The view from our stoep blows me away some days! Sooo pretty!

Our home on the hill

Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!

It's so GREEEEN on our farm right now!

Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!

Party Planning - it aint for Sissies!

It's Jesse-Lee's first birthday next week!!! I know! Can you see the grey hairs on my head? Where has the time gone?  It feels like we got her just yesterday!  

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I have been planning her party since March.

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And they all say I'm a procrastinator!

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Ha!  

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It's happening this Sunday. Hence the lack of blog posts the last few weeks. And the increased need for caffeine kicks. I sent out the invites in March (pic on left - or click here to see it bigger in another screen), then a reminder in April, and just recently another reminder and a PLEASE R.S.V.P. note!  And you would think, after all this correspondence, people wouldn't be asking questions like "When is the party again?"... I'm just saying.

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But dang, it would seem my exuberance and over-enthusiasm has landed me in poop street.  Because now we're expecting about FORTY DEFINITE PEOPLE!!! DEFINITE yes'es.  My shattered nerves!  Some are driving from as far afield as Johannesburg and Durban.  And then there are about 25 people giving "maybe's" as replies, because they want to come but it depends on this or that. And those numbers aren't including the kiddies!!!  yikes!

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But, I have all my plans in place.  

Jumping castle booked?

Check!

Birthday cake ordered? 

Check!

Caterer confirmed?

Check!

Tables and Chairs ordered?

Check!

Crockery Hired?

Check!

Table Cloths and Decor sorted?

Check!

Games for kids?

Check!

Snack Packs for kids to take home?

Almost done

Signboards for the road to the farm?

Check!

Sanity still in place?

Debatable.

I'll post pics afterwards.  At this rate I don't know if I'm going to be able to post again before next week.  Might need a few references for good shrinks after this lot.

Oh, and if this party-planning thingy-me-bob isn't enough to make me looney, we're also doing bathroom renovations this week.

Yeah.  Somebody shoot me now, please.

All I can say is:  Party-planning aint for Sissies.

Just quickly checking in from my cellphone to let you know that we had a massive storm here at the Hillbilly Dump, and my office leaked and killed my internet. Fun fun fun.

Want to wish you all a wonderful Easter weekend! May it be filled with all things chocolate Easterish. Remember our Saviour this weekend ok! After all, that's what Easter is all about, isn't it? And if chocolate aids you in contemplating Him, then lawaai marai! My mom arrives tomorrow for three weeks! Ok, could anything possibly be better that that??? Chocolate AND my Marmeeeee!!! Didn't think so. Love all you loonies out there. Happy Easter! Chat again soon, hopefully.

You know you live in the bush when...

...the cows break down the fence around your yard to get into your garden, because the grass is longer greener on your side of the fence than in the fields around it.

And that's all I have to say about that.

That, and now would be a good time to be grateful that you've never had to clean up bull-you-know-what. Now THAT's all I have to say about that.

Not home yet...

... but I thought I'd load some almost finished nursery pics. We still need to put up the dado rail on the walls, and put up the new curtains, and the cott bumper etc. But for now, if little Jesse-Lee is born early, we are READY! Things that still need doing:-

• Robin needs to build another cott for our little boy (he made the one in the pics - isn't he just totally gorgeous and irresistable?)


• I need to make another baby mobile that's not as feminine (I made the one in the pics)
  
• I need to sew roman blinds and new curtains for the two windows, and make a slip cover for the window seat (not in the pics yet), as well as a funky scatter cushion for in the rocker.
  
• I need to put another coat of paint on the refurbished rocker's arms, the bookshelf and the sidetable. LOADS of fun! Wouldn't mind someone would pay me to do it though!

• We need to put up the dado rail that goes around the room as the "divider" between the green and the blue, and then give it two coats of paint.

But, if our kiddies were to arrive tomorrow, we'd be ok. Which takes a weight off my shoulders. Which is also just as well, because right now I'm still stiff from all the armbreaking labour of painting those blinking walls!

The dust is settling

Did you know that sawdust is like totally funky? Seriously. It creaps in EVERY. FREAKING. WHERE. Thank Heavens my maid is coming tomorrow! Hopefully by then we'll be finished building cupboards for the nursery. Then it will just be paint fumes. And hey! Who minds a little bit of a paintfumeinducedhigh every now and again, right? It might even help me to get a little bit of sleep before Jesse-Lee arrives home.

