Reflections

Isn't this absolutely beautiful??! Early last week, Geoff and I and our friend Jessica went down to Noordhoek beach to sit on the rocks and have our sun-downers. It was a totally windless evening and an amazing way to end the day > sitting on the warm rocks with beer and nuts for snacks. Our flat sold so we're feeling a bit loose-end-ish as we will be 'homeless' in 2 months time.

Its quite unbelievable actually!! ...and then a taxi will come getto-ing past and the whole flat vibrates with the bass & I remember that there are better ways to live than putting up with traffic noise & watching my car rust to smithereeeeens while I try and concentrate on getting some work done. It has been a kind of romantic experience to live on the main road of a trendeee fishing village at the southern tip of Africa with 5 artisan bakeries on my doorstep... Kind of like living in Venice, I'd imagine > until you get sick of the damp and the tourists and decide to move to the country where you can have a garden that's not entirely pot-plants.

One of many things could happen between now and the 1st of April...and many more will most certainly happen after :)

Beach path

Last weekend we went to one of our best places (and in fact, near where we had wedding pictures taken): down to the surf spot near Olifantsbos in Cape Point.

They've built this absolutely wonderfully fairy-like path down to the beach out of cut-off logs so that one can kind of jump from one to the other.

It was beautiful, as always to be there with my love > hectic week ahead so the rest was great :)

Selvedge Issue 16

I have been looking through Issue 16 of selvedge magazine and totally loving some of the ad links so I thought to share them:

• From the Samantha Holmes site:
  

I've been knitting up a storm of miniture clothing items & its always nice to find some added inspiration of people doing really awesome things - This little alpaca dress is just so pretty!

• Caroline Zoob's site is inspiring new craft ideas
  
  
  
  Some day I will get into embroidering things I've made...I'm becoming an aunty starting in June this year, so perhaps that will happen sooner than later!
  
  
• LOOP: knitting shop
  
  Shelley told me about this shop a while back. I just love browsing through their site!! :)
  
  
• Poppy Treffrey makes cool cosies:

as well as awesome bags > I love Wire Haired Terriers!!

• Donna Wilson has a category on her site called 'Odd Objects > irresistible to click on!!
  


• Check out http://www.katesamphier.com/ for really lovely knits
  
  
• The Black Rabbit has many quirky additions to its site pages:
  
  
  
• Oh my! Embroidered bunting? Look no further than Loopy Design
  
  
• Debbie Bryan's site states that her creations are 'CRAFT BASED DESIGN LED PIECES'. On the site is a collection of Knitted Adornments Scarves & Corsage Brooches
  as well as these resin hand cast brooches which look really amazing:
  
  
• Crafty Computer Paper blows the world of creation and transfer wide open. Check out their site & more info here: http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/
  
  
• Jane Sacchi's antique linen collections are beautiful > Antique style monograms available too! (The Railway House in Kalk Bay stocks beautiful French monogrammed linen - mostly white)
  
  
  
• There is an article on Deirdre Nelson and some of the art pieces from ' The Dangers of Knitting and Sewing, 2005 ' are pictured. I found her blog: http://dstitch.blogspot.com/ which has some interesting art pieces on it.
  
  There's a lovely quote from this site: http://www.artandphilosophy.com/050130a.html
  
  "Knitting will never be cool, however hard its fans try. I spent most of my teens click-clicking away, not caring much for my poor, neglected street-cred. Recently, guerilla knitters have gathered in public places to flaunt their habit shamelessly. Whether they’ll actually manage to haul the craft’s reputation out of the tea-cosy is questionable; how can soft, fluffy knitting compete with the edgy dangers of the latest public plaza craze, free running?
  
  But knitting has its edge, too. In a new exhibition at St Andrews, you’ll see a whole new side to knitting and sewing. Glasgow-based artist Deirdre Nelson has unearthed a wealth of fascinating facts which illustrate the grim history of this most feminine of pursuits. "
  
  
• There are UNBELIEVABLY cool things on http://www.thelaundry.co.uk/!
  
  Here are some awesome clothes pegs:
  
  

And a seriously pretty tea cosy! (The UK seems to be all about Tea Cosies!!)

• Fibre and Clay > http://www.fibreandclay.co.uk/ is a 'contemporary craft gallery + knit studio' & combines 2 of my favorite current pastimes! Just look at this heavenly looking yarn shop!!

• The Elusive Collection is Mary Davis' Knitwear collection site.
  Such beautiful knits! (her model looks about 12 --- I wonder why!?)
  
