What an amazing December month!

December 26 - Boxing Day ... I'm sitting on the couch alone - Tim left this morning for a 5-week rotation on the rig. Not ideal, but we had such a special December that the memories should keep us both going for a while.

Let's start at the beginning of the month: Tim came home on Nov 30, having had a fairly short rotation (just over 3 weeks), and perfectly in time to admire a number of new finishing touches around the house ... and for us to see each other before I would leave for Windhoek on Dec 2. Well ... the Windhoek trip didn't end up happening and neither did my second trip scheduled for the following week. Both trips were canceled because the client I am working with - De Beers - is feeling the impact of the global economy and, with a sharp decline in the demand for diamonds, was forced to spend a few weeks re-assessing their structures and cash flow. Not having to go up in December was a blessing for us as it meant that we unexpectedly had a few extra days together. The news that followed was less positive: De Beers had to make some drastic decisions, which included not renewing the contract with Exceed in 2009. I only had 35 days of projected work next year, so it won't impact us as much, but it certainly was a disappointment for our 3 colleagues who were full time on this project. Personally, I took it as a message from God telling me to slow down ... and I'm grateful. It's been a busy year!

With that behind us and only one workshop scheduled for December, we were able to really focus on preparing for a great surprise: a visit by Paul, Bee, Harriet and Isabella! They had originally decided to stay in Hong Kong for Christmas, but changed their minds only a few weeks ago. We were absolutely thrilled!! The Hong Kong Wighams arrived on Dec 6 and were with us for 12 days, until Dec 18. We had a blast! Gandalf was excited to meet his little cousins ... a little too excited in fact... he would run up to Tiny or Bella just a bit too enthusiastic and particularly little Bella was regularly bowled over (literally!) by this 34-KG monster!

We had a wonderful time with Paul and Bee. With some clever maneuvering, we managed to squeeze the baby cot, a fold up mattress and a queen-sized bed all into one room, and it was just wonderful to have the house so full of people... particularly in the mornings when Tim and I got to wake up to the chatter of two little girls' voices in the next room. The girls loved the garden, pool and Jacuzzi and spent a lot of time running back and forth between the two. We spent a lot of time just enjoying each other's company at home, but also managed to get a few beach visits in together, some good Christmas shopping, and a lovely picnic at Boschendal Wine Estate. Plus, we decided to have our first Christmas gift unwrapping on Dec 16 just before they left. It all went by far too quickly and the house seemed so empty once they'd gone ... it left Gandalf very confused as he kept checking their bedroom the first few mornings.

Back to Gandalf ... yep, he now weighs 34KGs (or, at least, he did 2 weeks ago) and is about 70CM tall (height of his back). He's still growing in front of our eyes and had his first proper hair cut the first week of December ... it was just becoming too hot to carry all that black fur around. He came back looking absolutely stunning but acting quite traumatised. He didn't enjoy the experience and it took him a few days before he stopped cowering every time I turned on the tap to fill up his water bowl. He doesn't like to be washed! Sadly, he also picked up a bit of an infection at the groomer's.

I noticed a spot on his head and became suspicious when it seemed to spread rather than disappear. A visit to the vet confirmed it was a 'hot spot' ... harmless, but still, the poor boy had to be put to sleep for 30 minutes and I had to hold him for the injection, which left me in tears. I felt like a traitor holding him down while he was yelping away! I got to fetch him a few hours later with an ugly bald spot on his head. He was still recovering from the anaesthetic. Poor little doggie couldn't even walk and staggered over to the car. I had to lift him into the car and carry him out at home. Still, he wouldn't stay in his bed, but kept following me around the house, walking into various things. Luckily that only lasted a few hours, and now, a few weeks later, he is completely back to his old self with a new patch of hair!

On the house front, we now really are 95% of the way there... I hope! Our final project was to sort out the parking situation and create a second off-road parking spot by moving the vibracrete walls slightly inward. It made our front garden 1.5 meters less wide, but we made up for that by taking out the hedge that was all along the length of the wall and at least a meter deep. With the hedge gone, the vibracrete wall moved and 'creted', and the new second parking spot paved, all that's left is to paint the wall and landscape our front garden. I can't wait to get onto that project ... but will have to be patient until early January. I seems that no one in Cape Town works between Christmas and New Year :).