Home at the Hillbilly Dump

We are home again. Home sweet home. I never thought I'd miss the Hillbilly Dump so much! But, there's just something about coming home after a week or so away, isn't there? Maybe it's having all the pooches try to kiss you at once when they see you again. Or competing with the cats for the blankets at night. Maybe it's waking up to the sounds of birds chirping, and not the rumble of traffic. Maybe it's being able to use the bathroom and leave the door open if I want to walk around the house in my underwear if I want to. Then again, maybe it's just the knowledge that this little piece of Africa is ours to enjoy. And nobody is going to chase us off of it in the near future. At least, not unless Mugabi gets bunted out of Zimbabwe and decides to makes South Africa his home... Tsk! I'm too bad.

Where was I? Oh yes - the sweet sounds of home. Yes, we're home again. And happy to be at the Hillbilly Dump again.

Rainy Daze

It's been raining for four days. A steady, clean-washing, soaking-in kind of rain. The kind that makes you wish for a cuddly blanket, a cat on your lap, socks on your feet and a good book to read. And a stack of pancakes. The kind that makes you nostalgic for places you've never been. Romantic, misty places where magical things happen.
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It's also the kind that turns your driveway into mush.

And makes you get stuck in the mud on your way to work.

The kind that requires someone to come and tow you out.

And have a good laugh at your expense.

And make you late for work.

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And make you wish that you could rather be at home, on your denim couch, with a blankie, a few cats, socks on your feet, a good book and a stack of pancakes.

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And that's about all I have to say about that.

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That and, oh where oh where is a sick note when you need one?

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PS. Your comments to my post on Friday made me cry my eyes out. Of course, at that stage it didn't take much to make me cry, already. With me being such a sop and all. But really, you guys are so thoughtful and kind. Words fail me. Thanks so much!

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Incidentally, when I was worshiping this morning, I asked God what it was that He wanted me to do. Was there something He wanted me to do. Or should I just wait on Him. The answer came through immediately and clearly: Just TRUST Me.

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So that's what I'm going to try my very best to do. Wait on Him. Trust Him. Stop doubting His plan for me. And along the way, stop being miserable. If possible. And with God, ALL things are possible, right?

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Many of your comments said exactly that, when I read between the lines. I think God's trying to tell me something. And I'm going to be listening.

Crazy Sexy and Things That Bite At Night

Well, what a good, solid navel-gazing session that was on Friday. Let's hope we don't go there for a long time again. (I just know you're all breathing huge sighs of relief right now - YAY! no more infertility issues for a while! It just might be safe to return to Char's blog!) I so hear you. And I agree. But I must tell you, I feel SO MUCH better for having vented a bit. And thanks for all the awesome comments you left me. I only read them a little while ago - I didn't trust myself to check my emails or my blog for a few days.

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But what a swift kick up my derrière I got when I watched Oprah on the weekend and realized what an enormous ungrateful sop I am really... I usually record all of the shows during the week, then sit down at some stage and do some catching up while the dirty dishes attract flies and cockroaches stacked in the kitchen sink. So I snuggled into my favourite couch with a cuppa and pressed play on my nifty pvr (I think some of you called that teevo?). The show was called Dr Oz: A Special Report on Death. I know - just makes you wanna go out and buy a copy of the show, huh? But seriously - if I watched that show once this weekend, I watched it fifty-two times. Dr Oz interviewed a lady named Kris Carr and I was bowled away by her exuberance and total passion for life. And get this - she is diagnosed with stage four cancer. Since she was diagnosed, she has created the documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer for TLC. And then went on to write the book Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips. What an AMAZING woman! I just couldn't get past something that she said when Dr Oz interviewed her for Oprah...

"I think that life is just too sweet to be bitter," she says. "Once I was able to change my focus, desperation led to inspiration. Once I was able to do that, I looked around me. I made so many changes and I thought, 'This is an awesome life. I mean, honestly, I don't think anybody has a better life than me. When people ask me 'How do you live your life with the knowledge of cancer?' I say 'I might not ever be able to get rid of it, but I can't let that ruin my life.'"

Hello. Wow. What a paradigm shift. The Oprah website says:-

Kris says the way she has reacted to her cancer is the way everyone should evaluate their lives. "I think just go for it. Life is a terminal condition. We're all going to die," she says. "Cancer patients might have more information, but we all, in some ways, wait for that great permission to live."

I am so going to buy her book. I could use some of her enthusiasm! And would you know it - she blogs! Could she get more perfect? I wonder if she'd like to be my new best friend for ever?

Seriously. I mean - she has CANCER! I'm not even dying and I was moping about so much that I wouldn't have objected if I'd known my funeral was imminent. I have to stop moping. There is so much to LIVE for. Life is worth living. Not just existing.

