Today, Friday 9th August, South Africa is celebrating Woman's Day
I pray it will be a day where woman of all races, cultures and religions will come together and learn how similar we all are and embrace each other despite our differences.
I pray, that we will learn trough our strength and compassion for each other to teach our young ones, our young girls to respect themselves , our young boys to respect their sisters and to protect them.
I pray that today all men over the country will look upon their women and treasure them. I pray for all violence against women and children to be eradicated.
I pray that the almighty will lift his hand and heal the anger in our men folk, to lift them up to him and show them, the wrong they are doing.
I pray for healing of our country, for our leaders to see their wrongs and to right them, so we can all live together in peace and harmony and love in our Rainbow Nation.
Blessings to all my darling friends scattered across the globe.
Have a wonderful Day.
well well well, Sunday again............. how the week flies, the days seems to stand still at times and the clock don't move. I cannot belive that we are nearly half way through the year as well. Today is 2nd June. The good news is that only 3 months to Spring. 1st September here we come and this year it is a Sunday, so have already send out the invites for our annual Spring Barbecue. Everyone welcome. The event of the year, now we moved Christmas down to the farm for celebrations.
Sitting in the office, trying to get pulled together for month end accounts, but musing and thinking, trying to avoid the dreaded F'word ........... Filing.
Why do I hate filing so much? It seems pointless at the time putting all those papers into the "right" place, but boy am I glad I did, when a silly client says, just give me the same as last time ........... lol ........... you have no idea how often that happens or how about "what colour?" "whatever" ............ what on earth is a "whatever colour"
Sometimes the devil flies in me, well actually often, am getting ornery as I am getting older and less willing to take the dilly dally whatever of the youngster, earning triple my salary or more and thinks she is so very clever, but cannot even specify a colour of a file or ruler. So I ask who is it for? And if for a male sends a shocking pink ruler or something, just for the heck of it, you said "whatever"
And what is a normal pen? I ask what kind of pen, oh , a normal one. Really? What is normal to me, might not be normal to you. Really?
I got off track as per usual, so you know me, and know that happens, now where was I ?
It is a whole month since I got back from my mini-break with my bestest and I have not even shared pictures or anything with you.
I have been busy catching up and doing my garden ready for winter. I have pea seedlings in and spinach, also carrot and turnips, the leeks are standing strong too, now. Have given up trying to grow cabbage and cauliflower, they simply will not do a head for me. I think our winters might be too short and too warm for that kind of vegetable. As it is, I kick-start my winter veggies in trays at the back of the warehouse where it is cooler, other wise I would reap soup veggies in spring only.
Spring ..... *sigh* .......... I know I am privileged to live in the climate I do , but I do so hate that couple of months of cold weather. The sun is shining but the cold at night, gets to me and the houses never really seem to warm up during the day. If ever I get the chance to build my own home, would get out a Danish architect for the job. Have to win the Lotto first though.
Okay back to our mini break, if you must. I picked Les up at 9am Tuesday morning last week, and I was lucky to be able to take the Kia Sportage instead of the Opel. We were not sure, as we had trouble with the Caddy and did not want to leave Russell with just the Ford as an option. First stop was the local village shop where we stocked up with dairy and perishables, we had packed all other requirements from home. Quickly popped into the liquir store and got some beers, in case it got hot and some whisky in case we needed to make a hot toddy, if it was cold. *grins* Of course we had our red wine with us too. Packed also was the ingredients for a nice Brunch when we arrived, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomato and eggs
Big Creek Lodge is only one hour from home, but it feels like a different country. We drove through the Magaliesberg Hills and found ourselves in North West Province just before 11 am.
The hosts were very welcoming and we were soon settled in our cabin, The Hadeda , as I had requested with views over the mountain and the dam, the small swimming pool to our right and with barbecue facilities too. Nice and compact, just right for the two of us, as we would spend most time outside anyway.
Of course the resident cat soon enough found the 2 suckers, that had just moved in and made herself at home too. It was evident the cat had given birth recently and had a litter somewhere, so we spoiled her and was rewarded with happy mjaws and purring.
After brunch we went for a walk, the cat followed us and then started to make some strange moves, like she wanted me to follow her. She would come to my leg, mjaw, walk off, stop, mjaw, come back to me and do the same again, so we changed direction and followed the cat instead. Sure enough, she led us to a large clearing at the back end of the lodge and all of a sudden disappeared into some piled up bushes and branches, that had been cut and felled and stacked there, where did she go? I called her and heard mjaws and the next thing she is in front of me, with 5 kittens about 7 weeks old, with huge eyes and purring noices. Both Les and I are cat lovers, but I have an affinity with animals, as you all know , that are strange to explain, so as I sat down, the cat got onto my lap with all the kittens and they started feeding right there. Now this has never happened before so of course this ole thing is now feeling responsible, as was probably Miss Kat's plan in the beginning.