Back to friends and family ... the day of Paul and Bee's departure was also the day that the Thomas and Duncan-Anderson clans descended on Cape Town. Sadly, they all just missed each other, but we were thrilled to be able to spend some time with Geoff and Linds and little Grace, Rob & Kirsty Kuipers & kids, Ryan and Kristy and Callah, and the rest of the DA and Thomas families. On the weekend, Tim met up with Geoff, Rob, and Ryan for some good climbing, followed by all of us meeting at Kirstenbosch for a Johnny Clegg concert later in the afternoon. This was followed by Grace and Callah's dedication on Monday ... which was originally going to be at Boulder's Beach, but - thanks to the weather suddenly turning foul - ended up taking place in our back garden. It was wonderful!!! Grace is Tim's god daughter (and mine :) ) so it was very special for us to be able to host the dedication and have 30-some family members in our home. The clouds miraculously made way for sun for a few hours ... just long enough for us to have the dedication on the patio and for the kids to decide it definitely was warm enough for a swim. We loved seeing our pool being used by so many kiddies!

That was this past Monday ... since then, we've had a lovely fish braai with the DA family ... who are all staying in Hout Bay, and spent a few more hours on last-minute Christmas shopping. Tim and I are both terrible to shop for ... we're of the 'if you want it, buy it' generation and Sue was just pulling her hair out trying to think of creative things for those who already have everything. We all still managed to surprise each other on Christmas day. We started the day by going to church together with Sue and her friend Liz Davison. A great message and some wonderful Christmas choruses (I've been listening to Christmas CD's for weeks now ...) . After church, we had lunch with Sue and Liz at Dragon Cottage followed by a second gift unwrapping (actually, third ... Tim and I both bought something for each other earlier this week and just couldn't wait to unwrap it.) My funniest surprise was a burnt Sudoku book. It was underneath Sue's Christmas tree which had a candle that burnt out ... the book caught fire, which was noticed by Liz, but by the time it was extinguished the flames had burnt their way through the wrapping paper and quite a few pages.

And that brings us to today ... which started off early with Tim getting up at 05h00 and us leaving for the airport at 06h00. Things there didn't quite go as smoothly as we would have liked as Tim's flight was canceled. Though I was secretly very happy to have my hubbie home for an extra few hours, we realised this wasn't an option ... who would believe the 'excuse' of a canceled flight on Boxing Day!!! So, after a bit of a run around, the airline managed to get Tim on standby on the SAA flight leaving at the same time. A huge relief for Tim. He is meanwhile safely in Luanda and the countdown is now officially on ... 37 sleeps to go :).

I had a lovely lazy day at home today and sorted out my files and paperwork ... never fun, but clearing the desk also clears the mind, right?! I also got out my burnt book and did the first few Sudoku puzzles today. Funny ... I just kept getting distracted by the burnt smell in the air and on my fingers so ended up cutting off the front cover and the first 19 pages :). Finished the day with a lovely long walk on a very windy Noordhoek beach with Gandalf. I go there regularly but it still always surprises me what a stunning place it is!

That's all from our end. I'm looking forward to a very relaxed next few days with only one client project to work on, which is only due mid-January. Tim also is easing into his hitch as they're doing well-testing which is always a very busy time. It means he'll be staying on shore and working from the BP office until there is space on board.

We hope this finds you well, wherever you are ... have a safe New Year ... and remember to take time out to reflect on 2008 and count your blessings :).

Love,

Tim & Ange

November Pictures

These are pictures of the Oil Rig I work on. It is a drill ship aproximatey 150m long and 35m wide.

This pic would have been taken from one of the 3 support boats which float around waiting to assist with transferring equipment etc.

The weather is generally good with occasional rain and swell.

The block we are exploring is 200km offshore N Angola.

My bags are packed ... but I'm not ready to go!

Sunday Nov 16, 07h30AM. I'm at Cape Town International Airport, Departure Lounge. A familiar spot, but it's becoming harder and harder to go every time. It's not just the early mornings (although I hate those too), but more the fact that I'm leaving behind our lovely home in Cape Town ... and there's always so much to do that now has to wait until I get back again.

What makes it hardest though is our 'little' dog... Gandalf becomes restless the moment he sees me packing my suitcase and basically spends the night wandering around from one of his favourite sleeping spots to another. The moment I dis-alarm the house and open the bedrooom door, he pushes past me, gallops through the hallway, and sits waiting by the front door, as if to say 'you're not going to leave me behind this time!'. I absolutely hate it... and make up for it by locking him into the garden with a nice, fresh, HUGE ostrich bone ... PS. He now eats and drinks from a bowl on a stand ... he loves it. So much easier than bending ...

So here I am, at the airport, my second last visit to Windhoek before the end of 2008. The year has absolutely flown, but it's mostly been a very good year ... apart from Tim's times away from home, of course.

I spent all of yesterday working in the garden, mainly cleaning the pool, weeding and cutting back some of our trees to make room for some more building work, but also finally finishing the firepit area which Tim and I started two weeks ago. This involved carrying around 30KG bags of stone and since I'm trying to take on board everyone's warnings about not killing your back before you're 40, I went out and bought myself a nice green wheelbarrow. Gandalf thought this thing was very interesting and had great fun leaving one of his ostrich bones right in front of the wheel every time...

