Finding the inner child..

We all have an inner child just waiting to pop out and have some fun. A while back we were in Chamonix, France and while watching the "sky divers" take off from the top of the hill and float down into the valley I knew I had some unfinished business in my life! I really wanted to do that too. My nephew Stu offered to accompany me but my hubby rolled his eyes and showed total disapproval. I just needed a consenting, encouraging voice and I would have been off.

Riding on the back of a camel in Mongolia was one of those amazing moments in my life too.

On reflection, I realise that I have tended to play it safe but with a bit of encouragement, I could have and should have been a bit more daring!

This past weekend I needed little encouragement to have Fun and do some heart stopping, hair raising things. Nick treated us and Joshua to a trip to Johor Bahru where a whole new theme world has been built. I can't say it's just for children as adults have just as much fun! Our afternoon was spent at the venue next door to our hotel, Traders, where "various theme lands" have been built. One could choose between Hullo Kitty or Thomas the Tank Engine. Of course Thomas won the vote. There are all sorts of experiences, games and rides available. Being a Thomas devotee, Joshua had the time of his life. He even got to meet the Fat Controller and Barney.

The following day we were off to Legoland! How clever are the people who came up with this idea! It was simply amazing! Most of the rides were loads of fun and often quite scary. To think that so many wonderful things can be made from Lego!

Thailand.

 

I loved every minute especially the visit to Miniland. It was brilliant. It helped that we have visited many of the sights depicted, from all over Asia. I was speechless at the genius behind these creations.

 

Angkor wat.

After lunch it was time to hit Waterworld. I had left my swimming costume at home so Thought I would just be the camera man. Nick was having nothing of it and made me buy long shorts and top which although not very glamorous was perfect for a big older lady doing crazy things. Thanks Nick. I had the time of my life. We went on every scary ride possible. Joshie suffers every time he gets into the car for a long journey was totally unphased and wanted more and more and more. The only slight negative was the queuing for the various rides. It was Fun! I really felt like a kid again.

 

Now I have set my sites even higher....I definitely want to do the zip line in the Berg and if given the chance I too want to be pulled on the cookie at he back of Muz's boat and what about a bit of sky diving. Maybe the inner child is an adrenaline junky too!

Move over girls!

 

All good things....

Our three weeks in Australia are over and it has been a bumper time. The most important part of travel is not only ticking boxes of the great places we see and things we do but even MORE important are the family and friends we get to see.

Australia is an extremely expensive country for us to visit using our Rand and without the hospitality and kindness of family and friends it would be nigh impossible! We have to add a nought to every price tag we see! What looks reasonable at Ten dollars costs us in effect one hundred miserable SA rands. Just add a nought!

Fortunately our family and friends have been understanding and very generous so with our board and lodging covered we could chillax and just enjoy ourselves. We do always try to "pay" our way and contribute towards food and beverage! It is wonderful to see how friends and family are so health conscious and are looking great. Carbs, except those in a bottle, are a no no and eating greens is a priority!

While staying in Eumundi we got to meet the neighbours, Sepple and Jacquie Eggers and what delightful folk they are. Having lived in several interesting countries and now settled in Eumundi, they have interesting tales to share and we enjoyed many a wonderful hour with them. Jacquie works for Eumundi Community radio and gets to interview and train interesting local members of the community, while Sepple has created a health drink, using mangosteens, seaweed and other well researched fruits which he is busy marketing. www. Slimdiva.com.

Mangosteens are readily available here in Kuala Lumpur and after reading about all theirbenefits, we will be loading up on those!

Evidently Queen Victoria offered a knight ship for anyone being able to supply her with this delicious fruit!

Being on the tourist route and holiday time, there were a stream of visitors to Chris and Diana's home and each couple had such amazing stories to tell. Cathy Stewart, a well known Australian artist went to university with Diana and she and her family stayed for a few days. It was great meeting Cathy and chatting about her work.

This is an example of Catherine's work available at "Paper Pear" in Waga Waga, New South Wales. See more of her paintings and other beautiful things to buy on Paper Pear's Facebook page.

We also got to meet couples with very young children, having had them in their forties. The theory in our day was that one should have your babies by the time your are thirty but with the advancement in our medical world it is no longer a factor. While a couple of the Dads will be in their sixties and seventies when the children get to their teens, is of little consequence these days. As Chris says, the modern fifty is yesterday's forty and if we take care of our health and keep fit we should all live till a hundred! I am not sure I want to do that but for now I need to get onto a strict health regime and to get exercising! I need Sepple's magic health tonic!

It was fun meeting up with cousin Karen in Brisbane. Kay is my age and still very involved with her teaching. She also dabbles in Painting and gave me a lovely piece to bring home.

