Anthony and Orion

At the Stoned Cottage, which is what we are calling our cottage, we had our first visitors, Anthony and Orion. Anthony, my brother, phoned this morning asking about coming round for a visit and I told him that we will be leaving for church in a few hours time. He didn't mind and with his dog Orion he joined us for the Easter Sunday service at BBC.

After church, it was lunch and Anthony stayed for the afternoon which turned into an evening and now I am getting the couch ready for Anthony to sleep on. Thank goodness, tomorrow is a public holiday.

Space

The move is finally over. I am tired, stiff and have sore muscles but I am finally in. From a chocker block loft cottage, I am now in a two bedroom large cottage at a fraction of the price of the old one. My old cottage can fit into my new main bedroom alone. So much more space, I can now stretch my legs. Things are not unpacked yet but here is a view of my lounge. I think it is about time I start a Get a Larger TV Fund.

Big Move West

Amos and Jacob arrived at 7am to start helping me load the bulky furniture. We arrived at the new place at tenish full to the brim. JP Wendy arrived soon afterwards to construct our specially designed  house for all our animals. While we were off loading Matthew started his assigned tasks which were setting up the computer and DSTV.

I had to drop Matthew off later for Easter Camp which I am sure that he will enjoy. On the way to drop him off at BBC, I was taking the dogs across to the new place so today's photo  is of all my kids sitting on one seat of my pickup, here is Matthew with Maxy and Jade.

Moonset

Tonight is the last night that I will be spending at Treesbank because tomorrow is the big move towards the west. This morning as I was leaving for work, the setting moon was casting an eerie light over the landscape. The moonset was just begging for a photo to be taken, well how could I not? I am going to miss the awesome views that I get from the patio and the walks to the bottom of the garden.

Louise and Isis

Louise arrived this morning to work with her black cat on her shoulder sans their broom which I believe was parked downstairs. The day turned to night which was as black as the inside of a cat. Little Isis is sure growing fast from the last time I saw her a few months ago.

Zulu Warrior

The call goes out from the Enlightened "Resistance is futile", but I decided to make my stand against alien infiltration so I have joined the Resistance to protect the humanity at Ingress.

After basic training I started feeling my way around NianticLabs@Google's Ingress reality and found a portal within walking distance from my office. Thankfully the Zulu Warrior portal was in the Resistance hands already. Although still on Level 1, by end of the day I hacked into 3 Resistance held and 1 Enlightened Portals, and placed 2 resonators. Not bad for my first day but I have a long slog to go.

To join you are going to need the tools, which mean firstly you are going to need an Android OS device such as a smart phone or tablet. Hopefully once Google takes it out of Beta they will release a iOS version for Apple devices but in the meantime sorry for you. Then you will need to go to www.ingress.com to request an invite and then off to the Google Play Store to download the Ingress App onto your device.

Once you have been invited you will be asked to join either the Enlightened or the Resistance. I looked at it this way; the Shapers are like the Borg with their full frontal assault "We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." Or like the visitors from the TV series V who pretended to be friends and claimed to want to share their advanced technological and medical knowledge. And we all know how both the Borg and the reptile Visitors turned out to be.

So because of this I decided to join the new Fifth Column, the Resistance. Who is going join the Zulu Warriors to resist the invaders?

Monday Rain

I had Jade at work today; thank goodness she was all ladylike and on her best behaviour. Having Jade at work meant I had to use the pick up to work instead of the Vespa. This too was a good thing as the rain set in late afternoon and I would have gotten very wet. Other than lots of work on a Monday, this day has turned out quiet alright.

Trevor with Jayden

I haven't seen Trevor for a long time, and this morning he arrived at BBC with Nic and Suzanne’s two older children, Sarah and Aidon. Oh and I must not forget Sarah's baby Jayden. Here is Trevor being like a doting grandfather with Jayden who was all smiles.

Please continue to pray for Nic and Suzanne's youngest daughter, Nika, who is flying out tonight for Sick Kids in Toronto. Nika has Aplastic Anemia and is in desperate need of a miracle.

Jo and Bruce

After a morning of rushing around, it finally ended at Jo and Bruce’s home in Dainfern for lunch. No, it was not KFC but better chicken burgers with the chicken breasts cooked on a typical South African braai.

I have known Bruce since we were knee high on one of those Brethren Youth Camps, most likely the Margate one. Now Bruce works for Yum Foods therefore the play on words earlier. Anyway it was good to spend a wonderful afternoon with friends to get my mind off all that was happening in my life.

