Aaargh! Just look at all that sand!

Following on from the previous blog thought you needed to see all the sand!!!

And todays special message:
"Our purpose in Life is to find our gift, perfect it, and give it back to others."

Indi meets the Indian Ocean

When we woke this morning and the sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky we decided to take Indi out for a treat and introduce her to the Indian Ocean.

As you can see by the pictures she loved it, of course she tried eating the waves and spent a while coughing and spluttering up sea water, eventually she realised that it was not such a good idea to drink it!

Then she did my most dreaded thing she rolled in the sand !!!! I hate sand and it was everywhere!!!Then as if she knew how much I hated it she came and rubbed herself against me... Well she wanted me to share in her fun!!!

We took my neice and K with us and they all had fun chasing each other around, needless to say all 3 of them are now crashed out in bed fast asleep.

Paul and I are sitting here with our glasses of wine and our skin is all a glow, listening to the crickets chirping and the sky is so clear we can see all the stars, it's lovely, this is what paradise must be like!

Roughing it in the Berg

Well we've been out in the mountains 'roughing'it. My brother, his wife and the 3 kids spent the week in this tent, we only went up for 1 night to pick up K to bring him home for Christmas... I don't know how they did it!!! (My brother told me it was for the kids) We ended up spending the night sleeping in the car... TG for my 4x4! It rained the night we were there and it was freezing cold, I don't mind roughing it but I hate the cold!!!Especially when we had left Durban at 38c, I actually swam in the pool before we set off to the mountains.

Well K thoroughly enjoyed himself, there was so much for the kids to do on the camp site, and Penny my sister-in-law said she never saw any of them from 1 meal time to the next.

Paul of course had to 'be man with axe' chopping wood for the Braai (BBQ) "man have fire man will cook". We also took the kids up the mountain to go on a 'Zip Line' I even had a go, it was brilliant but I won't show you any photos as the bum really looks big in those harnesses!!! The boys also went 'Paint Ball' needless to say we are ALL sporting a few bruises, even the ones who didn't paint ball !!! The 'older boys' decided it would be fun to play 'Jackass'! But as you can see the mountains were magnificent at sunset. The area is called Dragons Peak and the front mountain gives a silhouette of a dragon (well so I'm told). It was beautiful.

We travelled back to Durban on the 23rd and got all the fresh food in for Christmas and a few last bits and pieces as we had visitors arriving for Christmas Eve Dinner, we tracked Santa on NORAD, which our friends had never seen before so it was better than watching the telly! Needless to say our friends had such a good time they stayed overnight, they don't have kids so they were interested to experience 'a traditional Christmas with kids (maybe never again!)

Of course Santa left a fair few parcels at our house and he even left his gloves behind, 'forgetful man', but he has called in since then to collect them as he needs them for next year (otherwise K wanted to keep them!!!June's hands would have been cold this winter). I don't think I can list the things he left behind cos I'd run out of space here but I have to say Janet must have been a very good girl this year cos she was very, very spoilt... Thank you to all of you who sent cards and gifts etc. with Paul, I will send you all private thanks too.

Some of you may have received your cards by now but some of you will now be getting New Year Cards instead, just ran out of time AGAIN...

Well we hope you all had as good a Christmas as we have and we still have another special day on Sunday when my brother and his family are joining us for another 'Christmas Day' with them, we are looking forward to that too...

The weather has'nt been too nice this week at all but we are used to colder Christmas' so we'll get over it. Paul is a bit upset as he has not been able to swim as much, he tells us every morning that the sun's going to get out and we all just agree with him, it's easier!

Your thought for today is brought to you by Aunty June who says "friends are the family you choose to have" and after the last couple of days with our friends around I think she may well be right. So a Very Merry Christmas to all my friends that I consider as part of my big family and hope you all have a great New Year too...

Finally found some time!

Hi everyone,
Sorry not been blogging for a while but I'm sure you all know why..!(no! not that Just been soooo busy) Our trip up to Johannesburg was uneventful and believe it or not the weather played nicely... We even got the chance to start the Christmas shopping...

Paul arrived safely on Saturday 13th and since then we have been on the go everyday...Needless to say he is so 'hot'(yes right ehem!!) he just brought the good weather with him and the temperatures have increased daily.(He is so proud of himself for bringing the decent weather!)

Sunday(temp 27c/KZN 32c) we had a traditional family 'braai' (BBQ for my English readers)where large quantities of alcohol and red meat were consumed. The kids swam all day and by night fall the skin was tingly and red!

Monday (temp 28c) we set off back down to Kwazulu Natal, drive was uneventful, my car managed the journey no problem at all I'm so pleased I brought her with us!!!

Tuesday(temp 28c) it was a public holiday here(Day of Reconciliation) and traditionally we spent it with family, kids swimming all day and food and alcohol flowing freely!!!

Wednesday (temp 31c) Paul finally got to meet Bruce the Builder and of course 'the men' sorted out all the problems!!! (As only mano-mano can do. So progress will continue on the land/house from 19th January(of course all the builders are on their annual 1 month leave now) typical...

