The Next Chapter

Another Chilly January Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 04:05:00 +0000

Felt like blogging tonight, so here I am. What to say? It's been so long I've forgotten how!

I'm at home (Mom's) right now & doing my best hibernation routine. It's been crazy cold & gets dark late/early, so not exactly my style of weather! I've been spending the time at home catching up with friends on the phone & online - Skype has to be one of the best inventions! I've enjoyed the girls company & I know they've enjoyed mine! Valentina is LOVING her new ball - she even brought it to bed the other night. I rolled over & couldn't figure out what the lump in the bed was. A lovely durable street hockey ball! What a girl!

Today I also walked on the treadmill. Barefoot. I know now that I will never make it as a Masai barefoot runner! Yep. Nice big blister right on the pad of my foot. Hey, at least I used the treadmill!

I've knit two hats & a cocoon (photo prop) this week & I'm almost done my Rainbow Nation sweater - just trying to modify the collar without making a mess of it!

As of late I've been craving soft shell tacos, so tonight I took some corn tortillas (clearly not fresh, as they crumbled after the first bite!), avocado, cilantro, yellow pepper, tomatoes, lime juice, a little mayo (I know, it's bad!) and some chipotle Tabasco sauce. Not bad if I do say so myself! If I turn the heaters up a little more it will qualify as a Mayan Moment! Olé!

Tomorrow I'll head to Mom2's for Christmas Dinner (yes, I know it's January). Back to the ranch on Sunday night, to the Doctor's on Monday for a checkup & then to Saskatoon for the rest of the week. Granny hasn't been well, so I'm anxious to get there & hopefully help her feel better. She's 97 next month! What a feat!

Okay, that's all for today... Keep well & keep warm!
Maria Valentina
reunited with Valentina, Oceana & Adios

Squishes with Mama

Keeping warm by the heater!

Hat for Baby Brown

Cocoon for Baby Brown

Hat for Karter - needs a button yet!

Still Alive! Actually, Very Much Alive!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:52:00 +0000

Well, I’ve taken an awful long time off. The task of trying to catch up on the blog just seems so daunting. I faithfully blogged every day while I was able to, but internet access, time & patience became considerations once I was back on my feet & out & about!

I’m posting the Christmas letter I sent around to a few family & friends. My laptop died a few weeks ago, so I haven’t had all the resources I thought I would! If you didn’t get it, it could be due to the fact that my address book that is backed up is over 1 year old! In any case, excuses, excuses, right!?

2011 has been a wonderful year, with the words – REMISSION ringing loudest in my head – of course, time will only strengthen the word, but for now, I can breathe easier & enjoy life to the fullest! Well, a slightly larger version of the fullest I was formerly experiencing!

I hope you had a phenomenal year & 2012 will bring nothing but joy & health & happiness for you – whatever version of that you dream of!

I’ll do my best to periodically update the blog – don’t expect too much too often! Thanks for checking in now & then & by all means – if you have any questions or comments, write me!

Much love from a healthier, hairier version of my former self,

Maria Valentina

xxxx

If you want to read the letter & see the photos, just click on each one - I loaded them as original size so you could see the text! :o)

Crazy Times!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 21:14:00 +0000

Just a quick note to let you know I haven't abandoned the blog completely! Since the last blog I've been to Dubai, Italy, France, England, Norway & Russia. I'm currently in Norway with my Mom meeting our long-lost relatives! Watch this space for exciting posts!

xxxxMaria

So Far Behind...

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Fri, 27 May 2011 19:23:00 +0000

Since I can't sleep due to mosquitos, I thought I might as well try & be productive. I haven't blogged in so long, I don't really know where/how to start. I told myself I wasn't going to spend so much time on a personal blog, but rather focus on my photography. Of course, that meant I would work through the Photoshop book so I would be a wizard at editing all those wonderful images. Naturally, that hasn't happened. So, I won't give you a play by play, but I'll try to give a Reader's Digest version of the past few months. It may be choppy & a little disorganized, but then, so is my life!

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The last I blogged, Jaco & I were still in South Africa. I had decided to go to Europe for 10 days on my own. Jaco had waited a VERY long time for his new passport. Home Affairs took so much sweet time, that he wouldn't have time to make his flights to the ship, since he still needed to apply for a visa. My flights had been booked previously & to change them last minute to fly to Gibraltar would have been very costly. So, we decided that I would go off on a little adventure of my own.

Two days before my flight, I picked up a few rough guides - one for Italy & one for France - and booked a rental car. I also booked the first two nights of accommodation at Camping Fabulous just outside Roma. Beyond that, no plans were made. Yikes!

We bought a cell phone on the way to the airport and a GPS in Dubai during a 10 hour layover. (I thought it would have been fun to see Dubai with Jaco. Never again.) Speaking of Dubai. Man, I just gotta say it. I just don't get this whole 'drape yourself in fabric' thing. I mean, seriously? How is it that the men are able to wear white & only 2 towels in some cases (one around the waist & one around the shoulders) and the women have to wear black & cover every last inch of skin. Hull-oh? The desert is hot. The sun is intense. Black vs. white? Someone's getting the raw end of the deal. I'm all for equality. I don't handle suppression well. I was so uncomfortable being in that airport. Say what you want, but I'll take my Western freedoms any day. And besides, if it's so wonderful to live life in a sheet, why are they all coming to the Western World? (Sadly enough, still in their bedsheets!)

Anyhow, I better hush up before someone gets the wrong idea. One last thing... I see that Quebec is the first in Canada to approve a burqa ban. Of course, the article was written over a year ago!

Happily out of Dubai, I landed in Roma. I had been there before, so I planned on only spending one day there. It was a full day! I managed to see the Colosseum, St. Peter's, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and yes, my feet were sore by the end of the day!

I picked up the rental car the next morning. I had rented a sub-compact car, as I wanted trunk space to keep my suitcases out of sight from would-be thieves. The car company didn't do a walk around with me, just handed me the keys & sent me to the parking area. I didn't recognize the brand of car - Astra - and as I walked through the parkade, I spotted a station wagon. Oh please no! My first time driving in Italy, I wasn't feeling ready for a big car in crazy traffic! I hit the unlock button on the key chain & sure enough, the lights on the station wagon winked back at me! Great! I got along fine with the beast. Well, after the GPS & I got acquainted.

Our first 20 minutes leaving the airport & getting onto the Autostrada around Roma was a challenge. I felt like I was in an episode of The Office, as the GPS sent me on the wrong exit! I was going in the wrong direction! Towards Naples! I had visions of standing in my underclothes with nothing in my hand but the rental car keychain!

I managed to get turned around & headed towards Firenze. The traffic was a little hectic. Three lanes. Far left is 130 km/h. Middle lane is 90 km/h. Far right is 60 km/h. God bless you if you need to pass someone! The drivers also like to straddle the lanes. They are apparently as indecisive about lanes as I am about which lip gloss colour I should get!

I parked outside of Firenze & took the train in. I wasn't going to brave city parking on my first day! I climbed the 400+ steps up the Bell Tower at the Duomo, had gelato on the Ponte Vecchio, hunted down my favourite boot shop & told them where my last pair had traveled to (didn't buy a new pair, fyi!), and then headed out of the city to try & catch a Tuscan sunset.

The sunset was incredible, but no chance I could find a spot to pull off the road & shoot it! ARGH! And then, I was left in the dark to try & find my accommodation for the evening.

