Photos

Good Food and Friends

Well, last night I got caught up ranting about my phone to everyone online, and so didn't realize the time until it was gone 4pm, and then hadn't taken out anything to defrost and so lost all interest in cooking. I thought to myself  "Possibly Pio will cook when he comes in ... " should have known that was too much - he said "Of course I'll cook" and headed for the frozen sausage rolls in the freezer. How original. 

Joani arrived, as she and I were meant to go and do a recce for an idea I have had, but we got side-tracked. So anyway, we decided to go to Ocean Basket for dinner as we haven't been in a while and cooking was looking less and less like an option. Pio normally eats a great big lunch very day, and so isn't hungry when he gets in, compared to me who is starving by 6pm as I eat very little during the day.

So anyway, off we go, after putting the dog bed outside for Bear and Kita, and giving them each a big bone to chew on to keep them amused in the time that we would be gone. It really is a huge relief knowing that they have each other now and poor Bear isn't lying there alone missing us with a soulful look in his big brown eyes!

We sat outside at Ocean Basket, its cold now but being horrible smokers that is the only choice we have! It was actually a very pleasant evening, we had a drink and then ordered 18 prawns with fresh bread, garlic, chillies and butter and had that as a starter, it was divine. For mains Pio and I had Kingklip with mussels and prawns, and Joani had a platter.

It was just so nice sitting there, chilling, eating, talking rubbish, and the food was great. We left just after 8pm so still had an early night, and good food. 

Came home to discover that Kita had found the niche in the dog bed and ripped a lot of the stuffing out ...

WTF? GULP

Right people, this is your chance to rub in my face what a sarcastic and short-fused cow I am. I woke up this morning, and as I was leaving for work start looking for my phone. I couldn't find it anywhere, and so then rang it - it was off. Sit back and think for a while ... the last time I used it was at DHL yesterday afternoon. So I thought OK, must have left it there, as I didn't look for it all of yesterday or use it, and used Pio's alarm clock this morning to wake up with. 

Off I go to work and ring DHL - of course they don't have it. I politely told them that if anyone has taken it I was going to block it and report it stolen so if I caught anyone with it would charge them. I was very nice about it though, didn't rant and rave at them THANK HEAVENS. I did rant and rave on facebook though ... never have you seen a comment deleted faster than that once I realized ... I swear, this bloody dog is going to cost me a fortune. Already has and it seems it's only going to get worse. 

Took them both to the vet this afternoon, Kita for her first shots which she hasn't yet had - not at all good considering she is almost 4 months old, and Bear because he is wheezing - no bloody wonder he probably has eaten a sock or something little monster. This garden must be a gold mine for the gardener!!

So now I have a chewed phone. The Blackberry will not come on, and after trying to contact Blackberry I feel that they can shove their  "support" up their behinds as they refuse to deal with my query. The T303 is still locked and it seems that no one can unlock it, so I may just have to use my phone with no back and full of teeth marks. And Vicky's phone sock that she so kindly gave me is all shredded ... :-( 

AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH remind me again WHY I wanted animals?? The cats and Maya have cost us a total of 18 thousand this month from destroying furniture in the other house, Bear has cost heaven only knows how much in chewed clothes and shoes and now my phone. The cats claw the furniture which means never will we but anything new other than electrical appliances as those they don't seem to scratch. The joy ...

Kita with the Curly Tail

The few funny things that happened yesterday I thought I may as well write about. Should have done it last night but there you go - Bear has literally just run out of the house with something of mine in his mouth ... So after me running in and out all day and cleaning and making dinner and and and and, when Pio got home I suggested we take them out. 

So off we went in the car to a beach near to us, which we hoped had no dogs on. Unfortunately it did, and as usual Bear went berserk. Pio had Kita as she is meant to be his dog and he must train her now, and Bear is mine (sodding good training I have done, that dog hitting the end of his rope lunging after other dogs almost took me off my feet more than once). All he wants to do is say hello, but other people dislike him as he is so rough and generally bowls their dogs straight off their feet in his enthusiasm. 

So there we were, me holding Bear whilst he jumped and lunged against his rope (which is literally just a rope as I haven't had time to buy a new lead) barking and looking like he was about to murder those poor other dogs. Kita, who hasn't had any interaction with other dogs, (Bear was the first stranger that she met) took Bear's lead and went mad at them as well - great.

We gave up and took them to another beach further away on the road out of town where they could have a good run in peace without chasing and mauling other dogs.We had hoped that by getting another dog, Bear's obsession with chasing and mauling stranger dogs on the beach would stop, but alas no it seems. Anyway they had a good run, Bear being a dominating male pig most of the time.

Once back at home, we had dinner etc etc and decided to watch a movie on the projector - Old dogs with Robin Williams and John Travolta. One of the first pics on the screen was that of John Travolta's dog, and Kita, seeing this, went ballistic barking at the screen. We don't know if it is the size of the screen so that it makes people look like they're real life-size or what was going through her head, but she was totally not on board with this whole story. Pio had to sit with her for ages to calm her down, it was really funny.

She is very protective of her house it seems, she barks and goes for poor Merencia whom Bear adores, and anyone else that she doesn't know as well. That's all well and good now that she's small but when she's the size of her Dad (who apparently weighs 65 kg's) it could be a problem. Johnny in the garden is coming today, and it will be after I have left for work, so am hoping that she leaves him in relative peace and doesn't bite him! So yes, we finally have a watch dog.