Thursday(temp 32c) K and P doing plenty of swimming and lots of dad and me time! He's really enjoying his school holidays, he has gone off for a long weekend with his cousins to The Berg - Camping!!! We're going up there on Monday to spend the night and fetch him (oh! lovely camping 'roughing' it and not with a caravan!how exciting is that?)

Friday(temp reached 39c today) finally I had to admit it was hot! But loving every minute of it. With no child in tow we got the chance to get out and do some Christmas shopping (dad's got a lot of spoiling to do!!!)me too! me too!

Well this weekend(temp today - Sat went up to 37c with the water temp at 29c) is being spent wrapping presents and getting the house ready for Christmas, we haven't taken out all our decorations, Aunty J. has decorated some of the house for us and as long as you have a tree for Santa to leave all the presents around you don't need anything else. (At least this year I don't have to go out and buy one like we did in Florida!)

Friends please forgive me if you get your 'Christmas Cards' a little late, it wasn't cos I forgot or anything but I finally got some 'bits & pieces' out of storage when Paul got here, so your cards are in the post !!!

That's all for now folks! Hopefully I'll have some time over the next couple of days to write again.
Todays useful information: When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on for dear life!

9th & 10th days

Hi Everyone,

Sorry we missed a posting yesterday, but K. and I got to spend some quality time together, we had steaks for dinner and spoilt ourselves... then we went to see Uncle Jumbos Christmas Show !!! Less said the better... Lots of screaming, hay throwing and bady chasing by Kung Fu Panda and Spiderman... Ok so it was for charity so I guess you have to do at least 1 silly thing for Christmas. Not the kind of show you take an 11 year old to. Time is going by so fast and it's nice but also sad to see K. growing up. He kinda commented on the fact that maybe "he's abit too old for this stuff now mum!"

Weather for last 2 days, a shocking fact we've now had 4 consecutive days of sunshine, think we might be on a roll. Although it started raining tonight and there's thunder and lightning about. I'm hoping it's going to be a bit of a cool day tomorrow as we are driving up to Johannesburg (only 602km/376miles)takes about 6.5 hours after all I can only drive at 80m.p.h on the motorways!!

Only 3 more sleeps till dad gets here... We are so excited, hope he has a suitcase full of goodies oh! and we're looking forward to seeing him too...

Guys you may not hear from me till we come back to Durban on Monday as I'm not sure about internet access with the family in JHB. I will take my trusty laptop with me in case, otherwise I'll have lots to tell you on the next posting.

Julie thanks for the Christmas Card (my first) it arrived today and I knew it was from you as soon as I saw it. Your favourite T-Bag folding...

Your thought for today: A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

6th, 7th & 8th Days

Sorry guys missed getting on the Internet this weekend, so you've got 3 cards in one go.

How was the weekend? Ours seemed to fly by. Saturday weather was overcast but we went to my brothers down on the coast so it was hot, humid and sticky. K. swam most of the day and Jess my niece joined him, Uncle L also ended up in the pool after he'd done his gardening stint.

Sunday we finally woke to the kind of days I expect at this time of the year. The sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky, needless to say K. spent the best part of the day in the pool...

For the last 2 weeks or so I have had what I thought was sinus problems, earache etc... Guess what teeth issues AGAIN! But I found a great dentist this morning and I am now 1 tooth less and no more pain for me. I was really worried about how much it was going to cost me as you well know the cost of dentists over there!!! I had to have an x-ray and then an extraction I'd taken my credit card with me... R 350.00 guys that's only £ 23.00!!! When I told the dentist how much it had cost me for my crowns she nearly fell off her chair and told me I could have had full face reconstructive surgery for that amount!

Another shocker we've just had a petrol DECREASE!!! We are now paying R 7.11 per litre for petrol = 47p per litre!!! And there's even more talk of a further decrease. I didn't think there was anything in the world that ever went down in price...

Today, first day of the school holidays and K. spent it in the pool. Needless to say tonight he has a very healthy glow and he's been thickened with aftersun cream... It's going to be nice for him to get abit of colour in his cheeks. And if the weather carries on like this I'll have nothing to moan about. All the doors and windows are open, the ceiling fans are going, the mosquito coils are burning and we can hear the crickets chirping outside and it's great.!!!

Your thought for today: Good friends are like stars.....You don't always see them, But you know they are always there.

5 Golden Rings...

Well the holidays have now officially started... schools broken up until 21st January.

This time next week P will be in the air and we'll be in Johannesburg waiting for him. I hope he brings some good weather with him.

Weather today: Cold, Wet, Misty, etc... it rained again this morning like it's never rained before. At this rate I won't need to get diggers in to move the land it's gonna get washed away on it's own.

Gussy thanks for the daily 'dictionary' I'm looking forward to more inserts... Keeps the brain ticking over.

Todays Quote: When you think the world has turned its back on you, take another look.

On the 4th Day....

What another card!

