Just Friends

Recently I signed up for a "Just Friends " card from our local revamped Food Lovers Market. 

 Though we have a veg garden , it does not supply all our needs in terms of fruit and veg, so I usually make a trip down there once a week or at least every second week, to stock up on their fantastic specials and combo deals on fruit and veg. Sometimes the neighbours and I club together to share the deal of the day. 

What I love about this card, is that every time one visits the Food Lovers Market, you can pop into their restaurant for a free beverage....any beverage besides alcohol. A milkshake, a latte, juice or smoothie, you name it, you can enjoy it! There is no qualifying spend and one doesn't need to order a meal either. Just enjoy a coffee or whatever takes your fancy!

One can pop in there daily if you like...one free beverage per day per card-holder.

I signed hubby up too for a card, and recently we popped in there for some shopping and then enjoyed a milkshake together afterwards.

Another benefit is that one can choose to receive an sms notifying one of the current special deals. 

Certainly a good idea in my books!

Joy Dare August Week 4

So often things get busy and seemingly crazy ....

It is good to stop and give thanks for the blessings, big or small....

They can sometimes be missed in the daily busyness....

Day 21

859) having the car unexpectedly today and being able to collect a generous donation of bath sprudels for my youngest's Chaeli Campaign fundraiser

860) a visit to the Compass bakery

861) seeing the world anew through the eyes of my sweet baby nephew

862) my friend comping along for the ride over the mountain

863) blessed to watch a beautiful integrated dance production tonight...thankful for a body that works well

Day 22

864) getting much done today

865) laughing a lot with the kids today

866) time to just relax while waiting for the kids to finish drama...reading my magazine from my mum

Day 23

867) hugs from my youngest whenever he thinks I need one

868) quiet moments in the sunshine this afternoon 

869) chatting to my farm sister...miss her ever so much

870) blessed with a bag of potatoes just when I needed some for our evening meal

Day 24

871) early morning coffee with hubby before he went to work

872) struck anew and humbled by His grace

873) specials on seedlings at the nursery...

just in time for some spring planting

874) a voucher to spend at a book store...

enjoyed browsing and finding a book for myself and two to use as gifts

875) weekend again....

 neighbourhood kids having fun together....

movie night and pizzas next door

Day 25

876) an afternoon enjoyed relaxing at friends

877) teens relaxing here tonight again

Day 26

878) early morning sounds of birds ....

a constant reminder of His care for us

Matthew 6:26

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,

 and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

879) rare treat of breakfast out with hubby

880) girlfriends popping in and a good laugh together

881) hubby helping to get things in order in the house after a busy weekend

Day 27

882) a morning walk with my baby nephew in the pram...

good to clear the Monday blues

883) lifts for the kids today

884) warm sunshine and pottering in the garden... 

the promise of  new growth

885) my mum and I messaging one another today

Reaping the benefits with Stodels

Yesterday's beautiful weather and the lure of specials on seedlings at Stodels, saw my friend and I taking a trip to the nursery in preparation for our spring gardens. Every year I hope that my vegetable garden will produce more for us to enjoy, and this year I am determined to reap a good harvest. 

We were given the opportunity to join the Stodels Club and the staff were super friendly and helpful. Becoming a member is free and the benefits are great.....

Points are earned on purchases and can then be used towards future purchases.

Monthly newsletters.

Advanced notice on specials and promotions.

Monthly specials for members.

Free gift in your birthday month

&

free monthly gift!

This month's gift was a packet of carrot seed.

I look forward to some gardening over the weekend. 

Joy dare August week 3

The children and I have been working through a series of  "Timely Topics for Teens".
 I loved being able to share the following with them this week...

Be grateful.

Your happiness in life doesn't depend on how you look or what you have. It depends on your attitude.

You can go through life bitter and resentful about yourself, or you can accept yourself and be thankful. You can always find something to be grateful for. A man once said, "I complained because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet."

Gratitude is happy thankfulness toward God. Gratitude gets you out of yourself and into God. God becomes the source of your happiness. Then you can get on with the real purpose of life - being what God wants you to be.

Day 14

837) a good and productive school morning

838) good nourishing food and a fire warming us again tonight

Day 15

839) lunchtime flapjacks and hot chocolate next door

840) watching all the kids (from my little nephew to the teens) enjoying playing today... 

building tall towers and watching them fall

841) the way hubby calms any upsets the kids may have...

turning tears to smiles

Day 16

( 3 gifts of family)

842) blessed by my mom in law who kindly lends us her car when ever we need a second car and is more than willing to lift the kids at other times too

843) my siblings, always there even though distance separates some of us....

they way they share in our joys and give support in the tough times....

blessed to have them in my life

844) friends who become like family

Day 17

(3 gifts in the morning)

845) the wonderful group of ladies over at the Hello Mornings Challenge...

faithful friends and prayer warriors

846) His mercy...new every morning

847) sunshine after the storms, perfect for our outing to Monkey Town today

Day 18

848) the gift of our youngest..... 

celebrating his 12th birthday today.... 

blessed to be his parents

849) wonderful fun filled day celebrating....

thankful for family and friends who made his day special!

