Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Cape storm photos
Although these photos were taken a few years back, they could have been taken over the weekend. What's nice about them though, is the story about how they link in to the storm we had over the weekend. Worth a read.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Rain, rain, go away...
Once again, the Cape of Storms has earned it's name. Over this weekend we had a whopper of a storm - parts of the Cape registered over 100cm of water in 24hrs (yup, over 5 inches). For the first time in longer than I can remember (I think I must have been a kid the last time this happened) the canalized river near our house burst its banks! That's one HECK of a lot of water.
WE had gone away for the weekend, to a small holiday town called Kleinmond. The road we drove back on (past Rooiels, for those in the know) was closed a while after we got through. As we were driving along it, there were a number of small rockfalls, and where the water pouring off the mountain hit the ocean there was a clearly visible, massive patch of brown water hugging the coast. When we got to Gordon's Bay, we had to turn back and take back roads because it was so badly flooded the car would either have been washed away or at least been flooded if we'd attempted getting through. (It reminded me of a trip home from Blombos across the drif... the Suzuki got across fine, but the other cars had water pouring in the doors, and then it stalled. I was so grateful to have been in the Suzi.)
Driving along the N2 was terrifying - the squalls were so bad that visibility was only about 100m in places. What was worse was that some cars (why is it always the dark ones?) were driving along with no lights on!
The roads around our house were flooded - even driving in the middle of the road I was worried about water coming in the doors. Fortunately, our house sits high enough above the road that it would take some serious flooding before the house was at risk. Unless, of course, the roof and doors weren't doing their job....
Yup, we have discovered that the Happy Doors we bought from Builder's Warehouse weren't glazed properly. The water comes in between the glass and the wood. So - now we have to wait for warmer, drier weather to fix them. In the meantime, we're trying to protect the carpet from getting soaked beyond repair. This morning we also discovered a leak in the roof above our bedroom. Further investigation revealed that part of the roof had blown off. At least, that's what we surmise, because part of it that was there before is now missing. Not just blown off, but blown away. It's not in our garden, or the adjacent land... nope - it's just GONE. Given that, it's rather quite amazing that the roof didn't leak more than it did. So again, we now have to wait for a warmer, drier day to get up there and fix it. (At least it's a slow leak, unlike the leaks in my dad's house - their carpets and ceilings are ruined. They will both have to be removed and replaced at some point.)
With all this destruction by water around us, it's rather incredible that I managed to enjoy the sound of the rain this afternoon. Of course, I was wrapped up in nice warm towels, having a fantastic massage and slowly drifting off to sleep. I guess that helped a lot! Somehow, listening to the gentle pitter-patter of rain under those circumstances wasn't scary at all. (Thanks to Charlotte & the rest of our small group for that incredible gift!)
The dams are now all full, so we'll have water this coming summer. However, there are over 1000 people who are homeless tonight, and a further 8000 or so who have been affected.
The other not-so-pleasant side effect of the near-constant rain over the past few days is that the temperature has dropped. It's FREEZING. So we decided to give our new fireplace a trial run. Bad idea. (also bought from Builder's Warehouse... hmm) Smoke filled the house and we had to open all the doors and windows for ages to get rid of it. Light a fire and then get colder... hmm... not such a hot plan. We'll try again on a nice warm day, so we can figure out what's wrong without having to freeze our behinds off while we do that.
So, let's summarise then - rain, rain, rain. Cold, cold, cold. Yup, it's definitely winter here in the Cape! On the plus side, we've passed the equinox, so we're already heading on our way towards summer again. Another plus - Nate has incredible colic and gas at the moment, so I get to have him as a hot water bottle sleeping on my chest. This is great because a) I get to have lots of cuddle time with my gorgeous son and b) I get to keep warmer and c) he gets comfort for his sore tummy so sleeps better, so d) we all sleep better!!
Still, I'd quite like the rain to stop. Has God forgotten the promise he made, symbolised by the rainbow? I doubt it, but this past weekend sure did make me wonder.
WE had gone away for the weekend, to a small holiday town called Kleinmond. The road we drove back on (past Rooiels, for those in the know) was closed a while after we got through. As we were driving along it, there were a number of small rockfalls, and where the water pouring off the mountain hit the ocean there was a clearly visible, massive patch of brown water hugging the coast. When we got to Gordon's Bay, we had to turn back and take back roads because it was so badly flooded the car would either have been washed away or at least been flooded if we'd attempted getting through. (It reminded me of a trip home from Blombos across the drif... the Suzuki got across fine, but the other cars had water pouring in the doors, and then it stalled. I was so grateful to have been in the Suzi.)
