Veld Fire II

On Wednesday night there was another veld fire behind our house. This one was much bigger than the last one and came really close to our property.

Here are some photos, these are taken from our back-yard, without any zoom. So, you can see how close it was. Luckily the fire department came to keep it under control quite quickly.

Veld Fire

Last month I wrote a post on the fact that there have been no field fires in my area yet. Well last night there was a fire in the field behind my house. As you can see in the picture it was under control as a fireman kept close watch. It was quite facinating to watch.

Post: A love/hate relationship

Receiving a letter from a loved one or package in the post always gives me a warm feeling, considering the fact that the majority of the post I receieve are bills, the change is welcoming.

I recently won a Tulip Bag from The Wren Design, which was amazing. Wendren from The Wren Design posted my prize to me on the 27th June 2008, registered mail. After being sent from pillar to post by the South African Postal Service I received my package on Saturday 12 July 2008. I was so excited!

You can purchase a Tulip bag or one of her other designs at The Wren Etsy store, Wrendren is great! She followed up on the postage and provided a professional service, something I can unfortunately not say about our postal service.

The Tulip bag came beautifully wrapped, like a special present.

Here are some photos of my glorious Tulip Bag:

My favourite part of the Tulip Bag is the adorable button, Wendren creates the design on the buttons by hand, check out her process here…

I also love the secret pocket…

I have ordered another bag from The Wren for my sister, as I just love her bags. Although Wendren posted the bag on 1 July 2008, I am yet to receive it. I have a tracking number and customer service is determined that the package is at my local post office, my local post office is determined that they haven’t received it yet. I will be back at the post office tomorrow to see if they have located it yet.

Hence, my frustration and Love/Hate relationship with post…

* Thank you Wendren for your wonderful service, it is a rare gem in this day and age.

African Sunrise

Yesterday, I had to get up a little earlier, as our little puppy, Chloe (black miniature Duschund), had to be taken out to do her ‘business’.

She is on a strict routine – doctors orders – as she has a fractured hip. Chloe was knocked by a car last week during one of her escapades.  As hard as we try, she does not like to stay in our garden, and digs and chews and claws her way out quite often.

Our house looks out onto a flei (Afrikaans word for ‘wetland’), which is beautiful as it attracts a lot of bird life. I suspect Chloe has a free soul and doesn’t like to be restricted. But unfortunately due to the accident, she has to be in confinement for 2 weeks so that her hip can heel.

While letting her out on Wednesday morning, I happened to watch the sunrise. It was magical! People always talk about the African skies and for the first time in a long time I really appreaciated the sun for all its power. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots, so that I can have that memory forever…

Tatting

Slightly embarrassed, I have to admit that I made a mistake yesterday.

The doilies (size of dinner plates) shown are indeed tatting, shuttle tatting to be exact.

Now I wish my Great Great Grandmother was alive to teach me this very interesting technique that I have never heard of before today.

Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops. (Wikipedia). Here is a bit of the history of tatting.

 

Vintage Crochet

 

When my gran moved into a smaller house she gave away lots and lots. I managed to get 3 crocheted doilies. These were done by my great-great-grandmother, which makes them over 100 years old.

The level of detail is amazing. I love looking at them and marveling at the amount of time it must have taken to complete.

Last night I tried to crochet, but my needle was too small. So, I made a little rosette, by hand without a needle. I want to put some beads on to finish it off nicely.

I also had a really long conversation with my gran last night, she told me how ‘back in the day’ – before telephones, faxes and email – as a newly wed, she would write to my great granny to ask her how to cook certain things like rice and steak etc. and for some recipes. Apparently, she has kept all those letters in a book, I hope to take a few photos of this book – as a keepsake and to show everyone. 

 

Yellow Flowers

Every second week or so, my mom-in-law buys me flowers for our house, each time a different selection. She gets them directly from the Flower Market in Johannesburg.

Flowers always seem to brighten up the house, and although I am not familiar with flower names, I love their appearance and really enjoy taking in their fragrance when I walk into the house after a day at work…

I am always intrigued by the history of things and found this little bit of history regarding Multiflora – JHB’s Flower Market.

My First Homemade Chicken Pie

Last week I made my first homemade chicken pie. I didn’t use a recipe and used pre-made pastry (a little shortcut I hope to correct with learning how to make my own pastry).

I’m not a gourmet cook at all, so I don’t own a rolling pin. Faced with the challenge I quickly looked for an alternative… Then I remembered reading on Emily’s blog “Inside a Black Apple”a few weeks ago and she used a wine bottle, so I proceeded to do the same.

