The Good, the Bad, and the Bewitching

Hola everyone - the past three weeks have been up and down and hectic and chaotic and just all around seriously messy.

We started construction at the farm. BDC finally finished all of their due diligence and began the extensive draw-down process, starting with organizing payment to GEA in Germany / South Africa, the company that is building our rotary milking parlour. So, yeah! Progress!

Because of Cyclone Dineo, our roads were in desperate need of repair, and so Phil got started with that campaign right away. And, the surveyor came to begin mapping out the parlour site. There is so much work to be done. It seems like we were waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, and then wham! in to warp speed.

At the same time this was happening, Phil's mother was becoming seriously ill. Her health had not been good, and Tina (Phil's sister) had been taking her to different doctors and clinics and hospitals in Zimbabwe hoping to find a diagnosis and cure to no avail. There are six brothers & sisters in Phil's family, three in Zim (Tina, Petros, Taka); a sister (Precious) in Austin, Texas; a brother (Percy) in Scotland. A decision was made to bring Mama Matibe to Johannesburg in South Africa. According to Tina's research, the Donald Gordon Medical Center was the best place in southern Africa for treatment. A brief doctor's appointment led to immediate hospitalization and further testing.

We had a small car that we left for Tina to use to go to the hospital daily; she stayed with a cousin in a suburb of Johannesburg. Meanwhile, we traveled back and forth from South Africa to Botswana.
Not without incident:

This was the flat on the Touareg that Phil experienced, while we were traveling in the smaller Toyota Allex, the car Tina was going to use for transportation.

Until, it was stolen from the hospital parking lot. The kind of parking lot where there are security guards that roam around making sure this kind of thing doesn't happen. The kind of parking lot where you have to have a parking slip and pay to leave. The kind of parking lot that is smallish and seemingly safe. Unless you drive one of the most popular cars in South Africa to be stolen, and you have foreign license plates (Botswana). The police were not optimistic. It would either be broken down for parts immediately, or the thieves would try and cross a border on their way to Zimbabwe. So, no car for Tina to run back and forth to the hospital in, thankfully, she was able to use Uber, and rely on friends for transportation.

A few months ago, Tina experienced a serious bout with breast cancer. I was fortunate enough to meet her supporters in a women's cancer survivor group, we had dinner together on one of the nights Phil and I were in SA. Amazing, beautiful, strong women!

While at home, in between the farm and the house, our hot water heater (geyser, that's what they call them here - pronounced like geezer) went on the fritz. It wasn't heating the water properly. So we had a plumber and some of our farm workers come to the house to replace and repair it. The same night they replaced it, it exploded itself off the mount and crashed to the ground. Scared the crap out of me. We did manage to get it fixed - again.

And then, we had something really shitty happen at home.The little kitty cat we had adopted from the shelter decided to crawl out an open window. Something he had never ventured to try before, and JD - the big Rhodesian Ridgeback got a hold of him. By the time I went running out of the house to rescue poor Tiger, JD had him on his back. I grabbed the kitty and threw him inside the window, he was all slobbered up from JD and dirty - but I couldn't see any blood. I quickly washed him in warm water and wrapped him in a big sheet to dry him off. Then, he died. I know! Internal injuries? Shock? Heart attack? Probably a bit of all of the above. The other cat went out the window one day and managed to hide under the car, while the dogs went crazy trying to find him. He hasn't gone outside since. The other dogs have come inside the house and not paid any attention to the cats. But JD - eish. Keeping in mind Rhodesian Ridgebacks were bred to corner and kill lions. They don't give a crap about birds, but a cat? R.I.P. Tiger, we hardly knew ye.

So, Mama Matibe hospitalized, flat tires, stolen car, dead kitty, and construction at the farm. Along the way, we found a few bright spots. This is something South Africa is famous for - biltong. This particular find was in a small town called Ventersdorp, where they speak only Afrikaans.

The view from our hotel in downtown Johannesburg was outstanding! As well as the food. That mountain on my plate is actually a hamburger. And no, I could not eat it all!

And, Mama Matibe was released from the hospital. She and Tina are staying with us in Botswana for a while. Nurse Lebo saying good-bye.

Setting up the oxygen tank in the hotel room before we left for Botswana the next morning.

Because it is an electrical contraption, we bought an inverter for the car hoping to plug it in for the drive home. It didn't work. I think the machine needed more volts than the inverter could handle - we even stopped along the way to try and hook it up directly to the battery of the car. Still not enough power. We found a nice big service station where they kindly directed us to an electrical outlet where we juiced Mama Matibe before the last leg to Botswana. This friendly South African guy was more than happy to give us a hand with the power!

Once home, we got Mama Matibe settled, and Tina made a lovely dinner.

Sitting around drinking wine last night, Tina and I got to laughing  - I have an oddball assortment of just stuff I find laying around. Like skeletons, rocks, shells, etc. The conversation went something like this:
Tina: Hahaha, people might think you're into witchcraft (which can be found in southern Africa in certain pockets of society).
Me: Really?
Both of us looking around at the weird collections I have gathered.
Fits of giggles ensue.

The cow skull Phil found at the manganese mine, and a tortoise shell he found on the farm. Creepy? Not at all!

Various rocks that I think are pretty. Hahaha. That just sounds stupid! LOL pretty rocks.

Shells from Cape Town in South Africa.

Sage for "smudging" that I gathered at the farm.

 Giant snail shells from Mozambique.

A pestle thingy.

More sage. It can also be used for "bush tea" when you're not feeling well. You might recognize this term - bush tea - if you're a fan of "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" books.

Some rose petals from a bouquet of flowers Phil gave me and another rock I found.

This isn't witchy, but a lovely porcelain basin I found at a store here in Lobatse called "Trans". It was six dollars. WHAT!?! I know. CRAZY.

Shots of more tire shops that I've been in than I care to remember.

Precious - this one has your name all over it!!

Great press today!

That's a wrap for the last three weeks of crazy. Miss you all.

Love, Karen