Our week

I had such big plans for this week. I was going to reupholster all the chairs and paint the house. But then I got sick. But then I got better! So I went out and got some paint and painted the house. Then I got REALLY sick and that’s about where I’ve been all week. I’m making slipcovers for all the chairs, and since I am doing it by hand, I can sit on the floor and sew. I’ll do that for a while and then get up and stumble to bed. And then return and do some more. Its just so hard being in bed when there is all this cuteness calling me from in the living room. I’ve almost finished 2 slipcovers, so that’s pretty good for a sick lady. The dogs have been absolutely no help whatsoever, but Randy has been doing it all. Grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry. I'm sure he's sick of me being sick. (By the way, these are the two chairs I HAVEN'T done yet)

Morning.

Good Morning.
Its 6:30 in the morning here and I've been up for about 2 hours. I woke up a little after 4, unable to breathe from my face. I must be forming gills somewhere. Thankfully, Denise sent me home with a bunch of Sudafed type stuff. I sat on the porch and rubbed soothing things on my face and drank liquids and ate a piece of cheese. Its foggy and rainy and quiet outside. There isn't even a breeze. Its a cool, tropical morning. Even after all this time, I think, "Am I really sitting on a porch in Africa at 6 in the morning popping Sudafed and eating cheese?"
Once again, this isn't a life I would have predicted for myself. I'm so thankful for it.

Chairs.....

You’re all wondering how we got our furniture home. Well, it wasn’t easy. It wouldn’t fit in our car. Such a bummer. So we just decided to use a little common sense.

We had it delivered for 15 bucks….

Don't be jealous

We found furniture today and the pieces are a wonder to behold. Placed together in a setting, the similarity of their style, fabric and softness begged to be purchased as a set. But what ultimately drew us in, hook, line and sinker, was the quality of the workmanship. It was all in the details.Don't let the boxiness fool you. As for comfort, well, this one's more comfortable than an airline seat, I can tell you that much.It goes to show you that a little dirt on a piece of upholstery does not discourage a sale. Neither does an enormous amount of dirt....

Luxury.
PS~I've been reupholstering since we got home today. I'll post "after" pics at the end of the week. Thank you God for these chairs (dirt and all)! We are all happy with our purchase. :)

Shiny happy people

Today was supposed to be our furniture-hunting day but I hardly had the energy for it. Still, I can’t wait to sit on something so we went. It’s a totally different world out here!!!

We were definitely in Whitey-Whiteville living in Noordhoek. Today we drove into Kuilsriver to look for a couch and that town is crazy! I couldn’t believe how many people were out walking around, crowding into the streets, eating on the curbs. I was like, “Holy cow! We’re in Africa!”

I loved it. If I had been feeling a little more energetic I would have taken out the camera more often. Like in the furniture stores. You walk in to these places and they pile stuff up to the ceiling. All the shops we went into looked like the inside of someone's messy garage (after their college-aged son has just dumped his ratty furniture off for them to store) . I don't mind buying a piece of junk if its priced like a piece of junk. But this stuff was priced like an antique store. (notice the McDonald's and KFC in the background of this pic)

So we drove into Stellenbosch. The used furniture store was closed, but I stopped by the clinic and got to see the doctor. He said, “Its not Pneumonia yet……” and gave me some pills.

Just seeing all the people made the trip worth it. We’ll have to go out again next Saturday when I’m not feeling like microwaved death. Now I'm home again, sitting on the floor with the dogs. Its a beautiful day. My not-quite-pneumonia medicine is kicking in and I'm happy.

License to ill

Yesterday was to be my big "furniture hunting" day, but I was still too out-of-wack to wander the streets alone (Randy had class). So today was going to be OUR big "furniture hunting" day. But Randy was sick as a dog last night and I've developed the coughing, aching, stuffy head, runny nose, so-you-can-sleep medicine sickness.
So instead of running out to find something to sit on, I'm sitting on the floor sewing curtains and Randy's shuffling around the house memorizing Coptic verbs. Right now we're very thankful that we don't have to be anywhere. That is definitely a gift from God!

Us

Today was a scorcher. The dogs and I laid around while Randy was at school. The house felt like a fish bowl on a stove top, but then the sun started to set and it cooled off outside. We spent some quality time on the porch.

This is how happy Randy is that I'm home.

There is a plant blooming in our yard and it smells good enough to stick in my mouth. Doony tried. He was running all over the place until I picked him up. He immediately started dozing so I stuck a flower in his face.

I'm back!

