Fun at the Sun n Fun!

We arrived here safely to the Sun n Fun, in Sarasota, Florida, yesterday shortly after noon. Our flights went pretty smoothly, besides the fact we almost missed our flight in New York, because our plane was late. It was a wonderful reunion when Rachel, Kara and Wilma pulled up in their golf cart, because I hadn't seen them in over 2 months! The girls gave me a lovely tour of the place, with their golf cart, like the pool, hot tubs, volleyball court, tennis court, pickle ball court (can't wait to try that!) and a bunch of other places. We wasted no time in changing to go to the pool. We swam for a while, until it started to rain, then we decided to get out. It was raining pretty hard, and it didn't stop all that evening. There was also thunder and lightening at times throughout the evening. For supper we went out to Cici's pizza, an all you can eat pizza buffet, FOR ONLY $4.99! The whole lot of us went, the Macleods, Miners, MacDonalds and Raynors. We loaded up our plates the whole time, having the time of our lives! Brian MacDonald impressed us all, when he ate 13 cinnamon rolls- after having 2 platefulls of pizza, and other desserts! We were all impressed! Verna must be proud!
Today we were planning to go shopping, but since it was so nice outside, we went to the pool instead! Water aerobics were going on when we showed up, it was pretty happening, about 30 old ladies jumping up and down in their bathing suits in the pool. After lunch, which was a bbq, we left to go shopping with Verna. We went to TJ Maxx, and a few others stores and got a few things! For supper we went out to Sugar and Spice, a place where big portions meet good prices! :) I was very impressed with my meal! We finished off the days by going to the pool when we got back home. Its really cozy at night, with the pool lights on, shining through the water, making it a light blue color. Just to let you know, the wireless internet is really slow, so I don't know if I can put on pictures, but I'll try! Right now its time for bed! Good night!

A Day of Snowboarding!

I must apologize again to anyone who is trying to follow my blog, but I am making it difficult as there is no new information to read. Sorry. Anyway, today I woke up at 9:00 after a good, long sleep, and felt like an old woman with arthritis. This is the side-effects after a great day of snowboarding for the first time, at Brookvale yesterday. I went down with Hans, Rachelle, Micheal, Luke and Bennett in the van. Serge and Hazel took Grammy Raynor in their car. We left our house in Enmore when the van came flying down the road, horn beeping, at 9:30. We made a stop at Cenntenial Honda to pick up keys from Stacey, then went to her apartment to get some snowbaords. I was happy to be using Stacey's board for the day. By the time we reached the ski hill, it was 20 after 11. All I needed was boots and the ski lift ticket and I was set for the day. I was slightly apprehensive about snowboarding for the first time, but took comfort in the fact that Hans and Rachelle were also snowboarding. My first time actually moving on a snowboard of any kind, was going down the little hill to get to the lift. Hans, Micheal and Rachelle each went down, then it was my turn. I started my descent, felling ok, until I realized I didn't know how to stop. I flew to the bottom of the hill and plowed into Hans, almost taking the legs out from under him. It took a while, but after many runs, I started to get a feel for it. We stopped for lunch in at the lodge, then resumed our fun on the hill. Hannah, Justin and Timmy joined us, and we also met Nathan Kember and James Ross there too. I only had 2 or 3 major falls that really hurt when I fell, and luckily no concussions. The ski hill closed at 5:30, so we were forced to stop then. We went from there to Stacey, Joel and Colin's apartment where Stacey had a wonderful supper on the go for all of us! It was Delicious, shepherds pie, rice and caesar salad! When Joel was challenged to make cookies in under 20 minutes, he flew around, throwing ingredients in a bowl, and dropping 3 eggs on the floor in the process. it was quite entertaining to say the least. All too soon, after an evening of laughter, it was time to leave. The van-load of us were feeling a little giddy, so the idea to go to Walmart for a few things was appealing. We picked out a whole new wardrobe for Micheal, and got out of the store just before they closed. It felt good when I finally fell into bed that night!

In the van on our way to the ski hill!

Lunch time!

Looking so cool up there on that ski lift.

Luke and Timmy: Pro boarders.

Doing alright there Micheal?

Lovin the shades man!

