Busy busy busy

Ohhhhhh, what a busy day! I am in full scale farm mode and I have been on a mission. I went on a ride this morning with Edith on Blue and Danny. Ahhh, Blue is so much fun to ride, I was having a ball tearing around the countryside on him this morning! It was so much fun! And it was so beautiful today! We had 94% chance of thunder storms, but quite frankly, the weather man lies through his teeth, because it has been sunny and beautiful all day ! Then it was a dog walk round the forest, then another ride with Ramon and Scotty, doing a bit f road work with them to get them fit for pony camp!

Then it was lunch, and a run for me, where I realised that this mornings excursions have left me horribly sunburnt....oh the pain! I have afterunned myself up to my eyeballs to try and stop the inevitable red, then peel, then white, viscious circle! Urg it is horrible. And then of course, since it is the weekend, we had absolutely no staff to help, so Ali, Edith and I had to run round and get all the animals done by ourselves. This is why we all dread month end! Everyone is drunk and no one comes to work!

But after all this, I am exhausted and i want a nice early night to recharge my muscles to do it all again tomorrow! Oh! And it is actually December tomorrow! Christmas is almost on top of us as we speak! We are all off to do our Christmas shopping on Monday in Nelspruit, as it is the only day we can organise to be off the farm to get it done. Very excited! And, tomorrow, we will have the pictures up again! New month, and new internet! Hurrah! Lekker Slaap all, I am knackered! xxxx

Shocks all round

OK, well, I am sorry I didnt blog yesterday but we had a huge storm and bucket full of rain that continued into this morning. Well, the biggest news to bring to you is quite horrible. Cade, our bottle fed lamb, who was to become the stud ram for the sheep was found dead yesterday. No one could find him, we thought he had been stolen and eaten, but eventually the guys located his body in the outdoor toilet.
We are all still, so shocked. We have no idea how he died. We dont know if he was trampled by the other sheep when the storm hit and they all tried to cram in there, or whether he was bitten by a snake, we just dont know. I am so shocked that he is gone. It was horrible this morning going out onto the farm with Chloes bottle and not hearing him bleat. I have heard him crying for his bottle in the mornings for four and a half months, this morning was the first it has ever been silent. It was horrible. So, r.i.p Cade, we will miss you so much.

It is hard to try and be cheery and write something else after that, but in other news, today was the last day of school, and now the Xmas holidays have begun. We still have our field trip on Wednesday, but the big kids will all be going to big school now, and the next time I do day of the week, or letter of the day, will be on January 15th 2O14! With a whole heap of new kids and a new school year. I wish our kids all the best for their futures, and I know they will do wonderfully, they have all made such huge leaps in progress over the past few months, and it has been a joy to watch them develop. A few of the highlights have got to be seeing Jane go from scribbling a picture completely in black to carefully colouring a picture in various colours with not a single smidgen outside of the lines. Another, is Oupa, who couldnt even hold a pencil, not only being able to write his letters, but being able to circle the correct letter when asked in an activity. Seeing Chris and the look on his face when he realised he had won the first colouring competition, and being there to see Sara for her Birthday party, seeing Siyabonga in a suit, teaching the older girls how to add up and truly seeing them get it, FINALLY getting percy to know that "p" is for percy", sitting with Uli in the sun and watching the kids make a house out of the tables and chairs, seeing their faces when they saw Spur on our field trip and seeing them so happy as they played, hearing them all chant that Danie was "The Headmaster", watching them put on my make up that I brought in for them to play with. Ah, there have been so, so, so many lovely moments with them, I am really gonna miss and cherish the times I have had with those kids. They are really special <3

In other news, we alsoo had a cake today which went down very well with all the kids. They always get so excited when they get cake, and they seem to savour every mouthful, honestly, I have seen some of them eat one slice for over half an hour before! We had a lovely relaxed day with colouring, puzzles and play time, which was slightly interuppted by the rain we got AGAIN! But, it was a nice last day I have to say. What am I going to do with my time now! I think the dogs are gonna get a lot of walks, and the horses ridden a lot now me thinks!

OH! And I have completed the three day hump challenge of no smoking! I am over and clear of the first 72 hours and I think i can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! I no longer feel like death warmed up. I think i might actually be able to do this! So, all in all, life at Rehab la Lydenrust is going well, and now we are onto the push before Christmas! Can you believe it is like three and a half weeks away! I certainly cant. it doesnt even feel close! But that is probably because I spend Christmas in the cold and dark in England, so it just feels unnatural to be in a Christmassy mood when it is hot enough for a bikini!

Haha, anyway, I gotta sleep, busy day tomorrow. Lekker Slaap all! xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lydenrust Rehab

I have officially turned Lydenrust into my personal rehab centre and given up smoking. I have only been a smoker this time round for 6months, thanks to the stress of finishing my degree made me start again after being smoke free for over two years. Now, I realise why I always told myself that I would never quit....because it is SO hard. I am up and down as often as a rollercoaster. It is not the best feeling. I am up to 3O hours no smoking, and I am just at the stage where I feel like I want to kill all living things.

I think Ali may have sensed this when she sent me to go work with Salan and the pigeons today for a couple of hours instead of school, I think he reckoned the pressure of screaming kids might be just a tad too much for me at this stage....she may have been right. But, I did enjoy the methodical task of writing the pigeon numbers down and counting them up. It was quite soothing in a way haha. Next we headed into town to do our grocery shopping. I am very proud of myself, I didnt buy any cigarettes, even though I could have. All power to me!

Also, apologies for no blog yesterday, I was in full on quit mode and all I would have written would have been "I want nicotine, I want nicotine". But, at least I am here, so the only way I can cheat if if I start trying to smoke the leaves or something. All I can say is that this feeling better go away soon!

In the actual news of the farm, I have very little to update you all on, except that we have just TWO days of school left in the year before the Xmas holidays! I cant believe it! We have a treasure hunt planned for Friday where we take pictures of different places on the farm and they follow the picture to the next clue until they finally reach the picnic site and a cake is waiting for them. It should be a really fun day ! We are also going for a leavers field trip on Wednesday. But, man, I am going to miss them! I dont know what I am going to do without them. They drive me crazy, but they are my kids, I actually love all of them, it is going to be so strange not to teach them every day, and it is going to be really emotional saying goodbye to Grace, Sara, Charlotte, Maggi, Chris, Oupa, and Magdaline. Now that will be hard....

We also had an issue with one of the baby goats. Dion, from the twins Joy and Dion, was behaving vry strangely, so we brought him into the house last night to beemer and look after, Ali even gave him a penicillin injection and he didnt move a muscle, even though usually they scream. We thought it was so strange, but today he seemed as happy as larry. Very peculiar! All we can assume is, is that the shot and the beemer did the trick, and he is back with his mummy today!

Anyway, I am gonna go to bed and try and get some sleep. Tomorrow, according to my reading, all the nicotine will be officially out of my body. Oh goody! haha! Lekker Slaap all. pray for me, I am going to need to it. xxxxx

"Mam, Chris, kick goat!"

Ahhhh! I have had the worst headache today! It was horrible! probably from pepsi max deprivation, but it didnt go away until around 4pm today. I spent most of the afternoon asleep to try and shake it off. Thankfully it has gone back to wherever it came from and I am free of its painful horribleness!