I think I'll leave it at that for now...

xxxx Maria & Valentina

May 21 – Spier with Marisa & Brunch with the Gründlingh’s

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Sat, 21 May 2011 19:27:00 +0000

This morning Jaco & I were up early & left for Stellenbosch. We were meeting Nico & his parents, Marten & Marianne, for brunch. I hadn’t seen Nico since April of 2009 & I hadn’t seen Marten & Marianne since the summer of 2009 when they stayed at Mom’s place with Karen & Werner on their Western Canadian tour. I was excited to see them! Talia, Nico’s girlfriend (now fiancée!), was flying in on Monday & I was disappointed that I missed her!

We had a wonderful visit about Nico’s last contract & Marten & Marianne’s visit to the ship when Nico & Talia were working on the Diamond in Asia. It sounded like the trip of a lifetime!

Nico had to go to a bachelor’s party that afternoon, so we left just after lunch & drove out to Spier to meet Marisa.

Marisa & Anine met us just outside at Spier. I hadn’t been here before & it is quite the place! There were birds of prey, big cats, a large pond with plenty of picnic spaces, and a massive restaurant where we had a drink in a treehouse! How cool is that?! We also had our faces painted in a traditional African pattern… See images below!

After we left Spier, we drove to Marisa’s to download her Roxette photos. We were greeted by a gaggle of Chihuahua’s, a Bischon, a MinPin & a few cats. And a whole lotta noise! Too cute!

Her father was home, busily fixing things up for the engagement party Neill & Marisa were having this coming Friday. Her mom arrived shortly after & the 5 of us had a great chat. I can’t remember the last time I’ve laughed so much with 2 people I’ve just met! I’m very sad I’ll be missing the party on Friday. Especially when I saw the menu!

Funny story – When Nico & I were working together on ships, we worked a contract with Marisa. Nico & Marisa were both from Stellenbosch, but they didn’t know each other prior to this contract. Or so they thought! One night Nico was scanning old negatives & the roll was shot on a night out at a pub. And there in the background was Marisa! Can you believe it? What are the chances!?

xxxxMaria

(photos to come one day!)

Marcus & Celia's

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Wed, 18 May 2011 20:09:00 +0000

This evening Jaco & I went to visit his best friend & their family. Marcus & Jaco worked together in Kimberley & became close friends. Marcus decided to specialize in Anaesthetics & his work has brought him to Cape Town. He & his wife have 2 beautiful boys, Joshua & Micah.

We enjoyed a fantastic dinner outside in the front yard & unfortunately Marcus got called to work, so we didn’t get to visit with him as much. But after the boys were asleep, Celia, Jaco & I had a great visit.

I’m very sad that we won’t get to see them again for another 4 months, but I’m looking forward to the next time we do! I’m sure the boys will have grown so much more!

Here are a few photos I snapped of them in the front yard.

xxxxMaria

Leaving Kronenhoff & Leana

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:58:00 +0000

I'm still alive... Don't hold your breath, but here's a start!

****************************************************

Okay, forgive me while I try to retrace my steps over the past few months… Where, oh where does the time go?

The last post I did had Jaco & I experiencing the amazing wildlife in Africa – Schotia Safaris to be exact. Where were staying at Kronenhoff Guesthouse in Kirkwood, close to Addo Elephant Park.

We were quite sad to say goodbye to Jurie & Hendrien, and of course, the luxurious Honeymoon Suite we were staying in! We had a quick brunch & packed up our things & hit the road running. We were running a few hours late – as we do!

Hendrien gave us a bag of GIANT avocados from the tree in their yard. I’ve never seen such HUGE avocados! Wow! Impressive!

On our way, we stopped at the Storms River Bridge for a pit stop & quick peek into the canyon. The bridge is impressive! Even more impressive were the photos on the walls of bridges around the world. Lethbridge, Alberta made the cut! Who would have thought?

We rolled into George just before 6 p.m. Leana had phoned to see where we were & we made plans to meet at Sails restaurant on the seafront. It was beautiful! We had a wonderful dinner & fabulous visit with Leana. Jaco just finished working with her on the Sea Princess. She’s now left ships & is working in George, her feet firmly planted on land. Leana is one of the most special people I’ve encountered on ships & I am sad she won’t be with us on the next ship. But I’m happy for her to back at home & enjoying life in the ‘real world’. Big hugs Leana!!! We miss you!!!

We were supposed to stay at Leana’s, but Jaco was pressing to drive home, so we left, pulling into Hermanus just after 1a.m. Welcome back…

xxxxMaria

Schotia Safaris

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Sun, 15 May 2011 08:43:00 +0000

Wouldn’t you know it. The ONE morning we get to sleep in & I don’t set my alarms. And they go off. What gives? I need an alarm & it doesn’t work. I don’t need one & it goes off! At 0530! Argh!

We left a little late for Schotia. Speeds of 180 km/h were reached. We arrived with 4 minutes to spare. I’m not sure if I was more relieved to arrive alive or on time. In any case, we were 6 people & we climbed up into our open top safari Land Rover & headed off on our 6 hour adventure.

The afternoon highlight was most definitely the 2 white rhinos we saw. They were in close proximity to our vehicle & I took some great shots. White Gnus were also spotted – I’ve never seen them before, along with reedbucks (I think). We also saw blue wildebeest, warthogs, waterbucks, impala, springbok, kudu, and zebra.

Our guide, Renier, was a plethora of knowledge, showing us the skull of a kudu & how the horns are actually part of the skull & only covered in keratin. He told us about the termite mounds & how the red soils works well with termite spit to make the hard clay that forms the mounds. Did you know that inside termite mounds the temperature is about 36º? He told us the name of the white rhino is actually a misunderstanding. It was actually meant to be WIDE rhino, because of it’s wide mouth, but it was somehow translated into White & it stuck. Renier also showed us a leopard tortoise, which can live up to 150 years old!

We stopped for tea & a biscuit at a little café type room – formerly it was a dairy barn. The land is managed by a family which has been there for 6generations. We no sooner poured our rooibos tea when someone spotted giraffes out back. Letting the tea cool, I raced outside to photograph this long & lean creatures. They are so beautiful. Gawkish but graceful, they shyly made their way across the little patch of grass behind the buildings.

We climbed back into our vehicle & headed back out in search of lions. The weather had changed & it was quite cool by now. There was also a fog rolling in, so visibility was getting low. We didn’t see much of a sunset & it seemed to get dark quite quickly. There we were in the fog, in the dark & looking for lions. I’m having a Ghost & the Darkness moment! Just as it was getting too dark for photos, we found the lions!

Now that was something. They walked RIGHT past our OPEN top vehicle. We’re talking close people. Male & female lions. Wow. Just strolling along. We followed them for quite a while. In fact, one of the lionesses even took off after a wildebeest, but she called off the chase before anything too exciting happened. One lioness had 5 cubs & they were much bigger than the ones we saw yesterday. We watched them play & interact with each other. Of course, they terrorized their mother too.

After our lion watching was sufficient, we headed to the lapa for dinner. A fire was roaring & the food was hot & ready. We enjoyed a traditional South African meal – complete with Malva pudding.

When it came time to leave for the end of the tour, we stopped to see the resident hippos in a nearby pond and then, of course, what were the lions up to. They still hadn’t caught anything, but I’m sure if we had stayed a few more hours, we would have seen a fair bit of carnage. I’m not sure I would have wanted to see that, but it would have been amazing to see the agility & speed of the lions in action.

