Ducktale

Annelize Van Wyk sent me this note via Facebook today....
Have you seen the behavior of the one duck at the dam? I am sure it thinks it is a traffic officer. It stands on the pavement waiting for a car, then walks into the road and stop you. It does not move and when you get out... of the car, it comes towards you talking, talking... I had such a good laugh. It did it to the car before me :then with me and the vehicle behind me! I think De Wijnlanden's animal residents are of a higher intelligence! ..

I couldn't agree more..

Well done Cape Town - now how can we capitalise on this?

26 Oct 2011

Minister Paul Mashatile congratulates Cape Town for having achieved the Designer City Award for 2014


After hearing the announcement this morning, I wish to congratulate the City of Cape Town on achieving the Designer City of the Year Award for 2014. We are honoured that Cape Town is the first city in Africa to achieve this Award, said Minister Paul Mashatile.

In 2014 selection of World Design Capital will be the fourth appointment by International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, a partner of International Design Alliance, of this biennial designation to a city, in recognition of its accomplishments in using design as a catalyst for development and reinvention, as well as for improving its social, cultural and economic environments.

Cape Town’s unique visions for how design will continue to reinvent its urban landscape were submitted together with its entry. This city demonstrated that it possessed the expertise, infrastructure and financial capabilities to successfully develop and implement an inspiring year long programme of international design related events, promoting design, as well as their city, on an international stage; and finally, illustrated how it’s citizens have and will continue to benefit from their city’s achievements in design.

Helsinki, in Finland, celebrates Designer City of the Year 2012. Cape Town won against two finalists, Dublin, in Ireland and Bilbao, in Spain. There were fifty-six cities in the world that participated.

“This is indeed an achievement for all of us as South Africans and especially for the culturally vibrant and resilient people of this beautiful and cosmopolitan South African city that is nestled between a mountain and the sea. May this announcement reinvigorate the creative sector of Cape Town with a new energy and allow the creative economy to bring tangible benefits to designers, artists and the people of Cape Town and beyond” said Minister Mashatile.

As World Design Capital 2014, Cape Town will be host to a number of prestigious design-related events and conferences organised by the World Design Capital and the local committee.

Need a Pet sitter/ House sitter in December

Due to a cancellation of accommodation for December, Rene Meintjies has family arriving and no where for them to stay. They are 4 Adults, who will eat and play at her house in Simons Way, but she does not have room for them to sleep. She was wondering if anybody needs dog sitting or house sitting, 'cause they could look after your home and pets in exchange for a roof over their heads. If you can help, please call Rene 0823387792

Does anybody have an outside room to let in De Wijnlanden?

There is a lovely couple who have had recently had triplets and they are needing extra help in the early mornings and evening bathtimes. Do you have an outside room that you could let to them for their helper to stay? They are happy to pay rent for accommodation.

Please drop me a note if you can help.

The Charles Schulz Philosophy


(This is marvelous!! There are two sets of questions.

Scroll slowly and read carefully to receive and enjoy full effect)

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.

You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.

Just read straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.


2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.


3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.


4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.


5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.


6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?



The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.

These are no second-rate achievers.

They are the best in their fields.

But the applause dies..

Awards tarnish..

Achievements are forgotten.

Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:


1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the

most credentials, the most money...or the most awards.



They simply are the ones who care the most

Thank you Stuart Macpherson for sharing this with me - I felt it worth sharing it too!

Should this be allowed??

Today, very nice cash buyers up to R4.5million, who have found a home that they like in De Wijnlanden estate and would love to offer on it,  wrote to our HOA requesting permission to keep their 4 dogs - (1 large, 1 medium and two small dogs that live inside) with the idea that they will not replace two of them when they die. I discovered today that their request had been turned down. Isn't it sad that in todays day and age, our committee can be so short sighted... that is one helluva loss to De Wijnlanden. A top price for the Estate, and in todays economy, when property has been really tough, that some silly rule that was made by small minded individuals cost a homeowner a sale.

The municipal bylaw states 4 pets per family.

Shocking!

What do you think?

De Wijnlanden View

Could you live with this view? Do you know someone else who may enjoy it? Stunning home R3 500 000, looking for a new owner. Call me 0828779497 Kathie

White Duck FOUND!



White Ducks at De Wijnlanden

Yesterday I took our guests off to see the Ducks at the Ampitheatre Dam and I was so happy to see the other white duck that seemed to have gone "missing." When her mate started quacking at us, she came out of the bushes in the left hand side of the picture and swam very quickly across the dam to see if we had bread for her to eat. I suspect we are in for some little yellow ducklings soon ... watch this space!