Weather for today: cold, wet. misty, miserable etc...

Temp: 20c

The joy of driving to school today the roads are getting quieter as some of the schools have already broken up for the Christmas holidays.

Day spent writing Christmas Cards... very interesting ones!

Thought for the day: Sometimes the Angels fly close enough that you can hear the flutter of their wings.

On the 3rd day...

Pretty Pointsettias, don't think I've even seen any this year.

Weather Report Today:
Wet, misty, raining like it's never rained before, Temp 20c, feeling very damp and cold. Old aching bones and arthritis is moaning again!!

Tried to get into the Christmas spirit today by going shopping... Lasted 1 shop and I gave up... just can't find the spirit. I hope P is bringing all the pressies from Uk?

2 days of school left, to be honest I can't wait, not getting up at 5.30am is the best thing about holidays... On Friday the kids go to school as usual at 7.30am have final assembly at 9am and we pick them up at 10am ... A waste of a uniform actually.

Just a thought: Ever notice how the people who tell you to calm down are the ones who got you stressed in the first place.

On the 2nd Day of Advent GG sent to me...

Angels and Glitter... No Christmas is complete without both...


Temp today 32c. Stinking Hot (lovely stuff)

We did have a heavy thunder storm, plenty of forked lightning, heavy dark clouds around about 4pm, it was great to watch, but it is dry now, the crickets are chirping and all the doors and windows are open...

Please tell me this means summer is here at last! : -)

K loves it when he can come home from school and jumps straight in the pool :)

My little anecdote for today: The trouble with life is there's no background music!!

On the 1st Day of Advent

the Craft Oracle sent to you...

A card with her favourite 'Christmas Trees' on...


Can you believe it only 24 days till Christmas.. How's the shopping going? Well I have bought absolutely nothing...


It is amazing the things we take for granted... the simple Advent Calendar. Every year thanks to my personal shopper (because I always forgot or was too busy or ran out of time) K always had an advent calendar, and this year I have all the time in the world and can I even find one??? When I ask my family and friends where they get their kids advent calendars from, it's either never heard of them or the bulk of the replies are " yes we remember those as kids, you used to get cheap chocolates in the windows" and thus ends the conversation.... Unlike over 'there' where every supermarket is filled with them, here they are unheard of, never seen. Some others I have spoken to (ex pats) they make their own coz they don't know what they are here... I remember having advents calendars as a kid and I grew up here; so someone has lost out on an opportunity.... K will have a home made one next year that's for sure and I may even start a trend in the shop.... Bev I'm gonna steal your idea...

I've found me a new friend!!! (and probably one of my first new customers) Went to a 'Craft Open Day' last week, very 'different' but managed to pick up a pack of acetates with father and son descriptions on, got chatting to another lady who was flicking through the box of bits I was and she's from Surrey and used to attend a Scrapbooking class at a local lady here who has since quit... Now she has a few friends that are 'crafters and scrapbookers' that also used to go to the same classes and they get together regularly but are running out of ideas between themselves, and one of them just happens to also be an accountant who works from home and has just started out and is looking for new clients... You know the saying ' it's not what you know, it's who you know!'

So in 1 chance meeting I probably have met my first customer and my new accountant...

Well I've now got to get my company registered here before I can start trading, and my accountant is going to do this all for me, but I have to give them 3 choices of names,this is in case someone objects to my name or it is similar to someone elses (SA rules) obviously you know my first choice 'Giglin-Gecko' (not sure if I want to add the Crafts bit) I may even add 'Crafty Bits' or Craft Stuff or Craft ..... , I don't know if I can just give them 3 names all with GG in and add the other bits as above?? She's not sure either... So any ideas gang? Paul had a few interesting ones but ' content may be deemed offensive'

Ok yet again last weeks weather!!! Monday to Wednesday wet, rain, cold, miserable, misty, wet, cold - get the message.... Then Thursday sun shine yes the sun has returned from his vacation... OOPs he forgot his suitcase and he went back on leave again on Friday... Saturday we woke up to 'heat' the type of which I had forgotten, not a breath of air, sun beating down, it was wonderful... At least 32c. K went straight in the pool when he got up... It was so hot all day and even when the sun went down there was no air and it was an effort to move... Sunday we woke to rain, cold, fog, mist, wet and so cold I thought I had returned to UK overnite... K woke this morning with the sniffles and he actually complained that he was cold. And seems winter has returned again... So I just don't know.

House .... Yes well no fine! nothing else to say. Thinking I may just open up a mud spa... I might make more money that way, and it would be all au natural... I could get away with a 'log cabin' on the land (for the spa guests not for crafting!!!!)'meoww!!! put the claws away.

K has 4 more days of school then he is on Christmas Vacation until 21st January!!!! Really looking forward to that - not. No truthfully it's only 2 weeks to P getting here and I hope he realises how much father - son time they're gonna do!!! He's got 3 months to catch up on. Plus we've got a few jobs around the house for P to do... poor guys gonna need another break when he gets back... I really hope the sun shine arrives for him, cos he's gonna be upset if he's colder here than there... He has to go back with a tan...

