Friday, February 21, 2014

CATCHING UP


It's been a busy few weeks amidst a long heat wave 
Today seems to be a little cooler 
but I won't hold my breath 
since every day has turned into a scorcher


The storm that didn't...



Bella and Digby are relishing a cooler morning
Diggers doesn't particularly enjoy the heat


This week, I worked hard getting commissions ready 
for fumigation before shipping them out 
across the world to two different continents
It's a good feeling knowing my totems 
are travelling to countries I long to visit. 

 Packed for fumigation



When it's too hot to work I have a good excuse to catch up with my reading 


Wild by Cheryl Strayed,  Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale,  West with the Night by Beryl Markham,  Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. Click to read reviews.

... a little journaling 



.... and endless discussions about wedding plans with the bride-to-be

 Wedding chapel at iNsingizi

It's a relief that we've booked the venue
the photographers
the cake
the dj

..... and that's as far as we've got
but it's a start

 View from the chapel deck

Inside the chapel

A beautiful setting for a wedding

It's going to be a busy year!

74 comments:

  1. Magnifique post, j'ai découverts ces superbes totems!
    Superbe!
    Have a nice week-end !
    Cath.

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  2. Oh what a beautiful space and surroundings…it's going to be a beautiful wedding!!

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    1. Starr we had looked at several venues and they didn't feel quite right but when I visited iNsingizi it felt like coming home. Zebras in the "garden" .... how wonderful is that?!

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  3. Robyn---your totems look wonderful! Wish we could have all of them visit for a spell at our house! The choice of location for the wedding looks like it will be perfect....the chapel, the water. Looks like a great year is shaping up.

    Toni

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    1. Thanks Toni. I'm so happy about the location. It feels right!

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  4. I love your totems, suggestive of so much past and present. May they bring good fortune to the bride and groom.

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  5. I so enjoy seeing your work. I wish one of them was jetting over to me. I understand your angst with the wedding. My daughter is getting married in April, on a beach in Key West, Florida. Small gathering but much ado. Try to enjoy the anticipation.

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    1. Thanks Lisa. A small gathering sounds good..... more manageable. We will have to compare notes.

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  6. I love the porcupine hair & rusty bosoms! Beautiful creations. What a magical place to marry, my eldest marries his beautiful girl in May, also much ado! I smile at everything, enjoy everything, pure acceptance - the invitations I made were received well. I plan to finish my joyful tears before the event......

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    1. Thanks Emma. Oh I just hope I can finish my joyful tears before September.... but I think I might make an ass of myself :-)
      Much ado indeed!

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  7. West with the Night is one of my all-time favorite reads. Beryl Markham is a gem of a writer!

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    1. I gave this book to my husband for Christmas. We both loved it.

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  8. Oh, heat. Your post reminds me of my complaints in our Texas August. It is cool and wonderful now, but soon enough, we will be where you are, and man and diggers alike...wilt! Hang in there! Laura

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    1. :-)
      I can hang in there, knowing that Autumn is around the corner! Texas heat must be pretty harsh.

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  9. Your totems are amazing -- it's always great to see your work. That wedding chapel is beautiful. What fun to plan a wedding! Enjoy.

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    1. Thanks Judy. I bumped into your flying pig on Tumblr and have been smiling ever since.

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  10. Good to see your dogs taking advantage of a bit of coolness, such happy faces they have. Love seeing your totems lined up ready for new homes; I'm sure they'll be well received. interesting to learn you have to fumigate them before transport, but that's a good thing with all the crawly critters trying to relocate to other localities.

    What an amazing spot for a wedding.

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    1. Thanks Linda. I wouldn't be able to export without the fumigation certificate. Nor would I forgive myself if I exported a crawly critter to another country. The totems are actually spending a whole weekend in a fumigation chamber so I don't have to worry :-)

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  11. i love your totems ...wish they were coming to me ( :
    i know about heat ! i live in the california desert but right now it is winter 82 degrees.
    what a beautiful wedding venue . our daughter had a wonderful wedding near san francisco . weddings are wonderful and crazy . today i am glad i only had one child
    ( :
    great post

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    1. Thanks Kathyd. I can imagine how crazy things get closer to the day.

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  12. Love seeing the scale of your work all packed up for fumigation... poor things!! And the chapel, well, quite a beautiful place!! Stay cool!!

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    1. Lol ... I had a similar thought about the "poor things" going to fumigation.

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  13. I wish safe travels to your totems and all the best for this super special time of wedding preparations. Beautiful works, beautiful place(s), beautiful post!

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  14. What a gorgeous place for a wedding! And I'm glad more of your totems continue to travel across the world - mine still brings me great joy!

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  15. And I forgot to mention it's lovely to see your pups as always! (And I can't imagine a heat wave right now - it's always so odd to think of you sweating when I'm freezing!)

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    1. Digby's in the dog box! We came home last night to find he had dragged all his (and Bella's) bedding outside into the rain.

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  16. Robyn, I am so excited to see the dogs! Digby is so big and solid now!
    And the totems are stunning as is the the beautiful spot for the wedding, lucky bride.Sending you some of our Winter coolness. xoxo

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    1. Thanks for the coolness, Annie. It arrived with a little rain. What a relief!

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  17. What a stunning location for a wedding, looks like you've been busy.

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    1. The reception area is beautiful too. It's a thatched bush lodge with a great view.

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  18. love seeing your totems preparing to fly out into the world & what a stunning spot for a wedding !

