Tails’ Blography

Two weekends ago, the bf and I (along with about 8 other couples and friends) were treated by a friend to a weekend away at a resort just outside of Segdefield, which is along the Garden Route. It was all expenses paid, except food and petrol, which was a real treat! And the resort was gorgeous! Queen bed with complimentary mint chocolates, JC Le Roux champagne on arrival, beautifully decorated chalet with a view over the Swartvlei Lagoon.

We arrived after our leisurely 5 hour journey and, as mentioned, were greeted with a complimentary glass of champagne. Most of our party had arrived and were standing outside chatting and laughing. The weather was gorgeous so we all hung out by the pool and had a braai after we’d settled in.

Our bedroom

Our bathroom

The view of the kitchen

The view of the living room

The view from our balcony

Saturday the bf and I went to the Wild Oats Morning Market, while the other members of our group stayed in to nurse hangovers. The market was huge and very crowded, and there was so much to look at. Food was being served everywhere one looked, and while we were there we had oysters, pancakes, and bacon & egg rolls (not all at once of course hehe).

From left to right: Benches were available everywhere, the bf browsing the ‘Wild Oats’ Morning Market, the stalls and shoppers, and the oysters which I ate!

We returned to the resort and went out to the jetty, grabbed a peddleboat and peddled out to meet some of our friends who were fishing in the lagoon. We returned and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the poolside, before having another braai that evening.

Sunday morning the bf and I made bacon and egg for breakfast, and packed our stuff so we were ready to leave. For the rest of the afternoon, until about three, we spent the time on one of the nearby beaches, while our friends fished and tanned. Dolphins were spotted out in the ocean and some of the guys climbed the huge hill closeby to get a better look (too tiring for me, so I stayed behind and read my book).

Us at the beach

My sexy man and our friends in the background

Bluebottle…it was dry, and we popped it…

One of our friends fishing

The weekend was unfortunately too short, but it was so relaxing and beautiful. I’d love to return there some day and have another gorgeous weekend away with my man.

74. Go to a Summer concert was originally a Kirstenbosch concert, but I thought that since this was a lawn concert, a local band, and picnic related (all just like Kirstenbosch) it could count. So this 101 item has been modified slightly, hope nobody thinks I’m cheating. If you do, look away and pretend you never saw this.

As everyone knows, yesterday was Valentine’s Day. As a treat and partial surprise to the boyfriend, I bought tickets to see The Parlotone’s live at D’Aria Winery in Durbanville. It was a picnic-friendly event so we packed some crackers and cheese, rolls, chicken mayo, chips and dip and some non-alcoholic drinks (wine and other alcohol was sold at the event only) and myself, the bf and my mom (dad was supposed to make it, but couldnt) meandered off at 2pm to get a good seat. When we got there, it was already almost half full, and the concert only started at 6pm, so we were glad for our (albeit old and manky) umbrella and cold cooler bags.

As the day wore on, we found ourselves battling to keep the space for the other family who were still coming. While I dont think its entirely fair to keep spaces, I do also believe its not viable for everyone to come and sit from 2-6pm for their seats, so the three of us tried our best. Eventually all ended well, the rest of the family turned up, and I went in search of a better spot to photograph the band.

I’ve learnt somewhat to be more pushy when it comes to getting decent shots. While before I might have stood back and not wanted to get in anyone’s way or chance moving closer, this time I scootched forward and got right up there at the front. I apologised to the people who moved out the way for me, and promised to only be a few minutes, which I stuck to. When I got my shots, I thanked those who had made space and made my way back to my seat.

I am so thankful to my bf who stayed patient the whole day despite us having to battle with strangers over our grassy area and despite me disappearing into the crowd to take photos. He is simply amazing and I love him more and more each day (ok ok /soppy haha).

Ok, so without further ado: photos!

The umbrella couldnt fully stick into the ground, so the bf was the official umbrella-holder for the day, bless him!

The crowd

The paparazzi taking a photo of me taking a photo of him haha

The Parlotones

Some of the people on the edge of the crowd

D’Aria Winery

Self-portrait of myself and the bf hehe

My mom and aunt enjoying the music, and some guys behind us having a jol

Mom dancing to the music!

The Parlotones

The Parlotones

The Parlotones

The Parlotones

Twas a great day and evening, and I was really happy with the pics I got!

The Community Chest Carnival is probably my most favourite carnival ever (website isnt updated for 2010, but I emailed them for dates for this year, see below)! I’ve been going ever since I was a child, and I still remember going with my parents, and my dad would find the large tower with the Red Feather logo on it and that would be our meeting point if we got split up (this was before cellphones, of course). We never needed to use the tower, but its a nice memory of mine.

The carnival itself is more of a food fair really. They have tents based on various countries and the authentic food you can buy there. For example, the China tent will have Chow Mein, etc, Italian will have pizzas and pastas, and the Mexican tent will have Tequila! They also have an oyster stall which definately have the best oysters I have ever tasted! And they’re priced great (last time it was R6 per oyster or R20 for 4) too which is a bonus. Also, if you go, you simply HAVE to try the Cannoli. A pastry tube filled with Ricotta sweet cheese and dusted with icing sugar…its divine!! Its one of the first places I seek out, and I buy at least two every time I go because they sell out quickly!

