Generally speaking

First the bad news:
Well, bad news for me anyway. My laptop died. She's at the hp hospital and I'm waiting for the techie to fix her. Apparently the motherboard is gone ... It saddens me greatly. The ordeal of getting her to the hospital nearly had me in tears as well, tears of frustration that is. I called to get directions, now we've been there before, so really it was just to jog my memory. HA! I asked the receptionist for directions, and this is more or less what she said: "youtakeairportroad,right?towardscornicheturnrighatthestreetbetweenthesecondandthirdrobots
beforecorniche,right?behindtheiranianschool" - R-I-G-H-T, I asked to please speak to her manager as I couldn't understand a word she was saying. Speaking with an Indian accent and all. I understood the manager a bit better at least, but his directions sucked just as much. The only bit that was correct was to turn right at the street with the sign for the Iranian School ... 40 minutes later I found their office, I was not amused. Anyways, booked the laptop in after being in the queue for about 10 minutes and after 3 Arabs pushed in front of me. They think nothing of it, trust me. Always remember, I'm the infidel and a woman at that, slight higher than shark shit on the totem pole. The techie called me after two days and informed me that it's the motherboard that died and it will cost me Dhs2,250 to fix, that's including labour. Then she, yes, the techie is a lady! proceeded to try and sell me "Care Pack", I said fine, but you're gonna have to send me that on an email, as I can't commit to paying you whatever amount it is you want, without seeing the docs? Surely this makes sense? I used to be on her side of the phone, I did those quotes, I know what I'm talking about. Wait, I know what I'm talking about in a WESTERN country, here, everything has its own set of rules. Anyhoo, 3 days later, not counting Friday, I'm STILL waiting for that email ... yes, I'm about to call the manager.

A Real quick visit:
So Linda came for a BLITZvisit. In and out of Abu Dhabi in 4 days! We were BUSY. Took her to Marina Mall, Ibn Batutta mall in Dubai, she saw the desert, took her to two exhibitions at the Emirates Palace hotel and to the Grand Mosque! She had a total blast and just could not get over the place :) It is something to see to believe. She then met her hubby at the airport and they went to Oman together, he was on a business trip and she got to tag along. Ja, it's a terrible life, but someone's got to do it hey? I don't have pics for you ... they're on the dead pc .... will post as soon as I can.

Work an other such boring things :)
Or, the reason for us being here :) Gids is working in Dubai at the moment (YUK), the one site is in beeeg trouble and some of the guys have been asked to help out there, temporarily. To give you an idea of where he is at the moment:

http://www.ameinfo.com/122350.html

http://www.alec.ae/projectsdetail.asp?uri=14&s=5&ss=1&iType=1

So, as soon as that site is finished, he gets to go to Al Raha Beach development, here in Abu Dhabi ... to give you an idea:



now this video is of the whole development. Alec is building housing for Etihad staff. Their tiny little portion of this development is worth Dhs2.5 billion. Money, is so not a problem. It is rather impressive hey?

Toys for boys and goodies for girls
In other news, the boy went shopping. We got toys :) In time for summer, he now has a rather large tv to play his Playstation 3 on and I have a Wii :) The reason for the Wii? Well, it's got Mario Brothers, off course :) heheee, can't wait to be 7 years old again. We're going to have the most fun.

The Kaydin Kronikles:
Well the boy is still walking strong, exploring the garden every opportunity he gets and we moved the doggy gate from the top landing to the bottom, so now he can't get onto the stairs, and he can play in his room too :) Totally perfect for summer approaching, another place for him to play as the garden just won't be an option at 47C and 70% humidity. We're not there yet, but that's what it will be like in summer. woopikadoo, yes i'm totally excited about that :(

and here are some recent pics of the K-man:

sitting on the step with me, he's too cute, climbs off the step and then reverses until his calves touches the step, and then he sits down :)


Peek-a-boo


can also be played with anything that will cover his face :)





Giving Lara a hug, he hugs everything though, he'll hug the floor too, if you ask him to :)


I'm the coolest mum, check the toys!! And both the red and green quads are total favourite toys :)


We send much love to all

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nayan Mosque

Shortly after we arrived back in the UAE, my darling friend Marinda asked if I wanted to visit the Grand Mosque with her ... um DUH!!!!!!! So it was that Marinda, Anel, Lynnie, and I found ourselves visiting the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nayan Mosque. They've been building it for 7 years so the interest in the building, as you can imagine is rather immense. The late Sheikh Zayed, in the spirit of religious tolerance declared that this mosque be open to the public. This is rather a big deal as non-muslims are usually not allowed inside a mosque. The very best part though, you're not only allowed to go inside, they welcome (camera)trigger happy people. Yes .... it's a bit like heaven to me.