Golf GTi for sale privately

Message from Stuart Macpherson
who lives at De Wijnlanden

Hello –

A good friend is buying a car privately and wants to sell his Golf GTi. I have insured the car since new. The client/friend has been retired for several years. The VW has done about 114 000 kms and has been well looked after. I was going to buy it but my daughter in law (from USA) but she can only drive automatic cars so I have to skip on this one.

My friend is happy to let it go for the Market Value – about R42 000.

If you are interested in buying the car, please let me know.

Thanks and regards,

Stuart MacPherson

stuart@intasure.co.za

Have you been down to the Dam at the Ampitheatre this week? We have four new baby water fowl. I was so lucky today to watch the mom picking bits out the water and feeding them to her baby. We are so blessed to live at De Wijnlanden.

Did You Know?

There have been 5 recent sales in De Wijnlanden.

Do you need a valuation? please give me a call - I am looking for homes to replenish for the coming selling season.

Visit my website http://www.saprimeproperties.com/   or call me 082877949

De Wijnlanden AGM

Just a reminder that our De Wijnlanden Annual General Meeting, to be held on Thursday, 22 September 2011 at 19:00 at the Wine Cellar, De Werf 1. Our chairman Barry Eason is calling for some new committee members and nominations. Please make an attempt to find those who can represent your needs and wishes.

Devastating News ..... sad! SAD

About a year ago, I got a call from a lovely girl by the name of Naomi. She and her lovely husband Jacques came out to visit De Wijnlanden and fell in love with it. All I remember was Naomi telling me about her two cat children who would love to go exploring in the open fields of our Estate. The very next day I was invited to their 3rd floor apartment in the trendiest area of the Tygervalley to sign the offer, they were bringing Google and Vesper to live in our surroundings. They purchased the Hilton Greenes house and have lived here very happily since the beginning of December 2010.

Today a very sad, upset and shocked Naomi and Jacques told me that her gorgeous kitty Google had been mauled and killed by someones free running dog. Like Naomi and Jacques, I am devastated to hear this sad story. We live in this beautiful place with cats, dogs, kids, mice and birds. Our pets do wander off and about at times, but surely a dog that does not like cats, should not be allowed to leave his home unattended without supervision.

Please De Wijnlandeners, have some sense of responsibility. We all live happily in these magnificent surroundings, please don't let this happen ever again. If your dog does not like cats, rabbits, ducks etc, please keep them on their leads and certainly dont allow them out of your property unattended. This is a just too hurtful an experience for anyone else to have to bare.

Jacques and Naomi, Sorry this has happened. Your pain is mine... lots of love my friends.

AGM notice received for 2011

Its at the Wine Cellar, on the 22nd September at 19h00.

If you did not receive your notice, please make contact with
Zerlinda van der Merwe Tel: +27 (021) 426 4440 | Fax: +27 (021) 426 0777 at Pam Golding to get your info pack.

Books, books and more books

Dear De Wijnlandeners,

I have had a clear out of all our "old" books, some we have never read, so I have some superb 2nd hand books for sale. I also have varsity text books, which you/your kids may need. Please pop in anytime. 18 Dawn Crescent.

Thanks
Kathie

House under Siege...

Today, Mike Israel, who lives in the beautiful big house on the bend opposite the dam and ampitheatre in De Wijnlanden, had his garden "broken into" by two white quacker ducks, who messed on his patio,played and pecked around the garden and then swam in his pool, and they were so happy that they left him with an egg as proof!

Isn't it just magic living in De Wijnlanden??

Snow on the Mountains

So today snow capped the mountains around the Helderberg, Franschoek and the Cedarberg AND Table Mountain. Wow, aren't we blessed! What a pretty sight!

First Light in De Wijnlanden

Roadblocks - Know Your Rights!

The traffic/metro police are doing random roadblock checks. They will also feed your registration into a computer that will show up if you have any outstanding fines.

Know your rights.

They can only arrest you if:
1. They have the original warrant for your arrest there with them. A copy isn't good enough, saying it's at the station isn't good enough either. They have to show it to you there and then (if they have it, check plan "b").

2. They have to prove that you received the summons in person. It either had to be delivered to you in person or you had to collect a registered letter from the post office (if they cannot prove you personally received the relevant summons, the warrant of arrest is not legal either).

3. If you do get stopped and they want to arrest you, demand to see the warrant and proof you received the summons (i.e. your own signature on the document when delivered to you).

4. If they don't have it, the arrest is illegal. Refuse to go. If they still arrest you inform them there and then you will press charges against them for illegal arrest (record everything that is said to you, as well as the
chronological procedure of events in detail). These details may well stand you in good stead for a strong case.

