5 years on!

He holds my hand and he holds my heart... Our eyes met across the room one evening late 2000...

Within a month of getting together we were talking about getting married, were engaged 4 months later and got married 5 months later in a quaint stone chapel in Tokai Forest, Cape Town, South Africa. Thus began my role as a wife and friend, daily companion and partner. I love him more every day. He is my all and makes me feel like a queen. He is the first I wish to see when I wake up and the last I hope to touch when my head finds my pillow. He has made my life complete, and for that I will be eternally grateful for, and never take for granted.

Our day

The day was bright and sunny, with a sudden shower during the ceremony... when we exited the sun was shining brightly again and the clouds had moved on. The colours of the leaves and the trees and the stonework had been brightened by the light touch of the rain, and all was fresh and new.

Delightful! :)

THE mousepad

Cool mousepad hey????

So how strong is the call home?

A good question! It comes down to opportunity and what's right for us at this point in our lives. The opportunities have been good in London - we have worked hard, have settled, and are grateful to have good jobs and a lovely home. We spent the last 2 years renovating a dump in Wimbledon and recently sold it. Wow, what a project!

We enjoy travelling and London is a great base to do just that. My hubby has been all over the world already!

On that note... when Africa is in your blood it's tough not to yearn for her soil (especially as there are so many people in need)... and, whilst we are living on this little island, we will continue to be vocal advocates of the majesty that is South Africa. Dramatic scenery and turbulent history. Very few countries have been through what South Africa has been through and have come through sans a war or a coup. A new government, a new constitution, a new flag and a new national anthem. A fresh start.

A quote that is so true:

"Fear holds us and binds us and keeps us from growing. It kills a small piece of us each day. It holds us to what we know and keeps us from what's possible, and it is our worst enemy. Fear doesn't announce itself; it's disguised, and it's subtle. It's choosing the safe course; most of us feel we have rational reasons to avoid taking risks. The brave man is not the one without fear but the one who does what he must despite being afraid."

Credit: The King's Buccaneer, R. E Feist.

January 2006 London VT meeting

Here's the page I set up for the January 2006 London meeting which people felt was very helpful.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/ab6f2/

There were some private meetings held too that were not advertised on this homepage.

Our home renovations diary ~ before & after photos

Is that despair I see in his eyes

We have sold our home after 7 weeks on the market, and have moved into a delightful place across the road from Wimbledon Common (so we can keep an eye on them!) No more huge renovation works this time!

We moved into our previous Wombles home in May 2004... but how the previous man lived there, we dont know! The place was awful... very dirty (including dog pee on the carpets...), smelly (he was a heavy smoker), and very unhygienic (one's hand STUCK to the kitchen counter). But we were okay with this... for now. We bought the shell essentially, with plans to completely gut and renovate it. Here are some snippets of how it went...

Lounge - complete

Aah! :) The lounge/living room was the room we started working on first as we had to move everything into there asap, so we could live in here on our camping mattress whilst we worked on the rest of the place... (above photo). Wooden floors, newly plastered walls and the right dressing make all the difference in the world!

The grin soon faded...

I prefer painting on canvas! Having said that, we got stuck in and I did what I was told. (as any dutiful wife would... hehe). My husband has alot of experience in the maintenance and refurb industry and I am an artist and designer, so between the two of us, we thought we'd give it a go!

What's this I spy?

Dust dust dust A haven for asthmatics and hay fever sufferers alike... renovating and living in a building site leaves one with an extra coat of dust from morning till night.

Foyer - before

Ugh! :( The green on the walls was just 'divine'... we were sad to see that go... hmm

Foyer - complete

Aah! :) Coir seagrass carpets run throughout (apart from where the wood floor is), it's bright and cheery and now we can entertain and feel proud of our little piece of London. (An EXPENSIVE piece I might add! gulp).

Old and nasty

Ugh! :( The old kitchen area... this is the side where the plumbing kinda worked.... lol

Spanking new kitchen!

