2002 was probably the year with the most emotional turbulence that I have had to endure. I am glad it is just about over. And at the same time, I don't want to leave it behind.
Silly? Perhaps.
There is something about knowing that the beginning of this year still had Huffies and Litts in it.
That there was still hope that my eldest brother and I could salvage our relationship and at least have a more civil sibling relationship with each other.
All of that has come to an end.
2003 starts without Huffies and Litts and any chance of my brother and I reconciling our differences.
One day I will be able to talk about intensely personal stuff in this blog.
Today is not the day.
I am off to get totally smashed. I will be back tomorrow to wish everyone a happy 2003.
In the end, tomorrow will just be another day in a very, very long string of days.
LITTS
HUFFIES
429
Monday, 30 December 2002
I am not looking forward to the end of this year, but more about that tomorrow.
Today. Today we went to a restaurant on the West Coast, at the edge of the sea. I have been dying to go to Die Strandloper (The Beach Walker) for years now and when the opportunity came up to go along with a friend, we could not turn it down.
The restaurant is literally on the beach and all food is caught fresh. Very simple, very rustic. Mussel shells are the cutlery. No knives, forks or spoons in sight. Also no electricity. The simple life.
I am adding some pics that I took there today - the lunchtime event took the whole afternoon. I think the pictures speak for themselves ....
Mussels
Crayfish
Breads
Yeah, well ..
Jonathan Livingstons
Coffee cups
The kitties would've had such fun here!
******
And then a VERY, VERY big thank you to both Shelley and Jeneane, who between them helped me to sort out my hosting problems. Shelley has made a very kind offer and I am incredibly grateful.
428
Sunday, 29 December 2002
Okay, will everyone who trashed this place please come back and help me clean this mess up? The bloody mary in the comments is getting really sticky and there is a smell in here that I cannot get rid of.
Is that Dylan on the turntable? Who brought that in here?
Gary, Gary, GARY!! Wake up, you have responsibilities now! I hear a baby crying.
Mike and Gerhard, those are flavoured vodkas, put them down!
MJ, Meg. Enough. Get out from under the table and give Terreus his weed back before there is another fight.
*SIRENS*SIRENS*SIRENS*
Those must be the Netfirms police on their way here. Pretend to look busy!
427
Saturday, 28 December 2002
You have walked into FARRAGO's annual bash.
Sit down and chat to the other guests.
Or get up and move to the music.
Drinks and snacks are served. Condiments are in the fridges.
426 (Don't spill drinks in the comments, please.)
******
Up and out quite early this morning. Chutney was walking with a bad limp and favouring the left back leg quite a bit yesterday afternoon and last night. Time for another visit to the vet. (They both got their kitty shots two weeks ago.) Fortunately there is not too much to report. Just a few bruises and some sore muscles. After the anti-inflammatory injection, she is already running around and climbing trees again.
Just dandy-legged after the visit to the vet.
425
Friday, 27 December 2002
This site has been down for the last 24 hours. After a lot of begging and pleading, I finally got the following message:
"Hello
You can find the limits on free hosting under our terms of service here: http://www.netfirms.com/terms
Bandwidth. Bandwidth. USER agrees to be bound by the following restrictions pertaining to allowable bandwidth data transfer on a per-month basis;
a. In the instance of the NETFIRMS FREE HOSTING PLANT, 1 giga-byte (GB) per month, with a maximum limit of 56 megabytes (MB) per day;
If you require any further assistance , please feel free to e mail back
Thank you,
Linda
E-Service Specialist
Netfirms Support "
Yes, yes, yes, blah, blah, blah, sometime in the new year, when I can afford it. This is the first time this has happened to this site. Not much traffic here, generally.
... and can one grow hosting plants?
******
And then there are people like Jeneane Sessum. Heck, Jeneane offered me space on her blog until the problem was resolved. Sharing blog space is equal to sharing sacred space. You gotta love them bloggers. Thanks Jeneane.
There are two things about Johannesburg that I really miss. Thunder and lightning.
