Remembering Granny Mary

I have wonderful memories of my paternal granny - Mary Drysdale.  She was a very competent homemaker, she baked beautifully and was very skilled in terms of handcrafts - she knitted and crocheted all our jerseys when we were children. 

 

After my grandfather passed away, she travelled overseas extensively until she was almost 80 (hmmm - thanks gran for passing on the travel bug!).  I have a very real comforting sense that she's with me in spirit in my home. 

 

 

I recently got gifted granny Mary's original chest of drawers from my cousin Owen.  It is gorgeous; I just need to replace the drawer handles.  I've replaced the old pine sideboard (donated to the SPCA charity shop) in my dining room with my Gran's chest of drawers. 

 

 

Out with the old and in with the (even) older

I also have my gran's cutlery set and kitchen utensils in the original cutlery box.  My connection to my beautiful granny Mary is now even stronger.

Such great memories...miss you gran.

 

Scrapbook layouts

Here are some of my recent scrapbooking layouts...

Page designed by Lara Hanna 

Page designed by Lynn (I think!) 

Page designed by Lynette 

Page designed by Lynette  

Original page designed by Lynn 

Page designed by Lynn 

Page designed by Lara  

Page designed by Lynn

Meet Malaika

As many of you know, I have the perfect cat - Princess Ruby is kind and gentle and loving and the apple of my eye.  She is perfectly behaved and is no hassle at all.  But 6 months ago, I made a decision to provide a home for a disabled kitty if the opportunity ever arose.  And it did.  On 4 January, I adopted Malaika, a disabled kitty with 3 legs.  We estimate that she's about 18 months old.

 

Malaika lived with a family in Virginia in the Free State Province, who were unable to care for her properly.  She apparently had a broken leg for an extended period of time, and when she did get medical care, the vets were unable to save her leg, so they amputated it.

Despite having only 3 legs, miss Malakia gets around really well.  She's limps when she walks slowly, but runs really fast and can jump up onto high surfaces.  She does occasionally fall over, but she's coping really well with 3 legs and her spunky attitude.  We're still dealing with a few complications from the amputation, but she's getting great care from the vet.

 

Miss Ruby is obviously not happy about the new 'intruder' but apart from some hissing and growling, she's given way for little Malaika.  I'm praying that they become friends, or at least learn to tolerate each other.

 

Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens

As has become tradition, I walk with the Gladwin family at Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens every New Years' Day.  This year, the weather was beautiful, and we were there bright and early.  My friend Gisela joined us at the last minute; it was great to catch up with everyone as we walked.

 

 Love this photo!  Richard, Lynn, Connor, Steph, Gisi and I

 

 

After the recent rains, the gardens are looking gorgeous and lush.  Love this place!

Synchronised swimming team

I present to you...the Pope synchronised swimming team - tadaaa!  Miss Elizabeth Pope and Miss Katy Pope are our Olympic athletes (they loved watching the synchronised swimming during the Olympics last year).

Gorgeous girls - love you! 

One little mantra

I love the idea of 'one little word' and it has worked well for me.  My word for 2016 was KINDNESS, and it did make me mindful to be more kind and considerate, especially when I was exhausted and frazzled and didn't really feel like being kind to anyone. 

 

But I need something different for 2017, and the phrase "be that girl" has been resonating so strongly with me in the last few weeks.  It's still bubbling in my head about what that means for me, but here is some of where I'm heading with my 'one little mantra' for 2017...

 

In 2017, I want to BE THAT GIRL...

* who goes on awesome adventures

* who says yes to life

* who loves and makes mistakes and falls down but is in the arena of life doing her very best

* who goes deeper in her walk with God 

* who has a made up mind about what works for me, what I will or won't do

* who does stuff rather than talks about doing stuff

* who takes care of herself

* who makes time for family and friends

 

More on this later when I am more clear about what this means for me in 2017

 

 

Hello 2017