Mom's 80th Birthday in South Africa

I don't usually travel twice in one year to South Africa, but this year was special. It was my wonderful Mother's 80th birthday. My brother and sister also came and even though May is a tricky time for me with our biggest team coming and reports due, I managed to make it work. 

We had a wonderful time as a family the week before her birthday - celebrating Mom's birthday every day in some way. It was really fun. Then it was time for the BIG happening - Mom's actually birthday party. She managed to keep the guest list to just under 40, but it was hard! We had decided to do it at home, and not in a restaurant, as it would be more relaxed. With both Astrid and I helping to organise it (and both of us love organising), it was super fun for everyone! 

And the weather played along... it was a stunningly beautiful Cape Town autumn day (especially as earlier in the week there was a huge storm which caused extensive flooding and electrical outages). We started by mingling outside: 

Enjoying catching up, or meeting new people - we had a fun "Find someone who" knows Sue from different places - like church or aqua... and there was a prize draw at the end for those who filled it out! And the prizes were the 4 spekboom centrepieces which Mom planted specially for the party: 

 

The highlight of our mingling time was having Jack the coffee man - he was making real coffees, lattes, cappuchinos, etc which everyone enjoyed... 

And all this while, the lamb was being cooked on a spit in our driveway! 

And then it was time to enjoy the lamb, and the potatoes and vegetables cooked in the juices being dropped down from the lamb - sooooooooo good! 

We decided to have the 4 of us each have a table and be the host of that table, and it worked really well. Here are all the wonderful tables: my brother, Kevin's:

My sister, Astrid's:

Mom's:

And mine: 

During the party, we had slideshows going in different places - I chose the photos and made sure everyone at the party was on the slideshow:

And it even became a fun talking point with some people: 

Another fun activity was the photo booth: Where you could get into it: 

Or just take a normal photo: 

And two very tall people making it really fun - probably my favourite photobooth photo! 

My brother and I both made a speech, and my sister MC'd the whole event. It really was a fun and honouring party for my wonderful Mom. 

Before everyone went home it was time for cake - made by the daughter of Mom's Maid of Honour who works in a bakery. It was a surprise for Mom (and a gift!) so that made it even more special. The succulents are real (and Mom was able to plant them later). Here are my brother, sister and I with Mom and the cake: 

I don't think we could have hoped for a more honouring celebration, or a more fun time for everyone who came. I believe that celebrations are a small glimpse of what it will one day be like in heaven, and if this party is what it will be like all the time, then I can't wait to get there!! 

Spur time in South Africa

One of the fun things that I did this time in South Afirca was going to all sorts of different Spur restaurants (it is a chain of restaurants, and I used to work at one when I was at University!)... I think I worked it out that managed to go 10 times to 7 different restaurants! It was a fun way to catch up with people and enjoy time with Mom as well. Here are some of them: 

With family at the Table View Spur:

With the Bennetts at their neighbourhood Spur in Bergvliet:

With Mom and Audrey at the Rondebosch Spur and Mom at the Waterfront: 

I also went to the Claremont Spur - where the Birthday song was played a record 5 times! And the Pinelands one - where we arrived on a night they were doing a fundraiser for the Pinelands High Waterpolo team - so they had the students "helping" the waitstaff and then about 1/2 way through did a whole big dance route around the restaurant. Only in the Spur!! Both of those visits were with friends, but I don't have pics :(

I went the most to the one at Kenilworth Centre, as Mom and I would go do shopping and then eat there. It also has lovely views of the mountains!! And we also went with some other folks: including with our Minister (pastor), Obusitswe, and one of our Society Stewards (elders), Milly on my last night in Cape Town: 

Mom is a cheap date as she can get the pensioner's special, and we generally then also go on Monday's where there is a burger special. I get to spoil Mom (and myself) with my "Christmas money". And this time it was a fun challenge to go to so many different Spurs! 

Time in South Africa

Since I came to Bosnia Herzegovina in 2001, I have kept to a rhythm of being in South Africa every other year for a longer stint of 2-3 months. This has helped me keep in touch with my friends and supporters and especially my Home Church, which has gone through a lot of changes over the years. It is also a good way to stay fresh and be able to keep going over all these years. 

