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.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
November 2009 News
2009 has finally entered the home straight! Amazing how this has year simply flew by.
Carina finished TAFE (college) or formal classes and is now only doing practical or may we call it slave labour. Amazing how the attitudes at the institute changed since they became full-time apprentices. She is suddenly very disappointed and the sad thing is that it is the old residents that suffer under these poor attitudes!
I have decided to become a Bulls supporter! Before some of you cheer and others start going for the rifle: this is the local Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club and it is a yellow bull on red background. Michael has joined the club and they play and practice on Friday evenings. Hopefully he will be able to join the U12 league next year.
Bought myself a digital SLR camera with 2 lenses covering 18-55 and 50-250mm. Long and hard decision to decide between Pentax and Canon. I had a Pentax SLR in the old film days before someone applied affirmative shopping after we moved to Edgemead and was very happy with it. I never replaced it because it wasn’t used much and film was very expensive. We later bought a Canon compact and is still very happy with it. I miss the speed of the SLR so I have taken the plunge and got the Canon EOS-450(Rebel Xsi in US) from an online store in the US (www.bhphotovideo.com), they are a few 100 $$ (20-30%) cheaper than local Oz prices. It is still a lot of money but I am looking forward to honing my skills again over the holidays.
We are camping again for a few days at West Beach here in Adelaide. Shaun and his family will join us. Carina is unfortunately working some of the days and will commute from the campsite. It is actually closer than travelling from home. I am still toying with the idea to take an additional week’s leave over that period as well. If we cannot get Michael enrolled in Sport academy for the holiday period I may be forced to take off the days that Carina is working
Carina finished TAFE (college) or formal classes and is now only doing practical or may we call it slave labour. Amazing how the attitudes at the institute changed since they became full-time apprentices. She is suddenly very disappointed and the sad thing is that it is the old residents that suffer under these poor attitudes!
I have decided to become a Bulls supporter! Before some of you cheer and others start going for the rifle: this is the local Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club and it is a yellow bull on red background. Michael has joined the club and they play and practice on Friday evenings. Hopefully he will be able to join the U12 league next year.
Bought myself a digital SLR camera with 2 lenses covering 18-55 and 50-250mm. Long and hard decision to decide between Pentax and Canon. I had a Pentax SLR in the old film days before someone applied affirmative shopping after we moved to Edgemead and was very happy with it. I never replaced it because it wasn’t used much and film was very expensive. We later bought a Canon compact and is still very happy with it. I miss the speed of the SLR so I have taken the plunge and got the Canon EOS-450(Rebel Xsi in US) from an online store in the US (www.bhphotovideo.com), they are a few 100 $$ (20-30%) cheaper than local Oz prices. It is still a lot of money but I am looking forward to honing my skills again over the holidays.
We are camping again for a few days at West Beach here in Adelaide. Shaun and his family will join us. Carina is unfortunately working some of the days and will commute from the campsite. It is actually closer than travelling from home. I am still toying with the idea to take an additional week’s leave over that period as well. If we cannot get Michael enrolled in Sport academy for the holiday period I may be forced to take off the days that Carina is working
Monday, November 2, 2009
September and October News
School Holidays is all of a sudden a problem for our household as Carina is no longer at home to look after and entertain Michael. This sort of caught me unawares, just like the time he got sick when I had to take off work to look after him the very first week she started studying. Sometimes I take things like this for granted. Michael spent a week with aftercare where they did some interesting stuff and the second week I took leave and stayed with him.
We had a long weekend and were lucky to be invited by the Bosch’s from Gawler to join them for 2 nights camping at Coorong. The Coorong is the wetlands area where the
I used two old doors that I found in the “roadside store” (people leave stuff they don’t want beside the road in front of their houses) to build a table for the Model Trains. We have laid out the tracks and will start soon with the scenery (trees, buildings, cars, animals and people). Hope this will keep us busy for some time.
I was planning to join the Army Reserves as one of the advantages was that we could get a concession for Citizenship and get it within 6 Months instead of 4 years. I went for the aptitude testing with a bunch of kids only to be told that the requirements changed a few weeks ago and that I now need to be a citizen to be considered for defence jobs. The recession has resulted in them being flooded with applications and they can now pick and choose. They have to specially nominate me for a job and explain why a citizen cannot do it.
