Doesn't time fly!!

Sunset in Benoni.

Precious Luc.

Heidi & Steve's lovely pool.

Hi again folks,

I can't believe how soon the weeks go by.It only seems like a few days ago that I wrote my last blog, but wow it will be Christmas again before we know it.Well, what have I been doing.

Lots of cleaning, as we have finally had a new carpet fitted in the lounge. Not before time either, as it had been down since 1991!! Of course, once you have removed all the furniture & ornaments etc, it all looks decidedly yuk! But time did not allow for a new paint job as well, so that will have to wait. Everything did get a good clean though before it was put back.

We had lots to do on our return from Oz, as the house had been left empty,except for visits by Kevin who uses our spare room as his office. The pool & garden were not looking too good,but after a lot of hard work we got it all looking ship shape again.

Our weather has been up & down,like the rest of the world, it can't be relied upon these days.

We had a really long thunderstorm last night,that seemed to be tarketing our house. It went on for ages & I am feeling quite tired today from lack of sleep.It is nice to feel safe inside your house

but always a bit scary when it's so close.

There seems to be an endless supply of things to do in the garden & I am finding it hard to keep up, even with a gardener once a week. We had to buy a new Lawn Mower too as the last one wasn't doing the job. Our home is sitting on 1100 square meters which isn't a huge amount, until you come to cut the grass!!

We recently had a wonderful time with my Daughter, son-in-law & precious Grandson Luc, at his Carol Service, at his first school. One of the best things about being a Granny is watching your children's children, & knowing exactly how they feel watching them too.I get all warm & fuzzy inside,like when my eldest Grandson in Oz said, " Would you like a cup of coffee Gran?"

After missing so many years while they were growing up,just being called Gran was worth the wait!

We have visitors coming from UK in February.My school friend from since I was 12 years old & her husband. She had passed through SA docking at Cape Town on her way to New Zealand many years ago, but this will be their first time here in Benoni.It gives us plenty of incentive to get everything looking as smart as possible.As South Africa is now my home after being here for nearly 25 years, I want to paint as good a picture as I can, even though I know that there are many problems to overcome in this newly emerging Rainbow Nation.

Ah well, time to call it a day for now.Bye,bye & God Bless everyone.xxx

Return from Oz.

Sister Cheryl & Husband Ross.Yes we really were there.!!Son Mike & his family.

Well, it's all a memory already,& life has to get back to normal again. We enjoyed some wonderful trips out to see the sights of Sydney in the very competent hands of Ross & Cheryl.

Did all the tourist things, but had some great chatting time as well.

Enjoyed getting to know my Grandsons,who I hadn't seen for 9 years.Caught up with all the developments of boys who are eager to be the best that they can be.

Felt very special as Mike & his Wife Caron kept the children off school to get to know there Grandparents.

Really enjoyed the Adelaide Hills,with all the wineries & wonderful scenery.Can't believe my son is a bit of a wine fundy, after living in the area for the last few years.

Appreciated all the differences,but also felt that SA is now my home after 24years.Home is where the heart is, but also where the mortgage is paid off!!!

Had plenty of special moments,but my best was just being called Gran after all these years.

Sloppy, but true!!

We returned to grass that hadn't been cut for 3 weeks, a home that hadn't been cleaned,& 9 notes our security company had posted after various alarms!!

Still par for the course here in South Africa.

I am happy to have been watching our TV to witness the new President Elect of America.

Here's hoping that he keeps to his promises & maybe it will be a new dawn for the whole world.

There's a thunderstorm coming so I'll sign off for now. God Bless us all.xxxx

Last post for now.

Dear All,

This is my last post for awhile as we are jetting off to Australia on Friday.

We spent a lovely day on Sunday visiting Heidi,Steve & Luc. They had their first night in their new home & invited both sets of Parents for a Braai to celebrate. There is still a lot of work to do on the outside with landscaping & the pool to be finished, so the house will have to remain dusty for awhile longer. Everywhere is dusty here right now as we haven't had rain for so long.My windows are grimy & the garden is crying out for water, but there's not much one can do about it. I hope that while we are away the rainy season will start.

Well, I'm basically packed & ready to go & hope that I haven't forgotten anything. Today I am having a quiet day & hope to recharge my energy levels. I know that we are going to be very welcomed by both Cheryl & Ross & Michael & Caron & have my camera at the ready to capture all the wonderful moments.

Now it's time to try & finish off any washing & to clear out the fridge so I don't come back to any nasty surprises!!

Love you all Bye, bye.

