NiQi is home in time for Christmas and the atmosphere at Larkwood is euphoric. It is the first time in many years that I feel we can celebrate Christmas with happiness and no fear that it may be our last together as a family. I know that we cannot predict life, but certainly circumstances tend to add or detract from our moods. I am hopeful that next year this time we will have much more to be happy about, but for now life is just dandy.
I fetched NiQi just before midday yesterday and it was so good to see her and to see her well. It is amazing how God has taken her in the palm of His hand and carried her over some rough terrain, now placing her in a place of peace and calm. I quote from her newsletter which she typed out this morning..."My Christmas present to myself is a whopping 3 kg gain in weight...I now weigh 55 kg, AND an increase in my lung function of 4% which means it is now 35%. I have not weighed so much in about 6 years and I think my lung function was last this good in about 2008." This is truly good news for us as a family and more so for NiQi who radiates happiness at the moment.
When I fetched her she seemed to bring home more than when she was admitted 2 weeks ago...the containers that were packed with food were empty, but her case was filled with her next month's medication, which made it really heavy. I am so glad that it has wheels and I didn't have to pick it up and lug it around from the 9th floor down to the 3rd floor where I had parked. The hospital was quiet for a change as many patients have been discharged to spend time with family and friends. This is going to be a Christmas made of memories for sure...
Life today with memories of years gone by...Larkwood has been since the beginning of our life together as a family...
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Two Weeks Old Today
Switch's foal is two weeks old today......my but the time has flown. It has been interesting to watch how he has developed in this time and to see how quickly he is learning new things. Switch is still very protective over him and will often come and position herself between us and him but he is becoming more adventurous and I have noticed that he may go off on his own for a bit before bouncing back to mummy. She appears to have sufficient milk supply for him and he often nudges her to have a drink before flopping down and having a sleep. By the fifth day he was already joining her for mealtimes and now shares in eating her food. I even caught him with some grass in his mouth yesterday so he really seems to be catching on quickly. It will be super when NiQi comes home so she can spend more time with him and get the halter on him. I have tried and I know she was hoping that by now I would have it on him but we need to work as a partnership in that...one distracting Switch while the other manages to have enough time with him to keep him still. We are still waiting to hear from Belinda as to what they are going to call him and yesterday evening when she was here I reminded her that he needs a name...they have hit a blank it appears, so I have sent through some suggestions from NiQi...maybe they will choose one of them or they will be inspired to think of something else.
A Weekend of Cleaning Up
With the recent rains which have been soooo very welcome, there has been an abundance of growth on the plot. Unfortunately the things you would like to grow quickly are not the ones that do and the ones you would rather wilt and dry up in the parching sun, thrive and grow taller and thicker than you wish. We have listened to the weeds swishing in the wind and spreading themselves out over as much area as they possibly can, choking anything good that may be trying to survive. In the middle of the week, Johan and I discussed getting some chaps in over this weekend to help us tidy up and try to get the place looking a bit neater, so I chatted to Geoffrey on Thursday morning and asked if he had some friends that would be willing to come and help. It turns out that a fruit juice factory nearby has closed for the holidays and so there are a number of people who are on leave now and some of Geoffrey's friends are amongst them.
Yesterday morning he arrived with 3 chaps and Johan set them to work, all delegated to different areas and different jobs so we could have a maximum 'clean-up'. With Johan mowing too it was all systems go and for once I wasn't involved, other than keeping everyone happy with food and juice...and boy did they all need a lot to drink over the two days to keep them hydrated as we had temperatures of 39 and 38 again. In the middle of the day, everyone downed tools and rested in the shade for an hour, hoping that it would cool or a breeze may stir up...neither happened... and even the thunderous sounds we heard in the distance were detoured away from us with not a drop of rain falling anywhere nearby.
So at the end of the two days, the vegetable garden has been cleaned, the stable mucked out...yah I got out of that one for a change...the area where the pigs used to be is cleared, where the peacocks roam, is cleared and the paddock where Switch and the foal are at present is partially clear of weeds and thorns. The grass has been mowed around the flat and house but is not quite finished under the fruit trees...maybe Johan will be able to get that done over the next two evenings after work. So all in all it's been a productive weekend and our place is looking pretty and neat and tidy....well mostly anyway.
