Chilling

Its official I am now going to get an "I am a SURVIVOR!" t-shirt.

30 December 2012 and I am still here.  I survived 1998, Y2K and now 21 December 2012.

My holiday to date has been splendiforous.

We spent a day with Michael's brother and his wife driving through a small game reserve.  Unlike the Kruger Park, the animals do not roam completely free.  The lions do not hunt and are fed.  As you can see in the photo below, many people drive to the feed area to watch feed time.  Michael said that it would be very funny if we went to a restaurant afterwards and hoards of lions came and stared through the restaurant window at us.

My Jessie returned from her Cape Town holiday

On our way to Durban for our holiday

Yes we took the Chihuahuas with us.

 One of my favourite places to be: on the beach.

Dylan, Raewyn's boyfriend with their four-legged baby Midnight .

We had our own cheesy Hollywood style Christmas miracle.  Sayaka arrived on the 23 to be with us for Christmas alas minus her luggage.

She called the airport the morning of the 24th and handed the phone over to me.  I spoke to the guy gave him the address and he said that the luggage would be flown from Johannesburg to Durban and be delivered that evening.

4pm Sayaka called the airport to find out where her luggage was.  Again she handed me the phone.  I was told that the luggage was still in Johannesburg because they did not have a forwarding address or contact numbers (Sayaka even filled in a form with our contact numbers)

I told her that in the morning the guy I spoke to took down all our details, I quite rightly referred to him as an idiot.  She put the phone down on me.  When I called again she said I must stop swearing, I asked her that what swearing she was referring to she then said I had no right to call her colleague an idiot.  I was very amused at this stage.  I asked her how he could not be an idiot seeing that he took down all our detail and managed to lose it.  She put down on me again. I saw on their advertising that Kenyan Airlines call themselves the pride of Africa.  When I called again I said,

"I see you refer to yourselves as the 'pride of Africa' what pride are you?"  She put down on me again.

I called again and asked for her name.  She refused to give me her name then the conversation went like this:

Me:

"Well I am going to call you Dotty seeing you will not give me a name.  Now Dotty lets leave the idiot thing behind us.  We have now established that the luggage is still in Johannesburg is that correct?"

Dotty:

"Yes"

Me:

"Alright this is the address xxxxx these are our telephone numbers xxxxx.  Read that information back to me please Dotty."

Dotty:

"xxxxxxx and xxxxxx"

Me:

"So you say the luggage will be delivered tomorrow.  This poor child will have to make do with no clean underwear or pjamas.  Her medication is in that bag which she needs urgently.  (partly true Sayaka had flu and her meds were in the bag) The presents that she bought with for Christmas day are also in that bag.  Anyway Dotty I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and you think about what Sayaka has to go through on Christmas and you perhaps learn a little more compassion."


Two hours later they delivered Sayaka's luggage to Raewyn and Dylan's home so we had our Christmas miracle.

We had a lovely Christmas day.  Michael sister and husband and our nieces Simone, Teagan and Teagan's boyfriend Bradley came to Raewyn and Dylan's house.  We had a braai, ate and drank way too much and sat till late that night chatting. I was having too much fun and forgot to take photos.

Two days before leaving Durban we spent the day on the beach.  Sayaka could not join us because she had to work on an assignment for university.   Jess, Dylan, Mark and I burned like tomatoes, Michael sat in the shade most of the time and was gloating that evening as he usually is the one that burns badly.

We slept on the floor on air mattresses at Raewyn's house I don't miss sleeping on the air mattress.

Raewyn and Sayaka at Raewyn's work.  We ate yummy sushi mmmm.