I'm not very good with this journalling lark, I've realised. I have LJ, a blogspot diary, a mailing list of friends and family and a Facebook account, and I seem congenitally unable to keep it all updated! Perhaps bullet points is the way to go...
1. Returned from a good but very busy week back in Durban. Managed to get Nicky's 18 month booster shots done. Rather relieved at this as he is, in fact, 25 months old and I had no idea he hadn't been boosted months ago. Thank heavens for the good records kept by his primary care nurse.
2. Managed to see my gynae. 'Nuff said. Except that he was very vocal on how Zuma's NHS plans are going to completely finish any semblance of decent healthcare in this country, which was scary. He reckons we have five to eight years before the collapse is final, however, which is a Good Thing, as we just bought a house and all and all. I am still not thrilled by the prospect of returning to the UK (our other home country) in the midst of a recession. Not to mention that they appear to have decided to introduce Big Brother style government on a scale which no doubt has Orwell rotating in his grave. What is up with that anyway??
3. Saw Kerryn, which was lovely, and ate Sprigs baked cheesecake on a chocolate brownie base, which was damn near orgasmic.
4. Got flu. Lovely Dr Pretorius couldn't be sure it it was swine flu or not, but recommended I not play rugby while suffering. I agreed to hold off on any urge to pick up a ball and run with it. Not hard, as I've never knowingly exercised voluntarily in my life. Left doctors surgery with a warm feeling - it's nice to be told your practice misses you :)
5. Worried about James and Jonathan getting tonsilitis. Due to family issues with strep, we now have to watch Jon like a hawk for possible signs of rheumatic fever recurrence. Praying no such signs are spotted in the next week or so, as we should then be out of the woods.
6. Shopped for clothes!! Bought lots and lots of lovely new things, and decided that, regardless of the fact that am now on a diet, needed to look good while dieting, so bought in the size most comfortable. After all, what else are belts for?
7. Indulged in huge bunches of jasmine everywhere. I love love love jasmine season.
8. Drove home (as a passenger) for 11.5 hours through Kwazulu-Natal, the old Transkei and the Eastern Cape, with two small boys in the back. Who were remarkably well behaved. And, we found, if you break the journey into two hour stages, you find the "are we in XXX yet?" questions far easier to deal with, as the name changes regularly.
9. Arrived back in Grahamstown and was gratified to find that we all felt strongly as though we were Home. After only five months of living here, we are really all settled and happy. It's a good feeling :D
10. Had three days of battering out some freelance assignments while flailing my arms wildly at assorted small boys yelling fruitlessly "I'm WORKING! I'll get you a hot chocolate/play Lego/put Mary Poppins on/find you the sticky tape LATER!"
11. Had eye surgery, just yesterday. Pterygium in right eye excised. leading to many family jokes about pterodactyls in my eye, and much excitement for the small boys have a "pirate!" for a mommy! I've already taken the patch off, however, and am alternating between opening and closing my eye while wearing my Good Sunglasses.
Whew... pretty much updated! And as soon as I get a moment I need to reboot this blog (after all, I don't think we're in Assagay anymore, Toto) and start posting more regularly. As soon as my eye is back to normal - see you then :)
Friday, August 28, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
All Change...
I am. I am still in February on here, crazy crazy. And so much has happened that I can't even sit and do an email to family about it because there's just Too Much to write about. So I can't possibly sit and do a bit by bit account here... I'll just jump in.
Grahamstown is lovely. But it is terribly terribly loud. Students don't do sotto voce. Their cars don't have silencers, or shock absorbers, or volume control. I was woken at 0300 yesterday by Ram Jam's Black Betty playing at full, FULL volume outside our bedroom window. It says much for my old Rhodian status (which is now a full fourteen years old) that I merely thought dreamily that the last time I heard that song was at the Vic, and then went back to sleep...
The Vic isn't here anymore. I knew that, in my head. I'd been told. But to wander past the scene of so much debauched jollity and find it a hideously over decorated chintzy 'grown-up' cocktail bar and restaurant was a bit of a shocker. Not nearly so much of a trauma though as finding out that the truly gorgeous Victorian house I rented the granny flat of (English, much?) is now the Kwikspar and Tops bottle store. I still haven't got over that. I went in to buy Coke and crisps, and could still see the wooden panelling and coving I remembered. It was a horrible experience. Everyone boycott Spar, please.