Jade Falls

What I feared the most while the stairs at my place was being replaced happened. The landlady came round yesterday afternoon to show the cottage to prospective tenants while the steps were not even finished. I had kept the dogs down at the bottom while the rotten wooden steps were taken off and replaced with new ones.

I had the top landing barricaded off and the builder had the bottom taken care of. Only the bottom half was done with the top half just had the frames in by the time as the landlady and the prospective tenants arrived. I was in the office at the time and the builder allowed them to go up the stairs and the dogs thought that they could go up too and proceeded to gallop up the stairs not knowing that the stairs were incomplete. The builder managed to stop Patch and Skye as Maxy and Jade shot up towards the top but soon found themselves in difficulty. The prospective tenant managed to grab Maxy but Jade slip through his hands and fell.

Jade, who is no taller than 20cm tall fell just under 4 metres onto the paving below. That height equates to about a 20 metre fall for a human onto concrete. In other words, Jade fell from a 6 story building. I heard the commotion and went outside to investigate to find the landlady saying over and over again that she is so sorry. Like what was going on.

My emotions was both anger and fear for the worse as I scrambled down the stairs to Jade who was limping on three legs in the corner of the garden. She was in pain when I did the full investigation but thank God I didn't find any break nor could feel any internal injury. I don't remember much at the time but do remember the landlady calling from the top "Is she all right? Please say something".

Jade came home from Crowthorne Veterinary Clinic this morning and the diagnoses is that her right rear leg has been badly sprained and she needs to be off the leg for 6 weeks to give it time to heal. The new cottage that I am moving to next weekend has no steps and a much bigger garden which will help with her recovery.

President Verwoerd

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the next President of South Africa, Verwoerd. Yes I was astounded as you are now when I met this young black school boy with the surname of Verwoerd outside the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg on Human Rights Day. His namesake is regarded as the architect of Apartheid and now this proud young black boy is walking the halls of the highest court in our land and birthplace of our democracy, Constitutional Hill. Now can you imagine another Verwoerd leading this great country of ours?

Steps that Jack Built

I am starting to think that because I have given my notice to vacate my cottage; my landlord has it in for me. The way they treat me has gotten progressively worse as my notice period ticks down. When I arrived home yesterday, this is how I found my steps up to my cottage. Yes I give it to them that they are starting to show some interest in the maintenance of the cottage instead of blaming me for why they can't find tenants to replace me.

In terms of my contract, it states that I can't sue them it I hurt myself trying to climb up and down these stairs but it is not me I am worried about, it is my dogs, as that biggest gap is about half a metre. It is easy for them to get up; it is the getting down that is the problem for them. Finding the steps like this for the second day I phoned the landlord and she said that she didn't know that the steps were left in a highly unsafe condition and that the builder will be there tomorrow. Once Jade, my smallest Italian Greyhound, is at that top, she is stuck and can’t get down again. Patch tried and fell down the side of the missing landing planks while I was on the phone to the landlord. For now I am thankful none of them has broken any legs. If that happens, contract or not the landlord will find themselves in court. Anyone knows a good lawyer needing some pro bono work?

Rat on my Doorstep

Yes you read the heading correctly, my day started with finding a dead rat on my doorstep. One of my dogs must have caught it last night and decided that it was a good thing to bring it home.

After I got rid of my present, I proceeded to take my Vespa to Linex Yamaha to get a new rear tyre that I had ordered last week fitted. But I only managed to make about three kilometres before the patched up tyre gave way. Standing at the side of the road, my day couldn't get any better. Well after going back home to fetch the pickup, thanks to Martin for the lift, I had to load the Vespa onto the back and drive it undignified to Linex Yamaha.

What started out as a rat of a day can only get better tomorrow as it is the start of the first of two long weekends, one after each other. Oh yes and thanks to Magda, my accommodation to our epic Baviaanskloof Vespa Ride has been booked.

Look who’s back

Nomangaliso has been off sick for the last week, recovering from wisdom teeth extraction. Well I would like to say that they pulled some wisdom out of her and that she wasn't sure quite who she was after that. Well she is back although not a hundred percent better. While she has been away, Delia has been holding down the fort, now she too is due for some surgery month end.

Although it was good to have Noma back, today was particular difficult. Not because of it being a Monday, although it did not help. Arriving at work this morning we found the phone lines and air conditioning down. The phones I could live without but having no air conditioning was like hell. A hot and bothered Delia was overheard stating that "this whole no aircon thing is kinda terrible". There you go even the heat was affecting Delia's vocabulary and grammar.

