NC to Everywhere

2009-01-02T11:19:00.003-05:00

Photo by Chris Engel, www.chrisengel.com

We lost Casey on Wednesday evening, New Years Eve.

He was stuck by a vehicle on our street. At least the person had the heart to stop and move Casey to our neighbors porch. (I saw a plumbers truck stopped outside my neighbors house and slowly pull away. I believe I saw the person and he saw me. But I did not make any connection.) When our neighbor arrived home 20 min later she came right over and asked us to come and identify if the cat on her porch was ours. There are no words to describe the sadness that hits you when you see your pet dead. We buried him in his favourite part of the garden where he used to hang out and watch the birds and squirrels.

His death squashed any New Years Eve spirit we had, even going out for dinner to try get away from the house did not help.

There is a definite hole in our family now. Yes, I know he was just a cat, an independent inside/outside one at that, but he was still a part of our crazy family.

He used to just melt into your arms when you picked him up, no matter how he was held. He would sit on the bathroom sink while you were around, until you turned the water on at a trickle so he could drink fresh water. In the Summer time one of his favourite places to sleep was in the bathroom sinks, probably because it was nice and cool.

It is hard to think that he will not be there in the morning bugging me for wet food or terrorising the other animals. Time to try move on and focus on the other animals.

Casey was an inside/outside cat so there is always the risk that this would happen especially as we live on a cut through street. This makes it no less bearable. I have since clipped Oscar's claws (our other indoor outdoor cat), so preventing him from climbing the fence, and running the risk of him suffering the same fate.

In the Christian faith we are told animals do not go to heaven. I guess I like to believe that if they don't then than their spirit lives on in some other way, shape or form. To quote a movie "The Universe wastes nothing." I believe this is true.

Casey (AKA Casey Cookie/Cooks), you were a great cat. We love and miss you dearly.

Rest in peace.

2008-09-19T13:59:00.003-05:00

For Caitlin and Hayley

I Love You!

Thanks for being an inspiration! Congratulations Caitlin, I am very proud of you. You have so much talent I had no doubt gold was in your future :) Hayley, I would love to see you play more music, I was really impressed by what I heard the last time I was there.

I miss you and wish we could spend more time together, hopefully one day (SOON :-) ) you will be able to meet the zoo. We have 3 spare rooms and love visitors....Space for more than just you two, so get mom and Clare to come with!

Hugs all around!

2008-09-17T18:35:00.004-05:00

Gosh how time flies!
Sorry for the silence! Caitlin, thanks for the comments!

We have a "new" pet to add to our zoo. Her name, after 2 weeks of being called everything under the sun, is Belle. Chris named her this as she loves grits with shrimp broth, which makes her a true Southern 'Belle'. She is growing daily and although we were told she was a lab mix, she has really long legs and an excited personality, so we shall just have to see how she turns out. She is only 15 weeks so has much growing to do.

So in order of appearance
Felix - (King) Cat, male, made the cross country drive with Chris from CA, and rules this zoo.
Oscar - Cat, male, sweetest gentlest most loving cat unless you are a mouse or chipmunk.
Casey - Cat, male, loves to live outside during the day.
Alex - Dog, Alpha male, has been a great sport with Belle, he lets her chew on him then climbs the chair like a mountain goat to get away from her when she gets too much.
Xavier - Dog, male, Litter brother to Alex. Most gentle of all out animals. Had learned to tolerate Belle.
Cleo - Cat, female, commonly known as "The Under the Bed Cat" as she rarely comes out, unless we are having a really load party ??????
Belle - Dog, female, terrorizer of all other animals in this house. Obliterator of branches. Takes baths in her water dish. Cause for constant cleaning of floors!

Quite the zoo! But loads of fun.

Working hard to make ends meet. So far so good. Now if only we could get our tax return filed!
To do list grows everyday but there is always something else that pops up that needs doing. Oh well, all in good time.

2008-07-10T09:27:00.009-05:00

50th Post

Well another year come and gone. Don't feel older for it though.

Had a great birthday, complete with fantastic birthday cake (had pineapple filling), yumm.
I went with Kim to go get pedicures while Chris did some running around, so got my girly thing done for the summer :P
Chris did a great job for my birthday party on Saturday. I normally spend the entire night on my feet when we have people over to our house for supper, but I actually managed to sit down a few times and socialise, it was really great being able to chat to people and look at them instead of at some plate of food I was preparing!

Thanks to all who called especially Taryn D, wow you really blew me away.
I received many calls, emails and sms's on the day before, the day of and the day after my birthday. Thanks for remembering!

Sorry the Boks lost in the Rugby, Dad. Maybe next time they will kick some All Black be-hinds!

Time is really flying by, the Summer is half way over and we are almost half way to Christmas! Lot of Christmas in July parties springing up everywhere. Don you thought advertising for Halloween was a little early this year :P

Wish we could travel more and take a proper vacation but with Chris being out of a steady job and the price of travel (gas/petrol and airfare) being so high we just cannot afford it. So this year I think we will be 'Stay'cationers and try get some of the work done on our house that has been in the pipeline for 1 1/2 years!
Chris' family reunion (Engel side) is next weekend, we will not be going. Perhaps one day I will get to meet some of the extended family and cousins on both side of his family.

Cannot believe the price of Medical Aid Coverage here in the US $700+ seems excessive but it looks like it will be our only option as the one we are currently on runs out at the end of the month! Anyone know of any that may be better for the money?

We have had several downpours of late which is great for 1. alleviating the drought 2. my jungle of a veggie garden but bad for 1. Our patio problem 2. Leaking roof. Time to get serious about home improvement and maintenance. We have let it slide for too long.

My garden is in full production. This [link] is what happens when I spend anytime outside in my garden. 'spose you have to take the good with the bad.
Stargazer Lilies [link] - My favourite flower, I planted many of these bulbs last year so they have kept me in cut flowers for the past few weeks - perfect timing for my birthday too!
Radish. 12 radish plucked so far. The 'watermelon' variety was really pretty but boy was it a fiery one!
Lettuce. Boston bibb/butter. The iceberg variety died back from too much water :(
Broccoli. Not enough light yield very small.
Cabbage. 3 miniatures should be ready next week.
Onions. Will be ready in time for the Fall.
Leeks. Can anyone say Soup?
Meilies/Sweetcorn. Didn't get enough light so have produced the tiniest of corn cobs, still good.
Zucchini/Courgette/Baby marrow - not enough light, but 3 good sized squash so far.
Spaghetti Squash - 19 squash gave most away, ate 4. 2 left on vine.
Acorn Squash - So far 6 squash on vine picked first one yesterday.
Patty Pan Squash [link] - best producer of the squash. So far ate 12 gave 4 away 10 still on plant.
Aubergine/Brinjal/Eggplant - 8 buds hopefully will produce fruit soon.
Sugar snap Peas - died off now but good production early on
Green Beans - munched on by japanese beetles yield of 2 beans to date.
Potatoes - still in ground
Okra - Too little light did not thrive. 2 healthy fruit will cook tonight.
Watermelon - Flowers but no fruit yet.
Herbs - Parsley (2 varieties), Thyme, Basil (3 different varieties), Mint, Oreganum, Catnip, Sage, Chives, Rosemary and Lavender.
Tomatoes [link] - the pride and joy of my garden this year. Maxed out at a height of ~3.5meters. I am just not tall enough to reach the top of the plants to truss them up anymore so they are having to double over. Have picked 16 tomatoes consumed 9 given away rest. About 50+ still on plants. "Big boy" variety producing heirloom type tomatoes (HUGE with fat folds). "Pink beefsteak" and "Early and Often" have also been good producers.

Made mini Caprese Salads for supper Monday - YUM!

Okay I think this might be a good place to stop...I could go on forever. I micro-blog on twitter so if you want to keep up with my daily rambling go HERE [link]

I hope you are all well.

Cheerybyebye
O:o)

2008-05-25T09:55:00.002-05:00

Happy Memorial Day!

This week in the rear view mirror...
1. Worked everyday
2. Walked everyday
3. Used my new Kangoo Jumps a little more everyday. (Thanks Simone and Claire). I can honestly say that it is wonderful to be able to run/jog without ending up with migraines! I love my Kangoo's!
4. Washed all the curtains in my house.
5. Went to the Duran Duran Concert. Was in the golden circle and got to be 3 rows from front! They are great entertainers and put on a fantastic show, complete with banks of strobes! Reminded me of a U2 concert!
6. Lost 3 lbs (~1.4kg)
7. Went and saw Iron Man. I enjoyed it. Special effects were very well done and the concept is realistic enough to be believable.
8. Took dogs to dog park yesterday. We are looking after Miles (border collie) for the holiday weekend. He played frisbee until I thought he would collapse. All dogs slept really well last night :D

Today...
1. Have to wake Chris up (it's after 11am) and get his butt moving.
2. Go to brunch with Kim and Ethan, followed by going to see the new "Indiana Jones" Movie.
3. Going Strawberry picking
4. Cookout with David, Lori, Austin and Raven in Wake Forest.

Week ahead...
1. Many birthdays this week including Chris' 40th.
2. Lots of planning to do for Chris birthday dinner on Thursday and party Saturday.
3. Work

Busy times.

Thanks C for the comment :D

Cheerybyebye for now

O:o)

2008-05-15T08:12:00.002-05:00

I'm Home!

The flights went well, the lay overs were terribly long and boring, but I made it in one (tired) piece.

Chris did a great job of getting the house cleaned up before I got back, he had lit candles too so it smelt divine! Today is another matter though and I see scrubbing walls and curtains in my near future!

It was wonderful to catch up with a few friends while back in SA, sorry to everyone who I did not have time to see. I will make advance reservations for your time before I come out next time. This trip was all for Gran and left very little time for anyone else.

Got most of my unpacking done last night found a couple things missing, but nothing major and it is to be expected when bags pass through SA airports.

Now to force myself to stay awake for an entire day. I have a mountain of pictures to post and will have to buy a Flickr pro account so that I have space to post them.
Also my garden has turned into a jungle, time to do some thinning, maybe if the rain lets up I will get it done.

Okay not firing on all cylinders. Have much to do before returning to work on Monday.

Cheerybyebye for now.

O:o)

2008-05-04T11:50:00.002-05:00

Not much point having a blog if you don't post to it huh?

I am sitting in Johannesburg at my cousins' (mom's) house using their ASDL line, what bliss compared to the dial up back at home in PMB.

I learned how to ride a horse yesterday!!! One of the big highlights of my weekend. I have always loved being around horses but have never had the courage to attempt going any faster than a walk on one....yesterday I made it to a canter (more and a few times). It was exilerating and so much fun (once I got over my feras). Only my body feels today like it has been beaten and dragged along the ground behind a truck. Pain and all it was a most rewarding experience. The second highight being that I got to see Caitlin and Hayley (my cousins). I was originally only going to stay one night the drive back but have now decided to stay on until tomorrow (Monday) so as to see them for as long as I possibly can. I miss them SO much when in the States and realise now just how much I am missing out. Family is everything and this one is one of the most loving and affectionate. It has been a fantastic weekend.

This week involves the bulk of the party co-ordination. The party is on Saturday. A covered dish lunch followed by tea with cake and deserts. We are also going to take gran to dinner (just us family) on Friday night, I am thinking of maybe Tala Valley Nature Reserve as their food is to die for and it is a setting where gran can't get to unless for an occasion.
I also have to figure out gifts for everyone back home - although I have had some requests, I think it will only be fair to us to get for those close to us and for those who buy us/me gifts while they are away on vacation....it really adds up when you try buy for everyone, and kind of sucks when it is not reciprocated whether in friendship or other means. This is selfish to a certain degree and is a tough decision but times are tight.

I am also trying to arrange to have my Dad's roof fixed it is badly rusted through in places which is causing the ceiling to cave in in many places. Again not an easy task as he is more stubborn than I am (I have to get it from somewhere) and will not take the help I want to give...oh well, I have a week to work on him then get a work order issued! Wish me luck.

Okay I should go help with supper. I will try post one more time before I leave. Sorry for the lack of com's. Decided not to get my own internet connection this time as it is just to costly which has meant less connectivity :( Not that I have missed it all that much, but I feel I owe it to all who read this to at least write something.....so here it is/was.

Cheerybyebye for now.

O:o)

2008-04-05T21:40:00.002-05:00

Leaving on a Jet Plane!

This time next week I will be back in South Africa!

Although I am going to miss my home and family here, it is going to be wonderful to see my family there.

