Whoops - long time, no write!

Lots to write about but no time (and no inclination either I must admit..)

In Chronological order then.......

Wednesday - after thinking I could do it myself and finally realising that the only person I was fooling was myself - I joined Weight Watchers! Shock, horror, shame! Its a big thing for soemone who was always skinny to admit that they are losing the battle of the bulge! But... I am so sick of the few things in my cupboard that fit and all the others hang there in mute accusation. So, now I have joined, was weighed and have to follow a points system - which doesn't seem to give you much to eat... I have to lose 6.5 kgs in 8 weeks. What it has alerted me to is how much I drink (alcohol I mean) - by day 3 I had drunk my weekly allocation and that was when I was trying to restrict myself .. hmm, damn! Am trying to be very good about it - no use in paying for this if I don't stick to it! But I'd better have lost something when I get on the scale next week!


Thursday - picked up Jessie for Line dancing (gives me 5 more points for food!) - she is still staying at home and she has to visit a psychologist regualarly with her mum. In the meantime Jessie refuses to speak to her mum... what a strain it must be for both of them. Anyway, line dancing went pretty much the same as last week except that now we have smart lime green golf shirts with "Boots 'N Hats" printed on them! I still get muddled in the middle and there is one step with a little jump in it that I can do when practicing but lose it completely when the music starts! But am meeting lost of nice people from the area as well as getting some exercise. Pat keeps telling us about the competitions we can enter and do exams..... will have to think about that - not the way I'm fumble footing at the moment! Chatted to Jeremy in the bar and he told me some more about the property down the road from his farm that is for sale - sounds worth a look!

Friday - big day for Zoe - off to Pretoria to be assessed by the Friesian judges from the Netherlands. Little Megan went along to keep her company. No problem getting them into the box, I've been leaving the box open for the last couple of weeks and sprinking lucerne around at the top end, so they have all been walking in and out and standing in it for ages - easiest training ever! Brian and I were smartly dressed in white outfits - he to pull her at the front and me to run around at the back should she refuse to move! All went well and she was registered with the FSSPA as a 3rd premie. It's very complicated to explain as most of the documentation is in Dutch but it is a good thing! Now we have to wait for the linear score to be sent back from the Netherlands which will rate all her good and bad points.


Saturday - Sarah and Charlie came with us to have a look at a farm on the R82 outside Walkerville. Two big houses in good condition but much attention needed on the outbuildinsg - we'd have homeless horses for a while! The owner apparently wants R5m for it but Jeremy (neighbour) reckons he will take R3m - still too much for us so we would need to go into a partnership. Risky but we are thinking about it, seems the only way we'll ever be able to buy the amount of land we'd like!

In the evening Elsie, Willie, Sarah & Charlie came round for dinner - brilliant, I didn't have to do anything! Sarah brought a salad, Elsie also, plus some potato salad and Johan roasted 2 legs of lamb in the Weber - with a mustard and herb marinade that I made - really delicious. Toasted Zoe - its taken me 7 years of failed pregnancies, new horse, death of new horse etc to get as far as actually having a Friesian registered in the proper book! So we drank Veuve Cliquot!

Sunday - woke up and looked at my Blackberry - to discover that Muriel had sent me an email saying that Mum was in Warrington hospital having had a minor heart attack last Monday - no wonder she didn't answer the phone! Would happen when Bruce is away and my passport has expired! So I phoned the hospital and she sounded quite chipper - have asked my cousin Linda to please get a letter from the Doctor so that my passport application can be done asap - just in case!

My mum has inisted on living alone at home since my dad died 3 years ago She has one leg, one eye and is blind in the other one, and has been a diabetic for almost 60 years - despite this she has coped reasonably well (thank goodness for the British support system) and goes shopping by herself (calls a taxi) and has managed to keep herself fairly safe and sound all this time. However, recently she had a fall and another time burnt her had badly in the kitchen which has been very worrying, However, she has now said that maybe it is time she moves into a more controlled environment -the first time she has ever admitted this - so maybe we can help her move when we go over in June.

Plot 1 (Sherry & Clayton) have borrowed the tractor in order to mow their fields - they have had 4 large rinkals's on their front stoep and in their fields - plot 2 has had 2 and we have had 2 - Quidditch was seen playing with one and Brian caught another one eating all the eggs in the chicken run - wonder why they are all invading us? We know there is one that lives somewhere in the front garden - there is a hole and occasionally we see the old skin that it has shed, it has also been seen sunning itself but it leaves us alone so we are not going to hunt it down. EEEURRRGG - they give me the creeps!