We've had interesting weather in Cape Town. After a few days of decent weather, the rain came with a vengeance this past Tuesday and Wednesday. This put a hasty stop to the painting of the outside of the house, which had been making such good progress. The painters were back on Friday, when the weather unexpectedly turned absolutely glorious ... Yesterday was even better, and I was of course way too engrossed in my gardening to even think of sunscreen. As I sit here writing, I can feel the heat radiating from my back ...

What else is new in our world? Well, as always small progress on various things on the house front. The jacuzzi was installed a few weeks ago and we're now busy getting the decking around it sorted. It's 80% there, just a few last pieces of decking and a nice dark stain to finish it off. We haven't been as lucky with the doors. The three sets of French doors we had put into the house had been without door handles and were permanently screwed closed for the last three months. I finally found what seemed a reputable handiman (he spent money on professional flyers - must be reputable, right?) to sort it out ... but alas ... Yes, we can now open, close and lock the doors, but that's the most positive that can be said. In the process of fitting the handles and locks, the guy chiseled away half the door and happily filled it all up with a bit of wood filler ... plus he didn't realise we actually wanted both doors to match up to each other when closed ... I mean, who would? We've decided to just add it to the list of 'less than perfect' things and just be grateful that at least we can get some fresh air into the house by opening the doors ... plus, if we keep the doors open, no one will notice a thing :).

On the work side, all is well - Exceed work keeps us constantly busy and even the CLC side keeps on ticking over ... without any marketing from our side, which is great! It's all word of mouth as previous clients move to different organisations and phone out of the blue. We realise we can't sit back though. The economic crisis is certainly being felt here in SA as well and we wouldn't be wise if we pretended we're immune to it all.

I must go now ... only 14 days until Tim comes home (he has added a post below this one) plus we just got the very exciting news that Paul and Bee and the girls will be visiting us for two weeks in December. We can't wait!! It means that the pool will be put to good use with two little girls around and we'll be able to practice fitting beds into our office for February when Hans and Marjan are coming for four weeks. Exciting!

That's about all the news from our side ... more next week as I'll be heading down to Sedgefield this weekend for Tim's Mum's 60th birthday celebration as well as Ron & Barbara's 40th anniversary and June's 70th. What adds to the excitement is that Tim's cousins from the UK will still be there as well ... the sad part being that Tim will be missing out, but at least he's home for Christmas!

LOL,

-ange

October 2008

The last month has been thoroughly enjoyable as I have had more time off than (a ship's cat) normal and the entire 4 week period was spent with Ange doing a variety of stuff all over the place.

After our Kariba trip and my coaching course when we got back to CT, we headed up to Namibia where Ange had some meetings to attend. I just chilled out and did my own thing which was nice and relaxing.

On return to Cape Town, we enjoyed the luxury of our own home as the various progress on bathrooms, the spa, the kitchen and the garden approaches a point of conclusion. There are still a fewthings to do but gee it is great to feel so close to DONE!!!

We also had a trip to Sedgefield to see the Martins who are together from UK and Zim at their new place which is looking v nice. Sacha was there as well and she really is a little sweety!

I am now back on the rig but only for 3 weeks as this will be a shortened hitch :) before I head back to CT for most of December.

Sep/Oct News: Kariba, renovations ...

The Wighams are joining the world of blogging ... finally!

It's October 19 - Sunday. Tim is on Day 4 of the Professional Coaching course and I'm at home, sitting on the couch, typing, with Gandalf sleeping at my feet. It is so good to have Tim home and I just can't wait for the course to finish so we can spend some time together without Tim falling asleep while watching a movie :).

The last month has absolutely flown by. Tim was on the rig from Sept 10 - Oct 8, while I was busy between Namibia and Cape Town working with the HR department and preparing for an Engineering workshop which is happening next week. I loved the time in Cape Town. I was working on De Beers projects, so busy from a work perspective but being at home for a few days also meant that we could progress a few more things on the homefront.

The result are amazing ... by the time Tim came home, the patio had been tiled, the garden is 90% complete, the kitchen floor was tiled, and the bathroom was completed except for the painting. I love the new look for the bathroom. Sometimes, having time is a good thing and in this case it gave me time to think about the colours... which means that we now have a lovely mix of beige porcelain tiles and an aubergine suede paint to cover the top half. It took the poor tiler almost a month to complete the job as - sadly - nothing in our house has 90-degree angles. He did his best, but we still ended up having to re-skim walls to get it all level. The bathroom is at least 5CM less wide as a result :).

