HUNTING.....

Good morning everybody! Can you believe that it's weekend again?
My apologies for jumping from "Stella" to "Quilting" and back to "hunting" again but when something pops up, I have to share it with you immediately! so, re: the "Karoo" quilting block of yesterday.

Anyway, I had some photos of the actual hunt and the 2 buck he shot, but I think my husband took them off my camera and transferred them to his computer. So, I will have to wait until I can get hold of them. You know that hunters have to have pics of their shoot for record purposes, as they have to present these if required, to maintain their hunting status. I don't know if the law overseas is the same, but here in South Africa, that's the law in the Hunting Fraternity.

I personally have not ever shot anything but love being with my husband because he is one of the best shots around and has an abundant knowledge of nature and the bush. He has the world's respect for what he does and only shoots 'for the pot'. He is not blood-thirsty and pays homage to the animal he has shot.  He is an amazing and generous man because he gives some of the meat away to underpriveleged people and the rest to our family and close friends. Before I met him I was ignorant of the fact that regular beef is full of hormones and fat and that game / venison is not. It actually makes sense because buck run fast and are very active so have very little fat on their bodies, whereas cows do not. They only run if they have to. Once I figured that out, I appreciated what Charles was doing for us as a family. I am now able to eat the meat and enjoy the preparation thereof, which is slightly different to the way we handle regular beef. We do eat a lot of chicken and fish as well.

View from the top of the Land Rover, looking for signs of spoor...

I absolutely love the wide open spaces of the veld and can spend a whole day just walking around, taking photographs and watching.....

We came across a small herd of female 'water buck'. Note the light ring around their tails.

Concentration....

I am waiting for Charles to send me some pics of the last hunt we did, the lodge etc, then will post. Have a wonderful weekend.

QUILTING

I had to make a block for a dear friend Petro Nel, who is going to combine many other blocks to make up a beautiful quilt. I will be able to share more of this precious story once the quilt has been put together, but in the meanwhile have a look at my block. Her instructions were to do something 'primitive' with specified colours. So, since I love the Karoo so much, I created my own design.

The completed product. Ready for Petro.

I love this so much that I'm going to make myself and dear Tiki  one. You can follow her inspiring blog on : www.tikisquiltroom.tumblr.com. 

Have a peaceful evening!

STELLA...

Hello again. I'm back after spending the day in Carletonville yesterday, where Cheney and I attended a scrapbooking class. I have an Album that I have to complete for her 21st birthday, which she will receive as my gift to her. So, still have lots of work to do. Will share with you as time goes by.

A couple of weeks ago Charles and I went up North to Stella, where he had to do a hunt. This is also necessary so that he can maintain his status as a hunter. I'm not a hunter and close my eyes just as he's about to pull the trigger, but love being with my husband and sharing the bush with him. He has years of knowledge and bush survival skills that he enjoys sharing with me, since he knows that I'm one of his biggest fans. He is one of the best shots around and I love photographing him whilst he's busy.

Stella is quite close to the Kalahari. We spent the night at a hunting lodge owned by very hospitable farmers and our hosts Stephen and Rika were absolutely the nicest people. We slept in a comfortable self-catering thatched chalet. Spent the evening sitting around a fire in the Boma eating, laughing and telling stories and listening to the jackals calling and the distant roar of lions. Thrilling but quite scary! Special memories.

Charles and Stephen messing around and having a good laugh!

Have an awesome day and see you tomorrow. Thanks for popping in.

Good morning all!! The weekend is behind us and I wonder what this week has in store for us all?
I hope and pray that it is a happy and blessed week for you. What plans do you have for the week? Mine are - quilting - hand stitching 4x quilts that need to be completed! There are 2x crocheted blankets that I have to finish as well AND Cheney and I are going scrapbooking on Wednesday. Yes, scrapbooking!! Can you believe it? I haven't scrapped for ages and am starting to stress because my daughter turns 21 next year and I have an Album that I need to complete, so I can present it to her for her birthday! I gave my son one for his 21st, so need to carry on with the tradition. Will post some pics of that as well.

BUT first....... I want to whet your appetite a bit with a taste of what's still to come .....

I mentioned last week that I visited a foundry in Parys to have a foot cast for an old enamel bath that we purchased some time ago for our house in Aberdeen, E.Cape. So I desperately need to post those magnificent pics, but need the explanations that match the photos. I cannot remember everything that Pieter told me, so when I fetch the foot, I will get all the details and post them. What a fascinating experience it was. There are so many things that we take for granted and this is one that I have taken for granted. We look at an object in our home but don't think any further about the manufacture thereof! So, perhaps I may just enlighten you a little more?

 My bath's foot will be cast from one of these. I believe they will be starting this week. You can see by the rust on the feet, that it's an old bath. We will have them painted a nice silver colour, I think.

A selection of beautiful feet that they have at the foundry. I just love the white one in the foreground.

One of my favourite shots I took  whilst I was there!

 Have a lovely day! I have to tackle washing, cleaning the car, quilting and some crocheting, for the rest of the day, inbetween fetching and carrying kids around.

Ok, so I still have some stunning pics that I took outside at the back of Bradley's shop. I love the combinations of weatherbeaten, rusted, bent, old metal and cast iron objects that one can find if you just walk around and allow your imagination to s..t..r..e..t..c..h....... So, while they have been clearing up, I decided to sneak a few pics of the pieces lying around.
I hope you like as much as I do.....

A collection of old beds....

..

more of ... PARYS

Hello, once again! As promised, I'm going to post something about another shop I love visiting and owned by a dear friend - Bradley. His antique shop is Sweet Water Antiques.

You can find almost anything in his treasure trove of crockery, furniture, silverware, paintings and many more. Bradley, like Deon , is prepared to haggle a bit and accommodate your needs. I enjoy their knowledge of history and the source of all their pieces.

Outside the entrance to Sweet Water Antiques

Bradley

I've got my eye on this cupboard!!!    

and this one....  Sorry lady, but this one is sold!

I just love these old bicycles

Jonty, Bradley's assistant, helps him with some of the restoration work

......a work in progress...

Apparantely this Wolseley is for sale...

An interesting piece of history..... Jan Smuts' sleep shirt

A man's best friend..... waiting to greet you at the door!

See you tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by.