We had a good day at school, except for my headache, which just left me rubbing my head all day. The highlight was probably when Oupa came down to the staff table at break. I had my head on the desk, trying to block out the light and he just went "mam, mam" and I just grunted "what Oupa". And he replied with "Mam, mam, Chris, kick goat". I couldnt help but laugh. I had to tell Chris off but it did amuse me I have to say.

Oh, and I must apologise for calling the jeep "Blow Bull", I have been in big trouble with Danie, I have been told that the car does not blow anything and that it is either "Blue Bull" or "Blou Bul" So, to the Afrikaans rugby fans, I am very sorry for not getting the right spelling..... I AM SORRY! This reminds me of when I took a picture of the pigeons and said they were Danies racing pigeons, he was very mad. And he took me out the next day and said they were Alis fat pigeons who cant even walk, never mind fly hahaha ah so funny.

So, all in all that is all we have to say at the minute. Mainly coz I slept the whole day haha. But tomorrow shall be more exciting I am sure!

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening !

Hey guys! Sorry for the catch up again! I just wanted to conserve the internet we have so we can last till the end of the month! Can you believe Christmas is so close! I can not believe we only have like four weeks until Christmas day! We have so much to get organised it is insane! We have one and a half weeks of school left, and then it is straight into pony camp, plus full house on guests, then before we know it, Ali and Danies family will be here for Xmas! I have already volunteered to give up my room and go sleep in a tent in the garden. I love camping so it doesn't bother me! I could sleep in the classroom, that would be cool haha! Anyway, so yeah, we are trying to have Christmas ready and done now, because we just aren't going to have time in December!

Today we went to visit the Welgemoeds for lunch. Oh my goodness, it was so good! Lindie is the best cook ever! She makes this amazing pumpkin dish with caramel sauce that is just amazing! It took all my self control not to lick the plate clean and ask for more. And her cookie and ice cream dessert was awesome! It was so delicious i cannot tell you! Very traditional South African meal! Very nice! It was a lot like an English Sunday dinner, only they have rice as well as potatoes, and other delicious things like the sweet pumpkin or potato! Sooooo good! Never thought I would be someone who asked for recipes but I am most definitely going to be getting a few off Lindie! I cannot go back to England without taking them home with me! It was such a lekker day though, we chilled by the pool and chatted, and we all had a contest to see who could bench press and leg lift the heaviest with Leonard's home gym! I am very proud to say that although Johnnie was the best by far, I was a close second! I have arms of steel I tell you! But yes, it was so good! It was nice to get off the farm for a little bit, haha, we even got all dressed up and everything. Showered, clean clothes, the lot! We like to make an effort !

Other than today, we have got plans to do our pothole photo shoot very soon! We have an idea to go to the main road off the farm and use one of the potholes as a prop, making it into a bath, with me in a bikini, shower cap, and rubber duck, that we can send to the paper as a campaign to get the government to fix the roads. We plan on making me "pothole girl" with the slogan "Splash or Crash?". It should be fun, I cant wait to see all the drivers faces as they see a bikini clad girl climbing out of a pothole clutching her rubber duck! Who knows, this could be the campaign that changes the political face of South Africa! or maybe not.....but we can dream!

In other news, Edith and I have decided to start keep fit and lose weight. We have decided to make Lydenrust our own personal bootcamp sanctuary. We will look like models by the end of our stay! So......maybe I shouldn't get that recipe off Lindie for that delicious pumpkin......tough call. At least on a farm you cant run to Mcdonalds when you feel like breaking.....But there are a lot of tasty chickens running around.....if one of them were to go missing.....surely they wouldn't be missed....

I am getting better at driving Blow Bull, well, I say I am getting better, but on Friday I was trying to get the tank out of the new gate that George put up and I was yelling at Charlotte over the sound of the engine going "CHARLOTTE, HOW CLOSE AM I TO THE POST !" and Grace was at my side going "mam, mam, just go straight, straight, straight, straight". And when I actually managed to get through, they all cheered. Hmmmmm I need to practice more when six year olds need to help me how to drive.....

And that is all folks! We are nearly at the end of the month so we will have pictures back up very soon in December! I know how dull it can be when you dont have pictures to look at, so I appreciate all of you that are still reading despite the visual deprivation! Lekker Slaap all! I think tomorrow is going to be a good day! xxxxxx

Where do the days go?

I am sitting here wondering where the day has gone! One minute I was getting up, the next it is time for dinner and winding down for the next day.
We have had the rain of all rains. It started last night and continued until this afternoon, just constant rain. EVERYWHERE is like a mud slide. Absolute chaos! Which all began when trying to get the kids....we got to the pick up point for them OK, but on the way back we just spun round and ended up completely stuck. I tried to use my manly muscles to push us out, but Blow Bull weighs more than an elephant, so needless to say I didnt make much of a difference. So, Ali and I just had to wait for George to arrive in the tractor to come and pull us out, he was laughing, and the kids thought it was hilarious.

By the time we finally reached school, we only had six kids for the day, which was a very intimate little class and we actually had a really great day. We coloured, did puzzles, played with playdo and modelling clay, read a book, and did letter of the day and day of the week. All the kids were very cold though. I hate how cold it is today! 19 degrees! FREEZING GUYS! Haha, and I just read about England having 1OO days of snow, haha, I should count my blessings and take the 19 degrees....

Despite the rain, we battled through and actually managed to get into town to do our weekly grocery shopping. I have discovered that Edith and I have exact opposite tastes in food, for one, she hates doughnuts! Who hates doughnuts? And she hates mint ice cream, which is my favourite. She also does not like sweet potatoes, where I love them, and I cannot stand full cream milk and yet she loves it. I have decided she is weird and our friendship must end now haha. Anyway, I am going to go and cook dinner, I really dont have any other news for today. Night night, Lekker Slaap xxxx

Gogo Nkulu

Hello Yellow Mongoose readers! Today has been a lovely day. It all kicked off with a trail ride Edith and I did with Blue and Danny. Blue is my new favourite ride, he is the prettiest little pony that reminds me of Merrylegs from Black Beauty. And he looks just like the horse from War Horse. He is such fun to ride! Apart from when the horses got a spook and I ended up in a tree.....BUT I stayed on, which is the important thing!

After it was time for school, it had a great energy today, and all the kids seemed in a great mood. Shame, it broke my heart because after the past couple of days, Liesbeth has been so down, yesterday she told me that her house had no food, and she was hungry. Today, she was full of life and the first thing she said was that her house now had yogurts, bread and coca cola. My heart really did melt for her. She is such a sweet little girl, I hope things at home get better for her. I really do. But she was in a much better mood today, back to her usual self of imitating me like a parrot and ordering the other kids about ! We did colouring today, education time, puzzles and face painting today. Oh my gosh, they LOVED the face painting. Although it was very hard to work my limited artistic magic when they wouldnt keep their heads still, so some of the "hearts" look a bit questionable. They looked so cute!