I have cooked enough food to feed Chris for the month (and then some), so I don't need to worry about him starving.....although I am sure he will eat out more while I am away, I am happy in knowing he has good food at home.

It is going to be strange this time going back as it has been 28 months since I was last home. Driving on the other side, manual/stick shift cars, no water restrictions, load shedding (where power gets turned off countrywide for 2 hours), eating less and not working everyday are going to take a bit of getting used to but it will be great.

I CAN'T WAIT! But at the same time I can...there is some much to be done. Primarily with my garden. I have many seedlings and seeds that still need to go in the ground and just not enough time in daylight hours, as I work all day, to get it done.

Any special requests either for going there or coming back?

I am going to try an keep up the blog while I am there but it will take me a while to get set up with internet.

Stay tuned.....

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2008-01-09T16:03:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know, It's been a while!

INS interview next week.

Hoping to go back to SA in April.

Missing family.

Have great friends.

Going to the dog park with 3 dogs tonight.

Saw Eastern Promises last night, realistic murders, good story.

Going to see Alien vs. Predator: Requiem Friday, even though the trailer looks absolutely terrifying!

Go see Juno, you will like it, even if you thought the trailer was lame and stupid. The music is fantastic!

Wish it would get cold, my bulbs are not going to come up and bloom unless it gets cold enough. It took a lot of effort and hard work to get them in the ground I will be very sad if they don't bloom...although if I go to SA I probably won't see them anyway...hrm. But then again we are in extreme drought so I can't water them :( Seems like my bulbs are doomed.

We are experiencing an extreme drought...mayor is calling for 25 Gallon/day/person restrictions with heavy fines and a water rate increase. Going to be a tough spring/summer unless the rains/snow come soon!

Lots of work to be done on the house, cm (~half inch) by cm (~half inch) it will get done.

Gained a dog and a cat (both females), over the holiday...our house is now a zoo! 3 dogs and 4 cats. Thank goodness for dog and cat door's or I would loose my sanity...not that I have much.

Thanks to Tommy for the comment. Better now?

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2007-10-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

Secrets

We all have them. What is yours?

Expression for me shows emotion. Emotion = drama. Drama = bad. Bad = Expression?

I am stuck in a rut. I want to be someone, be known for being me and do something, but what? I am really good at what I do but it really isn't all that much. I want to be more, I will be more. In order to achieve one has to explore, try new things. I am setting myself a goal to do this. Broaden my horizon and yet still be specific in one. I want to be able to do one thing perfectly and yet be well learned. Can't do that by resting on my laurels.

Sorry this post is kind of jumping around. Kind of how I am feeling right now. No direction.

I will take on the world (my world) one piece at a time. It will become just what I make of it!

Okay enough confused talking. Life is grand! I have SO much to be thankful for!

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2007-07-02T20:41:00.000-05:00

Losing track of the days as our journey across the country goes on.

Today is Monday but does not feel like it. We are on route 281 heading to Jamestown after spending the morning catching up on some sleep and the afternoon catching up on life. We were supposed to get into Fullerton yesterday evening but we had to stop so Chris could work. He could work while on the road but the roads outside of Minneapolis were terribly bumpy which made typing an issue. I think he got tired of typing and retyping words as the key would depress too many times each time he pressed it due to the bumps. While he worked I caught up on much need sleep. I am one of those people who can’t sleep in a moving vehicle be it plane train, truck or automobile.

We arrived just in time this morning to see my friend Wayne off to work. Wayne is friend from SA, he hails from Harrismith and is here in the US on a farmer training program (I think that is what it is) His boss was kind enough to give him the afternoon off so we could spend some time catching up. Chris took many pictures and Molly got to play in the mud…watch Chris’ flickr page for more.

The drive so far has been great, this being because I love to drive and have been doing the majority of it. Who would have thought I would be a trucker in my lifetime! The countryside is beautiful on this the Northern Route across the USA.

When we reach Jamestown which will be in about 20 miles we will refuel then rejoin US I94 and take this all the way to Seattle, Going through the following states…North Dakota (in right now), Montana and Washington.

Okay, it took me so long to write the above that we are now on 94 doing 75 miles an hour (speed limit), heading to Sequim Washington. Chris is driving so I guess this means I need to pull out a book, kick back and relax a little.

Thanks Wayne for having us.

Check Chris’ blog for updates too.

Cheeryroadtrip

O:o)

2007-06-30T09:38:00.000-05:00

Leave for the coast....

...the west coast. For those of you who don't know, we are on the east coast of the USA, this means there is 3500 miles to go!

Spent all week in a super heated oven call a storage unit packing and repacking boxes so they would not collapse. Enlisted 8 Flickr friends help last night to help us pack a 10 ton truck.
Doing last minute chores while Chris makes a cat window. Hopefully will be on the road by 12.

Have wireless internet for the whole trip which is awesome and means we will be updating our blogs and Flickr often.

See you on the flip side.

Cheeryohboy!
O:o)

2007-06-20T08:17:00.000-05:00

Hard Work Pays Off

I have spent hours in the garden since we moved in trying to get it going. I planted a wide vareity of bulbs, herbs, vegetables and flowers and am only now starting to reap the benefits.

Yesterday I picked the first, of what looks like many, Baby Marrow (AKA Zuccini, Courgette) and I am thrilled! I know it is just a veggie, but it is the first I have been able to grow since arriving here 4 years ago! I finally get to taste the fruits of my labour!

Going to eat it soon!
Yum,

Cheerybyebye
O:o)

2007-04-16T20:06:00.000-05:00

How to eat a Russell Stover Chocolate Marshmallow Easter Egg

Carefully take out of package taking care not to damage chocolate layer, it is imperative that it is kept as whole as possible. Turning egg so widest end is facing mouth, gently bite into chocolate layer about 1.5-2cm in, DON'T BITE DOWN, but rather use teeth to pull the chocolate off the end of the marshmallow, put aside for later. Now the fun part...suck marshmallow out of remaining chocolate shell, imagine you are sucking on really large spaghetti! Set chocolate shell down with original chocolate piece. Eat marshmallow up, YUM! Savor the 'mallow! Now that you have had the really sweet part, now you can enjoy the smooth chocolaty part. I have always been a chocolate sucker not a chewer, so this is most enjoyable!

Repeat if sugar levels have not spiked off the charts or if additional sugary sustenance is needed! Or in my case, until I had finished the entire top layer of a case of chocolate eggs! Needless to say I had a hard time with my sugar levels for the next couple of days!

Enjoy. Happy Easter!

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2007-03-26T13:42:00.000-05:00

CALLING ALL '97 CARTER HIGH MATRICULANTS

Kelly Farrell is planning a reunion for the end of the year and would like to get in touch, even if there is no chance in heaven or hell that you will be able to make it.

Below is the email she sent out

Good Day all!

For those of you that don't know it is our ten year reunion this year! Yes you are all thinking Hell's teeth... I hear you. I'm not quite sure, but I'm sure I have chatted to most of you during the last 9 months.
Before I start I'd just like to ask all of you if you have anyone else's emails please forward them my details or pass on the information to Mwah!
Please.

Nothing has been finalized yet, we are going to basically see what the response is with the favor I'm going to ask all of you. Even if you are not joining us or don't know just yet you can, at least help us out and do a little to contribute to our Reunion! It's not going to be a mission if anything it will take you down memory lane.

Please could we have as many photographs emailed to this address from our Matric year 1997. We need these photo's to carry on with the planning, otherwise you'll mess everything up,(jokes) but we will have to brainstorm again.......... Please don't let us down!!!!!! I want all of them, please send them through, I unfortunately don't have a photo of everyone and there are only so many in the year book so if you could please just have a look for us that would be great. We need as much spirit as we can to make this a memorable occasion. Please! please! please!

I need more addresses, I only have the one that are here and I actually can't tell you how many come back to me as undelivered, so if for those of you that have helped me out could just check them according what you have, and send me the correct ones. Thanks!
Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to hearing from you all.

Many thanks
Kind Regards

Kelly Farrell

Please either email me through this site or get in touch with her directly kelly at wefco dot co dot za
If we are in SA over Christmas I am going to try and make it, maybe some of you could too.

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2007-03-16T16:13:00.000-05:00

It's about time!!!

Wow, I found out a couple days ago that someone actually does read my blog! What do you know ;o) Thanks for the comment Just!

It is pouring with rain today, for the first time in a long time. My newly planted flowers and bulbs are getting a welcome drink and the garden a refresh!

Big news is the addition of two new members to our family...meet Alex and Xavier.
We adopted these two critters back in January. They are now 3 months and 2 weeks old.

The tan one is Alex, he is the free spirit of the two, stubborn as hell and selectively listens when his name is called. He is fun in the sense that he keeps us moving and is constantly busy, he is our little chew monster, he will chew on anything that looks/smells interesting!

Xavier is the one that looks like a Rottie. When we were deciding which pup's to adopt he was the calmest of the group. I am happy that this has lasted. He is mellow and kind of sad looking most of the time, but he loves to be close and cuddle, whenever he can. He will climb into your lap any chance he gets, I have to wonder how this is going to work when he grows up! Who ever heard of a 65 pound lap dog?

They have very different personalities but are a joy to have around. They are slowly getting the "outside is where we go pee" idea and both are comfortable in their crates, Alex more so. He will run to it, whereas Xavier will only go if bribed with a treat or a push from behind!

Chris ripped out the downstairs sheet-rock about a month ago and we are working on coming up with the capital to fix it. If we had known this house had this issue, we would not have bought it...oh well. Last weekend we started breaking up the concrete patio so we can get to the outside of the wall, where the problem is originating. The heavens decided to open today and the deluge has been pouring in through the wall due to our rip up efforts, perhaps we can find a way to channel the water away from the house during rain showers until we can get it fixed.

We have had a very mild winter this year, only two days with snow (2 weeks apart), and then only a couple hours at a time. The snow melts almost as fast as it falls here, but it is pretty to see.

Footprints in the snow

Snow Bunn......Puppies! Annihilating a poor oak tree.

Other big news is the we celebrated our one year anniversary this month, we decided against doing anything big to celebrate and rather put the money towards fixing the house. I can't believe a quickly a year has gone!

I am ever busy with no time to even clean our house right now, perhaps I should just pick a room and clean it thoroughly, that way it gets done without me picking up something that has to go somewhere else in the house and taking it there then starting on something else there! Oh well.

Anyway just a short update. I am missing family, terribly. I wish I could go home, we just have to get this house sorted out first!

I leave you with a cute picture of the pup's favourite sleeping spots (well one of them anyway)...

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2007-01-03T22:00:00.001-05:00

Mom & Taryn enjoy the tree, originally uploaded by EngelFish.

I know I'm late in saying this but better late than never!

Chris took this picture Christmas Eve (see more and better pictures on his Flickr stream).
And...yes I know the wall is purple and doesn't exactly match the cream couches, but hey the walls will be a new colour soon and it was Christmas WHICH IS A CRAZY TIME OF YEAR....one thing at a time and right now our flooding downstairs with faulty electical is the first of our concerns!

I hope everyone had a wonderful, laughter and memory filled Christmas.

CheeryHoHoHoNewYear

O:o)

2006-11-15T12:41:00.000-05:00

Pictures of the new house as promised!

These were taken when the inspections were done so all the furniture etc. belongs to the homeowners who we bought the house from.
I think some paint, carpet and work on the hardwood floors is a must.

There is much to be done, and we will tackle the projects as best and when we can.

Front of House

Kitchen, dividing wall and living room

Dining room from living room at front of the house

Back of the house

2006-11-03T22:33:00.000-05:00

Our offer has been excepted!!!

We signed the final paperwork today, we go to closing on the 27th. We are happy and excited!

Pictures to follow.

Cheerygoodnight.

O:o)

2006-11-02T21:47:00.001-05:00

Another Offer on Another House

Needs updating but is a great house.

Cheerybyebye.

O:o)

2006-11-02T21:40:00.000-05:00

New York City...

here we come...

see you soon.

Cheerybyebye.

O:o)

2006-10-04T20:28:00.000-05:00

Looking for Books....can you help?

Okay I have purchased a semi complete collection of childrens books and would like to make it complete. It is a set we had when I as a teenager and loved; originally bought for my brother to improve his interest in reading.
I am missing the following books, if you have any of these or know anyone who does please let me know if you/they would be willing to part with them, I would love to make an offer. Pictures below courtisy of "livetofishca".

All the books are Authored by Spencer Johnson M.D and/or Ann Donegan Johnson

The Value of Boldness - Story of Captain Cook
The Value of Imagination - Story of Jim Henson
The Value of Love - Story of Johnny Appleseed
The Value of Dignity - Story of Arthur Ashe
The Value of Conviction - Cesar Chavez

Email if you can help.

