Up sh!t creek without a paddle

OK, so you might not fancy the title but there was no other option.  We discovered 2 weeks ago that there is no sewage or water to our new property.  Potential disaster!!!  We immediatly got hold of the conveyencer and told them to put transfer on hold until we've sorted it out.  So, a week of emails and documentation went flying around, all proving that the sub-division was legal.  The sewage was applied, approved and paid for.  BUT, according to Joburg Water, was not installed.   This left Carl and I in a total pickle.  What do we do??  Do we back out of the deal somehow (long shot!), do we continue and then put it straight back onto the market (and lose a huge amount of money) or do we sort out the problem ourselves - i.e. go to council and persuade them to come and install it, 5 years on.  Eish!  There is the additional issue that the sewer is 4.1m deep, and our driveway is 4m wide and 55m long (we are a pan handle).  That is a LOT of digging, a lot of money and it means no building could happen because the drive is the only access to the property.  Which means wasted time and we are already pushed for time. 

So, our architect, Roger, and I went into Joburg Water (JW) yesterday to find out why it hadn't been installed and to see if they will come and do it.  The lady we spoke to went off to her computer and returned with a printed 'completed work order form' which gave the details of the sewer's location and depth!  They just have not updated this information on their maps and that is why we were told (by more than one person) that it wasn't there.  Well, I was doing a victory dance, but it still meant that we had the massive task of getting it from the edge of our property (which is as far as JW takes it) down the driveway.  Nonetheless, I was still so chuffed to find that it was actually installed.
On getting home, I phoned my dad who has been walking this crappy road with us and he asked for the details of the installation.  When I read the form more carefully, it stated that the pipe was 57,5m long.  Which means that it might have been already installed all the way down our driveway!!  So, dad, the architect and plumber went today to check it out and voila!  there it was - a man hole right inside our property.   Our property is very overgrown, so finding the man hole was no easy task, but Praise the Lord, there is was!
Therein lay a lesson.  By Monday, I had got myself into a total state about the whole thing.  Eventually, I just gave up, and handed it over to God.  I just could not do anything more.   I prayed like a crazy woman that somehow this would be resolved.  And so it has been - exceedingly and abundantly beyond my expectations.  That's God for you!

Our new home

I have decided to start blogging again after a rather long hiatus (I have always wanted to use that word!!), but that is because I now have something extra exciting about which to blog - our new home.
It is not a home in the normal sense of the word.  Nope, it is a messy, weed ridden, patch of land 2300m2 in area which is going to BECOME our new home.

However, this is not only to keep those of you who are interested up to date.  It is to serve as a record of God's amazing goodness, His miraculous ways and to prove that He cares for each of us over and above what we can even imagine.  I know the cynics out there will think I am crazy and pass off each of my miracles as mere coincidence (yes, you Roland), but I don't care.  I know what I know - I serve a living God and this is my testament to that. 
OK, preaching aside, onto the house. 
Megan is moving to St. Mary's next year for high school and we had Ali's name down at St David's and St. Johns, so we needed to find a new home closer to the schools.
I saw this piece of land in about April and loved it.  I have always wanted to build a house - I lie awake at night and plan the perfect house design, then in the morning jot it down.  Sad, I know, but that is just me.  We have built before - at Selborne on the South coast, and have done two sets of renovations, and so you could say that I have a bit of experience.   None of which were terrible, which is probably why I would actually consider building again!  However, Carl declared that he did not want to build and so I turned down the land and continued house hunting.  How depressing.  Truly! 
Which is probably why I let the agent persuade me to just have one more look at the land.  So, I set to work on my darling husband and he decided to take one for the team (a BIG one, at that) and we put in an offer.  A very cheeky offer.  The agent came back to us and told us it was too low, would we go higher.  Carl was very stressed that day and told her he couldn't think about it, we would let the offer lapse and consider putting in a new one.  Well, clearly the seller decided a low offer was better than no offer, so 45 minutes before the offer expired, we received an sms from the agent congratulating us!  We were in total shock (kind of like when you find out you're pregnant - even when you are hoping for it, it is still a shock!).  So that was the first miracle - the price.
Then we discovered a couple of weeks into the process that there was actually a rates dispute on the land.  Which, if you know our municipality, is something that could take ages to clear up, and we needed to get this building show on the road ASAP.  So, we quickly had an addendum drawn up by the lawyer to say that if the rates weren't sorted out within a certain time, the deal was off.  Turns out that on the very day that a meeting was scheduled to try and sort it all out, it resolved itself (too complicated to explain all the details).  On the very day!  What a coincidence.  Ha ha!
There is lots more to come, but that's all for today.

Ta Da!!!

I have to brag. My birthday present from my darling hubby is the most beautiful Yamaha upright piano. The kids and I are now having lessons (the teacher comes to the house - how awesome is that?). One day when I'm at concert level, I'll upload a video of me playing. Ha ha!

Here it is......

My Birthday

Firstly, I am going to stop apologising for the belated entries! It seems every entry (all five this year or something - actually last year now!!) have started with an apology. So, not more guilt, when I update, I update! I must add that a few snide remarks from a few people has motivated me. Right, where was I....

Yes, the dreaded big 4 -0 arrived on October 3 2011. Sigh!

