It was a godsend to have Trienkie for the rest of the week, as I now had to see to the animals, looked after the baby, and Rene, who was in front of the computer all day and almost all night.
The baby Emil was a little wonder, as he took his last feed at ten, and then slept until six, and I was so thankful for that, as at that stage I just didn't know how I was going to cope with all the heartache.
Irma duly arrived, and Nina's mother and sister Maria came a few days before the funeral and the cremation, but was leaving straight after.
But first, as Jan couldn't leave Andreas, the boy so insecure and rattled, and I, as the closest family member at that stage,  had to go to the police mortuary to own Nina's body, and I was in quite a state, but the policeman who were at the accident scene was very helpful, and said that he was willing to go with me. Trienkie decided to stay another day so she could go with me, but I was in a state of panic when we walked through the austere corridor of the mortuary, as I didn't know what to expect.
But as the days went on, the healing started, and when Irma and Nina's family arrived, I was able to try and lighten their spirits, but it was still incredibly hard going, and my heart bled for Nina's mother, who was looking so lonely, even amongst all of us.
Jan and Andreas came home, and I could see that Jan was still in shock, but slowly starting to get used to the idea that Nina was gone, and little Andreas taught us all a lesson in believing! He was keeping a cross that somebody, I think the preacher, gave him at the hospital, around his neck, and said that Jesus is giving him strength, and he knew that his mummy is safely in heaven, and that Jesus was looking after her. Jan said that one of the hospital preachers came to see them, and that this person's strength had helped him to try and work through the tragedy, and that he worked a miracle with the child.
Andreas was quite casual about the accident itself, and said that his mummy went a little bit off the road, and when she tried to get back, the small truck went over. We all had many ideas as to why that happened, but whether she was attending to maybe the crying baby in the back, or used her cell phone, nobody will ever know, but the sad fact about all this, is that she didn't wear her safety belt, and neither did Andreas, and he followed her through the front window.

We were all kind of numb, and walked around doing what we had to do with drawn faces, not wanting to believe that such a tragedy had happened. And that to such a close knit family, who had such big plans for the future.
Stephan's parents drove all the way back, about five hundred kilometers, and arrived that same night so that they could help Stephan with the children, and Trienkie and self left early on the Saturday morning.It was the most horrible trip I had ever made, as the thought of that little family would not for a moment leave my mind, and my heart just bled for them.
Jan was quite calm when we got there, his wonderful friend Nico with them, and what a friend that turned out to be. He wasn't just talking about the tragedy, but in his calm way managed to steer Jan's thoughts away from the harsh reality, at other times just sitting quietly, but his presence had a calming effect even on me.
I was heartbroken for my child, who sat there looking at nothing in particular, and now and then he would ask in a toneless voice: 'Why Nina?', before falling back into his comatose state.
Little Andreas was all patched up, his head full of shiny clamps to keep his cracked skull together, his leg and arm in plaster, and they were waiting for a few days before grafting some bone into his brow, where a piece was ripped out. But he had to stay in hospital for some time, and it was agreed that Jan would stay with him, while I took the eldest, Rene, home and fetch the baby from Ronalee.
I was sad to leave my child with his sorrow, but the baby had to be seen to. As the baby was breastfeeding, Ronalee had gotten him a bottle and some infant powdered milk, and she assured me that he had taken quite easily to his new feeding method, which took a great load off my mind.
When that five week old wee thing was put into my arms by a stricken Ronalee, the enormity, and the tragedy of the whole thing dawned on me, as it had not until now, and for the first time the reality really came home to me!
I suddenly wondered whether Jan had let Nina's family know, and was horrified when Nico phoned me back and said that Jan's brain was so numbed that he had not yet thought of it! I knew that he was in no state to think straight, so I got Maria, Nina's sister's phone number, and left a message to phone me or Jan immediately. I walked around in a kind of fearful dread in case Maria phoned me and I had to give her the terrible news, but she phoned to Jan's phone, and Nico answered it, and he was the right one to convey the terrible news.
We brought the crib over to my house, and Trienkie stayed for the week, for which I was very thankful, as I was not yet over my flue and coughing, but Irma was also on her way from Belgium for a month.
The photo of Andreas was taken just before the accident happened.

Stephan's parents had left already, as Stoffel was a big sheep farmer up Calvinia way, that is in one the driest most barren places in South Africa. But it is also very beautiful, the different browns, ochres and yellows making for a visually pleasing experience, and I loved it!
I was alone at home with the baby Stephan, when the phone rang, and it was my son, Jan, and he was mumbling and crying, and so incoherent that I couldn't make out a word of what he said, so I told him to take a deep breath and then try again. A cold feeling had by now started to come over me, as I could hear something about Nina and an accident.
He took a deep breath, then told me that he was in George, and that a strange woman had just phoned him from Nina's phone to tell him that she had a terrible accident, and he should come immediately. He was in George for his work, and that meant that he was about one hundred and fifty kilometers from where the accident took place, apparently quite close to the house. As he was driving back already at this stage, I told him to just concentrate on the road, and I will phone Sammi, a friend of Nina, to go and have a look and phone me back, and I will then phone him. Sammi wanted to know why I did not go myself, and I realized that she didn't know I was still in Cape Town.
Sammi phoned me back, and said that she had phoned the police first to find out where the accident was, and they had told her that one of the drivers died, but they wouldn't tell her which one. She and Lauren, another friend then went to the accident scene, and it was quite some time later that she phoned me back to tell me that Nina did not make it, but the two kids were alive. I felt so weak, almost as if I was in a dream, just sitting there, asking, why.why,why!
I didn't know how to tell my son, with whom I just had a long talk, telling him that I was sure that Nina was okay. But in the meantime he had arrived at the accident scene, and he was in a state of panic and absolutely hysterical when he phoned to let me know that his wife was dead. The seven year old Andreas was found crawling around the verge covered in blood, calling for his Mummy. The five week old baby was found unhurt, sitting in his baby chair in the overturned small truck, and when Ronalee, my neigbour came, she took him, and cared for him. They waited for ages but the ambulance came only just before Jan got there, so Lauren went in the ambulance with Andreas, while Ronalee took the stricken Jan, who waited until Nina was taken away, to the hospital in George where Andreas was taken.
He had a broken arm, a broken leg, a cracked skull, and a piece from his eyebrow was smashed,
and would need some surgery.
How the accident happened nobody could say, as there was no other car involved., but the tragedy of this would only really stike us later, and brought the sometimes bizarre things that can happen home to us, as Nina had only gone for her Friday shopping, and to change her library books!

