Martha Beck and Other Authors

My favourite reads have always been biographies and autobiographies and I think it stems from my school days and searching for acceptable reads to add to my personal list of books read when in matric.  I remember scouring the bookshelves of my parents home and picking out a few books, all of which were biographies.  I remember one was 'Piaf' about Edith Piaf the French singer, another was 'The Spirit in the Cage' by Peter Churchill and 'Reach for the Sky' by Paul Brickhill - the story of Douglas Bader.

I like to read about other people, not necessarily famous people, but 'real' people who have achieved something, gone through something or just have a story to be told and I have over the years collected many of these books to add to all my fiction books.

At the moment I am reading 'Leaving the Saints' by Martha Beck, a book written about her recollection of being molested by her father and wanting him to admit it to her after many years of suppressed memories.  It is intertwined with other past stories and her life growing up in the Mormon community in Utah.  This is not a blog about a book review though but rather to say that after reading about half way through the book, for whatever reason I don't know, I decided to Google her.  I discovered that she writes a column for 'O' Magazine, has written many other books (one of which is Expecting Adam, which I read some years ago), is a lecturer and after many years of marriage and 3 children, both she and her husband both discovered they are gay.  Most interesting....but this isn't even the reason for this blog either....on reading further I discovered a number of articles that refute facts written in both the book I am reading as well as Expecting Adam, her previous autobiography.  Not just one person but a number of people say that she has fictionalized some of what she has written which puts everything in it now as unbelievable.  Having read all these articles, I'm now not sure if I want to continue reading the book, because what I first thought was fact, I now read as fiction.

However this isn't the first book that I have read that, after reading it, have discovered it to be a whole lot of hooey.  Some years ago, when we still had DSTV (satellite television), I saw an interview with a chap called James Frey on the Oprah show.  He was talking about his biography - A Million Little Pieces, and I was fascinated by his story...how he had lived as a drug addict and later cleaned himself up and became a changed person.  I was interested enough to buy his book when I saw it in our local book shop and read it with awe.  Imagine my shock and dismay when a few years down the line, there he was on Oprah again...this time apologizing to her and the rest of the world for his book which as it turned out was not an autobiography, but a fictitious story written based on his life as both an alcoholic and drug addict.  It doesn't end here though...remember the books written by Lance Armstrong - It's Not About The Bike and Every Second Counts...well I've read them both, admired him for his strength and endurance, only to be once more dismayed to hear and read that he couldn't have achieved what he did if it wasn't for a particular drug he used during those years of competition.....something he didn't deem necessary to mention!!!!

So you see, I am becoming somewhat disillusioned by these books that are written by people who claim them to be true when in fact they are not.  Why do people feel the need to fabricate and/or embellish their stories, it just makes no sense to me, but I am very disappointed in the way that they do it and then deny, deny, deny, and when exposed, they eventually decide to admit to being a fraud...what message is it sending to the next generation and where will it leave our history???????

My how Shelley has grown...

Shelley has a wonderful life of eating, strolling and sleeping in her shell.  She wakes when the mood takes her, ambles around on whatever route she feels like taking and eats on a cuisine fit for a king....so it is no wonder that she is growing so fast.

Just a couple of photo's to show how much she has grown in the last couple of years.

18 March 2011

27 September 2011

8 January 2014

 

Bunnies on the run...

The bunnies are at it again with a couple of 'littlies' that have managed to dig to just under the fence and into the vegetable garden. They are not the first and won't be the last that's for sure but these two are the wiliest and the quickest.  We have all three of us been daily amongst the vegetables in the last week , picking fresh produce and then attempting to catch the little blighters.  They are like greased lightning they are so quick but we will be patient, we will let them eat on the fresh vegetables to their hearts content, and eventually we will get them and replace them with the rest of the family.

Cystic Fibrosis Remains Unpredictable

This last week has taught me not to count my chickens before they hatch, so to speak...after just two weeks of being home and arriving from hospital so well, Niqi picked up a cold which quickly developed into her not being well at all.  It is my own fault for being so happy and daring to dream that she will continue to go from strength to strength, to the point that I imagined she may not even need to have a lung transplant.

