BOOK CLUB ACCORDING TO THE PRINCESSES

2011-12-08T00:32:00.000-08:00

We went to Franschoek for our annual weekend away. Joanita's mother owns a house on the river at Hollandsche Molen. What a lovely, relaxing weekend.

Most of us had arrived by 16h0o Friday 2 December. The hostess however was nowhere to be seen. The bookies have never been known for being shy, so we found the key and made ourselves at home. Out came the liquid refreshments, some snacks and of course hilarity ensued.

We missed our BEE bookie terrible, Jax had other commitments. However she let us all know how she felt when she posted FOMO on her FB page. It took us a while to work this out (Fear Of Missing Out) and we we responded accordingly - HAB-WYWH. If you can work that one out I'll...well I'll be impressed.

Chicken burgers for supper, amazingly they were edible considering the amount of liquid refreshment consumed. A big topic of conversation was text talk ie LOL, why does no-one say HaHa anymore? How to spell Heh heh was also quite an animated topic. Amazing how interesting these minor discussions can become when sitting under the stars next to a river making short work of a few bottles of wine.

Saturday was spent exploring the beautiful little shops in quaint Franschoek. The Champagne Festival was on that weekend too, and there was a lovely little craft market set under the shade of trees in church grounds in the centre of the town. Very pretty. Funny enough some of us were really excited to find an honest to goodness old fashioned second hand bookshop. One would think we were a book club or something.

Then we had a late lunch at a wine farm. Jo organised crackers and pressies for all of us, and as usual we got lost in our own little world of chatter and laughter about all sorts of things, eating on the verandah and just relaxing. Very important quality time for busy moms.

Saturday evening, believe it or not, was a pizza and sit around the fire chatting evening. We left relatively early on the Sunday as it was Arlene's son's farewell that afternoon.

Such a special group of ladies - thank you for another lovely weekend.

Love you all xxx

2011-10-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a year and a half since I last updated the blog site. The other bookies are constantly asking me when I will start again. It is amazing how time flies when you are getting older.

Another birthday blew by me the other day, another year older. And here I am wondering what's next. I mean, when I left school I had a number of goals and ambitions to meet. So these have been met, bought the T-shirt and now I'm left wondering, "what now?

At least if I keep the blog updated we can keep our good memories alive and well, and re-live the moments whenever we like. The good part about it all is we can create new memories as we go along. We must just remember to do so.

So far we have not made arrangements to go away this year, although we are thinking about another boat cruise in Feb. Watch this space!

We have had some good laughs as usual along the way during the past year. There was our evening at Beefcakes in Green Point. We had some lovely young talent teaching us all about Bingo.

Good fun!

Then there was Sandy's 40th birthday party at Tableview FC. We all pitched in with the catering and it was great.

And along the way there have been the usual braais, birthdays and general P*** ups.

Some great and exciting news is that Jax and Claire have had a beautiful baby boy named Noah. Some of us still have to meet him. In fact, we still have not had a babyshower, he made an appearance a little earlier than expected.

Generally our special group holds it together for yet another year.

We are meeting tomorrow night at Braza, Canal Walk. I hope I remember to take notes?

2010-04-15T05:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are already half way through April, and making plans for our next get together. I haven't even downloaded March's evening. I just pulled my notes out and can't read my handwriting. I know we were at Eden on the Bay, not sure which restaurant, but I am pretty sure the evening involved Tequila, probably why the evening is a bit hazy in my memory.

From what I can make out we discussed our bucket list and the end of year trip, again... Shark diving (Jax is positive that with her luck her door will open just as a large great white swims up to make mincemeat of her), fishing in Hermanus??? OK, as long as our "guides" have teeth I don't mind. Horse/camel/elephant riding on the beach - it is starting to sound like we are going through a mid-life crisis ladies... do they allow elephant on the beach?

It was probably at this stage that the blowjobs started flowing, the drinks I mean.

Somebody asked about a wooden rocking horse instead of the real thing - we said we'd make enquiries.

The next discussion was a difficult one, but I think we all chose to look at it from the funny side rather than be morbid. One of us suspects her parent of being a kleptomaniac. She is missing a large number of light bulbs and a large chocolate bar from her house. Now, the person in question is battling with his health and is quite possible suffering from Alzeimers. It is sad, but try to imagine telling this story to a group of inebriated women - the snorting and laughter was enough to make our waiter suggest another round of shorts in alarm - I think he was hoping we would all just pass out.

Jo wants to go to the Barnyard for our next meeting, looks good so far.

OK, I cannot read the rest of my handwriting. I think I was laughing so much the tears were flowing, rendering my handwriting completely illegible.

So I will leave it here, we had a great time as always - the months are far too long between meetings. What are the chances of 2 per month - yea right, as if!!!

2010-04-06T06:39:00.000-07:00

So February saw us all trooping out to Beluga, a lovely restaurant in the heart of Greenpoint. This is Jacky's stomping ground and her choice of venue.

Once again not in the mood for writing, I am cribbing Sandy's notes for our blogsite.

A large portion of our discussions centred once again around our year end trip. Charmaine began telling us a story that may or may not have been about Montague, but we lost track.

Sandy suggested a visit to banana country, Tash wanted to go skiiing in Tiffendal (costs girls?), Jayni suggested a holiday house belonging to a client of hers, in Plett/Knysna. Sounds great but we need more than a weekend for something like that.

It was at this point that Jayni turned bossy and started shouting at us to keep quiet, jeepers, things began to become stressful.

She then suggested 7 days on horseback to Hermanus. Good grief, can you imagine?

Kerry murmured something about Avalon???

