Truth is stranger than fiction

2012 is it? Okay, so here goes....

2012-01-06T01:03:00.000-08:00

First of all, wishing everyone a belated but VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR and thanks for reading my posts, I appreciate each and every one of you. Wishing you a Great and POSITIVE 2012, the underlined word being my word for 2012. My thanks to Lynette of A Work in Progress for providing the inspiration to choose my word for 2012.

On a very positive note, I have finally become employed, having completed my first day at my new job today. After having gone for many interviews in person and having conducted several telephonically, to no avail, this position was finalised very quickly. I went for an interview with the consultant last Wednesday, with the employer on Thursday, the decision to employ me was also finalised on Thursday, received my Offer of Employment on Friday and started working on Monday, chip chop and its done.

Okay, as with all positions, today was spent feeling really stupid as I didn't know anything and made a big stuff up with the big boss when I didn't record a phone message properly (yes, switchboard is part of the job). There are a lot of bitsy details to learn. The lady I am replacing is busy training me and it was stressful but I am gainfully employed. So that is a positive start to the year.

More later.....

Momcat xx

The world is turning but I'm standing still..

2011-12-21T23:47:00.000-08:00

...and what a strange feeling this is! Its the first time since I've been working that I haven't had any money to buy presents (or anything other than food for my animals). Robynne and boyfriend haven't got money other than for necessities and all around us - jingle, sparkle and manic spend, spend, spend!

I went through to Sandton for an interview yesterday and afterwards rather wished I hadn't. Firstly it was at Sandton City itself in a cafe-style restaurant off Nelson Mandela Square. It was a late appointment (3pm). I found my way there okay because I have been to the area for a previous appointment but after I entered the parkade it was round and round, unable to find a parking. Eventually about 15 mins later, I did find one and then after memorising where my car was parked, entered the glittering and expensive world of Sandton City shopping centre, feeling rather like a refugee. I wandered through, not really knowing where I was going. Thank goodness for security guards as they helped to point me in the right direction. The overhead direction boards also helped and eventually I wandered out into Nelson Mandela Square amid the bold, the beautiful and financially well-endowed patrons, eating lunch at one of the multitude of eateries or snapping photos or just mingling and absorbing the atmosphere.

I found the cafe (I'm definitely getting good at finding places) and sat waiting for my turn to be interviewed as the interviewer was still busy with a prior interview. While I was waiting another interviewee arrived and jumped the queue, so I waited again. I think she had booked about 3 people for the same time. After a sketchy interview where I was advised that if I made the shortlist I would have to attend a full day of testing, whereafter if I 'passed' I would be given a one week contract and then whereafter I would be given a one month contract. I mean come on. Anyway, 'interview' over, I zoomed off, keen to leave the hyped-up bedlam of the shopping centre and ... got a bit lost trying to find my way back to the carpark entrance. I texted Robynne that I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs! Thanks to directions from another helpful security guard I eventually wandered out at the parking, paid and found the closest exit outa there! Well, the traffic started at the downramp to the street. I eventually got out and found my way to Sandton Drive and just sat and sat. Sandton traffic! As we crawled along there were police with rifles and dark glasses on the side of the road as well as army guys on the centre island, also with guns, Scary! Further along a BIG roadblock, with a minibus full of commuters being grilled by the police. Even further along on the other side to catch traffic coming up into Sandton, an identical roadblock, pulling off regular cars. At least on my side they were waving all the 'ordinary' cars through. I was so hot as Robynne's boyfriend's car's drivers side window doesn't open and I was overdressed for the heat in my interview clothes.

Mental note: No more 'bulls**t interviews at least until the silly season is over.

So I'm on the plot looking after the animals and cleaning house and not really feeling very Christmassy at all. Bradley has gone down to Natal for Christmas. He went with his father and their family, not telling me at all that they were going. He turns 16 on Christmas Day but I can't get him a present and I will probably not even see him. I don't think he cares...

Dael is very busy at work and only gets off on Christmas Day. I don't think he will even have time to hit the shops. My parents are not too happy that their family is far away but I know Dael will pop in there and they have my brother. Its not really the same, I know.

I will spend Christmas with Robynne and Marco, her boyfriend. We will cook a nice lunch, exchange some small gifts, phone our family, and enjoy the antics of the puppies and kitties.

We do what we have to do, I guess.

Selling myself...

2011-12-01T04:38:00.000-08:00

its easier to sell my knitted toys! Seriously, I've been for interviews a few weeks back and never heard anything more. The one job where I've actually been for a second interview went like this: First drive through to Parktown for an interview with the HR consultant. This went very well. Next about a week later, telephonic interview with the employer's HR guy. This also went very well. Thirdly, drive through to Randburg for an interview with the lady director. She was rushed and I wasn't 100% happy with the interview because she seemed to be looking for an accounts orientated person rather than an admin person. Next I would need to go for an interview with the other two directors. I think its easier to get married!

Hello, this isn't rocket science people. I'm an intelligent experienced administrator/secretary - Employ me already!

Apart from my neverending quest to find employment, Robynne and I have been researching craft markets on the internet. I brought a few items up from Durban with me but with space constraints, left most of my toys behind. My mom has sold a few but is redistributing any money to Dael who is housesitting our house and trying to feed himself and a cat and a dog. Lots of responsibility for a young man not used to living on his own.

Last weekend, we took a spot at the Olivedale Library at their craft market. Our table was a bit sparse but we made almost R200 in sales, the weather was excellent, people were friendly, we had our snacks and we sat and had mom and daughter time and knitted away at our projects. Very enjoyable. The next market we are booking for is the Christmas Craft Market out at Value Faire Shopping Centre on Saturday, 10th December and we will be there between 9am and 3pm. I am looking forward to it because its also a way of getting out and about, getting to know different areas and meeting new people.

Back on the subject of Dael, I applied for a position on his behalf since I've been up here in Jhb. The job was entitled Junior Motorbike Technician and he went for an interview and never heard back. He asked me to find out if the people were still considering him for the position and they replied asking him to come in for another interview. And he's been taken on board. Obviously working a probation period while the other guy who hes replacing is working out his notice. But Dael says this guy just sweeps and mops and plays on his phone the whole day. While Dael on the other hand is rewiring bikes and stripping parts and basically slogging his buns off! But its something he enjoys so I've no doubt he will prove his worth.

My Christmas wish is for my future to be secured before the end of the year and hopefully for employment to start but I know it is a difficult time of the year. In the meantime I am staying industrious and building up my stock of toys, looking after kitties and doggies, doing a lot of housework, applying for jobs and going for interviews, basically just taking one day at a time. My future is in God's hands.

More later.

Momcat xx

Two weeks in Jozi under my belt...

2011-11-18T20:39:00.001-08:00

So what have I been doing for the past two weeks..Obviously not blogging. But I have been scouring the internet for work and I have been for a couple of interviews. Now bearing in mind that I'm used to driving short distances in a small town. But the first interview I went to with a consultant was in Centurion of all places. I didn't sleep well the night before because the idea was to drive Robynne's little car (which I'm not used to) and use the Garmaps application on her Blackberry (also not used to) to find my way, all on my own. Scary! However, not being one to back down from something scary, I ventured forth and after dropping Robynne at work in Midrand, hit the road. Now the idea with the GPS is not to try and overthink the whole thing. A couple of times I would see a signboard which I was sure was directing me to where I should be but the GPS would be directing me elsewhere. Its not like me to hand over the control to someone/something else so this was a learning curve for me, haha. Anyway I reached my destination after a few redirects and u-turns and actually having to ask someone where I should be after the GPS directed me one block away from my destination. I'm rather proud of my achievement. And then this week I went in the other direction to Parktown. As an old hand at using the Garmin by this stage, I actually relaxed and enjoyed the tour rather than be worried about where I was being sent to. Both interviews with consultants went off really well but I'm still waiting to hear if they will become interviews with potential employers. In the meantime, time marches on, money getting used up and the last time I had absolutely no money was when Bradley was a baby and I was unemployed. So almost 16 years ago. Not a state I want to be in again for very long, I assure you!

On the home front, I am cleaning Robynne's house every day, keeping busy. She lives on a plot which entails a short drive down a stretch of bumpy dirt road to enter or exit the area. Its a security estate so really safe but still with a bit of nature surrounding the house. Almost like an oasis in the middle of the busy outside world. Its ideal for us as Robynne has a lot of dogs and with my cats, two chickens and two bunnies, its like a farmyard here. The neighbours have chickens and ducks, horses and donkeys so a rural feel to the place. The challenge has been getting all kitties settled and relaxed and its as well I wasn't rushing out to work when I first got here as I think some of the cats might have caught the first bus back to Durban!l. As it is everyone seems to be settling and relaxing well. I brought up a sick cat from Durban, Charlie, my big alpha male who developed a strange growth on his neck a few months ago and despite having the whole thing cleaned out, it grew back and showed no signs of healing. Anyway, I was just giving him palliative care and treating symptomatically. On Monday, he went downhill very drastically and I was with him stroking him and talking to him when he passed away. So he is now buried under a tree in Robynne's garden. He was a part of our family for almost 9 years. We also have kittens thanks to my two mommies who never got spayed yet, and the one mommy has been a less than sterling mom. So my time has been cut out.

I'm just taking one day at a time at the moment. Some days are good, some are bad. The weather is always good. I hear its just permanently raining in Durban so I'm not missing that. Trying to stay positive and upbeat. And raring to get moving and get working because I feel like the world is leaving me behind. I am nevertheless extremely grateful to my family for all their help and support and I know the right position is waiting out there for me.

Happy Saturday.

Momcat xx

Wow, Life changes fast!

2011-11-07T00:21:00.000-08:00

So the job I started in October didnt work out. The one set of people I was working for turned out to be people with some serious issues and they manipulated and intimidated the other set of people who I was getting along with fine into terminating my contract.

So I decided not to keep flogging the dying employment donkey in the area where I lived. I phoned my daughter in Gauteng and she offered to come and fetch me so that I can look for employment in Gauteng. So I'm now in Gauteng! Northriding to be exact. I dont have my own transport at present as I had to leave my old car in Durban where Dael is currently trying to sort out the brakes. However, Robynne is working in Midrand and her boyfriend works in Randburg so that would be the range of areas in which I could work and just share tranport until I can sort out my own transport again.

If anyone knows of a secretarial/personal assistant/administration position available in those areas, please could you refer me. I have been working in those fields for 20 years plus and am really eager to get stuck into a challenging position again.

I only arrived in Gauteng last night. The kids came down on Saturday afternoon, stayed over and we loaded my cats and clothes and hit the road again. So hold on Jhb, here I come!

Momcat xx

I did it!

2011-09-17T02:42:00.000-07:00

I signed the letter of offer from the new company and handed in my notice yesterday. I will work out my notice in the two weeks until the end of September and start with my new employer on the 3rd of October.

Okay the salary is not a whole lot better than where I'm currently working but it ticks a lot of the boxes I require in a work environment i.e. close to home, challenging work environment, amenable people and basically enough to live on, if not luxuriously, at least I can pay my bills. It is a new position so I will have to grow into it and make myself indispensable.

I don't usually leave a particular job after just six months but I have made myself a promise, after staying in jobs for long periods of time, generally not less than 3 years and after being retrenched from my last position after six years with the company, that I will not stay patiently and unhappily anywhere where the cons start to outweigh the pros. I will empower myself by moving on. The alternative is just to swallow your unhappiness and irritation and develop a stress-related illness. I already have had one of those and I'm not going to allow anyone or anything to aggravate my stress levels anymore any longer than I have to.

So wish me the patience of Job for the next two weeks as I work out my notice and a better environment at my new workplace.

xx Momcat

Optical Illusions () () ()

2011-09-14T02:11:00.000-07:00

Or maybe its just because I have a lot more time to think these days. Living alone with just kitties and dog for company, I do tend to spend a lot more time on internal conversations and maybe I'm thinking myself into craziness!! Just kidding....

Driving along a local road, my eye caught sight of something flying into the air in the direction of the road. It gave me a start and in that split second I thought it was a monkey dashing towards my car and I jerked the steering wheel which caused the car to veer a bit. And then I processed what had ACTUALLY been flying into the air, which ........was a spadeful of sand from the spade of a workman standing in a trench.

I'll have to watch these optical illusions carefully. They could cause me to end up in a ditch myself!

2011-09-12T00:43:00.000-07:00

Well here I am again. This has been a year of not being around. The office where I work has a very limited amount of Internet cap and I have to be careful what I do with it.

Just to briefly bring everyone up to date. I am just about to move work again. An interview that I went for last year just after I returned home from taking Bradley to Jhb didn't pan out and they took back the lady that previously worked in that position. Now 10 months later, they are expanding and remembered me and it looks like it might work out this time.

I have been working in this real estate office for 5 months now and I am getting bored. Small companies where I cannot create my own work are not for me. I have to wait for work to come from the agents and now that I know my way around there is no challenge. I also just finished an afternoon temp job at a vet's office just up the road and learned a few new skills but I don't like to be in an environment where pets are put to sleep. This new position will be a training environment which promises to be very challenging, coming in at the start of a new partnership and I can build up my role in the business which I enjoy doing. And bonus its also close to home. I would be working in two different offices, three days in the office of the new partner and two days in the offices of the original person who interviewed me so no chance of getting bored with my surroundings.

On the home front, Dael is in Jhb now looking for work up there so now I'm all alone with the furry ones. I am focusing on getting up to date with the remaining spays and neuters of the younger animals which I wasn't able to do with the kids at home. Its not always easy and preys on my mind that the kids are not with me any more. Its like one day you are a mom with all the responsibilities that go with that and the next you have nothing to do. Empty nest syndrome sucks! I'm focusing on getting my income and my debts sorted out now though so that when the kids need me again, I will have everything in order and be ready for them again. I am also planning on starting my Saturday afternoon hikes again and am trying to persuade my brother to go with me. He is not keen though and comes up with excuses. It would be good for him though and my vehicle is not going to get me to the hikes based further away. I will start with the local hikes though and get my fitness levels up again. The novelty of sitting at home has long since worn off.

Enough for now before it turns into a book. Will definitely speak again soon!

XX Momcat

I'm connected again.

2011-04-16T00:50:00.000-07:00

Well hello there! I'm still alive and very definitely kicking.

Lots of news. I'm employed again and in a half-day position this time. I will be working from 8am until 1pm and alternate Saturdays from 8am until 12 noon, which is why I'm blogging now.

My new half day employed status will give me time to continue with my knitting and also to build my own business. I have joined a multi-level marketing company, GNLD and am a distributor for them. I am using some of their excellent cleaning range in my own home having swapped their environmentally friendly products for the toxic products which I was previously using. I am also using some of their nutritional supplements and can report that my health is improved. I am now headache resistant where I used to suffer from headaches for weeks at a time and have not picked up any of the change of season bugs that are plaguing many around me at the moment. I have signed up Robynne under me so far (my first downline) and it is becoming a habit to speak to people about this fantastic business opportunity. So all good there.

Unfortunately, I lost one of my beloved kitties again. I think he was startled by an unexpected visitor, a friend of Dael's who turned up early one morning and he disappeared from my garden. A day later I was searching for him and shockingly saw his mangled body just lying in my neighbours front yard. His dogs (4 of them) had killed my kitty. I climbed their fence fully prepared to kill dogs if necessary and retrieved him and Dael buried him in one of his favourite sleeping spots. A huge loss because this kitty was full of character and a gorgeous chap. I still feel his loss. His older sister, Lovey, from Kittykie's first litter unfortunately got in the family way (still need to get her fixed) and gave birth to two ginger kittens, a boy and a girl that I have named Socks (the boy) for his cute white feet and Bunny (the girl) who is a terror with a loud voice.

Dael is not working anymore. The firm he was working for did not come through with all their magnificent promises of more money after the probation period and on achievement of his licence and Dael decided to leave them forthwith. So he is again looking for the elusive 'perfect job'.

Signing off now because I don't want to abuse the internet connection at my new job but glad to be back with you all again.

Grrr - No more internet after today!

2011-02-02T00:53:00.000-08:00

And just when I've got into the swing of blogging more frequently!

Yesterday, the manager at my previous employers, who I have been dealing with phoned me to say that he has resigned and would also be leaving the company and since he is under the impression that there is not much more to be done by me with the various leftover work issues which I have still been dealing with, he was going to advise the IT department to collect the computer and internet and phone.

Today, the IT department phones me to arrange to come through and collect said equipment!

So I will be kind of out of contact unless I make an effort to go through to an internet cafe and go online that way. So frustrating!

Also no way of being in contact with prospective employers other than by phone but nothing to be done. I will just have to grin and bear it.

If you don't hear from me too often you will know its not because I'm avoiding you but because I have been cut off from my internet lifeline.

Speak to you all soon.

Momcat xxxx

Sixth Sense fully operational.

2011-01-31T05:01:00.000-08:00

This morning, Dael was still tired on waking and dawdled getting ready for work. As he was sitting on his motorbike, he checked his petrol which was very low and said to me that he didn't even feel like going to work. I eventually said "Come On Dael" and he galvanized himself into action. Soon after he left though I started feeling a sense of foreboding, that maybe I should have left him to make his own decision about going or staying. He wasn't on mxit for me to ask if everything was okay and that he had got to work fine. I restrained myself from phoning him during the morning while he was working but I had the feeling that I had to get in touch with him.

So at 1.15pm when I knew he would be at lunch, I phoned. He was walking back from the shop where he had gone to buy lunch but he said it was okay to talk. He was fine but by the way there had been a fire in the workshop that morning.

A vehicle that the team had been working on had caught fire while they were running it to test the engine. Something to do with petrol that had spilled or leaked in the boot and an electrical wire that caused a spark and whoosh a big flame had gone up. Apparently all the other workers had rushed out of the way, not knowing what to do. There are apparently fire extinguishers but they didn't know how to use them. Dael grabbed an extinguisher and began to use it to put out the fire, not missing a beat. Then the spraypainter grabbed another extinguisher and also joined in and they put out the flames, averting a disaster.

Dael says he breathed in some of the white powder from the extinguisher and this was causing a burning sensation in the back of his throat. I just hope there are no side effects from this. I was very proud of him for reacting to decisively and bravely. I said to him that now he knows that he will react well in an emergency. He showed leadership qualities. I hope his employers are grateful that a disaster was averted by Dael. I have watched so many programs on tv recently which show how fast a fire can spread, especially where there are a lot of flammable substances, literally within minutes or seconds.

Never disregard your sixth sense or any feeling that you have to contact someone and speak to them.

My two cents worth on......

2011-01-30T01:34:00.000-08:00

Hoarding.... As in collecting items which other people might view as useless or junk but which you regard as useful and necessary and can't bear to part with.

I have been watching a tv programme on satellite tv which is on every day and find it absolutely amazing and surreal how people get trapped in this cycle of collecting material items and burying themselves in these items. Even the messiest and untidiest of us would feel a lot better about our homes and our lives after watching a few of these episodes.

However, each and every one of us has a couple of boxes of clutter and disorganisation which we don't need and can't get rid of. This is a common human condition which some people have taken to the extreme, almost associating inanimate objects with human status.

I am prepared to admit that I have a little bit of the hoarder which wars with the organiser in me that has no problem throwing things away. I will hold onto items in the hope that they will be used and eventually will get the heck in with keeping that particular item or a lot of items and chuck, chuck, chuck. I usually take advantage of the chucking mood and clean out a few different areas. I am sometimes sorry afterwards but once it is fait accompli there's no bringing an item back.

Okay so here are my collecting areas. I have a LARGE box of baby clothes including receiving blankets (which are like gold to me). These are being kept for my grandchildren. I will not give those away. Then there are Brad's last toys before he stopped playing with them. I cant just give them away because they are still good and there are still children in the family. My linen cupboard. I have a lot of little cloths and items which my mother has thrown out. I have been keeping these for a long time in case they become useful. Ditto my crockery cupboard. Ditto my clothes cupboard. I had quite a bit of paper stationery, book covers and the like, before my cat took the decision out of my hands and pee'd on everything, necessitating the big chuck out of that. Now by no means do I have anything like the problem you would see on the programme Hoarders but We All Do It. I think if we are honest with ourselves, we are afraid that once we thin out everything we don't use we will be afraid at how little of our many items we actually use regularly!

Just remember, material clutter makes our minds cluttered and the new years resolution of many of us is to thin out our collected clutter. And maybe our lives will be able to function in a more organised and calm manner too.

So be honest, what have you been collecting or holding on to for many years that is of no use to you and not used by you at all. You just feel that it is or could be useful in the future.

I seem to have the floor.

2011-01-26T08:29:00.000-08:00

I keep checking and a lot of bloggers whose musings I follow seem to be in Winter hibernation at the moment while I have an urge to write. I guess this means I'm not a bear after all!

I have propped the curtain open so that I can glance to my left as I type and see clear across the tops of the trees in the valley below my house to the sea on the horizon. The weather is still overcast but not raining and it has cleared enough for the view to be visible. I very seldom go to the beach and have not swum in the ocean for a long time but I love being able to see it from my house. I live at the coast. Its great.

I had a very positive meeting with a consultant at a recruitment agency in Westville. I drove to Westville VERY slowly as I don't like the rattle coming from my front wheel. (Dael checked it and seems to think it is the cv joint again!). The consultant and I sat in their meeting room and had a very pleasant chat about all my work experience and skills. She seemed impressed with the 'top notch' companies I have worked for. She introduced me to her colleagues so they could fit my face to my name and cv. She is keeping me in mind for temp work and then I did my tests. These don't really phase me any more. I don't take them too seriously. For my Word test I got 88%, my Excel test where I ran out of time as I have to think and fiddle with Excel I got 70% and my typing test I got 99%. I've done typing from my school days and I was in the last grade bar one that was taught touch typing. We used typewriters in those day. Not so long ago so don't start counting my grey hairs.

And then I helped the environment...

Knowing I was coming down to Westville and would be opposite The Pavilion shopping centre in Westville I had loaded my glass bottles and food cans in my boot. I had two heavy black bags of bottles and one black bag filled with cans. The centre has a recycling depot run by a private contractor right in the bottom car park and I was thrilled to make a deposit with them. Fortunately my plastic and paper is picked up by Mondi whose truck comes along behind the Municipal refuse truck every week and picks up the orange bag of recycling which is left on the verge with the refuse. If only they would pick up the glass and metal too but I suppose doing good can't be too easy otherwise there wouldn't be any merit in it.

I was rewarded for my recycling. I went into the centre and Checkers Hyper was having their market day and I managed to pick up a few items on a one day special. I came back to Pinetown and then visited my mom. I didn't want to come home as I had to pick up Dael from work. He went to work today but didn't want to ride the bike with his leg still being very sore. He reckons its getting worse not better. I might need to get him through to a doctor for an xray or something but right now I'm just observing it. If it doesn't come right in a few days I'll make a decision what to do.

Signing off to go and make supper. Its pork sausages tonight since I let them defrost. :)

Eyes Wide Shut!

2011-01-25T02:28:00.000-08:00

Dael didn't make it to work again today. He was dressed and almost ready to go when he walked into the kitchen. All of a sudden he was doubled over clutching his leg. He felt as if his knee had 'gone backwards'. He limped out of the kitchen, making for the couch. After an examination by Dr Mom and a massage with Deep Heat also by the resident doctor (mom), it was decided that Dael's personal assistant (mom) would phone Dael's work and explain to the first person answering the phone that Dael would not make it in today as he could hardly walk. His line of work requires him to be on his feet and walking up and down the workshop all day so the 'doctor' had decided that this would not be a good idea.

Anyway, a bit later on, in conversation with big sister Robynne on Facebook, she commented that Dael was always breaking this or twisting that and it was because he didn't eat his vegetables. She felt that he should go on a course of vitamins to replace whatever vitamins and minerals and other good stuff he is missing out on by not eating veggies. Well, I feel that this issue is not just as simply solved as that but there is probably some truth to her 'diagnosis'.

My mind then wandered on to how as humans we very seldom make all the right decision with regard to what we are eating or putting into our bodies (or not putting in) by whatever means. Whatever problem or issue is proven to be caused by whatever we are doing or not doing will always happen to someone else, not ourselves.

Robynne eats all her veggies but buys fast food and takeaways probably more than once a week. She also smokes and has since she was a teenager. Okay she wants to stop but the thought of all the poisons which are proven to be in cigarettes has not been sufficient incentive for her to stop smoking yet. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, cigarettes, fast food, whatever it is that we love to partake in, as humans we never consider that it will affect us personally...

Until It Does!

As a mom, I know what I would want for my children but as I am going through the teenage years with my third child, I am realistic about what I can expect to achieve by 'requesting' or demanding my kids eat their veggies or stop smoking. I wait for the right moment and drop a comment. But it is up to each of my children and to myself and to every human being to stop pointing a finger at another person for what they are doing and to be aware of the destructive nature of their own and individual unhealthy indulgences and to be realistic about what that indulgence is doing to harm their life. I doubt that if you look at a dangerous habit eyes wide open and fully aware of its ability to cause your death that you would continue to do it?

Or maybe I'm wrong...

Job hunting sux!

2011-01-24T05:56:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh. What a pile of cr*ppy jobs there are available in KZN. So low paid. Robynne says she doesn't know how anyone survives in this province. Well, I wouldn't be able to and I'm starting to think I won't find something here before my funds run out.

So I have been applying for positions in Gauteng in the Northern Suburbs side where Robynne lives. Her roommate is moving out so that wouldn't be a problem but I would still keep my house here in KZN.

This is rather stressful for me because I'm a big nester by nature and I've been roosting here for 6 years now. I don't like moving and neither will my kitties but its do or die at this stage.

Another thing is I won't have my own vehicle to start with when I go to Gauteng. But I have to do it. I can't afford to go under. I have such a lot of experience and skills to offer that its an insult to have to apply for jobs for about R7-8k (or less!) a month which is what is on offer locally here. And nothing directly on my doorstep. And they expect the earth for the miniscule money they are offering. Senior skills for junior money...

I am so ticked off. No wonder I'm getting a headache every day! I am so tired of sitting at home now. I feel like my brain is turning to mush. HELP!

PS A note to my friends. If you have any connections with personnel agencies, please drop me a line and I will get my CV through to you. I have always been employed via agencies and not through answering ads.

New Official Driver on the road!

