Day 554 - Family Outing

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

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

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?

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

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...

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!

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

Day 547 - Bamboo & Royalty

One of these days we will venture out & do something productive with our time in South Africa. But not today. 

Jaco & I walked downtown again & he told me about the old houses that used to be here & there & Cape Dutch architecture. We talked about the changes in the streets & buildings in the past 2 years since I've last been in Hermanus. It's quite shocking how much has changed!

We stopped in a few shops & I managed to find some Ocean Minded shoes. I bought a pair last time I was in South Africa & I was quite excited to find Ocean Minded flip flops! After the sight of things in Bonaire, I vowed to never buy another pair of crappy shoes that might end up on the shores of some beautiful beach. I would encourage you to do the same! If you remember my post from Bonaire, you'll see the garbage on the shore & there were MANY flip flops. Check out Ocean Minded if you need some comfy & Earth Happy shoes. 

The shops were closing at 1700 promptly, so Jaco & I headed outside & found ourselves on the rocks watching the waves crash in. Jaco climbed way out to the water's edge. I was a bit more cautious & didn't go out so far. I knew the tide was coming in, so I stayed put. Sure enough, the tide came in & he had to do some swift climbing in order to avoid the icy cold water! He had been entertaining himself with urchins & other sea creatures in the pools created by waves earlier in the day. And bless his heart. He holds up a piece of kelp & says, 'Look! Fresh bamboo!' I do love him so.

After our ocean exploration, we walked over to a restaurant along the water's edge nestled in a cave. We wandered in, ignored by a few staff & finally stood in front of the cashier's station. Finally someone asked if they could help us & I asked if we could see a menu. He handed us a menu, we sat on a little ledge & paged through the menu. There were some scrumptious looking shrimp on the menu, so we decided to order. We waited for someone to return to us & take our order. When a few minutes passed, we went & sat at a table. A few more minutes passed. Nothing. Finally I walked up to the bar & asked if I could order some shrimp. The girl looked at me as if I were dense & told me the kitchen was closed & they were closing. It was 6 pm on a Saturday evening. No shrimp for me. 

And now it's becoming crystal clear why businesses change so often in Hermanus & why they struggle to stay afloat. They are never open! What restaurant closes at 6 pm on the Saturday of a long weekend?! Crazy! 

Walking back to the house, we enjoyed a delicious stir-fry made by Jaco's Mom & then we watched a lengthy program on the upcoming Royal Wedding. Wow. They really have the world captivated, don't they? I must admit, I'm reliving the 'Princess' dream just watching the hype! I suppose I'll have to tune in on the 29th & see what transpires!

With that, I'm off to bed... Much love & enjoy your Easter weekend...

xxxxMaria

 At the school again

 Traditional Cape Dutch Architecture

 On the seafront

 Clouds rolling in

 My Baby

 Love you!

 Handsome Man!

 The Cave place that closes early!

 Splash

 Kelp in the mix

 S - for Sylvia

 Be careful!

 Brave man!

 Crash!

 Exploring

 Tides coming in!

 Losing light

Sunset