I think it’s safe to say, if we ever end up near PE again, we’ll certainly stop in at Schotia!

Tomorrow we’ll leave for George to see Leana. We’ve certainly enjoyed our stay at Kronenhoff & our visit with Oom Jurie & Tannie Hendrien. I always enjoy this part of South Africa. I’m always sad to see the visit come to an end. There’s always a next time though…

xxxxMaria

ps - There's a Facebook page for Kronenhoff. If you feel inclined, 'like' it. If you've stayed there or want to, leave a message there or on Trip Advisor! Thanks!

Panoramic Vistas

The person who means the world to me doing something that means the world to me!

Renier & the Kudu skull. Showing us the horn is part of the skull

Termite mound

Leopard Tortoise

Rhino hips (and the perfect toilet seat according to Renier!)

Rhino Jaw

Rhino skull & tooth

Safari vehicle

Inside the former milking barn

Blue Wildebeest

Reedbuck (I think!)

Waterbuck. They have bulleye's on their tushes!

White Gnu

White or Wide Rhino

Zebra - look at the fuzzy baby!

Nguni cattle have mirror markings on their hides when they are purebred!

Warthogs

On your knees!

Giraffe

What the giraffes eat around!

Can't remember

Impala & zebra

Lioness

One of two dominant males

Mother of 5!

One thing on his mind!

Hippos!

Warming up!

Chefs & guides!

Hippo out of the water

Lions lying around!

The dala

Tanja

Hippo!

Day Two At Addo & Daneill Cheetah Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Sat, 14 May 2011 23:20:00 +0000

Hooray! Kind of. My alarms worked! I never dreamt I would be excited to hear my alarm ringing at 0530, but what can you do? A girls gotta seek out the wildlife while she can!

We left Kronenhoff for the day just past 0700. We drove along the wonderful Sundays River Valley towards Addo’s main gate & made our way into the park.

We decided to drive through the southern section of the park, since it hadn’t been open the previous times I’d been to Addo & we thought we could see something new. Of course, we only decided this after scooting over to a certain section some punk had marked on the main map as having sightings of lions & leopards! Argh!

Oh well. We found Jack’s picnic site & learned the differences between white & black rhinos. Jack’s picnic site was named after a black rhino who used to like to hang out in this particular section of the park. Black rhinos are not native to this part of South Africa, but since he was an endangered species, they kept him there, part of a bigger plan. He would have been transferred to another park later on, but he had a weak heart & the trauma of relocation would have most likely been the end of him. Thus, he lived out the rest of his days in Addo.

From Jack’s picnic site, we headed towards the south end of the park. It’s a big park. It took us the rest of the morning & the better part of the afternoon! Yes, I drive slowly when we’re looking for critters, so you don’t cover a whole lot of ground, but nonetheless, it was another great game drive.

The southern part of the park has much more open space & massive rolling hills. It is stunning, to say the least! I loved it! We saw another black-backed jackal, zebras covered in red mud, kudus, hartebeest, one lonely buffalo, a few elephant, warthogs, mongoose, and my first bushbuck!

I forgot to mention yesterday’s sightings of the dung beetle. Yes, you heard me right. Dung. As in poo. The flightless dung beetle is actually a protected feces, I mean, species in Addo. You are not allowed to drive over elephant dung or the beetles themselves. And believe me, avoiding piles of elephant dung is a bit like avoiding landmines in the Falklands. The road is a warzone in places! But it was particularly entertaining to watch these little dung beetles in action. They lay their eggs in & eat elephant dung. Once they lay their eggs in the dung, they roll it into a ball & then roll the dung ball to a certain location. I’m still not sure exactly where they roll It to, but they are definitely on a mission to roll it somewhere! They use their hind legs to roll the balls along the path. It’s amazing!

The beetles look like they are wearing suits of armour. They are solidly built – the front half & the back half are similar, but their heads even look like they have a helmet on, with little antennae probing out.

And the balls they roll aren’t small balls either! We’re not talking about a little gumball here. We’re nearing baseball size! They are big! Most often they are uniform shape too. Not misshapen & oblong, but consistently round. I always chuckle when I see them rolling the balls, as there are usually 2 dung beetles together. They usually work together, as inevitably the beetle rolling the ball will tumble over & end up upside down wiggling its legs trying to right side up itself. The other beetle will often help. As I watch them at work, I can’t help but think that they are Husband & Wife. The wife is busy barking orders at how the husband is rolling the ball in the wrong direction & he should listen to what she’s saying. He’s creating more work for himself & oops, there you go, upside down again. See, you should have listened to me in the first place… and on & on it goes. It strikes me funny, in any case.

Of course, when we stopped to watch the beetles, I looked out the back window & noticed this ‘blob’ of little grey worms inching their way across the road towards the car. Gross. I don’t like creepy crawly things. Jaco couldn’t see the beetles, so he backed up. Then he wanted to see the worms. We drove forward again, overtop of the worms. It was only then that we realized they were baby shongololos! Centipedes! Oh no! We’ve just murdered half of them! I felt terrible! Shongololos are cool little creatures! Not good!

As we carried along the road, we came across our first elephant. He was a big old bull. There was a car in front of us that had stopped to watch him eat. As they sat there in their little red compact car, this MASSIVE elephant, tusks & all, walked right in front of their car, stopped right in front of their car & proceeded to eat away. I bet they had an eyeful from where they were sitting!

Shortly after the elephant, we spotted a jackal playing in the grass & trying to hide around a bush from us. As we watched him trot away, we couldn’t help but notice how light on his feet he was.

Although we didn’t see a lot of wildlife in the southern section, we enjoyed the scenery & what we did see. As we left the park, we decided to head for Daniell Cheetah Farm & visit the cats.

We had to wait about 10 minutes before our tour started. We stopped to see meerkats first. Funny little creatures – I love how they sit up so tall to look around. I think they would be the town busybody if they were ‘people’. We saw two 28-month old cheetahs next. Beautiful. Simply beautiful. We didn’t go into the pen with these cats, nor the next ones we saw – the Serval. They are also beautiful. Much smaller than a cheetah, but I love them just as much. Why? Because they catch snakes! Yes, that’s right. Snakes. Even the poisonous ones.

From here we headed in to see Ola. The full grown female cat that is affectionate & more gentle than your average housecat. She was adorable. She purred like a diesel motor, licked your hand & pressed into your pats & rubs. She is so graceful & striking. God sure used his creativity when he made our African friends!

After we finished visiting Ola, we headed over to the rooicats or caracal. They are also very beautiful cats. They look a little like a miniature mountain lion, only they have tails that are half the length. They are a little more reddish in colour & their ears are blackish grey & tipped like a lynx’s, only the tips are much longer. Their eyes are a striking greenish colour. They were also very affectionate, but unfortunately they are quite a nuisance to farmers, as they do not only kill prey for food, but also for fun. So instead of killing one sheep & eating it, they will kill 20 in one night! And this is a small cat!

We stopped briefly at a pen holding a 3 month old cheetah cub. I leaned in to rub her head through the fence & nearly stuck my head into a golden orb spider. Gross. Thank goodness I missed! The little cheetah was adorable! And energetic. She would rip around the pen in no time flat & then be back for more attention – they are truly fast creatures! We didn’t go into pet her, as she wouldn’t sit still long enough for us to do so!

