it has been an absolute age since i frequented the old blogstead. absolute age. i cant believe im back. as you all probably know, the facebook craze has gotten a hold on us all. even gordon. and thats saying something.
so if any of you ever get a facebook, you can look me up. im there. with pictures. but no amusing stories. alas.
so we just got back from our north american adventure. and let me clue ya, it was a goooood time. i enjoyed every minute. every single minute was enjoyed. but im not going to wax eloquent on our US/Canada trip... im going to wax eloquent on the WORD AND DEED BIKATHON!!!
so word and deed arranged a bikathon to raise money for my mom's clinic. noble of them, it realy was. they raised alot of money. however, we miskins youths were recruited for the charity bike ride. and we, being of the miskin consitution, did not relish the thought of going 20 or 50 kilometers. it was done tho. we did the 20.
so at about 9AM we set off down the keldermans drive way, to the church where we would be given the bikes that were being loaned to us. they were... amusing to my mind. i found mine, and promptly burst out laughing. it was a schwinn. one of those granny kind of bikes. with the nifty little rack things on the back. complete with elastic band things. morgy had a different kind of bike, which would later prove to be not so great.
anyhow, we set off to jordan all happy and great. it was an hour bus ride or so, to the place where the 50 km riders would start. good times. we dropped the 50 riders off, and cheered their brave nobility. then we sat back down on our bus seats and heaved a sigh of relief that we were not one of that number.
about 15 minutes later we were dropped off on the 20 km starting point. there we had a few problems...i couldnt get my bike stand thing to go back up, and gordon had to raise his seat. after these were solved, we set off.
a couple kilos down the road we hit the niagra falls. a few minutes after getting there, and after almost running down a few thousand japanese tourists, i got off my bike (which by now had about 4 water bottles piled on the back thingy) and pushed the cumbersome contraption through the masses. i got some strange looks, but thats ok. i mean, not many tourists bike past the niagra falls, so its understandable.
anyhow, after the falls came a hill. it was a rather large hill, and wiped most of us out. however, i bravely pedalled up the hill. it was tough, however. and a trial of one's endurance. we made it however, and proceeded down a barely discernable incline. the wind was pleasant upon our visages, as it was a particularly hot and muggy day.
about two hours later we pulled up to what we thought was the end of the road. we heaved a sigh of relief, only to suck it back in in dismay when we were informed that there was a mere 11 km left to go. woopee, i thought. only 11. and here i thought we had reached the end of this exercise. owell. after drinking enough water to douse a rather large flame, and waiting for morgy to return, we set off on a pretty serious downhill. poor hannah kelderman went crashing into the bush... but she took it like a trooper. i admire that child immensly.
so the last 11 km were a torturous affair. i thought it would never end. it did, however, and i was never more glad to cast a bike from me. (figuratively speaking, i didnt actually cast it)
we ate hot dogs for supper. and got home at about 11 that night.
i tell you, i slept extremely well that night.

testing testing 123...

its been forever since ive updated. and blogger wouldnt allow me to post. so this is a test to see if it will work.
if it does, i will use this computer for my blog, and update for real during the week.
thank you for your patience...

township sunday

about two weeks ago we miskins went out to the rural area, hamanskraal. my dad was going to preach in one of his student's churches. the student's name is oupa. dad preached two sermons, both of which were translated into Tshwana (im not exactly sure how to spell that...) by oupa.

the first service was at about... 9:00. it was in a small little room, that was packed to capacity. there was very little sitting space. our family was going to sit in the front row, on an uncomfortable little iron bench. there was, however, not enough room for us all. as i was looking for a seat, i noticed some frantic waving from the back from some youths. they were pointing to a small space on the bench, where i could sit. why not? i thought. so i headed all the way to the back of the packed little hall. the bench in front of me was almost on top of my knees, causing me to have some major claustrophobia. they did move the bench up however, so it got better. so that was a major... culture difference for me. it was good though.

the second service was at about 11:30 or so. this one was a longer one, since mom was doing a little talk on prayer for the youth after the sermon was finished. at one point in the service dad was talking about how Christ was beaten, and he asked "did He fight back?" which was translated. dad intended to answer the question himself. but one man, who was listening with rapt attention answered "NO!" :)

and i failed to mention it was one of the hottest days of the summer. and all the black men in the congregations were wearing a suit coat. so it was a very interesting and good experience for us miskin youths to go out there and experience that.

