Mega Bubbles!

I really love the way that really simple things can be so entertaining.  Point in case, bubbles!  All that is required is a soapy solution and a wire hanger bent into a circle and wrapped in wool, and you get really cool, mega bubbles!  This has given the kids many hours of theraputic delight!

They are even devine when they pop!  For a moment they look like shredded silk floating to the ground.

Which brings me to 2010

So Jack's been a busy girl.  Well, actually I'd like to have gotten more done, but I'm sure every woman, with children and a husband, feel like they just don't have enough hours in the day to do everything they'd like to.  I finally finished some of my mosaic projects.  My mom saw the mirror I did and snapped it up before I could get it to the shop.

I also finally finished some of my plaster inserts - hearts, shells and cherubs.

I also managed to finish a few other smaller mosaic projects.

And I got the Quilt Festival website up and running, so pleasssseeee go check it out at http://www.quiltfestival2011.co.za/  Now I need to get my own one finished as well.  Oh yes, I've taken on another website for a jeweller in town, so need to squeeze that into my day as well!

Christmas Day!

So another Christmas has come and gone!  Is it just me, or are the years passing by faster and faster???  And the faster they pass, the more I forget!  Despite a lean year for everyone, we still had a wonderful Christmas - ate too much, laughed together, reminisced and the kids still got spoilt.  We were all aware of how lucky we were to be together, to be healthy and to have many opportunities ahead of us.  So goodbye 2009, thank-you for the lessons, bring on 2010!

Our old boy, Gorby, lapping up the love after the kids had opened gifts and they were taking a break from the new toys.

And of course, the proverbial turkey - South African style on the webber.  Yumm!

Snails, cousins and dogs!

I didn't know that snails could be so fascinating!  Actually, I was fascinated by the fact that the kids were so fascinated by them.  Tarryn, Daniel and their visiting cousins snail watching.  Many hours were spent watching them, and then building them houses, trying to get them to eat, and watching them climb on top of each other.......

And Jack-Jack came to visit.  Jack-Jack used to be our doggy.  When we went to Saudi Arabia we had to re-home him.  He went to live with friends down the road, and now that we are back, he still comes to visit!  Breaks my heart each time he has to go back, but at least we still get visits!  And Jack-Jack loves to be the baby!

So much catching up to do!

What with Christmas and family visiting, not to mention eating, lots of eating - I've gotten really behind with posting updates on what we've been getting up to.  So today is a blogging marathon!!

At the end of the year, the kids (along with other homeschooled kids and the music teacher's girls) gave a concert for the Ladies Active group in Stanford.

Daniel started tap dancing in the last term of the year, and caught on so quickly that he participated in the dance concert at the end of the year.  Daniel is on the far left. 

Then it was time for the second music concert for parents and friends.  We all crammed into Janike's house which made it difficult to take really good pictures of the kids - especially since I had also forgotten my camara, so used my cell phone to take these pics.  But the kids all sang and played beautifully.  I was so proud of them!  On the right is Daniel at the piano, and below is Tarryn playing the recorder.

Wild life in the suburbs

We are lucky to live in a place with much natural beauty and wildlife.  Sandwiched between mountains and the sea, Hermanus is surrounded by a large conservation area and here we humans attempt to co-habitate with the wildlife from birds to baboons.  It's not always successful as is the case when it comes to baboons, who are the subject of many debates here.  They are amazingly good at breaking and entering!   But, by and large, we enjoy sites such as this when a pair of egyptian geese toddled down our road to show their youngsters the lay of the land.  This pair are often to be found down our road, either waddling down the road looking for titbits, or sitting on the roof of a house surveying their kingdom.  Now, their off spring are being shown the ropes.

The closest beach to our house is Onrus Beach.  About a 20 minute walk from the house, or a 5 minute drive.  We try to make a plan to get down there regularly at sunset.

My parents garden, which is really just an extension of the indigenous vegetation (called Fynbos) up the mountain.  It delights us once a year with a fine display by the fygies in pink, magenta, yellow, orange and white.  Here is Tarryn standing in the garden next to the pinks.