Visited by Jen & Dane

So you all thought that we had given up on our blog, but, surprise, surprise we are back. This time around it is me, Sharon giving you an update. Maybe Les is running a bit dry on writing which I don't think is the problem at all but he is having a break and giving me a chance to chat to you all.

Jen and Dane came for a visit and here we are all taking a hike across to Glen Eden beach, just to show them the sights of the area.

Enjoying the view from the deck of Michaela's resturant. (I know I look bored but- 'hey let me know when you are taking a picture'). Michaela's is set on a high sand dune overlooking Chintsa West and East beaches. From here you can see the surfers, dolphins in the surf and whales blowing in the distance. You have to take a funicular to get to the top. We had a great lunch, each one having something different and of course sharing to taste it all. What a taste sensation.

One of the views from Michaela's.

Jen in our growing house

Dane at Michaela's

Dane fishing at the mouth of the Kwelera River (pronounced kwelega) after a day of surfing and canoeing up the river.

Les trying his hand a fishing. I tried and lost one of his favourite spoons (this is a lure that you use to fish with when not using bait).

A night on the rocks fishing. We had great fun, some bites, but no fish that night. Later, we had another night when we caught 4 small sharks, 2 Karanteen (strepies) and Jen took home a shad which we shared for breakfast.

Me giving it a go........

Jen on a hike from our house to Chintsa East. God gave them some really good summer days to enjoy.

We went for a few days to show Jen a bit of the Transkei. We stayed at a backpackers called Mdumbi. It has it's roots as a mission station and has made great inroads into the community. They have a pre-school run by the locals with input from a missionary couple who are on a 2 year assignment from New Zealand. The locals are trained up in many other areas of litracy, computer skills, small business development. The locals also run the backpackers, the little restuarant there and one of the ladies gives massages just for that extra need to relax. What to do other than just blobbing there.... Kayaking up the river (run by a local), hiking, swimming, surfing (one of the best spots in the 'Kei), snorkeling and of course fishing.

Dane at Mdumbi

Jen and Dane on the way back from a hike up the river.

Can't go to the Transkei without a visit to Hole in the Wall, just south of Coffee Bay.

Dane holding up the world - or is he just hanging from it?

Dane at Hole in the Wall.

This is Paulie who we know from Cape Town, who we ran into at Mdumbi. He and Les were surfing at Whale Rock - very shallow over the rocks. Sorry folk this was the only picture I got of the surf session.

Just had to put this one in to let those who surf see what we have on our door step. This is a picture from the house that we are renting. No that is not Les in the surf...........

As far as the building is going.....

We just wanted to bless the guys building as they work so hard and diligently and it was just a small thanks to the guys. That day we ended up braaing for 18 guys on site.

Les at work, even tho retired?

The walls to window height and the garage being built.

From the front of the house to our braai being built.

The roof trusses are on!

What the builders do on their lunch break. Yes we can see them all the time...

Anyone for a head shave....... the barber shop is open, from the temporary power to the site.

So you see it's not all work for them.

The beginning of laying the sheeting under the roof tiles.

Taken today.

Plumber doing all the pipes in the right hand corner. House roof waiting for the tiles which arrive hopefully tomorrow and the garage roof being prepared for the undertile lining. Today we arranged for a solar water heating system to be installed later this week.

As they say in the movies "that's all folks"

Until next time.

Love - Les and Sharon

Trouble in Paradise

No, not really trouble. Just today, after a few weeks of really great weather, the first real 'beasterly easterly' - the east coast onshore wind arrived. Made the sea look ugly, and not as pleasant to be outside. Of course, nothing like the Cape's south-easter, which can blow for a week or more, this one usually drops overnight, and stops after a day or three, or suddenly - in the space of an hour, switches to the SW offshore. Had a good day anyway - starting with a men's breakfast at the church, and helped some friends move house.

Cold front being delivered fresh from Cape Town, arriving monday, Women's Day. Hope it's cold, looking forward to a late sleep-in. Haven't done that here yet with builders normally here early, or fish to catch, tiles/fittings to choose or whatever else seems to keep us busy. Pretty active with church things too!

Other than playfully grumbling over today's weather, everything's really good - the building going great, expect to finish the end of Sept!!

Some photos, gotta snap them quickly, before it's all over!

Richter Brother's Construction - Trevor & Gerald, great guys and really good builders

The Inspector arrives on site

View from our bedroom side window

Looking from the living room over the patio

Front Entrance

Braai and worktop slab - cast yesterday, curing over this long weekend.

Livingroom with kitchen in background, entrance on right

Will keep you posted !!

