James

So far it has been a terrible weekend of fever and bedridden days. With my body clock all screwed up, I woke up in early hours of this morning and pottered around on my computer. I hadn’t eaten since Friday so I made some toast and coffee but after a few sips of coffee I became nauseas.

I needed to get out and I went over to Café Sofia and joined all the Vespa and Lambretta riders for Sunday breakfast. I arrived just after James, shown above. James rides a very old Lambretta. I decided to try a small breakfast but replaced the coffee with juice. This merger breakfast was my first meal of the weekend and it tasted so good and I was extreme full afterwards. Luckily the breakfast stayed down although I had cramps and a sore tummy.

Fever Season

I had a terrible fever all through the night and woke up with my bed soaking wet from the sweat. Oh dear, now I have to wash the sheets again. Anyway I was fine for the whole morning then by high noon, the fever was back with vengeance. But to help me sleep later I had to drag myself out of bed to walk the dogs. Luckily Lynda came round to make sure I was alright and to nurse me back to health.

Now Lynda doesn't like her photograph to be taken so here she is walking my dogs at the bottom of the garden with me dragging my feet. I really needed to sun and my dogs needed to stretch their legs. The fever is back again so I take some pills and head to bed.

iPod

I am not sure if iNoma is using an iPod or her iPhone, but none the less here she is like the iSheep listening to her iTunes.

Not am not feeling well and it looks like I am coming down with an iFever. I think I will continue this iPost tomorrow and jump into my iShower and send myself to my iBed. Thank goodness there are no electronic devices next to my bed as I need to get some sound sleep. Goodnight.

Non, Je ne regrette rien

The phone call came fairly early this morning. Early than I thought it would. Out fear of the unknown I was still making light of it all that was until the phone call. Denial then shock then I needed to breathe. Get out before anyone sees the tears welling up. Breathe as I could not do much else. I allowed my doctor to make appointments with the specialist for further tests and slowly fear turn to hope and faith. I need to gather my thoughts and move on with no regrets.

With not much going today other than to simply move on. And the day compressed into one big mashup. Compiling reports. A reassuring smile from Noma. More Reports. Meeting with Richard and Louise. Encouragement call from Robbie. Kind skype from Georgette. Concern Whatsapp from Lynda. Text chat with Craig. And here is Delia with grace in her heart and a flower in her hair. Aimlessly walking down the aisle of a supermarket. Tea with Rayne and Ricky. Welcoming licks from my dogs. That is why I hold with all I have. Non, Je ne regretted rien.

I don't know how I am going to manage and cope, yes I am scared because I am weak but I won't give up because I am not alone, not this mind and not this heart. Someday everything will make perfect sense. So for now, I will laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears and keep reminding myself that everything happens for a reason.

All New Canon PowerShot S100

What a busy day it has been. It was a rush getting corporate client’s reports out in the morning and then it was off to the doctors for my annual check up and although not all the results are back, there are some major concerns.

But enough sad stuff. Some time ago my fairly new Canon PowerShot S100 would not switch on. At first I thought it was the battery but I had to take it in for repairs under warranty after ruling out the battery. I was very happy with the S100 camera but I was never informed of what actually was wrong with the camera and it sat at Canon’s repair facility waiting for spare parts which got me a little concerned. Canon South Africa then offered me the option of getting a brand new Canon PowerShot S100 digital camera rather than waiting for the spare parts to arrive.

So today my new S100 arrived, hooray! It has a matt black finish instead of the silver gun metal finish of the late S100. Now I can have a small camera on me wherever I go instead of lugging my larger DSL around. I mean ever walked into the doctors rooms with a large camera ready.

They do say the best camera is the one you have on you but the Canon PowerShot S100 is not slouch pocket camera as it shoots in RAW at 12.1 Mega Pixels with many serious features that will make a professional photographer look twice. Plus it has a built in GPS logger to embed the co-ordinates into the image.

Anyway I am just glad to get my baby camera back. Thank you Canon South Africa.

Brenda

The new word for today is Epicurean, yip you read correctly, ep-i-cu-re-an, in simple terms lovers of the sensual pleasures that good food and good wine bring. A little close to my heart I must confess and it does't help with me being slightly portly but as I prayed earlier today, "Lord, if I can't be skinny, make my friends look fat".

I came across this word epicurean and its opposite word stoic this evening at home circle where a small group of homies studied part of Paul's journey to Macedonia. Brenda, shown above was one of small group who pull apart and debated the intricate details of this passage. Oh how easy for us to default to self gratification like the epicureans and forget that it is not about us at all.

