Half week roundup!!!

I can't believe that a week has passed since my last blogpost ... the time has sped past and of course we had a long weekend in-between.  I had every intention of doing a post last night but then the exhaustion won out!!!  Here are some highlights of our weekend ...

THURSDAY 5 APRIL : Up early, some last minute shopping while my hunny gassed up the car.  At 09h30 he was off on his bike and Connor and I followed at 10h20 planning to meet for lunch at 12h00 in Standerton.  Just down the road I asked Connor to show me what he had planned for the drive ... his tablet loaded with "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins.




Funny face!!!

After a lovely lunch at the Wimpy in Standerton Richard continued off-road to Wakkerstroom and we had an uneventful trip on the main road arriving ahead of him so we collected the keys, opened the cottage and unpacked the car.  When Richard arrived a cuppa tea was the order of the day and Connor enjoyed his on the verandah while reading one of his comics.

Our after dinner activity was a game of scrabble while Connor built a good fire to warm us for the evening.

FRIDAY 6 APRIL : After a lie-in and breakfast Richard and I went for a walk and explored the church grounds in the centre of town.  It is an amazing structure and has been there since 1891 ~ the stone masons who produced this work of art were obviously very talented. 

A little deli in the main road beckoned us for something to drink ~ so our experience with  Brie Street started ... we were just going to have something to drink and then a really good decision was made ... let's have lunch.





 I chose soup ... divine tomato soup, Richard had an open chicken mayo panini and Connor settled for a rare beef panini ... he was in heaven!!!  And to top it all their meals were an absolute work of art.

Of course my camera was in constant attendance and I had to take a photo of my gorgeous son enjoying a peach iced tea and my soup which looked and tasted sooooo yummy!!! 

   
 How gorgeous are these two boys??!!



After our amazing lunch the boys decided to go for a ride ... I took the time to get really immersed in my book ... Forever Faithful ~ A trilogy by Karen Kingsbury. 

The sunsets in Wakkerstroom are particularly beautiful and I couldn't resist taking this picture of the beautiful clouds as the sun was setting.  We spent quiet evening reading in front of another fire that Connor built for us and after Richard admitted defeat and went to bed I read late into the night ... or is that early morning?

SATURDAY 7 APRIL : The Wakkerstroom Ramble "A walk for pleasure in the countryside".  We got this pamphlet when we collected our keys and put it on the 'calendar' as a must do activity.

I had invited my friend Mpho to join us for lunch but he called early to say that in true African culture his grandparents advised him that morning that they needed him to take them to a gathering somewhere ~ To say I was disappointed is an understatement as I have not seen him since he left the bank in December last year. 

After breakfast we decided to drive up to Die Oude Stasie to find out about camping opportunities (for Richard and his motorbike friends).  The people who run the place were not there so we waited and did some exploring of our own ~ This Trolley was standing there and fortunately the chain was no longer on the thing otherwise I could see my boys flying down the railway lines ... Richard suited up and showed us how it would be done!!! if there was a chain on the carriage!!! LOL!!!

Connor decided that he didn't need a helmet for this activity!!!

Considering that Die Oude Stasie was one of the venues on the Ramble, I was shocked that they had not even cleaned up the place from the previous night.  Eish!!!

After 'rambling' through the different shops and galleries in town we made our way to Brie Street for lunch ~ we had reserved a table and we tested their Coq a vin (chicken in red wine sauce) ... The only part of the meal that Connor enjoyed was the rice!!!  Richard and I rather enjoyed it but it is not something I will be rushing to eat again.

On Saturday night I took a real beating at Scrabble ... see the word in the top left corner??  That netted Richard a cool 185 points ~ FOR ONE WORD!!!!

SUNDAY 8 APRIL : Another quiet breakfast followed by some more reading and then lunch at Brie Street ... this time I tried the egg mayo and parma ham bagel ... Doesn't it look pretty?? and that little salad on the side was absolutely amazing!!! I even had to eat the one on Connor's plate!!

My boys both had the same pannini's they had on Friday and enjoyed them just as much. 

Aren't these clouds amazing ... to the left of the photo is the bustling metropolis of Wakker~ stroom!!! LOL!!!

MONDAY 9 APRIL : It was time to pack and contemplate our drive back to Johannesburg.  When we went to drop off the keys at Toad Hall I saw the different colours in the trees outside ... Isn't it amazing that you can get orange and green leaves on the same tree??

Then just across the road were bushes of my favourites ... Cosmos.  It is amazing how beautiful they are and I had to take a photo up close to share with you ...

We decided to try The Garrett for breakfast as Brie Street was closed ... Outside they have an old hitching post ... This cowboy was sans a horse!!!

Across the road from The Garrett is this old barn ... I have all kinds of ideas that attack my brain when I see this kind of building.  I would LOVE the opportunity to renovate a building like this and start a business that would benefit the community .. dreams are good things!!!

I had to take this picture of Connor ... he was amazed when he asked for a glass of water with his coffee and this is what he got.

When we were done with breakfast we hit the road and fortunately had a good trip home.  The road was relatively busy however everyone behaved themselves quite well.

All in all an absolutely stunning weekend and I came home feeling like we had been gone for a while.

Not sure what happened to Tuesday and Wednesday but here I am sitting and it is Wednesday night and we are hurtling towards another weekend!!!  Where has the time gone??

I hope you all had a stunning Easter Weekend and that the week is treating you really well.

Tuesday 11 April : Happy Birthday to my friend Susan Hamilton ... will see you in Durban on the weekend for a good party!!!