I would have loved to go hot air ballooning, but this is very costly, and as an alternative suggested a weekend stint on the river, like the guys did last year.

Jo just wants to go back on board, on the Simphonia - maybe not quite yet?

At this point Sandy goes off track in her notes as she notices the size of our waiter's hands and feet. We must find a gorgeous man not requiring socially adequate manners from the women he is ....with, for her, before things turn ugly.

Jo then suggested Sun City again - we would all love to go there. As it is at least two of us are going at the end of the year anyway.

Safari on horse-back was shot down again, what a pity, I mean how badly can Jax hurt herself falling off a horse?

She wanted to know if we can't do the safari in a van, like normal people - LOKL!

Charms suggested that she would rather ride Dumbo the elephant through the wild, than be lion meat - hehe - what is she smoking one wonders?

And so went another bookless book club meeting, what can I say, never a dull moment.

meeting adjourned 22h05.

Moya on The Bay, Jan 2010

2010-02-04T23:28:00.000-08:00

Our Jan meeting was a bit late in the month due to many being unable to attend on the usual date. Charmaine chose the beautiful ethnic Moyo, based at Eden on the Bay in Big Bay. It is a stunning setting on the beachfront, with a large patio encompassing a long pool in which tables and benches are set. People can dangle their feet in the water while sipping on cocktails and watching the sun go down in typical Cape Town style.

Once we had all been seated we welcomed our honorary guest for the month, Andrew, all the way from the UK. He was reasonably quiet and, I think, possibly a little overwhelmed by being faced with 8 women (Jax was unfortunately not there) all trying to speak at once.

The following notes were made by Sandy, as I decided I was on strike that particular evening. I think we all had a good laugh, and so I decided to put them on the blog as is. Here goes...

Book Club will be the first Thursday ON or AFTER the 25th of each month - NO EXCUSES.

20h30 - Charmaine veers way off the topic before we've even started with book club discussions.....

Lisa's been told by Timmy that she has all of 15 cents to spend on her book club trip this year, so we are not sure where she will be going??.......;-) Seems here chances of joining us all in a trans-Atlantic crossing is out. LOL!

20h40 - Charmaine i soff on a different tangent to the rest of us again. Apparently here family doesn't appreciate her cooking skills.... So she's decided she's on strike and is refusing to cook another meal.

(Where is the darn food! The wine is going down far too well! :-)

Rules:

What goes on tour/stays on tour.

You require the "appletizer" can in order to speak/hold the soapbox position.

Ideas for year end trip: (by our next meeting all bookies are to come with their ideas and pricing... or else be subjected to a big forfeit)

Tash: Tiffendell skiiing trip

Joanita: Mozambique? and local "trip-pi" (ie small trip) mid-year

Jayni: R22mil house in Knysna

Other: Bucket list - start with list and plan a trip around each item on the list

Sandy: 3 day Durban trip: 1 day U'Shaka & beach, followed by clubbing at night, 1 day trip to game farm, followed by clubbing at night (chauffered by cute guide)...

Other items discussed

Illegal fundraising for trip

Start a cc/company and fundraise legally

Beg on the street with tins - Charmaine's idea (no-one else was really keen on this one...)

Take kids out one weekend for lunch/picnic and let them know that they have been officially invited/included by book club, but that no quad biking will take place (as much as they'd all love that!)

21h45-ish...the food finally arrives! thank goodness I had a HUGE lunch or else my fellow bookies woulda been in danger! ; -)

Observations in Observatory

2009-10-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

For the month of October the Princesses decided to venture into the Southern Suburbs and ended up in Observatory eating at a quaint little restaurant called Panchos. It is very popular and full to capacity most evenings.

I can see why! The food was outstanding, not to mention the lively atmosphere and interesting decor.

I was the first to arrive and was shown my way to a table set up against the windows looking out onto the very busy Lower Main Rd.

Being as observant as I am, I was most startled when hand grabbed me by my shoulder from behind as I sat day-dreaming, waiting for my lost bookmates. It was Jax, out on the pavement, clearly excited for the festivities to begin.

(Jacky and I have decided that city life is a thing of the past and are most keen to venture into pig farming as a source of income, but that's another story, and perhaps another life time.)

And so my mates began arriving. Designated-driver Sands arrived looking cool, calm and collected with her charges all looking slightly bemused. (I hear Sandy has a rather heavy foot?)

Of course Jo was true to form and made a grand entrance 40 minutes or so later than the rest of us. But she assured us that this time she knew exactly what she wanted. Phew, her orders can be alarming at the best of times!

Somebody suggested that we order a jug of Margeurita, just to get started.

Well, the stuff tastes like cooldrink, let me tell you, it seemed like such a good idea at the time. Funny how these good ideas look so different the next morning. Again, another story for another time. Jayni elected to drink hers through three straws, feeling that this would somehow lower the alcohol intake of the beverage. Still trying to figure that one out!

So we got stuck in. Our excitement levels have now reached fever pitch as this is our last meeting before we embark on our quad bike trip.

We have decided that we require a pre-weekend away meeting to discuss important things like what to wear, drink and take with to eat. I believe Woolies will be sponsoring some of our meatier snacks?

At various stages of the evening a number of glasses of Marguerita were knocked over, and I think the wheels started to come off when it was suggested that we take false teeth along on our trip, in order to scare the living daylights out of our guides when it gets dark. I am not sure who is meant to be scaring whom, but some of the booklets started making little yelpy noises about the dark etc, etc. We discussed the possibility of hillbillies who eat each other living in the vicinity, the yelping got louder and the subject was changed. We also wondered if there were proper toilets or pits, like in the real wild. I suggested that we nominate toilet buddies, so as to protect each other while in our most vulnerable moments. This is still to be discussed.