The next day we went off to Askari Game Ranch for a look aroudn. Had a glass of very expensive red wine on their veranda, enjoyed the warthogs and elephant. Was promised to see the big 5 there, but upon hearing of the cost involved in an official game drive, decided rather go back to the lodge for our lunch, a drink and a snooze. Have seen plenty of game without having to drive around seeing booma game, half tame, with a snotty ranger, "know it all". We will not be visiting there again.
The Thursday we went into Magaliesberg Town itself for some sightseeing. Gosh the place has sure changed since I last went there. It was Grant Day , meaning the first Thursday of the new month, pay out of social grants and pensions. Everyone's grandmother, grandchild, crippled friend and pregnant women were there in force. I found it highly entertaining and tried some candid camera shots,until I realised Les was extremely uncomfortable and a bit scared.
I forget she grew up in Rhodesia and has a fear of a native crowd gathering. Has never bothered me and no one has ever harassed me in the townships on the contrary, but we are not the same with certain things. I fought against apartheid and segregation and for democracy, while it probably suited the English down to the ground to keep the natives where they were supposed to be, on the other side of the railway line. Sorry, if I offend anyone, just saying.
We had a lovely 3 days off, way too much good food, loads of red wine, a lot of laughing and also some reminiscing and a bit of crying. Friends for 30 years and we have been through a lot together. Les loosing her first love and husband of 10 years when first we met, 2 small children, 9 and 5 at the time, me with my 5 year old and step daughter of 9 having twins, her then finding her second love and me having problems in my marriage, subsequently divorcing and meeting Russell and now her having to say good bye yet again to a loved one. Jeiks, friends are it, when trouble are there, in good and in bad.
We talked and talked and talked. Did us both good. I talked out all the anger of my son and how he behaved and it subsequently led to, that I realised I was living with my ex-husbands ghost in the house.
I have not been around much lately as you all noticed, but the end of the story is that we had a sit down with son and girlfriend 2 weeks ago and asked them to move out. The sordid details are best left buried here, but it was not pleasant. They have found a place with a friend and just have one load left to fetch, then we can start renovating that flat and get a tenant in, to help pay the bills. It is a relief , that I have to admit. Yes, I have had a lot of guilt feelings, but deep down in my gut, I know this will be either the break or make of my son. He now has a responsibility and don't have me as a back up any longer. I have made it quite clear, that I love him, always will, he is my son, my only one but I do not like the man he has become and drastic changes has to take place before he is welcome here again. I pray it works.
oh .... forgot the cat ............ as we were packing the car to leave, she comes running with a kitten in her mouth straight up to me, drops it, then runs off again to get another one, right down the bottom of the field. The owners were so surprised and we tried to explain, without much luck. The lady there don't really like cats ( we noticed, she kicked one cat of our patio on our first day, I was not impressed) ......... a box was found, Miss Kat and kittens packed up and off to Joburg we went. I found a place to have Miss Kat sterilised, found a home for her and all the kittens have been homed too. So nice ending on that story.
Chat soon again ................ Hugs.
dry leaves rustling
cold breath frosting
colours red and yellow
whispers on icy winds
birds fluttering
stark branches against white skies
wet dark earth mulching
big fat worms squiggling
early dark nights
warm crackling fireplaces
hot wine with cinnamon
soups and stews
thick fleecy blankets
cats under duvets
dogs growling in basket
dark misty mornings
cockadoodle cackling
flutters of wings
aloes and succulents flowering
with colours vibrant and bright
clear stark blue skies
bright sunshine
on cold winds
WINTER DAYS IN AFRICA
6am is dark and cold
with shapeless foreign shadows lurking
Faint noises resembling ocean breakers rolling
of unknown people
driving on invisible roads
to unknown dreary jobs.
Fiery Orange Red ball rising on the eastern horizon
and a thousand orchestra strong of twittering singing
twirping birds start,
while in the west the pale moon
wains with a skew smile waving bye bye -
Wakey Wakey, everyone........................
another day has begun as dogs starts growling,
cats start scratching carpets, looking for food and attention
Good Morning Monday
"Mormor", my mother's late mother, used to tell us grandchildren how "we will never be given more than we can handle and that there is always someone worse off than you?"
She emphasised the point by saying that if a whole town full of people packed up all their worries, each put them in to a bag; then went to the town square to put them down and were given the opportunity to pick up someone else's bag before leaving, then every single person would land up picking up their own bag again and quietly going home.
I was reminded of this after the bombing of the Boston Marathon last week and then the explosion at the fertiliser plant in Texas just days later.
In contrast I'll quite happily deal with our crime rate, the rising costs of living, the bus strike, Pikitup go-slow, constant petrol increases and looming E-toll.
It's so easy to get bogged down in our daily dramas. So I'm personally making a renewed effort to be a little less pessimistic rather than worrying if the glass is half full or half empty. I am going to consider that if it's half empty it just means there more room for me to top it up with a good Shiraz.
Cheers everyone, may you all have an incredible week. Stay safe
I am away for a couple of days on a girlie road trip, so do not fret if you don't see me around.
