Belated wishes...

No, I didn't forget her birthday, I was there to celebrate the day with my very special friend, Joanne. I just had this photo we took on the day at her house and thought I'd share it, especially since I know Joanne checks my blog from time to time...Happy birthday Joanne! Hope you have a fabulous year!!

Joanne and her family grew up living across the road from us. She has a younger sister, Abbey and my sister & I used to spend quite a lot of our childhood days with the Warner girls. Their family were transferred to Pretoria when we were still in Primary School, but we always kept in contact. Our parents were very good friends and we've had a couple of great holidays over the years with their family. A few years back, Joanne's parents bought a little beach house on the outskirts of Simon's Town (Murdoch Valley), which they ripped down and built into a gorgeous home. They have magnificent views and their lawn stretches down in trellises to the rocks and water's edge. You always feel like you've been away on holiday when you spend the afternoon with them. So, once the house had been renovated, they moved back to Cape Town again. We don't see nearly enough of them, but it's nice to know that they are "down the road" and it's always good to catch up with them when we do.

My second set of wishes goes out to Abbey and Lawrence - Congratulations on your engagement!! It's such fantastic news! You guys are a great couple and we wish you years and years of happiness for the future together.

Abbey and Lawrence managed to get some cheap flights to SA (did I mention that they live in the UK?) and flew out for something crazy like 5 days for Joanne's birthday. While they were here, Lawrence popped the question on Boulders Beach. We got to see them while they were here at Joanne's birthday lunch and it was really special to be part of such a special time with all the Warner family.

Connor Update...

After the earlier post, I thought I'd better keep going and try to brighten things up around here a little. What better way to do that then with some new photos of Jake and his little cousin, Connor??

Connor's growing beautifully and he's a really happy little man. He's battling with a few allergies at the moment, but besides that he's doing great. He's full of smiles and gurgles, which I love. If Jo sings to him and tells him to sing with her, he gurlgles like mad to keep up and changes his pitch, which is totally cute. He's also rolling over from his tummy to his back, has been for a little while now. He doesn't like being on his tummy at all, so must've been good incentive for him to get rolling.

Jake adores Connor and wants to hold him all the time. The other day he told my mom that Connor was like his little brother. My mom stays over at Jo and Paul's on a Tuesday night, because she doesn't work on Wednesdays. It gives Jo and Paul one night a week when they can catch up on some sleep and my mom loves the extra bonding time with her new grandson. Connor comes home with my mom on a Wednesday, while Jo goes into work for the day. It's lovely seeing Connor and spending quality time with him on a regular basis...

Dad's Day...

At Jake's school today, they're celebrating Dad's Day. They're singing songs about dads and will be having a boerewors braai (BBQ'd SA sausages) together. And while he is taking 2 grandads, he's missing having a dad of his own.

Today's get-together at school is apparently not a celebration of Father's Day, which is on the 21st and they do apparently also have a Mom's Day later in the year sometime too, BUT still... Jake's gone to school today without his dad, while all the other kids will have theirs with them. He often speaks about his dad and loves hearing old stories from when we were young. While I know that he doesn't know the difference between having a dad and not having a dad, he knows that our family's different.

Anyway, I have made a big fuss out of him being able to take my dad with him to school for the morning and he has been excited about that. Also, last night I found out that my father-in-law was having the day off work today too, so he's gone with them as well. Despite all the mixed feelings, I know that Jake is a very lucky boy to be so loved and I constantly remind him of how special he is and of how many people love and care about him. I'm sure I feel all these things much more then he does, but just knowing that he's hurting even a tiny bit over this, breaks my heart. I know what a wonderful father Jacques was and I know that he adored Jake, he just wasn't given enough time to get to know the amazing kid we've got. And I know that Jacques will be with them this morning, life just doesn't seem fair to me today...

Stellenbosch/Franschhoek Winelands...

We had family here recently from Johannesburg, who wanted to tour some of our wine farms. I have visited more then my fair share of wine farms and while it's fun to begin with, I find that one can only really visit 3 or 4 farms, before you're a) sick and tired to death of wine farms and b) drunk. So, about 2 Saturdays ago, we headed out to Stellenbosch to do some wine tasting (BTW I don't spit, it's a waste of good wine!). It was great and we visited some really beautiful and very historic farms. Jake came along too and, while he's not allowed to drink anything, he was pretty decently behaved on an adult's outing. He enjoyed playing outside while we drank indoors and, while the weather wasn't great, it didn't rain. It was lovely to spend some quality time with my cousins too!

This is Jake in a display cellar at Kanonkop. They have one bottle on display here from each year since 1973...

This is the bottle from Jake's birth year, 2004...