The kids are getting so smart, as I have said many times, I wish I could cram as much into them as I can before big school starts for them. I am so worried about them, it is going to be a huge transition for them, going from a class of 13 where they are special, and hitting is forbidden, to a class of 9O where they are beaten often with a cane. I hope the teachers can see the potential in our kids and give them help. They are all really special and some of them could really go far. I reckon Charlotte and Grace could go to University. I hope they get that chance. I wish they were just staying with us.....This school can teach them way more than that other school, which is evidenced by the fact that Michael and Emma who left for grade one last year have failed and will be repeating the year now. They will be now in the same year as our little ones, and I have met Michael and Emma, they are the sweetest kids ever, but our ones are lightyears ahead!

After school we had to rush into town because the tractor had packed in and ran out of petrol at the top of the fields, so we went in and grabbed a sandwich. Man, I love town so much haha, but it is always nice to return home to the quiet safety of the farm. Town is good in small doses haha. Then this evening, Edith and I power ran to our usual place and then i walked the dogs in the cool night air. It was fish for tea and now I need a bath, and perhaps some Ugly Betty before bed. Lekker Slaap all xxxxxxxxxx

Zombie

Today has been a distinctly blah day for me after the fun weekend. I didn’t sleep great and woke up feeling like a bit of a zombie. The baby goat Liam is still on house watch. Ali has managed to get a couple of hundred mills of milk into him but the poor thing just doesn’t seem to have the sucking ability. He is still so weak. He is in the house again tonight, cuddled up to the stuffed toy cat that belonged to Socke when she was ill. Fingers crossed in the next few days he gets a grasp of it and starts taking in more food, he really must be starving.

In other goat news, Kayla and Chloe’s mum had twin baby girls today! Donna, our past volunteer, named them Shyla and Sweetie. Well, they are definitely very sweet! Such sweet little babies! Baby goats are definitely my new favourite thing in the world, they bounce and jump, and spring like there is no tomorrow! If Uli was still here I would have some actual pictures of them to show you, she always had such wonderful pictures, but I just don’t have the patience to sit in that goat pen and wait for that perfect moment like she did. Also, I just want to say, Chloe is still on the bottle, being bottle fed twice a day.....her mum just had new babies which would mean definite weaning, and she is most likely pregnant herself. Ali bottle fed her cow Dougal for a whole year, and he still eats calf pellets haha. I am going to have a serious sit down talk with Chloe and discuss the matter with her, that she is a grown up princess now and she must forage with the other goats haha.

I am going to have to start riding every morning, I have neglected Mr Bones my horse for far too long. I rode him almost every day, but I have been so lazy and haven’t ridden him for over a month now....I don’t know why I have such a mental block on it, but I am going to try and pull myself out of it and get myself out on him tomorrow morning to see how he goes. I will, I will!

This morning however was, as I said, a lazy morning, due to me feeling like I was on deaths door step, and it took three strong black coffees to finally perk me up and make me feel human again.

School was nice today, although I felt terrible for little Liesbeth. At break time she just sat at the table with me while I had my coffee (the third coffee) and wouldn’t play. So I asked her:

Me - “Liesbeth whats wrong?”

Liesbeth- “......”

Me- “Are you sleepy?”

Liesbeth- *silence *

Me- “ Are you sad?”

Liesbeth- * nods *

Me- “Were the other kids mean or hit you?”

Liesbeth- “No”.

Me- “What about Mama and papa?”

Liesbeth- *nods *

Me- “Did mama and papa hit you?”

Liesbeth- *nods and starts to cry *

She spent the rest of the break on my knee with her head on my shoulder cuddling me. I felt so sad for her, she really did cry and was so upset about it. I dont know what had gone on at home but whatever it was, it really affected her. These kids are so rough and tumble that most things, even if they are upsetting, they forget about it five minutes later, but this was something that had really distressed her for a while. I just wanted to hug her all day and bring her home.

Other than Liesbeth being in the wars, we had a good day. My education time with the bigger kids went well, they are actually grasping what adding up is, and it was so cute to see them figuring the math problems out that I had given them. They are getting so smart! Edith had the little kids and she got them all to make Christmas Angels with paint and colouring pencils. They looked really cute actually. At the end we had the cars and toy animals out and had a play with them.

In the afternoon I made more education papers up for the kids and took the dogs for a walk. Although, I couldn’t go far since there seems to be a storm threatening, but it has been threatening all afternoon which means I cant run, cycle or walk because there is always the threat of it hitting, which is soooo annoying! Stupid storms......go away!

Anyway, this evening is chillaxed as always, I made pasta for Edith and Ali, and I plan on a lot of Ugly Betty tonight to compensate for the lack of running! Only 12 days of school left until the holidays! I don’t know if it makes me a bad teacher that I am counting down the days, but I don’t think it will win me any awards. I really do love them, but I don’t think I will ever grow out of being excited for the holidays to be here! So good night to you all, and wish me look on my ride tomorrow with Mr Bones! I will get out of this mental block, I will, I will! Lekker Slaap ! xxxx

Busy Weekend!

Saturday

Oh my goodness, today has been soooo busy.. i feel like it is Sunday and everything that happened this morning was yesterday!

It all kicked off with a trail ride with Wendy, and the sisters Elzaan and Jolene. I rode Blue for the very first time as well. He is a tiny little pony that is just a pocket rocket! I absolutely loved riding him this morning! Everyone else is trotting and that guy is cantering along, he is my new favourite and I plan on riding him every day now! He apparently bucks a lot when he is excited but he was really great! After, we dropped the girls off at the dam to join their parents who were on a fishing trip. We took Murphy along with us for a swim in the river, he loved it. Ali has said if we have time tomorrow then we are going to take the horses over to the dam and have a ride there, I actually cant wait! Amaaziiinng.

After that Edith and I walked the dogs up on the hills, we are trying to get the dogs out every day because the Great Danes are very fat and they all need the exercise as well as us! Then, it was lunch, and just enough time to relax before we went out and did animals....to find none of the workers apart from Little Marcus were there. They were all no shows and werent answering their phones. Most likely they were all drunk. It is absolutely ridiculous when they do this, especially after all Ali does for them. We were meant to head into town before 4, but with nobody to help, we didnt get away until after 5. We had to head in to give an injection to one of the horses that Ali gave away. She is called Sapphire and needs the African Horse sickness jab, so Ali always goes out to give them it. On our way in we visited the Welgemoeds and had a cool drink with them until we realised it was getting dark. Oh! And shame, we have a very ill baby goat again. Little Liam the goat is so weak, so very weak. We dont know what to do. We beemered him all the way to town and tried to feed him at the Welgemoeds, but he wont have any of it. We are really worried about him. He is such a cute baby goat, and his mum is a first time Mum, so she isnt the best and is a bit dozey to be honest. We will keep trying with him, fingers crossed he has the same guardian angel as Socke.

We didnt get back until really late, hence why Saturdays blog is coming to you on Sunday, apologies!

Sunday!

Well, the ride to the dam did not go exactly as we would have hoped. And when I say that, I mean it was a complete disaster! Our logic was, that we were going to leave Maverick, who is the usual lead horse, and for Ali to take Mandla instead, as that would mean we could all go swimming in the dam with the horses, which is something Maverick would not have the patience for. Now, Mandla, in Zulu means "Brave", and after today Mandla, Blue, and Duncan should all be renamed to "Glue factory", "Dog meat", and "Bullet to the Head", since that is what they are going to get and where they are going after todays outing. Duncan wouldnt lead and fought Edith the whole way, Mandla went on strike, and Blue just had his head up their backsides the whole way. In the end, after several failed attempts, we decided that it just wasnt safe on the roads with the trucks when the horses were acting like this, so we turned back. And man, SUDDENLY, those horses had fuel in them. Blue belted it back to the yard like Seabiscuit. I have never gone so fast in all my life! That little pony can move!

