TUTT(+1) - Week 44 - Cycle

Pam's choice of theme this week - her picture up first...

Pam - How did I not guess or know that you were going to use the theme to showcase your new baby chicks that you have been talking about for weeks...I actually think I did wander how you would incorporate baby chicks into the theme....But my mind did not go to where yours so cleverly went...Sorry a slow week for me...

Mariette's picture next:-

Once again a lovely picture - Mariette you really do, do the "small part" or "less is more" type photo really well...I am so proud of you and I really like your photo this week - pop across to Mariette's blog and check out her other pictures this week - she says that she took LOADS of photos this week - a sure sign that she enjoyed the theme - Well Done

Claire - aced it this week...

She did cycle of life - specifically depicting motherhood...Claire's stepdaughter is 33 weeks pregnant with her first baby, so she was an ideal model for this weeks theme - Funny how the cycle works from babyhood - when you worry about is your baby too cold too hot, hungry/thirsty etc through the toddler stage, first day at school, leaving school through to where Claire finds herself with her own daughter - wanting to spread little wings and find their own place in the world...that is the way cycles work Claire....each phase with us for just  a short period of time and it seems like it all happens in the blink of an eye...Our relationships with our daughters are constantly changing and evolving, and that is the Cycle of Life....

Good luck to Kay on the arrival of your little bundle of joy in the next few weeks....and just remember to enjoy and treasure every moment - this is not advice that you will always find easy to take (none of us treasure each moment the way we know we should - well at least I know that I don't)....but really our children are little and dependant for such a short period of time..

Next to my talented TUTT(+1) friends...I really felt that my picture this week was quite boring....

It was actually my second best picture of the week...It is an ice cream bicycle - which I am fairly certain my ex-South African partners do not see in their new homes in Wales, England and America...So I hope I bought some fond childhood memories of long lazy summer days in SA...and I hope you went "AHHHHH" and smiled softly...I actually love this photo because it is a visual indication that summer is nearly here - Yay -to the end of winter...

My first photo should have been this:-

Ok, I know that you really can not see it clearly, so I will explain it...We had an outside braai (another summer thing) at Homestead Dam...We were sitting chatting and this older guy rode past on a UNICYCLE...I sat and chatted on and then some half an hour later he rode back - perfectly balancing along the bumpy track...Once he had past us...I shouted to Mike "That is a UNICYCLE - I need a picture" - grabbed my camera and ran, but alas he was already too far away..so I had to find an alternative...I actuallycropped this out of my chosen picture - so you see compared to what I should have had....my picture this week is pretty boring...I could say that I was a complete IDIOT, but I instead I am going to blame it on the sun and outdoors and lazy Saturday afternoon in the company of good food and good friends.....

Anyway, that is it from me for this week...I have chosen next week's theme...Should be interesting to see how we FACE the challenge...Lots of love

Best of the Year....

Today - 19th August - Mariette and I have been doing TUT for a year....We have not done 52  posts, because we have had some weeks break in between...BUT STILL - A YEAR ----- I think that is an achievement worth commerating....
I had suggested doing a commerative post, before we became the blogging SPCA...then it would have been a case of Mariette choosing one of my photo's and her choosing one of mine...But with our special, lovely and talented little puppies we devised a different plan - We electronically "CHING/CHONG/CHA'ed" for who would choose whose picture...
I got to choose a picture off Pam's blog - It could be any picture...and it did not have to be the best technical photograph - It could be the most meaningful photo...BUT the rule was that we can only have one favourite photo....
When I went through Pam's blog - it was really tough to choose one picture only. I love so many of her pictures and each and every one has a special story told in a unique and special Pam way....but the rule was only one photo could be chosen....
After much deliberation - I thought that I knew exactly which photo I was going to choose - I loved Pam's take on Pink, which she had written a message to her sister (Miss you, Stinks) on a pad with a pink pen - I loved the meaning and the message and it was just so Pam....So until last week...that was my chosen picture...but then Pam blew me away with her self portrait...