• Dumbo Feather is a quarterly publication featuring 'remarkable individuals'
  
• Keen on a cultural craft workshop tour of Peru? http://www.puchkaperu.com/
  
• Pronk Style has amazing fabric prints:
  
  
  Geoff and I have been talking about Batik of late. Check out this book: Batik: 75 selected masterpieces : Rudolf G. Smend collection available from the Selvedge website
  
  
  
• OOOOH! I have to learn to felt!! Check out these hats from HAT FORM: http://www.rosynaylor.com/
  
  
• And lastly: some free knitting patterns are available here http://www.knitonthenet.com/
  

Letter Removal

Bird Bath

My sister's lovely little budgie, Tickalo (Ticks for short) got really sick in a breeze & had to get antibiotics and the works! As a result she ended up getting sticky stuff and bits of seeds stuck to her head & needed a bath. This is what she looked like post-bath :)

Christmas House

We went driving through Fish Hoek before Christmas to see what people had done to their houses....this was the best one > last year as well! :)

Merry Christmas

Lying in the bath this morning & guess who went floating by my window!?

Apetown

Imagine our delight when we discovered quite accidentally while browsing the internet that our quirky (ex) neighbour is a published author! :) When I told Sven I had found him out & had bought his book he said that I had just doubled his sales... Very witty, Sven :)

When we were away this weekend, I finished reading his book 'Apetown' to Geoff in the car & in various chilled environments (beach carpark etc) during the trip.

In my humble opinion, I think this book is well worth a read - its so "Cape Town", contains great metaphors & really fun character descriptions...

Just so you know, I really am waiting for the screenplay, Sven!
Apetown would make a great "Cape Town" movie... or maybe the book was so descriptive & vividly written that it feels like I did see the movie...Either way: I'm chuffed to know the author and have read his book... I love to see what friends are achieving creatively! :)

Bee & Gees

My sister and I have private nick names that we call each other (private because nobody else calls us these names). They come from a movie we saw a long time ago called 'Nel' about a girl who grows up wild & free & out of civilisation & gets studied by psychologists etc...anyhow she has an absent sister who she sings a rhyme with in which she calls her sister 'Chickabee'. There is so much love in the way that she sings the name that we started calling eachother 'Chickabee' ...T'Neal shortened my name to 'Bee' ...from here I've recieved numerous gifts relating to bees (which I do love!)..amongst them, the BEE MOVIE

I found this little 'pollen jock' bee from the movie at the Milnerton Market. When you press his stinger his wings flap and his arms flex: strong-man style! I love it. He now guards my honey jar...

Geoff and I went away from Friday and returned today to a rather large to-do list... While we were in George I got my hands on my mom's Bee Gees greatest hits CD which I've been listening to all day. Its amazing how many songs I know from years of KFM radio encounters...and had never known were Bee Gees songs.. PLUS, I discovered that T and my song (performed once at karaoke), "Islands in the Stream" was actually written by the Bee Gees! (Performed by Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton = awesome!)




These men were brave. So very brave to sing such soppy lyrics wearing outfits such as pictured above!...from the look of those pants, no WONDER they sang so high! :)

Shop Dressing

I was in Woolworths in George with my mom at the begining of this month & we came across this unfortunate looking manequin...
The great news in our lives: T'Neal is preggo! It is so exciting! She is going to have a girl around the time of my next birthday-between 3 and 8 June and I may become an aunty on my very birthday!
Just had to tell my blog cos I couldnt before and now the complications time is over and she is all perfect :)

Kiss

Shelley emailed this to me last week: Thanks Shells!!

This one is from here

Fav Sculpture: Rodin's 'Kiss'

Ninja vs Penguin's 'First Kiss'



I don't know who took this one.


Alfred Eisenstaedt’s image of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square on V-J Day in 1945. (Photo: Alfred Eisenstaedt, Time-Life/Getty Images)

So I'm sitting here managing to get a reasonable amount of work done...huge green fly circling over my head...and then I remembered that I have to look for my bank statements from 2007 to send to my accountant. I think they may be in storage in the roof or somewhere so I'm going to have to phone the bank and get them sent at R5 a pop. This sucks. I know I've not thrown them away. Grr...

Our friends Elaine and Pete (BTW thanks for movie night last night!) are sorting out their house and there's been talk of things unearthed in the process... My one box that is not in storage contains momentos from the last 10 years or so of my life (and beyond).