The next few days were quite hard, but it was made lighter by Stoffel, the kid's grandfather who said that we could share the daytime at the hospital, and then he would sleep there at night. Because of the tummy bug, I suppose it was some kind of gastro, Kian was in Quarantine, and his room was far from the ward and other rooms, and the nursing staff was a wee bitty lazy to look in upon him enough. We found that when we rang the bell for them to come when needed, they took an awfully long time, and also his medicines were not always given at the appointed time, neither was his temperature taken regularly, and once during the night when his drip ran empty, Stoffel had to walk up to the sister's offiice after having rung the bell over and over! As this was a very expensive private hospital, and he was still running a high temperature Dina, who is a qualified nurse herself, decided to put in a complaint. But first she had a serious talk with the ward sister, who promised her to look into the matter.
Then Dina complained that she was feeling sick, and that her body was aching, so we sent her to her bed, and the hospital were shared by Granddad and self. After two days Dina felt better and got up, but then I started feeling achy, and had to retire to bed. It was hard, as the little one was only nineteen months old, and to share the hospital duty, and look after the baby was almost impossible. Luckily Kian could come home, and after two days of feeling really sick with the flue, I got out of bed, feeling groggy but okay.
Then Stoffel retired to bed, but Dina could not believe that her big and strong husband could lie in bed all day long, and she kept on telling him to either go to the shops, or do some or other chore, and I could see that he was dragging himself to do what his wife wanted, and when he complained again, she sighed, and said to no one in particular that she wished she had a man that could actually do something! I don't think that was how she really felt, but as the children took a lot out of our still not up to scratch bodies, she was just tired and irritated. I knew that I was!
Trienkie and Stephan came home to a house filled with invalids, as now the three of us had also developed the same cough that Kian had, and I think to come back from such a nice holiday with good friends, and find your baby sitters barking and gasping for breath must have been quite disconcerting.
I kept on coughing, and Trienkie said that no ways would I go to Scotland sounding like I was going to expire at any time, and she took me to the doctor, and it looked that everything worked against my going back to my work.
In the meantime Nina was sending me photo's of the baby every day, and told me all the little things that happened, and I got the funniest feeling that she was actually trying to pull me into the baby's life, and kind of trying to dedicate him to me. It was strange, as with the other children this never happened, but I decided that she was turning to me as her own mother was so far away in Denmark, and the other children were born over there.
I got up on the Friday morning, and knew I had to make a decision on going back to Scotland, and just had to phone Tony with my answer, as it was getting a bit late in the season, but I just could not decide on what to do. It was the first time in the eleven years working over there that I felt this way, as usually I couldn't wait to get back to my mountains, my glens and my lochs that I loved so very much.
If only I knew that morning what awaited us!

The baby Emil brought us all very close together, and for his first bath I was called by Nina, and I had the privalege of introducing the wee thing to the wonder of having a bath! I was on the go all the time, as when he was awake, I was called and I went over to hold him for a while. He was the best baby, and only cried when he was hungry.
But I was also busy packing, as I was going to Stephan and Trienkie to babysit, together with Stephan's parents, as the they were off on a long saved for holiday to Mauritius. From there I planned to leave for my job in Scotland.
But this year a strange feeling kept me from confirming with my employer about when I would be there, and I also couldn't make up my mind about going, but I promised Toni that I would let him know in time to get another chef if needed. As long as I could be there by middle May all would still be well, as the season then takes off in full.
Little Emil was three weeks old when I left for Cape Town, and I was sad, as he would be quite big when I came back in about seven months.
The babysitting started off with Kian, the oldest of the two boys, who had a mild fever as result of a cold, starting to vomit, the moment his parents had boarded their plain to Johannesburg. As us two Grans had enough experience between us, Dina being a nurse, and self having brought up my own three, helped with Irma's two, and was a nanny both in Greece and Miami for quite some time, we were not too worried, and tried some of the medicine in the house.
But Kian just kept on vomiting, so I went up to the Chemist, where I was told to take the child to a hospital immediately, as young children could dehydrate very fast. With Stoffel, Stephan's dad looking after the youngest, Dina and self rushed to the hospital, where we had quite some difficulty filling in the required forms, as none of us remembered to grab our glasses. We were squinting and glaring, and then I took the forms to the window to try and see, all to no avail!
One of the staff luckily noticed that something was wrong, and although everyone was rushing around, she took a few minutes to help us. Not so easy, as none of us could remember the kids's address, or telephone number, well, as a matter of fact, we were so stressed that our heads just did not work and we couldn't even remember Kians two given names! One thing I did remember was the name of their medical aid scheme, so that made things a wee bit easier, but I could see that the staff had a good giggle at the expense of the two dilly grannies!
Kian was kept in hospital with pneumonia and a tummy bug, and we decided to take it in turns to stay with him, as he was only three, and alone in a room.
That night Trienkie phoned, and in a thin voice asked how the kids were, and I lied in an even thinner voice that they were both well. We had decided not to say anything, but will inform them if Kian got worse, but the doctor was quite happy, and said that he believed that Kian would be fine in a few hours.

She then asked in a still thinner voice who was in hospital! I looked at the other gran, and she started mumbling, and self started hyperventilating, and then Trienkie said to stop lying, as the medical aid had sent a notice about the hospitalization, and she knew one of the kids must be ill! Both did some real sweating there!Between us we convinced the parents not to rush home, as we would be responsible and call if neccessary, as they have saved so hard for this holiday, and looked forward to it for more than a year.

I was having a tug of war with the wandering Mobi, who was yet again brought back home on a rope around his neck by two highly disgruntled villagers. I heard this plaintiff yelps, and recognizing it to be coming from Mobi, I hastily put on my shoes in case I had to yet again run the streets of Haarlem in persuit of an errant animal.
The most funny sight met my eyes, and I just stood laughing and laughing, as down the dusty road came a whole group of people, babbling and screaming, and using some pretty obscene language, again dragging the unco-operative Mobi, but Mobi was not giving in easily, having had some trouble in escaping again, and when he saw me and realized that prison yet again awaited him, he made a last desperate effort to escape, by just plonking his backside down, and anchoring his oversized paws in the rocky road, all the time yelping with gusto so that everybody could hear how badly treated he was, and come to his rescue.
I walked up to where this little drama was playing off, but wished that I had thought of putting on a gas mask when the mottly group who had captured Mobi, and was all trying at once to tell me of all the things he did wrong, descended on me! As all the strong and able men were at work on the farms, it left only the boozers and loafers in the village during the day, and this group that was now almost flooring me with their wine breaths and rancid body smells, having I presumed, never splashed an ounce of water over that bodies in many a long day!
As this lot all wanted to make me hear about what Mobi did to them personally, and me almost fainting from the alcohol loaded breaths, my brain was in top gear trying to think of how to get the dog inside the yard rapidly, before I expired in the middle of the road. As Mobi just loved eating, and would keep on eating until he bursted, I decided to fetch my dinner pork chop and try to lure him into the house, but just then I saw Jan's car coming down the road, and I sighed deeply and happily, as this bally burden would be taken away from me!
Nina's homecoming, bringing the new baby called Emil, was not at all the beautiful affair it should have been, as Jan had to just park the car and went to rescue the villagers from the now enraged Mobi, who, on seeing his people and realizing that Jan was quite capable of getting him back into the yard, made one enormous push for freedom, and set of at great speed back to the village where much fun could be had, Jan at his heels!
I helped Nina out of the car, and cried when I had the first glimpse of this baby, and stood looking at the small bundle, a strange, sad feeling taking hold of me, a feeling that I just could not get rid of!

