One wisdom tooth and a wax.

Looking a bit like a lopsided chipmunk today. Had a wisdom tooth removed yesterday.  Yes, tooth – I only own(ed) one.  Thank God for that.  I have new found respect for people that have had all four removed.

I put up a brave front, since it’s nothing to be afraid of – right? So many people have this done, and it’s just a minor procedure afterall.  Is it?  To everyone else, it seemed like a normal occurrence – I think that made me feel better.  Yes indeed. 

I opted for anaesthesia as there is no way on this earth that I would have had this type of procedure done in the chair… (and there are people that do that… are they CRAZY?) I’m sorry, but my pain threshold won’t allow.  I am glad to say that I have never had to spend a night in hospital.  All went well and I was home tucked in bed at 8pm the evening.  At midnight, I asked my G who had just come to bed to remove the tape from my arm that held the wad of cottonwool in place from the drip.  I just couldn’t (like waxing yourself you know). Happy to oblige, he pulled it as fast as possible… holy mother... it felt like every hair on my arm went along with it.  It stung like hell and just there I cried like a baby.  After a day of feeling anxious, being anaesthetised, not being able to feel my mouth, and being so brave that was the final straw.  You should see the bruised skin – the drip was nothing – but the plaster.! Shame, my G felt so bad, poor man.

The positive to all this is that I get to sit in bed, with my electric blanket and place orders for meals, eat jelly and custard, not have to do anything and not feel guilty about that. :)

Feel the fear and do it anyway

Walk over 450°C coal and break an arrow with my neck…yip… you don’t want to mess with this cookie.

The week end was all about challenging our belief systems.  To think out of the box and to not accept the status quo at face value.

The roads were busy as usual for a Friday afternoon, with hundreds of people making their way to Limpopo (LimPOMPo  - yeah baby - if you’re the president). The drive was not very long, but I’m sure it was for these poor chickens we came across.  The wind was blowing these poor creatures to the back of the “hokkie”. Ay shame man.





Chickens catching a lift on top

We arrived at the farm in time for dinner and we were pleasantly surprised by the facilities at the farm and I was especially glad for the electric blankets provided. I was up early and took a couple of pictures of the farm.

 

As part of the week end there was a “Fire-walking and Arrow-breaking” session to be held that Saturday evening.  I thought I may be able to “fire-walk” since you can only burn your feet (hear the sarcasm?), but the Arrow-breaking was on another level.

We did the arrow-breaking first.  I was petrified and my first reaction was that there was no way I could do that.  As more and more people went, without getting hurt, I started feeling that I could perhaps do it too.  Before I knew it I was in the queue and it was my turn to step up to the tree.  Arrow in place, I started to lean forward, feeling the arrow pressing on my neck.  I closed my eyes and then SNAP – the arrow broke in half and I’d done it. What a feeling!



 

Arrow-breaking – taking a normal arrow, placing the back of the arrow against a hard surface (tree) and the tip of the arrow against your neck.  When you are ready you slowly lean forward, bend the arrow and break it.

I was so amazed by this feat that the firewalk (which I had been quite nervous about earlier) all of a sudden seemed quite tame because the arrow breaking had seemed so intense.

Firewalk – I walked over a 3m bed of hot coals – no less than 5 times - without getting one blister. A colleague asked me later that week, why would you want to do something like that?  And the answer is really about challenging yourself to walk through fear, to grow and change your beliefs. 

There was no chanting, or hand holding, or altered states of consciousness or even visualising walking over a bed of snow. No, it was all about feeling the energy of the group and if you felt that you wanted to walk over the coals, then you did. 

What an incredible opportunity to challenge and change limiting beliefs and fears, and to, as in the words of Susan Jeffers – Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway!!

This has shifted my mind.

Joburg traffic…my pet hate …

The day started with a drive through to Pretoria.  I didn’t have the address of the building that I was going to visit (both people I had called said they drive there on autopilot, and the third person wasn’t answering their phone). But, being an independent woman with a superb sense of direction (that’s funny) I wasn’t going to let that stop me from trying to find the place.

On the way there was an accident at John Vorster which made me late for my meeting (that and driving around the area looking for the building). Once I found the building the security guards had not heard of the company that I was looking for… even though it was the right building. I later found out that my sister in-law was involved in that accident and had been taken away in an ambulance L.  She needed stitches in her face and was bruised, but apart from that,  she’s ok - thank God. The car is a write-off.