The facts:

The mosque is named after Sheikh Zayed, the founder and first president of the UAE, it's known as the Grand Mosque though.

The Mosque is large enough to accommodate more than 30,000 worshippers.

There are four minarets on the four corners of the mosque which rise about 107 meters in height. There are 57 domes covering the outside yard and the main building as well. The domes are decorated with white marble and the interior decoration is made of marble. The courtyard is paved with floral marble designs and measures about 17,000 square meters.

above info from wikipedia

So, we meet up at the mosque, Marinda, Anel, Lynnie and I and proceed to the entrance, where we get dressed by the ladies at reception in abaya's and sheila's. That would be the long black dress and head scarf. Talk about weird! Though I must say, a sheila would come in most handy on those bad-hair days! We went inside, in search of our tour guide, who were supposed to take us on the 10:00 tour. Looking around we saw no-one that looked like a tour guide or even a group of lost tourists like us ... Marinda went and asked at the reception where we would be able to find our elusive guide .... "No madam, she didn't come to work today", lovely. So we moseyed around on our own, took plenty photo's and made out way out, over the enormous courtyard and caught up with another tour that was in progress. We decided to follow them, went back into the main prayer hall and heard the beginning of the tour as we would have, if our guide decided to actually show up for work.  Must admit though, we didn't listen too much to what the guide was saying, me with one eye on Kaydin who was having a total blast on the Dhs2 million carpet and Lynnie watching Layla and Anel shooting pics of us like she's an aspiring paparazzi! It was good fun though.

Here then, are the pictorial of our very memorable visit:

detail on one of the pillars:

A pretty glass door:

detail inside on of the smaller domes:

The carpet inside is the "World's Largest Carpet" made by Iran's Carpet Company and designed by Iranian artist Ali Khaliqi. This carpet measures 5,627 square meters, and was made by around 1,200 weavers, 20 technicians, and 30 workers. The weight of this carpet is 47 tons - 35 tons of wool, and 12 tons of cotton. There are 2,268,000 knots within the carpet. As I mentioned previously, Kaydin thought it was pretty cool too, lol!

This mosque also holds, the largest chandelier. There are seven imported chandeliers from Germany and are copper and gold-plated. The largest chandelier has a 10 meter diameter and a 15 meter height. It is rather impressive, I'll give them that! (this photo is just the bottom half!)

Now, we all know that when the muslims pray, they face towards Mecca, this picture below, is the wall inside the mosque towards which they face whilst praying, on it is the 99 names of Allah, and this one in gold, is his name in Arabic. It's 24 carat gold plated, yes, really.

Beautiful scene, walking out, to the courtyard:

Looking back towards the main prayer hall:

Lynnie and I:

How funny are we? Thanks Anel for the cool pics!

And finally, here we are Umm Kaydin, Umm Luca, Umm Luke and Umm Layla :) In the muslim culture a mother is known as "the mother of" followed by the name of her first born son, if, like Lynnie there isn't a son (yet), you're known by the name of your oldest daughter. That's why Anel is Umm (mother of) Luke, even though her daughter, Lara, is older than Luke. Just and interesting custom, we've off course adopted it, and many a time refer to each other as Umm :)

I'll tell you this though, it was a totally interesting experience, wearing an abaya. There are days where I think it could come in most handy. It does feel a bit as if you disappear and I can just imagine how much more with the sheila covering your face.

Shortly after this I got news that my sister Linda is coming to visit me! Only 4 days, but hey, I'll take what I can get. She's the only of my sisters that haven't been here, to it was very exciting news!

More of her visit in the next post.

And now for the Kaydin Kronikles:

The boy is walking like a champ, as if he's been doing it for years! He's also cool with going down steps now, understands very well about "bum first" and gets up from crawling in a flash!

The other day, he took his sippy cup with water from the kitchen table, took a sip and summarily dropped it on the floor :) we'll teach him to put it back, I was just so chuffed that he's figured out that, that blue bottle is the water bottle and he can help himself!

And this morning, he brought me his bottle with milk :) Too cute! He's also starting to say small words. Most things are "ba", the ball, a book and boxes.  "Me", as in how a sheep would make, is milky and mamma :) It is nice to understand a little better what he wants.

