to cut through the vine though...

Proud as punch with his perfectly picked bunches of grapes...

Grapes ready to be squished into wine.  In my humble opinion, Chardonnay grapes are nicer than Sauvignon Blanc grapes (Jake even nicked a bunch to take to school in his lunch box), however I far prefer a crisp, fresh Sauv Blanc over a thick heavy Chard...

 Towards the end of the row, Jake started to get bored and declared that he wanted to go by tractor back to the cellar to help make the wine...

The full crates were all staked up and ready to be loaded onto the tractor, to be taken to the cellar.  Jake was rushing to get to the tractor before it left without him...

These guys are strong.  Those crates weigh about 20kgs each.  And they don't just carry one, that's their job for the day...

Finally, on the tractor and ready to go to the cellar...

I tried to snap some pictures of the views on the way down to the cellar, but it was quite a bumpy ride and we were wedged between two pallets and I was trying to hang onto Jake, so didn't get too many.  It was quite nice to see things from a different angle though.  This is a block of Sauvignon Blanc in front of the manor house (it's there behind the tree)...

Back at the cellar and ready to be put to work!  By the way, I think the tractor ride was possibly the highlight of Jake's morning on the farm.  He kept asking me if I thought any of his friends were doing anything so cool with their day...

Once the grapes arrive at the cellar, they are taken off the back of the tractor with a forklift...

And stashed outside the cellar until they have space inside for more grapes...

Inside the cellar, the guys are working hard to process the grapes and to get them into the press.  Like I mentioned before, they were working with whole bunches, so it's a much more precise, time-consuming job than when the grapes are mashed up as they go through the de-stalker as per my previous post.  It gives the guys a chance to take out any leaves and bugs that would otherwise end up in the wine...

For about 3 months of the year, the cellar is a noisy, busy place to work.  The guys are exhausted, working through the night sometimes.  Once the grapes have been picked, they're under pressure to get them pressed and the juice into the tanks.  The white haired guy in the corner is Peter.  Pete's the farm manager and he is beyond ecstatic with his harvest this year.  Last year the Chardonnay block they harvested on Wednesday gave 4.9 tons.  On Wednesday, with 10 rows still to be picked, they were already up to 6.5 tons.  And the quality of the grapes is exceptional.  He's a happy guy and now it's up to the cellar team to look after all his hard work...

Jake's showing you where the wine goes to from the press for fermentation.  It's always a juggling act to make sure that they have enough space for the new wines.  Fun and games...

A peek through the restaurant and into the vineyards beyond.  The head chef is an Austrian chap, Edgar, who can only be described as a perfectionist.  He is passionate about his food, which is always beautifully presented and his seafood is sublime.  And don't get me started on his desserts.  My favourite is their chocolate variation (not that I've eaten there too many times), which I don't see on their current menu...

Another view of the courtyard.  Tasting room and cellar up ahead and restaurant to the right...

We stopped back past the cellar, just in time to see them start the press up on it's 2 hour cycle.  Jake was thrilled to see it going, even though it's really not that exciting from the outside.  Herman was thrilled with the juice coming off the grapes, so smiles all around.  The kid on the left is Justin, he was a cute, chubby 3-year old the last time I saw him; now he's a fit, trim, rugby-playing 11-year old.  How time flies...

Danie met us at the farm, he'd been for a ride up in the mountains.  We headed back to his house for a small boerewors roll braai for lunch and lots of lazing in the gorgeous sunshine.  Jake spent the entire afternoon fishing and was thrilled with his catch of the day...

Other than that, schools are closing today and only go back on 10 April, after Easter.  I think I'm looking forward to the break from routine more than Jake is and I'm pretty sure back to school will come far too quickly for me.  The kids go back in winter uniform, so I need to get Jake's wardrobe sorted out again.  He can't wait for rugby season to start too, so hopefully the second term will be a better one for him.