Kerry, please remember to find out about the other guests expected at Houw Hoek that Saturday evening, ie age, marital status and shoe size! (Jokes hey, for the hubbies possibly reading this.)

Ladies Bite at Col Cacchio

2009-10-07T03:46:00.000-07:00

September 28, 19h00, place, Col Cacchio Big Bay. Ladies Bite, little surprise parcels wrapped in gauze and tied with pink ribbon. Facials and manicures, cute waiters, Amarula and sparkling wine. These are some of the items making up our ladies night out on a balmy Monday evening.

Big on the agenda now is our pending trip to ..., well who knows, all I know is we get there via quad bike. Are there showers? Who is going to carry our luggage? Snakes...??? I have prepped my camera in anticipation of some wonderful photo ops that are sure to present themselves.

A night to remember

2009-09-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

A while ago I mentioned that my 40th birthday was looming and I had planned a birthday bash worthy of a 40th. It was my intention to make it a night to remember, as there is little chance of my having another party like that. Well, it appears that hubby and the other 8 princesses had something similar in mind.
The venue looked lovely. Fairy lights were dotted around the inside of what were once stables housing horses,turning the lovely rustic area into a fairy tale wonderland. The tables looked beautiful and the sherry fountain made a welcoming entry aperatif.

Imagine my surprise when the projector came out and photographs of my life over the past years were splashed larger than life onto a wall for all to see. Apparently this afforded much amusement, from the giggles and laughter coming forth from my friends. Then there was a presentation, during which hubby decided to enlighten these people as to what I got up to in my youth, including a highly embaressing modelling career. Suffice it to say that I am now known as Miss PE.

I had been placed on a chair in the middle of the room right at the front to watch the presentation. I was then told that the princesses had something to say.

Funny enough I had wondered momentarily right at the start of the evening how it was that they all dressed so similarily, but I was easily distracted, understandably, and did not give it much thought.

Then I heard it, the music that sounded so familiar. Imagine my surprise and amazement as my 8 friends danced onto centre stage (OK, floor) and began performing an entire sonnet written by the princesses themselves, and performed to Abba's Mama Mia. They had all draped themselves in white feather boas, and were the ultimate professionals. Apparently they had been practising for 6 weeks already prior to the party, and had managed to keep it a secret all that time.

It is not often that I am speechless, but this was one occasion where words are not enough. How incredibly blessed am I to have friends like these. They were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and guess what, my 40th birthday party was a night I will never forget.

To all of you, and my dear hubby, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you. xxx

Bookies in their 40s

2009-08-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

It was with trepidation that I approached book club this week. But before I go there I must mention that I am reaching my 40th birthday milestone this weekend. Much preparation has gone into organising a bash to be held at a lovely venue called Mountain View Farm. The venue was originally used as stables and these have been converted into a lovely bar and dance area.

I have mixed feelings about turning 40. On one side I know that I have acquired a confidence and "don't care much what you think of me" attitude that is scarce in younger people. I am reasonably financially stable and have achieved most of what I wanted to by this stage of my life. On the other hand this is pretty much half way, is it all downhill from here?

Somehow I don't think so. I sat observing my beautiful friends at book club, a number of whom have already passed this esteemed landmark, and I see a group of women who know who they are, what they want and how to get it. I think it is a good place to be.

But I digress, we had an agenda last night. One of our close male friends has a girlfriend, Arlene. They have been seeing each other for some time now and it is becoming awkward that she is not in our little book club.

I need to explain at this point, for those who have not already picked it up, we are not really a book club. No, really, you can stop laughing now. I mean, some of us read for sure, (no, really, stop laughing!!) but what we are is more of a "support from your friends and having a good time while doing it" club. We have known each other for a long time. We confide in each other, we lean on each other and we know that we can trust each other.

We all like what we know of Arlene, but nobody has really gotten to know her very well, so what will a new addition to the club do to the dynamics of what is a very special and rare friendship among 9 women? Sure, we would have an even number. Also we would not have to feel awkward at braais when we want to talk about book club.

It was suggested that we initiate her by stringing her up by her ankles and then each take a turn to slap her on the backside as we walk past her in turn. But we soon realized that a case of abuse lodged against the book club may not do much for our image, so we decide against that.

We agreed that Arlene should join us on our November quad bike trip, and take it from there. Unusually for us we were unable to come to agreement about pretty much anything, however for once the bill worked out perfectly. Go figure!

We ate at Primi Wharf at the V&A Waterfront, a popular and trendy spot it seems, albeit a little noisy for a discussion as delicate as the one on our agenda. Once again we tried to formulate a few rules to guide us in situations that require serious debate, and came up with the following:

1. What happens at book club stays at book club (excludes Blog of course)
2. We watch each others backs ie, we can rag each other but we must pound anyone saying anything negative about any one of us.
3. Be honest, even if it is difficult
4. Be free to discuss anything within the group, safe in the knowledge that it will never get out

Not too bad for starters. We are all very protective and possessive over what we have, and I think knowing I have this support I can face my 40th birthday with absolute calm and even excitement.

Thank you ladies - can't wait for Saturday.

Tong Lok, Parklands

2009-07-06T03:58:00.000-07:00

Bookclub ran late for the month of June, and we only got together on 1 July. We met up at Tong Lok in Parklands, our second venture there for some of us, to make the most of their Sushi half price Wednesday special.

To be honest I went there feeling quite miserable and convinced that the whole world is out to get me. On arrival I was asked if I was joining “Kelly table” – I must have looked confused until somebody else clarified, er, Kerry. Ah, Inge aka Pam, yes, that was the one.

