Weekend...

So, this weekend we'll be spending some time in a Private Game Reserve in the Waterberg area in Limpopo Province. Firstly it's a LOT warmer than it is in the City at the moment (Joburg was zero degrees C this morning!) and all the big five roam in the reserve were we will be staying.

It's also the young man's 21st birthday, so we'll be celebrating that as well on Sunday. (My goodness, where was I when I turned 21...) Should be a most enjoyable weekend, and they offer one of those 'bush bath' numbers which I'm really looking forward to... For those that don't know, they place a large copper bath in the bush away from everyone and then fill it with steaming hot water and bubbles. They then leave you there for an hour with only a screen to protect your privacy from the armed guard that in turn protects you from the wild animals. Hope he's not too freaked out by the moaning... (Obviously the moaning will be from the very hot water!)

So here's wishing y'all a pretty weekend filled with love, smiles and sunshine. Mine will be filled with good food, lots of champers and long, slow days.

TTFN

Half a year...

Today, six months ago, Dawie left me. Today, six months ago, my heart was broken in so many pieces that I thought it could never be repaired again. Today, six months ago, I lost the one person in this world that I was truly willing to die for, I loved him so. Today, six months ago, my life changed forever. Today, six months ago, I thought that the easiest way to handle this pain was to end it all. Today, six months ago, I lost everything I held dear...


Today, I feel sad at the loss of my love, but also feel that I can handle life on my own again. Today, I feel as if there is something to live for, even if it is sometimes a little 'shallow and non-sensical'. Today, I can function pretty well most of the time, with the occasional breakdowns. Today, I found out that life is truly amazing, and the human spirit can heal - even if it's a slow process...


Tomorrow, I will rise and face another day, but today, I will do what needs to be done and nothing more. Today, I'm thinking of the past, and that one person that made my life worth living for...


TTFN

A big old kick in the butt...

This morning I'm thinking of my dear friend Bruce who is in hospital for a heart stent - and to be honest, I'm really worried about him. His family has a history of heart problems, and Bruce has diabetes to boot...

I met Bruce and his partner trough Dawie (They were his closest friends) and I've become very close to them over time - in fact, I would consider them some of my closest friends. They carried me trough my roughest patches and have always been there for me, and now I feel a little helpless - there is not much I can do at the moment except for being there for them and giving them my support. So, here's thinking of you guys today...

It's been one of those weekends where you wish it was a day or two longer. Yesterday was Fathers Day here in SA, and I spent the day at my sisters with all the family. Really great food (as per usual) and a stunning KWV Cab Sav with lunch.

The young man and I are going away for his birthday this weekend to a private game reserve in the Northern Province - about 4 hours driving from Pretoria - plus 40 minutes from where you park your car to the lodge via Land Rover. Really looking forward to that as well but it still feels a little unreal to be 'seeing' someone new... Just taking one day at a time!

And that, dear reader, is my boring life at the moment. Yesterday was the longest night/shortest day here so winter is 'on it's way out' as of today - better move it's arse, the cold is getting to me! I'm cranky when it's cold...

Hope y'all have a pretty week now - and fruitful obviously.


TTFN

The nectar of the gods...

I have a well publicised love affair with beer. When in Kenya it was Tusker, but my new love is Peroni... Don't really drink that much, but boy, a cold beer is one of the rare pleasures of man... (BTW - the links will only work if you're over the legal age in your Country of Residence - how very corporately responsibly of them!)

So, to honour this little obsession of mine, here are a few choice pictures!

Now I hope y'all have a pretty weekend!

TTFN

Yeeeehaaaa!!!!

I know, I know, after a while you should stop shouting about some things, but I'm still so proud of myself...


Your Quit Date is: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 12:00:00 AM
Test Time Smoke-Free: 426 days, 12 hours, 57 minutes and 16 seconds
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 8531
Lifetime Saved: 2 months, 5 days, 4 hours
Money Saved: S1,491.00

Just thought I'd share this! 14 Months y'all!!!

TTFN

Economic Downturn...

This seems to be the 'catchphrase' of the moment. Everyone is talking about the world's economic recession and what influence this is having on all and sundry. And even here on the Southern Tip of Africa it is having a profound effect on everyone - including me...

I've never believed in having too much debt, so on that level I'm actually smiling and my standard of living has not really been affected much, but for my parents, well, they are really feeling the effects. Not that they have any debt, but they are retired and are living of the interest on their investments - and with interest rates at an all time low, their income is a lot less than it was, say, a year ago. And pricing of general home ware and groceries are at an all time high. Tough one - so once again proving that no matter how well we plan things for our old age, it's not going to work out exactly as we planned.

