Crab Apple blossoms and Willows: my mom's garden.
My dad stuck me in the back of his tiny little beach buggy and proceeded to snigger like a naughty school kid and beep the car horn all the way down the street, wind whistling around our ears and settling deep into my bones. “Slow down!” said my mom. Can’t you see your daughter’s freezing?” Which only made him grin like a lunatic – and slow down to a put-put-put-put crawl, him revving the engine every 50 metres or so, waking up the neighbourhood.
We eventually came to the Chinese restaurant with the Taiwanese cook and the Basotho waitresses. And the red-and-green disco lights playing on the trees when you drive up. Sweet-and-sour pork, chicken cashew nut, noodles, fried rice. Loaded down with packages we left. “Look at the moon!” said my mom. A bright and sharp sickle, with the evening star right below it. “Look, the communists are on us!” I might have said that. I can’t really remember. We’d been laughing so hard by then that everybody was a bit giddy.
Fairies at the bottom of the garden...
It was one of my weirder weekends at home – when both my parents seemed filled with an impish glee. It’s springtime, after all, and the air is filled with splendid smells and frantic birds and even the rocky Free State landscape gets softened by a wash of green.
It’s brilliant to wake up to a cup of tea. To fall asleep on a raggedy couch under the lapa and snooze the day away. To experience French Toast, Free-State style, at Living Life: the passion fruit halves came as a surprise. To go birding and finding things with exotic names like Spurwing Goose, Orange-throated Long Claw, White-fronted Bee Eaters, South African Shelducks, Spoonbills, Marsh Owls…
Walking around my mom’s fairy garden and seeing something new around every corner…
And to all end up together laughing at Gok Wan’s naked woman and the lengths people will go to simply be happy with themselves and their appearance.
Free State sky.
To top it all off: falling asleep under blankets so soft it feels like you’re nesting – I’ve only ever experienced that at my parents’ place. And then my time-share witches’ cat Pixie jumps on the bed, purring and kneading… And all’s well with the world.
Morning tea and birds.
Stars and sparkles.
Yes, my mom hangs tin cups from trees.
Inside Living Life - best food in the business.
Living Life in shades of pink
Yep, that's French Toast
Tags: African Shelducks, bird watching, Free State French Toast, Free State Province, French Toast, Gok Wan, JC Chinese Restaurant in Ladybrand, Ladybrand, Living Life in Ladybrand, Marsh Owls, Orange-throated long claw, Spoonbills, Spurwing Goose, visiting your parents, White-fronted bee eaters