I thought that our reputation had preceded us, as I was led to the back of the restaurant away from the other diners into a private room. How exciting, we had a whole room filled with Chinese porcelain treasures all to ourselves. We could do whatever we liked without the customary dirty looks to which we have become accustomed. Turns out our esteemed chair lady organised the room for us on arrival when she realized where we were sitting. Well done Mel!

Our poor waiter spent the next hour trying to urge us to order something to eat other than our liquid refreshments. How are 9 women supposed to make decisions under circumstances like this? As it is Sandy and Jax did not arrive, causing much consternation as we had all arrived with birthday gifts and clothes to donate to the needy. We must have all looked like we were all leaving home.
Eventually we ordered and received our Sushi starters, a new experience for some. At one stage Jo became so excited her nose started running, she was so embarrassed to be trying to blow her nose in front of everyone, and got up to do so quietly in the corner, as you will see by the relating pic of her leaning over the very expensive Ming vase. Hope she enjoyed her Nigiri snot ball!

As so very often happens the conversation steered all over the place, including our loving children and their very honest observations of our ageing process. (I have been seriously contemplating banning all mirrors in our household for some time now, the only deterrent being how to apply mascara without stabbing yourself in the eye.)

Jayni’s son very kindly pointed out that she is beginning to cultivate something resembling a moustache. As it turns out most of us have secretly been waxing for some time now. This of course led to a debate of whether to wax or shave. I won’t go any further because this could become graphic. I will just say that Jo needs to report back on how it works out with the cookie cutter. Charms, how is it going with Fagena?

We discussed Michael Jackson, Joost and Hansie – pretty much coming to the conclusion that where there is smoke, there’s fire.

My foul mood dissipated fast. What with Ke confusing the fish tank with a karaoke machine (no, I have still not figured that one out), Tashie helping me out with the strange looking food on the menu, Jayni’s special beef with lettuce leaf we laughed and laughed, again. I think a book or two were actually mentioned this time too, I’m proud of you girls.

Lastly, the good news is that we have finally planned our weekend away for this year. We are going for an overnight quad biking trip in Grabouw, followed by dinner and some relaxation at the Houw Hoek Inn. I believe that some of the more disgruntled hubbies are worried about our being led astray by errant, muscle-bound tour guides - (we should be so lucky?).

Till next time – love you lots.

2009-05-29T02:11:00.000-07:00

BOOK CLUB ON BICYCLES – a Mexican evening

It was a particularly cold and rainy Thursday evening as we all gathered around the fire at Casa Santos. Yes, it was our monthly book club meeting hosted this time by Princess Jo. The theme was Mexican and we sat cross-legged on pillows on the floor at a beautifully decked table groaning under the weight of plates of nachos, burritos, fried chicken and beef strips and all the other goodies that go with a Mexican menu.

We were greeted with Marguerites on arrival and did I mention the warm fire? Sandy had already taken over Jo’s panda bear socks and those slippers, well I don’t think words are adequate – please view photo.

Of course the hot topic was where are we going this year for our end of year trip? Our esteemed chairperson, Mel, is becoming understandably irked by the lack of decision so far. 9 women trying to agree on something? I don’t think so!

There are so many options but it seems none of them have grabbed us. Of course there are also the ever unwilling-to-let-go husbands also putting a spanner in the works. Some of the options were:

Cycling through a wine route. Of course this poses a number of problems, primarily how dangerous can driving a bicycle be while under the influence of the various wine farm treasures we are bound to unearth?

A cruise on a ship larger than the Rhapsody to the Islands. I am not sure where these Islands are, however they apparently require 5 days away, something that we are sure won’t go down well with previously mentioned unwilling husbands. I did suggest cutting the cruise short and Charmaine was happy to jump ship mid-way and row home. Hmmm, I think this one needs further thought.

Kerry aka Pam aka Inge’s suggestion of a 5 day hike was greeted with hoots of laughter, say no more.

A trip to Durban was put aside due to the havoc sure to be caused to Jayni and Tash’s hair by the humidity. Jax suggested stocking caps as these apparently help straighten hair, very sexy.
House-boat in Langebaan – 9 inebriated women in charge of a boat for a weekend. I don’t think so. Just getting certain people’s coffin, I mean suitcase, on board is a whole day’s worth of planning.

Camping – this idea met with Silence, followed by hysterical laughter.
Shopping in Singapore and/or Thailand – wonderful idea. Now if we can only persuade the husbands to go overseas first, they will not have a leg to stand on.

And so it went on. We are still no closer to making any decisions, but that’s OK, when it comes it will be fantastic, I am sure.

Thanks for the love and laughter girlfriends, we are amazing!

Back to Pronkies

2009-04-15T01:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about that place! It's dusty, very rustic, there is not enough hot water or space, but we love it.

We headed out again on Thursday 9 April and by the time the sun went down 17 adults were seated around a roaring fire, surveying the most beautiful sunset and listening to twenty odd kids run riot around Tony and Sula's farm.

Drommie outdid himself this time with his ghost stories about Patricia from Piketberg, with Darren and Gavin scaring the living daylights out of the kids by appearing as Darth Vader at various stages over a couple of nights. Even Darren was scared hiding out in the bushes in the pitch dark waiting to scare the kids, all the time hoping that Patricia was indeed just a story, and not about to tap him on his shoulder.

Thomas and Jason prepared wonderful pooitjies again, food that was woolfed down by the hungry packs.