Driving along the N2 was terrifying - the squalls were so bad that visibility was only about 100m in places. What was worse was that some cars (why is it always the dark ones?) were driving along with no lights on!
The roads around our house were flooded - even driving in the middle of the road I was worried about water coming in the doors. Fortunately, our house sits high enough above the road that it would take some serious flooding before the house was at risk. Unless, of course, the roof and doors weren't doing their job....
Yup, we have discovered that the Happy Doors we bought from Builder's Warehouse weren't glazed properly. The water comes in between the glass and the wood. So - now we have to wait for warmer, drier weather to fix them. In the meantime, we're trying to protect the carpet from getting soaked beyond repair. This morning we also discovered a leak in the roof above our bedroom. Further investigation revealed that part of the roof had blown off. At least, that's what we surmise, because part of it that was there before is now missing. Not just blown off, but blown away. It's not in our garden, or the adjacent land... nope - it's just GONE. Given that, it's rather quite amazing that the roof didn't leak more than it did. So again, we now have to wait for a warmer, drier day to get up there and fix it. (At least it's a slow leak, unlike the leaks in my dad's house - their carpets and ceilings are ruined. They will both have to be removed and replaced at some point.)
With all this destruction by water around us, it's rather incredible that I managed to enjoy the sound of the rain this afternoon. Of course, I was wrapped up in nice warm towels, having a fantastic massage and slowly drifting off to sleep. I guess that helped a lot! Somehow, listening to the gentle pitter-patter of rain under those circumstances wasn't scary at all. (Thanks to Charlotte & the rest of our small group for that incredible gift!)
The dams are now all full, so we'll have water this coming summer. However, there are over 1000 people who are homeless tonight, and a further 8000 or so who have been affected.
The other not-so-pleasant side effect of the near-constant rain over the past few days is that the temperature has dropped. It's FREEZING. So we decided to give our new fireplace a trial run. Bad idea. (also bought from Builder's Warehouse... hmm) Smoke filled the house and we had to open all the doors and windows for ages to get rid of it. Light a fire and then get colder... hmm... not such a hot plan. We'll try again on a nice warm day, so we can figure out what's wrong without having to freeze our behinds off while we do that.
So, let's summarise then - rain, rain, rain. Cold, cold, cold. Yup, it's definitely winter here in the Cape! On the plus side, we've passed the equinox, so we're already heading on our way towards summer again. Another plus - Nate has incredible colic and gas at the moment, so I get to have him as a hot water bottle sleeping on my chest. This is great because a) I get to have lots of cuddle time with my gorgeous son and b) I get to keep warmer and c) he gets comfort for his sore tummy so sleeps better, so d) we all sleep better!!
Still, I'd quite like the rain to stop. Has God forgotten the promise he made, symbolised by the rainbow? I doubt it, but this past weekend sure did make me wonder.
"Laughing with"
What do you make of the last line of this song? What exactlt is Regina Spektor getting at? Is it a gentle poke at our excuses or a statement about how we (humans in general) view God?
Here are the lyrics, in case you don't want to download the video.
Here are the lyrics, in case you don't want to download the video.
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor
No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
When it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from the party yet
No one laughs at God
When their airplane start to uncontrollably shake
No one’s laughing at God
When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else
And they hope that they’re mistaken
No one laughs at God
When the cops knock on their door
And they say we got some bad news, sir
No one’s laughing at God
When there’s a famine or fire or flood
*Chorus*
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’ve lost all they’ve got
And they don’t know what for
No one laughs at God on the day they realize
That the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one’s laughing at God when they’re saying their goodbyes
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughing at God in hospital
No one’s laughing at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very poor
No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
We’re all laughing with God
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Twins??
At work, since the beginning of the year, there have been 6 babies born to staff, with another member currently pregnant. This is Nathan with Dylan, the son of one of my collegues, who was born a week after Nathan. Which one is Nathan, and which is Dylan? Can you tell?
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Water taxi
Today I was a tourist in my own city. It was fabulous. We took the ferry/ water taxi from the CTICC to the V&A Waterfront. For only R20 each way, it's a great way to get to the waterfront. The skipper is a chatty guy, with a great store of (useless??) information about the various buildings and other features visible along the way. I certainly learnt some stuff about the city, and I've lived here my entire life. You also get to go through a working lock at the end of the canal, where it opens into the harbour, which is an experience in and of itself. Definitely worth a trip.