Aah! :) Our kitchen was installed the week of my birthday (30 Jan) ~ what a stunning birthday present! I hardly know myself as I cook now, and am experimenting and getting all excited re cooking again... 8 months is a looooooooong time to live sans a decent workable kitchen!

Renovating our first home (sold in 2006)

Our Wombles home diary

Waterways all the ways... Amsterdam!

My Amsterdam Travel Page

Amsterdam... land of water and land, history and culture, coupled with modern 'liberties' and lifestyles. Our holiday here was a mixture of highs and lows, some things we absolutely loved, and other things made us feel very uncomfortable. I guess this can be said of most cities in the world, as there is good and bad everywhere, but for us, we had never encountered this type of element before.



What appealed to us was the lapping of the waters as our canal boat gently steered down the canal, watching the towering, skinny buildings on either side of us. Watching the young lady sunbathing on the roof of her river-boat; the young man beating his dust-filled carpet with a rod; the young girl curled up on the windowsill overlooking the canal, engrossed in the novel she was reading.

It offers, to the viewer and visitor, an intimate glimpse into the life of Amsterdam and is very special.



With good there is nearly always bad unfortunately, and whereas so much appealed to us in this old and beautiful city, some things went right against the grain for us. The high profiled drug use and sex industry is seen by many as a step forward for freedom and so-called democracy, but we see the darker element, and view this as sinful. There are only SO MANY sex shops one city could have, surely??? In this sense, things are quite monotonous and in-your-face. For people who believe that sex is to be kept within marriage, this is quite a lot to take in.

Having said that, we enjoyed this city, and the almost surreal-like element of the lifestyle on the canal.

Rome.... the ancient of days...

Rome is, without doubt, the most amazing and awe inspiring city we have ever had the privilege to go to.

We were gobsmacked.

It is all we anticipated and more. You learn so much about Rome and the Romans and the gladiators et al during school, you study the architecture and artistry involved in Art class... but until you have actually set foot on the soil, breathed in the air and ambiance, and nearlly twisted your ankle on one of those gorgeous but accident-prone cobble stones, you cannot truly know the feeling, and grasp an inkling of what is would have been like to live in the time of the Ancient Roman.

My Rome Travel Page

The Pantheon has always been one of those mystical architectural splendours to me... I seriously never thought, when I was young, that I would one day be visiting it. Of course, at that time, I had no idea I would be living in England either, affording me the opportunity to travel so!

The Vatican City is something special: an ancient and bustling city within a much larger ancient and bustling city! Queues of people and heat aside, this is somewhere you really do need to visit if you visit Rome.

My Vatican City Travel Page

Thassos Island ~ 'Mythical Land of the Sirens'

Thassos, the 'Green Isle', rises out of the Northern Aegean sea in splendour. A small island by most standards, this is a holiday destination if you are in need of some rest :)

Famous for its lush vegetation, Thassos is an island of enchanting beauty. It has a vast array of olive groves and 50 miles of unblemished beaches with white sand. The sea was like no other we had experienced before.... no waves... like a lake! A large lake :) Then near the end of our stay the waves (and rain) appeared.

Need I say, we LOVED this holiday! Whether you crave sea and sun, or history and culture, it has everything.. except one thing... crowds! Which suited us down to the ground.

Steeped in history and tradition The island is steeped in history and tradition. In the north east, the scenery is more wild, in contrast with the serene landscape of the south west part of the island.

Sun, sea and sleep

Refreshingly uncommercialised, Thassos is the ideal choice for anyone seeking magnificent scenery and superb beaches. The pace of life is totally relaxing – just what the doctor ordered!

We stayed at Scala/Skala Potamia, a resort on the east coast of Thassos Island. It has nearly everything you will need on a holiday (sans a chemist!), and is refreshingly not too commercialised.

My Thassos Island Travel page