7 posts tagged “garden”
The minister of home affairs departed for New Zealand last night - the plane was delayed, so she left only at 19h00. I miss her already - our house is not a home when she isn't here.
This morning I did the weekly weigh-in (table at the bottom of this post) and then went to the doctor at 08h00 for my next test. He confirmed that I had lost about 5kg, as well as 3cm around my waist. He also checked my eyes and glands, I assume to make sure that the weight loss is not related to anything untoward. Then it was off to the pathologist for blood tests, the result of which I'll find out about during the course of next week.
After some breakfast I went to a technology and gadget expo, but when I refused to let the security people put a sticker on my camera (as if!), I was denied entry. So much for that plan. So I rode out on the Hartebeespoort road to a country shop called Home of the Chicken Pie because I had heard that they sell a locally made root beer there.
If you are a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I love root beer, but it is not easy to get in this country. In any case, the shop does sell the stuff. It is made in KwaZulu-Natal. Naturally, I bought some. There is nothing like good root beer, and this was nothing like good root beer. It was probably one of the most vile beverages I have ever had the displeasure of tasting. South Africa cannot compete with America when it comes to root beer - the stuff tastes like petrol!
I got home just in time to receive a call from the minister, who had just checked into her hotel in Auckland (it was 22h45 there and 12h45 here). She had a good flight (via Sydney) and sounded very excited to be there. She departs for Palmerston North at 09h00 tomorrow morning, which will be 23h00 tonight, South African time.
I spent much of the afternoon in the garden - it has needed some work for a while now. With some of the rose bushes still in bloom despite winter knocking on the door, I did take the opportunity to take some photos, the results of which you can see on my flickr page. The plan for tomorrow is to continue working on the house. I'd like the study to be painted and some work done on the other rooms by the time the minister comes back home.
5 January: 85.7kg
12 January: 84.5kg (1.2kg loss)
19 January: 84.7kg (0.2kg gain)
26 January: 84.1kg (0.6kg loss)
2 February: 83.9kg (0.2kg loss)
9 February: 83.1kg (0.8kg loss)
16 February: 82.5kg (0.6kg loss)
23 February: 82.1kg (0.4kg loss)
1 March: 81.8kg (0.3kg loss)
8 March: 81.7kg (0.1kg loss)
15 March: 81.1kg (0.6kg loss)
22 March: [no weigh-in]
29 March: 80.7kg (0.4kg loss since 15 March)
5 April: [no weigh-in]
12 April: 81.3kg (0.6 kg gain since 29 March)
19 April: 80.4kg (0.9kg loss)
Total loss: 5.3kg
Difference from target (82kg): -1.6kg
One of the things I like about summer:
If there was any doubt that winter had arrived in full force in South Africa, it was put to rest last night when we had snowfalls over large parts of the country, including light snow in our garden:
Taken this past weekend:
Ĉi tio estas parto de mia ĝardeno. La statuo estas tre peza. Mi scias tion, ĉar mi portis ĝin mem, kaj mia malantaŭa flanko doloris dum du semajnoj!
I had to start from scratch. I dug all the beds, composted and fertilised it all, and planted everything. I have also maintained it myself over the years, paying in sweat and pain. But it has been worth it. Over six-and-a-half years, the garden has been transformed into something we can enjoy.
Back at work today after the long weekend. Isn't it funny how long weekends don't really feel that long at all, especially once they are gone?
Well, I hope you had a good Heritage Day.
I had meant to get stuck into redecorating what the minister of home affairs and I refer to as "The Egyptian Room", but that didn't happen. It has to happen soon, though, because my parents will be staying in it in January when they make the 1000km trek to attend a wedding.
What I did do was get working in the garden. With spring here (it feels like summer already, though), it was high time I sorted the garden out. As a result, I am stiff and sore this morning. But the garden looks great.
I also watched my team (New England Patriots) play awfully against a very good Denver Broncos side and pay the penalty - a 17-7 defeat. Not a very good game at all.
And we also watched two more of our 50 horror movies: "The Last Man on Earth" (1964) and "The Last Woman on Earth" (1960). Despite the similar titles, the stories are completely unrelated. The Last Man on Earth is about vampires, while The Last Woman on Earth (a better movie), is about two men and a woman who are the only people to survive when the world's oxygen disappears for about half an hour (they were scuba diving at the time).
On Saturday we did our three-monthly shopping (we always buy in bulk).
And that's pretty much the whole long weekend described....
Well, pretty much all I am willing to share about it, anyway!