850) the sounds of my eldest playing his guitar....

beautiful

Day 19

851) a late lie in, much needed after all the busyness

852) blessed to be lent a washing machine until ours gets fixed

853) beautiful Arums ...brought by my neighbour from her mom's farm

Day 20

854) hubby messaging me just to see how I am today

855) time alone browsing in the library in between running the kids around for the afternoon's activities

856) coffee with a smile from my eldest after dinner tonight
857) blessed by a sweet friend with a bag of butternuts

858) reading Ann's post...Chased by Grace and knowing it is true for me too...

Celebrating twelve!

Yesterday our youngest turned twelve. 

It was wonderful to watch his excitement build during the week as the weekend drew nearer. 

After all birthdays are fun! 

We are so blessed to be his parents and that he is part of our family. 

He is growing really tall and will soon be over taking me no doubt! 

He is a great little brother, a good friend to all and loves animals and nature.

 He is hands on and loves building things, taking things apart and experimenting. 

He is witty and sharp and full of wild ideas!

We look forward to the year ahead and are thankful for his life, and the joy and laughter he brings to our home.

Monkey Town Outing

On Friday we kicked off Z's birthday weekend celebrations with an outing to Monkey Town .

 I have always wanted to take the kids there and just never got around to it, so was really pleased when one of the moms organised the school tour. 

At Monkey Town there are more than 230 animals and 28 different exotic species. There are Koi ponds, Meerkats, birds and many small antelope. Sadly many animals are dumped at Monkey Town when their owners can't take care of them any more.

Our guide, Allan, was amazing, engaging us all with his wealth of information about the apes and monkeys. He knew each one by name too! A monkey named Luke,  followed us throughout the tour, scampering along on top of the cage, and stopping when we stopped, only to move along when we did too!

The Black and White Ruffed Lemurs were enjoying their lunch when we arrived at their area.

The Ring-tailed Lemur is just beautiful. 

(Many thanks to Lulu for the use of her photo.)

The Marmoset monkeys, ever so cute!

See the tiny 5 day old twins on their mom's back?

(Thanks again to Lulu for the brilliant photo.)

We saw many beautiful birds too. A cheeky monkey tried to pull some feathers from the Blue Crane and the Crane spread it's wings wide and scared the monkey off!

We enjoyed watching the monkeys arrive, seemingly out of nowhere, for feeding time.

 There was much screeching and chattering as they selected their preferred food and gobbled it down.

Another highlight....the Chimp sisters.

The children sang for the Chimps and only when they sang Jingle Bells, did the Chimps approve and give them the nod! Allan gave us so much interesting information regarding the Chimps and how similar their lives are to our own. We enjoyed watching them catch their lunch as it was thrown over the moat to them. It was amazing to see how they refused to catch the items they didn't feel like eating, and made a perfect catch when it was something they liked!

All in all a wonderful educational morning!

Cultural Exchange - parcel from Singapore

Our final package from our last swap arrived this week. 

Great excitement of course! 

This time our package came from Singapore. 

Included in the pack was a letter introducing the Ching family who kindly sent our pack. There were some beautiful postcards depicting the Sri Mariamman Temple in Chinatown, one of the oldest mosques - Sultan Mosque, views of Chinatown, the city skyline and various species of Orchids seen in the famous National Orchid Garden. The brochures included and a map of the area make me want to hop on a plane and explore this interesting place! I can't wait to try out the "Emperor Herbs Chicken Spice" mix too.

There were also two wonderful books that I know will help us learn much about Singapore. One is about the   

history of Singapore and the other about their heritage. 

A cute fluffy Merlion , a bottle opener fridge magnet depicting the flag, as well as a another magnet depicting the island country and a key ring with miniature currency completed the pack. 

In ancient times Singapore was known as Temasek or "sea port" and was a busy trading centre. At the end of the 9th century AD it was destroyed and later rediscovered by Sang Utama. On his arrival he discovered strange beasts there, which he later learned were lions. He remained on the island and renamed it Singapura which means "lion city". The cute Merlion symbolises the ancient city of Temasek with it's fish body, and the lion's head, the legend of its discovery.

We are thankful to the Ching family for this wonderful pack and look forward to discovering so much about Singapore.