At last the day arrived for Nina to have the baby, and as she had quite some difficulty with the second boy, the doctor thought it best to do a cesaerian. So off they went to George, Andreas staying with me, as Rene was in boarding school during the week.
It was a little boy yet again, and I was quite sad, as it would have been nice to have a wee girl again, Irma's two girls now two very cheeky teenagers, and they would not be thrilled with the kind of dresses I would buy for them at all. Kiana is anyway now so far away in Belgium, and Kristani was on her way to work in Holland.
Mobi started misbehaving from the moment the car went through the gate, and I was sure that dogs are a lot like children, and knew when the attention would be taken from them, then doing the most outrageous things to get noticed. Jan had fixed the fence yet again, and he was sure that this time, after having bought a lot of reinforcement gadgets, the dog would at least be contained for the few days that they would be away.
It was a busy time for me, as Andreas had to be ready at six thirty, and then taken to the busstop, and the animals had to be fed, and in the meantime I had to get my stuff ready for my going back to my work in Scotland.
Between the dog, who managed to escape into the pig's pen on the first day, and upset the poor ugly Kevin Bacon so much that he wouldn't touch his food that evening, I was having a hard time! That was very strange, and I hoped that he didn't have some or other decease, but I think he was just so cross that he couldn't stop screeching long enough to eat! Mobi had to really do a bit of fancy stepping to get away from the irate pig, as he didn't have enough time to scrounge through the hole he made, and I shudder to think what would have happened if I wasn't at hand to open the gate for him to escape! Kevin Bacon had the nastiest set of yellow teeth I had ever seen on human or animal, and I have seen some bad ones!
At least on that first day Mobi couldn't manage to make a hole somewhere, but to go into the yard to feed him was one major problem, as he was so glad to see me that I was floored and had my face covered in saliva, the dogs happiness on seeing me knowing no bounds. Trying to fix his meal was also almost impossible, as he just kept on trying to kiss me, and he was so big that to keep upright under his onslaught of pure joy and love was one major problem, and I went back to my house feeling quite battered!
I then filled my little spray can with the vile mixture of garlic flavoured mole deterent, that by the way did NOT deter any mole, but Mobi did not like the smell, and he had learned by now to take to his heels when I have that spray in my hands.
The second day the pig started missing his people, I think, and walked round and round in his pen, making the most horrible thin, screeching noises, and that upset Mobi so much that he started barking, and not even after I sprayed him with my vile spray, did he stop! It was one heck of a racket, and my nerves was wearing very thin, and so was my patience! I then took the irrigation hose, and projrcted a stream of water at Mobi, enough to send him reeling across the grass, but he was of stern stuff, gave me one dirty look, shook himself vigorously, and commenced with his barking.
When Andreas came we went to have our lunch outside over at his house so we could keep Mobi company for a while, but the dog came galopping from the sty, made a grab for a sandwich, and sent the table with food and drink flying! I was wondering how I was going to be sane by the time the kids came home!
In the meantime I had decided to put my potplants in the little water funnel running in front of my house to take the water coming from the mountain away, as my kids are not the best when it came to watering my stuff! As it is almost winter by now, my veggies were finished anyway, so I didn't have to worry about anything but the hanging baskets, and the other potplants.

This year I have a wonderful new friend! I have seen and heard this yellow breasted bird around, and he was the most sociable bird that I have ever encountered, and when he was around I kept my catapult at the ready to frighten off the many cats that have now descended on my place, I suppose because no birds going to their different places anymore!
I have said before that it made my blood boil when people insist on bringing cats to a place where there are an abundance of this feathered beauties.
About my new friend, he used to sit on the pole at the back when I was busy painting, and would sing away on quite a few different tunes, the most popular one featuring the word 'ariole', and Nina, who was also a friend of this bird looked it up in her bird book, and she was sure that the bird was called a 'Yellow Ariole'.
But after having spent our cold winter months somewhere in Europe, this bird came back with a whole new vocabulary. That is of course if it was indeed the same bird. And he had a whole new outlook on life as well, as he now came to sit on the pole right in front of my front door, and with his lovely grey head held skew, he would look into my door, and sing the most plaintiff song, and inbetween all the sounds he made, the word 'adios' featured quite prominently.
He looked so lonely and sad with his round black eyes watching me intently, and he sang such a sad song, that I decided that there must be a lost love somewhere. As he was using the word 'adios' quite a lot, I decided that he must have met a girly in Europe, and she must have promised to leave her fatherland, that I think being Spain, and come to South Africa with her new found love. But, I thought, it was not to be, as a terrible storm blew up and separated the two lovers, maybe blowing the girly back to Spain, or perhaps she just decided not to immigrate.
I was really feeling sorry for the bird, and fed him some nice fruit that he didn't like, and some groundworms, that he did like. But then one morning he flew onto his usual perch, and after looking at me for a long time, he let out a high pitched 'prego!'
And here I thought he was pining for a Spanish maiden, when all the time he was a womanizer, who must have been playing with a Spanish, as well as an Italian lady's love, and now he is back in South Africa, having lost both! Oh, well, maybe he was just a lonely bird, all his friend having been killed off by the village cats, and thinking that, I stormed outside to put the fear of hell into the feline prowlers!

I took some time to chop up the wood and stack it to dry, and I knew that when I stop going to Scotland, as I had decided that I would do soon, I would not be cold at least, the heap looking imposing indeed!
The kids's animals were much of a burden, as the pig, Kevin Bacon, had now took some lessons from Mobi, the second Houdini, to whom no chain or lock or fence was strong enough to keep him in, and said pig was reeking havock in our gardens, as he would usually wait till darkness fell, and the lights in the houses  put out to make his moves, and we would get up in the morning to find all the veggie beds dug up, and Kevin warming himself outside in the early morning sun, his tummy bulging from overeating on our young vegetables. I got so cross that I wanted to slaughter the vile thing, who scared the blue devils out of me when he sized me up with those pink eyes of him.
Mobi was not far behind on my list of undesirable animals, as he ruined a beautiful white duvet cover that I really treasured, as Trienkie gave it to me one Xmas, and I knew that it was of good quality. I left the bottom bedroom open to air, as I was getting guests for the weekend, and had made the bed as nice as I could, using this duvet cover. It looked so pretty and fresh, and I felt at one with the world as I went on with my other preparations to make the weekend enjoyable for my friends, who would be arriving later that afternoon.
It was raining a bit when my guests arrived, and I quickly took them down to their room to stow their luggage, but nearly had a kingsize fit when my eyes fell on the bed!
Mobi was lying stretched out fully, snoring away like mad on my lovely duvet, and this duvet was now one bally muddy mess! I gave a scream like someone being tortured, as indeed I was, mentally, and my guests gasped, and Mobi opened his eyes drowsily, looked at me in puzzled astonishment, I suppose wondering why I was behaving like a lunatic.
I was stark raving mad, and went for the dog with intent to kill with my bare hands, but he was now fully awake, and realized that something big was troubling me, and this had something to do with him, so he was off the bed like lightning and shot out of the door, me in hot persuit! My pretty duvet cover was never the same again, as the reddish clay soil that we have stained something terrible, and I would have scrubbed this duvet to shreds if I wanted all the stains out, none of the proven stain removers doing much to lighten paw prints and a squahed body shape.
Had a small incident with a huge mama pig who wanted to come into my place, and she was snorting and grunting and showing long yellow teeth when I tried to show her on her way.The baby was absolutely adorable, and I just can not think that this little cuty would one day look like her ugly mother. When kevin Bacon heard this to-do, he started putting on such a show of rage and maybe longing, that I thought he would just flatten his sty's fence. Shame, although I think him very ugly, I still had it in me to think that he maight be lonely, and felt sorry for him!