Virgin of Vladimir

What a strange find, a reproduction of the Theotokos of Vladmir or the Vladimir Virgin, painted as a mural just outside the hallowed Payne Hall of Jeppe Boys High School. No one knows for sure who painted the orginal Byzantine styled Orthodox icon that is interwoven into the Russian culture. But sometime in the 11th century it was presented as a gift from patriarch of Constantinople to the Grand Duke of Kiev. Seen as the protectress of Russia, the Theotokos icon found its way to Vladmir where the Assumption Cathedral was built to house it. Later in the 14th century the icon was taken by Ivan IV to Moscow where it is believed to have protected the city on numerous occasions from attackers.

Now to find a reproduction in the oldest public school in Johannesburg was unexpected. This mural was painted by Constantine Voulakis in 1985 while he was a pupil at Jeppe Boys.

Agility

I had started Skye, my Whippet, doing dog agility earlier in the year but because of the two operations on Skye and Jade plus Maxy's sudden near death incident with HGE all in one month a stopped with agility. But Verresa has always being keen for me to start up agility again with Skye and she invited me this morning to join her with Enzo and Sasha. So first thing this morning I reported with Skye to Alex, the trainer from Thinking Pets, at the Crowthorne Veterinary Clinic for some agility.

Here is Veressa with Sasha her Italian Greyhound, showing us how we must execute the jumps. Now Skye aced the jumps but still needs lots of practice on weaving in and out through the sticks.

Rooikat

Matthew and I picked up Lynda and her son Bradley and went to the African Aerospace Defence 2012 Air Show and Exhibition held at the Air Force Base Waterkloof. What started out as a raining day turned out to be hot with not a cloud in the sky by lunch time. As usual the kids enjoyed themselves immensely and us adults watch on, secretly enjoying watch the firepower of military machines in action. Click on the image above and view the awesome power the Rooikat Armoured Fighting Vehicle on the obstacle course in front of us. I could kick myself as I had video function on my camera and should have used it. We all had a wonderful time and arrived back home tired.

Beauty and the Beast

Not long after arriving to work this morning on Anastasiya, the Beast arrived. The Beast is a silver Harley Davidson VRSC F 1250cc V-Rod Muscle and it is a beast of a machine compared to sexy Anastasiya who is a dainty 150cc Vespa. I kind of think Anastasiya likes the beast around as he sort of protects her and keeps the paws of the passer bys off her.

I took Anastasiya in to get her carburettor finely tuned because at high revolutions she was losing power suddenly and battling to reach 100km/h. After Vespa South Africa's attention Anastasiya purred home and without batting an eyelid easy cruised over 110km/h. Thank goodness as I had thought I had lost the spirit of Sophia but she is back with vengeance.

Facepalm

The Wiktionary states that a facepalm is to bring one's hand to one's face as an expression of mixed humour and disbelief. Oh well this is an awesome photo of Delia with her lovely smile and Noma with her facepalm. They are the perfect example of the gorgeous ladies that I work with at the office. With them we can conquer the internet. Step aside! Here we come, the SEO Ninjas, facepalms and all.

Made for Walking

These shoes are made for walking, but today I took them off while at work, well the main reason was that I love walking bare feet and secondly Noma was off sick today and she sits opposite me so any possibility of smelly feet won't be noticed.

Nah, my feet don't stink, it is mainly for the first reason. Anyway today was an all out coding day, updating a legacy website using old style ASP Classic and coded in a very old school kind of way. This means lots of unravelling just to figure out what the long gone developer was thinking. This takes time because as you figure out what is going on, you discover another unbeknown section. It was by end of the day, it felt very refilling and I wanted someone to shout "Give that man a Bells" but nothing came. So I whoop it up in my own kind of way.

These shoes are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do.

Metallic Baby Poo

Well I used the family version of what Delia called the colour of her hired car this morning, Metallic Baby Poo. Yes she was not at all amused with the colour of the Kia Rio, not at all. Most of her dissatisfaction went over my head because I was quite tired today. I can't quite put my finger on it but I have no energy and my muscles are aching, ever so slightly. I must be coming down with a bug. Oh well metallic baby poo is what it is now called, what colours can the vehicle manufacturers come up with next.

Dinner for Two

Well I rush home from the shops to prepare dinner for two as a friend was coming over. Now cooking for me in the past was simply throwing a few things together and hoping for the best which thankfully usually turned out quite alright. It was normally dinner for one so it was mind over matter. If you didn't mind it didn't matter what you served yourself as there was always something better to do.