Our last stop was with the 3-week old lion cubs. Oh. My. Word. They were absolutely adorable. Albeit a little smelly, but simply precious. They made these funny little squeaking noises as they motored around us. They were very affectionate, crawling all over us & cuddling up on our laps. The one even tried to crawl into my bag! I would have gladly taken it home, had it not been for customs! The lion cubs still had spots & their hair was really curly. They were also quite clumsy as they maneuvered around their large pen.

What a great way to spend the afternoon. Have you hugged a cheetah today? Have you hugged a lion today? If not, well then, I guess it’s time to take a trip to Africa!

We left Daniell Cheetah Farm for P.E. or Port Elizabeth. Oom Stephen & Tannie Tersia live in PE & we were going to visit them this evening. Unfortunately on our way in, we hit a hawk. I only saw a big brown thing heading for the windshield & before I could react, a massive WHACK! Jaco felt so terrible, we turned around to see if the bird was okay (obviously not, but was it suffering). We found the bird in the ditch & it was across a grassy patch. I was too afraid of snakes, so we looked around for a stick to see if it would respond. As we observed the poor bird, we could see it breathing & it’s mouth opening & closing, but nothing else was moving. After a few minutes, the breathing ceased & no movements more. Sigh. It’s a rough season for birds & Jaco. Maybe he was a mouse or a grasshopper in a previous life. Or a penguin. I don’t know. But I do know that I hope our interactions with birds & the car are now finished. I’m sure his Mom does too!

After our brief delay with poor Mr. Hawk, we fumbled our way through PE. We eventually found the right house & had a great visit, along with a wonderful dinner. Stephen & Tersia had just been to America to visit their son & his family. I was appreciative of how enamoured they were with the amenities available in the States. I will certainly agree that it is much different than South Africa! We looked at photos of their family from years gone by & I am absolutely amazed at how much Mother & Daughter look alike. They are spitting images of each other at this stage in life! Wow!

Tannie Tersia is recovering from stage IV breast cancer that is currently in her liver – but shrinking! We are all praying for her speedy recovery from this chapter in life. She has a beautiful granddaughter & more grandchildren on the way to spend her days enjoying their company! Please add her to your prayer list if you’ve got one!

We didn’t leave until after 2300, Oom Stephen drove us out of the city & made sure we were safely on our way & not lost! We enjoyed our visit with them very much. And I’m pleased to say that we arrived safely back at Kronenhoff without any animal encounters!

Tomorrow we’re off to Schotia Safaris, but not before a little bit of a sleep-in… Lekker slaap!

xxxxMaria on Safari

The Dung Beetle

Whoopsie Daisy!

Back on top of things

Here we go

Whoops again

Shongololo

Nice place for a... bed?

Let the good times roll.

Lovely vistas

Comforting

For Mike!

Local transport

At the Lookout - from the day before

Great days!

Southern part of Addo

Kudu

Hawks - there were 5 in one spot!

Termite mound & warthog

A little too close for the insurance company's comfort!

Jackal

On the road again...

I just can't wait to get on the road again...

Wildflowers

In step

Lonely tree.

Kisses

More kisses

Cacti & warthogs

Birdie

pretty hoodoos

Another lonely tree & big skies

Okay, so I don't have that much hair to be worried about!

tall grass

There are 2 sides. To every elephant.

The only buffalo we saw

The only & first bushbuck

A little messy Bessie!

Playin' around

Meerkat

Yawn

Serval

Ola

Rooikat

or Caracal

The Golden Orb I nearly stuck my nose onto! Yuck!

Baby cheetah

Jaco & Ola

Jaco & the wee cub

Three weeks old!

Sure, I'll take you home!

Cuddled up!

Oom Stephen, Tannie Tersia & Jaco

Day One At Addo

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Fri, 13 May 2011 23:17:00 +0000

Our first day at Addo Elephant Park was wonderful. We even managed to find some elephants! Imagine that! We had arrived at Kronenhoff the previous night about 2100. We had supper with Oom Jurie & Tannie Hendrien & then they showed us to our room. The Honeymoon Suite! Sweet!

It was a beautiful room with a massive king size bed, soaker tub, and beautiful furnishings. We were pretty tired from the drive and I wanted to get an early start to the day, so I set the alarm for 0530 & headed to bed.

The animals are most active in the early morning & late afternoon. The Park is closed in the evenings. Basically from sunrise to sunset you can drive & look for animals. Neither Jaco, nor myself are morning people, so you can imagine the enthusiasm! I do tend to get a little more energetic when I’m going to be photographing African animals!

Well, wouldn’t you know it, my iPod alarm let me down. I woke up at 0718 & I was furious! NO!!!! I’ve just missed a good 2 hours of light! Well, by the time we got ready & drove to the park, it would be 0900 & daylight well under way. ARGH!

We managed to still see a lot of animals, so the day wasn’t wasted by any means! We saw a lot of kudu, warthogs, jackals playing & heaps of cranes! I’ve never seen so many cranes at Addo before – maybe they were lost?! We saw ostrich, hartebeest, zebras and of course, elephants!

The elephants came right past our car. I’m sure if I had stuck my arm out the window, I could have touched the massive bull that strolled past our car! He was that close! There were also several baby elephants. Too cute for words!

I felt like a kid in a candy shop! Now THIS is what I’m talkin’ about! I could easily live in Africa if I could wake up every day & photograph wildlife.

We left Addo early afternoon & headed for the Croc Ranch. Jaco hadn’t been there & I had stopped there 2 years ago when I was with my Mom & Brother. We had enjoyed the lions, big & small, (they had 2 week & 3 month old cubs), rooicats, tiger & crocodiles. But when we pulled up to the gate, it was locked. It was 1545 in the afternoon. Why were they closed? In any case, we headed for Daniell Cheetah Farm.

I had also visited there with my Mom & Brother & we were able to pet cheetah cubs. This time they also offered a walk with the cheetahs. We wanted to know if we could set one up while we were in the area. Just our luck, they were closing for the day & by the way, the cheetah walkers were on holiday until the 23^rd of May. Phooey. The good news was that they had 3 week old lion cubs & we could also visit a full grown cheetah if we came back another day & a little earlier in the day. Good stuff!

Exhausted from our day, we headed back to Kirkwood. Kirkwood is in a valley – the Sundays River Valley to be exact. The valley is filled with citrus groves & the trees were heavy with ripe oranges, lemons & grapefruits. It was a beautiful sight. We stopped at The Lookout, a restaurant/lodge on the top of a hill overlooking Kirkwood & the entire valley. It was close to sunset, so we enjoyed a makeshift virgin piña colada & the incredible scenery. What a wonderful day & a great day to be alive!

We drove down the hill & back to Kronenhoff for the rest of the night. Jaco went to the gym & I fell asleep COLD on the bed. He woke me up about 2000 & we went to the main building. We enjoyed dinner with Jurie & Hendrien, also enjoying a wonderful visit with them. Hendrien made arrangements with Schotia Safaris for us to go on an afternoon/evening safari, along with Tanja, the Austrian girl working at Kronenhoff.

And then it was time for bed. Tomorrow we’ll head back to Addo to see what we can see. I’ve got 3 alarms set on my iPod. Surely ONE of them will work & we’ll be up on time!

G’night, sleep tight & don’t let the lions bite!

xxxxMaria

Hello!

Kudu

Birdie chirping

Jackals playing

Yellow bird

Peek-a-boo

Warthog

Crane

You can see both eyes!