Yesterday morning he arrived with 3 chaps and Johan set them to work, all delegated to different areas and different jobs so we could have a maximum 'clean-up'. With Johan mowing too it was all systems go and for once I wasn't involved, other than keeping everyone happy with food and juice...and boy did they all need a lot to drink over the two days to keep them hydrated as we had temperatures of 39 and 38 again. In the middle of the day, everyone downed tools and rested in the shade for an hour, hoping that it would cool or a breeze may stir up...neither happened... and even the thunderous sounds we heard in the distance were detoured away from us with not a drop of rain falling anywhere nearby.
So at the end of the two days, the vegetable garden has been cleaned, the stable mucked out...yah I got out of that one for a change...the area where the pigs used to be is cleared, where the peacocks roam, is cleared and the paddock where Switch and the foal are at present is partially clear of weeds and thorns. The grass has been mowed around the flat and house but is not quite finished under the fruit trees...maybe Johan will be able to get that done over the next two evenings after work. So all in all it's been a productive weekend and our place is looking pretty and neat and tidy....well mostly anyway.
Walking down Memory Lane
Yesterday morning I was on my way to town driving along the R101, and I could not help my mind wandering back to almost 9 years ago when we moved here from KZN...
I remembered our first trip to the Kolonnade, the shopping centre we frequent most, as if it was yesterday...having spent our first day here unpacking boxes and moving furniture around, when Johan arrived home from work we all piled in the car and took our first trip away from our new home. Having arrived the night before, driving along the back roads, we were now going to see where we were. Armed with a pen and my notebook, I wrote down the directions as we drove. Not having a nose for direction, I made sure I didn't miss a thing...go down the driveway - turn left...at the T - turn left...at the T - turn right...at the T - turn left.....and so it continued, noting land markings and eventually robots as we drove closer to town and moved away from the farmlands. It wasn't long before I didn't need my book anymore to drive there, and now I could probably drive it with my eyes closed, but that first trip was for me so scary...it was a new world and a fairly big one at that.
Our move from KZN took place over a few months, with Johan driving back with a bakkie load of boxes and smaller pieces of furniture every second weekend after he came home to visit. It culminated over the last weekend of February with us hiring a huge truck...Saturday, early, Bryan and Mariana arrived to help with the loading of furniture and all the rest that had not so far been taken. Bryan has a license to drive big trucks so it was his job to make the move. We knew it would be an all weekend move, but what we didn't realize was that the truck we had hired would drive so slowly. The Saturday, I stayed behind to clean up and gather the last things together, while everyone else drove up to off load at the other end and it's a good thing I did because the people who were renting the main section of the house arrived to start moving in themselves. We were a bit taken aback by this as we had not expected them to move in until the end of the month which was still a few days away. Anyway, Saturday turned into an extremely long day as it was after midnight when Bryan arrived back with the truck...poor man was exhausted and he still had another days run to make... Sunday was the same, only this time it was departure time for me. It was a hugely emotional time as I said 'goodbye' to Matthew...he was staying in the smaller section of the house which we had made with his own access etc. I couldn't believe the time had come for us to be separated by so many miles. I opted to follow Johan in the Astra, whilst he drove the bakkie together with NiQi and the dogs. For kilometers I cried...and I cried...and I cried some more....leaving behind the liFe I knew, the home where Mark had breathed his last breath and Matthew...it was heart wrenching. I remember that most of our trip was made with rain bucketing down around us, the window wipers were moving at their fastest and still visibility was poor. I was an emotional wreck that was grateful I was alone in the car so no one could see me sobbing my heart out. The bakkie had things tied onto the roof racks and the wind was blowing the edges of the blanket around, whipping it up in the air and back down again. At one point, with poor visibility and streaming rain, I saw something blow up and back and I thought it was William...I thought he had maybe gone too close to the window that Johan had left slightly open for the dogs to have fresh air and been blown out by the wind. In a panic and with fresh tears pouring down my cheeks I phoned Johan's cell phone and told him he had to pull over because William had blown away and he was now probably lying dead on the side of the road. With the rain still bucketing and the wind blowing gales we pulled over and he got out to look in the back of the bakkie...there were Neo, Trinity AND William, all lying sleeping, dozy from the sedatives we had given them for travelling. What a relief, and it appeared it was a piece of card under the things loaded on the roof rack that had ripped off and blown away...it wasn't William as I had imagined. The rest of the trip progressed slowly and finally we made it, late at night to our new home, where we tumbled out of our vehicles, let the dogs sniff their new surroundings and we all started to settle in...never did we imagine that 9 years later we would still be here, we thought maybe 5 years and we would head back to KZN, but there you are, you never know what will happen in life that keeps you where you are...or makes you move on...
