Making Picture-Perfect Memories for life
Myriad memories frozen in time
Today the boys and I went to Hermanus to see if we could spot any whales. No luck for us. There were to many boats and jet-ski’s in the water. All the whales were way back. Hopefully tomorrow at De Kelders we will have some more luck.
I did however capture this Kwikstertjie on a rock with a dead Butterfly in it’s beak…
We left home just after 6 O’Clock this morning for our week of relaxation here in Sandbaai. When we got here around 7:30 it was cold and the wind was freezing. The boys helped us unpack the cars and then they went to show Andre their nephew where they usually play when we are here. Mom and I went to Hermanus to stock up on food for the next 3 days.
When we got back I dozed myself and Lian with some cold and flu medicine. Because it was so cold outside and overcasted we stayed indoors out of the wind. The boys played games on the Xbox and my parent and I talked and took a few 40 winks….
When I saw the sky was clearing and the sun came out I could not stay indoors anymore. I had to go see if I could spot my first Whale for the week. We took a drive along the coast but unfortunately we did not spot a Whale but the boys spotted the girls in Onrus and Vermont. I keep forgetting they are not 5 an 4 anymore they are 12 and 11 and the hormones are starting to work overtime…
Tomorrow if the weather plays along we want to go and see what is happening at the Whale festival.
Today’s Photo of the day was taken at the Jan Rabie Tidal Pool in Vermont.
WOW today”s Matrick farewell was very emotional. I saw Chantè for the first time when she was only 10 months old. Today was her Matric Farewell and she took my breath away. Let the photo do the talking…..
Well today I am feeling a bit better but my blood sugar is still on the low side. But that did not get in the way of today’s Matric Farewell photo shoot.
All that I am going to say today about this shoot is that our Heavenly Father looks after His children. It’s been raining the whole day and I prepared my studio as a plan B. But the couple did not want to change from plan A to B so off I went to Joostenberg Bistro to find out if I could take photo’s inside. Unfortunately they were busy closing so I went to the car and wait. While I waited I asked our Heavenly Father for 20 minutes of no rain after that it can come down in buckets I don’t care.
When Ruan and Samantha arrived it stopped raining and God gave me 20 minutes of no rain after the 20 minutes it started coming down very softly but I could still take some photo’s. When I got back in the car and said thank you the rain came down hard. As soon as I am finished with the shoot I will reveal Sam’s beautiful dress and Ruan’s awesome tie…
This is just a random photo I picked of today. Will work through the photo’s while on holiday in Hermanus. Must clean memory cards and charge batteries for tomorrows Matric Farewell….
Today I am not myself. My blood sugar are low and I feel like passing out the whole time. I thought okay maybe if I join hubby for a walk to the shop around the corner I’ll feel better. Nope that did not do it for me but I did see my Iris blooming and another breeding pigeon in our Palm Tree.
Here are photo’s of my White Iris and of the pigeon all alone in the Palm Tree.
Took this photo beginning of the week at the field around the corner from us. I grew up with it as as a Botterblom but when I went online and looked in my Field guide to Fynbos of John Manning I got a surprise. There are more types of Botterblom in the wild.
I took this photo the day my Mercedes decided to break down on me. Somewhere in the West Coast National Park the fan belt decided it’s going to disappear into thin air. The Mercedes started overheating and luckily for me the engine cut out on the West Coast Road and not in the park. There are not really reception for cellphones in the park.
I phoned hubby and told him the car broke down. He phoned around and told me a mechanic is on his way.The mechanics put in a new fan belt and insisted to follow me home. I am so grateful they did. We had to stop every 10km so that new cold water can be put in the car. While waiting for the mechanics to come back with water at one of the dozens of stops I decided that I might as well use this opportunity to capture this beautiful sunset.
Well it’s been nearly four weeks now and I am still without a car. At least the car waited till we got out of the park to break down. We had a lovely day in the park and the flowers were spectacular. As soon as I am finished working through all my photo’s I’ll write about the day and post lot’s of photo’s.
On our Bike trip to Blaauwberg we passed Clara Anna Fontein a stone throw away from our home. Clara Anna Fontein is a Private Game Reserve. Well on our way to Blaauwberg I saw the Wildebeest in the field I tried to get hubbies attention but it did not work. When we stopped at Blaauwberg I asked him what route he was planning to take home. He asked me if I saw something and I said yes the Wildebeest at Clara Anna Fontein. On our way back hubby took the turn off into Clara Anna Fontein so that I could take some photo’s of the Wildebeest.
