Kellogs by candlelight!

Well we survived the weekend. But what a stormy weekend it was. A cold front has swept over South Africa and launched us right into the thick of winter.

It was it's worst on Saturday night. We were lying in bed at about 11:30pm and the rain was pounding down outside and the wind was blowing gale force. I said to Brad that I wanted to peep outside & see how bad it was. I pulled away the curtain and saw that the rain was coming down very heavily. Due to the wind the rain was coming straight at the window & our front door almost at a 90 degree angle. It was then that we noticed the little puddle of water at the bottom of the window frame. The window frames are wooden and are quite old and as we discovered - not entirely waterproof. We decided to check all the other windows and saw that the same had happened. Out came the towels. It was just like being in Taiwan during a typhoon. The wind and the rain were just as strong and there we were putting down towels at the windows & door. The front door was taking quite a beating from the rain and we put a big towel down in front of it because there is a little gap between the bottom of the door & the floor - just big enough to let in the water. Then it started hailing. Little hail pebbles. Brad was concerned it would break the window - I was worried about our cars standing outside. Luckily it only lasted a short while and then it stopped. The electricity cut out for a few hours but was back on by the time we woke up.

On Sunday morning we checked the windows and doors. The towels had done their job - and they were soaked. Thank goodness we put them down. Sunday was quite cold & miserable so I spent most of the day bundled up on on the couch with warm drinks & the TV. I also did a bit of painting. That evening the storm picked up again and the rain came down, this time accompanied by thunder and lightning. At least the wind had subsided so we didn't have to worry about the water coming in through the windows and door.

On Monday morning I was not looking forward to getting up. It was cold and dark...and too early for my likings. My alarm clock went off at 5:30am. I pushed the snooze button. At 5:40am I decided it was time for the inevitable. I sat up and looked across at the alarm clock next to the bed. Something was wrong. It wasn't on (it's an electric radio alarm clock with the red numbers that light up). I reached over to put on my bedside light. Nothing. Then I realised - the storm had obviously damaged the cables or something and we had no electricity. Great. I woke Brad up - and he went to check we hadn't tripped the power. Nope. The lights were out in our neighbourhood. I decided that it was pointless getting out of bed yet since in the dark all I can do is eat breakfast & get dressed. I only leave for work just after 7am. What was I going to do for over an hour. I decided to lie in till 6am. 6am came and still no electricity. I needed to eat breakfast so I made myself a bowl of cornflakes and hopped straight back into bed where I enjoyed my breakfast by the warm glow of candlelight. I must say that is a first- breakfast by candlelight. By 6:15am I realised that we needed to make a plan. We located the telephone book and the number to call when there is a power failure. I called and the lady said that the area was out and they didn't know when it would be back on again. I decided it would be best for me to leave as soon as possible as I didn't want to be stuck in the morning traffic with no traffic lights. I called my folks as they live near my work and arranged to go straight to their place where I could get ready (since I had no way of doing my hair & make up) and have a nice cup of hot tea before heading to work. Brad walked me to my car as it was still dark outside & a bit spooky with no lights and then he hopped straight back into bed. Quite an adventure for a Monday morning.

The cold front has passed Cape Town and is now continuing to move up the rest of the country. Last night Brad's dad called and it was only about 6pm and he said it was already -1C outside. Now that may not sound too cold to my North American & Candian friends but believe me - it is VERY cold for us South Africans. We are not equipped for temperatures like that. Our houses are cold inside as they don't have any central heating & you end up walking around dressed up like a polar bear inside your house.

We had bible study at our place last night & Brad lit the fire to warm up the house. I had to laugh at Heilet - she arrived in her thick sheep skin slippers and with a blanket wrapped around her. Talk about coming prepared.

Unfortunately alot of people have suffered in this cold weather. You may remember that I mentioned that Brad was heading off with a team from church to help fix 2 roofs of houses at an informal settlement in Klipheuwel. Due to the bad weather it had to be postponed. That evening with the storm 10 houses (shacks) lost their roofs. These families had to relocate to other homes in the settlement. These places are SO small and now there are a few families living together in a tiny room. It went from fixing 2 roofs to totally replacing 10! The poor people. Our church appealed to us for any old blankets, clothing, food that we could pass on as well as monetary donations to buy the necessary things to repair the damage.

Then there was a church in Retreat that have been raising funds for the last 20 years to build a church. The church was completed and due to have it's first service on Sunday morning. This never happened however as the storm totally destroyed the church and left a pile of bricks and a very distraught congregation.

I'm including some photos here that I've received via email of the weather conditions. First there is the snow in Plettenberg Bay. Now, Plett is a seaside town - a VERY popular destination especially amogst the surfers and sun-worshippers. The other thing is that when it snows in South Africa it only snows up on the high mountain peaks. Here's the hectic thing - it snowed in Plett - in the street! Here are the pics:

These other pics were taken yesterday morning in Secunda, north of Johannesburg:

And last but certainly not least.... Brad has been working on a cabinet for our living room. He has been working on it since December with my dad's guidance and help. It is finished and in our living room! He still wants to add three drawers at the bottom, but that will be done at a later stage once my dad is finished with the renovations of their kitchen. I'm so proud of him - it really looks stunning and makes a HUGE difference to our living room. Our home no longer looks like a students digs - we've come a long way from that one blue couch & all our trolleys and tables that the TV & music unit stood on.

Well, that is all for now. Hope your weather is warmer than ours!!!

