Biogas is Important for Children

This video was produced during my recent visit to Uganda in December. We were visiting bio gas projects. At the end of the video, when they are interviewing the boy about the benefits of having bio gas, you can see me in the background :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

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One year anniversary

A year ago today, the girls and I arrived in South Africa. It is hard to believe a year has gone by. And what a year it has been! Upon arrival, we were involved in a car accident in a game reserve. We were hospitalized and Sofia had to have the side of her nose sewn back on. Then in late January, Gary passed away and we had to rush back to the US. March, April and May were rather quiet. Then in June, the house was broken into and many of our things stolen. July, my father in law, Gino came to visit. August, Sal came and we celebrated the girls' 5th birthday. Late September through late October, we travelled back to the States again. And then for the last two months we have been back. It has been a roller coaster of a year. Let's hope this next year is one of peace and quiet and no major mishaps.

Yesterday was the last day of work until the 3rd of January. Yesterday, I also signed the lease for our new house. I am very excited about our new place. It is in a very secure complex. I have since cancelled the lease at the Plantations and now we will be in Manorfields Estate. It is so very central in Hillcrest. At first, I was a bit worried because I would still have to drive daily back out to Forest Hills to bring the girls to school. But then, just last Wednesday, Hillcrest Primary called and said they had space for the girls. Hillcrest Primary is literally one minute from the new house. It is one the same street just a few hundred yards down! It is ideal! And many of the girls' friends from their preschool are going to Hillcrest Primary. Today, we went to get their little uniforms! They have to wear dark green and burgandy tartan plaid! They were so excited. Their school bags are about half their size- so big! They start Grade R (kindergarten) on January 18th!

Tomorrow, I head for Uganda for 5 days. The girls will stay with our good friends, Jonita and Steven. Their daughter, Izabella, is one of the girls' best friends. We go over to their house a lot. Originally, I was going to try and take them with me but the tickets were too high. I have to go to Uganda for meetings.

When we get back, we leave for Cape Town 2 days later. We will be in Cape Town for 5 days. Then we get back from Cape Town and we move on the 29th and 30th. Then on the 31st we are going to a beach house with Jonita and Steven and Izabella to spend a few days there. It is going to be so busy these next few weeks.

The monkeys are constantly at our house now. Today, the girls and I watched them for over an hour. They are so interesting to watch. Such smart animals. They come and sit at our windows and peak in. Of course, I can't resist but to feed them. I guess that is why the hang out here! Plus there are no dogs to run them away like at our neighbor's houses. The girls absolutely love to watch them. And I think the monkeys like to watch the girls. Today, there were quite a few adolescents and two very tiny babies. One baby was too small to leave it's mother. But the other was just a little bigger, but still so small. Every time I would try to take a picture, one of the adolescents would pull the baby to them and try to protect it. It was so cute. And the baby would squeal because it didn't understand that there may be danger. I would crack the door and throw food out for them. They would run over, smell the food, take a small bite and either eat it or throw it if they did not like it. I had some stale gorp (like chex mix coated with white chocolate). They couldn't figure out why the pretzels and cheerios had this coating on it. They kept trying to rub it off. They scraped it on the ground. It was soooo funny. I think they thought it was dirty and so they tried their best to clean it. It is really educational to watch them at such from such a close proximity. Then, they got into my trash and made a mess. I wasn't too happy about that....

Christmas is next week. It is hard to believe. It doesn't feel too much like Christmas here- maybe because it is hot and because it is not so commercialistic here. It is nice. Yesterday, I took the girls to see Father Christmas (Santa). Sienna warmed up to him. Sofia would have nothing to do with him! She just kept looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She said later it was because she knew he wasn't really Santa.

Sienna and Sofia have finished preschool :(

Yesterday was Sienna and Sofia's last day of preschool. They have now officially become little girls. They will start Grade R (Kindergarten) in six weeks. This week they took a tour of their new class and met their new teacher, Mrs. Stapleberg. They have a really nice little school and classrooms. The only thing is that it will now be far from our new house. It is right down the road from us now but when we move at the end of this month, it will be a long drive in the morning. I am trying to get them into a school that is near the other house but classes are full right now.