I have never been to Clara Anna Fontein but I hope to go visit there in the near future.
Another few photo’s for the Travel Theme: White
I took these photo’s of White Lions at the Lion Park in Johannesburg in 2010. The one lioness just loved the cars side mirror and I had ample time to take some nice close ups of her.
I took these photo’s when we visited a Church in Brits Town in the Eastern Cape in June 2010.
In August 2012 the eggs started hatching and Ronald’s work began. He had to catch out all the new born larva’s and separate them from the eggs. Hundreds hatched per day and the boxes with little silkworm larva’s just get more and more. Luckily all the eggs have hatched now now he just needs to keep the boxes clean and feed them daily. He spends ours with his silkworms and these are about 3 weeks old. One of these days we will start counting them and then maybe sell them to the pet shop.
I grabbed my MASSA 1+,2+ and 4+ filters and tried to take some close ups. These little larva’s does not lie still for one second constantly eating and moving.
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On Monday hubby took me to Blaauwberg on the Bike so that I could capture some everyday life photo’s and of course some landscape photo’s. When I walked past this one lamppost and saw the rust on it my first thought was texture the Travel theme….
This morning our power went of and I could not do any editing or work on my computer. I then decided to go to the field around the corner again to see what I can find.
While photographing a flower I spotted this caterpillar eating away at a little flower. I tried to identify the caterpillar but jeezzz never knew there are so many different species of hairy caterpillars. I made a note of the caterpillar plus a few flowers I struggle to identify so one day when I have more time on my hand I’ll start searching the internet for them.
Tonight we were watching a movie and when I walked pass Armand on the chair I saw this cute photo. I ran to get my camera and in the process I nearly dislocated my little toe against our bed…. Ouch Ouch but I got my photo.
I took these photo’s on the Cycle Tour in May 2012. We were on our way to Hermon and I spotted it next to the road. I shifted my attention away from the cyclist for a few seconds and capture this scene. I just love it.
Thanks to Buddy from Club Mykonos all of us had a lovely nights rest and a warm bath or shower. I could not wait to get clicking and capturing all those special moments along the road. Day three was a long day. It was a hard 111km with rolling hills.
Everyone gathered in the parking area around 7 o’Clock so that we could pack the trailers, discuss the days route and to collect the keys to the units.
After the trailers were pack and everybody was ready we head to the Bouzouki restaurant at the yacht club for a lovely breakfast and a nice warm cup of coffee.
We all had a lovely breakfast and coffee or tea. Our Master of Ceremonies Boesman and his wife Christelle also joined us for breakfast. Boesman of course had everyone in stitches and made sure that those who were in pain forgot about it for a few minutes.
After breakfast we all headed to the parking lot where we were going to depart. Bicycles were checked, water bottles filled and thank you speeches were made.
We left Club Mykonos for Hopefield via Langebaanweg at approximately 8:45. Well we were suppose do go Langebaanweg way but instead of going straight over the West Coast Road we turned left. After about 2,5km we stopped and we realized we were on the wrong road. Haha the riders did not think it was funny. Day Three in the saddle of a bicycle is the toughest. You must keep in mind the riders are not professional riders they are policemen who most of the time sit in a vehicle or at a desk. Well we turned around and headed back to the road that we were suppose to take.
The Langebaanweg road was very narrow and the surface of the road was not helping either. It however got better when we got to the road heading for Hopefield.
When we stopped for a break we had a small accident. One of the riders stopped dead and Karien crashed into him. Luckily there was no fatal injuries only a few scratches from the fall.
After the medics made sure Karien’s wounds are disinfected and everything is in order we headed towards Hopefield. I started getting bored just sitting in the combie so I got courage from somewhere and started hanging out the window to get some action shots. I was so impressed with the photo’s I took hanging out of the window I was angry at myself for always taking my time and over thinking my every move. Why do I always do things so late in life…
After we went through Hopefield the cyclist took a break just outside the little town. We were under the impression that we would have stopped at Hopefield Police station but they made other arrangements. The riders then decided that time was running out and we did not have time to go to school that was out of our way.