2011-01-19T02:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, Dael passed his driver's test yesterday afternoon. I am so proud - and so relieved!

He went for lessons on Wednesday and Thursday of last week and on Monday. Then yesterday, he was being picked up by Lisa of the driving school at 1pm for a double lesson before his test at 3pm. I thought it would be nice for him to come home and change and relax a bit before the afternoon's activities rather than going straight from work straight to his lesson and test. So he went on his bike and was going to ask to go off at 12pm to come home. He had originally wanted to take the whole day off so he could focus on the test but I persuaded him to go in to work as the test was in the afternoon.

Well, by 12.15pm when he wasn't home yet, I phoned him. After a long while he picked up and rather frustratedly told me that he had a job to finish and would be home as soon as he could. By quarter to one he still wasn't home and I phoned his work to be told that he had just left. I was worried as I knew that he would be rushing home now on his bike. A few minutes later I heard him screaming up the drive on his bike and I unlocked the back door. He stormed in, hot and extremely angry and threw his keys down on the counter, causing the cats to scatter. I immediately went into soothing mommy mode and sent him off to shower, preparing him a cup of coffee in the meantime. I made him some sandwiches but he couldn't eat. One good thing was that the driving school was a bit late so he had time to calm down a bit. He was very disappointed with his work though as his test has been booked since before he started working there. They knew the importance of the day but they still gave him work to do in the hot sun and also a last minute job that HAD to be done before he left. The one boss was even asking him if he was going to come back after he had finished. Fat chance!

He asked me if I was going to come to the testing ground and I was in two minds whether to go or not but I eventually decided to go over as Dael like my support. I was driving into the testing grounds as he was driving out with the examiner. He gave me a sideways glance as he drove out, looking very tense. I missed his parking but apparently that went quite smoothly and he hadn't had to repeat any of the manoeuvres. He returned and both he and the examiner got out the car. He followed the examiner into an office with a very serious expression on his face. He soon returned and a big smile broke across his face because the paper had a small cross in the block that said Passed! So well done my son. That's two out of three children that have passed both their learners and drivers tests first time!

Fish are worse than rabbits..

2011-01-19T01:52:00.000-08:00

at least as far as breeding goes and maybe eating! I had 6 small fish left in the baby box and decided to release another two into the main tank this morning. I emptied all of them into another container and washed the box, filled it with new water from the main tank and returned the small fish back to the box with the other two being released into the big tank. The box was still floating around in the big tank when I noticed a very small fish hiding under one of the side pieces that connect to the suckers on the side of the big tank. I managed to catch it with my small cup and then I noticed another very small baby. What the heck! Just then I realised that the mother fish was dropping a tiny fish from her body every minute or so. And the older small fish were eating them! I spent about an hour watching the mother and as she wriggled away from the baby it would rise up to the surface of the water and then I would try to catch it. It was a mission as the light was shining on the water and these babies are really tiny. I think there are some more hiding in the tank but they are not showing themselves at the moment. This is getting a bit chronic now and I'm going to have to make a plan to get another tank or take some fish back to the pet shop if the big fish cant stop procreating. Anyway that was my excitement of the day!

On Sunday afternoon, after visiting my parents, I made a stop at the local shop to buy supplies and draw money at the ATM which is situated just inside the entrance to the shop. I noticed that their was a plastic gadget in front of the slot to insert the bank card and a notice attached said that this had been installed as an anti-skimming device. I drew money but this gadget worried me. On my return home, I went online to my bank's website where there was no mention of any device like this being used. I phoned the bank's fraud hotline and they advised me that they had no knowledge of this device and that I should stop my card. This I did and I had to start my week on Monday morning at the bank to get another bank card (at my cost). The owner of the shop as well as the guy from the bank that had installed the device phoned me to tell me that I had been rather paranoid as this was a legitimate bank device but my point was: Why did the no one at the bank know anything about the installation of these devices. The bank does not communicate with its clients but expects them to blindly trust and then wonders why people are being scammed by being too trusting. I was not and am still not happy about this inconvenience and cost to myself but what does the bank care?

The weather for the past three days has been hot and humid and it is difficult to find the energy to accomplish anything that requires movement.. I have started making small inroads on the jungle that is my garden late in the afternoon. It only gets dark by 7.30pm so there are a few cooler hours that can be used for this activity but I am a little out of condition and I don't chop anything more than I feel that I will have the energy to pick up and cart to the garden heap in one session.

The kitties are all asleep at this hottest time of the day and I think I'll go and see if I can see any more tiny fish bobbing around.

The cats are helping me sort out my cupboards..

2011-01-14T00:35:00.000-08:00

and not in a good way.

My fluffy orange cat, Torgen, has always had issues of some sort. Some years ago when I adopted a big dog he was petrified and started hiding in odd and sometimes dangerous places. For instance he spent a whole day in the wood storage hole of a built in braai (barbecue) of a house we were renting. Another time he was found huddling on top of the support pillar of the precast fence in the middle of rolls of security razor wire. He would never come home on his own but would always have to be searched for and extricated. He can go for a while without any odd behaviour but something else eventually surfaces.

His latest thing is to not use the cat litter box for urinating or even go outside. He just holds his pee in until he starts peeing just wherever he is or he sprints to my bedroom and jumps in my cupboard and starts peeing there.

So this is how he is 'helping' me in my cleaning venture. I have had to clean one shelf FULL of items that were stored in there. He had been hiding and sleeping on a pile of stationery and just peeing in there as and when required. I had to eventually clean out and move everything from there and just toss out all the stationery which was obviously ruined by the urine. I have to make an effort to remember to close this cupboard. Dael's clothes are stored on one long shelf of this cupboard and he always leaves the doors open.

This morning, I had barely got up and ventured out my room when Torgen raced past me at high speed and leapt into his new cupboard. This section has been storing all Bradley's old toys, army men, some books, etc. An ideal hideaway spot for a troubled cat. As I peered into the cupboard, Torgen was urinating a steady stream of pee into the box of toys. I saw red and knew that some immediate action was required (at just after 5am).

With the cat still in the cupboard, crouching in the back, I fetched a black garbage bag which I placed on the floor and started pulling out the damaged contents of the cupboard onto the black bag. Eventually the nervous cat got the idea and leapt out of the cupboard and zoomed through the cat hole in the french doors and outside, which is where he should have gone in the first place! Once everything was out I could see that he has been peeing in there for a while and the urine has soaked through to the chipboard on the bottom of the cupboard which fortunately Dael says can be removed without causing the main cupboard to fall down. In the meantime I have just sprayed that area liberally with my Bleach and water mixture to at least sanitize it a bit so my room doesn't continue to stink of pee.

Now the next thing is to go through all the toys that I removed from the cupboard and throw them into a bucket of bleach water to clean them. Then they will have to be dried and stored in a bag probably in one of my top cupboards.

See how my cats help me to get to my tasks that I have been procrastinating about doing. They so helpful to their mom. :)

Getting into the New Year

2011-01-13T01:59:00.000-08:00

aka known as My State of Mind.

I feel as if I am being torn in several different directions.

My immediate challenges are:

1) Organising my paperwork. This has been getting out of control for over a year now. My home desk is covered in papers and these are covered in paw prints. The cats LOVE walking and lying on these and this doesn't improve the appearance of anything that they have used as a bed.

2) Organising my Parents paperwork!? Several years ago (maybe 10) I bought files and sorted out as much of their paperwork as I could. This was a mission and for months afterwards I was being asked where various bits of paper were so needless to say I am not enthusiastic to do this again. The filing was never continued and papers are in various containers and boxes and heaps! Nonetheless, being the dutiful daughter that I am, I emptied one of my own alphabetical sorters and ventured forth yesterday to my parents home. I have started sorting out my mom's filing and need to get down there again for another session. This is likely to be a slow process as I don't have solid blocks of time to devote to this duty.

3) Looking for a job. My new procrastination. Mainly because all the consultants are situated out of town and my car is not up to scratch anymore so that making any trips at all are a cause of anxiety for me. Also this would entail me primping and getting all dressed up in work clothes which I am kind of getting out of the habit of! Terrible to hear, isn't it.

4) Cleaning up the house and the garden. Not happening. Oh I tidy up but please open the cupboards with care. You have been warned.

The easiest and most unnecessary pastimes for me at the moment are knitting and sewing my gorgeous toys up while I listen to (watch) tv. This is easily classed as being my escapism at the moment and I have to force myself away from it every day in order to achieve all or some of the above items which needs to be done. I wish I could be making a good living out of the knitting but I am not so I need to put it into perspective.

All this is part of the process for me. I will get there eventually but forging ahead with all that needs to be done requires constant mental organising and planning on a daily basis to get accomplished. Fortunately the angel of action on my shoulder is very insistent and NAGS to get me to move away from the couch and the knitting until I almost throw the knitting down in frustration and move off to get down to one of my many tasks to be done.

The best way I have of getting things done at the moment is breaking all the above big tasks down into small chunks and just doing a little bit of everything every day.

Wish me luck!

Continuing the theme of satisfying work environments

2011-01-12T00:22:00.000-08:00

I have to mention that Dael has now completed his three month probation period at the panelbeating/mechanic workshop where he started just after I came back to KZN after my Jhb trip. After a few frustrating weeks where he just seemed to be sanding the vehicles and almost put himself to sleep during a bout of monotonous sanding, he has moved on to being a valued member of staff.

He worked until about 2pm on Christmas Eve and only received R50 extra on top of his week's pay as a Christmas bonus. He still raced off and purchased small gifts for everyone with his meagre money, carrying everything back home in his backpack. All I saw when he came up the driveway on his motorbike was the top half of a garden gnome sticking out of his backpack.

He had to return to work on the Tuesday following Christmas and that day was left to work in the factory as well as receive vehicles and talk to clients and also answer the phones as not everyone had returned to work. He proved himself with his reliability and responsibility.

He has become a working dynamo and knows almost everything about bodywork already including operating the hydraulic equipment used to pull out dents. He brings the vehicles he works on to primer stage ready for final spraypainting. He instructs the indigenous workers, some of whom have been there longer than him. They try to get away with shortcuts and he doesn't allow that but rather confronts them as needed to get the job done right. He is not intimidated.

Last week he worked one day less as he was off work the day he had his fall from his bike. The next day he worked overtime to finish a vehicle and in fact only got home at 8pm. He received R100 on the spot from his boss. On payday he received the full five days pay and R50 extra. He was very pleased.

He comes home filthy every day with dirt on his face even having worked on about 4 vehicles in a day, just going from vehicle to vehicle not having to be told what to do or how to do it anymore. As long as my son is learning new things and being treated like an intelligent being he is happy. I am proud of him and I am very glad we held out for the right job for him.

I drove him to work this morning as my old driving school instructor who taught me 27 years ago and also taught Robynne, will be meeting him at work after his day is over and taking him for a driving lesson, just to see how his driving is and to give him some pointers. I am sure he will learn fast. His driving test is next week Wednesday at 3pm and I am counting on him passing first time. Once he has his drivers licence, it will benefit him at his job too.

Things are moving ahead with my son and I am sure this year will be positive for Dael too.

Positive start to the year.

2011-01-11T04:05:00.000-08:00

Robynne had registered on the Au Pair website, looking for work and while she was visiting me over Christmas, she received a call from a gentleman who was also registered on the site looking for an au pair for his 14 year old son. They made arrangements for an interview the following week.

Robynne attended the interview and liked the family although she didn't receive a reply immediately as the man was still interviewing another candidate. She sms'd me on New Years Day so say that she had the got the job.

Unfortunately it worked out that she hadn't worked her notice at her current employers and was in fact on leave from them. She decided that she wasn't going to work her whole month's notice as she hadn't been happy with them for a long time and despite meetings with her bosses, conditions were still onerous with nasty emails and comments flying about. She went in to work on the day that the company opened and cleared her computer and packed a box with her personal belongings. She had intended to work at least that week but the only other person at work was a woman who had hounded her for the entire period of her employment and she decided to just leave that same day. She emailed her resignation to all the applicable people, got in her car and left.

She apparently had a phone call from her boss as she was driving away saying that her leaving like that was illegal and she should return to work immediately. She phoned me for moral support and information and I told her that these people were just trying to intimidate her. Obviously, this is not the usual way to handle a change of employment but these people were pushing her into depression. It was only by me counselling her over the phone on various occasions that I think she hadn't walked away from this company before now. I told her that the most they could do was to charge her with absconding, hold a disciplinary enquiry and dismiss her in absentia.

She started work with her new family yesterday. The 14 year old and his younger sister (who will be living with her mom but is there this week) were playing Xbox and then Robynne helped make a meal. She had to take the kids to meet their dad later that afternoon to register at a new school. Today Robynne and the kids were going for brunch and then ice skating this afternoon. What fun. From working in a stuffy office to being able to have fun with kids and earn your living while doing it. Robynne is very responsible and quite strict but she knows how to have fun and enjoys going places and doing things. I'm sure she will do wonderfully in this job and its so different from what she was doing before that I'm sure it will have a positive impact on her health and outlook. Also good as while the boy is at school, she will be able to return home to supervise Brad with his work and spend time with him. Much more flexibility now and she gets a car while she is at work so she doesn't need to use her own car for running about.

I'm so happy my girl has made this a positive start to the new year.

Another year older and more handsome every day.

2011-01-09T23:51:00.000-08:00

This pic of Bradley was taken at the Johannesburg Zoo at the end of September 2010 the day before I had to leave him with his sister and return alone to KZN. :(

My baby celebrated his 15th birthday on December 25th, 2010 - my Christmas baby.

This fact went unannounced on Blogger but not unnoticed in our family. Bradley came down from Jhb with Robynne for just six days.

When I saw Brad again after two and a half months, I couldn't believe how much taller he had grown. He is towering over me now. He seems to be maturing so much now at this stage and unfortunately I am not there to spend this time with him.

Happy Birthday, my Brad and may this next year bring you a lot of success as you continue with your homeschooling and also continue to develop your character as a strong, resilient, good-natured and loving young man of principle. I have every faith in you, my son.

I love you and miss you a lot.

Lots of love, Mom. xxx

Babies in the house

2011-01-08T02:50:00.000-08:00

I have a big fish tank which sits on my kitchen counter and I decided towards the end of last year that I needed some more fish as I was down to two neons and one of those big tank cleaning fish whose name I can never remember. So I popped into our local petshop and bought two Platies one orangey one and one yellowy one which turned out to be a pair. I only realised this when, while making coffee one morning I glanced into the tank and noticed some tiny new inhabitants looking out at me. I did a double take in surprise and then sprang into action as I knew that the bigger fish would soon be trying to eat them. I got a small bowl (since I can never find my fishnet when I need it) and after scooping and chasing for a while had caught them all and placed them in a large vase.

After a few days the water in the vase was getting smelly and I decided to visit the petshop again for a better method of separating the tiny fish. I purchased a little plastic box with tiny holes in the bottom of it which is placed in the main tank with the top of the box just above the surface of the water in the main tank. Then I separated out the slightly bigger baby fish from the really tiny ones and the bigger ones went straight into the big tank with the really tiny ones being placed into the box. I think I'm going to have a population explosion soon as I now have about six baby fish of various sizes of growth in the main tank and nine teeny tiny fish in the box. From having an empty tank Ive now got a fair fishy population from one set of parents. I'll have to start selling them back to the pet shop soon.

Anyway I decided to take some of the larger babies out of the box on Thursday but while I was pouring the water in the box into a container I was careless and two tiny babies fell into the main tank. Immediately, one of the neons was chasing after them wanting to eat them. I chased the neon away and luckily managed to catch the babies again as they come right up to the surface of the tank. I got a fright though. I also saw a tiny tiny baby which hasn't been in the box at all but it was too wily for me to catch. I have some floating bushy plants which the little fish love hiding in so I think these have helped the babies to hide away from the bigger fish when necessary.

I have started talking to the fish as well. I call to them: "Fish, fish, fish" They come over to the side of the tank that I'm on. I'm sure they recognise me.

Obviously not being goldfish, they have more than a three second memory. :)

Its time to blog - and a Happy 2011 to you all too..

2011-01-07T01:59:00.000-08:00

A couple of my friends in the blogging community have come looking for me to see if I'm still alive - and I am! I greatly appreciate your concern as we all like to know that we have left a tiny footprint somewhere in the world.

Christmas has come and gone and I enjoyed a visit from Robynne and Bradley who drove down from Jhb with Marco, Robynne's boyfriend. It was also an introduction for Marco to my parents and our Christmas traditions. He is probably still getting over the shock of it all! Kidding, we're not that bad.

Unfortunately for a lot of Jhb holidaymakers, Durban is not the sunny destination it used to be some years ago at this time of the year and the weather is very unpredictable. I think we had two days of sun out of the six that my kids were here visiting. They brought 3 baby bunnies that couldn't be left at home and two dogs, my granddoggies, Tiny and Mini who are miniature Doberman Pinschers. As they arrived my youngest kittens, Dusty, Toby and Pixie decided to leave. Dusty in particular decided to go live in the garden under the trees for the entire duration of the visitors' stay only sneaking back for meals when the coast was clear.

I am now one dog down. Robynne decided to take Piglet, my cross Dachshund/Maltese who is about eight years old to live with her in Jhb. He is actually her dog from when she was still in school but basically also my dog from living with me all these years. I decided to let him go because he really loves her a lot. Bradley is also up there and he knows him and he will be spoiled up there even being allowed to sleep on the bed and being sent to the doggie parlour. He was really being dominated down here by Pup, his own son who made his father groom him all the time. Sadly, just after getting to Jhb, Piglet killed one of Robynne's guinea pigs in the garden. I think he must have thought it was a mole and my dogs have always been very good at catching moles. She is having to retrain him on how to act around bunnies and guinea pigs and is watching him closely at the moment.

My favourite Christmas gift was from Robynne - a book of patterns of knitted toys and I have been like a machine or a robot since they left knitting almost all the toys in the book and building up my stock for when we next go to the market. Now you know what has been keeping me busy. I have spent some time this first week of the new year looking for work and phoning some agents and am still positive that I will find the right position soon.

Dael only had Christmas weekend off and then had to return to work. He has bought a motorbike courtesy of a loan from me and has been riding to and from work. He is very sensible with his riding and doesn't mess around. Unfortunately though, on Wednesday he had just left home in the rain only to return a few minutes later saying that he had fallen. A medical vehicle had passed him on a blind corner sounding its alarm and he slowed down but suddenly realised that the car in front of him had stopped and was turning off the road. He thinks he pressed his brakes too hard for the wet conditions and his wheel slipped out and down he went. Luckily he was wearing jeans and another pair of waterproof pants. He still suffered roasties on his foot and knee and banged his shoulder and his head. He was a bit shaken and he ended up staying home. Its lucky he was only going about 40kms/hour at the time otherwise it could have been much worse. Bikes are very unforgiving and other drivers can be very thoughtless. His guardian angel was really looking after him.

I'll sign off now but I'm very glad to be back again and to see that my blogging mojo has returned. :)

Safety in the suburbs

2010-10-26T01:54:00.000-07:00

As I was driving back from dropping Dael this morning thoughts of safety crossed my mind.

Dael reminded me to keep myself locked in securely now that I am alone at home during the day. This has been drummed into me since childhood by my mom and I am always conscious of locking myself in. But Dael has been unnerved by the recent death by shooting of a local Matric schoolboy who was killed by robbers who were bent on stealing a vehicle from in front of his family home. He died protecting his father from a bullet. This happened across town from where we live but we live close to the township where most of these vehicles used by the robbers end up abandoned. Beneath the veneer of ordinary life, horrible happenings are carrying on and the perpetrators are people with no respect for human life. The vehicle that was hijacked after this young man was shot was sold on for R3000. That was the value of a young man's life.

Also recently reported is something just as frightening. Parents at local daycare centres are being hijacked as they drop off their little ones at school. These unscrupulous thieves know that the parents are distracted with unloading their precious children and their guard is down. They know the parents will also not do anything to get their children hurt. So they are using this situation to steal cars. In one situation, a teacher snatched the children from the parent's car while the parent was being robbed and hustled them into the school. What a brave woman!

My neighbour's children are collected from their gate and dropped off again at the same time every day in the daycare minibus. The family are never waiting outside for their children and the driver is forced to hoot and wait for someone to come down and collect the children. In those few seconds, that driver could be hijacked and all the children abducted. People are so unaware of the dangers around them. We owe it to ourselves and our children to be more aware and more alert.

My older children are 23 and 20 years old respectively but years ago when both were at preschool, thieves entered the school and were holding up the staff at gunpoint in the presence of the children. This was before all the schools started using security gates and panic buttons to secure their premises. As parents we found out at the end of the school day that the owner of the school had shot dead one intruder in the school in front of the kids. What a shock this was to us but we were grateful that our kids were in the hands of the pistol packing principal. It could have ended so much worse.

Years later the situation has not improved. It has deteriorated. The schools and the scholar transporters are soft targets. Investigate the security of your school and the transporters of your children. Dont be embarrassed or shy to ask about their emergency procedures. You owe it to your loved ones.

And above all be alert!

Lazy Sunday Random Thoughts....

2010-10-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

From the Ellen tv show which I had on while housecleaning and I had to stop and giggle:

Dogs on meeting you for the first time will sniff your crotch to get to know you....Cats will Google you! Too true...

Dael has a set of 6 pairs of grey and black sock, each pair with a different colour band around the ankle. Do you think he will wear the pair with the same colours at the same time. No! That reasoning is meaningless to him. He will just grab any two. I would match the colour band.

Last night,Dael and his friends were trying to coach a slightly underage friend on how to act casually when standing in the queue at the nightclub to avoid the bouncers asking for his ID. The thought crossed my mind that if it were me, I would actually be highly complimented if I was asked for my ID because I looked too young. Ja right, never going to happen! :)

Finally, just a gripe recently while shopping and I have a feeling I'm going to have to take this one further. Does anyone else have an issue with the dirty and unhygienic and also quite often broken shopping hand baskets and trolleys that are our option to use when shopping at any of the big supermarket chains. Yuck! It means a lot in terms of marketing and customer service to me to use a shop that has made an effort to clean their trolleys and baskets. To do a bit of namedropping, I find that Pick n Pay often have the worst trolleys and baskets although they do always provide the hygienic wipes for the handles. Checkers is next and do not supply wipes. Spar do not supply wipes but generally their baskets are clean and maintained. I am generalising now as individual stores might have a better track record with this but mostly shops fail to provide this small but important service which might be the one thing that keeps their customers coming back..

Ever get the feeling someone's talking about you?

2010-10-22T02:59:00.000-07:00

I may be unemployed but its not because I'm stupid and I got a very strong feeling this morning that someone who's blog I follow had done a password protected post on my last post about battling using words from my title. How coincidental!

Now, while I have no doubt that there are plenty of people who consider that I am leading my life in a totally wrong and possibly stupid way, there is no reason to use my situation or comments as blog fodder. I have been in bad situations before and have come through them a stronger person. If someone doesn't like or agree with who I am or what I do, they should feel free to unfollow from my posts or not comment. There is something called good manners and I feel that this person has shown a bad side to their character to do something of this nature.

I was actually considering not blogging anymore. In fact I was considering not even reading any blogs anymore. Its funny how something like this can cause doubt to creep in and destroy faith in humankind. But I cannot allow small mindedness on one person's part to chase me away from something that I enjoy.

It just goes to show that you can't please all of the people all of the time. And you can't please some people at all...and basically who cares!

Battling along...

2010-10-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

Every day I have good intentions to get organised and get things done..and then the day gets away from me. I knew this would happen and I'm just trying to get through it and out on the other side in one piece.

Its not like I have the luxury of being able to sit at home on a permanent basis. I don't have a significant other bringing home the bacon and I have the knowledge at the back of my mind always that my funds are going to run out and I've got to get employed. Easier said than done. I am looking on the internet, going for a few interviews and trying to keep as connected to the outside world as I can.

I thought it was harder when Dael was at home playing the tv loud and boiling the kettle neverendingly but now that he is working and away from home all day, it has become worse.

Every morning, I drop him at work by 7.30am, come home and watch tv for a bit while knitting. Then I get up, download emails and handle any queries, I clean up the house and feed the animals. Sometimes I do a bit of office work, then a bit of housework, then a bit of tv. My normal routine as it has been for many years is shot to hell. I don't have to organise Bradley's life anymore and that is something strange. I just feel like I'm freefalling at the moment. And to add to my confusion and misery, I've had one of my headaches that wont go away since about Saturday. I thought it was gone yesterday but its back again today.

Its a very strange feeling, not having anywhere to go to during a normal working week. Its like the world is just carrying on without me, like I got off the bus at the wrong stop and now I'm wondering around lost, like I'm on the outside looking in.

I know This Too Shall Pass and I will get employed again. Its just a matter of time but in the meantime I need to get my head around my future plans so that I can get some form of routine in place and stop feeling like a lost soul.

Happy Birthday, My First Born!

2010-10-12T01:45:00.001-07:00

Robynne turns 23 today!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday my daughter, Happy Birthday to you.

Wish I was there in Johannesburg to celebrate with you but I am sure you will have a happy day and be very spoiled.

I heard that you didn't think 23 was an auspicious birthday but every birthday and every day that I have you in my life is a great day for me.

Thanks for being a fantastic young lady and a daughter to be proud of.

Lots of love, Your Mom. xxxxx

Getting back to normal (kind of)

2010-10-12T01:24:00.000-07:00

My kitties are not too emotionally scarred. While I was gone for eight days, Dael got tired of cleaning up after the kitties. Some of them are not always too fastidious about their toilet habits and while I just clean up after them without even thinking about it, someone who is not used to this task would probably find it a bit too much to handle. Maybe they were trying to make a point about me being away from home but eventually Dael had enough and decided to lock most of the kitties in the garage for most of the week. They just had to stay in their permanently. When I got home on the Saturday night, I found the house completely turned upside down and grimy with just a few kitties on the kitchen counter. I dropped my bags inside and went to unlock the garage. As I opened the door all I could see was a crowd of upturned kitty faces and I'm sure they looked relieved to see me. They rushed out gratefully. I prepared them a meal to celebrate my return and rolled up my sleeves to tackle the horribly dirty kitchen. This was about 9pm and I didn't stop until I fell asleep exhausted on the couch at about 11pm. I still had to get up at about 2.15am on Sunday morning to fetch Dael from his evening out at the local club. It was the day that wouldn't end!