I eventually succumbed to the pressure and also bought a portable chemical loo and tent so Carina can enjoy some comfort on the camping. Still find it hard to understand why she needs this when we have done several hikes through the
Thursday, September 3, 2009
August 09 News
We have finally received Permanent Residency in Oz! It is a Company and State sponsored visa, meaning I have to work here for 4 years and I can only work in South Australia. I can apply for Citizenship after 4 years but in our case in 3 years time as the part year counts as one of the 4. We have also received Medicare Cards which provides virtually free medical care in state hospitals. We will also apply for financial support for Michael which equates to them paying us to send him to school and sadly that I don’t earn enough money!
Carina started studying as an Old Age Carer. We always joked in RSA that she will have to look after us old ones one day and now I am just making sure she will be able to do a good job. The studying has resulted in quite an adjustment for the men in the household. Michael is really missing his mom in the afternoons and I miss the cooked meals and clean house! The system here is amazing: they pay for her 30 week course as well as $$ for every hour spent studying! It is not much but it covers the house rental for the month. There is also no commitment to have to work for them after the studies are over.
I lodged my first TAX return here in Oz and got quite a few $$ back, paid into my account within 8 days! Still waiting for my money from 2 years ago in RSA. So we spoilt ourselves with a coffee table, dining table and chairs as well as recliner chairs for the TV room. I am tired of waking up in front of the TV with a stiff neck, shoulders and cramps in my legs from falling asleep on the 2-seater cane furniture. At least now I can sleep in comfort.
Work is looking a lot more positive and the prototype work we did will now move to a full-scale development. Hopefully I will also be in a position to visit the family in Canada when the project kicks off in the next few weeks.
We were looking at buying a house as the rates here are very low compared to what I was used in RSA and repayments are close to what we are paying in rental. We are also not allowed to have pets in the rental house. Unfortunately we have discovered the “other little costs” like insurance, water, Rates & Taxes etc are a bit too much to handle now. We will also miss our neighbours terribly! Wish I could sell my house in Cape Town but I believe it will be a year or two before the housing market will recover.
Carina started studying as an Old Age Carer. We always joked in RSA that she will have to look after us old ones one day and now I am just making sure she will be able to do a good job. The studying has resulted in quite an adjustment for the men in the household. Michael is really missing his mom in the afternoons and I miss the cooked meals and clean house! The system here is amazing: they pay for her 30 week course as well as $$ for every hour spent studying! It is not much but it covers the house rental for the month. There is also no commitment to have to work for them after the studies are over.
I lodged my first TAX return here in Oz and got quite a few $$ back, paid into my account within 8 days! Still waiting for my money from 2 years ago in RSA. So we spoilt ourselves with a coffee table, dining table and chairs as well as recliner chairs for the TV room. I am tired of waking up in front of the TV with a stiff neck, shoulders and cramps in my legs from falling asleep on the 2-seater cane furniture. At least now I can sleep in comfort.
Work is looking a lot more positive and the prototype work we did will now move to a full-scale development. Hopefully I will also be in a position to visit the family in Canada when the project kicks off in the next few weeks.
We were looking at buying a house as the rates here are very low compared to what I was used in RSA and repayments are close to what we are paying in rental. We are also not allowed to have pets in the rental house. Unfortunately we have discovered the “other little costs” like insurance, water, Rates & Taxes etc are a bit too much to handle now. We will also miss our neighbours terribly! Wish I could sell my house in Cape Town but I believe it will be a year or two before the housing market will recover.
Monday, August 3, 2009
July 09 News: Mt Hotham and Canberra
We managed to get everything in place for our Permanent Residency (PR) Visa or so I thought: Federal Police Clearance required on Form 1101 which the case officer eventually sent me as I just could not figure out what to do. Heard today (2 weeks later) the instructions on the form were outdated: they returned our forms as the cost increased by $7! So we wait another month for bureaucracy to run its cause!
Our ski holiday in Mt.Hotham was very nice. I somehow missed the WOW factor of it all, maybe just like I don’t get the joy of fishing. Michael and Carina struggled in the beginning but really enjoyed it in the end. We had brilliant sunshine days after good snow falls and experienced heavy snowfalls on the last day.
The Canberra sights were also very good and I enjoyed driving in the city: the streets are well laid out and wide and traffic was easy (the politicians were on leave!). Parliament house and the War Museum were definitely the highlights although we spent the longest time at the Science centre.
The IELTS exam was something else to experience: 900 people in one hall and everything running with military precision, with a spread of about 70% Asian, 29% Indian and 1% Europeans. Carina beat me at listening and talking! I am still amazed but congratulations to her. My Writing and Reading skills pulled me through to have the higher average though! So now we are officially English literate.