The girls spent lazy afternoons at the pool drinking Vodka and Cranberry Juice, eating mussels and crackers, we read our books and magazines and laughed like mad.

The little girls got to bake bread, the young boys fished and rode their bikes and the big boys made fire.

Suikerkaskenades had us all in stitches. We had sack races, egg and spoon races and egg throwing competitions.

The Easter egg hunt became a bit stressful at one stage, but things were sorted out and of course the kids were on a sugar high for most of Easter Sunday.

It was a very special, fun and relaxing weekend, and I can't wait to do it again.

Claire

2009-03-05T22:47:00.000-08:00

It's a very sad day today. At two 'o clock we are burying Claire, beloved sister of Jayni, Tash and Adie. She died on Sunday morning, the 1st of March in a terrible car accident.

Needless to say all of her friends and family are devastated and trying to make some sense of this tragedy. Claire was going to be 30 in a couple of weeks time, and she leaves behind her beautiful three year old daughter Cammie.

We all remember Claire for her incredibly infectuous laugh, her love for a good party and especially her love for her family. We had some really good times and these are memories that will stay with us forever.

I am so glad that I got to see her one last time on Saturday evening before she went out. It was just the girls and as usual we had a laugh and a really good time.

Rest in peace Claire. xxx

Cows, quad bikes and bunnies

2009-01-15T01:46:00.000-08:00

Each year our families get together some time over the Christmas holiday and we go away somewhere. This year we went to Pronkies holiday farm, just past Piketberg up the West Coast.

Needless to say the kids had a ball. The farm is built on wasteland in the middle of nowhere and it suited us down to the ground. We booked out all 7 chalets, ending up with about 20 over-excited, hyperactive kids, not to mention the over-excited, hyperactive parents to go with them.

We were there for 4 very hot days, and were extremely grateful for the little shaded oasis and swimming pool overlooking the beautiful wide open plains and mountain space. The kids got to ride horses, bottle feed a lamb, milk cows, target shoot, ride bikes, fish in the dam (poor fish, they get tossed back each time. I just can't imagine why they are stupid enough to get caught time and again. I assume they are used to it now. I imagine it has become something of a game to them now..hey guys, let's see who can catch this sucker's bait..) anyway, I am getting ahead of myself.

All of these activities meant the adults got lots of time off while the sprogs did their own thing.

The Drummonds arrived in their little red fire engine, with not even enough space to pack one more pair of jeans for Drom, but they did manage to bring Flopsy the Bunny, who had recently been liberated of his home due to a penchant for garden flora. He was placed in a cage with a very aggressive new mommy bunny who chased poor Flopsy until he was utterly terrified. Charmaine decided to try and save him by climbing into the cage (no, not a large cage, a rather small one) and proceeded to chase the already traumatised bunny around while falling flat on her face on a couple of occasions. This of course provided much entertainment for the on-lookers. (See pic.)

We had our usual wonderful all night braais where the wise-chirps flourished amid much laughter. The food was great, especially the potjies prepared by Thomas and Jason on Saturday night. The Suikerkaskenades held on Saturday afternoon were a special treat, especially when Charmaine challenged Darren, who dressed for the occasion. (see pic). BTW, I still don't sleep well since seeing that particular outfit Darren!

What stunning memories guys, they will be cherished always. It looks like we will be returning for the Easter weekend. Somebody should warn the animals!

Old Year's eve 2008

2009-01-14T03:27:00.000-08:00

For the first time in a couple of years we all spent old year's eve together. In the past we have had differences of opinion as to where this occasion should be celebrated. This year a buddy of ours invited everyone to his smallholding in Morningside. It was great!

There was a crowd of 80 - 100 people, and we had about 6 fires going. We had a live band (very good), lots of bubbly and we had a jol. We are giving the hubbies and other friends the honorary status of appearing in pics on our blogsite, just this once ... (OK, maybe there will be more). Pics to follow!

Going overboard 2008

2008-11-24T23:26:00.000-08:00

We finally did it! We've been planning this boat trip for two years, and this weekend the dream became a reality.

Eight very excited princesses met at the Table Bay Hotel on the morning of Friday 21 November to await boarding time. Wheat free crunchies and designer cappuccinos set the scene for the start of the bookless book club 2008 tour.

Shipmates in attendance were Randy, Inge, Jayni, Spice, Charming (Lionel), Gabbi, Jo (Dory) and Barbie.

Princess Inge had a bad moment when she realized that she had left her ID book at home. (She being the one who organised all of us and was responsible for reminding all of us as to what was required of us, yes, she was the one who forgot!) But her hubby was kind enough to drive all the way back out to Big Bay, in early morning traffic mind you, to fetch it.

The MSC Rhapsody was scheduled to leave the harbour at 13h00, but there was some trouble getting permission to leave apparently. This did not deter the happy travellers. Much to our delight we found that it is so much easier spending money when you don't actually see it leave your hands. Each person is given a card operating in dollars that is eventually taken off against your Rands cash. We quickly found the bar area and a lovely sunny spot on the deck and sat back to watch the entertainment.

Our entertainment director and his crew outdid themselves with dancing, singing and bright sparkly costumes, rivaled only by a group of gay (and I don't mean happy) men. These guys proved to be a constant source of entertainment, as they went out of their way to dress up and make the most of their holiday.

Of course the princesses themselves are extremely talented when it comes to entertainment, with Princess Jo being renamed Dory, due to her constant memory loss. We eventually lost count of the number of times we were accused of losing her keys, cruise card, huge orange bag and heaven knows what else.

We befreinded a lovely young man by the name of Toby (pronounced Tourbee), at which stage Princess Barbie thought he was speaking of a career opportunity ie Tour A and Tour B, prompting much laughter from everyone, while Toby merely sat looking bemused and a little alarmed.

