Not for the faint hearted!

Last post I told you about Gemma's dog fight. And told you about the incredible fact that there were no wounds to be seen!

On Thursday, Carl got home from work and pointed out that Gemma had a very swollen face, and on inspection, we could feel that there was a great big abscess under the skin where she had been bitten. So on Friday, I took her off to the Vet. On the way there, her abscess popped (fortunately she was in her crate, so it was quite contained!). And there for the world to see were two HUGE gaping holes!! I was mortified and kept telling the Vet that I had checked her so carefully and there were no wounds and what a terrible owner I am, blah blah. She listened to my confessions (Forgive me Dr. for I have sinned!), shaved the area, cleaned out the holes, gave her an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory and then told me what she thought.

Turns out, she believed me about the wounds story, but the bruising from the bite must have been so severe that the skin died, and an infection set in underneath, creating an abscess. Which created a whole lot of pressure, and so it popped through the weak points - the two bite wounds.

Hah! Vindicated!

I have to put in this picture, but my apologies for those of you with sensitive stomachs!!!

The 94.7

For those of you non-Joburgers out there, the 94.7 is a massive cycle race organised by our local radio station, 94.7 Highveld Stereo. The truth is that the race was actually 96.5km, but don't let the public know! So, Carl and my two brothers, Roland and Bruce, and 26 000 other crazy people took to the streets of Joburg for this race on Sunday 15 November (you can see it has taken me a while to get around to writing about it!). It was a clear, boiling hot Highveld day and by all accounts, the race was longer, steeper, hotter and tougher than last year, but apparently still enjoyed by all (OK, most!!). Carl did his race in 3:11 but was a bit disappointed as he was hoping to break 3hrs. To me, it was an excellent time, and the most important bit was that he beat my brothers! Not that we are comparing or anything!
Check out Carl leading the pack (OK, so you can't see the thousands of people in front of him, but anyway!). GO DELOITTE!!
For the spectators, it was great fun! We went up to a nearby water point and got to see all three men (plus thousands of others!) ride by. It is a great thing for Joburgers, because we spend so much time behind our high walls and electric fencing that we never really get out onto our streets! Sad but true!
The most dramatic moment came when our puppy Gemma got attacked by another Jack Russell and I could NOT get this dog to release her! What was more scary is that there were two other really big dogs right close by who also wanted to get in on the action and take a chunk out of our baby!! So, I was fighting off the two big dogs and at the same time trying to get Gemma away from the attacker. And let me tell you, Gemma was shrieking like she was being murdered!! It was terribly scary! The kids were crying, I was yelling and the dogs were snarling. Not nice! The minute I got her free of the other dog, we literally ran back to the car and hot-tailed it home. On arriving home, I cleaned and checked out Gemma from head to toe, and there ware no puncture wounds! Incredible! Did I say no puncture wounds? Well, I lied - only the wounds were on ME not her!!!! Turns out my foot got bitten (punctured), as well as my finger (bad bruising only). I only realised that once we were home! So, I then cleaned myself up, took a shower, popped two Rescue Tablets to calm myself and we headed off to Waterfall Estate to meet Carl at the end of the race! Whew! What a morning!

Here is Carl looking very lean and mean on his bike!

The Vaal (again!)

We have just enjoyed another pleasant weekend at the Vaal, this time with my folks, brother and his kids. The weather was once again fairly missy, but we did still get out on the boat. Austin skied like a champ, and Liam managed to get up, although not stay up! He gets a medal for trying though!!


I have to include this photo, which I took with my cell phone, of our other member of the family on the boat. She looks like she's ready for lift-off (Gemma, that is, not Megan!).

Other than that, we did some paddle-skiing, fishing, cycling, braai-ing, sleeping, eating, chilling!

Y'know, the usual!

The do-ers and the don't-ers

We had our school's White Elephant Sale this past weekend. Which means that for the past few months people have been bringing all their old junk (sorry, treasures!!) and dumping it in a trailer in the car park. Which had to be manned. And then the stuff had to be sorted. And then carried up to the store room above the church. And then resorted. Priced. Cleaned. Etc!!! Are you getting the picture?
The amazing thing is that the bulk of the work was done by so few people! Mom keeps telling me that's life and stop complaining, but it never ceases to amaze me how little some parents do for their kid's school! I get it that the working mom's can't exactly take time off during the day to do all the above mentioned work, but at least on the Saturday they could've come and helped with the selling. But no! I eventually had to corner people to ask for help, but they unashamedly said no, they have other commitments! Person after person after person.
The good news is that the sale was a great success and we made R54000!!! Megs and Ali each got R50 to spend for the morning, and that kept them amused for ages! Megan bought a Willard Price book on arrival, and pretty much spent the rest of the morning in her own little world (as usual!). Even I got some real bargains - so the whole thing was not a complete waste!
Thanks to those of you who donated stuff towards it!
OK - done grumbling!