I can't believe it!
It is snowing in Vancouver right now!
Big white fluffy flakes that are sticking to the ground!
I did not bring shoes for this.
My visit here has been good so far. I watched the Oscars with Shannon at her Mom's house. We were very disappointed and thought they were boring. We had a successful clothing swap and a great night downtown for dinner and drinks. Only a few days left!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Snow!!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Kids
Oooh the cute little kids!
There was a parade just after New Years with tons of different marching bands. They all had little kids dressed up too.
We did a township tour in Cape Town. We stopped to see some local business' and were quickly surrounded my little kids.
This little guy attached himself to Suds. I don't remember exactly what he was saying, but it was something along the lines of "pick me" or "take me" because I was joking that he must have heard about Madonna and Angelina!
Craft Markets
One way for the local people to make some money is by making and selling crafts.
You could find wooden hippos everywhere! They were of hugely differing quality though, so you had to be careful. Of course we came home with one. Unfortunetly we bought ours after the wine tour. Coming home and unwrapping it I wasn't as happy with it as I remembered. Oh well!
Suds with a feather duster hat.
Another popular item was drums. We did not come home with one of these, thankfully!
Bo Kaap, Cape Town
This a a very colorful neighborhood in Cape Town called Bo Kaap.
It is where Muslims have traditionally lived. Many still live here today.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Heading to Vancouver
I know everyone (including me) is getting bored with the African posts. They are nearing the end, I swear! Just a few more...
Soon I will have some Vancouver posts! We leave for Vancouver today. Suds only has 37 hours, but I will be there for a week.
See you soon!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Caving
We went Adventure Caving outside of Oudtshoorn. It was wild! The formations were spectacular. They grow incredibly slowly, which makes them all the more amazing.
The tour took about 2 hours
I really meant it when I said adventure!
There were parts like this we had to belly crawl thru. I was wearing new shorts and was not impressed that they might get covered with slime and mud.
This part was called the Mailbox. We had to pull ourselves up thru a tight chamber then crawl along for a couple feet. Then push our feet thru an opening only 12 inches high and drop down to the cavern below. (not Suds in the picture)
Parts were scary but overall it was really neat!
Stellenbosch
Just after Christmas Suds and I went on a tour in Stellenbosch, the local wine country. We wisely chose to go on a tour and not drive ourselves. Our group was great! There were 7 of us and Gudrun the guide. Gudrun was a real wine lover. She took us to 5 boutique wineries
This first one had stunning grounds, but we weren't too impressed with the wine.
It was so beautiful here I almost had Suds convinced to get re-married here :)
Lunch time! Our lunch took forever! By the time the food came we are all hammered, after all our tastings plus another bottle added in while we waited
The last winery of the day. Was it just us, or was the wine getting better and better at every winery?
This is the oldest general store in Stellenbosch. Basically a tourist attraction that sucked us in!
We got back into Stellenbosch late afternoon in time for some shopping. Then it was dinner time. We found a great restaurant called d'Ouwe Werf.
www.ouwewerf.com
We had that little private table for 2 behind me. It was so romantic!
A few days later we headed back to the same area to explore Franschoek.
Lots of gorgeous Cape Dutch architecture.
A view down into the valley
Monday, February 19, 2007
Random Cape Town pics
Our very first day in Cape Town.
It was so windy! The beach became unbearable with all that sand whipping at you.
Just a few days later the weather changed and it got cold! Not good since I only packed one light sweater! Thankfully it changed back to summer after a couple of days!
On Christmas Eve Suds and I were picking up some supplies for dinner when we saw an elf walking to his car!
This is where we stayed for a few days on Long Street in downtown Cape Town. Don't let that brightly coloured exterior fool you! This place was a dump! It was so bad that I packed up all our stuff in plastic shopping bags and switched hostels while Suds was at work! I couldn't take it any more! It was called Blue Mountain Backpackers. Never stay there.
Breakfast one morning down the street from our hostel.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
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Materials you will need for the paper plate pig are
8 paper plates (either dinner size or dessert size),
egg carton cup or empty cream container (nose)
2 tp rolls for dessert size plates or 4 tp rolls for dinner size (legs),
scissors,
tape or glue,
piece of pink paper (or white paper coloring pink),
pink paint and black paint or marker.
OPTIONAL: googly eyes and a pipecleaner.
If you don't have pink paint, cut up 1 inch (ish) squares of pink construction paper or tissue paper and glue those to the paper plates (like mod podging) instead of painting.