All was back to normal, my fence that the tree damaged was kind of straight again, but would never be the same. Sometime in the future I would have to look into that, but at the moment it kept the stray cattle, horses and pigs out, so I throw a blind eye.
One good thing about the tree having been blown over was that we would not be cold during the coming winter, as the Wattles are really hard, and burns for quite long. Jan luckily had a chain saw, and before long the tree was nicely sawn up, and the kids were heavily bribed to chop the thicker pieces up. It took some doing to get the two boys going, as they have not yet conformed to this kind of rough living, having been real city slickers in Denmark, where they of course grew up. Jan of course did his bit, as I said that they could take half if they help me to get mine to the required sizes, and I also jumped in to do my bit.
I was getting very tired lately, something alien to me, as I have enough energy for ten people as a rule, and it irritated me when I was on a roll doing something, and I had to stop for my energy having just evaporated
I had almost enough stones for my tortoise mosaic that I wanted to do on my back stoep, and decided to bring up some riversand with the wheelbarrow. Not an easy task, and I had to abandon it for a day to recuperate from one terrible fright.
Down at the river it was becoming really overgrown because of all the rain, and the young poplars and other trees were very dense, with the result that I had to almost cut open my path to where the sand was. It was a bitty scary, as the dense poplars did not let in any sunshine, and underneath this huge giants an eery green light was thrown, and I always felt like I was in another world, everything so quiet and calm.
I was struggling through some extra tough bushes, thinking that I would not be able to get the wheelbarrow up to the sand, and would have to go up to the house for a pail or something, when suddenly, right in front of me was two big brown eyes, and I froze like a bally lolly, my feet glued to the soft moss, and no sound coming from my wide open mouth. The other being however, gave one horrendous bellow and stormed, but luckily for me the dense bushes hampered his attack, giving me time to recover my muscle power, and do some healthy hurdle sprinting, not looking back to see my attacker, but hearing it crash through the growths.
I have done some sprinting in my life, and this time I even bettered my record from the time that Sheila's murderous cow Josie chased me up to my gate, and the hurdles I cleared quite astonished my kids who was watching this episode with much enjoyment!
It was the bally brown and white bull that had found his way along the river to our place, and was grazing away quite peacefully when I suddenly intruded on his stolen pleasures!Was a bitty stiff and sore the next day, so put the sand gathering on hold for a few days until both nerves and muscles had recovered!

We had quite a bit of rain, and as the dam was overfull, the sluices had to be opened a bit, with the result that the river was running strongly, and the children was enjoying the kajaking whenever they wanted to, as otherwise we had to drive quite far to Under Kouga, the only place close by to kajak.We spent a lot of time down at the river, as the little ones were not able to go alone, but it was so nice on the little beach, or, when the sun got too much for comfort, to move into the mysterious cool shadow of the tall Poplars.
Jan had built himself a bread oven, and it did very well as a pizza oven as well, and we made some awesome pizzas in there. He started off wrongly, and after struggling for ages to get the first oven to a state where he could try and bake some bread, he one day just got fed-up and broke the whole thing down.
For the second oven he went on the internet and found some wonderful information, and this time all went well, and voila, within no time we were baking away!
I was at this stage collecting white and brown stones of a certain kind, and also a certain size, as I was going to do some mosaic at my back door, the little stoep there looking a bitty worse for wear. I had seen some beautiful animals done with small round stones, and have decided to make a tortoise with brown stones, and the outside with the white river stones.
In the meantime I was extremely sad, as Irma and Family have gone to live in Belgium, and as I spent a lot of time with them at their house in Krakeel ,I was walking around feeling a bitty sorry for myself.But as Irma's work had decreased so much since the credit crunch, they had no other option. Karel is a scuptor, and as he is not known in South Africa, and there not much money around anyway for expensive artworks,
it was the only thing they could do.
All too soon we had to say goodbye to Trienkie and Stephan, and life went on again, but could never be the same again.
Early in the new year we had a terrible storm, and huge trees were blown over all over Haarlem. One of the alien Black Wattles on my place blew over, and fell across my gate, damaging the fence, but luckily the gate was intact.
Just across the road from Jan, a couple had pulled a caravan, and they were going to live in this for the duration of them building their house. Luckily they were away during this storm, as a huge Pine tree was dislodged, and fell across the caravan, smashing it almost to the ground. If the people were in there at that moment, they would have been killed, and I think they thanked their guardian angel for her or his protection!
I just had to publish the photo's of my almost four year old grandson Kian, when Xmas Father arrived! He was absolutely stunned.

Trienkie and Stephan arrived from Capetown, and we had a happy time together, cooking jams, canning, and I was again drying some apricots in the sun. I think nowadays all fruit are dried artificially, because it is so kind of tough and chewy, but very sour. The ones dried in the sun just have a taste that is incomparable, so sweet and actually to me, tasting of the sun!
This made me a bitty malancholy, thinking of my youth, when during December, the whole van Staden family, that is my father's side, would descend on my grandmother's farm, on which my dad was farming, my granddad having been dead for many years, and two whole weeks would be spent in processing the different fruits.
It was like an ant heap, everybody scurrying around, the men constantly chopping wood for the huge stove that had to be kept going all the time, some of the women peeling, some washing bottles, while others was de-pipping the apricots.There was no electricity on the far-off farms, and even today a lot of that farms have their own ways of working up just enough electricity to watch a bit of television at night time, the aunties, after a visit to the children living in the cities, having got quite addicted to the American soapies, and one Afrikaans one called 'Sewende Laan.'(Seventh Avenue)
Us children had a wonderful time, with all the cousins together, and the whole farm at our disposal. As our farm was situated in the Waterberge, meaning water mountains, there was a lot of small waterfalls cascadindg down the mountain, and one of these was just perfect as the water cascaded down into a pool just deep enough for us to swim in, but the nicest was the rock over which the water fell.
Through the years this rock was smoothed by the water running down over it constantly, and we soon found that we could climb to the top and glide down the slippery rock! It was the greatest fun ever, but we got a bitty stick from our mothers because we soon ran out of panties, as the rock took it's toll on that! Then one day gran sat down, us now having no underwear left, and from empty flour bags she made a heap of panties, and my uncle Boeta had to drive the huge old farm lorry to town to get some elastic!
To us kids that was heaven came down on us, as we were allowed to go with, and stood at the back, singing and joking.
The flour bag panties were just what we needed, but we walked around with our backsides advertising either maize meal, bread flour, or cake flour in big and bright blue and red letters! We actually had no male cousins, and the only one, my little brother, was only a year or two old then, so we girls had also to do our bit, and after the apricots and peaches that had to be dried was ready, a big wire mesh would be put on the roof, and us kids were hoisted up, and had to spread the fruit on the mesh. Oh, it was wonderful, sunny, happy days!