PS: Although I do believe that my photography is coming along, I wanted to point out that the photo of Astrid&Ben and the photo of Mandy&Wes were not taken by me. They are professional pics that they forwarded me. I don't want to take credit where it is not due. The one of Brad carrying the firewood was taken by me though:) I am busy working on a blogpage where I'll be posting my latest photography and I'll let you know when that is up and running.

It's going to snow!

It's going to snow this weekend. Firstly because I'm actually posting a blog for the 2nd time this week but in all seriousness we've just received a weather warning. This is of course not nearly as exciting as a weather warning in Taiwan with a Typhoon on the way...and at least in Taiwan it's hot (I WAY rather prefer the heat to the cold). I must say that my body is slowly getting accustomed to the cold weather but I still don't like it any more than before.

Today is a lovely day - the sun is shining and its about 23 or 24 degrees outside. There is a storm approaching though and it's supposed to make landfall by tomorrow morning. It's going to rain, be very windy & snow on the mountains - our first snowfall for the winter. Well, I guess I'm just going to have to accept that winter is finally here. Good thing we've got a fireplace in our housey & that I've got a gorgeous hubby to snuggle with.

Here are two pics I thought I'd post:

Leanne & Pieter @ Pieter's birthday at Fairview Wine Farm:

Congrats again Adele & Eugene on the new addition to your family!

Eugene with baby Michelle

Have a lovely weekend!

Two Weddings & an Anniversary

Hello everyone

I know it’s been ages since I’ve written – my apologies. My access to internet is very limited – I only have access at work (and very little time for personal internet time).

Gee, so much to catch up on I guess. Well, I better get started then…

I finished my photography course – and I really enjoyed it. I learn’t so much about taking photos (nevermind the joy of discovering a new function on my camera each week). I was in class with some interesting people and it became what I did on a Thursday night. Since it’s finished now I’ve had some more time to spend on my oil-paintings. I finished another painting for Brad’s aunt & uncle and you can see it on my painting blogsite: http://laurakirstenpaintings.blogspot.com/

Last month (May) was a month of weddings & anniversaries. First on the 14th April Mandy & Wesley tied the knot. It was an afternoon wedding and the reception was held at the Kenilworth Racecourse. It was a reunion of Taiwan friends and we all had so much fun chatting, laughing and dancing the night away. It was Brad & me, Leanne & Pieter, Dawn, Astrid & Ben, Karin & Daniel. Astrid caught the boquet – and it was her wedding the very next Saturday! Saturday 21 April was the big day Astrid & Ben. They had a morning wedding. The ceremony was in a beautiful Anglican church in the Southern suburbs and then the reception was held at the Silvermist restaurant – up against the mountain with the most spectacular view. We had a nice long celebration and only left at 5pm when the venue officially closed for the day. Both couples looked really happy and both brides looked absolutely beautiful.

Mr & Mrs Van der Merwe (Wesley & Mandy) 14 April 2007

Mr & Mrs Bredenkamp (Ben & Astrid) 21 April 2007

Brad, me, Leanne & Dawn the wedding

The next weekend Brad & I celebrated our 1st Anniversary J Yip, one year already! Monday 30th April was the special day. Friday the 27th April and Tuesday 1 May are both public holidays. So I put in leave for the Monday and we had a glorious long weekend together. We had originally hoped to get away for the long weekend but things didn’t work out. I was overjoyed however at being able to spend so much uninterrupted time with my gorgeous hubby. I suggested that each year we take turns at planning the anniversary – that way there isn’t pressure on both of us each year. Since Brad organised the honeymoon last year, I said I’d organise this year. We went out to the movies (saw ‘Hot Fuzz’), had a delicious dinner at Typhoon (our favourite restaurant that serves incredible Thai food), went to the Decorex exhibition at the International Convention Centre (home décor etc) and went out for coffee at the V&A Waterfront. The highlight however was Monday. I planned a surprise getaway for the evening. A colleague of mine lives on a farm about an hour away, near the Hex River Valley area, in and amongst the winefarms. She has a little cottage on the outskirts of the farm and she said we were welcome to use it. It was perfect. An opportunity to get away and be far from the phone calls and the emails etc. The wine farm is set between vineyards and under the mountain. Idyllic indeed.

Brad collecting firewood for the snuggle indoor fireplace

Brad has resigned from his job. Unfortunately working for an NGO can be really stressful at times – re the financial situation of the organisation and the insecurity that accompanies that. Brad had to make a decision to move on. It was a decision that was not made lightly and was only made after lots of prayer and guidance from people we trust. We do believe that the Lord has something better planned for him and that it will involve a career and not just a job. Finding work is proving to be a testing experience but we will keep on keeping on. The same colleague who offered us the cottage on her farm got her husband connected with Brad and as it turns out he needed someone to assist him at his factory which grows hydroponics chicory. We are blessed as this has been an opportunity for Brad to be busy and earn some extra money.

I’m keeping busy at my job and loving it each day. We recently got corporate clothing – we each got to choose 4 business suits from Woolworths. It’s not a uniform as we don’t all have the same suits and we don’t have to wear the same ones on the same day – but rather a ‘corporate look’ that we’re going for.

This weekend Brad is off with some guys from the church to help fix roofs of some homes in an informal settlement in Klipheuwel. It’s an annual undertaking by the church just before the winter to help the people before the winter rains come. It’s really great to be able to bless other people.

Well, not too much else to add at this point. My lunch break is over and I better get back to work now.

Keep well and keep in touch!

Laura