A month of Looooooong weekends

South Africans have enjoyed 2 long weekends this month. The first one was due to the annual Easter celebrations that usually last from a Friday to the Monday in many parts of the world. For those who didn’t get to have a break away during the April school holidays or the Easter long weekend, this weekend has been a bonus. Friday was ‘Freedom Day’ and tomorrow is ‘Workers Day/May Day’, so today schools and government departments are closed. A nice loooooong weekend! Unfortunately, following the trend one finds in many other commercially driven countries, for most stores each day has been business as usual. But, for some, it has been the chance for to get away and be adventurous.

Our weekend has had 2 major highlights. The Dutch and Flemish Association in George held their annual ‘Oranjemarkt’ on Saturday morning. Oupa is a very active committee member and had a big part to play in the organisation of the market. He also roped us in to enjoy – and volunteer our services. There were a handful of small stalls each selling different traditional Dutch products, which were mostly imported from the Netherlands for the occasion. From cumin cheese to soutdrop (a verrrry salty liquorice) to herring and Dutch board games, there was a nice variety of things to purchase and it all sold out very quickly. Ryan treated me to a game of  Schjule, a Dutch board game that we thought is similar (but different!) to fingerboard. Both Ryan and I were quite good at getting discs into the slots at the end of the board at first, but didn’t score high enough to win our round of the competition. It was great fun! We’ve decided our boys would make great cricket players after trying their hand at a game where they had to see how many tin cans they could knock over using 3 balls. Each boy won at least one small slab of choclate, but Ryan walked away with at least 4 prizes he aimed so well! Our treat of the day was a croquet: a meaty white sauce that is crumbed and deepfried and served with mustard. And it was yummy! But the bulk of my morning was spent in the kiosk serving teas and coffees with Dutch Breakfast cake. I had Ryan or Jed with me at all times – they mostly handled the money and kept things operating smoothly while I became quite proficient in keeping 2 pots of coffee on the go at all times. I made all the hot drinks and cut and buttered the breakfast cake and the boys had great fun making it all happen!

I don’t know how many times I heard them telling their life story to the many inquisitive Dutchman/woman who couldn’t understand why they didn’t speak Afrikaans or speak English with a South African accent! And they explained it all quite well! Jed, especially, goes into great detail (well, you asked!) and is quite animated in his explanations – its fun watching him in action. He particularly enjoyed putting his business sense into use! His short-term dream is to have a part-time job! And this was as close as he’d ever come. Ryan was his cool, calm self throughout and found the half hour shifts too short. He too was in his element.

The other highlight of our weekend was a visit with Dieter’s cousin Melissa and her family. Melissa, Regardt and their 2 daughters are visiting Regardt’s family’s holiday home at a beach nearby. It was so very good to see them. It’s the first time we’ve met their little girls, Kaitlyn, who is 2 and half and Olivia, who is just 4 months old.  Kaitlyn played so very nicely with Aimee’s doll (and named her Emma!) and also did her fair share of playing football with the older boys in the garden. Olivia is so very tiny and petite, and it was wonderful to hold her. Ethan and Aimee couldn’t believe how small her feet and hands were! She’s too cute!

Its been good for us to slowly meet up with friends and family again over these past couple of months, I can see God’s orchestration of it all! Had we found ourselves in a situation where we would have to have faced a huge group of family all at once we would have been very overwhelmed. And, our interaction has been one-on-one and far more meaningful than big reunions would have allowed. This has been good for the children too as they’re meeting everyone for the ‘first time’ all over again – Ryan and Jed don’t remember many people and Ethan and Aimee have never met them before. Its been great for all of us!

PS:  Today I hit the '500 pageviews' mark and that after 32 posts :)

FREEDOM DAY!

Today is a special holiday set apart to celebrate the freedom South Africans find themselves living in the post-apartheid South Africa. I can’t remember right now if 27 April was the day that ALL South Africans participated in a ‘free and fair’ vote to elect the new president or if this marks the day of Nelson Mandela’s inauguration as President of the ‘New South Africa’. 

I do know that this day has been a real party day for many years now with celebration rallies being held all over the country – and abroad! Embassies and Consulates all over the world will be wining and dining South Africans tonight at grand receptions. 

When I think of the money wasted on overly elaborate festivities, my heart breaks for the hundreds of thousands who still live in dilapidated and grossly inadequate housing, the many to whom election promises have never been realised. Even now every news broadcast is filled with stories of people raising their voices and begging for change in the most basic of things. Its hard to believe that there are still schools which lack basic resources (and I’m not talking about the lack of toilet facilities in some cases!) Driving past squatter camps and seeing the conditions in which many must live is still heartbreaking. 

I dream of a better life for all South Africans and pray for leaders who will truly bring their people into a greater freedom. And ofcourse, today I pray for the real freedom of all South Africans, the freedom from the bondage of sin and death and the fullness of life in Christ.

Taking baby steps

This has been an interesting week, with all possible gaps in my days being filled with my research into the new business idea. I’m so thankful for the support of my family who’ve all responded very positively, it encourages me!