Anyway , it is better we left it since we got caught in the rain on the way back and it poured it down! So, that was our ride to the dam! We didnt get there, but we still got wet! After drying off, Edith and I sat down to veg out infront of Ugly Betty.This is what Sundays are for, being lazy and doing nothing haha! Then at 11am, the Welgemoeds came round for a picnic to the dam! Ah it was such a wonderul day! We had delicious food and drink, Ali and I swam with Blue and Duncan in the dam, Edith and I had mud fights with the kids and swam about, then I just passed out on the bank and had a midday siesta. It was so lekker. We used the algae to make fake hair out of it and pretend we were posing for a Loreal add. Some of the pictures from today are hilarious, Edith is laughing away and Mene the little girl is in tears haha. I also managed to make JL cry but splatting him with mud when he emerged from the water....I couldnt help but laugh. Hey! All is fair in Mud and War!

After, we had to get all the animals done as fast as possible because there was a storm coming in, and a HUGE crack of lightening and thunder. It was so loud and so close that I couldnt believe it. I have never heard something that loud before! And in the end we all had coffee and I have just emerged from the bath. I dont think i will ever get the mud out of my hair....

Lekker Slaap all, another school week is starting tomorrow! 

My new running buddy

I have now got a new running buddy in the form of Edith. Now, I always like to think that since I run at all, I should instantly be put in the "fit and healthy category", personally I think the fact that I even drag my sorry ass out on a run at the end of the day qualifies me for some kind of an award. But, I am always reminded of just how slow I do run when i run with anyone. Today was a prime example, Edith did high knees, zig zags along the road and ran backwards to keep herself at my pace. I just want to say that she has youth on her side......git. But, on the bright side, I cut my time down by ten minutes! Mainly because I am far too stubborn to stop running when i have competition......it may have killed me, and at the end of the run I had to literally lie down on the grass outside the stables hyperventilating. Edith and I now have a plan that she is going to get her six pack back and I am going to be happy if I get any kind of pack, one would do, I am not fussy! So bye bye chocolate, hello delicious DELICIOUS salad....

The kids got pony rides this morning, followed by breakfast at the picnic area and a swim in the river before coming back to school and doing education time. For some reason, the kids have started saying "Thank you my dear" whenever they get anything like juice of me, it is very weird to have a three year old call you "dear", so I told them my name is Rosie, not dear. This did not help as they now just say "Thank you my dear Rosie". This is definitely a sign that I clearly command respect among them haha. 

This evening we had new baby goats! Spot had a little boy and girl, and oh my gosh they are sooooo cute! They have little pink noses and look like little piglets. I have named the girl baby goat Joy after my Mum and Gran as that is both of their middle names. She definitely looks like a Joy! I have left the boy to be named by Edith, she seems to be swaying towards naming him "Hope", but I said that the other goats would make fun of him for having such a feminine name. But I will keep you posted on Joys brothers name when we get one! 

Other than that this is pretty much all for today, other than the trail ride we all did this morning which was loveeely! I am going to go watch more Ugly Betty. I introduced Edith to it yesterday night and she loooooves it now, so we are working our way through the season. I am going to hobble off and watch it now since the run has made me hobble like John Wayne. Lekker Slaap everyone xxxxxx

King Kong

Today has been sooooo busy! The kids were in full on screaming mode today due to the heat, and the fact that up until this evening we have still had no toilet, so they are having poo parties down in the bushes that means they take forever to come back to the classroom from Thankfully George has managed to recreate a brand new toilet today which kind of looks like the iron throne from Game Of Thrones. Ali says it looks hideous but I think it looks kind of cool haha. 

Ediths Dad and family friends stopped by as well today before heading off to Botswana, so she got to spend a little time with them this afternoon which I am sure was nice for her. She is only 18, I for one am very impressed at her being her so young, even if I am mistaken for a child on most days, I am still a mature *ish* 23 year old hahahahahaha. Ah sorry, just had to laugh at the idea of me being mature, I know many of my friends from back home would laugh reading that, most of them cant even believe I cook, and none of them can believe people actually eat what I serve. I am someone who cant cook eggs, I could burn salad...or water! Anyway! After school Ali decided that it is now time for my training to go to the next level....driving Blow Bull. Blow Bull is this ancient jeep, probably used in a desert war at some point, and man, I am going to have the muscles of Arnold Schwarzenegger by the end of my stay here, the thing turns like I dont even know what, but you feel it ! I was very hurt though when the kids realised I would be the one driving them home that they all started laughing hysterically.....It is not funny! I am an awesome driver! But then they were deathly silent and I am pretty sure they thought they were gonna die, one of them even used my pony tail as a breaking mechanism. 

After, Edith and I had the job of going to town. I friggen love town, I love going. I do not love getting a list the length of my arm to get stuff though. Especially when I get asked for stuff that I have no idea what it is. Like Jiggie snacks, or in this case today I got asked for 2kg of King Kong. So, there was me, all ready to ask everyone in Otees where I could find King Kong, when thankfully Ali told me that he meant King Corn. That would have been embarrassing..... 

So, when we got to town, I pulled into the garage to get myself a cool drink and this guy asks me if I will give him a lift into town to buy a battery and he will give me money if I will. I just told him I was really sorry but I didnt own the car I was driving and I had to be responsible for it, but that I was sorry. He ended up swearing going "This is why no one f*cking likes South Africa, black, whites, no one f*cking likes it, because no one will do a f*cking thing for any other f*cker". I just stared at him and went "Yeah, OK" and then turned to Edith and said loudly enough for him to hear, "Because he is making a great case for being taken int town". Then, we have an issue with the terminals, it is not a big deal, you just need to tweak them on the car or it will cut out. So, after the lovely convo with the man, the car died, and he, interpreting that we couldn't fix it suddenly went "Dont f*cking ask me for any help, I am a fully trained mechanic, but dont bloody ask me", so I simply smiled at him and went "OK" and we got the car started in a few seconds. We are officially awesome, and we drove away. Some people REALLY need to work on their people skills, maybe he was dropped on his head as a baby, who knows, and more importantly, who cares haha. 

In town we got our jobs done and picked up Georges wife Anna and her son Manuel from town, shame, they waited for so long for us and I felt so bad, so i bought them a cool drink and a box of biscuits to keep them going, since I am pretty sure they missed lunch and it was getting on for dinner time! Manuel is such a little fatty, he is too cute!

Anyway, so we have arrived home, unpacked, and I have made dinner *edible dinner*. I am now going to sit and watch the Monty Roberts join up DVD so I can reconnect with Mr Bones, and an episode of Ugly Betty since my Mum sent me the first season in the post! So excited now to watch it! Teehee! She also sent me another mountain of chocolate. I will share it with the children just so I dont feel like such a pig! 
Lekker slaap everyone, tomorrow it is FRIDAAAAY HURRAHHHH! night xxxxxxxxxxxx

Day trip to Dullstroom Bird of prey centre!