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I choose to be a tigger, not an eeyore. (Quote: Randy Pausch, the other interviewee on that show that day. Click on the link to watch the awesome talk he gave.)

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Before I go and try to make friends with Kris leave a comment on Kris's blog, I just have to tell you about my going-to-bed incident last night. I did my usual pre-bedtime routine (I'm a creature of habit, y'all) then as I was pulling apart my bed (continental cushions, spare pillows, quilt, etc.) I heard the strangest crackling sound. It sounded like static electricity. Mmmm... wonder what could be making that sound? Continued pulling pillows off the bed. Then, as I was removing my extra pillows I heard the sound again. And guess what it was? An ENORMOUS spider web from my pillow to the bedside table. Oh my word! And, where there be spider webs, there be... yip: Those Icky Leggy Things That Bite At Night. And leave enormous welts all over your body. More than once. Out came the trusty DOOM spray, and I proceeded to fumigate everything. Which apparently causes said Icky Leggy Things That Bite At Night to come out of their hiding places. But not die.

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I had to photograph it, because you wouldn't have believed me if I had to tell you how big this thing was. Behold the Bugg(er).

And you wonder why I have trouble sleeping! Grrr... Gives me the hippy creapies just thinking about it!

Porcu-pickup

It was when we were on our way home from town last night, after dinner together with friends at The Spur. It was already dark. Travelling a good 100km's per hour (approx 62 miles per hour) on the open farm road. Suddenly an enormous (and I mean enormous!) porcupine ran out in front of the bakkie*. Robin did his best to avoid it. But apparently porcupines always chase the light and actually made an about turn in it's tracks and chased after us. Robin jammed on the brakes, and the vehicle skidded off the side of the road, hitting the porcupine in the process.

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This morning Robin and I climbed into the bakkie to go and see if the porcupine was still there. I took some pics.

This is the road out to our farm:-

(That's Robin standing on the side of the road,

and see the skidmarks on the road where we

went careening off the road)

Incidentally, South Africans drive on the LEFT side of the road, so we had already

hopped lanes to get out of the porcupine's way, before we started skidding.

Close-up of the skidmarks:-

And then we found the porcupine...

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It was still alive. I am so sad. I wish that it had died on impact. It makes me heartsore to think that it might have been suffering there all night. We went to the farmer on whose farm we found it, and told him about the little guy. He said he would send his workers there to "take care of it". I don't really want to think about what that means. As long as it isn't suffering anymore I'll be happy.

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But now, look at our tyre:-

Ish! And we were broke already this month to begin with, without still having to replace our two front tyres.

It was quite a bad night for "animal things" though, because after we'd hit the porcupine we got home and there came Cassidy running with a bird in her mouth. And the bird was still chirping. Grrrreat.

At least this morning we feel a bit better after having spoken to the farmer (our neighbour) who told us that the porcupines are actually real pests in these parts. And that there are hundreds of them around the farm. But I still feel sad for the poor little (BIG!) guy that we hit.

Enough about the porcupine though.

As we were driving out of our neighbour's farm, we were bombarded by his herd of cows. They closed around the bakkie and gave us a whole earful. And when we kept inching forward to get to work, they put on a bit of a "peepshow" for us. Let's just say we now know a bit about the birds and the bees. And the um, cows. Mooooove over Hugh Heffner. You got nothing on these guys.

And then, we saw these beautiful guys.

There was a little baby zebra with them too, but by the time I got my camer out, he'd already trotted off into the veld and we couldn't see him anymore.

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*Bakkie = South African for pick-up truck; pronounced buck + ee

Bugged

The bugs in South Africa don't play.

They mean business.

And this bite is already a few days old.

Home

One of the most spectacular sunrises we've seen since we moved to our Hillbilly Dump. These (unedited) pics were taken from our bedroom window. I've loaded them in sequence.

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"Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."

~ Hosea 6 v 3 NIV ~

Doggy issues

Welcome to the Funny Farm, folks.

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On your left, our cows, currently undergoing some or other vaccinnation which left the whole herd of them bellowing at some unearthly hour of the morning. And raising the dead fast asleep and forcing them to wake up on the wrong side of the bed. No names mentioned. But you could find her still sitting in her pajammies at the computer blogging right now. And downing her third cuppa.

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On the right, the chickens which scavenge food from the dog's bowls at every available opporunity. Chancers. The bunch of them. Don't be surprised if someday, somewhere, somehow, you find yourselves on the Colonel's List of Most Wanted for Rounders. And that's all I have to say about that.