Tuesday afternoon was a big afternoon! Ryan, Aimee and I headed off on a 2-hour drive that took us to 3 different packaging specialists here in George, and also to Woolworths. Ryan was my co-driver and tried his best to navigate our way around using a map. The first company, Swift, took us ages to find, but we did and when we did he was thrilled that he’d made this trip because the variety of packaging one can find was very interesting to him. I left Swift with a few samples in my hand and felt quite chuffed that I’d found something I could use for meals for children 8 months and older. We visited Margo Swiss (which I think is over-priced!) and I bought 2 more samples there on the incorrect information they provided me. The 3^rd company, Ready-Pac, was better able to answer all my questions. All 3 companies sell exactly the same packaging materials but Swift is definitely the cheapest and I will be going back.

We made a quick dash for Woolies in the 20minutes we had before Ryan’s football practice. We literally ran in, found the fresh baby food they sell and wrote down all the sizes and prices – and dashed out again.

I still have one big item missing in my packaging arsenal. I was hoping to find a rectangular dish in which I could pack 12 ice-cubes of purées. I haven’t been successful in finding that yet.

The other hurdle I have is one I think I’ll be able to jump over more easily: the sizing and pricing of all the varieties of baby food available in South Africa are hard to compare as they vary so greatly. Yucky food (like Purity!) is very cheap! I’ve decided that I’m not competing with Yucky food, so I shouldn’t worry too much!

And so, this is my action plan: I’ve decided that in this next week I am going to cook and pack let’s say a dozen of each of the items on my menu and determine the price per item as accurately as I can. Annabel Karmel’s cookbook gave me some exciting ideas and I will keep most of them in my back pocket for now, but will come up with a simple menu to lauch the business with.

And then, we’ll test it. We’ll see if the ‘fish’ take the ‘bait’. Watch this space!

I have a dream!

Those who know me well will know that my entrepreneurial juices are always on the go and my life is one long brain-storming session! I often come up with business ideas but never really find the support to follow them through and find myself filing them away. But I think this one is something to run with this time!

When we lived in Cyprus I had already considered selling homemade baby food, but one of the major chains was already stocking something in that line. I’ve considered the idea again here and, like I mentioned on the weekend, no one here is doing anything similar. My idea is to sell homemade food for little ones between 6 – 18 months. My chat with Lenie has excited me and so my research has begun.

I’ve found that similar things are being done in big cities around the country like Pretoria and Cape Town and found that they are successfully selling homemade frozen baby food. I’ve been able to find ideas with regard to possible menus and also portion sizes. I did find some other examples abroad, which delivered fresh food and more exquisite menus. The other helpful thing I found was the price range others are working within.

Today I found an Annabel Karmel ‘Toddler and Baby Cookbook’ in our local library and am keen to include some of her exciting recipes too. Already I have found some great ideas, from purées to soups to mini-meals and also snacks. I’ve sourced some recipes for teething biscuits and rusks too. And I even stumbled upon recipes for 1^st birthday cakes – this could be more than just food.

Next I need to sources some packaging material, probably plastic, of varying sizes which can be frozen and used to reheat food if necessary. I also need to get my hands on a deep freezer, design labels, flyers (and other advertising goodies). I think the local market will be sufficient for steady movement of stock, but I also think that holiday times could be really busy as thousands of tourists descend on George. And so, my laptop, my notebook, the recipe book, the yellow pages and a George Business directory are my constant companions – incase a get a moment in the day to continue my research!

Yes, I have a dream! And I’m working hard in hopes of making it a reality. Watch this space!

This little piggy went to market!

It’s a cool, overcast day here in George but I’ve managed to get away with wearing my open sandals, t-shirt and jeans and haven’t felt cold. My light cashmere cardigan is always with me though, just in case. Hoping that the heavens wouldn’t open we took a chance and headed to the Kraaibosch Farmer’s Market (Boeremark!) just outside of George with Oupa and Ouma.

We were overwhelmed and inspired by the rich, South African creativity on display. The market was basically divided into two sections and we rambled from one to the other. On the one side all sorts of handmade crafts were on display, from woodwork to potted herbs to mosaics to quilting to dresses and scarves and slippers – and lots more inbetween. South Africans cultivate a creativity I haven’t seen in my travels overseas. The rich colours and vibrant designs are a glorious sight and the variety of things people are able to make and market are amazing! We walked away very inspired and the first new thing I’d like to learn to do is mosaics!

Before heading over to the food side of the market we headed over to the ‘kiddies’ section. There Ethan opted for a horse ride and was in his element as a guide walked him on a short return route. He sat so upright, holding very tightly on the reins and when he waved to us as he past it was a very brief wave as if he was going to fall off if he didn’t hold onto the reins. At one point the guide stopped – and so did the horse – and Ethan was softly kicking the horse with his heels and lifting the reins so that he’d start walking again. I was surprised that he knew exactly what to do, but so relieved that the horse didn’t then respond and gallop off in full swing! The guide walked on and the horse followed, much to Ethan’s delight.

Ryan, Jed and Aimee opted for a stint on the trampoline. It was the sort where they hoist you up on a harness and Ryan learnt very quickly how to do somersaults way up there. Each turn was 5 minutes long and both he and Jed were beginning to perspire after 5 minutes. Jed really enjoyed the jumping, despite the harness hurting his legs a little. He wasn’t going to try do the somersaults, but he managed to get himself quite high off the trampoline with his own momentum. Aimee loved it! She giggled when I threw her up in the air and found the longer drop to the trampoline exhilarating. The lady running the set-up wasn’t really timing anyone and Aimee’s 5 minutes were already up but she didn’t have the energy to keep going any longer so we helped her out of the harness and handed it over to the next little one in the growing que.