The constant fight against the creeper moles was now getting quite serious, as my strawberries that had nothing underneath to stop them tunneling were taking the punch, and it was heartbreaking to see the healthy plants lying limp in the morning when the moles had made new tunnels to get to the earthworms.
However, with my plan of tying up bunches of strawberries in calico, The snails and the peacocks were dumbfounded I thought, but it was again not long before the peacocks remembered that the fruit was also covered up the previous year.
They were a lot more careful now, as I was by now an excellent shot with my catapult, and it felt very good when I hit one of the pests, and they cry out more in surprise than pain, as I never used too big stones.
I have now started making myself a smoothy every morning, as that is a good breakfast, specially when one is in a hurry, and I can't do any work without something in my tummy.
I use Yogart, and either banana, strawberries,grapes and mango if I can get some, and then I add some of my canned fruit if my fresh fruit was a bitty low. At this time of the year fruit is both scarce and expensive, so the canned fruit comes in very handy. I also add a handful of oats, and with that concoction in my tum, I have almost enough energy to conquer the world.
The peaches and apricots were coming on beautifully, and so was my plums. But Sheila's bally goats had gotten wind again that the fruit was ripening, and for the next few weeks I was very busy with my catapult, but I also got a fair amount of excercise as about ten times a day I could be seen sprinting over shrubs and stones, shouting like a lunatic, promising the errant goats everything that was bad and horrible!
The problem with the goats were that they are never satisfied with the fruit they could reach, but were so gluttonous that they simply tear off all the branches, leaving a very desolate and naked tree behind.
Christmas was nearing, and we were all coming together at Haarlem again. It will again be a working holiday for us women, as the apricots would be ripe then, and we usually made lots of jams and chutneys.
But it was not all work, as we took time to play, and the best of all our outings to me was going to Under-Kouga, where we do a lot of kajaking and also swimming in the slow flowing House River.
Our river never had deep enough pools to kajak, as the water was controlled, therefor only enough water was let out at the dam to keep the ecology of the river and surrounds going. Because South Africa, and specially where I live, is a dry country, water have to be constantly monitored, specially after the last drought when we had almost no water, and water had to be driven to some of the villages.

I was now pretty much self sufficient when it came to food, as I had my own veggies, fruit, and although I still depended on Sheila for my milk, on gas for my cooking, and of course I still needed Eskom, our overpricing eletricity provider for my lights and things like my toaster and such like.
I was still in the habit of buying my bread in bulk and freezing it, but after Irma helped out in the Krakeel bakery for a while, and told me about how much chemicals go into every batch of bread, I went to George and bought Rye flour, yeast, and other stuff needed, and started on experimenting with different kinds of bread.
I have made bread before, so it was not quite new to me, but Rye bread I had never baked before, and my first batch was a bitty loth to rise, but although it looked like some kind of flat bread that I took from the oven, I think if it was used as a missile, it could have done a lot of harm,but  it was nevertheless delicious, specially with a smear of farm butter, topped with my own home made jam!Yummy! Being me, ever hasty and never stopping to look things up or think it over, I had of course just rushed home and used only the rye flour!
But I soon got behind the mystery of baking rye bread, and found bread baked with half rye and half flour the nicest, and soon I started putting in a handful of nuts, or raisins, cranberries, and even a handful or two of oats. The idea of putting in this stuff I borrowed from Irma, who had become the best baker ever, and when she took bread to the Uniondale market, people queued up to buy, and she was usually sold out before we had really even started.
To make a bit of extra money I paint coasters on hardboard, and it sells very well, and that help me to buy some extras, and pay for my only real indulgence, my beloved but also loathed DS television!  The young man at the hardware shop where I buy the hardboard and have it sawn up into the required sizes, would give me a desperate look when he spots me making for the wood department, and would sneak away very softly, but he had no way out, as the floor manager would simply go to the back and bring him out!Sometimes when there is just a lot of crap on, or things are shown over and over, I swear to terminate my account as in immediately, but then the next day new progammes start, and all is well again.
Living so alone and far from my friends, and my kids having their own busy life, I just need some company when the world goes to rest, and the box brings me that, making all the serious homesteaders shake their heads and I think grind their teeth!But I am working on all of this, and hopefully, in the not too distant future, I would have my own bio gas thingy, and maybe I could learn to live without a lot of the modern amenities, but for the time being, I am still pretty much spoiled for a bit of comfort!

I am at the moment a very confused person! In South Africa it had always been the custom to greet family and friends you haven't seen for a long time with a kiss on the mouth. I disliked it when I was a kid and the aunties smothered us with their hearty kisses while folding you in an embrace that left you disheveled and breathless.
On my visit to my kids in Belgium I was thrown time and again by the cheek kissing thing, as after working in Scotland for so many years I knew that outside of Africa you do not kiss on the mouth, but what utterly confused me, is that some people give you one kiss on the cheek, others two, and still others give you three, while still others give you the hand also. And that is where I time and again almost took somebody's teeth out, or gave them a bloody nose, as I seemed to be always kissing to the wrong side. Irma asked me once why I was kind of dancing or prancing around like a lightweight boxer before going in for the greeting, so I told her about me knocking people semi unconcious every time they try to say hi as I kept on wanting to kiss the wrong side, all the while keeping my hand at the ready in case they wanted to shake that also!
We  had a good laugh, as she told me that she was also a bitty embarrassed a few times in the beginning, until she found out that the Belgiums kiss the left cheek first. And there I was kissing to the right the whole time.
But that is not the most confusing part!
Being used to kissing friends and family on the mouth, I suddenly found myself in a strange and unfamiliar dilemma! Young people that lived in Europe or Britain for long periods, had become accustomed to the cheek kissing, or just a plain hug, and as I still get goose bumps on thinking about the aunties and their smothering, and the desperate fight for air, I was all for a simple hug and be done with it!
But now a new fad had taken post. I first saw it with Aunty Sarie and Uncle Willy, who had been living a
very lonely life on their farm, far from the modern world with all the modern tendencies, who had always kissed with gusto, but who when I saw them the other day, turned away their faces, and I again almost left myself toothless by not expecting that, and went for the mouth, my teeth making contact with their jawbones unmercifully!
The two old people had been living their life quietly, but then my cousin Christine decided to go and au-pair in Holland, leaving two very worried people behind. To make things worse, Christine decided to marry over there, and at hearing this news, the mother cried for two days non stop. When Christine had her first baby shortly after, Aunty and Uncle was sent for, and after a lot of almost nervous breakdowns, and some attempted cancelling of tickets, the two were on the plane for a visit and to see the grandchild. They stayed for three months, and came back two completely different people from the two scared beings that had to be almost carried onto the plane.
Aunty Sarie was now sporting quite a few new mannerisms that she never had,throwing in a few Dutch words here and there and uncle Willie had shed his farmer's image, and strutted around in a natty pair of corduroy pants and a golf shirt, instead of his old sensible clothes. All that was very nice to see, but the new way they had of turning away their faces when old friends or some family members wanted to greet them the customary way, left a few flabbergasted and unhappy people behind, wondering if they had bad breath, or running to the bathroom to see what was wrong with their faces, this two now not wanting to greet them. All this is quite entertaining, but I hope all South Africans take this new way of greeting to heart, as that will leave a lot less clausterphobic grown-ups, who almost got smothered by one of the aunts as a child!
The only favour I ask, is that the nation decide now, when this is still in leading strings, to make up their minds on how many kisses, and on what cheek first!