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Chasing the chickens are the two happy corgies, Buttercup and Baxter. Our dogs in shining armour.

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Bringing up the rear and chasing the corgies are the three kittens who think they're sheepdogs: Jazzy, Cassidy and Peanut.

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And hiding under the bed in our spare room is Kiara. Our severely depressed and forlorn pooch. She is now on anti-depressants. I kid you not. Two days ago she spent the night outside, because now matter how much we offered her the chickens on buns bribed her and goaded her and called for her, she refused to come inside. She thinks we're Freddy Kruger. I can see it in her eyes. Which leads me to believe that someone must have hurt her sometime before we adopted her. So, anyway, after days of wooing, she still didn't like us. At all. What I don't understand is - what's not to like? Seriously. So, we came to the conclusion that she must have a few issues.

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Which wouldn't be too surprising, what with this being the Funny Farm and all.

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We took a drive to the vet's and he diagnosed her as clinically depressed with a case of severe separation anxiety, due to previous neglect and not enough KFC too much change in her environment. She is now on happy pills. The kind that make her bounce around the yard like a ping-pong ball and chase the cats who are chasing the dogs who are chasing the chickens.

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So, basically, she now fits right in.

It's Raining Men Again!

There I was so disappointed it was raining on my first wash-day in months, and yet it turns out we actually broke The Winter Drought by hooking up our washing machine! The farmers are very excited. You can see I'm not quite into this bush-living-thing yet. Otherwise I'd have been doing the fandango when it rained and not after I'd put my first load into the washing machine. Silly City Slicker Me.

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The rain also gave us an opportunity to test our roof for leaks. If only I'd known that one of our bedrooms was a swimming pool in disguise. Tssk tssk! What do I care that my brand new bed linen and mats were drenched with filthy roof water? - at least I have my nifty LG Automatic Top Loading Washing Machine to remedy the matter afterwards. If only it would stop raining, that is.

My L.G. and me

What was supposed to have been a really mundane weekend turned into a really awesome one! Yesterday afternoon at about 17h00 my mom, dad, sister, bro-in-law and nephew arrived for a surprise visit - all the way from Durban for just one night here with us in the bush. A three hour trek (from Durban to Dundee), for just 15 hours together! And worth every cent spent on petrol getting here too! It was SOOOOO awesome! Even more so because it was so impromptu. Here are some pics. How cute is my dad in those pics?

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After they left this afternoon for the long trek back home again, Robin and I got stuck into doing some LONG awaited and LONG OVERDUE things around the house. Woot woot! I have my washing mashine connected! Ohhhh... bliss! Needless to say, there's not much left in the house that needs laundering. Who'dathunk I could be this excited about doing laundry? Amorous thoughts toward my LG Top-loading Automatic Washing Machine abound. I even washed my slippers this evening. Granted, they were smelling rather...uh... fresh, after three months of not being washed. I know - how gross am I? Lucky, this time I have a valid excuse. Plumbing problems et cetera.

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So, right now, it's one big laundry festival here in our hillbilly dump. If it can be shoved into my washing machine, it is being shoved into my washing machine. Pity Mr Weatherman aint playing along. Shortly after I'd hung out my first load and stuck in load number two, you know it: buckets of rain. Ugghhhh... You just can't win. But for today, I'm not complaining. How can I complain when my washing machine's connected? Yippeeee...! Have I mentioned how much I love my washing machine?

Um, no, I don't always dress that way - those are my painting house / gardening / housecleaning / chore clothes. Really!

Rat-a-too-ee

There's a rat in my kitchen, what amma gonna do?

There's a rat in my kitchen, what amma gonna do?

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind rats. As long as they aren't in MY kitchen. Eating my food. And running over my feet and giving me potential heart failure every couple of seconds. Not to mention the threat of imminent rat-borne disease akin to nuclear fallout. And all of that. You know, all of the standard images evoked by scuttling creatures that come out to play at night. Hey, and we're not even going to mention THE PLAGUE! Uggghhhh... let's just say I have a healthy disdain for uninvited monsters in my house. Like rats, for example. And ants. et Cetera. So, what am I to do about this little fella that thinks the Hillbilly Dump should be renamed Rat's Residence? I can't bear the thought of a mousetrap. That's just cruel. Not to mention what if Buttercup happens upon said trap and lands up noseless? But the alternatives to the mousetrap are rat poison, rat poison or rat poison. And then, what if Buttercup happens upon said rat poison? See my dilemma? Me thinks the solution is a cat. A big fat tabby cat, that strikes the fear of death into all living creatures within a certain radius. Yes, a cat it is. Watch this space. I will be phoning kitty breeders this afternoon. My mind is made up. Watch out rats! Rattatattat. Rat-attack-cat. And all of that.

