Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Thanksgivings

Gratitude, as we know, opens the soul in a very special way. So today I looked through
photos taken over this year and relived some of the uplifting experiences Mother Nature brought to me. Self-indulgent, maybe, but I hope you enjoy these images.

First of all, lunch among the vineyards in Constantia last March:




Then there were spring lilacs in California... always good to gather those, right?



Summer days in a Group of Seven lake and landscape:


And lastly, the glory of autumn gold:


HAPPY THANKSGIVING. Remember, it's all about gratitude. Right now, I'm grateful to be feeling creative about my new story!

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Did a fun interview!

This week, I'm setting aside revisions and starting to re-orientate towards 'Dance to Remember', Charmaine's story. But Alexa is still on my mind, and if you'd like to read a fun interview I did with Amberly Smith, here's the link:

http://amberlysmith.blogspot.ca/2015/11/Interview-Brenda-Hammond.html

To my surprise, being interviewed is something I really enjoy, especially when I have enough time to think about my answers. Off the cuff is not my forte. If you're interested, here's one I did back in 2012 after my novel 'Cape Town' came out.

http://getlostinastory.blogspot.ca/2012/05/welcomd-brenda-hammond.html

And now, in my mind I'm gonna... not Carolina, (hums tune), but back to Cape Town. When I was there last February the great fire on Table Mountain and others had just died down. Here's a painting from Richard Ian Heys that depicts something of what they were like, even though it's titled 'Fire on the Moors':


Wednesday, November 11, 2015

From my Knysna Archive

I find myself reluctant to leave my main setting for 'Sailing for Trouble' and feel the need the linger in this lovely place... maybe because it's a gloomy day here, and the leaves have fallen... except for a few clinging onto the lilac in our garden.

So once again I have three photos to share with you. The first is for lunch time... here we are at the Heads cafe, a delightful and delicious place to eat such fare as bobotie, or fish and chips, and of course, carrot or cheesecake. In the pic you see across the waters of the lagoon to the Western headland. I leave it to your imagination to look left out to sea, over the bar where the waves crashing on rocks send spray high into the air. To the right you'd see Leisure Isle, and the town of Knysna with the hills beyond in the distance.



And now, talking of leaves, this is a view out the window of my room. My mother always claimed the weather was like in Camelot in that the rain usually fell at night.



And lastly, here's the waterfront and marina which Alexa explores soon after arriving in Knysna, and where she buys the wire chameleon. In the background is the restaurant she visits with Roger.

I'm sad that I didn't think to take a pic of the vendors who display their colourful and whimsical wares on cloths along the bricked pathway.

Imagine you're there right now, and about to head to the booth to buy an ice-cream cone... rum and raisin flavour. Yum!


Thursday, November 5, 2015

Last look at Knysna and my last visit

So I've come to the end of this particular journey. Alexa's busy and well on her way to achieving her quest, while I'm deep in the process of discovering my new story. All this to say I hope to write something next week, but am not promising! What I am promising myself is this: next time I visit South Africa I'll take way more photos.

Here are a couple, the first gives you a glimpse of the elephant park, and yes, you can see one off to the left of the pic. Just.


Now some indulgence to show you why I love being there so much. First, the small balcony off the room at the lodge where I stay. This overlooks a vlei, i.e. a wetland, so there are many birds to be seen, including the Knysna loerie who features in 'Sailing for Trouble'... and does Alexa a good turn.



And lastly, my morning 'pozzie' complete with coffee and notebook. Yes, I still like to write quite a lot by hand, especially in the initial stages of a new book. Then there's the keyboarding in, revising, and a print out to read for more revising and editing... as you may be able to see.

May this pic bring a ray of sunshine into your life... the light in Africa is like nowhere else that I've ever been.