PROJECT 365: Part 20 The Final - AKA Holy CRAP I forgot to post the final instalment!

In my last post I promised no more photobombs.  I lied.  So much.

I am so very, very bad.  I cannot believe I forgot to do this.  I guess with the wedding post and then baby showers and then baby births, it just fell out of my mind. 

Nevertheless, I am very embarrassed.

So lets do this!

Day 298: Delicious dishes.

This is ice cream.  Rainbow ice cream, that is, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla.  I dunno what SisHaw thought it was when I posted it on Facebook.  I think it's pretty obvious that it's yummy ice cream . . .

Day 299: It's raining, it's pouring.

The end of summer always gets very rainy.  And I love raindrops on pretty plants.

Day 300: Pumpkin fritters and 65 days left!

These are the first pumpkin fritters I've ever made.  What are pumpkin fritters, you ask?  They're like little pumpkin cakes deep fried in oil and smothered in cinnamon and sugar.  These ones got a little burned as my stove only has two settings - off and effing hot!  I think I may have mentioned this already.  It can make it difficult to cook.

Day 301: Someone's been added to my TV nook.

 

Sis bought me this cute picture of Marilyn Monroe.  I've been a fan ever since I was a little girl, and in fact Sis gave me my first ever picture of her one Christmas many, many years ago.  That picture dominated my bedroom for as long as I can remember.  It got a little bit worn and torn and I took it down and stored it under by bed.  I was very sad to learn from my Dad that he thinks he threw it away not so long ago . . .   Anyhoo, Sis bought me this at the beginning of the year, and it has since dictated the evolution of my TV nook.  Marilyn in everywhere!  Along with Yoda.  Don't ask.  Eclectic is my middle name.

Day 302: Colour Coded.

It's not often everything on me matches so nicely ;)

Day 303: My work-in-progress TV nook

I was tweeting about my Marilyn picture and my TV nook, and one of my tweeps, Dangrdafne (who I have mentioned before) wanted to know what I was talking about.  So I took this photograph for her.  See Yoda?  Sis bought me that too.  Years and years ago.

Day 304: Just keep driving, just keep driving.

Whoops! I'm almost out of petrol.  That's pretty normal . . .

Day 305: Soothing glob of muscle rub goodness.

This period in my life shall forever be known as the season of the recurring shoulder muscle spasm. 

Day 306: Happy Birthday Daddy!

My Daddy's birthday cake.  Which I made and then proceeded to smother with the most delicious, mostly real melted chocolate icing.  It was sooooo good.

Day 307: Celebrate. Good times, come on.

Birthday dinner for Dad.  Mousie and Darren took us to a wonderful steakhouse called Farenheit.  Man, it smells so good in there.  As you can see, a good portion of us were drinking cocktails.  Non-alcoholic cocktails for those of us who were pregnant at the time.  I had a very alcoholic Pina-Colada.

Day 308: Stormy moon.

Taken with my iPod Touch, and the colours are almost perfect, even though it is grainy and a bit blurred.  Night skies are so mesmerising and so difficult to capture.

Day 309: This just makes me incredibly happy.

Cherry cola is not as easy to come by in South Africa as you may think.  It's not impossible though, and I am lucky enough to live right near a store that often has cherry Coke or Dr Pepper cherry cola on it's shelves.  It's pricey though.  Whereas generally a can of cooldrink will cost around R7.00, these cans of cherry cola are R10.99!  So I only get them as a spoil.

Day 310: Macro Moth

This guy was sitting outside my kitchen door for the longest time.  Just hanging around while I was hanging up washing and taking it down by the moonlight.

Day 311: This doesn't make me happy at all...

This was the result of not being able to find the clothes I wanted one morning.  I just emptied everything out onto the floor.  And didn't have time to pack it away before I left for work.  So it was still waiting for me when I got home, tired and frustrated.  I really need to go through my cupboards and clean them out.

Day 312: Specially for . . .

This is a wind-chime, which was given to me by my good friend Natasha.  She lived in Canada before moving to Australia, and she sent me some wonderful things from there, including a moose-shaped travel pillow which was lost somewhere along the Sani Pass.  This still makes me incredibly sad.  I loved that moose pillow . . .

Natasha also sent me David Usher CD's, which are not so easy to get here.  I love Natasha.  And she sent me this.  It hangs in my kitchen window, so I see it every day and think of her.  And since making more friends who live in Canada, it makes me think of them too.  So this was taken for Natasha, Charity and Brigitte.

