My photo album 2012

Hi there all my friends!!

I just love this photo a friend send to us this morning!!  Calm!!!!! Sooo would love to be at the sea right now!!!!!!!!  Living in the desert can really make you miss it so much.  In my minds eye, I can actually see, hear and smell the sea.  Ah, wonderful!!!

I would like to wish you and your loved ones a Very Happy 2013 and may this year be the best year of your life, filled with laughter and joy and may all your dreams come true!!!  May it be creative and full of colour, flowers, good food, good times with family and friends, good fortune, loads of love and loads of blessings from above and may we all learn to appreciate what we already have!!

Come with me as we page through my photo album, remembering the good, and the not so good moments.

New arrivals.....
A bouncy little baby girl, Kensi....                   

 joined the family! Proud parents Andrew and Shani Claase.
(My own little Miss J was the baby of the family)

 Shani is my sister Margaret's, eldest daughter.  sn't that a beautiful new family?
                         
And then there were the animals....
                    New Kittens......


                                Abbey-blue.......

                             Baby Impala.....  

 Dozer....
(a gift from our friend Jacques, just before he died) 

          Lola, Dozer's best friend......

   A baby Rhino..... So precious!!!!!!!!!

New Careers were started........

Christian in military school....
Margaret, my dear sister's youngest and Shani's brother.....

and my very own little Miss J started her 1st year at varsity

(B.com Financial Accounting - clever girl!!!)

       (and just by the way - they both passed)
             Miss J and cousin Shani..........

 And then there were rescues......

    a Barn Owl came down the chimney....

A Kingfisher had a lucky escape from the cats...

 A huge python was rescued and found a new home on the farm....

and so did Cinderella..... Now retired and never will she be pulling a cart again.

There was the drought.....

                    Sandstorms.....

inside a sand storm......

              
And then the rain came and our barren land was transformed.....

                       

.... and paradise had returned once more!!!!!!


Stolen property was recovered, with many grateful prayers!!!!

\

                    
My sweet dear daughter, Miss Molly, turned 21....
Just a small gathering at home with family & friends....

Can't believe she's 21 already!!!!!

2012 was also the year I taught myself to                   crochet and now I  can't stop!!!  Really!!. I am totally addicted!!              

3 blankets, 3 bags, 2 hats, 3 headbands, a scarf, and various other makes.... LOVE IT!!!! Thank you to all my blogger friends for your inspiring blogs and patterns!!!!

In May 2012 we lost our dear friend, Jacques, and only 1 month later his son, Juan, died when a tornado struck the house he was in.  Eight months later and we still mourn their untimely deaths!!!

R.I.P.  We really miss you, Jacques!

Hubby also gave us a few horrifying  moments in 2012....
1. Attacked by a lion.    2. A burst appendix.   3.  A really nasty 2nd degree burn on his hand.  4.  A cracked rib (from falling off his motorbike)  5.  Tick-bite fever.   6.  A stomach ulcer.  
And I am so happy to say he survived it all and is as strong as an ox once again.  But please hubby, you are nearing 60 and your body is trying to tell you to slow down now, please!!!!!!!
And now just a few random pictures......


Sister Zennet ready for a new adventure

and searching for something she's swore she had!!!!
but never did find....

Lazy, crazy fun summer days....

 ... and then it was Christmas....

All in all, we had a good year and here's hoping that 2013 will be even better.
Thank you for visiting my blog, I really appreciate it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you all
AMarie

                              

Crazy Weather and Happy Hooker

Hello Friends

What a week this has been!!!!!  

Firstly, Hurricane Sandy!!  To each and every victim, you are in our prayers!!!  And after 9/11 !!!,  we know how strong the American people are, you can and will survive anything!!  I can only speak for myself, my friends and family, but we are so proud of your ability to get up and dust yourselves off with your heads held high, and immediately look forward and carry on with your lives, PROUDLY.  We commend you all, America!!!!

This last week my Mom & Dad came to visit.  Oh, how wonderful that was!!  We haven't seen them since early March this year so I really had an aching need to see them again.  We had a wonderful time but all too soon we had to say goodbye again!  I really miss them sooooo much already!  It also scares me to see how quickly the two of them are ageing!!!

This week was also the birthday of little Miss J!! She turned 20 on Nov 5th.  Oh, they do grow up far too quickly!!  But hey, I'm a really lucky girl!! I still have both my daughters living with us!!  Don't know what I'll do when they leave one day.  I think hubby and I will be two very lonely old people!  Still I count my blessing everyday for this wonderful family I love so much!

Other than that, I am still a happy "hooker"!  I crocheted a couple of headbands and a hat and now I am busy crocheting more hats for a outstanding order that I still have to make up.  When that is all done I think I want to crochet a couple of festive buntings ( saw them on Attic 24, thank you Lucy!!) for home and also for my sisters.  Got the most amazing cupcake bunting crochet pattern from my mom and I think it would be a perfect Xmas gift for someone.

Don't you find that the weather has changed dramatically.  With America, Venice, Hawaii,  India and even the east coast of South-Africa having so much rain that is causes flooding! and here we are,  praying for rain!!  Already last summer we had very little rain and now we are already into November and still we have not had a drop of rain.  Usually by now, everything is green and lush and there is a lot of grass for the game to eat.  Now all there is is sand, sand and more sand!  Even our borehole sucked up sand the other day and had to be replaced.  The water table is so low now that we can only pump water for a few hours a day and use it very sparingly.  All the waterholes on our farm have also dried up but luckily we have a small mud dam near our house and we pump water into it everyday for the animals.  They learnt very quickly where the new waterhole was.  But I have to  believe that the rains are just a little late this summer.
Just look at the pictures below.  This was a sand storm at lunchtime yesterday!!!

Anyway my lovelies, I had a wonderful visit with you.  Keep safe and go well  'till next time!!!!

Love 
Amarie