Wow, time is flying by.

Is it just me, or does time seem to be going quicker? Had a lovely public holiday yesterday. The weather was lovely & John & I just relaxed & spent the time reading & doing more crosswords.

Today has been lovely too,with my two helpers here today getting the garden & my house into shape.It's only once a week,but I enjoy having the day off,although I can't say that I did anything remarkable with my time.

Only two weeks tomorrow 'till we leave for Aussie. So we've started to organize things a bit.
Had a bit of a clear out yesterday, going through our wardrobes.Finally plucked up the courage to give away all the clothes that we haven't worn for a long time. (Plus it will give us reason to replenish some things) John & I aren't extravagant most of the time,but it's simply stupid to keep items that are not being used. I bet there are other people out there who wear their favorite things over & over again. I'm sure that it's just good old human nature to have favorites.

We still haven't had any rain for ages & we really need it,however much you water,even with sprinklers it is as nothing compared to a good shower of rain.

A poor family 3 doors down from our house had their house burn down on Tuesday.It was a great spectator attraction with flames leaping into the air & an awful lot of smoke.The Fire service took half an hour to arrive so not much was saved. One of those occasions when one says thank God it wasn't us!!

I have enjoyed reading Hazel & Heidi's blogs,& have to admire their creativeness. My life appears quite dull in comparison, but that's another story about the empty nest syndrome !!

Well, I must get on & decide what we are having for supper tonight.So will love you & leave you all for now.

Spring has arrived in Benoni.

Well, it's the first day of Spring, & with it came some high winds & low temperatures. I couldn't believe it when we took my car in for it's first service this morning, it was only 2.5c.

John & I returned yesterday from a two night trip to see my Daughter Heidi, son-in-law Steve & Grandson Luc. We had a lovely time,especially the 4 hours that we spent on our own with Luc.

Much as we love our children, there is nothing to beat having Luc by ourselves.Being called Granny & Granddad, & finding a little hand clasping yours is happiness to the best degree. He is fast approaching 4 years of age & any time that we can spend with him is precious.

We came home to find our pool full of blossom from our Prunus tree, it had obviously been very windy while we were away.The whole garden was littered with debris & our front stoep was covered with leaves & pollen. This morning has been operation clean up for me but there is plenty more to come before we have any decent rain to dampen things down a bit.

Once the rains come it will be time for spring cleaning again. Any effort now will be wasted as the dirt & dust just keeps blowing.

My brother Tony & wife Gill phoned yesterday, but they may regret that they did, as I realised later that we spoke for about an hour & a half!!!! Much as I like the internet, there is still nothing to beat a phone call for one on one conversation.

As a family we are all living in different places & travel is still an expensive option. Last year John & I went to Nova Scotia to visit my Daughter Hazel & her family,UK to see my sister Joy & various good friends & John's Mum & sister in Nottingham. We finished our travels with Spain to spend some good times with said brother & sister-in-law Gilly. All in all it was a wonderful 3 weeks,time & money well spent, but the memories being priceless.

In October we are travelling to Australia for the first time, visiting my sister Cheryl & husband Ross, & also my son Michael & daughter-in-law Caron with their 3 sons Colin, Brody & Alec. We haven't seen them for over 9 years so I expect conversation to be very easy as there will be so much catching up to do.

I am currently keeping up with the latest hurricane Gustav & feel so sorry for the people who once again have to leave their homes.The current weather patterns are certainly playing havoc with peoples lives & hopefully all our Governments will sit up & take notice.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Olympic's this year & wish that the spirit of " We are all just members of the human race" could continue after all the pomp & ceremony is over. It is wonderful to watch 10,000 athletes having a ball together.

The wind has quietened down again now & it is looking good for a lovely afternoon. My washing is fluttering on the line,so I have some ironing to do later.I am looking forward to the next few weeks as we plan what to plant in our hanging baskets. Before too long there will be new signs of life everywhere.It still seems like a miracle to me that all the plants & trees renew themselves every year & we can enjoy every individual thing coming to life again.

Well hopefully all the joys of Spring will transfer me into a happy bunny with lots of zest for the new tasks at hand. I'm sorry for you northern hemishere people who are now beginning to see your days shorten again, but luckily what goes round comes round again to you.

Much love people everywhere & God Bless.

New POST!!

