Abodes and A Bargain

On Friday morning, as I left for work at 6:45am, it was -10C (wind chill of -18C)outside. Over the weekend, there were a few hours where the mercury cautiously emerged back into the positive neighborhood, but that was short lived as the temperature outside as I type this is again -10C, with a luxurious 2 inch thick blanket of pristine snow! But I love it!!! There is a surreal beauty that a world painted with a thick coat of white velvet has. Especially when my South African eyes are accustomed to seeing dry expanses of veld, prickly brush and sparse, leafless, decrepit trees populating an arid canvas, the soft smooth contours of a snowy landscape has a soothing, and peaceful effect on me! Besides, I get to drive on it, which can be an exhilirating experience too!

Here are some pictures of Liesel's car this evening, before the heavier snow came!



On Saturday morning, we met up with our estate agent and she took us to show us about 5 different houses. There were 2 stunning houses that Liesel and I were immediately drawn to, and after some discussion, we could narrow it down to one, unfortunately it is the more expensive one. If we had to buy it, it would be both Liesel's and my dream house, and it would have everything that we could ever want in a house, even for years to come! Is it within our budget, that is the question? I will need to do some number crunching and make a few phone calls before we can make a final decision on this one. Please pray with us that if it is God's will for us, that He would make a way for us to be able to afford it. That evening we watched Al Gore's Gloabl Warming documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth". This was an eye opener and it brought some rather frightening statistics to light! If you are complaining about how hot the South African summer is, then I suggest you a) come to visit us in Cleveland, or b) Get a hold of this DVD and watch it, so you too can understand why the earth is warming up like this!

On Sunday, we went to church and afterwards went to the mall. A kid's clothing shop was having a sale there, and Liesel bought Nathan 8 winter garments (for next winter) for under $30! That's less than $4 an item. While Liesel was buying those bargains, I was supervising Nathan in the play area, which he loves. It is one of the few places he gets to run around when the outside temp is -6C and snowing ;-)

Cough, Sniff, Brrrrrrrrrrr, EEEEEK!!!!

Those 4 words sum up the past week pretty well! I will take the advice from a well known musical score which says: "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start!"

It begins on Tuesday, when we had some of the highest snowfall in Cleveland this season! My colleague and I had a meeting scheduled in downtown Cleveland that we had to be at. I volunteered to take my CR-V jokingly, however, my colleague, knowing full well that I am from sunny South Africa, and never driven in the fluffy white precipitation before. He thought it would be a valuable learning experience for me! I got slightly worried, when while I was dusting snow off my car, I noticed my colleague packing up laughing on the passenger seat! When I asked him what was so amusing, he replied, "I can't believe that you are actually going to drive in this!" So EEEEEEEEK!!! I got onto the highway and even at speeds of 30mph, I could feel the back of the car sliding out again and again. My car's Vehicle Stability Assist was working overtime, and continuously correcting the vehicle, bringing it back in a straight line. The trip that normally takes us no longer than 15 minutes to complete, took more than double that! The good news is, my colleague and I survived to tell the story. Now I know what an ice hockey puck feels like!

The rest of the week, Nathan has been battling a cold and cough and in a true loving spirit, decided to share it with his mom, who in turn, shared it with her husband!! So Liesel got hit with the full force of the germ warfare this weekend, and spent most of the time indoors and in bed! So I went househunting alone on Saturday. The agent showed me two houses for the same price. One was really nice, and I wouldn't mind calling that home. However, Liesel will need to go see it first, and we still have a number of other houses on our shortlist that merit a visit!

Another reason to stay indoors this weekend, was that on occasion, the temperature outside dropped to -14C! The ponds in the area are mostly frozen solid, and its quite a sight to behold! Even now as I type this, freezing rain is coming down outside, and covering the cars in a layer of ice! Should make for more hockey puck driving tomorrow morning!
That was a "lake" a couple of weeks ago!
If you have a white car, it may just disappear....

P.S. Alexeii, thanks for the comment. This is one thing I love about the USA, I have true high speed internet. I get UNLIMITED data, on a 4MB/s line for around $45 per month ;-) Jammer as ek jou jaloers maak!

Another cold and wet weekend in Cleveland

As another cold front moves over Cleveland, we prepared ourselves for another indoors weekend. My mother finally arrived safely back in South Africa on Friday, after surviving New York City for 3 days on her own! Now she is back in the middle of summer where the temperatures are in the mid 30's Celsius! I secretly know that she is missed not seeing and experiencing more snow during her stay in Cleveland! On Friday evening, we rented a DVD, and later that evening, laid back and enjoyed "World Trade Center"!

On Saturday morning, Liesel went for a haircut, while the boys stayed at home! Later that morning, we went to meet our real estate agent, who showed us a house for the first time. The house itself was huge. One of the things we need to take into account is that the bigger the house is, the more furnishing we will need to do! And in this house we would need to furnish 4 bedrooms, 2 lounges, a kitchen, a dining room and a basement! That could take a while, so back to the internet searches!

Saturday afternoon, we took Nathan to the library where he could play with Liesel on the computers there. I had a chance to look at their movie collection and we took out The Transporter 2, which we watched after putting Nathan to bed that night! The movie was flirting with utter ridiculousness most of the time... very much a guy's movie!

Sunday was average with Church in the morning, and bible study in the evening. Thankfully, tomorrow is a Bank Holiday in the USA (Martin Luther King day), which translates into a long weekend for me! I get another day to sleep in and enjoy the company of my small family! Life is good!

Sadly, all good things must come to an end....