I love this photo - not only because it is (I think) a great photo photographically...BUT also because it is "Pam"....I love that she included Mark, her marriage  and her children as part of her essence ...I also love the addition of the greenery (sorry Pam - don't know the real name) - It just shows her classicness and her love for simplicity and colour and flowers and the great outdoors - I truely think she outdid herself with this one...
I have loved being on this journey, first with Mariette - It has bought Mariette and I closer then we ever were, I have watched Mariette grow in leaps and bounds as a photographer....and I have loved the creative outlet it has provided for me.
I am also loving having Pam and Claire with us....It has added a different element to the challenges each week and Mariette and I can learn so much from both of these talented photographers.  It never ceases to amaze me, how we all do the same theme each week and we all  interpret it differently...
The other bloggers each chose from someone elses blog - so pop across to them all to see who has liked what...
Well, South Africa is still fairly cold...although the days are warming up quite nicely, it is still cold at night and our study is one of the coldest places in SA...so my feet feel like ice blocks and my finger tips have frost bite...so before I succumb to hypothermia - I am going to call it a night and pop along to bed, so until next week ...Lots of love

P.S. - I know that it is still half an hour to go to Friday here, and that we are the first to reach Friday...But ----- Oh well - this early post will make up for all the late posts in the past and in the future....

TUTT (+1) - Week 44 - Horses

It was Mariette's suggestion this week - and it turned out to be a lovely theme...
Mariette took photos of what she thinks is gypsey horses...Her photo shows a shy, gentle soul - Lovely...

Claire - was supposed to do a horse photo shoot on Monday - how convenient would that have been - but due to inclement weather...the photo shoot was cancelled and she rushed out today (in the pouring rain) to take this beautiful picture..

Pam (who is the horsiest amongst the four of us - the rest of us admit to varying degrees of afraidness)...said she had hundreds of photos to choose from - but that is not the point so she specifically went and took photos for this challenge - Well done Pam...A very different picture - for a lovely head shot - you will have to gallop over to Pam's blog...

Kayla-Fern has been horse riding since she was about four years old - I do believe that passions like horse riding or music are inherent... Mike and I have never done anything to sway Brad and Kayla-Fern's interests one way or another and Kayla-Fern is absolutely passionate about horses (Brad's passion is cricket)...Aunty Pam may have had some influence with Kayla-Fern at some stage, but I believe the passion was already there - waiting to be nurtured... I must admit to being a little scared of horses - they are just so big....
On Saturday, I took Kayla-Fern for her horseriding lesson and I took my camera with - Ideal opportunity, don't you think...Kayla-Fern was helping one of the other kids, by holding the horse, when the horse clumsily put his front foot down on Kayla-Fern's foot....Kayla-Fern screamed "Mommy, help -" - In my panic I grabbed Kayla-Fern and tried to wrench her from underneath the horses foot....HAHA...It seemed like I was pulling and tugging my crying child for an eternity...I guess it was really a couple of minutes...then a horse person rushed over and gently shouldered the horse off her foot - fortunately there was no real damage and Kayla-Fern was able to do her lesson and I took my photos...
Here is my chosen photo, chosen becacuse I love the "Less is More" element....

Some other pictures.....

Well, that is about me for tonight - It is still Thursday (only Just) so I did my post on time this week - Tomorrow is a special day....so we are celebrating with a special post - pop back and see what we are doing - We are still waiting for Pam to give us our theme for next week - but knowing Pam it will be fun (and challenging) and seeing how we are alldoing at the moment, I have no doubt that we will rise to the challenge and take some stunning pictures once again ...LOTS OF LOVE...

TUTT(+1) - Week 43 - Self Portrait

Because Claire was our newest member (and when she joined we already had a theme) - she had the honour of choosing a theme this week - SELF PORTRAIT......Gulp - I think this theme was tough on us all, (most of the time women feel awkward in front of the camera....)But what the heck Claire had chosen the theme and we had to do the best we could with it....

I am not sure who is more camera shy between Mariette and I....She thinks that I  pip her and I think that she pips me...But in any event, she took a lovely simple picture sitting on her couch, in her favourite black top with her Basset Hound on her lap...