They had a ballet show at school on Thursday. They are doing so good in ballet. It was so sweet to watch them!

Also on Thursday, we gave Bella, the cat, to another family. The girls are actually okay because she went to one of their friends, Izabella.

I had signed paperwork last week for the new apartment in Plantations. But then on Tuesday, I got a call from another agent and she said she had a place for us at Manorfields Estate. That was where I was wanting to get into originally. The complex has a pool, a squash court, workout room and very large park for children. And it is very secure with 24 hour security and gates. So, I called the Plantations to see if I could get out of that lease. At first, the owner was not going to let me. Then after pleading, I was able to (but had to pay $350). It will be worth it. This other place is a house, not an apartment. It has 2 large bedrooms, 2 baths and a study. It is very nice. I like it so much better than the apartment at Plantations. There is no comparison. This complex is actually right across from Plantations so it is all in the same vicinity. The only thing is that the school is far now.

Today, we went to a birthday party for one of the boys in Sienna and Sofia's class, Logan. They had fun as usual and we were the last to leave. We came home and I made some homemade PULLA. It is a Finnish bread. So good and has been so long since I have made it. The girls really enjoyed the whole process of watching the yeast dough grow. Then kneading it, braiding it, etc. They were fascinated. Sofia ate 3 pieces (like little cinnamon rolls) after her big bowl of pasta with pesto.

We will go to Cape Town for Christmas. We leave on the 23rd and get back on the 28th. Then we move on the 29th and 30th. It is going to be hectic.

It is hard to believe we are approaching our one year anniversary of arriving in South Africa on the 15th of December!

In the pool

 

 

 

 

Sad we are leaving this house in a few weeks. The girls really love the pool here!!!!

 

If it isn't flying ants, tarantulas or shongololos, it is a plague of grasshoppers. The flying ants continue to exit from the ground by the hundreds (and the monkeys continue to jump after them and pop them in their mouths like candy). Now, I have a big group of grasshoppers that move in unison in my fence....

 

One of the monkeys from yesterday admiring the mangos in our yard. They had already pulled off a bunch of them, taken a bit and threw them on the ground. I guess they thought if they kept picking them surely sooner or later they would find a ripe one....

Thanksgiving & Monkey Stories

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. It was also the girls' graduation and school concert. The concert was amazing! So good. The costumes were so cute. Sofia was the wind and Sienna the rain. After the concert, their class, the Yellow class, stayed on stage and got their little diplomas. Sweet.

Afterwards, we went to Andrea and Shelby's for Thanksgiving lunch. They have four kids- Brea, Gabe, Drew and Elie. They are from Indiana and here for a few months. It was a nice time. We stayed about 5 hours. Andrea went all out in cooking things we would have in the US. Many of the ingredients are hard to find. We had turkey, pecan pie and lots of other goodies. The girls and I took homeade brownies and the white chocolate gorp. Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here or celebrated....

Today, I went and signed the lease for the house we will be moving into next month. It is all final. We will start moving on the 15th. It will be different but better. Much smaller but more secure and costs less.

This morning, the monkeys were everywhere at the house. Our house seems to be their favorite hang out. These winged ants are still coming out of the ground and the monkeys were going crazy jumping in the air catching them and eating them. It was so funny. I watched them for almost an hour. At one point I started to work in the yard and they just sat a few feet from me watching and playing. Then they got into the mango tree and pulled off all the baby mangos. They were eating the baby avocados and any other fruit they could find in the yard. At one point, the alpha male arrived on the scene and immediately the mood changes. The monkeys were no longer carefree and relaxed when he was around. And he was showing off. He started jumping on the plastic covering that is over the pool pump. After a while he left and they relaxed again and continued to eat the mangos. I took some video of them. I am sure the new place we are moving to doesn't have them. There are too many houses close together. The monkeys also don't go into the townships because they know they might get eaten.