I was busy making a cuppa after a huge battle with the weeds and Kikuju grass, when I heard the little cock, who thought himself king of my homestead, and who had become quite forward since Lelie had gone, cackling and puck-pucking to high heavens, and when I looked out, found to my horror that Kevin Bacon had escaped, and was rolling around in a muddy hole where I had just that morning planted a new tree, but of said tree nothing was left.
I went out feeling very much afraid, and in my sweetest voice I spoke softly to the beast, begging him to follow me back to his own sty! But Kevin Bacon stopped rolling around, and then stood motionless, sizing me up with his small pink eyes! That was that, and all my courage having evaporated by now, I closed my door and legged it over to The childrens's house, where I found Jan and Andreas all dressed up in their freshly laundered karate suits.
But there was nothing for it, Jan had to come and fetch his mud covered beast, but this beast had no intention of giving up his new found freedom, and after making sure that Jan had brought nothing to gobble up, he slipped through my little gate and that was the beginning of the one of the funniest moments we had in Haarlem yet!
Nina, who was pregnant at this time came to see if she could help, had opened the kitchen door where Mobi was confined after the villagers had sent a posse to warn Jan of trouble if the dog did not stop stealing from them. This kind of operation fitted right into Mobi's catagory of enjoyment, and with a yelp and a bark he set off to help Jan catch the pig.
As Jan had just got the pig, with a  piece of old bread from my kitchen as bait, to follow him, he was not impressed when, on seeing Mobi coming, the pig gave a startled scream and legged it to the other side of my place. Mobi thought this the best sport of his life, and stormed at the pig, who was letting out the most unearthly screams before he decided to have a go at the irritating dog.
By this time Nina had joined in this farce, and with her protruding tummy and all, was trying to catch the frollicking dog, but he was not giving up his sport so easily, and did not heed her cries for him to stop his nonsense. Jan was by now not looking as fresh and whitely dressed as a few minutes before, and I could see that his temper was far from good, but had to laugh a few times when he made a dash for my yard when Kevin stormed in his direction, his ugly yellow teeth bared, his red eyes glinting.
I stood at a safe distance, as that pig was no playmate of mine, and as a matter of fact, I was bally scared of him. If only Nina was able to get Mobi out, kevin would have calmed down, as he was eyeing the bread Jan held out to him with hungry eyes, but with the dog's barking and running around there was no chance of him following Jan docilely. A few times Nina had also to do a few escape tricks, as Kevin couldn't care who he killed, thinking that the whole world was against his having a bit of freedom, and stormed anything that caught his eye.
The little white cock had flown onto the fence from where he sat in safety watching this drama, his head rolling from side to side to keep the pig in his eyesight.
Jan at last got hold of Mobi, and as he was too strong for Nina, he took the dog, who was now whining like a naughty child, home, where he was safely locked up behind the kitchen door. From then on things started looking up, as, with his pet enemy away, Kevin's eating lust overcame him, and he followed Jan meekly towards his sty.
Jan was now so smeared with mud that he took off his karate suit, and it was only Andreas who had any fun at the karate class that night!

With Lelie gone my life had become a lot emptier, and I missed the little black nose and alert little eyes peeping from under the curtain that I had in front of my bedroom door, there of course being no doors, as they had all been stolen off while the house stood empty.She would growl softly, willing me yo lift my lazy bones and come and play.
As I was awake for ages during the night with her playing with the frogs who came out in the middle of the night to sit at my front door waiting for moths underneath the light, I sometimes did not feel like getting up. I had long since gave up on keeping my amphibian housemates out of my home, and after pulling some devious tricks on a few people by catching the lot and letting them loose close to somebody else's house, and the wee pests finding their way back every time, I had decided to let them stay. How they still came in and out I did not know, as I had now started to put a sandsnake in front of the front door that had quite a big opening between the floor and the door.
But I still had the birds as friends, and Mobi was a regular visitor, but he usually just sneaked in and stole whatever food was out on the table, and after flooring me most of the time, he would be off to look for more co-operative playmates!
 One day I had just came back from the shop, having bought a bread and as I needed the toilet desperately, I just plonked my stuff down on the table and ran down to the bathroom. On coming back, and wanting to make myself a sandwich, I found my bread missing, and ran over to Jan and Nina, sure that Mobi was the thief, and indeed, lying under the pepper tree was Mobi, a look of utter bliss on his face, chewing up my bread! And that while his bowl was filled with the most expensive pellets on the market!
Jan had still not found a way to keep that Bloodhound in, and he was still terrorising the village people, who complained regularly, and the poor Jan was mending fences almost full time. That dog was just a master at finding weak spots in the fence, and although Jan had put stuff all round the bottom so that he could not make holes, he still found a way. Of course being a Bloodhound, once he got out he put his nose to the ground and just ran, not heeding anything or anybody., except when it suited him, and he would then run up to the chosen person, jump onto this hapless 'friend', grounding him or her, and then slobber all over this person's face, showing him or her how much he loved them.
The chickens also had a bad time with the dog, who, on sometimes not finding a weak spot in the fencing quick enough to go on his chasing of a spoor, settled on the chickens, and would start chasing the poor things around, and not the most careful being, feathers would fly in all directions as the poor things scatter and cackle, and feverishly try to get up onto the fence! Mobi thought this famous sport, and looked absolutely crestfallen when Jan or Nina went to the rescue of the chickens, and chased him off!
The only thing he left in peace after a small misunderstanding about food, was the now quite huge pig called of course, Kevin Bacon. Kevin was one gluttonous beast, and nobody was allowed inside his sty when there was food in his bowl, and Mobi, who feared nothing or nobody, had the fright of his life when he tried stealing some of the pig's food!
We just heard this terrible screams from the pig, and some very plaintiff squeals from Mobi, and we all ran for the pigsty, where Jan was just in time to let out the terrified dog, who could not find his opening to make his escape! I still can't believe that the sweet, pink little piglet shown here had grown into such a ferrocious monster!