Oupa then treated us to something to eat and drink. We took our time walking around the food section first to make sure we made the best possible choice – and choice there was! The variety on offer included a breakfast of scrambled eggs and boerewors with tomato and onion gravy on a larger hotdog roll, falafel pitas, sushi, curries, chipstix, jaffels, fresh fruit and veggies, freshly fire-baked breads, German sausages, olives, cheeses, relishes, a variety of coffee and tea options and fresh juices and smoothies. We opted for smoothies and juices and pancakes and joined Oupa and Ouma for coffee and Dieter’s cousin Aubrey and his wife Riana who had joined us from Knysna for breakfast.

Ouma and I went to buy some grapes and leeks while the men took the kids to climb and swing and play around a lovely climbing frame and play area. Dotted with huge trees and wooden picnic benches, this market was a wonderfully relaxing place to visit.

The biggest chunk of our day chunk of our day was spent at Agnes’s house, a neighbour and friend of Ouma and Oupa. She had invited us to celebrate her birthday and treated us and a few other neighbours to a festive spread which took nearly 3 and a half hours to enjoy. She’s a very special lady and went out of her way to make it special for the children especially. Aaliayah, a little 6-year old girl who lives down the road from us, also joined in the celebrations and our children had a wonderful time playing with her.

Dieter and Ryan slipped away from the birthday party for a couple of hours as today was Ryan’s first football match. He has been attending football practices at the George United football club this week and was chosen to play for the ‘Lions’. The Lions played against the Cheetahs and the two teams drew. The Lions have not beaten the Cheetahs before, but a draw was a great result. Ryan played left defender and says he ran a lot today and Dieter seems to think the teams were of equal strength. Ryan’s really enjoying the football and practicing 3 times is a thrill! On the days he doesn’t have football he then cycles with Oupa or Dad so he get some good exercise every day of the week.

I was able to chat with a lady over lunch who loves cooking and has decided to start selling ready-cooked meals. Already the response has been so positive that she has more orders than she has ready-cooked meals! I ran an idea past her that I’ve had for some time – selling freshly prepared baby food. She was thrilled at the idea! I know for a fact no one in this area is doing anything like that and she says is the first time she’s even heard of it. She thinks it’s a winning idea and encouraged me to first finalise my packaging ideas, so I need to organise a visit to Thrifty Packaging in the George Industrial area soon. I think I’ll start with finding a ‘cookbook’ with ideas for baby foods so that I can refresh my own brain with the needs of 6 – 24 month old children. My own children are long past the baby foods stage and I need some refreshing! Hopefully the local library has something suitable.

An inspiring start to a dull, cool, wet weekend – and the weatherman says that it will be really cold tomorrow!

Out and About

Out and About. That’s the best way to describe our day today. This morning the six of us headed towards town with a short list of things to do. Home Affairs wasn’t too pleased with the photo I’d handed in with my passport application and asked me to redo it. ‘Look directly at the camera, and keep your mouth closed!’. Well the new photo I had taken at the travel agent next door to the Home Affairs office must be the worst photo I’ve ever used for an official document and I’m sure I can expect lots of suspicious looks at passport control in different countries for the next 10 years.

Ryan and Jed now have new South African passports, and with the most handsome photos of them too. Dieter has a new ‘Green one’ too, so at least half of us can now legally be in the country and not as foreigners!

A short visit to the library to get new books, the diary shop for new yoghurt, Golden Harvest for fruit and veggies, the bolt shop, PEP and Shoprite took us about 2 and half hours as we dotted around town.

This afternoon at football – where Ryan was practicing with his new team for their match on Saturday – I met Paula. Her family has been living in Mozambique for the past 13 years and has also recently returned to South Africa. Again I was so amazed at how small the world is: they have met our friends the Lepps who live in Pemba, Mozambique! It was lovely to chat to someone else that had been out of the country for so long and to hear some of her stories. It is amazing how God has orchestrated our meeting different folk at different times!  And the timing is always perfect!

On the Roll!

We truly are on the roll! Within just days of meeting other homeschoolers here in George we’re on the go-go-go! I’m also really enjoying the adult conversation! And, these are people who can relate to a lot of my every day life, which is a huge bonus.

On Monday afternoon, during Ryan and Ethan’s football practice, a group of us Moms sat together in one car and chatted for the entire hour. Actually, we could have sat together for much longer and not have run out of topics to talk about! And I must say, everyone I’ve met so far has been very warm and friendly. I’m looking forward to getting to know them all much better.

One of the homeschooling moms (whom I haven’t met yet) arranged a get together at the Ten-pin Bowling alley last night. It is apparently usually costs around R40 per game but the local alley has a special on at the moment and we only paid R20 per person for two games! There was only one other family that arrived and they kindly invited us to share a lane with them. Had they not shared their lane with us we might have had to wait another hour before a lane became open for us to use. I had met Yannick and her daughter at the Friday get together and last night we got to meet her husband and 2 sons. (What a small world! Turns out Yannick knows friends of ours from Cyprus and Pretoria!) They are a lovely family and we had fun bowling together. 10 people playing a game in one lane does take much longer than with a smaller group and we finished just before the alley closed at 10pm.

