Horizon

It was in St James this evening. Darkness is coming so much earlier now and the light is soft and gentle. A little later a full moon rose and silvery light shimmered over the ocean.

Cosy Feet

There is a really chilly nip in the air today. For the first time in months I pulled out my favourite old scruffy sheepskin slippers. Yay, winter is on the way!

Black on Black

It is really difficult to photograph my black cat - more often than not he looks like a black hole. Yesterday Richard was playing with my camera and took this snap of Tom sitting on his beloved paper bag. Perhaps it was just a lucky shot or perhaps the trick is putting him on a black background, but wow, this capture really shows his shiny black coat. Excellent pic! [Guest photographer: Richard]

Tea Party

My time in the kitchen yesterday resulted in a rather tempting spread for tea this afternoon. Yum! I ate far too much. Sugar coma.

Baking Up a Storm

I'm hosting a tea party tomorrow and spent this afternoon in my kitchen. Baking is such fun! On the menu: chocolate brownies, lemon & thyme crumb squares, raspberry shortcake (family recipe), langues de chat and cheese straws.

Bruised

I had a fall a few days ago. It wasn't a bad one, but my knees are still a bit tender and one has a horrid puffy bruise. Ow!

Noble Brenin

Brenin's kennel name is Noble which is very apt as he's got a handsome profile and is sure to grow up to be a gorgeous good-looking dog. I was sad to say goodbye as I made my way home today after my short holiday. Probably won't get a chance to see him again while he's still a puppy :(

Shadow on the Beach

My dad and I took Shadow for a lovely walk on Nahoon Beach today.

Worm Catcher

Every morning and evening my mom puts out worms for the flycatchers. Three of these sweet little birdies, two youngsters and the remaining parent bird, hop onto the table for their treats. If she's late they cheep-cheep-cheep to remind her. The other sorts of birds aren't forgotten either... seeds and fresh fruit also get put out in the garden. Watching and listening to the happy chatter while eating our own breakfast is a lovely way to start the day.

The Biscuit Game

Mum teaching Brenin the biscuit game. Wait, wait, wait... okay (gobble). Good boy!

Home Office

My dad in his home office, busy getting his new computer up and running.

Mr Floppy Ears

Brenin, my parents' new puppy. What a sweetheart!

Cape Mountains

I found myself in an airplane again this morning, this time flying to the Eastern Cape to visit my parents for a week. I got a window seat and looked down on the Cape mountains all the way along.

Butterfly Blue

This morning I noticed that my Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue' has produced a lone flower. This plant likes sunny well-drained soil on a slope and the poor thing has not thrived in my flat boggy shady garden. In fact it was so sickly after this wet winter it got mould and almost died. I'd given up on it but one stem survived. The flower is tiny and rather ratty after being thrashed about by the southeaster this week. But it's still there!

Open Shelves

Over the last two days my new wall unit has been installed - it's not quite finished but the filler pieces and door handles will only be done when I'm back from my holiday. I now have two new cupboards and loads of shelves for books and display. I love it!

Alice

Went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D on the big screen this evening.

Cleaning Windows

My filthy windows got a long-overdue wash today. Not my favourite job.

Conference

This was a working weekend... sales conference. It all went smoothly and the venue, Glenburn Lodge near Joburg, was very pleasant. They had lovely green gardens.

Cloud Nine

I caught a very early plane to Joburg this morning. I'm not keen on flying usually, but this was an easy flight and the clouds out the window were so pretty.

Stacey and Ian

My old school friend Stacey is visiting from England. It was lovely to see her again this afternoon - it has been over a year since her last visit. Her son Ian is growing up so fast and is a very sweet and happy little guy. Congrats on your 40th, Stace!

Soak

I had a tough day today ... not feeling great and a lot of stress at work. First thing I did when I got home this afternoon was run a bath and have a lovely long soak.

Brolly

It has *finally* turned cool and rainy. It's nice to be using you again, Mr Umbrella.

Avocado

I'm so happy that local avos are available again. Yum!

Seed Fluffs

When I got home this afternoon I found my driveway covered with these little fluffy seeds (rather like dandelions). Not sure what they were, where they came from or why they'd pooled there. But I loved them! They looked like stars in a night sky.

Sweltering

It was 39C at 2pm today. The fan helped, but only a little.

Catching Up

My aunt Flick is in Cape Town and we spent the day together... lunch at the Gardener's Cottage and the rest of the afternoon nattering.

Puppy!!!

Is there anything cuter than a sleeping puppy?! This little guy is Brenin, my mom and dad's adorable new 7-week-old baby, adopted yesterday. I wish I was there to meet him in person. [Guest photographer: my dad]

Countdown

It is now just under 100 days until the FIFA World Cup kicks off. Despite the fact that I'm not really much of a sports fan, I am rather enjoying the hype... the adverts on the TV and the posters, banners and flags that seem to be flying everywhere. And I've got tickets to see a match at the new Cape Town stadium. It is all quite exciting!

Flat Iron

I love this gadget. Can't - don't want to - live without it.
PS News... one of my photographs was selected as Pic of the Day on Cape Town Tourism's blog! See it here.

Kitty Salad

Little Miss Trixie likes nothing better than curling up my beautiful David Walters salad bowl. If she breaks it, she's dead :-)

Tablecloth

Cloud like this appears when the south-easter wind blows. I'm no fan of wind, usually, but it has cooled things down a bit... hooray! I took the photo from the roof parking at Gardens Centre - the wind was so strong and gusty I was almost blown off my feet!