And Remember : When life hands you lemons, Ask for Gin and Tonic and call me over!!

Nature's Weird Happenings (Part 2)!!!

Plagues of Locusts and Attack of the Birds. Some very strange goings on... The weather has been acting very funny and now so is the wild life.

** Last week mum and I were sitting outside on one of the rare days we had a fairly clear sky and suddenly all the birds around started chirping wildly and 'swarming' around the neighbours garden. It started first with the smaller birds - garden sparrows, swallows and weavers, then in came the big boys, the larger birds you can see in the photo are Kites. Now usually we see the odd Kite attacking a smaller bird, but this time they were all flying in between each other not attacking each other but definitely having a feeding frenzy on something! Mum said it reminded of the Hitchcock movie 'The Birds' it was quite scary actually, cos there were no birds anywhere else. When we asked the neighbours if they knew what had happened they said they hadn't even seen it they'd been out !!!

** Then this weekend Aunt J who is an avid gardener, who was 'borrowing' a plant from my garden!!! Which actually had been hers originally (long story, bit complicated) called me over and said bring your camera and here we have a 'swarm' of locusts munching their way across my land. Good thing I'm not worried about the garden just yet!!! I have never seen anything quite like this either, when you approach the 'swarm' they all clump together on top of each other almost as if they're trying to make themselves look bigger. It's probably a defense mechanism. We went back round on Sunday and there was not a blade of green grass left in their path, you could actually see where they had moved and they seem to have disappeared!!!Luckily for J. they were heading away from her garden... But where they came from and where they went???

** Nature is a very funny thing and we're seeing some very weird things while we're here, guess it's cos I have nothing else to get excited about at the moment. My brother reckons we have to find out what plague is next, what with tornado's, attack of the birds and now locusts, maybe we need to get the local witch doctor in !!!!

** Still no answers on the 'new found' problem on the land, we're now waiting for structural engineers but they are busy trying to sort out the flooding problems and the damage the tornado did around town so O.I.A and HUAW...

** KB was in his first swimming gala on Friday and I was very proud of him, considering he's never swam competitively before! Their team came last but they won first prize for Team Spirit. He seemed to enjoy it. I'm glad that at least the sun shone on Friday as all the pools are outside and they way the weather has been !!!

** Crafting ... well still not doing any... no further forward their either. But I do have some news for all of you in Bolsover, Glenis and Sharon are still 'hosting' their respective Clubs on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

They've both given me their dates for 2009 - Tuesday Club hosted by Glenis is on 20th January/17th February/ 17th March.

Saturday Club hosted by Sharon is on 10th January/14th February/14th March/18th April/9th May/ 13th June

. If you want any information about any of these clubs don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail and I'll pass your details onto either Glenis or Sharon.

** Well that's it again for this week. Keep posting me those comments, gr8 to hear from you all. Take care till next time.

Quote for this week: Handle every stressful situation like a dog. Piss on it and walk away !!!!

Nature's Funny Happenings (part 1) !!!

Mid Day, Middle of November!
All that's missing is the Headless Horseman! Please send Johnny Depp to rescue me ASAP....

Never seen weather quite like this before - and we're supposed to be at the start of summer.

Talk about hole in the ozone...

Mini Tornado!

Yup you read it right we have had a Tornado sweep through the valley at the base of the hill where we live. This all happened on Friday 14th November, I collect KB from school about 12.20pm on a Friday and we went for our usual end of week treat 'wraps' and ice cream. When we came out of the restaurant the sky was a very 'weird' colour black and it seemed to be 'moving' towards us. With the freakish weather we've been having we thought nothing of it but said we'd better get home before the rain came otherwise we'd be soaked, plus Indi is petrified of thunder and lightning. We got in about 1.50pm and rushed around closing windows etc. as the wind seemed to have built up a bit. It had been very hot in the morning... 10 mins later the heavens opened we had a clap of thunder and a huge down pour, we thought nothing of it, of course as usual the electricity went off, it always does during thunder storms!!! Another 10 mins passed and the sun came out and 'dried up all the rain' it was over the usual Thunder type storm they are very frequent here so nothing more was said.

I had to take KB out to his extra classes on Friday 3.30pm and everywhere looked windswept, we had to drive down into Krantzkloof Gorge and I was shocked, there were trees uprooted as you will see in the 1 photo with Aunty I. standing next to the tree. These photos were taken on Saturday morning, it was chaos everywhere. The news has reported 8 people killed and thousand of Rands worth of damage, apparently it took 7 minutes from start to finish to sweep through the valley, the sights are horrific.

Roof tiles were ripped off, some houses even lost all their roof. Windows broken and the most frightening was how the trees were just ripped out of the ground like match sticks. As you look down itno the valley you can see the path of the tornado as there are just stumps left where there once were trees... some having stood there for years.

All of this happened 1/4 mile from our house. They are even declaring part of the area as a natural disater zone. Never been heard of before in this area...