Sarah Visits

Sarah, Aidon's older sister flew in from Canada this week to visit her extremely sick baby sister, Nika. For Matthew, it was great seeing Aidon again. Here are the three of them.

As you may know from a previous post, Nika has Aplastic Anemia which can't be treated here in South Africa so she needs to go back to Canada. They are leaving for Toronto this coming Sunday so please continue to pray for little Nika, for healing, a safe journey and not to forget the family, her parents Nic and Suzzane, and her siblings Sarah and Aidon.

Tree Reflections

With only a few weekends left at Treesbank, I needed to soak up its beauty. Late this afternoon I took my dogs for a stroll down to the bottom of the garden and ended up at the bottom dam. I don't normally come down this far because of Patch's hip problem but today I sat for quite some time on the banks of the bottom dam reflecting all what has happened in the past couple of years. I am not sure if I would be able to come down this far again before I leave, so I made the most of just sitting on the banks of the dam with the trees' reflections and somehow got lost in thought.

Boksburg North Police Station

Going to the East Rand is a risk in the first place but I had to go pick up Matthew for the weekend. On the way there, I stopped at Nandos at the Westwood Shopping Centre in Boksburg for supper with my friend Edmund. While we were finishing up Edmund looked up and asked why that car’s alarm was blaring, it is was my car. Not thinking anything wrong, I went out to turn it off but as I walked up another car that was next to mine sped off. Still not thinking much about it I turned the alarm off and back on but the alarm peeped that the a door was open and that was when it hit me. My car was in the process of been stolen and with me walking out, I had spooked the thieves.

Nothing was stolen from the car but the door locking mechanism on the driver's side was damaged so much that I now can’t use the key or the remote to lock it. I had to go to the police station at Boksburg North to report it so that I could get a case number for the insurance. I am not sure what the cost of repairing the damage but it may be less than my access. Anyway I must say that at first I was a little scared to go to a police station on the East Rand, with all the cases of police brutality but I found the Boksburg North police very efficient and I walked out within 20 mins, even got the case number SMSed to me on the drive back home to the Northern Suburbs.

Rosy

We have a new lady in the office cleaning. Rosy did an awesome job getting my cubicle back to working order after bouncing off the padded walls. These dark grey padded walls are starting to close in on me from all sides and the only thing I could do to escape was a power nap. Oh yes, I just found out the only good thing about a padded cubicle is that power naps can happen in peace and quiet. Well peaceful that is until Rosy turns on the dragon of a vacuum cleaner.

Morning has Broken

It is getting darker every morning as I ride or drive to work. Winter is coming! On the way to work this morning, I was enjoying the sun rise through the mist. It was beautiful but my heart was sad. It wasn't sad because of the beautiful African sunrise but my thoughts were on little Nika, because Suzanne filled us in last night how critical little Nika’s condition has become.

This evening it looks like that Nika has to go back to Canada because the medical staff at the Donald Gordon Hospital are saying that they don’t have experience to treat her condition of Aplastic Anemia, nor do they have enough Anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG). So it looks like they will soon be heading for Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto which specialises in marrow failure and Myelodysplasia in children. Please continue to pray for little Nika, especially that a bone marrow transplant candidate can be found. You can follow Nika's Unique Journey here.

Upside Down World

My office world was turned on its head today as the team of installers came to put in the partitions that were ordered by Maon. I started throwing my toys out of my newly assembled cubicle but I soon learnt that no-one, and I mean no-one can hear you scream in a cubicle. Even Delia started taking photos of just my dome sticking out above the partition. I feel like I am in a padded cell.

Here is Richard, the main installer, mounting the new partitions onto the desks. Well this is it, this is war, challenge duly accepted, I will have to start talking louder or try singing in my cubicle of my now upside down world.

Tyre Jack

Monday started with a whimper. The weather forecasted a cloudy yet hot day so I planned to use the Vespa this morning. As I was about to leave, a light drizzle started to fall but I little rain wasn't going to put me off as I was sure that it would clear up later in the day and I was right. But as I was about to leave on the bike, I noticed that my rear tyre was deflated. I used to have Tyre Weld in the cubby hole of the Vespa but that has been missing since my bike was repaired by Vespa. Oh well I had to change my transport plans and use the car instead.