5. Technically, if your arrest is illegal, the taking possession of your car by the police and its driving thereof while you are in custody may also constitute theft.

6. When you are released, go to the SAPS immediately and lay a charge against the arresting law body and relevant official.

*** MAKE SURE YOU CARRY YOUR DRIVER'S LICENCE WITH YOU!! ***

This information is copied and supplied to SAVRALA MEMBERS by Wayne Duvenage, General Manager
(SAVRALA) Cell: 0836766203

Superb Place to be...

Can you believe that KZN is snow bound, heavy rain in Durban and along the coast. The Eastern Cape is freezing and our beloved Cape Town basks in superb summery weather... talk about Blessed!

Directions China to Taiwan

Just a bit of fun really..

1. Open Google Maps by clicking http://maps.google.co.za/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
2. Click "Get directions"
3. Type "China" as your starting point
4. Type "Taiwan" as your destination.
5. Read step "48"
6. When you stop laughing share this with someone else..

Snake in the Grass

Cyndy and Mike Purchase, from 10 Dawn, found a huge big snake in their garden that they needed to "rehome" it. So this is the note that Cyndy sent...

."..There are no snakes in Mauritius so this one caused mass hysteria and I was trying to avoid a Purchase family crisis!!!!!I got some numbers from Marthinus and I am sending them to you - perhaps you want to add them to your blog?
Emiel 072 359 8629
Andries 021 9811980
Aren Wiilson 082 565 7869

Thanks Cyndy - we appreciate this info...

Today I had a good chuckle..

One of our beautiful ex owners from De Wijnlanden admitted in an email that they not only missed De Wijnlanden, but their cat was missing the De Wijnlanden mice... and they confessed that they had been into the vet shop to see if they could find a humane way of catching mice to bring home for their little kitty to play with... ha ha ha ...

Stuart Saward does aerobatics

Have you seen this little plane overhead at De Wijnlanden

Today while watching e-news I spotted Stuart Saward in his "PIG"  at the Virginia airshow doing aerobatics.
Stuart - that was amazing.. can you let us have a video please, for the blog?

Stunning De Wijnlanden

Thanks Sammy for the lovely photo... Our Estate is just looking so beautiful... Congrats to Oom Hennie and the Garden team for a job well done.. Of course, the rain helps too.

Housekeeper recommended

Karolina Hein-Parkin has asked me to tell you all that she has a highly recommended housekeeper looking for work. Please email Karolina by clicking here for more information.

So I guess she knows what she wants in life..

My daughter Samantha has had an Au Pair job for a while, a family that used to live in De Wijnlanden, but moved to Somerset West about 18 months ago. The family do not have a television, they are very "outdoorsy" type people and Sam always has the most beautiful stories to tell us about how entrepeneurial these little ones are and how amazing and good they are. Well today Sam sent me a link to the one childs blog and I felt it worthy of sharing, as I am sure there are some children who will really enjoy reading her blog. Please follow the link http://www.jeandorsyland.blogspot.com/ and let me know what you think.

If you have something to share, please do, I think that it can be a lesson for us all.

De Wijnlanden Social

John Magner has organised a get together at the clubhouse on Friday the 22nd July at 6pm. He would love to make it a monthly regular .... (how nice is that?) So lets support him. Bring a plate of eats and your own drinks and say hi to old faces!? and new...

I so love my job, but I hate the farewells ....

Denise and Mike from 1 Dawn, leave De Wijnlanden today. I have sold their home and they have bought a property outside of the Cape area. I feel quite sad to say goodbye to them and their gorgeous kitty.

Every house I go into, I find really clever and interesting things that people do/have to make their lives easier and Mike has an ingenious way to keep the pigeons off the back patio with fishing line. I will pop past and take a photo and put it up sometime this week as it could help you too!

We will be welcoming Charlotte and Steve Jennings into 1 Dawn. They have a dental laboratory which is set up at De Werf 1 in the shops and offices. So we have a dental lab to add to our expertise at De Wijlanden.

Please welcome them when you pass the house or the lab.

I will pop up their photos soon.

Technology

Today I learnt how to blog from my blackberry! Its a simple email that lands on my blogsite while I am busy working!(Or sleeping) We just have to embrace technology! Sigh.... So now I am off to sleep!
Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!

Need some bricks?

Marlene and Craig Bradnick have some cement maxi bricks left over from their building (about 2000!?) and they wondered if you needed bricks, please call Marlene 0825563109 for more info or visit them at 3 Dawn :)

Do you need wood flooring?