I used to write a lot of poems. Mostly love or frustration poems. There's one for just about every guy I've agonised over... I will now share a poem about kissing that I wrote in about the year 1999:

KISS:

When we kiss, oh! Heaven's in that
smile and joking eyes -
your honest searching. Always searching...
Brain ticking, careful not to say too much
but subtle, oh, so subtle kiss & kiss
And kiss some more
and comfort felt oh you, oh me
oh, you! together with me we mix a kiss
so sweet the nectar of a thousand bees
could not compare to this.
soon the flowers will pass their season and
perhaps return on the same cloud
or sadly [perhaps] on those of another sky;
another day; another season >
Or perhaps the memory of this, our season -
me and you and you and me
will linger long enough to see another. Perhaps.
For now, to savor every kiss
and lock it into now's eternity.

- - - - -

He must have been a good kisser.

Date & Marie Biscuit Recipe

This is a recipe that my aunt gave me a while back -- it is SO easy to make & the biscuits will get eaten so fast -- they never last long in the biscuit jar!

They are brilliant to serve with ice cream as a dessert...

I think I will add some glace cherries next time for a Christmas variation :)

A Bajofondo Day

Today is the first beautiful day we have had in a long time. The sun is actually shining and there is virtually no wind. I was starting to think that a Summer day would never arrive!

Struggling to work today - people drilling somewhere in our building and its driving me NUTS - have been doing little thinks like updating my Twitter background to match my website and my creativity blog (which hardly ever gets updated!). Really need to get some work done...........

Listening to the Bajofondo Tango Club to try and ease the drilling noise & hopefully get some inspiration going....once I'm going all will be well!

Kommetjie sunset

Fluffies

Unfortunately, due to living in a flat (not having a garden) and travelling away from home quite frequently, it is not easy to decide when one is at a point of being 'settled' enough to make the huge descision to take on a new member of one's family, be it human or canine...

To my thinking, a Yorkshire Terrier has many advantageous factors -- here are my top 5:

1. They are small (my preference are the teacup variety)
2. If they get enough love and attention & get well trained, they will not be 'yappers'
3. They are incredibly cute
4. They are loving and fun
5. They fit into an average size handbag

(pic from Gumtree ad I enquired on)

But Geoff does not like them. One can argue around the fact that he will learn to love whatever fluffies come into our lives (eg: my goldfish regretfully departed *and admittedly: not fluffy* ; Robyn's cat; T'Neal's Bird *again, not fluffy*), but I also believe that we should agree on the breed. Since we can't have our friend Eva's 'Chug' (Chihuahua-cross-Pug) which is just about the strangest and cutest thing you've ever seen, I've done further dog research..... and found the perfect dog (which Geoff also likes) - I present to you, the Boston Terrier:

(pic from Gumtree ad I enquired on today)

This from Wikipedia:

Boston Terriers are typically small, compactly built, well proportioned dogs with erect ears, short tails, and a short muzzle that should be free of wrinkles. They usually have a square sort of face. According to international breed standard, the dog should weigh no less than 10 pounds and no more than 25 pounds. Boston Terriers usually stand 15-17 inches at the withers......

Boston Terriers have strong, friendly personalities. Bostons can range in temperaments from those that are eager to please their master to those that are more stubborn. Both can be easily trained given a patient and assertive owner.....

While originally bred for fighting, they were later down bred for companionship. The modern Boston Terrier can be gentle, alert, expressive, and well-mannered. It must be noted however, that they are not considered terriers by the American Kennel Club, but are part of the non-sporting group. Boston Terrier is something of a misnomer. They were originally a cross-breed between the Old English Bulldog and the English White Terrier.....

Some Bostons enjoy having another one for companionship. Both females and males generally bark only when necessary. Having been bred as a companion dog, they enjoy being around people, and, if properly socialized, get along well with children, the elderly, other canines, and non-canine pets. Some Boston Terriers are very cuddly, while others are more independent.

So crossed fingers & toes & holding thumbs and all that.

Lets move soon!!!

The Rain

It just does not seem to stop. I ran down to Olympia this morning & got drenched through to mid-calves so I donned some comfy pants & gum boots for my next venture out the door.

This weather makes me feel like pancakes. Alas, I'm limiting my starch input so its just not going to happen. I hope George gets some rain too...

