South Africa - Day 1

We stayed overnight in a hotel at Zürich Airport to catch a 7.00 AM flight to Amsterdam from where we would fly to Cape Town. We arrived in Cape Town at around 9.30 PM. Our first night in Cape Town we spent in a new airport hotel, Hotel Verde, only 400m from the terminal. Large living room with kitchen and separate bedroom, kids on the sleeper-sofa, big bathroom, everything proper and clean. Bottled water and milk in the fridge. Great breakfast next morning.

Hotel Verde, Cape Town Airport

New Project: my own tiny art-studio/workshop!

The new year started with a *bang*: I was in bed with a fever for a few days, followed by a cough for nearly 3 weeks, finally got some medicine from my doctor and now I'm working on a new project: my tiny art studio/workshop! It is in a former flower shop that was closed down by the end of last year, in fact my art studio is not the shop itself but the former "Blumenbinderei" where the flower bouquets were put together. It is in the basement of a building, that means concrete floors, concrete walls, lots of dirt, lots of tubes & pipes, two small windows and one big glass-but-no-see-through-door, little sunlight and everything is very old. The high table is gone now, the other dark cabinet/table will stay and I will move in my old working tables to work on. And my chair. And my tools. And my polymer clay! My hands are itching!!!

But what a little bit of white paint can do! It looks better now and soon I can start creating again. I'm in the moving-phase now and getting organized. These pictures were made before I distributed the white paint:

the high table is gone now

water is available!

this old cabinet/working table will stay, it has a nice height for standing work.
the most important tool is already there: my Nespresso machine!

miracle stuff: white paint!

To be continued!!

Puppy time @ Vlieland Beach!

It's the time of year again: storm, high water, newborn seal puppies everywhere......

For your ease of mind, I made my pictures using a telephoto lens, I did not come (too) close to the animals 

Getting ready for Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Hubby's new toy......

Wasatch State Park

It was a perfect day to go to the Wasatch State Park: sunshine & blue skies, lovely temperature and fantastic fall foliage! Dru, Jana & myself had tons of fun driving the buggy on the tracks in the park!

This track was really steep:

breathtaking scenery!

road? who needs roads!

abandoned mine

beaver dam
(the heap to the left of the center)

this is close to where 3 juvenile bald eagles crossed our path just meters in front of us!!
they were huuuuuge!

fantastic day, fantastic view over the Heber Valley!

time to go home

Visiting the Bonneville Salt Flats and Wendover Historic Airfield

On my way to the Bonneville Salt Flats, a two hour drive from Salt Lake City. A photo impression.

sightseeing stop along the I-80

my loyal 4wd companion needed a drink

no ice, this is SALT

SALT

I would not do this to my dog.......

salt cristals on a stone

on the Salt Flats (not my car!)

Bonneville Speedway

Historic Wendover Airfield

I bought a new lens for my Nikon camera, a 50mm 1.8g and it is simply fantastic. I just had to play with it on board this old plane:

historic control tower at Wendover

 I made a quick photostop on my way back to SLC:

wild horses?

wild horses?? snakes??? scorpions????

BIG red ants!!

on my way back to SLC

short stop at the Morton Salt Production