I want one

we went to cars in the park last weekend - here are some glimpses of the shape, line and detail of these beauties.

succulent of the month

Like they do in supermarkets and some companies to encourage their staff, I'm posting a photo of this guy who after a year of looking pretty much the same has suddenly opened up and is growing a whole new middle bit. Well done blobby stone plant - you are succulent of the month.

suitcases

This is me in class 1 with my first suitcase (my mum and I on the left)
I have acquired many more since, they are great for storage.
Not one of them contains a suit.

Self portrait and landscape on Mothers day

Trying my hand at painting. This is something I have been dying to do for ages. So... I am doing a painting and printmaking course at KZN University with Vuli (printmaking) and Faye (painting) they are both great teachers, yay for you.
The landscape is the Petrus stroom Valley(home) - good colours at the moment which I thought I may put in the portrait - a Mona Lisa type background.
My Daughter Pippa did the card for Mothersday.
I love the combo, the card should be with the painting always.

Hillhouse website

Have a look at the website and come and stay www.hillhouse.co.za

website icons

I've done these icons in different colour ways for the different pages - Hillhouse website coming together.

Hillhouse website

I'm designing a website. This is my design for the opening page. So far so good.
Hillhouse used to be our farm shed and it is now a really cool place to come and stay. Have a look.

Yes I do love my plants

I would like to mention that some of my best and most unusual succulents come from Sharon and Neville's beautiful St Verde garden. Definitely worth a visit, they are open on the last weekend of every month.

Treasure hunting

It's such a win when nobody else wants or likes things that you like. Especially when you are at an auction.

I was so excited to get these Tretchikoff prints, which came with a lot of other less desirables,
for R20.00.












More auction specials...very comfy yellow chair and the print is Mario Bordi's Freedom of the plains.
















Another chair from another auction and evil Leechie cat.

The art of ventriloquism

My father was a ventriloquist and a magician. This is one of his many puppets. He has a movable jaw, and his bright staring eyes are ever ready to assume any expression suggested by his puppet master.
What I find funny is that the ventriloquist has a single powerful factor working for him and this is that the listener wants to hear what the puppet has to say!

No holding back

Our veranda is suffering from succulent invasion.
Front door navigation is almost impossible.
There is nowhere to put the tea pot.

by hook and by crooks

I am addicted to making these squares - someone better stop me before I start crocheting toilet seat covers.

red around the house

I can never decide which is my favorite colour. This is something you need to know if you have a daughter like mine - she has asked me many times, and I give her a different answer every time.
I must say red is right up there along with orange.

t shirt prints

my t shirts are back from the screen printers. I have baby vests and babygrows too, but didn't take any pics of these (no babies at home to put in them).
They will all be in my Etsy shop soon.

card stands

I've just got these perspex stands made for my cards. They work really well - YAY

deep sleep

I love this pic. This is Pippa, Grace and Ben (my 3 children) in the back seat of the car.
Only one of them is really asleep. Can you tell which one?

local business man

I have been watching the progress of a business which is developing, mainly because I pass this bit of ground 2 or 3 times a day. Veve Ngcobo is the business owner and he started with a little wooden shack in the middle of
the field. The area was later fenced, then came his sign advertising that he will be selling.... izinkomo, izimbuzi and iziklabhu (cows, sheep and goats). This is Veve, who when I stopped the car to talk to him, was very smiley friendly and happy and then when it came time for him to have his photo taken (which he was very happy to do) he changed his expression to what you see. This is typical of older generation Zulu people who like to look composed, serious and stately in photographs. He is not as grumpy as he looks.