Kristani phoned and asked to have Lelie back, and as the understanding was that she stays with me until such time as she could go to Kristani, I had no leg to stand on, but I was very sad. So she and Vissie, her fiance arrived, and I could see that Lelie was absolutely over the moon on seeing Kristani, and although we lived together so nicely, I knew she had missed Kristani.
I missed her playing with the frogs in the middle of the night, and her mad running around when she realized that we were going down to the river for her daily swim, or her silly believe that the small cock was her friend, while he was a vicious little bird who chased her away from her food whenever he got the chance.
It was strange to sit outside in the early morning quietness, and there was no small white body sniffing around in the shrubs and grass, maybe smelling the moles, as she would sometimes start scratching and whining excitedly, but she had never as yet managed to dislodge one single mole!
I smiled thinking back on the day she went for some playtime into Kevin Bacon's sty, and almost got eaten by that gluttonous monster, and came back stinking like a sewerage, covered in the stinky black sludge in which Kevin loved to roll!
I had given up on my newest patch, as the moles were just too much to cope with, and in any case, all my seedlings had died off. I decided to just concentrate on the other patches, as the little monsters had not yet worked their way in underneath my shading nets that I had lain before putting the soil back into the escavated pieces.
Jan's two cocks were just the biggest clowns, or maybe they were two imbeciles, as they would kind of work their way slowly up to my gate, and after cocking their silly heads from side to side to see if self or Lelie was close by, they would quickly run passed my door, straight to my veggie patches, as there were lots of earthworms for them to unearth.They were not really scared of Lelie I think, as she obviously thought that they came on a play date, and would run around barking playfully, trying to draw the dumb things into playing with her. The two naughty birds would just ignore her, just now and then storming at the playful dog, at which Lelie would bark hysterically, thinking it a great game!
On seeing me however, this two errant chickens would both give a few very lady like gurglings, before setting off at great speed to try and get through the gate before I could catch them. If only they didn't reek such havock in my veggie patches I would have left them, but oh boy, this Kuk-kuks had bally feet like ostriches, and if they started scratching for worms, no plant remained standing.Jan was now quite good at slaugtering the chickens, as he had found a very humane way on the internet, the different ways gotten from friends and family not having worked, and after running after chickens with half wrung necks, and bleeding combs after he chopped that off instead of the head had made him quite wary of being a farmer!

I was busily collecting small glass jars for the jams and canning I proposed to do once the fruit was ripe, and I was going to try a method of canning without electricity that I had found on the forum of 'Modern Homesteaders'.
But in the meantime I was tending my veggies, and I could be found many a morning jumping around like a lunatic on my new veggie patch, but it was not because I was doing some ritual, or a strange dance, but because I was squashing the mole tunnels! I had hoped that with Nina's Chinese wonder mole catcher I could manage the moles, and had against my better knowledge, made another patch without laying a piece of shading net underneath, and had planted some beetroot and a few spinach seedlings.
They came on beautifully, and after about a week without any tunnels, I relaxed, sure in the knowledge that the mole catcher was keeping the moles out, although I never caught one.
Then one morning I did my inspection rounds, and found a lot of my plants wilted, and knew that the bally moles had a field day catching earthworms during the night. On further inspection I saw that once more they had just made a new tunnel next to the mole catcher, and I could kick myself for being so silly as to think, after I first tried the thing out without success, that it would actually work in a real patch.
Jan's wonder chicken coops, the ones that gets moved every now and then, giving the two hens and a cock inside time to fertilize the spot, did not in my eyes do a lot of good, as our sun is just too hot. I moaned to the kids, and they said they had already put additional shading over, but it still bothered me, and I lost a bit of my trust in the teachings of the newly emerging, new age organic disciples.
I myself try and do everything as organic as possible, making my own compost, and planting only organic seeds, but when it comes to anything as strange as cooping up living things that love to scratch and roam around in such a small space, I feel uncomfortable.
I had tried to get out most of the Jerusalem Artichokes, as I had planted them in the wrong spot, and they were invading my whole back garden, but the plants just kept on emerging from the soil that I thought cleared. So I decided to thin them and try cooking them, as I read also on the forum, that it could be eaten if cooked correctly, although, thinking about my first try the previous year, I wasn't sure that I would become an addict! Strange that the moles never caused this invader any harm, as even a few of my smaller fruit trees died off while I was in Scotland, the soil having been taken away around their roots by the little pests! But my garden plants were getting on nicely as I had made it hard for the moles by using a lot of rocks.
I had a good laugh at the strange and descriptive language of our villagers, when a young farm worker called 'prokureurtjie' ( barrister), because he could come at the most inconvenient times and talk endlessly and animatedly about his fellow villagers and their  problems, but this time he came to inform me with great gusto and big tears dripping from his eyes, that he had thirty eight chickens, and this chickens were like his children, and they were fabulous layers, and now they were all stolen! I nodded my head and faked the necessary sympathy, knowing his powers of hitting upon a brilliant scheme to relieve unsuspecting people of their hard earned money!
Taking my faked sympathy as a sign to start on his mission, he asked very solemnly, and with even more tears flowing, if I would not like to relieve his heartache by sponsoring a box of wine to drown his sorrows!

On the Thursday before the wedding one of Irma's oldest and strangest friends arrived, and immediately took Irma and the kids in hand.Susan never got married, and is a strange mix of the perfectly groomed city dweller, never a hair out of place, but she just so easily adapted to the Haarlem living when we just moved here, and after hearing the noises coming from below Irma's full of holes floorboards, came to my house and  spread  Irma's little camping mattress on the cement floor, and slept like a log! She did scrub and scour the make-do kitchen though, and told Irma's kids that they were two lazy beings, and should be ashamed for not helping their mum more!
Anyway, she then inspected the wedding dress, and put the seam in, as I still had to do it on the Friday, not having measured the exact length. She is just incredible!
The Saturday broke clear and warm, and as Irma had done all the catering herself, money a bitty scarce, it was a busy morning, but with Susan taking charge, all was done, the food at the ready to be taken to the lawn at the Church Hall, and I arrived from Haarlem just in time to help with the finishing touches, as Susan had done what we struggled to do, and that is to get Irma's two daughters to lift their hands. In South Africa the kids are so spoiled, as we all have nannies, and Elisabeth, who worked for Irma for about twenty years was just the best, but spoiled the kids by picking up after them all the time!
Irma looked absolutely lovely in her dress with leaves braided into her hair, and as she came riding down the dusty road on her horse, everybody pikked a tear. We were to wait at the house for her to come there, then all would have a quick refreshment before she and Karel would lead us to the little church!
Barnard, the preacher who was to marry them was also a good friend, and he had consented to do a Celtic wedding, although I don't think his congregation fully approved. It was I think the nicest wedding I have ever been to, as he did the service beautifully, like it is done in his church, but the marriage vows and stuff were all done the Celtic way, complete with the tying together of their hands.
Irma's two girls, Kristani and Kiana sang a beautiful Celtic song during the tying of the couple's hands, and then Kian, my three year old grandson who loves singing, stood on a box and sang a song about the animals on the earth and the birds in the sky, and we all  cried a bit more!
Afterwards we had a feast outside on the lawn, where the two ladies that came to help had put out the tables and chairs, starting with a pot of soup that the bride made!
Jan and Nina had made some Danish snacks also, and with all the goodies Irma had made, nobody stayed hungry.

