Happy Bees.

They say a happy garden has bees ...

well the bees are happy in our garden this morning.

I hope you had a great sunday morning!

 

If only homework was this easy when I was at school!

When I was at school there wasn’t anything like computers. When I had to do a project I had two weeks in which I had to go to the library every afternoon, to copy by hand, as much information as possible about the topic and because it was 50c per A4 copy. I would only make a few copies of the pictures I needed and then I would go home and excitedly compose my project. Sadly my masterpieces would be considered dull in comparison with what can be done today.

The reason I have gone down this path of memories is of course my office mate WA. Her teenage daughter, SA needed some information for a school project. WA flatly refused to look up the information her daughter needed.

After school SA goes to the house of a friend. The friend’s mother keeps an eye on them until WA gets home in the evenings. The friend’s mother obviously started to get annoyed with the fact that every time a project had to be done not only did she have to assist her own child with the project but SA too. So this time the friend’s mother confronted WA and told her that the project was due the following day and wasn’t SA going to do anything?

WA made a feeble excuse and went to the manager at our work and asked him if he would look up the information. The manager who was quite busy at the time because of the backlog caused by WA’s frequent absences from work also thought it was a bit of a cheek and never looked up the information.

So what do you think WA did the next morning? She tells SA to stay at home and not go to school. When WA came to work she told us all how urgent it was that the project be done and it is all the manager's fault. Neither WA nor her daughter did it though. Eventually the poor girl had to go back to school and got 0% for that particular project.

Not only does WA have a computer at home but she also has one at work. She was able to find Facebook but not the information her child needed ...

Set fire to the rain - Adele

Today I am expected to act in a certain way and everyone will be watching me to see my reaction.

It is stressful and when I am under stress I usually get a song stuck in my mind. I heard this song on the radio earlier this week and now I can't get it out of my mind.

Hoping that this day will fly by and bring us one day closer to the weekend :)

Dangerous situations.

 

 

 

I saw Sunday - Vandalism.

It was Saturday, 2am and we were fast asleep. Suddenly in the silence the sound of shattering glass resounded through the house. We were dazed and unsure about what had happened.

I thought maybe it was in the street or across the road from us. As I reached the lounge window a family member yelled get away from that window. It was too late I had already stepped on a thick layer of glass which crunched under my slipper. I ignored the warning and drew back the curtain, the huge window had been smashed and a brick was lying 2 meters away from the window where it had landed after bouncing off the old glass pane.

A family member said we should phone the police. I was not sure what would that achieve. The woman across the road stood at her gate and called to our neighbour EH and asked him if it had happened on his property. I stuck my head through the hole and yelled it happened at this window. She had not seen me in the darkness and got a jolt when she heard my voice so close to her. She replied that she had seen a guy in a black hooded jacket walk away from our house after it happened. I asked her if it was a white guy and she replied yes. She said she was going to call the police I did not reply.

The phone rang, it was EH from next door. After confirming that it had happened at our house he asked if he could come over and help check if anyone was lurking in the shadows. We welcomed his generous offer. I changed into my clothes.

Suddenly I panicked. Our little black dog usually barks if there is any movement at the front door and I had not heard him make any sound. I rushed out of the back door checking in the darkness if I could see any lurking figures and suddenly the little sleepy head comes from his warm bed and snuggles his warm nose against my hand. I could cry with joy but I patted him gently and went into the house. I walked straight into EH who had arrived with his gun wearing shorts and no shoes in the bitter cold. EH helped check the whole property (with bare legs and feet), had a quick cup of coffee and then he rushed off home (I think to get some heat into his nether regions).

It is amazing how cold the house became. We went back to bed to get some heat into our bodies but I did not sleep again. I kept listening in case someone tried to get in through the window because it is very close to the road. The burglar bars were still intact.

I got up early and picked up the larger pieces of glass and then sat with a banister brush for about half an hour brushing all the glass splinters out of the carpet. No police arrived and at 8.30am we phoned the glass fitters to come and replace the pane. R650 later and 1.30pm we had the window repaired and cleaned up the mess.

I am convinced it was not an attempted robbery but an act of vandalism.