And tonight, while rocking him to sleep, I sang an old zulu lullaby, "tula-tula", the line goes something like: "tula, tula baba, tula tula" but before I could get to the second "tula-tula" bit, little bebe pipes up in a sleepy voice "baba" :D It was really difficult not to laugh, too sweet! I'm searching the web for a sample of the song, so that my international friends can hear what it sounds like .... just give me a moment, ok?

Oh and for those that don't know: Zulu is an indigenous language of South Africa and one of the biggest black tribes in the country.

much love to all

we're back!!!!

Double, triple YEEEEEHA!!!!!!!!!! Man it was good to have my feet on UAE soil again, and the best part of it was seeing Gideon off course .... I missed him way more than I expected ;)

A quick warning - this is a LONG post ... go grab that glass of wine and get comfy :)

So, back to the SA holiday. We had a blast, it was super special seeing everybody. It was busy though, we spent the first week in Pretoria, then went to Plettenbergbay to visit my in-laws, then to Cape Town or more specifically the gorgeous little town of Grabouw, where Genevieve and Sheldon now lives and then back to Pretoria for some last minute shopping.

Some random thoughts that I've been mulling over in my head:

South Africa still is in my mind, the most awesome country. It's friendly and green and has a sense of humour so distinct. Mostly the people are just trying to make a living and provide for their families as best they can. Why is it then that the Government seem incapable of listening to its people and make the changes that are so necessary? And more than ten years on, can we please stop blaming Apartheid? There comes a point, where you have to take responsibility for your actions, it's a law actually, Newton's, if I'm not mistaken, for every action, there's an equal an opposite reaction ... this isn't rocket science? Oh, wait, maybe it is...

And then a weird thing happened at a braai one day, completely, out of the blue came the attack ... the one about why on earth would I even dare think about coming back. The reason I was so surprised is because the source of the question was so unexpected. I explained that I want to come home, for me, for Kaydin, for Gideon, for my family and friends. So that my boy can know his country and the Afrikaans culture that he was born into. So that he may know about normal weekends and that there's either cricket or rugby on a saturday and that to go camping in the veld is really the normal way of doing it, with grass and trees and birds and wildlife around you. To be woken by the sound of the bosloerie in the tree and the hippos in the water ... that is his birthright, to know his country and his culture and that we have 11 different languages and that they are all beautiful in their own way. I want him to know that not every family drives a Land Cruiser or a Prado and that you should respect people for who they are, not what they look like or what car they drive. So that he can grow up in a country with so much diversity, it will take you a lifetime to understand it, but you can and should make an effort every single day. So that he can make an informed decision about living in SA one day or moving elsewhere, because how can you make an intelligent decision about something so momentous, if you don't have all the facts? And that, is my prerogative, as his parent to make the seemingly stupid decision to move back. Good thing it's mine to make and not yours.

A very pleasant evening was spent with one of my dearest friends, whom I'm also fortunate to call my sister. What made it even more special was all the gifted souls present that night. It was a privilege and an honour to be there and like I told you that evening dearest Dilly, thank you so much for inviting them while I was there, it was a blast, a hoot and so very precious to me, to be able to share thoughts, to be given life lessons and messages that were meant to come to me then. Thank you.

And to answer someone else's question, what was it like to be back, second time round?

The people still drive very slowly!

The taxi's seemed to have acquired some road sense!

The politicians still just fart around

Carte Blanche is still one of THE best programs on TV, ever.

The people seemed friendlier, everybody was smiling and helpful and not so negative

Woolworths RULES, wish we could get a Woolies Food here!

The view from the top of Sir Lowries Pass is probably one of the best I've ever had the good fortune to see. I could do that every day :) Thanks G&S for making the effort to stop at the look-out point, it was awesome!! ((HUGS))

And last but not least, think I've mentioned this already? It's good to be home, where all my things are, LOL!

So, all in all a somewhat bitter-sweet trip. I've realised that while we're here, my heart will always be torn, between wanting to be back home in SA and wanting to be here, in Abu Dhabi, my adoptive home.

And off course, here are a selection of pics:

Salomé and Ben entertaining Kaydin

all the cousins on my side of the family (from left to right): Salomé, Gina, Ben Luca, Nicoletta & Kaydin:

My sister Linda has the most amazing garden, and look who came to see what all the commotion was about:

with his other cousin Quinn and Oupa (his grandfather):

playing drums with Annet & Ouma Hettie:

Bea's cat found the stroller a most comfortable place to take a nap, LOL!