So, I was in South Africa for January and most of February and it was such a lovely time. My sister and her family were around in January (they live in the UK) so it was lovely to be able to spend time with them...

I also got to hang out with other family in the city - including my Aunt Pam and cousin Tim: 

And I organised another Family Reunion for my Dad's side of the family: Our desert is always Gatti's Icecream - here we are all enjoying it! 

These are two of my Dad's cousins, Cheryl and Shirley - and we do these reunions for Shirley who is amazing at 90, as she lives about 1 1/2 hours from Cape Town, so she can come in and see everyone on the same day... 

And here is the obligatory group photo (luckily, one of the cousins is a photographer!) 

I was also able to serve in my Home church by helping with worship. And I preached one week on my favourite chapter in the Bible, Philippians 3! I don't have a picture of the preach, but here I am leading worship with Norman on that day: 

I got to hang with a lot of lovely friends along the way, but I didn't get many pics of that... other than the day that Keren and I did a "be a tourist in our own city" and spent the day hanging out at the harbour in Hout Bay! 

We also took one of the boats to seal island - something I had never done before! So that was really fun! 

You can also check out my posts on the Bosnian Tea event here, and here is a look at the different times I went to the Spur restaurants while I was home... spoiler alert, it was a LOT! 

It went by very quickly, but it really was lovely to rest and spend time catching up with so many lovely people!! 

25 year Celebration/Bosnian Tea

While I was in South Africa, I held my usual event at my Home Church, but also decided as it was 25 years since I had gone to Bosnia and Herzegovina, that I needed to celebrate that event as well! And despite the heat, there was a lovely turnout:  

We started with some good Bosnian treats and Herzegovian tea. And I also had a powerpoint going with pics and some information on it. Also a photo wall with a whole lot about what I do in Bosnia. So people could eat the treats and also learn something about Bosnia and what I do there! And also hang out with each other ☺

Then it was time to hear a little bit from me: 

Besides sharing about what I do, I also shared about the importance of Celebrating - 

Celebration reminds us what it will be like in heaven one day! This is so true in this day and age of wars and grief, which reminds that it was NOT supposed to be this way, but taking time to celebrate is a picture of what it will be like one day... where there will be no more tears or pain!! 

At the end, instead of having a Quiz, I just had a lovely "door prize" - where I had put "coupons" under 10 people's seats and they either won Bosnian wool socks or Bosnian chocolates. It was a really fun way to end the afternoon! 

I like being able to bring joy into people's lives in big ways and small. And I think this event not only showcased what I am doing in Bosnia, but shared that joy as well!

💕Thanks to everyone who helped make food, or helped on the day... I really couldn't have done it without you! 

Family time in South Africa

 I stayed longer in South Africa, so that I could still be there when my brother and his family came mid March. They came from Canada and my sister and her husband came from the UK. We haven't been all together as siblings since 2016, and in South African since 2013, so it was time! 

We had a fantastic time together, exploring Cape Town and beyond. We also managed to have a family reunion with my Dad's side of the family:

And we celebrated my birthday early, going to the Spur, which is one of our family's favourite restaurants! And yes, the waiters came and sang to me!

And this is one of my favourite pictures of my brother and his family, watching the sunset after a beautiful afternoon at the beach! 

And another fun memory - going to a very wet concert at Kirstenbosch, the heavens may have opened, but we still had a great time!

I am so glad that I was able to stay in South Africa and enjoy spending time with my family! 

Starting early to celebrate my 50th!

Yes, I am turning 50 this year in June. I decided I wanted to celebrate with my Cape Town friends, and so I decided to celebrate my "American" birthday (3.6 = March 3) as my birthday is 3.6 (= 3rd of June!) And I am so glad I did!! 

My friend, Sarah, had celebrated her 50th a month before, and so I got her to bring me her 50th swag and she also brought some amazing flowers:

And I got my friend, Keren, to bring her party lighting which added to the atmosphere!! (And actually came in helpful when we had "loadshedding" during the party and we didn't have to worry about it as we had light!! 

Here is a pic of all of us - thanks to Katherine's lovely long arms. It really was a lovely evening with lovely people! 

I look forward to celebrating my actual birthday in Bosnia in June!