It was a late but we had one more stop to make on the way home. Oupa and Ouma had given us some money to get some ice-cream cones and we decided to see if KFC sold some as that drive-thru was on the way home. They did – they did indeed! They call it ‘soft serve’ and it was the softest, creamiest, most delicious-ist ice-cream any of us had tasted in a looooooong time. We’ll definitely be making more stops at KFC drive-thru. (6 ice-creams cost us R17-90 ….. 6 McD’s cones in Cyprus had cost us R30-00 ….. so we’re convinced we can now eat TWICE at much ice-cream for the same price, LOL!)

Today’s been a busy day. We woke up later than usual, all feeling rather tired after our late night. I did some reading with Ryan and Jed after tidying the house and hanging up a couple of loads of washing. Just before midday René and Lucas arrived to see us. After a cuppa together and a quick ‘catch up’, René headed to the shops for a few hours while we took care of Lucas. And he’s toooo cute man. Aimee had great fun feeding him some melon after he woke up from his nap and we had lauged a lot together out on the lawn rolling the ball to each other. We’re looking forward to seeing a lot more of them now that we are living here. Friendship really is a wonderful treasure!

We're on the ball!

Yes, today Ethan and Ryan started football. It was Ethan’s first football practice ever and he was truly in his element and has been counting the sleeps since I told him about 4 days ago. Ryan was also very chuffed to get back to ball and they were both excited about meeting new friends. There were about 25 kids in total and they were divided into two groups. I think Ethan landed up in the same group as Ryan because of how tall he is! Ryan has already been asked to be part of the team that plays matches on Saturday mornings. The whole vibe is rather friendly and not the whole European-competitive approach, which I really like! So we have happiness all round! We really are ‘on the ball’ now, Ryan (and possibly Ethan) has another practice tomorrow afternoon and then again on Thursday in preparation for Saturday’s match. So that’s football 3 days a week for Ryan, he’s in his element

Its been an interesting weekend. I was told of free tickets that were being given out to watch Ordinary People a new release by FC Hamman about Angus Buchan and the Mighty Men conferences he holds. We took a chance a showed up at the mall on Saturday at the appropriate time – and after much coordination on part of the organizers, we (all 6 of us and Oupa and Ouma too!) did get to see the movie for free! Unfortunately I was really disappointed in the movie. I had no expectations beforehand so its not because my expectations were too high. When one gets the chance to make a ‘Christian movie’ then I think it’s a real waste not to share a strong gospel message.

We had watched Courageous, the latest Sherwood release, on Friday night and were greatly inspired and challenged by it. It is an excellent movie! What a message of hope they had to give. We really enjoyed it, all of us.

We also visited another church on Sunday, one that is actually just a few block away from where we are staying right now. One can’t make firm decisions based on one short visit, but after chatting it through Dieter and I both feel it will be worth visiting Victory church a few more times to get an idea of what they are doing.

Aimee woke up yesterday morning and the first thing she said was: ‘I want to go to Nikolas’s house. And I want to go to visit Sofia and Chiara’. No ‘Good morning Mommy!’ or anything like that! Its very obvious that we’re all missing our friends back in Cyprus and wishing we could visit them and I am so very glad to have spent quiet a long time chatting with Heather yesterday afternoon. What a wonderful way to end the weekend.

PS: Our hearts (and minds!) are very much with the Langes as they head to Germany in the next few hours to attend the wedding of a special friend. Have tons of fun guys – and take lots of pics to share with us.

Friends galore

It never ceases to amaze me how many people bring up the issue of socialisation when the topic of homeschooling comes to the fore. In our homeschooling experience socialisation might rank as one of the top-5 things not to be concerned about! It helps a lot that we have 4 children and that I am not homeschooling an individual child – our litte clan is a mini-school of its own. Our 4 children love each others company and can entertain themselves for long stretches of time! Ofcourse they have their squabbles and need adult intervention at times, just like other children all over the world. Learning to solve conflict with respect and good, clear communication is something we are consistently working on. We’re learning 24/7!

Nothing could have prepared me for the wonderful, relaxing afternoon I had yesterday when we got together with other homeschooling families at a home in our neighbourhood. We walked through this lovely big South African home onto a small, intimate little back verandah overlooking the back garden where the central feature was a welcoming swimming pool. Crocheted chair and cushion covers and soft cushions on benches surrounded a coffee table on the verandah – the perfect chill-out zone for the moms (and one dad!) who were there. From the minute the children arrived, the older girls began to organise games for the children to play. Everyone took part and one game flowed into another for at least an hour and half. There was no fighting, no rough play, no one excluded …… only huge doses of fun and energy as the children ran around and around and around! And I was able to relax and enjoy some adult conversation and get to know some people who were new to me. It was fantastic!

This was not a miss-match of children from big and medium-sized families who didn’t know what to do with themselves, or children who were socially incapable of interaction with others. Here was a group of children between the ages of 14 and 2 who weren’t gravitating into groups according to language, age or gender. They were all able to interact together in a fun, orderly and meaningful way regardless of their difference – something that has become something of a trademark to me of homeschooled children. Its wonderful to see children who can entertain themselves, older children facilitating activities for the younger children as they so naturally display and exercise their leadership abilities. What an inspiration to my own children! And boy did it make me miss the Lange children all over again!

