Commitment

I've been thinking about you often but haven't had the ability to sit still long enough, nor a consistently reliable internet connection, to get a post up. Now that it's 2010 things will change for the positive.  I'm committing to at least one post a week and may even be able to cajole my fellow blogger to contribute a few items that may be of interest to all.  We'll see... until then to catch you up:

Christmas in Cape Town

We spent the day on the beach at Camps Bay.


It was fun and quite relaxing.  We found the lead up to the Christmas holiday to be pretty low key even though all the stores were decked out with decorations to lure shoppers.  We never felt the frenzy that can hit in the U.S. on those last few days leading up to Christmas and we even spent part of Christmas Eve at the Waterfront which includes a large mall.  There were plenty of people out and about but it wasn't hectic and we bounced from pub to ice cream to pub without tripping over anyone or getting trampled. We came home to find Christmas gifts from our neighbors on the doorstep and learned that quite a bit of visiting and gift-exchanging goes on, at least on-site, on Christmas Eve. Ooops...still learning the ropes, but definitely appreciating our thoughtful neighbors.

On Christmas day itself, several grocery stores were open until 2pm and at Camps Bay about half the restaurants were open and serving customers.  The only glitch in our day was that we didn't anticipate that we wouldn't be able to buy wine at Woolworth's (a more expensive Trader Joe's) on Christmas.  Our wine stash at home had been depleted by various parties we had attended and we were hoping to celebrate the day on the beach with a little clandestine vino drinking (technically no alcohol allowed on the beach...but...)  Here in Cape Town, no wine is sold in grocery stores on Sunday and this seems to extend to certain holidays too.  If we had thought about this we probably could have guessed that we should have stocked up on Christmas Eve, but we weren't planning too hard.  So we were on the beach sans wine...and we had a great time anyways!  We learned our lesson and now keep a regular stash of wine in the house so we don't get caught out in the future ;)  All part of our cross-cultural adaptation (and on the way home from the beach we found an open liquor store, so this no-wine-sales-on-Christmas does not appear to apply to all types of stores).


We came home from the beach and were invited to a potluck dinner and Christmas celebration at the home of our awesome Finnish neighbors.  Most of the families who lived on site were there and there was a hilarious gift exchange (all gifts had to be under R20, approx $2.75).  It's quite fun to see a Russian PhD in Astrophysics wrestle with a 9-year old boy for possession of the hot gift item - a laser keychain.  Little did we know that the competitive gift exchange was just a buildup to musical-chairs-as-contact-sport on New Years Eve...but that's another story for another blog post.

Until then we leave you with a shot of the Boo, rocking out to the musical Christmas card his Nana sent him.  He's singing something to do with a "Hippopotamus Christmas" and wearing Tim's new glasses:



Hope your Christmas was full of good cheer and Happy 2010!

is it really Christmas on Friday?

Well this past week flew by.

On Monday I took the Boo and his buddy to the Waterfront for ice cream and to check out the boats, one of our favorite pastimes. We ended up stumbling into a carnival and I got conned in to taking two munchkins on a very rickety, but fun, roller-coaster. Goofy smiles at their best!

On Tuesday, was the SAAO year end staff picnic at a winery in the Nuy Valley.  Staff came down from the telescope at Sutherland and out from Cape Town and it was a great way to put faces to the names of people I had only heard of. 

We had a really great day.  I ended up playing a hilarious drunken game of Petanque (think Bocce ball with really dense metal balls) with some of the Sutherland staff. One of the resident dogs, who had a fascination with rocks, kept trying to run off with these really heavy balls.  Fortunately I held my own, and developed a dead eye in defensively knocking out our opponents shots, as my teammate was Tim's boss ;)  Wouldn't do to mess up that relationship!

The Boo at play on the winery grounds:  In the first shot the vineyards are just beyond the trees and stretch all the way to the base of the mountains in the background.

There were large concrete tubes on the winery grounds that the Boo had a ton of fun with.



Indications of a successful day:


On Wednesday, South Africa took the day off for Reconciliation Day.  The New York Times had an article on this but it didn't seem to mesh with our experience of the holiday in Cape Town.  The NYTimes article seemed to focus on the meaning of December 16th to the Afrikaaner portion of the white population but I learned of the holiday from the black staff on site who were staying home with their families to recognize "their day."  The history here is thick and recent and we are only just learning our way through it.

