Skye Water

Summer in Johannesburg can be quite hot then there are the afternoon thunderstorms which like clockwork cool the evening down. After work with no storm on the horizon, I took my dogs down to the bottom of my garden for a dip in the dams. Although Skye, my Whippet, likes the water, the Italian Greyhounds well they don't have much love for water. I didn't do a long walk, just around the one dam as Patch my oldest, is starting to get a hip problem with long walks.

On Guard

While I am at work, killing the bull, my pack are at home watching over things. When I arriving back home on the Vespa, they hear me coming a long way off and run up the stairs to a better vantage point to get a better view. Once they see that it is me, they start running up and down all excitedly. As I arrive at the garden gate, Maxy, one of my Italian Greyhounds, stays on guard at the top of the stairs until I am safely inside, then he runs down to me and does this bowing roll. Maxy's roll starts off by lowering his head and tucking it into his chest while at the same time keeping one front leg straight and the other folded in. When his crown touches the ground he rolls gently sideways onto his back. Submissive in an elegant way. Today’s photo is a completely different angle of an iggy and was taken while Maxy was still on guard.

Bulgarian Colours

It seems that Bulgaria has crossed my path yet again. First it was Maia and her Land of the Roses in 2007. Back then in the first year of this blog, I did not do any write ups, simply a photo a day but here are the links, Bulgaria, The Land of Roses and Bulgarian Evening. In the latter link is a colourful place mat from Bulgaria set out before me during an evening with Maia, and today are colourful ear rings.

The ear rings are modelled by Noma, who bought them when she used to live in Sofia while on a contract in Bulgaria. My friend Maia, said both wonderful and depressing things about her homeland. She called it the land of roses and at the same time it has become this depressing grey shell after communism and state controlled church. Since part of the European Union, Bulgarian youth flock to the Western Europe for better work. Noma is from the Eastern Cape of South Africa and described it the best, Bulgaria is the Eastern Cape of Europe. Poor and no jobs but there is beauty if you care to look.

Fortissio Lungo

Monday hit me like a bus this Morning and all I could do was go to the kitchen and make me some aromatic coffee using the Nespresso Citiz. This morning I chose a Fortissio Lungo to jump start the day.

Today was a long slog, but somehow I made it.

Strong Tower

Oh my, when it rains it pours, not that it is raining in Johannesburg but all around me I see the horsemen of the apocalypse. I was kind of hoping that I would leave last year behind where I left it but the horsemen seem to have followed. After Theresa, Matthew and my episodes in the hospital, my stepdad is going to have part of his leg amputated. Lynda lost her mom to cancer on Friday and now the news that my friends' young daughter is expected to have leukaemia. Please I ask all my friends to pray for little Nika.

I took my dogs to the park today, just to get away from it all and as I sat in the shade by the dam, this little dachshund came wheeling past. He had broken his pelvis when he was hit by a car. From the worst he has bounced back. This little dachi gives me hope because if he can make it so can we. Whatever may come, God is my strong tower.

Apologist Blanchard

These last few weeks death has been showing up often and now I found myself in an auditorium listening to the author and apologist Dr John Blanchard talk about what happens when we die. Never mind what all is being said about creationists, what does the Bible have to say about Heaven, Hades and Hell? Yes with death all around us, the question is where are we going when we die? Dr Blanchard put it all in perspective from a biblical point of view. Well if you stand on the other side perhaps you are going to uhmmm nowhere or even be re-incarnated but from where I stand, I am going to Heaven. It was put to me a long time ago that good people don’t go to Heaven only saved people. It was a long interesting evening and here is Ross talking to Dr Blanchard before the evening started.

The Oak Leaf

Having breakfast with Magda under large oak trees this morning was special, as we haven't seen each other for quite some time. The Oak Leaf Country Restaurant in Sandton has these huge oak trees where we sat under and enjoyed a buffet breakfast while the morning rush of traffic was unheard.

I wish I could have stayed longer under those oak trees catching up with Magda but I needed to get to work sometime before afternoon.

Chocolate Bosoms

Oops well what can I say about Thursday, oh I think the question should be what can't I say about Thursday other than chocolate hearts and bosoms. Uhmmm let me see. Oh yes PS we were working very hard at work today as tomorrow it is Friday. And about what happened today, I shall do as my very good friend Craig is known to say often, a gentleman never tells. Oh and my eyes are up here.

Louise

I must say Louise is coming to work lately dressed to kill; well what I mean is stunningly dressed. With the Oscar saga in the media, life and death is all mixed up. But as my friend Graeme so elegantly put it we need empathy, sympathy, compassion, respect, kindness, calm and love. It is Hump Day folks and that means we over the hump of the week. Yes it is downhill from here till the weekend.

Eagle Owl

After a long day at work, I ended up at the Sim's house for dinner and homecell. On arriving before any greetings were done, I had to check up on our resident juvenile Eagle Owl. During the day the owl sleeps in this tree and only moves to perch on the house gable in the early evening. By time it has gotten dark the owl flies off to hunt.

