pre-holiday adventure

Holidays are almost here for me, so for a pre-holiday build up we went on a little adventure yesterday.

WINE TASTING.

I've realised that under the guidance of my mother and being able to call the Winelands my home I've grown to love wine. Three years ago I would've turned my nose up most wine but no longer. I now appreciate it and I'm learning more every day. 

We started off at Tokara, headed to Vrede en Lust detoured to Franschhoek for an attempted chocolate tasting but ended up walking along the street, after that we headed back to Glenn Carlou.

Highlights of the day for me were talking about wine the whole day, olives at Tokara, lint chocolate at Vrede en Lust, the scent of lavender just before Franschhoek and the view from Glenn Carlou. As well as the general laughter and happiness of the day.

branches from the "tree" at Tokara

Tokara's  many wines

View from Glenn Carlou

I need to start a piggy bank just for wine tasting days. 

.x.

calmness

Dear People Who Read My Blog

I apologise for the lack of content but life is amazingly busy at the moment and I'm enjoying it.

I'm taking way too few photos but collecting many memories. I'm making grown up big decisions yet spending Sundays on swings. Making food for my family and spending quality time with my cat. Meeting new people with interesting and funny life stories and finally getting to know some people that I've "known" for a while. Work is insane, but it is the silly season and being in the hospitality industry one learns to love this time of year.

so here is a random picture. 

and a link to a song that humbles me

[click here]

enjoy the sunshine 

stay away from dark alleys 

and smile

.x.

a short one

I've had a wonderful week, despite a lot going one in the "big bad world".

I danced my way into Friday night and ended up on a roof singing songs into the sky. Saturday was work then catching up with a friend who has been a friend for almost 8 years now.

And today has turned into a lovely relaxed Sunday.
So the song for today is one that is quickly becoming a "good faithful" song, whenever it plays I smile and sing along.

It's Simple, Child.

Hope you've all had a decent week and that the weekend is treating you well

play safe

.x.

Suburban War

This weekend was a fun filled one; a father son birthday party and two of my best friend's 21st, on the same evening 20km away from each other.
And I did it all, I think I deserve a self-five, if anything. 


The first 21st last night was my best friend from high school. For 5 years of our lives we were inseparable, our group was a group of 5 who laughed at anything and discovered Arcade Fire together. We disapproved of most school activities yet shouted the loudest at inter schools. We baffled our way through Maths, 1 of us attempted Science and another mastered her way through Art, we all loved Biology, 2 of us bonded during Consumer Studies, another combination of 2 essayed through History while the other 3 flew through Geography.  Now that I think about it the languages were our strong point, 2 of us took French for 2 years but our lack of interest caused us to fail, miserably, but we tried. 3 of the 5 are 1st language Afrikaans but only 1 was brave enough to take the subject, the other 4 slept or mxited our way through Afrikaans 2nd language. We were split into 3 different English classes; went through Shakespeare, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, that other book about the horses?, and Jane Austin. We struggled but we indirectly we loved it.  


The second 21st was someone who is currently my sister. I've got 2 older brothers and I've always wanted a sister, and now I have one, she is the joy in many people's lives and she has this amazing skill to bring light into any situation. She is a twin and her other half is currently studying up country so I've become the "step-in" sister. So much joy in one person, I am blessed. 

_______

A song that pops to mind is Arcade Fire - Suburban War 

Let's go for a drive

See the town tonight

There's nothing to do but I'll unwind when I'm with you

This town's so strange

They built it to change

And while we're sleeping all the streets, they rearrange

And my old friends, we were so different then

Before your war against the suburbs began

Before it began

And now the music divides

Us into tribes

You grew your hair so I grew mine

They said the past won't rest

Until we jump the fence and leave it behind

And my old friends, I can remember when

You cut your hair

We never saw you again

Now the cities we live in

Could be distant stars

And I search for you

In every passing car

The nights are warm

Yeah, the nights are warm

I've been living in the shadows of your song

Living in the shadows of your

Song

In the suburbs I, I learned to drive

People told me we would never survive

So grab your mother's keys we leave tonight

You started a war

That you can't win

They keep erasing all the streets we grew up in

Now the music divides

Us into tribes

You choose your side I'll choose my side

All my old friends, they don't know me now

Oh-oh

All my old friends, are staring through me now

Oh-oh

All my old friends, they don't know me now

All my old friends, they don't know me now

All my old friends, wait

_______

So let us reflect on the past but look forward to the future,

the future may be daunting but oh my golly gosh, it is exciting. 

.x.

song of the day

[Over the last few day this little blog hit 1500 views, its growing up slowly but surely, thank you!]

____

I've written about this man before, I'm almost sure of it. 

I discovered his music about 2 years ago, he has re-entered my life thanks to iTunes shuffle. 

