pieces of ria

This will be my last blog post while I'm still in my 20's.  Tomorrow I'll be 30 years old! What an interesting feeling.  My body is 30 years old, but my mind is still 19.  It's great, but strange at the same time.  I've done so many wonderful, wonderful things during these 30 years - it's been one hell of a ride so far! Between my 20th and 30th birthday I've pretty much had a taste of the following, in no particular order: Experienced being a Matie and obtaining a BA degree in Information Science My first overseas trip to France Fell in love way too many times Had my heart broken more than once Broke a heart or two Did online dating and had a few flings Overseas trip to the UK and Italy My first real 'big' job Several other jobs after that Experienced the negativity of a bad working environment and bad bosses Getting retrenched and being unemployed Had my wisdom teeth removed Spent time in hospital as result of my tonsils Took more risks Fell in...

Vermont is a beautiful little place that lies on the coast just before Hermanus, in the Overberg.  We spent the weekend there with stunning people and had a fantastic time! What a fantastic place to escape to..

Today I've received my wedding pictures from the photographer.  All of them are wonderful, I love every single one (there are a few hundred!).  Every picture makes me feel a specific feeling.  Joy, love, excitement, nervousness, happiness... too many feelings all captured forever in pictures.  This picture below, however, is a special example of how I would like to remember the day.   It was taken at about 16h00.  I was supposed to be at the church at 16h00 :)  But with the church being literally just around the corner, we had a little time to spare to be 'fashionably late'. I was calm, I was happy.  I was feeling in control and was drinking in every single second as if it were my last.  I was sitting on the windowsill of one of the big windows in the livingroom of my parents' house, where I grew up in and where I've lived most of my life.   The house was suddenly empty, except for the photographers, my father, my brother, and ...

I've managed to get some great pictures of Basil, our other cat.  She had just woken up, the light was good and for once she didn't mind me coming closer with the camera.  I think she looks stunning!  

I was reading this amazing blog I've been following ( the wild and wily ways of a brunette ) and just stumbled across this really awesome piece of truth that I felt I must share with you. one should always be drunk. that's the one thing that matters. in order not to feel the terrible burden of Time, which breaks your shoulders and crushes you to the ground, one should be drunk without ceasing. but on what? on wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as suits you. but get drunk... baudelaire  I wanted to say that I totally agree.

This is one of our cats, Chilli.  She's the youngest of the two.  Chilli is lazy, lovable, playful, hungry, cute, adventurous, dizzy, confused, happy, arrogant, satisfied, peaceful and amusing all at the same time.  I think if Chilli could talk, she wouldn't!  But I love her to bits.  She's one of my best friends these days.  She sleeps on top of me at night, and when I accidently kick her off, she sleeps right next to the bed, on the floor.  She follows me around, she licks my fingers, she presses her little kitten-nails into me whenever she gets the chance. She's wonderful.  We spend a lot of time together.  I love her and you'll be seeing a lot more of her here! (PS: I feel I have to note here that I'm just as fond of our other cat, Basil.  But Basil is not a touchy-feely cat and spends most of her time outside, hunting pigeons in the garden.  I would love to post pictures and tell stories of her too, and I'll do that, once I a...

I'm one of those people who weren't born with a lot of patients.  I do have patients, but not a whole lot.  It's very satisfying to be able to get an urge to do something, and then to actually go out and do it in less than an hour and have something very pleasing to show for it  :) Other than working on translation assingments today, I prentended to be a librarian and helped out in the school library at the primary school where my mom teaches.  What a fantastic way to spend a morning!  I was given a quick run-down on the Dewey Decimal System (DDS) , and started packing away books.  It was as if the 'real world' stopped for a few hours. It was just me, the wooden trolley with the squeeky wheels filled with books, and the Dewey numbers and colour-system I needed to follow to get the books back to where they belong.  I also checked in books, checked out books, recorded new books... It was fantastic and I'll definately be going back soon! While I was on ...

Autum is my favourite time of the year.   The reason for this is probably because I was born at the end of April.  There is something about this time of year that I find magically special.  Is it the cool, darker mornings, and the hazy, sunny afternoons?  Is it the thick mist on the road to Stellenbosch every morning?  It could be the fact that the trees are turning their leaves into all my favourite colours which make my blood pump faster - red, scarlet, burgundy, orange, amber, tangerine, yellow. Is it because winter is creeping closer and that soon we'll be nesting around fires with fat glasses of ruby port and creamy bowls of steaming butternut soup?   It could be that I'm excited about dressing for cooler weather.  Think scarves (I love scarves!), thick jackets and coats, stockings, boots, even fluffy gloves and beanies.  I love to wrap myself up in layers of wonderful, comfortable clothes in a variety of vibrant colours. ...

I really should be working on my assignment for tomorrow, but once the writing bug bites you, even for a second, and you have time?  You better do something about it! I had a look at my previous blog entry and I'm happy to say that things have happened since I've last posted!  What a fantastic, blessed year it's been so far.  I feel lucky and blessed.  And most of all I feel rediculously happy.  :)  So here's what's been happening: I've started my course at Maties, and so far it's going very well.  It's a great feeling to be busy with something you're good at, and it's a wonderful feeling to be using my brain again  :)  Classes are great, assignments are cool, I'm even surviving the tests.  I'm keeping myself motivated by staying on top of my work and preparing really well.  It's all good so far  :) We got married on 13 March 2010!  It was the most beautiful, most memorable day of my life so far.  Everything was...