Doggie digging, Dad’s 65th birthday brekkie & hugging light houses

August is truly a month of celebrations in our household, what with my dad, mom, and mom-in-law all having a birthday, me having a half-birthday – more on that in next update – and it being our wedding anniversary month. First up was dad’s birthday, luckily over the public holiday long weekend so we had a relaxing time, as you’ll see below…

Friday, 7 August 2015: Bertie doesn’t realise there’s evidence he’s been digging

Just as I was starting my last blog post, Husband called me to come see if I could tell which doggy had been digging in the garden. Despite his most innocent expression and spotless white paws, Bertie didn’t realise his dirty little face just gave him away…

Saturday, 8 August 2015: News Cafe breakfast

Husband peppering his News Cafe egg breakfast, as he does.

My cappuccino may have been too strong (yes, really) but I was most pleased with my early bird (R25) muesli jar – order after 10am and the price doubles.

Mum made us a whole extra carrot cake in preparation of Dad’s birthday on Monday! By which time it had all but disappeared…

Sunday, 9 August 2015: Fish Hoek roadtrip

The Mugg & Bean breakfast sammich. I ate it all.

Husband tried the avo-mushroom eggs benny.

Tummies lined for the long trip, we headed towards Kalk Bay. Loved the little blue-and-red boats in the harbour.

It was our very first visit to Kalkies, ever – Husband got this huge platter of hake and chips, all for R48.

The biggest, scariest, plumpest seal ever. He was happily munching on fish as folk warily trotted past.

I had to hold on to the lighthouse at the end of the pier as the wind was strong enough to blow me away!

We drove on to Fish Hoek and had ice creams on the beach… crazy nutters were paddling in the water. Far too cold for that to be enjoyable.

Husband shared some of his ice cream cone with a sea gull.

Later that afternoon we stopped at Inside in Big Bay Husband had a Long Island Ice Tea, I had a sticky caramel frappe.

This was the whole reason for the day trip – my very kind former manager had made me the chair my heart was pitter-pattering over, so we went to collect it. Little Miss Bassie gave the new Adirondack share a try – she didn’t understand what all the fuss was about.

Monday, 10 August 2015: Dad’s birthday at Nitida’s Cassia

Birthday breakfast drinks! MCC and cappuccinos for dad’s birthday.

The birthday boy! He doesn’t look his age at all (he’s 65!)

See the family resemblance? Pa se kind.

Proof that we were all there.

After a lazy day – best way to spend a Monday – we headed to Doodles for their Winter specials. Husband had a sunset draught.

I had a latte as the weather was on the chilly side.

Husband opted for his favourite bangers and mash – R45 for all this.

Wednesday, 12 August 2015: Mum’s pre-birthday dins

So sweet! Bassie showed us just how much she loves her Granny. This was the night before Mom’s birthday, as I was jetting off to Durban the next day to cover the Loeries.

That’s all for this post, folks. Next up: All about the Loeries 2015… watch this space! 🙂

Grand Christmas lunches, Chapman’s Peak sunsets and rainbow drinks

If your memory’s sharp – mine’s not, so I’m envious – you’ll remember we had my last office end-of-year party in January, technically celebrating Christmas 2013 in January 2014, so it seemed way too soon to have the 2014 Christmas version a week ago, but have it we did, and it was literally grand as we spent the afternoon at Grand Beach near the Waterfront.

As Mother was still on our coast visiting, there was also lots of sightseeing, such as lunch at Cousin Janet’s – she lives in the most jealousy-inspiring house in St James, remember? Seeing as we were that side of the city we took the long way home, all through Noordhoek and along Chapman’s Peak drive – click here for a reminder of last time we did this pretty trip. But, as always, there was more to fill our weekend…

Thursday, 11 December 2014: Bizcommunity end-of-year lunch at Grand Beach

Of course the first thing you do when sitting at a table on icing-sugar sand is kick off your shoes…

Delicious strawberry shake pales in comparison to the bright pink menu, but no worries – I always prefer this pale fruity variety to the brightly syruped alternative

Sharing a laugh with my desk mate

Starters are served! We had a few of these long pizzas per table, as well as a fishy salad option

Ended with a delicious coffee caramel martini before we played Bad Santa

Friday, 12 December 2014: Cloudy, rainy and cold

After the sunny sunshine of Thursday. Friday was drizzly and grey. Luckily that’s the last of the off-colour weather for a while…

Saturday, 13 December 2014: Decembraai-ing with the Cape rellies, scenic trip through Noordhoek, along Chapman’s Peak

See? Beautiful sunshine reigned supreme again on Saturday. This was taken in Janet’s garden in St James

Mother surreptitiously sipping her wine, Husband and I happy in the sunshine

Des – 91 in a few months – and Sybil, separated by a lovely lilac bloom

We try a variation of this shot each time we visit Janet’s house, lol

Can’t miss the Red Herring in Noordhoek on the way home. Sipping a very chocolatey shake

Husband opted for a beer instead, of course.