Unpacking Ouma Nobie's tupperware cupboard in Plett:

first driving lessons:

That view that I mentioned:

Kaydin & Angus playing:

meeting Bev and Fiona, in person! we had such a wonderful time together! Thanks for making the effort girls! (hugs)

and back in Gauteng, visiting with my sister Dalene and her family, this would be her children playing with Kaydin, their dad eventually said to them: "now remember, he's not a barbie doll, put-him-DOWN!" LOL!!

and here's me, having a merry old time :)

and finally, back home the boys catching up in Kaydin's room :)

I send much love to all ...

it was a secret ...

I've had this post saved in drafts for a while now, I couldn't post about the holiday 'cause some people that read this were on the receiving end of a surprise visit from me, LOL!!!

So, Gids has got STRICT instructions on how to publish this, AFTER the 11th of February, as by then, both girls will know that I'm in SA. Ooooohhhhh Giggles!!!!

My mom and I had such a relaxing time, went to the shops when we felt like it, mostly we just stayed at home.

I really wanted to take my mom camping and we thought this past weekend the perfect time, as it was Gideon's off Saturday, which meant that we could leave Friday arvie, sleep over and come back Saturday round about lunch time. Or so we thought, on Wednesday Gideon said he heard on the radio something about and impending sandstorm, we checked on the local paper's web site and sure enough, high winds, low temperatures and a specific note that any outdoor activities would be highly unpleasant. We decided to not tempt mother nature and decided not to go, a bit disappointing none the less. However, we were not going to miss anything so decided to drive to the beach, to get a look at the rough seas and high winds ... The wind was unpleasant enough, but you have to giggle at the high seas, though in fairness, this really is quite rough by UAE standards, it usually looks like a dam:

 

The K-man off course had a blast:

and for some bizarre reason his daddy wouldn't let him crawl right into the ocean LOL!!! (ok, it's a good reason, I didn't pack any dry clothes, K-man doesn't actually care or understand, LOL!!)

And then my mom spotted the Dude, off course Gideon had to rescue him, we're not sure if he made it back into the ocean safely, but hey, we tried:

So, in the next week we'll go do some last minute shopping, I seriously don't understand why we do this, leave stuff to the last minute that is. And by the time Gideon publishes this for me, the K-man and I will be in sunny Pretoria :-). It's going to be a busy holiday, we're in Gauteng for about a week, then off to Plett to visit my in-laws, then to Cape Town to visit Genevieve & Sheldon and meet up with some online friends and then back to Pretoria for the last week ... I may not do this again soon, I get exhausted just reading it! LOL!!!

So, while typing this, the wind is still blowing a week later and it's still flippen COLD, by UAE standards. I'm all packed and ready to go. The pressies are wrapped, the tickets and passports are ready, so to those of you in SA that I'll be seeing - I CAN'T wait and am SO looking forward to seeing everybody!!

A quick funny: As you know by now, we share the house with another couple and because we share the kitchen as well, we're on a rotating schedule as far as dinner is concerned. Which means that I only have to worry about dinner every second night, it's just marvelous let me tell you. Not so much for Gids though, now that I'll be gone. So, the other night while we were chatting, he asked me, a little desperately: "what will I feed the people"? I'm slightly amused by the comment as the other people are two adults!! I replied, well, you know how to cook, you've seen me in the kitchen ... he says, (slightly more panicky by now), ja, but I don't actually KNOW how to make pasta or rice or mac and cheese .... I just giggled and said well, when it's your turn, phone me and i'll give you the recipe and instructions :ROTFL ... so I told the other lady of the house the story .... she agreed to let him suffer for a few nights ... aaahhhh, it's GOOD to let them be on their own for a little sometimes I'm still hugely amused.

So, here I am, on the eve of leaving for home, totally excited and yet a little sad, I'm going to miss the non-chef so much, I'm going to miss not having him around to help and I'm sad that he's going to miss a whole month out of Kaydin's life ... I am also however tremendously excited about seeing everybody, about the totally cool surprise I planned for Bea and Gia-Michelle, about going to Grabouw and spending copious special days with G and Shelly. About being able to spend precious time with the other Ouma and Oupa, so that they can also have some K-man time .... Hugely excited about seeing my sisters, giddy in fact LOL!!!

So, to all of you that we'll be seeing soon - YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darling Gideon - I love you more than I can possibly ever say. I'm so thankful and so very grateful. Thanks my love, for this holiday, we'll miss you so very much and we'll speak to you as often as possible ... remember to call about that mac and cheese recipe, hey?