The girls wrote to Santa that they want these two particular Barbies. I went to several stores to try and find them. I found them but they are sooooo expensive! One costs about 90 dollars!!! I saw it online there at Walmart for 10 dollars. Hopefully, Sal will be able to get them for the girls.

Tonight, we went to Ocean Basket, our favorite place to get calamari. The girls love calamari with lemon butter.

Afterwards, the girls got to decorate their little Christmas trees. I had brought them with me last year. They are very small but look pretty. I had tried to find some lights. I found some, paid about 8 dollars for a string of very plain lights and they didn't work when we plugged them in. They were so excited to get to decorate their trees. They both kept saying "I'm speechless, mom, just speechless!"

The days fly by

These were taken in Limpopo a few weeks ago....

The days and weeks fly by in a blink of an eye. I stay so busy that by the time I get everything done in the evenings- unpack backpacks, make dinner, baths, pack lunches, wash dishes, read books to the girls, talk to them about their day, work for an hour or so, it is bedtime and I am too tired to write.

I have been looking for a different place to stay. I think I have found something. Today, I went and looked at a smaller apartment in a complex called Plantations- www.plantations.co.za. It is styled after villages in Tuscany. It is huge and it is a gated community with 24 hour security. I think I would feel much better to have close neighbors and the security at the gates. There are hundreds of houses and apartments in this place. There is an Italian restaurant, a laundry drop off, a preschool and several parks for the kids. The place is MUCH smaller but I need smaller. Since the hubby is reluctant to come over, I have to cut costs as we are trying to manage two households and it is really hard. This is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath duplex (again, image small Italian villa). There is no garden/yard to maintain and the rent is $350 less a month. I LOVE the house I am in right now- mostly the views, the gardens, the fruit trees, the pool but not the MONKEY thieves. But I have to be realistic. I talked to the girls about it today because I want them to be happy. And they seemed fine. This place doesn't allow pets so I will have to find Bella a home. I am not sure if Cookie the hamster is considered a pet but, I can take him to the office if I have to. So, we will see.

The girls have their Christmas play on Thursday (Thanksgiving, which isn't celebrated here). Sofia is the wind. Sienna is the rain. And neither have been interested in practicing for the play. The teacher sent a note home yesterday saying Sofia was being most uncooperative and laughing all the time instead of listening. She was sent off stage twice during practice. Oh my goodness....I talked to her a long time last night. Sienna confessed she was also being naughty. She was sliding down the stage props- Noah's Ark. I took away t.v. for a day, their moosey, froggy and silky. In the end, Sofia said "It is because she lost her goodness and she can't find it". That is her excuse nowadays. Anytime she is bad, it is because she has lost her goodness. That stinker. I told her she had just better find that goodness and start acting right. Today, Janci, their teacher, said they were much better.

They have both been sick. Sofia was sick last week with a sinus infection. She is still on antibiotics. Now, Sienna has it. Let's hope they get better.

Thanksgiving is not celebrated here. But I decided to take off. I had to take off anyway for the girls' play. I had met a couple some time back from the US. They are here working with youth and managing an orphanage. The husband saw me getting out of my Heifer truck and said- "Hey- I have been to the Heifer Ranch in Perryville!". They are originally from Indiana. I gave them my card and thought nothing more. Then, today, I got an email from the wife, Andrea. She invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them. They have 4 kids. I think they have been here only a few months. I think it will be nice to spend the day with them. Now, I have to figure out what to cook and then, more importantly, find the ingredients, which can result in a day of going to a dozen different stores!