Thursday afternoon when I came to the stop street at the corner of our block I noticed a teenage boy forcefully throwing gravel at a good friend’s house on the corner. I watched the youth for about 2 minutes while he frantically threw the gravel from across the road trying to get it over a high wall and aiming at a window. Suddenly the youth spotted me and I drove into our driveway. I did not glare at him or confront him, I left it like that. While I was pondering in the dark about which enemies we might have who would want to do something like this I could only think of this chap. I will probably wonder forever who had done this and probably never know the answer.

Rue.

Everything in the garden is getting ready for spring which is still 3 weeks away.

The rue plant is flowering. Although rue has many medicinal uses I like planting it in flower beds because it is an excellent insect repellent.

Flowers remain beautiful and undamaged because the rue has a strong smell and bitter taste so insects like aphids avoid it completely.

You can't have my chocolate and don't call me ma'am!

It annoys me how reckless people drive in a subway.

Driving to work this morning a taxi driver decides it is safe to reverse in the subway! It amazes me how many people think it is ok to make u-turns or overtake dangerously while travelling through a subway.

Don’t talk about my food!

There might be some people who disagrees with me (it’s ok) but I personally cannot stand it when someone makes a comment about my food when I am eating. I’ll give examples, say you are eating a chocolate at work and a colleague says “that goes straight to the hips you know” or someone says “you have a chocolate everyday, can’t you bring me one too?” If people comment when I eat something my immediate opinion about them is that they are common.

Ma’am or Tannie

I think it is extremely rude when people assume that it is ok to call you “ma’am” or “Tannie". One can be respectful without calling anyone names.

Brrrr ... Winter

The beautiful coloured leaves announces the arrival of winter.

Young plants are covered by special fabric to protect against frost.

Frozen drops of water.

The dreaded school photo.

When I was still at school the worst day of the year was when someone from the medical profession visited the school. Either they would be there to do a general examination of all students or they were there to administer inoculations.

The second worst day of the school year was the day allocated for the taking of photographs. I remember in one particular year when I was in high school. It was August (which is of course the windiest month of the whole year). The staff summoned two classes at a time. Every class had to line up from the shortest student to the tallest. I remember this particular year because it felt like we waited an hour for the class preceding us to have their photo taken. When we were finally allowed into the hall being used for the taking of the photos my cheeks and lips were red and aching from the blast of the wind and my hair was in a mess.

The photographer was making all these stupid jokes to get the students in a pleasant relaxed mood but it did not work for me – it just irritated me because I wanted it over and done with. Now for the reason why I hated the photo taking so much (apart from the fact that I am not photogenic). The shortest students sat on chairs, then the next rows students would stand behind those sitting on the chairs, the next row of students would have to stand on a wooden bench, then because I was always the tallest in my class I would have to climb onto a bench place on top of another bench and then I must walk to the centre of the bench so that I would be in the middle back row of the photo. I dreaded this because as students climbed onto the stacked benches and walked along it the benches would rock and feel very unstable.

Then we had to look relaxed and comfortable and smile. The photographer said “say whiskey” and we said “whiskey” then he snapped the photo. Well the terror on my face was clearly visible and printed at the end of the year in our school year book.

Addiction to Pills.

About a year ago someone at work had a minor injury. We always have Disprins on hand but because this guy was in pain we got in stronger pain killers so that he could take medication and continue work without taking extra sick leave.

My office mate WA, who has a bit of a problem with medication, could not keep her hands off these white little beauties and one morning when I came to work I was told she was admitted to hospital during the early morning hours and was in a serious condition. Everyone at work suspected that she had overdosed.

WA rummages through the medicines and collects about five different tablets in the sticky palm of her hand and then swallows them all in one gulp.

A few weeks ago WA tells me that her son takes a fist full of vitamin tablets and she doesn’t mind because they are good for him. (He obviously sees this from his mom.) I was shocked and I informed her that vitamins should be taken as advised otherwise they could also be dangerous but she just laughed me off.

One month ago, we were all working in the office and I hear thud on WA’s desk, I look over and WA’s face is flat on the desk and she is snoring out loud. The temp helping me was horrified and urged me to do something because WA was obviously not well. I didn’t panic – it was not the first time I had seen WA react this way. Eventually the boss came into the office and ordered WA to go and sleep it off at home. WA sat up and said she was not sleeping and then drove home. I was shocked to think that anyone would consider allowing someone, who could not keep their eyes open, to drive.

