Magdalena House function

We attended a show and dinner as a fund-raiser for Magdalena House. I invited some of the executives from work and we had a great time. We listened to this amazing show presented by Rory Rootenberg (a star from the local production of "Phantom of the Opera" - but he can do much more). At the end of the evening, we all realised how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy evenings like this.

Craig on Large Companies

I was speaking to Craig on Skype from Atlanta just now. Always enjoy his thoughts. He has such a way of making the English language work for him. He agreed that I could blog the following that he said:

"Its amazing how a large company works. Seems that it has its own momentum and that the system sweeps people forward at its own pace. Sometimes I think that large comapnies will progress simply by virtue of their momentum, not so much because of its people. Great people get diluted to be average and average people are sustained despite themselves. Only every now and again can an individual have a real impact that is noticeable on the short-term."

Well said, not so?

Mischa Wine Estate

Our wine club (actually "wine gild") usually have one tasting weekend per year. This year we discovered the wonderful world of the wines of Wellington. We had a great tasting at Mischa Estate and also had lunch on the farm. This is a picture of Nico (in the middle from our club), with Andrew (the winemaker) and his wife.

City Lodge breakfast

I am in Johannesburg for a few meetings and will be interviewing a possible employee just now. I looked at the fruit and muesli that I usually have and the small bouquet of synthetic roses. Something in this simple set-up made me feel great about being alive. It is even in small (and unimportant) detail that God can reveal Himself.

Moyo's at Spier

Had a business dinner with clients at Moyo's tonight. I met Jason (one of the founders of Moyo's) a few nights ago and just loved his philosophy of "taking Africa to the world". With this is mind we had to go to Moyo's and I looked at it with different eyes now. I could see how the singing, dancing and food all work together towards a "total experience", rather than just another restaurant. Through this blog, I would like to give Jason and his team my best wishes and hope that he will go from strength to strength.

Bird's Nest in the City

I noticed a bird's nest next to the window of one of our meeting rooms today. The size of the nest indicate that this must be quite a sizable bird - probably a crow or something like that. It was awesome to realise that a wild animal could feel comfortable enough to embrace our office in such a way.

Barrique Restaurant

Now that we live in a new environment it is high time that we try out some of the restaurants in the surrounding. Today we had lunch at the Barrique Restaurant, which is quite close by on Vredenheim Winefarm. We enjoyed the friendly environment and the heart food. We both had the Sunday Lunch Menu (chicken pie and lamb). We ordered a bottle of Viljoensdrift Pinotage 2005 and just talked.

Out-packing

I spent most of today just getting things out of the boxes that we used for the move. At the end of the day, I had the garages in a "sort-of" organised state. Most of the things have a place now. Izak helped me getting the beds and mattreses that we saved for when Ernst get back from London into the rafters.

Peter visiting

We were surprised by Peter visiting us tonight all the way from George. (OK, he was here on business and could also pop in to see the new house). I made a fire in honour of all the times that we braai'ed together and we had some Sirloin steaks. We finished a bottle of Avondale Sirah and completed the evening with a Arabella Shiraz. We talked and talked about the great past and what we still want to do in the future. Love it when friends come and visit.

Sunset at MeerenBosch

The sunset was just amazing. This is a picture from the veranda at Meerenbosch with the sun setting over the Kogel Mountains with the reflection in the lake. This is the last night with Ernst and Catherine in South Africa for a long time, and we felt that God arranged a most beautiful memory for them to take back to London.

Heine's at Pringle Bay

Today is the second last day with Ernst and Catherine. We drove via Gordon's bay to MeerenBosch for the day. We stopped over briefly to see Quintes and Realle at their place in Pringle Bay. On the way we had a wonderful view of a number of whales quite close to the shore.

Food and Wine Pairing

Me, Annelie, the two boys and Catherine and Mariet attended a Food and Wine Pairing workshop presented by world-renowned expert Katinka van Niekerk. We tried out ten different dishes with six wines and a brandy. We realised how fortunately we are to be able to attend events like this and thoroughly enjoyed the time that we could spend with Ernst and Catherine before they leave for London again in a few days.

Happy family

What a blessing to have both the boys and my wife for dinner tonight - just the four of us. We braai'ed of course: notwithstanding it being Monday we had rump steak and some pork "sosaties" just for some variety. We opened a bottle of Mijnheer 1999 (one of my secret finds). It was so wonderful to just be together again as a family, in the new house. I enjoyed experiencing my sons as grown-ups - to hear their opinions and their confidence in their beliefs. At the same time to feel all the love that we have for each other.

Sunday lunch

We had lunch on the upper veranda of the new house today (me and Annelie). What a beautiful day it was! We enjoyed the Afval (Afrikaans delicacy) and a glass of Ernst&Co Pinotage and then retired for a Sunday-afternoon nap.

Delft

I picked up Nellie this morning, after we fetched Annelie from the hospital at her home in Delft. This is a poor suburb of Cape Town. I realised how fortunate we are in terms of the wealth that we have. But as I looked at how people react to each other, I also realised that people are more friendly and seems as if they care for each other more in poor communities. This is what we can learn from them.

Annelie is going home!

Annelie has just been discharged from the hospital. She has recovered sufficiently that I could convince the doctor that she could go home. We will still have to look after her for most of the time, ensure that she rests, take her medicine and get better. Ernst and me was at the hospital to pick her up.

This episode made me realise how important my family is to me. Nothing that I could earn or have could ever be compared to the love that I have for my wife and two sons.

British Airways BA059

The British Airways plane from London has just docked at Cape Town International. It is real "Cape Weather" with a drizzle falling down. I am at the airport to greet Ernst and Catherine from London. As it turned out, they were not on the plane and only arrived two ours later on South African.

Panorama Hospital Ward B

Annelie has just been accepted in the Hospital. I am walking up and down the corridor. So this is what it feels like when some-one you love is very ill...

What is very clear to me is that I have an absolute trust in my God. I know that He will provide, that He will cure and that He will provide the strength for me to do what-ever it takes to assist Annelie to get better.