Day 313: Spokane surprise!

A care package from my friend Mary!  She sent me some wonderful things, including one of the very few chocolate/toffee sweets with nuts that I loved!  I don't really like nuts.  Peanuts I like, but they're not nuts.  And I don't really like em in chocolate.  Otherwise I don't like nuts in or out of chocolate,  But Almond Roca is like little pieces if heaven in your mouth.

Day 314: High Five!

It may not be so clear, but this is Shilo giving me a high five.  Coz he's the cleverest dog in the world.  We do this regularly now, especially when I have peanut butter doggy biscuits.  Shilo can also roll-over and shake.  Penny can roll-over.  Kinda.  She's a very reluctant roll-overer.  And she refuses to shake.  But I shall persevere!

Day 315: Mom's lap is the bestest.

This is really what Penny does best.  No motivation necessary.

Day 316: Happy Gotting-You-Day Oliver! For the 29th of January... Because I am a failure of a furmommy

This was posted on the 4th of February.  I have no idea why, but I have a recurring problem remembering Oliver's gotting-you-day.  I remember all the others.  It's my poor guy's which I always forget.

Day 317: I shall not apologise for another sky photo when the sky looks like this. I shan't.

It is very clear from this project that I really love the sky.

Day 318: Spoilt baby with another new toy.

This is a tarantula.  It's part of a series of Animal Planet toys for dogs.  All natural products etc.  Normally when I give the dogs a fluffy, stuffed toy, Shilo attacks it and within hours, all the stuffing is all over my house.  But this one lasted months!  It squeaked and they pulled on it's legs and ran around with it and played tug-of-war.  Eventually, Shilo had to get the squeak out, but really I was very impressed with the staying power of this toy.  It's still lying around, slightly less firm than it used to be and without a squeak.  But the dogs are still very excited when they rediscover it.

Day 319: They just don't mix.

 

This is oil and water for vanilla muffins.  By the way, it's yellow.  Not brown.  I don't care what all the colour blind people say.

Day 320: Refreshing.

Mountain Dew!  Very nice.  Also pretty.

 

 

Day 321: Little boxes, on a hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky.

Mouse and Darren were moving.  They needed a bigger place with a room for the baby.  What you see above is the baby's room on moving day.

Day 322: Chinese New Year celebrations.

I went to the Chinese New Year celebrations at the Buddhist Temple with my friend and her family.  It was great.  Noisy, but great.

Day 323: A hem

New jeans! Because I have outgrown my other pairs. Ahem.

Day 324: Forever in blue jeans.

And these are them :)

Day 325: What eeeez eeeet? #take2

Charity got it right with her first guess!  It's the best bouncy doggy ball in the world.  Yes, I bought them another toy.  Don't judge me.

Day 326: Be my Valentine?

Sometimes, I just amaze myself with my creativity. ;)

Day 327: Sicky

Story of my life.

Day 328: Like soft fairy fingers of rain.

I got myself a new showerhead, because the old one was sucky.  This one is coming with me if I ever move.

Day 329: Cutting yourself while shaving with a wire-guard 'no cut' razor is a skill.

It really is.  I mean, there is a reason I always buy myself a razor with wire guards.  But somehow I still manage to nick myself.  Not often, but more than I'd like.

Day 330: Falling water everywhere...

More rain.  This was taken on my way home from work.  That waterfall features in a few other photos.

Day 331: He's going through changes.

Little BubHaw, cooking nicely.  The evidence is still on my fridge door.




Day 332: For Lori. Love ya x

 

Taken for Lori.  Those are all the books she's written!! I'm lucky because I have two editions of her first series.  Coz she's just awesome like that.

Day 333: Shadows of uninspiration.

I will admit, things were getting a little difficult by this point.  How to keep the photos interesting?  But I was also having a very meh day.  And now that I look at it after some time, it's actually quite a cool photograph!

Day 334: The Classics bookshelf.

