Going on a road trip

My bestest friend from childhood is getting married on the 4th of April, mind you now that I think about it. All my close friends chose April for their weddings. It must be the magic of the season, warm sultry days, changing colours of nature and the refreshing evenings.

To celebrate this wedding, Elrich and myself are going on holiday. To the most magical of provinces in South Africa - the Eastern Cape. Scarcely populated, unspoilt wilderness, blue skies and mesmerizing star gazing. The wedding is on a farm close to Steytlerville (I had to look that up on the roadmap to even get an inkling of an idea of where we will find ourselves.

I have decided to take a slow trip down and will start the drive on Sunday. Our first planned stay over is the Baviaanskloof Lodge, where we will be from Tuesday to Friday. I have heard so much about the Baviaanskloof and am really looking forward to discover the beauty of this wilderness area. On Friday we are of to the wedding venue where we will share accommodation with other wedding guests and party till the early hours of the night. Funny story, I decided that one of the dresses in my cupboard will do just fine but needed a scarf/shawl for around my shoulders, so I took it of to a nice dress shop and requested some assistance. The floor attendant was just too happy to have me parade in my dress, bare feet and pony tail to choose the perfect accessory for the big day. Had me giggling and reminded me of the fashion shows I gave Stephan when I was finding my new me after the divorce.

After the wedding we will be staying in a cottage on the beachfront in an isolated little town called Oysterbay. John might join us for a day or two there after which we are of to Stormsriver and then via Oudtshoorn (Ostrich farms and Congo Caves) back home. Just in time to miss the mass migration back to work after the Easter long weekend.

A well deserved break I think, even if my computer has to come with me.

It was just another morning

Waking up together
rushing around to get ready
quickly grab breakfast

Phew...we are on time
out the door
on the way
to work
then

Annihilation

Game Over

The stakes: The land and livelihood of your forefathers

When you do business in Africa you must abide by the rules of the land. The rules that forbid the disturbance of the peace and beauty of the soil your forefathers ruled for ions. This is a challenge when western money wants to rape the beauty to get to the heart of the minerals that make everyone rich.

Everyone, but the cow herder that watches and waits.

It is here were traditions meet foreign customs.
Where accents and ceremonies collide
The slaughter of a cow to appease the gods
And safe the lives of the innocent
Rhythmic beating of Njembe drums
Ululating voices
White foreign faces in fire light

And just sometimes the coffee coloured eyes
Of a village boy
Shaking hands with the foreigner
Spanning the bridge
Risking his inheritance
For himself?
Or the future of his family?
Ahh the tension
‘she is tangible my darling, tangible’
But if you promise us and you do not deliver
Your house and family will burn
Burn
Burn
Because in this village you were born

We have dug your graves with you
Celebrated your births
Slaughtered your cows
So we watch
And we wait
To see

E's birthday ring

Look at mom's big boy;-) Photos taken at his birthday ring in class on Friday




Oh and I priced a good digital camera today......yikes, that is a little trip that will put me back a rand or two ;-)

In a circle

We are all gathered in Phil's backyard, celebrating our fifth birthday. All the extended family members are there. I am catching up with the brothers, the parents, Thersia's parents and old friends. Even Nikyle has fitted right in. It is slightly weird and my friend (since school), just shakes her head in disbelieve. I have to agree, it is a very strange set up and somehow it has gelled into an extended family, with brothers, sisters and three sets of grand parents. Cousins that used to be friends, and little sisters that are now stepmothers. It is just funny to be with the same people I have shared these celebrations with for the last 15 years, but everyone's roles are different.

The little man himself had a wonderful day and he kept thanking me for the nice party, the ice cream cake, all the presents and having his friends around. Elrich at five is a funny little boy that is full of practical jokes, has a temper that flares for the smallest of injustice (in his opinion) and knows how to changes the rules of every game to ensure he wins. From a slow talker he has grown into a confident little kid that can hold a conversation on most things and has a keen interest in all things mechanical, especially those with engines and the faster the better. His favourite past time is games, whether they are on the pc, play station, board games or cards, you can be sure he will be a keen participant in all of them. Balls and ballgames are still a firm favourite and it is fun watching him dribble and kick goalies at soccer practice. To my relief all the years of swimming classes has started to pay of and he dives into and swims around in the pool with confidence.

