Stuck in the Twilight Zone

This is defiantly not what the doctor has ordered, this traffic. Yesterday when I stopped for fuel on my Vespa, the Baroness decided today was the day to throw her toys out of the cot. She simply refused to start. So here I find myself, stuck in the twilight zone, in my pickup with the Vespa on the back.

Oh come on, just move already. These early starts also does not help.

Cozy View

Okay I have had way better views from my office windows than this view from my latest office. It is Day 2 and we are just about squeezed into our new cozy office in Sandton. This is not your main view of Sandton but the rear view towards the M1 highway. The main important thing is that I have control of the air conditions, ahhh power to make you sweat.

Moving Offices

One of my pet hates is moving, and today we are moving offices which is a bit okay as we hired a small moving company. Jacob, the owners brother arrived this morning with 2 pickups, a trailer, 3 labourers, and his wife or girlfriend carrying a baby.

Oh well keep it in the family and start training the young ones early.

Back to Blue

And this is the result of my loving attention that I gave the swimming pool on Saturday, a stunning blue pool. After the Hulk green tinge, it is wonderful to see a pool back to blue again, inviting. Sad though soon we have to cover up the pool and bed it down for the winter dry spell. 

Woolworths' Levels

Woolworths is a retail store that built itself on good quality but in the last few years Woolworths have become a big corporate ogre plagiarising on small local businesses.  From Frankies soft drinks, Hummingbird prints, to Ubuntu Baba saga, what is next. Anyway I stopped at my local Woolies to buy some meat and coolies for a braai that we were invited to, and we found that the gingerbeer that I wanted to buy were at different levels. Surely this would have being picked up by Woolworths quality control. 

I had to forget about Woolies levels for now because I was looking forward to some awesome espetadas. 

Paddy Waddy

Ahhh Saturday afternoon naps with daddy is just what the doctor ordered. This morning I had to go get some chlorine for the pool because the gardener forgot to inform me the the chlorine is finished and this whole week the pool got greener and greener. So after picking up a tub of chlorine and extra chemicals to shock the pool, I did worked on the swimming pool.

Soon the pool was turning blue again, still cloudy from all the chemicals I put in but blue non the less. Being out in the sun after all the rain for the last few weeks was good for me, especially the topping up of some vitamin D. 

It was late in the afternoon when I went for an afternoon nap to recharge my batteries. I woke up with Paddy keeping me company purring away and Tiger waiting for the bedroom door to open as he doesn't like going round. Ah Paddy Waddy just loves being in my company. 

Left Outside

"Hey you! Yes you inside, can't you see that there is a storm coming and I have been left outside." I just got home, just as black ominous clouds started building up towards the west. I was the last one to arrive home as I had to bypass and meet with Tom, my mentor. It was getting dark as I flopped down onto the couch in the lounge. Lynda was busy in the kitchen making flapjacks and all I needed to do was put my feet up and relax. And then I looked up, only to see River Song standing at the sliding door looking in.

Show me your Gems

Last winter and puppy River Song ravished our vegetable garden into a dust bowl. Fencing the dust bowl off and replanting, along with all the rain has turned the dust bowl into a jungle and this gem squash is the first fruit of Lynda's hard labour. I suppose this gem squash should help in balancing the savage act of our gardener pulling out Lynda's snap dragons which she planted as seeds because at this stage in their growth they looked like weeds. After sleeping in the dogbox for the last few days, this gem has brought the smile back to Lynda's face.

Taleesha's Cake

"It was my birthday and I baked my own cake, not for everyone, just a slice for myself." The chocolate cake in a yellow lunch box does look good but thankfully I am watching my waistline and it did not temped me, not one iota.  

Enjoy Life

Enjoy Life, yes I have had so many flat tyres this year, too many for my liking, that it was a pleasure to ride to work on my Vespa again instead of carrying it on the back of my pickup. 

This evening was our monthly neighbourhood committee meeting, and on the bowl in front of me that was full of biscuits is written "... enjoy life!" Oh yes with God's blessings, I certainly plan to enjoy life.

Coming up Roses

With all the rains, our garden has blossomed from the winter dust bowl to a wild garden full of flowers. One of the rose trees was full of pink roses that it was laden with the weight, but the burst of pink in the one corner of the garden was worth it to rid the Monday blues.

Cat in the Shoe

What is it with my smells? The cats love the smell of my armpits for some reason, it must be my pheromones. Getting my shoes off for my Sunday afternoon nap, I found that Princess went straight to bury her noise into my shoes. Surely my shoes don't smell? 