Marlene Bradnick from 3 Dawn sells wooden flooring and decking, bamboo, laminates and solid wood.
Please call her for the best prices for De Wijnlanden residents 0825563109 or email by clicking here

De Wijnlanden .... in the beginning

.... there was dust...

Cristine Collen sent me this picture to share with our home owners. This picture was taken from in front of Renee Campbells House which is 56 Dawn. The two homes you see there in the distance are The Blaylocks house (23 Dawn) and Clare and John Woodwards House. When we moved to the Estate, I rented the house which was just behind where this picture was taken, 58 Dawn and we had the freedom of the Estate, our two labs walked around in this huge big garden. Hard to believe that was only 5 years ago...
Thanks Cristine for sending this picture. Please if you have any "old" pictures of De Wijnlanden, please send them to me to add to the blog.

The Van Vuurens are Selling up...

Sue and Dave Van Vuuren are packing up and moving back to England, and they have some amazing furniture, mirrors, chest of drawers, chairs, a lovely lounge suite, a single bed and other bits and bobs still for sale. If you are looking to add some items to your home, please go and see them at 5 Olive Grove or call Sue on 0782486374 to pop in and see whats left. ..... They also have a lovely home that needs to be rented out or sold, so please give Sue a call or you are welcome to call me should you need more info. Kathie 0828779497 or Click Here to drop me an email.

The Two Van Vuuren Princesses

We are going to miss seeing Sarah and Kates beautiful faces around De Wijnlanden.

Dog Walker ...

Leone Saward has a new baby and not enough time to walk her two dogs and look after two children. Are there any youngsters out there who would be keen to walk dogs in exchange for some pocket money? Please contact Leone on 0832229378 or leone@teno.co.za

Leaking Roof?

I truly can recommend Peter from Top Roof. He did an amazing job at my house, is reliable and incredibly reasonable. He even called at 7am on Thursday to tell me he hadn't slept a wink wondering if the material on the roof had had enough time to dry before the rain came... how amazing is that? Fantastic job, excellent price and a service highly recommended.... call him if you have trouble with you leaking roof, balcony, tiles, ceiling repairs anything at all like that.. 0741278915

Isn't it strange...

Two things:
Today I had to meet someone who had been very aggressive with me via email and I felt incredibly sad that he was so antagonistic - When he arrived at my meeting, he climbed out of the car, this client is from Johannesburg, I welcomed him to our beautiful De Wijnlanden, smiled and just listened to him and hey, he was calm and kind and we finished on a good note....
Note - Be kind to people, listen to them, you do not know about the walk they walk.... 

Then.....
I found a gem today, a lovely lady who smiles far and wide, she beams happiness although she has very little and that made me once again realise just how little it takes to shine from the inside out....

On Another note... I have a box of 300 odd keys. Yesterday, when the weather was really awful, I sat with the box and sorted all the keys. I found keys for homes I sold 2/3/4 years ago at De Wijnlanden, and in a bid to clear that box, I just may be popping in to see you and to return them....

So it is.... Living in De Wijnlanden

De Wijnlanden

Its just magnificent! Aren't we blessed?

Congratulations to the Sawards

Congratulations Stuart, Leone and Kyle, who welcomed a Son and brother into the family yesterday. Stu says all is well and Kyle and him were home celebrating last night!? :)

Miglio Jewellery Open Day

Charlotte Swanepoel is having an open day at her house, 74 Dawn Crescent, on Saturday 25th June
from 9am to 12 Noon. She is displaying the NEW Sante Fe Range, rings and the regular range will be displayed. Call Charlotte on 0824455494 for more info or use the side bar to indicate you will be attending.

Mom's and Tots play group and workshops

Contact Clare Woodward for more info cw@pullthecork.co.za

Farewell

We bid Maurene and Jim Wareing farewell as they leave our beautiful world to join their son and daughter in law and grandchildren in stunning Sydney. Jim will be remembered for his contribution to our committee. I will miss Jim for his wise words and mentorship to me in my business and I will really miss the smell of home made bread when I did my showings at their home. God Bless Jim and Maurene, I shall truly miss you both.

Looking for a good Electrician?

I really can recommend Ronald from Soldodel. He lives nearby, is reliable and always does a good job at a very fair price. Please call him if you need him 0849536858

De Wijnlandeners, please recommend a service you have used.

Stunning Place we Live in. De Wijnlanden Estate, the gateway to the Stellenbosch Winelands.This blog is share the lives of the people that live you so that we can support one another in business and life. I am a real estate agent, 25 years experience. I love my home and the people that live around me. I support local business as much as I can and this blog will help you to support your locals too. Tell me De Wijnlanden ers, what is your business? Lets share - sharing is caring.