Bear yesterday also managed to destroy the new toy I bought the cats within 5 minutes of buying it - I hadn't even taken it out the packaging and he had broken it ... sigh. Poor Lucifer was dragging the feathers around as he absolutely loves them, and then Bear stole those and ate them another ten minutes later. Poor Luce, the little bugger loses all his toys to Bear, it's shocking. 

Anyway, time to get dressed for work and begin another day ... yay! Am so thrilled.

Another day

Has flown by, as usual. Nothing of particular interest or excitement though, and am rather bored which is the only reason I am writing anything now! Not that I know what to write - this means we get to find out just how useless my writing skills are when I have nothing of interest to say.

"Lizzy" and "Craig" have both chatted with me, insulted me and called me old, so all three of us are on good terms although Lizzy seems to feel she is a swingers chat room as all 3 of us were chatting at the same time and relaying sarcastic comments and insults. Feels almost like I'm back in England! 

Kita, the latest addition to the mad house, is settling in well. She is a "talker", and so when she gets excited or sees you for the first time she howls with excitement which is very cute. Bear has stopped howling at the gate like a lost child, so hopefully the old bid that keeps grilling me about his welfare will stop! Seriously though, who could ever mistake a big, fat, shiny-coated mutt that constantly has half my clothes and bones the size of himself to eat every day, as being ill-treated??? He eats better than I do. 

She took a chomp out of Lucifer this morning, vicious little bag, so got her bum truly smacked. My cats are totally off-limits to these crazy dogs and they better believe I will drop them off at SPCA if they do! Yes, I am an evil Mother that doesn't care for her children. Poor Lucifer who is a very brave if very small little soul tried to put her in her place and got taken out - he spent the rest of the morning quaking on the garden roof / wall and came running when I got home from work crying his little heart out. Kita Cow will get her ass kicked if she goes down that road again!!!

She kept us up quite a lot last night - I think she gets bored. Bear climbs in and out the window in the lounge and so keeps himself amused, but she is still too little to and so wakes us up. I was so amazed, Pio actually got up for her to let her out! It didn't help that I had to get up 5 minutes later to get her back in, but the thought was there and it was truly appreciated. 

I also got a long email from Hope which was great, and finally got to send some photos out to everyone of our menagerie and Pio and myself. Sharon kindly told me that I have lost weight and am looking rather thin ... sigh ... can we ever win? Scrawny me - comes from running after 5 animals and a male child of 30. 

Anyway, nothing interesting and exiting to report so am off to shower and read my book!

Well well ...

Who would have thought ... 

I got a very strange message today, from a good friend of mine in England. As she wishes to remain anonymous as no one apparently knows this secret, let's think of a name for her - OK, Elizabeth! Lizzy for short ha ha ha - that's out of spite as she calls me that lol. "Rhoda Elizabeth Jones!!!" She shrieks when she's annoyed with me; I don't have a middle name, but she says it carries more weight if she adds one in.

Now we need a name for the other character in this story ... difficult one actually ... he and I go back aways ... umm Craig will have to do. First thing that popped into my head apart from Pio or Tiaan and I can't steal their names, would just be weird really. Craig and I used to work together quite closely and for some time, and I thought he was really quite fit but I was in a relationship and so was he, and we were really just good mates, got along like a house on fire. Lizzy was always the one going "No I don't think he's fit, not my type at all!" Huh!! (very loud snort)

So Lizzy sends me a very odd mail this afternoon. It begins: "I have a bit of news for you and have no idea how you are going to react….so please read this very carefully and try and keep an open mind….looking forward to your reaction ... "
                                        

Right, so this immediately makes me think Oh Good Lord, she's pregnant; or something equally disastrous. On it goes, saying that she really would like it if I didn't bite her head off, and I needed to read and think before I reacted, and take things calmly dot dot dot. Hmmm. Turns out the great dramatic news was simply that the two of them had gotten together! Odd yes, how on earth they managed to get that right am really not very sure at all :-) but overall it is very good news. Apparently both of them were apparently terrified at my reaction and waiting for it with bated breath. Idiots. The only reaction Lizzy got was me pissing myself with laughter. 
                                                     

Then, the old evil side kicks in ... 

"Lizzy," I say, "Shall I mail Craig and tell him off as I imagined that he was saving himself for me and now he's pulling into my best mate, shock horror??? Am mortally wounded whatnot whatnot."
                                          

Lizzy is really just as evil: "Go for it!" she says. So there I go, type a quick mail to Craig and crap him out, saying how dare he go near my best mate, it's totally out of line! Unfortunately, the silly cow is obviously totally crazy about him as she bloody went and told him it was only a joke ... sigh ... there went my afternoon of fun. On the other hand, I could always email HER tomorrow and say that I had a good think about it and am horrified by it, they have broken my delicate heart! Bless her, could I be so cruel - uh, yes!!
                                        

Overall the jokes and laughs, it's kind of bittersweet for me, and really makes me think of ol' England and the friends that have been so good to me. Whenever I'm down, something will happen, and their comments and emails and words really have made a difference. The freaky thing is, I have this kind of feeling that this is it for them, etc etc - another "end of an era". 
                                               

Who knows, maybe I am wrong, but they fit. And whichever way it goes I can only wish them the best of luck, xo xo.