7 easy steps to putting your foot through a wall

Another week has raced by, stopping only to whack me on my back as it ran past me! From this week's title, you may have guessed that I have discovered a simple way to make a hole (the size of a foot) in an American wall, or drywall as they are called here! On Friday evening around 11pm, I decided to go downstairs and say good night to Liesel, who was watching one of her favorite programs in the lounge. I also needed to charge my laptop, so I carefully carried it with me and took my first fateful step down our staircase. Since I was balancing a laptop in my hands, I didn't have the opportunity to grab the handrail (and I don't usually since I always felt that handrails were for geriatrics). It also didn't help that I was too lazy to switch the light on, so I guess I have to take the blame as my foot missed the edge of the first step, and caused my body to submit to the law of gravity. I slid down the 7 stairs (I counted!) feet first, with my spine riding the carpet like a supertube! After coming to a stop on the landing and realizing what had just happened to me, I checked and saw that my laptop was still in my hands, unaffected by the unfortunate trip. PHEW! By this time, Liesel had rushed to me since it sounded like the house was falling down around her, and she switched the light on. That's when I saw my right foot in a newly made hole at the base of the wall on our landing! SIGH :( Now I am not sure whether I am fortunate that we don't have brick houses here, because, at least I know I wouldn't have penetrated a brick wall.... Oh yes, and my back is now bearing a carpet burn 5 inches long and 1 inch wide over the lower lumbar region of my spine. Since I can't lie on it, I guess I won't be going to abs classes this week :( But at least my laptop is fine!!!

The rest of the weekend was a lot more fun than stair surfing! On Saturday morning we went to a nursery to pick up some soil for some bulbs that Liesel planted. Nathan loved the huge nursery where he could run around with reckless abandon. This nursery also had a massive room filled with Christmas decorations and Christmas trees which he absolutely loved! Only 56 more days to Christmas!! After getting back I decided to that the yard needed a mow again, and as I got near to finishing, the wind picked up, and the rain started falling! At least I can't complain about the sweat dripping off my face anymore!

That evening, Liesel arranged for a babysitter for Nath, and we had a much deserved date night again. We went to watch the movie, Dan In Real Life, and it was hilarious! Then afterward we had a cosy meal in a quaint little Middle Eastern restaurant before heading back to relieve the babysitter.

On Sunday, I again had a week off, so I could sit with Liesel throughout the Church service. Then a bit later, our friends, Phil, Marianne and their two girls came to have luch with us. Liesel outdid herself and provided an exquisite meal! And the dessert, which Marianne provided, was also incredible. It was a chocolate cake made with 3 differnt types of chocolate desserts and then chocolate chips were added for good measure. You can't go wrong with that! Nathan had a great time playing with their two daughters too! Now that was a weekend worth writing about!


As we head into a new week, we have our first freezing temperature warning, which reinforces the fact that winter is quickly approaching! Next week, Our Daylight Savings Time comes to an end and we fall back an hour, making the time difference between South Africa and the USA 7 hours. This means that instead of the sun setting at 6:30pm as it does now, it will set at 5:30pm............ sigh......... C'mon summer (6 weeks till our SA vacation!!)

From Birthdays to Bokke, Pumpkins to Party

Heck! Is it just me, or does time seem to have broken away from our grasp and now it is running recklessly down the street, with you falling over your feet trying to catch up?
Well, on Wednesday this week, I woke up and had a 3 year old son! Nathan is now 3 years old (which he can tell you with the utmost pride)! He loved every waking second of his birthday as he was showered with gifts!!! He got some DVD's and videos, books, and spelling aids that stick to the fridge door, Fisher Price Airport and mini keyboard/piano to name a few! That should keep him occupied until we head to South Africa in 7 weeks time!

This weekend also pounced upon us! We were having some friends over for a mini-birthday party for Nathan on Sunday, so we had a few chores to get done before then. Liesel cleaned the house, while I entertained Nathan outside, in between getting some yard work done. That included pulling out weeds and transplanting a fully grown bush! I also tried my hand at carving my first-ever pumpkin! I need to practice for an upcoming pumpkin carving competition at work, so this was the perfect opportunity to train :) I thought it came out pretty well! Then it was Liesel's turn to show off her artistic side, as she made Nathan a fire-engine birthday cake! Her result was very impressive!



By the time we had finished decorating the cake, the Bokke were busy clawing their way to World Cup victory. No US television station has any interest in rugby, but I was at least able to listen to it via live streaming from the SAfm website! It was great to hear the ref blow the final whistle, but as my fellow ex-pat, Greg Naude, said: "kinda wierd not being able to run around in the streets afterwards, hey!"
We did, however, wear our Springbok Rugby jersey's and have a Springbok Rugby flag proudly displayed in a window on the street side of our house! But then again, American's don't understand rugby, probably because they can't look past the fact the rugby players, don't need helmets and have their bodies covered with multiple layers of thick padding :P



After dinner that night, we all went for a tranquil stroll around the neighborhood, with Nathan tearing up the sidewalks with his South African motorbike!