So here it is, Look Up by Bradley Hathaway

.

I built a house and lived alone inside the woods.

I stayed there as long as I could

Before I saw it was doing me no good. 

He said, "We're all living lives of quiet desperation".

I started to believe him until I looked up at the constellations.

The stars are burning bright,

So bright and bright and far apart.

Pull them together, though,

They created a work of art. 

Look up, look up, look up into the sky, love.

You see that moon shining so high up above us?

It rolls around on account of a bunch of scientific stuff.

I like to think it does just because He loves us.

I left the lonely woods and I moved into the city,

Traded those stately pines for concrete praries.

I didn't have to look up at the stars burning in the night sky;

I saw them burn in the people that were passing by,

Some that are bright and bright and burning happily along,

Others that sadly burned out long ago.

Look up, look up, look up into the sky, love.

You see that moon shining so high up above us?

It rolls around on account of a bunch of scientific stuff.

I like to think it does just because He loves us.

I loved a girl once, never acted like I did

Or told her that I did, because the ones before her

They didn't act very appreciative.

Have you seen her? Do you know her?

She looks so pretty with her hair pulled back.

Tell her that I would if I could

Take all that time I stole from her back,

Put it in a little pine box I made with my own bare hands,

Filled with apologies, love, kisses, second chances.

Look up, look up, look up into the sky, love.

You see that moon shining so high up above us?

It rolls around on account of a bunch of scientific stuff.

I like to think it does just because He loves us.

____

Hope you all had a pleasant Monday

.x.

snowy Saturday rambles

Hello dear people of the interwebs,

Firstly do yourself a favour and head over [here]
That is where you can download an album from Juke Royal. I only discovered them in the last week and I'm really enjoying their music.
____

Watched an interesting movie last night with a group of friends called An Invisible Sign, it's about a young girl who's father falls ill and she takes it upon herself to make him "feel" better. Throughout the movie the colours really stood out for me. If you've watched Mozart and the Whale and enjoyed it then you should like this movie.

____

I just found this http://thenicestplaceontheinter.net/
Go get a few hugs

____

and my latest playlist.

Youth De Freitas                                              Al Bairre

The Suburbs                                                    Arcade Fire

Suburban War                                                  Arcade Fire

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)          Arcade Fire

Real Talk                                                        Bloc Party

Kettling                                                           Bloc Party

Sunday In New                                                Bobby Darin

Gyp The Cat                                                   Bobby Darin

Look Up                                                         Bradley Hathaway

The Hazards of Love III (Revenge!)                 The Decemberists

Swim Until You Can't See Land                        Frightened Rabbit

Falling Slowly                                                  Glen Hansard (Once)

Generator first floo                                           Glen Hartmann

Sea And The Rhythm                                       Iron And Wine

Naked As We Came                                         Iron and Wine

The Age of Worry                                            John Mayer

Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967       John Mayer

Autumn                                                           Matthew Mole

It's Simple, Child.                                             Matthew Mole

You Dare Not Run From The Whale                  Matthew Mole

Infinite Land                                                     Matthew Mole

I Am A Rock                                                    Simon And Garfunkel

____

Hope this weekend treats you all well

.x.

old friend

So, it's a new month. 

A lot has already happened this month, I cannot even begin to explain, so I'll just share a song.

John Mayer entered my life when I was about 15, through his song '83.

Since then he often picks me up, makes me smile or is simply just the background music to my life. 

He released his 5th CD this year and I'm liking it, the song Age of Worry started playing while I was driving home from work the one afternoon this week and it struck me. Not sure yet what struck me, but it did. 

This is a live recording from last year January. 

Close your eyes and clone yourself
Build your heart an army
To defend your innocence
While you do everything wrong

Don't be scared to walk alone
Don't be scared to like it
There's no time that you must be home
So sleep where darkness falls

Alive in the age of worry
Smile in the age of worry
Go wild in the age of worry
And say, "Worry, why should I care?"

Know your fight is not with them
Yours is with your time here
Dream your dreams but don't pretend
Make friends with what you are

Give your heart then change your mind
You're allowed to do it
'Cause God knows it's been done to you
And somehow you got through it

Alive in the age of worry
Rage in the age of worry
Sing out in the age of worry
And say, "Worry, why should I care?"

Rage in the age of worry
Act your age in the age of worry
And say, "Worry, get out of here!"

If you're interested, go watch this [click here]

Its the same song, but a month or so before. 

Hope you all are having a lovely Sunday 

.x.

something, somewhere, sometime.

A song to finish off the month of September. 

Sometimes I feel like an arrow

fighting something, somewhere long ago

Whether it moved or I missed or where I'm bound,

I don't yet know.

If you see me coming,

I'll probably pass you by

on my way to something, somewhere, sometime.

