Cambridge - A Walk About

Locals were out walking the footpath between Tiara's and the town centre.  They were bundled against the cold even though the day was dry.  The wind itself brought the cold that drilled right down to the bone.  Every once in a while there would be a reprieve from the constant wind and you would see folks straighten up and their stride lengthen.

The trick was to get through and out the co-fen as quickly as possible. Although the path was paved it was open to the elements and the wind seemed to gust over the river Cam and pick up even more of an ice burg chill!  The yellow glow through the windows of taverns and pubs made them seem warm and inviting but they were situated on the town side of the river and the closest access was to get to the Cam bridge and cross over. The river itself was burbling high along the bank edges as if enjoying a game of chance and hoping for new found freedom. Of course Liv was attracted to the water and after running back and forth along the path she found herself standing at the edge of the bank and staring into the current of dark water. Immediately Tiiara was issuing warnings. Liv was unfased.  She was impervious to the cold. Wearing the Gap hoody under the rich warm navy coat was perfect armour against the cold.

Crossing the bridge we sauntered down cobbled streets and past small expensive shops that were decorated for Christmas. The scene was traditional like something out of "Scrooge".   There was just enough light from the decorations to make window shopping magical!  We pressed on until we came to a favorite little tea and scone shop,  delicious food and yes hold onto your hats because the surprise was gluten free scones and they were delicious!

Morning Meditation

The city is quiet, majestic, and gently warms to the first rays of light. Slowly the deepest blue of night fades into the shadows of alleys and corners as the eastern light of morning spreads a pallette of colour across the sleeping city.

I breathe deep and use the calm of morning to shape my thoughts.

Rituals create a significance to my actions. Candles, a prayer mat, flowers and a hand-carved Buddha are part of my meditation experience. These are the tools I use to transend.

My prayer mat is an African print. Each corner holds an abstract representation. To me they represent the four elements of the Universe: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. The mat is a gift from my daughter that reminds me of the abundance of life. I give thanks.

The two candles are a representation of the yin and the yang. The male and the female. The balance of Goddess and God, strength within and throughout in balance and harmony. I give thanks.

The flower is a reminder that Life is my Soulmate. An expression gifted to me by my daughter on a hand-painted cookie jar. It is the Kalos Kai Agothos (Greek), the singular balance of the good and the beautiful. I give thanks.

The Buddha is a hand-carved Buddha that I bought in South Africa and packed all the way home. It is a reminder of the journey of life, and that I can take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. I give thanks.

I settle gently on my mat and begin to Give Thanks. Blessings in my life are numerous and I love having the quiet opportunity to reflect.

Giving Thanks always leads to Blessing Others. To each I send my love and the gift of happiness, joy and laughter.

With gratitude and blessings as the start to my ritual, my mind is easier to quiet. The process to transcend begins in earnest with my mantra, my breath, and my willingness to connect with the ethos.

Namaste.

On Safari in Africa

How do I begin to describe the rugged beauty of the African wilderness. Tropical rich greens that are so different from home. Leaves in Africa vary from long and spiky to broad and massive. The shades of green seem to have more of a yellow hue, that gives a warmth to their vibrancy. In fact, they exuded a warm rich glow as the sunlight begins to intensify the day.


The air in the mountains is fresh and inspiring, (especially coming out of the city), with big winds that blew at night. We were staying in a camp located at the uppermost hilltop of the game reserve, hence the name "Hilltop". The views were spectacular. Occasionally we saw huge birds of prey in the air. The one bird we were able to identify was the White Headed Vulture. Not our stereo-typical type of vulture with a long neck, but more like an enormous eagle, soaring with a mighty wingspan.

The game reserve was called Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park. It is KwaZulu-Natal's most magnificent game park, and is situated in the heart of KwaZulu Natal, some 250 km north of Durban. It is one of the biggest in South Africa covering 96,000 hectares of stunningly beautiful landscape, a rich compound of misty forests, grass covered hills, dense thickets, expansive and diverse woodlands and watering holes that attract big game.

We took two guided tours, one at night from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm. This one was really unusual because as it became darker and darker and harder to see, (remember it is winter here, and their daylight hours are short), I was wondering how on earth we were ever going to see any game. Then the tour guide handed Loren a huge spotlight and gave him the job of highlighting bushes, trees, grassy clearings and dense thickets for game, as he guided the safari jeep, down the unlit road. The best chance of seeing a lion or a leopard is at night, because the big cats are nocturnal. Luck was ours, because as we were making our way back to the camp, we found, less than one metre off the road, a pair of male lions. They were very relaxed and thankfully looked well fed. That would definitely, not be a road that I would like to go running along. It would be so easy, to not be able to see them, because they wait so patiently. Their tawny coats and golden mane made a scary blend with the grass along the side of the road as they waited quietly! Fortunately, we sit quite high up in the jeep (higher than the roof of a truck), well above the height of the road, because it is an open air vehicle, with only a tarp coving the roof. The morning guided tour, 5:45 am until 9:00 am allowed us to see more animals, with more detail and obviously, more scenery. All in all we saw Rhino, Lions, Elephant, Wildebeest, Buffalo, Hyena, Warthog, Bush Pig, Giraffe, Zebra, Antelope, Baboons and Monkeys. It was so amazingly remarkable that I am at a loss for how to describe the impact upon my mind/spirit. In Canada, we think that we are beside a big animal when we stand near a horse. The reality of animals in the wilderness setting of Africa, is so far beyond/above the comprehension that comes from reading books, or seeing a show. To turn a phrase from the sixties, "It was mind blowing!" and definitely redefined within the context of my mind, that we as humans are insignificant by comparison. So feeling much like a wee small ant, in the natural order of things, we continued our Safari and headed off to St. Lucia.