After our pit stop we hit the road to Morreesburg. Sun getting very hot on the road now. Along the road we took a few quick pit stops just to fill up water bottles and have a drink and rest the legs.
We left Morreesburg with full tummies and the legs were rested. Next destination Piketberg. Rolling hills is not funny. Up hill, downhill the men and ladies did not have it easy I was so glad I was sitting in the combi when I saw the road ahead…
Just outside Piketberg Boesman came to encourage the cyclist for the last few kilometers. The last stretch was uphill…. Our destination on top of the hill….
The police station is next to the Church and Church hall. We put away all the bicycle and was allocated to our different places to sleep. This was the first town where we were split up some slept at the hotel, Guesthouses and at the local community. It was very nice and the community of Piketberg really went all out to make our stay comfortable.
That evening after a nice warm shower we all headed to the Church hall for dinner and we attended the concert for a few minutes then we all headed back for a good nights rest.
Yesterday Hubby spoiled me with a outing to Blaauwberg on the bike. I love sitting on the back and taking in the surroundings.
I took this photo of Table Mountain as my photo of the day. Table Mountain had a Tablecloth of clouds over it. It was cold on the bike but when we were down at the beach the weather were perfect and only a slight breeze.
This morning Hubby took me on an outing to Blaauwberg. Here are some more everyday life scenes.
Okay I believe in job creation. But oh my goodness just look at the mess people make. Why do the local municipalities even bother putting dustbins all along the sidewalk?
This is so sad. Can’t people keep their bottle or paper in their beach bag or in their hand till they find a dustbin…
Rebecca aka Clanmother/ChasingArt thank you very much for this nomination. WOW!!! I feel so honored. Words can not describe how happy I am right now. I feel like jumping out of my own skin….
Holy moly this is going to be difficult. I love so many blogs so many that inspires me to do even better…
In no particular order here are my nominations.
Chasing Butterflies: Sunshine and Freedom From the first time I discovered Giana’s blog I was hooked. The way she describes her surroundings and her adventures in Spain is just awesome…
Ramblings I only came across Mona’s blog a few days ago but I love it. We both share a love of photography and I just love the way she is experimenting with different types of settings. Great minds surely do think alike.
Hands on Bowie What can I say I am a cat lover and I love Mr Bowie’s blogs to bits. I can’t wait to see his daily blog it’s just to cute for words.
The Neophyte Photographer Well I am all for improving ones photography. Carissa is just doing that. I started following her a week or so back and I love her work. Again we share a passion for photography.
Mybeautifulthings I just love her blog to bits. It’s inspiring….
Thirdeyemom Well what can I say about Nicole’s blog . I LOVE IT. She don’t only tell you about her trips but she also give you very interesting information. One just can’t help loving traveling with her… Oh and her photo’s are stunning…
Anotherdayinparadise2 I love this blog. The stories, photo’s and day trips are just awesome.
A Nature Mom Okay people this is a must follow blog for any mom. The tip’s she gives is fantastic and don’t forget the photo’s. I love it.
Shutterbug Sage The first time I saw this blog I was hooked. It is very informative and the photo’s are stunning.
The Urge To Wander I only discovered this blog a few days ago. Madhu’s blog is very informative and I love her photo’s.
Lucid Gypsy Gilly’s blog is lovely. I love her posts and how she describes her photo’s
East of Malaga Marianne’s blog is very informative and her photo’s are stunning. Pssst and she posted one divine Chocolate Peanut butter and oats cookie recipe….
A Traveller’s Tale Okay I’ve been following Jessie’s blog a few months now and I must say learn something new every time.
Photo Nature Blog I really love Jeffrey’s photo’s. He never disappoints and his photographs are superb.
Writing The Girl I find Janice D’s blog very interesting. Love her photo’s and description of it.
Thank you again Rebecca for my nomination. 🙂
For some of the local residents of Britstown the horse cart is part of their everyday life way of commuting.
Tomorrow I am heading for the streets to see what I can capture …
I took these photo’s on a rugby tour to Ceres in 2010.
7 Little Hamsters only 4 days old.
On Wednesday our hamsters had babies. I did not want to take photo’s of them and left it to today. Yesterday I took photo’s of a protective Mommy hamster. She is so cute I took a few photo’s of her and then let her be.