Oh....we put an offer in on a house today...take a look! Click on the picture for more pictures.

Thanks for the comment left Just, sound advice that I had already heard but that needed to be heard from a third party to hammer it home in my mind.

Cheerygoodnight all!

O:o)

2006-09-06T11:55:00.000-05:00

Life Hunting

Ever have those days when you know you just need to push through to get through it? Where there is so much to be done it is mind boggling!

Right now I am doing our house hunting and it is one VERY labour intensive exercise.
So many questions...
Chris came up with the idea of a Plan A and a Plan B house strategy. Plan A home would be cheaper, smaller and in a not as good neighborhood. A house we would move into for 3 to 5 years while we buy, plan and build plan B house. Plan B house being a house that we both design which would be our dream home for as far into the future as we can foresee.

My concerns with this are thus:
1. Will we ever be able to afford to live in one, but buy land and build.
2. How much does one "settle" into the Plan A house knowing it would only be 'temporary'.
3. We have no idea where to start as far as building our own home is concerned and the costs involved. I wish we did, it would make this decision much easier.

I have in the past been searching for house that fits more into the Plan B side of things. Why go through all of the above if our dream house is already out there; a great size, in a good neighborhood at a price we are already approved for, right? (If I'm wrong feel free to tell me so)? Maybe I need someone to knock some sense into me, someone who is not going to be involved in this whole house hunting thing!

I have spent the last few days searching and looking at Plan A homes more along the lines of Chris' ideas, so far I have not turned up anything we would be happy in, but there must be something out there...right?

I am going to give up doing it alone and call in a real estate agent to help, as much as I would like to find our home it is proving to be a difficult task. I have spent almost all of my free time driving hither and yon looking at various different houses, dealt with snooty realtors and dozens of internet searches.

My "House Hunt 06" file grows daily and I seem to be getting nowhere! I think it would be far less laborious if I had someone who is willing to drive around with me for company, piece of mind and good advice. Don't get me wrong there are times that I prefer driving around by myself, but it still is nice to have someone to bounce ideas off.
Who knows maybe Laurie (the real estate/buyers agent we are going to sign with) will find us something by this weekend...I can be wishful can't I?

I have scheduled 2 weeks of downtime at the end of September, but finding time to plan for it is a nightmare! So much to do in that short time. Do we go to the beach? How long should I stay in Boston? Should I drive or fly? Maybe can get Chris to come to Boston for a weekend? Do I use the time to pack, so when we do have to move it will be less of a chore? UGH!!!!

Yes I know there are many others out there with longer and larger "TODO" lists than I have, but if we all helped with each others to-do lists they would seem far less daunting!

Anyway that was my vent and I'm done. If you have an solutions to any of the above I would love and appreciate feedback.

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2006-08-08T17:57:00.000-05:00

How do you think he REALLY feels?

>Chris says: "That looks like a happy man doing a SpongeBob imitation! ;)"

Thanks go to Richard B. for taking this picture at Hibernian. After a long hot day in the sun shooting strangers portraits a good cold cider was in order. Several of the groups joined up and we had a great evening chatting (yelling above the music) about everything except the portrait challenge which was still a secret then.

Cheerygoodnight!

2006-07-26T11:37:00.000-05:00

Time for a new post.

Life is going by at breakneck speed.

2006-07-12T13:09:00.000-05:00

Down, down, doobie down.

I don't have much to post about right now and that is probably an accurate reflection of my state of mind at the moment.

I seem to go through a short period of "the downs" every year around my birthday. And in the past, from when I was a teenager, I have surrounded myself with happier people than myself and those who helped make a celebration out of my birthday, but this year it has been difficult to do, there is just SO much going on, finding time to stop and celebrate life is a challenge.

Strange how challenges become routine but overcoming them initially is the greatest obsticle.

2006-06-23T15:24:00.000-05:00

Good Bye

Our Gran, Lorraine Lila Campbell (nee Bentley) died today. She was 70 years and 19 days young.

I miss her. I hate the fact that I am so far removed and that I did not get to see her when I was back in SA for Christmas (she was in New Zealand). I also wish there was something I could have done for her, but I am glad she is not suffering or in pain anymore.
She is now an Angel among the Angels. She is missed and loved but now at peace.

Good bye gran, I love you.

2006-06-21T07:27:00.000-05:00

"Old age is very sad"........and it just got SADDER!

My gran, Lorraine Campbell, is in hospital in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, for bronchial pneumonia and suspected kidney failure. One of her lungs has collapsed. This is the second time in 2 weeks that she has been in, last week was for a reaction to her cortizone. This time I have been told that she may not make it.

I am feeling very badly today and trying hard not to break down and cry every time I think of her.

Please pray for her, she is a strong person who seems to have given up faith in the world.

O:o(

P.S. "Old age is very sad" is something my gran used to say to me a lot as an 'excuse' for everything.

2006-06-20T10:34:00.000-05:00

Okay so THEY WON!!!!

The Carolina Hurricanes (the local team) won the NHL Stanley Cup!

Apparently I am not posting often enough...I know I know.

Today is a short post, to satify "Mr"

Catch up with me later this week!

O:o)

2006-05-28T21:07:00.000-05:00

I have a Flickr account and have recently started adding pictures to it. Those who are interested can go to

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73153118@N00/

to see more.

Only one more exam, on Thursday 1 June and then it is time to let the proverbial hair down and PARTY like a rockstar with extra reason (see below) to celebrate!

Happy Birthday Chris! (it is his birthday tomorrow - 29 May).
Let's make this year the best birthday celebration ('s's's) and happiest year to date...Thanks for being you!

Cheerybyebye for now.

O:o)

2006-05-22T22:19:00.000-05:00

Coming to you live from Virginia Beach, Virginia....

I drove up here this morning, wrote an exam, then spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for tomorrow's one. It is late now and I have decided enough is enough, there is only so much one meager brain can take in one day!

Sunrise over Emporia

The picture was taken on my drive up for my first exam. Emporia is the first town/mini city (of gas stations and fast food joints) that you hit after crossing the state line from North Carolina to Virginia. It is also about 2/3 of the journey between home in Raleigh and ODU (Old Dominion University) in Norfolk, Virginia, where I write my exams.

I have to say that there is a certain calm to driving in the early hours of the morning, which is probably why I chose to leave early this morning too, even though I arrived 3 hours early for my exam.

A friend of ours, Carolyn and her wonderful, fun family, in Virginia Beach were kind enough to put up with me for the night and it is time for some rest. Good night.

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2006-05-09T21:35:00.000-05:00

EXAM Season is here!!

I write one of my finals tomorrow and am a little more than a little stressed out! I have way too much going on during my days and now with exams thrown in I feel like I am sinking! I feel sorry for Chris who has had to put up with a silly/crazy me at times during my examination preparation, perhaps it is the dark chocolate covered espresso beans that are doing it or maybe I am just losing my mind!
At least I have a week of vacation in the beginning of June to unwind and catch up on everything else that I have had to put aside over the last few months...pshhhaw...there goes the vacation idea!

Prayers would be valued until June 1st.

That's all for now,
Good night.
Cheerybyebye

O:o)

P.S. Hi to Justin (and all the other readers linking through his site, please make yourselves known. Thanks Just), James and Carla...you know who you are.

2006-04-23T23:06:00.000-05:00

PETS

3 Cats + 1 Puppy (temporary) = A crazy household!

Man and His Cat!
Chris and Felix playing a game. March '06

VERY Comfortable cat.

I could not resist including this one in the series. It is the epitome of Felix...LAID BACK!

Casey

His favorite places are on the back of the couch or under a cover somewhere...with his nose peaking out. He would classify as Chris' cat, as Chris is the one who found and wanted to keep him, but he follows me around and sleeps with me so I've been told that makes him my cat???

And last but not least we have Miss Molly and Oscar the cat. Oscar hid under the bed the week Molly joined our household but now they are friends, even touching noses when Molly is calm enough for him to approach!

2006-04-23T22:40:00.000-05:00

Busy Baptism...Time for a nap

Little Louise (11 weeks this coming week) was baptized/Christened today at St. Michaels Episcopal Church. The service was fantastic and ran very smoothly considering there were 10 babies to be baptized! Louise is one of the children I help with. She was the youngest of the children getting baptized. The oldest of the group screamed blue murder from the time she was taken up front until her parents left the Church with her...I felt sorry for them.

The church reminded me of the Anglican church I used to attend back in South Africa, same structure and style of service just on a MUCH larger scale! They are also extremely welcoming of new visitors. I am now torn as to which church to attend.

I am going to try and post a photo blog soon of a few pictures taken over the last month or so...give you all a photographic glimpse into my life.

Molly the puppy we are watching for Chris' mom, is happily chewing on a peanut butter bottle trying to get the last morsel of peanut butter out of the bottom of the jar...amazing how clean she has got it....okay scratch that she has moved on to something new...a large plastic Easter egg...Ah, the life of a puppy, what to chew next!

I have just arrived home (11:47 pm) and it has been a long day, still need to strip the bed and put clean linen on it (tomorrow is laundry day) then I can collapse and go to sleep...nothing like the feeling of fresh linen when you are REALLY tired!

Good night, God Bless and Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2006-04-22T07:17:00.000-05:00

Great Grapes...and weather for the ducks (as Chris puts it)

Well today is the day of the Great Grapes Festival, it looks like it is going to rain all day. It is an outdoor event so those of us who are going, are going to get a little wet. Lets face it though, what is a little rain when you are with good friends having a good time.

Raleigh is in a severe drought right now so we need the rain, and I love being outside in the rain (as long as I know there is a warm somewhere I can go when I get too cold) so today should be a good time had by all...err..me :o)

I have exams approaching in 2 weeks and have much studying to catch up on and little time to do it. Today is my first day off in 4 weeks my next one seems as far away, but life is good so I cannot complain.

I am sad that we will not be going to Disney World this year, it is one place I hope to visit one day, just to do the tourist in America thing. But I have been told there is trip planned to Disneyland November '07 so maybe I will still get the chance, hopefully get see a little of the West coast while there too.

Anyway I had better go wake myself up...ahhh...a good hot cup of tea ought to do it!

Cheerybyebye.

2006-03-10T09:54:00.000-05:00

Well it has finally caught up with me...
I have a cold. I managed to go the whole season thusfar plus a trip to and from South Africa without getting a serious cold or the flu, which for me is a miracle. But now as the cold and flu season winds down I find myself with aching bones, tired feeling muscles, a cough that seems to come from the nether regions of my tummy muscles and lungs, a slightly runny nose as well as a pounding head! Oh well, you can't escape them all, just wish a cold did not make you feel as if you had been hit by a ten ton lorry!

2005-12-29T02:16:00.000-05:00

Wow, how time is flying by!

Today is Wednesday 28 December and the girls and Stephen have returned to Johannesburg. It has been wonderful seeing them, even if the time was short. I am hoping to take a short trip up to Johannesburg before I leave but we will have to see how things go in the next week or two.

Dad is trying to plan a family reunion for the 2nd, to get all the cousins and extended cousins around like we used to when I was very young. I am hoping many will attend as I have not seen some of them in years and would love to catch up.

Monday (Boxing Day) was spent having green eggs and ham for brunch, playing "Kerplunk" and "Conga" and then going to see Narnia:The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe as the weather was overcast and cold. The movie was enjoyed by all. Hayley and Caitlin had a great time but us adults came out rubbing our necks from staring UP at the screen. The only place where there was space for 6 people was 2 rows from the front! Oh well, I still enjoyed it. Gran, Stephen, Caitlin and Hayley went but to Gran's home after the movie. Dad, Chris(ie) and I had Christmas dinner leftovers for dinner which were actually very good. Chris crashed early and Dad and I stayed up watching a movie and eating some Christmas Pudding. I had forgotten how rich it was so it took me a LONG time to eat my little helping.