One can't blame him.

We all had to partake in a compulsory emergency drill, where we got to wear our life jackets and were all supposed to congregate in the lounge area to learn how to stay alive should the ship sink. Thank goodness it didn't, because we would all be lying on the bottom of the ocean by now thanks to Inge, who had to have the longest toilet break in history. We missed the whole thing!

Princess Gabi managed to bring her own coffin along on the cruise. The cabins were tiny and as we were sharing 4 to a cabin, the coffin pretty much took up all available space. We seriously considered letting Princess Gorgeous sleep in there, as her bunk bed appeared to be in constant danger of collapsing. Not that anyone had much sleep, much to Princess Randy's disgust.

Her sleeping habits are inconsistant, to say the least. Add to that an anchor chain lodged just outside our porthole, banging against the side of the ship in the wind, three cell phones that either rang or chimed at all times of the night and morning, and cabin mates lurching in to go to bed as the sun rises, and you will have someone who has not slept in 48 hours and is beginning to resemble a murderous ghoul. I quote, "WTF!"

But we made do, famously I might add.

I suppose much of this is the "you had to be there" type of funny, but we found everything hysterical. Shipmate Spice had us all worried when her bag began vibrating whilst we all sat having a quiet (or not so quiet) drink in the lounge, only to discover that her electric toothbrush (took some time to convince us that's what it was) had switched itself on.

Jayni was almost renamed Shipmate Klepto due to her alarming tendency to make off with people's lighters. Rumour has it that she was recently given 14 lighters by a colleague and is still bumming lighters off everyone else. She has no idea where the 14 lighters went to.

There were a few green moments for some of us, but the parties more than made up for that.

Then there was Luigi! How do I explain Luigi adequately.

He was our maitre D for the weekend,

which meant he looked after our tables. The man is Italian and clearly takes his job very seriously. I became quite afraid of him early into the journey. You were made to eat all 46 courses really fast, so that the staff could get in and clean up. You were not allowed to make any changes to the menu either. Just ask Princess Honey aka Captain aka Charming! She had the audacity to request chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce, when the menu clearly stated (OK, it wasn't that clear) Vanilla ice cream. Luigi turned a strange shade of purple and began ranting alarmingly in Italian. Luckily none of us understands Italian, so the whole thing was quite amusing. I asked him to pose for us shortly after the "misunderstanding", and as you can see he had everything back under control.

Breakfast was a different story altogether.

No-one told us that the dining room closed at nine am. And believe me, not a second later. We began trickling in at about 08h50, only to be shunted from table to table. We were not allowed to use a table that had already been used, and there were no others. There ensued a battle of wills, until an elderly gentlemen took pity on us (or perhaps he just wanted to shut us up) and he found us a table. Mind you there was no cutlery or condiments, and Jany had to fight (quite literally) for a piece of bacon. But we ate! After that we made sure we ate at the upstairs buffet where the staff are a little more friendly.

The weather wasn't great, but we managed to get some sun bathing in, some more than others! Jo, those arms? The parties on the deck both evenings were fabulous. At one stage when the boat resembled the one that swings at a 09 degree angle at Ratanga Junction Randy asked why we can't just turn the boat around so that it doesn't rock as much. She says that there was logic in that, somewhere....

We also watched the Bokke annihilate England in the lounge , enduring Charming's questions like when she was told that the score was 3 all, and she wanted to know who had 3. We all just pretty much shake our heads in wonder. By this stage we had become most annoyed as some husbands had mentioned drugs being pumped through airducts and sexy cabin boys taking advantage of us. This never happened! I am definitely going to write and complain! We had however made contingency plans. The braver ones amongst us had smuggled alcohol in their bags. So there we sat pouring spirits into our cokes under the tables, from our hand bags. Very classy!

There was karaoke, there was Jo throwing her own drink in her face in an attempt to look gorgeous in front of all the party revellers. That one was clearly not well thought out at all.

There was "The Package" - who had Mel gulping and choking on her strawberry daiquiri with fright!

There was Jorge, our sweet waitron who made sure that we were never without drinks. As a token of their appreciation Mel and Inge decided to lock him in the toilets one evening. The poor boy has never been the same since. I hear he is considering a career change.

There was John, following us around like a puppy with a multitude of drinks in his hands. It was amazing to watch as he never spilled once. He said that we were so mysterious and wonderful, and I have to agree.

As Gabbi put it, "YAW, what a flippin awesome time was had...."

Our youngest bookie princess turns 30!

2008-10-14T23:52:00.000-07:00

We all joined Jax on Saturday to celebrate her 30th birthday at Breakfast Jam in Kenilworth. A fantastic afternoon, stunning weather, lovely food and of course much laughter.

Thanks girls, as usual the time spent with you was quality!

The Gus Glassic 2008 - our golfing memoirs

2008-10-09T23:51:00.000-07:00

This will be the third year that this function has taken place in memory of our dear friend Terry Hogg, who died on 30 August 2004. Funds are raised and donated to the charity of choice for the year.

Each year 600CT has sponsored the ladies four ball. Well, I suppose if we actually practiced at some stage during the year we would be in a position to call what we do "playing golf". However, what we actually do leaves a lot to be desired. As you can see from the pic we particularly enjoy the watering holes. this year Jax came in as our caddie - and swore that unless we practice before the next golf day, she refuses to ever caddie for us again. So much fun and laughter though.

This year we also commemorated our beloved Lisa Lamb, who passed away almost a year ago.

How do you spell Majongg???

