My visit is fast running out, but knowing that I would be going back to spring, it was not so bad. Our hands are beginning to show some improvement from the stains caused by the walnuts, but we had now, after another couple of hours, a few kilos of wonderful nuts to show.
Back home all was well, except that my garden was again overgrown with the horrible Kikuju grass that just strangles everything in its way. I think it was originally planted for the cattle to graze on, but the cattle do not like it, although if nothing else was available they did chew on it, albeit a bitty longfaced! The horses did not even touch it, so I came to the conclusion that it could not be very tasty!Well, let us say none of the cattle or horses liked it, except Sheila's cows, who just about munched away on anything that came their way.
It was going to be hard saying goodbye to my kids, and still harder, but in another way, to their friends and family. In South Africa we don't kiss every time we see somebody, and we also only kiss family and maybe close friends, and as we kiss on the mouth, it is to my way a good thing that kissing is limited. In Europe though, the people kiss all the time, sometimes one kiss on the cheek, other times three kisses on the cheeks, and that is where the whole kissing game started haunting me, as I never knew when to turn another cheek, and when not. To make matters worse, every time someone wanted to give me a kiss I almost de-nosed them, and gave them a good old head smack, as try as I liked, there was always a collision that left me with a red nose or a sore head. This was going on until Irma asked me why I was looking so stiff and reluctant to greet people, stating that every time some greeting was needed, my arms lifted like a bird of prey prancing in front of its catch of the day, my fingers kind of wriggling nervously! I told her my sorry and shamefull story, as I did feel a bitty shamefaced after almost deheading a few persons. She then gave me a lesson in Belgian greeting, and I immediately knew where my fault lay, as, according to her, you kiss on the left cheek first, and I have been offering, and kissing them on the right cheek all along.