it made me appreciate the fact that our church we have nice, relatively comfortably plastic chairs. that we dont have a little hall packed to bursting point, with temperatures akin to a pizza oven. it made me appreciate what all i do have. its easy for me to concentrate on what i dont have. to say "oh, i wish i could see so-and-so" or "i wish i had that" or something to that effect. but those people have so much less than me. and it opens your eyes and shows you that you have alot. and it makes you wish you had never moaned, coz you really have more than enough.

btw, i felt very pale that sunday...;)

the results of the miskin kids being home alone with nothing to do...

well, like this title suggests, we were home alone. my mom and dad had gone to Bible study, and we were just sitting around talking about the cheesiness of some people on Valentine's day. so then we hit on writing poetry, and we came up with a few limericks... there are four stanzas, and i will put them all up. i came up with most of the first lines, and gordon and morgy helped to fill in the blanks, since i had many of those...:) ENJOY!!!

1. the man, to his true love:

When i think of your eyes that are green,
they remind me so much of a queen.
Every time that you grin,
I go into a spin
and I feel like Ive ruptured my spleen!

2. the woman's loving reply to her beau:

Darling your lips are like roses,
They cause me to think about Moses.
They're so full of hair,
I dont know if they're there,
Espesh when your whisk'ry mouth closes.

(some poetic license was taken in the last line of this stanza, the word "especially" would have been too long)

3. The man's affectionate reply, dwelling on personal beauty:

Darling, your voice like a chopper,
Is seen by most as improper.
Every time that you bellow,
I'm a quivering fellow,
And i feel like I've just some a cropper!

4. The woman's enamoured response, dwelling on physical beauty:

Dear heart, your nose like a dagger,
Oft times sets me a-stagger.
If too quickly you grab me,
Take heed! lest you stab me,
Yet i mean not to sound like a nagger.

i think we miskins should either start a talk show in which we speak of the general flaws of the human race (ourselves included) or publish a book of satirical writings. what think ye?!?!?!
till lata!!!

convention get together

last friday, we miskin youths (at least, gordon and i) had a whole buncha people over. namely, people who went to convention with us last year. convention is a long story, i'll save that for another rainy day.
so to remember good times, we had a get together at our place on friday. we had about 12 people over, if im not mistaken. the shindig started at 2:30 on friday afternoon, and we estimated that it would end at about... oooh... 7:30.
so the fun got underway. people started arriving, and things started going. first, the guys played some computer games and such, and the women (the girls, including me...:D) went and prepared food for the mongolian barbeque we were going to do later. i had to boil about three tons of egg noodles.. woohoo. the rest of the girls cut up veggies and stuff... and raw chicken.
after that was all done, everyone decided the pool looked extremely inviting, and alas, no one had any swimming attire with them (except lydia who was sleepin over, and me and gordon, coz we live here..:D) then corrine and marni could take it no longer, and they borrowed a shirt from morgy each, and went flying into the pool. that opened the floodgates, of course, and soon every time i blinked, some guy would run past in a pair of gordons shorts... i had to rub my eyes out to make sure i wasnt seeing things...
anyhow, after a swim, we all got out the pool and went to make ourselves supper. it was a good time. we all had to grill our own food... poor emile was last in line. so long was he in line, in fact, that he ate all his raw green and red peppers. he didnt want raw chicken on his plate because of some bacteria that would infect his plate... emile is very clever. and very cool...
anyway, then we chillaxed and later we watched a movie... everyone left at 12:15 or so. now, pics.

since then, we've just been going to school and having a blast at school. at least, i have. school is soooo much fun. i have lots of friends this year, in contrast to last year, when i was still mopey, boring and weird...;) this year is cool. i hang out with lydia, and she DEFINITELY makes school as much fun as it is. without her i wouldnt have NEARLY as much fun as i do. honestly. otherwise, im friends with ethan, and nathan. and emile. and zacki, who is extremely cool. and a whole bunch of people.
nothing HILARIOUS and funny has happened as of late, but i thought to myself today "my poor readers... suffering because of my long sojourn in the land of silence. its about time i went to lift their spirits and post on something... if not funny, then at least it will be a post"
and LO AND BEHOLD!!! i come to my site, and the only new comment is a plea from the very heart of erika "UUUPPPPDATE!!!!"
so here you go, erika.
and the rest of you.
tara for another month or so... KIDDING!!! sooner than that i hope...