2008-10-01T01:16:00.000-07:00

The Princesses decided that as things are tough at the moment, financially speaking, we should hold our September book club function at home. Ke, aka Inga/Pam offered her lovely home to us for the evening and prepared a veritable feast.

We were blown away! The lounge had been transformed into a Majongg (sp??) haven, fire burning in the fireplace and a table set with candles and the works. We sat down to a stunning meal of pasta (and veg) and salad and of course spoke our way through the next few hours while gorging on delicious tagliatelle.

But it was all a ploy! She was softening us up for the kill. Kerry lured us all into what looked like an inviting game of Majongg, and turned into the teacher from hell. At one stage I recall being whacked over the head with the instruction manuel (yes, she had photocopied one for each of us) and I am sure the Joanita was close to tears at one stage.

I spent the evening being glared at by my two opponents, Jayni and Jo (due to the fact that I supported the whole thing in the first place.) Who knew that Ke had this side to her? During non-MJ time she is sweet, kind and supportive!

But we had fun anyway. Amid much laughter (as usual) we bumbled our way through, and we look forward to the next level where hopefully we have gained enough trust to be allowed to actually play for points.

Sands and Jax you missed a lovely evening. Mel, it's nice to have you back after your holiday. Charm, we all think the pills are a bad idea girl - come to gym with me instead!

Gilloweys, thank you so much for sharing your home with us for the evening. We ended the evening off with an amazing lemon meringue pie (thank you Mrs Paarman and Ke/Inge/Pam of course) and were surprised to find it was after midnight by the time we had finished. I am sure that some of the hubbies were a little disgruntled with the hour - but it was worth it!

Love you all - Princess Barbie.

It's spring time, or so they say

2008-09-16T02:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that we have already had two bookclubs since I last wrote. July's event took place at the V&A Waterfront and the well known Quay Four restaurant. It is based right on the quays and has a lovely ambience. This is a good thing as the food leaves a lot to be desired.

The lovely thing about our little group is that we are usually so happy to see each other (this made obvious by all the hugging and kissing that goes on at the start of the evening). We are then so totally absorbed in the discussions that follow, not much else matters. Sandy and I were very grateful to Jax, however, for having a supply of balsamic vinegar chips in her bag. We promptly stuck these in the Portuguese rolls on the table and chowed down. The girls dug deeper and actually found a bar of chocolate too, which they got stuck into on the way home. Although I believe one had to fight for a bite of that, for some reason? Honey?

August was a busy month for us. We have a number of birthdays and a double 40th that took place on the 30th. We all had a ball. Book club was held in Greenpoint at Buena Vista, a lovely bar/restuarant and this time there were no complaints about the food. This time Sandy and I had dessert too - yummy! To sum this particular evening up, Kerry (aka Pam/Inga) had the following to say;

"Thanks for a lovely evening (speak up I can't hear you). Salsa is far too repetative for my 40yr old brain (what ? Can't hear you!).
Sandy (alias Gonzales) thanks for driving and Jayni (the stiff) thanks for taking your car. Mel hope your eyes are better and that Liz sorts you out one time this morning - please be a hon and let Jayni know about the white plates (I also would like 100 for home use). Jack's keep your underwear in the bag and thanks for bailing me out for R50 - will sort you out on Sat night. Charm - no muffins for you - you are mad enough without any help from me - Nick is off sick today so won't be at Karate tonight. Sid you looked really chilled last night - stunning - we must get together and play Mahjong - we can set a date on Sat night okay!!!
Jo, you were so missed last night with all the noise you make but we had ordered and eaten by 8.30pm - can you believe it."

There are pics and if I can figure how, I will put them on the site.

Here's to our next meeting girls - not sure if there will be one this month as the Conradie's and Hoggs are off to Natal. xxxxx

Planning our wakes

2008-07-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we sat through a sad loss by the Bokke against the Aussies. To make up for it the princesses and I decided to improve things by cracking open the champagne and enjoy the sunshine. I suppose due to the frame of mind we were in the talk slowly got around to planning our wakes for one day when we are no longer here. Who better to confide your deepest wishes to than your best friends.

It was agreed that we would each choose our favourite song. As Mel pointed out some of us would require a CD cut for the occasion, but generally we all know what we want. The 3 absentee princesses will need to put forward their selections please. I thought I'd document our songs so that there is no confusion when the time comes:

Charmaine will be happy with either Akon, Lionel Richie or Angel by Robbie Williams - but she does not want a funeral, just a big party.
Jayni wants either (and here comes the CD) Louis Armstrong (A wonderful world), Justin Timberlake (Timberland), Enrique (Feels like losing someone) or James Blunt (You're beautiful)
Joanita is not sure of the artist - We had joy we had fun, it is not Joe Parker!
Mel likes Abba - Dancing Queen (so do I, and we like Neil Diamond - so there!)
I chose You've lost that loving feeling. No idea who sang it, just watch Top Gun.

So ladies, we all agreed to no buriels, just ashes and parties!

Love you all
BazL

2008-07-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

Our last bookclub took place last Wednesday, the 25th of June at Chaplins. As usual once the tequilas started flowing things got out of hand. We had an honorary member join us for the evening, Lee, and a great time was had by all. Bar the fact that half of us were in tears (due to sad news) and the other half in tears of hysterical laughter, due to Charmaine's hamsters' antics. (Don't ask, but if you have seen Kung fu panda you will appreciate the imagery.)

Backdated - November 07 Bookclub trip to Sin City

2008-06-30T23:49:00.000-07:00

H.O.T / PRINCESS TOUR 2007

DAY 1:

5 breakfast “crunchies” & 1 black label down.... (for some of the princesses), and it’s only 09h30...... The trip begins....

