Creatures of the sea, Kalk Bay and Concussion.

For a while now I've been wanting to take the girls to the Shark center in Kalk Bay.

Some time ago when we went to Fish Hoek by train we were handed a pamphlet about it and the very next day there was a fatal shark attack at Fish Hoek beach.

So today we headed down to Kalk Bay with Lisa, Bryce and Mitchell and Bryce's friend Daniel.

We had to be there early because it is better to go at low tide which was before 8:00 a.m. so it was a cold, early start. But it turned out to be the most beautiful winters day.

The shark center is on the Main rd in Kalk Bay so it's just a hop, skip and a jump to the beach over the road. I'd never been to Dalebrooke beach before and discovered that there is a lovely tidal pool there.

The children all had a wonderful time exploring the rock pools, the bigger ones were fascinated by the starfish, limpets, anemones etc., Niave was just happy to be in the water, and Mitchell got very excited every time a train went past!! So everybody's needs were catered for!!

They found a path to the "island" in the middle of the tidal pool and had great fun.
I really do think I prefer the beach in winter, it's quiet, it's not blistering hot and if the sun is shining the wind is not blowing!!

After some time down at the beach we went back to the center for a look around and a video about a shark, Maxine who was caught by fishermen in Struisbaai and taken to the Aquarium at the Waterfront and then released about 6 or 7 years later.

The whole outing was free of charge but we did buy some lovely books which I hope makes a contribution to the work and research they are doing.

"Abby's aquarium adventures" was a must - for obvious reasons and the one below is a local one done by Save our Seas.

They had a very patriotic shark outside - would've been better if he'd been is Spanish colours though!!!

I had to put this picture in - Niave walked straight into a very clean window and banged her head and nose. I took Abigail to the loo to change and Niave, still bawling, found this funny little step to nowhere and crept in to have a little pity party!! (Little did we know worse was yet to come.)

When we'd finished there and changed into dry clothes (only my kids were drenched!) we took a little walk through Kalk Bay, stopped in at a lovely bookshopwhere we found a very appropriate shark book to add to our other 2 and Abigail found a reasonably priced chapter book. We continued down the road past the harbour to the Olympia bakery to stock up for lunch.

Then it was off to a sweet park we had spotted on the walk down for lunch and a play.

We thought we'd spend a quiet time having a picnic and playing in the park but it was not to be. The kids all climbed onto the see-saw and Niave and Mitchell were sharing a space. It was screams of delight one minute:and screams of horror the next as Niave and Mitchell started to slip and fell off from quite a height. Niave had a small bump on her chin and a tiny bit of blood inside her lip but poor little Mitchie ended up with a concussion as he fell headfirst onto the concrete. He became sleepy and stopped crying almost immediately so Lisa took him to a Medical center in Tokai about 10 minutes away to have him looked at. Poor little sausage. He spent most of the afternoon there under observation and is now home and much better, back to his usual little self.

The afternoon didn't quite turn out as we'd expected but thankfully it was nothing worse and Mitchell will be fine. We were all rather worried.

The Shark Center is a lovely outing, visit their website at: www.saveourseas.com for more info.

A visit to the Clay Cafe:

Time for painting...

...and a serious chat with your bunnies!!

(I think the conversation went something like this: Germany. No, Spain. No, Germany.

[See the cheeks?!]

All I have to say is: Ole, Ole,Ole!!!)

A Sunday evening drive.

Ever since the start of the World Cup we have been asking Grant to come with us for a drive to Town to see the lights.

At Christmas time in Cape Town there are always Christmas lights in Adderley street (a main street in the center of Town) and it's very festive and pretty - the kids love it.

So for the soccer the City of Cape Town also lit up the street with lights of all things soccery and touristy.

Last night we finally got the nod to go through to check it out!

We thought we'd start by taking a drive up Signal hill to see the sunset and then drive down Adderley on the way home. BIG mistake! It seemed like every tourist had the same idea!! It was packed, took us about half an hour to get up to the top and by then we'd missed the sunset!!

But we heard shrieks of delight behind us when the girls spotted the stadium down below - " the stadium, the stadium!!" (I don't think I'd even heard the word "stadium by the time I was 4!!)

So we got out and walked while Grant went up to turn the car around.

I totally need a better camera because the dusk was just too much. The stadium looked really beautiful from up there but once again the pictures don't do it justice - it was nowhere near as dark as it looks in the picture.

I didn't even attempt to photograph the lights because I was completely demotivated by then!!

We went home via some supper:

Not everybody had time to finish their Sprite before bath time!!

Just have to get every last drop!!

The 2010 FIFA World Cup fan walk.

I can say one thing for sure - nobody's lawn was mowed in Cape Town on Saturday!

How do I know this? Because everybody, yes EVERYBODY was in Town doing the fan walk.
Yesterday was the last daytime match on a Saturday at the Cape Town stadium. It was also a beautiful sunny day so it was the last opportunity for anybody and everybody to get into the swing of the world cup. And anybody and everybody did!

We caught a train from Plumstead station with Ouma and Oupa, a very full train, and arrived at a very busy and very noisy Cape Town station at about 11 o' clock.

My friend, Mandy and her 2 children Joel and Hannah and friends of theirs joined us at Rondebosch station. We almost had a pickpocket incident when Mandy's phone was taken out of her pocket but a fellow passenger saw what had happened and the guy very kindly gave it back before jumping off at the next station. A close call.

We started out on the 2,4km walk to the stadium but not before stopping for ice cream!

Niave stopped a girl on the station who happened to be carrying face paint and asked her to paint her face!! She wasn't a face painter, she was just an ordinary person doing the fan walk but she very kindly obliged!! Hence the flag.
We saw so many people that we knew, some that we haven't seen for ages. It was amazing that everybody was brought together by a soccer match!

