I was getting worried here

what with all the rain since Monday night I was starting to think we would be having a replay of 1988 when we had major flooding here in the Free State... turns out that there has been some flooding plus the fact that most harvesting has come to a slushy stop!
Here are two galleries of flood pics on the local newspaper site and the story of one flooded farmer.
I must say that I was following the storm on Oom Koos's site and he has some pics too! The satellite images were quite dramatic! Today it shows most of the system out over the Indian Ocean.

Amazing what tools we have today but still we are impotent at the power of nature, all we can doe is trust in God.
"The hurricane flooded me out of a lot of memorabilia, but it can't flood out the memories."
Tom Dempsey

Secrets and lies

Well the only lie is that there are no lies in this posting (that is oxymoronic) but the title just sounded good. Sometimes when one picks up a book in a bookstore you just know that you have to have it, so it was this evening on my way home. I stopped off at the Mall to get some Steers burgers and while waiting I popped in to Exclusive Books... saw that the new PopMech mag was out and then I saw the book... it lay beckoning... waiting to be opened and skimmed through... it had weight, far more than a book that size should have, like it contained a secret treasure waiting to be discovered... was it worth buying? Only time will tell if the secret of The Secret is revealed, so tonight it is me with the three B's... ummm no not Beer/Blonde/Book... but Book/Book/Bottle, hot water bottle that is plus my very own copy of Race to Dakar. The inspiration for my Big Dream , plus 3 cats as well... it is chilly and they usually come and pin me down on cold nights, not that I mind, having 3 living hot water bottles has it's advantages on crisp nights like tonight... Must try and get Long way Round as well...
L has been laid low by the winter bugs... so far I seem ummune and I ask for it to stay so each day, I hate having a cold or the flu, I would rather wrestle with a pack of wild boars thanks! I hope the meds start working soon, so glad she enjoyed the burger, I take that as a good sign. Gotta make some salad again tomorrow with plenty of sweet peppers, they have more Vit. C than citrus, especially the red or yellow ones...
Yesterday I also revealed a secret of sorts, albeit with much trepidation but in so doing got an answer that I had already known but having it confirmed today made me realise that by communicating with my whole being and with all tools available life becomes so much easier, both for myself and people I care deeply about. Looking back I can see I have made some progress in this thing called communication, something us men find so hard to do, we would rather go out "Hunting". More about that metaphor one day maybe, KatieB laid it out so well for me. Now where is that bow and arrow?
I just hope my communication tomorrow with the powers that be at MSA bear the same fruit.
This all reminds me of this song from yesteryear... 1983 in fact.

Talking In Your Sleep - Romantics
(Jimmy Marinos/Wally Palmar/Mike Skill/Coz Canler/Peter Solley)
When you close your eyes and go to sleep
And it's down to the sound of a heartbeat
I can hear the things that you're dreaming about
When you open up your heart and the truth comes out
CHORUS
You tell me that you want me
You tell me that you need me
You tell me that you love me
And I know that I'm right
Cuz I hear it in the night
I hear the secrets that you keep
When you're talking in your sleep
When I hold you in my arms at night
Don't you know you're sleeping in a spotlight
And all your dreams that you keep inside
You're telling me the secrets that you just can't hide
CHORUS
When you close your eyes and you fall asleep
Everything about you is a mystery
CHORUS

KatieB will appreciate the quote and yes, I am learning to tame the storm in my heart with sunscreen for my soul... communication, I really enjoyed our conversation this evening, there is an adventure in each one we have. No more Tsunamis for now... just a gentle brook running over pebbles, the water of communication gently shaping them as they rub against each other. Did I just write that? I think that is a keeper...
"The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart." Saint Jerome (374 AD - 419 AD)
PS - Very wierd... can only put 200 characters in the labels field... have I got too many labels now?

No mercy for the lonely

Woke up humming "Missing" by No Mercy and for the first time I had an urgent need to get home, I miss my kids and cats but I miss something else as well.
The Yatclub... a highly recommended establishment for weary travelers. This was taken as I digested a breakfast of note... I had my own mini loaf of freshly baked bread and the most delicious omelet made by the host Des.
The tranquility of the dam at the Yatclub, now I saw why Des said he changed the name to Yatclub... this stretch of the Grobbelaars's river is scarcely big enough to float a canoe.
These clouds made up my mind that I needed a warm mug of coffee... back in Bloem preferably!
One went before me... So I am not the only crazy biker out in the freezing cold... making wee breaks to errrr strech the legs... cold weather and 3 cups of strong coffee do not help the miles go by.
The desolation of Karroo vistas... my heart is sometimes as hungry as these vast places... I am craving someone to share my dreams with again and somone has been texting me a few times this trip that I feel may just be the one to share with. I may be wrong...
Last picture of the trip as I stood freezing on the Lootsberg pass... there was even more snow around the corner! From here we had crosswinds, headwinds, tailwinds, a few drops of sleet and a conviction that something needed to be done...
Reaching Middelburg I decided to brave the wind and try for Colesberg, maybe staying overnight. When I saw the distance between Colesberg and Bloem I sent a text request for sustenance... ETA 7 pm it is. I think this is when the little arrow took effect. The rest of the day is history and engraved in my heart forever... Tomorrow is bright with possibility.
"Sometimes I think we're alone. Sometimes I think we're not. In either case, the thought is staggering." R. Buckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983)
Day 12 of 12 Days with Shrek

Ronnie's What?