 

I'm getting my new skylight fitted in my lounge this afternoon and Jake and I will be spending some time working in our garden over the weekend.  We've begun digging out flowerbeds, which is seriously tough work, but we are excited to be doing it all on our own too.  Hopefully the results will be good.  I'll take some photos for Monday.

 

Enjoy the weekend and be good!

Sue X

Bits 'n Bobs...

Life has been hectic lately and I'm feeling so exhausted at the moment that I can't wait to flop into bed at night.  Somehow when life is busy and you have things planned for you months in advance, you (well me at least) just look forward to a break.  To time out to relax and enjoy together.  It just isn't happening for us at the moment.

Enough complaining!  Who's listening anyway?  The top photo was taken about 10 days ago, on the morning of Jake's swimming gala at school.  We were at my parent's house before school and Jake was loving taking Bi for a ride on the bike.  Bianca was tickled by it too.  Besides how big my kid is and more about that in a minute, that little girl is growing way, way too fast.  She's standing beautifully on her own now and has even taken a few wobbly steps between things.  She'll be 1 on 17 May.  In some ways, it feels like yesterday that we were celebrating her arrival and yet in other ways, it feels like she's just always been a part of our family.  She's so much gentler and quieter than the boys are and it's just so lovely to be able to see her (and Connor) nearly every day.  Speaking of the big brother, he's about to turn 3!!  We'll be celebrating his birthday on Saturday, photos to follow.

Back to my boy now.  Jake took part in the fun race in his school gala earlier this month.  While he does go for swimming lessons and can swim well for a little guy, he opted out of swimming in the competitive races and just did the fun one.  Obviously, I was there; after the Argus debacle, I wouldn't have missed this for the world (I'll never not be there for him again!).  The did a little fun relay with umbrellas, which ended up in them walking across the pool, so wasn't too much to write home about, but I was there.  And just look at this boy's body!!  OK, I know he's my son and in my eyes, he's the most gorgeous boy on the planet anyway, but seriously!  Where the heck did those shoulders come from??  Hang on, I think I know.  I must fish out an old photo of his dad swimming sometime...

He was super excited about the gala, I think more because it gave him a reason to get out of the classroom than anything else.  Last year's gala was rained out, so this was his first.  His little friend's coming over as fast as he can.  His little friend is the class exhibitionist and Jake thinks it's hilarious.  The girls think it's gross...

The pool is not heated and the water at 8:45 in the morning is freezing.  Jake is never impressed when he has to do swimming at school, I think that's part of the reason why he opted not to race this year.  See how he keeps as much of his body out of the water as possible...

I had to get to work so stayed just long enough to watch Jake "swim and then had to go.  He told me later that when I came to take this photo and say goodbye, he felt like he was going to cry.  Next year I'll take a day's leave...

This was the morning of the Junior Argus - I still feel terrible for missing his ride when I look at these photos.  He had fun though, that's all that matters...

I don't know how I'm getting the shadowy photos in there, but they're kinda funky.  Truthfully, I don't know how to get them out there...

We have spent as much time fishing as possible, taking advantage of the last few days of summer.  The marina is pretty when the wind doesn't blow you away... 

Something happened to the little fish in the marina over the last weekend.  There were lots of dead little fishes floating when we went down early on Saturday morning.  I don't know whether it was the rain that had fallen and added fresh water to the marina, or whether it's the red tide I've heard them speaking about on the radio and at work, but it's sad.  We want these guys to get big...

Jake and I had our morning coffee/hot chocolate on the jetty on Saturday morning, while the old man slept...

On Friday afternoon, I took Jake through to Buitenverwachting to go and help with their harvest, but it rained, so the cellar was virtually closed.  We went again yesterday and they were processing a few grapes that had been harvested on one of the nearby farms.  Jake was in his element and it was a good thing that the cellar wasn't running full steam, because it gave him time to chat and ask questions.  And he got to press a few buttons too...

This is Hermann, showing Jake the latest Sauvignon Blanc harvest.  Hermann's been the farm winemaker for years, Jacques worked under him and he's a brilliant teacher and winemaker.  He is super passionate about his job and only too happy to share that passion with anyone who's willing to listen.  Jake was his guy...