I also collected “Beetle Baily” in Wagga-Wagga and what an absolute gem I got. Apart from a few small electrical problems with Hooter, Indicator Lights and the bumpers which took the brunt of Amanda’s driver learning experiments, everything else is in excellent condition. I started it there and drove it all the way to Adelaide (900km). I fixed the wiring problems and had him inspected (road worthy test) and transferred without any problems. Will slowly start replacing stuff but there is no rush.
Our ski holiday in Mt.Hotham was very nice. I somehow missed the WOW factor of it all, maybe just like I don’t get the joy of fishing. Michael and Carina struggled in the beginning but really enjoyed it in the end. We had brilliant sunshine days after good snow falls and experienced heavy snowfalls on the last day.
The Canberra sights were also very good and I enjoyed driving in the city: the streets are well laid out and wide and traffic was easy (the politicians were on leave!). Parliament house and the War Museum were definitely the highlights although we spent the longest time at the Science centre.
The IELTS exam was something else to experience: 900 people in one hall and everything running with military precision, with a spread of about 70% Asian, 29% Indian and 1% Europeans. Carina beat me at listening and talking! I am still amazed but congratulations to her. My Writing and Reading skills pulled me through to have the higher average though! So now we are officially English literate.
I also collected “Beetle Baily” in Wagga-Wagga and what an absolute gem I got. Apart from a few small electrical problems with Hooter, Indicator Lights and the bumpers which took the brunt of Amanda’s driver learning experiments, everything else is in excellent condition. I started it there and drove it all the way to Adelaide (900km). I fixed the wiring problems and had him inspected (road worthy test) and transferred without any problems. Will slowly start replacing stuff but there is no rush.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
June 09
We managed to get everything in place for our Permanent Residency (PR) Visa; Filled in another 20 page questionnaire, got my Military Release Papers from SANDF (very relieved it actually materialised), Local Police clearance and the medical exam. We write the English (IELTS) test on Saturday and then when the results are received it should take a short while before we have it.
We started using the public transport to get into town for the medical exams and stuff as it is so fast and you don’t have to worry about finding parking in Adelaide. The parking cost more than the train ride!
Carina has been undergoing interviews and assessments to enlist in Frailty Care. It is amazing that they will pay her to attend a course and practical training without the requirement to work for them after the course is completed. The only drawback is that it is on the other side of Adelaide and there are no freeways to get through town.
Alex has been over twice now for sleepover weekends. He is a very delightful boy to have around and fortunately he and Michael get along very well. We were visiting the neighbours one evening and they had a pillow fight which resulted in Alex’s little finger being broken. The Time for Kids representative was not too impressed with this though as we thought he only sprained it.
Michael turned 9 and we purchased him a Nintendo DS and several games. All the mates and Alex has one. He is so engrossed in the games he is hardly watching TV!We have slowly been getting ready for the ski holiday in Hotham in July. Our neighbours who we will be sharing accommodation with have handed down ski pants, gloves and jackets for Michael and Carina. We are pretty excited about the holiday and just hope we don’t break anything. We will be leaving on Saturday 4 July, straight after the IELTS exam and we will sleep over along the way.
We started using the public transport to get into town for the medical exams and stuff as it is so fast and you don’t have to worry about finding parking in Adelaide. The parking cost more than the train ride!
Carina has been undergoing interviews and assessments to enlist in Frailty Care. It is amazing that they will pay her to attend a course and practical training without the requirement to work for them after the course is completed. The only drawback is that it is on the other side of Adelaide and there are no freeways to get through town.
Alex has been over twice now for sleepover weekends. He is a very delightful boy to have around and fortunately he and Michael get along very well. We were visiting the neighbours one evening and they had a pillow fight which resulted in Alex’s little finger being broken. The Time for Kids representative was not too impressed with this though as we thought he only sprained it.
Michael turned 9 and we purchased him a Nintendo DS and several games. All the mates and Alex has one. He is so engrossed in the games he is hardly watching TV!We have slowly been getting ready for the ski holiday in Hotham in July. Our neighbours who we will be sharing accommodation with have handed down ski pants, gloves and jackets for Michael and Carina. We are pretty excited about the holiday and just hope we don’t break anything. We will be leaving on Saturday 4 July, straight after the IELTS exam and we will sleep over along the way.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
May 2009
Ann and her daughter Rebecca visited us for a weekend while they were in Oz. We did a tour of the Barossa and visited the Gorge Wildlife Park. It looked like they enjoyed their visit and it was great to have them and talk about South Africa and my previous workplace.