Anyway, later on in the day, on downloading my emails for the week, I discovered that I had received an email from the panelbeating and mechanics firm that I had sent Dael's cv through to in mid August, requesting applicants to come through for an interview The Previous Thursday! What the heck. The very week I was away, they called for interviews. Anyway not to give up, I emailed them back explaining that I had been away and asking if Dael could still come through to see them. On Monday I received a positive response and I took Dael through to be interviewed later on that day. And he has been given the opportunity to try out and see if he has the right attitude and ability to learn that they are looking for. Yay! He started yesterday. I got him there early by 7am and when I went through to fetch him at 4.45pm, he was still busy helping to move cars and lock up. He wasn't tired because he had a brain stimulating day, using new equipment and learning new things but his feet were in agony and his body was tired. I am sure this is going to be the start of a motivating career for Dael and he will soon build up his stamina. He is already planning his future moves, wanting to learn everything there is to know about panelbeating before moving on to engines and mechanics. I am so pleased this opportunity has come about and filled with optimism for my son's future. Thank you God.

Bradley in Johannesburg went through for his Home School assessment with his sister. She spent the better part of the day sitting in her car waiting for Bradley to complete his tests. They haven't got the results yet and by the time I phoned, Bradley was fast asleep, exhausted from his day. It was an extremely hot day yesterday as well and Bradley is not too well at the moment as well, suffering from bouts of nausea. Dael reminded me that when he stayed in Johannesburg he had weeks of illhealth until he acclimatised to the climate and atmosphere. I think it is hitting Bradley hard at the moment but hopefully he should acclimatise before too long and settle down to his studying.

I'm back from my Gauteng adventure..

2010-10-06T06:13:00.003-07:00

but not without shedding a few tears as I waved my two children goodbye to leave and catch the bus home.

Dael and friend S came with in the car on Thursday, 27th September to drop me at the bus. Dael had to drive my car home with only a learners licence and with a passenger on board. We had parked at the McDonalds takeaway and a police van parked a few parkings down from us. Dael muttered that he was not moving until the cops had gone. The bus was late but Brad and I were soon safely tucked into the comfortable seats and swaying onto the freeway at the beginning of our long trip. The trip was uneventfulful but long. I was relieved when Dael came on mxit to say he was safely home. Bradley was bored and tried to sleep. By 8pm we had arrived at Jhb station unaware that we would now have to change buses for a shuttle to Midrand. Luckily sharp-eared Bradley was listening to the announcements and bustled me off the bus with out belongings. The shuttle was a double decker and Bradley and I went upstairs. What a bouncy ride like sitting on the front of a seagoing yacht. I think we eventually arrived at Midrand at about 8.30pm totally wiped out. We were met by Bradley's dad who had been waiting for us for some time and he took us through to see my daughter and her boyfriend whom I hadn't met. She had supper ready for us and we were hungry.

The next day we had a braai at my daughter's house in honour of Heritage Day and that weekend saw my ex and his family taking me on a tour of all the local shopping centres including a few nursery cum pet shops. It was enjoyable but tiring and by the following Wednesday, I was glad to stay at my daughter's house to wait for Telkom who were coming to install her landline. Of course, I had to keep busy so I spent about 2 days raking and sweeping her yard which hadn't had attention since she moved in a few months ago. Her neighbours were objecting to the existing telephone poles which was outside their yards and this was delaying her installation so eventually it was agreed to remove the two poles outside and install one pole in her yard. Just as well I was there as the designated spot was right where the sprinkler system and outside tap were set up so I suggested a spot between three trees which is very hidden and the telephone pole can hardly be seen.

I also kept busy doing the laundry and washing dishes. Luckily Bradley was kept busy playing games on his father's laptop which he was allowed to borrow for a few day. The one afternoon we went for a walk with the dogs. We watched a dvd on another afternoon and just generally spent time together. On Friday though Bradley and I decided to do at least one touristy thing and decided to go to the Jhb zoo. We were dropped there at about 10am and walked the whole day until we were picked up at 4pm by Robynne. My legs were finished and I was hot and tired but it was well worth it. We saw such a huge variety of animals from lions and the tiger which Brad particularly liked to the elephants and rhinos and down to monkeys and meerkats. We didn't see everything but that would make a small list. Bradley is firmly intending to go there again. Its an economical day out at R50 for adults and R30 for children and even better if you take a packed lunch and spend time sitting under the trees in the heat of the day. I was glad I made the effort to spend this bonding time with my youngest son.

And the next day, Saturday, 2nd October was time for me to leave my son and return home. The shuttle bus was late and we eventually reached Jhb station at about 10.40am. We were told we had to wait until 11am for the bus and we dutifully and patiently waited, staring at the entrance expectantly as all around us other passengers boarded other buses and left. The terminus became eerily silent and the bus wasn't there yet. Then a Greyhound bus came in and stopped outside the building. We were further down where the passengers normally alight. Eventually I couldn't take it and approached the cabin crew to ask if that was our bus. I was told to just wait because our bus was coming. Eventually we were told that that was our bus but there was a problem with the brakes, the air was leaking! Now that is not something you want to hear when you know that there is a mountain pass between you and your destination. We all loudly objected to travelling on that bus and demanded another bus. We were told there was no other bus but when they eventually found out that the first bus couldn't be fixed by the roadside assistance mechanic as he needed a part, they soon found another bus at the depot. In the meantime I had changed my ticket to a later bus but was frustrated when I found out that the destination was Durban instead of Pinetown which would have been impossible for my family to fetch me late at night. I was almost in tears but luckily they changed my ticket back to the replacement bus and we eventually boarded and set off at about 1.30 in the afternoon. We arrived in Pinetown at about 8.10pm and I was collected by my mom, brother and Dael who was catching a lift to town to get money from me and go out to his evening entertainment at 54.

I was home and not a moment too soon for my poor little kitty waifs at home but that's for the next post...

Its not easy for me to leave my house...

2010-09-22T04:19:00.000-07:00

for any extended period of time. I have animals. The humans are fine. They can look after themselves but my kitties have to be fed. I have been cooking since last night. Okay I did have a break to sleep but I was at it again from 4am this morning.

A pot of rice and veg split into 2 halves. Each half gets a pot of meat porridge made from tinned food, pets mince and mealie meal and this mixed with the rice gets split into 2 halves again and placed into individual packets. Before this, the mixture must cool down to lukewarm. The packet gets tied up and placed in the freezer. I have created 18 separate packets of food. Each day Dael must take out two packets of food and after defrosting a bit in the microwave and removing from the bag, he must add bread and warm up to a good temperature for the animals to eat. I will be gone from midday tomorrow until the evening of Saturday, 2nd October. I hope I come home and find my animals still here!

In addition, there is also fresh drinking water for the animals to see to, feeding the fish, making sure everyone gets love and doesn't get insecure, making sure the house is secure especially when no one is here. And last, my personal favourite - Cleaning The Litterbox! My youngest kitties are very attached to me. I've got Toby sleeping on my lap at the moment and he is my shadow following me everywhere. When mom is not around for a few days they might decide to do something stupid like going through the fence to where the big dogs next door can eat them. If I am here they dont really stray.

Tonight I have to make sure everything I will need is packed, check on Bradley's packing and just generally be prepared because tomorrow I still have to go up to the school to fetch the transfer form and Bradley's report which I have to take up with me. I could have done without this trip but the forms weren't ready today.

Its going to be a long trip tomorrow on the bus. The bus only arrives at Midrand at ten to eight at night.

So if you dont see me for few days, I'll be in the big bad metropolis of Gauteng settling my youngest chick into his new routine.

See you on the other side!

My 14 year old is leaving home!

2010-09-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Bradley is off to Johannesburg to live with his sister. I have seen my son grow increasingly unhappy and frustrated and become a different person this year since starting High School and I have come to realise that he is not ready for this experience.

I know that part of his anger and frustration and also the personality changes has got a lot to do with teenage hormones but I am not prepared to let everything slide and just hope for the best like I did with Dael. The best does not usually happen. Robynne and I have researched home schooling for Bradley as an option and we feel it has a good chance of working out for him. If it doesn't there are schools in Johannesburg in which we can place him, which KwaZulu Natal does not have. There is an extreme lack of remedial schools in this region to handle learning problems and disabilities.

So probably at the end of next week, Bradley and I will be travelling up to Johannesburg by bus to settle him in at his sister's house and while I am up there, to arrange for an assessment to be done and final applications to be submitted. Bradley is very excited at the prospect of his changed surroundings and is eager to go. I have alerted his current school to the fact that he will be leaving at the end of this term and not returning. The original plan was to keep him on at the school until the end of the year but his extreme negativity every day at the prospect of going to school has persuaded me that to keep him there will just be a waste of time. He has failed 3 out of 4 terms and would probably not have passed the year. Rather than wasting the remainder of the year, we can get him assessed to establish his level of knowledge and get him started on the homeschool curriculum.

On many levels, I am rebelling at my youngest, my baby leaving home at such a young age but on another level I can see that it is necessary. Familiarity has bred contempt. I see flashes of the closeness and affection from before but these are quickly stifled and shoved down under an attitude of toughness and masculinity. I feel the loss of my last fledgling and this loss is shoved in my face daily by this young stranger who has invaded my son's body. He needs to be away from me to appreciate what he has here and to experience the discipline that his sister and his father will dish out to him. He needs to experience new things and be away from the stifling mother influence. He needs to grow up.

I also need peace. It is a tenuous peace between Dael and Bradley. One a frustrated 20 year old, the other a frustrated 14 year old. They are the best of friends and the worst of enemies. One demands respect, the other determined not to give it. They have reached a stalemate with each other. They need distance from each other to each find his own way. It means I must see my family separated and be separated from my children. But I have to be the grownup and facilitate these changes. I have roots where I am now. It is not an option to move to Johannesburg myself. My dad has had a fall recently and although given a clean bill of health, still constantly suffers from dizzy spells when standing up or straightening up after leaning down. I have my house, my cats that are settled here, Dael who likes to live in this area. This may not always be the case but at the moment this is how it is.

So my 14 year old leaves home and starts a new life and routine in Johannesburg. Not quite empty nest yet but getting close...

I am definitely not on holiday.

2010-09-15T05:20:00.000-07:00

Whew! I had more rest when I was working.

Seriously, being retrenched is no holiday. Last Monday, I had a run-in again with the nasty vet who treated my old boy Joe very roughly and seems to think every issue my cats have stems from some deep seated disease. His bedside manner sucks and I ended up walking out of there without paying. He told me I should avoid the practice on Monday as he is only there then. I told him that because of him, I would avoid the practice altogether from now on.

I have been trying to claim from my credit card insurances but the one bank after a long wait has simply given me another form to fill in and the other bank has never contacted me again or returned my call.

Then on Friday, I decided to brave the unemployment queue and after dropping Bradley at school, made my way along to the centre of town and joined the queue. Two hours later of standing on the pavement and the batch of applicants that I was in entered the building. Then it was shuffling our bums along chair to chair for another two hours until I got to the information counter and was handed another sheaf of forms. I had taken a form in that I had taken off the Labour Department website. It was outdated and had to be redone! And there I thought I was being proactive in getting the form completed beforehand... So tomorrow I will be joining the queue again with my bundle of forms.

I thought I had the cellphones and sim cards sorted out. The final item to sort out was a phone for Bradley. We had a phone that needed a new ribbon which is a part that breaks often in a slide phone. Dael went off to the cheaper side of town and purchased the ribbon for R120. He then spent time and fixed the phone for Bradley so he could listen to music and go on mxit and also be in contact with us. That lasted a week. On the weekend he visited cousin R and one of the little hooligans that live at the flat knocked the phone out of Brad's pocket and stood on it. Now the screen is broken. Apparently he thinks that the parents of this child will pay for the repairs. I don't have so much faith in humanity I'm afraid.

On Monday morning this week, Dael and I stood in another long queue at the Licensing Department to book for his drivers test. After about two hours it was Dael's turn to go in and complete his form. I was just congratulating myself for getting that far when he came out and asked for his photos. Now I had consulted the Licensing Department website as well before going there and it clearly said that the photos would only be required on the day of the test. My heart sank as we were going to lose our place in the queue. So off to the photographer at the entrance to the Licensing Department. Four photos for R50 later and we were back at the door to the booking office, luckily not having to wait in the queue again. He is now booked to do his drivers test on January 18, 2011.

Tuesday I mainly stayed home and kept busy in the office. The day was horrifically hot so we all kept a low profile.

Today was off to the dentist with Dael. His front four teeth are badly damaged and he will have to have them removed. He was apprehensive about this and had probably psyched himself up for the onslaught only to find out that he had to go and be fitted for a plate which will have to be made first before any teeth are removed. So we went straight off and had that done and then went shopping. You think its cheaper with boys. Think again. Five minutes into our shopping, Dael had chosen two pairs of shoes, both of which he wanted. The one pair was R139 and the other pair on special for R99. I was eventually persuaded and we went to pay. The shoes on special rang up to R29 instead of R99 so we got both pairs for R170. After stopping for a few groceries, it was Home James!

I cant relax and enjoy time off because at the back of my mind is the necessity for me to secure my future income. Which will happen, of that I am sure. I think that once I get all the details sorted out and all the queueing over and done with I'll be able to clear my head a bit and relax.

Invasion of the Kitties!

2010-09-07T02:02:00.000-07:00

Joe is lying on a pillow on my desk and I have Torgen and Toby on my lap. I sit down for 2 minutes and cats arrive. I'm having to type with my arms outstretched as I cant pull my chair too close to the desk with the kitties on my lap. This is definitely an occupational hazard of working at home. Luckily they don't take offence if I have to remove them when I want to get up but Toby is now trying to distract me by staring at me while I type so that I will stroke him.

I'm going to have to give the kids and the kitties some boundaries. Any bets on all that working for too long.

Did you miss me?

2010-09-06T06:17:00.001-07:00

As I write this at my desk, I look over the houses and gardens below my house. I am typing this from my home office.

I packed up and moved out of my last work office last Tuesday and apart from one last trip to my old office to supervise the move of the boxes of files which were going on to head office, I have been home based.

What a pleasure except I have no phone as the phone system I was using before has gone missing and my internet was only operational from last Saturday with my emails only being available today. Teething problems! Otherwise everything is looking rosy. I am just spending time sorting out my own personal paperwork and organising my office.

Its nice to be in communication with the world again. Its quite different to be able to just go from kitchen to office without even changing out of my pyjamas! I think having my desk and stationery from my previous office helps to put me into that work mindset but it is a constant battle for my chair and computer with the boys vying to have a turn at playing the computer game on my machine. Luckily my workday is really flexible so I just go watch tv for a while or do some other household chores until they get tired of playing.

Maybe I could get used to this.....

Change of life happening

2010-08-23T02:03:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not going through menopause however my life as I have been living it for the past six years is definitely changing.

During this month, I have still been coming in to work and winding down outstanding work-related issues. There has been some talk of me carrying on in a support role on a contract basis after the end of the month, possibly working from home. I have mixed feelings on this as while the idea of working from home is a good one, I enjoy the quiet atmosphere of the office and will probably not get that at home. It will be a plus to continue earning some income and still have access to internet and phone while looking for a new job.

I have applied for several positions but have had no call backs. My parents are of the opinion that I need a makeover and have offered to pay for that but I wasn't keen to do that as I am very settled in my skin and besides I haven't been sending a photo with my applications. I might just settle for a trip to the hairdresser! I could probably get a position easily if I am prepared to accept a salary of a few thousand Rand less a month than what I am currently getting! Not! So I continue to hang on.

Also this month has seen me getting my personal paperwork in place to kick into gear several retrenchment insurances I have in place and to prepare what I need to go and stand in the unemployment queue at the Labout dept. at the end of the month to apply for unemployment benefits... I was disappointed to learn that I hadnt covered my home loan for retrenchment benefits as that would have seen my home loan being paid for 12 months. Oh well, one lives and learns.

To add to my misery, my car continues to be sick and has been at the mechanic and also been worked on by Dael who is still really a beginner at mechanics. However, he is learning fast and has fixed a few things on my car already. I have been getting lifts to work for the last two weeks and I think I'm wearing everyone's patience a bit thin. The idea now is to try and get another vehicle and do a major engine clean on my car as the engine is pretty sludged up. Now where can I get another vehicle from in a hurry?!

Dael will be going for an interview at a firm who has just moved their entire operation under one roof after operating from two different places. This business is vehicle customising with mechanics and panelbeating in the same shop. Everyone please pray for Dael as he would love to get in at this business and I believe he would do very well. They will be calling for interviews from the 25th.

Bradley continues to battle at mainstream schooling and I believe that this year is now wasted. He is just falling so far behind and not coping with the workload. There are discussions to move Bradley up to Jhb next year to either do homeschooling or to attend a school which is geared to children with learning challenges. Unfortunately, the consensus seems to be that KZN has very little to offer in the form of schooling for a young man who cannot concentrate very well in a classroom setting and cannot focus on or even complete the amount of work required with this curriculum.

Obviously I dont want to be separated from my son but I believe that a bit of separation from mom and older brother might be just the thing that Bradley needs right now.

So lots of changes and happenings, quite a bit of stress and some feelings of being a bit helpless at the moment. I am positive however that I will get through and over all these hurdles if I just keep positive and look out for opportunities.

Getting my head around....

2010-08-06T03:49:00.000-07:00

my future prospects - now that I have been retrenched! There I said it. Last Thursday I signed my letter. The company is restructuring and my division is being discontinued. I'm not heartsore as I have been looking for another position but it was a bit sudden. And I'm still working in my little office! I actually still have work to do not that head office seems to realise it and I cant just walk away and leave unfinished business. I am trying to tie things up and am using the opportunity to also use the phone and internet to jobhunt while I still can.

Its necessary for me to stay in routine and get up and dressed every day and get to the office. I'm sure that I will find the right position soon.

I will get around to an update on the last few weeks on Tuesday. Have a great long weekend!

And they tell me to stay calm....

2010-07-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

In the mornings, I carry a small school juice bottle of milk in my carryall bag to work since we don't have a fridge and the bottle is enough for my daily coffee. As I twisted the lid shut this morning, I noticed the lid was cracked but as I was running out the door, I didn't have time to decant the milk into another bottle. All I did was put the bottle into a plastic bread bag to prevent spillage onto the other items in the bag.

In the car I placed the bag onto the back seat as Bradley occupies the front seat. The bag never falls over so I reckoned the bottle of milk would be fine as it was in an upright position. Whats the chances that just because the bottle was broken and a potential leaking hazard that the bag would fall over FOUR times - literally... It was like it had a mind of its own!

I even had to stop my car in a taxi stop zone with my hazards on to stand the bag upright again.

Then, sitting in a traffic queue of slow moving traffic, my car wouldn't idle properly. It had a miss which was threatening to stall the engine. My car is automatic so I put it in neutral and revved the engine a bit and then decided to engage pulling gear which basically keeps the car in first gear without changing to second gear. This was fine while moving slowly forward in the traffic queue but as I started moving faster I suddenly realised that I hadn't changed back into Drive gear and my engine was screaming. Well, there went my hazard lights on again as I had to come to a complete stop to change gears and I had to do this with the car behind me bearing down on me as I had to stop in a totally inappropriate place, just basically the middle of the road that I was travelling on.

To say I was relieved to finally get to work is an understatement and the amount of moaning and muttering to myself in the car this morning would probably be enough to get me a label of Crazy Lady.

Is it just me....

2010-07-20T00:23:00.000-07:00

whose life seems to be so boring at the moment with the days just melting into each other. I just seem to be leaving work to go home or leaving home to come to work.

I had just got interested in reading again and re-joined our local library but now I'm battling to read. I have a problem with the inactivity of sitting and reading and can only read for short periods at a time. I have been reading the same book for more than a month, my library fines are mounting because I forget to renew and my other three books are sitting in the bag waiting to be read. I actually think that being active can be an addictive habit just as inactivity can. However, I would rather be accused of being busy than lazy! :)

Bradley managed to get through his first four days of school last week in one piece. He had soccer tryouts for two afternoons last week and was placed in the C team. His first match was last Saturday and I had to get him to the school before 7am to catch the bus down to Crawford College in La Lucia who his school were playing against. In preparation, Bradley had asked the Coach what time I had to collect him from the school. Brad's school is closer to my work than my house and I couldn't make too many trips up and down. I was told that I had to fetch him at 11am and I was rushing to get there at 11.30am, thinking I was late. But when I got to the school, no one was there. I drove round to speak to the security guard and he seemed sure that they would only be back at about 2.30pm! I ended up sitting at the school for 3 and a half hours without any liquid refreshment. Other parents eventually started arriving at 2pm and the bus arrived at 2.30pm. So disappointing because when Bradley eventually ran to the car, instead of congratulations on winning his first game, all he got was a screaming mother and he ended up in a huff too. That ogre inside me is escaping more and more often these days.

In aggravation of my demon, friend 'S's father has not paid in his financial contribution for his son's keep due to the fact that the whole family is on their way to South Africa this week. Unfortunately, I didn't realise that no funds would be forthcoming and did not budget accordingly and now my car and our house is running on the smell of an oil rag! I had strong words last night with other friends 'S' who keeps on coming and going like I'm running a charity organisation or the local flophouse and told him that he must leave in the morning and not return until he could contribute financially to the house. Friend 'S' who normally would pay board will have to leave at the end of this week since his family will now be here to take care of him. This has been an exceptionally expensive month for me with all the boys at home and eating like its going out of fashion. This whole scene is taking its toll on me because I have to keep on addressing the same problem and being the bad guy. It really is a problem when people come to stay, contribute very little and don't know when to leave and its crazy that their parents and extended family don't seem to think this is wrong! Seriously!

So now instead of hanging on by my fingernails, I'm trying to keep my head above water!

Holding on by my fingernails...

2010-07-14T04:38:00.000-07:00

Sounds dramatic doesn't it! No, no extreme life changing things going on except that its that time of winter that I start longing for longer daylight hours and warmer weather....and hanging on by my fingernails. At work, I feel somewhat human but by the time I get home in the dark I feel like I'm running on my hamster wheel again, using a lot of energy but never getting anywhere, just repeating the same tasks over and over again.

Shopping in the icy evening air after leaving the warm cocoon of my office, nursing my geriatric and possibly terminally ill car homeward, arriving home to a messy house (which I had left tidy a mere 8 hours previously), cooking supper and tidying up the kitchen, feeding the animals. I sit down to watch a bit of tv or to indulge in my new favourite hobby of knitting, and half an hour later I start to feel sleepy. In the morning, I get up early, watch a bit of tv and then I'm late because I've got behind in the cleaning up of the living room area which I need to get done before work.

Sometimes I'm tempted to just stay at the office... This space is just mine alone (except when my boss pops in).

I'm sure it'll be better when spring arrives. Just another 7ish weeks to go!

Dael attended the fanpark at the beach for the soccer final. The weather was icy. He caught the shuttle bus down from the Pavilion shopping centre. He went with friend 'S'. Bradley didn't go. My car was newly fixed and I hadn't even wanted to make that trip down to Westville but because Dael had diligently worked on fixing the oil problem for most of Saturday, I humoured him and sponsored him the money for transport down to Durban. I left him to catch the bus at about 2.30pm. At about 9.15pm and about halfway through the game, I was already tucked up in bed, not expecting to have to go and fetch Dael because the plan was for him to stay all night with the fans and have fun. Because of the icy weather I was kind of expecting plans to change though and they did. He phoned from Durban to say that he would leave just as the game ended and catch the bus back up to the shopping centre and could I fetch him. I complained, my car complained and started to play up on the way back home again. I wasn't happy but Dael learned a valuable lesson. He is a creature of habit and after an evening of fun, he likes to come home. No such thing as staying out all night for him. He had a bad backache from all the walking to get where they had to be and from the cold. After a cup or two of hot coffee and some painkillers, he was out like a light! He said afterwards that he should have given the fanpark a miss and just used the money to go to his usual club on the Saturday night. Oh well, life is made up of these experiences.

I have completed 5 toys so far, an aeroplane, kitten, monkey, duck and mommy and baby kangaroo. I almost sold the monkey! I'm enjoying the hobby a lot.

Bradley is back to school, albeit with a very sad face every day. Today is first soccer practice and he has gone prepared. I am hoping that the second half of this year will see improved maturity and motivation towards school however onerous he considers it to be. Even if seen as a necessary evil, as long as it achieves the desired result, it will be worth it.

Dael has proven himself to be a totally committed and motivated person when faced with an engine to fix. He tackled the oil problem (which is basically cleaning out a sieve into the oil sump). This should have been sorted out previously by the garage to which I was taking my car for this very same problem last year. Thousands of rands spent and I still had sludge in my sump. That alone is enough reason for my son to learn mechanics. However, his extreme concentration and focus and commitment in terms of time when fixing an engine is a big incentive for me to continue to try and get him into this field of work. On the job training would be the ideal situation for him.

Everything around me seems to be freezing up in this cold snap. Even our work sliding complex gate is acting up. Yesterday, it wouldn't close once it was open. Today, the phone rings to indicate someone at the gate (intercom works through the phone) but no voice can be heard and no signal sent to the gate to open. Murphy's law dictates that this must be the very day that I get a lot of visitors. I think I have had to get up about 5 times with my remote and walk halfway up the parking area to get close enough to the gate for the remote signal to open the gate. Extra exercise for me today! The last time I let in a visitor, two monkeys were balancing across the top of the gate but as they felt the gate move, they catapulted into the bush in fright. It must be warming up a bit if the monkeys are coming out of hiding. The weatherman says another cold front is on its way from the Cape and that Jhb area will be freezing again from Thursday with it being only 11 deg. C during the day and Zero at night. This will affect us in KZN too but not nearly as badly as in other parts of the country.

My poor cats are battling hugely in this weather and I actually left the heater on for them to snuggle up to this morning. When I sit down to knit in the evening, the cats pile on. The small ones are okay but when the big chaps come and squash on top of everyone else, I get aggravated. I try to knit, lifting my arms higher and higher so that my knitting needles are almost poking me in the face and then I throw everyone off! Mean mommy but I also need my relaxing space. I'm not just a glorified cat pillow! By next winter I have got to get hold of some cat igloos for my cats to snuggle inside. Its getting a bit much now.