I tell you the earths weather patterns are seriously changing, on Friday night the fog was so thick we could not even see to the bottom of the driveway... But as you can see by Saturdays photos sunshine everywhere, today fog, rain and mist again.

So you still want to visit SA?

JJ I was pleased to hear from 'cuddle bunny' that you are keeping up to date with our goings on, feel free to leave any comments if you want.

Other than our serioulsy freekish weather we've not been up to much, only 3 weekends before Paul arrives... Looking forward to his visit, so if any of you want to save on postage get down to our place before the 12th!

Tuesday craft group enjoy your day this Tuesday coming, wish I could join you for a fun morning of crafts, GR make sure you let me know if you book any more dates for 2009, cos I'd like to keep up to date with what you're doing.

Your Quote for today: Look at everything in life as if you were seeing it either for the first or the last time in life! And enjoy every moment.

Sunshine at last, but for how long?

Finally after 7 consecutive days of rain, mist and cold weather today we woke to some blue skies and sunshine. One of those typical 3 outfit days... Where you choose the first outfit when you first get up, change by 11.30am coz it's finally too hot for the 3 layers and you get down to 2 and by 4pm you're looking around for your winter woolies again...

I'm so sick of moaning about the bloody weather(and I guess you're sick of hearing it too) but I feel like I'll never be hot again. After all I promised you all I would be bragging about just how hot I was... serves me right eh?

Well the nasties we discovered are apparently harmless- typical of tropical climates they are Nephilengys Cruentata in the spider family Nephilidae - common name hermit spider. The specimen in the photo is a female with her partner only a fraction of the size of her and very insignificant black. So guys yet another example of male insignifance ....

Something positive has actually happened (other than the internet cure) my car is now legally registered in SA. As you can see from the photo and I did'nt get to choose the number this was the one they gave me!!! At least now I should'nt get stopped as often by the traffic police.

Another good thing (I think) we don't have Bob the Builder, we have Bruce the Builder. Things are slowly starting to move on the building side now too, well I think they are, we have drawn up the action plan for the next couple of weeks, and the diggers are moving in again on Wednesday.

With the new plans etc. we gotta do a few 'tweeks' here and there and then hopefully we can get back on track. Of course the building trade here also closes 15th Dec. to 15th Jan. so they'll just get started again and have to have another month off... HUAW! O.I.A.

Still not touched the craft stuff, have taken out a few boxes and will start to 'sort out' a few bits now that a lot of the running around has finished. (I hope)

Thought for the day: The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes

Just one of the local nasties!

Well those of you who know me will understand the horror of finding this chappy nestling in the tree just outside the main house!!! I actually discovered it! by walking straight into 'its' nest... after the huge thunderstorm we had the other night. We were having a walk around to inspect Aunty J's property: make sure no tiles had been dislodged etc. on the roof as it sounded like the storm was on top of the house.

No you know why one should'nt wander around after dark....

Thought for today: Blessed are the 'cracked' for they let in the light!!

I'm Cured

Well that's it I have been cured of 'Internetlessness'. Yes that's right I actually have the internet now... It's brilliant I have spent the whole day downloading my e-mails, reading all my junk mails and 'scrolling' the net. So with a bit of luck now more additions to the blog...

Ok so the pictures: overlooking the Valley of a Thousand Hills with a 'helluva' thunderstorm coming, and boy it was fun. We felt a bit like storm chasers rushing to get home before it arrived.

Saturday night we got in the house just in time, the clouds were so low on the house and with the sheet lightning it actually felt like it was on top of us. We all ran around the house pulling out plugs, disconnecting computer etc. Of course I grabbed the ADSL box I haven't waited 41 days for nothing....

Indi was petrified, she doesn't like fireworks and loud bangs at the best of times but with the cracks of lightning and thunder roaring all around us she did'nt know what to do with herself.

The rain lashed down and we wondered at one stage if we weren't gonna be like the Ark and go floating off with it.

Well at least something good came out of it other than the fantastic photos and colourful sky, we were able to watch the course of the water and see exactly where the storm waters ran so I know we must'nt build in that area, well unless we do plan on having an ark. Aunty J. was worried all her lovely garden was going to end up on my land and I'd have a pre-lanscaped propety... I was hoping (nasty, nasty)

Next morning Sunday we woke to the most gorgeous blue sky and the heat was rising fast... but alas it did not last and tonight we are back with the heating on and 4 layers of clothes . They tell me one of these days .... I will be grateful for this cooler climate (I wish!!!)

Seems the thunderstorm brought out some other nasties too... watch the next addition to my blog, we're trying to find out if it's poisonous or not ....

Otherwise I'm still HUAW with most things, no car, no job, no life oh you do feel sorry for me don't you?

Todays quote: If you want your dreams to come true, you must'nt oversleep....

One of those rare sunshine moments!

Photo taken the first week we were here when Indie was first introduced to the 'cheeky neighbours'. At this point she was still unsure but now she gets all the exercise she needs by running up and down the garden trying to catch them...