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have don what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Don’t let the past steal your present.” Cherralea Morgen
“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, Not events, have the power to make me happy of unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just on day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” Groucho Marx
“Friendship with oneself is all-important because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.” Eleanor Roosevelt
“One of the surest evidences of friendship that one individual can display to another is telling him gently of a fault. If any other can excel it, it is listening to such a disclosure with gratitude, and amending the error.” Edward Bulwer-Lytton
“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” Jim Rohn
“One of the most difficult things everyone has to learn is that for your entire life you must keep fighting and adjusting if you hope to survive. No matter who you are or what your position is you must keep fighting for whatever it is you desire at achieve.” George Allen
I took these photo’s at Avoca River Cabins near Kirkwood in the Eastern Cape.
I am not sure what type of rock it is but I think it is Sandstone.
Yesterday one of the bloggers I follow Marianne placed a recipe for Easy no bake Chocolate Peanut butter and oatmeal cookies. I decided I was going to try it out . Thank you Marianne it’s divine….
Today however I am not publishing a black and white photo. Instead I am publishing two collages. One of all the steps for making the cookies and one of my helpers. Armand, Lian and Eben all gave a hand in the making of the cookies.
Okay here in South Africa we don’t get the same ingredients as other countries. I think it changes from country to country. So I used what we have here.
Step 1: Get your ingredients ready.
½ cup (1 stick) butter (I used Stork baking margarine)
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder (I love dark chocolate so I used Nomu 70% cocoa powder)
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats
Step 2: Get saucepan and throw in ½ cup (1 stick) butter/margarine.
Step 3: Add 1½ cups granulated sugar.
Step 4: Add ½ cup milk.
Step 5: Add 4 tablespoons cocoa powder.
Step 6: Bring to boil while stirring the whole time.
Step 7: Simmer for 1 Minute only. Take of the heat.
Step 8: Add ½ cup peanut butter and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Stir till smooth.
Step 9: Add 3 cups quick-cooking oats.
Step 10: Stir till all the oats is covered in chocolate mixture.
Step 11: Put tablespoons of batter on a baking tray lined with wax paper.
Step 12: Let it cool down for approx 45 minutes. I took mine and put it in the refrigerator.
Step 13: Dish up a few with a glass of milk sit down and enjoy.
I took some of the cookies to my Mom and Dad to test. Then the fun started. First my Dad said he don’t like this cookie. I was very confused because it’s divine. I looked at him he smiled and said one is not enough you want more and more. 😉 That’s my dad for you.
While we were drinking tea and discussing these easy cookies. Dad then asked out of the blue I wonder how it would taste with peanuts in and then later what about coffee essence? So in the near future I will make some again and start experimenting with different ingredients. I always follow directions the first time I try a recipe. Then the fun and experimenting start….
It’s suppose to be Spring here in South Africa, but this morning when I woke up it was a real winter morning. Freezing cold, wind blowing and it’s raining. As soon as the the rain stopped I took my camera and head outside to take photographs of the raindrops on the leaves of the Lilly.
Jeezz Loueezzzz why is signing up for something so complicated. Okay not everyone feels like this it’s only me thinking out loud this morning.
I started out with Facebook in 2008 and it took me more than a year to get the hang of it. Then they started this timeline thing and it took me a while to get the hang of it.
I signed up for Twitter in 2010 and the same thing it took me nearly a year just to figure out how to post a photo. But I think I’ve got Twitter covered now.
I started blogging in 2009 on Blogger and changed over to WordPress in 2011. It also took me while to figure out how get all the funny gadgets and stuff on my page. Still don’t really know all there is to know about WordPress but I’ll get there eventually. As long as I can tell a story now and then and of course post photo’s I am happy. I only realized a short while back that if I want other bloggers to know about me I must introduce myself by liking and commenting on their work. LOL do you know that Blogging and keeping up with everybody can be considered a full time unpaid job.
I keep seeing this Pinterest sign on other bloggers pages and my curiosity got the better of me this morning. So I had a look and what did I do? Hold and behold I signed up for that tooo…. LOL now I am trying to figure out how this Pinterest works . I just signed up and I am already following 58 people. Goodness how did that happen….