I had Kayla-Fern's help (Thanks, angel-face)....I wore a lovely newly purchased top which I got on sale (winter sales are on here - means summer is close YAY) for R90-00 less 25% - that sure works for me....I think if I had to state what kind of style I follow - I think that "romantic gypsey" would be my description...this top sure is that...I know I am not smiling in this picture - I always think pictures of me where I am smiling look posed and cheesy - so this is an "accurate" picture of me...

Claire's photo is very clever - a real self portrait showing Claire doing one of the things she loves the most.....Claire had a really emotional week - I thought my week was bad last week, until I heard a bit about her week...(we need to talk my friend and soon), so she did not actually take a photo (in fact I doubt if she even picked up her camera)...she used one that she had taken before....





I love Pam's photo this week - Pam took a photo of a photo of herself her black horse - Johnny Walker Black..then she added her wedding band and little buttons of R and A for Ryan and April - She said that all three elements (the horse, the wedding band and the buttons) make up part of her essence...Yes, Pam those things are all you....But the photo also tells me about your love of flowers or all things green....The flowers also symbolise the country and the outdoors AND your love for simple pretty things...Your picture this week tells a real Pam story...

Here are some more (rare) photos of me - taken only because I had the camera out anyway....

Well, that is pretty much me this week - it was an interesting week - and along with Self Portrait came lots of self searching and analysing - I was originally tempted to paste a picture of some beautiful woman onto a paper bag and put that over my head for my self portrait, but that would not really have been right...and when I thought about who I would choose as the picture - I realised that I do not want to be anyone else but me and to all my TUT(+1) partners - remember we are all beautiful - no-one has the right to tell us anything different....And I hope that we are all learning that lesson and passing it on to our daughters......

Next week (Mariette chose the theme) and we will be "horsing" around....Do hop along to Mariette's/Claire's and Pam's blogs sometime on the weekend - it is always fun to read what other people have to say on the same topic....

Team Up Thursday Trio +1 -Week 42 - Transport

I am so glad that this week is over - it was tough....Sorry my blog is late, .....
First and foremost - A very big welcome to Claire...Clarie is my longest standing friend who lives with her family in Wales....she was doing TUT with Andrea...who had Baby Elizabeth in June (I think) and TUT has been difficult for Andrea, what with Elizabeth making six in the family....So Claire makes four for us....
My theme this week was "Transport" chosen simply because, we had been to a Steam Train open day a couple of weeks ago and I had some lovely pictures ...
Like Pam, I had been carrying my camera with me this week ...We drive past the airport on our way to and from work...And I really wanted to capture a plane taking off or coming in to land - you know the kind of picture I wanted - sort of suspended between Heaven and Earth, with dusty horizon or sunset in the background  - The trouble with most of the "transport" I see, is that it is generally whilst I am being transported or transporting to or from wherever and motion makes for a very blurry pictures...So I am afraid - steam trains are all you will get from me this week...
I chose my picture because I liked the way the suns rays shine across the picture - I am not sure if this makes it a good or a bad photo - But it spoke to me...

Claire also chose steam trains - the miniature ride on variety and she makes the point (that TUTT made a few weeks ago) about boys and their toys....If you actually think about it - women think of it as TRANSPORT - Men think of it as TOYS - cars, boats, trains, motor bikes ...A lovely photo Claire - it captures the essence of the event and the person beautifully...

Poor Pam, drove around the whole week with her camera - expecting transport to happen...and transport avoided her all week....so on Tuesday - (circumstancially at the last minute - although by no means her fault) she ended up taking a picture of part of a one of two two-wheel horse carriages that sit in her back yard...Anyone who knows Pam, knows that horses are a love and a passion - so at this stage I guess having two horse carriages, makes up in some small measure about the lack of a horse or two or five - Don't worry Pam - I know that in time the horses will come to complete the picture...

Mariette's picture blew me away - it was not taken this week - but just fitted our theme so beautifully that Mariette asked if she could use it even though it was an old picture - It was taken about three years ago in Venice - I love the hustle and bustle in the picture and the colours are beautiful and subdued - like a watercolour painting - your words back to you Mariette - "YOU aced it" this week (well three years ago)..