I feel the love.

Its more fun if you raise your arms like this Maurice!

Feeling pity for this poor kid.

Eggs number 1 and 2

Poor Aunt Hazel has to clean up her son's mess!

Broken egg number 3.

The boys wraslin in the living room.

Joel making his cookies.

Getting Into the Swing of Things

It was so nice to be back at the Breaking of Bread on Sunday morning, the first time in 7 weeks! It made the meeting so much sweeter! It was also wonderful to see everyone again! Hugs, welcomes and greetings were exchanged when the meeting was over, making me feel happier to be back! I went to David and Angela's for lunch, which was a delicious turkey dinner! Its always fun at the Heirlihy household! 

The table is all set!

Bennett is all dressed for the winter weather.

Alyse has grown so much since the last time I saw her!

The kids made a fire out in a snowbank and cooked soup and chicken fingers on it- then ate it.

Hebron's Got Talent.

Hans and Joel hard at work, washing the dishes. Great to see men in the kitchen! :)

Return Journey

 Like I said, we left Ntoleni at shortly after 8:00 Friday morning. We made the 2 hour drive to East London, and arrived to the airport shortly after 10:00. We had been worrying about our luggage, wether they would be over or not. We weren't even sure how much we were allowed, if it was 44 lbs or 50 lbs. In case we had to juggle our stuff from suitcase to suitcase, we immediately went to the baggage check-in. We got there just in the nick of time, because right after we got in line, about a dozen people came after us!  The Lord answered our prayers when the limit was indeed 50 lbw, and we were a good amount under the limit! We were so relieved, and thanked the Lord right out in front of the lady. We were not out of the woods yet though. We were hoping they wouldn't check our carry on, because everywhere else they don't bother. But, sure enough, a guy in a bright yellow security vest came over and took our carry on to weigh it. I knew right off that mine was SIGNIFICANTLY overweight, but played dumb for the time being (one advantage of a blonde :P). It was no surprise when I was 7 kgs over the limit, which is basically double! Thankfully our bags hadn't gone through yet, so we took the opportunity to re-evaluate. We went behind the desk with our carry-ons and a big suitcase, got down on the floor on our hands and knees and we re-arranged. I took out my purse to use as a second carry-on. I also put my big, 5 lb science textbook into my suitcase, which significantly decreased the weight. He reweighed my carry-on, and it was still slightly overweight even though the only thing in it was my laptop and some clothes. I was racking my brain, trying to think of what  could possibly take out! As I got back on my hands and knees, to go through my stuff, the guy behind the counter, who helped us with our bags, yelled to the guy weighing the carry-ons, in another language, saying something about my laptop. At first the carry-on guy shook his head, but after a bit more convincing, the carry-on guy nodded. The guy then turned to me and said it was fine, and I could go now! I was so happy! I couldn't help but think how good our God is! There was no doubt he would be with us through the trip! Mark had been waiting patiently for us through this whole ordeal, so I'm sure he was quite relieved to see us coming out. The good-bye was short and sweet, consisting of a quick hug and a quick "Thanks for everything! Bye!" We had an hour to kill before we had to go through security, so we went to our favourite spot to eat, Mugg & Bean! I got a muffin and a Cappuccino, and we just sat on the stools and enjoyed the relaxing time. When we went through security, it was getting pretty crowded, but we found some seats. It wasn't long until we were boarding the plane, and bound for Jo'burg. It was only an hour flight, and it went by really fast! They served a light lunch, consisting of a extremely good chicken wrap and a drink, I picked Grapetiser. We had to take a bus when we got off in Jo'burg, to go from the plane to the terminal. It was kind of awkward because through this whole time I had to carry this canvas painting I bought, but it was too big to fit into my suitcase. Luckily it isn't heavy. We didn't rush when we got into the airport, knowing we had 9 hours till take off. We decided to go through security right away, and go shopping there. 