Good news for me I figured out how t0 upload photo’s and that I think is the main thing. The rest I will figure out along the way. Now my question is how do my blogger friends see my work on Pinterest? Oh well I believe all my questions will be answered as I go along.
So why do I do it?
I love a challenge. I love sharing my work with others. I love to hear my work is great . Then believe it or not I love hearing what I can do to improve my quality of work. Then last but not the least I love getting to know other interesting people and maybe one day have the pleasure in meeting some of them.
THAT IS WHY I DO IT…
I took all the photo’s above approximately 50 – 100m from our house on a field were Trucks stop at night.
During the 2010 Soccer World Cup held here in South Africa my hubby sent me and the boys on our own World Cup Tour. Together with my parents we visited allot of little towns. These photo’s was taken on the first part of our tour. We were away from home for 5 weeks and I never took less than 500 photo’s a day. Some days I took over 1500 photo’s. Add that all up and you get to many to count haha. I am still busy editing my World Cup Tour photo’s as I have a spare minute here and there.
When I am finished with all the photo’s and gathered all my notes and pamphlets I want to start writing a series of blogs on the different towns and places we visited on our tour. Luckily my memory is very good and as I go through my photo’s I can remember to the T what happened. That is the best part of capturing your holidays with thousands and thousands of photo’s…
Well as you all know my outing last Monday ended up to be an all day event with the car braking down on our way back home… Needless to say I am still without a car and starting to get a bit frustrated and it feels like I am trapped indoors.
So to try and relieve my frustration a bit this morning I grabbed my camera and walked to the field about 200m may be less from our house to see what it had to offer.
This was the first of many more beautiful surprises the field around the corner had in store for me. A Cape Wagtail in a puddle of water. If you look closely at the leg in the air,it seems to me the foot part is missing? I tried to look at the other photo’s but on most of the both legs are in the water.
I love to photograph Churches and old buildings. This is one of the Churches in Piketberg. What a lovely building. When I edited it this morning there was no doubt in my mind that this would be my photo of the day. Tomorrow I am going to grab my camera and go to the nearest field and see what I can capture.
I took this photo of hubby on the SAPS Cycle Tour. Finally getting time to start editing the tour again.
He had his eye on the top of the hill or was he looking at me? Does not matter I just love this photo.
All the above photo’s was taken during the Whale Festival in Hermanus on the Fernkloof Nature Reserve’s Cliff Path. I used my Canon 500D and can’t wait to use my 7D.
Here are a few photo’s I took early morning on day three of the SAPS Cycle Tour in May 2012.
Well at long last I started editing the SAPS Cycle Tour of May again. I got so busy with my photo shoots and events that I had to push the cycle tour aside. These photo’s was taken on day 3 of the cycle tour on route to Piketberg.
I took this photo on our way to a lookout point. It was a circle route and the same rock formation keep changing. I will post them all in sequence as soon as I have finished editing the Potsberg/ West Coast National Park outing.
I call this specific one It’s me, It’s me okay It’s not me….. It looks like a finger pointing up but someone broke the finger…
This will be the first time that I will join in on Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post challenge.
Mornings are the most peaceful time of the day. What better way than to be woken up by the singing of birds at your window with dawn breaking…
Even when it is cold and raining there is nothing more beautiful than the different colours in the sky as dawn breaks. I took the following photo’s Easter Weekend one morning while Hubby, my friend and my youngest went for a jog. Haha jogging not for me. I’ll rather walk and exercise my finger on the shutter button.
The following photo’s I took one morning at Alpine Heath in the Drakensberg during our holiday there in July 2012. What a lovely sight it was. I was clicking away did not want to miss a second of the lovely dawn breaking….
First of all let me start by telling you I am not a writer, I wish I was then I could express myself even better. Please look past the tenses and the wrong word order. But when I saw this challenge I wanted to share some of my memories of my loving Grandmother Lenie and our special apron.
Since I was a little girl I can remember loving this apron. Grandmother came to visit us every second week and she would always put on the moon and stars apron when she made her famous Curry meatballs and pancakes. Ooh how I loved those Curry meatball’s…. I’ve tried making them but Grandmother never wrote down her recipe…. While she was waiting for the meatballs to finish I would usually sit on her lap and we would count the stars and the moons but never finished there was just too many for us to count. Grandmother then always told me that our love for each other are like the stars and moons to much to count…
Something else I remember about Grandmothers visits is she loved sitting at the dining room table after lunch and we talked for hours then we would start eating the left over potatoes. Grandmother loved potatoes, I think I inherited my love for potatoes from her.