All in all, I think we all took lovely pictures of our theme...Well done - I am loving the pictures and the  stories that we are telling around our TUTT(+1) pictures...It is wonderful to see how Mariette and I are jelling with our blogging strays...I am having FUN...
As I said it was tough week - no particular reason except that someone in my family is going through a torrid time and is being terribley oversensitive about lots of issues - Being oversensitive is my domain and I am not finding it easy to move aside, so someone else can try out that seat for a bit - But at the same time I have realised how difficult we make our own lives and everyone else's when we take things too personally... Interesting, how you can never actually tell someone what their actions/emotions do, but let them experience it...and their eyes open very quickly....
We have a challenging theme next week - Thanks Claire ... :-) ... we all agree that we love being behind the camera - but in front of it - well that is another story altogether...Wish us luck ---- Lots of love....

Team Up Thursday Trio - Week 41 - July

Pam chose the theme this week - It was very interesting to see what July meant to three different girls in three different parts of the world....
As soon as Mike heard the theme - he made a totally whacky, out of the box suggestion, which I absolutely loved, so my chosen picture is this....Very, very obscure but oh so clever - so thank you Mike for the suggestion and thank you Kayla-Fern once again for being my "model"....

If you can not see what it is ...I have told you in the comments section....

Pam chose a picture of .... a fried egg on the sidewalk - which just sums up how HOT she is so beautifully....



Mariette chose a picture of Maxine that encapsulates what July has meant for her .... all about Maxine...Mariette chose this picture over the others because it is a rare moment of Maxine sitting still and she looks so content and peaceful...(You need to go and read Mariette's posting this week...to see how "all about Maxine" Mariette really is - It is a beautiful post Mariette and it highlights how much you love your daughter, how proud you are of how far she has come and how concerned you are for her future and the bearing that the choices you make for her now will have on her in the future....Your final phrase sums it up - "Must be doing something right" - you are...and don't lose sight of that fact for too long...

Did you notice that on Mariette and Pam's side of the world it is hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk (or at least warm enough to swim)...where I am it is freezing - we have just been hit by another cold spell...

This picture was taken on the way to work yesterday morning - just kidding - it only snows in Jo'burg every twenty or so years...this picture was taken in Queenstown which is in SA (somewhere), but nowhere near where I am...



I was telling Pam on the weekend (on Skype) how sick and tired I am of the cold weather and I could feel her chuckling and saying "Really, Linda, Really..." - I know that we are pretty lucky her..we have about three months of winter (and most of it is pretty mild) and for the most part the rest of the year is glorious - lovely warm, (hot), sunny, outdoor weather...I know that Mariette and Pam suffer with much longer and colder (not to mention darker) winters....but still - I do not like the cold and for this year it has gone on long enough for me...and in my next life I am coming back as a bear, so that I can hibernate all winter....There are other benefits to being a bear - you are allowed to act like a bear with a sore head whenever you want, Lady Bears are expected to have hairy legs (Yeow...), And bears can eat whatever they like and be as fat as they like - in fact the fattest bears are the sexiest and healthiest - yip - a bear certainly has it good all roound.
Because my birthday is in July - I was also interested to find out who else's birthday fell in this month: -
Princess Diana - who can forget the beuatiful fairytale tragic princess - she would have been fifty this year/Kelly McGillis (54) and Tom Cruise (49) - who can remember them in Top Gun (1986)/John D Rockerfeller - I always think of him as the richest man in the world - although by today's standards he probably isn't/Emily Bronte - authoress of Wuthering Heights and last but not least, South Africa's biggest icon Nelson Mandela .... Seems I share the month with some pretty amazing people.

Finally I found this kind of interesting - I hope you do too....
This year July has five Fridays, five Saturdays and five Sundays...2011 is the only time any of us will ever see this, since this only happens every 823 years.
I know that this next information should have been in our "NUMBER's" week, but it is interesting: -
This year we are going to experience four unusual dates:-
1/1/11, 1/11/11,11/1/11, 11/11/11 - and that's not all....
Take the last two digits of the year in which you were born - now add the age you will be this year,
The results will be 111 for everyone in the whole world.  Fascinating - I would love to know who has the time and the mental capacity to work these kind of things out...

