Birthday lunch with my children

The party never stops ...  It was off to Pescadiya in Stanley Street for lunch on Sunday 18 December. The weather was excellent and that made the pavement experience all the more exciting...

 

       My seafood salad was very good. Kia and Liezel opted for fillet ...

 

 

Party at undisclosed destination

I invited Emile and Liezel to join me for a "night out" to celebrate my birthday while they visited recently.
  My friend Gideon opened his house - all three levels of it - just for us to enjoy the views of the PE harbour before sunset.

While we were watching a DVD of Krakow in his private movie theatre, he started a braai fire on his patio.   We all moved there when the DVD I bought in York in 2007 did not want to respond.

German Christmas tea

My friend Ingrid Mare invited me to their Linkside home for a traditional tea.

   I thought it fitting to wear my German-made Wengert dress and jacket for the occassion (R20 from Bargain Box).

The only shoes that really did the outfit justice - colourwise - were a pair of rather worn Italian shoes in matching red.To give it a new life, I added a red flower (R2 from Mission Box) to the Hospice pair (R10).

 

 

 Did it surprise me to see none of the other guests dressed for the occasion ... what is wrong with the world?

   Ingrid and her husband Monty went to a lot of trouble. Just look at the pics ... 

 

 

 

Final farewell to NMMU job

Although I took formal leave of my library job at the end of November, Sharon and myself were called back to help with day shifts when

the permanent staff attended their end-of-year functions.

    On our final day in the formal emplyment sector, we broke (nearly) all the rules in the book:  Spoke on top of our voices, had coffee at

the desk and brought the remains of the "open house" cake with!   I forgot to talk on my cellphone and take my shoes off!

 

 

Just before closing time Sharon displayed her hipflask and sherry glasses near the printer in the general office and as we sounded the final warning for closing, toasted each other. (I added the lost property sign)

 

 

I sat in the parking lot for a while and reflected on my long association with the institution - as a student and library assistant at UPE (since the Bird Street campus), a

lecturer at the former Technikon and my last years at the 2nd Ave library, Then I selected a CD and drove past the security gate with Elgar's Land of Hope and Glory on high volume...

 

 

Feline guests

Emile and Liezel sent their pets on a three week holiday from Johannesburg to PE.

   In between entertaining birthday guests and keeping the house in an acceptable condition, Leo and Agape needs to be fed etc.

   Kia is the chief hostess and acted as head of the bomb squad while the cats were getting used to our house and used their litter tray in the house!

Here she is in her uniform just after se "binned" the nocturnal evidence.

Agape getting used to her holiday environment (between the the kitchen window and the burglar bars.

Harbour birthday

My friend Veronica Bowker took me to the harbour for lunch and we feasted on grilled hake, chips and salad.

   We sat on the deck at Fisherman's Deli and my Bargain Box hat fitted the occassion. It was a perfect match for the almost brand new Polo blouse from Hospice.

After lunch I took Veronica to Posh Pancakes in Stanley Street for coffee. My offering looked amazing, but lacked muscle.

Yes, sometimes I am a senior person ...

Between birthday commitments, I attended a seniors lunch at my church.

Lan Hall serves a bobotie lunch

Martie Delport made this
delicious trifle

Little Leah Oosthuizen represented 

the younger generation

 

Open house at the Verandah

My real birth date was celebrated in the Dutch style on Saturday. Friends who were not at previous celebrations (and some who were but like to socialise!) arrived between 11:00 and 15:00 for tea.

   The dining table was laid for 8 and Kia was the friendly and helpful right-hand girl. She was in charge of tea cup traffic and we had a great time chatting and chewing. I received loads of flowers and could not be happier.

My outfit for the day was a green crimpelene dress with beaded collar from the seventies.  I bought it at the Hospice shop in Middelburg a while ago. My aunt of 84 describes the colour as giggle-green (Afr: giggelgroen)

Birthday girl goes to Manhattan

My little vintage black beaded cocktail dress has never been to a cocktail party (or rather since it has joined my wardrobe).  My young friend Gideon van der Merwe suggested I "do" one of my birthday celebrations at Manhattans - a cocktail bar on Westbourne road. 

  So, on  December 6, the cocktail dress was complemented by fishnet stockings, my favourite 50's suede shoes, a "Treasures" velvet pill box and jewellery my late husband presented to me when we were newly married (from Bargains Unlimited!).  A "Bargain Box" handbag and "Hospice" gloves and shawl were added and Gideon picked me up in his convertible ...

With Gideon, Ronnie, Francis and Irma. 

I am holding Irma's gift - flowers made from 

recycled plastic bottles.

                                   

Irma and Francis - and the flowers!

Werner preparing my
Josephine Baker dessert cocktail ...

                                       

Me and Josephine ...

The crazy Boere Spaniard ... Salvelio Meyer!

Gideon with my Chinese smoking jacket
and Estelle donned in purple

                           

Louise Liebenberg (left) joined the happy group

Kia enjoying the savoury platter

 Gideon says it's time to leave ...

                                                            

Saturday celebrations ...

And the party goes on ... my bookclub breakfast was held at Leo's Bistro in Walmer as the rain poured down. It was a great surprise ... good food, well presented, excellent waiter and senior staff.   Karlien decorated the table with her Scandinavian angels and we were all in a festive mood.

                                                        Roline's croissant with egg and salmon

Ina had the same ...

My French toast with bacon and banana

                                                         Christine Malan

 

                             Biffy Joubert shows the title every bookclub member  should read ...

   After breakfast, management made a small lounge availble where we could discuss books.  Unfortunately I had to leave to attend a senior function at church. Our waiter James gallantly offered to escourt me to my car under a big black umbrella.

Birthday celebrations start ...

December is my birth month and this year I am planning to celebrate every day of the month.

It  started with a small tea party with some of my Richmond Hill friends on 1 December.  Friday, 2 December, offered the opportunity to take out my Melba Ware fish plates when my colleagues from the NMMU library (2nd Ave branch) came for lunch.

....

Have hat, can party

Veronica Bowker, my friend of 40 years, wanted to be vintage-i-fied for Iona Stopford's 80th birthday tea at Memory Lane a while ago.

   This black coctail hat belonged to my late aunt Johanna van der Walt who wore it in the 50's and 60's to evening do's in the Karoo.

 

Poetry surprise

When I attended my writer's club dinner on Friday evening, I did not anticipate

coming home with an award. This shield has found a place among my 20th century shoe collection.