I used a Durbanville Hills  Sauvignon Blanc wine that we bought when we went wine tasting on our honeymoon in 2007. And it worked really well!

We enjoyed the pie so much, David even had a second helping…

I put a special “D” & “K” pastry lettering on the top for David and Kerry – its silly I know…

The knife you see in the photo is from a little shop in Paris, (I should post that photo, when I find it) that I bought especially as a cake knife for your wedding, which was a little quirky.

The tea towel was a gift, not sure who made it, but I love the vibriant pink!

Grandpa Vipond

On Saturday morning my Grandfather (my mom’s Dad) passed away…

He has been ill for almost 20 years and in September 2007, the Doctors gave him 6 months, so he had 2 extra months with us.

My sister Joy , who lives in Australia with my Dad, wrote this and pasted it on her Facebook page in honor of Grandpa Vipond:

a man that gave life its name

Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 4:03pm

today I sat at “home” in Australia waiting to get an sms from my mom to go online to chat to her and Sarah… when I do finally get the sms…. instead of it saying we are online waiting for a chat… it says grandpa has just been rushed to hospital again… note the word again
for years he has been in and out of hospital… he had everything wrong with him that you can think of arthritis, osteoporosis emphysema, skin cancer, he would have strokes, heart attacks seizures… with every visit to the hospital doctors would be amazed that he was still alive… he was a living skeleton… doctors would say every year that it would be he’s last year yet he still carried on living….
bum’d that I wasn’t gonna be able to have a chat with my mom and Sarah… I carried on with my normal day and sat in front of the TV… as always my mind wondered and I started thinking of a name I would one day name my son… when all of a sudden the name William (my grandfathers name) came to my head… as his named came to my head I received another sms from my mom saying I’m sorry but your grandfather just passed away… at first I didn’t believe it as he always pulls through no matter what… still in disbelief I went to go tell my father the news… it hit me right there and then… the one man that I looked up to is gone

he was everything a man should be… in he’s younger years he was tall and handsome… a successful business man and the worlds best family man… he was loving, caring and a charity man…

having a close someone pass away you regret the things you never said to them… I regret not telling him I look up to him and that I didn’t tell him enough that I loved him

he loved watching his sports… rugby and soccer being his favourite with his castle lager and peanuts… I loved sitting watching with him… even though he was so weak you could just see the excitement in his face while watching a good game

who ever reads this is probably thing why the crap are you writing this on facebook… to be honest I’m not really sure… I felt I needed to do something just get it all out… I need to tell someone how wonderful he was

with me still stuck in Australia waiting for my renewed passport I doubt I’ll make it to his funeral… so there’s a song I want to put up that explains how much I’ll miss him… the man that gave life its name

Once in a life time there’s a man you’ve known forever
that could impact so seriously on your life
and to know that me being here brought him joy
its an honor I cant possibly believe
now there’s a tear on my guitar
and your face it appears so far away
but your presents continues to multiply
and your face I see it in everyone’s eyes
essentially you’re part of the reason I’m here today
a man I wished I’d known better
how can you do so much in just 73 years
for each of those days I shed 73 tears
the pictures they may have faded
but the memories, the memories they will stay
and to know as I lay awake at night
your face is just a dream away
the man that gave life its name
and as the wind blows I swear it whispers your name
it sounds like angels giving praise
oh to the man that lived his life a shinning star
oh to the man that gave life its name

everyday i shall light a candle in memory of my shinning star
R.I.P grandpa you’ll be in my memories till the day I see you again
love you forever and always
21/02/1935 – 24/05/2008

 

I will be a poll bearer at his funeral on Thursday morning. I feel that he is in a much better place now, pain free.

Stars of Communication Award

Heidi asked me about the Stars of Communication award that I mentioned in my previous blog and thought it would be nice to write about it…

I used to work for Saint-Gobain Group and each year the the Group celebrates excellence in communication, awarding Communication Stars for the very highest calibre of performance. The winners were announced in Paris following fierce competition between 224 submissions from 32 countries.  I earned the award for “Buzz” – BPB Gypsum’s (now known as Gyproc) internal publication – for the best corporate magazine. The award recognised the publication’s success at overcoming communication challenges which included using pictures and basic English to communicate to the company where 11 languages are spoken. (South Africa has 11 official languages).

It’s a pity that the company in South Africa didn’t appreciate me, as I did enjoy my job, but felt I needed to move on. My husband still works there (we meet at work).