Leisure Island Adventures

Knysna Oyster Festival. Ten days of adventure racing, food and wine.
Bubbles, chocolates and oysters at Villa Castollini, with its view over the lagoon. Wild, cultivated, strawberry, smoked cheese and tomato oysters were paired with different bubbles. Some combinations worked better than others with the smoked cheese the most disappointing. While they were generous with the bubbles, and all were bubbles we didn’t normally drink, none of them stood out. There was a good Merlot for the non bubble types like me.
A big title, for a small painting of a rowing boat on the beach, with the tide out.
My fingers struggling with the touches needed to define the rowing boat. A touch of blue linking the boat to the sea beyond.
Flavours of Knysna provided another opportunity to top-up the wine levels to accompany all sorts of creative oyster dishes by the restaurants of Knysna. The honours taken by Butterfly Blu with a toasted coconut and Malay curry oyster, followed by a tropical banana shot and coconut foam. Lethal!
Outside the burnt remains of Ile de pain, the wooden security board have been decorated by shops that are still operating from the Boat Shed building. Against this orange backdrop, a pop-up coffee shop has opened, bringing life back to a spot where people walked in some trepidation. The inspiration for a painting, of a pavement café a tad stylized by one of the shops, French Kisses.
Leaden skies, with winds full of mischief, disturbed nights, unsettled days. Timed perfectly for the X-Terra at the Pezula Field of Dreams. I slipped, waded, and sploshed my way around the trail running course, with Craig handling the MTB section like a machine. My fitness trashed in the first mad km. Tons of mud filled fun.
Bashing and crashing continues at the apartment. The new ceilings are in. The walls for the garages are up and the electrics are progressing.
One of my larger paintings, The Light In Between, sold to a collector in Brisbane. A run around the village to find shipping quotes for the painting that also deals with the Australian fumigation requirements.
Ann Raats
Dearest Jandre, Congratulations on the sale of your painting. A real feather in your cap and signs of the times to come. I am thrilled and delighted. With blessings and my love Mom
July 11, 2015