So tonight what to prepare for supper? It had to be easy to prepare and have the usual greens and yellow vegetables with something starch and protein. On the way home, I stopped at Sloanes Meat Market to do some shopping as my cupboards were a little bare. While there I came up with the menu, Beef Olives on a bed of rice, carrots in parsley sauce, creamed spinach, and a salad. No dessert as it would be too much.

Overall, taking off the labels so no one saw them, I rustled up a tasty dinner for two.

Interesting Day

Today started like any other Sunday. I had many things to do and all overlap each other. What to choose, where to go? A Vespa ride to the Festival Italiano was high on my list but eventually a dog walk at Delta Park won as the expected rain didn't faze the dogs.

After the dog walk, the clouds were lifting so I went home for lunch and to plan the rest of the day. It was in the planning stage that a friend whom I only met yesterday started chatting with me online and after some fascinating developments they came over for the afternoon which turned out to include the evening. This was an interesting day.

So the photo of the day is of Skye my Whippet, all excited about his walk, was running up the steps with one of his toys.

Runaways

My busy Saturday started with hanging up a load of washing up but that was delayed because arriving at the washline, I noticed someone left the gate open to my cottage and all my dogs where running amok. So after herding them back into the yard, the phone rang so I rushed back upstairs to find my neighbor calling to let me know that my dogs were out. Thank you, my weekly run done and dusted, and back to hanging up my washing.

Then it was off to Irene Dairy Farm for breakfast with my boet and as I was leaving it started to drizzle lightly. Oh well the washing just has to stay out. I spent a wonderful morning just chatting to my brother, Anthony and before we knew it, the morning was gone.

With half the day gone, it was now the long trek back to Johannesburg for a Fun Seekers and Joburg Photowalkers stroll in Kensington. Now who would have thought that there where so many historical buildings in Kensington and such lovely people in the Fun Seekers Meet up Group.

Today’s photo of my blog was taken outside the Fairview Fire Station where I found this chap selling Runaways for R1.00 each, which are braaied or barbecued chicken feet. If the street vendor was selling chicken heads as well, both would be called Walkie Talkies, go figure.

It has been a busy day with me only tearing myself away from the Kensington Bowling Club way after dark to take my washing off the line.

Ominous

Every cloud has a silver lining except today. With 87% light rain predicted for the afternoon, I rushed home early to beat the rain which I duly did and spent the last few hours of the day watching a storm build up with layers of clouds moving in all different directions. Kind of pretty in a way. The tops of the cloud still feeling the setting sun where as the lower clouds getting darker with the light fading.

Although this afternoon highvelt storm built up some ominous potential, nothing much came from it. Like the saying his bark is much worse than his bite. With no thunder or lightning like last night, this is going to be a quiet evening in Africa with a few pitter patter drops of rain to wet our thirst.

Crealto

A new blend of Nespresso premium coffee pods landed on my desk this morning. With so many other marvellous Arabica flavours to choose from, this at the start looked like something new. So I popped in a capsule of Crealto into the Nespresso Coffee Machine and eagerly waited for coffee to fill my cup. The nutty aromas are so enticing, I could hardly wait.

While sipping my creamy cup of Crealto, I read up on Nespresso’s latest addition to their Limited Edition Grands Crus. Inspired by alta cucina or high gastronomy, Nespresso named their new long roasted coffee Crealto using the combination of Alto and Createur.

Only recently launched, the Crealto has certainly been a hit in our office. What? My cup is finished already! Ahhhhh, time for another cup of coffee.

Bird of Paradise

The strelitza has a striking flower with its orangey yellows and bluely purples which in a way resembles a crane or even a bird of paradise. Now why am I taking photos of flowers during the day instead of working?

Well somehow this afternoon a malicious worm managed to find its way onto our cloud which had my computer screaming out warnings as it tried to sync with the cloud. So while damage control was in progress not much work could be done. It was then that I found a vase full of proteas and strelitzas in the foyer. My sweet bird of paradise.

Tina

It is a long story of how I got to see Tina today. It has been a long time since I last saw Tina and I must say it was good to see her again.

Well it all started over the weekend with Magda celebrating her 40th birthday. Our mutual friend Paulo was invited but somehow because he was in South Africa only for such brief time, he got caught in things that needed to be done and he could not make Magda's party. Sorry for him because we had a wonderful time. Anyway just before he flew out to Mozambique yesterday, Paulo phoned me telling me that he has left a present in the boot of his car and would I please fetch and give the present to Magda.

