Friday 17 August 2012

LIFE! Death! PRIZES!


Page 10:I know all this is natural. I know it’s normal, but then so much of natural and normal is also disgusting and repulsive. Normal and natural doesn’t make something good.

Page 56: The thing is, no matter what people tell you – no matter what you know – at eleven our mother having sex sounds like she’s being attacked. It sounds like pain. It sounds like a sacrifice to an angry God. And the fact that your num is cuddling and kissing, purring and rubbing up against the perpetrator doesn’t make it easier – it makes it harder. More confusing.

Page 58: He was trying to pick his pants up from the front garden in the rain. Not just his pants. All his stuff. Mum had tipped it there three days earlier and it had sat on our lawn like an installation. Like a pieces of modern art titled My Boyfriend Is A Wanker.

Page 88:
Mum had this theory that email and the phone had been invented in the wrong order. She said that email should have come first and then, after a while, along would come another inventor who would promote his super new product – the phone – by saying ‘It’s just like email only now you can actually talk to each other.’ And everyone would go 'Yeah, wow, that is amazing.’

Page 166: Everyone watches in silence as I turn and leave the office. Outside, I put my face up to the inevitable rain and shout as loud as I can to an indifferent sky. ‘F$%*f$%*f$%*f$%*.’ The sky doesn’t care. How many stupid human performances has it seen? Billions upon billions. The sky has seen it all and it’s all boring.

Page 192: ‘Well, that’s the thing, Mike. You can’t trust people.’ But he’s not listening to me. Of course he isn’t. His heart is breaking.

Page 216: Later I think how wrong we are about old people. They’re not the past, they are the future, whatever the Ms Mabbuts think. Old people know where the rest of us are headed. They’re sending us back these clear, explicit messages about the dark and loveless place we’re speeding towards. But we’re just not listening. Our fingers are in our ears, our eyes are shut and we’re la-la-la-ing to drown out the bad news.



Life! Death! Prizes! © 2012 by Stephen May

Lazy old tart!

I bought myself a daybed (double), for reading, watching DVDs and cuddling. Wonderful.


Thursday 16 August 2012

Celebrate

Last night on the way home I bought a chilled bottle of sparkling wine. I felt like celebrating all the good things in life. The small things, not just mine but the good things in other people's lives as well. I want to appreciate everything and not wait for the big wow! moment.


Tuesday 14 August 2012

Summer is on its way

It getting light earlier and staying light later – summer is on its way! Well, okay, spring! Then summer, yes.



Monday 13 August 2012

Der wind, der wind… aka August winds


Roodeplaat Dam Nature Reserve

So, I went expecting to see a zebra at least, but nothing happened all morning. As I was leaving I saw a group of guinea fowl, 2 warthogs and a crimsonbreasted shrike, all of whom were camera shy. Nice morning out, though.


Friday 10 August 2012

Dirt road

One of the best holidays I had – Road trip – I flew down to Cape Town, drove along the coast all the way to Storms River, then all the way back inland on the farm roads, that were mostly dirt roads. I loved it!


Goodie bags

I made 20 goodie bags for N's pajama party.


Cocoon!

I'm sure you're so tired of my gooseberries, but I'm not :-) 
So perfectly protected.




Oh so pretty!

I'm not one for house plants but these were too pretty to leave in the shop.


Wednesday 8 August 2012

Gentle giant

This was one of the most awesome experiences I've had, although it was so long ago. We got to this waterhole in Botswana and there were hundreds of elephants, because of the drought this was the only place they could find water. You have no idea how close they were – I could have put my hand out and touched them. That evening I was woken by a sound, something was brushing against the sides of my tent. After some time I worked out that it was an elephant gently exploring the side of my tent with its trunk. You can imagine how much smaller you feel, how much bigger the elephant seems, when you're on your back, on the ground in a little cloth bag. I don't know how long I lay there, and after it moved away I still hesitated before I unzipped my tent and ran to the rondawel.


This pic was taken at the watering hole.

Keep warm!

Cold enough to wear those home-made gloves at last!


Snowed everywhere but here

Yesterday it seemed to have snowed everywhere but here. Argh! Everyone was phoning, all excited, from suburbs all around us, even Pretoria, but we only got 5 flakes.

You ask yourself: What's all the excitement about? Dude, this is Africa.

This pic is my brother's – on his way to work, 80kms from here.


Friday 3 August 2012

Thursday 2 August 2012

Ice, ice


It was so cold last night that the bucket of water I threw across the table outside, to clear it of dust, just froze.




Coffee and cheesecake

Delicious! @ Skoobs.


Musical fountain

Presented here without the music, alas!


Stroll in the garden

Although it's winter there is still so much happening in the garden. I love being out there first thing in the morning looking for surprises.