I wish that some of my friends and family could have been flies on the wall yesterday, just to see for themselves what I was so fortunate to experience again. People have often asked my children to if they’ve made friends and who their friends are. Ethan’s response is one I’ll always remember: ‘Sofia and Kiara, The Langes, The Foleys, The Dendles, Colin and Jane, Lisa and Baby Levi,Yvonne, Maria, Nikolas, Joseph, Tony, Naomi, Rebekah and Ben ….. the list would go on. Thankfully most people were impressed with the long list of friends he had and never enquired about their ages or they would have found that they ranged from one to 65 years old and included Ben the dog! My experience has been that homeschooled children are not restricted by age, gender, race or ability and have socialisation skills beyond their years. And because of that we had a really wonderful time together with our new friends yesterday!

‘n Boer maak ‘n plan! (A farmer makes a plan!)

Yesterday was quiet uneventful (thankfully!) until the late afternoon. Dieter and Ryan went for a 9km cycle and I took Jed, Ethan and Aimee for a walk which took us about 40 minutes to complete. It was around 5pm and we were all home again when Dieter decided that he’d put up a tent and camp in the garden with the boys. Ouma was whipping up a delicious seafood and chicken paella for dinner so the rest of us were free to help Dieter put up the tent and organise beds for the night. Aimee was originally quite keen to sleep in the tent too, but at the last minute (literally!) opted to spend the night indoors with me. The boys were all very excited to sleep in the tent with Dieter.

We first watched Big Break Legacy, an entrepreneurial challenge programme which the older boys really enjoy watching. It was followed by ‘The Titanic’ and Ryan and Jed were VERY keen to watch it, so I stayed awake with them until close to midnight (thanks to all the ad breaks!) Its not often we stay awake that late into the night, and I knew there would be consequences! I took Ryan and Jed out to the tent just before midnight and crawled into bed. I woke a few times in the very short 6 hours that I was in bed: Dieter was awoken and couldn’t fall back asleep and being cold and hungry decided to come indoors and find some food and a warmer, more comfortable bed. (He had to wake me and tell me he was doing all this!) It’s the first time in a very long time that Aimee slept later than 5:45am and I was not happy that I couldn’t enjoy the extra half an hours sleep because Ethan and Jed were awake and talking and giggling in the tent. So, after a short night’s sleep and an early start to the day, I’m feeling exhausted and its only midday!

This morning Dieter, Jed and I headed to town to get a few things but the main event of our morning was a stop at the Carpe Diem school here in George. It’s a school for children with special needs and we were following up Ouma’s contact and Oupa’s conversation with the physiotherapist. She’d invited us to come and look at tricycles the school has and we’d hoped we might be able to buy or borrow one. We did find one that was suitable, in need of some work and new parts here and there, but the principal wasn’t keen to get rid of any of the bikes so we left without it. (I personally think they’ve got far too few bikes for the number of children at the school and I think he made the right decision for the school to keep them!)

We did come home with a few ideas on how to convert a standard bicycle into a tricycle, I took some photos and we can even take an engineer back with us if we’d like to copy the designs. We also came home with some contact numbers for sport and physio contacts for Jed. Most of all, we came home determined to continue our search for a trike for Jed and a new plan to make it possible, because ‘n Boer maak ‘n plan!

PS: An afternoon nap is our first priority as we try to recover from a lack of sleep all round …. And then we’re going to our first home-school get together which sounds more like a weekly youth group to me. Don’t think we’ll easily find any replacement for the weekly Discoveries that Ryan and Jed used to attend in Cyprus, but this sounds like it will come very close. Watch this space!

Never a dull moment!!

For the most part we’re back into our own little routine. It is nothing cast in stone or rigid but most weekdays are brimming with activity.  But today was something else! Today has more or less ended, we’re all in our jammies and are bathed and fed and unwinding in front of the TV for a little while. Diet and I are exhausted and enjoying the lull before the little ones go to bed – today has been traumatic.

I was reading to Ryan and Jed this morning in the lounge and Aimee was playing nearby. Ethan was working in the workshop with Dieter and everything was great. Until Ethan started crying, and didn’t stop! For his birthday last year he was given some glow sticks at Holiday Club that he hasn’t used up till now and just before the weekend he opened one. And after a stint outside in the garden, he took it to bed and it hung on the cupboard glowing all night. I’d told him yesterday not to hit it with his hammer, that the liquids inside were dangerous. He obviously thought he knew better! This morning, he put it in the bench-vice and hammered a nail into it. All the liquid squirted out under great pressure, into his eyes and all over his head. I didn’t know what had happened but decided that Dieter was nearby and would handle it – and he did. He rinsed Ethan’s eyes with water and then with warm milk. Once he ascertained that Ethan was ok, Ethan got into the shower to wash his hair and rinse his eyes some more – and to wash the rest of the liquid off his body. His eyes burned for a while, but by the time he came out of the shower he was feeling much better.

MacGyver wasn’t on TV today like it usually is on weekday afternoons so I watched a little BBC news with Ethan, Aimee and Jed. The latest news was of an earthquake just off the Indonesian Islands and a tsunami warning had been issued for Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

After lunch, while the men were napping, Teddy called from Cyprus. It was soooo good to hear her voice again, and like she said it was like popping in for a cuppa. It really didn’t seem like that she was so far away. It was so good to catch up and share with her what we’ve been up to since we left Cyprus. Shjoe, we chatted for ages and it was great! I’m so grateful to have the friends and family we have that call and visit and make a huge effort to keep contact – they encourage us and keep our cups running over!

