Sunday Afternoon - Home Again!

We had a peaceful and delicious breakfast on Thursday at The Little Church in Van Reenen… we were on our way home…

 And yes, we are home again…

We had thunder and lightning and rain Thursday night when we arrived, and after Ethan, Daena, Cabryn and Roisin (Nadia’s sister) helped carry all the stuff in…  
We are home!

I walk around bare-foot on our carpets… We are home!

I bathed in my own bath… We are home!

The church bells rang this morning…  We are home!

The peaches and apricots are ripe… We are home!

The birds are chirping and chirping outside… We are home!

And we have room!

Douglas has built upstairs in the property behind us and moved some of his stuff there. 

This week we will move more there to clear the front room off the entrance hall and prepare it for Les and Sally who arrive next weekend.

Richard, their youngest, is marrying and being sealed in the Temple on Saturday.

I am looking forward to that precious time with Les and Sally.

I enjoy having my brothers to stay, when they come to Gauteng for whatever reason.

Actually, I just enjoy visitors – and I prefer them shortish-term, whenever possible.

The other front room, Doug’s office, will be next on the list to clear to next door behind, then we’ll be all on our own in our part of the house.

And we’ll make that front room and the adjoining ‘piano room’ into what we need them to be for this stage of our lives.

(The piano room is already transformed – we did that before we left - it has a new built-in-cupboard which is very useful.)

(I’ll share pictures when all the new stuff is closer to ‘finished’ than it is right now.)

I to Glenn "If one of us is alone in the future we might well end up in one room."

We have much to share now with those less fortunate than we are.

I will take a load of our many clothes to the charity shop tomorrow.

Other items will be sure to follow.

We’ve been packing in La Lucia for weeks now.

A bit at a time…

By the time Thursday came, we were ready – just about.

I realized when I was in Pietermaritzburg that I’d left a few items in the fridge…

Ah well, the movers will have 6 eggs, delicious bean soup (which I meant to leave for those who clean and tend the estate) and probably a few other this’s and that’s…

I loved being there for the three years and five months that our home was there.
I loved being closer to John, Brenda, Vi, Craig, Roxane, Madi and Kirsty.

I mastered more technology… what a blessing!

I met and got to know many people I never would have otherwise.

We lived where we would never have otherwise.

We went places and did things we never would have otherwise.

I’m glad we went.

As I said to one of my colleagues who commented that I really enjoyed being there, 
“I enjoy my life… wherever I am.  Each day that passes will never come again.  I want as few regrets as possible when it is my time to die.”

I’m glad to be home…

I love my home…

We’ve spent many years making it very comfortable, functional, and pleasing to me/us.

Interesting – I don’t even miss the other side of the house.

This part is very suitable.

I’ll spend ten early minutes a day in the garden, and ten minutes a day on a ‘hotspot.’

FlyLady terminology… Finally Love Yourself Lady.

FlyLady has been very useful in ‘liberating’ me to a greater degree.

Do you know about it?

I look forward to going to the Botanical Gardens again.

One of my places of refuge/refreshing/being.

It’s good to be home!

It’s good to be alive!  See, hear, smell, taste, touch, think, move, be, LIVE!

We have a heat wave this weekend – it is hot.

We have the fan on, and the doors and windows wide open.

Most tolerable, most pleasant, when that is possible.

Northerners… Enjoy your deepening December.

Somehow Christmas in Winter is “the way it should be…”

“We” in the South have been indoctrinated by the Northern countries – 
through many years!

Somehow Christmas Dinner (hot) is just not right here…

And Christmas cake/pudding here needs to be ice-cream…

To each their own. We’ll have a swim on Christmas day to cool down.

That’s appropriate here.

This little bird, big actually, was by our front gate when I drove in from shopping yesterday…

Black Friday weekend… What was I thinking?!

I was glad to see this at-ease bird!
Do any of you know what it is?

Tuesday Morning - 27th August 2019 - More Family Time!

It’s been a lovely week, and I’ve muddled and juggled along as best I could.

A new day of our "nice quiet life" after the wonderful flurry of the previous eleven days or so…

It will be good to sleep in our own bed again too.

For the time Patrick and Angela were here we slept at one of our colleagues’ home on the same estate.  We could walk there… We often do… at the end of each busy day - we chose to drive.

A supper together last week at Amanzimtoti's Clearwater Spur

Vi, John, Brenda, Craig, Roxane, Madi, Kirsty, Doug, Nadia, Ethan Daena, Cabryn, 

Patrick, Angela, Samuel, Isaac, Glenn and I - 

Flag Animal Farm last Saturday was a family affair – Vi, John and Brenda, Craig, Roxane, Madi and Kirsty, Patrick, Angela, Samuel and Isaac, and Glenn and I.