at very long last!!!

well well, its been a while since ive written anything about the old homestead on 24 freeland. or on our lives. wow. it has been a long time!!!
weeeell, i suppose i can bravely pull up my socks, eat an energy bar, stiffen my upper lip and tackle this large task. keeping you all (relatively) updated really is such tough business.
on the "work" side of life, we're all back at it. mom is back at the clinic full time. everyday excepts weekends. during the holidays she took a day off here and there to sort out the house. so shes back at the clinic. dad went back to lecturing at Mukhanyo today. and we three youths of africa are... back at school. we went back last wednesday. weewee!!! its actually not that bad, once one is back in the swing. in fact, after a measely week of school, it feels like i was never gone. weewee!!!
this school year brings some interesting changes. this introduces the "change" side of life.
1. we miskins now eat good ol' brekkers as a family every morning at 7:00 AM sharp. i suppose the principle behind the idea is noble and true and great, but its not always such a topping way to start off the day... some days we dont say a word, coz we're all too tired. either way, thats the scoop.
2. we have a new teacher upstairs. auntie karla. she makes things much more efficient and... well, organized. see, uncle johan (or sir) was/is not very bothered by admin and organization. so now we have this new teacher, who is all into "procedure" and checking goals and stuff... sigh. where have the good days gone?
3. along with auntie karla came a host of new names for us... nicknames. like "mr. moppet" or "mrs. muffet" or "pops" when was the last time uncle johan called me "my pops"?!?! NEVER!!! id keel over if he ever did... either way, im glad im not in a class with auntie karla (explaining the structure of our school down to the details of classroom arrangement is work enough for another post...) coz if i was in a class with her, i would be subjected to much humiliation and much "mrs. moffet"-ing.
on the "humour" side of life, there is much to be said. i mean, we're The Miskins!!! humour. its a good time.
so the other day at table we were discussing how ppl in the Bible times used to rent their clothes alot. so gordon said "they must have had alot of robes..." so i quipped "well, if you had a look in David's closet youd probably see two sections... robes for wearing and robes for tearing!!!" and if that wasnt enough to set the fam rolling, i then added "he could have written a book!!! 'the wear and tear of daily life'!!!" my family thought that was brilliant... i myself didnt see it as that hilarious.
apart from that, we laugh alot at school when we're not working. at break the other day, my friend lydia, me, morgy and elaine were sitting watching the guys playing hand tennis. lydia then said something that shocked me, and i grabbed her water bottle saying "i shall pour the waters of shame upon you!!!" meaning to sprinkle a few drops on her leg... in my enthusiasm and fire for correction, i squeezed the bottle a TAD too hard, and poured the rivers of shame on her leg!!! poor child, she went to class looking like she had drooled on herself (from when morgy sprinkled her) and her pants were wet, from where the rivers of shame flowed... good thing the pants were black...
apart from school, there really is no news. mrs. faasse is arriving tonight... WEEWEE!!! we're all gonna go fetch her at the airport... the only down side is her plane is landing at 10:00 PM, so im gonna be totally dead tomorrow... we'll see how i cope...:) wish me well!!!
you know what my punch line of the week is? neither do i. help me think of one...:)
kk, see you all later...
enjoy!

what happens when the miskins go hiking...

yes, we miskins went on holiday last week. and yes, we did some serious relaxing. and yes, alas, we did go on a hike. do you really want to know what happened?! of course you do!!!

well, there are three trails to do at the farm where we were staying. one trail is an all day trail. the other is a five hour trail. and the last, easy, trail is a 5.5 kilometer, 2 1/2 hour trail.

so dad decides, we miskins are going to do the easy trail!!! TWO AND A HALF HOURS!!! POOH!!! we will do it in less, he boasts confidently. ok, we agree. sure, we'll hike the less-than-two-hour-trail.