Well hi there everyone, thought I'd better let you know that I'm still here. Just read your latest Heidi, & will soon read Hazel's to see if she has added anymore since her visitors. I did a long blog recently, only to find that there was a problem & it didn't publish. After all my efforts I was quite disheartened & gave it up as a bad job.
Been having more problems with our alarm system,but at last I am assured that now all is well.
Can't say that we enjoy being woken at 4.30 am, but was more worried when we found that the control room weren't aware of it!!
I had a lovely birthday made even more special by several phone calls from my family.When all is said & done one's family & friends are the best gift in the world.
The weather is slowly improving with signs of new life here & there. Daffodils in bloom & new growth starting on a quite a few plants.
John enjoyed his trip to Madagascar & is enjoying a new challenge.It's always better to be in at the start of something.Maybe I will get to see the country myself one day!
No new photos to add right now so this is a bit boring,but it's just to show that I'm still alive !!

Hi I'm back.

Hello again from Benoni. Yes I've been in hibernation mode for awhile. It's been so cold here & my Study/ Spare room is in the coldest part of the house. It takes real dedication to sit here & compose while one's fingers & toes gradually freeze. So I've been doing some reading instead & have been keeping warm with some good company in the form of two good books. The first one was "Awakening to your life's purpose" by Eckhart Tolle & the second was "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I got hooked straight away by the second book & enjoyed a great journey with her to some amazing places. The first book was a lot deeper & has taken some time to be absorbed. Both books were recommended by Oprah, so I knew that they would be interesting.There is a lot of new information out there right now with regard to our inner selves etc; I am open to new thoughts but find the implementation a lot harder to achieve.Your subconcious mind knows that there is something else in there but it is very difficult to stay on track for long.

Apart from reading & the obvious everyday jobs I've been quiet. We did go & see Heidi & Steve's new home last monday.It is a lovely home, quite different from their pad in Sun City & will take a lot of new furniture to fill it.I know that they will enjoy shopping for everything, but probably not the bill's at the end of it!! We are looking forward to our first invite, when they have organised things to their liking & have got to grips with the new kitchen.

Hazel & Craig have also been busy building a lovely new patio at the back of their home.It looks great.

I will now add a pretty photo to remind me that winter doesn't last forever.

It's sunday morning & still pretty cold, the shortest day of the year here,so it can only get better from now on. Watching the weather on TV I can see that Tony & Gilly are having the best of it.Quite a sensible move they made in moving to Spain. Poor UK is still having a lousy summer but they are enjoying lovely high temperatures.

Ah well, the cold is beginning to get the better of me again so I'll stop for now. Bye .

Holiday Memories.

This time I am going to add some more photos. On the left is my precious grandson Luc.

Then a view from our holiday cottage, & John enjoying the scenery there.

I can't believe that just as I started to write this, the sky went black & we are now in the throws of a major storm.Well, that's South Africa for you, you never know what's coming.

I think I'll sign off for now, as computers & storms don't mix very well.

Back from our holiday.

Well the wonderful break away from it all is already just a memory,as the day to day activities once more take precidence. We had a really lovely time though & the weather was a lot warmer than we had anticipated.We took two trips out, to Graskop & Sabie, & on both occasions had pancakes for lunch. They are very popular & yummy too.The rest of the time we did what we had promised & chilled out with a good read. I managed to fit in 4 treatments for myself, 2 detoxing & de-stressing back massages, some reflexology & a wonderful foot treatment with dead sea mud. We both slept very well,but I couldn't stop myself from waking as soon as the sun rose. It really is a great place to unwind & the standards never change.Next time though we will be able to enjoy another heated pool which was nearly finished.
Our workmen arrived monday morning to finish off our two bay windows at the front of the house.We incured some damage when we were broken into last month,so as we needed to have that repaired thought it wise to do a proper job. They look a lot better,but we will no doubt still have to replace them one day,as they are all of 80 years old!!
I have some catching up to do & have just read Heidis' blog.Next will be Hazels'. I must say that they are both great writers.
I managed my first Yoga class for a couple of weeks & was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't too stiff. We did do a fair bit of walking though so I don't feel too bad.
Our home was still here when we returned.The alarm was repaired on the morning of our trip as it kept giving wrong signals,it was certainly a relief to find that it is alright now.
Can't think of anymore for now, but it's a start. Bye bye.Gilly.

The Wall.

Hope that I can add some photos of the wall for further comment.Not a pretty site,would you agree.

We will continue our fight for our rights.

As my dear brother Tony say's ,'Get a life!!' Trouble is I am not Tony, & being female take things entirely to heart with the subsequent emptions. Anyway, enough of that. I had a lovely phone call from my dear daughter Hazel last night,wishing me a happy Mother's day for Sunday.

