Ms M enjoying the holidays

My darling dog is enjoying have access to the house all day and being able to lounge about on the couches. So happy.

Evening sky with birds and bats

Gathering of the clan

We are ready to receive our first guest tomorrow. All the others will arrive on Friday. Another occasion to have family and friends together. So blessed.

Travels with our aunt

To introduce my nieces to different foods and flavours we 'travelled' to some countries around the world. I loved sourcing the recipes and compiling the menus, setting up the table and trying to make it 'real'. They received a passport at the beginning of the year that was 'stamped' and expires now in December. There was a lot of 'Wat is dit?' but lots of fun and laughter. The one they enjoyed the most was the New York street food theme. I loved all the food, not so such the alcoholic beverages, wow, some of them were strong and yucky. They are disappointed it's all over and asked if we had 'visited' every country in the world. No, sorry, we didn't. Maybe we'll do some more travelling next year, you just never know.

50 and 60

My one brother turned 60, and the other will be 50 in a number of days. Happy birthday to you two, love you both madly.

We celebrated with a family gathering in the southern Cape. What an awesome week.

We rented a house right on the beach. Good weather and bad weather, all in the same day. Long walks on the beach, country roads and mountain passes.

We came across a beached whale on morning, which was sad to see. He was already dead when he washed out.

Dolphin sightings almost ever day.

A very special time.

The Dutch girl

All good art is given a title. This plate is called the Dutch girl.

An earlier Christmas gift from my friend.

She is going to have an exhibition of her work next year.

Bring me flowers

Bring me flowers and I will be happy.

My family arrived on Sunday for lunch and gave me these beautiful flowers.

We had a wonderful day together. Table tennis, swimming, dominoes and lots of laughter.

On edge

We have had the most incredible amount of rain so far this summer. 135mm since mid November. Days without sunshine but well worth it.

The garden is looking incredible.

I an amazed how the droplets gather on some leaves and seem to hold their shape forever.