I remembered our first trip to the Kolonnade, the shopping centre we frequent most, as if it was yesterday...having spent our first day here unpacking boxes and moving furniture around, when Johan arrived home from work we all piled in the car and took our first trip away from our new home. Having arrived the night before, driving along the back roads, we were now going to see where we were. Armed with a pen and my notebook, I wrote down the directions as we drove. Not having a nose for direction, I made sure I didn't miss a thing...go down the driveway - turn left...at the T - turn left...at the T - turn right...at the T - turn left.....and so it continued, noting land markings and eventually robots as we drove closer to town and moved away from the farmlands. It wasn't long before I didn't need my book anymore to drive there, and now I could probably drive it with my eyes closed, but that first trip was for me so scary...it was a new world and a fairly big one at that.
Our move from KZN took place over a few months, with Johan driving back with a bakkie load of boxes and smaller pieces of furniture every second weekend after he came home to visit. It culminated over the last weekend of February with us hiring a huge truck...Saturday, early, Bryan and Mariana arrived to help with the loading of furniture and all the rest that had not so far been taken. Bryan has a license to drive big trucks so it was his job to make the move. We knew it would be an all weekend move, but what we didn't realize was that the truck we had hired would drive so slowly. The Saturday, I stayed behind to clean up and gather the last things together, while everyone else drove up to off load at the other end and it's a good thing I did because the people who were renting the main section of the house arrived to start moving in themselves. We were a bit taken aback by this as we had not expected them to move in until the end of the month which was still a few days away. Anyway, Saturday turned into an extremely long day as it was after midnight when Bryan arrived back with the truck...poor man was exhausted and he still had another days run to make... Sunday was the same, only this time it was departure time for me. It was a hugely emotional time as I said 'goodbye' to Matthew...he was staying in the smaller section of the house which we had made with his own access etc. I couldn't believe the time had come for us to be separated by so many miles. I opted to follow Johan in the Astra, whilst he drove the bakkie together with NiQi and the dogs. For kilometers I cried...and I cried...and I cried some more....leaving behind the liFe I knew, the home where Mark had breathed his last breath and Matthew...it was heart wrenching. I remember that most of our trip was made with rain bucketing down around us, the window wipers were moving at their fastest and still visibility was poor. I was an emotional wreck that was grateful I was alone in the car so no one could see me sobbing my heart out. The bakkie had things tied onto the roof racks and the wind was blowing the edges of the blanket around, whipping it up in the air and back down again. At one point, with poor visibility and streaming rain, I saw something blow up and back and I thought it was William...I thought he had maybe gone too close to the window that Johan had left slightly open for the dogs to have fresh air and been blown out by the wind. In a panic and with fresh tears pouring down my cheeks I phoned Johan's cell phone and told him he had to pull over because William had blown away and he was now probably lying dead on the side of the road. With the rain still bucketing and the wind blowing gales we pulled over and he got out to look in the back of the bakkie...there were Neo, Trinity AND William, all lying sleeping, dozy from the sedatives we had given them for travelling. What a relief, and it appeared it was a piece of card under the things loaded on the roof rack that had ripped off and blown away...it wasn't William as I had imagined. The rest of the trip progressed slowly and finally we made it, late at night to our new home, where we tumbled out of our vehicles, let the dogs sniff their new surroundings and we all started to settle in...never did we imagine that 9 years later we would still be here, we thought maybe 5 years and we would head back to KZN, but there you are, you never know what will happen in life that keeps you where you are...or makes you move on...
Friday, December 20, 2013
Christmas...
As Christmas day draws closer I am excited for another year of family memories, glad to have people close to me that I love and grateful for being able to share the day with so many...albeit mostly family, over the years....
There are not too many memories I have from our years in England which is quite sad, but I guess being fairly young then may be the reason for that. Looking back to the years after we moved to South Africa and before I was married the two things I remember most are...our pillowcases filled with presents, as I mentioned once before and the feast of food my late dad used to make every year that we ate on for days. My dad loved to cook and he enjoyed browzing through recipe books looking for new recipes...sadly he wasn't a pudding man, more the cheese and biscuit type, but he did love to experiment with oriental foods and recipes on Saturdays and Sundays were the time for a special roast or something else delicious. Christmas day he went all out and from the time he arrived home from work on Christmas Eve, he would be cooking up a storm in the kitchen, most times working late into the night so that Christmas day everything was done and all we had to do was put it all together and serve. From breakfast to supper time it was just food, food, food...
