Die mooiste, mooiste maand

Dit is the maand Oktober, die mooiste, mooiste maand......So starts an Afrikaans poem we had to learn way back when I was at school. It is beautiful if you take time to drive through the countryside or even just look around at our suburb. All the flowers are coming into bloom especially the clivia. I'm not much of a gardener so when something actually produces a bloom I'm very excited. I have a few clivias in the back garden but they seem to provide tasty food for the snails. But one has bloomed in new spot which those creatures don't seem to have discovered. Now what to do? Do I throw lots of poison down..... eat lots of eggs to use the shells, collect tobacco so they can smoke themselves into oblivion or just let them enjoy eating anything and everything in the garden that is beautiful for a short while. But I was going to say a lot more about the month October.... This time last year we three were in Florida for Andre and Jenelle's wedding (25th) What a lot happened then, what with the preparation, the squashing in of the many gifts for them and the coming baby and then the throwing out of the clothes we really wouldn't need and there were many. The excitement and anticipation, the fear of flying all that way and so many other things until the day arrived. 20th October and we were taken to the airport by our family and adopted son Heiko. But all the fears were for nothing and after nearly a day and a bit we arrived in Fort Lauderdale to be reunited with Andre and Margies family. Well to cut a long story short we travelled to Savannah on the 23rd 800 miles away from Delray Beach and on the 24th prepared a South African meal for Jenelle's family. This in an unknown kitchen with four sausage dogs around our feet while we chopped, diced, sauteed etc for about 30 people. Poor Andre was so up tight but being the people we are we did, I think, an exceptional supper. And it rained, and rained and rained. The wedding went off well with the wedding planner, *Jenni, keeping us all in line and on time. *Andre's mother-in-law. Back to Delray Beach and plenty of time to catch up with ourselves and chill. Now I read my journal each day and can look at the events with new eyes. It was good on the whole and those other bits are just left in some dark corner of my mind. Why waste energy remembering what isn't worth remembering. We love our son/nephew dearly and would do it all again just to be with them. So Ja dit was die mooiste, mooiste maand. But this one is just as good it's great to be back home where everyone knows your name and loves you for who you are. God bless you all.

Long distance Ouma

Yeh that's me ... Ouma -what a blessing but to be so far away from our first grandchild is VERY hard. Adrianna was born on the 31st December 2008 and while we were in the USA. You can imagine the excitement for both families as we welcomed her into our lives. Alas we left to return home when she was just3 weeks old and so we became long distance grandparents. It was extremely hard leaving our American family behind. Once we were checked in I couldn't bring myself to look back. But once again technology has come to my rescue. I never thought I would sit in front of the pc and thank the many people who developed email, Skype etc but here I am thanking them for this blessing. Each week Andre Skype's us and we watch Addy, as she is called, develop into a little person with a bubbly personality. I swear she already knows my voice, but who wouldn't, as she smiles at us from so far away. Andre and Jenelle both work shifts so Andre has a lot to do with her and she obviously loves him. Her little hands are constantly reaching out to touch him as she goes through her whole vocabulary of dadadad, mamama, babababa. He is a very hands on dad as so many of the modern men are and he is enjoying the close relationship that is developing between them. On Friday he Skyped us so that we could watch Addy in her bouncer (jolly jumper) what a sight. Those little legs, so like Andre's when he was young, jumping and jumping for the joy of it. Her little face lit up with excitement. Oh to be right there to give her a hug. She now claps hands when I tell her to and tries to touch the screen. Its so so hard but I'm grateful that Andre realises how very important these times are to us. To those of you blessed enough to be close to your grandchildren enjoy every minute you are close to them. And to those of you, and there are quite a few, who have little ones in distant lands, I feel for you. Grandchildren are such a gift from God. Love to you all

