Three Hours at the V & A Waterfront

 What a treat for me today!  Josh was taking his GED exams in downtown Cape Town, so I decided to wait for him and save about an hour of driving back and forth.  I went to the nearby V & A Waterfront to see what I could see.

 I saw oodles and kaboodles of seals.  That's a highly unscientific numbering system, but when you only get to see a piece at a time, accurate counting is tricky.  I didn't get any wonderful shots with my phone, but there are at least 8 in this picture! 

 Table Mountain has its majestic table cloth (a cloud) on it, overlooking the whole city and the boats and all.  We climbed it last week (the back side) for blackberries.  I'm very content to just look from afar today.  You stand in the above frame to take pictures of yourself.

 What?!?!?  I never saw this before!  Maybe I can drag Paul down there to check this out.

 He'd like this!  He's a smoothie guy for sure!

 I tried a Hungarian Hatbread Stack.  My first Hungarian food, and I'm impressed,  If the Lord calls us to Hungary, I know I won't go hungry.  :- )    Notice the classy dining wear: a piece of cardboard.  We're all about recycling around here. 

 A whole army of beaded tall people.  When they make a Tall Small Paul, maybe I'll get one. 

 Rhinos abound to raise awareness of Rhino poaching. 

 This is a treat!  I started my 3 hours with a little sit down on these cushioned bleachers to use some free WiFi and get a bit of work done before I launched off to shop.  It was then I decided to blog my fun day. 

 Blown glass is so pretty! 

 Funny little beaded band of people. 

 I was tempted to get the cutie little dress with the mouse in the pocket. I think my Clarity granddaughter  would like it, but my main mission today was to buy surge protectors for our house.  It's not the most glamorous or exciting purchase, but necessary. 

 Ah!  A rare glimpse of me during my sit down time. 

 And who needs a wooden tie?  I'd have scooped these up for my 3 guys, maybe, but I'm suspecting they won't go for it.  I just sent out a survey, 2 out of 3 give it a thumbs down, one still hasn't responded.  Shame.  I think they're cute. 

 Check out the bags!  I see zebra, ostrich, springbok, and nguni ( a kind of cow) that I can name.  Pricey bags, but probably last awhile.  

I haven't been blogging much lately as I've had another project going.  I'm doing an Instagram account, having dolls act out Bible verses.  I'm getting some criticism for this one.  People are teasing me about going through my second childhood, but my niece Connie, 8, is in on it, so it keeps me respectable. 

 I'm enjoying it.  I'm learning about photography, sets, sewing,  the Bible Lens App (which Evangel recommended and it has been my lifesaver!) and the most important thing, the Bible!  It's a new way for me to study the Bible, keeping an eye out for ways it can be acted out.  It may be new to me, but I am realizing so many others do art with this same goal. 

 This is Prudence, the first doll in the project.  Constance is the other one above, and they're joined by others as I find deals. 

Not all the Instagram pictures have dolls, but most of them do. This one has Connie, a living doll, at a dam on top of Table Mountain.

Please feel free to visit at vickiyoung1066 on Instagram.  https://www.instagram.com/vickiyoung1066/?hl=en 

Where my phone has been

Yesterday, Paul preached in this young church in Kalkfontein.  Palm Sunday had it's palms! 

They had a wedding there on Saturday, so the church was still decorated all pretty.  I love that a man talked about that.  He said the couple who got married "was a little bit late", but they were doing the right thing. He asked if anyone else wanted to do it.  "Shacking up" is too, too common these days, and it was refreshing to hear someone offer the godly option.  

 They don't seem to have garbage pick up at all in this neighborhood, so the trash was DEEP!  I wanted to get a picture, without being obvious, so I tried my selfie skills, with not the greatest results, but you can get a glimpse.

 On Saturday I got to help with an outreach to women in the beautiful little seaside town (300 people, I heard) of Scarborough.  It was an ocean theme, so this is the little clams I made to bring.  Pinterest came through for me with the idea, but my cookies weren't exactly what I had in mind.  I was pleased to find little cake decorations that were labeled "pearls".  Just what the doctor ordered!