Since SAAO was closed, we did enjoy our day off, historically-loaded holiday or not.  I went for breakfast at the Millstone (cafe with the treehouse) with Minna, our favorite Finnish neighbor.  Her youngest daughter was at horse camp all week at the stables at Oude Molen Eco-Village and it was a great opportunity for her and I to steal a little adult time. 

When I got back onsite after a wonderful-as-always breakfast, the Boo and Tim met me at the trampoline just across from Minna's house.


Since it ain't a holiday in Cape Town if you don't go to the beach, we called up Benne and Robin and met up with them at the Dunes in Hout Bay.  This is the same place they took us to our first weekend in Cape Town, the one on the beach with an awesome playground in the sand.  We spent hours at the cafe as the Boo hit it off with a host of different South African kids.  We rounded out the day on the beach and then followed Benne and Robin home to their cool house for homemade lasagna and entertaining conversation.


Thursday and Friday followed suit, with lots of outdoor play and visiting with neighbors and friends.  Now I hear that Christmas is this Friday.  Was I supposed to do something about that?

and on the last day of preschool...

the Lord said let there be singing:


Please excuse the grainy photo, the "big" camera is being put to good use at the telescope in Sutherland, so we-who-have-been-left-behind must muddle through with lesser technology. But hopefully the above shot gives you the sense of chaos and joy that is the under-6 set when it assembles for the last-day-of-school concert. The kids were asked to wear green and there was an international theme going on that I didn't quite have a good grasp of.

We've only been at this school for a little less then a month, but I was actually sad to hear that most of the Boo's best buddies would be moving up to Grade R (South African version of kindergarten) next year. The kids at this school never ceased to amaze Tim and I with how sweet and friendly they were. They also did a great job of making the Boo feel comfortable in his new environment. The Boo will be back for next year and I, faced with 5 weeks of no childcare, am definitely looking forward to it ;) (the Boo is too!)

Speaking of buddies who have graduated - here (for the Nanas) is a shot of two who loom large in the Boo's world:

Princess G is on the left and Princess E is on the right. Last week when I went to pick up the Boo at school, he was tailing Princess E around the playground asking her to marry him in a sing-song voice!?!! I learned a new word this week to describe my reaction to that little activity - "adorified" - I was somewhat 'horrified' by that 'adorable' behavior (the girl's mother was a bit ummm... surprised...)

Princess G is Princess E's best friend and was really not interested in sharing, so quite a few of the Boo's stories from this week included him putting himself in timeout because of his behavior towards Princess G in what appeared to be a few scuffles over who got to sit next to Princess E. Wow...preschool social life is getting a bit too complicated for me to follow. Sadly, I think the Boo is going to miss both of these munchkins when he returns to school next year, though at least I can put off the wedding planning for a while.

So before we knew it, we were back home and it was only 10:30am (the things we accomplish when we get up and out of the house early!!!) If I was going to feed the Boo at home, then somebody had to do the dishes first. Since the only somebody around was me, I decided that going out to celebrate the last day of preschool sounded like more fun then dish-duty. So while I texted Robin to see if she was up for lunch somewhere, the Boo's on-site 4 year-old partner-in-crime showed up. All four of us jumped in the car and headed off to the Millstone for lunch, and a little playing in the dirt and climbing of the treehouse.

The boys diggin' the dirt under the treehouse:


The cafe is situated within the Oude Molen Eco Village (Rachel, read the link about the Eco-Village, you'll love it!).  The Eco Village includes organic gardens that are used to sustain the village population with the surplus sold at the cafe and in the surrounding neighborhood for income.  The extensive gardens and the village's location backing up to the wetlands of the Black River give this urban area (we're 5 minutes from our house at the Observatory, 15 minutes from downtown Cape Town) a very 'country' feel. Additionally, there are micro-enterprises housed around the site and many of these are artistic in nature, so color and whimsy abound. Finally there are horse corrals and stables to go with our country theme.  Trail riding and lessons are available and the horses are very friendly.  The horses are cared for by older children who appear to live on site (there is a street kids educational/training program at the Village, but I'm not sure if the stables are part of this or not.)  All of this, plus the Waldorf school, and a few resident dogs and chickens, combine to keep bringing us back on a regular basis.  This is one very cool and very beautiful place.