The Princesses were in good spirits at the start of their tour, so much so, that when asked by a curious on-looker if we had had a good trip.....she was very shocked to hear that we were only starting off! J Curious lady thought we were on our way home, so evident & infectious was the excitement from all the Princesses.

An enjoyable, yet bumpy plane ride later, & our presence, “crowns” and all, caused quite a stir at O R Tambo.

But nothing could come close to the commotion caused by our poor shuttle driver, Christiaan, who had been standing waiting patiently for an age (I think our luggage went via Zimbabwe!) with a sign looking for “HOT BEAVERS”!!! The poor guy!

One quick stop to the nearest bottle store, and we were on the road. It was a long drive, and many drinks later, the Princesses needed to make a roadside “pit-stop”. Nothing could prepare our driver for Princesses Jax & Jayni christening the side of the road like only royalty can – in style!

Finally.....SIN CITY!!!!

Long story short,............ after a total mix up with our booking at the Cabanas, the Princesses were elevated to Royalty status, like no other, and UPGRADED to..... THE PALACE!!

Well, what could we say??? “If you must.......”

We managed to keep our composure until getting on the shuttle to, THE PALACE, after which much shrieking of joy could be heard across the resort.

We were styling!!!

Dinner: Leonardo’s for yummy pizza & pasta.

DAY 2:

Breakfast – No words can describe this breakfast.... Some idea of what was on offer to the Princesses:

Endless supply of Graham Beck Brut, oysters, sushi, Chinese crispy duck, gammon, salmon, English breakfast, Continental breakfast, fruit, pastries, PANCAKES, and so on, and so on.....

On to the Palace pool for a day of basking in the sun, playing Asshole, reading, swimming & relaxing.

Then, off to the Valley of the Waves where some of the Princesses conquered the “Temple of Courage” death-defying water slide. We have photos to prove it!

Cascades next after chilling on the beach for the arvie.....

And did we have fun on the water slide at the “heated” pool at the Cascades! The lifeguard told us we were behaving like children....and we felt like kids again too!! What fun!

18h00 – pool closed & back to the PALACE after a trip to the swing bridge, and encounters with baboons & Vervet monkeys.

Back at The PALACE, we headed up to King’s Tower for some panoramic views of the resort, while the storm clouds & lightning closed in.

After a heavenly shower, and the Princess Jax Hair Salon had closed for the evening, we tarted up for a trip to the Shebeen (which was closed for a private function)
So, off we headed to find some action......

The action started out with a VERY LATE supper at....wait for it.... the WIMPY!! (This was after every option had been exhausted trying to find a restaurant that was still open at 23h00ish)

Off to Traders for a drinkie or two..... then Silhouette for some dancing til dawn!

An excellent time was had by all, and a few of the Princesses who decided that it was way past the sleeping hour, just stayed awake.... in between trying to wake the sleeping beauty Princesses!

Ok, so by now, the Princesses have been re-named. We are now Princesses: Inga/Fart-a-lot, Fluff-a-lot, Burp-a-lot, Marge/Barbie, Pepper-lot, Bonita/Slapper, Gorgeous & Princess G2......

DAY 3:

RATHER LATE START..... tanning at Cascades, then we headed off to the Valley again but made a detour when we saw the hordes of people surfing our waves!

Back to the PALACE for some more Asshole & sunning our buns by the pool and a well needed nap for some.

Our late lunch by the pool turned into an adventure as we got caught in the mother of all thunder, lightning & torrential rain storms!

After hiding out under the pagoda until the storm had abated, we headed back to our palatial rooms for a heavenly nap....

Dinner: The RAJ

A wonderful dinner was had by all the gorgeous Princesses.... and then some of the die-hards headed for some more partying, while others had had enough of the excessive fun by then J

DAY 4:

Another sumptuous, excessive, absolutely decadent breakfast.....

Princesses headed off to do some last minute tanning, swimming and shopping before heading off into the sunset back to reality....

Backdated - November 07 Bookclub trip to Sin City

2008-06-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

This is a trip I will remember always, taken with my special friends of the Book Club. Our club has nothing whatsoever to do with reading, unless you count reading menus and winelists. It is an excuse for us to get out once a month and just be ourselves with our very best friends.

We are 8 ladies, mostly with husbands and 1 or two small children. We have not forgotten who we are or how to have fun and once a year we go away together. In 2006 we went to the Caledon Spar and in 2007 we went to Sun City. Sadly we lost one of us to cancer just before the trip, but she was with us in spirit the whole time. So much so that our booking into the Cabanas was bumped up to the entire stay at the Palace, at no extra charge. We ate too much, drank too much and danced too much, and that was just at night. We were like kids. We tried out every single swimming pool of the entire resort and that included the slippery slides. We made new friends and did not stop laughing.

I love my friends dearly and look forward to our trip this year - a 3-day cruise.

Introduction

2008-06-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

I have two sisters who show amazing talent with their writing skills. I myself am more of a reader than a writer, but I thought I'd try my hand at it and take it from there.

I live in Cape Town with my husband and two children, aged 5 and 8. Life is never dull, I love this city and am fortunate enough to have an amazing and interesting group of friends.

So, when I have a few minutes I will update my blog, something to look back on one day, seeing as I do not have a diary.

My daughter recently celebrated her 5th birthday and we invited "Barbie" to attend and entertain the little girls. It turns out that Barbie had the flu and sent her grandma instead, a tad disapointing for the various daddies who had for some reason elected to attend the party. Next time I'll play it safe and do the Spur I think.