No Rain

Wow, the South African Weather Bureau got it so wrong today. They are still predicting No Rain with extremely uncomfortable hot days for today and tomorrow. No rain for Johannesburg, then what was that afternoon thunderstorm then? The storm had past when I made my dash for home after work from Houghton but got as far as Woodmead when I caught up to the storm again so I had to stop and don my rain gear but by the time I reach Kyalami, I was on the other side of the storm. On the Vespa with the visor, meant that the warm rain wasn't that bad, I just had to keep a wary eye open for lightning.

Once safely home, I took this photo of a rain storm in the distance moving north east. No rain today, Mrs Jones, no rain. Tomorrow will be the same with temperatures reaching 32˚C.

The Trio

Matthew was looking forward to church today because the possibility of Aidon being there. Matthew last saw Aidon in 2008 when he went over to visit him in Canada. Aidon’s family was in Africa for a few years and returned to Canada in 2007. Matthew and Aidon were very good friends and Matthew is rather pleased that they have returned to Africa.

I struggled to get the boys to stop playing foosball for a little while just so I can have a photograph. Here are the three friends, Lingani, Matthew, and Aidon. And then they were back to their playing.

Big Bangs

I awoke in the early hours of the morning to the crackling and bright lights as lightning hit the cottage or very close. The electricity feed to the cottage was still on amazingly but after the second and third close lightning strikes the lights said enough was enough and refused to come back on.

We awoke to no electricity but luckily I have a gas stove so I put some water into the kettle and made some coffee for Matthew and I. The electricity remained off for the whole day.After Matthew had completed his homework, we went down to the bottom of the garden and found a fleet of Eskom vans and truck huddled around an electricity pole. The cable coming down from the isolators had popped due to a lightning strike. Most likely one of those near misses that I experienced in the wee hours.

With nothing else to do, Matthew and I went across to Nu Metro at Montecasino watch a romantic fantasy movie Beautiful Creatures which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. After that it was pizza at the Sims' house before heading for the Tim Hughes worship concert at New Life.

After the big bangs came the anti climax of a slow start to the day, but it sure ended to an explosive finale.

Unfinished Birds

It is my weekend to have Matthew, and I have been looking forward to having him. His blacking out episodes seems to be over and he is way on his way catching up on missed lessons. On the way home Matthew proudly pulls out his art homework, his drawing of birds which he sketched out and now starting to paint. Although only started, I proudly give you Unfinished Birds.

Heart and Stay Calm

Today I woke up to Valentine's day, a commercial day dedicated to preying off the love stick puppies out there. But today turned out to be quite a busy day in what was happening around me. To start the day, news broke that Oscar decided to kill his girlfriend in the early hours of this morning. Louise has family issues. Richard bought all the ladies in the office a box of chocolate and a rose each. Roxy came to work wearing a diamond ring. Maon and Roxy are now engaged. Delia's zen went out of the window as the content management system she was working one started doing the loop of death and she was under the impression it was somehow her doing only to find out later that the developers were working on the site. And after today, I spent the evening at Cyber Curries. Heart and Stay Calm.

This Parrot is Dead?

Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting! Look Polly is moving, err this is not a parrot; this is a kitten sitting on Maon shoulder. Isis, the little black kitten, is quickly becoming the office cat as she finds a comfortable spot on Maon. Now how in the world are we supposed to work with this little ankle bitter at our feet?

Isis

A new kitten arrived at work today, as Sean put it nicely, a by-product of his cat, Slut-Cat, who recently had six kittens. Louise said that she would be interested in one if there was a black kitten and Isis arrived this morning.

It was feeling very insecure this morning and somehow felt that my shoes would be a good place to snuggle up in. And soon Isis was fast asleep, now I am not sure if that was from the security of my shoe or the smell that put Isis to sleep.

Rain and Traffic

With Monday comes the rain, and along with the rain comes the broken traffic lights which in turn cause traffic snarl ups. So it normally takes me just over half an hour to get to work in the mornings but this Monday morning it took me over an hour and a half. An hour longer than normal due to the traffic because the traffic lights not working all over Johannesburg on a rainy Monday morning. Now how come Johannesburg is the only city in the world with non water resistant traffic lights? Think before you answer. Oh how I hate wet Mondays even more than Mondays.

No No Nan Hua

Today was a day of contrasts. It all started when we went up to the Nan Hua Buddhist Temple in Bronkhorstspruit to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The Nan Hua is the biggest Buddhist temple in Africa and it is the place where peace supposes to prevail.

Soon after arriving we decided to have some breakfast and bought some Chinese omelette which consists of lettuce, mushrooms, a token egg all held together with copious amounts of aspic. Warning: DO NOT BUY! The aspic tasted like SNOT and was very difficult to swallow which meant that breakfast soon ended up in the dustbin instead of our tummies. Okay bad start but it soon went from bad to worse.

