December 2009 News

Bit late with December news but hey it was holidays. Decided to take 3 weeks leave and what a great idea it turned out to be. We didn’t do much because Carina was still busy with the practical part of her diploma. They really worked her like a slave over this period.

Happy to say that the new Canon camera is a beauty. Put it through it’s paces when we visited the Adelaide Zoo for the year-end function. I have posted some pics on Picasa.

We camped at West Beach for a few days. An ex-cyclone passed over the centre of the country and caused strong winds in Adelaide. Kids still had a good time though; being able to have the run of the grounds without us hounding them was good.

Bought a few nice tools: 18V Li-I cordless drill (Very impressive) and a mitre saw to make the job easier. I finally finished my workbench and the model train bridges. Now the scenery modeling can begin.

Little Wian de Wit made his appearance the day before Marilene’s parents arrived from RSA. He is quite a delightful little guy that loves eating as much as Wynand. We had the pleasure of them visiting us twice already.

Rest of the time Michael and I hung around the house or with Shaun in the pool. This is the high temperature season and we are really cooking at the moment. We tried to purchase one of those inflatable pools but because of the drought and various rules and safety regulations we will have to give it a miss. We need to get permission from the city council to fill the little pool and it needs a proper swimming pool fence around it before they will come and inspect the area to consider granting permission.

I have to get an Oz drivers license as my RSA one expires in March. Actually should have done so 3 month ago when we got Permanent Residency Visas. I simply cannot believe that I failed the learners test twice on one day! Will take the test again some time this week.

The local town council of Tea Tree Gully sponsored several events to show movies in the park opposite Tea Tree Shopping centre. This really brought back some childhood memories of attending the drive-inn with us kids watching on blankets. We joined around 250 other people to watch Twilight with picnic baskets, beer and wine. It still amazes me to be able to do this without any disorderly behaviour in the crowd. The kids are free to run around when they get bored.

I want to add on a sad note and say that I will miss my friend Chris van Rooyen very much. He passed away in the early hours of 29 December after suffering a massive heart attack. Chris and I started studying at Stellenbosch and stayed in Helshoogte. We then worked at the same companies till last year. He made quite an impression with the lion’s tooth he had around his neck and suspender belts he always wore. I consider him a very clever and extremely “sharp” engineer who achieved results on the projects he worked on. He departed much too soon!

I also remember my brother Rassie who was killed last year. I hope and pray that this is not a pattern that will continue the end of this year.