Team Up Thursday - Week 28 - UP

Hi Everyone - I do hope that you are all suitably impressed - I also hope that this is a new trend which becomes the norm again...
Mariette chose the theme this week - UP...and she aced it this week - Mariette I am so proud of you - You have grown photographically and crreatively since we started TUT...Also you are now taking pictures and then choosing a TUT theme from the picture - this means that you are starting to look at the world through TUT eyes, but not only for TUT i.e you are not relying on our weekly themes for inspiration - Well Done - If you don't normally visit Mariette's blog - do yourself a favour this week and pop by and see her achievements - She aced all the pictures ...Her picture can say more for itself then I can, so here it is ....

I took a picture of Romanni - our beautiful old german shepherd - I lay on the ground, looking UP at her....I think Mariette's picture interprets the theme a lot better then my picture does, but none the less, I am happy with my picture...I love the way that due to the angle - Romanni looks bigger then the house...

The picture is fitting - it depicts Romanni's huge love for our family and her hugely generous nature...
Well, folks that's it for this week - Well, you can't really expect to have the post on time and for it to be long - Can you now????
Pop over to Claire as well - her and Andrea are back - Guys you have been missed, but we are glad that you are back and hopefully it is to stay.....Remember, don't let life get in the way of TUT....Make TUT a part of your life....MMMMM - Me thinks I need to take some of my own advice...
Until next week, when we are doing the opposite of this week and going "DOWN"....Lots and lots of love...

Team Up Thursday - Week ??? - Colour

Hey, Hey - Still not quite making Thursday - will Saturday evening do?
I chose the theme this week..
I love Mariette's photo....the gold dust on the butterfly's wings is beautiful - She took the photo on an impromptu (If I recall correctly) trip that her and her family took to Strathon on Avon in February - Well done Mariette - Lovely interpretation of our theme..

My picture is of something that Kayla-Fern did for me about two years ago...Kayla-Fern loves writing little notes and drawing little pictures for us...

For me, this little treasure signifies that we are all able to add colour to our own lives....Just draw a picture and colour it in (Figuritively and literally)...The picture also symbolises love - and how important love is to us all - what is a child without love to and from his parents/what is a family without love for each other/what is a friend without love and lastly I am reminded of a quote that I once read - "The greatest thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother..."

To my children and my husband and my father and my family (near and far) and my friends (near and far) - I love you all - You all colour my world...Thank you

Other pictures that I like this week are...

This bright and chirpy little bird sits on a collegue's desk

I think he is just too precious - Do you think orange is a happy colour - I do, I think orange and yellow are both really cheerful colours

This colourful chair is in our reception area, unusual but nice...

Lots of love - Hope you all have a great weekend...

TUT - Having a Break

Hello....
We are having a break this week...Well Mariette is----She is in Australia with her hubby for the Australian Grand Prix....Lucky Fish - I hope you are having a fantastic time...I just had a sudden thought...It would have been so lovely if Mariette and Trev could have stopped over in Jo'burg to visit us on the way from the UK to Australia or one the way back - Mike says I am crazy - Jo'burg does not even feature on the journey...Geography clearly is not my strong point - Pity, it would have been lovely to see them.  Oh well...

The really exciting news of the week (I was told about it last week), is that my sister in law - Pam (all the way in America), has teamed up with her sister (Heidi) (all the way across the other side of the world in New Zealand) to do Team Up Thursdays....Well done guys, I look forward to seeing some stunning pictures from your areas of the world. 

A little bird also told me that Claire and Andrea are going to re-start again after their looooooooong break - Come on guys - You have been missed.

Wellll, It has been a pretty hectic couple of weeks - hence the late (make that very late blog posting in the last little while), I am thinking of changing TUT to TUW (Team Up Weekends...I promise that I do try to do the post by the end of Thursday - it is just that whole time/disorganised me issue...Oh well, hopefully I make up for my shortcomings in other ways.....AND if there are still people who come and visit, it means that it is worth the waith...

Thought I  would post some random fav photos.....So here goes...

Remember when we did animals, and I spoke about our two grey kittens (siblings) who grew into black cats, that hated each other - well just to prove me wrong here is a "loving" photo of Smokey and Misty...

I love this little bush pig - I was fortunate to actually go into his cage (there were two of them), they were very shy, but after a couple of minutes of sitting quitely, this one became quite curious and would nudge me and then scamper away....Very cute...
Anyway, that is my post for this week - I think we will still be on "break" next week as Mariette only gets back on Thursday, but I will try and do an update anyway, so see you next Thursday (Or Friday/or Saturday or - oh - well you get the message...) Love you all....

Team Up Thursday - Week 26 - I think - Clouds

Good Morning everyone - well yes, I think my head is definately in the clouds at the moment....To all those who tried to read my post on Thursday morning with morning coffee (America) and if you came back later on Thursday and or Friday or whenever - Sorry....We had Brad's prizegiving for sport and culture on Thursday evening (when I normally do my post) and by the time we had done that and gone out for a celebration dinner - It was late and when we got home, we just crashed....By the way we went to sleep as very proud parents - our son is achieving so well, it has taken lots and lots of work - but he is making it....

I actually want to concentrate a little bit this week on "TIME" - Someone once told me that the two things in the world that are infinite are the two things in the world that humans have the least of - TIME and SPACE - so true in my case on both

I sometimes feel guilty because there does not seem to be enough time to spend as much time as want with Brad and Kayla-Fern and there is never enough time to spend all the time I want with Mike.....and it seems even the time that I spend with the people I care about most is always compromised, because I am always thinking about other things that need to be in done in that time... How does everyone else manage???