Paint the bottom of the paper plates, egg carton cups and tp rolls pink and let dry.Kaitlyn (Age "almost 3" at the time *sob*) had loads of fun painting plates and tp rolls pink and gluing them together.I ended up doing the nose, mouth, tail and legs.
Split your plates into sets of two.
Glue each set of two together rim to rim (TOP to TOP).
Glue the bottoms of the 4 sets together so you have a stack of paper plates (see photo). The top plate in the stack will be the face.If you're using 2 tp rolls, cut them in half. If you're using 4 tp rolls, look at the dimensions and trim them down a bit if you want to (so the legs are proportionate with the pig).
Fold your pink paper in half and cut out a triangle (you'll end up with two identical ears). Glue or tape these to the back of the top set of plates. (If you want to get really fancy, you can sandwich the ears between the plates when you're gluing them together rim to rim).
Draw/paint black nostrils onto the egg cup and glue it to the face.
Draw/paint black eyes onto the pig, attach googly eyes, or draw eyes on white paper and glue them on.
Draw/paint a black mouth onto the pig or draw a mouth on white paper and glue it on.
Once everything is completely dry, squish the top of the tp rolls and slide them between the plates to make 4 legs. Tape or glue.
Twist a pipecleaner into a piggy tail and poke it through the back plate (use a sharp pencil to make a small starter hole) or take a circle of pink paper and cut it in a spiral and glue it to the back plate.
***I found this while looking for New Year stuff. It is SO cute, I am tempted to make it myself!!***
Year of the Pig
Kung Hei Fat Choy!!!
The Lunar New Year is February 18th this year. It sounds like it will be a good year. Read on to learn more....
A year of goodwill to all. An excellent climate for business, and industry in general will prevail. People will be more free and easy on the whole and the complaisant attitude of the Pig will generate a feeling of abundance.
The Pig's year is one of plenty. La dolce vita is very much advocated and practiced by the sensual Pig. If life is worth living, it must be lived to the hilt. Such is his motto. The Pig is as lavish with gifts as he is with affection. He takes pride in being chivalrous and extravagant. It would be ill-advised to overspend this year of make sizable investments without thorough investigation. We may also come to regret impulsive acts of generosity made on the spur of the moment.
The fortunate Pig carries with him contentment and security. This is one year in which you could be happy without having or needing a lot of success or money to make it so. There will not seem to be many hurdles to overcome and the placid Pig radiates a sense of well-being. Still, a great deal of prudence is recommended in money matters, as the Pig is always susceptible to swindlers.
This year will find us entertaining a lot more than usual and getting ourselves involved in all sorts of charitable and social functions. We find it a lot easier to make friends in the Pig's tolerant and expansive atmosphere.
Watch out for excesses, though, as the Pig tends to overindulge himself in anything when given the opportunity. Weight watchers will have a tough time and may face losing (or rather, gaining) battles.
If you were born in 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983 or 1995 - you were born under the sign of the pig. Like the pig, you are highly regarded for your chilvary and pureness of heart, and you often make friends for life. For pigs in 2007, any recent setbacks or obstacles can be overcome so look forward to a year in which to really shine, either personally or professionally.Locally in Hong Kong there has been a mad rush to get married before the new year begins. It seems the year of the Pig is no good for marriage, but is a good year for babies...funny....
Friday, February 16, 2007
Leopard in Kruger
Do you see anything in the tree?
You have probably heard about the Big Five to watch for on safari. I thought that referred to the coolest animals to see and was disappointed when I discovered that one of the Big Ones is buffalo.
The Big Five refers to the 5 most dangerous animals to a hunter. They are Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino.
We had seen all but leopard and were nearing the end of our trip with only a self guided safari in Kruger left. It was summer in SA which means that all the trees and vegetation are at their fullest. This gives lots of coverage and hiding spaces for the animals. In winter it is much easier to see them.
We didn't have much hope of spotting the elusive leopard on our own.
But what do you know?
Within 2 hours of being in Kruger we could check all 5 off our list, including the leopard!
He was panting because it was so hot and when he panted his whole body moved with each breath. It was so cute to see his dangling feet swaying a little with each intake and exhale of breath.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Happy Valentine's Day
Hope everyone has a nice Valentine's Day!
Suds and I had a great dinner in Soho.
And if not, you can always buy 50% off chocolate the day after. And if you are going to binge, do it properly. Splurge on Purdy's or Rocky Mountain. The crappy stuff isn't worth the calories!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
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