It’s a cool, overcast day
here in George but I’ve managed to get away with wearing my open sandals,
t-shirt and jeans and haven’t felt cold. My light cashmere cardigan is always
with me though, just in case. Hoping that the heavens wouldn’t open we took a
chance and headed to the Kraaibosch Farmer’s Market (Boeremark!) just outside
of George with Oupa and Ouma.
We were overwhelmed and inspired by the rich, South African
creativity on display. The market was basically divided into two sections and
we rambled from one to the other. On the one side all sorts of handmade crafts
were on display, from woodwork to potted herbs to mosaics to quilting to
dresses and scarves and slippers – and lots more inbetween. South Africans cultivate
a creativity I haven’t seen in my travels overseas. The rich colours and
vibrant designs are a glorious sight and the variety of things people are able
to make and market are amazing! We walked away very inspired and the first new
thing I’d like to learn to do is mosaics!
Before heading over to the food side of the market we headed
over to the ‘kiddies’ section. There Ethan opted for a horse ride and was in
his element as a guide walked him on a short return route. He sat so upright,
holding very tightly on the reins and when he waved to us as he past it was a
very brief wave as if he was going to fall off if he didn’t hold onto the
reins. At one point the guide stopped – and so did the horse – and Ethan was
softly kicking the horse with his heels and lifting the reins so that he’d
start walking again. I was surprised that he knew exactly what to do, but so
relieved that the horse didn’t then respond and gallop off in full swing! The
guide walked on and the horse followed, much to Ethan’s delight.
Ryan, Jed and Aimee opted for a stint on the trampoline. It
was the sort where they hoist you up on a harness and Ryan learnt very quickly
how to do somersaults way up there. Each turn was 5 minutes long and both he
and Jed were beginning to perspire after 5 minutes. Jed really enjoyed the
jumping, despite the harness hurting his legs a little. He wasn’t going to try
do the somersaults, but he managed to get himself quite high off the trampoline
with his own momentum. Aimee loved it! She giggled when I threw her up in the
air and found the longer drop to the trampoline exhilarating. The lady running
the set-up wasn’t really timing anyone and Aimee’s 5 minutes were already up
but she didn’t have the energy to keep going any longer so we helped her out of
the harness and handed it over to the next little one in the growing que.
Oupa then treated us to something to eat and drink. We took
our time walking around the food section first to make sure we made the best
possible choice – and choice there was! The variety on offer included a
breakfast of scrambled eggs and boerewors with tomato and onion gravy on a
larger hotdog roll, falafel pitas, sushi, curries, chipstix, jaffels, fresh
fruit and veggies, freshly fire-baked breads, German sausages, olives, cheeses,
relishes, a variety of coffee and tea options and fresh juices and smoothies.
We opted for smoothies and juices and pancakes and joined Oupa and Ouma for
coffee and Dieter’s cousin Aubrey and his wife Riana who had joined us from
Knysna for breakfast.
Ouma and I went to buy some grapes and leeks while the men
took the kids to climb and swing and play around a lovely climbing frame and
play area. Dotted with huge trees and wooden picnic benches, this market was a
wonderfully relaxing place to visit.
The biggest chunk of our day chunk of our day was spent at
Agnes’s house, a neighbour and friend of Ouma and Oupa. She had invited us to
celebrate her birthday and treated us and a few other neighbours to a festive
spread which took nearly 3 and a half hours to enjoy. She’s a very special lady
and went out of her way to make it special for the children especially.
Aaliayah, a little 6-year old girl who lives down the road from us, also joined
in the celebrations and our children had a wonderful time playing with her.
Dieter and Ryan slipped away from the birthday party for a
couple of hours as today was Ryan’s first football match. He has been attending
football practices at the George United football club this week and was chosen
to play for the ‘Lions’. The Lions played against the Cheetahs and the two
teams drew. The Lions have not beaten the Cheetahs before, but a draw was a
great result. Ryan played left defender and says he ran a lot today and Dieter
seems to think the teams were of equal strength. Ryan’s really enjoying the
football and practicing 3 times is a thrill! On the days he doesn’t have
football he then cycles with Oupa or Dad so he get some good exercise every day
of the week.
I was able to chat with a lady over lunch who loves cooking
and has decided to start selling ready-cooked meals. Already the response has
been so positive that she has more orders than she has ready-cooked meals! I
ran an idea past her that I’ve had for some time – selling freshly prepared
baby food. She was thrilled at the idea! I know for a fact no one in this area
is doing anything like that and she says is the first time she’s even heard of
it. She thinks it’s a winning idea and encouraged me to first finalise my
packaging ideas, so I need to organise a visit to Thrifty Packaging in the
George Industrial area soon. I think I’ll start with finding a ‘cookbook’ with
ideas for baby foods so that I can refresh my own brain with the needs of 6 –
24 month old children. My own children are long past the baby foods stage and I
need some refreshing! Hopefully the local library has something suitable.
An inspiring start to a dull, cool, wet weekend – and the
weatherman says that it will be really cold tomorrow!
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