First bit of Hout Bay peering at us as we travelled along Chapman’s Peak

Such a pleasing mix of nature’s elements

Then the sun started to sink, adding a touch of magic

Sunday, 14 December 2014: Breakfast at Bread & Butter, cake at Mum

It’s a bad idea for me to start the day without coffee. Helps if there’s a heart shape in the foam

Husband can’t eat a savoury meal without Tabasco sauce. Went well with his poached egg, bacon and avo croissant

Mother was pleased with her salmon eggs benedict

Homemade carrot-pineapple cake at Mum’s. With (more) coffee, of course

Tuesday, 16 December 2014: Breakfast at Captain’s Kitchen, Big Bay; cocktails at Catch22

Proper eggs-n-bacon breakfast for once! With obligatory coffee

Much, MUCH later that day – this is the rainbow-coloured ‘Catch23’ at Catch22. Pretty, but I preferred the vanilla flavour of Husband’s Robben Island Ice Tea

And with that, we’re on the brink of the NEXT weekend already! Am not taking any leave other than the public holidays coming up, but Husband’s off for a few weeks so expect some pics of his DIY and home fixes in my next update!

Why I drink hot drinks and celebrate half birthdays

Nothing warms frosty fingers more than spreading them around a hot cup. And my fingers have been more than a little frosty lately. So while it’s no secret that I love coffee, any hot drink will do at the moment. And not just for instant heat. See, even on the steamiest day you’ll find me pouring vast quantities of hot liquid down my gullet. I wouldn’t say it’s a caffeine addiction, as I can get by just fine on decaf… as long as my first liquid intake of the day is coffee. Ultimately it boils down to the fact that the day hasn’t really started until I’ve had at least one cuppa. Wise folk always comment that you’ll never be truly happy until you learn to appreciate the small things in life, and while they’re usually referring to things that are free, there’s no denying the satisfaction of breathing deeply from a freshly brewed, prettily cupped cuppa joe. That’s why I had cup after cup last weekend and they sure did make me happy, as you’ll see below.

But don’t fool yourself into thinking the fun stopped there, as Sunday was also Husband’s half birthday! Here’s a reminder of why we celebrate half birthdays in our household, and some snaps of the day…

Saturday, 19 July: Breakfast at Hillcrest Estate, drinks at Brazenhead in Big Bay, coal collecting in Blouberg, scones at the nursery

Lush green setting at Hillcrest Estate in Durbanville. Bright white sky was blinding and sunnies were atop my head instead of protecting sensitive eyes, hence funny expression on face

Hot drink! Delicious cappuccino with complimentary cookie to start the weekend on the right note

Excited for flapjack stack with bacon, banana, grated cheese and berries. The cappuccino was not yet sipped, hence me still looking very tired

Saucing up his breakfast pita

Diane and Chris marvelling at the pics of the ghostie we captured on camera a few weeks ago. Not pictured? Hot drink! (Hot chocolate) at the Brazenhead

Grey mountain at high tide

Solitary seagull walking along the water’s edge

Hot drink! We popped in at Stark Ayres nursery for the ‘scones and hot chocolate’ special – all this for R30. Lovely flecks of vanilla in the tub of cream meant for scone-smearing

Bassie and mommy sitting by the fire

Sunday, 20 July: Breakfast at Inside, Eden on the Bay, dog walks on the beach and half-birthday celebrations

Hot drink! Pot of tea with my breakfast at Inside

Sipping on his half birthday breakfast Coke, as you do

Hot drink! This time a vanilla cappuccino from the Nescafe machine in the Pick n Pay at Eden on the Bay.

Bertie gave mommy a big lick while Bassie waited for her turn

The look I was given before my lap was jumped on

Then Bassie gave mommy big licks too

Bassie trotting ahead of me on the beach

Bertie pulling his dad along the mussel-strewn sand to bark at assorted sea birds

THAT’s the sand-speckled face of a very happy little dog who has just had a long walk on the beach. Note her brother behind her with his head out the window, barking at all and sundry

Miss Bassie wrapped in a towel – still grinning as wide as she can

Half birthday cake! A full carrot ring and some mini carrot cakes all made by mum, so you know they were delicious. Not pictured? HOT DRINKS!

The half-birthday boy – note the birthday hat at his place at the table and Kinder Surprise egg in hand – his first ever

Kisses for the (half) birthday boy

Tolerating more half birthday kisses

Pretty pink clouds behind a palm tree

That’s all for now, folks. I’m currently enjoying a mid-week ‘staycation’, so stay posted as I’m sure to put up some pics of my favourite moments from this week soon…

Father-in-law does the Argus

If you’ve been bitten by the ‘healthy living’ bug lately, your interest was probably piqued by coverage of the Argus this past weekend.