I've seen the sun rise and set three times in the past 38 hours, so my head is confused. But I made it back safely with all 90 pounds of my luggage. Andrew and I had to redistribute all my junk between my two bags so that they wouldn't charge me for the one that weighed 60 pounds. Thank you, Andrew. What would I have done without you? I saw one of Randy's college friends from Lubbock in the San Antonio airport. It was only bizarre because I also ran into him at a Harry Connick Jr. concert in Chicago. Two completely random places that he doesn't live.
The flights were easy. Thank you Lord.
Denise sent me two packages of stuff. This morning I've been unpacking my suitcases, and I'm realizing just how incredible this stuff is. Its priceless! Coffee! Crystal Light! Candy! Candes! Thank you Denise! Thank you for caring so much for me.
My mom and my youngest brother Adam came to visit during my last couple of days there. It was so good to see them.
And I got to spend time with Andrew and Cristin which is like going to a spa: relaxing and wonderful. We ate donuts, saw movies, re-arranged the living room.....
And I miss Cathy and her family already. Its always hard leaving her. Robin, thank you for flying me in. It feels so good to be a birthday present for someone.
Thank you Sue for stuffing me with good food while I was there! That cake was so good!!My good friend Tina and her daughter Isabella came and saw me on my last day. When Isabella was a kid, she used to roll her eyes when Tina and I would stand back to back and argue over who was taller. She knew she'd grow up to win that competition.
Thank you all for being so generous with me and Randy. It is overwhelming. I've been fighting back tears all morning and I unpack my suitcase and think about all the things y'all have done for us. How is it that I am so blessed and what have I done to deserve your love? Thank you for loving us and looking out for us. I am thankful beyond words.

My week so far....

I've spent the week with the Chessers, Cathy's family. I would be missing my dogs so much more if Cathy's family hadn't recently acquired puppies.
Seth is 17. Here he is with the little one who's name keeps changing.

Several of us slept last Sunday after church, including Cathy's mother, Rose. (here's the little one again)

LOOK AT HOW CUTE HE IS!

Cathy and I took him to work yesterday and he slept on Cathy's desk with his head smashed up against the Rolodex.
Here is Caleb (15) with the puppy. The other puppy is a chocolate lab, and I don't think I have pictures of Cassidy or Alyrose or Will. But this was my nice relaxing week with them. Teenagers and puppies. A great combo.

Texas and Africa

I have pictures on my camera to upload, but I don't think I brought my cord. When I go back to Andrew and Cristin's house, I'll use theirs. Tonight I'm at Cathy's. I spent the day moving furniture. I enjoy destroying the store and putting it back together, although 5 months of no work has turned me into a wuss. My eyes started glazing over earlier than usual.
Its weird being here and knowing that Randy is in a different hemisphere. Randy said he was driving to school the other day and a tiny 2-inch bat flew in the window and died on the seat. Poor little bat. I wish I'd been there with the camera.
Tomorrow I'm going into Fredricksburg to walk around while Cathy does some stuff with her sister, Janet. I love Fredricksburg. Its such an old, creative Texas town. I love visiting.
I'll get some fun pics up soon!

Surprise

For those of you who don't know, I'm in Texas.
Yesterday was Cathy's birthday, and Robin, her husband, flew me over here to surprise her. I can't believe it actually worked! I left Cape Town on Wednesday, flew for over 30 hours until I finally landed in San Antonio on Thursday. Thursday and Friday I recovered at Andrew and Cristin's house, and Saturday was the big surprise. Cathy's family took her out to eat at her favorite Italian restaurant with friends. Andrew, Cristin and I got there early and I donned a waitress uniform. The three of us hid by the bathroom (me in my uniform and Andrew with his camera. Not a single bathroom user understood the situation and we found ourselves blurting out awkward explanations).
Finally everyone was seated and Cathy's oldest daughter, Alyrose, came and saved us from our ridiculous hiding spot. I took a deep breath and walked through a throng of "real" waiters to the small dining room where Cathy's family was seated. Her back was to me as I entered.
I walked up behind her and said, "Can I tell y'all about the specials?"
Cathy turned and looked up at me with a nice polite smile, waiting to hear something about noodles and shrimp. She smiled vacantly at me and I smiled uncertainly at her, wondering if I should launch into something out buttered spam-kabobs. Everone got quiet and Cathy and I had a stare down. Then suddenly, after a good 30-second pause, the smile fell of her face like a magnate off a fridge.
She didn't just jump out of her chair, she was ejected, screaming the whole way. It was so fun. After we all got done crying, we laughed our brains out over that 30 seconds of unrecognition.
Cathy said she turned to look at me, didn't really take in my face, but once she did she thought, "Boy, that waitress really looks like Heather!"

I'll be here for another week working. I took some great shots from the flight and I'll be posting them and other fun stuff over this next week.

:)

To my friend!

Happy Birthday, Friend. I wish you were here to sit on the floor with me.
I love you and I miss you!

Canine Tango

I know by now ya’ll are probably sick of seeing our pathetic dog. But today was Wumpy’s first real day of play. Our neighbors have a puppy that I’ve mentioned before. Her name is Chardonnay and she is desperate for play time. She and Wumpus are close to the same size (height), but Wumpy outweighs her 4 to 1. Something snapped in Wumpy and we captured this spastic, uncoordinated, behavior. We’ve never seen Wumpy romp and skid this way before. Randy sat in the middle of our new yard while the dogs played tag, or really while Chardonnay tagged the Wump. Since Enkidu is so small, he just grunted and growled as the bigger dogs had their fun.