St Lucia is a small town on the eastern coast of South Africa and is home to the first ever African Estuary Reserve that was the first World Heritage Site in South Africa. This part of our adventure brought us up close to Birds, Hippo and Crocodile. Did you know that Hippos kill more people every year than any other of the Big Five? St. Lucia is also know for the huge Leopard population in the area, but unfortunately we didn't see a leopard.

The "Big Five" that everyone tries/ hopes to see are Lion, Leopard, Hippo, Rhino and Elephant. Winter is a good time to do a Safari because the animals come into the watering holes. Some of the holes were already drying up, with muddy exposed bottoms being the norm, but many still had water. All in all, we saw four of the Big Five, each of which was more amazing than I had ever imagined! Highlights of the safari, were the way the Rhino ate, marked it's territory and rubbed and climbed against a massive boulder to scratch itself, (we spent a good forty minutes watching one, because he circled around our jeep and and was doing all his antics right at the side of the dirt track which didn't leave enough room for us to even begin to attempt to go past. Discovering that not all zebra are black and white and that no two zebra have the same stripe pattern. There is also a variety of zebra that have a tan colouring between the black stripes through most of their body. They are particularly beautiful and remind me of a cross between a zebra and a buckskin horse. My favourite of all the animals however, was the giraffe! They were far more cautious, just a little curious, and quick to lope out of sight. Their only defense is their ability to run away quickly, and to place a well aimed kick at a Lion. The length of their stride, the grace of their movements and their very intelligent eyes won my heart.

Potjie (Poikey)

Twenty five minutes of suspense as we drove to join a large group having a Sunday event called a potjie. We arrived to find heaps of briquettes set right on the ground and shaped like a small fire pit. Each team had their own briquette pile and the briquettes were already turning white from the heat. A light breeze fanned the energy of the burning coals. Nestled in the coals were several small pots call potjies. A potjie looks remarkable like the witches cauldrons from stories of old. They are black cast iron, pot shaped, balance on three short legs and have a lid. Each pot contained a mixture that was simmering and receiving lots of attention.



At our team's camp one pot was cooking Warthog, and another was cooking Antelope. Both resembled an enourmous pot roast, bubbling away in a broth of liquid. The three legs on the potjie were keeping it balanced with coals piled up underneath. Tiara and Loren started to cook a Canadian contribution, a hearty pot of "Quebec Beans" and salt pork. Several hours into the cooking another potjie was filled with a variety of vegetables. The last two items to hit the coals and start baking were Corn Bread and a Fruit Compote with a Sherry Sauce that was spooned over Bananna Fritters.

The whole meal was supposed to be completed by 2:00 and most teams were finished and ready to eat by 2:30.

The Rotarians had invited official Chefs-in -Training, from the local Chef School to sample each meal, and rate both the meal and the meal presentation. This was a fun competition with everyone willing to share recipes and cooking techniques. Prizes were to be awarded. Our team went all out with both the cooking and the table decorations and meal presentation. We won first place!

Each team had a theme for their decorations. One theme was Asian, another German, and even a Professional Chef theme. Our theme was African.

The meal itself tasted delicious! My favourite was the Warthog and the Letourneau Beans! I thought of both Gregg and Nana lots! Gregg would have loved the outdoors campfire all day and Nana would have loved tasting their venison, complete with gravy and sauce.

It was a great social. Everyone was relaxed and having a good time. People mixed, mingled, and talked with others from all the teams. This was a fun get together. I wonder if it could be recreated at home?

Liv was an absolute gem all day. She continues to amaze me. She played happily, smiled at strangers, walked with us, and did the yabba yabba all day. We put her in her playpen a couple of times for a nap, but she just laid down with her eyes open. Finally at about 3:15 we tried again and she laid down and had a nap. Not even the cheers from our team when we won woke her up.

Her smile brightens my day. I am so thankful to be here and able to get to know her. She is such a trooper. Liv is so good natured and goes along with all we do and blesses us each and everyday with the way she stops to examine a leaf, bounces gleefully when she is happy, and smiles at us with a twinkle in her eye.