Tuesday I was up early. I drove Gran's car out to her home at 7 am, stopping to fetch Tyler on the way through town, he would have had to spend his Birthday at home alone if I had not convinced his mom to let him come with us. Once at Gran's we all piled into Stephen's car (Hayley sat on my lap) and headed to Durban to go to uShaka Marine World for a day of fun in the sun (as it was the first nice day we had had in a long time). We were shocked to see how long the queue was when we arrived but decided to wait it out...an hour and a half and some sunburned skin later we got to pay. Which in itself nearly knocked me off my feet. R125 per person to enter...oh boy! Anyway Stephen paid for himself and the girls and I paid for Myself, Chris and Tyler. While I was paying Stephen and the girls managed to get shooed off to the Dolphin show and by the time we got through the turnstiles the show had started and they were not letting anyone else in, so we had lost them. We decided to go and tour the Aquarium while we waited for the show to end and when we exited my cellphone rang...thank goodness for cells. Stephen had found a good spot to set up "camp" and I hired an umbrella for the day (should have been made of gold for what it cost to hire!). The girls (Caitlin and Hayley) went swimming and the guys (Tyler and Chris) went to find the slides. I decided to relax a bit and unwind. There were SO many people there. The place was absolutely packed! I was surprised they let so many people in, it was obvious to us that it is a money spinning venture. Anyway we ended up have a great day, my favourite rides being the Lazy River ride (self explanatory) and the Jika Jika (a ride where 5 of us rode on one big tube). We left right before closing time so we managed to avoid the traffic and get in a great long day of fun. In future I will put sunscreen on before I go though, as waiting so long in the sun is what did the most damage! I have a wonderful dress tan instead of a bikini tan :o(

Manta Ray Feeding Time

Tyler and Chris at lunch. Happy Birthday Tyler!

Miss Pink face! And this was the morning after!

Once back in Pietermaritzburg, we dropped Tyler off, went to the grocery store to get ingredients for dinner and picked up my Dad before heading out to Gran's again. I helped Caitlin cook a FANTASTIC Macaroni cheese, from scratch - you don't get boxed mac and cheese here, thank goodness as I think that stuff tastes awful. Anyway we all said our sad goodbyes to each other last night as I would not be seeing the girls again the next day, they were leaving too early for me to do so.

I slept in today - Wednesday - and spent the bulk of the day tidying up the house and doing laundry. Rowan made an appearance and took Chris(ie) and I to go donate blood. Rowan got done first even though he started long after me and Chris was last as they had to call his mom for his address. But we all did our good deed of the day. We went to Cascades Shopping centre so that I could exchange a Christmas gift before heading home again just in time to get the washing off the line before the rain came. Dad had been to the Dentist (a new one) to get his tooth socket seen to only to find the previous dentist had left a tooth chip in the socket with had inhibited healing. Poor Dad he really is having a hard time with his teeth at the moment. I think the Dentist he was going to was not doing a good job. I went to him once and decided never again, I wish Dad had heeded my warnings, it would have spared him a lot of pain. Anyway he is now on antibiotics and is taking a nap as I type this.

All in all it has been a busy few days here and the coming week promises to be more so. Still so much to do before Chris arrives from the States on Friday. Hopefully this trip out will be better than the last!

Take care all and write soon.

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2005-12-25T18:06:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I wish you all a very blessed Christmas. May you have many moments to remember!

Here are some pictures from ours....

God Bless,

Cheerybyebye
O:o)

***

Christmas Tree at 3:30 am Sunday morning. Father Christmas had been and Father Christmas was exhausted!

***

Opening Presents..."I see you"...Hayley received a pair of Bino's from Father Christmas and Granny got a new wardrobe!

***

Not bad for 3 hours sleep! Was woken up by Rowan...24 going on 4...at 6:30. The miracle of a shower!

***

Christmas Dinner

clockwise around table from left to right:- Caitlin, Stephen, Hayley, Dad (Martin), Boet (Rowan), Chrisie and Gran (Daphne).

I had done the girls' hair (including Granny but excluding me), so they all looked beautiful.

Dad and I cooked up a storm in the kitchen. Dinner was fantastic, so you must excuse me I need to go rest my tired eyes and very full tummy. Good night.

***

2005-12-22T13:46:00.000-05:00

Wednesday

It was a gray and overcast day, perfect for final Christmas shopping. I rose early but only got going later than I had hoped, around 10:30 am. I went straight to the bank to do that banking Gran needed and then decided to go to the Department of Home Affairs to go get a new ID Book and new SA passport, to reflect my maiden name instead of my married name. Needless to say the queues were outrageous. Oh well, it needed to be done. The divorce did not show up on their system so I had to go down a level and pay R1.00 a page to get copies of my ID and Divorce Certificate made and then go back upstairs and wait in line again. Once at the front the lady was very helpful and gave the details to the lady who dealt with it and was told to call in a week to see if the records had been changed and then if it had been done, then I could come in and apply for my passport which takes 6 weeks to process so my passport will arrive after I have left but Dad will hang on to it for me. Dad called me while I was in the passport office and we had arranged to meet so we could sort out my bank account. In SA there is a new financial governing body called FICA which calls for all bank accounts to be verified, which is time consuming. Anyway Dad helped me get my paperwork in order and my bank account legit. I then found out the it is FAR cheaper to do a wire transfer from the States than it is to bring foreign currency here and change it at a Bureau de Change. Lessons are learned and this is one. Dad, Chrisie and I then went to Makro, a wholesale store the size of a Wal-Mart with ceiling as about 3 stories high. Bought stocking stuffers, and sundry items to take back to the States. On the outside of the parking lot the was a street vendor on the side of the road that was selling my FAVOURITE fruit, Litchi's, and they were a reasonable price so I purchased a 2 kg box (about 4.2 pounds). Needless to say half of them were peeled and eaten throughout the day. Dad took Chrisie to the mall and I went to fill up with petrol and buy lunch. R247 to fill up a 45 litre tank, sheesh. It is just as pricey here as it is back home! I then met Dad back at his house and I unpacked all the items I took from the store room into my room at his house, as well as all the groceries then we had tea and lunch. After lunch we took a walk around the garden before heading back to town to look for places that sold Kruger pendants the first place was closed for the holidays so we continued on and stopped at the Ghela and Son's for Dad to buy an awesome pair of Khaki's for Rowan for Christmas. We then went on to find another jeweler who was very friendly with Dad, apparently they go way back. They were kind enough to let me photograph the jewelry so I could send pictures back to Chris's mom to choose which she would like. So nice to meet people in this country who are actually friendly and eager to help. Dad and I went and ran some errands for Gran. If only I had thought about it and bought the Feline C/D Science Diet food for gran's cat too, it would have saved her a lot of money. Next time. When we got done Chrisie called to say he was ready to be fetched. After picking him up we headed home and while we waited for the meat to defrost we walked around the paddocks, dad showed me the orchard he has planted and I got to pick gooseberries which remind me so much of my youth. Dad and I made dinner of stir fried veggies with a mushroom sauce and sweet and sour pork. No time to relax, I needed to get back to gran's so that I was there when she got dropped off by friends at 8:30. The crazy thing is that on drive back to gran's at 7:30 there were 4 road blocks! Luckily I managed to avoid being pulled over, but the traffic back ups caused my usual drive of 20 minutes to be 50! I got home 5 minutes before gran, but that was fine. I checked email then called Chris and went to bed around 11 after watching Vegas.

Thursday

We awoke this morning to mud for water! Gran's water come from the river then goes through several filter before reaching her tank where she has added a settling agent that clean the water, but as the pump was pumping nothing but mud (the water levels are low) the filters and everything else were full of mud...yuck! Thank goodness I bathed last night. Gran had to settle for an Aussie shower this morning. We cleaned all our filters and put more solution into the tank when the water started coming through again, and the tap water turned back to normal again, yay. I left for PMB around 11 am to run some errands for Gran, buy some sticky rat traps and pick up a few groceries. I met with James (an ex boyfriend now a friend) for lunch before buying ice cream for the girls and heading back to Gran's to get there in time to take Joice (my Gran's domestic helper) home. Gran and I enjoyed a good cp of tea and mince pies that she made yesterday. I sorted out today's purchases before making dinner. CSI is on right now, but I am being good an writing this... Litchi's are almost all gone now, still as good as yesterday.

Good night all, God Bless.

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

OH!...the girls arrive tomorrow, I can't wait. It is going to be fantastic to see them!

2005-12-20T15:52:00.000-05:00

Sunrise over Africa

Took Gran to town yesterday to finish her Christmas shopping that she had left on her list. It was a very successful day, even if I did melt when I went back to fetch the car and go pick up gran from the front of the mall. Thank goodness for AC I had the car cooled down a little before I got to gran. I am going to say that I am glad we went in very early, we were there when the stores opened at 9 am. By 12 pm, when we were finishing up, the mall was packed! No more rushing gran around in the wheel chair, I had to be very careful of bumping people. I decided to spare gran the crowds and will do my final shopping on Wednesday. I bought us pies for lunch while gran went to the bookstore to pick up her new Nora Roberts book and I then drove us home. I spent the afternoon opening a few boxes in my store room and then cooked an AWESOME grilled chicken, fresh tomato and mozzarella pizza.

Today was a good day. I got into my store room and opened up several more boxes trying to decide what to take to the US this time. Chris is going to kill me or die laughing. I do not have my itemized box contents list with me so knowing what is in each box is a mystery, kind of like opening Christmas presents!

It was a cool day today and it rained on and off for most of the afternoon, which I loved.

Gran went with Di to do some grocery shopping and to visit a friend while I worked through the above. In the afternoon I worked on my accounts and made a chicken casserole with fresh homemade mustard. Amazing how much more I cook here! I love it.

Anyway I need to get an early night tonight as I have a long day tomorrow. Exciting news is that my cousins will be arriving on Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing my girls.

Take care,

God Bless.

Cheerybyebye
O:o)

2005-12-18T14:00:00.000-05:00

Well, it is now Sunday. Time to update, "at last" some of you might say, but hey at least there is something to read now.
My flight here was good, uneventful but good. The food was not as good on this flight as it was in the past in fact the only thing that did not resemble the gray stuff you get served in hospitals was the roasted vegetables on foccacia that was served as a snack on the last (short) leg of my journey. Perhaps going vegetarian for the flight was not such a good idea. Oh well, it was at least healthy! Next time I must remember to take something along to snack on, or at least buy something at the airport as it is a very long time between meals if you don't have something to keep your tummy and jaws busy!

Saturday 10th - Tuesday 13th December
SAA, along with many other international carriers, have enforced a new rule about baggage weight. When I left South Africa last time I was allowed 74 lbs per suitcase and presumed the same on the way back, only to find that on check in at RDU that they have trimmed it down to 50 lbs. Thank goodness 1. Chris was still at the airport so I could give some items back to him if I had to and 2. My carry on was not full or heavy, so I could add to that...which is what I did. I managed to get both suitcases down to 69 lbs with the rest crammed into my carry on. I decided to rather pay the $25 per bag excess baggage fee than leave more stuff with Chris to bring with later..he is already carrying rocks for someone important (no names will be mentioned here), hehehe. Sorry Tam but I keep getting teased by Chris about it, so I thought I would pass the humor along (it is not a problem).
Anyway back to the story...The excess baggage charge is for luggage between 51 and 70 lbs, so I figured I would pack the max in the checked bags that I was allowed. For those of you think why on earth does someone like me need that much baggage, know this, I had 12 items of clothing in there including shoes the rest was gifts and other items not belonging to me. Don't believe me? Look at the photo's below. My clothes and toiletries are the only things not in the pictures. So much for traveling light huh? It will never happen on a trip to SA! Thank you Chris for carrying the overflow of the non Christmas items....oh and the grill rocks/briquettes! You're a star! Somehow I got sidetracked again...okay well I managed to get everything in and went to say one final goodbye to Chris (he had come around the loop again, expecting to receive a pile of things to take back) and then went to go through security. My necklace set off the alarm twice so I had to be searched, but it went quickly so it did not phase me, I had time to kill, so why not set the alarm off and make them search me for explosives or metal devices or that secret hidden weapon somewhere on my body...hahaha. I should have bought my knitting needles! Once through security I sat at my gate and tried not to doze off, having not slept the night before I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open, where are the matchsticks when you need them.

My flight boarded early and we were able to leave early too as everyone was on board, only to have to circle Atlanta to wait our turn, oh well, more time to cat nap. I took my time getting to my gate again as I had a 3 hour wait. I enjoyed watching people trying to move as quickly as they could, rushing about only to get to their gate and still have to wait. I did my immigration check out at the new automated checkout system, I have to say it is quite impressive. I got to my gate with plenty of time to spare, I decided to go to the duty free to look for Ultra Violet, a perfume my brother had asked me to get for his girlfriend. They had none, but they did have Chrome by Azzaro, boy do I love that scent. Decided to save money and not get it. I was one of the first people onto the plane (after the business class had boarded) so I was able to stow my carry-on items above my head instead of under my feet, which cramps the already small space. I had chosen the same seat as my previous flight to SA as there is so much space behind, next-to and underneath the seat which meant less getting up and down for me, other than to exercise. I hope the seats on the way back are as good. It was a long trip, I managed to get 3 hours sleep which is very good for me. I watched Transporter 2, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Stealth and Surviving Christmas. I started watching Wallace and Grommet and Cinderella Man but fell asleep before 15 minutes had past in each of them. My mind finally turned off! I woke up in time to see the sun rising over Africa, I took pictures but I can't upload too many pictures (it would take forever in dialup). I listened to music and walked around until it was time for breakfast and then the landing in Johannesburg.