My darling brother Lester and his wife Mandy found themselves at cross roads in their careers and have made the huge decision to give up their lovely home in Brisbane, put their treasures in storage and head for the Middle East.

Mandy is a university lecturer and was able to find a position fairly easily in Ryhadh, whilst Lester too, seems to have been lucky in getting a job. He is waiting for confirmation and for his visa and will join Mandy as soon as possible. We hold thumbs for them. I am sure many stories will be forthcoming from this unique and exciting experience.

Lastly, and such fun it was to see friends from the past who have emigrated from South Africa and are making their lives in Australia.

Simon Royston brought his beautiful daughters Bella and Samantha to visit us. Warren taught Simon and his sister Tracy in Big Bend and I taught Jubs. A fun family. You are doing a wonderful job Simon!

Wendy and Theo de Beer have just opened a printing franchise in Brisbane. A big step which we are sure that with Wendy's experience and hard work and Thea's support, will be a huge success. Good luck guys.

Claire née Russell has made a new life in Australia with hubby Mike and cutey pie Samantha. It was great catching up with them. Claire's life thus far would make for a very interesting book, me thinks. Love you always Claire Bear!

 

To all you wonderful people, thank you for making the effort to see us. We wish you much happiness and success in your various ventures. South Africa's loss, Australia's gain.

 

Living the Dream!

It is good to see one's children living their dreams and so young too! It has been a dream of Diana's to own land and have space for a few chooks (poultry) and other little creatures....guinea fowl and ...let's wait and see. You can take the girl away from the farm but you can't take the farm away from the girl.

Christopher's dream was to retire by forty and this he has done! It has meant a few expat postings to be financially secure in order to do this. Since they married, the two of them have lived in Australia, Singapore, China, San Francisco and are now settled back in Australia with their three beautiful children. It has also meant lots of late night work, travel, etc.with Diana holding the fort. This has resulted and allowed them both to be living their dreams! A HUGE achievement!

This does not mean work has stopped! It is the kind of work they chose to do and are passionate about. They are giving their children a beautiful environment in which to grow up in and as parents they have QUALITY TIME to spend with their children. These three children must be some of the best traveled kids ever! Africa, America, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico....just to name a few of the countries they have experienced!

Diana (with Warren's help) is out in their sprawling six acres with the lawn mower and cutters tidying up their property. The homestead is huge and takes much maintenance but she has it all in hand and streamlined.

Christopher still needs to bring in the bacon but has vowed never to don a suit and tie again and wants to work from his "den" forever. He is into hydroponic gardening and he and his Dad are busy constructing their "hoop" greenhouses! The satisfaction of picking a bowl of his own homegrown leaves and tomatoes to enjoy, has sparred him on to make this a satisfying and successful project.

The children are blossoming in the lovely open space and are in out of the pool and have become accomplished swimmers. Yesterday we went for a walk down the road and the children had bikes and scooters and not a car passed us. To be so safe and free, is such a privilege.

This beautiful home is five minutes from a quaint village called Eumundi which is well known for its weekend markets. Diana's sister Pru and husband Muz! have four joined shops and specialize in mostly African and Swazi products. On the daysthat the market is open, it is jammed packed with tourists coming from all over Australia.

Noosa is the nearest big town and Noosa river is idyllic for meeting friends and having fun. We have had quite a few trips to the "beach" in Noosa and really what more can they wish for. They certainly are living their dream!

 

 

Thank you for sharing this with us!

 

Birdie num nums!

Most family gatherings around this time of the year have a bit of drama and we had ours too. Ours was not human drama but bird drama. Diana's brother Greg, is a young Australian farmer bringing up two young boys, Keith10 years old and Max who is 8. They were staying with Big sister Pru across the valley but would come and join us most days.

Diana is enjoying rearing a couple of egg laying hens and four guinea fowls. One evening she was heart broken to find that the door of the guinea fowl run had not be closed properly and a chick was missing!

After a long search, all hope was lost! However, Grampa Warren, who is hard of hearing, did say he could hear something up in the roof, chirping. Early the next morning as the sun came up, Greg got up and went on the search. Sure enough he found the chick on the roof of the shed! What relief!

Molly was given a beautiful blue/ white budgie for her birthday at the end of November. Over Christmas, when the place was packed out with guests and children, she asked whether she could play with her budgie, Pebbles. Her Mum cautioned her to make sure the doors to the playroom were firmly closed as Pebble's wings needed clipping! Needless to to say, the inevitable happened and Pebbles escaped. Molly let out a blood curdling scream as he flew out of the doors. She chased after it, very distraught but Pebbles was on a mission. I just saw the ball of light blue fluff fly off into the tall Eucalyptus trees, which surround the property. GOODBYE PEBBLES!

