The Grapes of (W)rot(h)!

I have always fancied a grape vine bower. You know the kind of thing, a gnarled old vine wandering up and over a pergola, bunches of grapes ripening in the sunshine, a comfy couch to loll on in the shade beneath, and sun warmed grapes just a stretch away to feast on while the Kindle balances on one knee.

Yes, I had that picture clearly in my mind, so when we were planning the garden, I decided to plant a couple of vines against the courtyard wall, so that they could climb up a very natty wooden rail that Rob made, and shade part of the courtyard, enabling us to set up a couch/garden table and chairs/ice bucket and glasses/books and cushions etc. A very good idea in principle, but it was impossible to dig holes exactly where I wanted them, so the holes were dug where I could get the spade in more than 10 cms. And in went the vines to be tended and watered and trained to climb in the right direction. One died soon after and the other one battled on against the wind.

Happy Valentine's Week!

No, I really did mean Valentine Week!

I happened to Google ‘Valentine’s Day’ and came up with a complete week of celebration! When on earth did that happen?
Have a look below:

Rose Day  (Valentine Week – Day 1 | Celebrated on 7 February) This is obviously the day that a fortune is spent on a bunch of long-stemmed roses! Red of course. If the red are sold out or you need to take out a mortgage to pay for them, then pink will do!

Propose Day  (Valentine Week – Day 2 | Celebrated on 8 February) If she/he likes the roses, then it appears that a proposal follows today! On one knee of course! If the answer is ‘no’, then skip to 15th February!

Chocolate Day  (Valentine Week – Day 3 | Celebrated on 9 February) Here you can hide the ring in a box of chocolates and hope that she/he doesn’t: a) swallow it because a teeny diamond is all that is affordable these days or b) hate chocolates and gives the box to a friend!

Teddy Bear Day  (Valentine Week – Day 4 | Celebrated on 10 February) If b) (see above) happened, then you will need to buy a teddy bear and attach another ring, or in the case of a) attach a promissory note to re-do the ring thing once she/he has re-cycled it!

Promise Day  (Valentine Week – Day 5 | Celebrated on 11 February) See above, or promise never to buy chocolates again.

Kiss Day  (Valentine Week – Day 6 | Celebrated on 12 February) This is a freebie day as it costs you nothing…………………in theory! But is it only one kiss, or is it a day of kissing? Could be tiring with all that puckering going on!

Hug Day  (Valentine Week – Day 7 | Celebrated on 13 February) See Day 6 above! Without the puckering!

Valentine’s Day  (Celebrated on 14 February) What is left? Just hand over a card! And of course a dinner with all the trimmings!

No-one is really sure of the origin of Valentine’s Day, but it was celebrated as far back as the 1600’s in the UK. From 1750 the tradition of sending notes and cards and chocolates and flowers started, but that was celebrated on one day only and that’s how I have always thought of it.

It just shows you how out of date I really am!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A Collector by any other Name!

I like to think of myself as a Collector.

A serious collector of Memorabilia, or as my children would say, 'a hoarder of junk!' I love 'olde worlde' things and our kitchen is a showcase of days gone by!! (Except the things that really matter, like a stove, fridge, freezer, hot water, microwave, washing machine...............)

My favourite things are coffee or tea pots and old enamel jugs and bowls and various kitchen gadgets. Rob collects old wireless sets, so between us we never leave an Antique (aka junk) Shop empty-handed.

And we both love tins!

Tins above and an old radio below.

A Snake got in the Way!

Do you ever get those days where you plan to do something and then something else happens and things change? We had one of those days today! We decided to pull Gemsquash out for a bit of a wash and brush-up as we are heading off next week for a few days to give Alfie a bit of a break.

So, as we were busy outside (well Rob was busy, I was faffing about), a Traffic Police car slowly drove by and we waved and he stopped for a chat. Interestingly, it was the same officer that I spoke to yesterday in town, begging him to come and trap on our road! Anyway, as we were talking, he suddenly said 'Haai, daar's a slang in die pad!' ('Hey, there's a snake in the road') and said a hasty goodbye. And there was. A long yellow/green Cape Cobra was quietly making its way across the road and along the bottom of our neighbour's wall! Towards our house!

It saw me and I stamped my feet a few times, don't ask me why, to let it know that I was there and not happy about the direction he was moving, I think. Anyway, to cut a long story a little shorter, the snake finally wove its way into their garden and ended up behind a large bush next to the wall.

The bush where it ended up!