Kangaroo

The dog food is getting a little low, so I had to go buy some more. I used to buy Dogsense for Performance Dogs but that has gotten way to expensive, pricing themselves out of the market. In fact I don't know when last I've seen Dogsense on the shelves. I have been trying different brands and ended up with Montego Classic but the price of that too is climbing.

I am scared of cheap dog food that could be laced with strange stuff from China. Looking at all the brands at Catbox and trying to make a decision, I saw this brand called Wuma Plus that contains Kangaroo protein. Is this protein shipped in from Australia and in what form? Is it safe? Oh dear so many questions. Okay next brand.

Nailed Again

This is getting a bit much, the whole of last year I had only 2 punctures with my Vespa, the last one being mid December, and now this. Two punctures in 1 month. February this must stop. This is the nail that was pulled out of my tyre from yesterday's puncture. At least it is the weekend.

Me and my Bae

Oh I am just thankful that this day is over. Loadshedding all afternoon, and then a puncture just after I left the office. Thankfully it is Valentine's Day or better known as Single Awareness Day, which means I could end my day by taking Lynda out for supper. I didn't want anything lavish as the last time we went out on a Valentine's night the service at Lucio's was disgusting. Never again I promised myself but today was disgusting to start off with so it couldn't get any worse.

Happy Valentine's Day babe.

Belated Taleesha

It was Taleesha's birthday on Friday past. In the week running up to her birthday, she reminded everyone yet I believe she did not bring any cake on the day. I wasn't there on the day so I can't be that sure. Anyways over half a week later, Graham's mom reminded him of Taleesha's birthday that had past, and he came back to the office baring belated cupcakes. Uhmmm they were so nice and fresh that my cupcake went down well.

Happy belated birthday Taleesha, and I see that the cupcakes made from red velvet so happy early Single Awaresness Day for tomorrow.

Dark Web

Two spiders arrived home this evening in their terrariums, both had made nests inside the soil, so I couldn't get any good photographs of either of them but you get the idea how they loved the dark web.

Made in Colgate China

Brushing my teeth, I enjoy mixing a spot of TheraBreath toothpaste with a spot of Colgate Salt toothpaste together because TheraBreath, doesn't foam nicely. So here I am doing my daily morning routine when I had to open a new box of Salt. So here I am brushing away, I decided to look at the small print on the packaging of the Colgate Salt. 

I was surprised to find that the Colgate Salt is manufactured in Goa, India. While still brushing away, I dug out another box of toothpaste, Lynda likes the Colgate Total paste. Both boxes are obviously marketed to the African market as the print are in English, French, and Portuguese. The shocker was to find that the Colgate Total is manufactured in Guangzhou, China. Wow, I am very skeptical about food stuffs made in China. With all scandals such as the infant milk powder that was had melamine substituted, even today the Chinese themselves prefer to buy their infant milk power from out of the country. Stories continue to pour out over the short cuts in the Chinese  food industry that I try not to buy any food stuffs that say Made in China.

And now I find that Colgate is manufacturing toothpaste in China because it is cheaper than doing it elsewhere. This is not bringing a smile to my face. Time to change brands.

Big Feet

Hey little breaches, I have some big feet to fill. My everyday takkies or sneakers in some countries were wreaked from Friday's flower count that I needed to find alternative shoes to wear. I found my old sandals and putting them on, I remembered that I bought Matthew a pair at the same time and he doesn't wear them because he said that they are not his style. So I went and found them, hidden away at the bottom of his cupboard still as new as the day I bought them. 

Guess what they fit!

Ridge Rangers

After yesterdays 7km walk in the veld counting flowers, I am surprised that I managed to get out of bed this morning. I found myself down at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens doing the offical handover of the gear that the Sugarbush Ridge Coalition got for the 3 Ridge Rangers, Xolani, Moketi, and Magazi. 

These Ridge Rangers are doing a superb job keeping the poachers, lumbermen, church groups, cyclists, bikers, and quadbikes off the ridge. These groups of people damaging the environment where there are endangered plants and animals are holding onto the little they have left.

And then there was 5

Ernest

Today started much like it did a year ago, rainy and misty but I was not doing the same same mistake as last year and not take any water or be prepared for the late sun on this year's Annual Orchid Count. Ernest joined us this year because last year we nearly stepped onto a Night Jar nest, and Ernest has been keen on getting some Night Jar breeding photographs. You can see he was well prepared to his mid sized lens.

Cherry Spot Moth Caterpillar

About 25 of us counters spread out in a line about 10 paces apart and started walking along the Sugarbush Ridge from the Krugersdorp side towards the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens, then back towards Krugersdorp. We looped back and forth until we cover just about the whole area. We flushed out over 20 Night Jars much to Ernest's delight but never came across any Night Jar nests. Sorry Ernest, they were too well camouflaged. We also saw many other birds and lots of crawling creatures including a young male Mountain Reed buck. Like the orchid that we were seeking, they too endangered. It was good to see them this side of the ridge during the day. 