His eminent status as a big brother has raised his levels of importance to a point where he really do not need mom's assistance anymore ;-) Even though this year is exciting and I really enjoy sharing more experiences with my son, I do feel as if the baby years has just passed too quickly. Fortunately cuddles are still good and we love to snuggle up in bed to read stories or in front of the Tv to watch a favourite show

Psychotic psychedelic

A distorted reality
Of dreams
Fears
Memories
And future...fantasy?

Where does the reality begin
And the past end?
How to make sense
In a world of no(n)-sense*?

*Sense
An ability
To feel
Or not?

Family update then

Sad news is that my dad, who has been cancer free for ten years, must go for a colonoscopy next week as they have picked up some irregularities in his colon. It was always the area that we had to watch carefully. And his one heart valve is not working properly so we are just a bit worried about that enlarged chamber, the bloodpressure and now the additional tests. I can't even really think about it.

Meanwhile my kid has learned how to be sarcastic, chirping from the backseat on Sunday afternoon when we drove out of the airport. Gee thanks mom, thanks for driving out of here now, look it is dark outside and I asked you, I asked you, to not stay here until it is dark. I am hungry, we must stop at a restaurant to get something to eat. That got E and John into a big debate about restaurant food vs. food we have ready at home. And then we got caught in the roadworks and the little man fell asleep, still complaining about his tummy feeling hungry.

I cannot believe how much this kid has grown, all his clothes from the previous winter is too small for him. I will have to buy a whole new winter cupboard.

A year later

and I am ready to give John a flower in a handpainted vase with the following little message

Dear John
Lol, this is not a 'Dear John' letter
just a little note to say that
your patience, kindness and love
are teaching me to trust again
to believe in other people
to feel desires and fears
I thought would never surface again
Love
M

Now, the boy does not get an A for romance, but he does know how to take care of me and things in general. Like spending his whole Saturday morning putting four new tires on my 4x4 and taking the truck for a wheel alignment - 'because baby, for you I will killa da bull'

On love, boys and pink

Mom, you know what
I remember when I was a baby
You and daddy were loved
you lived together and you were loved

Boys wants to be cool
they are hero's and cool
Girls are princesses and wants to be loved

Mom, I want to sleep in your bed tonight
cause I love you and I want to be with you
One day when I am a daddy, you will be loved

Lots of daddies can ride bikes, but when they are old
they can't do it anymore.

As I am sitting in the far right lane in peak traffic this afternoon, E requests to go to 'our' pizza shop. A little place run by a mom and daughter team that have looked after me the last three years, like i am an adopted daughter. So I started to change lanes, keeping an eye on the minibus taxis (you have to live here to really understand what that means) and sneaking left into the turnoff way after the slipway. Just to be complimented from the back - Good job mom, that was really good. Good girl. Lol, maybe I have brainwashed my kid ;-p

My kid has just grown so tall all of a sudden, and matured. Things that were difficult only a short while ago are now done in passing. I find it hard to believe he will be five years old in another weeks time.

On waffles and more

E and me went for breakfast this morning at the Mugg and Beann, where he insisted on eating a waffle with syrup. My motherly need for proper nutrition could quite simply not allow that, so I tried to convince him that the french toast with cheese and maple syrup are almost the same.

But mom, if they are the same, then why can I not have the waffles with syrup? Uhmmm....why not? My response was the oldest negotiating trick in the book. Divert his attention and convince him based on the funky name of the kiddies breakfast.

This kid's ability to reason logically has left me searching for words more than once now, and believe me that is no mean feat ;-)

1984

No more privacy?

Come visit me in my little cottage ;-) Google earth images taken in the winter of 2007.

And no, those are not mysterious alien crop circles, it is arenas, for riding horses in. Last I heard, was that in the area I live in, there were more horses a square km than people and dogs combined.

A little gem

I found this tucked away in the pages of a book

You only make a decision once, thereafter you just manage it daily.

So true, once you have decided on something you do not have to make that decision again. Just manage your actions to be aligned to the decision. I think sometimes we think we need to make the same decision over and over, but we don't really.