I took a selection of photos, mainly of the lock, but also of the sumptuous and scandalously wealthy apartments and hotels along the route, and of some of the interesting and/or famous boats, yachts & ships in the harbour. You can see them here, on Flickr, if you're interested.
I took a selection of photos, mainly of the lock, but also of the sumptuous and scandalously wealthy apartments and hotels along the route, and of some of the interesting and/or famous boats, yachts & ships in the harbour. You can see them here, on Flickr, if you're interested.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Child safety
When I was little, kids travelled in cars without restraints. We sat in the back, most often, but because cars did not have seat belts in the back, we just sat on the seat, or lay in a carry-cot on the seat. However, as safety standards have risen, so the laws regarding child safety in cars has also changed.
The law about no under-12s in the front is still in place. It is now more dangerous than ever for kids to sit in the front of vehicles that have the highest safety systems ever - deployed airbags can kill them. Similarly, since it is now compulsory for cars to have rear seat belts, it is now compulsory for kids to be buckled in. As most people know, seat belts are designed for adults, not children. Children who use adult seat belts risk being killed in an accident. Thus, kids should only be strapped into age and weight appropriate car seats or booster seats.
However, it would seem that for many Saffas, that message still has to hit home. Driving around, I regularly see kids in the front of the car, not strapped in, standing and playing with toys on the dashboard; or worse, standing between the two front seats. It horrifies me. Don't those parents care? Don't they love their children? OK, so most of the offenders I see are clearly from poor families, so no doubt cannot afford car seats, but at least the kids should be sitting down in the back.
Why has this issue raised its head for me again? Because I'm rediscovering how inconvenient it is to have a small baby that needs regular feeding, but is not yet in a routine. On the way home from G's brother's wedding in Rawsonville, the little man decided it was time for a feed. We had decided to take the R101 back to Cape Town, rather than the tunnel. This was a fortunate choice as it meant we could stop at a viewpoint and, while he fed, we could appreciate the beauty of the Paarl and Wellington valleys. It would have been more convenient though for G to drive and for me to sit in the front or the back feeding Nate. We were all exhausted and the sooner we could get home, the better. (As it was, I fell asleep behind the wheel a few hundred metres from our home! Fortunately, only for a millisecond, and fortunately, no damage was done - but it was VERY scary!)
I am often tempted to ignore the car safety rules. I am often tempted to just go the 'short' distance to the shops, or wherever, without properly strapping the kids in. It's a schlep to strap them in properly. It takes several minutes to strap them in, and get them unstrapped. If all I want to do is pop to Spar for bread, do I really want to increase the trip length by 10 mins to strap the kids in at both ends of the trip?
BUT - statistics show that most serious accidents occur within a very short distance of the car's occupants' homes. Take my little failure - if I had fallen asleep a moment later, or for a moment longer, I would have hit the curb as the road curved. I wasn't travelling too fast, but it might have caused serious damage to the car. That, in turn, might have put us in a dangerous situation and put the kids at risk. Imagine if there'd been another car on the road at the time. It could have been really awful. If something had happened, and the kids had not been properly strapped in, and something had happened to them, could I ever forgive myself? It's one thing to lose a child 'naturally'; it's quite another to lose a child through a car 'accident'. Car 'accidents' are seldom accidents. Someone is usually at fault for not following the rules of the road.
Yet, knowing all this, there are times when I fail to strap Nellie in. The only time I go against my better judgement is if we've been out for dinner and Nellie has fallen asleep at our host's place. Then, G will sit in the back with her in his arms and I will drive. Usually, it is a very short trip (less than 10km) and usually, I take all the back roads to avoid other vehicles. The fact remains though, that it is always night time, and that in the dark accidents are more likely to occur. So why do we do it? Because, like everyone else, we believe ourselves to be invulnerable, immortal, and otherwise not at risk. Stupid, isn't it?
So while I rage at those who take risks with their kids, I have to confess that I am guilty too. It's easy to rationalise my actions: We don't want Nellie to wake up; if she were to wake up it would be a hassle to get her back to sleep; it's quicker and easier not to have to strap her in; it's such a short trip - nothing will happen; etc, etc.
And yet.... I know that I am at least aware of the risks. I don't know that the others I see driving around with their kids in very dangerous positions do. I feel so protective towards those kids I want to stop the driver and ask if he/ she really loves the child. I don't, because I imagine that most people would get very upset with me, and in Cape Town my fear is that he (interestingly, most often, it is a guy... I've just realised that. I wonder why? Are women instinctively more protective of their kids, or are fewer mothers drivers?) will pull a gun on me, or otherwise threaten me with violence. I don't want to put myself at risk, because I would hate for my kids to grow up without their mother.