The Re-run

So I was sitting here looking through the hundreds of pictures that we've taken in the months we've been here, and after deleting many a dog picture, I found a few that we haven't posted (I don't think). They are just basic, normal, every-day pictures (except the one of me on the cliff....)
I was reading the other day and I felt a furry thing on my knee. I lowered my book and this is what I saw.
It was really hot a few weeks back and Enkidu went and plopped over on the dining table in the shade. It was pathetic and cute.And here are two of my favorite guys sitting on our new beloved porch.

I'll post reject pictures like these every once in a while. I love them.
:)

Aimless.......

Whenever we move to a different town, I inevitably go through a period of feeling totally lost. And not just “Where is the grocery store/post office/gas station/bad side of town?” kind of lost. At home, I’ll walk around in circles for 5 minutes looking for a place to sit down, and once I’ve chosen a spot I’ll rummage through my brain trying to figure out why I was so keen to sit in the first pace. Our surroundings are beautiful, but they are unfamiliar and therefore uncomfortable. I can handle the gargantuan changes (lets sell everything we own and move to Africa), but it’s the little changes (like trying to get ready for church and realizing there isn’t a single mirror in the entire flat) that really wig me out. I have to make intentional contributions (like paint, candles, mirrors, fabric) to our new space before my nerves will settle and I can once again get on with activities that don’t reek of neurosis (pushing the dining table and inch this way…then an inch that way, an inch this way, an inch that way, this way, that way, this way, that way…..)

But when I’m not lining up our two pieces of furniture with the tiles on the floor, we take strolls around the corner to an interesting country market.

We walk past the aviaries in front of the restaurant

We walk out our driveway…

And next door is this little store.

We aren’t sure of the strawberry’s significance……...

Ok, Denise just emailed me and said today is Super Bowl Sunday. I am suddenly shocked by the realization that we haven’t even had a whiff of football since we’ve been here. I completely forgot it even existed. How can I complain about anything in life when Super Bowl Sunday isn't anywhere on my calender?

>:)

A few more shots...

I feel like I start a lot of blogs by saying this: I wasn’t feeling great today, but Randy got me out of the house.

I wasn’t feeling great today, but Randy made me go for a drive (changing it up a bit). I feel like I’ve spent a good portion of the week becoming the lowest-ranked contestant in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (although I guess the losers don’t spontaneously break into fits of sneezing). We’re both sneezy, but I’m the bigger baby about it. My sneezies produce achies and lazies.

But we went for a drive. The sun was setting and the landscape around here is startling. We were a little late for bright shots, but we got this one hill that faced the sun right before it set.

Then we drove up into the vineyards. The whole valley before the mountains is spectacular.

We drove up a dirt road (with me protesting the whole way) and then Randy pulled over and had me get out to take pictures. Then he told me to get on top of the car. (I already admitted this to Cathy so I figure I can say it again). So I climbed up and stood on the top of the car, balancing on the edge so as to not cave the thing in. I thought I was up there to snap a shot, and Randy thought I was sitting up there so he could drive around. He took off and I did some big, jerky staggers on the roof before he came to a halt and I went galumping off the roof and onto the hood and then onto the dirt in front of the car. I felt like a ballerina……lovely, poised and abundant with strength and self-control. We looked at each other the way two people do when they almost get in a wreck and they both think it was the other's fault....

But I was able to grab some grapes. Man, they were good. Sweet and crisp. I don't care about the wine, I just want to eat the grapes.

The mansion

Y'all should know by now that I hate posting "before" pictures without having "after" pictures, but I'm going against my nature and doing it anyway.
We don't have any furniture other than the table that the landlord is letting us use, our mattress and Randy's desk.
Here is the porch, which is covered in opaque.....something-or-other, and there is a wall at either end of the porch so we have a lot of privacy. The sliding glass doors lead to the living/dining/kitchen room, and the wooden opening that looks like a door is actually the window to the bedroom.
Here is the view from the porch.Here is the inside of the main room. Randy's desk is in once corner and the fireplace is in the other. This the is table we are borrowing from the landlord. (Every house in South Africa has tile in the livingroom. Isn't that weird?)
The rug is awaiting a piece of upholstery. A loveseat. A couple of chairs. Anything really. We just want something to absorb the echoes.

And something to sit on.

Here is the kitchen. You'll notice the brand new, squeaky clean, bar fridge to the right. Also, our first stove in 6 months. Couldn't be happier. Of course, the oven temperatures don't make sense to me yet.....The bedroom door is right next to the fridge. It looks enormous, but it is minuscule.
Still, look at those wooden floors. They're big and planky (I love big and planky...). There are built-in closets that I *love*. They are very old fashioned and the inside of each is nice wood.

I also love these windows. So pretty.You get to the bathroom through the bedroom. It has gray tile walls, high wooden ceilings and a big skylight. Its really long and there is room for a washing machine by the toilet. yay

But the porch is my favorite. Here's me right after a violent sneezing fit. We've both been sneezy. I don't know if its from moving or the fact that we live in the allergy capitol of the world. Anyway....TADA!