The urge to write

I have been following many wonderful blogs since I discovered these little gems, and I have learnt so much and grown so much... that I am inspired to write again....  Hopefully I will find the time... using the tips and tricks gleaned from the many "Proverbs 31 women" I have encountered in these readings.... As I endeavour to help my children become more independent, I hope to regain some of my own independence and pursue some of my personal joys.... like reading, and writing, and music, and exercise, and designing... and I could go on with a myriad of endeavours.... but I will be content with baby steps for now! Inspiration flows from my favourite book of the Bible: Ecclesiastes - reminding me that there is a time! I hope my time is now... but it is all in God's plan and His hands!

¹ There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 ² a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.
 ⁹ What do workers gain from their toil?
¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.
¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.
¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
Ecclesiastes :1-14 
The perfect Author... the Author of Perfection.... such an inspiration.... thank you Lord for giving me the desire to use this talent... may it be for your glory!

Apologies

My dear friend Anita reminded me today that it looked like something had happened to me, as my blogging just stopped.  My apologies for causing any concern. I decided to give it a break.  It was becoming an all-consuming time waster for me.  I spend all my time on homeschooling, housework, taking my kids to extra-murals (3 each x 3) and still need time to be a mom and wife. I am still struggling to find time to do more Bible Study, and some exercise for myself, so I will take it up again once things slow down, or maybe not at all.  Many people have issued warnings about the sheer amount of personal information that people are putting out on their blogs, thinking they are only accessible to "friends". For now, I will keep in contact with you all personally, via email, sms or telephone where possible.  Best wishes. Caroline

Hot Springs Holiday!

We had booked a holiday in April this year (for Aidan's birthday), but due to work and general chaos had to keep postponing it.  We finally managed to get away this weekend.  The little town of Montagu is about 2 hours' drive inland from where we live, and the whole town is built around the wine, fruit and hot mineral springs found there.

Your arrival in Montagu is marked by a man-made hole through the Cogmanskloof Mountain!

It was sheer bliss to bathe in hot (43 degree) pools and jacuzzis, while the girls disappeared to the water slide - only to re-appear when they closed it for a short break.

The view from my lounger!!

The coolest of the 3 interleading pools - still as hot as bath water, though!!

Even the waterfall was hot - Aidan loved it!

Andrew and I found some time to "lounge around"!

 And to crown the fun - we found giant lollipops in town!! (this ones for you and your kids, Linda!!)

Aidan waiting for the birds to be fed!

We had a lovely break and have earmarked it as a definate place to return to as soon as we can - holidays are always just a few days too short, aren't they?

Strawberry Fields Forever!

We have just discovered that in Cape Town, there are many farms that allow you to "pick your own" fruit - the first of which was strawberries. 
We eagerly drove off to Stellenbosch, to the farm called Polkadraai - and were greeted with endless rows of strawberry plants, and amazing scarecrows!!

So many strawberries, such a small bowl!!

Big brother scarecrow is watching to see you don't eat all the strawberries.

Happy Family with many strawberries!!

Luckily there are 5 of us, so our "crop" was quite large - and within just a few short days, we polished it all off - along with making some jam and sorbet (we're not such pigs, y'know!!)

Some of them were truly enormous!

I endeavoured to make jam for the first time ever, and was quite happy with the outcome : 4and a half bottles of jam (the 1/2 bottle served well as a sampler!!)

Extreme close-up showing chunks of strawberries in my jam!!

Making caramel chocolate (not toffee) apples!

While looking for homeschooling material for next year, I found a wonderful kids cooking course. I downloaded it, and took an easy lesson to get us started (why wait till next year?). 
As you can see, the ingredients were simply irresistible, so a few got "munched" along the way.
Step 1: Wash and dry some apples, and put a lolly or small skewer stick through the core.
(we used pink lady apples - a combination of sweet and tart - simply delicious)

Step 2: Unwrap a bag of caramel toffees

Its easier to unwrap the toffees with at least ONE in your mouth!!

 

 

Step 3: Dip the apples in caramel and leave for a while to set.

 

 

 

 

Don't drool too much!!

Step 4: While waiting, melt some chocolate in a double boiler and dip the slightly cooled caramel apples in it.

Yes, by now we could hardly contain ourselves!

Step 5: Roll in chopped nuts, chocolate vermicelli or any other toppings you fancy!! Refrigerate until you can bear it no longer!!!

Voila - our dessert for the evening!!

Apples will never be the same again... so we need to put a bit of a restriction on how many times a month (or week) we can use this recipe!!

Nature Club

Enjoying the pond life.

We are privileged to belong to a homeschool Nature Club.  We meet once a month at a different venue to study nature in different aspects.  Here are a few scenes from our October meeting - looking at cattails, weavers' nests, baby birds and enjoying the great outdoors!!

Wonderful waterways!

Cattails - aka bulrushes!

Mysterious mushrooms!!

Weavers' nests - apparently if they are near the water - it's going to be a hot summer!! 

Sheep Shearing

In October, we joined a homeschool outing to Klein Plasie (Little Farm) in order to watch and learn about sheep and their wool.  It was so interesting, and amazing to see how calm the sheep was while being shorn.

Our guide for the day taught us about different sheep and their uses in such a funny and friendly way.

We were amazed that this was the fleece of ONE SHEEP!!! So much wool!!

The sheep shearing demonstration.

Totally calm, while her wool is being cut off with shears (no electrical equipment)!!

How to keep your boys and girls out of mischief: make them pump water!! 

After the shearing process, the sheep are dipped to kill any ticks or fleas, and clean any cuts they may have sustained during shearing. (The fence surrounding the area was completely built out of thorns - just look at the size of them! Ouch!)

The girls were so excited to see a real spinning wheel - but alas, there was nowhere to prick their fingers and sleep till Prince Charming found them!!

Wool is dyed using natural substances & produces amazing colours

Afterwards we went on a tractor ride to the picnic grounds, where we enjoyed our lunch, then went through the nearby museum, filled with old cars, and a real old locomotive - it was huge.  As you can imagine - this was the kids' delight, and they were able to climb in (and under) the train.

Fun at the picnic yard!

Boys love machines!!

Imagine a trip on this thing!!

The children loved being able to see underneath the train!

It was amazing to see all that could be accomplished without technology - the whole farm is geared at showing life as it was before industrialization.  We came home counting our blessings for all the ease that technology gives us (and a sense of wonder at those who went before us!!)