Other than that, it hasn't changed much. Even the students are, essentially, the same. I keep seeing people I was at Rhodes with, still wearing their tie-dyed Festival bought wraps and not wearing shoes. It always take me a second to realise that it's not actually the same person I knew. Just the same genre. It's lovely. And it wouldn't be nearly so noisy if we weren't living on campus, opposite the Great Field and the Union. So, one day, when our house in Durbs sells definitively, and we buy something here, we'll probably go back to being in a grown-up world. But I will NOT go back to the new Vic. Uhuh. No way. Yuck.
Grahamstown is lovely. But it is terribly terribly loud. Students don't do sotto voce. Their cars don't have silencers, or shock absorbers, or volume control. I was woken at 0300 yesterday by Ram Jam's Black Betty playing at full, FULL volume outside our bedroom window. It says much for my old Rhodian status (which is now a full fourteen years old) that I merely thought dreamily that the last time I heard that song was at the Vic, and then went back to sleep...
The Vic isn't here anymore. I knew that, in my head. I'd been told. But to wander past the scene of so much debauched jollity and find it a hideously over decorated chintzy 'grown-up' cocktail bar and restaurant was a bit of a shocker. Not nearly so much of a trauma though as finding out that the truly gorgeous Victorian house I rented the granny flat of (English, much?) is now the Kwikspar and Tops bottle store. I still haven't got over that. I went in to buy Coke and crisps, and could still see the wooden panelling and coving I remembered. It was a horrible experience. Everyone boycott Spar, please.
Other than that, it hasn't changed much. Even the students are, essentially, the same. I keep seeing people I was at Rhodes with, still wearing their tie-dyed Festival bought wraps and not wearing shoes. It always take me a second to realise that it's not actually the same person I knew. Just the same genre. It's lovely. And it wouldn't be nearly so noisy if we weren't living on campus, opposite the Great Field and the Union. So, one day, when our house in Durbs sells definitively, and we buy something here, we'll probably go back to being in a grown-up world. But I will NOT go back to the new Vic. Uhuh. No way. Yuck.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Photo Meme
I need to come back here, open it up, dust it off, switch the electricity back on and make a cup of tea in the unused kettle... but not today. Today I'm just here quicky to take part in a meme, a challenge from a Facebook Friend.
I hadn't really planned to post at all, but I went to the sixth folder of my photos, and looked at the sixth photo in that folder - and it was this one. This is my 96 year old Granny, holding my 10 month old son. My Dad and I are the other two people in the photo. Four generations of us, all together.
Granny died last year; this was the only time she ever met James. But it was an auspicious occasion, and I'm so glad she did. Therefore I reckon this meme is serendipitous; it's a good memory to revisit.
I'll be back soon...
Monday, January 5, 2009
New Beginnings (Again)
The years do seem to roll around rather fast these days, don't they? I remember when Christmas was a golden jewel, as inaccessible as China, and the joyful anticipation which began to build up from the end of November. School helped, of course, with Carol Services and Prizegivings and that great week after the exams were finished where we pretty much did what we wanted and got ready for the school to be opened up to parents on the last day... Then there was the trip away to the coast, to my grandparents (I grew up in Johannesburg, 12 hours drive away from where I was born in Port Elizabeth), the excitement of meeting up with cousins perhaps not seen for a year, the waking up on Christmas morning to presents and family and food food food. The holiday at Natures Valley afterwards, with sea and sun and sand and the New Year's party on the beach...
Now I'm an adult, the season seems to sneak up on me rather abruptly. I rush about getting presents, and before I know it, it's almost Twelfth Night, and time for the tree to come down. Jamie did have a concert at play school this year, which brought the season into focus. Of course, he refused to sing, but then he is only three. And we have had a marvellous Christmas break, with suprise visits from my sister and her husband (based in the UK) and a few wonderful days up the North Coast with family.
Soooo, this is not a complaining post, at all at all. I'm just thinking about the nature of new beginnings, and how we break our time into meaningful parts. Somehow, although I'm 36 years old, this time of year always feels as though it should be accompanied by the smell of new pencils and crisp paper. I crave textbooks and diaries, and new shoes. I want to hear stories of holidays away, of conquests made, resolutions undertaken and already broken. 2008 has ticked over into 2009, and twelve new months stretch ahead. And now that I no longer have a context around me which changes, now that I need to make the changes for myself, well, somewhere, I need to tap a well of willpower and corral the muse and make the changes.