...and my mother has to return to South Africa. But I made sure that her last days in the USA were memorable! On Friday morning we (my mom and I) flew into one of America's most loved cities, New York City! I would be spending the weekend with my mom, and flying back home on Sunday (some of us have to work :( ), leaving my mom to fend for herself for two more days, until she was scheduled to depart for London on Wednesday!

After landing at JFK Airport, we caught the train to Manhattan. Unbeknown to us, we caught the express train, which didn't stop anywhere near our stop. We needed to get off at 96th St, and the closest two stops on the express were 59th St or 125th St! So we opted for 125 St, not a good idea. As we came out of the Subway and started walking the streets, we realised that we were in the middle of Harlem. Picture it, two whities, looking like the classic tourist, lugging suitcases, backpack, duffel bag and shoulder bags, walking through the middle of Harlem. We did get a few strange glances from the locals, probably wondering why on earth these two white tourists would be crazy enough to be walking on their turf! Needless to say, after walking around 10 blocks, we decided to catch a cab to take us to our hotel!

After arriving safely at the hotel (praise God) and unpacking, we took a lesiurely stroll to Central Park, which was 3 blocks away from our hotel.



On Saturday, we were up early as we had a full day ahead of us. We caught the subway to the southern part of Manhattan. Our first stop was the World Trade Center site. From there we went to Trinity Church, Wall St, New York Stock Exchange and Battery Park, where we got our first glimpse of Lady Liberty! Next stop was South Street Seaport, where I bought us tickets to Phantom of the Opera for that evening!
We paused briefly in Pier 17 for brunch and then boarded the Staten Island Ferry, which gave us awesome views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the skyline of NYC! I also met another South African family onboard the ferry!!!!

After the boat ride, it was back to the subways to take us to midtown Manhattan. When we surfaced, we gazed upon the Flat Iron Building, and then the tallest building in Manhattan, the Empire State Building! Walking up Fifth Avenue, we also visited the World's Largest Department Store, Macy's. The New York Public Library was our next stop, on our way to Grand Central Station, where we again took few minutes for dinner! By this time the sun was setting and we made our way back to a subway via Rockerfeller Center. The Rockerfeller Christmas tree was still up and it was a magnificent sight! We also headed up to the top of the Rockerfeller Building for amazing evening views of New York City. This was definitely one of my highlights of the whirlwind NYC visit. But we didn't have the luxury of being able to spend much time to take everything in, as we had to get back to the hotel so we could freshen up for Broadway!



At 7:00pm we headed to the Subway and headed for Times Square! This is always an awesome experience, standing in the middle of Times Square and staring goggle-eyed at all the electronic billboards, TV's and Newstickers that illumimate this corner of Manhattan!!! But again, not too much time to absorb the atmosphere, as our Phantom of the Opera beckoned us! The play was excellent! I was more impressed with the props and the special effects than the acting and singing ;-) but that's just me. The cast did receive a standing ovation at the end of the show, so it was definitely a quality performance, and a great climax to end my tour of NYC!

On Sunday morning, I was all packed and ready to leave at around 9pm, to make my way back to the airport. I travelled with my mom on the Subway for the last time, and we said an emotional farewell at the 42nd Street station. From there she went to further explore NYC, whilst I headed back to Cleveland! It was wonderful to have her with us for the special holiday of Christmas, and for her to play with and take part in Nathan's life! I know that he will miss his gogo! Anyway, as our life returns to normal again, and my mom starts her homeward journey on Wednesday, I wish you all goodnight, as the snow falls outside our apartment and we look forward to a maximum of -2C!

La la la... AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

First of all let me wish you a safe, prosperous and amazing New Year from the McCarthy's in the USA! May all your (chocolate) dreams come true!


We had a very good weekend as we ushered out 2006 and embraced 2007, with its promises of more dreams and excitement! On Saturday morning, we were very pleased to host Andreas and Jacqui and their family, on their way back from South Carolina, making their way to Detroit! They had been driving through the night (as it is easier that way with a 2 month old baby) and Cleveland was in just the right location for a warm breakfast. Andreas and Jacqui had hosted us for 2 weeks when we first landed in the USA, so it was nice to be able to return the favor in this small way. Also, it was the perfect opportunity for the children to run around and expend some of the perpetual energy!
That afternoon I took my mom for a leisurely drive through the Rocky River Nature Trail. It is a park that spans for miles along side the banks of the Rocky River. There is a separate cycle/walking track for anyone who wishes to enjoy the nature and beauty of this trail at a leisurely pace. It is wonderful to see elderly couples walking hand in hand, families on bicycles and even people on horse back making the most of this unseasonly warm weather that we have been blessed with at this time of year!
On Sunday evening, Liesel and myself went to our a couple in our Bible Study's house for a pizza and games evening. My mom volunteered to babysit Nathan for us, so we could go and enjoy ourselves! We had a wonderful time there and got to know the other people in our Bible Study a bit better. We were home by 9:30pm! I stayed up to watch the New Year in, with the television tuned into the festivities in Times Square, New York! But what made the evening extra special is that my sister was awake in South Africa (7 am SA Time) and we chatted together on Skype, so she was there with me to see the New year in. You have got to love technology!

New Year's day we headed west to another mall about 10 miles from us. It was drizzling in Cleveland, so we thought it would be better if Nathan could run around in an indoor setting, and it was a new mall for my mom to explore!! That afternoon, my mom and I returned to that area to buy myself an external 250GB hard drive for me, as I am running low on space.

And that concludes my first blog of 2007! This week, my mom and I will be flying to New York City on Friday, where I will be showing her around until I head back on Sunday afternoon! I am really looking forward to that as it has been 4 years since I was last in NYC, and to be able to show my mom around will be such fun, as long as she can keep up with me!!!

Once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!