I have tried over the years to master my dad's menu, but I just am not in the same league that he was I'm afraid. I have also cooked the gammon and the tongue and the beef roast to slice up and serve for breakfast with croissants....and the turkey and chipolata sausages with roast potatoes for dinner time and as much as my family ooh and aah and tell me how delicious it all is, I know that it could be better. Some years ago I decided that for a change we were going to have a purely South African Christmas meal which meant none of the 'staples' that we were used to eating, so imagine my surprize when my brother and his family arrived with a turkey!!!!!!!!!!!!! My South African Christmas meal was once again turned into traditional festive fare...
This year Matthew and Jess are in the Cape for Christmas and my mum is with my sister, so it was just going to be Johan, NiQi and I....until we heard my sister-in-law and hubby were also going to be spending most of Christmas day on their own...and our threesome became a 'fivesome' which then turned into a 'sixsome' when they heard this week that their son has been given Christmas day off this year. Suddenly my low key, nothing special, Christmas is being plotted in my mind...hehe...I asked Johan last evening what we are going to cook this year and he settled on the idea of a leg of lamb which he will do in the weber, flavoured with garlic, rosemary and mint....mmmm yummy. I think I will make a stuffed chicken and whole roasted potatoes, together with glazed carrots and brussel sprouts, my personal favourite - if I can find some - AND for those not keen on brussel sprouts, I will do boring old peas...lol
Pudding...mmm pudding...we can go traditional with Christmas pud, but I think not....it has to be trifle, trifle with a twist, delicious, smooth and creamy, yes that's a good idea - together with ice cream... Hmmmm I better make my shopping list ready to hit the shops tomorrow morning, just for the bits and pieces mind you...
VARIOUS CHRISTMAS BREAKFASTS AND LUNCHES WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS............
There are not too many memories I have from our years in England which is quite sad, but I guess being fairly young then may be the reason for that. Looking back to the years after we moved to South Africa and before I was married the two things I remember most are...our pillowcases filled with presents, as I mentioned once before and the feast of food my late dad used to make every year that we ate on for days. My dad loved to cook and he enjoyed browzing through recipe books looking for new recipes...sadly he wasn't a pudding man, more the cheese and biscuit type, but he did love to experiment with oriental foods and recipes on Saturdays and Sundays were the time for a special roast or something else delicious. Christmas day he went all out and from the time he arrived home from work on Christmas Eve, he would be cooking up a storm in the kitchen, most times working late into the night so that Christmas day everything was done and all we had to do was put it all together and serve. From breakfast to supper time it was just food, food, food...
I have tried over the years to master my dad's menu, but I just am not in the same league that he was I'm afraid. I have also cooked the gammon and the tongue and the beef roast to slice up and serve for breakfast with croissants....and the turkey and chipolata sausages with roast potatoes for dinner time and as much as my family ooh and aah and tell me how delicious it all is, I know that it could be better. Some years ago I decided that for a change we were going to have a purely South African Christmas meal which meant none of the 'staples' that we were used to eating, so imagine my surprize when my brother and his family arrived with a turkey!!!!!!!!!!!!! My South African Christmas meal was once again turned into traditional festive fare...
This year Matthew and Jess are in the Cape for Christmas and my mum is with my sister, so it was just going to be Johan, NiQi and I....until we heard my sister-in-law and hubby were also going to be spending most of Christmas day on their own...and our threesome became a 'fivesome' which then turned into a 'sixsome' when they heard this week that their son has been given Christmas day off this year. Suddenly my low key, nothing special, Christmas is being plotted in my mind...hehe...I asked Johan last evening what we are going to cook this year and he settled on the idea of a leg of lamb which he will do in the weber, flavoured with garlic, rosemary and mint....mmmm yummy. I think I will make a stuffed chicken and whole roasted potatoes, together with glazed carrots and brussel sprouts, my personal favourite - if I can find some - AND for those not keen on brussel sprouts, I will do boring old peas...lol
Pudding...mmm pudding...we can go traditional with Christmas pud, but I think not....it has to be trifle, trifle with a twist, delicious, smooth and creamy, yes that's a good idea - together with ice cream... Hmmmm I better make my shopping list ready to hit the shops tomorrow morning, just for the bits and pieces mind you...
VARIOUS CHRISTMAS BREAKFASTS AND LUNCHES WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS............
Purdy girl has hurt herself
As I was posting my previous blog, I heard yelping outside and knew that one of the dogs had done something to hurt themselves. Rushing outside as quickly as was able, I saw the puppies and Purdy all running towards the house, with Purdy limping. Not being too perturbed by the scene I waited for them to come into the kitchen before examining Purdy's leg, which by the way, she often hurts. She could be playing, or climbing through the fence, climbing a tree or chasing the horses, it really makes no difference, but she often hurts her right front leg and comes to us limping.