It's shaping up to be a momentous year all round. 2008 was one of those years where you watch in bemusement as edifices crumble and fall and, in the rubble, new bricks and blocks arise, heralding new orders, new shapes to the ordered universe, new paradigms shifting into view. 2009 may just be the year where many of those blocks settle into place, and there we are - somewhere new. I'm afraid of change (isn't everybody? Really?) but I see this happening on both a personal level and, spreading outwards, within South Africa and the wider world. When 2009 rolls over into 2010, the view from where we stand may be quite different, and I'd like to be ready for the change.
Because if one thing is certain, it is that the years go by faster and faster, and that if you don't grab them by the scruff and live them, you won't get them back. So, Happy 2009, and here's to positive change and open minds and all those good things. It's going to be a rollercoaster.
Now I'm an adult, the season seems to sneak up on me rather abruptly. I rush about getting presents, and before I know it, it's almost Twelfth Night, and time for the tree to come down. Jamie did have a concert at play school this year, which brought the season into focus. Of course, he refused to sing, but then he is only three. And we have had a marvellous Christmas break, with suprise visits from my sister and her husband (based in the UK) and a few wonderful days up the North Coast with family.
Soooo, this is not a complaining post, at all at all. I'm just thinking about the nature of new beginnings, and how we break our time into meaningful parts. Somehow, although I'm 36 years old, this time of year always feels as though it should be accompanied by the smell of new pencils and crisp paper. I crave textbooks and diaries, and new shoes. I want to hear stories of holidays away, of conquests made, resolutions undertaken and already broken. 2008 has ticked over into 2009, and twelve new months stretch ahead. And now that I no longer have a context around me which changes, now that I need to make the changes for myself, well, somewhere, I need to tap a well of willpower and corral the muse and make the changes.
It's shaping up to be a momentous year all round. 2008 was one of those years where you watch in bemusement as edifices crumble and fall and, in the rubble, new bricks and blocks arise, heralding new orders, new shapes to the ordered universe, new paradigms shifting into view. 2009 may just be the year where many of those blocks settle into place, and there we are - somewhere new. I'm afraid of change (isn't everybody? Really?) but I see this happening on both a personal level and, spreading outwards, within South Africa and the wider world. When 2009 rolls over into 2010, the view from where we stand may be quite different, and I'd like to be ready for the change.
Because if one thing is certain, it is that the years go by faster and faster, and that if you don't grab them by the scruff and live them, you won't get them back. So, Happy 2009, and here's to positive change and open minds and all those good things. It's going to be a rollercoaster.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
I have just spent the last hour wading through yards of information on Masters Degrees, on various university websites. My brain is a little boggled. Since I did my Honours (in 1994) a vast amount has changed out there, up to and including the way a university degree is structured. All I want is a clear statement telling me what is offered and how to apply. Would be good if it said how I could tell if I was eligible too...
I am finally at a point in my life where I think I could go back to study again. I would so love to actually have a professional qualification and be able to do something constructive with my life and time. Don't get me wrong; being a mother is a very constructive job and it sure takes up a lot of time, but as we don't plan on having any more children, pretty soon I'm going to need to be something more. I'd like that to be somehow connected with my degree, which was in Psychology. (And in Journalism, but I never went to any of the lectures. Shame on me). I finally feel old enough and weathered enough to be able to carry out the role of psychologist (hmm. Does that immediately disqualify me from being one?? Interesting thought) and if I could just figure out what exactly I'm applying for, and how to do it, well, I'll be on my way.
Wish me luck.
I am finally at a point in my life where I think I could go back to study again. I would so love to actually have a professional qualification and be able to do something constructive with my life and time. Don't get me wrong; being a mother is a very constructive job and it sure takes up a lot of time, but as we don't plan on having any more children, pretty soon I'm going to need to be something more. I'd like that to be somehow connected with my degree, which was in Psychology. (And in Journalism, but I never went to any of the lectures. Shame on me). I finally feel old enough and weathered enough to be able to carry out the role of psychologist (hmm. Does that immediately disqualify me from being one?? Interesting thought) and if I could just figure out what exactly I'm applying for, and how to do it, well, I'll be on my way.
Wish me luck.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Ding Dong, the Muse is Dead
Oh dear. I have been overcome by the mundaneity of everyday life, and cannot think of a single interesting thing to say to anyone. Life feels like an endless round of rushing about lately!