Freshly picked grapes...

When the grapes arrive at the cellar, they're tipped into a big scale and notes are made about the weight, quality and location from which the grapes come.  Enzymes are added, to prevent the juice browning...

The next lot of grapes waiting to be processed...

From the weigh scale, the grapes move down to the de-stalker and crusher...

Yep, that's wine in the making.  Almost enough to put me off the stuff, but not quite... 

Jake made himself quite at home ('scuse the quality, blaming my lack of PhotoShop), climbed the railing to check that the grapes were moving properly.  My nerves were shattered and it took all my self control not to go hold onto him...

He helped Hermann print the tickets for the batches of grapes...

Still checking out the grapes...

Bonding.  I think Hermann was as nervous of Jake's position as I was.  There's a serious drop down from where Jake's standing...

Of course, part of being a winemaker is having to sample your wares.  Here's Jake tasting some wine that's about a week old.  It's still pretty sweet, just starting to ferment, a bit like murky, sparkling grape juice.  Hermann was cracking jokes about how bad this fermenting juice makes farts smell and Jake could barely swallow he was giggling so much.  Boys...

Part of the barrel cellar - I'd like to have one of these on tap in my lounge...

We didn't spend too much time in the cellar yesterday, it wasn't too busy and Hermann had a visitor to see.  We're going back tomorrow, hopefully to go and work in the vineyards a bit.  Jake is so excited about his day on the farm.  It makes me feel so sad to think of what our lives should have been.  Especially for Jake.  He'd be in the cellar every day of his life, riding quad bikes and tractors, no doubt.  It's so funny, how much I still feel Jacques on the farm, especially here in the cellar.  It still feels like home.  So much has changed and so much more has stayed the same.  I still expect to see him coming around every corner, he is so much a part of the walls and I can only imagine how Jake must feel being able to go there and take part.  It's his history.

After our time at the farm, we popped in for a quick bite to eat at Danie's house and to fish of course.  Jake is fishing mad at the moment.  Since Danie's put his jetty up, we spend a bit more time down at the water's edge.  There are millions of tiny fish about at the moment (the ones that made it through the weekend)...

Jake wasn't feeling great over the weekend.  He had a temperature on Sunday and was very washed out and he still isn't 100%, but mention fishing and he's ready.  Last night he decided to find out what is pecking at the reeds from below...

He grabbed the leftovers from Saturday night's dinner (tenderised steak) and broke it up into chunks for bait...

And look!  He caught his first fish in Marina with his rod!!

He ended up catching 3 (they were in water, I just couldn't take a photo of them in the water, so pulled them out for a sec) and was super chuffed with himself.  The guys at work tell me that these are little "streepies", who knows what they are.  They were fish on the hook of  a little boy and that's all that matters...

Part of loving fishing, means learning the 'catch and release' practise.  It's not easy when you're a little guy and so excited and Jake was less than impressed at not being able to keep these guys, but he did the right thing...

And, as they do on monster fish, he gently held his fish in the water and made sure that they were breathing well and ready to go on their own...

So, in between all the busy-ness of life, Jake and I still manage to find plenty of time to have fun and to make happy memories together.  Life is always so rushed and stressful and it's great to have Jake around to remind me to smell the daises sometimes.  It won't be long before he doesn't want to spend time with me, so I'm going to cherish every second of this time in his life while I can.  Danie's got so much on over the next 2 or 3 weeks - 2 weekends full of golf, plus golf tomorrow (it's a public holiday here!) and a trip to China for a week somewhere in between.  Thank goodness I have Jake for company!!  Jake and I have lots planned too and I always look forward to having some quality time with my little guy, he's so special.  School closes this Friday until 10 April, so I'm hoping that I can get a day off work somewhere in between to try get away with Jake for a night or two.  I need time out.

Hope you're all doing OK, remember to stop and smell the roses along the way!
Sue X