The Boo and his buddy goofing around with a curious horse:





Well, that school year sure flew by! Now what to do with the next 5 weeks...

whooops! we've been busy...

I haven't forgotten you. We've been busy with the arrival of all our stuff and the internet has been darn flaky every time I felt like sharing.

Our big shipment of stuff arrived as well as the five boxes of stuff we shipped from my brother's house in October. Everything is here now and well... I'd happily send half of it back. All this stuff is draining my energy. But then it isn't really about me....while I'm in clutter hell, the Boo is in toy heaven.

As you can see, Diego is as concerned as we are about the current toy takeover of the house.

While the Boo was enjoying school, I avoided our cluttered house (because you need to leave the de-clutter fairies plenty of time to do their work in peace...) by going motorcycle shopping with our favorite Quebecois astronomer, Bruno.  Buying a vehicle, whether two or four wheels, is a great way to see all sorts of different parts of Cape Town and meet a variety of very cool South Africans. I learned a lot about the diverse riding community in Cape Town and Bruno rode off into the sunset on a gorgeous BMW 800GS.  I may just have to work my way up to joining him.


We are now enjoying a gorgeous Cape Town weekend.  Kicked it off this morning with a Cape Crossfit workout on the beach.  Timmy and the Boo got up in time to join me and while they soaked up the sand and the surf, I "worked out."  But really, nothing that fun is really work.   Sorry, no pictures (next time)...but envision yourself getting superfit while frolicking on the sand in Malibu with an excellent cafe right across the street ready to serve you a yummy breakfast post-workout.  Oh, and don't forget the excellent company ;) and gorgeous weather. Well, that's what it was like, only instead of Southern California it was Camp's Bay, South Africa and even better ;)

The only reason we left was because the Boo's social calendar is starting to fill.  We had 2 birthday parties to go to today (in opposite directions from home...).  But we had to do a little social triage and pick one which was a bit of a no-brainer since the princess turning 5 today was none other then the little girl that basically took the Boo by the hand and introduced him to everyone and everything on his first day at his new school.  Plus her party had a slip and slide (the other party had monkeys, but ummm... don't tell the Boo that ;)

Get ready, get set, go:

Slide:

Splash:

Smile:

Repeat:

and now for something completely different

Above photo - Guinea fowl courtesy of Mangoverde.  Haven't seen any turkeys here in South Africa but the guinea fowl are quite plentiful.


About that Thanksgiving Day...

I was trading facebook wall posts with my best friend who was getting all excited about Thanksgiving.  She calls herself the black Martha Stewart, so I just usually let her have at it.  But, being the contrarian that I can be, I mentioned that I was so happy to not have to deal with American Thanksgiving, indicating it was my least favorite holiday.  She came right back at me, all aghast.  I chuckled, because of course I was primarily going for just that reaction.

But then I got to thinking, did I really hate Thanksgiving?  Shouldn't I be happy about an actual American holiday that has very little to do with selling greeting cards and much to do with counting your blessings.  Once I thought about my actual Thanksgiving experience, I realized that Thanksgiving has treated me well, primarily because my friends always took such good care of me on Thanksgiving Day (and I never had to do all the cooking...).

So some Thanksgivings for which I'm very thankful:

2008 - pretty much any Thanksgiving at Julia and Chris' house, they always have a great guest list, Chris is an awesome cook, and between Julia and the critters and the general merriment in the Juliaverse (oh, and the Boo would say their awesome stash of toys), this is always a good time.

2007 - Thanksgiving on my own in NYC - Tim took the Boo to see his mom in Minnesota and I took off to NYC for time to myself and to get a tattoo from a particular tattoo artist.  Vanessa and Rob were in Virginia, but let me have their awesome apartment in Brooklyn to myself.  I got to spend much time with my girl, Isabelle.  Nice little break from parenthood.

2005 - Thanksgiving at Christian and Shari's - Christian is another amazing cook, Shari is always welcoming, and this was where the Boo had his first solid food (or the first solid food he didn't spit back in my face) - Groppi's amazing, and amazingly rich, mushroom soup. 