Yesterday mother nature decided to treat us to one of the most spectacular thunder and lightning shows I have seen in Cape Town. And for an encore, she provided this sunset:
Sunset in Sea Point.
No tricks, no digital shenanigans, no kidding.
420
Saturday, 21 December 2002
I am not out shopping and I don't intend seeing the inside of a shop until mid-January 2003.
It is all really quite crazy out there in the real world. To add to Thursday's list - there is also no parking available.
For now I will remain safely locked up here in this fuzzy ol' familiar virtual world.
A big hug to all the webpages out there!
419
Thursday, 19 December 2002
'tis the season to be really cranky.
Too hot. Too many people. Prices too high. Family members full of incoherence.
Bring on February!
418
Wednesday, 18 December 2002
Do you see the new FLIGHTLESS FARRAGO banner up there? Well, click on it!
3 Tbs (45 ml) powdered (confectioner's) sugar sifted with
1 Tbs (15 ml) cornstarch (cornflour)
Combine the sugar and 1 cup (250 ml) water in a saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Stir the gelatin into the remaining water in a small saucepan over low heat until dissolved. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil and cook uncovered until it reaches 260F (127C). Stir the cream of tartar into the gelatin mixture, then add to the sugar mixture and stir to combine. Remove from the heat. Add the rose water and one or two drops of food coloring to make the mixture pale pink in color. Pour into two square 8-inch (20 cm) pans and allow to sit at room temperature for several hours or overnight. Dip the bottoms of the pans into warm water to loosen the gelatin and invert onto waxed paper dusted with a little of the powdered sugar mixture. Cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) squares with an oiled knife and toss in the powdered sugar mixture to coat evenly. Makes about 1 pound (450g).
******
ADVICE: Never put marshmallows in a microwave.
******
FOR EVERY PROBLEM ...
... THERE IS A SOLUTION!
415
Saturday, 14 December 2002
Phew! Made it through Friday the 13th without any mishaps.
And now, I present to you, one of the nicest gifts I have ever received from anyone - scanned here for your enjoyment. (I have the original photograph.)
There you go, a neatly packed blog post. Now just unpack it very carefully and in the same order that it was packed. It is a good post, I swear!
Enjoy.
408
Friday, 6 December 2002
The view from our table at Strega this afternoon, very carefully avoided in this promo photo. And today was hotter than yesterday. Argh!
407
Thursday. 5 December 2002
Too hot to blog, even the kittens are suffering.
It is 36 degrees Celsius out there ....
I have not found the blue moon yet, but I did find something else that is blue and that goes down perfectly well in this weather.
SUMMER IN CAPE TOWN
406
Wednesday, 4 December 2002
In Cape Town the eclipse was a big no-show, non-event.
Well, almost.
On 21 June 2001 we were able to see a partial eclipse (50%) in Cape Town. I don't know why I expected this one to be any different. Perhaps because in the northern regions of South Africa a total eclipse was visible and people travelled from far to go and see what you can see any time you like by switching the lights off. Ahem!
Personally I think it is far more fun to pack a picnic basket and watch the total eclipse of the moon. You don't need to walk around wearing lunatic-fringe glasses in an outfit that, no matter WHAT you do, just doesn't match!
TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE in morning from Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, but partial over most of SA except far northeastern tip max at:
OCCURS:
TYPE:
PERCENT:
Johannesburg 08:25
Partial
87
Cape Town 08:30
Partial
58
Durban 08:35
Partial
84
Guess I'll have to sit at work in partial darkness tomorrow morning then.
A partial eclipse of the heart ..... lalalalaaaaa ......
(Seems things have gone haywire here, just pretend that you have not noticed.)
404
Monday, 2 December 2002
Bah, after a hard drive nuke and a Windows 2000 reinstall ... basically starting all over again, it seems as if I am up and running on this 'puter again.
And nobody even said they missed me. Or noticed that I wasn't here much.
*SIGH*
403
FARRAGO: n. (pl. -s or US -es) medley, hotchpotch.