I know that it may sound silly, but every now and then there are fleeting moments when I feel guilty that she has improved so much and then suddenly I am brought back to reality and the battle continues.  Cystic Fibrosis has stolen so much from our lives, it has become the number one 'thing' that has just taken over.  Obviously the person suffering is the one most affected, but every other member of the family becomes just as overwhelmed by the roller coaster between well and sick on an emotional level, that they are the ones who have to put their lives back together right at the end....they are the ones who have to find 'normality' after so many years of living in limbo.

So after a week of sleeping most of the time, forcing herself to eat, coughing throughout the night and battling to breathe, NiQi is now on the mend again.  The oxygen bottle that had been removed from the car the last few weeks has once again been put behind the front seats...just in case she needs to use it when we go out anywhere.  Shakes are being made up and consumed at an alarming rate to try and keep the weight up.  Gasps of deep breathing are sucked in to get as much medication as far down into her lungs as possible when doing her nebulizations, which most times ends up in coughing fits, causing headaches.  Physiotherapy has once again become a chore leaving her exhausted.

We managed a trip to the supermarket on Saturday, where we bumped into a fellow CFer....NiQi didn't want to hug her because she wasn't wearing a mask and she knew she wasn't 100%, but she was so excited to see NiQi that she couldn't help it.  NiQi turned her head away and held her breath, not wanting to breathe all over her.  Hopefully she kept her germs to herself....

So she starts all over again, working hard to reach the point that she was a few weeks ago, then she can aim to improve even more.  For now we are happy that she is doing well again, grateful once more for God's graciousness in her life, happy to look ahead again to a future and a long life....

Visitors...Friends and Family

It is not often that we receive visitors to Larkwood, so when we do we tend to go all out to entertain them.  Most days are the usual hum drum of life and we keep much to ourselves, minding our own business, working with our animals, trying to keep things clean and tidy, always trying to improve on things...lol  Then suddenly one day, or one evening, we may have a call to say that we can expect a visit.  I must say that most of our visitors are people coming to look at the birds, but this last week and over the weekend it was not so.

Gill and Jerome came round on Thursday afternoon, not only to catch up with news....as it has been some months since we last saw them, but they also brought a friend of theirs who wanted to chat to 'MOI' about self sustainability and what we have done and how far have we carried self sustainability into our lives.  I must say I thoroughly enjoyed telling him about what we have done so far, our mistakes, how we have made improvements, where we are now and what our next step is.  Sure we have a long way to go and if we want to continue to enjoy the luxuries in life, like electricity and running a car, there are still things we can do to cut back on consumption and/or make our own too.

Johan remembers his grandparents farm in the karoo which was in an area that at that time had no electricity. He remembers his ouma (granny) cooking in an oven outside...although she did also have a big old coal stove in her kitchen too, as well as having a walk in cold room  made from two walls of clay and lined with coal that they would pour water on to, to keep the fresh produce inside cold. A lot of the things he learned at his oupa's (grandfather's) side he has managed to bring them into our life today, and yes there are modern ways to do things, but lets face it the older generation certainly knew how to look after themselves without the conveniences we have today.

Yesterday, Johan's cousin, Bakkies came to visit with his wife, Daleen and son, Jose.  They live in Bloemfontein in the Free State so we do not see much of each other, but when we do, we always have a fun time.  Bakkies, like Johan has a love for birds and breeds them and shows them too.  As you can imagine, most of the conversation between them yesterday was about the birds and after a braai for lunch, the two of them went off to the birdroom.  Bakkies is much more knowledgeable about the Lovebirds than Johan and he helped him to pair up some new pairs with young birds we took to be sexed last week.  Johan is the 'budgie man' between the two of them so he imparts knowledge in that regard.  So while the men were busy sorting birds, we ladies chatted, watched my nieces wedding DVD and then spent time with Titan...who was 5 weeks old yesterday....

Great to have good friends and family over, we should do it more often...who is coming next????

Saving a Pea Chick

Sometimes I wonder who is more cruel....animals or humans?  I guess that most would say humans because they know right from wrong and have a thinking brain, but then others will argue that animals do too.  All I know is that when it comes to nature, then the circle of life will take it's course and it will eventually come down to 'survival of the fittest'.  Happily there are times that with human intervention an animal can be saved and hopefully nurtured to good health so it can once more be released to live a longer life.

