So today Dad sold his trusty 35 yr old Yamaha XT 250 to his best mate Budgie. Convinced me to have my first bike ride ever. We just went up and down the road but I hung on for dear life. He said he could hardly breathe I was holding so tightly. Was a lot of fun and noisy but nice to feel the wind on your face. Back to the pedal trike after this. Mom took the photo.

 A teenager at last! So Dad got tired of waiting for me to master a two-wheeler so he ordered this three-wheeler from Capetown. Now he expects me to zoom up and down the promenade and keep up with him on two wheels. I just love the huge basket at the back where a teen can carry all the important stuff like spare water snacks and jackets.

Eagle Girl

 

I’ve been asking Dad for ages to make me some eagle wings. I can use them to chase the monkeys and the chickens (when he’s not looking) We went into his workshop and found a piece of cardboard, some old tent supports, a piece of old car safety belt, and some cable ties. It's amazing what Dad has stashed away in his Man cave aka garage. I think the result is pretty cool. I'm 12 now so getting more curious about the world around me. I shot up another 6cms this last year and now top out at 142cms. I have so many questions to ask about life and science and how stuff works. An interesting time indeed.

 Hard to believe ten years have passed since my tummy mom left us. Dad had this photo especially made up for the occasion.  The one of mom was taken on top of table mountain in 2009 a year before she passed. My one was at school for heritage day. He then sent the separate photos to a bunch of Durban artists and asked if they could paint it. Some could but he didn't like their work. Then one lady sent this message

"Hi Clive, I’m sorry I don’t do commissions anymore. I’m trying to wrack my brain and think of someone, so I’ve asked my arty friends. If someone recommends somebody, I’ll let you know". Denise Becke. 

He gave up and thought he would stick with the photo. The very next day she sent another message.

"Hi Clive, those faces just haunted me, so I started a little painting. It is 25cm x 25 cm. I don’t know if you’re still interested.  It’s the wrong size, you might have made other plans, etc, I quite understand, so if you’re not interested, don’t feel bad. It was a lovely little exercise for me and I am always able to paint over it."Denise

Here is what she painted in one day.

Snakes Alive

 Ok so dad says I must not fear snakes but respect them. This one was caught red handed with one of our chickens eggs down its throat. After dad assured me it was safe to handle as it has no teeth let alone any venom I posed for this picture. Everyone thinks I am brave but actually the poor snake was more afraid than I was. 

Its real name is a mouthful much like it just had. Dasypeltis scabra or common egg eater. 

After swallowing an egg it crushes it in its throat then spits out the shell. 

As it would return over and over dads friend Nick Evans the snake catcher released it far away from our chickens.

Cesiras Home School

 In March of this year my regular school Browns had to shutdown because of the Covid 19 Virus. They were shut for about five months. No problem. Dad converted a room for me into a classroom. All the work from a homeschool facility is sent to me and I now work from home. Only thing I miss is the other kids. Have a lot more breaks as well but I can work at my own pace. I am covering the regular syllabus albeit two years behind for my age group but I am getting there. 10 Aug 2020

Heritage

September 24 2019 

Ok so in South Africa we have National Heritage day where we get to dress to show where we come from. Dads kind neighbour Yashica gave me this beautiful dress that belonged to her daughter. Quiet a mission to get it on and off but certainly worth the effort. Had this picture taken at school. I loved twirling the dress everywhere I went. Even had the little bindi dot on my forehead. Pretty cool. Wish I could dress like this every day.