I am looking forward to Christmas (which is tomorrow!) and then after that I need to get my brain into New Year mode. I don't believe in resolutions as such, but I find my mind re-evaluating everything at this time of the year, and I don't think this year will be any different.
Hopefully that will kickstart the muses!
I am looking forward to Christmas (which is tomorrow!) and then after that I need to get my brain into New Year mode. I don't believe in resolutions as such, but I find my mind re-evaluating everything at this time of the year, and I don't think this year will be any different.
Hopefully that will kickstart the muses!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Festive Sevens
Ohhh, Mud tagged me about a week ago, and it's taken me this long to do... I've been adding bits as and when, but I'm afraid this reveals what a boring person I am! Oh dear. Well, here goes..
7 Things I Must Do Before My Parents Arrive
We'll be going to them... but the principle holds true, I think.
Buy presents for them
Buy last presents for kids. Jamie has two and Nicky, so far, only one. My Virgo soul rebels at the unfairness of it, although I doubt Nicky will notice.
Buy a present for my husband! Only he won't tell me anything he wants and as his birthday is at the end of October, I feel like I already got him everything. Besides, the stuff I'd like to get him would necessitate mortgaging the house.
Wrap the presents. This is not as easy as it sounds as I have a three year
old and an 18 month old trying to get in on the action. They LURVE sellotape.
Make sure I remember to open all the doors on the Advent Calendar,
preferably day by day rather than 10 days in a row. Too much chocolate.
(Too much chocolate for a three year old and an 18 month old, that is. There is no such thing as too much chocolate when you're a 36 year old Mommy. Trust me on this.)
Go to the dentist. Convulsive shiver. Do not admit to ANY chocolate eating while there.
Host a braai for my husbands computer group. Oh, and remember to actually send out invites to it so that people show up.
7 Things I've been Doing Instead Of Preparing For Christmas
Having new pool pump installed
Having new buit in cupboards built in our bedroom. Oh, I love my new cupboards!! I feel so grown up all of a sudden!
Having a new loo put into the guest bathroom after the old one Stopped Working.
Capitals deserved.
Having new satellite installation thingie installed over the granny flat
Settling new tenants into the granny flat
Frantically arranging playdates for three year old bored out of his mind now
playschool has finished.
Watching Stargate Sg-1 Season 8, 9 and 10 on DVD. Tee hee.
7 Things I Can't Do This Christmas
Go for a walk wrapped up in a coat and scarf
Pick holly from the garden
Eat turkey and/or goose
Go to Midnight Mass and the preceding Carol Service (2330 with toddlers?? Are
you nuts??)
Sleep in!!!
Spend it with everyone I'd like to. Thank heavens for email, Facebook and VOIP phones, hey?
7 Christmas Wishes
For my little family to be safe, secure, happy and healthy for the year to
come.
Less political intimidation and violence than expected in the run up to our
elections here
For my very special sister in law to have the baby she so desperately wants
For the economic situation across the world to stabilize
And, purely selfishly, for Nicky to be out of nappies by next Christmas!
That's only five. I find wishing difficult.
7 Things I Say As Christmas Approaches
What? Only TEN days to go??
No, I have no idea what I want :-(
I MUST get a Christmas tree...
Heavens, we've forgotten to open the last five days on the Advent Calendars!
Christmas is when Jesus was born, so Father Christmas brings us presents to
celebrate. (Well, I'm not Catholic and no-one has ever given me a manual on
raising Catholic children. I'm making it up as I go along!!!)
No, Nicky's dashboard is for Christmas - he can't have it now! Share yours!!
Good Lord, I'm tired...
I must must must get to the shops and buy presents for you all...
PLEASE try and think of just one thing you'd like???
7 Celebrities I'd Invite For Christmas Dinner
Hugh Jackman. Self explanatory
The entire cast of SG-1. I've just finished watching the box set. Besides, they look like fun people :-)
Richard Dean Anderson on his own, if the rest of the cast couldn't make it. Again, self explanatory. Can I keep him??? Please????
I've been racking my brain to think of a political type person to invite, but actually, I don't want any of them. I don't feel like fighting at Christmas time. I just want fun conversation and eye candy. Beside, if the whole cast comes, that's my seven.
7 Favourite Festive Foods
Hmmm. I have favourite Southern and favourite Northern festive foods. An amalgam, then...
Mince pies (Northern. Too hot in SA)
My Mom's ham (Southern)
Goose (Northern)
Marinated Mushrooms (very Southern)
Three Bean Salad (ditto)
Trifle (North and South)
Ginger Wine !!! Does it count as a food?