However, as I bent to examine it and to check there was no huge damage to it, I noticed that she has a huge gash in her side. Ooh, it's nasty... Anyway, having a vast array of medical supplies on hand I grabbed the D-Germ and Germolene from the bathroom and poured as much of the D-Germ into the wound as I could. Poor girl, I knew it would sting, but I had to get as much in and around it as possible to try and get it clean, then I lathered on a layer of Germolene and have just given her a half disprin. I will have to watch it and her to see how she does and if necessary take her through to our vet.
However, as I bent to examine it and to check there was no huge damage to it, I noticed that she has a huge gash in her side. Ooh, it's nasty... Anyway, having a vast array of medical supplies on hand I grabbed the D-Germ and Germolene from the bathroom and poured as much of the D-Germ into the wound as I could. Poor girl, I knew it would sting, but I had to get as much in and around it as possible to try and get it clean, then I lathered on a layer of Germolene and have just given her a half disprin. I will have to watch it and her to see how she does and if necessary take her through to our vet.
More Early Morning Antics
Following on from yesterday...we had been back in the house not even 10 minutes when we heard a commotion with the horses outside. Oh my word, what a scene met us when we went out...Navajo was standing straddled over the side of the crusher, with his back legs one side and his front legs the other. You cannot imagine what these animals get up to some days...it is just too much to comprehend....
How on earth did he manage that you may be wondering and if anyone has ever had a mare come in season with a stallion in the same region, may begin to understand how stupid these animals can be. With Switch's foal now almost 2 weeks old, she has, as is normal I believe, come into season again...foal is forgotten and Navajo is once again the flavour of the day...what a slut she is...lol
She on the one side, he on the other, you can imagine the scene, but they didn't quite make it. She moved, he lost his footing and couldn't back up and that is how we had the scene that we did. I must say he looked like a very contrite teenager as we assessed the situation and scratched our heads wondering how on earth we were going to sort this little pickle out. Well first thoughts were to get Switch as far away as possible, so she together with her foal were led up to the top corner paddock and closed in....
Johan with all the brains in situations like this was thinking of what to do while I put the halter on Navajo and told him what a silly boy he was. Well as you will see by the photo's, the best we could come up with without destroying the crusher in the process, was to take the old tyres NiQi uses for her jumps, pack them by his hooves, put a board on top, lift his front legs, hope he would lift his back legs and then see from there. My,but he is far to clever for us.... as we were still pondering the next step and looking for 'other apparatus' to help him over, he managed to get himself over by himself...we missed it all as our backs were turned, but he was off as quick as lightning up to the top paddock where Switch now is. Johan then led him, with him digging in his heels...hehe...out and down to where he could join the other horses. It wasn't long before he was back, but by this time we had used the tyres as a wall to stop him getting close again....and madam is not coming out of that camp until it is safe for her to be around the other horses again...
How on earth did he manage that you may be wondering and if anyone has ever had a mare come in season with a stallion in the same region, may begin to understand how stupid these animals can be. With Switch's foal now almost 2 weeks old, she has, as is normal I believe, come into season again...foal is forgotten and Navajo is once again the flavour of the day...what a slut she is...lol
She on the one side, he on the other, you can imagine the scene, but they didn't quite make it. She moved, he lost his footing and couldn't back up and that is how we had the scene that we did. I must say he looked like a very contrite teenager as we assessed the situation and scratched our heads wondering how on earth we were going to sort this little pickle out. Well first thoughts were to get Switch as far away as possible, so she together with her foal were led up to the top corner paddock and closed in....
Johan with all the brains in situations like this was thinking of what to do while I put the halter on Navajo and told him what a silly boy he was. Well as you will see by the photo's, the best we could come up with without destroying the crusher in the process, was to take the old tyres NiQi uses for her jumps, pack them by his hooves, put a board on top, lift his front legs, hope he would lift his back legs and then see from there. My,but he is far to clever for us.... as we were still pondering the next step and looking for 'other apparatus' to help him over, he managed to get himself over by himself...we missed it all as our backs were turned, but he was off as quick as lightning up to the top paddock where Switch now is. Johan then led him, with him digging in his heels...hehe...out and down to where he could join the other horses. It wasn't long before he was back, but by this time we had used the tyres as a wall to stop him getting close again....and madam is not coming out of that camp until it is safe for her to be around the other horses again...
looking back at his love and digging in his heels
wall of tyres as an interim safety measure
The crusher needs some repair work
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