Wednesday 14 December
After 19 hours in the air I was ready to be on terra-firma again. In Johannesburg there was such a queue for immigration that they had to stop the escalators as it was causing passengers waiting in line to be shoved by those trying to get down the escalator behind them. The escalator was forcing people into an already packed waiting area. Anyway I got through immigration easily after a 45 minute wait. I collected my bags and then had to persuade a young guy that it was in fact my suitcase and not his. Were the 1 white, 1 red and 2 pink ribbons not enough evidence? He was convinced I had taken his suitcase, I had to show him that the number on the bag matched the number on my ticket and even then he was not please to I pulled out the first thing that was near the zipper....one VS Bra and I said to him, "if this is yours then you are welcome to put it on and take the luggage" at which he turned and went to harass someone else...no I'm sorry, no nothing...welcome to South Africa, the country of the rude and materialistic. I rechecked my luggage and took a leisurely stroll from International Arrivals to Domestic Departures...about a half mile from point to point...have they never heard of a rolling sidewalk? Oh well, it was good to stretch my legs. I went through security and as I had time to kill, I decided to do some window shopping. Strange how different the USA and SA are. In the US there are Christmas decorations everywhere...here all I found was one pink dancing Father Christmas. What is this world coming to? I miss the festivities and the Christmas spirit. Okay back to the story, I loaded my SIM card and called my Dad. There was a little girl and her grandmother waiting for the same flight as I was. The girl was working in an activity book but was having a problem with the pen she had...it was only one colour...she had a colouring-in book with only one colour...shame. I felt sorry for her so I took out my stationery bag and gave her all my colours. She was overjoyed and went right to work. It is amazing what you can do with the right tools. She solved puzzle after puzzle and had a good time, I enjoyed watching her as she worked. Time to board, she came and gave me back the coloured pens and said thank you...so nice to hear it from a child, without having to prompt her. The flight from Johannesburg to Durban was quick....only 55 minutes but we got a snack (the best food of the trip yet) and a drink served to us, I am impressed with SAA's domestic service.
Dad and Rowan met me at Durban airport, it was wonderful to see their faces again. I was thankful that all my luggage arrived this time, although I was prepared in case it didn't. We drove back to Pietermaritzburg where we dropped Rowan off at his car and headed home. Rowan fetched Chris (a 16 year old young man who is staying with my Dad for his Christmas holiday) and we all met up at home/Dad's house. I went to work unpacking my suitcases into a cupboard that is now called "the Christmas cupboard" that is locked. Rowan left to go to Haley's (his long time girlfriend), I then loaded a tog bag with my few clothing items and headed out with Dad. We dropped Chris off at Tyler's house and went to get dinner...Fish and chips, hmmm yum. We then headed out to Gran's. Gran was happy to see us. Dinner was inhaled and we settled to chat and watch a bit of TV before Dad headed home. I stayed up about half an hour longer but retired to bed when my eyelids kept drooping. In bed before 9, wow that's a first and a last if the last few nights have been anything to go on.

Thursday 15 December
Today was an unwind day. I woke up early and forced myself to go back to sleep. I rose at 7:30 am with Joyce jumping up and down with excitement that I was here. It was too funny! I spent the day, sorting out my room and then working on MS Money, trying to get our accounts reconciled. I finally finished around 5pm and all that was left was to get the accounts to balance with the bank statements. I cooked bangers (pork sausages) and mash with pea's and gravy for dinner, it was wonderful to taste SA sausages again. I stayed up late and watched the late night movie before going to bed at 1am.

Friday 16 December
Today was a public holiday, The Day of Reconciliation. All over the news were how South Africa has failed to reconcile, very sad. It would be nice to see some positive news about the state of South Africa in the news. I managed to undo all the work I had done yesterday, with one simple error..I imported the wrong details to the wrong account which through all my balances! I was very frustrated by it, but I decided to put it aside and focus on something else for a while. Dad arrived around lunch time, with cheese rolls and ham. We had lunch and tea together before Dad got to work trying to put Gran's new fan up, only to find the blades were the wrong size for the fan :o( I enjoyed a walk around the property with Dad, pulling up weeds, talking about plants and other things. It is fantastic to see him again. He left around 5 as he had some errands to run on the way home. Oh I forgot to mention that in SA on a public holiday, any public holiday, everything shuts down. I had thought that with Christmas just 9 days away that there would be stores open, but no, not in SA. The grocery stores all close at 6:30 or 7 here too. No midnight runs for milk...you have to wait until the next day at 9am when they open again. I have been very spoiled by my life in the US, I do not realise how lucky I am until I get back here and realise how blessed I am. Today was a very hot day (100) so, instead of cooking, I made sandwiches for us for dinner. I again stayed up late and watched the late night movies, The Mexican and then a documentary called "Grumpy Old Men, celebrate Christmas" which was fantastic, I laughed out loud several times during the show. Can you think of any reasons you don't like Christmas? I love Christmas but I could see the point of the various curmudgeons on the show...Christmas cards without your name in it...Christmas trees that drop their needles...socks and ties as gifts...etc. I got to bed at 2am.

Saturday 17
Gran woke me up with a cup of tea at 7am. We went to Dad's house today, planning on going for a swim, but the weather had turned and it was too cold to do so. Gran stayed at Dad's while I went with Dad and Chris to return Gran's fan and have a look at what Dad wants for Christmas...a Razor Cell phone that come with a Flatscreen TV and entertainment theatre for free, on a 2 year cell phone contract which costs R110 ($17.50) per month...how does that make sense? I am considering getting a contract too, I need to work out which will be cheaper...pay as you go...or...R110 a month plus all the other free stuff ( you can choose from a whirlpool washing machine, fridge, photo printer, digital camera or 4 in one fax/print/copy/scan)...hmmm. Okay I am getting tired. I need to finish this...needless to say we did not have all the paperwork they require to get the contract so we are going back on Monday. We decided to go collect my air ticket while we were in the Mall. Only thing is that the travel agent was at the other end of the mall. The mall was busy, but we zig zagged through the crowds at lightening speed, it was quite fun. I felt like a kid! We were more sedate walking back, we stopped in at Pick 'n Pay to pick up lunch, few other groceries and I bought airtime for my cell. We drove back to Dad's and had lunch immediately as our worms were about to eat us alive we were so hungry! The pies were fantastic! Wish we could get these in the states. We stayed at Dad's until about 4pm before we drove home made tea and relaxed on the couch. I stayed up late again last night and watched a very predictable movie called Crossroads. I stayed up later so that I could chat online with Chris, I even got the webcam working. It is so strange seeing daylight through the video stream when it is dark here. Couldn't stay online long as here we pay the earth for dial up that connects at 26 bps, 52 bps on a good day, making me realise how lucky I am to have broadband at home. Oh well, making do just fine.

Sunday 18th
Well this is the day I am writing this whole entry. This morning I cut and styled Gran's hair then did her nails for her as she was going to lunch at a friends house. She looked great. I dropped her off and then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to sort out my mistake with MS Money. I decided to start over from scratch and managed to get through half of it before it was time to fetch Gran. Progress is great! Gran came home with a pile of meat and black forest cake. So dinner was very simple. Now my mind is getting tired and foggy. I think it is time to post this and then go to bed, especially as we are supposedly meeting Dad at the Mall at 9am tomorrow morning. Yawn. The stories got more mundane as I got more tired, sorry.
I hope you are all well and happy.
Write me an email.
Cheerybyebye
O:o)

2005-11-26T17:00:00.000-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

...to all who celebrated it! I hope you were able to spend time with those that you love. I know I missed my family a lot, even though Thanksgiving is not celebrated in South Africa it still made me think of and miss my family terribly.

We had a great Thanksgiving feast! Thank you Shelba (and Laurie) for your excellent spread! I still have about 4 3 cups of ginger cranberry sauce left, but it is tasty, so I'm sure it will not go to waste. Our fridge is stocked with enough turkey to feed an army, needless to say I have been researching online different way to prepare turkey, so that we don't get bored of the same thing!

Thank you to Chris and Tommy for all the effort they put into the photoshoot Monday. I am sorry it turned out a disaster in the end, and I hope you got some good pictures. Tommy your organization skills are commendable, everything ran smoothly, even if not according to plan. We cannot control mother nature, perhaps next time we should check structural integrity :o)
Thank you for making me feel pampered and for extending my comfort space. Make up is not my cup of tea but it turned out fantastic on camera, even if my skin is now getting back at me!!!

Happy Holiday's!

Cheerybyebye

O:o)

2005-10-26T18:46:00.000-05:00

I had a good end to my day today. On Wednesday and Friday afternoons I go to Pullen Park with Eleanor (3) to spend time doing number games, balance exercises and generally just having a good time. No matter how bad my day has been up until this point it always seems to improve when I am outdoors, especially with a child that loves to be outdoors. The weather was cool and crisp today but it was a bright sunny day...perfect to be outdoors (with a jersey on).

I have written 3 exams so far, 2 laughably easy ones and 1 difficult one. I write my last one of this semester next week Wednesday, and I am looking forward to it. I am confident it will go well.

Wolverines (softball) are doing well this season. We won our game on Sunday...the aches on Monday were worth the great game we had. I hope Leslie is okay, I'm sure the bruise is showing by now! She was struck HARD on the leg by a ball hit by one of our strongest male batters! That reminds me I need to get more ice packs for our first aid kit. We play a double header this coming weekend so guys (and girls) don't kill yourselves this week, we need all the energy and talent on the field on Sunday!

On the home front I am really missing my dad and gran. As I work nearly everyday in the mornings, calling them is difficult unless I call after work which is midnight plus there!

I am realizing there is just not enough room for both Chris and my junk in this apartment. I am hoping to find time, sometime soon, to go through the things that have not been used in a while and do some sorting, storing or throwing away. We are not buying a house anytime soon (in the next year), so there is no point hanging on to all the junk. Time to shape up or ship out!

The good news: I have shed the weight I put on through the summer (12 pounds) and am back to a more reasonable 150 pounds. Doc says I am supposed to be 148 so I am not that far off! Working so much, means little time to eat during the day on weekdays and has cut out my continuous "grazing" during the day, the stress of juggling work with home has also contributed I am sure.
I think I ate too well while back in SA. Dad your/our cooking was great! Looking forward to Christmas! Gran gets the Ham we'll do the rest....it's a big one this year, Yay!
We are not certain if Chris will be making it out for Christmas, it all depends on finances, but there is still time to buy tickets so we have some harder work to do.

I really missed being able to experience the fair this year. I went once but 1. it was not a very long visit and 2. I did not get to explore as I like to (also attributed to the time). Kim was kind enough to buy me 2 candy apples and bag of candy floss (cotton candy to you American's), she dropped them by late Sunday night...thanks Kim and Ethan! Oh and thanks for the bug in the candy floss too, he died a very 'sweet' death...Chris has the picture :o)

Oh I have found a new way to stay awake on my drives to and from Norfolk as well as all through my exam....chocolate coated espresso beans, just one and I'm buzzing! Port City Java in the new shopping centre across from Old Dominion University makes the best!

Hmm, what else. Oh does anyone know somewhere I can go rollerblading (safely)? The sidewalks are uneven downtown and the idea of skating in the street playing dodge-ums with cars is not my idea of fun.

I bit my tongue and it really smarts! Why does it take so long for the taste to disappear after it has stopped bleeding? Enough gorey details.

I am working for my first out of town referral tomorrow night at the Crabtree Marriott. I am looking forward to it even if it means a very long day (ending at around 10:30 - 11pm). It is a wonderful ego boost to hear that you are good enough for multi referral's. Grin!

Okay I had better stop now. I hope you are all having a wonderful week and are getting to smile at least 20 times a day!

"She has the voice of gladness and the smile to brighten any day. Keep smiling!" - was the quote under my name in my highschool yearbook (1997) written by my classmate Kirthie Bookhan. It made me smile when I read it so I wanted to share it.

Take care, God Bless you all!

