All the photos I have never included!

From top to bottom:  Lisa and Schalk at a barndance in October. Little Christmas candle houses given to us by Lisa. A Yellow-Fronted Tinker Barbet who had just knocked himself senseless on our window - he flew off shortly after I took his picture. Carolyn and Ciaran. Carolyn's man Marc. My man Robert. Ciaran's cat enjoys her first Christmas. Carolyn lighting the candles before lunch.  It rained all night so the river was pumping this morning. Our house, mostly obscured by the bush we live in!

Hello? Anyone out there?

What's happened to everyone - why you not blogging? And why, when I have just learnt where your comments are (well done Sal!) can I not upload a picture to my blog? There used to be a logo that I clicked on but the site looks different and that logo has gone with no options.
I've justhad a lovely week with both the grandchildren - 10 is a smashing age: yound enough to still listen to Gran and think the sun shines out of her proverbial but old enough not to be watched and kept entertained constantly! Old enough that I could allow them to go down to the river below the house and keep a promise not to go in till Grandad or I went down. Old enough to go and read for a bit when I got tired and needed a bit of time out. Old enough to play happily together until NOT and then seperate and do something alone until the need to be together overcame the slight that had been thrown! But yound enough to still need Gran to go first upstairs in the dark! Young enough to still need hugs and kisses - oh those soft little arms wound around ones neck make tears come to my eyes! Young enough to enjoy a bedtime story: Around the World in 80 Days. Young enough to cry bitterly when hurt and then for Gran to kiss it and make it better (we had a rock dropped on a toe, a broken elbow - not! when she fell out of a hammock and numerous thorns in feet (I told you to wear your crocs!). Young enough to creep into bed with us during a thunderstorm and then I had to carry her back to bed after it was over - nearly breaking my back! She didn't remember it next morning! He must have been awake but said he wasn't bothered by the lightning and thunder (macho?) but he saw me silhouetted against the window as I sat up in bed playing Nintendo till the storm was over, so he was definitely awake! Young enough to need sunscreen applied - they were fine, I got burned! Young enough to take joy in making dams, finding tadpoles and baby crabs, picking me bunches of wild flowers and grasses and leaping from a rock into the pool below the house. We took them on a 4 hour hike up the mountain in blustery chilly weather - perfect for a walk. We spent a morning in the local shopping mall where we played Deal or No Deal in the video arcade!
And now they are gone and the house feels so empty (I think Grandpa is OK with that!) so I will now give him lots of attention and hope the kids come again soon.

Comments

After completing and posting my blog today I went into my settings to see if there was a reason my sis in UK can't comment. I found a section marked "comments" in which eveyone's comments are there for me to see! Thankyou to all of you esp. Favourite Eldest Daughter, Favourite Niece and Waterbob. I never knew you cared and has anyone any idea as to why these comments don't appear on my web page - Hmmm. Maybe they do and I have just never looked!!!!! Any other ideas as to why Favourite Middle Sis can't comment?

Bah! Humbug!

Jingle b*$#@y Bells! Bah Humbug! I hate Christmas! I used to LOVE it - I used to trawl around Christmas fairs and the toy shops, Woolworths and Edgars and buy my kids the latest clothes and the latest toys. I would fill Christmas stocking with a lot of small things that actually added up to more than the main prezzie! Now even Lego (or should I say - especially Lego) is out of my price bracket and Rustenburg Woolys and Edgars do NOT cater for MY sort of kids! All the clothes are in shades of dirty pink, lime green, dirty orange, bright turquoise - saves on the washing I suppose and if I was dressing Noddy it would be fine but these are my grandkids for goodness sake - I want some class please! As to the toys - my granddaughter hates pink and ALL little girl toys are pink and anyway I hate gender specific toys. So this year it's clothes - after MUCH searching and just a teeny bit into the "dirty" colours. Actually her mom will kill me when she sees the Blinding White capri pants - I guarantee they will stay that way for at least 5 minutes!!!! But I hate giving gift vouchers and money - it's such a cop out and I did that for Golden Boy's birthday anyway. THEN _ having done all my shopping in one fell swoop at our local mall I went to our newish very local (only 17km away and situated in a filling station forecourt - Yes - I live near Rustenburg so whadda ya expect?) boutique come restaurant and discovered millions of goodies I could have bought for everyone! Yes it would have bankrupted me but still - everything was unique and lovely - so I did a little top up for everyone to go with the boring things I bought yesterday and then went and consoled myself over breakfast in the restaurant bit while they washed and vacuumed my car!!! NOW - where else can you have all that done in one place!