Our little Sarafina Rest in Peace

Sarafina- March 15, 2010 to August 8, 2010
Sofia's beloved kitty

Today, when we got home we couldn't find Sarafina, Sofia's cat. They have gotten in the habit of staying outside most of the day. Today, with Mavis at the house, they probably came and went in and out all day long. But when we came home and only saw Bella, I knew something had happened and it probably wasn't good. All the houses nearby have very big dogs. And just the other day I had to save Bella from falling into one of the neighbors yards because she was being a little too curious on the fence and got stuck.

We walked around the yard and called her and finally gave up about 5:30 pm. I got the girls in the bath and I get the much dreaded call from the neighbor. I knew even before I answered what it was about. We aren't sure what happened exactly but they think she got into the neighbor's yard two houses down. The dogs got a hold of her and she ended up in Michelle and Conrad's yard trying to escape but she died there. Poor baby. I just hope she did not suffer.

Michelle told me not to worry that they would bury her and to just figure out how to tell the girls. Sofia is very, very attached to her cat so I knew it was going to be hard. But I never expected it to be as heart wrenching as it was. She wailed and cried for hours.

Sofia was worried this morning, more than usual, about Sarafina. She kept trying to close her in her room because she was worried about her getting out. Normally, she isn't so worried and she lets her run in and out. But this morning, about 3 or 4 times I found her locking the cat in the room. It is almost as if she knew something could happen.

At first, I didn't know what to tell her. I told her Sarafina had left and wouldn't come back. As she absorbed that (huge tears and sobs), I told her that she had gotten into the neighbors yard and gotten into a fight with dogs. And finally, later, I gently told her that she was in kitty heaven.

I told her Sarafina would always be in her heart. She looked me straight in the eye through her little tears and said "But mamma, my heart is broken. Sarafina broke my heart". She kept saying, over and over, "I want Sarafina, I need Sarafina". Oh boy, that was the hardest thing to do. She kept saying she was trying to keep her in the house and feeling like it was her fault.

And I am sure it is not over by far. I held her and held her. And when I was busy with supper, Sienna held her and tried to console her.

She was much more attached to her cat than Sienna is with hers. Bella kept going to the door tonight waiting and looking under it.

Losing pets is so hard. And especially when it is a child's pet.

This post is dedicated to our little Sarafina and, more importantly, to Sofia. She has just had the first break in her heart. One of many, I am sure, to come.

Happy Diwali!

Today is Diwali- the most important festival in the Hindu religion. The Indian population here in Durban is very, very large so Diwali is a very big thing here. As a result, there have been fireworks booming for the past few hours. Diwali is like Christmas in the Christian religion. It is a five day festival of lights. Insteading of exchanging gifts, they exchange parcels of food- like sweet meats. The cats don't like the fireworks and have been sneaking around the house.

Sofia and Sienna have reached Silver Medallion status with Delta. They are little world travelers with priority status now!!!!

Luckily, the flying ants disappeared as quickly as they came and there haven't been any more swarms! We did have a very large group of lime green striped grasshoppers come through. There were probably 200 of them. They stayed together and moved in unison eating my patch of ivy. After a day, I had to spray them as they were devouring everything. I took pictures of them. They were quite amusing.

They girls had a play date today. We had one of their friends come to the house and spend the afternoon. Her name is Izabella. Her mom, Jonita, is a friend of mine. The girls go to school together.

I was on national tv this morning. Last Thursday, the day after I arrived back in SA, I had a tv interview. A film crew came to Limpopo to get footage of our work and do an interview with me and my provincial manager. This morning, the segment, about 5 minutes long was featured across the country! It was pretty neat! I will have to get a copy of the feature to share! Sienna was baffled as to why I was on tv talking!