We boarded our 737 at around 8:00, having no trouble finding seat 46 K and H. The seats were right behind the exit seats, which have lots of legroom, so we were hoping they would be empty. Just as Elaine asked me weather to move or not, 2 gentlemen came and claimed the seats. We were slightly disappointed, but we got over it. SAA (South African Airways) is my favourite airline! On your seat they have a little package filled with a travel toothbrush and toothpaste, big long socks in case your feet get cold and a little mask thing to put over your eyes when you want to sleep! We were so happy this time to see the airplane had individual screens on the back of the seats. the last time they only had the big monitor screens mounted in the centre. For supper we had the choice of lamb, fish, or vegetarian meal. I picked the lamb, and Elaine went with the vegetarian, since she doesn't do good with lamb at the best of times. I played around with the entertainment system for a while, then watched a movie. I took a half of a gravel and by the end of the movie, I could barely keep my eyes open. It was likely well after 12:00 when I put on some music, and my sleeping mask and finally went to sleep. Next thing I know, I wake up, its 4:30, and Elaine was out of the seat. I was feeling the serious need to stretch, so I decided to get up and take a walk, through the isles full of sleeping people to go to the toilet. I was tempted to take another half gravel when I got back to my seat, but opted against it, knowing we'd be landing in a little over 3 hours, and I didn't want to miss the food. :) I slept for another 2 hours or so, which felt good. When the breakfast cart came to our row, I got the continental breakfast, consisting of 3 different kinds of cold meat, 2 cubes of cheese, a yogurt, fruit, croissant and I got orange juice for a drink. What a relief when the captain came on to say we'd be starting our descent shortly. When we finally landed in Heathrow, we'd been sitting for 12 hours straight! It was a nice long walk from the plane to the first terminal, then we had to go on a bus to get to terminal 3. Security was lined right up to the end of the ropes when we walked in. We stood there patiently waiting, watching everyone doing their own little thing, then Elaine and I took into the giggling. It was horrible, We sat there laughing, trying to be quiet, but we could not help it. Looking around at all the stern, serious faces around just made us laugh harder. It also didn't help that two guys we had been previously laughing at, because of one guys big, pink, flowery bag, and the others yellow shoes and tight white pants, were standing right behind us. Finally when it was our turn, I went through and beeped. The lady searched me, and without too much hassle, graciously sent me on my way. We killed time for 3 hours, then at 10:15 got ready to board the plane. My excitement was mounting with every step that would bring me closer to getting home. We were in for another long flight, but not near as long as 12 hours. It was exciting when we realized we'd be landing in Halifax a half an hour earlier than planned, landing at 1:30. By the time we got through the colossal line up for declaring our stuff, it was a little after 2:00. We got our bags, and we were both anticipating seeing our loved ones on the other side, when they told me I had to go to declare my painting because of the wooden frame. Walking down the hall I could have screamed! Elaine had to go on without me. It didn't take long, and the guys were nice, so it wasn't so bad, and next thing you know I was out hugging Mom, Dad Bennett and grammy Jones even came to welcome me! It was a bit of a killer to spend three more hours sitting down in a car to get home. We stopped into the Superstore on the way home, in Summerside. As we were pulling into the parking lot who did we see, but Wanda, Allison and Kate MacNeill! I was realy glad to see them again, and we said hello through the window. Not 2 minutes later, did we see Hans and Rachelle in the parking lot too! It was a great reunion! We saw a few more people when we went int the store too. As we were coming out, I looked and saw these 3 black people. There's not many black people on PEI, let alone Summerside, but what caught my attention was the girl. Then it hit me! The girl was on the same flight as us to Halifax! She was too far away by this time or else I would have stopped and talked to her for a minute! It was 7:00 when we made it home sweet home!

Missing FB Already :(

Just to clarify, FB does not stand for "Facebook", but rather Fort Beaufort. We retired early last night, like 9:00 pm early, so it was quite easy to get up this morning at 6:00. Surprisingly I slept well, and didn't even dream that we missed the plane or anything! The gloomy, cloudy, rainy day matches all our moods, since we are less than thrilled to be leaving. All our bags we packed last night, but we are wondering if they are over-weight or not, the usual stress for airplane travellers. We are aiming to leave the house shortly, at a little after 8:00! Until next time, we're gonna miss you Fort Beaufort (which includes the Bonnell family)! Salani kakhuhle!

Me and O

I'm gonna miss you Sisco... like a toothache.