Zebra

Hartebeest

Hawk

Lizard

Aloe

Another lizard

BIG snail

View from The Lookout

Citrus groves in the Sundays River Valley

Um, a Piña Colada?

Joyride All The Way!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Tue, 10 May 2011 22:13:00 +0000

Wow. What a night. What a show. What an experience! Roxette was brilliant! Jaco & I left Hermanus early in the afternoon, as I did NOT want to be late! We found our way there fairly easily & to my surprise it was a very beautiful venue!

Grandwest is a massive area featuring a casino, hotel, movie theatre & 7,000 person arena. Additionally there are many fast-food/dining options along with a kids arcade & a skating rink! Jaco was impressed by the skating rink & said he should visit a few times before he moves to Canada!

We wandered around the property & checked out the different areas. We found the meeting spot where we would soon find Carmen, Marisa, Charlene & her boyfriend, David. I stopped to use the 'facilities' & found a cellphone in the bathroom. Not wanting someone to go without their phone, we hung around the area outside the bathroom & managed to call the contacts in the phone to see if they were with the owner of the phone.

I managed to call her husband, who was going to drive to collect the phone. I suggested rather, that he call the friend that she was with & they find us at the venue. Then her Mom phoned. I thought the husband had called the Mom, but no, the Mom was shocked to find out that her daughter's phone was missing. Then the husband called again & said he was leaving. Two minutes later the phone's owner called & asked if I had her phone. She seemed a little annoyed - come on lady, I'm doing you a favour! I told her where I was & she came straight away. In the meantime, I phoned her husband & told him not to bother coming, as his wife had contacted me. She did seem grateful to get her phone back.

Now for the main event...

What can I say, but, ‘Wow!’ Roxette was amazing. Not only did they sing all their amazing hits of the past, but they blew us away with several of their new hits from their latest album. And, best of all, they did 2 encores! They played for about 2 hours & every moment of it was fantastic! High energy & a lot of sing-a-longs by the crowd!

I didn’t realize it before hand, but when I googled Marie later on that night, I found out that she had suffered from a brain tumor a few years back. What a tragedy to overcome! She has quite a hectic schedule planned for the coming year – she’s definitely retiring with a bang!

We met up with our group near the coffee shop where we had initially met prior to the concert. Marisa & Anine had Golden Circle tickets, whereas the rest of us were General Standing. We enjoyed another quick visit before we left for home. What a brilliant night. It was so much fun to sing the songs of yesterdays & relive the ‘glory days’, as they say. Does that make me old?

xxxxMaria

My view! :o)

Facelift

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:50:00 +0000

Oh & you might have noticed that I've given the blog a face lift. I'm quite proud of my endeavours. I started out with this template - Extreme Georgia - and went into the html & made the changes to make the blog look like it does now. It wasn't that easy for me. I must admit. There was about a week of 0400 mornings & a lot of frustration! I've got it right where I want it now, but it was certainly a steep learning curve for me!

Let me know what you think... I'm open to suggestions! Some of you have already & thank you for that!

xxxx Maria - Blogger Babe

No More Days...

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:50:00 +0000

Okay, this is it. I'm no longer going to post everyday. There I said it. I have been feeling guilty about not posting everyday, but then when days go by & no one has looked at the blog or commented, I feel like I should just call it quits. But then, I remember how it feels to get the day's events off my chest & down on paper, er, something like that, and think I should keep plugging away.

So, instead of panicking when I'm 3-14 days behind, I'll simply let it be & do my best to keep you up to speed on what's happening! Naturally, the day after I decided to do this, there were about 20 people who checked out the blog all the way from Poland to Korea! But I have to be honest with myself & say that I need to start doing things that are a bit more productive - like editing the gazillion photos I have sitting on hard drives waiting to be shared with the world.

Take the previous photo from the Mother's Day post. I showed it to Jaco & he didn't think it was a photo that I had taken. He was surprised & said it was good! (Thanks Babe!) When I sent the photo to his Mom, she asked me if it was a postcard & where did I get it. It's certainly a confidence booster that they think I'm that good, but just reinforcement that I need to get crackalackin'! And now that I've said it, I'm sure you'll hold me accountable! Right?!

I have a business name registered, a blog registered & now I just need to edit some photos for the website & I'll be up & running! Oh & then there's the actual business side of it where I actually take photos & get paid for it. But that's a minor detail, no?

In any case, my love affair with blogging has become, well, somewhat unhealthy, as I've been obsessed with posting EVERY day. Realistically I could still do it, but when it's same old, same old, what's the point? The few readers I have will just become more & more bored.

If you care to still see a daily post, let me know you're out there, otherwise, I'll do my best to post once a week at the very least. More if life gets exciting!

So what have I been up to? Well, let's see. A little shopping at the V&A, making some raw cuisine - sushi & some seaweed/sprout salad, and raw chocolates tonight!

I made raw sushi with untoasted nori sheets, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, orange pepper, carrot, cucumber & of course, wasabi. Hennie enjoyed the sushi & Petro tried it for the first time ever. I was quite happy I walked in when I did, as she was about to have her first taste of sushi with a HUGE blob of wasabi on top! She thought it was avocado paste! Phew! I would have been the worst daughter-in-law ever! I'm sure she would have still had draining sinuses!

The seaweed salad was also quite yummy. I used soaked arame, chickpea, mung bean, adzuki, and lentil sprouts, along with some carrot, cucumber, and pumpkin seeds. I used the leftover dressing from the other days tabbouleh, but added more olive oil, cumin & cut up some candied ginger. It was pretty good, if I dare say so!

Lastly, the raw chocolate. My first attempt & I think it will satisfy my sweet tooth while I'm on the detox. Cacao powder, cacao butter, coconut oil, powdered vanilla, goji berries soaked in agave nectar... and then I got creative. I added some maple flavouring & pumpkin pie spice to one batch, and then I added some chipotle to another batch. That batch is officially my sexxy chocolate. It's so darned spicy, it has to be sexxy. I thought chipotle was just regular peppers that have been smoked. Not HOT peppers that have been smoked! Whoops! I then did a final batch with coconut flakes & made a chocolate bark, so to speak. Jaco enjoyed the goji berry one, as did Petro. Looks like I'll be the only one eating my sexxy chocolate. Maybe I should patent that!

On that note, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is the big Roxette concert & I'm super stoked to hear them belt out the good stuff!

Lekker slaap,

xxxxMaria

So we were driving this fast... (110 km/h)...

When we saw this car in front of us. Note the donut tire! Crazy!

Silliness! Full car too!

This friendly little spider was outside the door to our place the other morning.

Yes, those are his EYES you can see.

In case you thought he was smaller than he is. He's not.

Cool fish at the Fish Market.

The crustacean in the background had his lunch in his grasp. The fish swimming about were trying to steal his lunch. He would use his antennae to bat the would-be thieves away. It was quite entertaining to watch!

The cockroach stuck to the hood of our car. He lasted until about 80km/h. So gross.

Here's a video of Papa Roach...

Walking back home.

The stunning bouquet of flowers the flower shop was making for Mother's Day.

Where I'll be tomorrow night! Yay!

