Gem Show @ Fourways - late May

Now I just had to go to this! I've never been to a gem show before and while you sort of get an idea what the show might be like, it's still wonderful to see! Rob and I tootled on off to Fourways mall to see what all the fuss was about. And ooooh! All those sparkly things!!!
Our budget was low so for us this was merely window shopping but still, was hard not to drool on some of the goodies, I mean just look!


Rough gems. Even so you have to admit you just want to pick them up and fondle them happily while the sales lady watches with a concerned expression on her face and a finger an inch away from the panic button!


You just didn't know what you were going to see as you walking through the isles! I'm not sure what I'd do with this, make a nice paperweight, but my eyes found it a feast to look at!


Every wannabe witch and Wiccan that ever there was, will gather there for certain because! classic crystals to like, cleanse your aura man!

Suddenly I have the need to have a pair of balls!
I'll take rose quartz and sun-stone if you please!


Okay so we each got ourselves a pair of magnets. These turned out to be a lot of fun and we spent the rest of the walk clicking them together and sticking them to this, that and the next thing! The pull is so strong that you can put one on the top of your hand and have the other clinging beneath it, rather a freaky feeling! These guys are stuck to the keys in my pocket!


Oooooh this felt awesome! If I ever get rich enough I am so buying a scratch patch big enough to lie full body in and then just cover myself with glittery, cool stones!
(Well maybe not in winter!)

Add to the fact there was jewelry of all sorts, strange carved stones, necklaces with giant prehistoric shark teeth and well a ton of goodies, makes me rather glad we went! And if you want to see all those extras I just mentioned, COME WITH NEXT TIME!!

It seemed like a good idea at the time?

Paint + lipstick + a heafty dose of just being me -

First apply and let dry! It's not easy when you wear glasses, you mostly go on faith!

Awww, who's sulky then? Actually was about to laugh but eh, works both ways!

From the side! Me thinks with a little work I could do something like this and add my zentai siut to it! Ooooh possibilities!!

Yeah, I donno either...

Don't you love the mess on my teeth? Can't say it tastes scrumptious...

Okay... tired now...

Okay, I might have tried washing it off with a little less enthusiasm...

Parlotones live @ Cresta! Mid May 2011

So a particularly fine, (not as chilly as usual but I still wore my beanie), Sunday night popped along and my cohorts and I went off to watch the Parlotones live at the Barnyard theater!!!
This was only my second live concert,, so I was interested to see what a local band could pull off compared to an international one with the force that Rammstein* had had!!

Please excuse the quality of these pics, they were taken on a cellphone by a very hyperactive Jo so they are not the star quality I like to deliver! *Head bowed*

*For the Rammstein blog:- http://sparkyjoadventure.blogspot.com/2011/02/rammstein-johannesburg-11-02-2011.html


We arrived at Cresta shopping center with time to spare! We were the very living definition of EAGER! We also found the official Parlotones cars and had some fun, fangirl moments, taking photos. I have no clue what type of car it was or if it's a luxury one or just a really, really shiny one but eh, details details. It's nice to see them having to park in with the rest of us! (Though I bet they didn't have to pay the cover charge!)


The entrance to the Barnyard theater. I meant to come back and take a better snapshot of the Parlie's poster but with one thing and another, mostly me talking, talking, talking, it got left behind. But if you super enlarge the pic, squint and chant rhythmically it should become clear! (Or you will hyperventilate, either way, new experience!)


Here is everyone milling about before the show starts. Half the folk had ordered pizzas and got them so soon I had a feeling they were ice cold by the time the show started. Everyone, bar one lass, was in jeans, and everyone, bar me, was in dark clothing like it was a funeral. (I had on a nice bright blue jumper that I thought rather fetching in a 'neon-blue-for-airplane-landing-strips' sort of way.)

Unlike Rammstein there was no air of anticipation which I thought was a bit daft! It's a concert! Music and good times! Where's your spirit people? But the only spirit I saw was in bottles. Almost everyone was calm and relaxed and almost a bit like they were going into a business meeting, but one that allowed food and beverage so it couldn't be that bad right? Ho hum.


A snap taken from my seat of the stage ahead. It's obviously still decorated for the 80's show that either was recently on, was currently on, or was about to come on. (Unlike many I was actually talking and getting excited and not staring at the posters in a 'I'm-bored-but-like-in-a-cool-way')

The sound check guy was most amusing! He'd try all the different instruments, very aware he had center stage but acting applaudingly calm. He'd then go to the microphones and say, "Test! 1, 2, testing! Yo! YO!!" Which was mildly alarming when you didn't expect it. He'd then make a bunch of random hand signals, either to someone in the loft above or to god, we never found out, and then move on to the next piece of equipment or disappear and reappear like the toy of a whimsical child.

