Tiah Beautement's Blog, page 159

Hey - I was impressed!

It is a beautiful day in our drought plagued area and the entire family began the morning by stuffing themselves full of Husband's American style pancakes. I can't believe how many my kids ate. They out ate their parents, and that takes work. My daughter's belly was tighter than a pregnant woman two-weeks past her due date. It was amazing, but in the process we missed church. Oops. So we went out and celebrated God's glory at the beach, as one does. It was lovely. We may be headed into winter...

Mom? Dad?

You may want to clean up the guest room. Of course, you don't live near an embassy, and this could prove problematic. Go to England - but then what do I do with the kids? I was kidding when I said I'd leave the kids. Will they let me leave with the kids on a one way ticket? Or do I buy a return? There was no Moses. I could not get a straight answer when Moses will be back at work. The man "in charge" does "not work here" normally. He and I did not get along. Not on...

Off to see Moses

May my attempts to extend my current visa go well, since the application for residency seems to be going as well as the ANC's boggled attempts at Land Redistribution. I'll update later....

Quote of the day...

Look, if you have to, ask me about crime statistics, and I'll be happy to oblige. Last year: an average of three murders an hour, a rape every twelve minutes (or, considering that only one out of every thirty-five is reported, one every twenty seconds), an armed robbery every five minutes, a case of child abuse every ten minutes (but of course even fewer of these are reported than rapes), and this happens twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, right? As Alan Paton...

Edit!!!!!

I am error prone. You already know I can't spell. My grammar is only marginally better. The fact that the English speaking populace cannot, amongst themselves, agree on the rules of both spelling and grammar only adds to my hapless state. I am like this in everything. If life was like juggling, I'd drop the purple ball, finally manage to keep it going, only to start dropping the blue. Always. In high school I always had one B on my report card. Always one. It was never in the same subject. I'...

Kindle! iPad! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Publishing is big business for everybody but the writer who gets crumbs. But that doesn't mean we can't all enjoy a good fight. An excellent overview of the latest battles you know about, and the ones that you may not, and why you may want to give a damn: Amazon, eBooks and the iPad (Yes, I've linked you to a South African book site - broaden your horizons.) As to my own stance re: Kindle vs iPad - I'm not buying either. And it isn't just because I prefer a book with real pages. There are tim...

What Poets Need

What Poets Need, by Finuala Dowling USA, UK, RSA I am having a wee bit of a love affair with Ms Dowling. I savour her books as if I am eating a sophisticated dessert (yes, I had to look that up to make sure I was talking about after dinner and not the Kalahari). I love how she toys with language, yet gives a beautifully simplistic story line that is quietly compelling. I simply adore her. I read this book while sitting on a garden stoop in Knysna while drinking wine and eating lovely cheese. ...

I spy

You know the drill: "I spy with my little eye something that begins with..." Six hours people. Six hours. That's our time to kill on the road on the way to Nana and Granddad's house. 40min into it and, "ELEPHANTS!" Nobody looked. Nobody believed me. I pointed and shouted again, "ELEPHANTS!" They were still dubious. I know we live in Africa. I know. But all those stories of people living in little huts with lions wandering around - not so much. To be fair, we were driving past a game park. But...

How's the...

How's the Xhosa coming? So interesting you asked that question. The truth is, it isn't. Nor is the Afrikaans in the last few weeks. Although the Xhosa is a far more interesting story. You see, my order finally arrived and I rushed to the post office to obtain... a CD. No book. It is a kit. But apparently there is an option to only buy the CD and no book, and I clicked on it. I hear you applauding my idiocy. Many thanks. Yes, they let me return it. But by then, they had run out of the kit. I...

Book: The Impostor

The Impostor, by Damon Galgut - USA, UK , RSA A deceivingly simple tale which has much to say about the modern progress of South Africa. If you are a reader that must like your main characters, then this is probably not the book for you. However, if you are a big fan of The Great Gatsby, then you are probably the ideal reader so give it a whirl. And just for fun, a link to a short interview with Damon Galgut.