Sometimes after lunch and we washed all the dishes and the kitchen is neat we would go for a walk. Not far just to admire the gardens in the neighborhood, Grandmother loved flowers another thing we had in common. I must admit thinking about it now I inherited a few good qualities from my Grandmother. Now I must just get that Curry Meatball recipe right.
When I went to high school I had ballet classes on a Monday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon at a school nearby the retirement home my grandmother stayed in. So every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday I would hurry to grandmothers little flat. Welcomed by the smell of freshly baked pancakes or “Vetkoek” ( Vetkoek literally means “fat cake”. It is similarly shaped to a doughnut (jam filled, no hole) and is made from flour, salt and yeast. Dough is rolled into a ball then deep fried. It is commonly eaten with butter or filled with jam or a more savory filling.) OOh and how can I forget the tea. Grandmother made the most divine tea and she did not believe in mugs. You get your tea in a proper porcelain cup with a saucer. She always boiled the milk and she never made your tea with cold milk. Boiled milk do make tea taste so much better but to be honest I am to lazy to boil my milk for a cup of tea I use it straight from the milk carton. After reliving my time with Grandmother I think I must start drinking my tea as my Grandmother taught me…
Ha Ha my Grandmother hardly got angry with me but when I met my husband in grade 10 I had this thing in my head that I must loose some weight. Grandmother got furious with me when I told her she don’t need to bake me pancakes and Vetkoek anymore I need to go on a diet. Jeezzz I’ll never forget that day. She told me in her “angry” voice. “Coreen eat while you can because there will come a time in your life that you won’t be able to eat anything.” At that stage I did not really know what she meant. I did promise her that day that I would never go on a diet were I deprive myself from food or drink pills. I stuck to my promise to her. I did go on a view healthy eating sprees but I never deprived myself of anything.
At age 30 when I got diagnosed with High blood pressure and Cholesterol I only really realized what she meant that day. Later at age 35 I got diagnosed with cluster migraines and yet again I thought of Grandmothers words that afternoon. My grandmother was a very wise woman and I loved her very much still do…
Then one Monday afternoon my parents came to fetch me at school. I had a gut feeling something is not right…. On our way home my parents were quiet and when we got home they made sure I ate something and then they sat me down and told me that they the retirement home phoned. They found grandmother in her bed that morning. She was reading a magazine when she went to a better place… I cried for days…
When my parents went to clean out her flat they found a paper bag addressed to me. Inside was “our” apron and a note was stuck on it with sticky tape. Grandmother was Afrikaans so I am going to try and translate it. “Coreen’s apron with so much love as the moon and stars so is our love for each other. Grandmother Lenie”
I always kept the apron in the Show Cabinet I inherited from Grandmother also. But one day I decided that it’s hidden there and no one see’s it I need to showcase it. Then one day I tried to make Grandmothers Curry meatballs I took it out of the cabinet for some inspiration. Afraid I was going to spill some curry on it I took a frame and fold the apron neatly so it would fit nicely inside, I took the note and a old photo I had of my Grandmother and also put it in the frame. Grandmother and “our” apron has a very special place in my kitchen. I put her against one of my cupboard doors so that she could watch over me while I am working in the kitchen.
Well there you have it one of my favorite things.
Thank you for the opportunity to tell you about my Grandmother.
Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.
Dalai Lama
“If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.” Robert Frost
“Happiness is a state of mind not what’s in your wallet.” Byron Pulsifer
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi
“If daily you feel a sense of gratitude for the blessings of this life it will be a cushion & buffer when challenges arise.” Rose W-T
“At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a wife, a friend, a child, or a parent.” Barbara Bush
“Flowers are those little colorful beacons of the sun from which we get sunshine when dark somber skies blanket our thoughts.” Dodinsky
The rock and water puddle’s are near and the Mountains are far on the other side.
The Flowers are near and the horizon of the ocean are far….
I have finished editing the Winter Champagne Breakfast at Bloemendal. Mrs South Africa Finalist Sunette Nieuwoudt organized this breakfast in aid of Little Fighters Cancer Trust and the guests had to bring along some baby products for the “Babies behind Bars” project.