Mother's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Sun, 08 May 2011 17:30:00 +0000

Today is Mother's Day in Canada & South Africa & I'm sure a few other countries too! Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful & amazing women who share, give & love unconditionally & relentlessly. May those you love let you know today & every day just how special you are & how much you mean to so many...

xxxx Maria

Day 558 - Oh Happy Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Wed, 04 May 2011 23:47:00 +0000

A rather frustrating day for Jaco & I. His passport still isn't back & he still needs to apply for a Shengen visa. The dreams of Norway are getting a little gritty. Grr... I'm frustrated at the slack SA procedures!

But... On a high note (pun intended!) we scored tickets to Roxette! Yay! I'm a huge fan & although I'm sure it would've been sweet to see them in their heyday, I'll take what I can get! So, Jaco, Carmen, Charlene & Charlene's other half are joining me for a fabulous night out! I can hardly wait! I'm going to be singing out loud for the next 6 months! Yippee!

The tickets were hard to get, by the way. All three Cape Town shows were sold out & I basically stalked Gumtree (SA's version of Kijiji) all day to score tickets. I had to buy 5 to get two, but it's working out well! Ha!

And the other high point of the day... very high! I had to stay up until 0200 to get it, but I finally got to see the dogs! Mom picked them up today & took her laptop with her so we could Skype. Oooh! I miss Tweet Pea & Oceana! They look just darling! I miss them so much! It made my day to see their little faces! And Valentina still recognized my voice! All is not lost!

That's it for today... Oh & I made raw tabbouleh & stuffed avocados. Day 3 of detox. 10% down the hatch!

xxxxMama Maria

Day 557 - Dog Tags & Dead Frogs

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Tue, 03 May 2011 23:24:00 +0000

Yes, it was that exciting today folks. Jaco & I went to the bank, as it was finally open today after a holiday on Monday, the previous Friday, previous Wednesday & the previous Monday! Phew! They do work here! Honestly!

And we picked up the dog tags. Yeah, I know. Sad. I really miss the girls. Mom is picking them up soon & I can't wait to skype with them. I ordered some Red Dingo dog tags & had Valentina & Oceana put on the backs of the tags. I am missing them so much, I might don the tags until I see them again! *sniff, sniff*.

As for the frogs, you ask? Well, Petro pulled two frogs out of the pool today. The chlorine must've killed them, or they drowned. Either way, they were in full rigour by the time she spotted them. She was quite upset, as they have a really pleasing 'croak' at night. (no pun intended!) The actually 'click' more than they 'croak'. There are a few more tonight and Petro has placed some cushions across the bottom of the gate with the hopes that they won't try & make it to the pool later on. Fingers crossed!

I planted 2 more trays of wheatgrass today. I let the other stuff grow a little too long. It is a bit bitter. A good chaser is necessary. Jaco started his detox today & I can tell already, it's going to be a long month. He isn't used to food preparation or reading labels. Give us both strength to last the month & see some progress for both of us!

I'm excited to make some hummus & tabbouleh tomorrow. We may just venture off to the Eastern Cape tomorrow as well. I found out that Roxette is coming to Cape Town & I'm a HUGE Roxette fan, so if we can nab tickets for the last show - it's currently sold out, we'll leave tomorrow so we can be back in time.

With that in mind, I'm off to bed... Need to prep for the road trip! Actually, just put the stuff into the car & away we go! Yay! Addo here we come!

xxxxMaria

Shame.

Little clicker

The new tags!

I miss the girls!

Day 556 - The Day Osama Died

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:32:00 +0000

The news that traveled at lightning speed around the world. Jaco & I had a very late morning (early afternoon) after a very windy & noisy evening. The wind rattled everything outside of our suite. It would suck the wind straight through, blowing the bottom of the curtains away from the bottom of the door. In any case, I didn't get a lot of sleep! It didn't help that at 0300 I remembered that I had put the garbage out on the step & found a large part of it in the pool.

In any case, I woke up to check my messages & found Facebook bombarded with the news of Osama Bin Laden's death. He really knows how to make an impression. I can remember precisely where I was when 9/11 struck. On my 2nd day of flight school. Guess it was kind of a rough start! (needless to say!)

I don't necessarily agree that murdering someone is the best solution to a problem, but I certainly don't condone what he did to 1,000's of people. Where we go from there gets a little hazy. I did end up in a Facebook debate with a friend's husband & I'm just not sure what to even reply anymore.

He equated Bin Laden to Criss Angel, claiming the 9/11 attacks were a giant conspiracy & only a highly trained magician could make the towers fall.

Now, I'm all for a good story, but seriously? I realize Governments are largely corrupt. There is no questioning that. I see it in Africa, Cuba, Canada & even America... Gasp! But the majority of it is over financial gains - mostly personal financial gains, not organizing the death of 1'000's of innocent citizens. The whole 'Land of the Free'? Nobody's perfect, but come on?! Criss Angel?!

As I said earlier, I don't even know what to reply back. To make matters worse, his sister & brother-in-law joined in on it & said how they feel the same way he does! Must be something in the water... There's more to share, but I just can't to save face!

In any case, I do hope & pray that the death of Osama will bring less war, not more, less torture, more freedom & more opportunity for our friends in the Middle East. Peace. Love. Freedom. Harmony. Life.

Oh, while we're on the topic of wonderful things life should hold for each & everyone of us, would you mind saying a prayer for the court case taking place on May 5th regarding Arms in South Africa. Their current President, Jacob Zuma, is not a very good example of a Man, Husband, Father, Leader, or President. (And that's being polite) Here's an article to shed a little light on the May 5th case. Thank you!

With that, I'm off to bed. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

xxxxMaria

Day 555 - Super Sunny Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Sun, 01 May 2011 19:51:00 +0000

What a glorious day it was! Wow! Stunning hot weather & not a cloud in the sky. Yeah! That's more like it!

Jaco & I were meant to drive to Franschhoek to meet up with Carmen & Laura, two girlfriends from ships that I haven't seen for years. I was very excited to see them, but unfortunately, our destination included 12,000 other people wanting to see the Cheese Festival happening there. So, after a few Facebooks & phonecalls later, we made arrangements to meet on Tuesday in Hermanus.

Not wanting to spend the day indoors, we spent it in the car. Just kidding. We drove down the road towards Caledon & stopped at a few wine farms, drove up the road past the dam & of course, I took a few photos along the way. It was an absolutely stunning day. Nice & hot, sunny... mmm.

On our way back, we drove through an area called 'Vermont'. There were many beautiful homes. It was a nice, quiet neighbourhood. Plenty of real estate if you're looking!

We made a quick stop at the house & then left for dinner out. We went to the Seafood Pavilion at the Marine Hotel. It is an upmarket restaurant & quite likely the only place open late on a Sunday night! Hermanus is funny that way! In any case, we had a wonderful meal - drinks & dessert. Our waiter was from Zimbabwe & we enjoyed a nice chat with him. I really like the Zimbabwean people. If only R. Mugabe would oh, I don't know, send an almond down the wrong tube or something like that!

Apparently Brad Pitt stayed at the Hotel when he was here in 2004. He went shark cage diving & did a helicopter tour of the Cape. You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say I was a stalker. He had a place in Bragg Creek with Jenny Aniston, had baby Shiloh in Namibia & hung out in Hermanus. Either that or I'm just one step behind him in setting trends! He's already beat me to jewelry designing as well!

Tomorrow Jaco & I start the detox with Health Nation & Dr. Singh. Oh boy. Will I stop the spin cycle once & for all? YES. This has to be it. This is it. So help me God & all the lumps & bumps in my body. Cancer or fat or otherwise. Amen.

xxxxChubby Maria

I LOVE this house.