To be honest, they are moaning with the golden spoon in the mouth - they still only shop at a high end grocery store, they still go on 'holiday' (Would you call it holiday if you're retired?) 6 to 8 times a year, but I can see that the economy is pinching a bit...

And this brings me to my point - I don't have children to fall back on if I ever get to that point in my life. My folks can bargain on me and my sisters to look after them if the need arises, but where will I look to if I ever get into that position? My Yorkies - as much as they would try, would not be able to look after daddy dearest in his moment of need? Not that my folks would ever be dependent on us, but they have the fallback, and I just don't...

Just a thought. A morbid one, but a thought none the less...

Have a pretty weekend y'all!

TTFN

Going crazy...

So, exactly how much work can one human being do in one day? Oh, apparently it's quite a bit more that I though was possible... Yes, the office has been as crazy as they come and to add to my misery, it's the coldest and (this might come as a surprise!) wettest winter in years.


It never rains in winter in Joburg - well, never is a harsh word, it's very rare to get rain in Joburg in winter. It's usually cold and dry, now it's freezing and wet. I hate it. It's like Chinese water torture just not so much fun...


But enough moaning. It's one more night that I get to hand back 'the hounds from hell' to my parents and go back to my perfectly arranged and calm life. Strange how we adapt to our own environment, no? I mean, I grew up in that house - it has not really changed that much but now it drives me NUTS! I'm into calm, clean, perfectly ordered life and space and that is what I have in my own home. Maybe I'm just really pedantic...


TTFN

House Sitting.

I'm house sitting at the moment for my parents. Not that I do not have a home of my own to look after as well, it's just that they have a LOT of dogs and animals and it's a lot easier to look after them in their own environment, and my puppies are better adapted at not being at home...


The one female daschund passed away on Saturday evening - she would have been 19 years old in July, so she's had a full innings, but it's still quite the shock to see a little animal die right in front of you. Also, all sorts of wounds opened up again... So, on Sunday morning, I put on my brave face and load her little body into a basket and drive off to the vet's to have her cremated - we're a civilized people here in the South of Africa... I leave her in the car and go inside to pay the fee. Meanwhile the cutest gay couple are buying dog food at the same time and the vet (who I know well) comes out to console me and give me a 'punch in the arm', and there my emotions take over and the tears are STREAMING down my cheeks... (Gawd, I'm such a girl sometimes!) So I have a (rather cute) vet holding me in his big strong veterinary arms on the one side, the cute gay couple offering to help me and buy me coffee on the other, and a receptionist who is hurling tissues at me like a women possessed - and all I want to do is bury myself with shame... What is a lad to do?


So, with that completed and Mom called - very emotional, I'm back at home - my parents home. Now with only five dogs, a very noisy parrot and a very nosy housekeeper. Please Friday come so I can return to my little enclave of sanity in Pretoria.


TTFN

Air France...

I really did not want to post about this but with so many friends in the aviation industry, both here in SA and across the world, it makes me sick... How is it possible for an entire plane to just disappear without a trace? And for 126 men, 82 women, 7 children and a baby to lose their lives in an instant...

One South African was on the plane - a father of three young ones, and it's splashed all over the news and papers on this side. As I work in the media it's obviously even more 'in your face' that it would normally be, and they keep on running the story over and over again. Sometimes I think that 'my industry' is really cold and calculating. I mean, you're working with people's emotions and feelings here, not some inanimate 'thing' that is not affected by what your publish...

Just going trough a bit of an emotional 'conundrum' at the moment. Where do we draw the line? What should be published and what would be better left alone.

Oh well, the old adage says: Good news is bad news, and bad news is brilliant news...

Have a pretty weekend y'all!

TTFN

Well I never...

This sort of flies in the face of the 'nature vs nurture' argument, doesn't it?

I've always believed that my parents did a sterling job of raising me and my sisters, so how could it be the 'nurture thingy'...

Feeling about as creative as driftwood at the moment so not really posting much. It just seems that my life sort of flows from one day to the next - it's all an enormous gray blur. Sure it's partly because of winter having hit us with a vengeance - not my favourite season.

So, long story short - I'm not going to bore you with some long winded account of my life at the moment. I have a few posts that I've written and not posted, but that will have to wait until I feel like editing and making them worth reading...

Hope y'all are pretty!

TTFN