I had now to down tools for a while and concentrate on Irma's wedding dress, as the wedding was just around the corner. But as most of my seedlings were in, all I had to do at the moment was to wage my war with all the beasts that were forever on the look-out for a tasty morsel. The moles, my biggest headache, was the most destructive, and if they destroyed my crops like the snails and peacocks for something to eat, I could have forgiven them more readily, but as their tunnels caused my plants to wither and die, I hunt them down, actually I have never caught one of the wee pests. Nina had ordered a kind of a tunnel thing with two swing doors that swings only to the inside, allowing the moles in, but not letting them out again, from China, and I was very hopeful when I inserted this contraption in one of the busiest tunnels.
One thing I can say about moles is that they might be blind, and might be living underground, but stupid they are definitely NOT! I waited for a few days before checking on this wonder device, but could cry from disappointment to find that not even one mole tried to get in, and was aghast at their inteligence that made them dig a new tunnel next to the Chinese wonder mole catcher!
All was set for Irma's wedding, and friends and family from all over came for this big event, and everyone was so happy for her, as we never thought that she would find someone else one day. She is so full of bally nonsense, and one after the other nice man was sent off on his own business because either his hands were too small, or his feet too podgy, or his brows not bushy enough, and the one poor guy was sent on his way because his car had mag wheels, which she hated!
In the meantime she had brought up two beautiful of face, but horrendous in their puberty attitude daughters and the strain of trying to cope with her work, and with the two teenagers was kind of making her a bitty short tempered, but then she met Karel! He was bushy browed, which she loved, and he had big but slender hands, wore a size eleven shoe, and he had no car with mag wheels. As a matter of fact, he had no car at all, not in South Africa anyway, as he was doing a Body Stress Release course, and was staying with Leanette, a dear friend of Irma, who gave one look at the bushy brows, and decided that this was the perfect man for her friend!

The unsuspecting Irma was invited for dinner and a sleep over, and she was bowled over completely on seeing this being that had just about all the physical attributes that she wanted in a man. During the meal she found him soft spoken, but not a walk over, and she came home very much in love, but not knowing how this Belgian man felt about her.
She met him by accident a few days later in the Mall, and she was over the moon when she noticed his face lite up on seeing her, and she invited him for dinner there and then. Until today we are still laughing when Irma talks about their first date, when after dinner they were sitting outside watching the sun go down over the mountains, when he looked at her, and said: 'You have lovely teets!' Irma states that she almost fell off the low wall she was sitting on at this man's audacity, and she was quite put out, when he realized that he must have said something wrong, and looked at her helplessly, and that is when she suddenly realized that what he meant was that she had lovely teeth, his English not being too good!
 She was much relieved, as she really liked this guy, and did not want to send him away because of lecherousness!
He went home at the end of his course, but came back for Xmas, and then Irma went to visit him, and the next thing I knew he was in South Africa to stay, and soon learned to barbeque, but that is another strange story! Being a sculptor, he didn't need to get a job outside, as he could work anywhere! And now they were getting married!
In the top photo Karel was cooking lunc at their house they bought in Krakeel, which was as yet not fit to live in, and the kitchen having been ripped out!

I gave up the struggle to get the cattle out, and as there was now a lot of grazing since Skramunkel left, I went over to Jan and Nina to tell them about the cattle and horses, and when I came back, the bally beasts were having a feast on the peach trees on which the small fruit were just appearing. I shouted like a banshee, as the branches were being torn off with gusto, but had to make a run for the safety of my yard when a very cocky young bull, hardly weaned I thought, started snorting at me. I can't help it, but when a bull starts to paw the ground and snort at me, I take cover!
I called to the kids's house for reinforcement, but this bovine lot was so intent on finishing off the complete crop that they did not respond to our shouting and arm flailings, so Jan got the hose, and connected it to the irrigation water and bombarded the gluttonous cattle with a strong jet of water. They were actually astonished at this spoiling of a super meal, and looked at us with vacant eyes that tried to grasp the big idea behind this intrusion! Jan kept up the bombardment, and as the beasts could not open their mouths to grasp the branches, the strong jets of water putting a nice spoke into their wheels, they decided to move to a more cattle friendly place, and that was down to the river!
But we wanted them out, as the fence around Jan's veggie garden was not strong enough to keep them out.
Jan went through his yard to get to the river ahead of this lot, and drive them back up, but we were horrified  when suddenly there was a roar like a lion in a trap, and Nina and self rushed over to see what was up! Jan was running around with a tree trunk chasing the herd of terrified horses that had flattened his fence, and was having a field day with his veggies! What a bally commotion, as the horses was not at all ready to leave this unexpected windfall, and Jan was like a ball of fury, but in the end he managed to get the lot out, and we chased them out into the road.
I now had to stand at the gate to keep the horses that was skulking around, waiting to slip in again, out, while Jan and Nina went to fetch the cattle.
We were devastated by the time the whole lot was out in the road, and although the horses eventually went off to look for better grazing fields, the cattle was adamant to get back in, and the cockey young bull was trying his best to push the gate open.
Jan was furious with me, but I felt badly used, as all I asked for was two cows to 'mow the grass!

The next morning I was up early, and took my coffee down to my little covered space to watch the world come alive. The birds were very obliging and entertained me with their best songs, and all was just as I loved it, except for the bally cats that were lurching everywhere, always on the look-out for a bird to catch. I always have my catapult at the ready, as I am now quite good with my aiming!
It was a beautiful clear day, as are most summer days here, and I felt the energy surging through my body, making me rearing to start in the garden. Most of the outdoor work have to be done before nine, as by then the African sun is already too hot for humans to be outside, so from nine onwards I usually do some painting, or repairs and other things inside. This morning I was just about to start on the day's chores, when there was a commotion outside, and I left everything and rushed to the front, where I could hear horses gallopping down the road, and children's voices at my gate.
I was aghast to see about twelve horses being led into my yard, and I ran up to this commotion, demanding to know what the heck was going on! The spokesman of this lot was the same boy who fetched the cows and the bull the previous day, and he was giving orders from the back of a huge chestnut horse. As he was about seven years old, and very small, and sitting on this huge horse without a saddle, and just a piece of string through the mouth,, I felt my heart contract nervously, as the other boy on another horse looked even younger.
But the two of them herded this lot in, unaware of my flailing arms and desperate attempts to make them aware of the fact that I did not want the horses in the yard, well, not twelve of them, as horses do not like the kikuju grass I wanted the cows to eat, and I knew from experience that this lot would make straight for Jan's veggies!
Then some more hoof clopping was heard, and in came this monstrous white horse, and I mean monstrous, as he was about a foot higher than the others, and on top of this horse was a small boy of also around seven. But that was not the reason for me almost having a nervous breakdown, as behind this very small boy sat a little boy of about two, clinging for life to the bigger one, but smiling as broadly as his mouth would allow. I asked the child if he was not scared that his little brother would fall off and be trampled by the horse, but he glided the small boy into the waiting arms of their spokesman, then he himself got down as light as a feather, before he looked at me and said: 'Nee Aunty, hy like dit, en hy sallie afval nie! ( no aunty, he loves it and won't fall off!) By this time the whole bally herd had disappeared to the back, and I scowled at the kids, asking them why they brought the horses and not the cows, and they assured me that they were now on their way to fetch them.'No, no! I only wanted the two cows!', I tried to reason, but they were on a mission, and disappeared up the road, their bare feet kicking up small cloudsof red dust!
It wasn't long before I noticed a lot of dust being kicked up again, and then the boys appeared with what I thought must have been their dad's whole herd, and I tried in vain to close the gate which I had left open for the horses to leave.