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  19. Amazing, gorgeous totems! Amazing venue. Thank you for sharing the beauty and congratulations on the upcoming marriage. All the best. . .

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  20. Those totems are out of this world. I would love to own one.
    That is the most glorious wedding venue. I seem to have missed the vital information about the identity of the participants!
    Is that an English bull terrier in your photograph?

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    1. Thank you Pat. My daughter is getting married in September. It's a while to go but there is a lot to do! Yes, Digby is an English bull terrier .... and part time clown :-)

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  21. stunning wedding setting! (and totems!)

    heat waves must be a southern hemisphere thing this summer - southern australia has been scorched by rolling heatwaves..... not. fun. at. all.

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    1. Thanks Ronnie. I think you are probably hotter than we are though we'v had several days in the 40's.

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  22. Hello, Robyn, that's a wonderful news!!! You seem to be very excited and happy! The place is so special and beautiful - a lovely choice!!! And... so romantic (just like the Proposal itself - I remember your post about it!).:)
    You seem to have been very busy making the totems - just imagine how many people will admire them!
    Wishes for all the best from all my heart to you and your family!

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    1. Thanks so much Rossichka. Planning the wedding has been fun and the pieces are slowly beginning to fall into place.

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  23. Another totem drooler comment!! Just exquisite and like fellow commenters - wish one of them was making its way here. The wedding venue really tugs at my african heart ... a superb spot which reminds me a little of the trip up to Lesotho from the family farm near Underberg. It may just be my imagination though .... has been a long time.

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    1. Susan you would love the venue. It's a typical African bush lodge surrounded by wild life. (Between PMB and Durban)

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    2. Isn't that strange .... I was born in Pietermaritzburg and then lived in Durban. Not surprising then I felt my heart pull ....

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    3. We could have crossed paths between Underberg and Durban

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    4. Oh and i was born in Pietermaritzburg too ..... at Greys Hospital.

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  24. Just love those totems, but mustnt be greedy and any way even if one could get here I cant afford it! The wedding venue looks great, Having done two weddings at home, yours sounds delightul,

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    1. Organizing two weddings at home must have been quite an undertaking, Penny!

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  25. R - you have been busy - beautiful body of work - must feel so good to be taking them off for fumigation and then posting them to new homes - bitter-sweet. Go well. B

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    1. It does feel good Barry... though there are one or two I will really miss.

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  26. Your life appears full of abundant love and loveliness. Wishing you and the bride much love as you prepare for this transition.

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  27. How exciting! The totems are amazing; do we get to see them unwrapped at any point? And congratulations on your daughter's engagement! The fun has just begun! As one who has one child married a year ago and one getting married in October, it's really not as bad as some would have you believe. Enjoy this special time with your daughter! xo

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    1. I've shown a few of these totems on my blog but I will probably unwrap the latest one in a future post. Yes, let the fun begin :-)

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  28. So much in one post to comment on... your work is marvelous... you are fortunate to send your work near and far. We have similar tastes in books as I have read WILD, and West into the Night... will look up the other 2 books... and my youngest son is also planning a July wedding... it does look like your wedding is coming along too.

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  29. "Notes from an Exhibition" is a novel which I thoroughly enjoyed and I've yet to read Cold Tangerines. I'll let you know once I've read it, Donna.

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  30. Your art work is beautiful, thank you for sharing it with us. What a wonderful place for a wedding. I wish I could share some of our extreme cold with you for some of your extreme heat and wouldn't we all feel better. Wishing you relief.

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    1. Autumn arrived yesterday! The days are hot but there's a wonderful freshness in the air before the sun comes up.

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  31. Spectacular totems Robyn. Never had thought before about their need to be fumigated. But truth is they look quite happy all wrapped up and ready to go!

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    1. Thanks Seth. They're back from fumigation and they will be a lot happier once they've aired in the sun :-)

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  32. donna
    your totems are terrific! i especially love the 'hair' components.

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  33. Its wonderful to see a family of your totems, heading out, so to speak. They seem so "real" I almost imagine they are headed out to get fitted for wedding clothes, to join in at the celebration.
    The chapel is perfect, and perfectly "you" after watching you blog and tumble. Love the inside and the view. This word, iNsingizi, too seems like a magical word (song) to whisper.

    I wish Blessings to the family, love long and prosper. And Joy.

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    1. I thought you might like the word, M.
      iNsingizi is a bird called a Ground Hornbill. They are becoming quite rare because they are killed for muti (medicine) .....but they are seen at the lodge.

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  34. I love seeing your art and knowing your figures are going to a good home.

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  35. This is a most beautiful wedding location ... so lovely!
    Nice to see the car packed up ... all neatly in a row ... everything quite perfect with only the heat to bother ...hoping for cooler days. This post has been a delight Robyn.

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  36. Thanks Mary Ann, the cooler days are near. Autumn in the air.

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  37. Robyn, you blow me away every time I visit here. Amazing work! beautiful!
    ... and that wedding location.. no one will forget this experience.
    Wish I could share some of this miserable cood winter temps, so we all could feel better.

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  38. Robyn the Totems look really special and it almost feels like a the family have hopped in the car to go on a trip; and then they are heading off to different places, like after a reunion? Like lots of things - happy and sad together. Enjoy the wedding plans - the venue looks perfect - a great place to make commitments, share love and dreams.

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  39. What a stunning place to get married in. (Hands clasped) Siiiigh!
    Your stunning environment, your art, the pictures you choose for us and this venue that you've shown, are all so distinctive, natural and beautiful.

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