The 'P.S. photo'. Awoke this morning (Sunday) to this sunrise, with a hot berg wind, and has switched to a cool SW, as the front pulls in.

Swell, Transkei ministry & Home foundations

Hi all ye peepils !
Last week we had some major swells pull thru. All very good for the Billabong Pro, which I wanted to watch, but the conditions were so good, it ran immediately and was over by Sunday, while we wuz ministering at Mazeppa. More about that later.

This photo of Queensberry Bay ( the bay directly in front of our new home, henceforth QBay for the sake of my typing fingers) was taken from about 600m away. The sea was THICK with dolphins, below you can see one leaping out of the wave with joy because of the lekka wave ( or maybe all the fish in the water)

cropped & zoomed in:

On Friday, we went with a bunch of guys from the church to Mazeppa Bay in Transkei, via some badly eroded roads. The Colt enjoys them! Below is the 'church', an ex trading store which a local guy Eric has allowed us to use for meetings.

4 guys from Fountainhead church, Bloem joined us to check out what this kind of ministry entails. They are on the back of the bakkie returning to the 'church'....

..where the rest of us were leading a worship meeting...

with Pastor Welcome and myself providing some 'tunes'

The children here (some wearing beanies & scarves knitted for them by the church) are very sweet and not shy at all, preparing a song & dance item for the Sunday meeting

I taught a bit on Jesus being our very best friend, who wants the best for us, and loves to continually chat with us

One of the guys did a session on 'Farming God's Way' using biblical principles to increase crop yields dramatically. This was very well received by the community.

On the home front, our builders are 'cooking on gas'. Very organised, always on site, laying bricks alongside the workers. The foundations were dug, laid, and now the sides built up (because of the slope) in prep for the floor slab, which should be cast early next week

The view of progress this evening from our rented home above. Note the flat sea in contrast to the opening photos. Yesterday Sharon & I went to the fishing spot in Qbay and dived out about 25 sinkers. Maybe a few were previously strategically placed there by me, using only a rod & reel...

Love to y'all

Thanks for reading.

Bonus pic .. QBay yesterday evening. It's tough living here, but someone has to do it.

Exciting First Week

What an eventful but enjoyable first week here in paradise –oops, I mean Glen Stewart..

The rented house in now fully sorted inside, no longer tripping over cardboard boxes and wondering “where did we put that?” or “Sharon, where do you think the xxxxx is?” We even have the satellite TV working – so haven’t missed the soccer, although we watched most games with friends or at the church on projector.

Sharon inside - with kitchen in background

Have had meaningful times with the church at various meetings – feel fully integrated into the daily life of the body. Also, met so many nice folks in the complex here – no reason to ever feel isolated. Even fishing or surfing, everyone introduces themselves and chats – people have time for each other - I suppose it’s not possible to be more like that in crowded cities.

One evening in the week I fished with our Dominee (Graham) - caught nada, but lots of bites, early the next morning I caught 3 shad ( and a strepie which I used for bait) – of which 1 was fried brunch, and we smoked the other two – yummy!! I even cleaned them myself - no fishwife required.

As promised in last posting - Breakfast from 'On the rocks'

On Thursday morning – Trevor & Gerald Richter, our builders, arrived – and we spent the morning measuring and locating plot pegs.

Photo of Q-Bay point, with some distracting building activity in foreground

Eventually found the one important one – and by ‘tjila’ on Friday - yesterday, the foundation trenches were dug!

Cold front being sent up from you guys in CT tomorrow, but yesterday & today - warm berg winds, which made Queensberry Bay’s point go off – so after the workmen left at 3pm yesterday, I was in the surf, with my own professional photographer (and shark-spotter) Sharon, on the rocks. .

In the water also were local mates, including Brewer, another builder who lives here, who had also quoted for us. Somewhat different to Cape Town, company is always welcomed in the waves – I think maybe ‘cos it reduces the ‘being nibbled at’ probability ratio. Usually the problem is finding someone else to surf with.

Rugged coastline, looking NE from Q-Bay point.


On walking back home, we saw a local couple, Kobus and Joy, catch a nice sized ‘Silver’ - white musselcracker.

Kobus' 'silver'

Our pastor Graham was on the rocks with them and helped him land it. Graham’s comment afterwards “ Hey, did you see - I just pulled a fish out of the ocean with my bare hands !! - So much excitement I’ll have to change my pacemaker’s battery!”

Graham, standing next to Joy, after barehandedly pulling a fish out of the sea and putting it on Kobus' hook :)

That about sums up our week – so much excitement and activity - yet relaxed and fun.