Cheers!

Chillaxin'

The Sun Lounge

Sun Lounge in the Marine Hotel

Sun Lounge - check out the whale vertebrae on the wall

Fresh flowers

Trio of ice cream. Love the ice chunk it sat on. Very 'cool'.

Malva pudding & ice cream! - Petro's is better! WAY better!

Stunning arrangement of proteas. (SA's official flower)

**Photos of the afternoon drive will come later. Nothing too exciting, so

don't hold your breath!**

Day 554 - Family Outing

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 19:50:00 +0000

Can you believe it? We actually made it to Cape Town to visit the family! Jaco, Hennie, & I drove in this afternoon & spent the evening with Shilise & Johan. Gustav & Zandrie were both away, so it was only the five of us.

Shilise & Johan stay in Jaco's house, and I hadn't seen it before, so today was the official tour. It's a very nice place. A quiet neighbourhood in a safe area, close to the grocery store & Zandrie's school is only 8 kms away. There is a pool in the complex, so plenty of cool summer days! There were plenty of questions - 'So, would you be happy living here? Would you live here in Cape Town?' We'll see...

We watched some Stormers rugby - thankfully they won. Johan is a BIG fan... Hennie & Jaco enjoyed the game. Shilise & I chatted. We feel the same way about rugby. Perhaps we'll go shopping next time the boys want to watch a game!

Johan showed me the photos from Gustav's 21st birthday. They had a surprise party for him just a few days before we arrived home, so sadly we missed it. It looks like everyone had a great time! We also watched the slideshow Zandrie made for her brother. It was really well done! Plenty of humour & cute photos. My how we grow up so quickly!

We had a lovely dinner & before we knew it, it was 2130 & time to go home! I'm sure we'll be back soon, as we want to visit with Zandrie & Gustav before we go. And of course, Shilise & Johan too! We really need to start getting our days planned! They are going to be gone before we know it! April is already over!

Jaco sped us home. Yes, sped. Like 140/150 sped us home. I don't know how he does it. Maybe he was a Nascar driver in a former life... Or Grand Prix. I sat in the back seat & thank goodness for solitaire on the iPod. I think I would have had a heart attack otherwise. I was fairly tense!

Tomorrow we're off to Franschhoek to the Cheese Festival to meet up with some girlfriends of mine from ships. I'm very excited to see them! I hope there isn't too much stinky cheese. I'm cool with Feta. Brie. Marble. White cheddar?

xxxxMaria

Never a bad day for a swim!

The cool pool

Day 553 - A Day In Royal History

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:16:00 +0000

Yup. I did it. I set the alarm & woke up to watch the wedding. Okay, so I set the alarm for 0930, but that's early for me these days! It was quite the spectacle, I must say! I think every woman on the planet who watched lived a fairytale fantasy she's secretly held inside her heart. Kate is absolutely stunning. She's graceful, real, authentic, poised, the list goes on. And Prince William! In that red uniform - what a handsome man. I am happy for them both. Say what you will, either for or against the Royals, but they are a couple in love & what's not to celebrate about that. And I think we can all agree that there are much worse ways a Government could waste taxpayers dollars! And besides, aren't the Duke & Duchess donating all of their money to charity anyways?

And then there's the kiss. My heart sank after the first kiss. Thank goodness they snuck another one in to convince all of us die-hard romantics of their affection for each other! I'm sure if I had been in London I would have camped out over night to catch a glimpse of the couple. I would have trotted down the Royal Mile to try & get a photo of them - no matter how crummy that shot may have been!

I'll most probably buy the Royal Wedding soundtrack, along with Ellie Goulding, whom I understand is singing at the reception this evening. She's singing Elton John's 'Your Song' - one of my favourite's thanks to Moulin Rouge & Ewan McGregor. 'The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love & be loved in return.' Sigh. *Insert helpless romantic smile here.*

And that was pretty much the day! Jaco & I went downtown to do a little banking & I stopped in at a few shops to look around. I am freezing as of late, so I've been on the lookout for a great sweater. (Like I don't have enough at home! But they don't do me any good while I'm in Africa, now do they?) I found one, but it's acrylic & it comes out to about $100 after the exchange rate. Not cool! I could have a really sweet cashmere sweater for that price!

Our night was finished off with a Skype chat with Mom & a little late night Dog Whisperer. Life is good!

xxxxMaria

Day 552 - Quiet Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:42:00 +0000

After our past two late nights in Cape Town, Jaco & I enjoyed a lazy day. Yeah, I know, all our days are lazy these days!

We walked into town & stopped by Checkers to pick up some groceries, as well as to the Beach House. We bought some ceramic candle holders for our Arniston wedding two years ago. Some of them were cracked, so I took them back to exchange them. But they didn't have enough to exchange. I had left them in Jaco's hands after I left for Canada. The task then got passed onto Petro. She went several times to inquire about the ceramics, but nothing. By the time Jaco returned 4 months later, no one could remember what was happening.

I stopped in to see what they knew. Nothing yet! I'll email photos & see if we can't get it straightened out before I leave. Fingers crossed.

In any case, we enjoyed a lovely dinner with Petro tonight & then went to bed somewhat early - tomorrow is the big wedding day! Yay! Who doesn't love a good love story!

xxxxMaria

Cape Dutch Style

Practicing his kicks!

A friend for the girls!

Funky little side street

Suns going down

Rusty

Day 551 - Winter Clothes Anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:53:00 +0000

I have been freezing cold these past few days & seeing as I can't put enough layers on, Jaco & I headed to town for some sweaters & warm pants. We took the long way around - the scenic route. The winds were quite strong in Hermanus & that meant the waves were pretty spectacular. Of course, we didn't think of that while we were in Hermanus, but only realized it once we were already on the road.

We decided to take the long route & stopped at the first little town we came to. Kleinmond was the name, I think! The waves were AMAZING. They were HUGE! They smashed into the rocks with a thunderous crack and rolled onto the sandy beach much further than usual. We dilly-dallyed for an hour just watching the waves & looking at the 'bamboo' as Jaco calls it.

After our stop at the beach, we carried on down the road & the scenery was beautiful. The sun was sinking low in the day & we admired every kilometre of the drive. Well, that is until Jaco accidentally hit a bird with the car. He was quite upset about it. I was finding it hard to keep a straight face - shame on me - bless the little birdie's soul - but I couldn't help but think how different the moment would have been had I married a country boy from back home. 'Damn birds! Eatin' my crops! Flyin' in front of the car (truck)! Probably took out my headlight! Gonna cost me another $80 to fix it! Serves 'im right for tryin' to fly across the highway when I'm drivin'!'

Jaco was genuinely upset! I was touched that he had so much compassion for an animal's life. One more reason why I love him so much!

In any case, we pulled over at some point to take a photo of the pretty sky. Jaco got out to check the front of the car when he saw a feather. He approached the front of the car & saw, well, there's a photo below. Basically it was a scene of 2 feathers & a body part lodged in the grill of the car. We had a mournful moment & then carried on admiring the tranquil scenery. When we turned around to go back to the car, we spotted something a little further down the road. Lying on the side of the road in the direction we'd just come from was the bird. The poor thing was gone. I think it had been trapped on the grill of the car by the wind & the speed of the car. It only fell off when we slowed down to turn off. The poor, poor bird. Rest in peace, little buddy.