Finally the concert started! And if you're looking at the above picture and going, "HUH?", yeah well my cellphone is not top of the range, it was the best pic I could get! *sulks*
I also got a few videos but the sound is ghastly, it makes you think you're in a rock n roll wind tunnel with the Hound of the Baskervilles wheezing away behind you, so me thinks it best not to post them!

But the concert was DYNAMITE!! We danced to every song, sang along (well close enough, there was some improvisation and ad-libbing but I don't think the band's heart was broken by it), and I had a total ball! The sound was excellent and the music fantastic! (Though after a while one song started to sound suspiciously like another...)

All in all it was really wonderful! And the small, slightly apathetic audience, at least meant we got to see the band full on and feel far more a part of the music then with Rammstein. So see? There are some pluses to going small and local!

Below I've included two links to two of my more favorite Parlotone songs! The first has a fantastic music video and was the song that hooked me onto the band! The second is just pretty and well worth a listen! Seriously give them a try, who knows, next time they come round I might see you there! ^_^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPo3KLZ4SpM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUJ6rFtjzoM&feature=related

Pretoria Zoo - Early May 2011

Mother's day happened to come swinging by and we decided to go to the Pretoria zoo to do some swinging of our own! (And you know I don't mean THAT kind of swinging!! - That's for another blog!)

Here was our chariot going up the cable cart at the zoo! They were alternatively green and red and 100% given over to advertising and merchandizing! It was a max of 4 people to a boat, so two of us went in the first and three in the second. I wonder if they kick up a ruckus if the 4 people were ever, say, really, really big lads, who'd been into their chocolate and gravy too much?

Off we go!! The start reminds me of the start to roller-coasters, halting and jaunty and then you start going up and up and up! Luckily we didn't have any plummeting sensation or this blog would have had to have been done from a hospital bed as I pushed the keyboard with a pen between me gnashers! (Teeth)

They were having a mini show of ye olden day type cars. I liked the garish, 'Ah-my-eyes' colours! Imagine owning that bright green one? Or the orange one? You might forget where you parked but every airplane in a 4 mile radius won't!


Here's an empty cart coming back the opposite way. Gives you almost an ominous thought of, "What happened to the people inside?!" I was saying maybe there's a canning factory at the top! It makes franks and beans - 100% pork - well mostly....
Mind the lion and tiger enclosures are at the top of the hill so install a trap door at the bottom of the ride and hey presto, zoo saves a fortune on feeding!

It's really rather picturesque! Each time we went past one of those pillions the cart would shake in a very satisfying way that tended to remind you how high up and helpless you are!


Here' we're heading back down! I love the way this blokes hand is positioned, almost like he's pushing off the cart, trying to hold back tears, "Go my child! Go free!!"


The Pretoria sky line. Not, I'll admit, a ravishing sight of city and nature in perfect harmony, but still rather interesting to look at underneath that fine fluffy layer of smog!

I tried to take pics from the cart but it wasn't very easy and I ended up with some lovely smears and vague things that could be animals, could be bananas. I did get this one though! Isn't the wee baby cute? And yes, that would be our shadow passing by, like a full metal angel!


Our other three cohorts in the boat in front of us. Enjoying the ride ALMOST as much as we were!

Now tell me you don't want to go for a ride as well?!

The Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens - April 2011

Friday (29 April 2011), Rob and I decided to go to the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens! They’re out in Roodapoort, so not even on the other side of the globe! (Unless you’re reading this from another country, not South Africa, in which case, never mind!)

Oh my unholy cheeses but these gardens were gorgeous!!! I think it’s because you have to pay to get in! Emmarentia Botanical Gardens is free, but alas it doesn’t have a penny’s worth on this one! (Sorry Emmarentia!! < - -grew up with these gardens so feels a bit of a traitor. But just a bit!)

Below are some pics to help me explain the whole thing better!!

Aren't they pretty? There were herb gardens and rock gardens and butterfly gardens and a whole feast of different plants and goodies to look at!


Oooooh! Lovers getting close and snuggly! Now that's the way to do it!


Here is the dandy little bridge we had to cross to get to the waterfalls! Doesn't it look shady and peaceful and make you think that any time now a murder mystery is going to play itself out with you as the main character?


Off to see the falls! Aren't they huge?! Can you imagine having a picnic just nibbles away from all that free flowing water? Think it would make you need the bathroom every ten seconds!