After making a boerewors and cabbage breedie (stew) for dinner Dieter and I took the children for a walk and a play in the park. Ryan went for a 10km bike ride with Oupa, so we only had Jed and the two little ones with us. Ethan and Aimee were on their bikes and Dieter was walking much faster than usual to keep up with them. I was walking a tad slower, helping Jed. We had a nice walk around the block – even spotted a HUGE pig in someone’s front yard! – and then stopped at the park to play. The park is quite big and has 2 seesaws, 2 swings and a climbing frame. The climbing frame is a real danger box! The metal bars are all put in at different angles and one really has to have your eyes on your hands and feet to make sure you’re stepping in the right place and holding on! Anyway, at some point Aimee rolled over a bar, trying to do a somersault, and whacked! her head against another bar. She really did hit it hard! She cried very briefly and went straight back to play some more – it was Dieter and I who took much longer to compose ourselves! Not a bump, not a bruise, not a drop of blood, just a loud whack! (And that was after she’d slid under Jed’s swing while he was swinging and bumped her head against the swing – fortunately it was just a light bump).

I think we’re all going to sleep well tonight. I’ve been in my jammies and ready for bed since 6pm.

PS:  It was a lovely warm day and our load of washing dried! Thank God the cold front has moved on.

Shjoe, its cold!

We have been visited by a cold front ….. brrrrrr! Its unusually cold for Autumn in this region, and its chilly! We ventured outside this morning when the little ones were riding on their bikes in the front yard and the older boys were pottering around in the workshop. Ethan had a handful of cars outside and had built a ramp with a ladder and thick plank - he was in his element. Aimee was helping Oupa fix a friend’s bicycle and Ryan and Jed were hammering nails into off-cuts of wood and just playing around with odd ideas. Dieter was servicing my new bike, something he obviously found relaxing too! Working in the workshop and riding outside are definitely our family’s ‘happy-place’.

I helped Ryan organise clothes and pack them neatly into his cupboard before sweeping and vacuuming the downstairs area. Ethan asked me so nicely to go with him for a ride in the neighbourhood that I couldn’t resist, and seeing that Aimee had gone with Ouma to a neighbour’s house for a short visit, it was the perfect opportunity. We cycled for about 15 minutes, but at least 5 of those minutes were used to untangle Ethan’s tracksuit pants from the pedal a few times! (His tracksuit pants were too long and wide at the bottom, not the greatest pants for cycling).

Ouma’s been brewing a delicious bean-soup all day that we’re having for dinner tonight. Each of the children has at some stage asked her what she is cooking (as they usually do!) and responded with a ‘hmmmmm, yummy’, each time she told them what they could look forward to.

It is too cold to go outdoors and we’re all wearing longer clothing – and more layers – today! So, we spent the best part of the afternoon watching ‘Goodbye Mr Chips’ with Oupa and Ouma (a DVD that we took out from the library). I’ve never seen it myself, and we all found it very enjoyable. Mr Chipping is what I believe every teacher should be – generous, honourable and self-sacrificing, what a man! What a way to end the day!

So much to share

Every day there are things many that come to mind that I could blog about and share with family and friends. Sometimes its hard to choose what to blog about. Other days I just can’t think of anything worth sharing. Today was one of those jam-packed days!

Throughout the day there were many things that I saw that I wish we could share more tangibly – like the view of the ocean as Ma and I drove home from Mosselbay today, or the huge, green yards and massive houses many South Africans are spoiled with! Oh, and the amazing bite-size sweet and savoury eats we were served at Stefanie’s bridal shower today! Shjoe, South Africans know how to do it! (Everything on the table was a minature and absolutely delicious from chicken pastries to spinach and cheese muffins, to cupcakes and truffles and chocolate cake!

Some things remind me of life in Cyprus and make me miss them, and others I really don’t miss. Its autumn and the HUGE leaves are falling from the trees and shades of gold, green and orange cover the grass sidewalks and lie in the gutters alongside the roads. And I’m so very glad we don’t have to sweep them up! Cypriots generally have a fetish for sweeping their verandahs and roadsides almost daily and I often felt like an inferior neighbour for not making sweeping a more regular priority. I don’t miss that.

Ma and I were invited to surprise Stefanie, one of Dieter’s cousins, with a bridal shower in Mosselbay today. She and Kobus are getting married early in May and its all so very exciting! We were a small group of close friends and family who met in an intimate little theatre and it was an incredibly special celebration. She got some lovely things to use in the kitchen (and food items too) and loved the apron I bought for her - she put it on straight away! It was so nice to be able to see Stefanie and her sister Karlien again after all these years, they have both grown into very beautiful young woman.

Later this afternoon we went and bought 2 more bikes, so Ethan and I now have a bike of our own too. He is in his element, and eager to get out and ride! Once the Easter weekend is over we can continue our search for a trike for Jed with fresh determination. Ethan and Aimee then helped me make a delicious ham and spinach pasta dish for supper after which Ryan and Jed helped make a peppermint crisp tart. What a joll! We’re expecting Dieter’s cousin Jeff and his wife Tanya and my cousin Angela and her friend to spend the day with us tomorrow. A chicken potjie and peppermint crisp tart are just two of the tricks up our sleeve for the day! I’m soooo looking forword to seeing Angela, the youngest of my Cracknell cousins who all live in the UK – what a spoiling!!!!

O! What a day!