Today WA demanded pain killers again. There weren’t any – simply because she had already taken them all. Annoyed WA ordered the temp to run to the corner shop to buy some tablets for her. WA walked out the office and when she returned 2 minutes later she grabbed the money from the temp and said “never mind, I’ll go myself”. The temp said she was busy with something and would have gone as soon as she had finished. I knew that, the problem is that WA needed it really urgently because she is addicted for sure!

Variegated Periwinkle

It was only 14°C today with an icy wind, but the variegated Periwinkle was looking happy as if it were Spring.

Scary Dream

I don’t have scary dreams often and I am fairly level headed when it comes to dreams. I can usually find an explanation for a weird dream. But this one I am not so sure of. I think I know what it could mean but it upset me quite a bit. I hope I can explain what I felt in words, so that you can experience it properly.

 

I fell asleep while there was a rerun of one of the X-men movies showing on tv and this might have influenced my dream. What I remember is being in a car at night, it is dark and every sound is exaggerated because it is very quiet. There is someone in the backseat of the car. I don’t know who it is, I just have a feeling it is a young person, almost like a teenager which I am protecting. I am sitting in the front seat on the left side (or passenger side) of the car and the driver’s side door is ajar.

 

 The car is moving and I lean over and urge someone running next to the car to get in because I fear for their safety. This is so weird because who is driving if the driver’s seat is empty? Anyway the next thing that sends chills down my spine and made my heart pound in my sleep was the sound of shoes scrapping on tarmac ...

 

I dream I lean over again and look alongside the car to see the person’s feet scrapping in a forward motion along the tarmac as if his body is elevated and possessed and in an unnatural pose. I immediately think it is the vampires chasing us which have hypnotised this person and if this person came into the car we would be in danger.

 

In the dream I quickly close the car door and lock it and a feeling of terrible guilt comes over me for not being able to save this person from the vampires.

 

I woke after that but the feeling of concern was so strong that I felt upset and the people in the dream don’t even exist in real life.

 

Photos taken in May 2011

Here are some photos taken in May, Just a few days before the winter cold hit us for the first time this year.

                White Angel Trumpet flowers starting to open.
                                        (Also known as moonflower)

                  White Angel Trumpet flowers in full bloom.

      A lot of acorns and leaves to be raked up in the garden.

                              My dog wants to play catch.

Cat mother hugs kitten while they sleep.

Cute mother and kitten hugging Youtube clip. When I try sleeping on my back I get nightmares too – how about you?

Uninvited visitor.

Our dog is a very good little dog. He does not stand at the gate and bark aimlessly like most of our neighbours’ dogs. Last weekend I heard a few strange little barks from him and then I could hear him running around. The sounds were different than usual and I decided to investigate.

I was extremely surprise to see another dog in the backyard with him. Luckily there was a lot of tail wagging and sniffing going on and no fighting.

When we adopted our stray dog he was scared of people and we got the impression that someone had maltreated him. So we never got him a mate thinking that he would be too aggressive.

The puzzle was; how did another dog get into our yard? I went to the back door and the dog saw me and ran. By the time I was outside he had vanished.

About 20 minutes later the strange dog was back. I was determined to find out how this dog was able to enter our yard. I went to a window where I can see the gate and was just in time to see the fox terrier come and hook his forearms over the crossbars and push up with his hind legs, hook his forearms on a higher cross bar, push himself up with his hind legs until he reached the top of our very high gate and then he positioned himself on top of the gate and leaped and landed awkwardly.

I was very annoyed. I don’t want strange dogs in our yard and perhaps teaching our good dog to do naughty things. What if the dog broke a leg when landing from his leap from the gate?

We tied a piece of metal grid to the gate and the dog was not able to hook his arms through anymore. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed that a little dog can climb that high.

We asked the neighbours and no one could tell us who the owners of the fox terrier were.

Calliandra (powderpuff)

Calliandra common names powderpuff and fairy duster.

The pink shuttlecocks of the Calliandra.