Morning breaks while I wait to be picked up to get reunited with the Beast.
Life sprouting from decay and the circle continues... I made it to Century City and The Canal Walk shopping centre, signposting for the canal Walk was rather obscure though but after using some logic I figured out was going on, just sorry I took no pictures though. Got to Mug&Bean easily as I had parked right at the entrance it was at. Met H as well as our Union Rep! She was also visiting her kids in the Cape... H seems quite happy but we did not get much chance to talk... L was shopping! and only arrived after a while, she is having a ball with mom and I am glad they could be together again. Finished up mu brunch for the road and we said our goodbyes... I want to get home... somehow the song Missing is ringing in my head as I head north up the N1 to Worcester and the turnoff to Route 62...
The valley where my and M's favourite sauce is made! This is also the Koo valley that Route 62 goes through. Scenic beyond description.
Someone else doing Route 62 in a V12 Jaguar... fellow seekers of the highway's treasures...
A stiff breeze blows as I dismount at the den of iniquity that I had heard and read about... but do not judge a book by it's name.
The best bouncer in the Klein Karoo, if he growls at you, you are asked politely that your presence has offended the bouncer and that you had better be on your way... he never growled once while I was there...
Ronnie tending to his patrons needs, I wish I had more time to spend and hear about all the stories this interesting man has to tell... I will be back!
The road from here to Oudsthoorn was very good and had some good twisties especially outside Calitzdorp, fortunately it only got dark as I approached Oudtshoorn... I found the Yatclub that Ronnie had recomended very easily and they made me feel very welcome... I walked up the street to the Dros and had supper while watching the Sharks trounce WP... as I walked back Missing played in my head again...
Day 11 of 12 Days with Shrek

Wet, wet, wet

The front is here...
Getting some breakfast in Kleinmond
Wall of cloud rolling in over the mountains... this is gonna be wet!
Time to suit up and hope hope that the tires are also good in the wet.

Day 5 of 12 Days with Shrek

Freezing Curtain

This was taken just outside town in Bainsvlei earlier this week and it is still cold! The weatherman expects it to remain so until after the weekend as well. Records for low temperatures have been broken all over the country, so much for Global Warming! But this amazing time lapse of an Orange Sun Oozing will hopefully warm you up after that chilly curtain.
The chilly weather made me come up with this freezing playlist for the Screaming Tangerines although Orange Sun Oozing would also make a good title for some warm songs...
So I call my playlist Freezing Curtain;
26 tracks in playlist, average track length: 4:02
Estimated playlist length: 1 hour 45 minutes 9 seconds

1. The White Stripes - In the cold cold night (2:58)
2. Matchbox 20 - Cold (3:15)
3. Gregorian - Out of the cold (3:48)
4. Arnold Palmer Vs. Moti Special - Cold Days (2-4 Grooves Remix Edit) (3:29)
5. Brainstorm - Colder (3:50)
6. Breaking benjamin -So cold (4:33)
7. Bush - Coldcontagious (5:55)
8. Def Leppard - Blood Runs Cold (4:26)
9. Foo Fighters - Cold Day In The Sun (3:20)
10. Metallica - The Ecstasy Of Cold (2:30) Update - The Ecstasy of Gold (thanks Steve!)
11. Metallica - Stone Cold Crazy (2:16)
12. No Angels - Cold as Ice (4:06)
13. Travis - Colder (4:07)
14. York ft. Angelina - Iceflowers (7:08)
15. Hooverphonic - Frosted flake wood (3:17)
16. Jennifer Rush - Ring of ice (3:45)
17. Metallica - Trapped Under Ice (4:04)
18. Milla Jovovich - Beat on ice (3:57)
19. The Darkness - Love on the Rocks With No Ice (6:07)
20. Joe dolan - Frozen rivers
21. Madonna - Frozen
22. Velvet girl - Velvet chiller twist rmx
23. Cliff Richard - Snowfall on the sahara.mp3
24. Enigma ft Angun - Snow of the sahara
25. Evanescence - Snow white queen
26. Sytem of a down - snowblind
I never knew Metallica was so cold fixated though? Steve pointed out that one of the titles was ermmm... wrong and not cold but gold related. Blame today's kids and textspeak! I should check the CD before committing to rip...
For the lyrics of the day I have chosen Ring of Ice sung by Jennifer Rush...

Ring Of Ice

We lay awake silent in the dark.
You don't have to hide the trace
emptyness left it's mark.
Ring of ice
ring of ice 'round your heart.
Ring of ice
ring of ice break apart.
We are lonely people wearin' a ring of ice
Dancin' in the night
tryin' to disguise all the lies behind.
Countless empty lies wearing a ring of ice.
I walk alone searchin' for a sign
Someoneelse must be alive with warmth behind their eyes.
Ring of ice
ring of ice 'round your heart. . . .
All the lonely people wearing a ring of ice
. . .
All the lonely people wearin' a ring of ice
Dancin' in the night
tryin' to disguise
All the lies behind surrounded by a ring of ice.
Dancin' in the night
tryin' to disguise
All the lies behind surrounded by a ring of ice.
Dancin' in the night
tryin' to disguise . ..
Dancin' in the night
tryin' to disguise . . .

"Time for the weather report. It's cold out folks. Bone crushing cold. The kind of cold which will wrench the spirit out of a young man, or forge it into steel." Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Lost and Found, 1992