Thousands of Flying Ants Descend

Last night, we had thousands and thousands of flying ants descend around the house. They are the size of a dragon fly. They are the queen ants who have emerged from the ground to mate. They pick a perfect day that is hot and muggy (which perfectly describes yesterday) and come out to mate. They swarm to protect themselves and after mating they lose their wings. The mating occurs mid air as a much smaller, less conspicious male latches on. That is the annoying part. So, not only did I have swarms of ants exactly at 7:30 pm around the house but now this morning, there was a carpet of wings covering every concrete and asphalt surface outside the house. And even worse, the pool had hundreds of them floating around. The queens mate and then try to go find a place for their colony. The males die right after mating. We had quite a few of them, wingless, in the house. They are fat and move very slow. They girls were not so happy about this but the cats were delighted. I was not so happy because I don't want any colonies started in the house. There are enough ants, large and small, ambling around in the house as it is.

They say the queens don't bite. And they are a delicacy to eat around here with the locals. The locals snatch them up and eat them alive. I am told they taste like butter. I think we will pass on trying them for now. They also like them deep fried.

Luckily, this mating ritual doesn't happen every day. It is just a few days and then it is finished.

Always an adventure in South Africa!!!!

Settling back in

After a 5 week stay back home in the US, we are now back at our South African house. We departed the US on Tuesday of last week, arrived in SA on Wednesday. Instead of coming directly to Durban, we stopped over in Groblersdal (which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Johannesburg). I had board meetings and project visits from Thursday until Sunday. The girls fit right in with staff and board and then at the project visit. We got on a plan on Sunday and came back to Durban. Sunday was Halloween. Since we were on planes and in cars most of the day, we didn't have much time to celebrate. And South Africans really don't celebrate. However, we did have one couple with two children come to trick or treat. It is very, very rare so we were excited. The girls then wanted to know why they didn't go...

Yesterday, we were back into the swing of things- school and office. Very busy.

 

Angels....

 

Love this picture of Sofia and Nonno Gino. This was taken yesterday. He was sewing up Sienna's skirt. It had ripped at the party. And he was explaining to her and showing her how to sew. It was a very sweet moment captured.

Baby Jr's Bday Party- South Africa

This is some great footage from Sunday at the birthday party. It really captures the essence of what had Nonno Gino mesmerized. You can see Sienna and Sofia in the middle of all the kids playing. They have on pink shirts and blue bows. I love how people just occasionally bust out a few dance moves!

Beauty

 

I love this picture. This girl was trying to be gentle with Sienna and make friends with her. Sienna, still a little shy as we had just arrived, was looking down. Such a sweet moment captured.

CAKE

 

The kids all lined up for a (small) piece of baby Junior's cake. They all waited patiently their turn.

Waiting for lunch

 

Here are most of the children that were at the party. They continued to arrive slowly throughout the afternoon. They all sat quietly in between the two structures and were all given a plate of food. Many asked for more afterwards but no one was given seconds. They did all later get cake, sweets, a handful of potato chips and some fruit.

Sweetest picture of Sofia and Nonno Gino

 

Today we spent the day at Mavis's house for her son, Junior's, birthday. He turned one. It was a very fun day. It was the first time for Nonno Gino to see what poverty looks like. Mavis lives in a very rural community with very little. She has a tiny house with two small rooms. No water but she does have electricity. There is water outside. It was a festive occasion. One that Gino will remember for a long time to come. At one point he had tears in his eyes and he was shaking, he was so emotional. It happened when Mavis was opening the few presents that were there. Along came a lady and brought 5 rand (about 30 cents). She said she didn't have much but she wanted to honor the occasion and do what she could. I took about 350 pictures today so I will be posting many on facebook and a few on here. The girls had a ball, as usual. I had to pull them away as they didn't want to leave the dancing, the laughing and playing. Little children were dancing, the ladies were dancing as they washed the dishes outside. Goats and chickens leisurely ran amock. Quite different from the birthday party yesterday that we went to. It was for a friend at the girls' school. There the parents sat and chatted quietly and ate catered goods. Today, there was dancing, very few sat as there was much to do and work was divided among all. Sienna and Sofia were always given the place of honor- even when it was time to cut the cake for baby Junior, Mavis wanted them right by him. They got to blow out his candle and they "helped" him cut the cake. Gino was spellbound the whole time. A day to remember by all!