Let's do it again

Peet and Ymke know how to host a proper party. Last Saturday we did it again - I posted about the Seven Year itch party in November 2010 and this year the party was in the new workshop, with a bright orange robot arm to keep us company. I loved what they did to the space to make it cozy and colourful. It was really nice to spend time with like-minded folks and shake our booties on the dance floor until way past our bedtime...

Jux of the Bushveld

In the words of Jux:
My owners took me along with them the past three weeks - everywhere they went. Maybe because I was crying a lot - I was lonely, okay. Having a sister in hospital is really really difficult - nobody to bark at, nobody to chase around the house, nobody to dig holes with, nobody to chase cats with, nobody to cuddle up against and nobody whose food I can steal.
So they took me on this great trip to the Bushveld where I could run around, sniff all sorts of new things, jump through the high grass (to be honest, I didn't like the grass that much) and ride on the back of the bakkie like a real farm dog (okay, it was only for 30 metres and then I got scared). One thing that I really didn't like was the small thorns getting stuck between my toes...Ouch!

There were these strange animals - they were very interesting and I liked the way they smell. The also had funny sharp things growing from their heads. I wonder if their ears are also only ornamental? I did not get very close, though - you never know if they will bark or bite.

All photos taken by my husband.

Mothers day 2012

This year, we spent Mothers Day at Thys' Mom, now my Mom-in-law. It is never a big occasion in either of the households but today I thought about a mother's love a lot. It is something that I really cannot describe in words. So I decided to look for photos of us and our moms when we were very small and they were both much younger than we are now.
Here are our beautiful mothers:

My mom, Dorie, with me.

Thys' mom, Zina, with him.

To our lovely moms: Happy Mothers Day! We love you so so much.

A year and a week

We've been married this long. And although I'm very bad with anniversaries (hence the late post), I feel that this one is great. Thank you husband, for the first one. You are my everything.

Photo by Christo Harvey

Film is awesome

Yes it is. I have a Canon EOS 50E film camera. It is steady and bulky and I use it too little. I took some film to the lab this week and I realized again that we under-appreciate this dying artform and getting film is becoming increasingly difficult. We are too spoiled with the preview window on our digital cameras and we snap thousands of meaningless photos - just because we can.
With film it is different. I feel more like a photographer when I shoot with it. I carefully consider composition, light and texture. The Canon and the film never fails to amaze me. Together, they are so forgiving and produce incredible results.

The last two photos have actually been on this roll of film for 2 and a half years. It was taken in the Karoo. I remember that day so well. The magic of the weather and the light...must say that these two are my new favourites.

Uncensored at 3am

Image source

I saw this on Allie’s blog and I’ve been wanting to do something similar for a while. It started with this blog from Make Under My Life and I personally think it’s a great idea because bloggers often create this sugarcoated version of their lives. And in defense of us all, I do understand why. Blogging is not diarizing. The Internet is not a platform for spilling all the beans with the aim of getting sympathy from total strangers. I often spend hours editing and deleting and re-editing, just to make sure I only say what is necessary.

A lifelong friend recently commented that my blog and especially the photos look so glamorous.  I took it as a compliment but the last thing I want to do is create the impression that I live this trendy, glitzy, opulent life. I struggle with a lot of issues. A lot. And today (maybe since I’m suffering from insomnia and it is 2:57am on a Saturday) I’m lifting the curtain on some of my issues.

1.     I get angry with my husband when I can’t sleep. I know it’s not his fault but I want him to make it better. And at 3am he just wants to sleep – I completely understand. But I feel very lonely and miserable when I get insomnia and I become the Needy Wife.

2.     I am guilt ridden. I feel I neglect some of my most precious friends. Because I work so hard during the week and have no mental capacity left on weekends. I easily feel guilty about every little aspect of my existence.

3.     I am insecure. I need constant reassurance that I’m enough. That I’m a good architect, that I take okay-ish photos, that I’m a good wife, a good friend, that my parents love me as much as they love my brothers, that I’m good for my dogs and that I will eventually be a good mother.

4.     I am territorial. Do not try to be like me, to dress like me, to like the things I do. Have your own story, create your own happiness, please just do your own thing and be unique, bitch. I’ll love you more for your authenticity.

5.     I do not do telephone conversations. I avoid it as far as I can. It makes me nervous – I always end up with the worst Afrikaans-English accent, I swop my words around, I stutter. Because I cannot truly engage with the person on the other end. If you really want to make me suffer, call me and strike up a half-an-hour conversation. Not happy.

6.     I check my blog stats often. Not obsessively but often. I know my blog is very small but it does make me very happy when more people visit. I love it when people leave comments.

7.     At 33, I still don’t know what I want to do with my life. I still don’t know whether I made the right career decisions. This is the cause of many panic attacks and regular small meltdowns.

8.     I obsess about the fact that some men allow their wives to be total bitches. That they actually like it and brag about how “kwaai” their wives are. And that the most beautiful woman in the world (and it’s normally the pretty ones) can instantly become really ugly when I hear how she speaks to her loved one. This one never fails to totally stun and completely upset me.

These are some truths about me. Read with an open heart because it takes a hell of a lot to put it out here.  Must try to get some sleep now. 

What about you? Are you longing to let out a small piece of yourself?

Sunday mornings

On Sunday mornings we do real. We do dishes. We make breakfast. We don't comb our hair. We let our skins breathe. We walk the dogs. We sometimes cry. We groom. We do comfort. We recover. We do good coffee. We stay in our pajamas as long as we can.
These are the details of an ordinary Sunday morning at Casa El Sol.