Hello everyone - I'm back!

I am back at work as from Monday, 11th Jan. and greeted with a bunch of problems from owners and tenants, which I am plowing through slowly.

Christmas was a mixed bag of family fun and feuds. Usual story for our family.

In a nutshell: my kids and my ex had a major fight about Robynne leaving Jhb at night with her brothers on the 7-hour trip to Durban. They insisted on leaving and the fight turned ugly. They eventually arrived at 5.30am the next day with my ex following 2 days later, fully loaded with his other 2 kids, their mommy, the dog and the 3 bunnies. Relations were strained over the festivities, with the fight not being resolved during this period. Robynne and Dael returned to Jhb on 2nd Jan. early in the morning, with my ex leaving later on at 9am. The kids were in Jhb before their dad and used the opportunity to remove some of Robynne's stuff from her dad's house. She is staying temporarily in a rented room before moving to share accommodation with her friend. Dael is now back in Durban with me, after I bought a bus ticket for his return. It will probably take a while before friendly relationships are restored to any degree but hopefully with her living away from family, she will be able to get her life on an even keel.

Dael has been walking town this week with a friend who has just finished Matric, looking for jobs everywhere. No luck so far but they haven't given up.

Bradley started high school today after attending his orientation morning yesterday. He was a little apprehensive this morning at the anticipation of the older kids being at the school today. He has been very brave though not requiring me to go in with him at all, a total opposite of how scared and clingy he was when he started primary school. I just drop him off and in he goes. His new clothes are baggy on him as they are a little big but he will soon grow into them at the rate he is springing up. He decided to wear one of the second hand slightly offwhite shirts that we were kindly given by a lady from my work whose son has just finished at the school, instead of his sparkling white shirt that he wore yesterday. Probably a ploy to look like he has been at the school for a while instead of being a newbie!

I went for my mammogram on the 30th December, as arranged. What an experience. Anybody who has been for one knows what I am talking about. When you don't think your breasts can be squashed any flatter they squash them some more. Luckily I had some fruit juice in my bag because after 5 plates, I started to feel a little faint. I only have small mammories so with all the squashing, I could hardly breathe. The radiographer checked the xrays and then decided to conduct an ultrasound on my right breast as he hadn't checked that side before. As expected, the right side also has some cysts but otherwise the mammograms showed up clear with no tumours. Thank God! I now have to return on the 19th Jan. to see a surgical outpatients doc. for some medication to be used when necessary. I have thankfully also had no trouble with lumps over the Christmas period.

I am glad to be back amongst all my online friends and looking forward to reading all about what everyone has been up to in the last 3 weeks.