Shortly after our birdie memorial, I spotted DOLPHINS! Yay! There was a large pod of them just lazily swimming down the coastline. They very close to shore. It was a beautiful sight to see their dorsal fins surfacing on the pink water under the setting sun. What a magical moment in life!

We drove into Cape Town & stopped at Cape Union Mart. Sigh. With the state of things I'm not fitting much. Thanks Malva Pudding! I love you, but I hate you! Jaco sat, ever so patiently, while I tried on sweater after sweater after fleece after pant until we finally had something that would work. We stopped at Wooly's for a bite to eat & then realized that we'd wasted what was left of the day. No shocker there!

We drove home & I was so excited to crawl into bed with my flannel p.j. pants & slippers! Life is GREAT!

xxxxCozy Maria

Nice old tree

In America - it's a lawsuit. In Africa - it is what it is.

My Handsome Husband!

Just the two of us... building castles in the sand...

Footprints

Kwaai Water

Crazy Water

This is the third photo. The first two he looked back at the last minute to make sure his feet weren't getting wet! Too cute.

I LOVE this photo. It makes my heart smile!

Water, rocks, sand

'Bamboo'

Look at the waves!

BOOM!

Smash!

Awh!

Beautiful drive!

Oh dear. The birdie bits.

Sunsetting

The birdie. RIP.

Sunset.

Dolphins!

Old school gas station. Old school car.

Day 550 - Warmer At Home

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:06:00 +0000

Wow. It was a stormer last night! It was so windy & rainy I thought the roof was going to lift off! I woke up a lot through the night thanks to the rattling wind hammering away at the building.

And it is officially warmer in Canada than it is in Africa! How rude! In fact, I heard 4º mentioned on the radio today! Yikes! No snow yet, but they did talk about snow on the mountaintops potentially! Crazy! I'm going to have to get some warmer clothes! Tank tops & yoga pants aren't going to cut it!

This afternoon found us back in Cape Town at Dr. Singh's again. I must say, this guy is good. Even Jaco didn't bat an eyelash! Usually (not always), when I would include Jaco in some of the other 'Doctors' appointments, he would scoff & criticize what was said. But not with Dr. Singh.

He's incredibly knowledgeable about so many areas surrounding health. I mean, that's why we picked him, but I guess we're getting more than we expected, which is always a bonus! He reviewed Jaco's bloodwork, which showed a few deficiencies. I think Jaco was surprised & I am hoping that will make him that much more eager to comply with Dr. Singh's suggestions.

Dr. Singh suggested a one month detox for us both, using only 4 products & of course, gulp, a strict diet. After that, he uses only 4 supplements. It will be wonderful to have such a simple program! No injections, crazy juices, dash of this & splash of that... Of course, I already KNOW my biggest hurdle will be the commitment to the diet. No self-sabotage allowed. However, one of the best things I think anyone has ever said to me, I heard today. Dr. Singh said I would have to eat an alkaline diet 80% of the time. 20% of the diet would be acidic. Now, I'm sure he would strongly encourage me to eat a *healthy* acidic food vs. a slice of pizza, but he did say, if I did eat something acidic, I would have to balance it out by eating a much larger portion of alkaline food. No, I'm not looking for a loophole to allow myself to eat rubbish. But the idea that I can live & eat without feeling guilty about not attaining perfection may just be the missing link in all my quests for health.

I don't have to throw in the towel because I caved & had a bit of chocolate? I don't have to feel guilty because I ate some chips? I'm not a failure because I just had some nachos? What a concept! Of course, I think I'm going to have to tattoo 'Will this harm me or heal me?' across my head & hands so I'll see it every time I look in the mirror or reach for food!

Wish me luck - it will be a challenge, no doubt.

After our appointment with Dr. Singh, we headed to the Waterfront. Or at least we tried. It was meant to take 20 minutes. With Jaco's interpretation of the map, 58 minutes later, we were there. I was very excited, as we were meeting Marisa & her fiancé, Neill. I worked with Marisa on ships back in 2005/2006 & I haven't seen her since 2009, the last time I was in SA. At that time, she'd only been dating Neill for a short while.

I'm pleased to report that, in my humble opinion, she's chosen wonderfully! Neill is handsome, charming, a gentleman & affectionate. Not to mention, he's a VERY lucky guy, as Miss Marisa is GORGEOUS, incredibly talented & her smile matches her stellar personality!

We had a wonderful night catching up on the past two years, wedding plans, life, friends, food & everything else in between. I'm hoping we'll see each other again before the end of May! In fact, we miss their engagement party by a mere days! Boo!

We went out for dinner & enjoyed a wonderful Thai meal, followed by Italian desserts. Mmm... gelato!

What a great day! (albeit chilly, but great...) xxxxMaria

Dr. Singh & Jaco. In case you missed Dr. Singh, he's 6'8"!!!

Delivery truck - SA Style. Wait 'til I catch a photo of their tow trucks!

Clouds rolling in.

Neill's a better photographer than I am. I'm retiring. He took this photo.

As good as I could get it!

Hot cocoa & Amarula

Melon Sorbet

The newly engaged couple! Yay!

Good times!

Being silly!

Love you girl!

Cape Town's version of the London Eye

Day 549 - And She Blogs...

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:30:00 +0000

Yup. It's a short post today. I spent a little while on the laptop today. I am officially caught up on the blog! Yay! We were going to go for dinner tonight, but I think my eyes may be crossed for a few days after all the photos & typing.

Adding to the fact that we don't have a printer & I had to Photoshop 16 pages of forms for Jaco & I's appointments tomorrow with Dr. Singh. Yikes! It's been a trying day! If I can safely get Jaco into the car on time tomorrow & drive to the appointment without a divorce, we'll be that much better off... Give me strength. And patience. And the wisdom to bite my tongue. And all the other redeeming qualities that make a wife loveable.

I better go to bed before I get myself in more trouble!

See you tomorrow... xxxx Maria

Oh & if you're not 'following' the blog - let a sister know that you're out there! :o)

Day 548 - Rain! Precious Rain!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill Marie) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 22:53:00 +0000

Thankfully today was a rainy day. I'm not lovin' the damp weather, but grateful for the moisture. The local dam is at 20% full, so water is a precious commodity about now. In fact, the cost of water was supposed to go up this weekend, so hopefully this will keep the price increase at bay. We'll see.

Jaco & I took a little drive around town. We stopped at the Checkers to pick up a few things & then headed home. Petro made a wonderful dinner - this amazing mushroom & garlic cream sauce with rice, beans & a big salad. There was meat too, but neither Jaco or I took any. I think Sis is happy about that, but not so much Petro!

I spent a while fixing her computer for her. The Internet Explorer isn't working so well. The display looks really antiquated, so I have swapped it over to Google Chrome & now it looks a bit more normal.

Hennie & I watched Carte Blanche. Usually it's a show about stirring up trouble amongst businesses/government in South Africa, but today it was about the Royal Wedding. I suppose that's all we'll see for the week to come. I'd like to know how much money people will make off of the wedding of these two! Ridiculous! Doughnuts, candies, fridges, the list is endless...

After Carte Blanche, I watched bits & pieces of Invictus. I was Skyping with Andy, a friend from back home, so I was only half paying attention to the movie. We haven't spoke for a LONG time, so it was great to catch up. Of course, the rest of the night was spent on the blog. I'm nearly caught up! I can almost taste the freedom! Ha ha! If you're out there reading, let me know! I'm beginning to wonder!

Happy Easter
xxxxMaria