As promised.  Now, lets see . . . The top shelf is for photographs.  From left to right: My best friend from school's wedding.  I was Jax's bridesmaid.  That's me you can see with much shorter and much blonder hair.  The next photo which you can't really see, is of my parents climbing the staircase up Mapungubwe Hill.  I love that photo.  The frameless photo leaning against that one is my other best friend Sian's daughter.  The pixie, who has been featured twice already during this project I think.  Next is one of my favourite photos of my sister, Mouse.  I snapped this while she was feeding the squirrels and the pigeons in The Company Gardens in Cape Town.   Then the very big frame at the back on the right, is a beautiful frame Sian gave me for Christmas with a pic of Sis's wedding in it.  In front of that, in the small frame, is one of the very few photos taken at my parents wedding.  They got married in court, on a Thursday morning before they had to go to work.  My Dad proposed on the Tuesday.  In the bath, as I understand it...

Middle shelf:  All my pretty classics in alphabetical order.

Bottom shelf:  Middle shelf continued, and then poetry books (stacked horizontally) and then Greek plays and classics and Shakespeare.

The order of this bookshelf changes often, according to the space available.  When I needed more space on my fiction bookshelf, my Harry Potter and J.R Tolkien books were kept here.  Sometimes I arrange the sets of books together - see, there are different sets of classics that are all bound the same way and sometimes I like those grouped together.  Currently, I am running out of space again and need a new bookshelf.  Or two.

Day 335: Sexy spasm strapping.

As a follow up to Day 305;  I finally went to the physio.  Good thing she had fun colours for the strapping.  May as well be bold right?  Some days it was pink, some days it was blue.

Day 336: Oil check.

I am a very capable girl, and don't need help with this, thank you very much.  I can even change my own tyres.  If I have to.  Hey, I even put new brake pads on my car.  With Dad giving instructions :)

Day 337: Red or Redder?

The general consensus was redder.  So that's what I did.

Day 338: mom's talc smells luverly.

I like liberally dusting myself with talcum powder after a bath.  Or baby powder.  I love me some baby powder.  Anyhoo, as Penny is my shadow, and often manages to sneak into the bathroom when I bath, this is often the end result.  I laaaaaugh every damn time.

Day 339: In my garden.

I have one sadly neglected rose bush in my garden.  Actually I have generally neglected the garden belonging to this house.   I was far more invested in my previous home's garden.  Whatever, this rose bush still blooms one or two buds for me every year.  Makes me smile.

Day 340: Creepy spider flower.

My friend Kat told me on Facebook that this is called a Crinum Lily and that it also grows in India and that they smell wonderful.  I have to admit that I have never sniffed at this flower, coz it honestly creeps me out.  If I were ever to get involved in this garden I would remove them.  That's how creepy I find them.  Sorry Kat!

Day 341: Stormy Weather.

I love it.  I really do.  Everyone should be forced to stay at home, and cuddle under a blanket with a book on days like this.

Day 342: It's beginning to look a lot like baby.

This was before we'd even gone on our baby shopping day.  Did you know, that if you get knocked up, people just throw free things at you?  Pharmacies and medical insurance companies and all sorts.  Most of the stuff on the top shelf here is free stuff Sis was given.




Day 343: Babe in arms.

I love this doggy so damn much!



Day 344: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Kat sent me a recipe for Nutella microwave mug cake.  Haven't tried it yet.  And oddly enough, I do not like Nutella on French toast . . .

 

 

Day 345: Charging...

This is my phone, my iPod and my Kindle charging.  And my carpet looks much nicer in this photo than it does in real life.

 

 

Day 347: Feetsies at 32 weeks.

So sweet! Mousie, if you read this, THIS is the scan that the charm on your charm bracelet represents!

 

 

Day 348: Sorting, sorting, sorting.

This is what I'm supposed to be working on in the dungeon . . .   Progress has been made.  These piles have now been sorted into boxes.  For further sorting.  Sigh.

 

 

Day 349: I want to marry this book.

Oh my gosh.  This book.  I ordered this as a very special present for me.  Just for scoz.  And it is the most wonderful book ever.  If you are a fan of Supernatural, you need this book.  Just believe me.

 

 

Day 350: It's good for you. And 15 days left!!!

Sis gets these teas for me from an alternative type shop near her.  Well, nearer her than me.  She also got my mom a Book of Shadows from that same shop.  And incense and candles and triquetra amulet.  It's that type of shop.  What are they called . . .?  There's a word, but damned if I can think of it.  Anyway, she got me a headache tea too.  I honestly do not know if they actually work, but I do feel soothed drinking them.  Plus the cold and flu tea is yummy.  So is the headache one. 

 

 

Day 351: Popping Corn!