And the one from mine... Looking at that bottle, it's little wonder that I have so many wrinkles around my eyes (yes, yes, I hear you - laugh lines. Whatever!). And note the farm's annual turn over!! This is the view from the entrance to Kanonkop. For some reason, I never took a photo of the Canon, sorry. I love autumn in the vineyards... This was at Quoin Rock I was trying to take artistic photos of these grasses, but Jake wouldn't leave them alone, so I had to incorporate him in the picture... This was at Diemersdal. Unfortunately, the farm is undergoing renovations and we couldn't taste their delicious wines... Imagine living here!! Too gorgeous for words... And this was where we stopped for lunch, Boschendal. We were hoping for a picnic, but the picnics were closed, so we ate at their cafe. The menu was small and a little disappointing. I had cous cous stuffed mushrooms, which were delicious though. And of course we had wine. Lots... Jake was in his element. They had a herb garden, with a lemon tree (he picked every lemon within reach), lots of trees and grass... This is the main drag at Boschendal. I must be honest, while I enjoyed the wines and I've really enjoyed their picnics on a lazy summer's afternoon (preferably a Sunday), I sadly found the farm cold and unwelcoming on this trip and I probably won't be visiting again any time soon. Perhaps it was just the cooler weather... Jake was fascinated with this tree. It was still living, but had the hugest hole within it ever. Like a hideout... These autumn leaves were snapped in Franschhoek. I love Franschhoek, it's got that welcoming old fashioned feeling. I might retire there if I don't go to Greece... We stopped at Haute Cabriere in Franschhoek. This was the only farm where we had to pay to taste the wines and by the time we got there, I think we'd all pretty much had enough. I had a sample of their bubbly and we left. I liked this picture though. It said "These are the souls that discovered the soil embodying the soul of Haute Cabriere"... This last shot was taken outside the wine tasting at Haute Cabriere. This couple were drinking the farm's fine cognac and were totally and utterly drunk. The girl couldn't handle the severity of the fine wine and had hers diluted with coke. Still, it's a pretty picture and I wish I knew who they were so I could send them a copy...

Birds of a feather...

There was once an exception to the story of my animal loving child adoring all creatures of this earth. A few weeks ago, I took him to feed the ducks in Plattekloof. There was a break in the weather and we took advantage of the lack of rain. I like getting some fresh air in my child's lungs and he enjoys the run-aroung. Anyway, the picture above pretty much says it all. As we drove up to the duck pond, we disturbed this gaggle of geese who were lazing on the road, enjoying the few moments of sunshine. Obviously used to people dishing out food, they proceeded to charge us when we got out the car. Besides anything, the weather had been pretty miserable for a while and I guess they were hungry. While I thought it was hysterical, Jake was NOT impressed and literally jumped onto the bonnet of my car. I had to carry him to the other side of the pond, far away from the grumpy geese and to the comfort of the gentle guinea fowl and proper ducks...

He was so much happier when he realised that the geese had opted to laze on the warm tar over catch a free meal (And don't ask me 'What the heck's wrong with them?' They must be males!)

A boy and his dog...

Besides generally being an outdoor kid, Jake loves animals. It doesn't matter what kind of animal, if it is fuzzy, or creepy, slimy, or makes any kind of noise, Jake will love it with all his heart. Until it dies, then he moves on to the next one. Seriously, this kid brings home moths and bugs from school in his lunch box, which often don't make the journey home in one piece and then he's devastated. I try to convince them that if he loves them enough, he should really set them free, so that they can go back to their families, but it doesn't often work. He's not too wild about spiders. By that I mean, he won't handle them, but he'll still check them out as closely as he dares venture. He loves frogs, which we often find in the pool, or puddles in the garden. He was totally fascinated when, after some recent heavy rains, we discovered 7 dead frogs in a bucket of soapy water (OK! We're sorry and promise never to leave the bucket of cleaning water out overnight again!!). I like frogs - they (not sure who) say a garden with frogs, is a happy garden. Ours sure is!

That aside, with my child's love of animals, our poor dogs have been seriously man-handled over the years! Jake has grown up, from a baby, with 3 dogs in the house and he absolutely adores them. Our dogs are very good with him too - when he was really tiny and on the floor playing on his tummy, the dogs would literally take a running jump over him on their way outside to bark at a passing bike or car and never, ever even so much as clipped him on their way past. In return, Jake has bitten, and tugged and poked at them at every opportunity he gets. He cannot leave them alone for a moment. Duracell (our Jack Russell) is the one who's picked on the most. He's commonly known as "your naughty dog, mommy". Jake cannot leave this dog alone and I sometimes feel really sorry for the dog, but he always goes back for me. Duracell loves eating the cardboard out of the loo roll and sits next to the loo waiting for the roll to be dropped down to him when it's finished. If Jake finds the roll empty first, he literally runs around the house and garden with the loo roll in his hand for hours, with Duracell following every step of the way. Duracell is the most long-suffering dog I've ever come across. He has NEVER hurt Jake - I have no idea why not, it's just not in his nature. He'll growl and move away, but never bite (besides a nip once on Jake's thumb and that was so minor). Jake is at his happiest, when he has Duracell locked up in his bedroom and when Duracell's tucked up with him on the couch.

Amber is commonly known as "my princess, mommy" and is a total lady. She was Jacques dog (also his "princess") and used to go down to the cellar with him every day, coming home in the evenings when Jacques did. She's a beautiful, soft natured and very lazy girl. She is 8 1/2 though, which is a pretty good age for a Ridgeback. Amber had a litter of 10 purebred, but not registered pups in 2002. Unfortunately, 1 puppy died, but we raised 9 of the most gorgeous puppies I've ever seen. It was the hardest thing ever to give them away and I'll never breed dogs again. NEVER! I will look for some photos for you sometime. Anyway, Jake loves Amber so much and she's just such a beautiful, gentle giant. She is a bit more wary of him then Duracell is and will move away as soon as things get a bit rough. And she doesn't like Jake touching her ears. She'd never, ever hurt him, but she's very protective, perhaps 'cos she's a mommy too.

I snapped these shots precious shots of Jake and Amber the other day when I came home from work...

I am here...

and I'm alive. Work has just been so manic, I haven't even had a chance to think about my blog (well, OK, I've obsessed about it, but I just don't have time to do anything about it). I promise that I will find time in the week to update you all. There's just so much happening at the moment. Till later... Sue x