Oh and my ADSL connection was giving me a message from this Monday that I had reached my internet cap and I couldn't get onto any international websites but could only access South African websites. All of a sudden this morning late, I could get on again. Maybe someone at Head Office paid the account or maybe its a glitch. I'm not arguing and I thought I would quickly type a post before I get switched off again!

One of those moments...

2010-07-02T02:18:00.000-07:00

I'm having one of those moments again. Where nothing that happens in my life or around me seems worth blogging about. I do feel the need to blog though so here goes.

Backtrack to last weekend... Friday was a bit of a bomb. On Saturday I was woken early to go the morning market. My mom has decided that she will only go every two weeks while the weather is so cold. This suits me fine as I now get every second week to just chill at home and do what I want to do. Mom had prepared a special display box for 'all' the knitted toys I had made but eventually we decided not to use it as I only had one toy finished, a knitted aeroplane in tones of blue.

The story behind the knitting is that I took up knitted toymaking about 24 years ago, before my daughter was born and while I was dating their father. In 1987, life got hectic and with a new marriage and a new daughter, the knitting was shelved. With all the creativity around me at the morning market and with my parents encouraging me to make something to sell, I decided to resurrect my knitting abilities.

I have several items in various stages to completion but should have several more items ready by the time next Saturday rolls around. Practice makes perfect and I am already improving in speed and quality of work. When I first started again, I couldn't even remember how to cast off! It is a bit like riding a bicycle though and I soon got into it again. Bradley is not impressed with my knitting skills and keeps telling me "Put that granny knitting down!" Obviously not cool enough for his liking.

I'm finding that the actual knitting of the work is really relaxing, especially while watching tv, even to the extent that I don't want to get up to make supper or feed the cats. I do obviously but am totally addicted at the moment to my new hobby. Sewing the item up is another story but I'm getting there.

Sunday was cold and we all hibernated. In the afternoon, I had bathed and had sat down on the couch with Bradley. He was teasing me and as I replied, I spilt coffee all over the clean outfit I had just put on. That was enough for me. I just blew up. After a few minutes of my ranting, Dael decided to blow up too. He has a quick temper and he ended up smashing a plate and throwing a stool, which also broke. I ended up calming down to calm him down. This is exactly how his father was and unfortunate to see coming out in Dael. A quick temper can be a dangerous thing. Anyway, I mentioned to my mom that we were now down to one dinner plate, which I was hiding away so that the boys wouldn't use it. They use plates all day long and everything has to be rewashed before dinner. I don't want to use a plastic plate so I hide mine. Anyway, mom cleaned out her cupboard and donated me all her old plates and mugs which she never uses so we're in the pound seat again, with a stock of useable plates and mugs for the boys to break again! With cats and kids, nothing breakable stays unbroken for long.

Last night, with the soccer games being more spaced apart, I actually got to operate the Dstv remote last night. We watched two cop dramas and a scary movie. It was bliss! After which, Dael wanted to play Playstation and the boys sent me to bed! I was starting to nod off anyway though.

Robynne is all moved into her new place and just all the unpacking remains to be done. This was a mission because it took place midweek and after work. Robynne took the afternoon off work to complete packing and cleaning but her dad could only come and help after work and they only finished moving by about 2am the next morning and then still had to get up and go to work. Not a pleasant situation but the big move is now achieved and maybe now Robynne can put down some roots and be settled. Since she arrived in Jhb last October, she has moved 4 times. On another note, it appears that she has developed the family trait of collecting belongings. She couldn't believe how much more 'stuff' she has accumulated since she has been in Jhb, especially for her furbabies.

Bradley has been away from home since Wednesday. He has been visiting his cousin R. They hadn't seen each other since the shoplifting incident. He took matters into his own hands by simply just going around to his cousin's house on Wednesday and phoning me from there and asking if he could stay over. I relented only because R mom is also at home. She works for a school and is on holiday with the kids. It worked out quite well because at my place, S is full of flu again and I don't want Bradley coming down with that again, not just he is due to go back to school again. So I will probably have cousin R at my house this weekend... Fun and games!

So long as they don't get between me and my knitting!

Winter blues!

2010-06-24T01:54:00.000-07:00

Its at the stage of Winter when I start to feel like I really need a holiday. I feel like all I do when I'm at home is clean up and make food. I like to bustle about at home when I get home from work but with it being dark by the time I get home, there's no chance of that. I get to watch maybe one programme on tv while I eat supper and then its back to soccer. And at work, my office is freezing. I have to be warmly dressed every day. The boys get to hang out at home under duvets all day watching tv and drinking coffee. No fair! Anyway, my mom told me that mid Winter day passed on the 21st June (shortest day, longest night) so it should start turning around from now. I think I'll take a day off tomorrow and make it a long weekend.

___________________________________________________________

Well, I wrote the above on Thursday without posting it and I did in fact end up taking the day off on Friday. The day went well until lunchtime. I relaxed, watched tv, just pottered around and then we loaded up into the car and went down to Durban. From the time we entered Durban at about 2.15pm, my irritation levels started to rise. I went in one direction - the roads were blocked off. So I had to join all the traffic going in the other direction. My car's cooling fan was going on and off but I wasn't happy about making 'her' sit in the traffic. I started to rant to the boys about them 'making' me come to Durban on a match day. I was doing the mommy thing. The request to do it had come from Bradley but I find if its something I really don't want to be doing, if one thing goes wrong, they are going to hear about it. Then two big busses from Gauteng, travelling in convoy, jampacked with jolly soccer fans, squashed into the queue. They were sticking close and this made the traffic even worse. Eventually after some creative manoeuvring, I managed to extricate myself and headed off in another direction to the city centre, which was relatively clear. As I entered the city on the 'new' bridge which I hadn't used since it was build, there were traffic police blocking a centre lane and tragically, as we passed this blockade, we saw what they were protecting - a body! A young Indian lady with tear stained face crouched next to the prostrate form which although covered, I could see was lying face down. She was a victim of the craziness of the big city, on a work day which was also a Friday and a soccer match day, probably an older lady obviously not crossing the street fast enough for the speedsters and that was the end of her life. That made my mood even blacker. There was only one entrance road to the beach area. We were making for the fan park on the beach. Eventually, the boys decided to jump out and walk as we were close enough to the beach but I was still crawling along in traffic. I entered the beach road and travelled along but discovered that I could only go so far and no further so I went back to the only parking area available, parked behind some cars to let my car cool off and just waited for someone to come off the beach. Not more than 10 minutes later, my wish was granted.

With my car safely parked, I shouldered my bag containing juice and popcorn for the boys and set out to walk to where the fanpark was situated. I strolled along the beachwalk towards the big screen in the distance. 20 minutes later and I was there!

I couldn't get in as food and drink of any variety was not allowed in. The boys came out, looking for me and we decided to walk back to the car to leave the food and so the boys could see where the car was parked. Dael was also looking for a vendor to buy a cigarette. With all this accomplished, we walked back to the fanpark. You can imagine our surprise when we arrived back after the long walk to find that they were not letting any more people in. Honestly, the whole of Durban is sewn up like Fort Knox at the moment. Parking areas are only available to those with permits. Roads are closed. Its really a big money making racket at the moment. We were all feeling somewhat weary after all the walking. Dael couldn't see his friends. It was getting dark and we weren't able to see the match. We decided to cut out losses and make for home.

As we neared Pinetown, my car decided that it was just too hot and the oil buzzer started to come on.

Not the best leave day in history. Bradley was disappointed. Dael and I were irritated and that was just the beginning of the weekend!

To do or not to do..

2010-06-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

Always a dilemma on a day off. I wake early as is my habit now. My body clock doesn't know its a holiday. :) So I hit the lounge with a cup of coffee and a blankie for a good dose of girly tv programmes. I can only watch these in peace when the boys are asleep. I had my knitting and my library book to hand. Get comfy, too early to feed the cats. And then it starts - the invasion of the cats. All the orange kittens - Toby, Pixie and Dusty and their older siblings, Lovey and Boy (Ninja), then the whites - Sabrina and Bitsy. Sometimes my big orange tomcat Charlie comes and zones in and sits on everyone amid meows of protest, forcing himself into prime position. They lie on me up to just under my chin. I try to knit around the furries, often having to pull my wool out from under the bodies. One or the other of the kitties will get interested in the knitting and pull on the wool or bite the needles. I sit until I go numb from not being allowed to move and then I throw everyone off.

I knitted and watched tv for a long time yesterday. Boring for some but for me a day with nowhere to go is a day of bliss.

Dael and 'S' were sitting outside midmorning warming up in the sun. 'Mom, come quick', he called me. There's no such thing as quick with the slumbering cats on my lap. As I try to dislodge them, they are startled coming out of sleep and cling on like multiple brooches. Dael wanted to show me a flock of redwing Starlings chasing a Hawk away from their tree. I missed it...

I only got up from the couch to clean the house at about midday, so I had a good dose of vegetating yesterday.

Last night, watching the soccer and counting stitches, I came to a wet length of wool, which I was just about to knit into my work. What the heck! No, Joe! I realised that old man Joe had been licking the kittens and had licked my piece of wool too. So: dislodge the cats, take my knitting to the bathroom to wash the wool and dry it, getting cold in the bargain, the cats taking my place on the couch - Really! No one wants a woollen item with catlick on it! Joe is now my oldest cat at 9 years (10 in October) but he can be irritating. He must lick himself and everyone else in the vicinity until they are damp before he settles.. Usually I encourage him to find a place in one of the cardboard boxes I have on the counter for the Winter. These are warm nests for the kitties with the weather being unusually cold at the moment.

This morning, back to work. My car wouldn't start from last night already due to its 'problem' and I couldn't go to the shop. This morning, there was still a problem and Dael used the scooter to go to the shop for bread and then to pick up the spare car battery which was being charged at my parents place. I eventually got to work at about 9.15am and then our IT guy arrived with my ADSL router which operates my phone and internet and he also brought the photocopier allocated to me which scans and photocopies, so I'm connected and online and all is good..

And tomorrow is Friday! (Every week should have a midweek break. :)

Icing up in Isolation...

2010-06-15T03:54:00.000-07:00

Sitting in my cold office on a cold day with my boss on leave down the coast with his family. Do you think anyone would notice if I wasn't even here. Nice try - I would notice! I'm my own policeman. I have a welldeveloped sense of duty and at least one of my children has also developed this 'ability'.

Robynne is having to move at the end of June and so far the perfect home eludes her. This fact is causing her some stress at the moment and it seems the stress is falling squarely on her shoulders. She, her boyfriend and her female friend who is sharing their current accommodation, along with all the furries are looking for alternate accommodation and their needs are not so simple. If it were just her and the boyfriend, a granny flat with its own small fenced off garden would suffice and it seems that there are several of those available. However, with her friend in tow, they must find a 2 bedroom, preferably 2 bathroom townhouse/duplex/simplex with its own garden, pet friendly and safe parking for 3 cars! This must also be situated fairly close to or in the vicinity of Sandton and must be affordable. (It might be easier to find a house on the moon!). It might be easier if her friend decides to find her own alternate accommodation but Robynne is a very loyal friend and they help each other out and she will never push her friend out just to make her own life easier.

It would be easier to have less of a sense of duty or loyalty but I don't think Robynne and certainly not I would want to be that kind of a person. It just wouldn't sit right on us. I also think its part of having leadership qualities for people to lean on you and expect you to sort things out but being in that situation can take its toll and those who are doers must learn not to overtax themselves and to learn to say no and delegate or relegate duties and tasks to others. With my mom, its her church's care team and all the work they do. With Robynne, its her friends and increasingly, her pets. With me, my work, children and home and of course, my horde of kitties. We absorb so much that we eventually reach our limit. I wouldn't want to change as a caring and responsible person but a slight adjustment of duties and responsibilities can only improve our stress levels, patience and just the time to relax.

I was invited to my mom's for supper last night. The boys didn't want to come. Before going round to mom's, I went home and as I drove up the driveway, I could see everyone jumping around cleaning up. I hadn't washed the night before's dishes, not even that morning before work and they had been added to that day so there was a huge amount. Dael was tackling those. 'S' and Bradley were running around cleaning up the lounge. It only took a couple of weeks of ranting and raving (the boys call it 'rapping') to get them to this stage. I changed to some warmer clothes and left them to it. I got home again after a delicious chicken supper with the boys' share in a container. The kitchen was by no means perfect and some of the dishes weren't even that clean but the fact remains that the boys are doing chores, even if its at the last minute as I appear! I fed the cats and finished off the kitchen a little more and then settled down for the evening's soccer game - Italy vs Paraguy. I had heard that the Italian players were very goodlooking and as the defending champions, I was expecting an exciting game. I was disappointed on both counts and ended up falling asleep. I heard later that the game drew 1 all but even the boys found it boring. Maybe the freezing rainy weather in Cape Town affected the players.

I'm looking forward to the public holiday tomorrow so that I can snuggle in and do some knitting or reading or watch tv. And no sense of guilt that I should be doing something else if the weather is rainy and freezing too. What else can be done on a cold day other than vegetate!

I need to borrow a referee!

2010-06-14T02:32:00.000-07:00

My two boys just cannot agree to disagree. Dael being 20 is constantly opinionated about everything. This wasn't a problem until fairly recently as I'm a non-argumentative person but now Bradley at 14 has started becoming opinionated too! And I'm caught in the middle.

The topic of soccer has become a big arguing point. Bradley waxes lyrical about various players and Dael has a rude response to this. Dael debates a point of play and Bradley has a difference of opinion about this. They had an increasingly heated debated about the ball being called 'offside' during play between the West Germany and Australian teams last night until I called halt. I think Bradley just disagrees with Dael to rile him up deliberately.

Yesterday afternoon's game between Algeria and Slovenia was trundling along uneventfully and Bradley was playing around with his soccer ball in the lounge area, not particularly concentrating on the somewhat boring game but when Dael changed the channel at half time and refused to put the game back on afterwards, Bradley was mortally wounded and all hell broke loose. He ended up in the bedroom, packing his clothes in a bag to go stay at granny's house because she has a few tv sets and he would be able to watch the games uninterrupted. He slammed around drawing attention to his irritation with his brother threatening him from time to time with physical violence. Eventually I was threatening them both with violence!

I was settled in as it was a bit chilly but I hauled myself up and got changed and took Bradley down to my parents. I visited with my parents and Brad went into the guestroom to watch the Ghana vs Slovenia game in splendid isolation. He soon lost interest in this also somewhat humdrum game and after donning his new soccer boots and grabbing his soccer ball, went off to kick the ball around in gran's neighbours big yard. I went to peep at him a few minutes later to check if he was okay and he spotted me spotting him and gave a casual wave while he kicked his ball up and down the yard, showing everyone how proper soccer players do it!

When it was time to go, gran said 'Yes, Brad could stay over" and then proceeded to list the various rules and regulations surrounding Staying At Gran's House. He thought about it and then decided that no, he would go home with me. Haha, there's nowhere like home where you are used to the way things are done.

So last night I stayed awake to watch the big game between Germany and Australia but after the 4th goal scored by Germany against Australia, I decided that sleep was the better option. One thing I'll say about Germany apart from the fact that they are like a well-oiled machine, at least they know where the net is. A lot of the other teams kick way over the net. A pair of rugby posts would probably be more appropriate!

Memorable Friday....

2010-06-11T01:59:00.000-07:00

What a memorable day it is today and not just because I actually managed to blog again. I seem to have developed a little bit of Winter brainfreeze.

By the time I left the house this morning, the boys were up and snuggling under duvets in the lounge in front of a hot tv, waiting to inhale all things soccer. I had heard a vuvuzela player warming up since before light this morning and even now as I write, this sound can be heard in the distance. It is the anthem of day and everyones connection to the game.

I have been slowly settling into my new office this week and its starting to feel like home. It has been a bit hard to actually work what with the schools closing for the end of second term and the soccer around the corner. Our offices close at 2pm this afternoon in honour of the opening game and so that everyone can get to wherever they will be watching the game in good time. I'm stopping at the library on my way home to stock up on new books but I will definitely be watching at least some of the main games. Bradley waxes lyrical about the abilities of various international players. He seems so knowledgeable about their abilities. He has developed a great interest in the game and he cant wait for the actual play to begin.

I woke from my slumbers last night in the lounge in time to catch some of the World Cup concert and although I enjoyed a lot of it I felt the continuity was sadly lacking. In between acts and as the next act was setting up, out would stumble a few soccer players, seeming unrehearsed and looking around for the teleprompter. They would mumble a few lines and stumble off the stage again before the next act was ready, leaving the audience hanging. Where was the MC. Isn't this country full of excellent comedians who would have been able to 'interview' the soccer players for a minute or so and provide smooth running entertainment. Would this kind of thing be seen at the Oscars? It just felt amateurish to me. The boys enjoyed Shakira and I felt the drummers were good but the audience didn't even clap... Very weird considering the amount of money which must have been spent to set up this event, just on the fireworks at the end of the show alone. These were very good and well choreographed. I wish I didn't have to be critical but we have had a few years to plan this.

Roll on, the soccer and good luck to all the players.

TGIF..

2010-06-04T05:41:00.001-07:00

Bradley finished exams yesterday and I decided, for his sanity and mine to let him stay at home today. I have had one of my headaches (caused by neck tension) since Wednesday and painkillers don't help.

Tomorrow, Brad has to be at school by 7.45am in full school uniform for the very popular Derby Day. It is a day of matches between Brad's school and the other local high school, Hillcrest High, where the two schools compete against each other in rugby, netball, cricket and chess, of all things. So Brad, being in grade eight will probably be roped in as a helper. I will hang around and take it easy. The older boys will also come up at their leisure because the day is also a very popular social event for ex pupils. Dael used to go to Hillcrest High and also knows a lot of kids that currently go to Kloof High. It looks like being a perfect fun day. The weather is great at the moment too for something like this, with sunny days not too hot and no rain predicted.

Brad is counting down to the soccer world cup kick off games and now that the exams are over and breakup is next week, he is in Utopia. I can probably kiss tv viewing goodbye for the duration as I anticipate nonstop soccer watching. I'll just have to go and get a new set of library books to keep myself occupied.

Oh and Brad persuaded his dad to let him have some money for a pair of soccer boots as he is planning on playing soccer at school next term so we'll probably be soccer boot shopping on Sunday. I keep teasing Brad that I had to use the money for groceries. He is not impressed when I say that. "You're joking!" "Are you joking?" I think he'll be relieved when he's holding them in his hand.

In between, I plan on getting lots of fresh air and sunshine and on getting rid of this blight of a headache that's been hanging around for a few days.

I'm still alive...

2010-06-01T00:20:00.000-07:00

...Just!

What a couple of weeks these have been. Last week was spent packing up the building we were occupying in preparation for the move. My office was packed up by the previous Friday and I had packed the walk-in stationery cupboard but come Monday the whole 'coffee shop' had not been packed yet. I spent the better part of the afternoon wrapping and packing crockery into boxes. There was so much to pack and several of our former staff members had left the company already, also leaving all their paperwork and files to be packed with out tealady/cleaner choosing this very busy time to develop a medical problem which entailed her leaving the company without packing anything. By Wednesday, I felt totally deflated and it was a major triumph just to be able to process my weekly payments through to the accounts department. By Thursday afternoon, I had moved to my new offices and was trying to unpack and find everything I needed.

I'm now on a 3G card for internet and emails and I have a temporary phone set up called a Telular phone from Telkom which is basically a cellphone contact which works through a plugin deskphone. I have moved this phone as close to the window as I can because I have discovered that the concrete over my head is playing havoc with the signal and I keep getting cut off from my callers. Oh well, it will only be temporary as we have an ADSL line on order with Telkom.

In between all this chaos, Bradley has been writing exams from last week Monday and finishes at odd times. Last week he was finishing at 2pm as he was writing two exams a day and this week he finishes by 10am as he only writes one a day. So I virtually just get to work and then have to leave again to fetch him. The longer the exams drag on as well, the worse he gets at studying. He is losing momentum. Fortunately only two more exams and then break up again next week.

Just to add to the excitement, my car joins in with more hassles. It has been battling to start in the mornings. Not enough petrol getting through to start the car. Could be carburettor problems. Yesterday, I cranked the car enough to flatten the battery and had to phone my father to get Brad to school for his exam. Then dad had to come back with jumper cables and help me to jumpstart my car. Nothing like a bit of stress like that to start the week off, I say!

The one good thing is that I am on my own in this office now. The rest of the staff have moved to the Riverhorse Valley office from Monday of this week and are all crammed in there like sardines (if some of the comments are to be believed). I will go down with my boss today to process my payments and see what the place looks like. My little office is like a peaceful haven though and I'm glad I had the opportunity to move here.

I'm settling down and sorting out and should be able to keep in contact a bit more now that the Big Move is done and dusted.

And then the second half of the week..

2010-05-21T03:35:00.000-07:00

Well just when the kittens were starting to look a lot better, more drama struck. Wednesday was a particularly busy day and my mind was very preoccupied with all that's going on. We are packing up our offices for a big move to new offices, I had a half hour conversation with Robynne who is building up a resistance to her job due to the nasty bitchy people who work there. She had driven to work, driven past and gone home because she has been suffering from flu and just couldn't face her work environment that day. After that I was handling work issues when my computer started playing up and I had to call our technicians to come in and fix it. As they were busy with that, I picked up my phone and went to the ladies room. I placed my cellphone on the windowsill while I was busy and after washing my hands, discovered there was no paper handtowel and went to the other loo to use the towel dispenser there. Then I popped into the kitchen to make some tea and went back to my office. The IT guys left and after some time, when I looked for my phone, wondering why it was so quiet, I discovered I didn't have it. I realised that I hadn't really seen it since I picked it up to go to the ladies but when I searched for it, it was nowhere to be found. I tried ringing it and although it rang normally before going through to voicemail, it could not be heard ringing in our office. I was totally freaked out. Often when I have a lot on my mind, I become forgetful and don't focus on what I'm doing. When I have a lot on my mind, I have learnt not to use the ATM either because that's when I end up doing something stupid.

So after an afternoon of ranting and raving to no avail, I had to accept my phone was gone. I have a loan phone from my boss now which is quite basic but will have to do for now until I can sort out a new phone for myself.

On Wednesday afternoon, I started packing the contents of the stationery cupboard into what eventually became seven boxes. On Thursday, I packed up a lot of files from the cupboards of two PA's who have been retrenched. In the afternoon, as I walked back to my office across the carpark, I heard a distinctive chirp from the tree, like "Chee-cheep". It didn't sound like a wild bird and it drew my glance up. High in a tree above the rooftops sat a large white bird with a plume on its head. I squinted in the afternoon sun to try and identify what I was looking like. It looked like a parrot. I went inside to dump my paperwork and called one of my colleagues who came out with me and agreed that it definitely looked like a parrot. It was cleaning its legs like a parrot does and rubbing its head against the branch while pacing up and down. I raced upstairs again to find the SPCA's phone number, got through to them and asked them if there had been any reports of lost cockatoo's. She looked on her system and found a name and number. A lady called Nicky had reported her bird missing. I phoned her and she was so excited. She had lost her bird from one road up from our park but four days ago. She was amazed that he was still alive and hadn't been caught by a bird of prey. I told her where to come and went out to call to the bird. She had said he was very tame and that if I called "Diego Scratch Scratch" he might come to me. Sadly I didn't have the opportunity to embarrass myself by calling this out as...the bird had flown! He's in the area but there are a lot of trees. I really wanted to reunite him with his owner but it was not to be. I have her number though in case he returns.

On Monday, we will move. Fortunately my boss has decided that I will be based at a satellite office still in this area as he and I both live locally and I have to liaise and meet with agents and clients relating to our properties also up in this area. He is advised by management that this must be a temporary setup but it will give me a bit of extra time to find another position more local than where our new head office is - about 25kms from where I work now and about 20kms from where I live. I visited the new office this week amid all the workmen busy putting in drywalling, cabling, blinds and reinstalling cupboards and shelves that have been taken out of our existing offices. From a garden setting where we are now, the office is moving to an office in factory wasteland. One side has a view of the freeway, another side a view of the river and the huge courier firm beyond. The inner courtyard has a garden setting with a modern pool and waterfalls. This kind of setup may suit some but I just didn't feel comfortable there. I feel a lot better knowing I will be staying close to home and to Brad's school. I will still be able to fetch him and he can spend the afternoon with me.

And now back to the rest of my packing. I'm surrounded by cardboard boxes and there's still a lot to do. I fully intend to do a lot of relaxing this weekend after such an intense and tiring week. Hope you all can do the same.

The first half of this week.

2010-05-21T03:08:00.000-07:00

After a low week last week what with losing Mischief, life hasn't really improved in respect of running smoothly. All three of my kittens who have intermittent sneezing and oozing eyes which I treat as it occurs started to get much worse with the onset of the colder weather. The two boys wouldn't eat and although I managed to feed the smaller boy, Toby, with a teaspoon or a syringe, he wasn't really getting a lot of fluid or nutrition in. The little girl although skinny was still eating well. The bigger boy wasn't eating either but I couldn't handfeed him as he is quite strong and wriggles. Anyway, I had a look at my battered credit card and discovered that I had some credit on my budget facility. I decided to take all three to the vet. Rushed home with Bradley on Monday afternoon, piled the kittens into a basket and made my way to the vet. Once there, a male vet whom I had never seen before came out to greet me. I had an impression that he seemed impatient and fussy. One look at my kittens had him exclaiming "These kittens have got something seriously wrong with them like leukemia or FIV and they need to have blood tests. In the conversation that followed he intimated that I was causing them unnecessary suffering and the kindest thing would be to have them put down. That's when I got stubborn. I told him I wasn't going to put my kittens down and asked him if he wanted me to take them away. "No, I'll treat them but if they don't improve in a week you'll have to bring them back for further treatment". I asked him if he would give them an injection or do anything to rehydrate them. No he would have to admit them to put them on a drip but I could inject them at home to rehydrate them. I have never done this before but his whole demeanour said that he didn't think it was worth treating the kittens. He slammed in and out of the consulting room several times. Two of the kittens, as listless as they were, put their little legs up on me wanting me to pick them up off the table. They could sense this guy's hostility. His eventual treatment: Synulox tablets which I used to be able to buy over the counter. I cannot get these tablets over the counter now and have to pay for a consultation to get them. The tablets were about R75 and the consultation R160. He didn't examine them at all or take their temperatures just weighed them. Now I know that chronic snuffles can also cause weight loss. Mothers know a lot of things and experience counts for a lot. I left there quite insulted and rather upset. I said a few rude things about him to the receptionist as I was paying and behind her hand she agreed with me. However I was absolutely livid that I had paid that money and he did nothing to stabilise my babies.