Publc Holiday again

One thing about holidays in SA is that sometimes one day gives you two. That is why today, the day after Womens Day, I can once again take time out to do whatever I want. Not that any other day is any different after all I am a pensioner. My time is my own every day. I wanted to let you know what a great day I had yesterday - Womens Day. The economy forces us to cut back on many things, eating out, travelling etc etc. We have all cut down somewhere. We do not drive around just for the fun of it any more as the cost of petrol keeps going up then down a little, but yesterday it was such a lovely day we had to drive out somewhere. There was no wind, glorious sunshine and an urge to leave my knitting and get outside. So.... I persuaded my man to take my sister and me for a drive to the countryside just up the road from where we live. Philadephia and Klipheuvel were on the route always wanted to see them, I don't quite know why but am glad we went. It was great driving through fields of canola which made the hills look as if the sun had landed on them, the young wheat plants stretching up towards the blue sky. What a beautiful part of the world we live in. When we reached Philadephia we parked in the shade under an enormous gum tree and walked to the business centre - the one street with shops. There is a wonderful shop called Magic Minerals which is like an Aladdins cave of beautiful things. The shop and street were filled with people who had obviously discovered this little place of surprises before us. After wandering around the shop for a while we crossed the road to have lunch sitting outside in the courtyard of The Peppertree Art Stable and Coffee Shop. The pepper tree in the name is gigantic with an interesting trunk we heard it is 150 year old. The art gallery and other little shops were so interesting and lovely people who own them. The menu for the day is printed on a blackboard which the waitress willingly carries around to the tables which I might add had all been reserved for lunch. We were extremely lucky to sit at the only table not reserved. Lunch is only ready at 1pm and so we were able to sit and enjoy the passing parade and the free range chickens as they walked around us, stopping every now and again to scratch in the sand. The food was great Roast Lamb and veg. Chicken Pie baby potatoes and Feta and Spinach Pie with veg. A few glasses of refreshment and we were ready to drive back home once again marvelling at the fields around us that looked so healthy. I throughly enjoyed being out and again give thanks that we stay in such a beautiful province. I can't help but wonder why we sometimes miss the treasures that are right on our doorstep. I hope you all had a great time and enjoyed being a woman.

I am Woman

Today is Womens Day - and I have been thinking of the women in my family those who have gone before and those who are, thank God, still with me. Most of the women in my life were on my fathers side of the family mainly because we were so fortunate to live in close proximity with one another. My paternal grandmother lived with us for about 25 years after our Irish grandfather passed away. She was a person who had gone through very hard times raising a family of four on a blacksmiths wage. Also through a depression which only served to make her a very strong character with ways of making her income stretch well beyond its worth. Living with her was not always easy but if we look back at how she did that miracle we can see lessons to be learnt. I will not yet resort to ironing Christmas paper and collecting every bit of string but..... there are ways of cutting back. My mother was another who through trial and error learnt how to keep three daughters happy and very seldom did we feel deprived. Looking back now of course we know that we did have less in the way of what we wanted but never what we needed. The main thing we and her grandchildren remember is the thing that no money can buy and that is the love she gave without looking for reward. The reward then and now is that we remember her love as a warm blanket that kept us all together when times were hard. I can remember three times when my father was out of work but somehow we never lost our dignity thanks to that strong woman we called Mom. She was and will always be our shining light, our example of loving loyalty especially in hard times. Today I still am blessed with strong women in my much depleted family. I see them as examples of what has gone before. Never, never let the bad times keep you permanently in a bad place. Keep striving as you continue through the dark days. Give what you have love, laughter, happiness and faithfulness. My sisters and niece are the best of women. Loving me in all my loudness without giving up on me. Sure they are going through a lean time but we will be there for one another, sharing what we have to the benefit of each other. These times are a worry for us all but we are strong we will survive. I have loyal friends who continue to love me with love and their friendship, I am blessed. To my family especially my sisters and niece I love you more than you will ever know. To my American granddaughter and great nieces I hope you too will look back one day and see the strength you have inherited to carry you through whatever life throws at you. God bless you all.

To cook or not to cook?