 My phone goes on Tuesday nights to Josh's self-defense course.  They tried to get me to join in.  No thanks!  I'd rather get attacked by strangers than classmates.  Josh gets a rough workout there!

 Paul and I got a beach walk.  Again, I sigh over my selfie skills, but I guess I have an excuse with Paul.  He's 16 inches taller than me, so we're challenging to get into the same picture.

 Noordhoek Beach is one of the prettiest in the world!   It has a shipwreck in the middle for some atmosphere, and a mountain sprouting right out of one end.  White, white sands are just beautiful.  We'll see the other end of it a little later.

 My phone comes with me to Joy Club, but I'm too busy to take pictures of the kids, I guess.  But a neighbor lady admonished us not to let the kids destroy this landmark.  See that thing sprouting up there?  It's the jawbone of a Southern Right whale!  They were used as property markers in the fishing village of Kalk Bay.  Most are gone, so this piece left in the ground is noteworthy.

 At home, I did remember to take a picture of our water saving fun.  I rearranged the kitchen so that I can catch laundry water in a trash can, to use in toilet flushing.  We also save shower water and dish water for the same.
So last week, someone messed with the buttons on my washing machine, and left while it was washing, and that trash can overflowed all over everywhere!  It went out the kitchen door and down the hall in the lines between the tiles.

 We had a meeting at our friend Louis Campbell's church.  My great grandfather was a Campbell (my grandmother too  :- ) so maybe Louis and I are cousins.

At the other end of Noordhoek beach is a place where people can rent horses.  Josh got to go with his cousin Hannah who came to visit for about 10 days.  

 While the big cousins went galloping along that gorgeous beach, 3 of the little cousins came with me to check out the snake park.

 The green mamba was the prettiest.  In a way.  It's one of Africa's deadliest snakes.

 Another day we went to sit on an ostrich so Hannah could get a chance at that too.

 The 4 little cousins met Tom Thumb, the smallest full-grown male ostrich in the world, according to Guiness.

 I dragged Paul out on the M-5 one day, instead of a more quiet neighborhood walk, so we could get his age in a picture.  He loved it.

 Hannah also got to try kayaking in the water near our house.  She didn't even tip over!

 We loved having her with us, and it was a good excuse to go fun places we hadn't been for awhile..

 like to the penguins in Simonstown.  We dropped Josh at a youth group there, and then walked around for the evening waiting for him to be done.

Jedidiah was our lone kid that evening, with 3 adults, and he enjoyed the taste of "only child" for a change.  Riding cannons is so cool!

I copied Hannah on this one, and I like my artsy picture.  I would have missed it otherwise.  

And the last place I want to mention that my phone/camera has been, is doing a little project with Connie.  We started an Instagram account for Constance (pictured) and Prudence, 2 dolls.  They're our Proverbs girls, and we're trying to put pictures with Proverbs.  It's harder than I thought.  

This picture goes with Matthew 6:19, as that picture (made of sugar) corrupted.  

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust (and water) doth corrupt...

Star of Light-the movie



With great excitement and mounds of relief, we are announcing that Star of Light, the movie, is finished and available for viewing!  We had  a discouraging family premiere where the male part of the audience all fell asleep as it was at the end of a hectic day, and then a premiere for some of the actors which went much better, and NOW, on Saturday, the 15th of November, 2014, we're having a premiere where we're inviting the entire home-school community to a church to see the movie. 

 Evangel has been working on Star of Light for more than two years.  She's been making movies since she was 11 and they keep getting better as she gets older and more skilled, as well as getting access to better equipment. 

In watching Evangel, I've sure learned a lot about what goes into the making of a movie--blood, sweat, and tears, for sure, emphasis on the tears!

She had to write a script that's nearly as long as the book itself, and that took some time.  By the time she was finished with that, she had clear ideas on what she wanted.   

 

She had to find more than 40 actors and some animals and the right scenery.  She shot scenes from Cape Town to Trompsburg, as well as one in America.  There's even a shot from Zimbabwe.  She had us driving all over Cape Town for an illusive fountain that never quite suited her. 