I saw a black sheep...  I thought "I never realised there were actually black sheep..."

And the four-horned sheep.  It looks like three here, but there's a little fourth out of sight.

This touched my heart.

 

We ended up at the Umhlanga's Miami Spur for our last meal with Patrick, Angela, Samuel and Isaac on Monday evening.  I love to hear the soothing sounds of the sea as we eat there.

We had spent time during the day at the lovely Durban Botanic Garden.

We saw bananas growing!

And the canon ball tree...

Samuel and Isaac loved their "climbing tree."

We saw this noble pair...

Isaac enjoyed climbing...

Many years ago I took a photo of Douglas and Angela in the Orchid House.  And another of her today in the Orchid House.  When I get home I will find it and add it in here - for the record!

This lovely coloured bark tree is from the saligna (gum-tree) family...

Their 'climbing tree" again...

Isaac enjoyed the "bouncing tree" more than Samuel.

And the sensory garden...

An old-fashioned pump...

And obstacle course...

And the paint-brush lilies - as I call them.

Feeding the ducks...

They left on a direct early morning flight this morning.

It’s been so good to share some time with them, and with Doug, Nadia, Ethan, Daena and Cabryn for three days the previous week.  The two groups visited Ushaka and made memories while we were on the site.

I’m so grateful they could all be here.  I’m glad it was possible.

It often isn’t…

And – life is good… my life is very good, every day!

Today I did three loads of laundry along with work at the site.

This evening we will return mattresses and linen borrowed from our other colleague Anton Fourie.

We will gratefully fall into our own bed tonight after a simple supper!

Tomorrow morning the linen from our stay at Alan Rudolph’s home will be ready for returning.

Patrick, Angela and the boys arrived safely and are home from the flurries here.

And – on we go!

My love to all of my loved-ones...

It’s a precious privilege to serve our Father in Heaven and His Son full time…

Happy Me… 😊

Monday Evening - 13th May 2019 - Day 1111

It's one thousand, one hundred and eleven days since we were set apart for our mission - Day 1111.  I keep a list in my journal and mark off the days.  I started out with to day 1000.  I was sure that would be more than enough days of this mission.  I'm on to the second page I printed and added to my list.

I have been tearful today.
The tablet I have been using since 2013 to use at Church and in my morning scripture, magazine and other gospel study no longer supports the current software used by the Church.  I have been seeing the warning messages for... a long time, I think?  I can no longer download Ensign, New Era and Friend magazines on the tablet.  That's what made me investigate further yesterday evening.

This morning, studying on my laptop I just cried with sadness at this ending of the familiarity of my tablet, and probably some frustration with trying to figure out how to get what I want in a different format - another technology learning curve, and probably from being too long with too many people yesterday.

Maybe some missing my children on Mother's Day here in South Africa too...  I know I did my best... Actually, I know I did better than I on my own would have been able to do!  I know I was helped along by Angels on this side of the veil and by being Taught From On High.  And I know I was painfully less than adequate in my mothering through the 27 years I had one or more of our children at home.  I know I was 'enough' and also...  some days I am tender-hearted when I look back.

We visited Amanzimtoti for Church.  I always love being there.  We have visited for twenty odd years when we have been on holiday there, and several times since we have been here on Mission.  It's a small family-type of Ward with several elderly members - there are several retirement places close-by - along with the usual mix of younger people.  The Primary of about nine or ten young ones sang a  Mother's Day song.

After Church we went to John and Brenda's home and spent some time there.  John's brother Sam and his wife Rene joined us just after twelve and we took a drive through to Craig and Roxane's home for a braai celebrating Mother's Day and Kirsty's fifth birthday.

Some of the toys were noisy...

Other "activities" too -

Always good to come home!

On Saturday we visited Marionhill Monastery just outside Pinetown on Saturday morning.   I've wanted to visit there since I worked in the Equity Building Society many years ago (1963/4) where the Monastery invested in lots and lots of fixed deposits.

I'm sad to say... the precinct is in need of more maintenance than it gets...  I'm glad we took the trip though.  I thought of those who planned this monastery and other buildings in the grounds - out in the middle of... nowhere in those days?... and those who painstakingly built them starting in 1882.  The bricks are beautiful...  Lovely designs and workmanship in the buildings.

We got McDonalds snacks on Saturday and went down to one of our favourite spots at the beach to enjoy our meal there.

Tuesday...  I feel more able to tackle my challenges today!  Happy Day!