Well, that's it from me this week - so until next week, when we are looking at how we get from place to place..... If you are in the Southern hemisphere - Keep warm - If you are in the Northern Hemisphere - Lucky you ...Lots of love

Team Up Thursday Trio - Week 40 - Toys

So now from a partnership we have a trioship...Mariette’s choice this week was “TOYS’...

Mariette’s picture this week is of Maxine’s little sister Myrrill, who goes EVERYWHERE with them. Maxine always refers to her as 'her little sister, which Mariette says that she has needed to clarify on several occasions!

Myrrill was given to Maxine by a school friend, who gave it to her because she knew how much Maxine loved Pokemon...it was originally Emily's, given to her by her brother. Mariette says that she really appreciates how kind and accepting some of Maxine’s friends are….

I fully believe that it is essential for a child to feel accepted by their peers – Brad is my example  - I watched our happy go lucky, cheerful, sensitive little person go to a subdued, negative and depressed individual...It was an incredibly worrying time. And the more I tried to advise him by telling him ----don’t take notice of what other people think/ignore the kids that are mean to you and learn to be yourself and like yourself and if other people don’t like it- it is their loss – the more I realised that I had not yet fully learnt those lessons, so how could I expect a 12 year old to learn something that I only learnt much later in my life --- Fortunately, he found himself and now he is amongst one of the best liked kids in his grade – particularly with girls which at his age is great

Mariette also chose this particular picture as it shows Trev’s toys in the background – his RC cars…Which brings us to Pam’s picture….

Earlier in the week I e-mailed Pam to find out how things were going and if she had managed to take any pictures of toys….she responded that she is BUSY and said “I had the kids work on something for me and photograph it, they did a pretty good job so you can say I outsourced it!  But who better to photograph the topic really? “  What a clever idea-on all levels – firstly to outsource something that is going to be difficult timewise for you to achieve, secondly for acknowledging the best person/people to outsource to in this case were the very people that play with toys, and thirdly for giving the kids an exercise which kept them busy for a time and out of her hair so that she could carry on with other things....And I am sure that the whole exercise enhanced Ryan and April’s confidence, because mom trusted them and ACCEPTED that they were big enough, clever enough and creative enough to do something for her ---- Well done Pam

I also have to agree with Pam’s comment regarding her chosen picture ” ....  some Nerf bullets, a metal detecter, a jet and some trains which leads me to think that actually, boys toys don't really change!”   I absolutely know that Mariette and I can relate to that 100% - they just get more expensive don’t they????

Did you see how clever Pam's picture really is --- -Mariette did not until she had looked at the picture three times....then she e-mailed us and said "Ha ha -Very clever"...to which I e-mailed "HuH - did I miss something" - It took Mariette e-mailing me "Did you not see "TOYS" for me to see it - Clearly yesterday was a "slow" day....Now that I have seen it - I wander how I could have missed it...

My picture this week is of “Google” – he was Kayla-Fern’s birthday present from Omie and Gramps (my mom and dad) last year.  He is special because he will always be one of many reminders of my mom – Always remember Kayla-Fern that no matter what – Omie will always be with you, because you carry her in your heart....

Kayla-Fern reminded me on Tuesday night that her birthday is 13 days away – which means that in just under two weeks (1^st August) Google will be a year old and Kayla-Fern will be ten – Where does the time go.....

Anyway – that is all from me this week – next week  Pam has chosen to stay in July (I know that we will still be in July)...it should be interesting to see how all three of us interpret that theme from our three corners of the world...OH, Heidi – I just wanted to say Thank you for lending us your sister – I sense she will be a breath of fresh air – and rest assured that when you are ready to start up again – you may have her back – except we may also decide to keep her – so she will just have to do double duty every week – so Pam be warned – Of course – three weeks  down the line we might discover that we hate being a trioship, or we could all have a terrible arguement and never want to speak to each other again...That may happen, but I doubt it....Lots of love....