Her filming days were interrupted by ministry trips with her Dad, leading to some hair problems.  Hamid's  hair was shiny dyed black, chalked black, German shepherd black-and-brown combo, and light brown hidden by a hood in the course of the stretched out filming. 

She was thrilled with getting some of her costumes as "manna from Heaven" as she called some discarded clothes she found in the grass.  Don't worry, we washed it thoroughly before it touched anyone.  She also considered her little "gutter kitten" as "manna from Heaven".  He came to us through the bathroom fan in a place we stayed in Riversdale.  The kitten fell right out of the ceiling,

and Evangel caught it in the fan cover.

Editing has been the thing to do on trips.  For months she has been editing.  Clipping, choosing music that does not have copyright issues and making decisions 'til she was ready to scream.  She did scream a few times, if I remember right. 

It is so satisfying to see it completed! 

My parents read Star of Light to me when I was a little girl, and it was probably my favourite of all the books they read us.  I snagged that same battered paperback to read to our kids and of course, they loved it too.  But Joshua is younger by 3 1/2 years than Timothy, so he didn't remember anything about that first reading so I decided to read it to him as a bedtime story.  He was about 10, and had a little cousin Connie who was just a baby.  Connie and Josh adored each other, and as we read the story, I could just picture them acting it out.  I mentioned it to Evangel who took a while to get used to the idea.  If you see the movie, you'll see she really caught on to the idea. 

As she is saying, "TO GOD BE THE GLORY." 

All are welcome to come Saturday, the 15th of November, 2014 to Medway Community Church in Plumstead, at 6:30 for a prompt 6:45 start to Star of Light, the movie. 

To see the advertisisement, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1Nbbu7n5No

A Tiny Little Day Away

Yesterday, the ladies in our house went on a little outing to a miniatures fair in Rondebosch. 

We were intrigued by seeing things at 1/24th the usual size, and even some things at 1/144th the usual size! 

These little birds and animals were noteworthy for being so exquisitely done, and also for being the most expensive booth in the show. 

 We enjoy studying them, trying to figure out how they made each little item.  How would you do that hose? 

 Such careful little details like the moss on the rocks fill me with admiration for the people who have the patience to craft these things. 

 Evangel can make many of the "foods" in this little pastry shop.  I hope viewers computers really let them zoom in to study the cuteness. 

 These are on the 1/144th scale, I believe.  In other words, they are for a doll's dollhouse. 

 I was not surprised to see a man made this one.  It's not "pretty", but so carefully detailed. 

 My boys studied this Monopoly game trying to figure out how they did it.  They think they know, but I'll be impressed if they have the patience to try it. 

 Inspiration to Nieces expecting little ones.  I'd skip the maid though.  I never wanted anyone else to take care of our kids on a regular basis.  Their baby years went by so fast! 

 We are in Africa, so this "Green Roof African Curio Shop looked very much like a local shop.  How did they do that Nguni cowhide skin?  and the zebra!    Notice Mandela on the right wall. 

 Lest you think we were the only ones interested in miniatures, notice the crowds!  That's Paul's sister Grace in the purplish jacket towards the left. 

 Looking in through the top of this room.  Our Joshua noticed the bagpipes and was impressed with them.  My parents had a large print of that girl in the long dress in the gold frame hanging in our house in Rochester for years.  How surprising to meet her again in a miniature room in Africa.  I didn't see her at all yesterday, only today in the photo. 

 A toy shop is a treat for the eye that loves color. 

 A peep into an art gallery has us feeling like we learned something. 

And then finally, back to the lady with the exquisite birds.  I heard her say a clock like this sold for $1500.00 in America and truly, her work was exceptional.  I think it's usually easier to make miniatures of man-made stuff than to make correct miniatures of things straight from Creation.  I think when you try to copy the Lord's things He has made, it can be a way of praising him.  My Gram used to say, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." 

"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein."  Ps. 24:1

In trying to imitate Creation in a small way, I gain a new appreciation for how hard it is.  "I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

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