Aquisition

So I've gone and done it: After a circles of dreaming & wanting & wishing and hoping and testing at multiple viewings & finally deciding that this is, most definitly, the espresso machine of my dreams, 3 things happened:

1. I found an email in my spam (which I never usually check) from @home with their special on Breville appliances
   
2. The price of my coveted coffee machine went up in the store but not on the website
   
   *1+2 signify my last chance at getting it at the lowest it will probably ever be
   
   
3. I can't really say because it has to do with a present for somebody! Never you mind ;)

Anyhow - I just really really really wanted one. I think it was from the day Shells and Steve made me a delicious coffee at their home ( + its an investment! Geoff and I can always start a "Bagdad Cafe" if everything turns on its pear shaped self )

And now its home & looking very stylish in our kitchen and I have just about no money left and the bills keep piling up. But I can make really nice coffee at home. I can even get excited about the Starbucks Gingerbread Latte recipe that Shelley posted: because I can make it :)


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The Best Book Launch I Ever Missed

Tina Bester from an AMAZING little bakery/coffee shop in Obs called "Queen of Tarts" has launched her new book - 'bake'.

The title of this blog may suggest that I was glad to have missed the book launch at our local, Kalk Bay Books last Friday. This is by NO MEANS true. The truth is that I had it diarised for 3 weeks........ but we decided to go away for Geoff's birthday weekend (which was rather awesome too.....) so I could not go.

I did not even know what was in store for the attendees of this book launch or I may have done a beg and a plead to leave at sparrows on Saturday morning...because this:

fellow cake enthusiasts, is a picture that my sister in law, Colleen, took with her cell phone at the very event.

Truely: The best book launch ever -- and I missed it.

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Client Family & Friends

Azure

I have realised that the sea plays a huge roll in my sanity berometer (kind of like the weather does to people living in places like London). I am so spoiled, with the sea being a cattie's stone-throw away from our balcony, that it takes something so exceptional for me to really be "wow'ed" by the sea. I always notice its moods & its beauty, but it doesn't often floor me.

I saved Robyn from her car yesterday (clutch cable broke) and we ended up having a lovely lunch in a new spot in Kommetjie...on the drive home, we looped past Long Beach & what I saw almost took my breath away. The photograph above) has been posted to this blog directly from my phone. No Photoshop.

The sea was so clear and tropical and such an exquisit colour. I am so glad to have witnessed such beauty.

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White Marble. Finally.

Finally finally finally, we have our counter tops in....and no less than Kaliston White Marble. After 10 months of working on (starting to rot) plywood, it is such a pleasure to have clean, light, white, complete surfaces to work on that are cool and feel amazing to touch.

A dream come true :)

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The Gift Fair

Miss Molly (T'Neal and I) set up this beautiful stand for The Gift Fair at Groot Constantia this year...I restored a funny little cupboard that was rotting in Geoff's shop garden -- scraped all the veneer off and painted it white & then wall papered the outside edges to make it really pretty. I upholstered a piece of plywood (previously our kitchen top) with foam and white denim to create a pin-board to pin plaster hearts, Christmas decorations and some heart shaped casings with cookies to.

I had super-wood cut and Geoff & I made them into boxes which I had sprayed at the car spray shop (we put wall paper behind for the Fair)... T'Neal made a great little cakestand for her cake boxes (which, by the way, are in the latest issue of Elle Decoration [!!!!] ) and I sewed a border of colourful fabric for the edge of our table.

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The Book Lounge

Last Friday found me with an hour to spare in Roeland Street at the most wonderful book shop called 'The Book Lounge' which has a great collection of unusual books. I'm sure that other book shops have wonderful collections, but I somehow fail to find the interesting books that intrigue me...or perhaps I just don't have time on my hands and the patience to seek out the gems.

I bought a book that has been on my heart to read called 'Eat Pray Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert. I've raced through 'Eat' and am cruizing through 'Pray' at the moment. It is food for the heart - inspires inspriation to travel & find the calm in all the storm.

I've been so busy. Busy Busy Busy. Gift Fair....work....and finally, I've taken some time for myself - to spoil myself and get back to a place where I feel I am actually living and enjoying life instead of chasing deadlines & feeling constantly rushed & demanded of

I found some lovely design-related books...My turn to buy for 'The Artist's Book Club' is in April, so I've been scouting to find the books I really want so that when my turn comes it won't be a mad rush. I found a wonderful book at Exclusive Books, Cavendish the other day called 'Vitamin D - New Perspectives in Drawing'. This is a hot contender...Will need to spend some more time with it to be sure.



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