There's a rat in my kitchen what amma gonna do?

I'm gonna buy me a cat, that's what I'm gonna do!

A tale of my pigstails

I tend to be a bit of an instant gratification kinda girl. Combine that character trait with me being a hair-products whore and you’ll understand why it was SOOOO difficult for me to wait a couple of days before I could use my spiffy new hair products. See, what with our drippy no-pressure shower and all, using a deep moisturising conditioner is tantamount to pouring a bottle of oil on your head. So, since we moved here to Dundee, I haven't conditioned my hair at all! That's why, you can just imagine what torture it’s been for me to look at the nifty new jars of glooby sweet-smelling conditioners, treatments, etc. that I received from a friend who is an agent for A*von. (Luuurrrrve A*von products by the way! Yummy!) For a few days now, I’ve been waiting (im)patiently for our water pump to be installed so that I can put the shower pressure and my new hair goodies to the test. Imagine my excitement when I arrived home yesterday to find my hubby doing the jig in the bathroom. Water pressure is ON, baby! Really good water pressure! With steaming hot water too! Woot woot! It took all of my self-discipline not to hop into the shower on the spot! Instead, I waited until this morning. Ooooohhhhh baby! I can say, quite confidently too, that now I am officially squeaky clean. (Maybe even for the first time since we moved to the bush… Ew! I know!) So anyway, this morning I opened those jars of hair products. BOY OH BOY did I open them! And then I turned on that water. Lathered up, had a good steam, washed my hair, did a jig or two, sang a song or three… when my fingertips looked like raisins I decided that must be my cue to hop out. I couldn’t wait to blow-dry my newly-conditioned silky soft locks! The first time I’d used conditioner since my ill-fated attempt at showering on our first day in our hillbilly dump. I was buzzing with anxiety...

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Well, it turns out that this is a tale of unrequited love. Sob! My spiffy new hair products don’t like me. This, my friends, is what my hair looks like:-

Grease galore!

Turns out less might be more, after all.

The Painted House

I’ve been bad. I never went to the doctor. I know, I know I must et cetera. Blah blah blah… I just don’t feel so gross anymore. Really. Now and again I get a teeny weeny bit dizzy, but otherwise I’m just my normal fat and happy self. My normal fat and happy PRODUCTIVE self, mind you! (not to be mistaken with REproductive, of course...) I worked my fingers to the bone yesterday. I got a bee in my bonnet and decided I was going to finish painting our lounge if it meant I had to stay awake until the fowls started clucking. Well, apparently my resolve was short-lived because I only lasted until about 01h00 this morning, at which point I was so fatigued I couldn’t tell which walls were icky-institution-grey and which were vrot-pumpkin-yellow. Which is therefore a very good time to stash away the painting equipment, for sure! I was so excited this morning to awake to a totally different “feel” in my living room! It’s not finished yet, but I thought I’d share with you the fruit of my labour… Bear in mind, it’s a work in progress. I will show you the before pics when I can find them. Some of my pictures are still on my old work p.c. and I need to go and write them to cd the next time I’m back in Durban. There’s still lots of work needed in the lounge… I must still paint the skirtings and cornices, but we decided to only paint those once we’ve replaced them with pretty new ones. The ones there right now are rotten. Not to mention butt ugly. Oh and don’t get me started on the carpets! My gross-ometer spikes whenever I think about them. Yuck. Who knows how many species of ghastly insects reside there! I still haven’t walked on them barefoot. I need to make sure my insurances are up to date before I take a walk on the wild side!

Just don't look at all those things on the sideboard (above)... they're only there for lack of another place to put them right now... they will be moved soon. Hopefully!

Woops, the wording there should be the view FROM my other lounge windows. I'm too lazy to go back and change the pic!

That's Dundee in the distance at the foot of those mountains in the background. Pretty here huh? See why I'm loving it in the bush? Incidentally, our driveway is about a kilometer or two long... and it's a very bumpy / rocky /potholed dirt road. But then, when you get to the end of the driveway and you get to the main road (above), it's like the oasis in the desert! Especially with that view!

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OK, enough blogging for one day. My dial-up's going to have a fit when it sees all these pics. Cheerio fair friends! Until Monday. I have a long weekend! Woo hooooo! And my family's coming to visit! I'll fill you in on all the happenings then. Lots of loves and kisses...