As well as food, they have stalls selling bric-a-brac, candyfloss, pancakes, corn on the cob, toys for kids, carnival games for prizes, etc. My most favourite place of all though is the Lion’s Club book sale. It is a HUGE tent (though it was smaller than usual last year) filled with books, all sold by the kilo. Last year it was R25 per kg and the guys are so nice there, they dont think twice to give you a magazine or three for free if its in your pile. I’m forever on the lookout for a young-adult series of books, which yes are now below my reading age, I still enjoy. This book sale is pretty much the only time I ever find them, so its like a tradition to go a-huntin’ for these books now.

They also have rides such as The Swings, a very scary cage version of The Boat (which goes all the way around!), Bumper Cars and other such rides. I find these creepy as they moan and groan while in use, and the prices are normally a little too high to be worth riding in my opinion. If you have kids or are younger and love rides, then it’s perfect.

If you’ve never been to the Community Chest Carnival, it’s definately something to try. It happens every year at the end of Feb/beginning of March and this year the dates and prices are:

Wednesday 24 February and Thursday 25 February from 18:00 to 23:00:
Adults (+18) R15.00
Children U6 (toddlers) Free
Family Ticket (Two Adults / Two Persons under 18) R 25.00
Persons under 18 R 5.00
Pensioners R 5.00

Friday 26 February from 17:00 to 24:00 and Saturday 27 February from 12:00 to 23:00:
Adults (+18) R 20.00
Children U6 (toddlers) Free
Family Ticket (Two Adults / Two Persons under 18) R 50.00
Persons under 18 R 15.00
Pensioners R 15.00

It’s at Maynardville in Wynberg. Just follow the cars and get there early if you want parking…it gets veeery crowded!

If you’re going for the books, go on a Wednesday as the books go quickly by Friday. If you’re also not keen on lots of semi-drunk kids, go during the week as well, as although there are bands per age group (you get a certain colour band if you’re over the drinking age limit, and you’re not allowed into drinking areas if you dont have that band), some kids still manage to get a little drunk, but its nowhere near what it was like when I was young and they didnt have bands!

Hope to see you there! I can’t wait!

PS: If you’re on Facebook, RSVP to the event and please invite your friends!

I hope everyone had a safe and funfilled New Years Eve. I spent mine at my flat, with my bf, best friend, and J. We had a braai, drank a bit, and just had a good time. After dinner we started making some shooters in the kitchen, Liquid Cocaine was our drink of choice, and on a whim I brought out my black light/UV light and we had some fun with my Neon shot glasses and UV Pen. We drew silly things on our faces and laughed so hard!

Eventually we moved out onto my patio under the Blue Moon and watched the cars go by. After seeing so many security company cars go by, we decided to turn it into a drinking game. Drink a shot for every security car you see.

Needless to say after we had our shots at the ready, no security cars were to be seen! So after waiting for a loooong time, we decided to drink for any car we saw! This helped hehe. We even saw someone get pulled over by a police car (this was worthy of two shots!).

Midnight was counted down and while we wished each other, the sounds of fireworks could be heard in the distance and people were cheering in the street. In fact, some people we couldnt see called out, to no one in particular, “Happy New Year!” and we all called back the same, to which they replied with a “Whoop whoop!” so the cheer was infectuous. Our neighbour brought his kid outside to shout Happy New Year and they blew their whistles and noise makers, so I ran inside and got a noise maker too (one of my Nano toys hehe) and the night was filled with squawking and shweeeee’ing and laughter.

At 3am another family came home and made their way past my flat and we wished them and while most of the group went on to their own flat, a very friendly German man stayed with us to chat so we poured him a shot of Woman’s Revenge and one for ourselves and toasted the New Year.

It was a relaxed party, and spent with people I love which was perfect. And so, 2010 is here, new beginnings, a fresh start, and all that jazz.

May 2010 be YOUR year. The year good things happen and may it be prosperous for you and yours. Happy New Year!

Chillaxing waiting for the braai to be ready

The Vegetarian “drooling” over the meat haha

Me!

Nom nom nom!

Our table ready and waiting (with the rattles in the background hehe)

“Liquid Cocaine” or “Smurfettes” or “Trashy Smurf”

The “tattoo” I gave V haha

Jay’s creepy eyes I drew on his eyelids haha!

Our shots of Woman’s Revenge hehe

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 30 days later and I’m DONE DONE DONE!!!

It’s hard to believe but after hours and hours of typing, blisters on my fingers (not kidding!) and many a sigh later and I’m offically done with NaNoWriMo ‘09!!

WOW what a feeling to have written a novel, or at least 50,000 words of one (it’s still not 100% complete)….and my bf was so proud of me, and was sitting right next to me as I finished! When I phoned my dad to tell him, he congratulated me and said he was so proud that I saw it through to completion, because I easily could have given up at any point.

I’m so exhausted! Having been off for a week while I was ill, I literally wrote a book in 3 weeks….wow. Just wow!

Now to take a 2 week break and then get editing with a fresh mindset! And there is the TGIO (Thank Goodness It’s Over) Party to look forward to this week! I’m so excited for my fellow nano’ers to have done this with me, whether you finished or not!

As a reward, I get to deck my house out in Christmas goodies and set up my tree! :D