The poor start of the Monday did not end there; on the way to work the car started starving of fuel. Although the tank was nearly empty, I had enough to get to work but there seemed to be muck in the fuel tank as one of the fuel injectors felt that it was bunged up. So I struggled to work and arrived late mostly due to not using the Vespa to beat traffic.

At lunch I went off to buy some Tyre Weld but could not find any, so ended up buying 4x4 Tyre Jack, which is the same thing and hopefully I can use the Vespa tomorrow.

Amos and Orbit

In preparation of moving out of my cottage in a few weeks time, I had the inside painted out today. And there to help me was Amos and Orbit, the two builders living on the property. They did a superb job of painting and I would recommend them anytime. Here is Amos doing a Captain Morgan and Orbit with Skye, my Whippet.

Hair Creations by Bonny

Today was a day of waiting rooms for me. At first it was the Doctor's waiting room, then the pathologists' waiting room followed by Hair Creation by Bonny's waiting room.

Me getting my hair done, no wait I don't have hair to sculpt. Maybe it was to test Bonny's ability to use that cut throat razor of hers for I nice clean shave. Anyway here is Bonny, Raymond and Lydia posing for one of my blog creations.

Monster Energy Trials 101

This Friday evening I put my hand to the first round of Trails 101 2013 held at Vespa, Wynburg. The event is sponsored by Monster Energy drink. Well that was that, I was up against all the youngsters and although my second round was very good, my first round was dismal which pulled my score right down which meant I didn't make it through to the next rounds. Oh well this old bullet gave it his best. Here is my friend Werner, doing what he does best but he too failed make it through the qualifiers. I think we old men should stick to what we know best.

Praying Mantis

Oh naughty Mantis, you better be praying after eating your husband. Delia found this heavily pregnant Praying Mantis in the garden and she became our photo of the day. Female Mantodea are known to cannibalise on the male during or soon after copulation. I bet he tasted like chicken.

March Sunset

The one thing I am going miss when I move from Treesbank to Zandspruit is these awesome sunsets. Oh well I better enjoy it while I can and what better way is there than to sit on my patio with a beer and enjoy the beautiful sunsets March has to offer especially on Hump Day. Downhill from here till weekend, baby!

Lake Malawi Landrover

Tuesday means Monday is over but more importantly, Home Cell. Our Homies' group meet at Sandy and Andy’s home in Bryanston and in their lounge on the table is this model of a Landrover that has been sculptured from wood. It has the words Lake Malawi engraved on the one side of the roof rack. As the words describe, this beautifully carved 4x4 icon is from Malawi at the bottom of the Great Lakes region of Africa. It was bought by Scott, their son who was busy on a project up north building a railway.

Naughty Corner

After Friday's reshuffle the ladies found themselves on one side of the office and us men on the other. I must say it is too quiet down our side, too quiet. Without zooming in, I took this quick photo from my desk of the naughty corner as I now call the area where the content department find themselves. Now don't the naughty girls have all the fun? It is not the best of photos but hey it is Monday and the atmosphere has changed overnight. Oh well, soon it will be Friday.

Ineke

What a surprise I had this afternoon. After a late visit by Graham and William to my cottage, it was too late to take my dogs to my normal walking spot at Emmerentia Dam, so I ended up at Kingfisher Park. I seldom go there because of a high number of beginner owners with dogs that have not being social adapted. Towards the end of a few laps, Ineke arrived. Now I haven’t seen Ineke in nearly a year. When I last saw her she was moving back to the Netherlands so it was a surprise to see her. Although she is looking stunning as ever, she informed me of her medical setback that detoured her plans for the immediate future. Well I was glad she is looking so well and happy to spend a walk with her.

Brother-in-law and Nephew

This morning Graham and William, my brother in law and nephew, arrived in South Africa from the Netherlands for a holiday. It has been quite a long time since we have met and a lot has happened since then. Since they are staying in Irene, we caught up on the Deck at Irene Farm. They will be here for a few days before flying down to Cape Town. Even though we spent only a short time together, it was nice doing the catching up. Although a lot of water has past under the bridge, it feels like a little of the baggage that I have been carrying, lifted off.

Jimmy

We are all somehow surprised that we made it through the week and especially through the month. Anyway Friday marks the start of a new month and Jimmy, shown above. And yes, he is the first and hopefully the last that uses a mac. This is a Samsung office boet. He started with us today and this heralded a reshuffle in seating arrangements which ended in all the women seated at one side and the men on the other. I wasn't let this go down lightly so I set up a Google + Hangout so I could still chat to the ladies.