7 Other Bloggers Who Can Play Festive Seven (if they have the time)!
Oooh, I don't have seven - I think everybody has been tagged already. BUT possibly
Zinkwazi Reflections
Cat-a-tonic
7 Things I Must Do Before My Parents Arrive
We'll be going to them... but the principle holds true, I think.
Buy presents for them
Buy last presents for kids. Jamie has two and Nicky, so far, only one. My Virgo soul rebels at the unfairness of it, although I doubt Nicky will notice.
Buy a present for my husband! Only he won't tell me anything he wants and as his birthday is at the end of October, I feel like I already got him everything. Besides, the stuff I'd like to get him would necessitate mortgaging the house.
Wrap the presents. This is not as easy as it sounds as I have a three year
old and an 18 month old trying to get in on the action. They LURVE sellotape.
Make sure I remember to open all the doors on the Advent Calendar,
preferably day by day rather than 10 days in a row. Too much chocolate.
(Too much chocolate for a three year old and an 18 month old, that is. There is no such thing as too much chocolate when you're a 36 year old Mommy. Trust me on this.)
Go to the dentist. Convulsive shiver. Do not admit to ANY chocolate eating while there.
Host a braai for my husbands computer group. Oh, and remember to actually send out invites to it so that people show up.
7 Things I've been Doing Instead Of Preparing For Christmas
Having new pool pump installed
Having new buit in cupboards built in our bedroom. Oh, I love my new cupboards!! I feel so grown up all of a sudden!
Having a new loo put into the guest bathroom after the old one Stopped Working.
Capitals deserved.
Having new satellite installation thingie installed over the granny flat
Settling new tenants into the granny flat
Frantically arranging playdates for three year old bored out of his mind now
playschool has finished.
Watching Stargate Sg-1 Season 8, 9 and 10 on DVD. Tee hee.
7 Things I Can't Do This Christmas
Go for a walk wrapped up in a coat and scarf
Pick holly from the garden
Eat turkey and/or goose
Go to Midnight Mass and the preceding Carol Service (2330 with toddlers?? Are
you nuts??)
Sleep in!!!
Spend it with everyone I'd like to. Thank heavens for email, Facebook and VOIP phones, hey?
7 Christmas Wishes
For my little family to be safe, secure, happy and healthy for the year to
come.
Less political intimidation and violence than expected in the run up to our
elections here
For my very special sister in law to have the baby she so desperately wants
For the economic situation across the world to stabilize
And, purely selfishly, for Nicky to be out of nappies by next Christmas!
That's only five. I find wishing difficult.
7 Things I Say As Christmas Approaches
What? Only TEN days to go??
No, I have no idea what I want :-(
I MUST get a Christmas tree...
Heavens, we've forgotten to open the last five days on the Advent Calendars!
Christmas is when Jesus was born, so Father Christmas brings us presents to
celebrate. (Well, I'm not Catholic and no-one has ever given me a manual on
raising Catholic children. I'm making it up as I go along!!!)
No, Nicky's dashboard is for Christmas - he can't have it now! Share yours!!
Good Lord, I'm tired...
I must must must get to the shops and buy presents for you all...
PLEASE try and think of just one thing you'd like???
7 Celebrities I'd Invite For Christmas Dinner
Hugh Jackman. Self explanatory
The entire cast of SG-1. I've just finished watching the box set. Besides, they look like fun people :-)
Richard Dean Anderson on his own, if the rest of the cast couldn't make it. Again, self explanatory. Can I keep him??? Please????
I've been racking my brain to think of a political type person to invite, but actually, I don't want any of them. I don't feel like fighting at Christmas time. I just want fun conversation and eye candy. Beside, if the whole cast comes, that's my seven.
7 Favourite Festive Foods
Hmmm. I have favourite Southern and favourite Northern festive foods. An amalgam, then...
Mince pies (Northern. Too hot in SA)
My Mom's ham (Southern)
Goose (Northern)
Marinated Mushrooms (very Southern)
Three Bean Salad (ditto)
Trifle (North and South)
Ginger Wine !!! Does it count as a food?
7 Other Bloggers Who Can Play Festive Seven (if they have the time)!
Oooh, I don't have seven - I think everybody has been tagged already. BUT possibly
Zinkwazi Reflections
Cat-a-tonic
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