And does God provide! Our entire day has been a celebration of his provision. The arrival of the Easter weekend and the chance to ponder on Jesus’s life, death and resurrection has been special. After breakfast this morning Dieter and I spent some time reading an account of Jesus’s betrayal, trial and crucifixion with the children. I’m deeply moved and stirred when we do. We also reminded each other of the many times Jesus’s love and gift of grace is mentioned in various verses in the Bible and we were each able to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to Jesus for the sacrifice He made on our behalf.

I can’t help but be reminded of how this time is celebrated in Cyprus. As Holy Week draws to a close, the church bell would only have rung once today – just as it is when a funeral is conducted in a Greek Orthodox church. The solemn heaviness felt almost tangible to me last year. Boys would be out scouring the neighbourhood for anything wooden or flammable and are making HUGE bonfires in preparation for tomorrow night when they burn them, topped some resemblance of a human being (like a scarecrow, or even a stuffed pet!) to symbolise a burning of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus. This will all take place after a midnight mass tomorrow night, followed by early morning soup and the breaking of the Fast of Lent. The aroma of meat being braaied by the tons will fill every neighbourhood and village as the celebrations continue.

Things in South Africa celebrations are much more reserved. Many shops were open today, even if just for half of the day, but some of the bigger supermarkets were open till about 6pm. Most people seemed to just continue with life as normal. Other than the Easter eggs which have been on sale for weeks now and the guy dressed up as a Bunny at one of the petrol stations, one would be forgiven for missing the event completely! Shjoe!

This afternoon I met with another homeschooling Mom and her 4 daughters. They too have done a stint abroad (also for 10 years!) and have returned to SA, having only been in George for a year and a half. I met her on a Yahoo homeschooling Group Sheila introduced me to, and was really happy to meet up with someone else who homeschooled (especially since the vast majority of feedback we’ve had has been negative). We chatted so naturally and it wasn’t hard to relax, be myself and enjoying spending time with them. At one point in our chatting we moved into their ‘school room’ where they have 4 double-sided bookshelves with lots of books on them. I didn’t have any expectations at all and was totally amazed to find out they also use (and love!) Sonlight and are using Singapore Maths. She called me over to her collection to show me she has multiple cores of Sonlight! I tried really hard, but I just couldn’t hold back the tears. I think we’re doing really well using resources we’ve found at the local library, but now we do have access to the awesome books Sonlight includes in its curriculum and that the library can’t provide for us. God’s provision just bowls me over! Time and time again!

Oh, wow! What a day!

A very productive day

The children often have an early morning cuppa and a rusk with Oupa and Ouma and at breakfast yesterday morning we got some feedback on the Pumpkin and Cinnamon scones. The children were all quite positive and it wasn’t until I mentioned that I don’t think they’re that great and won’t be rushing to try them again that some other comments came out. Maybe I broke them up into pieces that were too small, but once they dry out they are rock hard and have to be dipped to be eaten without breaking a tooth in the process. Even then, the butternut/cinnamon combination isn’t prominent enough and I’m not a fan of yeasty-rusks. So, we’ll keep our eyes open for some other recipes.

Its Easter school holidays and the holidaymakers are here in the droves. The price of fruit and veggies has risen noticeably, one of the few negatives of living in a small ‘coastal’ city. But it is thrilling to see campervans, cars pulling caravans and kayaks on car roofs as they pass through the town to their final destinations. We have not managed to find a car for ourselves yet and are very grateful to Dieter’s folks who are very generous with their car. I’m looking forward to the day that we have our own wheels and are able to travel to visit friends and family who live all over South Africa.

Yesterday afternoon Aimee and I joined Ouma for a marathon shopping affair at the local mall. No trip to town is a simple one-stop trip on account of the cost of fuel and attempts to be as economical as possible, so we did stop in one or two other places both on the way there and on the way back. Three hours later we returned home having done all we intended doing. I was chuffed to come home with slippers (stokies!) for the whole family [a wonderful gift from Ouma] as we need them now that winter is approaching. Unfortunately none of the boys’ slippers fitted them and we’ll need to return them all - and swop them for a bigger size! I will return mine too as I’d forgotten that the brandnew ones I got for my birthday had come with us from Cyprus. I also came home with a small bridal shower gift for Dieter’s cousin who is getting married in May. Ouma and I will be attending her bridal shower in Mosselbay on Saturday morning.

Today we’ve been VERY productive! By 11am we’d bought 2 bicycles – one for Dieter and one for Ryan. We dropped Dieter off at home and the children and I went to the library and stopped at two shops before heading out to spend the rest of the day with our friends René and her little boy Lucas. René had invited another friend and her children too and together we ate a lovely lunch and spent the afternoon outdoors relaxing and enjoying each other. It was lovely to meet some new friends and the children had a lovely time playing together and exploring the smallholding that René and Jean own. I feel like I’ve spent a day at a spa (despite the odd intervention to keep my own children in tow!)

Tonight we found another 2 bicycles in the local paper. If they’re suitable, Ethan and I will also have bikes of our own. But we’ll only know later on Saturday evening when we get a chance to go and see them. The last bicycle we need to sources if a tricycle for Jed. It will be a small miracle to find one locally – but, hey, we believe in miracles! God’s provision has been awesome!