So this morning I made contact with Paulo's sister Tina who had Paulo's car at her work in Park Town which is just up the road from my work. Who would have known that we were this close? So I rode over to the Asbestos Relief Trust where Tina works as a lawyer to pick up Magda's presents. Yes present became presents because in Paulo's car was three presents, one obviously from Paulo, one from Shani, Paulo's girlfriend, and the other from Vespa South Africa. I stayed as long as I could as Tina and I caught up on life but I had to tear myself away and zoom over on my Vespa to Dr Lipschitz in Rosebank where Magda works as a radiologist. Magda was pleased to receive the presents and offered me lunch which I dutifully accepted.

At the 40th birthday party there was so much going on that just sitting in Magda's office over toasted sarmies and catching up on all the news was priceless. This is what friends are for. Forget missing 40ths, as just sitting and listening to each other is what it is all about. A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.

Let them eat Amakhekhe

Tonight was our home group's turn for manning the "Under the Bridge" feeding outreach. So I left work the earliest I could and rushed over to BBC to start preparing the food parcels. Normally the food parcels consists of a large piece of polony, half a loaf of bread and a packet of crisps.

This time was slightly different as our home circle decided to each bring two pockets of oranges which allowed us to give each person who came for food two oranges each. There was quite a few oranges left over so we decided to take these later to the Hillbrow shelter. Someone also donated quite a few packs of Amakhekhe so we added one each into each food parcel. Amakhekhe are small cakes which are in between scones and cup cakes without the cup. While we packed the amakhekhe into the food parcels the words "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" came to mind. Although misattributed to Queen Marie Antoinette, let them eat cake is exactly what we did. We gave them amakhekhe and oranges with their bread.

Magda

On Friday it was my good friend Magda's 40th birthday and she doesn't look older than 28, oh well I wonder what her secret is. Anyway today we joined Magda and her husband, Martin at Kievets Kroon Country Estate and Spa north of Pretoria for a tranquil afternoon with friends celebrating Magda's big four O.

Kievits Kroon had set out a six course gourmet lunch by the pool for us. Head Chef Sammy Mashile made sure that we were treated to a five star culinary experience out of this world with fine wine to match.

But there was something way better than the tranquil scenery and the fine food, and that was the company of good friends. Thank you to the host, the birthday girl, Magda. May you have a blessed 40 more years.

Fordsburg

Saturday finally arrived which I eagerly awaited since today was the Joburg Photowalkers' Feast for the Eye Photowalk in Fordsburg. I was hoping Matthew would be able to use my new PowerShot Canon S100 camera but alas it is still sitting at Cameratec waiting spare parts. At only two months old, Canon should have simply just given me a new replacement camera but no, they are waiting for spare parts from where ever. I don't even now what is wrong with the camera. Anyway Craig came to the rescue and loaned Matthew his old Canon 500D body. So off we went cameras in hand to the see the spices.

There was lots to see in Fordsburg if you into bargain shops, spices, and South Asian cuisine but I am into people, so I was looking for good everyday people shots and I think I got a few. A collection will soon to be uploaded into a Facebook album. It was also a day for Matthew to look through a lens for the unusual and I think he had a good start today. Now this photo tells a story. Firstly there is Matthew, camera in hand walking through a flock of pigeons feeding. He is followed by a giggling group of young Muslim school girls from Benoni and all the while, a motley crew of photographers focuses on the pigeons taking flight before the feet of the youngsters.

After the photowalk, we ended up at the Bismillah Restaurant on Mint Street. This restaurant had a much better décor but slightly more expensive than the last one that we went to before, ah yes the Al-Mehran which is just around the corner from the Bismillah. I ordered a Mutton Korma with extra meat for R68.00 which by northern suburb prices is very reasonable. When my food arrived I got served a Mutton Karahi instead at R79.00 a bowl. Not causing a fuss I settled for the Karahi and was pleasantly surprised that is tasted very good even though we were overcharged.

But to Craig's learned tastes, which he got from loving the Southern Indian style of curries, the karahi was very bland and that Cyber Curries in Douglasdale still haven't been dethroned. Oh dear, clearly I haven't got a pallet for curries as I found that my last curry I ate at Cyber was way too salty for my delicate taste buds. Anyway Craig is the connoisseur on curries so I will take his expert word for it. Final word, a good curry will keep the flu away.

Matt and Jade

It is my weekend with Matthew and arriving back home, the first thing Matthew does every time is play with the dogs. Here is Matthew and Jade horsing around, well playing rough with each other. Pause for the camera! Oh what has distracted you on the TV, Jade? Oh it was a doggie on the TV, uhmmm. Oh well I let you two carry on then.