Earlier I said that the temple is where peace prevails, well it suppose to but with the madding crowds and the weapon sellers who turned the temple into a market place. Yes I did write weapon sellers. Along with the food tables, I found airsoft guns, knives, daggers, swords, throwing stars, axes and pangas for sale. I am a Christian but the longer I was in this peaceful place, the angrier I got. I was starting to feel like Jesus who found the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem a market place. I wanted to overturn these war mongers tables. Mixed in with this lot were statues of angels, and what looks like angels sitting next to a pool over water with baby angels floating as if they have just been water birthed. Next to them were pentagrams, vampires and Buddha.

My mind was screaming, "GET OUT". So we got out and ended up in Cullinan for a lovely lunch of wine, beer and burgers. The afternoon was much more peaceful sitting under an oak tree than at the maddening crowds of Nan Hua. Photos of my day can be found at the Facebook album No No Nan Hua and on this blog you must be tired of my little rant so you can have this photo of a oak tree protesting a dog.

Happy New Year

I want to wish all my Chinese friends a Happy New Year. To celebrate with then we spent the evening with them down in Old Chinatown, Johannesburg. I must say the fireworks were load and spectacular. They just went on and on and on and just when I thought that is it, on they went some more. Using my point and shoot Canon S100 camera hand held, I took some awesome photographs. I have posted them in my  Old Chinatown Fireworks album on Facebook.

Danfoss

Once again, I breathe a sigh of relief that it is Friday. It has been a long week and the weekend is a welcoming sight. I have a busy weekend ahead, so without wasting time, let the weekend begin. But before that can happen, I had to stop at Danfoss and this is where I took today's photo, the red chairs in the reception area of Danfoss. Okay I promise, no more office photos, now let's paint the town red!

Granny Nora

On Monday Nora, Desiree's mother is turning 87 years old and although a little wobbly she is still quite with it. I spent this evening with the two ladies, Desiree and Nora. They cooked me a lovely roast chicken for dinner while I supplied the decadent chocolate dessert. And there I was thinking of Nanny Ogg's Cookbook must be around here somewhere.

Friends at Scoobs

Movie night, yay! Nu Metro had a free pre viewing of a movie and Lynda, Anel, Craig and I went and enjoyed a night at the movies watching a black comedy called Movie 43. Afterwards we ended up at Scoobs for coffee and a catch up as we haven’t seen Craig and Anel since last year October; wow has it been that long.

Because of that silly movie, all I have now is a picture of Craig's cat Data in my mind running a claw across its throat and I now belong to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children inside Machines.

Chilean Rose Tarantula

Some time ago I posted a photo of a Sri-Lankan Ornamental Tarantula's molted cuticle, well this time it is the slightly smaller Chilean Rose Tarantula's turn to molt. The Chileans are more docile than the Sri-Lankan which is why they are so popular as pets.

Delia, who breeds exotic animals, brought this molted cuticle in this morning as a gift for Matthew.

Stormy Sunset

The weather bureau predicted 95% chance of light rain throughout the day but the weather held out all day until just before home time. As I climbed onto my Vespa under ominous storm clouds, I could hear the rumble. Luckily I was heading north towards home which was clear of the storm’s path. Once arriving home, I sat on my patio and I watched the storm unfold south, east and west of me. I didn't have to wait long as I was soon rewarded with this awesome sunset which made it all worth it.

In two months time I will be moving from here to a little more to the west. Although it will be a bigger place at a slightly cheaper rate, one thing that I will miss is these stunning sunsets.

Sunday’s Shapes

While at BBC this morning, this is what caught my eye, the straight lines on the wall and the stripes of the square seat. I just had to take this photo of stripes, angles, lines, squares, rectangles, circles and Matthew.

Matthew and Matthew

Bazinga! There are two Matthews. Well they are cousins. This afternoon after spending the whole morning doing Afrikaans reading, Matthew and I went up to Pretoria to visit our cousins, I spent most of my time with my Aunt Rene, Uncle Tony and their son which is my cousin Robert while Matthew played computer games with Robert's son Matthew. Here are the cousins, Matthew and Matthew.

Über Werner

Yay, it is Friday which means my weekend with Matthew. It is good having him home again after the mess of last weekend. When picking him up after work today, he insisted that we skip with our usual Friday take aways as he wanted to cook supper. So he gave me a list of ingredients to buy.

~ Macaroni
~ Bacon
~ Cheese

With no help from me other than doing the eating and cleaning afterwards, Matthew cooked a simple yet über tasty macaroni and cheese.

So why don't I have a photo of Matthew's supper, instead I have one of Werner. Well the food was yummy and before I knew it supper was finish. So no photo of Matthew's first meal he cooked for me, sorry. Earlier my Belgium friend Werner came round for a meeting with my boss, Richard, so now I have a photo of Werner on my blog instead of food.