KAROO... Aberdeen.....Friends...

Almost 2 yrs ago Linda Rowe, my friend and colleague from school, mentioned that she also loved the Karoo and dreams of owning a home there one day. I told her that properties are affordable out there and she may want to go have a look some day. Anyway she complied and fell in love with Aberdeen and found a lovely cottage with the best view in town. Her home overlooks the Camdeboo Mountain range that runs parallel to the National road that goes through to George and Cape Town. Her home is surrounded by veld / fields of grass and aloe plants and then one looks out onto the mountains! Its breathtaking and her family all love their holiday / retirement home and also visit as often as possible to rest and do some renovation work.

We were fortunate enough to visit and have a 'braai' / barbeque  with the Rowe family whilst we were  visiting our homes. Her handy husband Tony is busy building a typical Karoo swimming pool and just needs to plaster  and paint it now!

The 3 men discussing some serious things. Charles, dad & Tony. You can see the vague outline of the mountains in the background.

 Lovely and sweet Linda always busy cleaning or baking her delicious chocolate cake!

Antonique loves her uncle Charles. She takes after her mom with her cooking skills!

Martin, Antonique's husband and their really adorable son - Luron. I must add that Martin is one of the most amazing fathers! I just love this little boy and I made the quilt for him. I will post the pic again for those of you who have not seen yet seen it!

Apparantely he loves his quilt - so every stitch was worth it!

Evelyn proudly looking on...

Luron looks just like his dad!

Antonique and Martin. A beautiful couple.

 The salad

Salad, "pap pastei"- consisting of onion, tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms, sweet corn and then baked in the oven. Sooooo delicious! and then some of the meat being kept warm in the pot!

TITBITS of ABERDEEN...

Hello again!!! I look soooo forward to blogging now that I have so many photographs to share with you all! Hubby and I have just returned from a day trip to Parys to fetch the bath I had re-enamelled. Its absolutely beautiful! What a transformation!!!

.......but first allow me to complete my story on our recent trip to the Karoo.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, we have an old historical property in Aberdeen which we are renovating, so that's the reason for our regular visits to the town.

The local Dutch Reformed Church in Aberdeen is famous for its architectural history and the steeple that lies at an 18degree angle. Like most towns and even cities, the church stands in the centre of the town and the rest of the community developed around them. Aberdeen is still one of the few "dorpies" that consists mostly of gravel roads with a tar road running through the centre of town, around the church and leading out the town. Most of the houses face the front street and people still pay about R22.00 a month for 'stoep tax'. The reason for this is that the front wall of the house is built on the boundary of the property and the verandah / 'stoep', coming off of this front wall, crosses the sidewalk / pavement to the edge of the storm water drain of the road. The verandah / stoep is therefore on the municipal property and is subject to 'stoep tax' / levy for its continued existence in this public area.

Note the gravel and  rather wide roads in this town.

See how close the verandah / 'stoep' is to the sidewalk. ......almost on the road.

The guest house - The Homestead here belonged to Simon van der Stel and was built in 1820.

Sunset from our house....

 Jetstream across the sky

You will often find pigs, goats, sheep and cattle walking through the streets!
 A common sight and they have 'right of way'.

A herder riding behind his small herd of cattle.

 Pagel House - front facade.

I just love watching the variety of birds who visit our bird feeder on a daily basis!
Here is a weaver and dove.

Some pics of succulents in our garden.

Lavender at the front door and it grows so well here!

I planted this lavender bush a few years ago and has now sown its own seed and we discovered lots of seedlings which I transplanted all over the garden. I was also able to give 10 small plants to our friends Linda and Tony Rowe who have also purchased a house around the corner from us. Much to their delight! I even planted them for Linda in a huge planter, which she will transplant on their next visit to their house. Happy happy!!

 Will find the botanical names of the plants below and post them for you.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a beautiful week!

Back again...

Hello again... all! We are back home after a very intense week in the Eastern and Western Cape, South Africa! Saw dad, dealt with the problem builder in Aberdeen and spent two days in Mossel Bay. I mentioned in my last post before we left for the Cape, that we wanted to get away from it all and spend some quiet time together taking photographs and doing some sight-seeing; which we did....in Mossel Bay! Was lovely but too short. How long should it have been? Will we ever be satisfied with our 'time out?' I doubt it. Maybe one day we will be able to spend more time together over longer periods of time. We still count our blessings and thank God for what we have.

A typical Karoo scene as you drive down any road there.

Just outside Middleburg along the road through the Karoo. Young people wave you down to stop and buy their handmade windmills of different sizes.

A sheep's skull lying on the side of the road when we stopped to take photos of the iron bed  grave - between Aberdeen & Graaff Reinette.

 The story goes like this... A young Voortrekker woman got sick and died of smallpox before they could get her to a doctor. Her husband buried her here and placed their cast iron bed on top of her to mark the grave. It stands as a solemn reminder of how hard life was during the Voortrekker times.The Voortrekkers were emigrant farmers who came mainly from the Eastern and Western Cape in the 1830's and 1840's on The Great Trek. These families moved or 'trekked' together to find a better and easier life in Natal, but met with hardship, trials, warring natives and death.  You will find it so interesting to read up on the Voortrekkers and The Great Trek. Do yourself the favour.

 This sad grave is quite close to the side of the main road and we pass it every time we go to Graaff Reinette.

This sign in front of the grave, is written in Afrikaans and means... 'that's all'.

The Camdeboo Mountain range. You see these beautiful mountains for miles and miles! They are never the same colour or shape, day after day!  I just revel in their beauty!

I trust that you have enjoyed my story and pics so far. I have so many more for you and cannot wait to share them all!

Taking a break.......

Dear friends and family. I am going off with my husband down to the Karoo again! We need to check up on the building alterations and catch up with dad. He's an amazing person who's overseeing everything for us and taking care of the house. Charles wants to just disappear for a few days and spend some time with me taking photographs, sightseeing and relaxing! He has very little time to relax these days so this will be a much deserved break. In fact we spend such little time together and every moment is so precious especially if it's with your best friend and companion! I feel so blessed having somebody who loves me and enjoys the same things that I do. Just heart-breaking when he has to return to West Africa again in 2 weeks time! We were shortly married when he went off, so it's not easy on any of us, but we try make the best of the little time together!
 We are both taking our cameras with and will spoil you with lots of photos and stories! I can't wait to come home and blog for you. This blog is not about me or for me but about my life and sharing the most precious moments with you. Some of you are close friends and family, extended family and some are even strangers I have never met, but grown fond of via comments, emails and messages!
So, thankyou for following me and supporting me. I hope to not disappoint you. Please pray for our safety as I will do for all your requests. Take care until we get back. God bless.xx

A Scrapbooking morning...

 Two old friends got together again today after 2 looong years! Nick and Charles at the scrapbooking class!

Nick, Petro and Charles...

Well after a looong 2yrs Charles and I were able to go scrapbooking together again at Petro. How special it was scrapping with my husband again after all this time! Petro and Nick were our gracious hosts and teacher. Karen Sterley, Cilma Lotter, Hannie & lynette also attended.
Myself, Charles, Cilma, Karen and Petro our creative teacher! We just love and appreciate these people!

I just love watching my husband scrapbook! He's so creative and has different methods and ideas to us girls. I can't wait for him to finish his page, then I will show with mine.

Star Quilt

Finally hubby's quilt has found its 'resting place' and he loves it as much as I do!

...and I have finished the crocheted baby blanket. Almost done with the next one as well.
Have so much handquilting to do on the 3x primitive quilts I started last year!!

Hope your weekend was peaceful and creative?
Have an amazing week!