Monkey's Wedding

With the thunderstorm that broke in the early hours of this morning, it dawned on me that the rain was still settling in. Now I had to use the car like normal people and sit in rush hour traffic. I tried driving to work early before the mad rush and followed one of Trevor Noah's Joburg Traffic Tips – when in doubt, follow a taxi driver. And it worked as I was arrived at work in record time in spite of the rain. It poured and hailed all day and didn't seem it was going to lift. It was only when I arrived back home after work, in the dying hours of the day, did the sun broke past the ominous clouds to give me a glimpse of what tomorrow may bring.

So while the rain continued to fall, the sun burst free to bless me with an awesome sunset. The painted sky was a perfect end to a long day. There is a saying in English and I am not sure if it transcends South Africanisms, it is the words for when it rains while the sun is still shining, we call a sunshower a monkey's wedding or in isiZulu umshado wezinkawu. But in Afrikaans it has a more interesting twist, jakkals trou met wolf se vrou, translated it means that the jackal is marrying the wolf's wife. I think in Afrikaans it just sounds just right or should I say perfectly wrong for a sunshower.

Captain Morgan

To Life, Love and Loot, now that is an acknowledgment I can live for. The first summer rains have finally arrived and washed away the grim of a dry winter. The first rains in Africa means gone is the winter along with all the nasty nasties. The rains also mean I have to ride in it, so while I was preparing my rain suit for my ride home Delia snapped this photo, oh and I did strike the Captain Morgan pose.

As I wipe away the large drops from my face, I know summer is finally here and can salute to Life, Love and Loot. Arrr me hearties, now where me buxom Morganettes?

Cooking for One

Nothing messes up your Friday like realising it's only Tuesday. Oh well head down and one step in front of the other. And soon it was evening, and I was on my way to have supper at Sandys. It is such a blessing to sit down with friends and have a wonderful hot home cooked meal with vegetables. Not because I don't make hot meals every now and then, it is when I do, vegetables are not always found on my plate. Cooking for one is not as easy you think. Most times you just eat whatever is handy.

Georgie Girl

Hey there Georgie Girl! In one foul sweep you halved the average age in the office. Yes Georgette started at National Positions today and what else can I say, I may not be young but I am young at heart. But the worst part of the whole ankle biters thingy is that Noma and Georgette share the same taste in music. Oh no Justin Bieber, where's my bin as all of a sudden, I am feeling a little yellow around the gills.

Hey There! Georgie Girl
Dreaming of the someone you could be
Life is a reality, you can't always run away.
Don't be so scared of changing and rearranging yourself.
It's time for jumping down from the shelf a little bit.

Moonshadows

Just the other day, Friday to be exact was Kirsteen's 40th birthday plus there was a blue moon that night therefore it would be appropriate to have her birthday party at the Barnyard Theatre's tribute to Folk, Country, and Acoustic Rock Legends which was aptly named Moonshadows.

The picnic lunch was prepared by Kirsteen and her folks and afterwards we listened to the awesome sounds of Cat Stevens, Johnny Cash, Simon and Garfunkel, The Eagles, Kenny Rodgers, Shania Twain, Kris Kristofferson, plus many more greats. The Moonshadows nine piece cast had our feet stomping while they brought back to life the memories of the past greats. Now they did mentioned Irish rock but sadly no Pogues, oh well I will settle for Mumford & Sons any day.

Homeless Animals Day

Forget Spring Day, we now have a more important day, the Homeless Animals Day. Last weekend it was Barking Mad, today it was Wet Nose Animal Rescue Centre's turn to get some love. Teaching my dogs the fundamental basics of helping those who can't help themselves is so important. Yes, I know that I have four wonderful dogs with great pedigrees but right now out there, there are hundreds of animals in abused situations and also in shelters waiting for their forever home.

Today the Wet Nose Animal Rescue Centre, in Vaalbank east of Pretoria, held their Homeless Animals Day and my pack of Patch, Maxy, Skye, Jade, and I joined hundreds of others for a fun day at the shelter. We took on the 4.5 km walk along this soft sandy road and my dogs really enjoyed sniffing and greeting all the other dogs with many "Ag mama, kyk na daar pragtige windhonde". While we sat on the lawn watching the Rehabilitation Awards, somebody just dumped a pitbull, who had being in a terrible fight, off at the gate. I wanted a photo to show you what people do to dogs but just couldn't get there in time so you have to do with this photo of some volunteers wanting photos with my doggies, for R5 which went to the shelter.

Wet Nose Animal Rescue Centre, like Barking Mad believes in the Right to Life and will love and care for an animal until a Forever Home is found for them, no matter how long it takes. And that is why they need our help even if we don't have space for any more animals as we can sponsor a kennel for as little as R150 per month (about $15). In actual fact don't worry about it if it is too much money, as any amount will go a long way at your nearest animal rescue centre. Help them save a life today.