Visits with Friends and 'Where I'm From'
May 21, 2006 at 9:12 PM
by Ashleigh
We had a great day with Barbara and her family today! They are all so nice, Barbara has lovely kiddies, and her hubby, Niek baked a cherry clafoutis which we all enjoyed very much! We had a really good time and it wasn't too far away - only an hour in the car. The journey was helped immensely by the Tomtom navigation unit we bought on Saturday.
I got to see some of her stitching which is beautiful!
I also got the link to this via her blog. Try doing your own 'Where I'm From'. This is mine:
Where I'm From
I am from the sandy river beds, from the smell of Lifebuoy soap , unwashed bodies and cooking fires.
I am from the old farmhouse with the wide verandah and the painted tin roof. From the whitewashed walls, the mosquitos teeming in the summer, the frost crackling in the winter. The bauhinia and Jacaranda trees blooming in the dry.
I am from the aloe plant, the flame lily and the wide open grass plains. I am from the duiker and the impala, from the kudu and the wildebeest.
I am from the stiff upper lip and the just getting on with it, from Whitakers, Wheelers and Smiths. From Wilhelmina Johanna and Adriana Beatrice, and from Ronald Peter and Theodore.
I am from the desire for knowledge, being lost in fairytales and wanting to fly away to a different place in a different time.
From where Children are seen and not heard and Money doesnt grow on trees. From Speak when you are spoken to and Dont be a smartypants.
I am from where people who believe in God are weak and need something to fill a void. Where belief in God is congruent with lack of morality and those who believe the most in God are also the fastest to make an easy buck.
I'm from darkest Africa, lost in the woodsmoke, hazy blue in the distance, mountains shimmering in the heat.From the sounds of drums in the distance, tribal dance, witchdoctors and rain gods.
I am from the time Mom pulled a gun on my half sister while dressed only in a leather coat; Grandpa who died changing an electric lightbulb, even though he was an electrician , and Gran who spent her last 40 years repenting the gambling habits of Grandpa. I am from the nanny Juliet who looked after me until her husband beat her to a pulp and from Grannys house and then the boarding school that accommodated me until I was 16.
I am from thin linen edged with lace which has dried a thousand tears. I am from an old glove box filled with lace handkerchiefs from the 1890s brought painstakingly in covered wagons from the Cape, via Namibia into Zimbabwe.
I am from the heartache of children lost, of rivers breached, of sickness and death. I am from hope and the will to go on and the desire for a better life.
I am from me.
Comments
It's great you finally met Barbara!
But it's not so nice to read about Sebastian. It's a big shock of course for him and both of you as parents to experience this.
And now you have to wait for further news about the seizures. Take care!
An old post i know .. but i've only just stumbled upon it and wanted to say
wow
it really took my breath away to read so much of me and my life in there
from another
african who has settled on the european continent
Ashleigh,
I was just reading about your visit on Barbara's blog and popped in to her your tell of it! The cherry yummy sounds divine - so happy you all were able to visit!
May 22, 2006 5:55 AM