So, today we had a school trip out to Dullstroom bird of prey centre! The kids were so excited, and oh so proud when they turned up in their uniforms all ready to go ! It was hilarious when we got to the gas station at one point so that they could go to the toilet and they all asked "home?", as if they thought the whole trip out was to take them to a toilet ! Haha, well I guess since ours was completely demolished it would make sense to them that we would show them a real working toilet..... 

It started off cloudy but it burnt away into the most glorious day we have had in ages! Sadly, my English legs were not up to the sun. My pale milky white legs have only ever heard about the sun and so they just couldnt survive in todays sun. I now have bright red thighs that are burning into my jodphurs like radium. Ouuuccch! That will teach me to go out without sun screen on! And by the time I put some on, I already knew it was too late. Like a ticking time bomb. So, yeah, the front of my legs look like a red traffic light and the backs look like vanilla ice cream. I look like an unfinished picasso painting, it is NOT pretty! 

Anyway! Back to the day at hand ! We arrived at the centre and the kids finally got to see what an owl and eagle are! So that is going to make the doing the alphabet a lot easier when we say "O for Owl". It was so good to just get them out and introduce them to all these different sights and experiences!

We had lots of drama as well. When we were all seated waiting for the show to start, the lady in charge Anna came out with her beautiful little falcon Norman. Now, Norman was doing all his tricks beautifully and swooping and diving for the kids when suddenly we all saw a huge bird of prey, foreign to the centre approach. In about five seconds we all thought Norman was dead, Anna was screaming for Norman to return, running down the bank to try and get him while this bird tried to attack him. We really thought we were gonna have to watch as Norm got dragged away, but thankfully he survived and Norman shall live for another day! 

Next, they brought out a lovely barn owl who only weighs 29Og! I cant believe they are so light, and when Anna asked if anyone wanted to try feeding him, I had my hand up straight away haha, stuff the kids, I was at the front of the line for that! Haha! He was such a beauty and I kind of felt like I was in some kind of tropical Harry potter with my own owl, coz I am a tiny bit of a geek ....Now, as soon as the kids saw that I had done, ALL of them wanted to do it! Their little faces were amazed when they saw the bird up close, it was so sweet!

Next, out came a crow, who did all kinds of tricks like pick up litter and turn over cups to find food, he was so smart....and then he found a lizard and ate it in front of our kids and Wendy's kids, including two year old Savannah who started crying, so we had to say that the lizard was in fact made out of jello and all part of the act.....oops.....poor lizard......

After, the kids were able to play on the centers jungle gym and they had so much fun! Especially when I got on the seesaw and was able to balance out pretty much the whole class with my own weight! Haha. I am the equivalent of a about seven African kids.....maybe I should cut down on the chocolate....get it down to five kids.....

But, all in all, the kids seemed to love it. Anyway, on the way back we bought them some chips and then drama errupted when we heard crying from the back. We pulled over and went to see what was happening and patience was crying away, and the rest told us that percy had thrown her special juice bottle out of the window onto the road. He was in huge trouble and got told off badly. So, you can imagine how bad we all felt when offloading the kids, that we found her bottle and the lid in the back....so they made the whole thing up and poor percy got a telling off for absolutely nothing! I plan on having a very serious talk with them tomorrow. They absolutely LOVE telling on eachother, even if they have no idea what they are saying. poor percy ..... I must give him a hug tomorrow. 

Anyway, we have a HUGE storm coming in, it stretched all the way to pretoria, so we are bracing ourselves for a heck of a storm in about five minutes. Having to rush this blog coz this power is probably going to die very very very soon! Darkness for us tonight haha. Anyway, night night, Lekker Slaap! We lost the toilet in the last storm, fingers crossed we dont lose the school in this one ! Lekker Slaap! xxxxx

"Mam, the toilet is broken"

This, ladies and gentleman is what our school toilet now looks like after the storm we had last night. As you can see, you can imagine my surprise when I sent Sara on her way to the toilet and she came back saying "mam, mam, the toilet is broken" and I went to check it out to find this! No kidding Sara, I think the toilet is more than broken, it is literally decimated! I cant believe we didn't notice ! And man, the kids had a field day, because as soon as they saw the dilemma, they suddenly ALL needed the toilet. And so they all had a party down in the bushes together, and they took their sweet time getting back to school! 

The damage of the storm is insane! The thunder reverberated through the house, tiles have come off, leaks are everywhere, the pool has had to be drained, beds are soaked, it is ridiculous! AND WE HAVE NO TOILET! Edith and I also had to learn a very tough lesson today, the lesson is "shut the windows of the school every time you leave or you might find that school is completely flooded after a storm". Essentially, we are idiots, and if this was a real job, we would be fired. We are the bankers who caused the economic crisis in England, we are the irresponsible idiots that resulted in us all having to clean up school until 3pm today. We have learnt a tough lesson today, we shall not make it again. In penance for my mistake I offered Ali my bar of very fancy Lindt chocolate. I think she appreciated it, and may be slightly on her way to forgiving me haha, no one can resist creamy hazelnut goodness! 

On a brighter note, we had two new baby boy goats born today. Born on the side of the road in the rockery under the sign for Lydenrust sign, like the cool cats they are! They are so unbelievably cute! And we have yet more names to come up with! Edith and I have already named the last two twins Heidi and Gunter hahaha all in honor of her German Heritage! Now, names for these two cuties. Which are Liam and Luke! They are so cute! I am going to miss goats so much when I go home, they are greatly underestimated animals. They are awesome!

In other news, I dont know if any of you remember me talking about a beautiful white, pure breed Alsatian that is down by the dam where we fetch the kids. He is positively gorgeous, but he has been chained up for two months now, in rain, wind, and blistering sun, he has been chained up, alone and scared. And last night with the storm, he had obviously gone frantic and ran up and down, wrapping the chain harder and harder round his neck. Ali found him this morning almost dead trying to breathe. She tried to get the chain off but it was so tight that she couldnt even get her little finger under it to free him. She was sure that the poor thing was going to die in her arms. She has been in tears all morning over it. She managed to release the dog eventually but had to leave him. We intend on going back tomorrow and buying the dog off them because seeing this beautiful animal being abused every day is just too much to bear. It is truly disgusting, especially for all of us here who love animals so much 

Finally, I am SO excited for tomorrow! We are talking the kids to a bird of prey show in Dullstroom! I have been excited about this for weeks! I have wanted to go for agesss! And now, thanks to them inviting us we are on our way! I cant wait! The kids will love it! They wont believe their luck either, after being to Spur only a couple of weeks a go as well! But it is so good for them to have these experiences! I mean, my goodness, Charlotte, Sara, and Maggi had a fit over the hand dryer in the toilets at Spur! These kids need as much exposure to this stuff as possible! So I am off to bed so I am bright eyed and bushy tailed for our day out tomorrow! pray that this is the end of storms, though I dont think it will be ! Lekker Slaap xxxxx

Snow day!

OK, so yesterday we had a major heat wave where we swam with the horses and I spent most of the day in my bikini, and today......we had snow! A HUGE storm built up, and at 5pm it just hit. It was insane, the hail came down soooo hard, the wind was terrible, and in among it all there was thunder and lightening. It was so loud that when me, Ali and Edith tried to talk to eachother, we had to shout! Absolutely insane that the weather can change so drastically! Oh, and due to the storm we had zero power, all the lights went out and we were plunged into darkness for a few hours until Ali came through and switched the lights on....turns out Edith and I had been sitting in darkness for a good half an hour longer than we needed to haha.