Anyway, I decided not to let it go. I phoned next day and spoke to the other receptionist who passed my message and opinion of this vet onto the owner who is one of the vet's that I usually see and who phoned me that same afternoon from her other practice. She was very apologetic and thanked me for letting her know what had happened. This guy is a locum and was chosen for his experience but not for his manners, obviously!

Anyway, they gave me a free do-over consultation where the kittens were seen by the other lady vet, a younger girl. She was also concerned about the kittens but gave them an injection and checked their temperatures. They also gave me two cans of nutritious vet. food which they use to encourage cats to eat. The two gingers with the benefit of a couple of doses of tablets ate ravenously but the beige boy only ate a little. I paid extra for the injections and also for a bag of kitten crumbles to help them pick up weight.

By the next afternoon, all three were eating the crumbles enthusiastically and are totally perked up, meowing for attention, with little Toby again climbing my leg at every opportunity to get onto the counter.

I know with kittens, they can come up as quick as they go down. Even if they have a virus, they will always have a home with me, as long as I judge they are not suffering. I am not one to put down a furry family member at a moment's notice. If a cat's spirit is strong, they can regain their health and I always give them that fighting chance.

I got such a fright....

2010-05-11T04:04:00.000-07:00

This is a Vervet monkey. Our office park is in a green area and there is a troop of these monkeys which pass through from time to time. Generally they stay their distance at the unoccupied property next door but today was different.

I had just finished a walkaround of all the office blocks in our park, dropping off post which is addressed to the street address and is dumped by the security guards in our building reception.

As I climbed the stairs and crossed the verandah to return to my office, suddenly there was a loud sound like a screaming grunting noise and as I swung my head to the right, all I could see was two large male monkeys dashing towards me on four legs. At that split second, I couldn't figure out if they were trying to attack me and I made a leap for our office door, screaming in fright and grazing my elbow as I fell into the office. The door is quite heavy and I was holding a box of paperwork but I made it into the office just as these two scary creatures bounded past.

They were obviously fighting with each other over territory and females but all I could see were open mouths and fangs and even if they weren't aiming for me, I wouldn't want to get in the way of one of their fights.

Wow, my heart has only just stopped pounding. Some of my colleagues were also standing in reception quietly discussing some financial issue and as I burst through with a scream, they all nearly had heart attacks too.

Talk about working among nature.

It was a sad mothers' day

2010-05-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

because I lost one of my furkids and in a very traumatic manner too.

Early morning on Sunday, I was having a bit of lie in because I had been woken early by the boys that are staying with us. As I woke up I heard whining from the dogs next door and my dogs were running in and out growling so I assumed that one or more of them had succeeded in pushing through the dividing fence between the properties again. It didn't worry me too much as they are harmless. I eventually got up at about 6.30am and was just busy putting on the kettle and relining the cat box when all hell broke loose outside.

I heard a cat screaming and screaming. I knew it was one of my cats in trouble and I frantically searched for the keys to get out. I couldn't find the right key for the padlock. Bradley woke up and ran up and down hysterically, eventually going to the window of my room and shouting out at the dog which was attacking one of my cats. Eventually I got out and Brad and I ran around the house to the passage between my house and my garage. Mischief was lying on a pile of clothes next to an upturned garden chair and as I reached him he was dead.

The harmless dogs which had come through the fence had preceded the dangerous Boerbul which these people have. My cat had spent the night on the pile of washing on the garden chair between my house and my garage and this intruding dog came round the corner and caught my cat sleeping in his own yard. I assume he tried to jump higher and this big dog just caught his body between his jaws and killed him. It took less than a minute. Bradley when he shouted out the window while I was searching for keys actually saw this dog with my cat in its mouth when he shouted and he said as he reached Mischief he was still moving. How very traumatic for my son.

Mischief is the grey tabby with the white nose and chest.

This pic was taken a few years ago.

The thing is he was a member of my family for eight years. He was a tall, healthy robust cat who loved to wander but when he was home he was as affectionate as can be. He wasn't a sickly old cat and it wasn't his time to go.

He came to me as a rescue in 2002 with his foster mom kitty and her two kittens. He wasn't her baby and he was much bigger than her two kittens but he was taking full advantage of that free mother's milk. He got his name from being Mr Hyperactive, climbing curtains and knocking items off the counters. The momcat and her two kittens were adopted by one family but grey tabbies that aren't tiny babies are not as popular and he stayed with us. As he grew older he became a wanderer and would protect the borders of our kitty domain. He was often to be seen on the road verge or in my catless neighbour's yard. He would hang about in the mornings after breakfast, lying on the bonnet of my car until I started my engine to leave for work and then would run down the driveway on route to his day's capers. In the evening when I arrived at my driveway he would materialise and run up the driveway in front of my car, so happy to see his people. For some time he hadn't been allowed in the house by my alpha females who are newbies in age but still very bossy females and this is probably because he wasn't around much and maybe smelt of his wandering lifestyle. He was persisting though and starting to get closer and closer to the family.

For a couple of days last week, maybe Thursday and Friday, I noticed that he didnt come for meals. I used to call him and he would normally run home for at least one meal a day. Then on Saturday morning he arrived home. I fed the cats in the dark as mom was picking me up for morning market. When I arrived home at about 11am, he was still there but while I was petting him, I noticed that he had a scab or scratch across his head that he didn't want me to touch and a large patch of fur scraped off his leg that he was licking. He hung around under my car for the whole day and obviously had decided to spend the night at home as he was under the weather with his injuries, lying on the washing on the chair at his house where he felt safe and where it turned out he was not, thanks to my neighbours dangerous killer dog.

I lost one of my kittens last year after it got a fright and ran out the house. The boys had heard a cat screaming in the night and we assume this nasty dog got hold of my little one too. This dog has bitten Piglet in my yard and caused me a vet bill to stitch Piglet's mouth. I bought my house for the safety and comfort of my children and my animals and now my privacy and comfort and safety have been violated and my beloved Mischief has paid the ultimate price.

I carried him in my arms and showed him to my neighbours who just said sorry but they were trying to keep the dog in. They have piled what looks like a whole tree cut into logs against where the dogs dig but I already saw one of the dogs in my other neighbours yard again this morning. They must have made a hole somewhere else. Some of my cats are smaller and even more defenceless than Mischief was and my dogs are even petrified of this dog as they run in the house and stand growling from safety.

This is definitely a case for the SPCA. If I leave it up to Dael, it will not be stones he is throwing at this dog but something more lethal.

Rest in peace my beautiful boy. I miss you, Mischief.

Soccer Fever

2010-05-07T02:12:00.000-07:00

Bradley had been building up in excitement the whole week for today's activity at school. The item on the weekly school notice said that a seven a side fun soccer tournament would be held today to help promote enthusiasm for soccer as part of the countdown to the soccer world cup.

Well, judging from the array of colourful tshirts, caps and wigs adorning most of the students, as well as various blasts from vuvuzela's which some students had brought with them, the enthusiasm needs no extra promotion amongst the teenagers of our country. Bradley had prepared the yellow t-shirt he was going to wear as well as a 2 litre bottle of juice which he popped in the freezer last night to ice up in preparation for the this afternoon's soccer. He will be playing in a team which are calling themselves...'Brazil'. There was no dragging him out of bed this morning. He was up and dressed in a flash and soon nagging me to finish so we could get out the door and off to school.

He has asked me to try and come to the school this afternoon to see him play so I will try and do so. Its not often he has so much enthusiasm for anything happening at school so his love of soccer is to be encouraged.

He's not so much a fan of local soccer as of international and can name many of the players in the international teams. His latest nag/request is for a Manchester United beanie and a soccer shirt and soccer ball, none of which can be obtained at low cost. I have put those requests on hold for the moment but I have planned to buy him his own soccer boots for when the school starts soccer practice next term.

Now, just because I'm writing about soccer, I can hear a vuvuzela being blown somewhere in our office park. I pop onto the balcony and there it is. Someone's child in the building next door is blowing their vuvuzela. Everywhere you go, especially on a Friday which is more casual dressing day, people are wearing their Bafana Bafana shirts, in the bank, at the office, in the shops.

Soccer Fever is infectious!

Servant of the furry ones

2010-05-04T23:35:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happened to me in the wee hours of the morning when it was still too dark to see. I had been awakened by one dog, Puppy (who is not a puppy anymore!), from a deep sleep by the scratching on the door. He just gives a scratch with one paw over and over again until I wake up and let him in. I went back to sleep and was eventually woken up again by a whining outside the door. This was Piglet, Puppy's father who just stands and whines until I get up. So I hauled myself out of bed again, opened the door for a second and closed it again. Get back in bed and settle down again.....and there's that whining again. The dog was still outside the room. Get up again and peer into the dark. Piglet is standing a little way away from my door outside the bathroom door and doesn't move until I say, "Come on Piglet!" Only then does he run in. He was waiting for an invitation.

And we finally got to rest again!

Long weekend for me!!

2010-04-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

I didn't take any extra time off over Easter so I decided that since next Tuesday is a holiday and most schools have granted their students the Monday as a holiday too, I would take a day's leave on Monday and have another long weekend. After the day I've had today I know I made the right decision!

Last night being Dael's birthday night, I gathered my funds together and bought a chocolate ring cake and a box of prepared custard to go with it. I had left work late and by the time I finished shopping, it was dark and had started raining. A storm had blown up and as I was driving home, it started pouring. I staggered into the house with my shopping and Dael looked up from his phone. He was sitting quietly, with the television playing in the background and Bradley sleeping on the couch. I ran out to the car again and ran back through the pouring rain, balancing the chocolate cake. When he saw the cake, Dael's eyes lit up. I don't think he was expecting anything much as, being the end of the month, he knew funds were low.

"Its your cake, for your birthday. You can have some now if you want". No further invitation needed. He was in the kitchen like a flash, cutting a big chunk of cake and coating it with custard. When he was seated back in the lounge with his cake and a big cup of coffee, he tucked in and announced "This is very good". I felt a glow of satisfaction that I had chosen a treat he was really enjoying. A little while later he ate another helping. In the meantime, I had washed a load of dishes and cooked supper but no one except me was really hungry.

Bradley had woken up and eaten a piece of cake too which he really shouldn't have because I had picked him up from school at about 10.30am that morning because he had been sick at school. I was really concerned because he had been complaining on and off since Monday about a pain in his stomach or bowel area. I thought it might be appendicitis. I had taken him home and given him a tablet for nausea and settled him on the couch with some juice to drink and then gone back to work. He seemed fine and I just checked in on him during the day by phone.

Anyway fast forward to the evening and he is eating chocolate cake and custard! Anyway I let him have a small piece but he still wasn't feeling very well and didn't finish the slice. After I had eaten and packed the leftover supper away, I still wasn't done for the day. Bradley hadn't finished a project for school which was due to be handed in on Friday and he really wasn't up to doing work. Famous last minute project story! After an irritating start when I discovered that he didn't have an eraser or a sharpener and his pencil is a stub, we got on with the project. Brad and I worked together to throw this project together and by the time we were finished and I looked at the clock again it was after 11pm. Needless to say I fell into bed and was soon comatose from exhaustion.

Then the day at work today! Say no more... My car wouldn't start for a while this morning. Something about rather cold weather and the starter motor! Then I had to drop the project off at school. Bradley was hitting up flu symptoms this morning so he didn't go to school. And now I have lost 2 pieces of paper that I know I had on my desk. I have hunted high and low and can't see them at the moment. I'm writing a note to remind myself that I need to find these items on Wednesday which is when I will be back in the office.

Roll on the weekend!

Happy 20th Birthday, my son.

2010-04-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

The pic shows Dael with his half-sister, Rachael in Johannesburg in December. Its hard to get a decent pic of Dael where he is looking straight at the camera and not pulling a funny face!

As of today my eldest son is no longer a teenager. He turns 20 today.

I am proud of my son. He is a decent and caring young man. He is also a good friend and although he possesses all the usual manly vices of being untidy around the house, he will help me with whatever I ask of him without complaining.

On his birthday, I wish him the realisation of all his dreams for the future and although I know he will battle on his road to get there, I will support him as best I can to achieve the best career and future to match his particular strengths and skills.

Happy Birthday, Dael! I love you!

Happy Birthday Dad and many more, I hope!

2010-04-19T05:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my dad turned 75. I spent some time with my parents yesterday afternoon. I bought dad a slab of chocolate and a packet of ginger biscuits to carry on with until I can buy him a proper gift at the end of the month. He loves getting munchy items for his birthday and that suits us too because in typical male fashion, most other items on his wishlist entail taking a loan from the bank to purchase them. Mom and Greg bought him a set of 3 different tools in one box on special offer and he was pleased with that. He recently lost a lost of his power tools a few Saturdays back when we were at the Farmers Market. The parents arrived home to find that thieves had broken the latch off the garden shed and made off with the tools.

Anyway dad couldn't wait to show me his badge of honour. Several swollen toes and a reddened foot from the night before. Dad has very active dreams and mom is used to being woken up with a heavy arm thumping across her or banging noises in the room. She just snaps on the light and finds dad in a variety of poses. Anyway, the night before his birthday he dreamt that he was throwing people out of his garage and in his eagerness, he managed to deliver the open bedroom door with a hard kick which didn't harm the door but certainly served as a painful wakeup call for him! He couldn't sleep after that with the pain in his foot and had to take a sleeping tablet to get back to sleep.

Dad has always been the official breadwinner and payer of the big bills and being self employed this has often been a challenge. As he gets older and income gets less, his active dreams get worse. During the day, he seems able to cope, obviously burying any worries so as not to alarm mom but when he is asleep, his worries manifest in dreams mainly comprised of protecting his household and family. Mom has snapped on the light sometimes to find him facing into the clothes cupboard or through in the en suite bathroom staring out into the garden. Some weeks ago, he was so restless, he fell out of bed. Luckily he is an active gentleman and not as rickety as some at his age or otherwise his antics might have more serious consequences to his health. We have a good giggle about it when I visit as I get a full update but seriously, I wish my dad could have a peaceful nights sleep and this will only be attained when he is at peace with his personal circumstances and his income.

Or else, I have warned him that I'll have to start strapping him to his bed..or get him an extra large cot! Sleep peacefully, dad!

Another wasted day?

2010-04-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

Every day we get up, attend to our homes and families, go to work, shop, cook and eat supper, watch tv, go to sleep - or is it just me?

During the last couple of mornings, as I clean house, I have watched reruns of those tragic natural disasters, Hurricane Katrina which virtually destroyed New Orleans in 2005 and the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004. The producers have gathered up video footage from news teams and private people which show how, in seconds, minutes and hours, the lives of ordinary folk were changed forever. Tales of bravery, of courage, of loss, of grief - all so poignant to me. We all go about our lives focussing on the minute details of our next decision - and when something like this happens, it causes me to wonder why we spend so much energy and anxiety on superficial issues. The reasons to watch again the stories of ordinary people changed forever are not to be vultures watching other folks misery and rejoicing that it didn't happen to you but to cause an awareness that our own lives could change in an instant and to rather focus on the people and causes which are of real value in this world. How many days go by during which we don't do one thing for humanity at large but just buzz from one personal issue to the next. I have suggested to my daughter who has also been thinking in terms of service to others that she join an organisation where folks gather to help others and maybe its time, now that my kids are mostly grown, for me to do the same.

For a long time, I have felt that there must be more to life than just focusing on my own existence and that of my immediate family, important as they and their needs are to me. I have felt particularly that there must be a more important reason for me to exist than to just be processing paperwork around my desk, all day every day. It doesn't have to be a big fanfare event but so long as I am helping to make the lives of those around me a better place in some meaningful way, that will be enough for me.

Where did the week go?

2010-04-15T02:23:00.000-07:00

I've just realised that my last entry was week ago. Time is flying by this year.

My daughter came down to Durban last weekend. I was expecting to see her at a brunch at my parents on the Sunday just before she was due to go back to Johannesburg. It was a flying visit to attend a wedding of one of her school friends. She travelled down on Friday afternoon with two of her friends but had to also bring Tiny, her miniature Doberman, the bunnies and the guinea pigs in her little car and planned to leave the animals with me. Robynne ended up staying with me as it was so late by the time she arrived and dropped off her friends with their families. So over the weekend we had 6 humans, 5 bunnies, 2 guinea pigs, 3 dogs, 14 cats and 5 fish in da house!

Robynne and I spent time just chatting and catching up on Saturday morning. She had an extra nap and then she dropped Brad and I off at granny's house on her way to the wedding. Granny had offered the use of her Hub account for me to buy Brad a new school bag and shoes for school. Unfortunately, Hub didn't have brown shoes in stock but we did get a nice new bag. Brad has to wear his takkies to school until month end when I will buy a new pair of shoes for him.

Robynne thoroughly enjoyed her friends wedding, which was held at a seaside resort in Ixopo, just past Kingsburgh and her friends were so amazed that she had travelled all the way from Johannesburg to be at their wedding. On Sunday, I got up early to bake a batch of biscuits for Robynne to take with her to Johannesburg later that day and also a batch of muffins for the brunch at granny. She and I went out with two of the baby bunnies to a new pet shop in town. The bunnies are ready to go to new homes and we were pleased with the cleanliness of the petshop. They were soon settled into their new box at the shop. I persuaded her to keep one of her babies, a black and white bunny who is full of character. She was going to send him to the petshop too but I said she would be sorry if she did that. So he is still a part of her bunny family. He is such an inquisitive and playful little chap and full of fun. Robynne packed up and the boys and I followed her down to granny's. Gran and Greg had been hard at work making miniwors, bacon, chips and fried tomato. An informal table was laid on the patio. We just had to make toast and scrambled egg and warm up some baked beans and we sat down to a feast. We ate and relaxed for some time. Then Dael and Brad said their goodbyes and walked back home. After a bit more chatting and some photos, Robynne left with her pets to pick up her other passengers. I always hate saying goodbye. But it was a nice relaxed visit and it was very good to see my daughter again. After a six-hour trip, Robynne was back in Johannesburg, arriving home at 9pm that night.

Bradley went back to school on Monday. He hasn't been the happiest chap this week but he will get back into the swing of things by the end of the week.

My car oil buzzer started buzzing again last week. I spent some of my monthly budget to buy a 5lt can of oil and a new oil filter. Dael drained my oil on Saturday afternoon and replaced the filter. The car was fine on Sunday although I really didn't drive much that day. But on Monday, the buzzing started again. So I am just nursing this car and driving carefully until I can send it in again to the mechanics. Dael was phoned again this week to help the adventure group with a school course but I told him I can't risk using my car for any trips out of town until it is fixed so he had to decline. It is more important at this time to get Brad to school and myself to work than Dael to his courses.

My one baby kitten, the biggest chap, has managed to get the tip of his tail caught in something and it has damaged the tip of his tail. I didn't realise there was a problem but in the last couple of days I had noticed that he has been flicking his tail because it is painful, the tip has lost its fur and was bleeding yesterday. Dael held him and I tried to put a dressing on his tail. The tail is so tiny that the dressing slipped off but we managed to get some ointment on it. It seems a lot better this morning and not worrying him so much but obviously it will never be the same again. Tail injuries are very distressing for cats and dogs so Dael is watching him closely to see that he doesn't wander off.

My oldest cat Joe, one of my first kittens, who was born in 2000, always prompts comments from Greg like "He's on the way out now" and "He won't last much longer". One evening this week, a gecko bravely appeared on the lounge ceiling. Its a sight seldom seen as my cats are active hunters. Immediately Bebe, on her perch on the top of the fishtank and the closest to the ceiling, scrabbled into an upright position and reached her paws up against the wall, trying to reach the gecko which wriggled to safety across the middle of the lounge. As it reached the other side of lounge, "Old Joe" raced up the curtains and grabbed the gecko in his mouth. I ran across the lounge and as he dropped down from the curtain rail, still with gecko in his mouth, I shouted and held him down, before he could think of running outside with his prize. He opened his mouth and the gecko ran for freedom, probably with a few dents from Joe's remaining teeth. He may be old but he can still move when he needs to. He was a bit confused and sat in that position for some time waiting for his prize to reappear but the gecko was never seen again....

I called the cops on my neighbours..

2010-04-08T03:14:00.000-07:00

and considering what they were up to, I think I was justified. Last Friday night, right at the beginning of the Easter weekend, I had fallen asleep while reading in bed but was woken up by a lot of neighbourhood dogs barking, including my own. Just as I was coming to, Dael knocked and entered my room to say that he heard banging at our bottom neighbours house. I checked the clock as I moved to french doors to peer out. 11.30pm!

My house is on a hill and my garden has a lot of greenery behind which one can hide to peruse the neighbourhood. Yes, I am like that! The neighbours in question are downhill and over the road. Dael didn't want me to go outside. "How can I see whats going on if I don't go outside". So he let me go. I went as far as the fence and although I could hear voices, I couldn't hear what they were saying or see anything. So I went back to my french door where Dael was waiting. Just then two figures came into view in the yard of the house next door to where I thought the banging was coming from. Dael and I ducked down and peeped over the rim of the edge of our lawn. The two figures were the son and the father from the house next door to the house where they were now and I realised that these neighbours were away for the weekend as the same light had been on since earlier that day.

Strangely, the father who is over 40 with a big belly was clad only in either underpants or a Speedo costume with a duvet thrown around his shoulders. Father and son inspected the semi-open windows of the room with the light on and then the father disappeared around to the front of the house. The son started to fiddle with the window of an adjacent room at the front of the house right under an outside light. Just then whatever he was doing seemed to work and the entire window glass fell out with a crash. I was so outraged at the thought of these characters burgling their neighbours (who are their friends) that I decided to phone the cops. I tried the usual cellphone emergency number which I remembered as being 112. No luck - that didn't work. I even tried to phone the security provider of the house being broken into. I ran out of air time. So in desperation, I tried the usual emergency number of 10111 which I didn't think I could get through to on a cellphone. And it worked. I logged my complaint and went to watch again and wait for the police to arrive.

By this time the father had arrived back to the scene of the break in. He managed to step in the broken glass with his bare feet and he and the son spent some time inspecting the cut. Then he started unscrewing the burglar guard. Eventually the burglar guard fell into the room with a crash sending the dad sprawling over the edge of the window onto his big bare belly and probably onto some more broken glass. The dad was so drunk though (according to Dael) that he probably didn't even feel it.

The alarm went off and dad went off through the house, switching on the room light as he went. The son climbed in behind him, set the burglar guard back in place and closed the curtain. The alarm went off and so did the room light. I was frustrated as the police hadn't arrived yet (20 mins!) and phoned again. Dael was nervous, warning me to stay low. The son kept on climbing out the window and going round the house and climbing back in again. Dael thought he heard the front sliding door open and I envisaged these two reprobates emptying the house of its valuables and putting them over the wall into their own yard. What would you think?

Eventually I heard a vehicle coming slowly up the road and past my house and I ran for my driveway. Dael was holding me back but eventually came down the drive with me as the police were looking for my house. A double cab with 3 policemen in it had arrived. I explained the situation and they moved forward to park in the driveway of the house being broken into with their headlights on. Dael and I were up at the top again and watching. We heard the cops cock their guns, ready for action. They moved up and down the outside of the wall, looking over for a few minutes before they scaled the gate and moved towards the broken window. They were searching the front of the house for signs of movement. I saw one policeman waiting outside the yard on the verge and went down to talk quietly to him when just then, the son popped out from the side of the house. "There's a mistake. We're looking after the house for the weekend" he was saying as he walked. The cop saw him and shouted "STOP!" The son reared back as if he had been stung and stopped walking. I shouted "Where's your key?" and then decided to leave the cops to it. As we went home, another police vehicle came cruising by but seeing that the scene was covered, they continued on. It doesn't rain but it pours. Obviously, 2 calls, 2 vehicles! But neither were early. The cops went with the son to the window where he again climbed in after telling his story and the police phoned the owners who apparently confirmed the story that these reprobates were looking after the house.

They left the premises but stopped to talk to me as I was still on my driveway. They were somewhat amused and confounded at the entire scene. Apparently the sister had the key for the house but was out with her friends and obviously father and son couldn't wait for her and decided to break in. One long window glass later! The cops left then and peace returned although after that excitement I wasn't a bit tired. At about 1.30am, the sister and her friends arrived and she started swearing and shouting about the broken window with the son explaining why it had happened. Happy families...

Well obviously I had gone out to watch again. And you can be sure, even if you are my neighbour, if I see you breaking into a house, I WILL call the cops on you!

Cat burglars in my house..

2010-04-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

I decided to keep the Easter chocolate low key this year. The boys are teenagers now and we have teenage friends staying with us at the moment and I don't think the boys would have got excited over mom embarrassing them with an early morning egg hunt wakeup call. So I bought each of them a giant slab of chocolate and that was that.

I decided to defrost my fridge on Friday as it was nice and warm. Inside the fridge against the element had grown an iceberg which was slowly engulfing the contents of the fridge and the freezer was just as bad. After switching off the fridge and removing the contents to the old fridge in the garage, I worked on the ice until there was just a big blob of ice left slowly melting inside the fridge and another big sheet of ice against the top of the freezer. This had taken the better part of the morning and I was hungry. I fetched a few items from the garage fridge to make myself a burger. Amongst these items was a brand new block of cheddar cheese newly purchased. After fixing my burger, I popped the fridge items into the defrosting fridge which was still cold even with the door open. While I was sitting in the lounge eating, a movement made me look up and there was Kittykie, the tortoiseshell, carefully stretching from the stove next to the fridge and climbing onto the fridge ledge, reaching for the block of cheese. I shouted and she darted out the door. Thats where I went wrong. After finishing lunch and still waiting for the iceblock to depart, I settled in to watch a movie. After the movie was finished, I returned to the kitchen to check on the iceblock and my first indication of a crime was the cheese crumbs left in the fridge as evidence. Outside lay the plastic clingfilm wrapper and the label. Of the brand new cheese block there was no sign. Oh how I screamed. A hardly used R17.00 block of Cheddar. My cats had selected their own Easter treat. Dael came to bash out the remaining ice as my patience was now exhausted and added insult to injury by saying "You should have put the cheese in a container!" And don't I know it. That sounds like something I would have said to him.