Did any of you see that X-Files episode where Billy Drago is that weird hoodoo, hillbilly type guy who is after a doctor who let his daughter die.  He ends up making Scully blind and causing all sorts of problems before the good guys win.  In the beginning of the episode, he's looking at a vending machine like he's never seen one before, which he hasn't, and sees that it offers popcorn and he says "popping corn!" and chooses some popping corn.  Turns out it's microwave popcorn and he's totally confused before an irritated bystander shows him how to use the microwave nearby.  Um.  Actually, remembering it now, he ends up being very interested in this new fangled invention and puts a voodoo doll in the microwave.  Not very nice for the person who the voodoo doll represented.

 

So now every time I see popcorn I think "popping corn" just in that creepy way he said it.  That is a very convoluted peak into the workings of Nikki's mind for y'all.

 

 

Day 352: Cuddly curled up cat.

Here you see a very snuggly picture of Sam, my not so snuggly cat.

 

 

Day 353: A grainy and blurry photo of a storm over the street where I live.

More storm.  It actually looked a lot more ominous than it looks in this photo.

 

 

Day 354: New book!

There was a sale at my book buying club.  This hardcover book filled with poems was ridiculously cheap.  Worm and Mary and I discuss poetry quite a bit on twitter (mainly Keats, coz Mary lurves Keats and she's infecting the rest of us) and they've rekindled my interest.  Regardless, this is a lovely book and it smells wonderful.

 

 

Day 354: Books, glorious books!

I pass this every day on my way to the dungeon.  It's really rather nice.

 

 

Day 355: If I had a hanger! I'd hanger in the... morning... Erm...

Sis bought him for me!  Isn't he lovely?

 

 

Day 356: Nesting.

THIS was the result of our baby shopping day.  Man, that was fun!

 

 

Day 357: The mostly non-fiction bookshelf

This bookshelf is not as ordered as I'd like it to be.  I want it to be according to subject matter, but there is just not enough space.  So this is more or less how it's arranged:

 

Top:  My collection of old cameras.  I bought my first one at an antique market and since then people have given me the rest, including, my Dad, Sian, a wonderful lady I used to work with, the curator of one of the university museums I used to work at, and Darren.  There is also a Nikon there that used to belong to my grandfather.  I used it for a while, but then it stopped working and I mean to get it repaired but . . .

 

Top left box:  Archaeology books.

 

Top middle box:  Books about South Africa.

 

Top right box:  Art and European history.

 

Middle left box:  General history of South Africa and Africa.

 

Middle right box:  Ancient history, mythology and some European history.

 

Bottom left box:  Ballet books and miscellaneous.

 

Bottom middle box:  Factopedia type books.

 

Bottom right box:  One large factopedia and then all my space books, including astronomy etc.

 

I love that bookshelf.

 

 

Day 358: Car duck!

Guess who gave him to me? Yep.  Sis.  He smells of vanilla :)

 

 

Day 359: What happens when your dogs think you are, in fact, a trampoline.

Self explanatory, really.  That was on my leg.  Happens often.

 

 

Day 360: New music! (Is it really only 5 days left...?)

I love this CD.  And not only because Jensen Ackles sings on it.  There are some really fantastic covers and I will admit to listening to it on repeat for at least 2 weeks every night.

 

 

Day 361: Penultimate Pet Portrait, the first - Sam.

We're in the home stretch here people!  And what better way to end this project than with portraits of my furmily?  This is Sam - my first born, so to speak.  I love this photo.

 

 

Day 362: Penultimate Pet Portrait, the second - Oliver.

Oliver, my eldest boy, welcoming me home.

 

 

Day 363: Penultimate Pet Portrait, the third - Shilo.

Have you ever seen such a cute, snuggly thing?  Shilo, my third furbaby.

 

 

Day 364: Penultimate Pet Portrait, the fourth - Penny.

And Penny, our final furmily member.  Her ears often look like this.  Except when I want to take a picture of them, funnily enough.

 

 

Day 365: Aaaand That's All Folks!

The perfect ending to what proved to be a hellavu lot of fun.  Sure, there were days when I was stumped as to what to photograph, but I did it, and this is going to be so much fun to look at 50 years down the line.

 

Thanks to Amy for getting me started on this!

 

 

 

In case you're interested, my sister and I have started a photo-a-day project to document the first year of Tyler, my new nephew's, life.  It's also on Facebook.  I may start a blog about it, we'll see.

 

Thanks for coming with me on this journey!