Anyway, today was alright, up until our storm hit it was overcast, cloudy and cool all day. But it was a nice temperature for riding and running. Our ride out this morning was lovely, although, man those horses are lazy! I am trying to ride Danny every day in the hopes that maybe if I get him fitter that he will be more excited and I wont have to ride him so hard. I mean, I literally have to kick him for every stride of canter to keep him going or he returns to his regular plod. But! He is just being a little bugger, because as soon as we are going in the direction of home, suddenly he turns into Seabiscuit and just magically comes up with the energy to put one foot in front of the other. Ali was going to come with us on our ride with Charlie, but unfortunately Charlie had his one ideas. Was that horse going to leave the stable? no he was not. The seven horsemen of the apocalypse couldnt have gotten that horse to go where he didnt want to. In the end we had to leave Ali behind because there is no point in arguing with a horse that is in that kind of a mood.

The rest f the day I ran and sat and watched 9O21O on my laptop.....Coz I spend my Sundays in such a cool way ! That is all folks, chilled day at the farm I have to say. Lekker Slaap xxxx

Hot days, tragedies, and swimming with horses

Hello all, my gosh it has been a scorcher of a day today! We have had a surprisingly busy Saturday in all honesty. I woke up mega early at 5am with all the intention of going on an early morning ride with Danny. But, on arriving at the stables and having ALL my jobs done by 6am, I realised that Lala and Zeta were coming at seven thirty for their trail ride! Ahhhhh! So poor Danny was tacked up really early for his ride. The girls arrived but it was not exactly a long ride. Lala had a bad foot and hadnt taken her allergy medication as she is allergic to horses, so she was in pain and her eyes were streaming after ten minutes, so a very short ride indeed!

After, we all came in when we had our real tragedy of the day. Ali and I were just looking at how to charge something up when we saw Little Marcus at the door. I didnt even think twice about it until I heard Ali shouting. It turns out that Caste, the mother of the twin baby goats that I named Mia and Zecko after my dogs back home, is dead. She is the second goat who has broken into the feed room and eaten herself to death. It was devastating, her stomach was so huge, and Mia was so distressed bleating and nudging her. It was so horrible. I couldnt help it but I sat in the goat pen nursery with Mia and cried for a good while. Ali was so upset as well, she was furious with the guys who work here, they left the feed room open and now, two of the best goats have had to have a needless painful death. It was so upsetting. It was awful. I felt awful all morning and I am still trying not to think about poor Mia and Zecko.

To take our minds off it, Ali and I challenged our upset into tidying the tack room so we were not thinking about it too much, we tidied it up and by that point it was so hot in the mid day sun, all I could do was sunbathe and swim in the dam. Despite the awful morning, it was a lovely afternoon reading in the hammock and swimming away. Ali then had the great idea of swimming with the horses in the dam. I have never done it before, mainly because I am not all that confident with bareback riding, but it was so hot that I thought “what the heck” and put my bikini on and we headed out to catch Blue and Duncan so we could go in the dam. Have to say, it was pretty cool horse riding in a bikini knowing that back home in England, people wont be able to wear a bikini unless they go on holiday, because it is COLD. It was so awesome, the horses bobbed around like hippos in the water eating up the algae and grunting, it was soooo cool! I wish I had done it before! I want to do it tomorrow as well if it is just as hot!

This evening I think I am recovering from mild heat stroke. My head feels fuzzy and I think I need an early night....this is what happens when an English rose goes out in mid day heat....I am a fool.....why why why! But hey ho, nothing a good nights sleep cant cure...hopefully. 

Edith's first day on the farm, and my 1OOth day on the farm!

I have been at Lydenrust farm for 1OO days now! It is crazy how time flies, I really cant believe it! Today Edith joined us after her last night with her family before they headed off to Kruger park. Her whole family are lovely as well as she is! She has been really helpful and lovely, even though it must be overwhelming for her to be here, just as it was for me on my first day ! We had a hectic morning with the farrier this morning before going over to school, have to say, I am so glad it is Friday! I even pulled the line from the Hangover when Percy asked me something when it was home time, “It is the weekend now, you do not exist any more”. Haha, I love those kids to death but man am I glad it is Friday! We went down to the river today with the kids since it was so hot, but it was cut short by the horses interrupting and deciding that it was their river and they weren't going to move for love nor money, and especially not for a three year old patience, who I had to swipe out of the way of Ramon's feet before being trampled to death.
Ali has been so busy today, we have had to change over all the houses for a party of guests numbering 21 who are here for a wedding at the Cowshed this weekend. I am very upset about this as it is a well known fact that if there is a wedding at the Cowshed, then it is going to chuck it down with rain the whole time haha. Anyway, as Ali was so busy, I finally managed to persuade her that I am a responsible young woman who could go to town for her in the car and do the shopping so she didn't have to. First thing that blumen happened when I got to town was I forgot where Otees was. I was determined not to phone for help about this as I am a strong, independent woman who should be able to find the wholesalers …... luckily my memory kicked in and we found it without too much of an issue. When we got there we had a list from all the workers back at the yard. The guys were all paid on Friday, they have subsequently drank themselves into a coma, and ran out of money for the month. So, they gave Ali a big list of groceries to get and then they all turned their phones off knowing she was going to call and shout at them for being so irresponsible haha. At one point we had to find a product called “Giggle snacks” and I went up to one of the shop attendants.

Me “Hi, can you tell me where I would find giggle snacks please?”

Attendant “Can you speak in English, I cannot speak Afrikaans”

Me “........... erm, I thought I could speak English as well, but maybe my Afrikaans is getting better! can you tell me where to find giggle snacks?

Then he realized his mistake and found them for us. My gosh, I love wholesalers! They had crisp bulk buys that were the same size as I am! I really want to buy a packet and just saunter down the road eating them.
Next Edith and I headed to pick and pay for the groceries, which was fine, and then when we came out, the damn car wouldn't start! I had to ask a nice man to come and look at the terminals so I could start it again....Thankfully he actually knew what he was doing, unlike the clueless driver, moi. Haha. But, we returned from town triumphant! So, all in all, a great day! Let the weekend begin! I plan on going cycling, sunbathing, and everything outdoorsy, I cant wait!

p.s Apologies for the lack of photos, I will get myself organised tomorrow ! night night all! Hope you are alll glad that the blog is back !

Catch up!

Wednesday, Shopping for everything under the sun!