That evening I still baked biscuits to sell at the morning market. I baked until I was exhausted. The boys hadn't wanted to eat at the same time and I had left the pot of stew and rice on the stove for them to help themselves. After finishing up the last batch of biscuits, I fell into bed and the first thing I knew was a tapping on the door. It was early morning, still dark and my brother was knocking me awake. He and mom hadn't been able to raise me on my cellphone (not charged) so they had come round to see if I was all right. I threw on my clothes, grabbed the biscuits and locked up.

Later on that morning, about 11am when I returned home, the boys were awake. "Oh mom, the cats knocked off the (almost new) tub of margarine from the counter and a lot was wasted." Dael had scraped the clean marge back into the tub. First irritation! Then I discovered that whoever dished up stew last had not put the pot into the oven or fridge and the cats had eaten the remains of that too. Second irritation! Grrr! I can't blame the cats. They are opportunists and all they know is to hunt for food. But I hate to waste food especially if it can still be eaten by the human scavengers in my house.

Thankfully that was the last of the cat incidents for the weekend.

You are speaking to Susan...and this is not a recording!

2010-04-01T03:25:00.000-07:00

Shame, I hope the lady I just spoke to is not too sensitive. I do suffer from inherited and incurable foot-in-mouth syndrome!

I had dialled the number of a major insurance company in Gauteng but while waiting for the line to be picked up, one of my co-workers was talking to me from my office door.

In the background, I could hear that the line had been answered but it sounded like an automated voice answering machine and I didn't quite catch the message. So I stayed silent, waiting for the next recorded message. The voice started up again "You are through to 'our' company and you are speaking to Susan. How may I assist you?"

I suddenly realised my mistake and that I was speaking to a living person and I laughingly replied to her "Oh sorry Susan. I thought I was speaking to a recording!" Oops, probably not the best thing to say but I did qualify my statement by saying that I hadn't been listening properly. She didn't seem too worried and soon put me through to the right department where the queueing system IS a recorded message and blow me down if the recording didn't sound the SAME as Susan!

I come to work for peace and quiet!

2010-03-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

Dael hasn't been called to camp this week and Bradley is off school with a 2 week end of 1st term holiday. Friend 'S' hasn't been working and other friend 'S' also seems to be there permanently since the weekend even sleeping on my couch. Luckily the two friends 'S' have been given some of their pay (another story) and they are contributing to the food. Their new fad is to whip up a batch of chocolate muffins. They have discovered the Snowflake Easymix muffin range where you just add 2 eggs, milk and some oil to the powdered mix, mix it well and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes and whallah...instant meal. I think they are surviving on muffins at the moment. The major food items that I'm using a lot are eggs, bread, milk, coffee, sugar and butter. I had two muffins for supper last night but tonight I feel the need for some substantial 'real' food.

Bradley was so desperate for me not to see his school report that he organised for his whole school bag to go missing! Kidding....but his school bag is gone. I had picked him up from school and we went to a local shop and bank. Then he was at my work for the afternoon and I dropped him home before going on to the supermarket for my 'big' shop. I shopped for groceries for an hour and then still had to stop at a another corner shop for rolls. At either the corner shop or the supermarket, some 'kind person' spotted Brad's bag on the floor of my car and forced my passenger door with another key and lifted the bag. We only discovered this loss on Saturday afternoon and I racked my brains thinking when the bag could have gone missing. At the corner shop I remembered that when I returned to the car, the passenger door was unlocked but I thought at the time that I had left the door unlocked by mistake. This with 'car guards' on duty. In general, they are worse than useless and sometimes I wonder if they are not guilty of the theft themselves. So the bag is gone as well as his new school shirt, new grey pants, school shoes and the report! I will have to replace the shoes and bag before the new term. Its this kind of petty theft which frustrates the heck out of me and chances are that the whole bag with its contents was dumped around the corner once the perpetrator discovered nothing of value in the bag. Nothing of value to them not me. To me its just another thing that has to be replaced. There is just no way of being that vigilant all the time because the one time you slip up, there is some layabout to pounce and take advantage.

I am looking forward to the long Easter weekend though so roll on Thursday afternoon. The Easter bunny won't be doing a major visit at my house this year as my kids are mainly grown up but I might just put on an Easter braai for them. I think that will go down better with them!

What was that you said? Sorry I wasn't listening....

2010-03-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

Dael came back from his camp last Friday feeling positive and rejuvenated. After a long refreshing bath and a good meal, he was feeling relaxed. He enjoyed being around the other staff members and he was amazed that no one had an attitude with him or treated him like the 'new kid on the block'. He just felt like he fitted in.

We didn't do much for the long weekend. It was very relaxing for me but Dael became bored and just wanted to get back to camp. He had been told that there was another camp on for the following week and he was asked to work on Tuesday. I told him I wasn't going to take him anywhere unless they confirmed beforehand and he was thrilled when he got the call on Monday afternoon.

I borrowed petrol money from Greg and got Dael to the head office on time. This time he was going in the other direction, down the South Coast to Port Edward. A lovely spot but an all-boys complement of school kids this time and apparently very naughty. He must be under considerable strain at the moment because when Bradley irritates him, he can respond with a punch, a kick or with throwing a matchbox at him or something. When the irritating ones are customers you can't really do that. It doesn't go down so well. Anyway, if anything this experience is going to teach him some patience...

On Monday, the public holiday, my dad and Greg came round to help out with some garden work. Dad had started working with his new weedeater and I looked and had to look again. He was wearing a long waist apron which almost looked like an apron that the Blacksmiths of old times used to wear. It tied round his waist and dropped down to his feet. I soon saw why he needed that. The grass was flying furiously in all directions as he whizzed along and he needed the apron to avoid being stung or cut. I was doing a bit of cutting with my clippers but if dad started even approaching Greg or I would have to duck away to avoid being hit by flying debris. I was a bit worried as dad worked his way along a narrow path that I cut halfway down my bank for access. He is 74 and I was worried that he might overbalance. He was fine though and soon finished. He was rushing to cut while Greg was loading garden refuse onto the back of the bakkie as he wanted to get to the dump before they closed. That night when I popped down to my parents to pick up the petrol money, I laughingly mentioned my fears to dad as I chatted. In mock disgust he returned "What do you think I am, an old crock!"

My dad is definitely a strong man who doesn't buy into the traditional scenario of how an older person should act. I think my sister of 39 acts older than him. I'm also as active as him and I use him as an example of how I want to be when I'm his age. Age is after all relative and inside that older shell is still an intelligent and creative hardworking person. A lot of people irritate me because they just see an old person or a disabled person or a person of colour. They don't see the spirit of that person. I challenge everyone to look beyond the stereotype of the people you meet and see the spirit of the person that is inside that frame.

Just as important is how you perceive yourself. Do you restrict yourself to a certain set of actions because you have reached a certain age. Do people perceive you as older than you actually are because of how you react to them or the things you say. Its not to say you have to act like someone younger or older. Its all in how your relate to people and if you are genuinely interested in what they have to say. If you can really see people as individual spirits, you can relate to them in an interested and non-judgmental way. Are you really listening or are you just waiting for them to open a topic of conversation so that you can put forward your point of view. Learn to listen before you talk. If others can see that you are interested in them, they will also be interested in you.

Be as open-minded as you can be today. You owe it to yourself and to all the wonderful people you know or have yet to meet.

What fun - Parent/Teacher Interviews!

2010-03-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

I only found out this event was scheduled for last night as we were on the way to school yesterday morning. I asked Bradley to list his teachers and subjects and he did so, marking a cross or tick next to each teacher's name, to indicate if I had to see them or not. I had to see the teachers for English, Afrikaans, Maths, Geography, Physical and Life Science and LO. They had all the teachers set up behind individual tables in what they call the Lifestyle Hall (basically an indoor games hall) off the sports field. As I walked in and saw the queues of parents behind the tables, my head started pounding again. The next trick was to find the teacher. The teachers were identified with namecards on the desks but the way Brad had spelt the teachers' names was creative, to say the least. 'Miss Van' turned out to be Mrs Van Wyngaard, the Geography Teacher. Mrs Ontment (Ointment!?) was actually Mrs Ortmann, not that I would ever have guessed but he eventually pointed her out to me, the teacher with the black and gold (black trouser suit, blonde hair). With each teacher a similar story: Bradley is slow, doesn't concentrate, easily distracted - some were very sympathetic and eager to help Bradley to achieve his best and one nosy one in particular who seems to have been cross-examining Bradley during school to try and discover if his issues with schoolwork stem from a dysfunctional or abusive family life.

I get this every year and every parent/teacher conference. Sometimes I feel like I invented the condition - ADHD - as an excuse for the lack of interest in schoolwork of my offspring. The one thing I really enjoyed was the yummy cheese and biscuits that was on offer for parents to snack on and as I was really hungry by then, kept on popping back to the catering table in between queueing for the different teachers.

Dael has been out of contact mostly since Wednesday. He cannot pick up cellphone signal where he is situated but he seems to be enjoying himself on his working camp. Basically he is a trainee instructor and the camp they are hosting is probably a school leadership course for Grade 7's. That kind of thing is his kind of job though - informal setting, different things to do, not having to get dressed up, outdoor work in a nature setting - ideal! I can see he's going to want to carry on and do more camps so I hope he gets the opportunity to do so.

Both Dael and Bradley have kept me busy over the past few years with their issues with school and now Dael has some special needs with regard to the career path he wants to follow. The work cannot be too repetitive or boring because then he stops concentrating and doesn't want to do it anymore. He enjoys doing a variety of different tasks not just one repetitive task. The boys are right brained and artistic. They can learn something very easily if they are shown how to do it or if they can try it themselves. Dael has picked up more from the Discovery channel on tv than possibly his whole last year at school because obviously television is so visual and not just verbal. His brain doesn't have to battle to process the information. Also at school you have to reproduce what you have learned in written form to prove that you have learnt it. This doesn't come naturally to right brained thinkers who battle to concentrate. They can think of better ways to be spending their time.

I had thought that my daughter had escaped being affected by ADHD, being female, although she is very artistic and imaginative, clearly also a right brained thinker. Fortunately, she didn't battle too much at school and in fact achieved a very good pass in her final Matric year of school, even achieving a distinction in Geography. However, in the last couple of years she has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and has been medicated as such for this. Yesterday, after reading a post of fellow blogger Hard Spear who mentioned in his latest post that sufferers of AD(H)D often suffer from depression and anxiety as a co-morbid condition, meaning that sufferers of AD(H)D can have the symptoms of AD(H)D as well as suffering from depression and anxiety or that they can just experience the onset of depression without the other symptoms. Either way, the fact that we have this condition in the family with both brothers diagnosed with ADD, bears investigation into the possibility of this being the cause of these feelings.

Now I'm just the mom not the doctor so Robynne has done the smart thing and forwarded some information which I sent her together with a brief family history through to her doctor for the doctor's opinion as to the possibility of this being the cause of the depression and we are at this moment waiting to hear what the prognosis is. Thanks to Spear because I really hadn't connected the two sets of symptoms properly until I read his post and that started my brain cogs working. I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon researching on the internet reasons why this, if it exists, hadn't shown up during the school years and for the main part the thinking seems to be that girls, unless they are tomboys, are conditioned to cope with sitting in a schoolroom situation and if they are bright, this is usually enough to get them through the school years successfully without being diagnosed. They internalise any problems they might be experiencing and this sometimes manifests in substance abuse and/or smoking. So basically boys and girls react differently in school. The symptoms in girls might only crop up as the pressures of work, relationships, managing money, marriage, motherhood, etc. start coming into existence. Only at this stage, way into adulthood sometimes, are some women diagnosed with AD(H)D.

I live and learn. I know either way that my kids being competent, intelligent and popular young people will make a success of whatever they turn their hands to. And I will be there for them as long as they want me to be and for however long I am on this earth.

The early bird...gets tired!

2010-03-17T03:15:00.000-07:00

I was up early this morning, as expected but not just because I had to get Dael up early. Yesterday I woke up with a killer headache of note which only got worse as the day got longer. I think I slept at an odd angle on Monday night and this caused a knot in my neck which in turn causes the Headache from Hell. I left work early but still managed to cook. After taking tablets the headache eased off for a while but soon returned. So I had slept fitfully, tossing and turning, adjusting the hot water bottle under my neck and punching my pillow into a fluffier shape. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and I got up. it was 3.50am. I took more tablets and made coffee. I sat on the couch and leaned my head back, willing my head to stop pounding. After a while, it was time to wake Dael.

He had asked me to wake him at 4.30am as he still had to throw his things into a bag. It took a few nudges from me before he surfaced. He's not used to waking that early. But he soon got up and dressed. After a quick coffee and cigarette, he dressed and packed and we were ready to go. It was 5am! Probably a bit early I told him but I need to get back and get Brad up. The freeway was quite clear and it was still dark. Half an hour later we had arrived at our destination only to find the business still locked up. We sat and chatted and watched the waking day - the birds, the walkers, the newspaper sellers setting up. At 6.10am I was getting restless as I had to get back home. I looked in my mirror and noticed that behind me a young man had emerged from the business via the roll up garage door. Obviously there are living quarters attached to the business as he looked like he had just got up, yawning and rubbing his face. He saw me looking at him. I turned round in my seat and he came over to the car window. I introduced us and he confirmed that he was with the business. Dael got out and went off with the friendly young man into the premises via the garage door. And I was off back home. I had to stop for extra milk. I arrived home and Brad was still sleeping. Running around trying to feed cats, iron clothes and make lunches. A quick glance at the clock told me we were late. Rush rush - I felt as if I had been through the wringer and I hadn't even started my day. Brad and I rushed out and started off. The clock in the car said it was 15 minutes earlier than we thought it was. But just as well the inside clock was wrong, today of all days because Brad was still on time for school. I'm halfway through the working day now and just wishing for hometime.

The duties of a mom

2010-03-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

Dael received a call back this afternoon from the training officer at the Adventure Group where he attended the Intro Morning a couple of weeks ago (remember the dirt road we had to go along). Anyway this chap wants Dael to go on a camp to their venue near the Tugela River from Wednesday until Friday. Obviously Dael is keen to go. The one catch is that I have to get Dael down to their office in Durban by 6.30am tomorrow morning. Their office should be easy enough to find but its 23kms from our house. Now lazy me would like to say: No way. I'm not going to drive all that way at that time of the morning and then still come home and get Brad and myself ready for school and work. But realistic me knows that this is just part of my duties at a parent. Its what I signed up for 22 years ago when I became a mom. Not just the good stuff but also the bad stuff, not only the comfortable and comforting duties but also the irritating and time-consuming duties which take me out of my comfort zone and my routine. Its these duties which make it so sweet when your child eventually becomes self-sufficient and independent, with their own finances and vehicles. If we didn't have to go through this time, it would mean nothing to us when our kids get to that stage that they take off from the runway and begin to soar. Robynne is flying. She has her problems and challenges but mostly she is gaining altitude, making decisions and moving ahead. At the moment Dael is spinning his wheels, turning in different directions but soon he will get his break in life and there will be no holding him back.

I'm too independent and it ends up with broken glass...

2010-03-15T05:26:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a rainy and chilly day in Kwazulu Natal and after tidying up the house, I sat down to read a book and watch some tv. By mid afternoon, I had had enough of sitting around and decided to tackle my room. I hadn't rearranged the furniture or cleaned under the bed since last year some time and my room was frustrating me. It isn't very big and the bed takes up most of the room. Added to that are two sets of built in cupboards. I decided that my kist would have to relocate to the living room. My kist was my gift by request from my parents on my 21st birthday and will always be part of my furniture but sometimes its difficult to find a place for it - where it also won't be destroyed by cats and kids. The boys were watching wrestling and I didn't want to disturb them and besides I'm independent. So I dragged the kist (filled with all my family photos and rather heavy) out of my room. I also dragged out a box of files and my expanding file with all my paperwork and my laundry basket. This left room for me to tip the queen size mattress and the base on to their side and I could then tackle the huge amount of dust which had accumulated under the bed. I called on Dael once to pull the mattress toward the door, this being the heaviest item but when the time came for the mattress to be pulled in the opposite direction, I tried to do it on my own. The mattress fell against the base which tipped and one of the wooden feet of the base shattered a pane of glass. Luckily the window is a type made up of small panes of glass in a crisscross framework and I only broke the one. It left a small hole with cracks radiating outwards. So Dael was called once again. "What are you trying to do?" Well I'm not trying to break glass but that's what I'm accomplishing. Crazy mother, always disturbing the furniture with her cleaning antics. I'm the bane of their lives.

So the bedroom is changed around, the curtains are changed and the window pane is stuck with transparent contact paper until it can be replaced. A good afternoon's work indeed!

It wasn't the aliens...this time

2010-03-12T02:23:00.000-08:00

On Monday evening, when I got home, I planned to turn my room upside down until I had solved the mystery of my missing cellphone. That morning, I had looked under the bedclothes before throwing a huge load of clean washing from the kist next to my bed onto the bed in my search for the phone. So now I worked my way down the pile of clean clothes, folding and packing clothing away in the cupboards as I went. Eventually I was down to the loose sheet and the mattress - lifted the sheet to throw it in the laundry and there was the phone lying innocently on the bed about where my legs would be. I still don't know how it got there from next to my pillow or how I hadn't seen it that morning when I was looking through the bedlinen but I was very grateful to get it back. The very nature of cellphones being portable is irritating to me because they can end up anywhere. At least a landline is always in one place, firmly attached to the wall by its cord!

On Wednesday, I got a phone call from the school again (I'm almost on a first name basis with the receptionist) to say that Bradley has twisted his ankle and sprained it and could I fetch him. I was a bit livid since it was only about 10.15am by then. I couldn't believe that he had injured himself that early in the morning, apparently jumping from a wall by the swimming pool. "Everybody was doing it, Mom!" But only Brad got injured. He had to get signatures from all the teachers for that day's lessons so that they knew he had gone home. And that's how I came to find out about two LO (Life Orientation) assignments due respectively in February and that day, which Brad hadn't done. He told the teacher that his work was at home. When I picked him up I berated him for doing this last minute thing again because last week alone he was off school for 3 days and could easily have completed these assignments. So when we got home, it was me and him sitting on the couch to complete assignments. I coloured in and searched for pics while he filled in the worksheets and used the stencil. We worked until late with a break for me to cook some supper and then I sent Brad to bed. I still stayed up and washed dishes and cleaned the living area because I knew we would have to carry on in the morning to finish the assignments. Dael had friends over. They are friends of his and 'S'. They arrived with a bottle of alcohol and mixer. Dael built a big bonfire and cranked up the music but Brad and I slept through it.

In the morning, I got up to make coffee and carry on and found two extra people sleeping in my lounge, the two friends from the night before. So I couldn't have carried out my normal morning chores anyway, with two sleeping bodies in the lounge. I woke Brad and we carried on with the projects, only stopping to get ready for work and school. Brad was limping badly and had bandaged his foot. He had to go to school though to hand in the projects and to write a test. I ended up picking him up again before the end of the school day but his foot was quite sore by then.

He is off school today although he was supposed to attend a two-hour detention today after school from 1 to 3pm. A special warning letter had arrived in the post, no less to advise me of this detention - for bunking geography on the 24th February. I was prepared to fight because I thought that this was the day he had bumped his head at the swimming pool and I had picked him up early. He was unfazed though and admitted with a grin that he HAD bunked geography and stayed in the library instead. Okay then boykie, enjoy detention! I phoned the school to let them know he was off and I'm sure they'll reschedule this delightful activity for next week.

I do so hate a mystery!!

2010-03-08T04:25:00.000-08:00

And that's how I started my day and the mystery may never be solved. It goes like this...

I had fallen asleep on the couch during the Sunday night tv movie but woke up for the end and decided to move to bed. I was fully awake by then because I still had to clear a load of clean washing off the bed and change into something more comfortable to sleep in. I went back to the lounge to fetch my cell phone which was still lying on the couch. I popped the phone next to my pillow and settled down under the cover to read my library book. After a while I nodded off and when Brad came through to the room he snapped off the light which woke me again but I soon nodded off. I woke again at 3am and not finding my cellphone, assumed it had fallen off next to the bed. I got up and wandered through to the lounge to look at the clock there. I decided it was too early to get up and went back to bed until 4.45am. At that time I started scrabbling on the floor next to the bed in the dark, feeling under my pillow - nothing - no phone. I then got up and put on the light for a more thorough search - nothing. I pulled out the bed and looked under the bedside cabinet - nothing. I started to stress. I went to bed with my phone next to my pillow and wake up to - no phone. I ended up waking up Bradley to ask him if he had taken my phone after I had gone to sleep to go on mxit. He denied taking my phone and Dael also knew nothing about it. Then I started to question my own sanity. Had I in fact taken the phone through to the bedroom or had I left it in the loung on the couch. I discovered a window left open behind the couch. The boys know to close all windows but this one was obscured by the curtain. They had left the living room light on. Maybe someone sneaking round outside at night had discovered the open window and the phone on the couch. Its easy to see when the light is left on! No - I'm adamant that I went back to the lounge and returned to the bedroom with my phone. The dogs sleep in my room, one on either side of the bed and I know that anyone entering my room during the night would have caused the animals to react.

So now my deduction is that cellphones are developing little arms and legs and going off on social jaunts during the night. Maybe my cellphone had a little too much to drink and not being able to find its way home, lay down somewhere to sleep it off. Maybe I'll go home tonight to find it happily lying next to my pillow again, having reabsorbed its little arms and legs.

Needless to say all the stressing and turning the house upside down wasted a lot of time and made Bradley late for school. I ended up bringing an old secondhand basic phone of my mom's to work with me just so that I can be got hold of in an emergency.

The weekend had at least one eventful moment as well. Saturday early morning, my mom woke me up with an sms to say she was on her way to fetch me. This was 5am. We had made an arrangement earlier in the week that I and my brother would go with our parents up to the local Farmers' Market where they have booked a stall for the month of March. Dad is selling his plants and mom her craft. The rather large gazebo they have purchased is of the concertina variety and needs 2-3 people to put it up and take it down. Mom is too short and I thought it might be a nice outing. 5am though! On a Saturday! Anyway the weather was good and dad made a few sales. At about 11am mom dropped me back home and I took Dael out to get a little part for the other car which he is fixing up. All the way across town to the CV joint workshop. They gave him the part for free and we went back home. He worked on the car and declared it fixed.

That night he wanted to go to the local nightclub, 54, and I gave him money for it. He left but soon returned saying that the car's petrol light had come on. I gave him R10 for petrol and this time friend 'S' decided to go with him. I was settling down to watch the movie when 'S' came on mxit to say 'The car is broken again'. Oh no and Dael uses my car's battery when he uses the other car. I couldn't go help. Luckily they had just gone down my road and turned right into the main road when the same clip broke again. I was stressing and standing at my door staring out down onto the dark road when I saw a small figure trudging along. 'That's one of them' I told Bradley. Eventually Dael arrived carrying the heavy car battery all the way from where the car broke down to home. He placed the battery back in my car and reluctantly I drove both my boys back to where 'S' was waiting with the car. Now everyone knows my car has had its share of problems lately. Poor car is just okay now and its expected to tow a car bigger than it home. Bradley wasn't impressed at that idea because he was worried about the car but I said 'Lets just do it'. Dael attached a piece of nylon rope he had found in the garage and I engaged gear. Now my car, being an automatic has two 'pulling' gears which don't change to another gear automatically. I used this gear and just went slowly. After a bit of bouncing to start with, it soon settled into a smooth movement. As we went uphill, Bradley and 'S' pushed the towed car to help my car with its task. We were soon home, luckily not encountering any other vehicles while we were in the road. It was 10.30pm. Dael untied the rope and I drove up the driveway. He took out the speakers and the radio face and left the other car parked across our driveway for the night. On Sunday when we had to leave our drive, Dael and Brad with me steering had to push the car back down a little slope onto the road and then aim me to the verge which has quite a high kerb. They pushed as fast as they could and I bumped hard onto the kerb. Dael kept shouting 'Turn turn' but I knew what I was doing as I always used to park on that kerb when I first bought the house. I had a VW Beetle then that had bad brakes and I couldn't drive up my hill. The driving up wasn't the problem, the coming down would have been. So I was quite familiar with that kerb...

At least I know now that my car can tow another car. I live and learn.

Living with boys

2010-03-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

Every morning I leave my living area - kitchen, living room and bathroom clean and tidy and every afternoon when I get home - the house looks like a bomb hit it. I clear the counters and wash a few things that I need to prepare supper. Supper is usually a meal that can stretch to 3 hungry boys. After feeding boys and cats and having worked a full day, I'm feeling kind of tired. I may try to watch a programme on television but if the boys put on wrestling, that's my cue to head straight for bed. I then try to read a few pages in my library book. Maybe two pages in my eyes start closing. I switch off the light and that's me for the day.

I've been waking early recently and there are a few reasons for that. Dael's friend S who is staying with us permanently now and often works the evening shift at the restaurant seems to be coming in at about 2.30 in the morning. I'm sure the restaurant is not closing them but maybe he's hanging out with friends. The dogs, Piglet and Pup, who sleep next to my bed do not like people coming in the house at that time of the morning. It makes them very nervous especially Pup who is a bit of a coward anyway. He starts to bark sharply and no amount of shushing from S will make him calm down. Only a cross "Stop it Pup" from me will calm him down. So if the sound of the key in the lock didn't wake me, the dogs certainly would. If I manage to get back to sleep after that, my 1 year old 'kitten' Lovey, who is one of Kittykie's first litter, a little girl, makes sure I don't go back to sleep for long. At about 3.30 or 4.00am she meows outside my door. She's feeling the need for love. The boys close my door when I'm sleeping to keep the noise down. But early in the morning it gets like a railway station. The cats inside want out the vice versa. I prefer my door to stay closed because if the kitty litter box (which I line with newspaper) gets too wet, they like nothing better than to jump on me and use my bedlinens as a toilet. If I happen to be lying there at the time, that's my problem.