Liv

Liv is the most amazing bundle of energy and light. Her eyes are a tawny green and are accentuated by her medium brown hair with red and golden highlights and her perfectly shaped lips that regularly are engaged in a joyful smile.
She loves to walk in between two adults, while holding onto a finger from each person. Leaves, flowers and rocks are all of great interest. She makes time to study all of them by sittling down with a drop/plop and then with intense focus, turns them, looks at them and most times puts them into her mouth.

Liv loves the outdoors and does a bouncy jiggle as Loren carries her in the Baby Back Pack. Smiling at all the people passing by causes others to frequently stop and talk to her. Sometimes the attention makes her a little shy, and she will get quiet and her eyes will examine the person in a deliberate sort of way.

Liv's other favourites include reading books with Mom and Dad and being the girl that "turns the page"! She loves to snuggle at bottle time and goes to bed really well. some nights Tiara and Loren can lay her down in her cot and she falls asleep with out even a peep. Other nights, she calls to get back up or squawks a little bit. But she usually settles quickly and dozes off into a deep sleep.

One of the most delightful times is when she wakes up. She makes some calls and then vocalizes a bit. By the time we get in to get her, she is already happy and greets us with a big smile and twinkling eyes!

Liv

Liv is the most amazing bundle of energy and light. Her eyes are a tawny green and are accentuated by her medium brown hair with red and golden highlights and her perfectly shaped lips that regularly are engaged in a joyful smile.
She loves to walk in between two adults, while holding onto a finger from each person. Leaves, flowers and rocks are all of great interest. She makes time to study all of them by sittling down with a drop/plop and then with intense focus, turns them, looks at them and most times puts them into her mouth.

Liv loves the outdoors and does a bouncy jiggle as Loren carries her in the Baby Back Pack. Smiling at all the people passing by causes others to frequently stop and talk to her. Sometimes the attention makes her a little shy, and she will get quiet and her eyes will examine the person in a deliberate sort of way.

Liv's other favourites include reading books with Mom and Dad and being the girl that "turns the page"! She loves to snuggle at bottle time and goes to bed really well. some nights Tiara and Loren can lay her down in her cot and she falls asleep with out even a peep. Other nights, she calls to get back up or squawks a little bit. But she usually settles quickly and dozes off into a deep sleep.

One of the most delightful times is when she wakes up. She makes some calls and then vocalizes a bit. By the time we get in to get her, she is already happy and greets us with a big smile and twinkling eyes!

Alarm Bells a Ringing

As any traveler will tell you, it takes the body a few days to adjust to changes in time zones. So of course it was likely that I would have weird sleeping patterns the first few days in South Africa. My first morning here, I awake at about 4:00 am. Not a problem I told myself. I used the bathroom, tried going back to sleep, but eventually gave up and got up to stay. Not a problem I told myself, I will just read this great book. About an hour later, and everyone is still sleeping, I decided that I would make myself a cup of tea. I slipped quietly out to the kitchen, and searched for the light switch. My hands caressed the side of the kitchen wall. No switch. Hmm. Looked around in the pitch black thinking that there must be switch somewhere. Felt near the window. Nothing. Hmmm. Went back to the wall near the door, oh right, there door knobs and light switches are higher up the wall than ours. Nose closer to the wall, peering intently at the wall in the dark, I see the switch. I rub my hand over it, but no light comes on. That's weird. My fingers search out the shape of the switch. It doesn't have a knob, but seems to have a softer centre where you push. That discovered, I pushed the centre and waited no light. Hmmmm. Maybe I just have to push a little harder. This time I felt for the centre and gave a good push! Instantly, there was the kind of siren explosion that you only hear in the movies. Just about as loud as a school fire alarm, but more the pattern of a car alarm. The noise and vibration are screaming loudly throughtout the whole house. I desperately push the button again, thinking that I will be able to stop the peel of the sound waves! Nope, they pulse on, screaming at everyone to wake up, wake up, wake up! Loud enough to wake the neighbours, and a direct line to the security system. I walk into the hallway, and as I brush along the wall, I definitely feel a light switch, I turn it on, just as Tiara walks out of the bedroom and asks, "What are you doing?" "Trying to make a cup of tea", is my response. Tiara heading off to stop the alarm, and returned this time with Liv in her arms to say again, "What were you doing?" Just then the phone rings and Tiara has to explain to the security company that Her mother was visiting and accidentally triggered the alarm. Otherwise they would have sent an armed guard out to check. Apparently, it is just a small car, but both guards come with big guns. Liv bless her heart, is not crying, but has two big tears rolling down her cheeks. Awww! I apologize, explain about the button, and learn that it is what we would call a panic button. The kitchen light interestingly enough is actually in the hallway, across the hall from the kitchen, not even on the outside wall of the kitchen.
Both Tiara and Loren are ready to go back to sleep, but obviously, Liv is wide awake. The best solution is that she stay up with me and they go back to bed. So my first morning, I had Liv all to myself, we played, she giggled, we laughed. Life is good even without your tea!