On Sunday, I had the day off from guitar duty, so I could go to church with Lee and Nathan again. Today we had something I don't think you would ever see in a South African church. This morning, we had a fire drill in our church service! Who knows when the Holy Spirit will come down again in tongues of fire - so it's always good to be prepared!

Later that afternoon, we had our friends come over for Nathan's birthday party. Their 2 boys and Nath had a great time and Nath's finally got his wish, to eat his fire-engine cake!

Pumpkins, playgrounds and pruning

Finally, the time has come for my old Sony camera to be replaced. I think I found a worthy replacement, namely the Sony DSC-T200! It is obviously an upgrade from my last 7 year old camera, but I could see this lasting another 7 years for me! And of course, now I can add photos to my blogs again! Life is worth living again! :P

The weather was considerably cooler than last week as a cold front crawled over Cleveland, but it was still good enough to go our local nursery for their annual Fall/Halloween/Pumpkin festival! The nursery had numerous jumping castles, a haystack complete with tunnels, swings, slides, place to paint and color in, and most importantly, the hayride! Nathan went back and forth between the swings and the tunnels, until the tractor started up! It was time for Nath's hayride. Judging by Nathan's excitement, there may be a good chance that he grows up to be a farmer, just so that he could ride on a tractor everyday! Maybe I should by a ride on mower, then I get my lawn mowed everyday, and he gets a kick out of riding a tractor. To me that's a win - win situation!! Somehow, I don't think Liesel will see it the same way ;-)


That afternoon, after finally managing to drag Nathan away from his beloved tractor, I mowed the lawn again. This time, however, I had no perspiration dripping from my brow, or any other body part, since the temperature was a third of what it was last week! After mowing into the twilight, we headed out to our local Red Robin restaurant, where we all had a great dinner! My grilled salmon burger was awesome! It was the perfect way to end a great fall day!

On Sunday, I was up early again, and heading to church while the sun was rousing from it's slumber. We had a great couple of services again, and playing in the band is so rewarding! Later, after Nathan awoke from his daily nap, we took him to a playground. It had been a while since we had all gone to a playground together, and Nathan's excitement was evident! It is such a warm, satisfying feeling, seeing your son run around the playground equipment deliriously happy, without a care in the world! Yes, God has blessed us and life is good!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

No, that does not describe our weather, actually it's the exact opposite! This weekend we experienced record high temperatures of up to 34C, unheard of in Cleveland in October. And of course this was the weekend set aside for working in the garden...

On Saturday morning, Liesel was out of the house at 6:45am, as she went to another Kiddie's Kloset sale, and again came home with some bargains! After she came back, the 3 of us climbed into the Rendezvous and headed to Lowes (a Builder's Warehouse equivalent). We needed to buy gardening equipment, since this was our first expedition into the McCarthy's flower beds. We bought a shovel, a fork, handheld implements, gloves, hedge trimmers, pruning shears etc. This took more time than anticipated, because who would have known that there would be a variety of every single tool to choose from. I am not kidding when I tell you there were no less than 10 different styles of shovels. The phrase, "calling a spade a spade" doesn't hold the same meaning for me anymore.

So the rest of that day had me DIY'ing like an amateur! First, I had to sand down one of our exterior door frames and repaint it, since its old coat had become tattered and shabby.

After that, I had my glorious green grass to cut! The lawn is growing like one giant 150ft wide weed. I literally had perspiration dripping off the tip of my nose at 6:30pm! This is why I long for a snowfall, because then I will know, with near certainty, that the sweat from my brow will not be falling on my lawn for at least 4 months!

On Sunday, my worship team had the week off, and I got to sleep in for a change. I also had the privilege of sitting next to Liesel during the worship, which is also something I miss! After the service, we headed home, and I decided to map out our garden. Liesel and I want to overhaul our garden, as I counted 39 separate bushes planted around the house!!! Now we want to move a bunch of bushes around, but the amount of work and effort involved scares the fertilizer out of me! So if anyone wants to come visit us for a couple of weeks, I can offer free board and lodging, and the guarantee of some good workouts! Why didn't any of my friends with their own houses warn me about the amount of physical labor is required in order to maintain a house!?!?!

The weather is expected to cool down to some normal temperatures during the week, dropping 30F(17C) by Wednesday. Then the rest of the days have maximum temperatures around 11C! That's what I love about Cleveland, the weather can literally change overnight! Who knows, maybe my wish may becoming true sooner than expected!