Cheerybyebye.
:o)

2005-10-10T17:38:00.000-05:00

I know these survey lists are pretty much useless information, but I find them interesting. This list I found on another person's blog and decided to complete myself. I normally email it to everyone, but I am going to save you the space in your inbox! If you would like to reply with your own answers then copy and paste into an email an change the answers to suit you and email it to me.
Here goes...

Have you ever...........
Graduated High School. Yes, 1997
Kissed someone. Yes
Smoked cigarettes. No.
Got so drunk you passed out. No.
Rode every ride at an amusement park. Yes, except the kiddy ones as they would not let me on them.
Collected something really stupid. Yes, money...I'm a "squirreler"
Gone to a rock concert. Yes.
Helped someone. Yes.
Gone fishing. Yes. Thanks Dad.
Spun turn tables. No
Watched four movies in one night. Yes.
Gone long periods of time with out sleep. Yes.
Lied to someone. Yes, not something to be proud of!
Been dumped. Yes.
Snorted cocaine. No.
Failed a class. Yes.
Smoked weed. No.
Dealt drugs. No.
Taken a college level course. Yes.
Been in a car accident. Yes. Not my fault. I was, a designated driver, asleep in the back of a parked car!
Been in a tornado. No.
Done hard drugs (i.e. ecstasy, heroin, crack, meth, acid). No.
Watched someone die. Yes, Grandpa Blakeman on my 16th birthday. I miss him sometimes, even now.
Been to a funeral. Yes.
Burned yourself. Not intentionally.
Ran a marathon. No.
Had an eating disorder. No.
Lost your virginity. Yes.
Your parents got divorced. Yes.
Cried yourself to sleep. Yes.
Spent over $200 in one day.Yes.
Flown on a plane. Yes, I LOVE flying except when I am sandwiched between two smelly men!
Been cheated on. Yes.
Written a 10 page letter. Yes, a long time ago.
Gone skiing. Yes, water and snow, although I am not good at the water variety...perhaps I need more practice.
Been sailing. Yes.
Ever sky dived. No, but want to.
Cut yourself. Not intentionally.
Had a best friend. Yes and still do.
Lost someone you loved. Yes.
Been to jail. No.
Had detention. No.
Skipped school. No.
Got in trouble for something you didn't do. Yes.
Stolen books from the library. No.
Gone to a different country. Yes.
Dropped out of school. No.
Been in a mental hospital. No.
Watched the "Harry Potter" movies. Yes.
Ever cooked a meal from scratch? Yes, frequently.
Had an online diary. Yes, your reading it.
Fired a gun. Yes.
Gambled in a casino. No, I have always been the observer/lucky charm.
Had a yard sale. Yes.
And a lemonade stand. No.
Actually made money at the lemonade stand. N/A.
Been in a school play. Yes.
Been fired from a job. No.
Taken a lie detector test. No.
Swam with dolphins. Yes.
Gone to sea world. In SA, yes.
Attempted suicide. No.
Voted for American/Australian Idol. Does South African Idol count...still the answer is no.
Written poetry. Yes.
Read more than 20 books a year. Yes, but not this year unless I start doing some serious reading!
Gone to Europe. Yes.
Loved someone you couldn't have. Yes.
Wondered about your sexuality. No.
Used a coloring book over age 12. Yes...I'm a Nanny what do you expect? And they are SO much nicer now than when I was a kid!
Had surgery. Yes.
Had stitches. No.
Taken a taxi. Yes.
Seen the Washington Monument. Yes.
Had more than 5 IM's/online conversations going at once. No, 3 max and that was more than 2 years ago. I'm hardly online anymore.
Overdosed. No.
Had a drug or alcohol problem. No.
Been in a fist fight. Tam?....does the fights we had as kids count? No fists, but teeth, nails and hairbrushes were involved!
Suffered any form of abuse. Yes.
Had a hamster. Yes.
Petted a wild animal. Yes.
Driven somewhere without thinking it through. Yes.
Used a credit card. Yes.
Gone surfing in California. No. Gone surfing in SA?...still no, but I have heard the waves are better in SA! You just have the sharks to contend with!
Did "spirit day" at school. Huh? I have no idea what this is.
Dyed your hair. No.
Got a tattoo. No.
Had something pierced. Yes...my ears in 4 places.
Got straight A's. Yes.
Been on the Honor Roll. Yes.
Your parents sent you to a shrink. Yes. My mom sent me once, it was most enjoyable, I remember drawing bicycle for him and asking him to analyze it. Turns out I wasn't a fruitcake!
Been handcuffed. No.
Known someone with HIV or AIDS. Yes.
Taken pictures with a webcam. Yes...nothing dirty.
Started a fire. If bon fires/braai's etc are included then yes.
Had a party while your parents weren't home. No.
Gotten caught having a party while they were gone. N/A

Okay I have just found out that instead of having a day off tomorrow I need to be at work by 6:45am! Eeek. Tomorrow is going to be a very very long day. I am hoping to be able to go work in the garden tomorrow after work. But I also need to get studying done...oh well I am sure it will all work out fine.

Got to go. Chris needs his food....Mmmmmmrrraaaaarrrrrrr
I hope all is well. Until I write again, Cheerybyebye.
O:o)

2005-10-05T21:40:00.000-05:00

Okay I have been chased enough! Here is a post!

I have been extremely busy lately, having little to no time to actually relax, let alone study for my exams, which begin tomorrow! I am sleep deprived, not that I have any difficulty getting to sleep just I have a problem staying in a deep sleep.
One good thing has come from working so hard...Debts are being/going to be paid off...at long last! Hard work has it's rewards and it feels good.

I am driving to Norfolk (Virginia, about a 3 hour drive for those who are not familiar with the geographics of the area) and back tomorrow to write an exam in Entrepreneurship (a management subject) which I am not 100% prepared for, but will be by the time I go to bed. I am confident the exam will go well.

I am missing SA, particularly my Dad, Gran and brother, but know I will see them again in a few months. I am slowly running out of my stash of Snacker's, Slim Slab's, PS Bar's and Five Roses Tea.
:o(

In other news the Wolverines (our softball team) won both games played on Sunday...twice in one day, it's a record! We had not won a game in a long time! It felt good to win, we celebrated by going to our old haunt Mo Joes for dinner and celebratory beers (milkshake for me...I still have not found a taste for beer!). I have suffered since playing though...migraines have returned with vengeance (day 3 and counting). I am trying not to let them bother me, although this computer screen is proving to be harsh.

Okay I need to go study again, I got this evening off so I could do so, so I had better go and do something productive with it!

So much for "just 5 lines" eh?
Cheerybyebye.

2005-09-18T16:33:00.000-05:00

Just a short Blog to let all that read this know that I am so busy I haven't had time to write a daily blog. Sorry. Tomorrow is my last day here and there is much to be done, including packing and I am hoping to get some sleep tomorrow night instead of pulling an all nighter like I normally do before a trip.

Today was an extremely busy day. I was on my feet for 6 hours and got to sit down at 5:30ish for the first time all afternoon. It was exhausting, but most rewarding, I believe everyone had a good time and it was a wonderful way to end my Dad's Birthday celebrations.

I am going to miss my family but, Christmas is just around the corner, I'll see them all again soon!

I have been keeping a log of my daily activities and will update this site with them as soon as I can.

Take care.

O:o)

2005-09-15T17:47:00.000-05:00

13 September 2005
Don Bartlett's birthday.

Woke up early today. Dad left to go do stock taking and I started work on one of my assignments…
I have so much work to do for my courses it scares me silly! Anyway I'll have the assignments done in time and I will just have to work hard in the next few weeks to cover the work I need to get through before my exams.
I worked on my assignment for about an hour then got myself ready and went to town to start the shopping for Dad's birthday celebrations and also to get a few choice items to take back home with me.
I spent the whole afternoon in town running from one place to the other finding all the items I needed…Pick 'n Pay stocked bamboo shoots but not water chestnuts, so I had to go to Spar for that etc. I found some net curtaining at a very good price, which made me happy, even though I had to get my dad to meet me so he could go with me to get it as it is in a notoriously dangerous area of town.
I arrived back home at 5:30…WHAT A DAY! I was very glad to be back home. I unloaded the groceries, alcohol and sundry items from the car and then put the kettle on for some tea (had gone 8 hours without a tea fix)! Dad arrived home just then he had perfect timing. He helped me unpack and we sat and had our tea.
This evening had been pretty uneventful. I watched CSI:Miami (the best of the "CSI" batch) and 24. I am now typing this and am about to log onto the net to check email and update the blog.
Good night all.
O:o)

2005-09-12T14:21:00.000-05:00

Monday 12 September 2005
Shane Noble’s Birthday

The phone woke me up this morning as it was in my room. I had showered at 2am, and only got to bed at 2:45. SO it was an unwelcome intrusion in my peaceful sleep.

Anyway, Dad made me the usual…an awesome cup of tea which I drank in bed before finishing up some post card writing and getting ready to get going! I hit the post office first and posted off a pile of cards, maybe it will get there before Christmas…Ooo that gives me an idea maybe if I post my Christmas cards now they will actually get there on time!

Next on the list was Mndeni Meats where I bought bread rolls, ham and Chelsea buns for lunch and tea time. I tasted a piece of the ham and all I can say is they don’t make it like they used to…so many fillers now, no wonder it was so much cheaper than the grocery stores….okay I’ll stop disgusting my many readers, hehehe.

I then went to collect my jewelery, look back at last weeks entry to see what had gone wrong. They had done a good job this time so I was happy. I left there and drove out of the shopping complex when I realized I had a list of items to get for Gran so I had to go to the next light and go around the block and back to the shopping center. I got the Asthavent and lotion Gran needed at the Chemist and then went across the road to Pick ‘n Pay to buy the sweetners she wanted….Boy are they expensive here! Mental note to bring back Splenda at Christmas time!

Okay errands done now I head out to Gran’s. I am so tired. We had lunch and tea and I still felt drained. Too little sleep makes for a tired Taryn. I eventually got to work and had a very successful afternoon. I managed to sort out Peter’s entire store room! Everything is boxed, labeled and ready to go when the movers come to fetch it. Yay.

I took Joyce home at 3:45, once again the car was loaded to the max and then some, this time with 4 garden chairs she had been given by a previous tenant of my Gran’s. If you knew the size (as Chris does) of my Gran’s car you would realize how ridiculous we looked driving down the road with the back hatch open and 2 chairs sticking out the back. Thank goodness it is only a mile or so from my Gran’s house, but the speed bumps they put in proved to be tricky even at 5 kilometres per hour! As the chairs were not tied down! Oh well we made it.

I stopped and took some pictures on the way back as the view is beautiful from up on the hill. I am not sure if they came out. I have not checked yet.

Back at Gran’s we had tea with Chelsea buns (a slightly cinnamon raisin roll with icing on top). We chatted for a while about Gran’s asthma as she remembered it from her youth as well as several other things.

I drove home and went through an accident scene where a minibus taxi had stopped to close to the edge of the road and tumbled down the hillside…maybe now they will put up barrier rails there.

I stopped at Spar to buy bacon and pork sausages (Chris you missed out!), as Dad had been talking about picking some up for the last few days so I decided to do so. I got home to a very dark house. All the doors were open but all the lights were out…Dad’s car was there but I could not find him anywhere. Eventually I gave out a bellow from the back door and heard him reply from the pool! He had been working on the pool, getting the last of it cleaned. So took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my yoga pants and got to work helping him with it. He had already finished the hard work so I just helped him with the pumping out of the dirty water and the washing down of the sides. Time for a cup of tea.

We came inside and were having tea when Rowan arrived with Hayley. He goes and plays pool on Monday nights (he even has his own que), and Hayley goes with as a designated driver. She was a little friendlier this time round. She actually spoke more than 4 words. Maybe she is just shy. I know she is not stupid, she’s majoring in Bio Chemistry and English at University! Well it was good to see them both.

Dad made bangers (pork sausages) and mash for dinner, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum! They tasted SO good. I wish we were able to get them in Raleigh. Matthews is just too far to go for a few sausages. Maybe I could convince HT to carry them.

My mother called and asked if I wanted to do lunch on Wednesday. She knows it is my Dad’s birthday so why does it have to be that day? Anyway I told her I would think about it and she told me she would call tomorrow with the details. I have so much to do on Wednesday, that I don’t think I will be able to see her for more than about half an hour. I have to drive to Durban and back on to fetch Hayley and Caitlin that day too! Sheesh. Keeping my family happy is turning out to be a nightmare! If only they were all as easy as Dad, he’s already happy even when times are rough!