Sometimes I find myself reeling

twisting and rolling 

in a plastic sea. 

There's signs and signals

bidding for attention from me.

So turn on your sleigh

I will turn on mine

and we'll hum and glow

like something, somewhere, sometime.

And if I've wounded you, I'm sorry.

I had good intentions

If I've wounded you

I'm sorry

it happens all the time.

You remind me of a reason

had by someone so many years ago

some words through wise

build highways from coast to coast

but those words fell short

your roads have worn with time

on our way to something somewhere sometime

And if I've wounded you, I'm sorry

I had good intentions

If I wounded you

I'm sorry 

it happens all the time.

Sometimes I feel like an arrow,

fighting something, somewhere long ago

a jolly evening it shall be.

I cannot wait to see these guys live

It will be a jolly evening when it does actually happen
but in the mean time. I'm loving their new music video, and listening to Youth De Freitas almost on repeat.

buttered toast

happiness is made of, just the basics in life; family, friends, food.

With a weekend full of activities and adventures I learnt a few valuable lessons, those lessons you learn once in a while and hope you don’t forget but as sure as sunshine you do.

• ·   Firstly, every female needs a good pair of black heels; don’t buy them for an occasion, but them for you.
• ·   Secondly, no matter what, in any situation or moment, having to counteract an argument or reply to a simple statement, be a lady. Be graceful, honest and for the love of buttered toast, think before you speak.
• ·   Next, although your siblings have known you for the longest time, since birth, they don’t always know you. Sometimes your siblings don’t know what’s best.
• ·   You don’t need to be everyone’s cup of tea.

·         Simplicity is key, to most things in life.  

up a mountain and down again.

This morning my brother and I decided it is too much of an amazing day one simply cannot just let it go by so we decided to go for a walk up the mountain. Everyone, meet the Helderberg Mountain walking trails:

Normally one would stick to the blue, meet up with the red then possibly go pink before heading back down. We, for some unknown reason (my brother being 100times fitter than me and wanting an adventure) went blue, black, blue, red all the way across the front of the mountain then finally we met up with the red trail, reached the gouge at which point I surrendered to the mountain and begged that we head back down.

But in any case, it was a beautiful walk.

Also here is yet another song for you guys,
Autumn

Enjoy the weekend!

in state of groggyness

Woke up this morning feeling groggy, according to Urban Dictionary groggy means:

 "A sleepy, dull feeling, making you slow to move or think; evoking an image of being mentally water-logged"

Which is spot on. I'm blaming it on the indecisive weather that we've had over the last few days, but alas it's winter in the Cape there isn't much we can do. 

So in my state of groggyness I've been web crawling for a pick me up. 

_______________

Matthew Mole, bless his kind soul, released yet another amazing song this morning. Available for download on his soundcloud. Go download before the 100 run up.

And then my iTunes threw some Black Keys at me which sent me on a YouTube search to find this gem. 

_______________

I hope everyone is having a productive Monday

Play safe

.x.

local kids

When I drive around in my car I insert my falshdrive into the aux and have over 300songs of my choice. I realised the other day that I'd been skipping to the same songs and listening to them, all the time.

All of which are local bands.
Here are some links and videos so that you too can enjoy the music and joy of it all.

Matthew Mole
Firstly his soundcloud
and you can download some of his songs. Do so

Al Bairre
and a video of theirs

Sons of Settlers

another video

Glen Hartmann 

Similar to Matthew Mole, also download some of his songs from his soundcloud

Black Handed Kites

That be all for now

Have a great week everyone

.x.

so much live aewsomeness.

Klein Libertas and I have years of history.

I started going there about 5 years ago when my brother's 1st band Stronger Than made a lot of noise,I was proud member of the sibling gang who followed them around. 

Through the years Klien Lib brought along many Pretty Blue Guns, The Lottery Tickets, Barkley Blazer and This Quilt memories and introduced me to many new bands, friends and faces. 

Last week Wednesday night Sons of Settlers, Holiday Murray and Jeremy Loops graced us with their presences and killed us with their talent. Like wow. 

Here are a few photos I took with my blackberry.

Therefore the quality is not that amazing. 

Sons of Settlers

Holiday Murray

Jeremy Loops

 At this point I'd lost my spot in the front so for Jeremy Loops I saw the back of peoples heads.

Still sounded amazing!

An amazing evening.

A very BIG thank you to everyone involved in making it happen, you've got this youngone excited about local music again. 

.x. 

disposable | it's been a while.

Here are some photos from my recent disposable camera.
Its's quite obvious that I've lost my touch in photography but I'll get back into it.
enjoy.

cold toes

Driving back from George

walking

sunrise in Hermanus

I'll work on my photography skills. 

.x.