It happened yesterday. I had just woken up with a noise when I felt that the duvet was wet..and so was I, right down to the mattress. So generally the baby kittens are banned from my room at night. Anyway if I'm awake at 4.00am I get up because sleep time is over and I just start thinking about (read: worrying about) my finances, my car, the kids, etc. So I get up and as I swing into my regular morning routine which also includes going outside and looking at the beautiful sunrise, I regain my usual positivity and mentally prepare for the day. I have tried listening to music in the morning but I find this disturbs my mental preparations for the day. I enjoy the quiet. Well, that the quiet of the morning other than the meowing of the felines until they get their meal. There's something really steadying about greeting the day with a routine that cant be beaten in terms of settling the equilibrium. If I leave the house in a mess, I feel very unsettled so I am definitely an early bird rather than a night owl. That's the only time of the day that I'm guaranteed to have the house to myself as none of the other human inhabitants would dream of getting up then.

When things are getting busy, problems are cropping up, my routine helps me to stabilise my thoughts. It calms me to repeat actions that can be carried out automatically while my thoughts drift like clouds in a Summer sky.

So its no use complaining about doing all the housework because I need that work and that routine to keep on keeping on.

Insy Winsy was hitching a ride!

2010-03-02T03:29:00.000-08:00

The other day driving Brad to school, I hadn't gone more than a few hundred metres down the road when Brad pointed out a jumping spider on my steering column. I couldn't stop at that stage as I had cars in front and behind me and there was nowhere to pull off. I was trying to avoid Insy Winsy jumping on to me while still keeping my car on the road. The spider ran up the indicator arm, then jumped on the steering wheel. I kept moving my hands out the way while Brad kept up a running commentary as to the whereabouts of the spider. Eventually thank goodness, I managed to pull off into a bus rank and encouraged Insy to jump onto an old envelope and then out the car. Phew! The traffic is enough early morning excitement for me...

My car seems to have stopped its major oil and water leaks for now. The next things on which to concentrate are the totally broken front shock absorbers and the bald back tyres. Every time I see the traffic police pulling cars off in an early morning traffic check, I just hold my breath and try and look innocent. A friend of Dael's whose father drives a very old bakkie just had his vehicle pulled off the road as unroadworthy. I don't need that to happen to me. I am taking my car in this afternoon to get new shocks and front tyres. Its going to cost but I would rather spend the money on replacing these items than on a traffic fine!

Brad seems to be developing his problems with school again. He is getting sick and twice the school have phoned me to fetch him early, the last occasion being yesterday. Now I don't like to fetch from school unless there are definite symptoms of illness like vomiting or fever. It was only an hour until school finished for the day and I had already taken time off work to get Dael to an interview that morning. I told them to keep him until the day was over.

I had taken Dael that earlier on Monday for an interview as an Adventure Instructor. The venue is situated on the far end of the local industrial park which gives way to virgin bush and to get there entails a bundu bash along a corrugated dirt road for about 3kms. That short distance never felt so long before especially as it is also the road to the local stone quarry and trucks race along the same road to get pick up their loads with choking dust clouds as they pass. Obviously they were passing as I wasn't driving very fast with my bad shocks. It was a short interview/training session as there were only 3 young men who turned up. I left Dael there to return to work and luckily he managed to get a lift back to my work with one of the other young chaps from the interview.

While the caller from the school was on the line to me, the line was distorted but I still managed to gather from what this lady was saying that Brad's math teacher is worried about him and he doesn't seem to be coping. Then when I asked her what the problem is, she didn't know who the teacher is but said she would find out and get her to phone me. She hasn't done so yet but I will be sending a little note through to her very shortly. He ended up staying at home yesterday complaining of feeling nauseous. So the drama begins....

Robynne's bunny that had its eye removed is still on antibiotics for an infection in that same wound. And unbeknown to either the vet or Robynne, the little thing was pregnant because what did she do on Monday night during the night but go and give birth to 5 little babies. So Robynne's little bunny family has increased in size dramatically. I think she will probably find homes for them in due course though.

Just one more day.....

2010-02-22T23:54:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have the feeling that if you can just carry on for one more day, just hold on for one more day....things will come right! I am sitting here with the most surreal feeling of...not peace exactly but maybe acceptance in the midst of chaos. Apart from world wide chaos, from earthquakes in Haiti to major mudslides in Madeira, there is hardship closer to home too. Who of us don't know someone who has lost their income or their home, someone fighting illness. And we question God...why have You allowed this? Knowing the propensity of mankind toward evil and destruction, I suppose we could ask God - why have You allowed us to carry on destroying this earth and each other for so long without dealing with us?

Be that as it may, I am discovering that the more days that I deal with hardship, worrying about my car and how long I will still have the use of it, worrying about how to feed my children and my animals, the more it feels like the natural order of things. Do I allow my circumstances to dictate the person that I will be or will become. Do I fall into self-pity or self-loathing because of my circumstances. I accept that possessions are temporary and I cannot base my self-worth on such unstable items but still our home is the place where we have the freedom to be ourself. Our vehicles are the means by which we gain our independence.

'A fool and his money are easily parted'. I am not easily parted from my money. I am always careful with the money I have left over...after all the credit cards and loans and debit orders have been paid. But where did all these insidious debts come from. School stationery, vet visit for one of the animals, not impulse purchases. I am determined to gain control over these debts. I will not be a statistic. I will not give in.

Every minute that I drive my car, the old lady, I am planning for the time that I will be walking and how I will accomplish my daily routine without a vehicle. I have faced up to the 'worst' - divorce, retrenchment, being 'fired'....and lived to tell the tale. Now I have to face up to not having a job or a car and still being the person that I am. And I will succeed with this. Even if I don't have a car or a house, I will still be a driver and a homeowner because its a mindset. If you have a mindset to be a driver you will save or plan ahead to own a car. The same with your home. Or education. In fact anything. As soon as you face up to the possibility of something happening, be it good or bad, you can begin to put a plan of action to cope into place.

Its funny how material objects can so overwhelm us with their presence that we forget that we were here, were in existence, before any of these items were. My kids have to have a cell phone, a hi fi, a playstation. Just a few years ago we grew up without these items and even without tv. It is possible to exist without the accumulation of belongings. In fact it is better to do so. It sets free the imagination, and your very relationship with the universe.

The more belongings and clutter you accumulate, the wider the gap of separation from your connection with the universe.

I see cats....again!

2010-02-22T02:57:00.000-08:00

I didn't travel far this weekend, in a bid to save fuel but I did need to make a trip down to the shop yesterday evening for bread and milk. I decided to visit a different shop from my usual one. This shop is also very busy and noisy, with music played quite loud. I had picked up a couple of loaves and some sachets of milk and was wandering in the direction of the shelves of eggs....when a movement caught my eye. On the top shelf just behind the eggs was a kitten, an adolescent beautiful grey kitty. She had been ducking down behind the eggs and peering over the edge of the shelf, waiting for the people to clear so she could make a run for it. I don't know how she thought she would do that since she was at the back of the shop and the place was teeming with shoppers. Just then she spotted me spotting her and hissed at me. Little wild child. I spoke to her, trying not to draw the other shoppers attention to her because I don't think a cat in a shop would go down well. As I spoke to her, she meowed to me and then retreated to the windowsill and just looked at me. I left her then and wandered a bit further on. When I looked again, she had gone. She was very scared because of the noise and clamour. Maybe she had wandered in through some vent or hole overnight and had become disorientated. I hate to see beautiful cats living wild because I know that even wild cats can be tamed and become loving and loved pets. What also amazed me is that the other shoppers couldn't see her. She wasn't invisible. She could be seen but no one else even showed that they had seen her. Is it just me? Am I the cat spotter?

Life carries on....

2010-02-16T04:50:00.000-08:00

aka Update on the Home Front.

The older boys got over their issues, thankfully by the next day. We had a low key weekend, basically just lazing round. We have a large quantity of wood which is basically just offcuts from the garage and old furniture and we had a couple of bonfire evenings. We have dismantled an old tumbledrier and use the inside drum as a fire drum. My car still has an oil leak and Greg is battling to fix it. He will come round again tonight to try. We are hoping to beat the problem tonight. In the meantime the extremely hot weather is not helping.

Friend 'S' still spent the weekend and didn't hear back from the restaurant about coming into work. He still hadn't heard by about midday on Monday and Dael was going to walk him home and then pick up Brad from school but then I heard back from Dael later that it was too hot to walk and fetch Brad and 'S' wasn't going home as he had received a phone call from the restaurant to say that he had to come in to work the next morning at 8am. I am just waiting to hear the positive news that he has signed his contract and received his uniform, then I will be satisfied.

Workwise, my office is situated uphill about 8kms from where I live and close to Brad's new school. The company has decided to relocate about 25kms in the opposite direction, right down to Durban in the sticky coastal heat and slapbang in the middle of an area of horrible traffic jams. The office will be a lot closer to where some of the employees live but they have been commuting ever since the company was established. The important thing is that the offices are really close to home for the new directors so that has been a big deciding factor, we feel, on the decision as to where to move to. I probably won't be able to commute due to the increased fuel required and as my car is so old. So from May I will probably be in the job market again after 6 years with this company. I am using this interim time effectively however and am applying for positions as soon as I see them. So who knows what will happen. Hopefully I will find myself in a much better situation than I am now. Sometimes we are pushed in a certain direction which looks negative but turns out to be positive.

My ex was telling me last night that he is thinking of returning to our area as he is battling in Gauteng. He went up with nothing but has since accumulated another houseful of belongings. If he should return, I don't know where he would go with all his stuff and this would be too much of an upheaval for the whole family. They stayed with me for two years before going up to Gauteng and he went up a full six months before his 'girlfriend' and two little daughters, leaving me to be mom and taxi everyone around. It was a big strain and I am still getting rid of his junk i.e. the wood in the garage. So, I am discouraging him from giving up as I think that there is still only work for him in the area where he is now. Kwazulu Natal is very quiet for artisans and craftsmen. Not so much money to spend on kitchen and bedroom cupboards down here.

Oh and Robynne's bunny, Hoppie, who had her eye removed is bouncing back and recovering well. Animals don't dwell on their disabilities. I have learnt that from my cats. They just accept how they are and carry on. We can learn a lot from them.

Drama...Drama...Drama!

2010-02-11T22:21:00.000-08:00

I had picked Bradley up from school and returned to work. At 3.00pm in the afternoon it is still very hot. When we left again at 5pm, I noticed a wet patch under the car and opened the bonnet. It is oil leaking.

Dael and his friend who is staying with us, 'S' had walked uphill to the suburb where 'S' normally stays with his mom and his mother's employer, and also close to where I work. His mom is a domestic worker and lives on the premises of her employer. He wanted to get some clean clothes and try to get some money from her as a 'deposit' against renting my outside room. Apparently they had a long conversation (read: lecture/argument) in which the mom stated that if 'S' is staying with me he must be able to pay me himself or otherwise go back and stay with her. She had given money to his sister and had nothing left. If he goes back he lives on his mom's employer's charity and gets lectured by the employer too.

I found out all this after I had picked them up on my way through the area on the way home. I was stressed about the car and the fact that funds are running dangerously low for the month to just feed myself, 3 boys and the animals and I also started lecturing, mainly about how I didn't think him mom was playing fair. I probably said some things that weren't very nice and both boys feelings were hurt. Dael came and told me viciously that he had told 'S' to come back down to my house with him, that it would be alright because he just doesn't want to stay where his mother works anymore, he had already had a routing from his mom and now I had given them one. Dael threw his clothes in his bag and walked out. 'S' was lying in the room on the bed, all depressed and I made him go and look for Dael. Now I felt bad as well but at no time have I been consulted by Dael as to my ability to absorb an extra person into the equation, which includes food, transport and use of utilities. These kids don't seem to live in a real world. They think everything happens by magic.

They ended up sitting in the broken car which is still sitting at the bottom of the driveway (what accommodating neighbours I have!) but eventually Dael came up and I spoke to him. We discussed the whole situation, he went down again and then both boys came up. 'S' was downcast and as he walked past me he told me that he would leave the next day and would find money to pay me for the time he has spent there. Now I felt bad. Really the situations I get thrust into. I hugged him, made him look at me as I was talking to him, made him understand that both he and Dael needed to understand the situation we are in. I wasn't telling him to leave but I didn't know how we were going to make it. As it is I am going to have to try and borrow money from my brother until the end of the month. 'S' was tearful, stiff as I hugged him and uncomfortable with his emotions. He went straight to the room, not eating supper.

Dael sat with me in the lounge and still ate some supper, not talking much though. They were both sleeping when I left this morning but on mxit this morning, Dael has a very negative status message about being over life and not being around much longer. Friend 'S' has a message about words hurting more than blows.

I feel bad about the whole situation but I also wish I had the luxury of being able to play the blame game. In fact I probably could blame the economy for the constantly rising prices, my employers for not paying me more, my ex-husband for not being able to support his children, any number of culprits but I just don't have the lack of maturity required to blame other people or circumstances for my situation today. I might say it when I'm having a rant but deep inside I feel that its my responsibility to change my circumstances, in respect of getting a better job etc, and the timing of God in allowing us to go through circumstances for whatever purpose, maybe to teach me to lean on Him a lot more or to be accepting of what life brings and to trust Him to answer prayer.

Also on a rather sad note, I had contacted Robynne after a long period of staying out of her way after the Christmas/New Year drama. I felt it would be alright to renew contact and I needed her to contact her friend in KZN to help Dael get his car up the driveway. The very next day she was embroiled in a drama of her own. Her littlest bunny, Hoppie had hurt her eye badly. The eyeball had a deep scratch from a piece of wire or a stick and she had rushed her to the vet. Unfortunately, Hoppie had to have her eye removed and is still at the vet. Robynne is very upset about her little baby and on top of that the operation and vet care is going to cost her a lot of money too. Such a nasty thing to happen just as she has finally settled into her new home. It is just one of many drama's that go to making us stronger people who are able to cope with a lot. But very unfortunate. Sorry Robynne and Hoppie.

Transportation blues.....

2010-02-11T00:39:00.000-08:00

We've had extremely hot weather recently. The weekend was difficult as I have a hot little house. Its better if we can open the back door for a through breeze but last year, the door blew back on its hinges in a strong wind and developed a large crack. So we jammed it closed and it hadn't been opened since.

I stuck it out at home on the Saturday but on Sunday, as it was just as hot, I relented and took the boys down the public pool. My car has an overheating problem but I refilled the water and it seemed okay. We enjoyed a pleasant couple of hours at the pool. I had made popcorn and mixed juice at home so that I wouldn't have to buy snacks. We drove home and almost nearing town on the freeway my car was making a lot of engine tappet noise. As I stopped at the traffic lights, the car cut out. Freaking out a bit, I snapped on my hazard lights and popped open the bonnet. Dael got out to check and the cap of the water bottle had come off from the pressure and disappeared. He eventually found the cap further down in the motor and we refilled the water bottle and limped to the garage. At the garage, Dael and friend S refilled the water bottle several times and cooled the engine by throwing water over it (which is apparently the wrong thing to do) and eventually we moved off again. As we travelled through town and neared home, my oil buzzer came on. Now the last time that happened, I had to have my whole engine cleaned out as the oil was clogging and not flowing freely. I was really worried that I had blown my cylinder head or something.

Once home, I phoned my brother, and he dutifully arrived with his steel glue. He discovered that the sensor on top of the water bottle was split and this was not only causing water to flow out but was also not sending a message for my fan to switch on and thus causing my engine to overheat. Anyway long story short story, he wasn't able to fix it with the glue, took the part away to buy another part and I ended up using the spare car for work on Monday.

I drove the spare car the whole day and it was fine. I did hear a bit of a rumbly noise like something rolling round in the boot but otherwise no problems. I drove up the driveway in the evening and ended up parking on a sloping part of the drive behind my brother's bakkie as he was already there. Kind soul that he is, he had bought parts and installed them and was fixing my back door so that we can now open it.

Dael reversed the spare car down the drive again so that my brother could get out and when he changed gear to accelerate down the road, he discovered that the car wasn't driving. The drive shaft had come out on one side. Anyway that car is also still on the road as Dael and my brother were unable to fix it and I'm going to have to get it towed to the top of the driveway as I don't think my neighbour wants the car in a corner of his driveway forever!

On Monday, I had a callback from a job advertisement that I had applied for on behalf of Dael. It seemed quite suitable, working with tarpaulins, good hours, basic pay. Unfortunately the workshop is situated a bit out of the way for me as Brad's school and my work are in the opposite direction from the workshop and there's a considerable amount of traffic build-up at that time of the morning. Although Dael would have been taken on, I had to decline. There was a bit of negativity from those I spoke to. "But can't you just do this..." "There's not much out there..." I told them when Dael has his own vehicle he can work wherever he wants but as long as I'm the transporter, he will have to find a job in an area that suits my schedule. Its tough at the top hey!

His friend who has been staying with us for the month of January has been called in this week to train as a waiter so that's positive. Dael had also applied but he doesn't have experience as a waiter. So he's still at home and we're still looking for that elusive job for him that suits all of us.

Walking the right path

2010-02-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

Bradley was involved in an incident on Monday that I have been hesitant to write about because its not something that I ever wanted to admit my child had been involved in. But I have felt the need to write about it just to put it into perspective, and to show that even a child who is brought up with values and the knowledge of right and wrong, can make the decision to be involved in wrongdoing.

I had arranged to collect Brad from school in the afternoon and then dash down to the municipal offices to try again and connect the electrical meter that I have been trying to get connected for some time. Bradley asked to be dropped at the local shop after which he was going to walk to his cousin, R's flat. While I was sitting in the queue at the electricity department, I messaged cousin R that Bradley was coming round and asked him to let me know that he had got there, which he did. I finished up at the municipality after about half an hour and then drove to the ATM. While I was trying to draw money, I received a phone call from the manager at the same shop where I had left Brad earlier. I came to understand that they had caught Bradley and his cousin shoplifting two slabs of chocolate from the shop.

I was so stressed that I cancelled the ATM transaction, jumped in my car and zoomed off to deal with this horrible situation. In the back office behind the tills, Bradley was sitting in tears, cousin R standing with a deadpan expression on his face and the manager standing with the 'loot'. I took off at Bradley giving him the lecture of his life. He was dressed in his school pants but had changed into one of his teeshirts and his cousin's hoody jacket. The manager has known me for years and didn't want to take it further. He was very fatherly about the whole thing merely saying that Brad had been caught for a reason, because he was not meant to get away with stealing and become a criminal, and he had just wanted me to know about it.

Now I was and am still, understandably I feel, upset that this has blighted my child's life. I just feel that he was involved in something that he wouldn't naturally have an inclination to do. Cousin R is rather spoilt and get up to naughtiness all the time. He had only been at his cousin for half an hour when they were inexplicably back at the shop and shoplifting! Very very strange. The boys had already left the shop when the manager, alerted by another shopper, chased after them in his bakkie. Bradley tried to 'escape' from the manager but was rounded up and taken back to face the music. Apparently, it came out later that there had also been a half litre of coca cola pilfered which fell down and rolled away, unseen by the manager. I really feel that Bradley was 'encouraged' to indulge in the shoplifting and complied out of bravado or a desire to prove his 'courage' or whatever to his cousin, who at all times acted like the innocent although the manager also said to him "why didn't you stop him from doing that". Why indeed - because he stood to benefit without being blamed. The perfect setup.

That by no means excuses Brad from what he did but I believe that the shock of the whole incident will serve as a deterrent.

I have spoken about the incident a couple of times this week but he just becomes serious and says "stop it mom" as if he wants to erase the whole incident from his memory. What child gets through childhood, puberty or teenagehood without being involved in something illegal or dangerous or petty or mean. That child must surely be in the minority. The turning point lies in how the parent handles the incident and how the child or young person uses the particular incident to redirect their actions or words.

Forgiveness is the key and being able to look past the nastiness of the incident to see the person beyond who has made a mistake and wants to move on in the right direction this time.

Momcat has an underwear fetish!

2010-02-02T02:24:00.000-08:00

No not me sillies! My mommy cat, the mother of all the kittens. She was spayed two weeks ago and is already a different cat. Her fur is growing back beautifully and she is now so fat, that if she hadn't been spayed I would almost think that she is pregnant again (?). Trusting in the expertise of my vet though I can only say that all is good. She has however started a hobby up again that she had in the past but not to the same extent as she has embraced it now. Kittykie loves socks, dirty, clean, rolled up or not, it doesn't matter. She carries them around in her mouth, meowing all the way.

Now she has recently discovered that my neighbours, whose washing line is up a steep and inaccessible bank, prefer to drape their smalls on the bushes, burglar guards and fence surrounding their back door. She happily (when they're not looking) robs them of bras, panties, socks, t-shirts, anything that catches her eye. On Sunday when I returned from the swimming pool with the boys, I counted a string of 12 items across the lawn to my door, which she had collected that afternoon. So she robs them in broad daylight. Sneaky little cat burglar. I was blaming it on the dog but its definitely her. I gather the items into a plastic bag and toss the bag down from my bank onto their back path where they can find it. They probably wonder who, how, why their washing is in a plastic bag on their path but they haven't obviously seen Kittykie in action and they haven't approached me to complain.

I'm laying low!

I see cats everywhere...

2010-02-01T04:16:00.000-08:00

My office is situated on the first floor of our double storey building. The view from my narrow window is of the property next door which once was a residence but now stands vacant. I look out of the window whenever I return to my seat as I like to keep in touch with nature and the outside world. Sometimes I see birds, sometimes monkeys and sometimes a black and white cat. Today I looked out and on a pillar of the precast concrete wall was sitting a pitch-black cat staring in my direction. I talk to all cats that I see so I opened the window wider and then I saw, on the next pillar along, to the left of the black cat, a white and calico cat. And to the right of the black cat on another pillar, the white and black cat. Three cats in a row. I was enchanted. When I called to them with that universal cat call "swiss-swiss-swiss", three pairs of eyes swivelled to me and stared, with eyes like burning lamps. There's nothing that can stare quite like a cat. They're not human friendly, living wild. That doesn't stop me.

It really made my day to see them sitting there right across from me, almost as if they were waiting for me. I called my boss who came to look, saying "I've got to bring my pellet gun". I told him "Go away and don't be horrible". He doesn't have an appreciation for cats. He gave me a task to do and when I looked again the cats had gone. They had finished gracing me with their presence.

Seen at the pool - Swimming dad (so bad)

2010-02-01T02:01:00.000-08:00

My kids dragged me off to the public swimming pool again yesterday. It was a warm day and with the imminent changing of the seasons, one of the few good swimming days left. I settled down amongst the towels, while the boys dashed off to the pool, and proceeded to indulge in a bit of people watching before turning to my novel.

To my immediate right were 3 or 4 middle-aged ladies, lying in the direct sun - suntanning. From the tanned tone of their skin, it was apparent that they spend quite a bit of time indulging in this activity. It was about 1.15pm and the sun was still very hot. Now, I'm in my forties and I know to hide away from the sun. Their skin actually looked like it was aging as I watched. I was actually quite aghast that ladies who should know better were engaged in an activity that is so damaging to their skin.

A few minutes after I arrived, a large group of older teenagers and early-20's arrived and set up camp behind me. I glanced around at some time and there in all its glory, was their Hubbly Bubbly smoking pipe. Now this is the 2nd time visiting the pool that I have seen a group of youngsters with a hubbly pipe in attendance. Have Hubbly - will travel! Its the new in-fashion group activity. Hopefully its only tobacco they're smoking with it!

Anyway, the subject of the title was discovered sitting on the edge of the deep end of the pool, watching his daughters as they swam. A tall slim balding man, wearing what was noticeably a speedo swimming costume. Now anyone with sons knows that speedos are a no-no in this day and age. My son is supposed to have one for school but I'm wasting my money if I buy one because he won't wear it! Its baggies or nothing. Anyway the gentleman stood up on the way back to his towel and walked past in front of me - with his little soldier pointing the way. Seriously - nothing left to the imagination! I discovered he was sitting just a little to the left of me and soon after that I noticed that he was sitting cross-legged with each of his daughters sitting on one knee. And they weren't babies either.

After that I decided to engross myself in my novel for a while, to avoid any more eyestrain of the fashion variety.

Seen on the streets - Jogger Fashion Fail

2010-01-26T01:17:00.000-08:00

As I was nearing work this morning, driving a long straight stretch of road with a tree-lined pedestrian pavement adjacent to it, my attention was briefly caught by a middle-aged lady who was 'appropriately' attired (according to her) in a modern kaleidoscopically-coloured jogging set consisting of short shorts and a bikini (double D at least) top, revealing her rather saggy and wrinkly midriff with the appearance of a spare tyre. Now I am impressed by the fact that the 'ladies that lunch' in the area where I work, an office park situated in an upper class residential area, are jogging, walking and generally making some effort to keep fit but there must surely some kind of dress code or dress sense that must prevail when you surely must be aware that your body is experiencing the effects of gravity. This particular lady's one redeeming factor that she was wearing a pair of dark glasses so that fortunately I would never be able to identify her in a line-up!

My only thought as I whizzed past her in my car was, "Lady, Go home and put some clothes on!"

Failure to post...

2010-01-25T00:10:00.000-08:00

Its been a busy January so far. I've had to get into a bit of a new routine with Bradley attending a new school. He is now closer to my work than to home and until we can organise him to get on the bus (which is also an extra expense), I have been fetching him every day and bringing him back to work. After a comment from my boss about him coming back to the office every day, he now has to sit in the car for an hour every day until I'm finished at work. This will sort itself out but the new routine of going out every day in the heat to fetch Brad is a bit upheaving.

Brad had a long face on the way to school this morning. The Grade Eights were going to be sorted into new classes according to ability today. He had already asked me this morning if we were nearing the end of the term yet! They have only been back at school for about two weeks so I can assume that the honeymoon is almost over with his attitude to school. He hasn't even had homework yet.

Dael and a friend have been walking the area flat in search of work. His friend is newly matriculated with distinctions but that still doesn't make it any easier to find work with hundreds of other matriculants also looking for work. In the meantime, the friend has been staying with me so that he and Dael can go out together to look for work. This however does nothing for my budget with having another mouth to feed. I'm hoping that some work will be found soon by both the boys.