Billy and I

I have more pictures with the kids, but the internet isn't co-operating, so I'll try to get them on at a later point in time!

My Days Are Numbered

Here I sit, outside on the top of the picnic table, trying to soak up the last bit of sun before I leave for the frozen iceland, even though the sun just went behind the clouds. I sit here wondering where in the world the last 7 weeks have gone. It just blows my mind. All the fun of the last 7 weeks run through my head, first time driving on the opposite side of the road, my first braai, first time sitting on a picnic table in the back of a moving trailer, first time going into the grocery store barefoot (like a true Africaaner). First time going out and getting soaked in a rainstorm, first time eating squid, first time seeing a slaughtered pig being prepared to eat, first time jumping 216 meters off a bridge. The list goes on and on. Needless to say, I'm really going to miss South Africa when I go home, and even Fort Beaufort, both the people and their culture as well as the the place itself. Hopefully it won't be too long before I can visit again, but I'll be sure to give Mark and Gwen lots of notice so they have time to be mentally prepared. :)

Stay hydrated!

Which way is the wind blowing?

Another Day At Work :)

When Mark got back at 9:00 yesterday morning with Mama Ndika, Elaine and I hopped into the Condor, and went back in with him to the Ikhaya Levangeli for another day at work. The first job I tackled was crackfilling the walls in the room I have been working on with the painting. I mixed up the crack-filling powder with water, at a ratio of 2.5:1, powder to water, in a blue plastic cup, using a spoon. I took the flat, metal spreader thing, and filled cracks like never before. Well, the truth is, I've never crack-filled before in my life. I love doing all these new jobs, that normally, back at home, you'd never do. It's great you know, now I can add to my resume skilled trades, like painting, eves-troughing and crack-filling. I proceeded then to put the second coat of green paint on the floor, remembering this time to paint the edges first, and not working myself into a corner. This paint is oiled based, which means once its on you, the only way to get it off is the good old chemical, turpentine. It wouldn't be so bad if I could just find a way to paint in a neat, orderly, unmessy way, but unfortunately for me, I haven't been successful yet. The more I try to be cautious and careful, the more paint I end up wearing. Thankfully, out of the goodness of their hearts, Mark and Gwen have each donated painting clothing, Mark gave an old shirt, and Gwen some shorts. As I was exercising caution at one point, I stepped back, and placed my foot right square onto the upturned paint lid. Disgusted, I stepped off the lid, and absent-mindedly placed my now-green foot, on the floor, causing a wet, green footprint. It took a bit of turpentine and lots of soap, when I was finished painting to clean me up, the it was time to move on to the songwriting. I didn't actually have to compose a song, but rather copy out a bunch of kids songs into a flip chart. I've never done it before, so I was a little hesitant at first, not wanting to mess up. I soon got the hang of it though, and everything went smoothly. We ran to pick up the younger kids at 12:45, then went back to Mark and Gwen's. We got Mama Ndika, and turned around and went back in to the Ikhaya Levangeli. Mama Ndika's daughter, Busisiwe, was there, preparing the meal for the Young Men's Supper, which was to be at 4:00. I went back to work on the songs until it was time to eat at sometime after 4:00. There was a nice crowd of guys there, likely about 25 or so. We had really tasty beef, with samp, gravy, butternut, potatoes, fried cabbage and bread. It went over really well, and all the food was eaten up! when everyone was finished, and the dishes were being washed and dried, I mentioned to Mama Ndika about the time they sang for Elaine, wondering if they could sing again. She yelled to Kwanele in Xhosa, and I only caught the word "umculo" which means song or sing. Kwanele, then ran over to where all the boys were playing soccer, and shouted to them in Xhosa. Next thing I knew, a string of about 12 boys were running into the building. They all lined up, and after a bit of talking and commotion, they started to sing, in strong, African voices. I got videos as they sang, thinking how good they were! This would be the last time for a while that I'd be seeing them, so I took in every minute. They sang about 5 songs before saying that they were finished. All the guys piled into the back of the bakky for Mark to drive them home. When he got back, Gwen and I went in the Condor to Spar, while Owen and Mark stayed in the car to wait. We picked up some food and other necessities at Spar to take to a girl having a rough time, not far from where Mark and Gwen live. We then dropped it off at her house, with Mark following for the sake of safety. It was really sad to see how some people live in places like that, houses, basically a big box, only one big room, a table at one side, 2 beds on the other. Old linoleum flooring was put down on half the floor while the other half was left bare. I retired early that night, laying in bed by 9:00,  that's quite a record!