The part that worries me most is that Brad and Kayla-Fern will be all grown up one day, then will not have time for Mike and I - I think of the words of the song by Cat Stevans (Cat's in the Cradle)....
1st Verse

A child arrived just the other day

He came to the world in the usual way

But there were planes to catch and bills to pay

He learned to walk while I was away

And he was talking before I knew and as he gre

He said, "I'm gonna be like you Dad

You know Im gonna be like you"

Chorus

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man in the monn

When you comin homd, Dad, I don't know when

But we'll get together then,

You know we'll have a good time then.

Last Verse

I've long since retired, my son's moved away

I called him up just the other day

I said "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"

He said "I'd love to Dad, if I could find the time

You see my new jobs a hassle and the kids have the flu

But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad

It's been sure nice talking to you..."

And as I hung up the phone, it occured to me

He'd grown up just like me,

My boy was just like me....

Makes you think doesn't it...

Anyway, our theme this week was clouds - chosen by Mariette.  I really enjoyed doing the theme - and took lots of pictures - we had storm clouds this week which made for some really dramatic pictures, this is the top of my shortlist of three: -

Mariette's picture is lovely: -

Compared to my picture, which is dramatic and "hard", Mariette's picture is somehow gentler, the clouds look soft and happy....

Here are my second choice picture and a picture Mike took in the early morning - flying in a microlight...

Well, that is my post for this week - Hope you enjoyed it

Lots of love



Oops - A Missing Word

OK, Sorry everbody - I missed out a word and lost the entire meaning of my last sentance - it shoud read that I believe "Peace is NOT the lack of trouble" - Makes more sense now doesn't it...What I mean is that we should not be looking for a troublefree existance, but rather try to find calm during the chaotic or troubled times in our lives....

Team Up Thursday - Week 24 - Buildings

It was my choice of theme this week.....
We both chose pictures of a church as our chosen picture...
I like Mariette's photo - that window is stunning and the slightly green tinged walls...Lovely - Well done..

You can see that the church is old, and that just adds to it''s beauty..Mariette says it is St Andrew's church in Great Billing and that it has peaceful gardens...
A friend of mine is going through a rough, negative patch and I was saying to her yesterday, that she needs to find something to "feed her soul" - I guess we all need to feed our souls and once we have done so, we feel restored and able to carry on with the challenges of life...Perhaps sitting in the gardens of a church is one way to do it...You would certainly be close to God and what better way to find peace.

My photo is also of a church (in fact most of my photos were)....There really is something tranquil and peaceful about churches especially old ones...I chose this picture because of it's prettiness...It may be a bit of a cheat because it is not a picture that I took this week...This church was up the road from where my mom was in hospital...I asked Mike to stop to take photos one Saturday afternoon after visiting hours, (it was our photo challenge Week 11 - Walls) because I had seen a very interesting wall from the street - see below...

We spent about an hour and a half just taking photos and enjoying the peace and tranquility..I wish that I could have taken my mom to see it...

My other favourite photo is also of a church - they say a picture speaks 1000 words and I think that this week all the pictures speak for themselves

So, I think that is my post for this week...I think that I am grateful this week that I believe that peace is the lack of troubles, but rather the ability to meet the troubles and deal with them with peace in our hearts...I hope that makes sense..

Team Up Thursday - Week 23 - New

OK OK....so it is Wednesday night and I am tossing up between doing a quick short blog (cos I am quite tired) and posting it tonight, and at least I am ahead of the game in my posting time...or do I do a longer more interesting blog tomorrow, as long as it is done by end of Thursday, it is ok isn't it.....Like I say I am tossing up between the lesser "cheat"....How about I start doing the post now, and when I get too tired, save it and carry on tomorrow - I think that is a win win situation...Just I don't think I will get a chance to do it during the day tomorrow...so it will be an evening post.
Mariette chose the theme this week - "NEW"....I remember when Claire and Andrea did NEW some months ago, they both took pics of new born babies...but clearly Mariette and I do not have any new born babies around...By the way Claire and Andrea, I think that you have had a long enough break - It is time to  come back to the party...
You can tell from Mariette's photo that they are going through a change of season...and I get the feeling she is pretty pleased about the beginning of Spring....There is so much that is "NEW" in Spring - Like I said last week Mariette, watch for those cute little new born lambs on your drive to work every morning...

I did not see anything this week that signified "new" to me... so I visited a "new" car show room - Kayla-Fern's absolute dream car is the Audi R8....

It is quite a beauty isn't it...It comes with a price tag of R2 million rand - I think I will collect one for each of us tommorrow....Puhlease....Even if I did have two million rand spare, I really don't think I would be rushing out to buy a motor car with it...
For me a vehicle needs to get me from A-B safely and comfortabley....My little R80 000 Hyndai does that perfectly well thank you...
Well, I think that is pretty much my post for this week...So until next time - Take care and lots of love to everybody and where ever you are in the world - this coming week....take time out every day, to say a quick thank you for everything you have - even if it is not a brand spanking new Audi R8 (Or anything else for the matter), the fact is, we all have more then we need (just never all that we want)....So we should be grateful for that...and look forward to trying to achieve out "want" list.....
Lots of love
Me