I did not have a party, instead I opted to take my whole family River Rafting (excluding Heidi et al because they were in Doha, and in their place our almost family, the Bouwers). The weather was NOT very kind to us, although we had to be grateful for small mercies. It rained lightly on and off and the wind howled the whole way, nearly pushing us back upstream - it was such hard work!! But, once we were back in our cars heading home, the rain came down in force, as well as hectic thunder and lightning, so at least we got to finish the paddle.

We arrived there nice and early, and had a brekkie before we set off. Don't we all look sexy in our safety gear?After a bouncy half hour ride in an open truck, with raucous singing to take our minds off our sore bums, we got to the set-off point upstream.

We needed some instruction on how to drive the boats and then we were off. The paddle took a very long time - with both the strong head wind, and shallow water level counting against us. The break half way didn't come soon enough. We were all very relieved to reach the end of the paddle and be taken back to camp where, after changing out of our wet and cold gear, we enjoyed a warm lunch in front of a fire. And that, my dears, marks the start of my next decade.

Lagging behind...

This is disastrous! I cannot believe how behind I have allowed myself to get with my blog. Slap, slap, naughty me! So, for those few people who actually read it, I'm sure you will be relieved to see a new entry. The problem is, I hardly know where to start!
OK, I know. I think the most exciting thing to happen since Megan's birthday was Heidi's visit in August. She came our for about a month, and happily, Darrell joined her (and the kids) for two weeks, which was a wonderful treat for us all! Seeing as pictures say a thousand words, I will intersperse my diary of activities with photo's.
Practically the first thing we did when they arrived was to head off to Afri-ski in Lesotho for our annual skiing pilgrimage. The actual skiing itself was fraught (no lift for 2 of the days!), but the snow was great, the weather was glorious, and we still managed to have a great time.

In Africa, a boer maaks 'n plan, and so we precariously went up the slope on the Pisten Bully. There is NO WAY that would've been allowed in Europe or the USA. It was SO dangerous, I was having heart attacks! When we were back in JHB, we filled the time with activities:

Our first trip on the Gautrain A visit to a tree top canopy tour thing in Birdhaven. What fun!! Then we a went to Sondela Nature Reserve, near Warm Baths (or Bela Bela for the more modern South Africans out there!). One of the highlights were the Nyala that came right up to us (and even into the chalet) to be fed. Quite an experience being so close to a wild animal (and yes, they are still wild - Ali got horned by one of them - clearly Ali looked like a threat!).
We took all our bikes and rode everyday. While it was great fun, we had so many punctures, that we started to lose our joy after a while. There is a heated out door pool - perfect for August when the weather is hot, but the water is not! Another highlight was that we were visited by some bushbabies in the evening, and if we sat VERY still, they would come right up close and grab whatever food we had chucked for them (probably highly frowned upon, but irresistible!). There were so many of us there (my folks, Bruce, Charmaine and kids, Heidi & Darrell and kids, and Carl and I and kids, as well as Darrell's mom) that we even were able to have an action cricket match, organised by Darrell. I am ashamed to say that I was hopeless. But, fun was had by all, and I'm sure one of the boys will tell you which team won. I've forgotten!

Sadly, our holiday was over all too quickly, and before we knew it, it was time for Heidi to head back to start their new life in Doha (where??? Qatar, in case you weren't sure!).

Not before Heidi and I had a glorious day at Vusalela Day Spa though! Ahhh, bliss.

Meg turns 12!

Megs celebrated her 12th birthday by having a sleep over. She invited 3 friends from school, and her cousin Jordynne. They arrived on Friday afternoon and kept themselves happily entertained with doing nails, hair, make up, dressing up and I'm not sure what else. They had pizza for dinner, and enjoyed a roaring fire while sprawled out on mattresses all over the floor watching Chick Flicks.

Saturday morning was her actual birthday, so we had our usual tradition of croissants for brekkie which seemed to go down pretty well with all the girls.
Meg got a table tennis table from us and they had fun testing it out in our garage.
Other than a disagreement between adults and kids re the use (or abuse?) of cell phones, which resulting in Carl confiscating said phones, I think the party went well and the girls all enjoyed themselves.

Shabbat Shalom

My school, The Mitzvah School, is on the property of the Bet David Shul, and is heavily sponsored and supported by this local community. Each year, the ladies at the Shul (known as The Sisterhood), host a Friday night Shabbat Dinner for the pupils of my school (remember we get new students every year, so it is always a new experience for each bunch). For the first time (this is my 5th year there!) we as a family joined them. Mom (aka Mrs. Elferink, the fierce Science teacher who takes crap from no-one!) and Dad also came along.We started with a brief description of the history of Shabbat and did some of the traditions associated with it (I was just waiting for them to launch into 'May the Lord protect and defend you.... from Fiddler on the Roof fame, but no such luck!). We then enjoyed a lovely 3 course meal. The highlight was the kitka bread on our table which gets torn by hand and shared around. Megs and Al loved that, and even now, if we see Kitka bread at the shops, we just have to buy it as a treat!

After dinner, we hurried to the Shul (has to start before Sunset) where we joined in the service. It was sort of Anglican in nature where the rabbi speaks/sings and the congregation speaks/sings in reply. It was also in a combination of English & Hebrew. The most unique thing was trying to keep track of where we were in the book, as it went from back to front!

It lasted an hour or so, and while it wasn't the most fun for Megs and Ali, they were both really well behaved and enjoyed the whole experience very much.