Now I must put all things of a disconcerting nature onto the back burner & look forward to our holiday starting friday. I hope that when we come home refreshed & full of the joys of autumn I can do another far happier blog. Bye for now Gilly Jones.

A cold & wet Bank Holiday.

Dear All,
We were awoken early this morning by our alarm going off!!No panic, as it was a fault yet again with the time setting. They have already been to fix it once, I managed to reset it & turn off the flashing lights.( My intuition says, is it never going to end!!)
It seems like this holiday will be a stay in & keep warm day.The sky has gone a distinct shade of dark grey.I must send John out to see if he can buy The International Express, then at least we can do the big crossword puzzle for entertainment.
We watched the movie' Cape Fear' last night.Last saw it many years ago, but Kevin my son has a large collection of DVD's which he sometimes remembers to offer us. Must say that it is one of those movies that doesn't seem dated, & still managed to scare me.
I still can't log on to my Acenet mail account.We bought a new Hard drive last saturday,& yesterday I was back at the shop with it. It wouldn't switch off!It was worked on for two hours while I waited patiently in the shop.Eventually the technition had to replace the motherboard as he realised that it was faulty.He also said that I could use my broadband connection to send & receive mail,thus saving on our telephone bill. Still can't work the dam thing though which is why I am writing my blog instead.
After our break in we are now having our two bay windows re furbished ( At a cost of course) hopefully after being properly prepared & painted they will last awhile longer, until we can maybe afford some new windows. The gate guy has been to measure up for a replacement garden gate,so hope that all these things get finished before we have our holiday next friday.
Then I really do promise myself lots of coddling.
Ah well! better finish this rambling. Bye for now Gilly.

It,s been a tough few days.

Hi again from Gill,
It has been a tough few days or is it already a week or so . Again I am in negative mode after our recent break in at home.To awake at 4 am to a sound that your intuition says,is a break in. In the aftermath, it's all about what might have been, with the awareness of how close we were to perhaps being harmed!!We have now done all the usual things,after the event, have installed an alarm system with panic buttons.Bought a safe,& have gone through all the things that we did wrong!!. On our first night away, after the event ,we returned to find that our small front gate had been stolen.For the thief it was just a scrap metal piece of income, but for us it's another problem which has to be rectified. Our alarm system also caused us problems as it was activating at the control room every time we switched on or off!! We couldn't understand why the patrol men came round so often.Hopefully that has now been rectified.
All in all I'm not doing too well at present. We also have an ongoing problem with our neighbours after they erected a huge wall on our property. It was agreed for them to erect a Yoga Studio on our boundary wall, but the final height of 8 meters was never fully appreciated.Their idea of a finishing coat was to, as they said, cement wash it! One can never realize until near the end what that would be like. I now fear that my dear husband is feeling balistic about the whole thing, & I am in a very difficult position.
I would like to add a note of humour, but unfortuneately I can't thing of anything funny about this problem that I could add.
At this time I have bought a new harddrive , but after a few attempt,s still cannot activate my normal email address. I asked for & have been given a new password, but am still rejected when I try to log on. All in all I'm a disappointed little bunny.
Wish I could be as optimistic as my two daughters, who have blogs that I really admire. I must tell myself that I must have done something right when I was bringing them up.
Please excuse the content of this blog, but I have to vent somewhere. Maybe next time I will feel a little better,but thanks for caring.

An enlightening day.

Hi everyone. Today I had a first for me. I went to see a Psychic. I had heard about her from my Yoga teacher,who was impressed with her ability.I am probably a normal sceptic,not ever having had an experience that would rate as out of the ordinary.
As I have said in earlier posts, I am at a crossroads with regard to my emotional health & feelings.Since my Mum died 2 years ago, I have felt that I am in emotional limbo. I could not get my act together or make any decisions about, where to go from here. After years of being a carer of children,husbands, & Mum. I have been in emotional" lock down",preferring to accept the" status quo",rather than to confront a new era in my life.I went, hoping to receive some guidance.
I am happy to report that I felt quite relieved to accept the reading that was given. It was almost spot on!I was a little tense,& not about to give too much information,in case it was all to do with psychological assessment & body language.
I can truly say that what was said was without prompting. What I have been told is very much what I knew inside, but found hard to accept. I am the master of my own destiny & all change is within me.
To my family, I can say that nothing was revealed about my daughter in Nova Scotia, or my son in Adelaide, but I was given information about my two children here in South Africa. Of course that will remain at my discression.
It was an enlightening experience,& left me with plenty to think about.I can only hope that what I learned I can put to good use for my own good.
On a lighter note, autumn is really getting a hold on things here. My pool is covered with leaves & I will spend much time in the next few days & weeks removing them.
Life is what you make it, so they say, or rather how you view it!
Bye for now Gilly.