Lots of Love
Marianne
The Mexican Fisherman
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American
tourist
complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish
and
asked how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long,"
answered the Mexican.
"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch
more?" asked the
American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch
was sufficient to meet his
needs and those of his family.
The American
asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late,
fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta
with my wife. In the
evenings, I go into the village to see my
friends, have a few drinks, play
the guitar, and sing a few songs... I
have a full life."
The American
interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help
you! You should start
by fishing longer every day. You can then sell
the extra fish you catch. With
the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger
boat."
And after that?" asked
the Mexican.
With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy
a second
one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet
of
trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can
then
negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open
your
own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to
Mexico
City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can
direct
your huge new enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked
the Mexican.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the
American.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's
when it gets really interesting,"
answered the American, laughing. "When your
business gets really big,
you can start selling stocks and make
millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" said the
Mexican.
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village
near the
coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take
a
siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying
your
friends."
And the moral is:
Know where you're going in life...you may already be there.
I cannot believe how long ago it is that I tried to string more than 2 words together, never mind try to write a blog. When I think how often I used to sit and pour my heart out to you all, with probably mundane things that had happened or I thought some of you might find interesting.
somehow, the need, the absolute necessity to share every minute of my day and every thought I have with people who I have never met and might never meet in person, seems to have eluded me totally.
What used to be the highlight of my day, to peep in and see what all had been up to, no longer seems necessary. You are all still in my thoughts, though and I miss you all dearly.
My friends here say I have become a recluse, I don't go anywhere, see anyone, I hardly leave the house, except for when Russell absolutely refuse to go out to the shops again or he personally drags me of somewhere. If I have to go out, I rush and am back in safety within an hour.
I decline invitations, was invited out last week, found an excuse, Russell was fishing, too far, could not drive alone after dark etc. Yesterday was Paul's memorial. I had all the intentions of going, but got so busy in the office with orders and quotes that the time passed.I doubt I have stopped crying since last week. It is all so senseless.
On a happier note we did collect over R2600.00 to the feed the giraffe fund, so that was nice news, I have also received pledges from local businesses.
Today we are invited for lunch at The Danish Society, the Danish Boys Choir is visiting SA and we have all been invited to go. After lunch will be Bingo. Only R 150.00 for the lunch , the small concert and R30.00 per bingo plate. I am sure it would be a fun event and see all the fellow Danes and catch up. I simply cannot face it. Monday Nite the Choir is singing in the Nazarene Hall at Pretoria and Jensen Safaris, Holger Krogsgaard has sent us an email inviting us to the performance and a buffet at his guest house afterwards. It is too late at night, a week night, too far .............
You get the picture? I sit at the pc all day, combing through Facebook, posting pictures, taking part in debates on the groups I am a member of eg Save the Rhino and The Rhino Fund etc
I am behind with my filing yet again and have to get the creditors up to date, have to do vat return next week. Also have to go back to SARS need to change my surname as they don't seem to be able to understand that Mrs Taylor is the same person as Ms Klint and merge the two. For heavens sake, give them the tax number and the id number , can they not merge it, no, have to take certified copies of marriage certificate and id and proof of residence and more, hope that will now solve problem.
It is raining and cold, matching my mood, though I did smile this morning as little Vinkie flitted over my head at 7am shouting for his feed to be put in the bowl by the aviary Cannot believe it is nearly 4 years now. July 2009 we found the little weaver fledgling and hand raised him. He stayed in a cage in the office for 4 months, then into the aviary, then got ringed and documented and set free. Every morning he meets me at aviary for his feed and then go back to the big tree on the border of the neighbour where he has his wives and nests. He is our biggest success story.
In the middle of writing this blog, we had an emergency
LOST IN FAIRLANDS, CROSS-BRED FLUFFY PERSIAN FEMALE, SPAYED, 3 ½ YEARS, HAS MICRO-CHIP
WEARS COLLAR WITH BELL
REWARD OFFERED
PHONE MARIANNE 0825527170
RUSSELL 0823358457
All of Saturday afternoon and night and Sunday morning spent searching, then made posters and handed them out all over. I had given up hope and started sobbing uncontrollable as a little child, sure I would never ever see or hold my darling again.
I had given a flyer to our local Beagle Watch Security and that paid off, about 20 minutes later he marched up to the gate with 3 young men who had spotted Mouse in the bushes and after being shown the picture remembered and went and found her. She was hot, dirty and smelly, I think she drank a whole litre of water out the tap, as she prefers, when safely inside the bathroom. Never have I felt such a hot little body before. I was concerned she might have a fever, but after cooling her with wet towels and getting her fed, she felt better. Her and I slept on the bed all afternoon, curled up together. What a fright. Poor hubby is now bankrupt as there was big claims on the reward money.
Now before I get fired as assistant admin and friend, I better move my butt over to Picture This and do my rounds and post my entry for the week.
Maybe should try out Daily Prompt to keep in contact more. Big apologies. Much Love to all.