My one orchid is flowering, it is a bit early for her to do that. I am very excited.

A crazy scary day

This day started with a phonecall at 6:00 am

My kid only got to school at 9:30 and on the way there he wanted to know what was wrong with me so I told him my tummy is very scared because I am nervous about some stuff. He promptly got hold of the cd wallet and fished out some classical music for the trip 'cause it will relax my tummy and then I do not have to think about the scary stuff anymore ;-)

It worked.

He told me that just sometimes his tummy also get scared when he has to sit on the green chair at school. But you know what mom, I have a machine tummy that eats food and makes pooh all of the time.

Admitting defeat

mom, why does petrol and diesel make cars go?

aahheem because, remember how we watched the fire burning the wood in the steam engine and the steam gave the train energy to move forward? The diesel and petrol is the same, it ignites and burns in the engine and then it gives the car energy to go forward (I think - I whispered silently to myself)

Is there a fire in the engine mom?!! very excited response from the back

uh ehh no, my boy - I suppose it is more like a little explosion of gas then

an EXPLOSION!! wow -

uuhhhh welll, mmm

Then mom, tell me, how does rockets explode into space??

Well, you know what, I really dont know. Who do you think we can ask?

From here and there

Firstly, a disturbing sight was documented on my washing line the other day

What, might you ask, is so disturbing about t-shirts on a washing line? Well, let me tell you, two of those shirts are for me and two of them are for E...that is what. Can you tell?

Then, we celebrated a birthday this weekend. As I had no time to even think about what to buy for the loved one, I just carted the whole fandamaly (including mom visiting from Crete) to a private game farm an hour down the road. And believe it or not, I forgot my camera ;-p Yip, been working too much again. But I did manage to capture these two photos with my cellphone. From the deck of our private lodge - where we even had a heated splash pool for our enjoyment



It was a really enjoyable weekend, we saw lots of animals and there were a herd of tame Eland that basically walked between the people like housepets. Even the one giraffe came really close to investigate. Definately a place to return to and with bicycles next time as the whole reserve is marked with cycling trails.

And then the house is in the start of transforming to something less than a storage room - from this



To this - at least we have a mirror and TV Cabinent, the couch will be delivered in February ;-)

Once that is done I can start on the office side of things and pretty the place up a bit with some strategically placed decorative items. I am thinking a big burnt orange vase standing in the corner under the mirror with some interesting grasses and stuff in it.

It is a strange place

Last year I wanted to grow my business
and it was status quo for most the year

This year I want balance
and now I have a list of new clients
all screaming for attention at once

How to keep to my resolutions??

First day back in school

On our way to school this morning E told me he does not want to go to school anymore. So I asked him why and he answered that he only knows how to ride his bike and he does not know all his letters and numbers. He was worried that he could not know everything perfectly and that Keabewtse will tease him because of it. I never realised this, he always said he loved working with Keabets but this morning it came out that he would rather the teachers teach him and help him more. I am so glad the older friend has gone of to big school and E will be one of the bigger kids in the class. It is a problem when you are part of the big kids group and you are two years younger, you just dont know everything as well as they do.

I think this year will be a good one for the little guy

Magic everywhere

We just have to look through the eyes of a child
E and me were sitting together on my patio steps the other day
when he got really excited about the magical rainbow that appears in the clouds above us, all we had to do was close our eyes really tight,
look up at the clouds and then open
and wow - a rainbow will be there for a couple of seconds
It was beautiful
and the excitement...intoxicating

Oh

and my TV cabinet arrived,

it is beautiful - solid mahogany and both E and me loves it.
E's comment was, wow mom, now our house looks so much neater
sometimes i cannot believe the things he comes up with

funny little story
we went to visit my good friend Jen yesterday
and went for an unplanned swim in her pool and as I came out of her house with her borrowed bikini, my little boy looked up from the pool and said in a very loud voice
Mom, you look sooo beautifulll
melted heart right there ;-)

the kid is going to be a dangerous womaniser in a couple of years

For 2009

I have one resolution

To make memories, beautiful memories
for me, my son, my family,
and yes,
with John