Door knocker / toilet seat hat for sale.

Click on picture for full story.

The much-mocked hat worn by Princess Beatrice to Britain's royal wedding last month -- widely described as looking like a "toilet seat" -- is up for sale on eBay where bids have reached 18,400 pounds ($29,940).

Flowers in winter.





White single Camellia.

The huge trees have lost their leaves but the beautiful cream blooms of the Camellia enjoy the early morning sunshine.

Pink double Camellia.

The first lovely bloom on this young Camellia bush. I have waited 3 years for it to flower.



It is winter time and there are still some lovely flowers in the garden. A bee enjoys the flowers on the rosemary bush.

When is a woman too old for a man?

I have something on my mind ... and if you are a man reading this please leave a comment too. I have been wandering a lot lately about what a man looks for in a woman. Maybe I am unfair in my conclusions but let me explain:

◊    AC has just turned 50 and he tells me that he misses his wife, who passed away about 5 years ago, and he is ready to marry again. I find this amusing because when they told her she had cancer AC went on an extended business trip (in my opinion pleasure trip) and left his wife to deal with it on her own.

AC adds that his prospective wife must be young and willing to travel. I’m a realist so this seems so stupid to me. A young wife would want a career, home and family where a wife closer to AC’s age would be interested in travelling and pilgrimages.

AC is a rabbi and has never held a job where he actually earned any money so I think he should be looking for a wife who is willing to travel, pay all expenses, be creative in the bedroom yet be a proper preacher’s wife in public.

◊    RB is 35 and he has been married for about 10 years to a woman who is 5 years older than him and he has started an affair with a woman who works at the same company he does. RB says he feels his wife is too old for him. RB’s wife has noticed that there is a problem in their relationship but although she has asked RB and his family if they know what is the cause of the change in his attitude no one seems to have the guts to tell her the truth, it is easier for RB just to continue cheating on her.

◊    AG who is 90 tells me: he misses sex and he wants a woman but he is too set in his ways to ever get married again. AG thinks women are germ spreaders and money grabbers.

So now I am wondering does it mean that once you turn 35 no man will ever be interested in you again. Are you classified as an old hag?

The Weekend.

After I had my car serviced in March the mechanic suggested I take it in to have the exhaust checked.  I postponed it because there were so many holidays with Easter etc.

Last weekend the weather was cold and windy and I stayed in. On Monday morning I felt guilty – I should have done more with my weekend.

Well yesterday I left early and made sure I was first on their ramp to be helped. The guy just bumped the exhaust a few times with the palm of his hand and told me everything was fine. He did not look like he was in the mood to do any work so that was a wasted effort.

The weather was warm and it was early so what does a girl do? Shopping of course!

Then this morning I forced myself to sleep in a little. This habit I have of jumping up at 3am is not doing me any favours.  I got coffee in bed and by 8h30 I got up and saw it was great outside so that is where I went.

I was busy trimming a thorny bush when my dear neighbour from across the road opened his gate and pulled out his car.

Not wanting to seem rude I waved and said “Good morning T...” he reluctantly came over to speak to me. It annoyed me because firstly he could have just waved and left it there instead of making out as if I was forcing him to come over and talk to me and secondly because I can’t stand it when someone comes and gives me advice when I am busy, covered in mud and dead leaves.

T...  then said “I have been watching you, you have so much patience!” (What! #@!) I know he likes keeping tabs on me but saying that he has been watching me made my skin crawl. I feel permanently like I’m going through PMS, I want to kill everyone in sight and he thinks I have patience.

T...  left and I was thinking too much of him (I was standing on an overturned bucket and did not realise what I was doing) while trying to take a back step off the bucket and put my shoes on at the same time I slipped and fell into the muddy bedding. I got up with a not impressed look on my face. While removing the mud from between my toes I thanked my lucky stars that I did not break anything.

Well at least Monday morning I can say I did not spend the whole weekend blogging.

Blue Potato Bush

Lycianthes rantonnetii (Blue Potato Bush)

Family I don't talk about.

Cartoons.

Getting a few things done.