Getting a head start on our packing. (photo by Elaine)

Laundry time! (photo by Elaine)

Drinking in the view. (photo by Elaine)
 

Pretending to be hard at work. (photo by Elaine)

Once again, photo by Elaine.

All the buys singing for me. They were getting right into it.

All loaded up in the back of the bakky.

Gwen at the girls house after we dropped off the food.

What do you do if your garbage is piling up? Burn it of course!

White Lightnin!

I spent yesterday morning at the Ikhaya Levangeli, trying to finish up some painting. Mark is trying to get as much work as possible squeezed out of us before we leave. I don't blame him. I had painted the walls white at the end of last week, so now it was time for the cream on the walls, and green on the floor. It was a warm day, so the paint dried quite quickly. The room looks really nice now.We stayed until late afternoon, then went back home. Elaine and I attacked the huge pile of laundry, folded it and sent it with the kids to their rooms. It took us a good half hour, but we conquered it! As the evening went on, the sky got quite dark and cloudy. Then it started to thunder and start to rain a little. Elaine and I went out to our flat and we were going to start getting a few things packed and out of the way. We had a slight delay, when the big, strong, purebred boerboel, Sisco, ran into our flat and stuck his head in the corner. It really makes you feel safe. Since we like our flat flea-free, we decided he couldn't stay. Sorry. It took a lot of grabbing, dragging, and cleverness to get Roxy away, but finally he was evicted, and we started our packing. After supper, we went out to the trampoline to get a good view of the lightening that was rampant and lighting up the sky. One thing about South African lightning, it really puts on a good show! It puts the best of Canadian lightening to shame. There's something relaxing about sitting outside, looking up and seeing the stars, hearing the thunder, then seeing a big flash of lightning streak out of nowhere, and just as quick as it came, disappear again. I tried to get some pictures of the lightening, but only about half turned out. Anyway, here are the pictures!

Lightening was striking all over the sky, in all different directions, so it was hard to get the camera in the right spot.

Add caption

The shot of the night!

Babysitters

On the weekend Mark and Gwen went for one last little trip, while they could, before we left. Elaine and I were looking after the kids. Sunday was a great day, we managed to break 2 wine glasses, and throw another cracked one out. The first one Elaine broke somehow, washing it or something. It didn't really shatter, so we got it cleaned up in no time. Not too long afterwards, as I was opening the fridge, out flew a wineglass full of orange juice and smash! Boy, did it ever smash. Juice and bits of glass went everywhere. This disaster took a bit longer to get cleaned up than the first. We had French toast for supper, then put the youngest 3 into bed. I slept out in the flat by myself and Elaine slept in the house with the kids.
It was a bright sunny morning Monday, the kind that really gives you motivation. I had a bowl of chocolate rice krispie things to start off, then moved on to a fried egg and toast. I then tried to fry up some banana in the frying pan, which strangely enough, tasted like sweet potato. Really weird. It got to be kinda warm by lunchtime, so I went out to soak up some rays, since I only have 4 days left! The kids made a really awesome big fort in the living room, with blankets, couches and chairs. Later on, I was in the mood to do some baking, so I got some cinnamon rolls underway. Mark and Gwen called soon after to say they would be home in about half an hour. The fort came down quickly, and a cleanup ensued. The kids were excited to see their parents again when they got back. At around 5:00, big black clouds hovered over the mountains, and the wind picked up. A few spatters of rain came down too. The kids were all talking about a tornado coming, which added some excitement to it. Nothing became of the weather, and the sun even peeked out a few times after.

This picture was from Friday night. We all miss His Highness (as Mark would say).

Supplies for the eves trough at the little house in town. Great tying job there Mark! 

It may not be the safest, but it works!

Students resting under the big tree, out in the middle of the field behind the house.

Looks so fun.