Window on George

My grandmother loved flowers and she loved making clothes. My mother loves flowers and she loves needlework. I love flowers and I love making things, too.  These gifts have been handed down to my daughter as well. When I lived in Taiwan, my mother spent nearly a year there with me.   She was inspired by the colours and flowers and fruit and vegetables, the mountains, the sea, the buildings.    She painted.   She sewed.   She knitted.   She crocheted.  She taught my daughter to make bobbin lace. Her hands are never idle. Here are some of her muses, inspiration, design processes and creations. Persimmons, Figs and Cabbage for Autumn The Atayal tribal weavers and their multi-coloured textiles Turquoise and red, traditional Chinese colours. Traditional Puli huts Gods at Tong Shiao Blue Mountains in Taroko Gorge Dankie, ouma Mavis!

I once lived in the shadow of Table Mountain, in Cape Town, the mother city. I learnt to predict the weather by looking at the mountain. I got to know the mountain intimately : its colour changes, how the sun sets behind it,  the view from the top, the lit mountain at night, the cable car's trek up and down the mountain.  This August, we made a nostalgic trip back to the winelands, and I was flooded with memories of the past.    Here are some pictures of ve mountain. from the Castle From Sea Point From behind at Camp's Bay From Bloubergstrand From the canola fields, Durbanville district from Milnerton, Parow from Woodstock from Gordon's Bay across False Bay

Tall chestnut trees line the opposite bank of the river that runs through Mandy's property.  Unfortunately, the chestnut season is at its very end in August when I visit, and new leaves are already sprouting. Her neighbour Francis has the most spectacular hydrangeas, or Christmas Roses, as we call them.  Francis is very generous, and invites us over every Christmas morning to pick armfuls for our Christmas table.   We add some of Mandy's agapanthus and lavender, some Dorothy Perkins climbing roses, open a bottle of JC le Roux Champagne and then all of a sudden, it's Christmas!  Mandy calls them "see perdjies" (sea horses).   A rose by any other name would smell as sweet!  Don't know their actual name, but I love all purple and blue flowers. This beautiful spot is enjoyed by the local bird life as well, with the peacocks and guinea fowls taking prime position, being fed by all the families who live along the river. ...