Happiness... is a warm gun...

Blogs... great for keeping track of people without the effort - or when contacting them can prove difficult... (case in point ElderBrother... what country are you in this week? http://boomingback.blogspot.com) Little windows into the lives of your nearest and dearest, or a nice way to catch up with friends who you may not see very often.

I've always been slightly reticent to post very personal information, feelings, thoughts etc. as this is the interweb and it open to all, some blogs I've read have alienated me completely from the authors - people I mingled with in 'real' life but now can't help but avoid because I find their opinions so abhorrent-can you really say to someone "sorry but I can't bring myself to spend time with you because your 'web-views' are so... oh I get a little angry just thinking about it" I haven't been able to yet.

Lately though, a few beautiful crafted and very touching blogs have inspired me and so I thought to resurrect this one, perhaps I won't reach the 'feelings' stage but at least it might give those around me a better idea of what I'm up to.

First amongst these is Cathal's Big Adventure http://cathals-adventure.blogspot.com/ where Cathal's mammy keeps us posted on the super-villain-in-training's experiences and his parents. This blog is fantastically written (kudos Cathal's Mammy!) and gives a real feeling of involvement to those of us who can't be there (though should make more of an effort-sorry)

In a recent post Cathal's Mammy was challenged to come up with 6 things that make her happy and that got me to thinking - what makes me happy? Here's a rough and ready list (I really should be working)

1. TBF (Mr Rock'n'Roll/ Mr. Me) It's been a roller-coaster year - between tying the knot in February, though the financial doldrums of the Credit Crunch, ongoing medical mysteries and mini-dramas but like Cathal's daddy for Cathal's Mammy, he is my rock. This past 18 months or so I have tried even harder to be his as he goes through various stresses (family swaps anyone?) and can only hope that I have achieved this.
The past seven and a half years have been wonderful and I wouldn't have changed a moment of it - even the bad stuff - because without that we wouldn't know how good we have it most of the time.

2. My siblings - after spending a heady couple of weekends in London with Mr&Mrs Younger Sister especially, and every day I check to see what Elder Brother is up to and this maintains for me a feeling of closeness that counteracts the time that's passed since I saw himself and the VeryUnderstandGirlfriend. Distance and timing (different cities, different countries) forces us apart and I wish we could all spend more time together but as seen at the poultry party (hen night) and at our wedding - as soon as we are together again, it's like we were never apart.

3. Our cats. Though there has been some changes lately to the cast of "our Cats" we have settled on a final two and two better cat friends you could not hope to meet. Genevieve and Charles the Second - though not fond of each other (yet, it's early days) welcome us home with their purrs and are wonderful company - they take the empty feeling from the house on the long evenings that TBF is out gigging or practicing and are more than enough to stop this blogger feeling lonely and self-pitying (most of the time)

4. My home - though this makes me unhappy in equal measure! Mostly do to it's incomplete state. Still, progress is being made and every little job we do brings us one step closer to having the house we want.

5. Eating out - a simple pleasure we haven't been able to enjoy enough since Credit Crunch(tm) and operation PayOffWedding began. Our twice weekly pleasure is now a twice quarterly treat but with a little planning we may be able to improve these numbers slightly.

It's not just about the food or the wine, though these are large elements of it of course. It's not just about the different atmosphere in our favorite restaurants - one for each mood (our all time favorite of course is L'Atmosphere but we're also partial to a little Cafe Goa or Bodega - we've a lot of food love to give, we like to spread it around *grin*) It's not about the service, or the not having to wash up - again added bonuses but more than that - it's about undiluted couple-time. It's like time slows, all outside conversation dulls to a murmur and there's nothing in the world but you and the person you love lit by candle light.

It's a time to rediscover this wonderful person that you fell in love with many moons ago. It's a time for catching up, for making friends again, for talking about the things that in other settings would spark... snips (not rows - more narks at each other) but that in this comfortable neutral zone can be discussed with patience and understanding.

6. "The Little Things" you can't beat the little things, they are the hundred little life-jackets that keep our heads above water every day. The little habits formed that leave you a little empty if they're missed. The overly romantic text message every morning to help kick start the day, a whispered 'good-night' every night without fail, tidy-up time (thanks Lucy for this one) those last moments before bed when you put the day to rest. *sigh* I'm smiling just thinking about these.

This is a start I suppose - thanks for that Cathal's Mammy - it's a nice thing to stop and think about what makes you happy - makes you realise how much good stuff there is in your life!

Happy Now.

xxK

This could be heaven...for everyone...

We've settled in our final home for this trip, off now for our first wine tasting. Then we find our about our spa treatments before dinner and tomorrow we check out the world's biggest hedge maze, we plan to get at least partially lost inside with a bottle of the estate's finest. Bliss. We're at www.rosendalwinery.co.za go on, get jealous! X x x x x x

Ch...ch...ch...changes...

Here we see the lesser stressed tbf. Less common than his super stressed alter ego, the lesser stressed tbf can be found enjoying veggie breakfasts, little lie ins and thinks 'you know what? A little rain today in really nice.' Awesome. X k

Lazing on a sunny afternoon...

Today we're mostly relaxing, we took a walk down to the Victoria and Albert waterfront and are lazing in Paulner Brauhaus drinking their brewed on site pilsner. Cape Town is especially wonderful because no matter if you are in a Cuban bar drinking jugs of mojitos, In a german car drinking pils or in a Closa bar drinking big bottles of castle, every place is touched with Africa and yet feels so like home too. I love this place. Tomorrow it's back on the tourist trail up table mountain... The only down side of the trip so far, the tours of robben island are booked up weeks in advance. Next time. And there will be a next time.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....

Me jumping off storm river bridge. Better photos soon x k

P-p-p-p-pick up a penguin!

If only i could pop one in my suit case! Penguins are one of those wonderful ronseal animals, they do exactly what it says on the tin. Looks cute, has fluffy feathers when young and makes you want one. Or two. Or three. Just in case you lost one.

Hemmingway, ikeman, stranger in a strange land...

There is something about sitting up till eleven, believing that is late, discussing American politics with a Foreign Currency Trader, a musician and a nanny, which makes you realise that people are generally good, generally funny and generally will listen. Tonight we are ending the night to a cup of tea listening to the crickets chirrup and our yawns punctuate the South African night sky. Good night until tomorrow x k