Well not much else has changed since my last post, finally got K settled in a school but not sure if it's the right one for him.
Placed him in the local primary school but they don't have the 'resources' that some of the other schools have so I am still hoping we can get him placed in one of the 'better suited' schools. It's been a long drawn out process but hopefully we'll get there in the end. He is starting to make some new friends but I have to say the mum's are a bit 'odd'. It feels strange to be going thru all the 'new kid on the block' motions again.

Those of you who know me will know how I like to be involved in all sorts(busy body), not so sure that I'll be doing that much 'volunteering' here though...Seems no matter where in the world you are you are just expected to know what is going on... Communication is lacking everywhere.

K starts school at 7.30am and finishes at 1.45pm but they have extra curriculum activities every day until 3pm and your child is expected to participate in a minimum of 2 activities per week. Each term the activities change so the kids have a lot of choices. At the moment he's sticking to Swimming on Monday and Thursday and Chess Club on a Wednesday. They finish school on a Friday at 12.30!!! It's all very confusing for me!!!

Still having 'fun' trying to get my car 'legalised' seems now my paperwork has to be 'Interpol' approved then I can go down to the licensing office (again - 9th time) and I can apply for a vehicle registration. O.I.A (new quote: Only in Africa)

I have been looking at a few premises this last week, the prices for renting are over the top... Maybe gonna need to re-think some strategies. It is strange how they work things out here basics like food, clothes, petrol etc. are relatively cheap and then everything else is OTT expensive so there's no middle ground. Other options available, instead of a shop in a shopping mall (and a lot of people are doing it) is to get a house and convert it into a business premises, only problem with that is you don't get passing trade as you would in a Mall. Decisions, decisions, oh well it gives me something else to moan about doesn't it!

Still have not picked up anything to craft... Help! Christmas is just around the corner and I should be doing my cards but when I packed everything up I was a bit 'stupid' and didn't label things properly so I don't know which box is which and I only have 200 odd to sift thru... Well it's gonna be just like Christmas when I do get round to that... Don't even have a peel off to play with !!!!

Oh! if any of my regular viewers are feeling charitable and want to help out a 'desperate craft-a-holic' in Africa and you don't know what to do with your old craft magazines !!! If you want my address 'derop' me an e-mail... HINT! HINT!

So till the next edition
Just remember : ' When everything is coming your way you're in the wrong lane'

The neighbours!

Finally found the way to post pictures...

Now you can see the early morning visitors that upset Indi every day, they sit on the top of the telephone wires and pull faces at her, If any of them came any where near her I think she'd Sh.. herself.

We have a regular troop of these vervet monkeys that live at the top of the hill and they are a lot of fun to watch, unfortunately they are a bit 'skitish' so I can't get too close, maybe another excuse to buy a bigger lense for the camera! I'm trying to get the babies to stand still long enough for a good shot!

Over a Month ! Already

Well it's now over a month since we arrived and believe it or not it still hasn't got any warmer! Seems I'm not very good at choosing our destinations either! In JHB they are having heat waves and are praying for rain, we have had rain all week and the temp hasn't risen much above 18C.
I'm still running around with schools for KB and builders for the house and pretty much everything else is just the same.
I haven't had much time to think about 'the business' although I keep looking out for premises. I did go to a 'Christmas Craft Fair' on Saturday, I actually felt very sorry for them, if that's what the Craft Fairs are like here I will have no competition. I have found a nice Bead Shop and the prices are very reasonable, so maybe I won't be doing too much trade in beads, but may offer the odd workshop.
Granny L I hope you had a nice birthday, I did post you 'something' but it's definately snail mail here.
GR and Tuesday gang hope your craft day goes well on Tuesday, I will be thinking about you all. Wish I was there insulting a few of you etc... in my own special way!!!
Hope you are all keeping well, drop me a comment or e-mail if you get the time.
Still working on the photos, seems my files are too big, need to find a way to make them smaller, well I figured this blog out eventually so I should get there in the end.
Till next time....

Hurry up and wait!

Hi there from a slightly warmer SA. Seems maybe there is a bit of sunshine at the end of the 'tunnel' yesterday we had slightly warmer weather and today we've woken to sunny clear skies, however the vests are still on!

When you come to SA on holiday you only ever see the good side, you're relaxed and usually one tends to take holidays at the hottest times, so when you're thrown into the lifestyle of South Africa it is a bit of a reality check. The motto 'hurry up an wait' HUAW seems to fit this country 100%, everything takes at least 3 days longer here than anywhere else in the world, and that's on a fast day, otherwise 3 weeks is about the normal pace of things. We still don't have the internet at the house, ordered 3 weeks ago, my car arrived 2 weeks late and I'm having to drive around in it with a temporary licence as no-one here seems to know how to get things moving faster...'HUAW'

Thebuilders are also just as 'HUAW'. We got the land and building issue sorted, the plans passed and approved and I've given the plans to several 'builders' who I think maybe some should be named BOB... 'HUAW'

KB and school has been a bit of a disaster, seems we've arrived at the wrong time of the year for that too as they are all coming to the end of their school year. I won't begin to tell you about the school we thought he had a placement at cos I don't think I want to start using that kind of language on my blog. Academic year here is January to December so I've got his name down at the school we want him to go to as well as several others in the hope that I get a confirmation that at least one of them will have a place for him, in the meantime he's bored out of his tiny little mind!!!But on a positive note he's not yet driving me mad, which you would think after 12 weeks of no school he would be by now.