It was very jovial with a very Cape Town flair. The sounds of bands and vuvuzela's filled the air.
It was slow going because there were so many people but there was also so much to see. Niave and Abigail were very impressed by the mounted policemen.(my camera was battling taking pictures into the sun)

We stopped for lunch at KFC who were super efficient, helpful and friendly. I anticipated a very long wait in a very long queue but although the queue was long, the wait wasn't! After refuelling and a little rest we went on our way.

Finally we made it to the stadium or as close as we could get without a ticket. It was chaos!! Organised chaos but chaos nonetheless.

We took some pictures and then the real fans started to arrive on mass:so we headed towards the shuttle to go back to town. The shuttle is part of the new and improved public transport system called the BRT - Bus Rapid Transport and it certainly is rapid. They have their own dedicated lane and most of the roads in the area were closed so where it had taken us 3 hours to get from Town to Green Point it took 3 minutes to get back!!

We had all stupidly assumed that the train going home would not be as full as the one we had come in on, but we were very much mistaken! 3 hours later the trains arriving in Cape Town were every bit as full, if not fuller than our one had been and the platform was packed to capacity with people waiting to board a Simon's Town bound train.

But we made it home safe and sound and very, very tired in time to watch the game on T.V. It was a really good game, Germany beat Argentina 4 - 0!! Exactly the result I was hoping for. (Later Spain also won their game against Paraguay so I was very happy about that!!)

So we can say "we did it, we were there!" The world cup is almost over and I must say it has been a lot less troublesome than I had expected. I was one of those people who was complaining a lot in the years and months preceding and I didn't want to be here for it, I would have been in England if I'd had a lot of money!! But now I can say that I'm glad I was here - I'd still really like to take the girls to England to see Bev and Dottie and do all the things you do in the UK, but this will never happen again so I'm glad I was here, hopefully Abigail and Niave are old enough to remember it, Abi definitely, Niave I'm not so sure but one thing I am pretty sure of, I didn't know the word "stadium" when I was 4!!

Claremont Gardens.

On Friday we discovered a gem! Claremont Gardens in the heart of Claremont, I drive past there often and very near to it every day during term time.

We used to go there as children from time to time but it is probably most famous for it's use as a wedding photograph venue.

On Friday after Holiday Club Lisa and I took the kids there for a picnic and discovered that it is a gem right under our noses.

Although there was the odd vagrant, there were also security guards on duty and lots of people just soaking up the winter sun and feeding the ducks.

Why have we not done this before?

The kids had a ball and LOVED this tree with enormous roots - they climbed and played there for ages.

There are lots of ponds, they probably all interlink, and lovely bridges over the water, it really is very pretty.

(If you're wondering why Niave is not in the top picture, it's because she was on another bridge doing a different thing, bottom left! We did get her to be in a group picture but that is on Lisa's camera.)

We will definitely be going back, I sometimes need a spot to wait between fetching Niave and Abs from school and this is perfect. It is in walking distance but we'll definitely drive!! A few minutes to feed the ducks may just be what we need midweek during a busy term.

Holiday Club.

Last week Abigail spent 4 mornings at Holiday Club.

They had a soccer/sports theme (as that is all that is happening here right now!) and had a lot of fun teaching the kids about the Bible.

A room to play.

The story of our house is a long, sad tale!

We bought this house exactly 8 years ago and about 4 months later Grant was boarded and so our financial situation changed to where I became the "breadwinner" - on a teacher's salary!

So the fact that we'd bought an old house that needed EVERYTHING doing became problematic.

The family who lived here before us had chickens living in the house!! So the lounge was almost uninhabitable as it was full of chicken poo! We had to rip the carpet up and because it was still in so much need of a face lift, that room became the store room for quite a while. (The chicken situation also recquired a complete fumigation before we moved in!)

Slowly we were able to get it painted and a new carpet fitted etc. and it became a room that we could use again. However it was and still is a work in progress - however the progress has become stagnant of late. There is a plan but it is not a happening plan.

Attached to the lounge is a "sun room" which used to be a front stoep (porch) but was enclosed by a previous owner. It is perfect for a dining room but it has been crammed with stuff for the last 8 years.

In those 8 years we have acquired a lot of toys (as you do) and we were being overrun by toys - especially the soft kind (Niaves favourite) and so a plan had to be made. A playroom was recquired!

It was one of those projects that I have been wanting to do for years but just didn't know where to start. It is also the kind of project that can't be done with lots of interruptions.

It is also the kind of project that needs a friend to kick your butt to get going!!!

That friend was Lisa!

She made sure that while Bryce and Abi were at Holiday Club we started sorting and throwing out loads and I mean LOADS of junk. About 5 boot loads in fact!! And also a lot that went with Louise that was still good enough to play with but that we didn't want anymore.

And so we were able to transform this:

into this:

in 3 days:-)

It still needs work and especially a floor covering but the toys are sorted and everything has a place, it's amazing how different the girls have been playing because it's all functional and it's much easier to pack away because everything has a place.

I also got started on a storage cupboard to try and find space for all the stuff we had to keep but don't want in the playroom. In that cupboard I found another boot load of boxes - empty boxes. Boxes from toys that we don't even have anymore!! Why I was keeping them I have no idea!!

They are now at the dump! I discovered a new recycling spot during this exercise and I have visited them quite a few times last week.

The girls are very excited about their new playroom and Lisa even stayed till after midnight one night sewing new pillow cases for old scatter cushions I had lying around.

It's a very liberating feeling getting rid of ones junk! There is still a lot of liberating to be done but 1 step at a time....