That might seem to be a strange title but anyone who knows me will tell you that I only cook because I must and not because I enjoy it. There are those in my family who are regularly trying new dishes with great success but I only do the basics which seem to agree with my unadventurous man. If I do attempt anything new it has to look like the picture or I consider it a "flop". I even know of some who enjoy reading cook books in bed at night Oh well I suppose it takes all kinds. Not that I am knocking those who enjoy the above its just not my thing. Now back to the title. When I got married we bought a Defy 420 stove - the Rolls Royce of stoves at that time but after 37 years of daily use the RR is begining to show signs of wearing out. I considered that it was time to buy a new stove but the man in my life proceeded to tell me that everyone who buys a new stove regrets getting rid of the old. I have heard this of course but really thought a new stove would be great. So..... when the light went out in the oven I accepted that it was not always a good idea to see which way my latest attempt was going and accepted the dark side of cooking. When the front plate gave up the ghost I knew I could cope with three so that didn't worry me either. Things steady started going wrong with other parts but the man in my life assured me it only needed a new part so slowly but surely he is rebuilding the RR each time something goes wrong. Things came to a head the other evening when I put a casserole in with foil over the top and as I took it out the foil touched the top element resulting in a mighty flash and noise. After getting myself up off the floor after performing a backward somersault the man came running and I was told it needed a new fuse. He examined the damaged and told that a small hole had been blown in the back of the oven. I always say if a thing is not life threatening why worry? Well the element and fuse were replaced and I happily once again decided to make a casserole using his favourite meat for such, short rib. At 160 I was sure all would be well until going to check a while later found lumps of charcoal at the bottom of the dish. Icouldn't help laughing because cooking now was a real adventure - I never knew what I was going to produce. I phoned my sister to tell her this new event and she said I should make him eat it as charcoal is good for preventing wind. Yes to cook or not to cook, that is the question. Well all seems to be going well at the moment and even if I say so myself I have produced a few good meals lately. I even think I might try something new soon has anyone got any ideas what I could do with Chilli Bovril which seems to have hit the shelves lately - there must be something you can do with it.
Oh, my sister and I had a great success on Sunday last week, we baked a loaf of bread. It cost us under R5 which considering the price of bread now is a bargain. It's easy buy the ready made bakery dough from your friends shop and pop it into the bread tin, let is rise in the warmer drawer, bake in oven for 40 minuts and voila - fresh homemade bread. Nothing beats the smell through the house and that first slice of warm bread and butter. Yummy!!! So all's well that ends well but I'm considering upping my insurance just in case the RR decides to blow something else. Love to you all

Just because

Just because today I'm more or less at a loose end. Nothing in my diary or things to do list. This is unusual for me because I have something on each day of the week and that gives me a reason to get up at a reasonable time. I must admit to loving my bed!! Does that seem strange to those early birds who jump up at the first sign of the sun? Oh well we can't all rush around at the same time of day so some of us on days with nothing in particular to fill the hours need to stay under the duvet for a few special moments. I've come to think that bears have the best idea. Eat, drink and be merry all summer long and as soon as the days turn to cold.... find a warm and cosy place to sleep and sleep and sleep while dreaming pleasant things. While sleeping they lose all the weight they put on from all the eating, drinking and making merry and lo and behold they also, so I believe, give birth while in the glorious state of not being quite aware of what's going on. Now that could work for me, how about you? Well no maybe you are an early bird and really can't relate to my almost love affair with my bed and duvet. I'm waffling now but really we have to have winter, the earth needs to be refreshed and cleaned but there is a down side to my loving the cold, wet weather. I often think of those not as fortunate as most of us. The mothers and fathers who try to keep their children dry and free from illness as their "houses" leak and flood each year. Oh I know, they should make provision for these things during the long hot summer days. But I still feel for them. So what can I do. I've given away most of my extra blankets and unworn clothing, I give food at the door whenever asked, and make soup for the Roadside ministry at my church. I know many of you readers do the same and we pay our taxes so hopefully the powers that be will put them to good use and before next winter many more people will be put into real warm cosy leakfree homes. In the meantime I will enjoy my bed on rainy days and thank God for all my blessings. Love you all.

Worker Day - No Work Today!!

Today was a great day for the family - 33 years ago the first of the family's next generation arrived ... so today was her birthday. We celebrated then and we celebrated today the birth of our gentle, insightful, loving, huggy daughter, granddaughter and niece. To each of us she has provided joy each and every year of her short (to most of us mature beings) life. But having tea with cake she so proudly and successfully baked was filled with hours of joy as we looked upon and met her young friends with the next generation of their families. So many goodlooking parents, wonderful children and friends with like minds. For me the real joy was Amy who looked at me to take her out onto the verandah stoep, whatever to play football/catch the ball with Keegan. I have come to realise that I am not the top of the pile when it comes to greataunts, but that's OK because Nina surely loves my ample bosom to rest on. But hey, Amy and I had a great time picking up the lovely round pink ball to "throw" back at Keegan. Thank you Amy, for the love you showed me today. Then..... Rowan arrived. Amy went into overdrive of joy as she ran towards the boy of her dreams, hugs and kisses and giving him the ball each time she caught it. What a blessing. All my nieces friends, their lovely children, their super partners I had a lovely day No work - Oh but I did do the dishes. Thank you all for your love and happiness that made my niece's day so special. God bless you all.