Dad is watching a movie right now with Meg Ryan in it. 'Against the Ropes' is what it’s called…I think??

I am going to try and get an early night tonight.

Good night, sleep tight, make sure the bugs don’t bite. If they bite then bite them back…rrrrrroar!

Mmmmmmm……..rrrrrrrrraaarrrrrrrr.

O:o)

2005-09-11T17:46:00.000-05:00

Sunday 11 September
We had a leisurely start to the morning and after breakfast of toast with marmalade we got busy! Dad and I spent most of the day emptying and scrubbing out the pool. It is very hard work and switching arms only helps until the energy runs out. We were at it for about 6 hours and got about 90% done. We are on wire brush number 3. Dad and I are finding out we have muscles we never knew we had! Rowan came home this afternoon very tired from working for most of the night. He went straight to bed and napped for about 2 hours. After coming inside I started dinner of spaghetti bolonaise. Dad added his special ingredients and it turned out to be great. I spent the better part of the evening typing out all the blogs that I have missed. Anyway I suppose it is time to go upload all these blogs and then take a shower. Good night all. O:o)

Saturday 10 September
Karen Bartlett's Birthday
Dad and I woke up early this morning => 7:30. Dad made tea and bought me a cup in bed and took his back to his bed with him. It was heavenly tea but I decided to let it cool a little and while waiting and reading I dozed off, only to wake up to a super cool cup of tea (it was a chilly morning)...1 hour cool in fact. It still tasted good. I have decided tea tastes so much better with sugar, sometimes.
I got up and got dressed, I had some persuading to do to get Dad to do the same, he was playing Freecell on his computer in his jammies! We had toast and marmalade for breakfast.
I am falling asleep writing this! Must.....not....close...eyes...even for "just a minute."
Dad and I headed out to Gran's stopping at Federated Timbers (Fed's for short) to get wire brushes for scrubbing the pool) and SPAR (grocery store) to get ham, lettuce, a newspaper and 3 enormous rolls for lunch before heading out to Gran's.
I worked in my store room all day and had a very successful day. I finally got everything sorted, boxed, placed in it's place and covered with plastic. Yay. Dad however did not have such a good day, in fact I may go so far as to say he was accident prone today, let hope he has seen the end of it.
1. While moving corrugated iron the piece he had in his hands slipped and sliced along his finger at the middle joint so that had him running for a bandaid.
2. While hammering roof nails into the roof of Gran's new Car port he slipped and hammered the tip of his stumpy finger (he lost part of the top of his finger as a child, in a cement mixer), which is already a very sensitive finger (always has been). He broke the skin on the top and quite badly on the bottom of the finger, just below the nail. I had to engineer a special bandaid to cover both sides of the finger and not stick to any bad spots.
3. He slipped in the shower and to break his fall he had to use his injured hand (both injuries had been to the same hand).So he was in a lot of pain for most of yesterday afternoon, poor Dad.
Tired........Okay I can't keep my eyes open any longer, I need to go to sleep NOW. Good night.
Sunday 11 (finishing Saturday 10th)
We finished up at Grans and had a couple cup s of tea before heading home. Dad showered while I read a gourmet vegetarian cookbook I had taken out of storage. At 6:30 we headed up the road to go visit and have dinner with old friends who have lived in the neighborhood a long time. It was an interesting evening. I just sat back, listened and watched. Several people became somewhat drunk and loud but it was fun to watch. I was asked 20...000 (felt like) questions by Lesley (the hostess and neighbor) who is a touchy feely kind of person. Like I said it was an 'interesting' evening. We finally left to go home at 11:30pm! Boy was I glad to get home, I was ready for bed!

Friday 9 September 2005
Slept in today as Dad did not make a sound getting ready, so I did not wake up as I usually do when I hear stirrings in the house. Bad dreams woke me up at 9:30 just in time to make a cup of tea before dad arrived home. I felt very lazy for sleeping in for so long.
Right now I am waiting for my bed to warm up...old fashioned way. I have 3 bottles of hot water in strategic positions in my bed, feet, legs and torso, so hopefully I will not be cold tonight.
I went to NWJ (Natal Wholesale Jewelers) to fetch the jewelry I had sent in for repair, only to find it had not been done properly, 2 of the 6 charms I had asked to be soldered to my charm bracelet had not been soldered at all. I have to go back Monday to collect them. I walked next door to Pick 'n Pay (grocery store) to buy pies for lunch and a large Yogi-Sip (drinking yogurt). I also changed the dinner booking at Quincy's from 9 to 6, for Dad's birthday dinner. The mall was my next stop to pick up my ticket outta here, then on to Gran's house.
My cold made me feel really 'Grotti' (horrible) today. At Grans we had coffee then lunch and it took me a while to get motivated to want to work in the store room. But I managed to get a LOT of box sorting done this afternoon :) I took Joyce home at 3:30 with a couch she had been given...I am sure it made for a funny sight....a small compact car with a couch in the both/trunk and the back door wide open! I stopped working in the store room at 5:30 and locked up. I had found what I had been looking for...my teapot and my Chinese dinner service. I headed home at 6pm and had tea w/Dad.

I went online and checked email etc. I also tried to confirm my seat booking for the long haul flight, but could not. I have to call to do it. I downloaded the Rose Garden pictures for Dad to see, he loved them.
Okay bed should be warm enough by now....Over OUT! O:o)

Thursday 8 September 2005
Had a lazy start to today after waking up at 7am, I went back to sleep until 9! Dad bought me tea in bed but I was so sleepy it took me a while to wake up and by then it was cold, but still good. It tastes so much better when he makes it than when I make it.
I headed out to Gran's (which is a 30 miniature drive from here) at about 10:30, stopping only to cash a check for her. I arrived in time to get coffee which Joyce my Gran's house maid) makes especially well...hmm maybe it is the sugar that both my dad and she put in. I am not used to having sugar in my beverages but it tastes good when they put it in. I decide to have a second cup while Gran got ready. I bought my work/get dirty clothes in from the car and Gran and I left to go to town (which I had driven through to get to her), to look for a birthday gift for my dad. We went to Game stores first (a small scale Walmart) and were lucky enough to find what we were looking for there. The Staff were SO helpful (NOT!). We asked 3 different people and got sent through the store once before going back to the place we had started at and found what we were looking for there. We were looking for a Philli-shave electric razor/shaver. After we had purchased it we wondered around the store a bit as Gran had not been in the store since they renovated and remodeled. Gran does not go into town very often.
We then went to the Chemist (Pharmacy) and the Grocery store where we bought lunch...pies (go figure). I had steak and kidney and she had chicken and mushroom. I took Gran home having had a very successful trip to town to shop.
We had lunch w/ tea which went down very well. The weather seems to warm up substantially during the day now, but it is really cold at night. I have 4 blankets on my bed as well as a duvet, coming form the warm weather, I really feel cold easily.
I changed into "get dirty" clothes and got to work in the store room on my many boxes, the good news is that by consolidating boxes I now have 5 empty boxes which = more space. Still have not found my teapot, but it will turn up I am sure of it. I did find my fondue set though, and if I have space (weight) for them I will include then in my items I am bringing back. I worked at Gran's until 6pm then went home. Dad and I relaxed for a bit and had leftover curry for dinner again, but at least it is gone now. OUT! :(

Wednesday 7 September
Dad's phone woke me up and as he was outside I had to run to find him in time, no problem. He gets his phone and the other one rings! Run to get that one before the automated voicemail picks up...clearly someone up there wanted me to get a running start today! That or my brother (who was on the other phone) thought it was time to rise. I got ready and at 10 am went down the hill to town to go see my travel agent. I had hoped that I may be able to get a cheaper ticket as I had received a general email from them with all their specials for this month...alas it was not to be, the ticket had specific departure dates which would not have worked for me. I got the final price for my ticket and drove from the mall to the bank to draw the cash to pay for it and drove back to the mall to pay and get my itinerary. They were kind enough to give me a R200 discount as I was paying in cash. Today was also a very bad day headache wise as I woke up with a migraine and it only got worse as the day went on, although a BC did help at the end of the day.
I went to the Natal Society Library, with proof of address this time, to join so that I could take out a textbook that I need for my studies, only to find that after going through all the hassle that the book is not available for removal from the library so I have to go there to do my assignment...argh! Oh well.
After the fruitless time at the library I decided to go do something good. I went and donated blood, something I always do when I am back here, call me crazy, but it's my part. I decided to visit a friend of mine, Carl Bartlett, as his office is around the corner from the blood bank and I had some time to kill. He was surprised to see me and we chatted for a while and parted saying we'd get in touch to meet up at another time. I still had time to kill before going to see the financial guy about gran's finances so I decided to go look at curtain fabric. I am hoping to find some that is as thick as the fabric I used to make the curtains I put up in Dad's spare room, but no luck there, I did find some great fabric to make pillow covers for some cushions to replace the "fugly" ones currently on the couch. Dad called and we arranged to meet at home and go from there in one car to see Guy Miles my financial advisor. He told us pretty much what we already knew and a few extra details that we had not considered. dad and I headed home to do a few chores before eating dinner and settling in to the TV programs for the night....Growing up Gotti, Laugh Out Loud (a local comedy show) the Simpsons and Runaway Jury (movie). Now I am sitting in the living room watch the fire burn out. I was supposed to be posting to the blog tonight but I am just too tired to want to fight with dial up tonight. A nice hot bath and a cold bed are waiting for me so let me leave today at that. Good night.
Time, 1:30am Thursday morning/7:30pm Wednesday night.

Tuesday 6 September 2005
I went and had my hair cut this morning at 10am. Jane, the woman who cut my hair, did a great job, but cut off more hair than I was expecting her to. But anyway...it's just hair, it'll grow back. Sound familiar? I also had a protein treatment put in my hair that needed to stay in so Jane put my hair up on the back of my head and gave me another product to put in when I got home. So I had to go about my errands, looking like a slick Italian, while the treatment worked it's magic! I went to the University of Natal Library to see if they had any copies of the text books I left behind in tha US as they were to heavy. They had one copy of the one book but it was on loan. The other one could be found at the Msunduzi Library (used to be called the Natal Society Library). So I went into the centre of town, which is not a safe place for a white woman by herself but I was lucky enough to find a parking right outside the entrance to the Library. I went inside only to find I needed proof of address. No problem! Proof of address I have.
I went to pick up my photo's and bought pies for Dad and I for lunch, then headed home.
I spent the rest of the day working on my assignments in front of a fire my Dad and I had made because it was so cold outside!
Dad made an awesome curry for dinner with all the fixings (sambles, popadoms, banana, chutney, atchar, and bread). It was great and just what I needed to warm me up and my nose running!
We saw Rowan briefly tonight. I stayed up late and watch the Human Stain.

Monday 5 September 2005
We had an early meeting at home with the insurance assessor/investigator, so we were both up early. I took a shower so I could wash my hair, but the water was not hot and so I could not turn on any cold water to increase the water pressure to anything more than a trickle! So in between freezing from lack of warmth I was trying to wash soap out of my hair and eyes with a trickle of water! Anyway I had to try hussle after the shower, to get ready on time. Steve the insurance assessor/investigator wrote out a statement for Dad to read through and signed. It was just basically a break down of what had occurred and what was taken. He told me that I should claim for both rings that were stolen and not just the one. This meant I had to g back 4 years in Credit Card receipts (That are in storage SOMEWHERE) to find proof of payment. I told him I would try but I could not promise anything. After he left I got my things together and Dad and I headed out to Gran's. He dropped me there and continued on to Fawn Lea's to make deliveries and see farmers.
I first looked in Peters storage unit, for the credit card statements, as I knew the files with all the credit card statements were in Peters store room. I dug through several boxes before I found the one I was looking for. The file was there but there were statements missing and the ones I needed just happened to be among them. Then I thought of another place I might find proof. I thought I may have saved the actual receipt and I had put some receipt into a wedding scrapbook, so I decided to go find it and look in there. It took me a even longer to track down the box that contained all the wedding stuff but my search was rewarded. I found the receipt and the valuation certificate among many other receipts. Yay, problem solved. I stacked the boxes in such a way that 'nimble fingers' could not get to the open boxes and went and had tea with Gran. I drove for the first time since getting here, and I have to admit I was a little worried about it, but it came to me as second nature. I did not make any mistakes. I headed back into PMB and went by Mutual and Federal (the insurers) to drop off the valuation certificate. Steve was happy I had been able to find it.
On the way home I stopped by Zane Jones' work to drop off the invitation to my Dad's birthday, for the whole Jones family. Uncle Jones (Craig) was also there so I stayed a while and chatted. It was good to see them again.
Oh I forgot to mention the weather had turned cold Sunday and remained cold for a few days...brrr. The days get pretty warm, but the nights are cold enough to warrant a fire in the lounge and hot water bottles in my bed!