 

Pumpkin and Cinnamon rusks

I’m sitting here typing my thoughts on the day, surrounded by the aroma of rusks that are drying in the oven. And I’m so impressed with those rusks! Ouma is a great rusk baker and has a constant supply to dip in morning teas – and we love them! Ouma taught me to bake rusks when they visited us in Cyprus when Aimee was born and I’ve done made them a few times. Anyone who knows me well will know that I’m always looking for new, simple recipes to try out and I recently discovered some lovely rusk recipes in a South-African magazine called ‘Weg’. Today I attempted to make the Pumpkin and Cinnamon rusks as Ouma’s rusk supply has been devoured. The only diversion I took from the recipe was to use Butternut instead of Pumpkin. A most-delicious South African vegetable and close cousin to the pumpkin, butternut is sweeter and not as watery as pumpkin. Mmmmmm, its yummy!

The only ingredient we did not have in the house was instant yeast. I cooked the butternut and allowed it to cool while we watched an incredibly fascinating video on China with the children. This video was made by a very adventurous couple who have traveled to many places and gave us an awesome insight into life in China. It was jam-packed with information and they traveled to many far out villages using all the varieties of Chinese transport.

When the DVD was finished Diet, the children and I all took a walk to our local ‘shopping centre’. It’s a small little open-plan center with less than a dozen small shops and houses a Spar, a small supermarket. Spar is a bit more like shopping at Spinney’s in the Middle East or Alpha Mega in Cyprus, price wise. It sells almost exactly the same products as other stores, but stays open for longer hours and charges more for the convenience. We bought our instant yeast and an extra 1kg bag of flour, just in case we’d need it! It was around midday when we were walking, and it was actually very warm outdoors today. The walk must have been just over a kilometer in total and a great way to get outdoors and get some exercise.

I made the rusks just before lunch – when our day got really exciting! Uncle Gert and his son Gert popped in to see us. Gert is studying in Stellenbosch and is home for the Easter holiday and they were returning home after a 2 day motorcycle adventure through various nearby off-road moutain passes and ravines. It was really good to see them. Ethan asked Uncle Gert if he could ‘fit’ on his motorbike and he then took all the kids out and gave them a short, slow ride around the back yard. I wish you could have seen the smile on every one of their faces! Aimee especially beamed a huge grin - she was in her element! Uncle Gert was so very patient and took them all again for a 2nd round. Even Jed found it quite easy to mount the bike, only needing a little assistance to bend his one leg the correct way to get it across the saddle. Oh, man, they had so much fun!

The rusks had risen for just over an hour, and I then kneaded them again and let them to rise in the sun for another half an hour before putting them in the oven to cook. And they rose so nicely in the sun, and they rose even more in the oven, much to my delight! Working with yeast is not quite my forte, but this was a great result! The rusks are now drying (and tasted really delicious when cooked!), am I’m sure they’re going to be a great hit.

Here’s the recipe for my adventurous friends (you know who you are, LOL!):

PUMPKIN AND CINNAMON RUSKS

Ingredients:
1750ml cups of flour
pinch of salt
1pkt (10g) instant yeast
10ml fine cinnamon
300ml sugar
100ml lukewarm water
250ml melted butter
750ml pumpkin (cooked and puréed)

Sift together the dry ingredients.
Add the water and butter and mix.
Add the pumpkin and knead the mixture for 10 minutes.
Cover with clingwrap and let the mixture rise for 1 hour.
Knead the dough and then pinch off medium-sized balls of dough
Place the balls closely together in greased breadpans (two 33 x 11cm pans). Cover with clingwrap and leave to rise for 30minutes in a sunny place
Heat the oven to 180C  and bake the rusks for 50 – 60 minutes
Turn out the rusks and let them cool. Break into bigger pieces and dry out at 80C in the oven for a few hours. (If you don’t have an oven fan, remember to leave the oven door slightly open when drying the rusks)
ENJOY!!!!

Another full weekend

I can happily report that we slept much better on the last 2 nights of our visit with Aunty Elsa’s dogs! Ouma put them in the study and closed the door, so they weren’t walking around the house investigating every strange noise all night. On their last night here Aunty Elsa returned and slept in Ethan and Aimee’s room, so they slept in our room and we had some good uninterrupted sleep. Phew!

This weekend we got to see some more relatives and friends. On Saturday morning Jeff, and his new bride Tanya, stopped in for breakfast on their way to Cape Town. It was lovely to meet Tanya and so good to see Jeff again after many years. (Jeff is one of Dieter’s cousins). It was really interesting to find out that they know some of our friends and past-pupils from Butterworth, and Tanya was able to put me back in contact with a friend I have lost contact with since our last visit to South Africa.

Yesterday we visited Liberty Church, who were celebrating their 15th birthday. We only realized later in the day that church started half an hour earlier than I thought, and so we missed most of the worship and announcements! Duh!! It was a lovely day, a really special day with some hugely encouraging prophetic words about their future as a church. Dieter and I left the children with Oupa and Ouma and attending the evening service too, which was just as much of a celebration and exciting look into the past and future of this local church.

We knew that our friends Nic and Viv (who live in Knysna) were coming through for the evening service and were excited to see them. We were really taken by surprise when they called in the afternoon to say they were coming to George for the evening service and were wondering if they could pop in for a cuppa before that. It was a huge treat to be able to relax together over a cup of tea in the privacy of our home rather than have a hurried conversation after church. It was lovely to see them again after all these years and for them to see/meet our children too.

Another great weekend, done and dusted!