2004 - Thanksgiving at Julia and Chris' - this was when Tim and I first announced our pregnancy to everyone.  I felt so odd doing that as I had spent my entire adult life trying to not be pregnant that when it happened unexpectedly after our wedding I was just so shocked.  I kind of felt like I had gotten caught doing something I wasn't supposed to do.  Everybody was so supportive that it helped Tim and I get much more comfortable with the wonderful surprise that was the Boo.

2002 - Thanksgiving at the Ranch (off the Turquoise Trail between Santa Fe and ABQ) - 11 people, 6 dogs, the high New Mexico desert in crisp late Fall, the Christmas lights getting turned on in the main plaza in Santa Fe, thank you, Julia, for inviting us...that trip is still remembered as a little slice of heaven.

2001 - Thanksgiving at Julia's old house - my dearly departed dog Dublin, hated being in the house, so stood just outside the front door and watched the rest of us eat our meal.  Nobody complained about the door being open to the cold night so my sweet rescue dog with quite a few issues could be more comfortable.  Love my dog-people friends.

1999 - Thanksgiving at Vanessa and Rob's place in Park Slope, Brooklyn - Vanessa and Rob are the champs at pulling off a great dinner party.  I already had my ticket to leave New York, but so enjoyed this time with my good friends.

1998 - Thanksgiving in Manhattan by myself - I had only just moved in to my apartment on the Upper East Side in October, and this was a time to finally unpack the last of the boxes and get settled without having to be anywhere else.  I took long walks around Manhattan on my own and so enjoyed getting to know my new city.  Still one of my favorite places to just walk and walk.

1997 - Thanksgiving in Bangkok - my Thai bosses, trying to be culturally attuned, took me and my American co-worker to one of the high end hotels for a Thanksgiving buffet to end all buffets.  They were a bit perturbed when my co-worker and I shunned the turkey and stuffing and headed straight for the plates upon plates of fresh sashimi and sushi.

1994 - Thanksgiving in NYC - I was living in DC, Isabelle, my roommate from Prague, was (and still is) living in NYC.  I took the bus up to meet her and got more of a taste for Manhattan, a town that initially intimidated me, but I now love.

1993 - Thanksgiving in Waynesboro, VA - my new friend, Erik, took me home to his family for Thanksgiving.  Erik is the middle of 5 boys and his older brothers had not settled down with their wives and families yet, so his mother seemed quite happy to have a girl in the house.  I was at loose ends in Washington, DC, having just started my first job after college and was so happy to be included in somebody's celebrations.  Erik, babe, I know you're busy, but I miss you!

1991 - Thanksgiving in Prague - 2 of the guys on our Study Abroad program in Prague in the Fall of 1991, somehow, some way, managed to track down 2 large turkeys (pretty challenging for Prague in 1991) and cook them all day in the funky ovens in our common kitchen at Kajetanka (even more challenging as these ovens were not familiar with the concept of steady heat.)  I heard one of them had been on the phone throughout the day with his mom getting pointers (again, not easy in Prague 1991) on the meal.  The rest of us got handwritten invitations asking us to show up for dinner, dress nicely, and bring wine.  My photo album detailing this amazing meal and party is in Tucson, but I recently shared it with a friend from the program who passed through Tucson right before we left, so the images are fresh in my mind.  We had an incredible time up high in that Kajetanka kitchen, enjoying each other,  good food and lots of Moravian wine (we had more empty wine bottles after the show then we had people in attendance...).  Being 21 in Prague right after the Velvet Revolution was a special time and place that no longer exists, but I am so thankful to have been a part of it.

Anyways, I could go on, but I am sure the point has been made.  Thanksgiving has been exceedingly good to me because of the amazing friends I have in my life and I need to be little more mindful of how good I have it.  Thank you, friends, glad you're here!

And to those who may be worried that I have given my family short shift, my mom was a trauma nurse for 40 years and often worked the Thursday of the Thanksgiving holiday (time and half, baby!).  Consequently, I typically celebrated Thanksgiving with my family on the Friday, assuming I was in town.  So best of both worlds.  I am a lucky girl!  Love you, mom!

Happy Thanksgiving!