 |
| 2008 - Gordons Bay, near Cape Town |
During May we bought tickets to go home for Christmas. I was last home 3 years ago, when Ava was 6 months old. Flower Daddy was last home when I was pregnant with Ava - so it will be 4 years for him by the time Christmas arrives. Far. Too. Long.
 |
| 2008 - Hout Bay , near Cape Town |
My mother has visited us a few times and the Flower Daddies parents have visited once (just as all-day sickness took residence when I was pregnant with Chloe - eugh). But, it has been pretty much 4 years since we saw anyone else. I miss my family. Especially now that we have our own family to share with them. I would love for our girls to have a proper and meaningful relationship with their cousins and aunties and uncles and especially their grannies and grandpa's.
 |
| 2008 - street market in Cape Town |
For me, about 3 weeks ago, the excitement started settling in. I am now just itch-itch-itching to start packing and to see our families. We know that our time away will be crazy and hectic and far too busy to call a holiday. We will, with out, doubt be exhausted when we return. We have 4 different places to visit - (Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Pietermaritzburg and a teeny weeny town in the Karoo) - 3 of them a 2 hour flight or 10 hour drive (longer now that we have little people travelling with us) away from each other. The fourth being a 4 hour drive away from one of the other places. We know that it will be stupid expensive. We also know that it will be a lot of fun.
 |
| 2009 - my gran and Ava (6mths old) |
So now....I am thinking about Christmas presents. They need to be inexpensive, but meaningful. Preferably home crafted. Light-weight, if I am to make them before we travel. Or simple and quick and very economical to make if I am to make them when we arrive in South Africa.
What to make - what to make????
The age range is pretty huge - from 18 months to grannies and grandpa's and a very special 90 year old great-granny. Boys and girls. Young and old. What to make?!?
I am thinking that
this play mat would be a great idea for Ava and her 6 year old cousin.
Doodled key rings or brooches (made from the copious number of wooden coins I still have left over from Ava's
memory coins) a la
Happy Doodle Land for aunties, uncles, grannies and grandpa's.
I can think of a little 6 year old boy cousin who would probably love these fun
animal hooks for his bedroom...not that I have any spray paint, random animals or wood backing shapes in my craft box!
My 90 year old gran loves photo's. So I think a special family portrait mounted in an embellished picture frame would be a good idea (something like
this one). Am thinking a simple wooden frame, painted, then colourful buttons stuck all over it.
Eesh!...it's a start, but what to do about everyone else? Any thoughts, suggestions or ideas?
Too much fresh air and sunshine does this to a person.
Whizzing down a slide at a lovely little play area outside the aquarium.
Monotonously straight Karoo roads.
Playing in the Murraysburg lei water. {Lei water is water that is fed through parts of the town, via furrows that line the streets, from the local dam. Each property is allowed to open a sluice to allow water in to irrigate their gardens during certain parts of the day.}
Playing in a make shift paddle pool in the shade of a tree. It was blazing hot. The water was from my dads borehole and was very chilly.
On leaving Murraysburg there were masses of these beautiful cactus flowers.
