Saturday, December 29, 2012

Schwaben Butchery 29 December 2012

So Rob and I headed down to his favourite German Butchery, Schwaben's, to fill up on MEAT!!!

Now some folk might titter, but Jo, oh Jo, you don't eat meat? What were you doing in a place of blood gore and flesh ever more?

Well looking of course! It's fascinating! I don't EAT meat, can't stick the stuff, but it's not going to hurt me to see all the weird and wonderful things "norms" eat! 

I mean look at this:

Cheese filled, bacon wrapped sausages! Give your heart a REAL work out!

 Stop! Chop and put it on a roll! I bet tiles like this would look pretty...

"What a huge sausage!"
"That's what she said!"

 Cause nothing says delicious like:

Of course the place doesn't just stock meat! It's German! Das Sauerkraut!! 

Und check out das Cheeses!!

Giant pretzels! More salt with your cholesterol, my good fellow?

I love that word, Pumpernickel! Imagine my disappointment as a Jovviling when I was told that the book was the Scarlet Pimpernel and not Pumpernickel? I couldn't read it after that...

 Little lump-etjies of fat in your food look like greasy cubes of sugar! Or like teeth after cheap dental work!

Donald Ducks refrigerator after the police arrested him for suspected homicide!

There is a little wild baby bunny by our house. He doesn't look anything like that!

Meat! Meat! Meat! everywhere!

 Suddenly I have the urge to eat a punnet of grapes and watch a cheesy horror!
Life, and people's food stuffs, sure is interesting!!



Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Air planned! 15th December 2012

As a treat for Bren's mum, we went for a lunch and look see at  O R Tambo, the big airport in our area! (Big, I later discovered, being a tad bit of an understatement!) 

We travelled by the Gautrain to get there! (The price was so expensive that, well, lets just say having a band-aid torn from a gaping wound, would have been far less of a painful rip-off!)

Still, I must admit the adventure was fun! Wanna see why?



As we left the Gautrain station we were greeted by these pretty lights reflecting on the floor! I think they're there to be soothing. "You spent all that money on the ride but look! Pretty colour lights, ooooooh! Doesn't feel so bad now does it?"



 The airport is really really big! Tons of people, tons of destinations and tons to look at! Not to mention the nice, festive air of an impending holiday! You do wonder where everyone is going and how many will come back with exotic diseases they'll have a terrible time explaining!



This is me "fixing" an air vent! Hey, if it wasn't meant to be fiddled with, they'd not have put it in Jo height reach!



We went to the rather blindingly bright flight deck to watch the planes take off! There was a statue of old Mr Tambo there! He might have looked all stuffy and serious but there's a nose made for some grade A boogers if ever there was one!



The airport strip had some of the weirdest markings on it! With a bunch of three letter Acronyms that just had you wondering what they could mean? 

PAU - Passenger Abattoir Unloading?
FMC - Feminine Men Collected?



 And why on earth was the road so tinkertoy? Looks like a bloke with hiccups painted it! "Shish da besh woik ah effa done >hic<"



 Yay! Multi coloured air planes headed off for exotic places I'll never go! Whenever I see a plane in the sky I always wait for it to explode. I blame too many movies! - Final Destination 2, I know it was you!



Everybody was airplane peeking!
While Jo's where photo sneaking!
Da da dum, da da dum, da da dum!




We went to a gift shop and found this toy monkey. Doesn't it look terrifying? Imagine that thing on your bedside table at night? "I has no fleshy eyes but I hears you breathing... for now...."
Can I have one?



Simpsons, African style! I want to wear this into Soweto on a busy Friday night!



 Someone painted over half this sign so it now says, "King only VIP"
Humph! Didn't want to park there anyway...



 Going home I took a ton of pics on the Gautrain! I just like this one because, although it was a mistake it has a nice composition.

Like the simple, richness of open Africa, struggling to grow and flourish as best it can, with the gap between all of us ever narrowing and but the thin brick wall of the train, the only thing that really divides us from our fellow man, be he rich or be he poor. In the end, we are all South Africans at heart!!

Check the kak I can talk hey? No wonder I got A's in Art Theory...


Egad! What the heck is that?? You try taking a photo of total darkness and see what develops!



Speaking of total darkness! The train station was so packed full we could only park in the area that didn't have any lighting! This is a pic from our car - once we found it!
Psssht! Planes, trains or auto-mobiles! There's so much adventure out there if you just know where to look!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Walter Sisulu gardens - Bugged! December 2012

Last weekend Rob and I decided to head to the WS gardens to see their display of giant bugs made from recycled metal! (Jo loves all bugs that don't try feed off her or inject various playful venoms into her nervous system!)

Let's see what they had!

A giant Tetsy fly! Mind flying is the last thing this tin can is going to do! *sweat drop of relief*


 Imagine finding this ant in your sugar bowl?


 I feel this dragonfly looks a bit depressed. Wonder what's on his mind?


 This was my favourite of the all the mosquito giant statues. It just looks exactly like those horrid blood suckers! We felt that with 4 of these statues, as in real life, there were just too many mosquitoes!


 One praying mantis! This big it wouldn't feed on bugs so much as small dogs and children! Useful info the next time your family's bratty kids come for a visit...


The sting in this tail! 


I love that they put the giant spider on the kids climbing gym! This wee girl doesn't even know what's above her head! *shivers*

Then on to other things! There was a nifty concrete pipe way for kids! So of course I had to go exploring! Even just a bit of the way in and already it felt a bit creepy, like maybe something a bit fantastical was awaiting on just the other side of the tunnel! Fun to go in, twice as much to go out again!


We also saw someone's romantic nook, with a petal path strewn to the snugged away picnic! Don't you wish this was yours? Wonder if they're going to drink all that champagne?

 Seriously? Seriously! A camera crew photographing a model posing! I just find it ironic as the billboards around the fountain pool all say the water is unsafe to swim in! Bilharzia anyone?


 "Can I please get out now!!!"


Of course we had to go exploring about the jungle like pathways! Mind your head!
*KLONK!*



 And just romp about the open lawns. It was a glorious day to be out and about!!

We ended with Rob having a fine seafood meal. Isn't this pic pretty? Not sure I'd take a nosh on that but I'm told it was plenty tasty!

We managed to have a great day with minimal sunburn and some awesome memories!
AGAIN!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Discovery Toy Party - Ethwathwa - November 2012

 Discovery volunteers were at it again! This time bringing festive cheer to the children's home in Ethwathwa!
Off we went to spread the Christmas cheer with hundreds of little kids in need!

 Discovery volunteers are here! The party can officially get started!

 We were entertained by the kids who put on a lively show for us! (Doing dance moves we couldn't hope to copy!)

Then we had a clown come in to keep the children occupied as we went to the classroom to deposit our bundles! 
(Don't worry kid, clowns make me feel the same way!) 

 And what was inside our mystery bundles?

 The kids were lead in with their eyes closed only to find...

TOYS!!!!
 Toys! Toys, toys, toys and more TOYS!!!

 And then even more toys! Over a thousand toys donated by Discovery employees, all ready for the playing with!

The  frenzy began as we were pushed aside and the toys found eager homes in eager little hands!

 Some where rather fussy about what they wanted. Cars? Nah, no thanks!

 Others knew exactly what they wanted!!

 Everyone had a great time playing!

Until finally there were no toys left!

 Then outside and into the jumping castles! Kids only I'm afraid!

As long as I'm on, no one else can have it!!

 Armed with good packets, presents and toys... Well, by the end of it all this little one summed up perfectly how tiring yet wonderful the whole day had been!