At first I wanted to cover the whole breakfast in one posts but I decided against it. We had some very inspirational speakers and I wanted to write a story/article or what ever you would call it on each of them. I am not a born writer but I think with their websites and stories I can write a few sentences.
First on my list is the Little Fighters Cancer Trust .
Everyone is always talking about Breast Cancer awareness and how we must support CANSA. The next charity everybody always talks about is those for HIV/AIDS children. Never have I heard of a group that help in the fight against Childhood Cancer.
I am 38 years old and I am a mom with two healthy boys and I heard about Little Fighters Cancer Trust for the first time on 4 August 2012. Since then I wondered what I would do if one of my children was diagnosed with cancer? To be honest I don’t know….
I am so glad Mandie Erasmus one of the trust Administrators was one of the speakers at the breakfast. She handed out little gold ribbons and pamphlets and told us more about what Little Fighters Cancer Trust do. She also made us aware that there are different types of Childhood Cancer’s and that we should all go and have a look on the website of Little Fighters Cancer Trust for more information.
While she was talking to us they send around big green Piggy banks for donations. I just loved these Green Pigs. Maybe I must get myself one and do my bit for the Little Fighters Cancer Trust.
This morning I wanted to send Mandie some of the photo’s I took of her while she was giving her “speech” , but I only had the pamphlet she handed us. Now I am ashamed to say I only read the pamphlet and never went to have a look at the website…. until this morning.
It had me in tears. They do warn you that not all of the photo’s are nice to look at. I read the stories, looked at the photo’s and what did I pick up? 99% of the little fighters are smiling and some are even laughing… Oh My goodness …. My heart goes out to each and every family. I also realized that out there in the world there are thousands of children and their families in the same boat and how many of them here in South Africa knows about Little Fighters Cancer Trust? Well if I only heard of them now I don’t think it could be allot.
Did you know that there are 8 different types of Childhood Cancers? Well I did not know. Here are the links to the different types of Cancers and what the signs and symptoms is and also what to do.
Childhood Cancer is a much more bigger deal than what people think. According to studies it is responsible for more child deaths than Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS!!!! Shocking isn’t it? There are a bright side to the above 70% of all Childhood Cancers are 100% curable if diagnosed in time. So go read up and be aware of the symptoms.
The Little Fighters Cancer Trust try to relieve some of the heartache and difficulties faced by the affected families. They assist the families at home and at the hospital and try to make their stay at the hospital more bearable and comfortable. They treat the families as a unit and try to keep the families together in dignity. Little Fighters have a Bag of Hope Project and it is one of a kind here in South Africa. Each bag of hope costs around R450 each for the Child and the Mother that is a scary R900.
I copied the contents of the Bags of hope
The items in a Child’s Bag of Hope are as follows:
Items typically in a Mother’s Bag of Hope are:
For more information on Childhood Cancers and the different projects of The Little Fighters Cancer Trust please go visit their website at www.littlefighters.org.za
To show your support for Childhood Cancer wear a Gold Ribbon.
Today I decided to capture the Snowdrop in our garden.
I never knew that a Snowdrop is one of my Zodiac flowers. I’m a Capricorn and my Zodiac flowers are the Carnation and the Snowdrop.
I quoted the following information from the Floral & Hearty website.
“In January, the most commonly accepted birth flower is the Carnation. This familiar flower (often seen in red, white and pink) is well-suited for this time of year, as the word “carnation” elicits the idea of “incarnation” or “reincarnation”—birth and rebirth. It’s the ideal theme to kick off a New Year.
Another flower associated with Capricorns is the Snowdrop, or milk flower. The lesser-known has less of a blossom to it than the carnation; in fact, it resembles a hanging bulb shaded by three standalone petals in white. A delicate, romantic flower, the snowdrop effortlessly symbolizes delicateness and purity. True to its name, it survives easily and even flourishes in the winter months, even in snow.”
I used my MASSA +4 and +2 Close-up filters on my Canon EF-S 18 – 200mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS lens. I am really out of practice with my Macro photography but I will practice my Macro photography in the September/October School holidays.
I took photo’s from different angles just because I am allowed to. Enjoy.
