End of my parents' visit

I travelled with my parents back to Johannesburg. They are too frail to do this on their own. After handing them over to my brother, I flew back again. It was a trying visit (difficult to manage with two old people that are not really able to look after themselves, yet too proud to admit it). But in many ways it was very special: they had the privilege to experience Arden (my first grandchild), to celebrate Xmas with us, see both my sons and Cath. I managed to make arrangements to control my dad's finances and just shared memories with them. I am not sure when (if ever) we will see them in the Cape again. In the meantime the memories will suffice.
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Xmas night dinner in the sunlight

Annelie, Catherine and ouma Andrie prepared a scrumptious dinner for us. It was a very special Xmas eve with everyone present. After giving each other gifts we sat down for an amazing meal of gammon and leg of lamb. We opened a bottle of Saronsberg Chardonnay and an Ataraxia Serenity. All the blessings reminded us that the Son of God came to earth to live amongst human beings as the biggest gift for all.

Received a fruit basket after my op

I had a minor operation this week. The procedure went very well and I was discharged after only one night in hospital. My collegues at work sent me a basket with fruit. I really appreciated this.
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At Meerenbosch with the previous generation

It was a special occasion for me and Annelie to entertain my parents and Annelie's mother at Meerenbosch for two days. As we helped the old people up the steps and the stairs with their walking sticks, stiff joints and shuffling gait, we realised that this might be the last time. I cooked a chicken and we watched the sun set over the lake as we listened to the birds going to sleep. It triggered many memories when we were much younger and life was different (and less complex).

Meeting rooms with a competitive advantage

It is a beautiful day in the Cape. We decided to have our meeting on the veranda in stead of the meeting rooms inside. As I breathed the fresh air, listened to the water and birds, while deliberating the intricacies of mobile banking, I realised that this is a competitive advantage.
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My kids and my parents: all of them at home.

We had a feast at home today. We celebrated life with four generations sitting down for Sunday lunch. My parents and Annelie's mom was here, while both of my sons and my daughter-in-law was also present. Arden (my grandchild) represented the fourth generation. My heart filled with pride and joy to have everyone at our home and I thanked the Lord for all His blessings.

My son, Ernst's twenty-seventh birthday

Ernst is my oldest son. He celebrated his birthday with us at deWijnlanden. We had a leg of lamb and potatoes. I decided that the evening was special enough to open a Kanonkop Cab 2004. What made the evening so special, was the fact that this was his first birthday as a father and that one of his grandmothers could be present too.
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I found my first Geo-Cache

I found my first Cache today. (Read more here). It was a small container quite close to the office and after some searching, I managed to locate it. I added my name to the log and now I am officially part of the Geo-Caching community. GeoCaching is a sort-of game where people hide things, take the GPS coordinates and then publish it on the Internet for others to find. As a tech-junkie, I find this particularly interesting, as it combines the physical world, the Internet, hand-held computers with GPS receivers and the curiosity of mankind in one package. I will now go and look for my next cache.