so we kiddies are aroused at 7:30 on friday morning to go hike. i didnt even shower. alas though, we peer outside, and lo, there are clouds that descendeth!!! so after speculating for about half an hour on wether it was going to rain or not, we decide, we shall eat brekkers, and then see how the weather fares. cool. then i got to shower...:)
well, we ate. royally. a really nice breakfast, including fried mushrooms and onions (which is REALLY REALLY nice...wow) and then dad decides rather than risk rain, we will go to a little country town and enjoy a day there. so gordon decides to clean himself up for that. and i even fixed my crazy hair.

so after gordons bath, and my hair fixing, dad decides, well, the weather isnt that bad!!! LETS HIKE!!! so we had to change back into our hiking gear, and kiss our good hair days, and clean bods good bye. this is the mountain we scaled. dont be fooled, it was a big deal.

we set off, all fire and enthusiasm, with yours truly taking pictures of many things. then it got steep and strenuous, so we stopped under a tree for about 15 minutes. there we sat, mopping our brows and drinking water. and, of course, bemoaning that the "easy trail" was not as easy as we had thought it might be. then we're off again. until we get to a stream. where we rest around for about 2o minutes at least. by this time, we're not even 1/4 of the way, and morgy is already proposing that she and mom stay at the stream, and meet the rest of us down at the house.

after our "brief" rest, we set off again, after dad who went on ahead of us. by now, the clouds have vanished, and the mid-summer african sun is baking down upon our heads, causing our upper lips and brows to sweat, just a tad.

we walk up the one side of the mountain, on a winding trail. by the time we get to the top, another rest is needed. for water, and for pictures. dad then announces "THE WORST IS OVER NOW!!! NO MORE UPHILL!!!" the view from where we were was stunning as well, calling for photographs to be snapped left and right. this is what the view was like:

so as soon as this rest is over, we climb over the fence, and lo and behold!!! are greeted with some more strenuous uphill. what fun!!! so up up up we go. not that far, you must understand, but our limbs were by now heavy and unwilling to go up any further. but after braving on, and much grumbling, we reached the top of the mountain. and there what did we do? why, we rested again!!! and we drank some water!!! morgy drank alot tho, so we chastised her for it. and she wasnt happy with our reprimanding of her. all this time we were waiting for dad, who unfortunately started feeling rather ill.

by now we were really done with uphill climbing, and were walking along the top of the mountain and the view really was something. but mom was walking with dad, who was ill. so the three miskin kiddies forged ahead. by the time we were significantly ahead of mom, she hollered what sounded like "dad... wait...find...shade... wait...us..." so we figured we should find some shade and sit around, wating for the parental authorities to come along. we waited for a little bit... then they caught up. so after they had some water and some rest, we set off again. but then we miskin kiddies, by now thoroughly sick of hiking, struck off on our own, following the little trail indicators. we decided to finish the hike within the hour. thus we had 1/2 an hour to finish it.

so off we went, all good intentions and shining hopes. they all vanished when we were confronted by, *gasp* some MORE uphill... this one pretty intense, because after all this hiking, our limbs were on strike. but so great was our desire to get done already, that we scaled the uphill in a record time of THREE MINUTES!!! (i checked on my watch) heartened by this new achievement, we were ready to get back within fifteen minutes. until we rounded a corner of the mountain peak, and saw the house way down there, shining like an oasis of hope that we would never reach, by the looks of things.

yet, we pressed on. now the hike became a downhill trek, which was quite dangerous at times, if one was not careful. slippery rocks and loose gravel and all that. so the whole way down we were all looking down at our feet, making sure that we would not fall. by now we were all sweaty and icky, tired, feeling mutinous, and longing for the sun to give it a rest already!!!

but, at long last we made it back to the house. and we vowed that we would first pour ourselves something to drink before we sat down, lest we be too tired to rise again. and so we did. we stumbled into the kitchen, and poured ourselves some coke!!! then we went and sat on the porch in a kind of exhausted stupor and sipped our coke. half an hour later mom and dad arrived back.

the rest of the afternoon was spent lying on our beds or sleeping, whichever we preferred.

my only regret from the hike? that we didnt take a south african flag to put up on the top of the mountain, so that people would know we had been there.

oh, how long did we take to do the two hour hike? well, with the miskins, two hours is unheard of.

it took us four hours.