Robynne in Johannesburg has this weekend moved into a house with 3 friends in the Sandton area. I have gained this information from Facebook and not directly from my daughter as she is not speaking to me at the moment. She is irritated with me for having brought Dael back from Jhb on the bus in direct opposition to her arrangements for herself and him, I assume.

The kittens are becoming toilet trained slowly but still occasionally have lapses where they prefer to use the soft furnishings as their litter tray. I have covered the couch upholstery with plastic bags and loose covers for easy laundering and they are also banned from my room as my bed is a favourite place to go toilet. I am hoping that this phase is almost over as it is extremely irritating and creates a lot of extra work. They are lucky the cuteness factor gives them a lot of leverage in terms of my level of patience with them. Naughty kids!

So friends bear with me. It has been a bit of an uphill battle this month and this has a direct bearing on my desire to post unfortunately.

No more babies for mommy cat..

2010-01-14T23:11:00.000-08:00

I finally got organised to take in my little mommy cat, Kittykie, to get fixed this week. She went in on Monday evening as I had to get Bradley to school on Tuesday and wouldn't have had the time to drop her off in the morning. She wasn't impressed and I virtually had to drive with one hand while holding the door closed on the basket with my other hand as she was pressing so hard to get out. Thank goodness I've got an automatic car. I left her yowling in the vet's holding cage and waited for the vet to have a look at her one little kitten baby that I had brought with me at the same time.

The little one has a bad case of snuffles which causes sneezing, blocked nose and infected eye (conjunctivitis). I had been treating the little one and her brothers over the past couple of days with meds that I had at home but she was the worst case. The vet gave her a shot and some antibiotic ointment but didn't have antibiotic tablets for me to treat her with. Since I got her home from the vet she has actually been worse with her nose closing up even more. So much for vet treatment! Anyway I had put the spaying of mommy cat into high gear because she had managed to wean her kits off suckling mainly and had been running around a lot more lately. Her belly was very round and I thought that I had left it too late and she was pregnant again. Remember I was waiting for her kittens to be eating on their own before taking her in and then it was Christmas and New Year and the timing wasn't right. Anyway, turns out she wasn't pregnant but her bowel was distended. She is taking strain from feeding her little monsters.

"Keep the kittens away from her". Ja right! She still allows them to suckle at times apart from the first night home when she wasn't too keen because of her operation cut. I think it comforts her and them to let them have a bit of a suck from time to time. They all fall asleep together. She will let them know when she is over the mommy thing. She will just start whacking them and run away. I saw it in action with her older kittens. She's not ready yet. The kittens are 12 weeks old today. My main concern was getting this fertile little kitty spayed so that she cant procreate anymore and its done now.

Hello everyone - I'm back!

2010-01-13T01:48:00.000-08:00

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.

My final post for the decade!

2009-12-18T06:17:00.000-08:00

Sounds dramatic doesn't it! I couldn't just leave for the year without updating my dear friends on the results of my trip to the hospital today. I had an ultrasound booked for today and my dad offered to give me a lift to the hospital. After a bit of a wait, I was ushered into the room where the ultrasound takes place and I lay down on the bed to wait. The radiologist soon came through after finishing on the phone and gel was smeared over the area of the lump and he was soon scanning away. Its the same ultrasound machine that they use to look at a preggie mom's baby. He was quite interested to hear that the lump had reduced in size since I had the needle aspiration and asked what colour the liquid had been. Umm, sorry I didn't look. I was too busy worrying about the wound inflicted on my breast by the extra large needle.

Any way, it turns out I have a number of cysts (10) in my left breast. He mentioned the phrase Benign Breast "Disease" and said that it was normally just treated symptomatically. He was surprised that the attending doctor hadn't ordered a proper mammogram being that I am over 40. I took the results through to Surgical Outpatients for the doctor to look at. They located my biopsy results which they attached to my file. When the doctors finally materialised from their meeting, things moved fast. The doctor (a different one from before) examined me again and then decided to be safe and order a proper mammogram.

So I have a date at R.K. Khan hospital again on Wednesday, 30th December. Luckily, when I wandered back to XRay and found everything locked up, I noticed the radiologist from before and rushed over to him. He found someone to help me and although she was really grumpy about it, she found the appointment book and allocated 1 of 2 remaining 'emergency' bookings for the year to me. So I will get this done before the year ends and then wait another two weeks for those results. But I was happy to hear from the radiologist that it looked like benign cysts to him, as he must have seen a lot of that and the doctors are interns. So I can enjoy Christmas without worrying that I haven't left something undone. My daughter, Robynne is also happy with the diagnosis as she had been worrying about the unknown.

I wish all my friends and followers a safe, happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year and I will see all of you in the new decade!

All quiet on the home front.

2009-12-10T07:43:00.000-08:00

Its been a quiet week on the home front. I've been settling into my routine of being on my own. Its really very similar to when I have Bradley there except a lot more relaxed - no homework, no one asking 'what's for supper?' or 'When are we going to eat?'. When I get home I put on the tv. When I get up I put on the radio because....its a bit quiet...

News of the week.

I attended the big carol service at The Pavilion shopping centre on Tuesday evening. I was invited by my parents and dad said he would treat me to supper at their favourite restaurant. The other two invited guests were my parents friends, another elderly couple. Nothing like going out with four older people to make you feel like a spare wheel. The carol service was pleasant except it was too dark to read the hymn sheet and the audience carried on talking even during the childrens' narrations. I know its held at a shopping centre but its not just entertainment. If you cant keep quiet while the choir and the children are trying to complete the programme that they have practised then why not just leave. And during the meal, the parents and their friends talked amongst each other and I mainly just ate (rump steak with veg. and chips - tasty) or stared into space! Maybe give it a miss next time.

I have been trying to get the kittens weaned this week as I want to take their mom, Kittykie in for spaying and I know she won't want to feed them once she has the operation. The two ginger kittens have taken to eating out of a bowl very quickly but the little beige chap just didn't want to know. Every time I guided his face to the bowl he would brace himself and pull back. I decided to use some tactics and made a visit to the vet. The lady there didn't really know but I just asked her to show me the food they prescribe when kitties don't want to eat as they have been ill. I bought a tin of Hills Prescription Diet for R13.00. When all the others were fed last night, I dished up a small portion and went through to the bedroom so the others couldn't follow. I held little Beige on my lap and with some food on a teaspoon, just touched his mouth. He licked his mouth and then sniffed the spoon and then consented to eat off the spoon. I placed the food onto a plate and he ate off the plate too. Success! In the morning, I dished the food directly onto the plate and put some food that the others eat onto the plate too with a little milk. Warmed all up for a couple of seconds and he ate again like a champ. I think the ice is broken now.

My sister suffered a bad fall at work and has broken both bones in her one leg close to her ankle. She works in reception and their cleaning lady had mopped the floor and she hadn't seen that and fell. She was operated on this afternoon and we will probably visit her tonight. She has had to have a pin placed in the one bone and a plate in the other so she will be out of action for some time to come. This has really placed a damper on her Christmas celebration and year end leave.

Its raining again this afternoon. We had a sunny day on Sunday and a couple of dry days thereafter. I surveyed my jungle on Sunday morning and honestly didn't know where to start. My mom phoned and I got a little tearful, feeling sorry for myself because its only me to tackle my whole huge steep overgrown yard. My mom sent Greg around to cut my grass even though it was Sunday and he doesn't usually cut grass on Sunday. I was home, feeling a bit better. I got over myself and just started cutting the area around the house. I told Greg I hadn't expected him that day and he said 'Well mom said you were upset'. Its amazing how much better I felt by just having the lawn cut. Then on Tuesday my dad had his worker Derek slashing my banks and although its a rough cut it looks A LOT better. Thanks Family...again.

I'm writing under the influence...

2009-12-04T06:22:00.000-08:00

of Christmas lunch and sparkling wine! We had our office Christmas lunch today and after filling myself with food and drink, I was feeling a little nauseous and decided to stop off in my office before facing the outside world on my way home.

There is an evening function tonight, held by our main division but being that the evening will be rainy I decided not to attend that function but to rather retire home to the company of my kitties (and dogs) and relax on the couch. I can only take so much scintillating conversation!

You may have guessed that I am indeed on my own as from yesterday morning. Bradley has returned with his father and brother to the house in Johannesburg and I am left behind.

I had left for work yesterday morning before the menfolk left my house and although I was invited to supper at my parents, who had returned from their short trip away, I decided to first go home to see what state my house had been left in. It was as well I did because the two dogs had been left inside the house and were frantic to get out. Lights were on. The door to the outside room was left open and the neighbours dog had been into the room and muddied up the floor and the mattress! I fed the cats and went out again, only returning at 9pm.

This morning when I woke up I carried out a good cleanup so that at least I didn't have to come home again to my house looking like a wreck.

I had a call from Bradley's teacher from primary school. Basically he didn't achieve the minimum marks in all the subjects he should have. Some of the subjects he would have had to complete work on a continuous basis through the year to have achieved the pass mark, as an exam is not set for those subjects at the end of the year i.e. Art and Technology (and he hadn't achieved the minimum of 40% for those subjects). However, because of my communication with the teacher, his achievement with Maths and English and (his class teacher's subjects) and other subjects for which he wrote exams, as well as the fact that he was on Ritalin for this last term and the difference in his attitude to school could be seen, the school has decided to condone him to move on to High School. I am just so thankful as he will be turning 14 on Christmas Day and has already completed 8 years at Primary School. I really don't think repeating Grade 7 would have benefited him. The teacher stressed that he would have to work hard from Day 1 of High School and I confirmed that he would continue to take Ritalin from the beginning of the year and ongoing. I will be meeting with the teacher on Monday to sign the relevant paperwork for the condoned pass.

I just went down to the function room to save the leftover food to take home to the hungry animals - mashed potatoes, vegetables and pasta with gravy. It would just be thrown away on Monday. I found some takeaway containers in the kitchen. No use leaving it to go to waste!

I'm off now to see if my house has succeeded in floating away with our sixth consecutive day of rain! Whatever this weekend brings, I wish you all the best.

Busy house and a Birthday Girl!

2009-11-30T06:47:00.000-08:00

Its been raining again since Sunday. Its not much fun at the coast anymore. Whats the use of the beach if its always raining!

On Friday evening, Bradley discovered a patch of dampness on the bed and as it was the second time, with me having found a little damp patch before, I decided that the kittens had to move. I took their whole box and put it in a corner of the kitchen. They are like different kittens now, interacting with the other kitties, playing and jumping and stalking, using the litter box and sampling the other food. I can think of no better way to train the littlies than to let them watch the bigger cats and copy them. They are also getting socialised and used to all the strange cats! Amazingly, its their own older siblings who were the most averse to them, hissing when they came near but all seem to be getting used to each other.

A good thing about the wet weather is that is forces Sabrina to stay inside and there's no sun to burn her ears and nose. She is healing nicely now but it will be an ongoing effort to make sure she doesn't damage herself again.

Saturday was spent in cleaning house due to the imminent arrival of my son and his father from Jhb as well as helper, Ishmael. I did a bit of shopping in the irritatingly crowded shopping centre in town and then popped in to see my parents on my way home. I didn't think I would get a chance to pop in on Sunday as my visitors were arriving then and my parents are away for a short holiday this week.

After another morning of Springcleaning (really with this rainy weather, what else is there to do), my visitors from Jhb arrived. Dael was hyped to come back home to Durban but after three days of rain, he wants to go back to the sun in Jhb.

It is little Rachael's 3rd birthday today and her mom phoned through this morning so she could speak to her dad. After he had wished her and chatted about her toys, I got on the line and spoke to her. She loves cellphones. I sang Happy Birthday to her, my voice cracking with emotion as I tried not to cry. She was giggling, so happy to hear the birthday song sung for her and trying to sing along at the same time. Unfortunately it is her second birthday that he has been away from home for, due to working away from home at the time but her mom and her big sister and I always try and keep the magic alive so that it is a memorable occasion for all the kids.

Rachael, the Birthday Girl! Happy Birthday, cheeky monkey!

All going well with the job, the Jhb gang should be returning to Jhb on Thursday, dragging with them Bradley and Chris, who has asked to hitch a lift to his relatives in Jhb for Christmas. Bradley is all packed and raring to go. He thought that the return trip would be today so prematurely packed what seems to be every item in his cupboard in two overflowing bags.

I cooked a big meal for the hardworking crew last night. Pork sausages left whole in a stew of cubed potato, butternut and baked beans, all dished over mashed potatoes - wholesome and filling. Supper was ready as they walked in the door and was shovelled down fast. Thank goodness I am used to cooking for a multitude so am able to make a little go a long way. I'm buying macaroni and bacon bits tonight to make macaroni cheese with bacon, always a favourite with all and usually eaten with fresh buttered bread on the side. Yum! Don't know how much genuine cooking I'll be doing once the mob has gone. Its probably going to be easier to just join my mom's table a couple of times a week.

Robynne phoned me late yesterday afternoon to tell me that her car was leaking petrol...fast. She is the one responsible for fetching Trish and the two little girls in the absence of her father and now her car was playing up again. She had left the office on her way to pick up the family, discovered the problem and managed to limp her car back to her office. She was almost crying in frustration at having another problem with her car but had secured a lift home with the office driver and had phoned Trish to let her know that she had to make alternative arrangements to pick up the kids and get home. I chatted with her for a while and then had to leave myself as I still had to get to the shops and pharmacy and get home. A while later, she phoned me at home to say that the clever company driver had crawled under her car and discovered a pipe that was half out and causing petrol to spill out. She had also spoken to her dad and he was of the opinion that someone had tried to steal her petrol. Now she had been doing stocktaking earlier that day at her company's warehouse and her car had been parked outside on the street during this time so it is a likely probability. She reckons she lost about R100 worth of petrol. She was extremely thrilled that it wasn't another serious problem but obviously she is now aware that you just cannot leave your car on any street in Jhb and expect it to remain unmolested! How sad and just plain wrong. We have an alternative career choice in good ol' RSA and that is Car Guard and sometimes they are the only deterrent that you have against car molesters!

More later...

Another side to Santa...

2009-11-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Story for people having a bad day:

When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Christmas pressure.

Then Mrs Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all the cider and hidden the liquor.

In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor.

He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.

The angel said very cheerfully, 'Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?'

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree!

Nothing like a cold shower to wake me up!

2009-11-26T05:42:00.000-08:00

I had fallen asleep on the couch last night while watching tv but was awakened by a shower of something wet all over my face. Sabrina had been sitting on my hip and she went leaping as I immediately sprang up and headed for the bathroom to wipe my face with a facecloth. I realised that she had a problem with her ears which are still healing from their operation but since it was the middle of the night and I was barely awake, I just switched off the lights and went to bed.

In the morning, I investigated and discovered her one ear is bleeding, probably from scratching so I hauled out the collar again and cleaned it off nicely, replacing the yucky bandage which secures it to Sabrina's neck with a fresh piece. I also padded the sharpish edges of the collar with some elasticised plaster which hopefully should prevent it from cutting into her neck. Last step was to slather her ear and her nose which she also keeps damaging, with ointment. She was non too happy I can tell you.

Early in the morning still but just before I got up, I again heard a sound which would have most people jumping up to investigate. Glass breaking! But I am so attuned to the movements of my cats that I just knew even in my half asleep state that it was 'only' a drinking glass left on the coffee table from the evening before that some cat had jumped against and broken. For some reason when they come through the 'cat/dog door' they can't just run past the table on their way to the kitchen. They have to jump onto the table and off the other side, wreaking havoc on their way across. I usually keep the table clear because of this. Cats - 1 - Crockery - 0!

The little kittens, at almost 5 weeks old, are running around on the bed in my room where they are based. Their mommy removed them from their box and made a nest on my bed on one of my pillows. The beige boy is the noisiest and whenever he hears one of us, starts meowing loudly and comes running for attention. The orange boy is quiet but can be playful and also gets around quite a lot. The little orange girl is much shorter legged than her brothers and although she does get around when she wants to, is generally very quiet and placid, just cuddling up in a corner behind the pillows and always seems to be lying on her back. Funny little kid.

Bradley has finished exams now and as his father is coming down to KZN next week to do a job, has decided to return to Jhb with him to be with his extended family. He will miss the last two weeks of school but there doesn't seem to be much happening there anyway. So I will be on my lonesome ownsome for a few weeks. It doesn't phase me too much as at least he will be entertained and I can just completely relax for a couple of weeks. I will only finish work on about the 22nd December and Bradley will probably return to KZN with his sister, who intends driving down on the 23rd, just in time to spend Christmas with the family.

I must say with all the hype building up for the Christmas Season, I am leaning toward low-key and relaxed after a rather hectic and changeable year. My mother has always made a big deal out of Christmas and they start buying Christmas meat as it comes on special from about August. She makes huge quantities of shortbread and mince pies and her Christmas fruit cake which my dad ends up eating until April of the next year. She changed the Christmas dinner to Christmas Eve a few years ago so that on Christmas Day she is not so overloaded that she ends up not enjoying the day but she still ends up laying out a generous spread on Christmas Day itself. She always has a real tree to the ceiling, perfectly laid table in the Christmas theme with candles and flowers. Its a big production as she has 'catering bones' which unfortunately I haven't really inherited. When it comes to catering I would always rather just be the helper. In fact although my younger sister considers herself a cordon bleu cook and spends a lot of time watching the cooking channel, a lot of her dishes turn out to be too rich or unusual. I don't think any of my mother's daughters have the catering desire or stamina so it may be the end of an era when my mom decides that she's had enough.

In the meantime, we gather as many family members as we can and spend the festivities together with an awareness now being realised that in the future, family members may not be around, or may have other commitments on that day and we probably won't always have the privilege of being together as a family.

I like being Gorgeous!

2009-11-24T03:49:00.000-08:00

Busy mom of 3 and all round friendly and interesting lady who goes by one of my favourite names, Cat at Juggling Act Of Life has bestowed upon me an unexpected gift....The Gorgeous Blogger Award.

The 'rules' of this award are:
By accepting this award I am to tell you six things about myself that you don't know and then award it to six other gorgeous bloggers.

I am the eldest of four children, all born within 5 years of each other.

I was painfully shy as a child and only had about 2 actual friends in high school, both of whom were better friends with each other than with me!

I used to hate condiments and salads such as tomato, gherkins and onions and burgers were picked bare before I ate them. I outgrew that.

I do not like peas and only buy them because Bradley likes them.

I used to love drinking chocolate in cold milk with lumpy Milo floating on top. I wouldn't drink it but gradually consume it with a teaspoon.

I needed about 10 hours of sleep a night in perfect darkness and quiet as a teenager. I got over that too!

I am passing this award to the following blogging friends because they are all truly Gorgeous:

Elizabeth from Elizabeth Bradley Bits & Bytes
Tammy from Forever Feline

Lulu from Small Town Lulu
Louisa from 123 Blog Myself
Roby from I'm Just A Girl
Kaleena from Living Life With Laney
Tamara from Doodles Of A Journo
Susan from Mother Jungle
Renee from Circling My Head
Barefootheart from Willow House Chronicles

I couldn't just stick to six nominees and this is by no means an complete list. I have just met so many Gorgeous Bloggers since I have been blogging.

Thanks so much for your ongoing support and friendship.

Next step accomplished.

2009-11-20T01:03:00.000-08:00

Thursday dawned another overcast day. By the time I got to work, it was pouring with rain again and within the hour it was blowing a gale. One of the trees in our office park suffered damage from a falling tree branch and up the road a tree had also fallen across the road, fortunately not on any passing vehicle.

If I hadn't already had a lift arranged to get down to the hospital, I may have called off the entire visit due to the horrible weather conditions. Good excuse! Anyway by 9.30am I was headed off down to the hospital with my driver.

He drove me into the hospital grounds, and even tried to enter the hospital with me, to show me where to go but a very determined security guard shooed him out, telling him to move his vehicle. The first thing I saw at the reception was a huge board with a lot of prices on it. Oh no, don't tell me they were expecting me to pay. I ran out of the hospital to try and catch the driver. He was driving off already and as I held up my hand for him to stop, he thought I was waving him goodbye and off he went. Oh well! I decided to book in and I would soon find out if I could proceed. The gentleman filled out a chart and asked me for....R20. I managed to scratch that amount together and then continued to the next area. The procedure was to book in at casualty, be first examined by a casualty doctor and then be redirected to the relevant department's doctor. After a short wait I was called and examined. The lady doctor phoned the Surgical Outpatients department who confirmed they could see me that day. Down the corridor to that department, book in with the sister and then sit on the bench to wait. Hardly sat down and I was called. After taking down my medical history, I went through to be examined again. Seriously I have taken off my shirt for four different people in the last few days. No such thing as false modesty anymore! After the examination he said that I would have an ultrasound and a biopsy and then added, as I was replacing my clothes.'Why don't we just do the biopsy now to save you coming back.' 'Oh okay, is it sore?' 'No, its just like an injection.'

I didn't look but I think obviously it was a big needle. And a rather loooong injection! I just squeezed my clothing between two fingers of each hand while trying to keep my left arm and body as relaxed as possible. And it was over. He prepared his slides, which will be sent to the teaching and referral hospital, Albert Luthuli.

Then it was over to X-Ray to find out if I could have an ultrasound. I needed directions from the reception - go down the corridor, left, at the Coca-cola machine turn right, proceed, at the white booth, turn left and you will see the xray department. The hospital is a huge maze of a building.

I could only get an appointment for an ultrasound on the 18th December so then through to the Appointments office where I made a followup appointment for the 10th December where I will receive the result of my biopsy. And I was finished.

My driver wasn't expecting me to finish so quickly and had gone back to work (in Botha's Hill) which is a considerable distance away. I had to wait outside the front of the hospital. My breast had an ache and a sting from the needle now but I passed the time quite pleasantly chatting with another patient who was also waiting for a lift. He is a young man, a quadriplegic who used to be extremely active, surfing, diving. He was diving at Port Alfred into a river mouth which was in flood, so the water was brown with silt and lots of floating debris. As he dived in or surfaced, a huge plank of wood hit him in the spine and broke it, rendering him paralysed. He was of the opinion that it was 'meant to be'. We watched another young man being delivered to hospital by private car. They took a long time to figure out how to remove him from the back seat as his helpers had decided that he had to stay immobile. He had bunked school and gone on an adventure and suffered a bad fall (?). The helpers eventually got a back board to place him on so they could lift him without damaging him further. He seemed to have suffered a bad break to his leg as it was in a splint.

As the guy in the wheelchair left with his transport, I became aware of a private car that had stopped just in front of me. The driver had jumped out and run into the hospital looking for help. A lady holding a small child was in the front passenger seat. In the back was a hysterically crying lady holding a prone patient on the back seat. She was sobbing and repeating 'I'm losing my cousin'. The patient was also a young woman in her late teens or early twenties, who seemed to have just passed away in the car. They brought the trolley and loaded her onto it. She was completely lifeless, her limbs tumbling around. Her cousin blurted out 'She hanged herself!' before the whole family disappeared into the hospital.

I was extremely traumatised by this occurrence. The family was on an island of grief and tragedy in a sea of life carrying on. I wondered what would go through the mind of a young person (or any person) to prompt the extreme decision that now was the time that their life would end. I really battled to wrap my mind around the sight of that young person and her extended family.

A constant stream of ambulances and private cars continued to bring in new patients and take away other patients. A lady was with her elderly mother. Her and her husband were collecting the old lady. She had tried to comfort the other lady who had been crying bitterly for her cousin but a moment later was verbally abusing the old lady, her own family member as they both climbed into their own car. The old lady could hardly walk and was trying to get into the back seat. "Hurry up, I can't always be looking after you. You're always talking to people!' I was aghast!

My own lift arrived but the scenes of the past hour whilst I had been waiting at the entrance stayed on my mind. How poignant it all is. Life and death and grief and impatience and care - a whole melting pot of human emotions stirred together. People watching at its most extreme!

Round and round the waiting room.

2009-11-18T06:25:00.000-08:00

It was such a beautiful if windy morning this morning as I drove through to the hospital for yet another marathon waiting room session. It is quite confusing finding out the procedure for a new patient but I'm becoming quite the expert with all my experience lately. I'll be able to give guided tours of all the local medical institutions soon!

After waiting in a queue to get a file made up in an outside office, I entered the hospital and asked a handy security guard where I had to go next. The cashier! Oh dear! I hadn't been told by the clinic that I needed to bring money. After a bit of persuasion to the unhappy cashier that I would pay the money into the hospital bank account, I joined a long queue to get my blood pressure checked and my weight recorded. Everything fine with the blood pressure (?). No matter how stressed I get and even with my overactive thyroid, my blood pressure is always fine. As a first time patient I joined a third queue adjacent to the blood pressure checking nurses. The two ladies in this cubicle were filling in forms and asking for a lot of information from the various patients they were interviewing. Eventually it was my turn. These ladies were giving patients the opportunity to have a free HIV test. They have little disposable testers which deliver a small prick to the finger. A drop or so of blood is squeezed into the little holes and a few minutes later you have your result. Hey, a freebie is a freebie! I wasn't going to say no.

Then the queue for the doctor. This moved along a lot faster. It was about 11.10am by this stage. The Indian doctor lady checked me over and confirmed that the lump needed further investigation (which they couldn't do at St Marys). I would have to be referred to R.K. Khan Hospital in Chatsworth. Now that is an area I don't really go to at all and it is a distance away. Anyway I took my referral letter and proceeded to the pharmacy for painkillers one of which helps with swelling. A short time later I was on my way. Another 4 hour wait. So 8 hours in 2 days of waiting for medical attention.

At work, several of my co-workers have come to know about my situation and the one lady has organised with our messenger to drop me off at the hospital tomorrow and pick me up when I am ready. If he can't make it back, my boss has offered to collect me. Everyone is being so supportive. So tomorrow I go straight to the relevant department for a mammogram and probably a needle biopsy.

When I was speaking about my situation to a young woman in our accounts dept., she told me that she had also had a lump in her breast and had had a mammogram and needle biopsy done. They ended up surgically removing the lump even though it was benign. It is good to hear of other people who have been in the same situation and have come through it and carried on with their lives. I wasn't going to do it this week but I decided that if I leave it until next week, I may just not get it done, so gritting my teeth and gathering my courage, here I go!