On the way back from the meeting I was again stuck in traffic on the N1 – a motorcycle accident and the highway needed to be closed.  I crawled along till the first exit I could take.  Happy that I had made a plan to get off the highway, I proceeded on my journey.  My satisfaction however quickly dissipated when I was faced with the countless traffic lights that were out… I should have known you think...

I had to make it to the city centre before 11:00 due to a huge strike – 70 000 people – that was going to take place in the city and motorists were being advised to avoid the area.

I eventually arrived at the office at 10:45 – an hour and a half later – frazzled nerves and ready to start my day (not really). I kept thinking whether it’s possible to drive with ease anywhere in and around Jo’burg anymore…I’m so glad that I don’t have to drive around to see clients during the day – how do people do it?

Now the country’s petrol stations are starting to run dry due to a strike in the petrochemicals industry… who knows, perhaps we won’t have any traffic to contend with next week…

My Weimie... the rhino poacher...

Diesel

Intelligent, inquisitive, crazy, boisterous, sometimes loving, sometimes aloof, big sissy, naughty.

Activities -

-        re-arranging the flower beds and removing bricks from the brick paving

-        stripped the trailer of wiring – (3 times) 

-        removed the spotlights from the car

-        destroyed the perfectly functional sprinkler system

-        destroys any bed left outside for him

-        removes unnecessary floating objects from the pool such as the temperature gauge, pool gobbler, chlorine float

-        chewed through the ADSL wiring (since we work too much you know)

-        chewing on the walls of the house (the lounge, passage and outside)… yes there are pieces missing…

-        checking the kitchen counter for freshly baked banana bread

-        collecting trophies from shows (pretty boy)

-        ripped his nail completely out of his foot once

Mylie

Playful, lovable, crazy, demanding of attention.  Always ready for adventure. Crotch poker – you’ve been warned…

Activities –

-        bites heads off flowers

-        if you dare to throw an object for her to fetch, be ready for a long evening

-        diving to fetch her toy bone on the second step of the pool (party trick)

-        keeps the garden free of birds – stalk, kill, and have it for lunch (bring it up later)

-        brilliant hunting and retriever dog

-        hogs the heater in winter (it’s hers of course)

-        loves children

Other activities:

Running on the treadmill.

Swimming.

Hunting.

Recharging.



I inherited a black sandstone rhino from my late father who recently passed this year.  I placed this rhino outside the front door.  Diesel did not take to this newcomer very well and I have realised, to my dismay, that the poor rhino has now been dehorned and de-eared…With all the rhino poaching that has been going on in South Africa – where people kill these magnificent creatures and only saw off the horns – that thought immediately came to mind and I realised that I may have to add rhino poaching to his list…

 

LOVE them to bits.!

All in the name of...?

It was officially (I think) the coldest morning of winter 2011, minus 3 without the wind chill (about -5).  Very early Sunday morning and I was up and out of the house before sunrise.  I knew that it was going to be cold and was wearing 5 layers of clothing – I felt like stuffed sausage.  I was however, very soon, glad for the layers.  Being a South African, we are not very well prepared for exceptionally cold weather – even though it can get very cold sometimes in South African terms.

This was my very first photography outing and we were going to the Botanical Gardens.  I’d been doing a course over the last month and we were going to get to practise all that we’d learnt so far. We had assignments and by the end of the day had to submit a total of 22 photgraphs of different scenes.

As we entered the Gardens, we were met with an ice cold wind that was whipping around the place, leaving me with pink and rosy cheeks and a sniffling nose to match.  My gloves offered absolutely no protection, and soon enough my hands were red and numb from the cold. I marvelled for a moment that this was actually voluntary… “can’t believe”.

Our first assignment was capturing the waterfall and we had to make our way over there quickly before the sun came out. Once done there, we were free to explore the Gardens in search of scenes and subjects to photograph.  Trying to capture different flowers or shrubs proved to be quite a challenge as the wind was really blustering around.  However, if I was patient and waited for a lull in the wind, I could time my shots and was able to get a few good pictures.

I called it a day at around 10:00 am as I had my siblings coming over later.  I felt that my photos didn’t come out quite the way I expected, but was thankful for the chance to practice.

I would love to do something like this again. Note to self:  Hobbies are great and loads of fun, just make sure you check the weather.  The day didn’t warm up very much and by midday, I was still in 4 layers of clothing.

Below are some of the photos I took during the outing, comments welcome!