Today after school Ali and I took a trip up to Nelspruit to buy ….well, to buy pretty much everything! We need a new fridge from the cottage, a new TV for the house, new fans for the cabins, new umbrellas for the pool, and a new nervous system for Ali after so much shopping! It was unbelievably hot, and I was pretty much dying, I dont believe it could possibly get hotter, I was just awful! Compounded by the fact that we went in the bakkie which has no air con bar the open windows, I swear, I was like a dog with my head out the window the whole way there! It was a fun day though, we had a look round all the shops and had a fancy lunch at Woolworths. We picked our fridge and everything in the wholesale shop, where I was accosted by one of the staff who asked if he could walk with me, and then asked me for my wattsapp address. I am too nice! I should have told him to bugger off, but alas, I have the backbone or something very back boneless, so endured the awkwardness until he got the hint when I started really concentrating on the nutritional information of baked beans haha! I cant believe how long we were out for, it was an actual mission to get it all done! When we went to get our second load of groceries at the Spar, one of us had to stay with the bakkie because we had the canopy off and all our new goodies inside which anyone would pinch, so when it was my turn to guard, I was watching the car guards and my gosh I felt so sorry for them! A lot of people were just down right rude to them, others let them help with all their heavy bags and then tipped nothing! After the fourth or fifth person who gave this poor guy nothing, I went and gave him R2O, even though I was guarding my own car. He was so appreciative and thankful it broke my heart! But other than that, it was a good day! All the jobs are done and we are all fully equipped!

Thursday, New faces and Birthday parties!

Hello! So, today I awoke at the crack of 5am, bright and early! I was super organised this morning and had all my jobs done by 6 3Oam. Ultra organised Rosie a go a go! Unfortunately Ali had a terrible night and has pains in her foot so when Wendy arrived this morning with her kids Bailion, Oscar, and Savannah, I rode with her on Danny and Duncan. Or Seabiscuit and Secreteriat as I like to call them, ironically because these two horses would plod away from a nucleur explosion, aint nothing putting a fire in their stride! Haha, but it was a lovely ride this morning, infact that whole day was wonderful, the weather was perfect! Warm enough to wear a vest all day, but not too hot or cold, wonderful! We even managed to get the horses to race each other along the gallops, which is awesome, there is no better start to the day than galloping along in front of the mountains! After, I turned up to school a bit late due to the ride to find Sara’s mother and friends all there! It was Sara’s birthday today and while we obviously had the usual celebrations ready, her mother had brought a huge cake, treats and presents for her daughter. It was so sweet, and the mum, Christine, said she wanted to do it because this would be the last birthday when she was with all her friends before starting big school in January. Sara looked like perfection, she was the cutest thing ever, dressed all in white with a green 192Os headband on, and little black heels! She looked like a Disney princess! So so so so soooooooo cute! And my gosh, she would not take those shiny new shoes off for love nor money! She stomped around at play time and her heels sunk into the grass to the point where she could barely walk but that did not stop her one bit! Her cousin Siyabonga was also the picture of adorableness! I am so used to him coming to school in essentially what can only be deemed rags, but was dressed today in smart jeans, shirt and tie! He looked like a little manager! It was so cute! Although, as soon as the adults left he ran straight up to me and yelled “maaaaaaaam tiiiie OFF!”, safe to say he was not a fan of the new look!

Sara <3

It was such a lovely day, Sara received a new baby doll and a cooking set which she was deliriously happy with, it was so nice to see her face. She really is the sweetest child there is, and she really deserved a special day! My only quandary about the whole thing was how green with envy the other children were. Some had the faces of sour milk and barely smiled at all, even though usually when they get cake or sweeties of any kind they are manically happy, today they seemed very aware of this being for Sara, and many of them quite visibly disliked the attention being on her. It is sad to see that when people have so little, they can be terribly jealous of ANYONE getting even a little bit more than them. And it is so confusing because they all love to share. If anyone brings in something special like biscuits, crisps, or chocolate, they will hand out everything they have, leaving themselves with one solitary confectionery. The other day patience was so proud of her chocolate biscuits, but the poor thing gave out every single one, including one for me, and when Charlotte asked for her very last biscuit she was crushed but went to give her it before I said Charlotte could have mine. Patience subsequently wanted then to give me her last biscuit, but I refused, but it is astonishing to see how selfless they can be at such a young age. And yet, today, there seemed to be no joy at Sara having a special day. Very odd indeed!

The cutest Siyabonga and Sara ever!

When the adults left after the party, the kids suddenly lit up. Until then, they had kept a very safe distance from me, barely spoke and did little smiling, and then, when it was just me, they came alive! Sara came and sat on my knee and showed me proudly everything in her new cooking set. We had a lovely day of playing with the dolls and having outdoor recreation time! After school I was kind of exhausted so watched a film until the horses had to be done. I was very lazy today indeed. And of course, our other news! We have a new volunteer today! We actually thought she wasnt going to turn up because we did not hear from her until 7pm, and she did not arrive until 9pm. She arrived with her family who are staying the night also in the cottage before heading off tomorrow. She will join us at the stables tomorrow at 7am for her first real day and look at the farm, but from what I saw, she seemed like a lovely girl, really friendly! And now I have my new friend on the farm! If she is anything like our last German volunteer Uli, she will do great! But anyway! I have done a lot of catch up blogging tonight and it is already 1Opm! I must sleep or I will look like the walking dead! Lekker Slaap all! Xxxxx

Oupa with his Grandad on his school bus! Loving the VW wheels haha

Sorry guys!

I am really sorry guys but the internet is really bad at the minute. We have barely anything to get through the month! It sucks but I will keep accurate records of what is happening and do a catch up blog on he 16th or something when we have caught up with our allowance! Do not fear, the Yellow Mongoose will return! I will not abandon you! xxxxxxx

Getting hot hot hot

Today we had such a break through with one of our students Oupa. He only started in July at the school and he was so overwhelmed. I mean, our three year olds percy and patience could complete harder puzzles than he could, and he was so overpowered pretty much everyone. But today, I have to say, I had a wonderful moment as a teacher. He came up during education time and asked for more practice sheets to do. I couldnt believe it as all the others had moved onto colouring, which they love, but he wanted to work on his letters! I was honestly so astonished! Then I had another great moment with Charlotte who didnt want to go outside and play, but instead did more education inside with me! And on top of all that, we had complete silence from all the kids when they did their work.  Man, I was so proud of them! I felt like a real teacher today and I actually had so much fun! As a reward for their hard work, Oupa and Charlotte both got little treats. He was so unbelievably proud of himself, it was so sweet!

Sorry this post is short and sweet, but internet issues are still hounding us! Lekker slaap xx

Sunday Sunday SUNDAAAAY

Hello all,

well, unfortunately we have found that on only the third day of the month that we are already 34% into our internet allowance for the month! So Ali is going to ring tomorrow about it, we think it may have come from her updating her iphone, but unfortunately that means that we are going to have to limit the amount of pictures we put up and keep all other internetting to a minimum for a while till we catch up. I will still update and everything, just with less pictures!

Anyway, today we awoke and had lots of horses to get saddled for this mornings trail ride with Alis friend Elma and the kids. It was a lovely morning to go round the mountains. We only walked, but sometimes it is nice to just have a relaxing ride round! After I had a very lazy day. I watched the movie Seabiscuit which was awesome, did the washing up, and read a little. Oh, and I also had a singing session out on the veranda with my new music player. Ali was laughing when she found me singing along to Razorlight..... haha.

We had a new baby goat born today! It was sooo cute! Elma and the kids named him Jimmy. So Jimmy has been added to the ever growing nursery! As it is month end, we had no Marcus to help out with the goats, so me and Ali had to do all four feeds for Rosie and Uli. Essentially they are too old for bottles now, but since their mum died after she ate herself to death, we have to get milk into them somehow or they will die. So, we have to hold down two of the other mums and let Uli and Rosie drink from them. Lisa is a wonderful Mum and rarely fights us, but my gosh, Socks is getting very sick and tired of it. Yikes she fought us.....mind you, Uli pushes and shoves so much that it is no wonder she is angry and wants to stamp on us and them!