Apparently our container is in Port (considering I was told due 29th Sept) HUAW! But we haven't got a confirmed 'to door' date yet...

So on that note, I haven't yet started to think about my business I guess 'HUAW'

I'm gonna have to get hold of Mudpie so she can tell me how to get some photos on my blog, if you read this Mudpie e-mail me the instructions.

BNM1 had a taste of the 'primitive' last night and it was great to hear a friendly voice... Apparently there was thunder and lightning about and that was scarring the monkey off his wheel !!!

So gang keep the comments coming, and the e-mails too, even though I don't always answer them I'm still receiving them. Keep me posted.

Gussy have a great holiday, hopefully the sun will shine for you and don't get too lost on the island., and if you do make sure you have a good bottle and opener in your Radley!

A thought for today: When in doubt HUAW!

Hot Sunny Africa !! Not!!

Well finally found another way to get some posts on my blog... I now know how to convert airtime to data and use my cell phone to log onto the internet... so who's a clever girl now. A month ago I was so 'computer dumb' and look at me now.

I hear you asking what do I mean Not Hot... Well I have never been so Bl...y cold in my life. So much for thinking I was going to be bragging and making you all jealous because we were dying of the heat. Seems we just happen to have landed in a never heard of before 'cold snap' just my luck eh? First 2 days were a 'fluke' just a little reminder of what I thought we'd be having and then since then it has been freezing. The houses here are not designed for cold weather, there are gaps under the doors and the windows are single pained (no double glazing or insulation here) Most of you will know how I just love the cold. I have been going to bed with thick flannelette PJs, soxs, a hot water bottle and several duvets.... And it's even worse now that my 'cuddle bunny' has gone home....

That's right Paul is back at home so if any of you want to pop in for coffee I'm sure he'll enjoy the company... Some of you may want to take along the 'coffee cake' too???Well he likes chocolate cake...

I have forgotten just how slow paced the way of life is here. Things always happen at least 3-4 days later, nothing is ever a rush. My car arrived a week late, and I'm still trying to find out when to expect the belongings... so needless to say we've had to go out and buy winter clothes...

Mum has settled into the slow pace much better than I have, you know what I'm like gotta be doing and going places. KB has also scored a lucky one as the schools have just broken up for 'spring break' so another week off school, I think he'll have forgotten just what school is when he goes...

I'm going to try and get some photos onto my page, seems some of you 'professional' bloggers have mastered the art. I took some great photos this morning of the 'regular' morning visitors, a troop of Vervet Monkeys. Indi spent the first couple of mornings investigating the 'visitors' with caution, but now she has fun chasing them, mind you we've convinced her they're a type of cat, and you know she hates cats.. It's in her genes... But the monkeys have taken to walking along the telephone lines teasing her it's quite funny actually, I think she wishes she could fly.

I tried to buy some 'stash' today as I'm feeling the need to create and that was a bit of an education, all I wanted was watercolour pencils and white cardstock. I think it's going to take some time to source the right places or I may just have to wait till my 'stash' arrives... Wanted to get started on some Christmas Creations. Will have to place some 'special delivery' orders with some of you sooner than I thought.

Well keep on crafting all of you, hope you enjoy your craft day on Saturday, wish I could be there with you. Keep posting your comments and let me know what you're all up to.

The Oracle has landed

Well guys we are here. Finally all the packing, the panic and the stress is now over. Our flight was great, a bit long and Dubai shopping was a bit disappointing, didn't even spend a penny!
Started the book but too many good movies to watch on the plane, will now have to finish the book on the sun lounger!!! Tough but some ones gotta do it.
Indi travelled well too, in fact probably better than we did she doesn't seemed too fazed about all the changes. The heat is affecting her a bit more than us but that's cos she's still got her winter coat on!
We're now down in Durban (well Hillcrest actually) and the weather is beautiful, woke every morning so far to blue skies and sunshine. Cool enough in the morning to sit outside for breakfast and then warm enough by lunchtime to swim.
Tomorrow it's back to business, we've got lots of things to get sorted out and the area we're in has grown up so much there's a lot of new developments with new shopping complexes so guess where I'm going soon.... Can't wait to get my 'stash'
I'm using someone elses system at the moment so I'm going to log off for now. Getting Broadband here is a bit harder than we'd hoped so I may not be able to blog as often as I want for now, but it will get better.
Your tip for today- don't stare directly at the sun as it burns your eyeballs....

Down to hours now....