Albertina Sisulu Orchid

After walking and walking and walking, we finally came upon our first orchid of the day. And soon afterwards in quick succession we found 4 more of these critically endangered orchids. Sadly after walking over 7 km in the veld, we ONLY found 5 Albertina  Sisulu Orchids. With sore feet, sagging shoulders, and my head down, we could only listen to Tony say to us, "it must have been the late rains". Not much is known about these extremely rare orchids so whatever the reason, I can't help myself, and feel down that the last of these are dwindling from 8 last year to a handful today. Only 5, it hurts thinking about it!

Flap Neck Chameleon

Cloud Burst

It was still sunny when I was riding home but up in the mountains it looked black and ominous. By the time I got to into the hills, it wasn't raining but it looked like it bucked down as there was water everywhere.

I asked the boys at home when I finally arrived about the rain, apparently it rained for only half an hour and it came down dogs and cats. I went to check the rain gauge and it measured 18mm. It must have being a cloud burst because there was not rain elsewhere. 18mm of rain in half an hour is a lot of water and it is showing by our overflowing swimming pool.

Fun in the Rain

It is good to be back in the saddle again after been caged while my Vespa was out of commission and it began to rain. Yip we still in the rainy season, yet I didn't mind the rain as I sliced pass the standing traffic. I just had to be a little cautious with the new rear tyre as there could be residue from the rubber molding that can cause a little slip and slide.   

Green and Yellow Stripes

The tyre people tried to patch my rear tyre which was about a month and a half old with not much use until a piece of wire the size of a industrial staple cause the tyre to spring a leak. The patching attempts and 2 blowouts later, I came to the conclusion that these cheap tyres cannot be repaired easily. Oh well, I had to buy another tyre.

On these new tyres there are 2 thin green and yellow stripes. At first I thought they were some manufacturing code but it turns out to there just to facilitate with production.

Flat Monday

Who would have thought that this tiny metal shard the size of a industrial staple would ruin my day. Leaving for work this morning I noticed that my rear tyre was flat, so I stopped at the garage to repair the leak. 

On the way home, the repair job failed and I found myself on the side of the highway in the fast lane in rush hour. It wasn't a pretty sight. Another biker stopped and offered some tyre weld by the hole was too large to seal, so I put another seal in and used the remainder of the tyre weld to inflate it a bit, just enough to start limping, and cross to to safer side of the highway. I then arranged for Dael to meet me with my pickup along the route. Thankfully I did as I only made about 5km before this seal also failed.  

Flat Batteries

It is only February and already my batteries are pup. I could barely get out of bed this morning to drive to church for a recharge. And it's a recharge we need as I am running on God fumes just to have hope for the next day. It is all I have, faith that God is doing something great in my life again. Even Jon had to change the mic's flat batteries this morning before giving us our daily bread.

Fuyao Glassure Borderaux

It irks me as a consumer to make an appointment only to be left waiting by the supplier who must have been dawdling. We made arrangements with Glasfit Roodepoort who were assigned to replace the side window of Lynda's car that got smashed. They told us the glass will be arriving between 8 and 9am this morning. We arrived at Glassfit just before 9am and found that the glass was still on its way. They phoned the supplier, Fuyao Glassure Borderaux who told us that the driver is only 10mins away. 

More than an hour and a half past before the pickup from Fuyao Glassure Borderaus finally arrived. I don't enjoy being lied to and they did not manage the customer's expectations. Glassfit did a sterling job installing but the day was already ruined by then. 

Open Door

After a stressful end to the evening, we just crashed and in the morning we got up early to leave for work because I had left my Vespa at Lynda's office so I would need to get there first before going to work. As we were leaving I noticed that our neighbour's gate was standing half open. I tried to phone them but no answer. I then noticed that their front door was also standing agar so I went into their property and called out to my neighbours. No answer so I walked towards their front door and noticed that the security gate had being forced open and that the front door was kicked in. I immediately phoned the Neighbourhood Watch's Ops Room who then dispatched my neighbour's security company.

When the security company arrived we ventured inside hoping not to find my neighbour's bodies but thankfully they weren't home. Next thing my neighbour returned my call and I gave him the sad news that criminals broke into their home while they were away.

After the neighbours came home, they accessed the damaged and strangely reported that nothing was stolen. Because of the strange circumstances we suspect who did it but will leave it for the police to sort out which in South Africa means nothing will be done as the police in our area have an unofficial catch and release program.