An amazing highlight of the past few weeks was our trip to Kariba. The idea for this trip was born at our wedding when the idea was that a bunch of us would get together for a few days on a houseboat on Kariba. Jase Way was in charge of the organising ... and he did! Meanwhile the world as we know it had changed dramatically ... Nick & Sam just had a baby girl and Nick Jermyn disappeared off to Afghanistan. So the people going changed, and instead, we went with the extended Way family, Jase & Chaz's boys Tristan and Ethan, Jase's parents, and his brother Justin and wife Siobhan. I flew up to Jozi on Oct 9 where I met up with Tim coming in from Luanda. From there, we traveled on to Harare together with a heavy suitcase laden with cheeses and port ... all the good things that are simply not available in Zim.

We spent the night at the Ways and got up early the next day for our charter flight to Kariba Dam. It is possible to drive (approx 3 -4 hrs) but the roads are apparently not great these days and you never know what you might run into along the way, so the Cessna Caravan was a great idea! Plus, it meant that we were on the boat, in our bikini's by 9AM! It was just amazing to fly over Kariba and see our houseboat on the water below. Four lovely cabins, an awesome sundeck, a small pool on the boat, two fishing boats, and a well-stocked bar. This was paradise!

For the first day, I found it incredibly hard to reliax. Time went far too slow and I just couldn't see myself sit still, doing nothing for four days ... for me, that's close to torture!! There was absolutely nowhere to go. Kariba is a huge dam, 270KM long, and filled with crocs and hippo so swimming is just not an option. Apparently, a few years ago it was perfectly fine to swim as long as you were not near land. Or perhaps it wasn't safe then either, but the guys were younger and more foolish? :). Anyway, the good news is that once you're forced to relax, you discover how amazing it actually is! Our only responsibilities on the boat were sunscreen, fishing trips, and of course pouring our own glass of wine ... The Captain and his team of 3 men took care of everything else!

Tristan and Ethan are just addicted to fishing and had their rods out at every opportunity. They loved our daily fishing trips on the two speed boats. So did we! Both TIm and I managed to catch some breem and tiger fish. I've never enjoyed putting on the wriggly worm but with others around to put on the bait and take off the fish, I loved doing the in-between part - especially the 'fight' with the tiger fish - and watching hippo and elephants while sipping sundowners and enjoying awesome sunsets.

Kariba was a great start to Tim's time away from the rig and it was awesome to be able to be together 24-7 without work interuptions for a few days. By the time we got back to Harare, it felt like the rig and De Beers were miles away ... We managed to see Jonathan before going home the next morning. He had just returned from South Africa where he had his ear operation, which went well, though they ended up removing more of his ear than anticipated. the good news is that at least with this op and a few follow up treatments this scare is behind us.

We met Jonathan at his local, Reps, for a drink. Funny, inflation in Zimbabwe has reached 230 million % - really! The 11 zero's they took off their currency a few months ago are back and more! So Reps drinks are no longer priced in Zim $, but rather in Reps Stars, e.g. a glass of wine is worth 1,100 stars, which is then translated into whichever currency you choose to pay with. Zim $ are pretty much useless so most people use US $. How people continue to survive is beyond me! We also stopped by Rona's place for a quick visit and then back to the Ways for the night and back to CT the next morning.

There are so many other small highlights in our life ... irrigation, a beautiful plant, a new rock next to the garden bench, stained trellises ready to be placed, the Jacuzzi box which was re-built to the right size ... oh, and we now have a dishwasher! Tried it last night for the first time and absolutely love it! We still don't have running water in the kitchen because the sink I've ordered is out of stock until end November and we therefore can't get the tap in yet either. So the dishwasher makes life that much easier and saves running back and forth to the outside tap for water.

Then there's Gandalf ... still growing like a weed and, mostly, hugely loveable. He is now almost 7 months and his legs seem to be getting longer by the day. I love taking him for walks to the Promenade or Noordhoek Beach ... he still gets so much attention from people and he's just so fun to watch when he literally gallops along. His new favourite treats are these huge disgusting ostrich bones that I finally gave in to buying. I hate them, but the good news is that once he sees his bone all else is forgotten and I can even leave the house without feeling that huge pang of guilt for locking him into the garden. He really makes us laugh ... his latest thing is to NEVER drink water from his own bowl, but rather drink from the pool, lick the shower floor dry the moment I get out, or drinking hot water out of the bath tub while we're having a bath... too strange!

I must go. I had meant to get some laundry done before Tim comes home so that we can take Gandalf for a nice long walk on the beach. Hope this finds you all well and happy ... I'm sure Tim will soon add his two bits ...

Lots of love,

-ange