Sunday 4 September 2005
Slept in.
When we both got up Dad and I began working on the pool by emptying and scrubbing the sides as black algae had grown in the rough spots of the pools marbilite. Dad got a little too much sun on his back while bending to scrub.....sunscreen dad!

Saturday 3 September 2005
We got up around 9am. Tyler and Dad were awake first. I made myself Muesli and yogurt for breakfast and went and sat outside in the sun to eat it until Tyler hinted, for the second time, that he was ready to go i.e. I needed to go get myself ready to go.
We dropped Tyler off at his girl friend's (with privileges as he has told us) house. Dad and I went to Hayfields Pick 'n Pay to buy lunch, smoked neck ham and bread rolls. We picked up Gran's meds and I dropped off a film for developing. We then headed out to Gran's and had lunch just after we arrived there at 12:30. After lunch I got to work in the store rooms as there are a number of items I wanted to pull out and take back to the US with me. Boy what a job! I started with the easy stuff, Tupperware, and managed to condense 6 boxes into 4. I figured the more boxes I could get rid of the neater the store room. Gran had Dad and I do a few odd jobs around the house like replacing light bulbs and filling up the sun bird feeder.
We left around 5:30 and went home. We had leftover chicken casserole (that I had made the night before) and a cheesy russian sausage hot dog for dinner. I went to bed very late but slept like a log!

2005-09-08T13:44:00.000-05:00

Friday 2 September 2005

No time to write anything long today so here is a run down of the places/people we visited today.

Lawn and Pool centre - pick up items for deliveries

Head out of PMB, direction - Durban

Watersmeet Farm deliver some of the before mentioned products

Uncle Bobby's (Dad's Cousin)- dropped off a 50kg bag of organic fertiliser, Amberley and baby Mikaela were there although Mikaela was sleeping the whole time so we did not get to see her, we also left an invitation to Dad's party with Amberley for the whole family.

Unisa - did not have the text books I need

Aunt Linda's (Dad's Cousin, sister to Bobby, picture of Dad and Linda above) - had tea, dropped off Respiractin which has been haunting me for the past year!!

Grovida Depot - Picked up potasium phosphate for delivery

Back to pmb - stopped for pies at new BP on the Highway at Cato Ridge

Mndeni - bought long rolls and cheesy russian sausages for dinner

Went back down to fetch Tyler and he stayed the night.

Went to bed at 2:30 am - nose stuck in book - the narrows by Michael Connelly

O:o)

2005-09-08T13:30:00.000-05:00

1 September 2005

First official day here! Got woken up at 6:30 am by dads alarm clock blaring! Nothing like here a radio dj first thing in the morning as if they are right in you head when infact they are coming from another room at full volume! It is Rowan's birthday today and I forgot to wish him in my half a asleep state of mind as I heard him stomping up and down the passageway getting ready for work. He then yelled "Okay see you later" from the kitchen and was gone. Oh well I will have to give him his card later. I decided to get up and begin my day, it was probably a good idea to force myslef into the routine and not sleep in otherwise jet lag would hit me harder.

My back got badly sunburnt while at the beach with the Cassals last Thursday and has decided to turn into extremely itchy peeling/flaking skin....signs that sun damage is BAD FOR YOU! Once up and about Dad and I headed to town to go run some errands. Oh did I mention that I was still sans luggage! Dad had been kind enough to put my clothes into the wash so I could wear them again the next day. Okay back to the story...We went straight to the mall as that is where the foreign exchange banks and my travel agent are located. There is a new foreign exchange governing body here in SA called FICA (don't ask me what it stands for as I have no clue) but they have a new rule that one cannot change more than R2500 worth of foreign exchange per year, without proof of residence. Proof of residence is any mailed account with the residencial address on it....err big stumbling block here! We live on a farm, they do not deliver mail to rural areas here in SA so that means no mail with the residential address on it. #$!#$^#!#^%!!!! I would have to get my dad to write a certified letter stating that I live with him, he would have to go to his bank and get a copy of the home loan (it has the residential address on it) and he would have to come with me to show his Identity document (as proof of who he is). What a pain in the butt!!!! Needless to say I was not amused. The good news is that we had heard from the SAA driver who was going to deliver my luggage. He was going to meet us at the mall. I then went to my travel agent to arrange my flight back...it is going to come to R9600...ouch! And it does not fly back on the date that I want it to, nor does it take me all the way to Raleigh! Dad and I decided to go have a cup of coffee and wait for the SAA deliverer to arrive, we first went and got a new SIM card for my cellphone so I can start getting in touch with everyone. The coffee was really good (R25 for 2 cups of coffee, seemed like a lot to me). I then decided I wanted to get a second price quote from another travel agent, dad decided he needed a cigarette! I was almost done at Pentravel when dad came in to tell me the driver had arrived and that he was going to meet him, I was to meet him back at the car.
I got done with the travel agent (it was R700 more to fly back on the day I wanted), and ran/jogged through the mall to get back to the entrance where the car was parked, I had a bad feeling something was not right. I got to the entrance to see my dad about to wheel 2 suitcases away to the car...2 black suitcases, 'wait a minute, that's not right, I only have one black suitcase the other was blue' so I told my dad and he yelled out to the delivery guy to come back. He had given me someone elses suitcase. In fact I think he had already delivered my suitcase to someone else as he had none left in his vehicle he said. He said he would go back to Durban to fetch it and would bring it back in the afternoon, no problem. The only problem I had was that my suitcase had been opened and there was not customs/security form inside it, which lead me to believe someone else had opened it. Anyway we then got in the car and headed to Hayfields mall to try and see if there was a way around the FICA issue. We had to wait a long time but were rewarded, I could deposit the money into my savings account and I would not have to do all the extra running around to prove residence. Yay. It took all of 15 minutes and it was done. I also got a new banking card as my old one was cracked and would not have lasted another year. Dad and I went to Pick 'n Pay to get lunch and a few other sundry items...yumm....pies (they do not have these in the USA) Flaky pastry with various different fillings, we both got Pepper Steak. We then headed back home as we needed to fetch Tyler and I was going with Rowan to visit Gran Campbell. We stopped off at Federated Timbers to look at paint swatches as I want to paint dad's house while I am here. Gosh but is paint expensive here! On the way up the hill on the way home we got a call from the driver saying he was at the mall with the other suitcase, so we had to turn around and go back into town. So much running around for my dad! He had the right suitcase this time, yay. We then headed back home to meet Rowan who had gotten off work early and was waiting for me to go to visit our Gran. We spent some time catching up with her at her apartment in town before we had to leave. She gave both Rowan and I R100 each as our birthday presents. Dad had collected Tyler from school on the way to fetch me. We dropped him off at home and then went and bought dinner (KFC) and headed out to Granny Blakeman's house for a visit.
We made a fertiliser delivery at Hope farms on the way.
KFC tastes different here.
Gran loved the KEDS shoes we had bought for her.
Dad and I watched the news at 8 then headed home, I had a lot of unpacking to do. Funny how all my clothes could have fitted into a carry on item! At least we are covered as far as most Xmas gifts are concerned. Rowan went out to dinner at Franky Banana's (bar) for dinner with his girlfriend Hayley, to celebrate his birthday. We did not see him again until Friday night.

2005-09-08T12:59:00.000-05:00

Okay it has taken me long enough...here is the first of my daily meaderings since arriving in SA!

Wednesday 31 August. Cape Town International Airport.
WOW! What a journey. I arrived at RDU only to find I had left my cell phone and charger at home! Eeek! No worries, Chris came to the rescue (at my insistance) by giving me his phone to use while in SA. He is going to use mine (strange phone numbers stored on it and everything... brave man!)
The grumpy sleep deprived guy at the ticket counter was kind enough to book my luggage all the way through to Cape Town for me which meant less retrieving and re-checking for me, so I was happy....emphasis on WAS.
I think this is what lead to my baggage disappearing somewhere alongthe way. But it could also have something to do with the fact the my tickets were booked in 2 different names, which may have confused baggage handlers somewhere along the way.
I am not sure how long the battery will last on this laptop and as the converter plug is in one of the suitcases that has been lost today, I don't think I am going to be able to charge it later.
Anyway back to the flights. The flight from RDU to Atlanta went well andwas over before I knew it. I took my time getting off at Atlanta and walked, instead of riding the express train, between the concourses. I went from concourse/terminal B all the way to E. I'm glad I did as it helped loosen me up a bit for the flight. I was hungry but really did not want to pay $10 for a mediocore breakfast so I settled for junk for a lot less (ham, egg and cheese croisandwich) at $3.50. The caramel late also went a long way to perking me up. Going to bed at 2:30 and getting up at 3:30 is not smart! I then went and found my gate, got my boarding passes and found a seat near a very very tired couple from Salt Lake city.

With the two names, Delta had double booked tickets for me under both Plumstead and Blakeman, so I had to cancel one and stuck with the window seat and boy was I glad I did. I was in the last row (the row the backs up against the toilet) and I thought it was going to drive me crazy with people going by all the time, but it really didn't. The plane was not terribly full so there was space for the lady next to me to move to the row adjacent so we could each have 2 seats each to ourselves, which really helped when it came to moving around to prevent stiffness. Anyway back to the story. The attendants on the Atlanta to De Sol Island stretch were fantastic! Attentive, happy and great service providers. I wish I could say the same for the De Sol Island to Johanessburg croud...they were terrible. More interested in telling jokes in the galley and gossiping about eachother than they were about customer service. Oh well, you win some you lose some, but it was definitely a wake up call to me about SA customer service. I knew I was getting closer to home as it became increasingly worse! I had a good flight...very long and tiring as I only managed to cat nap for about 10 minutes at a time, but I did get some good reading done and watched a few movies; Madagascar, Monster in Law and The Interpreter. I got my nose into a Michael Connelly book and I have to say the Harry Bosch stories are always fascinating! We had a 1 hour lay over in De Sol but it went by quite quickly.

Apon arriving in Jo-burg a large group of us were sent to the wrong passport control and so had to be ushered back through the airport to the right place. Got through passport control without a hitch but hit a huge snag in the baggage claim area. 1. it was PACKED with people trying to get to and fro with their carts loaded with baggage, gone are the manners of the USA. I waited nearly an hour, watching the carousel going round and round, baggage getting fewer and fewer, until I eventually gave up hope that my luggage had made it and went to report it. BOO HOO, I hate it when this happens. Anyway I was already running late so I ran from International arrivals to Domestic departures, got through Security, placed a very quick call to my dad letting him know what was going on and then dashed to the gate only to find that I was a paper ticket short (as SAA had re-directed my flight, making it 2 extra stops instead of 1, which meant there were not enough paper tickets to go around), they would not let me get on the plane! I eventually got mad and then almost lost it and balled my eyes out (but didn't). They eventually let me on the plane, but took my receipt as proof of ticket purchase. Grrr. I was mad. I got on the plane to find it was packed full like sardines and someone else was in my seat, double grrrr. I finally got my seat back and had half of it taken up by a rather large man who (like me) had not showered in the past 2 days but (unlike me) he had no deodorant on! I really tried my best to not touch him but it was very difficult, like being stuck between a rock (the wall) and a damp, soft, hairy, smelly place! EWW. Anyway, I made do. I read my book and he snored. Lunch was interesting...makes me not want to choose the Vegetarian (lacto, ovo, glyco) meal again. Eastern food will be the food of choice next time!

I arrived safely in Cape Town and besides being told that my luggage "may" be in Cape Town due to loading error, it was not. I went to check they had all my details and address so they can get it to me ASAP! Now I am sitting in the Departure lounge at Capetown International Airport, killing time until my flight leaves at 6pm (4 hours will be killed in total). I am going to sign off for today as I would like to conserve the battery for as long a possible. I will also try and do an entry every day so I have an actual account of the happenings in my life while here in SA. Yawn. I'm so tired! Bed would be SOoooooo good right now actually knowing I have PJ's would also be! Cheerybyebye O:o)

2005-09-06T15:24:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog.

A huge thank you to Chris (who is currently my only reader, I am sure) for setting it up for me as it would have taken about 10 times as long to do from this side (dealing with dial up here!).

I'll post my first newsy entry tomorrow, it has been a long day and I think it is time to rest my sore throat.

Cheerygoodnight.
O:o)