Well guys we are now down to hours only... before the big OFF.
Still trying to SQUEEZE in the last few bits, may even have to do a bit of tweeking and even discard and outfit or two..
Went out shopping today and spent the last of my 'pennies' managed to buy me a 'RADLEY' so now I too can name drop, and wear designer... but may have to go 'commando' just so I can fit it in the suitcase. How many pairs of knickers make up a Radley?
Got a huge big buttafly in my tummy and no amount of eating seems to be budging it... mind you I'm going to keep trying with chocolate, sounds like a good enough excuse to me. Washed the chocolate down with a good bottle of red too so hopefully the combination will help me sleep a bit coz I'm so excited.
Thought for today: Live well, Laugh often, & Love with all of your heart!

The personal belongings have gone....

In answer to the 'box' question, it takes 380 'cartons' to fill a 20ft container, of which 200 are filled with 'craft stash'!!!!! Any guess as to my 'hobby'? 'Butthead' recons if it was'nt for the craft stuff it woulod only have cost us £ 12.75 to move!!!!
The removals guys said when they have packed the 'average' 20ft container there has been 8 pages of inventory, ours 13 pages.... BUT the important question I now have to ask you is: do you know how many coathangers you actually have in your house... I do... 3 black dustin bags full.
Where do they all come from? How did they get here? This is one of those universal mystery questions, it's a bit like the dustbunnies under your bed, how the hell do they get there, and where do all those odd socks come from? Deep very deep....
So moving on from that the furniture has gone, Indi has had her jabs and blood tests done, we did have a bit of a scare on Thursday when the vet realised they'd ....up with their dates on her tests and we had to rush her back up there for more blood tests but I have been assured that the paperwork is now in order. She is being collected on Tuesday morning ready to fly Wednesday.
Now all we have to do is squeeze '150kg' of clothes into 4 suitcases that can only weigh 20kg each! doo the maths...
I hope I've said all the necessary farewells to everyone, sorry if I've missed out any of you, time just seemed to run out. Mind you they're not farewells they are 'see you laters'... I really hope that I do see some of you soon.
My thought for the day: It's said that angels come from heaven but I have met a fair share of them right here on earth.... You know who you are!

Almost the final countdown

Two weeks from tonight I will be sitting on the patio, glass of wine in hand, having just had my first dip in the pool and thinking what the hell was all the fuss about?
Yes can you believe it we are now down to less than 2 weeks to go.
I bet none of you know just how many boxes you can fit into a 20ft container, I'll let you know the exact number this time next week.
I am now officially job-less, car-less and very soon 'goody'less. The Giglin-Gecko Workshop has finally been packed, although I keep finding 'stash' hidden in various other places... Don't tell Butthead.
Today I went out with The Muskateers, had a fantastic day, thank you all of you, I will miss you terribly, but bought yet more stash!!!And had to find a box to hide it in...
BNM1 half the cake has gone already, we have officially designated you the (CCQ) coffee cake queen! Just how many letters do you have to have to your name... BNM1CCQ!
Well I have yet more boxes to pack so let me get back to it for now.
Today's Quote: "You never know when you are making a memory"

Back Again

Well at least I have found my way back here again. I know someone has left me a 'comment' but as I can't find it I can't reply. This is fun though once you get going. I've even managed to set up my profile, with a photo!!! Not looking too shabby eh?

So the main reason for me starting this blog is to keep those of you who know me informed of what I'm up to, and those of you who don't know me but find me by accident welcome and keep watching this space, you'll soon cotton on.

At the moment still packing boxes, lots of them. We have a definite departure date: 9th September. We're all going but 'Butthead' (that's hubby's nickname by the way) is only going for 2 weeks, he'll be back at the house (UK) by Thursday 25th.

Even Indie is leaving, she's had her jabs and she's all up to date and ready to go, on the 9th, well actually she flies the 10th. Doggy Airways only lift off once we have arrived, so that there's someone at the other side to meet her. It's all very complicated stuff.

We only have 3 weeks left gang so any of you who want to 'do coffee' better get organised now. I'm going to be sending out a newsletter to all soon now that I've mastered this stuff letting everyone know my 'blog address' some I have txt already. That way once I'm settled I can keep you all informed of what I'm doing and what's happening.

That's all folks....

Who says this blogging is easy?

Well finally I have found the first page!!! Unless you are a computer boff I'm sorry but this blogging is not that easy. It was easy to set up the name and everything then after that it all went 'fuzzy', once I found this page, then I started typing, thought I'd have a look and then I lost it again... Is it only me am I the only 'techno-idiot' out there. Those of you who know me will be packed up laughing now and well as I don't even know how to put this 'blog' on the actual net maybe no-one will see it after all and I'll just have felt better by rabbitting on about how hard it's been to get to this step and that might be staisfaction enough!!!
In fact I don't even think I know how to tell everyone how to find my blog!!! How funny is that? If there are any bloggers out there who can guide the TI then I'd love to hera from you, but I can't guarantee you'll hear back coz I won't know what to do next!!!
But I am told it's fun once you get going.....