We’re new to cycling ourselves, but couldn’t stop ourselves from focusing on race times and rituals for one Very Important reason this time around… See, my 70-year-old father-in-law, who has always been fit as a fiddle, went and entered himself into this year’s Argus. That’s 109 km. Along with 34,500-odd other cyclists. In the summer sun (we’ve not been afflicted by the Joburg flooding, nosirree). And have you guys SEEN Suikerbossie Hill? Not for those without stamina, that’s for sure.

Despite being told by almost everyone that it was a silly idea, especially as he’d just had surgery to remove his gall bladder after his last visit to us in Cape Town, we’re happy to say he did it! He finished! And if he hadn’t stopped to help (I quote) ‘some silly woman who had a puncture and didn’t even say thank you’, he would have saved 7 minutes, thus finishing the race within the 7-hour limit allocated.

We take our hats off to him.

Here are some photos of his stay with us:

Thursday, 6 March 2014: Dinner at Petiscos

Me and my favourite dad-in-law

Digging in to his delicious curry

Saturday, 9 March 2014: Pre-race preparations at home

Bertie eyeing me suspiciously while Grampa has his pre-race supper in the background

Me in weekend mode – reading with doggie on couch

The bike, waiting to have its official race stickers applied

Explaining to us about racers with their ‘fancy glasses’ and padded seats’

Sunday, 10 March 2014: The big day! The Argus itself

Lots of friends and family went to watch (we weren’t strong enough to fend off the wind and traffic ourselves alas, but cousin Janet of the jealousy-inducing house did)…

Captured by Janet, mid-race

Janet also video’d him setting off, click here to have a looksee…

Tired, but happy, when he finally got back home to us

The medal states the year for the first time (on the other side)

Proudly showing off his medal

Very bad lighting, but that’s us having celebratory burgers and milkshakes at Cattle Baron

Monday, 11 March 2014: Post-Argus dinner with my folks – dad-in-law cooked chicken and potatoes on our Weber.

The boys chatting and braai-ing chicken on the Weber

Bassie and granny having a hug

Chicken finally ready, with dad smiling sweetly in the middle

Tucking in to tucker

Bassie watching Granny cut some carrot cake

Smiling as we have coffee and cake

That’s all folks – tune in next year as he says he just might compete again, so as to complete the race in the allotted time!

The big birthday post

Being born close to Valentine’s Day isn’t all hearts and roses. Christmas babies – nay, make that December babies – know what I’m talking about. Everyone’s so focused on the main event of the month that your birthday sort of falls to the wayside. That’s why those of us born in the second week of February have to be clever about how we market our birth date to ensure we don’t miss out.

Luckily, I have a husband who hates the commercialism of Valentine’s Day and scoffs at the ‘I’ll buy you chocolates once a year and ignore you for the rest of the year’ mindset. We like to make each other feel special and appreciated all year round (maybe that’s why we’re into our seventh year of marriage, eep!) But I digress. This was a very long-winded way of saying No, we didn’t go out somewhere special for Valentine’s Day (unless you think a McFlurry is the ultimate symbol of affection), and as a result of that – yes, I had a wonderful birthday weekend 🙂

It involved one breakfast with a beach view and another where I had a slice of Bar One cheesecake at 9am, shopping to my heart’s content, splurging on R5 imported cans of Vanilla Coke, two relaxing beach visits under our new beach umbrella – one with a view of Table Mountain, a delicious coffee milkshake and shared plate of stuffed chilli poppers at Woodbridge Island, travelling up said mountain in the cableway at sunset (it’s free on your birthday, and half price until the end of February – click here for more), a long swim in the pool to beat the heat, egg mayo sandwiches and carrot cake muffins, as well as two scrumptious mom-made birthday cakes for the office…

One of my LOVEly presents

You can’t see me but you can see my gorgeous view of the mountain on my birthday breakfast

We bought ALL the Vanilla Cokes! Well, almost

Having another Vanilla Cake with Bassie, on her swing bench

Coffee milkshake and feta-bacon stuffed chilli poppers, mmm

See? They really are stuffed!

One of the beach visits, under the new beach umbrella

Me in front of the cable car with our ‘golden tickets’ (Mine had ‘Happy birthday Leigh’ printed on it, and the ticked issuer sang to me)

The gorgeous sunset, as seen from the top of Table Mountain

Proof we were both on top

My boy looking down on Lion’s Head, which he climbed again with his dad just a few days ago

Look at the smoky clouds behind me – wind was very strong. So strong we were warned we may need to return down the mountain

More of the smoky cloud, and the sunset

In front of the harbour view – still needed sunnies at about 19.45

There it goes!

Gazing at the disappearing sun

And then we got to watch the moon rise! Beautiful

All the lights were twinkling below us when we got back to the car

Egg mayo sandwiches and carrot cake muffins went down a treat the next day

My two yummy birthday cakes made by mom to take to the office! The famous nutty carrot cake and an amazing chocolate marble loaf

All in all, a fantastic birthday. Who said turning 30 has to be a big kerfuffle?