Tears and sadness lasted a short while and then the talk changed to wanting to replace Pebbles with a guinea pig!! It is amazing how children bounce from one drama to the next. Pebble's cage was placed strategically and much whistling and calling went on for the first day. Diana rang the pet shop owner where Pebbles had come from and the owner confirmed our deepest fears..."Pebbles was a gonna" ...that beautiful little bird was going to be snapped up by a butcher bird or an eagle or....oh it is too ghastly an end to contemplate! The girls decided he had gone to a Better place to join the angels.

TWO days later Pebbles was all but forgotten! There was much excitement as Aunti Pru had brought six gingerbread houses to build and decorate for the nine children who had gathered here! After a much needed swim, as the temp was once again in the forties the children got to work on their projects!

Suddenly there was a movement in the sky as light colored ball of fluff seemed to fly from one tree to the next. Pru and I looked up simultaneously and thought we were imagining things. We definately saw something ...could it be.....Pebbles, fly from one tree to another....could it be? Pru, not saying much took the cage and placed it out in the open grass.

The men, including Greg, were enjoying beers around the pool which has a clear perspex wall around it. The next thIng, Pebbles is right behind them, in the enclosure. Pru surreptitiously passed the cage to Greg. The door of the cage was opened and everyone was on the alert.The audience had stopped their icing and decorating tasks and were absolutely mesmerized watching Pebbles get closer and closer to his cage. Our Bird Hero, Greg, eased himself onto the grass behind the cage and crawled closer and closer.

Scene of the big catch.

The children were battling to hold their breath any longer...Greg stretched his hand out and grabbed Pebbles. The cheering raised the roof....the folk in the valley would have awakened from their slumbers....poor Pebbles nearly had a heart attack. TWO nights in the wild fighting off his many enemies...and now this. He was hungry and exhausted! After a huge welcome and Molly declaring it a MIRACLE, the children returned to their tasks at hand.

Diana clipped those beautiful wings so that there was very little chance of Pebble escaping! Greg, the Bird hero, had to be toasted and praised and toasted yet again. Molly has forgotten, for the moment, that she wanted to replace the bird with a guinea pig and the Pet Shop owner is in shock!

 

 

New beginnings

This being the last day of 2013, it is a time for reflection. Just as I love Mondays, I love the idea of a whole new fresh year ahead. Maybe it was the '13' of 2013 that made it a challenging year for many of the folk I know but it certainly had its moments! Mine were mostly health issues which really were no big deal now when I look back. It is time to look forward and to be positive about it all.

People scoff at the idea of New Year Resolutions as most of us last just a few days but there is no harm in trying. Let's go for it and look at the New Year with much excitement and enthusiasm. I am truly fortunate and blessed to have such great family and wonderful friends. I want to see more of them, chat more often and share as much time with them as possible.

We also want to travel to new places and go to places we have only dreamt of visiting. I have lists of those! Maybe South America......Botswana, more of the Berg.....

I continue trying to put dents into my stash of fabric. I aim to continue finishing my UFO's and I have great ambitions to try doing some art quilts. I know my friend Joyce wants me to make a memory quilt for her daughter Kirsten. Bring it on.

I am slowly decluttering......this is a bit of a challenge as I have to have a certain amount of co operation, which is not very forthcoming, but we will keep at it. After all, a rusted exercise bike is just not a pretty sight on the verandah in the flat! It might just have to disappear one sunny day!

The highlights for the year were: *Driving to the Cape for Michele and Mark's wedding.

*En route stopping off at Kidds Beach and visiting Mdme Judd.

*A week at the Southern Sun Hotel, courtesy of Geoff.

*Meeting up with my Distant cousin Cathy and her hubby.

*Seeing my brother Les and wife Mandy and their lovely children and families.

*Marion and her clan.

*Richard and his family.

Being treated to two nights in a beautiful B and B, courtesy of Sarah and Oscar in Franschoek.

A couple of nights with John and Patty in Knysna.

Oscar spending his holidays with us.

Quality time with Sarah, Adrien and being there for Oscar's birthday.

Back to Malaysia for Joshua's school holidays and being there for his birthday.

A couple of weeks in the bush and seeing our lovely Lowveld friends.

Spending quality time with my sister and her hubby.

Quilting up a storm.

Having lots of laughs with quilting buddies.

Back to Malaysia and then onto Australia to see the Boden's new home.

Blessings, blessings, blessings. There are too many to count.

Happy 2014 to you all. Thank you for reading my blog. Thank you for commenting. Thank you! Xxxxxxxx

 

 

Kersfees, Christmas and Xmas!

Christmas, by any other name means Family, Feasting and Fun! With the family spread all over the world this year we got to enjoy three Christmas Feasts on three continents! We also had much FUN!

Our first, was early December in Johannesburg with Sarah, Adrien and Oscar. As most of their stuff was boxed up and ready for moving! Sarah would not let this opportunity to celebrate our last Christmas in her flat pass by, so being resourceful she resorted to a full on "Woolies Christmas Feast!"