So yet again, I feel guilty. By failing to intervene and by failing to seek to protect the kids, doesn't that make me an accomplice to the crime in the same way that someone who witnesses a murder and fails to report it is an accomplice? What a big mess!
The law about no under-12s in the front is still in place. It is now more dangerous than ever for kids to sit in the front of vehicles that have the highest safety systems ever - deployed airbags can kill them. Similarly, since it is now compulsory for cars to have rear seat belts, it is now compulsory for kids to be buckled in. As most people know, seat belts are designed for adults, not children. Children who use adult seat belts risk being killed in an accident. Thus, kids should only be strapped into age and weight appropriate car seats or booster seats.
However, it would seem that for many Saffas, that message still has to hit home. Driving around, I regularly see kids in the front of the car, not strapped in, standing and playing with toys on the dashboard; or worse, standing between the two front seats. It horrifies me. Don't those parents care? Don't they love their children? OK, so most of the offenders I see are clearly from poor families, so no doubt cannot afford car seats, but at least the kids should be sitting down in the back.
Why has this issue raised its head for me again? Because I'm rediscovering how inconvenient it is to have a small baby that needs regular feeding, but is not yet in a routine. On the way home from G's brother's wedding in Rawsonville, the little man decided it was time for a feed. We had decided to take the R101 back to Cape Town, rather than the tunnel. This was a fortunate choice as it meant we could stop at a viewpoint and, while he fed, we could appreciate the beauty of the Paarl and Wellington valleys. It would have been more convenient though for G to drive and for me to sit in the front or the back feeding Nate. We were all exhausted and the sooner we could get home, the better. (As it was, I fell asleep behind the wheel a few hundred metres from our home! Fortunately, only for a millisecond, and fortunately, no damage was done - but it was VERY scary!)
I am often tempted to ignore the car safety rules. I am often tempted to just go the 'short' distance to the shops, or wherever, without properly strapping the kids in. It's a schlep to strap them in properly. It takes several minutes to strap them in, and get them unstrapped. If all I want to do is pop to Spar for bread, do I really want to increase the trip length by 10 mins to strap the kids in at both ends of the trip?
BUT - statistics show that most serious accidents occur within a very short distance of the car's occupants' homes. Take my little failure - if I had fallen asleep a moment later, or for a moment longer, I would have hit the curb as the road curved. I wasn't travelling too fast, but it might have caused serious damage to the car. That, in turn, might have put us in a dangerous situation and put the kids at risk. Imagine if there'd been another car on the road at the time. It could have been really awful. If something had happened, and the kids had not been properly strapped in, and something had happened to them, could I ever forgive myself? It's one thing to lose a child 'naturally'; it's quite another to lose a child through a car 'accident'. Car 'accidents' are seldom accidents. Someone is usually at fault for not following the rules of the road.
Yet, knowing all this, there are times when I fail to strap Nellie in. The only time I go against my better judgement is if we've been out for dinner and Nellie has fallen asleep at our host's place. Then, G will sit in the back with her in his arms and I will drive. Usually, it is a very short trip (less than 10km) and usually, I take all the back roads to avoid other vehicles. The fact remains though, that it is always night time, and that in the dark accidents are more likely to occur. So why do we do it? Because, like everyone else, we believe ourselves to be invulnerable, immortal, and otherwise not at risk. Stupid, isn't it?
So while I rage at those who take risks with their kids, I have to confess that I am guilty too. It's easy to rationalise my actions: We don't want Nellie to wake up; if she were to wake up it would be a hassle to get her back to sleep; it's quicker and easier not to have to strap her in; it's such a short trip - nothing will happen; etc, etc.
And yet.... I know that I am at least aware of the risks. I don't know that the others I see driving around with their kids in very dangerous positions do. I feel so protective towards those kids I want to stop the driver and ask if he/ she really loves the child. I don't, because I imagine that most people would get very upset with me, and in Cape Town my fear is that he (interestingly, most often, it is a guy... I've just realised that. I wonder why? Are women instinctively more protective of their kids, or are fewer mothers drivers?) will pull a gun on me, or otherwise threaten me with violence. I don't want to put myself at risk, because I would hate for my kids to grow up without their mother.
So yet again, I feel guilty. By failing to intervene and by failing to seek to protect the kids, doesn't that make me an accomplice to the crime in the same way that someone who witnesses a murder and fails to report it is an accomplice? What a big mess!
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