Our pea fowl have been left to roam aimlessly wherever they please and most times there is harmony, however it is days like today when our pooches slink around in the heavy oppressive heat like wild dogs and look for an invitation to do the unthinkable and unimaginable.  Ever listening with an ear to distinguish unusual sounds from the norm, I heard mamma peahen alerting me to trouble and I raced outside to see how bad the damage might be.  Of course it is inevitable that the dogs will outrun the chicks and in an attempt to take flight, their little bodies will not be able to gain enough ground to get away from a dog leaping into the air and snapping in an endeavour to catch it's latest victim.....so it was that I found Todd chasing a chick that he had unwittingly let loose.  I managed to scoop it up and bring it close to my chest, crooning all the while that it will be alright.  I took it into the bathroom to assess the damage - teeth marks on the underbelly as well as on the top close to where it's wings opens, and it's legs that are at present crippled.  Leaving it in the safety of the bathroom behind closed door, I went out to the tack room to get our can of antibiotic wound spray.  Purple in colour we use it on all our animals if they have cuts and grazes or anything bigger.  It not only helps to heal the wounds, but also keeps the flies away....and at this time of the year when the flies are prevalent, it is imperative we keep them away so they don't lay their eggs in the soft open flesh of the animal.  

All the while, my mind was ticking over....what next...I can't give it back to mamma as she will not be able to protect it again from either the dogs or maybe even a hawk or eagle.  Should I find a box and line it with grass cuttings and keep it in the house for a while?  Should I make it an enclosure close to where they come to feed mielies from me in the mornings and evenings?  Neither in my mind were suitable solutions as in a box it will not get the grubs and other insects it eats when with it's siblings and mamma and an enclosure will make it too open with not enough shade for the middle of the day.  I went looking and came across an old cage not used anymore....big enough to keep it in.  I decided the best spot is in the rabbit enclosure where there is plenty of grass and also it is not too far from where they roost at night.  Mamma can fly over the fence together with it's siblings and be safe from the dogs if she wants to.  I also found a sheet of corrugated iron to place on top of the cage for shade making it spacious, comfy and cool.

It is now safely ensconced inside with a bowl of water and some mielies and I hope and pray that it will heal and soon be reunited with it's family....later I will check on it to see it is alright as the next few hours are crucial to it's healing.  An ordeal like this can make the body go into shock and it may die anyway...I certainly hope not...

Spiders everywhere....

Earlier in the week I spent the morning cleaning all the spider webs away from both the inside and around the bird suspended cages. Not a job I enjoy, but it had to be done. I have been putting it off for some weeks now, but every day when I feed the birds and look into their cages I realize that it's not fair to the birds to have to share their space with the tough elasticized webs that have developed.  These are not spiders that spin their web at night and then pack it up in the dawn  of morning, no these are spiders that like a cuckoo move in and take over.

Before I started I filled a bucket with water and found the perfect one to use amongst those we have stored away...a nappy bucket.  One with a lid that has a removable centre, which to my way of thinking was just perfect for the purpose.  Then I took a load of old palm fronds which have just been left with the central stem after the lovebirds have chewed of the leafy bits, and cage by cage I pushed them in and after entering the very centre of the web, proceeded to turn it around and around  with the same action of making candy floss...lastly scooping at any stray strands left floating in the wind.  Carefully removing the frond, I then plunged it in the bucket of water, hoping that whatever was on it would drown.  Just to make sure I sprayed up and down the full length in case there was anything that escaped the water level and managed to climb up. Cage by cage I cleared the webs out and the birds are now much happier and can fly the full length without getting tangled.

Contrary to the above and my reason to eliminate these pesky webs, I have been watching my 'friend' Charlotte daily and wondering and waiting to see when her egg sac will hatch.  Well today it has....this morning when I was in the bird room I noticed that Charlotte is no longer carrying it around with her and further up her web are loads and loads of tiny little spiders...  At this stage they are so minute that they cannot possibly do any harm to man or beast, or so I hope anyway, but I wonder how brave I will feel when I see them growing and I am wondering where they will all go??????