We cleared the table, set up our disposable plates etc. added a bit of decor with Oscar's help and voila it was time to celebrate!

Oscar did not know the story of Christmas so as the responsible adult I felt it my duty and pleasure to tell him the beautiful story of the nativity. He listened carefully and after a few 'Why's he seemed to get the drift. A few days later I received a message from his Dad saying "Oscar keeps wanting Baby Cheeses" do I have any idea what he is referring too? .....Mmmmmm only Adrien!

Our second Christmas feast took place in Kuala Lumpur at Moira's apartment the night before she and Joshua left for S.A. I wrote about that in my last post. BUT then Nick gave us a lovely treat, cooked all by himself...Chef Nick! It was his first attempt at roasting a leg of lamb. There is no need for cookbooks any more as everyone uses their ipads or I phones ! Wow, leg of lamb in Malaysia is such a treat. How shopping has changed over the twelve plus years we have been visiting there! Having to cater for the ex pats needs has pushed boundaries somewhat. Thanks Nick for the treat and the beautiful pressies! We are so spoilt!

On Christmas Day we were thrilled to enjoy Christmas in Eumundi in Chris and Diana's new home! It is so beautiful here!

T'was the night before Christmas, we thought the children would never go to sleep as we needed to finish wrapping gifts! Our suitcase, which weighed 26 kilos, consisted of 20 kilos of gifts from the Aunts and Uncles and us, of course.

As in most homes it was a race to see who would be up first in the morning! Hannah definitely heard Santa and crept out of bed and saw the over loaded sleigh! The reindeer even had a baby reindeer in training! As for the jingling of bells!

What fun it was to see the children's delight and surprise with all their pressis. Of course they got far too many gifts but hey, Christmas comes but once a year!

It was time to get the feast prepared for all the guests! Wow, what a feast indeed. Everyone brought a dish to add to what Diana had prepared and here was sufficient food to feed a small army!

We had a wonderful day and thank all concerned for the special treats. Three Christmases in three countries! How special!

 

 

Krazee K.L.

It is great being back in this hot, noisy, busy Kuala Lumpur. I tend to think of Capital Cities as countries on their own because as soon as you get out of the rat race things do change dramatically.

Hot...K.L. enjoys tropical-forest like conditions as it is situated near the equator. The average temp for December is 30* F ! It is 7a.m. It rains most days And it is cooler than most mornings at 29*F giving me the energy to sit out on the balcony and do some writing.

Noisy.....oh my! It is such an eye opener as wherever you drive, construction is happening. Blocks of apartments, more shopping malls, businesses etc continue to be built wherever you look. The clanging and banging continues from early morning to late at night. The development is simply amazing!

 

Busy......traffic in K.L. is KRAZEE.....! We have the use of Moira's car while she is in S.A. and we are trying to do our Christmas shopping! If you leave the apartment between one and three o' clock you cannot get to the end of the road due to all the drivers arriving to fetch the children from the International School situated at the end of the road! In S.A. We referred to the Mommies waiting to pick up their children as the "car park brigade" where much socializing and discussion about school affairs would happen. Here there are groups of driversin their dark outfits gathered having a smoke waiting for their charges and no doubt having equally stimulating discussions.

Nick is opening a new clinic across town and we have gone there a few times to sort things out and as the crow flies it is not so far away but with the traffic, one needs the Patience of Job. Being a keen follower of Malaysian under 21 hockey, the team were playing in the semis in India and we were stuck in the traffic. No trouble to my Techno son he connected his I phone and managed to pick up the coverage of the game.

Twelve years ago when we first started coming here the season of Christmas was not very evident! How things have changed as the Malls have picked up on the commercial value that Christmas brings and like all things in K.L. the decorations are simply amazing. The Malls are ringing with beautiful Christmas music with the staff donning the traditional red and white Christmas hats. Snowmen, reindeer and the promise of Santa arriving with his bag packed to overflowing is very evident! Many of the apartment blocks have lovely decorations in the foyers too! I would love to visit more of the malls armed with my camera but the traffic is too much of a challenge!

The first few week here we were able to spend time with Joshua. He has gone to S.A. with his Mum Moira for Christmas but before they left, we had a lovely Christmas party.

 

My niece Emma and her partner Chris from New Zealand happened to be in town so they joined us together with a few more local friends. Perla our Colombian friend is a professional singer and we "nagged" her to fetch her mike and equipment and our dinner party ended up being a swinging affair! What a super way to begin the season.

 

Thank you so much for reading my blog and to those who post comments, I am so grateful! May I take this opportunity of wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and I hope you all have lots of fun during this festive time. My next blogpost should be from the land of Oz till then.....xxx