Another sunny day in Africa.

Hello again.It's a Tuesday morning & I've just come back from my Yoga class. Wish it would get easier but everytime it hurts!My neighbour is busy building a new Yoga studio above the existing double garage.When it is finished, hopefully by May,it will be a lot nicer for all of us students. A wall of mirrors will be there to see all our faults & funny dangly bits!!
I am popping into town later to do a few bits & pieces. I will soon need to start planning our holiday in Australia,so want to check out the flight details first. We want to see my son Michael who lives in Adelaide ,as well as my sister who lives in Sydney.Like our holiday last year in Nova Scotia, it is going to be very different meeting up again with our grandsons as we haven't seen them since June 99.The youngest one was born there so he is absolutely new to us.
My daughter Hazel has just had a weeks holiday in Cuba,so I am looking forward to hearing all about that too.We enjoyed a very lazy Easter,but that is what breaks are for.
The weather is slowly turning into autumn,with a different kind of sunshine.I am not looking forward to the winter this year as it is predicted to be a very cold one this time.
With our power cuts looking like they will continue for a long time,it could become rather nippy!!

Hope everyone enjoyed the Easter break. Bye for now Gill.

Monday morning again.

Well,don't weekends go fast.John & I went to a local flea market/antiques fair on Sunday.We enjoyed wandering around all the stalls,& having our lunch under the shade of some lovely old trees. We don't go to buy but just to keep our eyes open for anything unusual.Then it was back to the Sunday newspaper & the crosswords.
This morning I had an early walk,followed by a trip with Kevin,my son, to collect his vehicle from the panel beaters.I have made the trip 3 times before, but his vehicle was not fixed correctly,so it kept going back.I am hoping that this time will be the last!!
Work is progressing well next door where a Yoga Studio is being built above an existing double garage.It will mean that we will eventually have a rather large adjoining wall.As it's where I have my Yoga lessons,we can't complain,& when finished should make a very comfortable place to 'Get with it' It is still quite warm here,with the chance of thunder showers later. That would be very welcome as the garden has dried considerably since our last rain.
Time to go again as my son needs to use the computer. Bye for now Gill.

It's nearly weekend.

Hi again, it's me. The person with the "Empty nest syndrome!!" Yes, I was a bit over the top when I wrote my first blog,but heh, I need to get used to this new part of my life.
The weekend is nearly here ,at least in this part of the world.
I've done my walk for the day, had a pedicure,(I'm no rich Madam, but I find it hard to reach the little pinkies these days!!) Had a trip to the Chemist, to buy laxatives & Flaxseed oil,need I say more!.Opened up to my Yoga class,who said, quess what,"Look for some charity who could use your services!!!" So, It seems like this is up to me. No more talk but a bit more action.
Actually it was a very good day. I took the easy road for supper & bought a Pizza,but did make some consession & made a bread & butter pudding as well.
It's the old saying,"Life is what you make it". The weekend is all about taking time & making time,for what is important. So here goes for another chance at doing it right. Love you & leave you for now.Go for it girl !! God Bless.

gillinbenoni.

Hi everyone or anyone, My name is Gill & I live in Benoni in South Africa. I am a young 60 year old,married to John for nearly 33 years.I have 4 children, all married now,who have given me 8 grandchildren. I am now living a life of domestic bliss, no more fetching & carrying! But lots of time to do exactly what I want. Trouble is, I don't really know what that is right now.
I have arrived at a stage of life that I always looked forward to with great anticipation. I now find that it's not all that it's cracked up to be.After years of devotion to Kids, Cats a house & Husband, I have found that I can't quite fill the gap anymore.I know that ideally ,I should think of doing Charity work or something like that which would fill my days with feelings of upliftment.
Sorry, not ready yet!! I do Yoga twice a week,walk 5klm's as often as I can,read the papers & do crossword puzzles. I used to knit,sew,do Tapestries,Jigsaw Puzzles, made my own curtains etc;
If you are my age you'll know what I mean. I used to love cooking too,especially when there were plenty of mouths to feed. Things change, & I know that I need to change too.Half of my family is overseas,in Nova Scotia, Australia, Spain & UK. ENOUGH ALREADY YOU MAY BE SAYING!!! That's off my chest for now, at least it's a start. This is just the beginning !!!!!!!!