My own Fabric Postcards - more

Making and receiving fabric postcards seems to be becoming a major topic of this blog. I love making them and receiving them, especially from other parts of the world. I have make such wonderful friends throughout the world through quilting, especially exchanging postcards.

The deadline for my first South African postcard exchange is the end of July. I used the trusty photo of the Aloe as the centre of the postcard and did a Crazy Patch design round the photo. I am not sure it looks good - the colours of the crazy patch might overpower the photo....

Memoirs of an infrequent traveller

We went travelling last weekend - no too far but far enough to satisify my wanderlust (and get some stamps in the kids' passports). We went to Ponta do Ouro in Mozambique. It is about a 5 hour journey north of us to the border between South Africa and Mozambique. Because we don't have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, we had to leave our car at the border and were collected by staff from the resort we stayed at.

On the way to the border, we passed the Pongolapoort dam. It is so big that I only took photos of a tiny corner of the dam - what beautiful colours - there were at least 3 different blues in the water.



The next photo is of the main road from the border to the village of Ponta do Ouro.



Dual lane highway?



The local people are very poor and impoverished.... They mainly live in reed houses. We wondered how they stay dry during the cyclone season. We also discussed how much in our lives is really unnecessary clutter. If one looks at how these people live and how friendly and contented they are - we can do without a lot of "stuff" especially in the modern age of instant gratification and our plastic society.



We stayed at a resort called the Motel Do Mar Beach Resort. The apartments were small but clean and functional. The general air of Ponta do Ouro is one of shabbiness and everything is run down. People have been talking about renovating for years after the war but there is still a long way to go.

This photo is of the carved tree at the entrance to the resort.



I was totally fascinated by the way the trees in the resort are pruned - it looks as though they have a mohican hairstyle



The local craft stall where tourists can buy curios. It was just around the corner from where we stayed. The handcrafts were awesome - amazing woodwork and paintings etc





The kids spent most of their time on the beach. They hired body boards for the day and spent their days in the sea..... We went for long walks on the beach and just relaxed and took about 1000 photos. I even pulled out my new needlepoint work but did not get very far. I saved the knitted for the travelling.

There are a lot of stray dogs (African Village Dogs) who live on the beach. That was heart breaking. I wanted to bring the one puppy home but would not have got the puppy across the border without the necessary documentation.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I'll go back anyday......

My travels - the advantages of quilting

This morning I went to the Midlands Meander, had breakfast with a friend and stopped off at Piggly Wiggly (see earlier post) for a cup of their famous cappuccino with chocolate mousse on top. I actually went to borrow a dog cart from a friend and took my baby Schnauzer with for some socialisation. One thing I am noticing is that I am more aware of shapes of "stuff" ie hills, mountains, trees etc as I drive. Learning about Design and Design techniques is teaching me to become more aware of my surroundings. It is awesome - wonderful to see all the Aloes next to the road, the shapes of the mountains, trees and the rivers, dams and waterfalls as I drive. As an aside, the reason for going to Piggly Wiggly was to socialise the baby Schnauzer. :LOL - she did get to look at lots of children playing and making a notice etc and I had a wonderful drink.

Concerning family matters, My son at the choir school was nominated as Chorister and Smiler of the week. I am so proud of him.