Here we saw a bunch of kids lining up to be executed.
Okay no not really... sigh. There were classes of kids going all about the gardens, looking about and writing in books and behaving pretty much the way all kids do when on a field trip and out of class and having to bother to concentrate!


We came onto the restaurant from the back and observed this nifty criptic sign! Can you tell what it's supposed to say?*


The restaurant itself! Rob ordered a meal and my my, did they do him proud! No small portions of funky, week old veggies here! (Or if there were, they were nicely fried so you couldn't tell!)

I spent a large amount of time trying to take photo's of butterflies! They're not very obliging and my camera was filled with blurred action photos with maybe a colourful dot somewhere about it! Still look! Look! Not too shabby hey?!


And yes, I took other photo's of other strange critters as well! They were a lot easier then the butterflies!!

You can almost taste the greenery and beauty of the whole place! And considering the day before and the day after were grey and over cast, didn't we luck out big time?

So why not give the gardens a visit sometime? And if you get the idea, hey we should take Jo as well - seriously, go with it!

Only the Pony!

So Thursday dawns, cold but not dampening our spirits! It’s time for the surprise and I can hardly wait to see what it is!

And what was it?

Horse riding!!!

Aaah it’s been so long and it was such fun! Of course we were dirt beginners and highly entertaining to onlookers, but we walked the horses, turned them and tried to steer frantically away from the fence with mixed results. We also did trotting which taught us the value of exercise and firm leg muscles!

My horse was a little white gelding named Oceans 11, who liked to stop walking the second he was our of range of the instructors prod and Rob rode a brown by the name of Zorro who kept wanting to lean against the fence and chat to his fellow horses.

At the end of it all though we were really psyched and decided this was one of those things we needed to do more often!

Oceans 11 and our instructor. You walk up to the horse and your first thought is, "I'm down here and I have to get UP THERE?"

Hey I managed to get up!!


See that? Aren't we professional looking?
(Maybe don't answer that...)


This was my forward view.

And this was the rear view. I didn't see this much as it required a level of acrobatics in the saddle that I wasn't quiet up to much. Sides when you see this view a lot it tends to mean you're facing the wrong way!!

See? Rob trotting! Go go go!!! Now tell me this doesn't look like ten times a heap of fun?!
Wanna come next time?
^_^

Egg-citing Good Friday April 2011

Easter just isn't Easter if you don't go about painting your own boiled eggs!
(Okay I did just make this up as I haven't done this since I was a kid but I'm trying to instill some romantic nostalga and I can't find a nice violin mp.3 to inbed here to set the mood...)

Rob and I decided to do a bunch of eggs to give out those who'd appreciate them best! We'd found this old, old packet of egg dyes from like 20 years ago, very literally! They were old and dusty but, we decided, still useable! (As egg dye or nuclear fuel was still up for some debate...)

We spent a large portion of Friday boiling batch of eggs after batch of eggs until eggs going in and out of hot water was pretty much permanently blazed into our impressionable minds!

We prepared plastic-container-thingy after plastic-container-thingy of coloured dye and dipped eggs in with reckless abandonment! The yellow was golden, the red was crimson, the blue a dark navy and the purples, for some odd reason, look like half boiled meat! (Purple is a temperamental colour at best sometimes!)

We decided to leave the majority just perdy dyed colours, but decided to do the ones for friends and family with a bit more pizazz!
We broke out the fine, non toxic, (we checked), paints and began painting pretty much whatever popped into our heads!

Behold the results of our creative juices!!


Venom. Spiderman and Homer Simpson! These I painted with a lot of attention to detail. Venom has his long tongue, and homer even had hair and ears! He was awesome! I don't know how people will eat these!
(Actually probably very easily and with a dash of salt!)


Ok the first one is our little sausage dog, Waldy, and not an angry frenchman, I promise!!
The second is Jack Skellington in negative, and the third was meant to be a cute hamster but everyone says it looks more like a cat!
It's a hamster dammit!!


The pirate one was for Robs dad, in memory of his eye surgery! The other two are just there to make you think!


Rob painted his own set of eggs as well! He actually did 5 but felt his plaid one was not worthy of photographing! Poor thing, boiled, dyed, painted and then given a complex to boot!


I decided that the freaky purple eggs made good monsters! Rawr!!! Red worked just as well! The nice thing about monsters is that they're very versatile!


All the specially painted eggs packed up and ready to go out into the world!!!


Some of the ones we left as just basic dyed colours, aren't they pretty though? The purple, I must admit, did come out a bit ominous but that just added character!