One of our SAFFER (South African living in Oz) friends sent me an SMS one Sunday to say they will miss me on their 4x4 outing. I had to do some garden work as they didn’t approve Filemon’s visa. A few hours late Pieter phoned me and I was sort of annoyed that he had to rub it in. Alas, they were stuck in a mangrove swamp and needed a snatch rope and some assistance. Fortunately my neighbour had one that we could borrow. When I got there the Toyota was lying on it’s chassis in stinking clay. I helped as much I could and left at sundown just as a new towrope arrived. They eventually got him out but he was stuck from 11h00 till 18h30!
We had our first outing with Breakaways 4WD club to Deep Creek. It was wet cold but very nice. Made my first outdoor fire and had a proper braai on wood coals in a year. We could see Kangaroo Island. Check the photos on Picasa.
I also bamboozled Carina into not complaining too much when I bought a 1975 VW Beetle from Wagga Wagga. Yes there is such a town here. Wagga is a crow and the repeated word means place of many crows. I will be picking her up when we return from New South Wales from a snow ski holiday in July. I cant wait. My first two cars were Beetles and I also had a Beach Buggy and Baja Bug in the middle stint somewhere. I am planning to turn it into a Beetle Cabrio “Muscle Car” when the engine expires one day.
Carina had a successful interview and will hopefully be starting contract work caring for kids in the near future. It will be good for her to do be involved with kids again after the Moms&Tots experience and it will also give us opportunity to meet some more Ozzies and maybe make some friends.
Michael had a school camp on a farm for a few days where they experienced cows being milked, made butter, did horse riding and other educational stuff. From his babbling and pictures it looks like they had a great time on the farm. School otherwise is just a boring experience for him and he regularly has some pain to prevent him from going to school.
People really congest our road by parking on both sides of the road, leaving a single lane for traffic (I suppose because they still can here without it or parts of it being stolen). I suppose it was just a matter of time before an accident and last Friday night at midnight it was time for a major crash of a drunk, unlicensed woman to plough into the neighbour,s cars. It was a commotion of Police, Fire Truck and tow truck till the early hours of the morning. Tasha got her first car a few months ago and it obviously her pride and joy and this was the second time someone hit it while it was parked.
We had Alex for a one day visit and it went extremely well. He and Michael get along well and we will be organising a sleepover for the middle of the month.
One of our SAFFER (South African living in Oz) friends sent me an SMS one Sunday to say they will miss me on their 4x4 outing. I had to do some garden work as they didn’t approve Filemon’s visa. A few hours late Pieter phoned me and I was sort of annoyed that he had to rub it in. Alas, they were stuck in a mangrove swamp and needed a snatch rope and some assistance. Fortunately my neighbour had one that we could borrow. When I got there the Toyota was lying on it’s chassis in stinking clay. I helped as much I could and left at sundown just as a new towrope arrived. They eventually got him out but he was stuck from 11h00 till 18h30!
We had our first outing with Breakaways 4WD club to Deep Creek. It was wet cold but very nice. Made my first outdoor fire and had a proper braai on wood coals in a year. We could see Kangaroo Island. Check the photos on Picasa.
I also bamboozled Carina into not complaining too much when I bought a 1975 VW Beetle from Wagga Wagga. Yes there is such a town here. Wagga is a crow and the repeated word means place of many crows. I will be picking her up when we return from New South Wales from a snow ski holiday in July. I cant wait. My first two cars were Beetles and I also had a Beach Buggy and Baja Bug in the middle stint somewhere. I am planning to turn it into a Beetle Cabrio “Muscle Car” when the engine expires one day.
Carina had a successful interview and will hopefully be starting contract work caring for kids in the near future. It will be good for her to do be involved with kids again after the Moms&Tots experience and it will also give us opportunity to meet some more Ozzies and maybe make some friends.
Michael had a school camp on a farm for a few days where they experienced cows being milked, made butter, did horse riding and other educational stuff. From his babbling and pictures it looks like they had a great time on the farm. School otherwise is just a boring experience for him and he regularly has some pain to prevent him from going to school.
People really congest our road by parking on both sides of the road, leaving a single lane for traffic (I suppose because they still can here without it or parts of it being stolen). I suppose it was just a matter of time before an accident and last Friday night at midnight it was time for a major crash of a drunk, unlicensed woman to plough into the neighbour,s cars. It was a commotion of Police, Fire Truck and tow truck till the early hours of the morning. Tasha got her first car a few months ago and it obviously her pride and joy and this was the second time someone hit it while it was parked.
We had Alex for a one day visit and it went extremely well. He and Michael get along well and we will be organising a sleepover for the middle of the month.
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