Thursday, 24 April 2008

Skype Me!

This morning, while I was still in bed, I had the most marvellous conversation with my cousin, Jan Bezuidenhout. We chatted about the situation in Zimbabwe, about family members I hadn't seen in a while, and about his and my siblings. We have a mutual interest in golf, and I was telling him how I had recently started going to the local golf driving range, and how I picture some people's faces on the ball before giving it a resounding thwack. We had a few giggles about that!

Kinky, you're thinking! Well, the truth is that I haven't seen my cousin for a couple of years, although we were friends as children, and the man next to me in bed... Well he was snoring away. How is that possible? I had my laptop on in bed, and we were Skyping.

You can easily reach me on Skype by downloading it for free. Just click here: Download Skype. Once it's been installed, all you have to do is click on Contacts / Search for Skype users, and then type in Raenette Taljaard. I'm using the one that is called Raenette.T. You can also search for other friends or family members and add the contacts to your list. To talk to me, you will need a microphone and webcam, but you can also just 'chat', or type me a note, to which I will reply instantly. (Click on Contacts, Start Chat.) If I'm online, a green button will appear next to my name. Just click on it and start typing in the text window at the bottom. If I'm there, I'll answer soon, and the conversation can begin! Waiting to hear from you!

Thursday, 10 April 2008

(Online) retail therapy

I love shopping! Let's face it . There's nothing nicer than leaving the kids, cats and co-workers behind, jumping in my little silver Honda Logo, and zipping down to Botany Town centre to shop 'til I drop. Of course the largest part of the shopping (the part Darlingest doesn't understand) is the looking, touching, comparing part. I don't actually spend much money. (Seeing as the budget is so closely monitored by Mr. U-know-who.) But I do linger, and loiter and lust after all sorts of useful, pretty and completely useless doo-dahs. I usually end my morning's shopping by settling myself comfortably at one of the little bustling coffee shops (called cafes here). I order my trim Flat White - like a cappucino, but milkier, and my fat-free, cheese-free toasted pannini. Like a cheshire cat, I sit and muse over my day's purchases.

The shopping I don't like, is grocery shopping. Lately I've found the most wonderful service. For a $7 delivery fee, I can have my groceries delivered at my door! Every Thursday I perch myself on my bed, laptop on my lap, and shop in the comfort of my bedroom. Pictures of the products appear on screen, with prices (and the specials are in red), and I just 'Add' away at the products I want. The running total is shown, so no going over the budget. (Dearest likes this feature!) On Friday evenings, instead of rushing to town after a hectic week, I now know that at 6pm sharp the friendly delivery man will be knocking at the door with my groceries beautifully packed. The best part of this is the promotional products that are popped in amongst the groceries. For Free!

The last gift was a small fridge shopping list. The kids love it. This week's input from the family read:
- toothbrush for Rae - and Impulse
- chocolates - Paul
-
socks - Dalla (His brother has been wearing his in the house, and they are now full of holes.)
- undies - Niel (This I'll do in person - and not leave to the online shopper!)
- cat food (we have a new kitten, and two big cats.)
- diswashing liquid.

The list may not be the most profound reading, but it pretty much reflects life on the home front!

Sunday, 6 April 2008

Home and Away


It's been more than two years since we decided we had had enough of the constant crime, lack of job opportunities and general unsavoury conditions back home. Our logical choice for a new home was New Zealand, as Paul was born here. Within months we had resigned from our jobs, sold furniture, packed our bags and here we are.


Here are the twins on arrival
at the airport, surrounded by
our worldly belongings
-all 7 suitcases of them!


It has not always been easy. Like many others we started with a couple of plastic chairs, borrowed mattresses and a hastily bought second-hand station wagon.

The first shopping expedition was both overwhelming and exciting. I remember standing in the bread aisle at Pack & Save, totally lost as to which bread was the best to buy. I bought a tin of Nescafe for $20, thinking it was a bargain, and later realising that I had made a conversion error (we were still buying with our precious few Rands) and that it was equivalent to the price of about 6 tins of Riccoffy back home. That tin of coffee lasted for ages - we were too stingy to use it!

Life in New Zealand is very different from that in South Africa. The greatest difference is the lack of crime. The annual crime statistics have just been released, and there have been 46 murders in the past year - in the entire country! I can live with that!