Anyone who has read my previous posts will know that I have been looking for a strong vacuum cleaner. I have vowed not to get another Electrolux.  So I came across the Nilfisk Aero Wap it was R1100.00 and I came home all eager to plug it in and give it a go. Then suddenly while I was unpacking it, the voice of reason crept up and tapped me on the shoulder and said “Psst what if you can’t get filter bags for it?”
 

In the two weeks that followed, I contacted two different electrical suppliers, both assured me that they had reps who supplied Nilfisk accessories and after several trips to show them the sample bag I still did not have the correct bag. I had bought the vacuum cleaner on the 11 April and I was getting panicky because the place I bought it from has a 7 day return cut off and it was already 26 April. I headed off to the place and was very adamant and a bit cocky. I made it clear that I could not keep a vacuum cleaner to which I could not find bags.

Luckily they did not object and gave me a full refund. I had been so concerned about what if I had already used the vacuum cleaner then perhaps I would not be able to return it. While I was waiting for my cash a mother and daughter arrived with an obviously used and stained carpet shampooer. I had to give a smile to myself and thanked my voice of reason for sparing me that embarrassment.

~~~~~~ *** ~~~~~~

My dear old mom used to be quite strong for a woman but you know age can be unkind. In the past 5 years we have noticed a change in her as she has weakened slightly in strength.  Last week I heard her close the door which is between the house and the garage and although I was on the other end of the house I could hear a few swear words coming from her. I rushed to her, quite concerned, when I enquired what had upset her she showed me the handle ...

It had snapped off and I thought it quite amusing that this little old lady still had the strength to be destructive.

I went to my local Mica hardware store and they only had the full lockset which costs and arm and a leg. I spoke to the manager who offered to get the handle set from one of the other branches. As I left the Mica I thought yeah, he will be like all the other yes men salesmen that have wasted my time lately when they promise to do something and then don’t.

I was pleasantly surprise when I returned as arranged and the handles were ready for me to collect. Wow! Someone who kept their word, I still can’t believe it. The handles were R50 and I headed home.

I have never attempted replacing a handle before and I am sure that there are many people out there who will think what the big deal is? I removed the old handles inserted the square rod that goes in and links the two handles and it was an easy job except I had not seen it done before so I had to just hope I was doing it right.

Tiled with memories.

About 15 years ago my mom went to an auction and she bought a job lot of odds and ends for about R5. If I remember correctly there was one small item in the box she wanted and the rest she wasn’t really interested in.

I spotted this tile and immediately felt it had good luck connected to it. I asked her if I could have it and ever since I have kept it on the wall in my bathroom and I don’t know if it brings good luck - I just like it a lot.

About 12 years ago when we suddenly had to move house we bought a house on the spur of the moment. While we were moving in we had this dreaded feeling of doubt, had we made the right choice?

After we had been in the house for about a week, I went to the tap which is situate in the backyard next to the servants room when I noticed this tile against the wall. It instantly made me feel that this was a sign that we were meant to be here.

Excuse the condition of the tile but it has been exposed to the elements for many years. The reason that this tile was so significant to me is that this exact design was in our bathroom when I was a child. I would love to know what the name of the design is. If anyone knows I would really like to know.

One year old kicks balls into his toy box.

A Dutch football club has signed a one-year-old player to a ten-year "token" contract after seeing a clip of him kicking balls into his toy box.

Getting rid of white borders around images in Blogger.

If the white border around images annoys you, it can easily be removed.

Click on Design, Edit HTML, find background: #fff;

In Internet Explorer you can click on:

1. Edit
2. Find on this page
3. Type in Background: #fff;  (and it will be done in seconds)

 

See highlighted area.

Else find it manually.

Then insert and extra f so that it now reads  background: #ffff;

Make sure that it comes after padding: 5px;

Preview and you will see all the images on your blog don't have white borders anymore.

Return and remember to save.

A day to be enjoyed.

My father would have been 71 today. I am so relieved he is not here to spoil the peace and quiet. If you think my words are harsh just imagine what it is like to have a violent tyrant for a father.

Do you think you have it in you to be a window washer?

Autumn 2011

Decorative Easter Tree

I am sure many hours went into decorating this tree in the front garden of a house in Germany.

Easter Post.

Whatever you do this weekend ...

ENJOY! in peace ...