In the evening we finally got a visit from the two girls who ride, Alzarn and Jolene. They are the sweetest girls ever, but they havent been in absolutely ages due to studying for their exams. We had the most wonderful ride tonight. I cantered along and tucked the reins under the saddled and held my arms out to the side, it really does feel like flying haha. But yes, it was absolutely great!

And to be perfectly honest, that is all that has gone on today! Very chilled and relaxed to be honest! Just what I need before the new school week starts! We have a new volunteer arriving this Thursday called Edith from Germany! I cant wait till she gets here, and if she is anything like the last German we had, Uli, I know she will be great! I am also looking forward to having another person at school to help out, it is so hard to get education time done when there is only one of you, the kids demand so much attention and so much variation in what they are leaning, that it is nigh on impossible for one person to do it. I mean, we have 3 and 6 year olds. So, the 3 year olds need constant supervision due to their lack of concentration, but the older ones need help as well due to the fact that they are at a stage when they can handle harder tasks, but they still need guidance! I have high hopes for Grace and Charlotte, both of whom can now do adding up! I am so proud that they have got it ! And I hope when Edith arrives I will have more time to really get them working on it, and perhaps work on subtracting, and the months of the year before they go to big school! Anyway, I am gonna sleep. I am sooo tired despite my lazy day, so lekker slaap all. Bath and bed for me! xxx

Ready, steady, SHEER !

This morning I awoke to the most miserable sky! We haven't actually had any thunderstorms today but it has been nasty! It was threatening us all day! Thankfully it held off and in the evening we actually got some lovely sun. Wendy joined us today for an early morning trail ride. It may have looked nasty but it was beautifully cool. To start we went to the gallops for a wake up call. I love tearing along that field racing against the other horses. It makes me feel so free and happy. I read a quote somewhere that said any problem can be eradicated by a good canter. I have to say, I completely agree. I feel sorry for anyone who does not love horses and dont know what it is to fly, it is the most magical thing ever!

The evil sky!

Anyway, the rest of the ride was lovely, and we returned to head straight off into town to get our sheep sheered. The poor sheep have been absolutely dying with their big shaggy coats when it gets hot, so we packed them up and took them to Ali's vet Mariki's farm where she was getting her own sheep done. They were being sheered by two old men of 61 and 73! All done by hand! They were the sweetest men ever, and they only charge R1O a sheep! Which is about 7Op in English money. Ali refused to pay them such a small amount for over two hours work, mainly because our sheep are so fat that they took double the time and twice the manpower! So she gave them R1OO each for their time, they were so appreciative and kind. Apparently none of the younger guys want to learn or do sheep sheering, and the 73 year old is actually retired, so we were all appreciative of them for coming !

 Me with Murphy

Mr Bones in the river <3

Mariki's farm was wonderful! It reminded me of those real old fashioned farms that I used to read about in my animal stories books. All her animals are rescue animals and she had loads! Thirteen dogs, horses, sheep, donkeys, the lot! Most impressive was that when our sheep were being done, her 9 year old daughter Marzel was doing all their immunizations! She was definitely the most bad-ass 9 year old I have ever seen, with the injection in her hand, leaning down and just doing the job bish bash bosh. Very impressive! I always wanted to be a vet when I was little, it must be so awesome to be able to fix animals when they are sick.

 Marzel in action

Coolest kid ever!

When we returned home with the sheep their lambs were SCREAMING for them. The hilarious thing is, they are still screaming and I think the lambs still don't recognize their own mothers haha!
Also this evening I met Ali's long term friend Elma who has come to stay with her daughter and a family of theirs. They invited us over for coffee and chatted, especially about how Ali and Elma are going into the trucking business that they will name "The galloping grannies" haha ahhh pipe dreams ! We bottle fed, and this night we have dined on my delicious Asian noodle soup. It was delicious, if I do say so myself! Followed by dessert of a cinnamon cake. I feel so content and happy tonight. Just really happy. Night night everyone, trail rides and baby goats to look after tomorrow, so I need my sleep! xxxxx

Goodbye music player

I woke up this morning at 5am for my early morning run. It was really nice getting out early and going for a run. It was so beautiful and cool. It is always so relaxing and peaceful. I was jogging along and for some reason I got it into my head that I would be devastated if I ever broke my music player, and how my runs would never be the same. And it was as if I was conspired against. The moment I got home from my run, I dropped my music player down the toilet......It was the worst moment.....I immediately put it in a bag of rice as I have heard that is meant to absorb the moisture but alas, the music player has not resurrected. It has gone to silicon valley in the sky. It is kaput. I am heartbroken. Do you know how long it takes to build playlists and a music collection! AGES! I am absolutely gutted.
Thankfully, when it became apparent that it would not be rising from its ricey grave, Ali found me her old ipod for me to lend. It has some pretty good stuff on there, like Ecuador by Sash, so I was having a mini rave on the veranda earlier reminiscing.

Wish my camera did these clouds justice! They were so beautiful!

Anyway, Booboo had once again escaped from her stable and was running wild and free among the cabins this morning. I had to entice her with a carrot and march her back to her stable. She was not amused, and immediately tried to escape again before I closed her shutter and locked her in. Manama was absolutely plagued by flies today. I feel so bad for her. I so badly want to take her out riding but this wart of hers is just not budging!

We had a really relaxed day at school today. Well, I say relaxing, what I mean is, just a little less stressful than usual haha We stated off with exercises, and we played with the hula hoops and skipping ropes. I tried to teach the older girls how to spin the hoop on their arm. Grace managed to get it, but Charlotte and Liesbeth just kept on hitting themselves in the face with the hoop every time they tried! After we did the day of the week which they are getting so good at now. They know all the days and they know off by heart which are school days and which are weekends. I am very proud. I was also very impressed today with their language skills when i went through their letters. I am getting them in the habit of knowing what their name begins with. And I was so surprised when i asked Thando "what else begins with T". And they came up with "tongue", "teeth", and "tummy". I was so impressed with them! So very proud. Although I had a tough job explaining why "C" was for "Charlotte" but "C" was not for "Sharing".
We also went to the river today and they had such a lot of fun. I always love taking them there, they are so cute and they get so much enjoyment from going there!

Rosie and Uli, the orphaned twin baby goats. Soooo cute. 

In the afternoon, Ali and I decided we must go on a horse ride. And then Marcus decided he would take Marula. So we all saddled up and oh goodness, it was the most hilarious moment of my life. Ali could not get Mandla to move no matter what she did, and eventually had to get off and lead him. I was in absolute stitches laughing my head off, and whenever we tried to go a bit faster I just heard Ali behind me cursing him. Funny.

 Ali on her fiery steed haha

Marcus on Marula with the beautiful back drop of the mountains.

And finally, after Ali and I agreed that Chloe must be weaned if she is not going to take the bottle, I decided to try just one more time....and she actually took it ! I couldnt believe it. It was like she knew she was about to get weaned! So finally, princess Chloe has ended her hunger strike. Fingers crossed she is a bit easier from now on!

Lekker Slaap all. Hopefully tomorrow will be as beautiful as it was today <3