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

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. :)